| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 16,958 [1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Brunei | |
| Tutong District | 10,974 [1] |
| Languages | |
| Tutong, Malay (Brunei Malay) | |
| Religion | |
| Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Belait | |
The Tutong people are an ethnic group native to Brunei, mainly in Tutong District. They traditionally speak the Tutong language. They are officially recognised as one of the seven ethnic groups of the Bruneian Malay race (jati Melayu). [2]
In Malay, the official language of Brunei, they are called puak Tutong. The endonym is Bunu Tutong in Tutong language. [3] The Dusun people, another indigenous ethnic group in Brunei, called the Tutong people Sang Keluyoh. [4]
The origin of the Tutong people is unclear. [5] According to an oral tradition, they are descended from a Murut named Tutong who had helped the people of Lurah Saban, a village on the banks of the Tutong River, against headhunting by the Kayan people. [6] [1] The river itself is believed to have been named after him in honour of his heroic action. [6] Also, the people whom he had helped eventually considered themselves the followers of Tutong. [1]
Another oral tradition states that they are descended from someone named Si Letong who had migrated from Sulawesi, Indonesia. [7] It was believed that he initially settled in Kampong Telisai [lower-alpha 1] and married a local who was a member of the Dusun tribe. [7] It was said that he did not favour living there due to the noise from the sea waves, hence he decided to resettled away from the coast. [7] The river in the new settlement where he lived was eventually named after him, hence the name the Tutong River. [7]
Researchers on the linguistics of Tutong language hypothesise that the Tutong people might have originated from Lower Baram (Baram Hilir), [8] a region near the mouth of the Baram River in Sarawak, Malaysia. This is based on the cumulative researches which demonstrate the linguistic similarity between the language and Miri language, [9] the language of the people native to the region.
The Tutong people are the traditional speakers of the Tutong language (Basa' Tutong), an Austronesian language. It is considered endangered. [10] Notable initiatives to revitalise the language include the publication of a bilingual dictionary between Tutong and Malay by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Brunei, the Bruneian language authority, and the introduction of Tutong as a language subject in the national university Universiti Brunei Darussalam. [11]
The population is recorded to be 16,958 in Brunei. [1] Majority is in Tutong District at 64.7%, followed by Brunei-Muara District at 24.5%, Belait District at 10.5% and Temburong District at 0.2%. [1]
The Tutong people are entirely Muslims.[ citation needed ] However, in the past, they had practiced animism. [12] The exact point in time when they converted to Islam is not known, however it is thought to be related to the migration of the Muslims from Brunei proper and Sarawak and their marriage with the Tutong locals sometime in the 18th and 19th centuries. [12]
Bandar Seri Begawan is the capital and largest city of Brunei. It is officially governed as a municipality. Bandar Seri Begawan has an estimated population of 100,700, and including the whole Brunei-Muara District, the metro area has an estimated population of 279,924, over half the population of the country.
Tutong District or simply Tutong is one of the four districts of Brunei. It has an area of 1,166 square kilometres (450 sq mi); the population was 48,313 in 2016. The administrative town is Pekan Tutong. It is home to Tasek Merimbun, the country's largest natural lake.
The Kedayan are an ethnic group residing in Brunei, Labuan, Sabah, and parts of Sarawak on the island of Borneo. According to the Language and Literature Bureau of Brunei, the Kedayan language is spoken by about 30,000 people in Brunei, and it has been claimed that there are a further 46,500 speakers in Sabah and 37,000 in Sarawak. In Sabah the Kedayan mainly live in the cities of Sipitang, Beaufort, Kuala Penyu and Papar. In Sarawak the Kedayans mostly reside in Lawas, Limbang, Miri and the Subis area. The Kedayan people are also regarded as a sub-ethnic group of the Klemantan Dayak people.
There are a number of languages spoken in Brunei. The official language of the state of Brunei is Standard Malay, the same Malaccan dialect that is the basis for the standards in Malaysia and Indonesia. This came into force on 29 September 1959, with the signing of Brunei 1959 Constitution.
The Belait people are a Bruneian ethnic group native to Belait District. They traditionally speak the Belait language. They are predominantly Muslim. They are officially one of the seven ethnic groups which make up the Bruneian Malay race.
The Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Library is a group of public libraries operated by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Brunei. It is also the legal deposit and copyright for Brunei.
Bruneian Malays are a native Malay ethnic group that lives in Brunei, the federal territory of Labuan, the southwestern coast of Sabah and the northern parts of Sarawak. The Bruneian Malays are a subgroup of the larger ethnic Malay population found in the other parts of the Malay World, namely Peninsular Malaysia and the central and southern areas of Sarawak including neighbouring lands such as Singapore, Indonesia and Southern Thailand, having visible differences especially in language and culture, even though they are ethnically related to each other and follow the teachings of Islam. All Bruneian Malays who are born or domiciled in East Malaysia even for generations before or after the independence of the states of Sabah and Sarawak from the British Empire through the formation of Malaysia in 1963 are also considered Malaysian Malays in the national census and were in the same status like the Malaysian Malays domiciled in Peninsular Malaysian states and the central and southern parts of Sarawak. They are also defined as a part of the Bumiputera racial classification together as a subgroup within the Malaysian Malay ethnic population along with the Kadazan-Dusuns, Ibans, Malaccan Portuguese and the Malaysian Siamese.
Brunei Malay language is the most widely spoken language in Brunei and a lingua franca in some parts of East Malaysia, such as Labuan, Limbang, Lawas, Sipitang and Papar. Though Standard Malay is promoted as the official language of Brunei, Brunei Malay is socially dominant and it is currently replacing the minority languages of Brunei, including the Dusun and Tutong languages. It is quite divergent from Standard Malay to the point where it is almost mutually unintelligible with it. Although the idea that Brunei Malay might be classified as a creole language has been discredited, it does bear considerable similarities to East Indonesian Malay-based creole languages.
Kampong Penanjong is a village in Tutong District, Brunei, on the outskirts of the district town Pekan Tutong. The population was 2,065 in 2016. It is one of the villages within Mukim Pekan Tutong, a mukim in the district.
The Tutong language, also known as Basa Tutong, is a language spoken by approximately 17,000 people in Brunei. It is the main language of the Tutong people, the majority ethnic group in the Tutong District of Brunei.
Kampong Keriam is a village in Tutong District, Brunei, about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from the district town Pekan Tutong. The population was 2,195 in 2016. It is one of the villages within Mukim Keriam, a mukim in the district.
Muda Hashim Secondary School is a government boys' secondary school in Tutong, the town of Tutong District in Brunei. The school provides five years of general secondary education leading up to O Level qualification. It has 636 students. The current principal is Mohamad Saiful Bahrin bin Sabri.
Kampong Kiudang is a village in Tutong District, Brunei, about 24 kilometres (15 mi) from the district town Pekan Tutong. The population was 1,258 in 2016.
The Language and Literature Bureau is the Bruneian language authority of the country's official language Malay. It is also the operator of public libraries in the country. It was established in 1960 and is now a government department under the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.
Kampong Tanjong Maya is a village in Tutong District, Brunei, about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from the district town Pekan Tutong. The population was 488 in 2016. It is one of the villages within Mukim Tanjong Maya, a mukim in the district.
Kampong Bakiau is a village in the north-east of Tutong District, Brunei, about 23 kilometres (14 mi) from the district town Pekan Tutong. It has an area of 1.3 square kilometres (0.50 sq mi); the population was 207 in 2016. It is one of the villages within Mukim Kiudang.
Kampong Birau is a village in the north-east of Tutong District, Brunei, about 19 kilometres (12 mi) from the district town Pekan Tutong. It has an area of 13.5 square miles (35 km2); the population was 989 in 2016. It is one of the villages within Mukim Kiudang, a mukim in the district.
Pengiran Muda Mahkota Pengiran Muda Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah Hospital, abbreviated as PMMPMHAMB Hospital, is the district hospital of Tutong District, Brunei. It is situated in Bukit Bendera, an area near the district town Pekan Tutong. The hospital was opened in 1997 and can accommodate 138 beds. It was named after Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince of Brunei. It is the only hospital in the district, as well as one of the few government hospitals in the country.
Kampong Penabai is a coastal village in Tutong District, Brunei, about 4–5 kilometres (2.5–3.1 mi) from the district town Pekan Tutong. The population was 888 in 2016. It is one of the villages within Mukim Pekan Tutong, a mukim in the district.
The Tutong River is a river in Tutong District, Brunei. It is the second longest of the four main rivers in the country.
| Indigenous |
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-indigenous | |||||
| Expatriates | |||||
 | This article about an ethnic group in Asia is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This Brunei-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |