Lembak people, also known as Linggau people, are a local ethnic group that inhabits several areas of

Bengkulu Province Bengkulu (), historically known as Bencoolen, is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southwest coast of Sumatra. It was formed on 18 November 1968 by separating out the area of the historic Bencoolen Residency from the province of ...

and

South Sumatra Province South Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the southeast of the island of Sumatra. The capital and largest city of the province is the city of Palembang. The province borders the provinces of Jambi to the north ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. Their original settlements are in the border area between the two provinces, in the Barisan mountain range, with densely clustered villages pattern. The majority of Lembak people embrace

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, and the religion influences their daily life.

Etymology

The word ''lembak'' has several meanings, namely "valley", "land along meander", or "rear". This may be related to their alleged origin, namely in the Musi Rawas river valley in

South Sumatra South Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the southeast of the island of Sumatra. The capital and largest city of the province is the city of Palembang. The province borders the provinces of Jambi to the north ...

History

Around 2000 BC, the Austronesian (proto-Malay) people who already had a high culture came to the archipelago, including to the Bengkulu area. They already had the ability to sail the seas with outrigger boats, knew astrology, and their livelihood was fishing and farming. They also made clat pots and jars, and already produced certain arts. Around 1000 BC came the Paleo-Mongoloid (deutro-Malay) group, who first lived mainly on the coastal areas as fishermen or traders. The two groups of Malays in time developed into the native tribes of Bengkulu, among others the Enggano people, the

Rejang people Rejang people (Rejang language, Rejang: ''Tun Hejang'' or ''Tun Jang'') are an Austronesian ethnolinguistic group, native to the some parts of Bengkulu, Bengkulu Province and South Sumatra, South Sumatera Province in the southwestern part of Suma ...

, the Serawai people, the Bengkulu Malay people, and the Lembak people.

Population

The population of Lembak people is estimated at around 100,000 people (1980). In Bengkulu Province, they mostly live in Talang Empat district in Central Bengkulu Regency, Kepala Curup and Padang Ulak Tanding districts in

Rejang Lebong Regency Rejang Lebong (''Kabupaten Rejang Lebong'') is a regency of Bengkulu Province, Indonesia, on the island of Sumatra. This regency originally included a much larger part of the inland part of the province, lying to the east of the watershed of the ...

, and in Gading Cempaka district in

Bengkulu City Bengkulu (; Rejangese language, Rejangese: ), formerly Bencoolen (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Benkoelen'') is the capital of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of Bengkulu. The city is the second largest city on the west coast of Sumat ...

. In South Sumatra Province, they settled in Musi Rawas Regency and Lubuklinggau City. The Lembak people have several sub-tribes, namely: * Lembak Delapan in Central Bengkulu and Bengkulu City * Lembak Bulang in Bengkulu City and its surroundings * Lembak Beliti in Rejang Lebong, and South Sumatra

Language

Lembak people have their own language, called

Col language Col (pronounced: ), or Lembak (also known as ), is a Malayic language from Sumatra, Indonesia. It is spoken by around 145,000 speakers (2000) with most speakers found in Lubuklinggau Municipality, South Sumatra, and the areas surrounding it, a ...

(or Lembak language), which is closely related to

Malay language Malay ( , ; , Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language spoken primarily by Malays (ethnic group), Malays in several islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and the Malay Peninsula on the mainland Asia. The lang ...

. The language has several dialects, namely Lembak Delapan, Lembak Beliti, and Lembak Kayu Agung dialects. The Beliti dialect in Musi Rawas & Lubuklinggau is also known as the Sindang dialect. In the past, their language was written in a traditional script, called '' surat ulu'' (or rencong script). However, currently the Lembak people use modern Roman script to conduct their daily activities.

Occupation

Their main occupations have traditionally been growing rice, vegetables and fruit in the fields. Many of their fertile plantation lands are planted with coffee, clove and pepper; while some others work as traders, carpenters etc. In general, farming work is done together according to the season.

References

{{Ethnic groups in Indonesia Ethnic groups in Indonesia Muslim communities of Indonesia Ethnic groups in Sumatra