5 Largest Tribes in Indonesia

Indonesia consists of several large islands stretching from Sabang to Merauke. Divided into 34 provinces today, each region has a variety of different tribes, customs, and languages. From this fairly dispersed existence, Indonesia has a tribe that is so dominant and can be said to be known in foreign countries.

There are five major tribes that are so dominant and so well known or often easily found by Indonesians or other nations. Among others are :

1. Malay tribe

As one of the most numerous and dominant ethnic groups in Indonesia. Even this tribe is also included in several regions in Asia, especially the Malay Peninsula, such as Thailand, Burma, Singapore, Brunei, and the most widely in Malaysia.

The Malays are more commonly found on the island of Sumatra, Kalimantan Island as well as Java Island, and also Sulawesi Island. The spread of the existence of this tribe cannot be denied from the historical existence of the Malay kingdom in the past. There are 2 Malay kingdoms that are so famous in Indonesia, namely the Malay kingdom and the Sriwijaya Kingdom.

2. Java tribe

The Javanese are known to be the easiest tribes to find in Indonesia because of their presence in almost every region of Indonesia, it can be said that there is a special village for the Javanese. In fact, there is one other country whose population consists of Java tribes and uses the Java language, namely Suriname.

The spread of the Javanese tribe that is so widespread cannot be separated from their historical existence, namely the Majapahit Kingdom.

During the Dutch colonial period, and also because the island of Java was an island that was more advanced than the others, during the era of President Soeharto, the Javanese tribe held a government program called Transmigration to be placed in areas outside the island of Java to overcome the problem of the population that could be evenly distributed, not only based on Java Island only.

3. Sundanese

The Sundanese are the same tribe on the island of Java, but their existence is only for the West Java region. The progress and expansion of the Sumda tribe is the same as the Javanese, which cannot be separated from the historical existence of their kingdom, namely Singasari, and also the proximity of their population area to the capital city of Indonesia, Jakarta.

The most well-known of the Sundanese is the existence of their descendants who can be said to be beautiful and handsome. On average, people born from Sunda have white or olive skin, unlike the majority of Javanese who has brown or tan skin.

4. Bugis

The Bugis tribe comes from the eastern region of Indonesia, to be precise from the Sulawesi archipelago. Their existence can be so well known and great can't be separated from the existence of their ancestors who were mostly sailors and tradesmen. So with their habits, the Bugis are large and can be in every region of Indonesia.

Not much different from the Sundanese, the Bugis tribe is also known for their handsome and beautiful stature, big height, white skin.

5. Dayak tribe

The Dayak tribe may be a tribe that can not be found in many parts of Indonesia. However, their presence is large and well known because of their presence on the island of Borneo and is a tribe that still believes in Animism to this day. The Dayak are known for their mystical presence and do not like to be disturbed by outsiders.

Although the Dayak tribe is now also slowly following the progress of the times so that the Dayak tribes who come out of their understanding are no longer called the Dayak tribe but other tribes in the Kalimantan region such as the Banjar tribe.

Maybe it is some tribes that are often or can be found in Indonesia. Although in fact there are many other tribes whose existence can also be discussed.

Such as the Madura tribe from the island of Madura, the Asmat tribe from Irian Jaya, the Bedouin tribe from Banten, the Ambon tribe from Maluku, the Gayo tribe from Aceh, the Batak tribe from North Sumatra, the Minang tribe from West Sumatra, and other tribes scattered throughout Indonesia.

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