Taken From Wikipedia

Cirebon (formerly referred to as Cheribon in English) is a city on the north coast of theIndonesian island of Java. It is located in the province of West Java, approximately 297 km east of Jakarta, at 6°43′S 108°34′E.

Etymology

Its name is often said to be derived from the Sundanese words of "Cai" (water or river) and "Rebon" ("shrimp"). (Indeed the main production of the city is fishery including shrimps.) The alternative Javanese derivation is from "Caruban", meaning "mixture"--a reference to Cirebon's complex mix of Javanese, Malay, Sundanese, Chinese and Arabic cultural elements. While Indonesians from outside Cirebon pronounce the name CHEE-ray-bone, locals say Cher-BONE.

Aside from fishery, its harbour, Tanjung Emas, on the Java Sea has been a major hub fortimber from Borneo. A small landing site "Penggung" also serves the TNI-AU. The city lies on Jalur Pantura (Pantai Utara Jawa), a major road on the northern coast of Java that stretches from Anyer, passes through Jakarta, and ends at Surabaya.

History

See also: The Sultanate of Cirebon

Cirebon was part of the Sunda kingdom as stated in the travel records of Prince Bujangga Manik, a Sundanese Hindu monk who visited all the holy Hindu sites in the islands of Java and Bali at the beginning of the 16th century AD. In his lontar manuscripts, which have been saved in theBodleian Library of Oxford University in England since the 16th century, the borders of the Sunda kingdom in the west are the Sunda Straits and in the east are the Pamali River (present day Brebes River) and the Serayu River in Central Java Province.^[1]

Another source proclaiming the fact is a report from Tomé Pires, a European explorer. He reported a Sundanese port of "Cimano". Manuk is a river passing through Cirebon area, though not flowing directly through the city. In fact, Manuk River (Ci Manuk) flows through Indramayu.

A major event in Cirebon's colonial history was the massive famine of 1844, apparently triggered by a combination of drought and the shift from subsistence agriculture to cash crops, particularly indigo and sugarcane, that had begun as a result of Dutch colonial policy (seeCultivation System) in the 1830s.^{[citation needed]}

Demographics and c Culture

The city's population is 295,764 as of the Indonesia Census 2010 count.^[2] As with other coastal cities in Indonesia, a large population of ethnic Chinese has flocked into the city as a result of long-term Chinese immigration since the seventeenth century.

Cirebon itself is known as Grage in the Cirebon dialect of Javanese language, which came from the words "Negara Gede", meaning "Great Kingdom."

Although surrounded by Sundanese-speaking areas in West Java, linguists have stated clearly that Cirebon (and the historically related region of Serang city in Banten Province) are Javanese language areas. In addition, this is supported by the Cirebon people referring to themselves as "wong Jawa" ("Javanese people"), and to their language as "basa Jawa" ("Javanese"). However, the Cirebon dialect is sufficiently different from the dominant south central Javanese dialect that it is sometimes assumed to be non-Javanese by outsiders. See also: Java, languages map.

As a coastal city, Cirebon's main industry is fishery. Its products include terasi (shrimp paste), shrimp crackers and salted fish. Cirebon is known for local foods, such as nasi lengko (rice mixed with bean sprouts, fried tofu and fermented soybean cake), nasi jamblang (rice of various side dishes), empal gentong ( a kind of curry ), tahu gejrot (fried tofu with red sugar topping), tahu tek-tek (fried tofu topped withpeanut sauce and mixed with vegetables) and ayam panggang (barbecue chicken). Another native food is "Docang" (rice cake with sour vegetable soup).