Rejangese people

Rejangese people

Tun Hejang Tun Ejang
A group of dancing virgins at Curup, Rejang Lebong, Bengkulu, Indonesia in 1939.
Total population
Circa 1.2 million (2016 estimate)
Regions with significant populations
Indonesia	1.5 - 2 million
Bengkulu,	1.1 million
South Sumatra	30,000
Others	70,000
Languages
Rejangese Indonesian
Religion
Sunni Islam (predominantly), Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Bidayuh, Lembak people, Serawai people, Basemah people

Rejangese people (Rejangese language: Tun Hejang or Tun Ejang) are an Austronesian ethnolinguistic group, native to the some parts of Bengkulu Province and South Sumatera Province in the southwestern part of Sumatera Island, Indonesia. They occupied some area in an cool mountain slopes of the Barisan mountain range in both sides of Bengkulu and South Sumatra. With approximately more than 1,3 million people, they form the largest ethnic group in Bengkulu Province. Rejangese people predominantly live as a majority in 5 out 10 regencies and city of Bengkulu Province, while the rest of them who lives in South Sumatera resides at 7 villages in the district called as Bermani Ulu Rawas. The Rejangs is predominantly an Islam adherent with very small number following religion other than Islam. According to the some research, Rejangese people are the descendants of the Bukar-Sadong people who moved from the Northern Borneo (Sarawak).

The etymology of the name of Rejang or in Rejang language itself as Jang is remains unclear. Some scholars believe that the term Jang or Rejang has a correlation with the possibility of Rejangese people in ancient time did not reside in Sumatra. They is believed by some scholars to resided in the northern part of West Borneo (not West Kalimantan, the Indonesian Province), around what is called as Rajang River in Sarawak, Malaysia. The term of Rejang used by Rejangese people in Sumatra sounds similar with the name of that river. Here the term Jang or Rejang has its correlation. For somewhat the ancestor of Rejangese people now which was resided the Borneo moved to other island, in this case, the island is Sumatera. They moved from Borneo to Sumatra by passing the strait across the two islands with unclear reason. The term Jang or the verb Mɕrɕjang (the archaic form is Mɕghɕjang) means passed or specifically means passed the strait. However, the meaning of Jang word which is the native term used by Rejangese people to describe themselves as a single entity remains unclear. The usage of that word also limited just for describing the entity of Jang and uncommon in the daily conversation.

The population is not well measured, with estimates from 250,000 to a million. The 2000 Indonesian census estimated the population at around 350,000.

In Bengkulu Province, the Rejangese people are prevalent in Rejang Lebong Regency (districts of Lebong Utara, Lebong Selatan, Curup and Kepahiang), in North Bengkulu Regency (districts of Taba Penanjung, Pondok Kelapa, Kerkap, Arga Makmur and Lais), in Kepahiang Regency, in Lebong Regency and in Central Bengkulu Regency. Majority of them lived in along the slopes of Bukit Barisan mountain range.