Muria Strait

Muria Strait was a strait that once existed and connected Java and Muria Island. This strait was once a bustling trading area, with trading cities such as Demak, Jepara, Pati, and Juwana [id]. In around 1657, river deposits that emptied into this strait were carried to sea and the strait got shallower and eventually disappeared, with Muria Island merging with Java.^[1]

Muria Strait
Muria Strait at the time of Sultan Trenggana (1521–1546). By 1657 this strait had shrunk or disappeared.
Muria Strait Show map of Java Muria Strait Show map of Indonesia
Coordinates	6°52′S 110°53′E
Type	former strait
Primary inflows	Java Sea
Primary outflows	Java Sea
Basin countries	Indonesia
Average depth	0 metres (0 ft)
Islands	Greater Sunda Islands

Geography

The Muria Strait is currently included in the main non-structural plain, which means that it is estimated that in a period in the past the area was an ocean.^[2]

Muria Island

At the time of the Muria Strait there was an island called Muria Island. The landscape of Muria Island itself consists of Mount Muria which is located in the middle. While in the southern part there are Patiayam hills which were formed from the volcanic activity of Mount Muria in the past (some examples are Maar Bambang, Maar Gunungrowo, and Maar Gembong).^[3]

Paleontological records state that the Patiayam hills area has various fossils of ancient buffalo (Bos bubalis paleokarbau), banteng (Bos bibos paleosondaicus, deer family/Cervidae (Cervus zwaani), wild boar family, elephant, stegodon elephant, hippopotamus family, tiger family, turtle family, and mollusk fossils.^[4]

On this island are also located the capital cities of the northern coast of Java, such as Jepara, Kudus, and Pati.

Harbor

In its time on the banks of the Muria Strait there were trading ports with various commodities such as traditional cloth from Jepara, salt and shrimp paste from Juwana, and rice from the interior of Java and Muria Island.^[5] In addition, the existence of the strait also makes the Muria Strait area the location of shipyards that produce Javanese junks made of teak wood which are commonly found in the Kendeng Mountains [id], which is located in the south of the strait.^[3] The existence of a shipbuilding industry made this area richer than the center of the Majapahit Kingdom, so this area which was dominated by Muslim merchants who were nicknamed by Tomé Pires (a Portuguese writer) as "lords of the junks".^[5]: 182

Initially, this area consisted of small ports around the strait with Demak as the main port, but due to political conflicts, commodities originating from the area around the Muria Strait (Muria Island and Kendeng Mountains) shifted to Sunda Kelapa Harbor.^[6] In addition, a report in 1657 stated that fluvial deposits from rivers that emptied into the Muria Strait such as Serang River, Tuntang River, and Lusi River resulted in siltation so that the strait could not be crossed by large ships. The trading center was moved to Jepara.^{[5][page needed][7]} Because of this siltation, Tumenggung Natairnawa from Pati had ordered to dig up the sediment in the strait, but the sediment was getting faster in removing the Muria Strait.^{[1]: 111–113} In the last days of the existence of the Muria Strait there was a water channel that could be passed by small boats which is now called the Londo River.^{[citation needed]}

Current condition

The remainder of the Muria Strait can be seen by the Londo River, which stretches from Juwana in the east to Ketanjung in the west.^[8] Several rivers are also formed from the former Muria Strait such as the Silugunggo River which crosses the Pati Regency area.^[9] In this area, there are often the discovery of the wreckage of boats, ships, and cannons which are evidence of the existence of a strait in this area.^[8]

In addition, the area that used to be the Muria Strait is often flooded during the rainy season.^[10][11]

References

1. Dagh-register gehouden int Casteel Batavia: vant passerende daer ter plaetse als over geheel Nederlandts-India (1656-1657), hlm. 27 via Sejara Nusantara hdl:2027/mdp.39015020146026
2. Van Bemmelen, Reinout Willem (1949). Geology of Indonesia. Den Haag: Government Printing Office. ISBN 9789024711741.
3. Masruri, Ahmad Bukhori (2021) [2021]. "Jati, Juwana, dan Jung Jawa: Geohistoris Pegunungan Kendeng dan Selat Muria". In Masruri, Bukhori (ed.). Benantara, Bentang Alam dalam Gelombang Sejarah Nusantara (in Indonesian) (1 ed.). Jakarta: Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia. p. 82. ISBN 9786024816551.
4. Siswanto; Noerwidi, Sofwan (2016). "Posisi Fauna Situs Patiayam dalam Biostratifigasi Jawa" (PDF). Jurnal Sangkhakala. 19 (2): 149–166. doi:10.24832/sba.v19i2.31. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
5. Cortesão, Armando (1944). The Suma oriental of Tomé Pires : an account of the East, from the Red Sea to Japan, written in Malacca and India in 1512–1515 ; and, the book of Francisco Rodrigues, rutter of a voyage in the Red Sea, nautical rules, almanack and maps, written and drawn in the East before 1515 volume I. London: The Hakluyt Society. ISBN 9784000085052. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
6. Singgih, Tri Sulistiyono.(2017). Peran Pantai Utara Jawa Dalam Jaringan Perdagangan Rempah, Dalam Rempah Mengubah Dunia, makalah elektronik, eprints.undip.ac.id/60531 diakses 27 Juni 2021.
7. Tundjung; Hidayat, Arief (2018). "Politik Dinasti Dalam Perspektif Ekonomi Dari Kerajaan Demak". Alur Sejarah: Jurnal Pendidikan Sejarah. 3 (1). Retrieved 16 November 2021.
8. "Selat Muria, Sejarah Yang Terlupakan" [Muria Strait, Forgotten History]. Aliansirakyat News (in Indonesian). 8 October 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
9. Fatimah, Nurul; Taufiq, Muhammad (2021). "Vitalitas Pelabuhan Juwana Sebagai Proses Perdagangan dan Islamisasi abad XVI-XVII" [The Vitality of Juwana Harbor as a Process of Trade and Islamization in the 16th-17th Centuries]. FIHROS: Jurnal Sejarah Dan Budaya STAI Syekh Jangkung Pati (in Indonesian). 5 (1): 26–38. Archived from the original on 2021-11-16. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
10. Rasyid, Shani (9 February 2021). "42 Desa di Pati Terendam Banjir, Ini 3 Faktanya" [42 Villages in Pati Submerged in Floods, Here are 3 Facts]. merdeka.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 16 November 2021.
11. Kusuma, Roy (22 January 2017). "Korban Banjir Bandang Wonosoco Ditemukan Tewas Di Kali Londo" [Wonosoco Flash Flood Victim Found Dead in Londo River]. radiosuarakudus.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 1 January 2020.