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Belait people

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Belait
People of Belait in 2023
Regions with significant populations
Brunei
Languages
Belait, Malay
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
Tutong, Dusun (Brunei)

The Belait people are a Bruneian ethnic group native to Belait District. They traditionally speak the Belait language. They are predominantly Muslim.[1] They are officially one of the seven ethnic groups which make up the Bruneian Malay race.[citation needed]

Origin

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The Belait people originated from the merger between two ethnic groups, namely the Belait jati (i.e. the 'native' Belait) and the Lemeting or Meting.[2][3] The latter was originally native to Tinjar River, a tributary of the Baram River in Sarawak, Malaysia; they later migrated to the area of, and eventually integrated with, the 'native' Belait.[2][3]

Language

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The Belait language, the traditional language of the Belait people, is an Austronesian language within the sub-group Malayo-Polynesian. The language is considered "seriously" endangered; it is claimed that there are "almost no younger speakers".[4]

Citations

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  1. ^ Martin 1996, p. 200.
  2. ^ a b Martin 1996, p. 201.
  3. ^ a b Hughes-Hallett 1938, p. 102.
  4. ^ McLellan 2014, p. 17.

References

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  • Hughes-Hallett, H. (July 1938). "An Account of a Berhantu Ceremony called "Perakong" by the Orang Belait of Brunei". Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 16 (1 #130): 102–108. JSTOR 41559907.
  • Martin, Peter W. (1996). "Sociohistorical Determinants of Language Shift among the Belait Community in the Sultanate of Brunei". Anthropos. 91 (1/3): 199–207. JSTOR 40465282.
  • McLellan, James (2014). "Strategies for revitalizing endangered Borneo languages: A comparison between Negara Brunei Darussalam and Sarawak, Malaysia" (PDF). Southeast Asia. 14: 14–22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.