Enggano people
E Lopeh | |
|---|---|
 An Enggano man performing a war dance. | |
| Total population | |
| 1,500 (2000)[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Indonesia(Enggano Island) | |
| Languages | |
| Enggano language,Indonesian language | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity(Roman Catholicism),Islam(Sunni),Folk religion(animism,totemism,ancestral worship) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| BatakandNias |
TheEngganopeople are an isolated, but contacted, tribe which inhabitsEnggano Island.Enggano Island is a small island located adjacent to the southwest coast ofSumatrainIndonesia.The population of Enggano people is not closely tracked. As such, no population estimates beyond the year 2000 appear to exist. Furthermore, the estimates from 1990 and 2000 are not in agreement. The source for the year 2000 estimates that there were 1,500 Enggano people inhabiting the island,[1]while the 1999 source estimates that there were approximately 1,000 Enggano people inhabiting the island.[2]However, both sources agree that the population is likely to continue decreasing.
Language[edit]
TheEnggano languageis generally classified as being part of theNorthwest Sumatra–Barrier Islandssubgroup of theAustronesian languages.[2]However, its actual classification is controversial.[3]Some suggest that it's its own primary branch ofMalayo-Ploynesian- or even alanguage isolate.
Enggano is known for sharing few words with otherAustronesian languages,having many unusualsound changeson those it does, and other irregularities between it and its relatives. Some features more closely resemble languages from Melanesia and Eastern Indonesia Austronesian languages than its own West Indonesian neighbours and relatives.
It is unclear whether its words and grammar derive from heavy internal changes, or that the language is actually an isolate that borrowed heavily from Austronesian.
Due to cultural and some linguistic similarities with theNicobarese,there was a theory that it was Austroasiatic. However, this has been debunked.
Origin and social structure[edit]
The Enggano people are one of the oldest tribes ofSumatra.They were first encountered byPortugueseexplorers in the early 1500s, and at that time referred to themselves asE Lopehpeople.[4]Ethnically, they are closely related to the indigenous tribes ofJavaandSumatra,from where migration flows directly toEnggano Island.[5]The most anthropologically related people of the Enggano people are theBatakandNias people,and they are distantly related to theLampung people(Abung and Pepaduan).[6]
The social organization of the Enggano people largely resembles the social model of theNias peopleand retains the paternal features of the family. Rural communities are of a neighbor-large-family type. The main social unit ismargaormerga(surname), an expanded genus whose members are descended from a common male ancestor and retain its name, usually legendary. Outsiders from othermargas that came later also live in the settlement. Within themargathere are alsosaompu,large patriarchal families, where each of them occupies one house. A large family has land and is governed by its elder. Communities are governed by elective village councils.[6]
It is thought that they strictly observe matrilinealexogamoustraditions, where men and children of the village belong to themargaof their forefathers, while wives are taken from othermarga.One cannot marry into the samemargaor to a woman from themargafrom which the groom's sister marries. But this is not exactly the case, as Enggano couples from the same clan are still allowed to married, provided they are of a different sub-clan.[7]The core family unit in Enggano society is based onmonogamousmarriage,aspolygamyis strictly forbidden.[8]Marriage settlement ispatrilocal.A married woman passes into the family of her husband and takes on hissurname,preserving it as her family name. The groom's father allocates a piece of land to his son, the child that receives the family name of his father.[6]
Modern political orientation[edit]
Today, the Enggano people, due to prolonged cultural isolation, are on the verge of extinction. They are alien to the neighboring peoples, for example, unlike theBatakpeople in recent decades, the appearance and growth of ethnic self-awareness are prevalent, especially among the mainstream Indonesians.[9]
Religion[edit]
Among the Enggano people, approximately equal parts of the population professIslam(mainlySunni) andChristianity(mainlyCatholicism). Apart from that, there are places whereanimism,[10]totemism,andancestral worshipare still being preserved.[2]
Traditional settlement[edit]
Enggano settlements are structurally cumulus. Their houses have stilt frames, stacked and rectangular in shape (whereas in the past, they were rounded), while the walls and roof are strengthened by rigid leaves.[2]
Lifestyle[edit]
The Enggano people engage in manual farming (maize,yam,peanuts,taro,coconut palm), hunting forturtles,breeding ofchickens,andfishing.Handicrafts include weaving, pottery, woodcarving, making of masks and necklaces, weaving mats and ornaments from beads.[2]Wood carvings by the Enggano people have resemble those inPolynesia.[11]
Enggano men wearkainloincloths of various lengths, and the length of thekainin direct proportion testifies to the economic status of its wearer. Enggano women always wear longkain.Men's outer garment is a shirt with long sleeves and a blind collar, while women have a shirt without a collar.[6]
Enggano food is mainly vegetable, and rice is usually bought.[2]
Due to limitedcurrencycirculation on the island, items are usually obtained throughbarteringrather than buying and selling.[12]
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
- Cultural Semiotics in The Traditional Marriage Process of Enggano People
- Documentation of Enggano People’s Myths and Rituals in Order to Nation Resilience and Cultural Sustainability
References[edit]
- ^ab"Enggano".Ethnologue.Retrieved2018-01-08.
- ^abcdefВ.А. Тишков, ed. (1998). "Научное издательство" Большая российская энциклопедия ".Народы и религии мира: энциклопедия.Большая Российская Энциклопедия. p. 653.
- ^Edwards, Owen (2015). "The Position of Enggano within Austronesian".Oceanic Linguistics.51(4).doi:10.1353/ol.2015.0001.hdl:1885/224517.ISSN0029-8115.
- ^Thomas Koten, ed. (5 December 2017)."Kisah Sepasang Manusia yang Melahirkan Suku Enggano di Ujung Barat Sumatera".Netral News.Retrieved2018-06-11.
- ^Reimar Schefold, P. Nas & Gaudenz Domenig, ed. (2008).Indonesian Houses, Volume 2.Singapore University Press. p. 468.ISBN978-90-671-8305-5.
- ^abcdА.А. Губера, ed. (1966).Народы Юго-Восточной Азии: этнографические очерки.АН СССР, Ин-т этнографии им. Н.Н. Миклухо-Маклая. pp. 531–534.
- ^Pieter ter Keurs (2006).Condensed Reality: A Study of Material Culture; Case Studies from Siassi (Papua New Guinea) and Enggano (Indonesia).Amsterdam University Press. p. 186.ISBN90-578-9112-3.
- ^Koentjaraningrat & V. Simorangkir (1993). "Departemen Sosial dan Dewan Nasional Indonesia Untuk Kesejahteraan Sosial".Masyarakat terasing di Indonesia.Penerbit PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama. p. 86.ISBN97-951-1676-2.
- ^Н. А. Симония & Людмила Федоровна Пахомова (1983). "Институт востоковедения (Академия наук СССР)".Индонезия, справочник.Изд-во "Наука," Глав. ред. восточной лит-ры. pp. 17–31.
- ^James Louis Garvin, Franklin Henry Hooper & Warren Earle Cox, ed. (1929).The Encyclopedia Britannica, Volume 21.Encyclopedia Britannica Company, Limited. p. 550.
- ^Nias: tribal treasures: cosmic reflections in stone, wood, and gold.Volkenkundig Museum Nusantara. 1990. p. 23.ISBN90-714-2305-0.
- ^Sulaiman, Nurni (4 June 2012)."Enggano people still barter".The Jakarta Post.Retrieved2023-03-24.