Simeulue people

Simeulue people
Simalur / Simeuloë / Simulul
Long Bano / Devayan

A man and woman crushing the pith of sago palm in Simeulue Island, Indonesia.
Total population
(53,500[1])
Regions with significant populations
Simeulue Island, Banyak Islands, Babi Island (Part of Simeulue Regency, Aceh, Indonesia)
Languages
Simeulue language
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
Sigulai, Nias

The Simeulue people (other names include Simalur, Simeuloë, Simulul, Long Bano and Devayan) are an indigenous group of people inhabiting Simeulue Island off of the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia.[2] They are mostly found in Teupah Barat, Simeulue Timur, Simeulue Tengah, Teupah Selatan and Teluk Dalam districts. The Simeulue people speak Simeulue, a Northwest Sumatran language closely related to Sikule (which is also spoken in Simeulue island) and Nias (spoken in neighbouring Nias island. The language also has a strong Acehnese and Malay influence.[3]

The Simeulue people became more widely known worldwide after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami because of their high survival rate. Their survival was credited to their tradition of oral history. A previous tsunami in 1908 had affected the island, and stories told about it served as disaster preparation.[4] Only 7 people put of the then 78,000 total population died in the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.[5][6]

References

  1. "Simeulue in Indonesia". Joshua Project. Retrieved 2014-10-15.
  2. "Simeulue". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2014-10-15.
  3. Arndt Graf; Susanne Schroter; Edwin Wieringa (2010). Aceh: History, Politics and Culture, Volume 9. Institute of Southeast Asian. ISBN 9-8142-7912-9.
  4. Syafwina (2013). "Recognizing Indigenous Knowledge for Disaster Management: Smong, Early Warning System from Simeulue Island, Aceh". ScienceDirect. Retrieved 2015-01-09.
  5. Ashbindu Singh; Zinta Zommers (2014). Reducing Disaster: Early Warning Systems for Climate Change. Springer. ISBN 9-4017-8598-8.
  6. Margie Mason (2005). "Islanders remembered stories of 1907 tsunami". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2015-01-09.


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