Belide in Indonesia

The Belide have only been reported in Indonesia
Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge

Introduction / History

The Belide live in two districts within the Muara Enim Regency of South Sumatra Province; Gelumbang and Lembak districts. Even in their home area, the Belide people live alongside the Javanese, Rambang and Ogan people. The Belide people have their own Malay dialect which is related to surrounding dialects. They can easily understand the Ogan, Meranjat, Lematang, Enim and Rambang dialects. The Belide also speak and understand the Palembang language.


What Are Their Lives Like?

Traditionally houses in Sumatra were built alongside a local river. Even though most roads in Sumatra today are not far from a river and usually follow a similar course, many people have begun to build their houses alongside roads instead of rivers. The Belide, however, follow the older practice and still live in houses on the banks of rivers, far from most roads. Most Belide live in traditional houses which are raised above the ground on wooden or brick columns. Today, many Belide are building modern two-story houses utilizing both the ground and second levels for living space. Two-story houses are now becoming a trend in South Sumatra, with modern-style houses being built alongside traditional raised houses. The Belide also possess a form of writing called Tulisan Ulu. This writing system is a syllabary system in which each symbol represents a syllable. Among the Belide only a few older people still use this kind of writing.


What Are Their Beliefs?

Belide people profess Islam as their religion, and they are officially registered as Muslims. They often claim, "We are all Muslims." However, the Belide still retain many animistic and spiritist beliefs. Evidence of this is the many superstitions and taboos enforced in Belide areas. For example, residents are forbidden to grow durian (a large fruit with a spiky shell) in some parts of the Belide area because, according to a local legend, one of their ancestors was killed when a durian fell and struck him. As a result, the man's parents placed a curse upon anyone who grows durian trees in the surrounding area. Thus, residents of this area do not cultivate durian. The Belide also observe superstitions regarding bathing. A person who bathes in the river is not allowed to turn his back to the river but must face the river. They believe that a person who breaks this rule will die. The Belide are also not allowed to get in the river to bathe. They must stay on the riverbank and take water for bathing from the river with a dipper instead of swimming in the river. They also have a taboo against laying stalks of rice to dry in the road. Unhusked rice stalks can be laid to dry in other places, such as the yard around one's house, but may not be dried in the road. These examples demonstrate a syncretistic form of Islam, which incorporates traditional animistic beliefs. However, animistic beliefs appear to dominate Belide practices, rather than Islamic teaching.


What Are Their Needs?

Even though Sumatran roads pass through the Belide areas, the Belide are not accessing the benefits of modernization. They tend to live next to rivers or other bodies of water rather than near the main roads. They might be greatly helped by efforts to raise their awareness of the resources available to them in their area.


Prayer Points

Pray for the Belide people to hear of and be drawn to the King of kings.
Pray for them to have easy access to all gospel materials.
Pray for loving and dedicated workers.
Pray for Belide disciples to make more disciples.


Scripture Prayers for the Belide in Indonesia.


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Belide
People Name in Country Belide
Pronunciation buh-lee-DAY
Alternate Names
Population this Country 87,000
Population all Countries 87,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 2
People ID 10777
ROP3 Code 101235
ROP25 Code 301051
ROP25 Name Belide
Country Indonesia
Region Asia, Southeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 42  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country Sumatera Selatan Province, widespread in northern 2 thirds of province; Musi river upstream to Bukit Barisan mountains, downstream to eastern coastal swamplands; into northeast Lampung Province; a few small border areas in Jambi and Bengkulu provinces.   Source:  Ethnologue 2016
Country Indonesia
Region Asia, Southeast
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 42  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country Sumatera Selatan Province, widespread in northern 2 thirds of province; Musi river upstream to Bukit Barisan mountains, downstream to eastern coastal swamplands; into northeast Lampung Province; a few small border areas in Jambi and Bengkulu provinces..   Source:  Ethnologue 2016
Map of Belide in Indonesia Ethnolinguistic map or other map

Primary Religion: Islam
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.00 %)
0.00 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
100.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Musi (87,000 speakers)
Language Code mui   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Musi (87,000 speakers)
Language Code mui   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Musi

Primary Language:  Musi

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (2019)
Bible-New Testament No
Bible-Complete No
Possible Print Bibles
Amazon
World Bibles
Forum Bible Agencies
National Bible Societies
World Bible Finder
Virtual Storehouse
Resource Type Resource Name Source
Audio Recordings Audio Bible teaching Global Recordings Network
Audio Recordings Story of Jesus audio Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Jesus Film: view in Musi Jesus Film Project
Film / Video World Christian Videos World Christian Videos
General Bible for Children Bible for Children
General Gospel resources links Scripture Earth
Photo Source Copyrighted © 2024  Anonymous  All rights reserved.  Used with permission
Map Source People Group location: IMB. Map geography: ESRI / GMI. Map design: Joshua Project.  
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.



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