↑There are 18 Beilel people spread across several places in Indonesia, namely 7 people in Kalabahi, 6 people in Moru, 2 people in Makassar, and 1 person each in Jakarta, Kalimantan, and Kupang.[1]
The Beilel people are an ethnic group inhabiting Alor Island in the province of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Administratively, they inhabit the hamlets of Lola and Habollat in the Southwest Alor district of Alor Regency. Previously they were speakers of the Beilel language, before its extinction, almost all Beilel people currently speak Kafoa, Alor Malay, and Indonesian.[3] They are often classified as part of their larger neighboring the Kafoa people in terms of population.[2]
Many factors influence the decline in the population of the Beliel people, including language shifts, intermarriage, migration, and the large number of immigrants living in their settlements.[4] Even though they are a minority, they are the holders of customary land rights in the village of North Probur-Habollat. Their customary land stretches from the north of the Buaya River as a natural boundary, continuing south for approximately 15 km to the Wokang River which flows into the Lanleki village.[1]
Origin
The Beilel people have an origin myth that they are descended from pigs. Pigs are highly revered by the Beilel people, they have a mantra containing nicknames for pigs and their praise in the Beilel language. The mantra is:[5]
Munafe kakafe pekikika pemirafea akan hiarfe late amengfe wife ameape hiarpe mulangpe hokame hirianeawin dihokamae nuna abe alea. Hot hot hot.
Translation: Muna pigs, kato pigs, red pigs, white pigs, black pigs, reed pigs, prairie pigs, rock pigs, land pigs, earth pigs, sky pigs, master has come to give you food, the food in the pot is already cooked, come quickly.
According to mythological stories, the origins of the Beilel people come from the descendants of Mama Beilel's ancestors. It is said that Mama Beilel was the first woman to settle on the face of the earth in the customary forest area of the Beilel people. The woman later gave birth to a son. Mama Beilel buried the placenta next to her home. In the evening the placenta turned into a pig. Mama Beilel always feeds the pig every night. However, during the day it turns into an oval-shaped black stone. Every day the stone continued to grow, and Mama Beilel continued to feed it every night. In the end there were 30 black stones. One of them had gone to an unknown location, leaving only 29 pieces left. To this day, the Beilel people believes that their ancestors descended from pigs.[1]
History
The lineage of the Beilel people is descended from their ancestor Mama Beilel.
The place where Mama Beilel, the ancestor of the Beilel people, resided and the offering rituals were carried out by the Beilel people, became the first village of the Beilel people. The site consists of a steep cliff with a flat area at the base where an altar is located. Around the location there are various types of woody plants, bamboo, candlenut, walnut, and coconut, all of which forms a jungle which also has springs that flow throughout the year. Right below the altar there is the headwaters of the Buaya River which flows northward and meets the headwaters of the Wokang River which flows southward and flows into the residential area of Lanleki village (inhabited by Klon speakers). That place was the first village of the Beilel people, but it is not known exactly when they settled in that village. It is estimated that it is around two centuries old (around the 18th or 19th century), with three to four generations living there until 2013.[1]
The second village of the Beilel people is in Laibuk, about 500 m to the west of the Lolong (Bangyah) village site, or about 2 km from the North Probur-Habollat Village Office to the east up the hills. It is estimated that the Beilel people moved to Laibuk village around the early 1950s. This relocation was carried out after an epidemic of disease occurred which resulted in mass deaths of the Beilel people in the previous village. However, another version says that the move actually occurred during the Japanese occupation. They moved to Laibuk village to avoid the disease outbreak that resulted in mass deaths of the Beilel people. It is not known what kind of disease epidemic hit the Beilel village at that time, it is only known that people had fevers in the afternoon and evening, and the next day they suddenly died.[1]
Three Beilel figures who led the move to Laibuk village, namely Matius Malaipin, Hinlik (Koli Tukung), and Rahim Banton. The three of them are Lakmrouk's descendants. Lakmrouk himself died when the Beilel people were still living in the first village and his grave can still be found in Bangyah village. Next, Malaipin and Hinlik (Koli Tukung) died, his grave is in Laibuk village around the 1950s. After Malaipin's death, he had a son named Karim who at that time was still called Kanai Aye which means walnut in the Kafoa language. He was under the care of his mother (Malaipin's second wife) who later married his uncle, Rahim Banton. Rahim Banton then replaced Matius Malaipin as chief of the Beilel people until he died in 1988. Rahim Banton's grave is located at the northern tip of Habollat hamlet, right on the side of the road from Lola hamlet to Habollat hamlet. After the death of Rahim Banton, the position of Beilel tribal chief was held by Karim Malaipin until present.[1]
In the late 1950s, a number of 30 families from Makong Afeng village (the hill above Buraga village, bordering North Probur-Habollat village to the north) consisting of subgroups of the Hamalelang, Balailelang, Dikalelang, Kula Afeng, Kalong Aramang, Fariu Aramang, Kafola Aramang, and Damoi Aramang,[1] all of them are Kafoa speakers,[2] moved to Laibuk village to join the Beilel people. They are immigrants from Munaseli in Pantar. According to their historical records, the war between the Pandai Kingdom and the Munaseli Kingdom in the 14th century made the atmosphere in Munaseli unsafe. This situation encouraged the migration of people out of Pantar. After traveling through several places and lasting quite a long time, starting from Halerman, Wakapsir, Dulolong (Alor Kecil), Mataru, Pintu Mas, Buraga, and finally arrived at a place which was later known as Makong Afeng. Historical evidence of the wanderings of the ancestors of the Habollat people is in the form of gongs and moko which they brought from Munaseli. They built a place of worship in Makong Afeng called Mesbah Moulouk. A sacrificial dance called lego-lego is performed as an offering to the ancestors of the Habollat people, namely Baa who resides in Munaseli.[1]
In the early 1960s, because the location of Laibuk village felt cramped, they were encouraged to move together to what is now Habollat hamlet (the third village). In Habollat hamlet, the Beilel people are still living together with the immigrant ethnic groups from Munaseli. In the course of history, the Beilel people's population migration continued to the present day Lola hamlet (the fourth village). The people who come from Makong Afeng village call themselves Habollat people. The name was taken from the name of the village where they live. This shows a shift in identity, from genealogical ties to territorial ties. They are Protestants. Meanwhile, people who came from the previous Beilel villages still called themselves Beilel people. The name was taken based on genealogical ties with Mama Beilel, their ancestor.[1]
Population
Sketch map of the customary land of the Beilel people in North Probur-Habollat village.
The Beilel people are one of the ethnic groups who live in Lola hamlet (Hamlet A), North Probur-Habollat village, Southwest Alor district, Alor Regency. Other subgroups, namely the Dohin, Bering, Baray, and Kelon Worbi live in Lanleki village (all Klon speakers),[2] then the Hamalelang, Balailelang, Dikalelang, Nalentau, Damoi Aramang, Kula Afeng, Bulaka, Kalong Aramang, Fariu Aramang, Arang Aramang, and Kafola Aramang, live in Habollat hamlet (Hamlet B); among them speak Kafoa.[2] They joined together to call themselves "Habollat people". Except for the Beilel people, the origins of all these subgroups are from Munaseli in Pantar who migrated here.[1]
The number of Habollat people according to the records of the "North Probur-Habollat Village Monograph" in 2010 reached 800 people. The population living in Lola hamlet (Hamlet A) is 423 people, 62 of whom are from the Beilel people, the rest are the Abui, Kui, Kelon (Klon), Pura, and Dulolong (Alor Kecil). They are immigrants who arrived through marriage with local residents or for trade reasons and then settled around the Lola Traditional Market. Overall, the population of North Probur-Habollat village is 1,223 people. The Beilel people is a minority ethnic group compared to other immigrant ethnic groups who live in North Probur-Habollat village. Meanwhile, as many as 18 other Beilel people are spread across several places in Indonesia. With a total of 80 Beilel people in an interview in 2013.[1]
Language
The Beilel language was the mother tongue of the Beilel people before its extinction. Because the Kafoa speakers were the largest among their surroundings, the Beilel people eventually adopted the Kafoa language. But others also speak Alor Malay and Indonesian.[2]
Religion
The Beilel people were originally adherents of ancestral beliefs and Protestantism. However, after living in Lola hamlet (the fourth village), they began converting to Islam. The migration of the Beilel people from Habollat hamlet to Lola hamlet, according to Karim Malaipin (the Beilel tribal chief), is closely related to the problem of inter-ethnic marriage. The Beilel people, because their numbers are small, only three families, are no longer able to pay a dowry in the form of a number of moko. This reason encourages the Beilel people who live in Lola hamlet to marry in the Islamic way, which is considered simpler.[1]
† indicates an extinct ethnic groups or one that no longer has a population
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