Lampung people

Lampung people
Ulun Lampung

A Lampung bride and bridegroom in 1987. Both of the couples are of the Sungkai Bungamayang clan. The traditional headgear of the bride, which is called Sikei, is commonly used in Lampung weddings.
Total population
(1.5 million[1][2])
Regions with significant populations
Lampung, Banten
Languages
Lampung, Indonesian
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
Sundanese (Bantenese), Malays

The Lampung people, also commonly referred to as Ulun Lampung, are an ethnic group indigenous to Lampung province and parts of South Sumatra province of the southern and central region that occupy areas such as Martapura, Muaradua at upstream of Komering River, Kayu Agung, Tanjung Raja at downstream of Komering River, Merpas on the southern side of Bengkulu province, as well as Cikoneng in the southwest coast of Banten province, Indonesia. They speak the Lampung language, a Lampungic language estimated to have 1.5 million speakers.

Origins

A group of dancing girls with distinguished headdress from Lampung in full regalia, 1929.

The origins of the Lampung people is closely tied to the name of Lampung itself. In the 7th century the Chinese had already mentioned about a place in the south (Nampang) where it is said to be the place of the Tolang Pohwang kingdom. To means "people" and Lang Pohwang means "Lampung". Hence its name Tolang Pohwang which means "Lampung people" or "envoy from Lampung" that came from China until the 7th century. There are strong evidence that Lampung was part of the Srivijaya kingdom with its capital in Jambi and did conquered parts of South East Asia region including Lampung until the 11th century.[3]

In the 5th AD Tai-Ping-Huan-Yu-Chi chronicles, names of the Nan-hai (Southern ocean) states were recorded and among them are two states which were mentioned in sequence, To-lang and Po-hwang. The To-lang state was mentioned only once, but the Po-hwang state was mentioned many times as this state did sent envoys to China in the year of 442, 449, 451, 459, 464 and 466.[4] According to Prof. Gabriel Ferrand (1918), it is likely that the name To-lang and Po-hwang are actually one same name and is located in Tulangbawang, Lampung.[5]

It is said that there is also a Tulangbawang kingdom, although the idea simply came from the unification of the two names in the Chinese chronicles.[6]

The earlier generation of the Lampung people came from Sekala Brak, at the foot of Mount Pesagi, West Lampung Regency. Its people were inhabited by the Buay Tumil people and they were ruled by a woman named Ratu Sekerummong. The religion of the people is animism mixed with the Javanese Bairawa Hinduism influences. After the 15th century, the Buay Tumil people later had influences from four Muslim men who came from Pagaruyung Kingdom, West Sumatra that went there. They are Umpu Bejalan Diway, Umpu Nyerupa, Umpu Pernong and Umpu Belunguh. The fourth men is the forerunner of Paksi Pak Sekala Brak as it is mentioned in an ancient manuscript, Kuntara Raja Niti. However, in the Kuntara Raja Niti manuscript, their names are Inder Gajah, Pak Lang, Sikin, Belunguh, and Indarwati. Based on the Kuntara Raja Niti, the hypothesis of the descendants of the Lampung people are as the following:[7]

Name Details
Inder Gajah Title: Umpu Lapah Diway
Location: Puncak Dalom, Balik Bukit.
Ethnicity: Abung people
Pak Lang Title: Umpu Pernong
Location: Hanibung, Batu Brak.
Ethnicity: Pubian people
Sikin Title: Umpu Nyerupa
Location: Tampak Siring, Sukau.
Ethnicity: Jelma Daya
Belunguh Title: Umpu Belunguh
Location: Kenali, Belalau.
Ethnicity: Peminggir
Indarwati Title: Puteri Bulan
Location: Cenggiring, Batu Brak.
Ethnicity: Tulangbawang

Customs

Originally the lineage of the Lampung people came from Sekala Brak. However, in its customary sense the Lampung people developed and became two people group, namely the Saibatin Lampungs and the Pepadun Lampungs. The customs of the Saibatin people are well known for its aristocracy, while the customs of the Pepadun people which emerged later followed the practices of the Abung people and had democracy values developed in opposed to the aristocracy values held by the Saibatin people.

Saibatin Lampungs

A village head from a village by the Way Umpu river in Lampung, 1901.

The Saibatin Lampungs occupy traditional regions such as Labuhan Maringgai, Pugung, Jabung, Way Jepara, Kalianda, Raja Basa, Teluk Betung, Padang Cermin, Cukuh Balak, Way Lima, Talang Padang, Kota Agung, Semaka, Suoh, Sekincau, Batu Brak, Belalau, Liwa, Pesisir Krui, Ranau, Martapura, Muara Dua, Kayu Agung with four of these cities are in South Sumatra province, Cikoneng in Pantai Banten and including Merpas in South Bengkulu Regency. The Saibatin Lampungs are also often referred to as Pesisir (coastal) Lampungs because majority of them lived along the east, south and west coast of Lampung with each consisting of:-

Pepadun Lampungs

Lampung girls in dance costume at the time of the Dutch East Indies.

The Pepadun Lampungs or Pedalaman (interior) Lampungs consists of:-

Philosophical life

The philosophical life of the Lampung people are contained in the Kuntara Raja Niti manuscript,[8] which are:-

The above-mentioned philosophical values are denoted by the symbol of five decorative flowers of the Lampung seal.

The characteristic traits of the Lampung people are expressed in the adi-adi (poems):-
Tandani ulun Lampung, wat piil-pusanggiri
Mulia heno sehitung, wat liom ghega dighi
Juluk-adok gham pegung, nemui-nyimah muaghi
Nengah-nyampugh mak ngungkung, sakai-Sambaian gawi.

Language

A group of men and children from Negeri Batin village, Blambangan Umpu district, Way Kanan Regency, Lampung, 1901.

The Lampung language is the language used by the Lampung people in Lampung, southern Palembang and the west coast of Banten. This language is classified in its own branch from the western Malayo-Polynesian languages (Lampungic languages) and is still closely related to Malay and Sundanese and distantly related to Javanese. The Lampung language has two major dialects which is Api and Nyo dialects. The Api dialect are spoken by the people of Sekala Brak, Melinting Maringgai, Darah Putih Rajabasa, Balau Telukbetung, Semaka Kota Agung, Pesisir Krui, Ranau, Komering and Daya (those that practices the Saibatin Lampungs customs), and including Way Kanan, Sungkai and Pubian (those that practices Pepadun Lampungs customs). The Nyo dialect are used by the people of Abung and Tulangbawang (those that practices Pepadun Lampungs customs). According to Dr. Van Royen, there are two classification of the Lampung language which are the Belalau dialect or Api dialect and the Abung dialect or Nyo dialect.[9] Komering, spoken by the Komering is also part of Lampungic languages but mostly considered an independent language of its own, separate from proper Lampung as the Komering people have a different culture from Lampung people.

Notable Lampung people

Statesmen and politicians:

Professional practitioners:

Artists and humanists:

Academicians and educationist:

Reporters and journalists:

Heros of freedom fighters:

References

  1. ↑ Lampung Api
  2. ↑ Lampung Nyo
  3. ↑ Bukri Fachruddin (1992). Pengendalian Sosial Tradisional Daerah Lampung. Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Direktorat Jenderal Kebudayaan, Direktorat Sejarah dan Nilai Tradisional, Bagian Proyek Penelitian, Pengkajian dan Pembinaan Nilai-Nilai Budaya Daerah Lampung.
  4. ↑ Nia Kurnia Sholihat Irfan (1983). Kerajaan Sriwijaya: Pusat Pemerintahan Dan Perkembangannya. Girimukti Pasaka. p. 37. ASIN B0000D7JUN.
  5. ↑ Titik Pudjiastuti (1997). Aksara Dan Naskah Kuno Lampung Dalam Pandangan Masyarakat Lampung Kini. Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan RI.
  6. ↑ Prof. Purbatjaraka (1952). Riwajat Indonesia I. Jajasan Pembangunan. p. 25.
  7. ↑ Seminar Sejarah Nasional IV: Sub Tema Studi Bandingan. Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Direktorat Sejarah dan Nilai Tardisional. 1985. p. 77.
  8. ↑ Ahmad Fauzie Nurdin (2009). Budaya muakhi dan pembangunan daerah menuju masyarakat bermartabat. Gama Media. ISBN 979-1104-26-3.
  9. ↑ Proyek Inventarisasi dan Dokumentasi Kebudayaan Daerah (1986). Adat Istiadat Daerah Lampung. Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Kantor Wilayah Propinsi Lampung, Proyek Inventarisasi dan Dokumentasi Kebudayaan Daerah Lampung. pp. 50–51.

Further reading

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