Orang Melayu Loloan ملايو لولون ᬮᭀᬮᭀᬯᬦ᭄ | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
 Indonesia: 28,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Bali (mainly inJembrana): 28,000 | |
| Languages | |
| Balinese Malay,Balinese,Indonesian | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam[1][2] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Malay,Buginese,Makassarese |
Loloan Malays orBalinese Malays (Malay:Orang Melayu Loloan;Jawi:ملايو لولون;Balinese:ᬮᭀᬮᭀᬯᬦ᭄) are a sub-ethnic group of theMalay who have lived in East Loloan and West Loloan villages,Jembrana,Bali,Indonesia, since the 17th century.[3] There are approximately 28,000 Loloan Malays living in Bali.[4]
The Loloan Malays are predominantlySunni Muslim, which is distinguished from the majorityBalinese ethnic group who are predominantlyHindu.[1]
The arrival of Malays in Bali was recorded in 1669 when fourulama and their followers arrived in Jembrana to spread the teachings of Islam in Bali. This mission was permitted byKing of Jembrana namely I Gusti Arya Pancoran. The four scholars are Dawan Sirajuddin fromSarawak,Empire of Brunei; Sheikh Basir ofYemen,Ottoman Empire; Mohammad Yasin fromMakassar; and Syihabbudin who also comes from Makassar.[5]
In 1799, four ships fromPontianak City,Pontianak Sultanate arrived in Jembrana and were welcomed by the King of Jembrana namely Putu Seloka. The delegation was led by Syarif Abdullah Yahya al-Qadri and brought a scholar fromTerengganu namely Muhammad Ya'qub. By King of Jembrana, the group was allowed to live on 80 hectares of land inLoloan Barat (West Loloan) andLoloan Timur (East Loloan).[5]
However, according to the Loloan elder, Haji Achmad Damannuri, the development of Balinese Malay society was the result of encounters betweenBuginese who initially fled to Perancak, Jembrana from the pursuit ofVOC in Makassar in 1653 with a scholar from Sarawak, Buyut Lebai, in 1675 who taughtIslam usingMalay as the instruction language. The Buginese people then received approval from Jembrana to occupy the Loloan area.[6]
Another study conducted by theUdayana University academics agrees with Haji Achmad Damannuri's narrative, suggesting that the Balinese Malay was the result of mixed marriages between the Buginese people who were allowed to settle in Loloan and the Balinese who lived in the vicinity. The second wave of Balinese Malay identity formation in Loloan was explained by the arrival of migrants from Pontianak which also led to mixed marriages.[7]
Apart from the Malay language, Loloan Malay have a strong ethno-religious identity and the Loloan Malay people consider themselves ethnically distinct from the Balinese. In addition, they consider that their identity as Muslims separates them from the Balinese, who are Hindus (589)