The Javanese are an ethnic group native to the Indonesia island of Java. They are predominantly located in the central to eastern parts of the island. At 90 million people (as of 2004^[update]), it is the largest ethnic group on the island, and also in Indonesia..

The island of Java is located northwest of Australia. It is part of the East Indies chain of islands south of Borneo. Java has a long history of human activity dating from 800,000 years ago. Agriculture has been practiced since 2500 BC. In the first century, trading began with the Indians. The Shailendra dynasty ruled in south-central Java in the eighth century AD. At Borobuur, Mendul, and other sites were great Buddist monuments by the ninth and tenth centuries. From 1019-49 arts and literature evolved through the culture and Hinduism reached the common people

The Javanese exhibit many cultural traits that define the people on the island. Perhaps the most obvious characteristics are intense spirituality, and intimate family relationships. Conventional Javanese families are made up of a set of parents and reliant children. Many couples are married due to decisions made by the parents; however divorce is socially accepted. Javanese parents generally do not punish their young children. Instead, they use degrees of disgrace or guilt to control behavior. For young children the parents display a high proportion of permissiveness. When the child grows closer to adulthood he or she is harshly transitioned into obedience and self-control even with use of punishment. Overall, children are guided to conformity as self-control and obedience are highly valued. The reason for these kinds of values is to create adults who can survive in the agricultural society they live in.

When it comes to religion, the belief in spirits and mysticism dominates. They believe that a spiritual force produces all life and all natural objects contain souls. Early Javanese believed in what they call Shamans, meaning medicine man. The medicine man was believed to have special powers from nature. Islam has also influenced Java.

Their language of the Javanese, spoken by more than 71 million people, belongs to the Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) family, as do those of neighboring but different groups such as the Sundanese of southwest Java and the Madurese of northeast Java. This language family is spoken throughout most of Indonesia, the Phillippines, most of the islands groupings of the central and south Pacific, scattered areas of southeast Asia including Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Taiwan. The Austronesian language family is certainly among the largest in the world.

The Javanese have different styles of speaking: informal, polite, extremely polite, and others. These styles depend on social status. Javanese people live in small, compact villages. Their homes are structured like huts, which they call Kampongs. Rice is the most common food type. Soybeans, peanuts, and corn are also among the main foods in Javanese culture. The Javanese people have strict values, unique language, and an interesting history This culture is rapidly emerging into modern society while the higher-class holds on to tradition.