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| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 19,000 (2006)[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Strait of Malacca: | |
 Indonesia | 17,500[2] |
| Jambi | 331[3] |
| Riau | n/a |
| Riau Islands | n/a |
 Malaysia (Johor) | 3,761 (2010)[4] |
| Languages | |
| Duano' language,Indonesian language,Malay language | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Orang Laut,Urak Lawoi' people,Moken people,Orang Seletar | |
TheDuano' people, also calledDesin Dolak orDesin Duano' are an indigenous people ofMalaysia andIndonesia (where they are also referred to asOrang Kuala, meaning "People of the Estuary") and can be found in islands along the northeastern region ofSumatra,Indonesia where most Duano' people have traditionally lived. They are one of theProto-Malay group of cultures. Due to their nomadic boat lifestyle, based almost exclusively on fishing and collecting shellfish and crustaceans by using mud-boards,[5] Duano' people are often categorized asOrang Laut (lit. Sea People), a group that includes theUrak Lawoi people andMoken people of the northern region of the Malacca Strait and the Andaman Sea.[6] Although there are similarities in their way of life, they are a separate ethnic group. Citing their own language, culture, identity, and economic complexities, they deny beingOrang Laut.[7]
Their population is difficult to estimate and their geographical location and concentration is not easily defined. Despite living in a rather developed region and easily coming into contact with outsiders, the Duano' remain little known to the outside world. Their settlements are scattered along the coast of theStrait of Malacca, where individual settlements form local groups that are loosely interconnected.
The Orang Kuala numbered about 2,000 people in 2000. They speak aPara-Malay language calledDuano', which is currently endangered.
Of all the local subgroups of Duano people, the most studied are found on the west coast of the Malaysian state ofJohor, where they receive government services such as healthcare, police, education and infrastructure. InMalaysia, they are called Orang Kuala and are officially recognized asOrang Asli population, the general name for indigenous people inPeninsular Malaysia. In Indonesia, the Duano' people are called Desin Dolak (alternatively Desin Dola', Desin Dolak or Desin Dolaq), and are not included in the official statistics. The name Desin Dola' is only a translation into theDuano' language of the Malay term forOrang Laut, wheredesin means "people" anddolak means "sea".
Early sources of history and ethnography in the region referred to certain local groups of Duano' asOrang Laut Bugis (J.G. Schot, 1884),[8]Orang Lahut (Tassillo Adam, 1928)[9] andSendaur (H. Kähler, 1949).[10][7] This is likely the cause of confusion regarding the correct name of the group.
They refer to themselves as Desin Duano',[7] or simply Duano'. InMalaysia, as noted by Sharifudin Mohamed Yusuf, only the older generation remembers Duano' as the true name of their tribe, since it has been almost completely replaced by the official name, Orang Kuala.[11]
The Duano' people live on both sides of theStraits of Malacca, but the group on the Malaysian side is much smaller.
WithinIndonesia, the Duano' people settle the east coast ofSumatra and nearby islands, along a strip of coast betweenBengkalis Island and the mouth of theKampar River in the west, and the delta of theBatang Hari River in the east, including the western part of theRiau Archipelago, within the provinces ofRiau, theRiau Islands andJambi.
Duano' villages in Indonesia are located onBengkalis Island,Kundur Island, Burung Island, Bangkong Island, Punai Island, Mendulang Island, as well as Tanjung Datu, Pasang Api, Istira, Batang Tuato, Djamih, Perigi Radja, Concong Luar (Kuala Langan), including estuaries located inBatang Hari River, Kateman River,Kampar River,Tungkal River, Retih River andIndragiri River. In Indonesia, most Duano' people live in theIndragiri Hilir Regency in easternRiau Province.[7]
Generally speaking, when determining the area of resettlement for the Duano' people, it is necessary to take into consideration their lifestyle. They are always on the move, and villages are seen as providing only temporary shelter. The Duano' people could easily leave their village and if necessary, settle in a new place.
In WestPeninsular Malaysia, Duano' villages are located on the southwest coast, mainly in estuaries inBatu Pahat District andPontian District in the state ofJohor. They are located in towns likeLenga,Semerah,Minyak Beku,Senggarang,Rengit, Kuala Benut, Pontian Besar and Sungai Layau.[1]
Today, the Duano' people no longer form a single ethnic settlement, instead, there are only isolated villages, often among the settlements of other ethnicities, mainly the ethnicMalays andChinese.
The east coast ofSumatra is almost entirely covered by mangrove forests and swamps, making it almost inaccessible. Inland areas can only be reached by river transport. Similar natural conditions exist on the west coast ofJohor, on the other side of theStrait of Malacca. Until recent development, the mangrove forests and swamps between theKluang District andKulai District were inaccessible, except via river mouths as wide as 20 km. These rivers flow into the shallow straits, and the Duano' settlements are found directly adjacent to the river mouths. Just inland are Malay villages, often with the same placenames. In these villages, there are Chinese stores where local fishermen can come to sell their products and buy necessities that are not available locally.[7]
In the last 20 years of the 20th century, roads linking the cities ofJohor Bahru andMalacca were laid through theBatu Pahat District. These roads ended the isolation of the coastal region, and now the Duano' villages can be found further inland onPeninsular Malaysia.[7]
InMalaysia government authorities track and provide services to the indigenous peoples of thePeninsular Malaysia, so there are good statistics regarding the population ofOrang Asli, and in particular, the Orang Kuala.
According to official data the population of Duano' (Kuala) people inMalaysia has been as follows:
| Year | 1960[12] | 1965[12] | 1969[12] | 1974[12] | 1980[12] | 1993[13] | 2000[14] | 2003[14] | 2004[15] | 2010[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 936 | 1,259 | 1,480 | 1,612 | 1,625 | 2,492 | 3,221 | 4,066 | 4,066 | 3,761 |
As for statistics on the Duano' inIndonesia, there are only estimates. For example, according to Ethnologue's data, there are 15,000 (2006, SIL) Duano' people inIndonesia and 19,000 (2006, E. Seidlitz) globally.[1]
Data from the 2017 Joshua Project estimates that there are 18,000 inIndonesia and 4,800 inMalaysia, for a total of 22,800 people.[16]
TheDuano' language belongs to theMalayan languages group, along withIndonesian language,Standard Malay language,Minangkabau language and many others. Along with other 35 languages,it is credited withMalay (macrolanguage).[17]
So far theDuano' language has not been thoroughly studied by any linguists. At different times, separate lists of words were identified, which are attributed with theDuano' language.[7] In the early 2000s, Mohd Sharifudin Yusop for the first time in his field research conducted in the territory of the Malaysian state ofJohor, composed the list of Duano' words presented in phonetic form. Using these records, the reader will be able to correctly pronounce the Duano' words, even if one has never spoken to the native speakers.[11] The results were published in 2013.[18]
An analysis of existing word lists suggests that theDuano' language is close to theMalay language. The discrepancies between them consist mainly of minor phonetic differences. However, theDuano' language contains a whole group of words denoting action, body parts and various natural objects; for which it is difficult to determine their origin. Because of this, as well as the presence of a number of pronouns, questioning words, prefixes and adverbs, which are quite different from theMalay language, that it is incomprehensible to theMalay people. In general, it can be said that, although theDuano' language is different fromMalay language, there are every reason to consider it as one of the Malay dialects, which is slightly different from theStandard Malay language compared to, for instance, theMinangkabau language.[7]
In the Indonesian territory, theDuano' language continues to be actively used.[1] Another is the situation inMalaysia, where it is vigorously supplanted byStandard Malay language, while most of the older generation are still able to converse in their native language. InMalaysia, theDuano' language is threatened with decay.[1][11]
In addition to their native language, most of the Duano' people are able to speak theMalay language (Bradley 2007a).[1]
Duano' people does not have a proper written language. The level of literacy among the Malaysian Duano' people in theMalay language is about 50%.[1]
Its place in the classification of theAustronesian languages remains unclear to this day.
The history of the Duano' people, as well as the history of other stateless people, who lived in harmony with nature and led an appropriate way of life, is virtually unknown. There are no records about them in the historical sources of their neighboring peoples, and the oral tradition of the people is very poor.
The records of J.G. Schot (1884) mentions the historical tradition of the Orang Laut Bugis people,[8] one of the Duano' local groups living in theIndragiri Hilir Regency in the east of the Indonesian province ofRiau. They considered themselves descendants of theBugis people, who, after participating in the wars inJohor against Raja Kecil (Sultan Abdul Jalil Rahmat Shah of Johor) in the early 18th century, found shelter in the river mouth of theIndragiri River. Subsequently, a disaster destroyed their villages and caused many deaths; they vowed to no longer live in huts on the land and since then chose to remain in their boats. In this legend there are two themes, firstly the destruction of the original village, a very common folktale among thesea nomads of the region, and secondly the theme ofBugis domination. Of course, there is no reason to associate the Orang Laut Bugis people with the trueBugis people. Dictionary of the Orang Laut Bugis language, compiled by Shelter, fully corresponds to theDuano' language and therefore, has little in common with theBugis language of the island ofSulawesi. On the other hand, theBugis people in the 18th century had actively pursued commercial activities in theRiau Archipelago. They might well have close business relationships with certain groups of the Duano' people. TheBugis people during this period also occupied leading positions in a number ofMalay sultanates, including inJohor. It is not surprising, then, that the Duano' people, to whom their Malay neighbors were contemptuous, sought an alliance, whether true or apparently, with representatives of this prestigious group of people. Unlike the Malay people, theBugis people have always been kind to the indigenous population, as they were interested in the local's services as experts of the coast of the region.[7]
In the 19th century, the Duano' people began to acceptIslam.[19] After which they had already appeared on the territory of modernMalaysia. Malaysian Orang Kuala people are believed to be descended from theBengkalis Island.
In regards to religion, the Duano' people are Muslims. They were converted toIslam in the 19th century.[19]
InMalaysia, where the question of religion is related to the official status of the people, the Duano' people insist that they are notpagans, as they do not eat pork ordugongs, do not have dogs on their boats[20] and therefore cannot be considered in the same category as with other indigenousOrang Asli people of the peninsular part of the country. They are also advocates ofIslam, according to official statistics held inMalaysia. Thus, according to JHEOA 1997, inJohor, all 2,918 Orang Kuala were Muslims.[12]
Despite the fact that the Duano' people have long been advocates ofIslam, they are not diligent in daily prayers, nor do they visit mosques regularly, and do not usually attend to Friday prayers. It happens that during the execution of Muslim rituals, the Duano' people are always carefree, and in turn, offending the feelings of other believers.[7][20]
Another norm not seen in the Duano' people is also the typical of Muslims social segregation by gender.[20]
In their everyday practice, the Duano' people often turn to their pre-Islamic traditional animistic beliefs. They believe that the world around them is filled with the spirits of nature (Malay language,hantu). Causing dissatisfaction with the spirits, according to their beliefs, can result in one's illness, conflict, and death. A fisherman who dares to throw a fishing net in the rainy season without having fulfilled a pre-established ritual will inevitably suffer from it. The Duano' people have their own spiritual healers, who, in their opinion, have supernatural abilities. The only way to treat is to cast spell on the spirits.[19]
At the same time, the Duano' people do not speak about their traditional religion, emphasizing their beliefs inIslam in every possible way.[7]
The Duano' people have developed a highly specialized complex economic, based on rich, but very limited variety of composition, local natural resources. Their villages are on the very edge of the land, usually in the river mouths and quite close to the seaside coast. During the sea tides, the water level rises high. The Duano' people place their huts on a narrow marshy land strip that appears along the mangrove thickets only during the outflow. Duano' buildings are made of wooden platforms, mounted on stilts, and resemble like bridges. On this platform, there is a living room, as well as a spacious area for drying nets and drying fish. All the designs are casually built from wooden boards. For example, the Duano' village of KualaBenut inMalaysia, located at the mouth of the same nameBenut River, where in 1967 there were about 60 of such huts.
During flood the water reaches up to the floor of their houses. During a flood the wooden stairs allow one to descend from the platform to the ground where the boats are.[7]
Almost every Duano' family has a boat. There are two main types of boats that they buy or build. Thejelo 'penat is a dugout-boat with akeel. Another type is a bigger boat calledkota'. They have a dry palm leafatap (roofing) and are able to seat a family on board. InMalay language, this type of boat is calledsampan kotak.[7]
The main occupation of the Duano' people is fishing. Fishes are caught in the river mouths, trapping them with a net, or in the open sea with grids, fishing line or traps. Additionally, mollusks and other marine life that are found in the mud by the coast are harvested. For this purpose, they use a special board calledpapantungka.[21] There is no division of labor by gender in the Duano' society. Only young mothers caring for small children are exempted from fishing.[7]
Although the Duano' people are often counted as part of theOrang laut, they are not sea nomads. Though they can live for a long time in their boats and go to sea for fishing, they would still return to their village by the coast. When, for example, in May, the southern winds interfere with navigation in theStrait of Malacca, the Duano' people often go to the eastern coast of theMalaysian Peninsula. Thus, we can say that their practices are seasonally based. At the same time, their migrations pattern have always taken place and occur in a limited area, where for centuries their places have remained practically in the same region.[7]
Their villages are not permanent, people can easily change the location of the village, usually due to the variability of the coastline.[7]
The Duano' people are well known in the local waters, as it is also known to allOrang laut tribes living in the region.[7]
Fish and seafood are used for both own consumption and for sale.[19]
One of the unique traditions of the Duano' people is to gather and harvest sumbun (Solen grandis) once a year. Sumbun is a type of a local razor clam that is a favorite delicacy of the Duano' community inJambi,Indonesia. This habit of catching the sumbun is common among the Duano' people and many of those that inhabit the east coast ofJambi,Indonesia, especially inEast Tanjung Jabung Regency andWest Tanjung Jabung Regency. Sumbun is generally known to be found in China,West Kalimantan, and in the waters ofJambi, as well as parts ofRiau Islands,Indonesia. In fact, these sumbuns that are found in muddy waters madeEast Tanjung Jabung Regency as one of three special regions of sumbun producers inIndonesia. Harvesting of the sumbun is a unique tradition of the locals with the potential for further development. The harvesting and gathering of sumbun can be introduced through this tradition, especially inJambi due to the uniqueness of the region's water biota. The special dish of the local Duano' community is the sumbun soup, which is known of its soft and uniquely distinct meat.[3]
The traditional way of managing their welfare does not allow these people to provide themselves with everything that they need. Clothing, foods and vegetables are bought from the neighboring Chinese or Malay population. They themselves offer fish and seafood. For this purpose, the Duano' people are regularly to go to the shops in the city, where they would carry out trading operations and store fresh water.[7]
It is generally known that the Duano' people are simple and peaceful. They are not particularly attracted to modern technology and only a small percentage graduate high school. At the same time, contacts with the outside world are important. InMalaysia, the Duanp' people, like all of the otherOrang Asli tribes, are supported by theDepartment of Orang Asli Development (JAKOA). Employees of the department regularly visit the Duano' community to implement various social, economic and educational programs. People are increasingly integrating into mainstream culture. They borrowed many aspects of Malay culture and lifestyle.[19]
The traditional life of the Duano' people inMalaysia has now undergone significant changes. Their settlements have also appeared in inland areas, where their livelihood is not connected with the sea.[7] There are some existing small Duano' farms and plantations. While some of them are hired in the industry and agriculture. The development of infrastructure in the region has made it easier for them to travel to work in large cities. Some of the Duano' people have achieved some success in business or working in the service sector.[22] At least one Duano' village specializes in the restoration and sale of used furniture.[19] But the leading branch of the economy remains, as before, the fishery, although here the increasing numbers of Duano' people have begun to use modern methods and technical means.[23]
Mustafa Omar and Nor Hafizah Mohd Fizer, in 2015, published the results of a survey conducted in 2012 between the two communities ofOrang Asli: the Orang Kuala andOrang Kanaq in theKota Tinggi District,Johor,Malaysia. Those that were interviewed included 51 heads of households in the village of Sungai Layau. As it turned out, the Duano' people markedly dominated theOrang Kanaq on all indicators of living standards. None of them had a lower income than RM500 per month, that is, not being below the poverty line; 35.3% had earnings at RM500-999 per month, 37.3% at RM1,000-1,499, and 27.5% over RM1,500 per month. Significantly the Duano' people are more effective than theOrang Kanaq in using state aid, which is allocated for education and development of entrepreneurial activity.[22]
The Duano' people clearly position themselves as a separate people group. They believe that they have nothing to do with other non-Malaysian populations living in the Malacca Strait.[7]
Indicative is the attitude of the Duano' people to the ethnic names imposed on them from the outside. Oranq Kuala inMalaysia do not perceive the term "Orang Asli", they consider it only as an official euphemism, which should replace the obscene name of "Sakai", which in the past was applied to the "wild" tribes of the inland areas of theMalay Peninsula. These people are pagans, do not adhere to Muslim rules, and the Duano' people who practice the Islamic faith can not be united with them. Orang Kuala wants to officially recognize the name "Orang Melayu Kuala" (Kuala Malay people or Kuala Malays), that is, "estuary Malay people" or "Malay people of the estuary", as this would be more in line with their social status.[7]
They also reject the name "Orang laut" because of its disdainful shade.[clarification needed] So the inhabitants of the land scornfully call the sea nomads, "dirty" people living in boats, do not adhere to Muslim traditions, involved with witchcraft and find themselves with unclean power. The Duano' people do not consider themselves to be as such.[7]
Their relationship with their Malay neighbors, which they call Desin Damangami or Desin Damong, is ambiguous. These two peoples are very close in terms of language and culture, but they are clearly aware of the differences between them. The Duano' people have taken over many features of the Malay culture and lifestyle,[24] but racial differences do not allow them to fully integrate into Malay society. At the forefront in the relations between peoples are political factors, given the dominant position of the Malay people in society. The Malay people, in general, are disdainful to the Duano' people and others like them, because they are of different origin. At the domestic level, they constantly reproached the Duano' people for their carefree attitude towards Islamic rituals and traditions. On the other hand, Duano' people that are not accepted in the Malay society, feel a clear image and do not want to recognize this state of affairs and do not consider themselves below the Malay people.[7]
Given the nature of the relationship between the Malay people and the Duano' people, marriages between them are often not welcomed on both sides. Separate mixed marriages occur in the Duano' mostly withBugis (originating fromSulawesi) andBanjar people (coming from the southeastKalimantan). Another is the situation inIndonesia, at the mouth of theIndragiri River. Here the Duano' people often welcome marriages with local Malay people and in fact constitute a mixed group of people.
They practically do not contact other Duano' community and other people group from the sea nomads people that have resettled in theStrait of Malacca. Such a closed way of life only accentuate the isolation of the people.[citation needed]
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