Kampong

A kampong (this term is in Za'aba Spelling, ''kampung'' in both modern Malay and Indonesian) is a term for a type of village in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore and a "dock" in Cambodia. The term applies to traditional villages, especially of indigenous peoples. This term has also been used to refer to urban slum areas or enclosed developments and neighborhoods within towns and cities in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Christmas Island. The design and architecture of traditional ''kampong'' villages have been targeted for reform by urbanists and modernists. These villages have also been adapted by contemporary architects for various projects.

The English word " compound," when referring to a development in a town, is thought to be derived from the Malay word .

Etymology

The word ''kampung'' or ''kampong'' is derived from Bahasa Melayu (the Malay language). The word is often translated today as "village" in English.

Brunei

In Brunei, the term ''kampong'' (also ''kampung'') primarily refers to the third- and lowest-level subdivisions below districts () and ''mukim'' (subdistricts). Some ''kampong'' divisions are villages in a social sense as defined by anthropologists, while others may only serve for census and other administrative purposes. Others have been incorporated into the city limits of the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, or into nearby towns.

A ''kampong'' is generally led by a or village head. Infrastructure-wise, it typically has a primary school and a or , the equivalent of a community centre. Because many ''kampongs'' have predominantly Muslim residents, each may also have a mosque for the Jumu'ah or Friday prayers and a school providing the Islamic religious primary education compulsory for Muslim pupils in the country.

Both ''kampong'' and ''kampung'' are considered to be correct spellings, and both alternatives are common in written media and official place names. For example, Keriam, a village in Tutong District, is known as "Kampung Keriam" by the Survey Department but "Kampong Keriam" by the Postal Services Department—both being government departments.

Cambodia

In Cambodia, "''kampong'' – កំពង់" is used to describe a place on a river or lake-shore where people can dock their private small boats. It also refers to a dock facility for commercial or passenger ferries and boats, such as Neak Loeung's ferry-dock (កំពង់ចម្លងអ្នកលឿង) and Akreiy Ksatr's ferry-dock (កំពង់ចម្លងអរិយក្សត្រ).

The term ''kampong'' has been widely used in Cambodia, likely for thousands of years, to name places such as provinces, districts, communes and villages. Some examples include: the provinces of ''Kampong Som'' (ក្រុងកំពង់សោម; currently Sihanoukville), ''Kampong Cham'' (ខេត្តកំពង់ចាម), ''Kampong Thom'' (ខេត្តកំពង់ធំ), ''Kampong Chhnang'' (ខេត្តកំពង់ឆ្នាំង), and ''Kampong Speu'' (ខេត្តកំពង់ស្ពឺ); the districts of ''Kampong Trach'' (ស្រុកកំពង់ត្រាច), ''Kampong Trolach'' (ស្រុកកំពង់ត្រឡាច), and ''Kampong Siem'' (ស្រុកកំពង់សៀម); the communes of ''Kampong Khleang'' (ឃុំកំពង់ឃ្លាំង) and ''Kampong Kdei'' (ឃុំកំពង់ក្តី); and the villages of ''Kampong Prasat'' (ភូមិកំពង់ប្រាសាទ), ''Kampong Krabei'' (ភូមិកំពង់ក្របី), and ''Kampong Our'
(ភូមិកំពង់អ៊ួរ
. (Page 37, Chun Nat, ''Dictionnaire Cambodgien,'' Institut Bouddhique'','' Phnom Penh, 1967).

Based on the examples above, the meaning of ''kampong'' in Khmer can also arguably be defined as "an area or place located near a river or lake that people named as their own after they arrived, or formed their community at afterward."

Indonesia

In Indonesia, generally refers to a hamlet, which is considered the opposite of the Indonesian ("city" in English). However, most Indonesian cities and towns initially consisted of a collection of settlements. There are four typologies of ''kampung''. They are: inner city ''kampung'', which has very high density and is inhabited by 100,000 people per square kilometer; mid-city ''kampung'', which is inhabited by 20,000–40,000 people per square kilometer; rural ''kampung'', which has very low density; and squatter ''kampung'', where people are scattered in metropolitan areas.

also usually refers to a settlement or compound of a certain ethnic community, which later became incorporated into a place name. Some examples include: the district in East Jakarta; ( Buginese village); (also known as ), which refers to a Tionghoa village or could be equivalent to Chinatown as well; ( Ambonese village); ( Javanese village); and (Arab village).

On the island of Sumatra and its surrounding islands, the indigenous peoples have distinctive architecture and building features, including longhouses and rice storage buildings in their s. Malays, Karo, Batak, Toba, Minangkabau, and others build communal housing and tiered structures.

The term in Indonesia could refer to a business-based village as well—for example, (lit. "the Chocolate village") in Blitar, East Java, which mainly produces and sells chocolate products (bars, candies, powders, coffee, cocoa butter, etc.) from the local cacao farmers; (lit. "the Arts/Performances village") in various places across Indonesia where local artisans make and sell their crafts; and (lit. "the village") which mainly produce and sell , offering batik-making courses and training. In 2009, several , in collaboration with the other official entities such as the Batik Museum in Pekalongan, Central Java, were recognized by UNESCO regarding the "Education and training in Indonesian Batik intangible cultural heritage for elementary, junior, senior, vocational school and polytechnic students" as part of the Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in Register of Good Safeguarding Practices List. The s in Indonesia have attracted global tourists as well, such as in Bali, which was awarded as one of the world's cleanest villages in 2016.

Malaysia

In Malaysia, a ''kampung'' is defined as a locality with 10,000 or fewer people. Since historical times, every Malay village has operated under the leadership of a '' penghulu'' (village chief), who has the power to hear civil matters in his village (see Courts of Malaysia for more details).

A Malay village typically contains a mosque or ''surau'', paddy fields or orchards, and wooden Malay houses on stilts. It is common to see a cemetery near the mosque. Dirt roads are more common than paved roads for village people to travel between ''kampongs''.

The British initiated the '' Kampung Baru'' ("New Village") program as an attempt to push Malays into urban life. Malaysia's long-serving prime minister Mahathir Mohamad lauded urban lifestyles in his 1970 book '' The Malay Dilemma'' and associated ''kampong'' village life with backward traditionalism. He also had the ''kampung setinggan'' (squatter settlements) cleared and new buildings constructed to house their residents.

Singapore

The traditional Malay ''kampung'' is found in Singapore. However, few villages remain, mostly on islands surrounding Singapore (such as Pulau Ubin). In the past, there were many more ''kampung'' in Singapore, but they were gradually replaced by development and urbanization plans. Some former mosques that were part of the ''kampung'' are still extant. Development plans for Kampong Glam have been controversial. Singapore is also home to Kampong Buangkok, as featured in the film '' The Last Kampong''.

See also

* Barangay
* Mukim
* Rural area
* Village

References

{{Terms for types of country subdivisions

Names of places in Asia
Squatting
Types of populated places
Populated places in Brunei
Villages in Indonesia
Villages in Malaysia
Places in Singapore
Populated places in Cambodia