Malay Indonesians

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Malay Indonesians
Orang Melayu Indonesia
ملايو ايندونيسيا
About indonesian culture.jpg
A Riau Malay couple enjoying the traditional Gambus. The background panel incorporated the palettes of Malay tricolour.
Total population
8,753,791 (2010) [1] [lower-alpha 1]
Regions with significant populations
Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 8,753,791 (2010)
   Flag of South Sumatra (vectorised).svg  South Sumatra 3,139,000
   Flag of Riau.svg  Riau 2,880,240
   Flag of West Kalimantan.svg  West Kalimantan 1,259,890 [3]
   Flag of Bangka-Belitung.svg  Bangka Belitung 936,000
   Flag of Jambi.svg  Jambi 914,660
   Flag of Riau Islands.svg  Riau Islands 600,108
   Flag of North Sumatra.svg  North Sumatra 582,100
   Flag of Lampung.svg  Lampung 269,240
   Flag of West Java (vectorised).svg  West Java 190,224
   Flag of Jakarta (vectorised).svg  Jakarta 165,039
   Flag of Bengkulu.svg  Bengkulu 125,120
   Flag of Central Kalimantan.svg  Central Kalimantan 87,222
   Flag of East Kalimantan.svg  East Kalimantan 84,468
   Flag of North Kalimantan.svg  North Kalimantan 64,881
Languages
Native
Malay (Numerous vernacular Malay varieties)
Also
Indonesian
Religion
Predominantly
Sunni Islam (98.77%)
Minorities
Christians (Protestant and Roman Catholic) (0.98%)   Vajrayana Buddhist (0.22%)  Confucianism (0.014%)  Hindu (0.011%) Other (0.003%) [4]
Related ethnic groups

Malay Indonesians (Malay/Indonesian: Orang Melayu Indonesia; Jawi: اورڠ ملايو ايندونيسيا) are ethnic Malays living throughout Indonesia. They are one of the indigenous peoples of the country. [5] Indonesian, the national language of Indonesia, is a standardized form of Riau Malay. [6] [7] There were numerous kingdoms associated with the Indonesian Malays along with other ethnicities in what is now Indonesia, mainly on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. These included Srivijaya, the Melayu Kingdom, Dharmasraya, the Sultanate of Deli, the Sultanate of Siak Sri Indrapura, the Riau-Lingga Sultanate, the Sultanate of Bulungan, Pontianak Sultanate, and the Sultanate of Sambas. The 2010 census states that there are 8 million Malays in Indonesia; this number comes from the classification of Malays in East Sumatra and the coast of Kalimantan which is recognized by the Indonesian government. This classification is different from the Malaysia and Singapore census which includes all ethnic Muslims from the Indonesian archipelago (inc. Acehnese, Banjarese, Bugis, Mandailing, Minangkabau and Javanese) as Malays.

Contents

History

Muaro Jambi Temple Compounds located in Kampar Regency, Indonesia, is a proof of civilization heritage Melayu Kingdom (a kingdom centered in eastern Sumatra which is the origin of the formation of the Malays). Candi Muaro Jambi dengan langit biru.jpg
Muaro Jambi Temple Compounds located in Kampar Regency, Indonesia, is a proof of civilization heritage Melayu Kingdom (a kingdom centered in eastern Sumatra which is the origin of the formation of the Malays).
Bukit Seguntang in Palembang. According to Sejarah Melayu, the hill recorded the advent of Sang Sapurba, a legendary progenitor for various Malay royal houses in Sumatra, Malay Peninsula and Borneo. Bukit Seguntang Tombs.jpg
Bukit Seguntang in Palembang. According to Sejarah Melayu , the hill recorded the advent of Sang Sapurba, a legendary progenitor for various Malay royal houses in Sumatra, Malay Peninsula and Borneo.

Indonesia is the birthplace of the Malay civilization, which is the precursor of the Malay ethnic group scattered along the east coast of Sumatra, Singapore, the Malay Peninsula, and the coast of Kalimantan. The epic literature, the Malay Annals , associates the etymological origin of "Melayu" to a small river named Sungai Melayu ('Melayu river') in Sumatra. The epic incorrectly stated that the river flowed to the Musi River in Palembang, while in reality it flowed to the Batang Hari River in Jambi. [8] :298 The term is thought to be derived from the Malay word melaju, a combination of the verbal prefix 'me' and the root word 'laju', meaning "to accelerate", used to describe the accelerating strong current of the river. [9]

The beginning of the Common Era saw the rise of Malay states in the coastal areas of the Sumatra and Malay Peninsula; Srivijaya, Nakhon Si Thammarat Kingdom, Gangga Negara, Langkasuka, Kedah, Pahang, the Melayu Kingdom and Chi Tu. Between the 7th and 13th centuries, many of these small, often prosperous peninsula and Sumatran maritime trading states, became part of the mandala of Srivijaya, [10] a great confederation of city-states centred in Palembang. [11]

Srivijaya's influence spread over all the coastal areas of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, western Java and western Borneo, as well as the rest of the Malay Archipelago. Enjoying both Indian and Chinese patronage, its wealth was gained mostly through trade. At its height, the Old Malay language was used as its official language and became the lingua franca of the region, replacing Sanskrit, the language of Hinduism. [12] The Srivijayan era is considered the golden age of Malay culture.

The glory of Srivijaya however began to wane after the series of raids by the Tamil Chola dynasty in the 11th century. After the fall of Srivijaya in 1025 CE, the Malayu kingdom of Jambi, Sumatra, became the most dominant Malay state of the region. [13] By the end of the 13th century, the remnants of the Malay empire in Sumatra was finally destroyed by the Javanese invaders during the Pamalayu expedition (Pamalayu means "war against the Malays"). [14]

In 1299, through the support of the loyal servants of the empire, the Orang laut, a prince of Palembang origin, Sang Nila Utama established the Kingdom of Singapura in Temasek. [15] His dynasty ruled the island kingdom until the end of the 14th century, when the polity once again faced the wrath of Javanese invaders. In 1400, his great-great-grandson, Parameswara, headed north and established the Malacca Sultanate. [16] The new kingdom succeeded Srivijaya and inherited much of the royal and cultural traditions, including a large part of the territories of its predecessor. [17] [18] [19]

The timeline of Srivijayan expansion from Palembang between the 7th-13th century; the state would subsequently be known as Melayu Kingdom before its demise. By the 14th century, a Palembangese-born prince, Parameswara, would later establish the Kingdom of Malacca, bringing the old Palembangese courts traditions and identity into the newfound state. Srivijayan Expansion.gif
The timeline of Srivijayan expansion from Palembang between the 7th–13th century; the state would subsequently be known as Melayu Kingdom before its demise. By the 14th century, a Palembangese-born prince, Parameswara, would later establish the Kingdom of Malacca, bringing the old Palembangese courts traditions and identity into the newfound state.

In the north of the peninsula, the power vacuum left by the collapse of Srivijaya was filled by the growth of the kingdom of Tambralinga in the 12th century. Between the 13th to early 14th century, the kingdom succeeded to incorporate most of the Malay Peninsula under its mandala. The campaign led by Chandrabhanu Sridhamaraja (1230–1263) managed to capture Jaffna kingdom in Sri Lanka between 1247 and 1258. He was eventually defeated by the forces of the Pandyan dynasty from Tamil Nadu in 1263 and was killed by the brother of Emperor Sadayavarman Sundara Pandyan I. [20] The invasion marked an unrivaled feature in the history of Southeast Asia, it was the only time there was an armed maritime expedition beyond the borders of the region.

The cultivation of Malay polity system also diffused beyond the proper Sumatran-Peninsular border during this era. The age avowed by exploration and migration of the Malays to establish kingdoms beyond the traditional Srivijayan realm. Several exemplification are the enthronement of a Tambralingan prince to reign the Lavo Kingdom in present-day Central Thailand, the foundation of Rajahnate of Cebu in the Visayas and the establishment of the Tanjungpura Kingdom in what is now West Kalimantan, Borneo. The expansion is also eminent as it shaped the ethnogenesis development of the related Acehnese and Banjar people and further spreading the Indian-influenced Malay ethos within the regional sphere.

Sumatra

There are various kingdoms and sultanates related to the history of the Malay people and other ethnicities on the island of Sumatra, such as Melayu Kingdom, Srivijaya, Dharmasraya, Sultanate of Deli, Sultanate of Siak Sri Indrapura, Asahan Sultanate, Riau-Lingga Sultanate, Riau Sultanate, Palembang Sultanate and the Lingga Sultanate, etc.

Kalimantan

There are various kingdoms and sultanates related to the history of the Malay people and other ethnicities on the island of Kalimantan (a.k.a. Borneo), such as Sanggau Kingdom, Pontianak Sultanate, Bulungan Sultanate, Berau Sultanate, Gunung Tabur Sultanate, Sambaliung Sultanate, Paser Sultanate, Kutai Sultanate, etc.

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.

Languages

Kedukan Bukit Inscription (683), found in Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia is the oldest surviving specimen of the Malay language. KedukanBukit001.jpg
Kedukan Bukit Inscription (683), found in Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia is the oldest surviving specimen of the Malay language.

Sumatra is the homeland of the Malay languages, which today spans all corners of Southeast Asia. The Indonesian language, which is the country's official language and lingua franca , was based on Riau Malay, which despite its common name is not based on the vernacular Malay dialects of the Riau Islands, rather it represents a form of Classical Malay as used in the 19th and early 20th centuries in the Riau-Lingga Sultanate. The Malay language has a long history, which has a literary record as far back as the 7th century AD. A famous early Malay inscription, the Kedukan Bukit Inscription, was discovered by the Dutchman M. Batenburg on 29 November 1920, at Kedukan Bukit, South Sumatra, on the banks of the Tatang river, a tributary of the Musi River. 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 its variants. Most Malay languages and dialects spoken in Indonesia are mutually unintelligible with 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; its minor dialect is typically called Bukit Malay). Speakers of unintelligible Malay dialects speak standard Indonesian as a lingua franca. 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 their speakers do not consider their languages to be Malay. There are many Malay-based creoles spoken in the country especially in eastern Indonesia due to contacts from the 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.

Sub-ethnic groups of Indonesian Malays

A Malay house in West Kalimantan Rumah Melayu Kalimantan Barat.jpg
A Malay house in West Kalimantan

Malay ethnic groups in Indonesia

A Delinese Malay woman in the traditional wedding costume from North Sumatera, Indonesia Pakaian wanita pengantin Melayu Deli zaman kini dengan kain songket corak daun inai 3.jpg
A Delinese Malay woman in the traditional wedding costume from North Sumatera, Indonesia

The Malay people in Indonesia fall into various sub-ethnicities with each having its own distinct linguistic variety, history, clothing, traditions, and a sense of common identity. According to Ananta et al. 2015, [22] Malay Indonesians include:

Sumatra

Kalimantan

Bali

Sulawesi

Aboriginal Malays

A Kutainese Malay lady in Residency of South and East Kalimantan, Dutch East Indies. Lithography to an original watercolour c. 1879-1880. COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Kleurenlitho getiteld Jong gehuwde Maleische vrouw TMnr 5795-34.jpg
A Kutainese Malay lady in Residency of South and East Kalimantan, Dutch East Indies. Lithography to an original watercolour c.1879–1880.

Notable Malay Indonesians

Literature

Royalty

Malay princes of East Sumatra from the Royal Houses of Deli, Langkat and Serdang COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM De prinsen van Deli Langkat en Serdang TMnr 10001178.jpg
Malay princes of East Sumatra from the Royal Houses of Deli, Langkat and Serdang

Politics

Entertainment

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malay language</span> Austronesian language of Southeast Asia

Malay is an Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spoken in East Timor and parts of Thailand. Altogether, it is spoken by 290 million people across Maritime Southeast Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riau</span> Province of Indonesia

Riau is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of Sumatra along the Strait of Malacca. The province shares land borders with North Sumatra to the northwest, West Sumatra to the west, and Jambi to the south, and a maritime border with the Riau Islands and the country of Malaysia to the east. It is the second-largest province in the island of Sumatra after South Sumatra, and is slightly larger than Jordan. According to the 2020 census, Riau had a population of 6,394,087 across a land area of 89,935.90 km²; the official estimate of population as of mid-2022 was 6,614,384. The province comprises ten regencies and two cities, with Pekanbaru serving as the capital and largest city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malays (ethnic group)</span> Austronesian ethnic group

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Kalimantan</span> Province of Indonesia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jambi</span> Province of Indonesia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riau Malays</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asam pedas</span> Minangkabau and Malay dish

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Pontianak Malay is a Malayan language spoken in Pontianak, Indonesia and the surrounding area.

References

Notes

  1. The figure is based on the ethnic classification presented in Ananta et al. 2015, which includes figures for every groups with "Malay" in their names as well as Jambi, Bengkulu, Serawai, Semendo peoples, but excludes figures for Palembang, Bangka, and Belitung peoples. [2]

Citations

  1. Ananta et al. 2015, p. 119.
  2. Ananta et al. 2015, pp. 35–36, 42–43.
  3. "Propinsi Kalimantan Barat - Dayakologi". Archived from the original on 2012-09-05. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
  4. Aris Ananta, Evi Nurvidya Arifin, M Sairi Hasbullah, Nur Budi Handayani, Agus Pramono. Demography of Indonesia's Ethnicity. Singapore: ISEAS: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2015. p. 273.
  5. "Badan Kesatuan Bangsa dan Politik". kesbangpol.riau.go.id. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
  6. Sneddon 2003, The Indonesian Language: Its History and Role in Modern Society, p. 69–70
  7. Kamus Saku Bahasa Indonesia, p. 272, PT Mizan Publika, ISBN   9789791227834
  8. Reid, Anthony (October 2001). "Understanding Melayu (Malay) as a Source of Diverse Modern Identities". Journal of Southeast Asian Studies. 32 (3): 295–313.
  9. Melebek & Moain 2006, pp. 9–10.
  10. Sabrizain. "Early Malay kingdoms". Sejarah Melayu. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  11. Munoz 2006, p. 171.
  12. Miksic & Goh 2017, p. 359, 397, 398.
  13. Miksic & Goh 2017, p. 464.
  14. Ministry of Culture 1973, p. 9.
  15. Cœdès 1968, pp. 245–246.
  16. Alexander 2006, p. 8 & 126.
  17. Stearns 2001, p. 138.
  18. Wolters 1999, p. 33.
  19. Pande 2006, p. 286.
  20. Guy, John (2014). Lost Kingdoms: Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Early Southeast Asia. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 21. ISBN   9781588395245.
  21. Ananta et al. 2015, pp. 42–43.
  22. Tedjasukmana, Jason (June 25, 2010). "Sex Video Scandal and Indonesia's Porn Obsession". TIME magazine. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2010.

Bibliography