Editing Central Java (section)

=== Etymology ===
The origin of the name "Java" can be traced from the [[Sanskrit]] chronicle which mentions the existence of an island called yavadvip(a) (''dvipa'' means "island", and ''yava'' means "[[barley]]" or also "[[grain]]").<ref name=":0" /><ref>Raffles, Thomas E. (1965) "The History of Java". Oxford University Press, p. 32.</ref> These grains may be millet ([[Foxtail millet|Setaria italica]]) or rice, both of which have been widely found on this island, before the entry of Indian influence.<ref>Raffles, Thomas E. (1965) "The History of Java". Oxford University Press, p. 2.</ref> It is possible that the island had many previous names, including the possibility of it originating from the word ''jaú'' which means "far away". Yavadvipa is mentioned in one of the Indian epic, [[Ramayana]]. According to the epic, [[Sugriva]], the commander of the wanara (ape man) from [[Rama|Sri Rama]]'s army, sent his envoy to Yavadvip ("Java Island") to look for the Hindu goddess [[Sita]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ic4BjWFmNIC&pg=PA465 |title=History of Ancient India |last=Kapur |first=Kamlesh |publisher=Sterling Publishers |year=2010 |isbn=978-8120749108 |access-date=14 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429045511/https://books.google.com/books?id=9ic4BjWFmNIC&pg=PA465 |archive-date=29 April 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Another possibility is that the word "Java" comes from [[Proto-Austronesian language|Proto-Austronesian]], ''Awa'' or ''Yawa'' (Similar to the words ''Awa'i'' (Awaiki) or ''Hawa'i'' (Hawaiki) used in [[Polynesia]], especially [[Hawaii]]) which means "home".<ref name = hatley>Hatley, R., Schiller, J., Lucas, A., Martin-Schiller, B., (1984). "Mapping cultural regions of Java" in: Other Javas away from the kraton. pp. 1–32.</ref>

An island called ''Iabadiu'' or ''Jabadiu'' is mentioned in [[Ptolemy I Soter|Ptolemy's]] work called [[Geography (Ptolemy)|''Geographia'']] which was made around 150 AD during the era of the [[Roman Empire]]. ''Iabadiu'' is said to mean "island of barley", also rich in gold, and has a silver city called Argyra at its western end. This name mentioned Java, which most likely origins from the Sanskrit term Java-dvipa (Yawadvipa).<ref name="AncientGeo">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GpP0wKQ1lksC|title=History of Ancient Geography|author=J. Oliver Thomson|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2013|isbn=978-1-107-68992-3|pages=316–317}}</ref>

Chinese records from the [[Book of Song|''Songshu'']] and the [[Book of Liang|''Liangshu'']] referred to Java as She-po (5th century AD), He-ling (640–818 AD), then called it She-po again until the [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan Dynasty]] (1271–1368), where they began to call Zhao-Wa.<ref name="Nusa Jawa">{{cite book|title=The Javanese Crossroads: Essay of global history|author=Denys Lombard|year=1990}}</ref> In the book [[Yingya Shenglan|''Yingyai Shenglan'']], written by the Chinese Ming explorer [[Ma Huan]], the Chinese call Java as Chao-Wa, and it was once called the She-pó (She-bó).<ref>Mills, J.V.G. (1970). ''Ying-yai Sheng-lan: The Overall Survey of the Ocean Shores [1433].'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.</ref> When [[Giovanni de' Marignolli]] returned from China to [[Avignon]], he stopped at the kingdom of Saba, which he said had many elephants and was led by a queen; this name Saba might be his interpretation of She-bó.<ref>''Yule, Sir Henry (1913). Cathay and the way thither: being a collection of medieval notices of China vol. II. London: The Hakluyt Society.''</ref>