[6] They are the descendants of the people who inhabited Batavia (the Dutch colonial name of Jakarta) from the 17th century onwards.

Subsequently, other ethnic groups followed suit; they were Malays, Sundanese, Javanese, Minangkabaus, Buginese, and Makassar.

Foreign and mixed ethnic groups were also included; such as Indos, Mardijkers, Portuguese, Dutch, Arabs, Chinese, and Indians, who were originally brought to or attracted to Batavia to work.

These organizations act as grassroots movements to increase the bargaining power of the Betawi people whose significant part of them are economically relegated to the informal sector.

[15] Some of them hold a significantly large number of followers; for example, as of 2021, Forkabi has a membership of 500,000 people across the Jabodetabek region.

Anthropologist Fachry Ali of IAIN Pekalongan considers that Islam is one of the main sources for the formation of the Betawi culture and identity, and as such these two cannot be separated.

[15] Betawi people often strongly emphasize their Islamic identity in their writings, which is observed by many foreign academics.

Susan Abeyasekere of Monash University observed that many of the Betawi people are devout and orthodox Muslims.

Among the Betawi ethnic Christians, some have claimed that they are the descendants of the Portuguese Mardijker who intermarried with the local population, who mainly settled in the area of Kampung Tugu, North Jakarta.

[21] The Catholic St. Servatius Church in Kampung Sawah, Bekasi, which traces its origin to the Guru Nathanael community, uses Betawi culture and language in its mass.

[25] Traditionally Betawi people are not urban dwellers living in gedong (European-style building) or two-storied Chinese rumah toko (shophouse) clustered in and around Batavia city walls.

Some of the more authentic Betawi villages survived only on the outskirts of the city, such as in Setu Babakan, Jagakarsa, South Jakarta bordering with Depok area, West Java.

Malay and Bugis migrants around Batavia were historically clustered in coastal areas as they worked as traders or fishermen.

Betawi architecture has a specific ornamentation called gigi balang ("grasshopper teeth") which are a row of wooden shingles applied on the roof fascia.

The Ondel-ondel large bamboo masked-puppet giant effigy is similar to Chinese-Balinese Barong Landung and Sundanese Badawang, the art forms of masked dance.

[8] Betawi people borrowed the Chinese culture of firecrackers during weddings, circumcisions, or any celebrative events.

[34] Finding its roots in a thriving port city, Betawi has an eclectic cuisine that reflects foreign culinary traditions that have influenced the inhabitants of Jakarta for centuries.