This article analyzes the reviving awareness of the Sundanese, one of the ethnic groups in Indonesia, towards their identity.
After experiencing a long period of decline since the fall of the Sunda Kingdom (1579), in the middle of the 19^ century they revived to form and show their identity and improve their welfare. The revival resulted from renewed awareness of language and literature (since 1850), and then (since 1913) encompassed social and cultural fields, and finally (since 1918) the field of state politics. This article describes the second-stage revival which was marked by the formation of a modern organization (at that time) which was called Paguyuban Pasundan.
Due to the awareness and pioneering spirit of several students of the STOVIA (medical school for indigenous people), who were ethnically Sundanese, Paguyuban Pasundan attempted to activate and unite all Sundanese, especially the youth, in order not to be left behind in the social milieu and active social life among all ethnic groups in Indonesia. By using methods which were completely new at that time, such as organized activities, education, magazine publication, science and knowledge, they attempted to achieve progress so as to keep up to date and relevant. The result of these efforts brought some ray of hope.