*MADURESE STEREOTYPE*

My opimion about Stereotype is an image or idea of a particular type of person or thing that has become fixed through being widely held. And in the other definition, Stereotypes are characteristics ascribed to groups of people involving gender, race, national origin and other factors. These characteristics tend to be oversimplifications of the groups involved, however. For example, someone who meets a few individuals from a particular country and finds them to be quiet and reserved may spread the word that all citizens from the country in question are quiet and reserved. A generalization such as this doesn’t allow for diversity within groups and may result in stigmatization and discrimination of groups if the stereotypes linked to them are largely negative.

And now I want to tell you about Madurese. Madura is one of the parts of East Java Province, Indonesia. The island is inhabited by an ethnic group which has special language

and culture, Madurese. Madurese people were well-known of being strong sailors, highly motivated and hard workers. All of Madurese characteristics are the reflection of the condition of its region;

rocky, stony, hot, drought, and infertile soil.

Madurese language and culture are the important factors to differentiate Madurese from other ethnics in East Java. In discussing the relationship between language and culture, most of us agree with the widely accepted view that language exist in culture and that culture values express themselves, among other things, by means of language. In broader perspective, it is said that Madurese culture is included in the culture of Jawa-Bali-Madura-Sunda. However, Madurese culture has its own form and uniqueness. It is because of its climate and the condition of its infertile soil.

Based on some literatures and informal information, there is a general stereotype that Madurese have hot character (panas membara) and easily exploded (meledak-ledak). These characters represent the reflection of the region of Madura Island which is drought, infertile, and hot.Instead of having rather negative characters, Madurese were known to be humorous, diligent, honest, frankly, and interesting. Madurese can be a very good friend if we understand him, but if somebody has betrayed him, it can be very dangerous. There are still another terms which relate to Madurese, such as Soto Madura, Sate Madura, Karapan Sapi and etc.