Bakumpai people
Dayak Bakumpai society in Barito River, circa 1920.
|
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (171,000) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|
Central Kalimantan (135,297) South Kalimantan (20,609) East Kalimantan (1,000) |
|
| Languages | |
| Bakumpai language | |
| Religion | |
| Islam (predominantly), Kaharingan, Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Banjar people, Dayak people, Ngaju people |
Bakumpai or Baraki are indigenous people of Borneo and are considered as a sub-ethnic group of the Dayak Ngaju people group with Islamic background. The Bakumpai people first occupy along the Barito riverbanks in South Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan, from Marabahan to Puruk Cahu, Murung Raya Regency. The Bakumpai people first appeared as a newly recognized people group in census 2000 and were made up of 7.51% of Central Kalimantan population, which before this the Bakumpai people were considered as part of the Dayak people in a 1930 census.
Bakumpai people originate from the upstream region of the former Bakumpai district, while the settlement of the Barangas people (Baraki) are in the downstream region. On the northern side of the upstream region from the former Bakumpai district is the Mangkatib (Mengkatib) district, which makes the settlement of the Dayak Bara Dia people or Dayak Mengkatib people. The Bakumpai people as well as the Mengkatib people are descendants of the Ngaju people from Tanahdayak.
The name "Bakumpai" is a nickname for Dayak people who live along the Barito Riverbanks. In the Banjar language, Bakumpai comes from the word ba which means "own" and kumpai which means "grass". From this nickname, it is understood that this people dwell in the grassland region.
According to legend, the origins of the Bakumpai Dayaks came from Ngaju people who settled on the current land which is called Marabahan. In the beginning, they practice Kaharingan, the religion of their ancestors, which can be seen as well in the cultures of other Dayak people. Later, they came across a charismatic man in that land, whom could cause the ground that he stood on to grow grass. That man is none other than Nabiyullah Khidir. In the story, they followed him and converted to Islam, and multiplied into a group of people. When they studied religion in a particular region together with their teacher, Nabiyullah Khidir, grass would begin to grow from the ground and thus they are referred to as Bakumpai people.
...
Wikipedia