Pontianak Malay in Indonesia

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

Introduction / History

The Pontianak Malay live in Pontianak Regency of West Kalimantan. Pontianak Regency is the area of Tepok Pakedai, the Kakap River, the Pinyuh River, Siantan, Mempawah Hilir, the Kunyit River and Tujuh Belas. In their area, the Pontianak Malay live alongside Chinese and Madurese people. In a few places, the Pontianak Malay also live alongside Sambas Malay people.
The Pontianak Malay speak a dialect of Malay which cannot be easily understood by neighboring peoples such as the Sambas Malay, even though they also speak Malay languages. The city of Pontianak became the center of the Pontianak Malay Kingdom, which was founded under the reign of Sultan Syarif Abdurachman Alkadrie on October 23, 1771.


What Are Their Lives Like?

The Pontianak Malay are an agrarian people whose livelihoods depend on the yield of crops from their farmland as well as harvesting freshwater and saltwater fish. They cultivate rice, coconuts and rubber. Some Pontianak Malay also work as civil servants or merchants.
The land where the Pontianak Malay live consists of swampy lowlands only 0-100 meters above sea level. This makes it difficult for them to obtain clean water. Despite this, Pontianak is a relatively developed area. According to some, however, development in the area has been slowed by the fact that there is only one road from Pontianak by which one can reach other parts of West Kalimantan. As a result, the city of Pontianak does not operate as an economic center for West Kalimantan. Even though the infrastructure of the city is better, its level of economic development is lower than other areas.
The Pontianak Malay have a bilateral system of kinship, which means that one's ancestry is traced by descent on both the father's side and the mother's side. After getting married, a new couple usually lives with the woman's parents until the birth of the first child. After this, they live in their own home. A Pontianak Malay settlement is called a kampung. Generally, Pontianak Malay houses are built on stilts two meters high to protect the inhabitants from wild animals.
Traditional clothing for men is called teluk belanda, which consists of a loose pair of pants called slawar, fashioned from woven silk cloth that covers from the waist to the knees and a rimless cap called kopiah. Women traditionally wear a long blouse called a kebaya and a long silk skirt embroidered with gold thread.


What Are Their Beliefs?

The Pontianak Malay are devout Muslims. Their art forms and culture are heavily influenced by Islamic culture. However, they still hold superstitious and animistic beliefs. This is evident in local rituals that blend Islamic culture with animistic elements. The Pontianak Malay perform these rituals to mark births, weddings, funerals, work in the rice fields, constructions of new homes and other events.
Shamans are still very influential in the local system for treating illnesses and are consulted for advice on many subjects such as marriage plans, planting fields, or choosing names for children. According to legend, the Pontianak Malay area is haunted by the ghost of a woman who died in childbirth. The word pontianak means 'childbirth' and later became the name of the city.


What Are Their Needs?

One of the greatest needs of the Pontianak Malay is better transportation access. Accessibility issues have caused the Pontianak Malay to lag behind other Malay peoples in Southeast Asia in terms of education, industry and standard of living.


Prayer Points

Pray for Pontianak Malay elders to welcome persons of peace to take Christ to their families and villages.
Pray for them to have the spiritual hunger it takes to stand for Jesus Christ no matter what the cost.
Pray for Pontianak Malay disciplers who will make more disciples.


Scripture Prayers for the Malay, Pontianak in Indonesia.


References

IPN, 2011 Copyrighted © Used with permission


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Malay, Pontianak
People Name in Country Malay, Pontianak
Natural Name Pontianak Malay
Alternate Names
Population this Country 324,000
Population all Countries 324,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 6
People ID 20291
ROP3 Code 116019
ROP25 Code 305027
ROP25 Name Malay
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 Widespread in Peninsular Malaysia; also in Sarawak state: Kuching, Samarahan, Sri Aman, and Betong districts.   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 Widespread in Peninsular Malaysia; also in Sarawak state: Kuching, Samarahan, Sri Aman, and Betong districts..   Source:  Ethnologue 2016
Map of Malay, Pontianak in Indonesia Ethnolinguistic map or other map

Primary Religion: Islam
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.01 %)
3.00 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
97.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Malay (324,000 speakers)
Language Code zlm   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Malay (324,000 speakers)
Language Code zlm   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Malay

Primary Language:  Malay

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (1629-1932)
Bible-New Testament Yes  (1668-1974)
Bible-Complete Yes  (2015)
FCBH NT (www.bible.is) Online
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 Love letter to you from scripture Father's Love Letter
Audio Recordings Story of Jesus audio Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Indigitube.tv Video / Animation Create International
Film / Video Jesus Film: view in Malay Jesus Film Project
Film / Video My Last Day video, anime Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Story of Jesus for Children Jesus Film Project
Film / Video World Christian Videos World Christian Videos
General Bible for Children Bible for Children
General Biblical answers to your questions Got Questions Ministry
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Four Spiritual Laws Campus Crusade for Christ
General Gospel resources links Scripture Earth
Mobile App Download audio Bible app as APK file Faith Comes by Hearing
Mobile App Download audio Bible app as APK file Faith Comes by Hearing
Mobile App Download audio Bible app from Google Play Store Faith Comes by Hearing
Text / Printed Matter Download scripture in this language eBible.org
Text / Printed Matter Jesus Messiah comic book General / Other
Text / Printed Matter Literacy primer for Malay Literacy & Evangelism International
Text / Printed Matter Tools for faith conversations Campus Crusade for Christ
Text / Printed Matter Topical Scripture booklets and Bible studies World Missionary Press
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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