Question

why were the kalangs of java famous?

Answer 1

The Kalangs of Java in modern day Indonesia were a community of skilled forest cutters and shifting cultivators of land. They were considered an extremely important human resource since without them, harvesting of teak was almost impossible. The Kanlangs' expertise were extremely important for the rulers of the Java kingdom, since without them, building of palaces woul prove difficult. This is evident from the fact that when the Mataram kingdom of Java split in the year 1755, the 6,000 Kalang families were equally divided between the two new kingdoms. Subsequently when the Dutch began to expand their control over the forests in the 18th century, even they sought to emply the Kalangs.