Who were the Kalangs of Java? How did Samins challenge the Dutch?

Kalangs of Java were a community of skilled forest cutters and shifting cultivators. Without their expertise, it would have been difficult to harvest teak and for the kings to build their palaces. When the Mataram kingdom was split in 1755, the 6000 Kalang families were equally divided between the two kingdoms. When the Dutch gained control over the forests, they tried to make Kalangs work under them. The Kalangs revoked and attacked the Dutch fort at Joana.

Around 1890, Surontiko Samin of Randublatung village, a teak forest village, began questioning the state ownership of forests. He was supported by his sons-in-law and about 3000 families. Some of the Saminists protested by lying down on their land when Dutch came to survey it, while others refused to pay taxes or perform labour.