 Dayak Bakumpai society inBarito River, circa 1920. | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 171,000[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Indonesia: | |
| Central Kalimantan | 135,297 (2000)[2] |
| South Kalimantan | 20,609 (2000)[2] |
| East Kalimantan | 1,000 (2000) |
| Languages | |
| Bakumpai language,Indonesian language | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Banjar people,Dayak people,Ngaju people,Tidung people | |
Bakumpai orBaraki are indigenous people ofBorneo and are considered as a sub-ethnic group of theDayakNgaju people group[3] with Islamic background.[4] The Bakumpai people first occupy along theBarito riverbanks inSouth Kalimantan andCentral Kalimantan, from Marabahan to Puruk Cahu,Murung Raya Regency. The Bakumpai people first appeared as a newly recognized people group in census 2000 and were made up of 7.51% ofCentral Kalimantan population, which before this the Bakumpai people were considered as part of theDayak people in a 1930 census.[5]
Bakumpai people originate from the upstream region of the former Bakumpai district, while the settlement of theBarangas people (Baraki) are in the downstream region. On the northern side of the upstream region from the former Bakumpai district is the Mangkatib (Mengkatib) district, which makes the settlement of the Dayak Bara Dia people or Dayak Mengkatib people. The Bakumpai people as well as the Mengkatib people are descendants of theNgaju people from Tanahdayak.
The name "Bakumpai" is a nickname forDayak people who live along theBarito Riverbanks. In theBanjar language, Bakumpai comes from the wordba which means "own" andkumpai which means "grass". From this nickname, it is understood that this people dwell in the grassland region.[6]
According to legend, the origins of the Bakumpai Dayaks came fromNgaju people who settled on the current land which is called Marabahan. In the beginning, they practiceKaharingan, the religion of their ancestors, which can be seen as well in the cultures of otherDayak people. Later, they came across a charismatic man in that land, who could cause the ground that he stood on to grow grass. That man is none other than Nabiyullah Khidir. In the story, they followed him and converted toIslam, and multiplied into a group of people. When they studied religion in a particular region together with their teacher, Nabiyullah Khidir, grass would begin to grow from the ground and thus they are referred to as Bakumpai people.
The Bakumpai people once had a kingdom that is much older than the kingdoms of theBanjar region, but because of supernatural abilities the kingdom had to be relocated to theBarito River and its king is known with the nameDatuk Barito. From Marabahan, they spread to the streams ofBarito River. According to local folklore, there is an area inMurung Raya Regency called Muara Untu where in the beginning it was a jungle controlled by a race ofjinn namedUntu. Later there was a Bakumpai man named, Raghuy who traveled and lived there. Until today if observed from the lineage of the Muara Untu people, they would trace their ancestors to Raghuy.
The Bakumpai people have been greatly influenced by the language, culture, customary laws and architecture of theBanjar people. Hence the Bakumpai people in terms of culture and customary laws are classified as part ofBanjarese culture, but in linguistic terms the Bakumpai are closely related to theNgaju people. They speakBakumpai language.
Almost all Bakumpai people practicesIslam andKaharingan, the traditional belief of theDayak people is relatively unseen compared to otherDayak people groups. Customary ceremonies that are related to old beliefs are such asBadewa andManyanggar Lebu rituals.
Bakumpai people are considered as a sub-ethnic of theNgaju people. TheNgaju people are one of the four people group from a bigger familial group also called as the Dayak Ngaju orOt Danum people. This people group is also known asDayak Ot Danum, as theNgaju people are the descendants of the DayakOt Danum people that came from the upstream rivers that are found in the region but may have undergone changes in their language. Therefore, the DayakOt Danum people is considered as the parent tribe, but theNgaju people is still the dominant ethnic in the region.[3]
The tribal genealogy of the Bakumpai people:-
The relationship comparison of the Bakumpai people and theNgaju people is liken to the relationship of theTenggerese people and theJavanese people, where theNgaju people is the parent ethnic of the Bakumpai people.
The population of the Bakumpai people inIndonesia is 171,000. In a 2000 census, the population of the Bakumpai people inSouth Kalimantan is 20,609. InSouth Kalimantan, they mostly found inBarito Kuala Regency with a population of 18,892.[2]
The population of the Bakumpai people (2000 census) are divided as the following:-[2]
Population of the Bakumpai people inSouth Kalimantan of 20,609 are distributed into regencies and cities, such as:-[2]
Regencies or cities that have Bakumpai tribal organization are:-
The organization of the Bakumpai people is the "Kerukunan Keluarga Bakumpai" (KKB), which wasKalimantan's local party during the 1955 election.