Gayo is an endangered Austronesian language spoken by some 275,000 people in the mountainous region of the Indonesian province Aceh on the Northern tip of the island of Sumatra, specifically around the Central Aceh, Bener Meriah and Gayo Lues regencies. It is classified as belonging to the Western Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian languages, but is not closely related to other languages. Ethnologue lists Bukit, Dëret, Lues, Lut, and Serbejadi-Lukup as dialects.
Gayo Lues Regency is a regency in the Aceh Special Region of Indonesia. It is located on the island of Sumatra. The regency was created on 10 April 2002 under Statute UU 4/2002 from the northern part of Aceh Tenggara. Its capital is Blangkejeren. The regency covers an area of 5,549.91 square kilometres and had a population of 79,560 at the 2010 Census and 99,532 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 104,856. Along with the Central Aceh Regency and the Bener Meriah Regency, it is home to the Gayo people.
Central Aceh Regency is a regency in Aceh Special Region of Indonesia. It is located on Sumatra island. Formerly this regency covered a much larger area; on 4 June 1974, the Southeast Aceh Regency was separated from the Central Aceh Regency, and on 18 December 2003 the Bener Meriah Regency was separated from the remaining Central Aceh Regency.
Takengon is a town in Aceh, Indonesia. The town itself sits on three administrative districts of the Central Aceh Regency - Bebesen, Kebayakan, and Lut Tawar, and acts as the seat of Central Aceh Regency. The town is in the highlands of western Sumatra, situated on the shores of Lake Laut Tawar. The region around Takengon is well known for its coffee. Takengon is a plateau with cool air at an altitude of about 1200 m above sea level.
Indonesia was the fourth-largest producer of coffee in the world in 2014. Coffee cultivation in Indonesia began in the late 1600s and early 1700s, in the early Dutch colonial period, and has played an important part in the growth of the country. Indonesia is geographically and climatologically well-suited for coffee plantations, near the equator and with numerous interior mountainous regions on its main islands, creating well-suited microclimates for the growth and production of coffee.
The Acehnese are an indigenous ethnic group from Aceh, Indonesia on the northernmost tip of the island of Sumatra. The area has a history of political struggle against the Dutch colonial rule. The vast majority of the Acehnese people are Muslims. The Acehnese people are also referred to by other names such as Lam Muri, Lambri, Akhir, Achin, Asji, A-tse and Atse. Their language, Acehnese, belongs to the Aceh–Chamic group of Malayo-Polynesian of the Austronesian language family.
The Gayo people are an ethnic group living in the highlands of Aceh Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. The Gayo tribe has a population of 336,856 and they live predominantly in the mountains. Most Gayo live in three regencies in Aceh namely Bener Meriah, Central Aceh, and Gayo Lues. Some of them live in several districts in other regencies, such as Serbejadi District, Simpang Jernih District, and Peunaron District in East Aceh Regency and Beutong District in Nagan Raya Regency. Other than that, the Gayo population also covers Southeast Aceh Regency and Aceh Tamiang Regency. Their homeland lies in the Barisan Mountains which has elevations of over 12,000 feet and extends more than one thousand miles. The Gayonese language has four dialects: Lut, Serbejadi-Lukup, Lut and Luwes. Their language does not have a writing system, but folk tales, stories and poetry are passed down in oral tradition. The traditional house of the Gayo is called Umah.
Qory Sandioriva is an Indonesian actress and beauty pageant titleholder. She was crowned as Puteri Indonesia 2009 on October 9, 2009 by her predecessor, Zivanna Letisha Siregar. Currently she's the youngest titleholder in Puteri Indonesia's history and the first ever woman from Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province to win the title.
PSGL stands for Persatuan Sepakbola Gayo Lues. PSGL Gayo Lues is an Indonesian football club based in Gayo Lues Regency, Aceh. They played in the 2011-12 Premier Division, the second tier league in Indonesia. However, now they play in the lowest tier Indonesian league, Liga 3.
Saman is one of the most popular dances in Indonesia. Its origin is from the Gayo ethnic group from Gayo Lues, Aceh province, Indonesia, and is normally performed to celebrate important occasions. The dance is characterized by its fast-paced rhythm and common harmony between dancers. These two elements are key figures of Saman, and are among the reasons Saman are widely known and practiced in Indonesia, besides being relatively easy to learn.
The national costume of Indonesia is the national attire that represents the Republic of Indonesia. It is derived from Indonesian culture and Indonesian traditional textile traditions. Today the most widely recognized Indonesian national attires include batik and kebaya, although originally those attires mainly belong within the island of Java and Bali, most prominently within Javanese, Sundanese and Balinese culture. Since Java has been the political and population center of Indonesia, folk attire from the island has become elevated into national status.
Sikin Panjang is a sword originated from northern Sumatra, Indonesia.
The Alas people is an indigenous ethnic group from Kutacane, Southeast Aceh district, Sumatra, Indonesia. The Alas are found in the Gunung Leuser, Ketambe, and Alas River areas.
Henricus Marinus Neeb, often recorded as H.M. Neeb, was a Dutch military doctor during the later stages of the long lasting Aceh War. He photographed sights in the area beginning in 1904 including architecture, indigenous peoples, colonial buildings such rail infrastructure and buildings, topography, scenes of Dutch soldiers, and Acehnese killed in the conflict.
Mante people or also spelled as Mantir, are one of the earliest ethnic group frequently mentioned in legendary folklore to have inhabited Aceh, Indonesia. This ethnic group along with other indigenous people such as the Illanun people, Sakai people, Jakun people, Senoi and Semang, are the ethnic groups that formed the existing Acehnese people today. The Mante people are regarded as part of the Proto-Malay people group that initially settled around the region of Aceh Besar Regency and in the interior jungle. These indigenous people were thought to have migrated to Aceh through the Malay peninsula. In the Acehnese legend, the Batak and Mante people were mentioned as the descendants of Kawom Lhèë Reutōïh ; which were also one of the indigenous peoples in Aceh, Indonesia. Today, this people are extinct or have disappeared as a result of intermarriage with other non-indigenous people groups that arrived later. To date, there are still no strong scientific evidence for the existence of this people.
Lesik Kati Ara, better known as LK Ara, is an Indonesian poet.
Acehnese cuisine is the cuisine of the Acehnese people of Aceh in Sumatra, Indonesia. This cuisine is popular and widely known in Indonesia. Arab, Persian, and Indian traders influenced food culture in Aceh although flavours have substantially changed their original forms. The spices combined in Acehnese cuisine are commonly found in Indian and Arab cuisine, such as ginger, pepper, coriander, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, and fennel.
Muhammad Hasan Gayo was an Indonesian politician and journalist from Aceh. He was active in youth guerilla groups during the Indonesian National Revolution, and later worked as a journalist during the Sukarno period.
