From colonial times through to the present day, large numbers of Javanese have left their homes to settle in other parts of Indonesia or much further afield. Frequently this dispersion was forced, often with traumatic results. Today, Javanese communities are found as near to home as Kalimantan and as far away as Suriname and the Netherlands. Meanwhile, migrant workers from Java continue to seek short-term employment in places like Malaysia and Dubai.

This volume traces the different ways in which Javanese migrants and migrant communities are connected in their host society and with Java as a real or imagined authoritative source of norms, values and loyalties. It underlines the importance of diaspora as a process in order to understand the evolving notions of a Javanese homeland across time and space. Even though Java as the point of departure links the different contributions, their focus is more on the process of migration and experiences in destination countries. They examine historical developments and geographical variations in the migrants' social and political positions, mechanisms of authority, and social relations with other migrants.

The volume also examines how ethnicity, class, gender, religion and hierarchy have shaped and still inform the dynamics of diasporic communities.