Osing people

The Osings refer to themselves as the descendants of the Majapahit princes who refused in the 16th century to convert to Islam and fled to East Java, Bali and Lombok.

Today about 500,000 members of this group are scattered in Indonesia. The center of this group is the city of Banyuwangi in East Java. Their language, a dialect of Javanese, has influences of Balinese language.

Religion and Culture

Today, about 75 percent of Osings Muslims, most of them describe themselves as Abangan and have similar to the Balinese greatly influenced by Hinduism culture.

It is not uncommon in Banyuwangi that Hindu temples and mosques stand side by side. By the early 20th century Dutch missionary 40,000 Osings Catholic or evangelical Christians have become today. Many have taken next to Hindu and Muslim beliefs in their religion.

• Ethnicity in Indonesia