Malay Indonesian
A Riau Malay couple enjoying the traditional Gambus. The background panel incorporated the palettes of Malay tricolour. | |
Total population | |
---|---|
(![]() | |
Regions with significant populations | |
South Sumatra: 2,139,000 Riau: 1,880,240 West Kalimantan: 1,259,890[1] Bangka-Belitung: 936,000 Jambi: 914,660 Riau Islands: 600,108 North Sumatra: 582,100 Lampung: 269,240 Jakarta: 165,039 Bengkulu: 125,120 Central Kalimantan: 87,222 | |
Languages | |
Malay (Varieties of Malay), Indonesian | |
Religion | |
Sunni Islam (predominantly), also nondenominational Muslim | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Malays, Minangkabau, Acehnese, Banjarese, Betawi. |
Malay Indonesians (Malay and Indonesian: Melayu Indonesia; Jawi script: ملايو ايندونيسيا) are ethnic Malays living throughout Indonesia as one of the indigenous peoples of the island nation. Indonesia has the second largest ethnic Malay population after Malaysia. Historically, Indonesian, which is the national language of Indonesia, was derived from the Malay language spoken in Riau archipelago, a province in eastern Sumatra. There were a number of Malay kingdoms in Indonesia that covered the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan, such as Srivijaya, Melayu Kingdom, Sultanate of Deli, Sultanate of Siak Sri Indrapura, Riau-Lingga Sultanate, Sultanate of Bulungan, Pontianak Sultanate, and the Sultanate of Sambas.
History
Sumatra
There have been various Malay kingdoms there were based on the island of Sumatra: from the Melayu Kingdom, Srivijaya, Sultanate of Deli, Sultanate of Siak Sri Indrapura and Riau-Lingga Sultanate.
Kalimantan
In the Pontianak incidents during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, the Japanese massacred most of the Malay elite and beheaded all of the Malay Sultans in Kalimantan.
During the Fall of Suharto, there was a resurgence in Malay nationalism and identity in Kalimantan and ethnic Malays and Dayaks in Sambas massacred Madurese during the Sambas riots.
Language
![](../I/m/Gadispalembang.jpg)
Sumatra is the homeland of the Malay languages, which today spans to all corners of Insular Southeast Asia. The Indonesian language which is the country's official language and lingua franca was based on Riau-Lingga (or Johor-Riau) Malay. The Malay language has a long history, which has a literary record as far back as 7th century AD. The famous early Malay inscriptions are Kedukan Bukit Inscription, it was discovered by the Dutchman M. Batenburg on 29 November 1920, at Kedukan Bukit, South Sumatra, on the banks of the River Tatang, a tributary of the River Musi. It is a small stone of 45 by 80 cm. It is written in Old Malay, a possible ancestor of today's Malay language and it's variants. Most Malay languages and dialects spoken in Indonesia are mutually unintelligible to Standard Indonesian. The most widely spoken are Palembang Malay (3.2 million), Jambi Malay (1 million), Bengkulu Malay (1.6 million) and Banjarese (4 million) (although not considered to be a dialect of Malay by its speakers, it's minor dialect is typically called Bukit Malay). Besides the proper Malay languages, there are several languages closely related to Malay such as Minangkabau, Kerinci, Kubu and others. These languages are closely related to Malay but do not considered their language to be Malay by its speakers. There are many Malay-based creoles spoken in the country especially in eastern Indonesia due to contacts from western part of Indonesia and during colonial rule where Malay replaced Dutch as a lingua franca. The most well known Malay creoles in Indonesia are Ambonese Malay, Betawi, Manado Malay and Papuan Malay.
Malayic ethnicity
Malay ethnic groups in Indonesia
- Batin people
- Tamiang people
- Palembang people (previously not regarded as part of Malay people in the 1930 census)[2]
- Bangka-Belitung people (previously not regarded as part of Malay people in the 1930 census)[2]
- Deli people
- Riau people
- Jambi people
- Bengkulu people
- Pontianak people
Cognate ethnicity in Sumatra
![](../I/m/Malaiische_Frauen_aus_Sumatra.jpg)
- Minangkabau people
- Talang Mamak people
- Orang Laut
- Rejangese people
- Serawai people
- Pasehmah people
- Lubai people
- Rambang people
![](../I/m/COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Kleurenlitho_getiteld_Jong_gehuwde_Maleische_vrouw_TMnr_5795-34.jpg)
Cognate ethnicity in Kalimantan
- Sambas people
- Senganan people
- Kedayan people
- Banjar people
- Meratus Dayak
- Kutai people
- Tonyoy-Benuaq people
- Berau Malays
- Sangau people
Cognate ethnicity in Java
Notable Malay Indonesians
Literature
- Andrea Hirata, Indonesian author
- Raja Ali Haji, a 19th-century historian, member of the royal house of Riau-Lingga and Selangor and National Hero of Indonesia
Royalty
![Three men in ceremonial dress](../I/m/COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_De_prinsen_van_Deli_Langkat_en_Serdang_TMnr_10001178.jpg)
- Tuanku Sultan Otteman II - a former Sultan of Deli, in which the kingdom's capital was Medan, in North Sumatra.
- Sultan Ma'mun Al Rashid Perkasa Alamyah - 9th Sultan of Deli Sultanate
- Sultan Hamid II - former Sultan of the Pontianak Sultanate
- Pangeran Ratu Winata Kusuma of Sambas - heir to the Sultanate of Sambas
- Sultan Syarif Kasim II - 12th Sultan of Siak Sultanate
Politics
- Marzuki Alie - speaker of the People's Representative Council, 2009–2014 term
- Hatta Rajasa - the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs in the Second United Indonesia Cabinet. Previously, he was the State Secretary, Minister of Transport and Minister for Research and Technology in the Mutual Assistance Cabinet (2001–2004).
- Amir Hamzah - an Indonesian poet and National Hero of Indonesia.
- Hamzah Haz - an Indonesian politician. He is the head of the United Development Party (PPP) and served as the ninth Vice-President from 2001 until 2004.
- Yusril Ihza Mahendra - formethe chairman of Crescent Star Party
- Alex Noerdin - the 15th Governor of South Sumatra
- Muhammad Lukman Edy - the former Minister for Acceleration of Disadvantaged Regions in 2007/2009
- Muhammad Sani - the 2nd Governor of Riau Island
- Rizal Nurdin - the 15th Governor of North Sumatra
- Rusli Zainal - the 13rd Governor of Riau
- Tantowi Yahya - indonesian TV presenter turned politician.
Entertainment
- Ariel Peterpan - the lead singer vocalist of[3] Indonesian band Noah.
- Carissa Putri - Indonesian model and actress.
- Revalina Sayuthi Temat - Indonesian actress, popularly known for her work in Bawang Merah Bawang Putih
- Titi Kamal - prominent Indonesian actress and singer
- Farah Quinn - celebrity chef
References
- ↑ "Propinsi Kalimantan Barat - Dayakologi". Retrieved 2012-09-07.
- 1 2 A. J. Gooszen (1999). A Demographic History of the Indonesian Archipelago, 1880–1942. KITLV Press. p. 88. ISBN 90-6718-128-5.
- ↑ Tedjasukmana, Jason (June 25, 2010). "Sex Video Scandal and Indonesia's Porn Obsession". TIME magazine. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
External links
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Malay people of Indonesia. |