Bangka in Indonesia

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

Introduction / History

The Bangka live on the island of Bangka in the South China Sea, off the east coast of Sumatra in Bangka-Belitung Province. Other Indonesians often visit this island because it has beautiful beaches. Inhabitants of the island are composed of two groups: those descended from the Malay and those descended from the Chinese. Both groups call themselves Bangka. Nevertheless, differences exist between the groups including physical traits, economic status and place of residence. The Malay of Bangka are typically dark skinned and not very wealthy, tending toward poverty. Both groups tend to live in ethnic neighborhood clusters. The Bangka language is part of the Malay language cluster. The Bangka language is very similar to Indonesian, with a few minor differences. There are also some minor differences between the dialects of Bangka, but they are mutually intelligible.


What Are Their Lives Like?

Many Bangka residents choose to move to other areas for work, particularly Jakarta and Palembang. Currently, livelihoods are hard to find with the decrease of tin mining and the increased cost of living in Bangka. Pillars of the economy are the rubber and palm oil plantations. These plantations operate using systems of direct receipt of the harvest by the owner, as well as sharecropping, where the owner shares the harvest with those who work the land. The line of descent is bilateral (traced through both parents). According to tradition, the newly married couple does not live near either set of parents. As a result there are many mixed marriages between the Bangka and other ethnic groups that have come into the area. This outside influence can be seen in their wedding customs. The engagement ceremony is typically done in a traditional singing dialogue. Islamic influence is evident in the wedding procession which is accompanied by tambourines and drums. Another regional art form is sepintu segudan, a drama telling the story of the community working together to help one another.


What Are Their Beliefs?

The Bangka Malay are Muslims; however, they are not particularly orthodox in their beliefs. Mosques are not heavily visited during the sunset ritual prayers (shalat maghrib). However, during the more important Friday Prayer (shalat Jumat) the mosques tend to be full. There are not many Muslim educational institutions like quranic reading centers, Islamic religious schools (pesantren) or mosque youth group activities. This shows that the Bangka profess Islam as their religion but are not especially strict about carrying out its requirements.


What Are Their Needs?

Currently, the tin mining industry has decreased because little recoverable tin is left to mine. The government has put in place regulations which forbid community mining without permission. This decision has had a negative impact on the community because much of the population is dependent on income from tin mining. It is very difficult to find alternative livelihoods due to the people's lack of skills. Because of this, the greatest need currently is to develop the skills of the Bangka community. One possibility is developing their fishing industry, which to date has not received much attention.


Prayer Points

Pray for the spiritual hunger it takes to seek and find Jesus Christ.
Pray for Holy Spirit sent and prepared workers.
Pray for disciples who will make more disciples.


Scripture Prayers for the Bangka in Indonesia.


References

IPN, 2011 Copyrighted © Used with permission.


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Bangka
People Name in Country Bangka
Pronunciation BAHNG-kah
Alternate Names
Population this Country 450,000
Population all Countries 450,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 9
PeopleID3 10651
ROP3 Code 100984
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 Sumatra, Kepulauan Bangka Belitung Province, widespread, Bangka island.   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 Sumatra, Kepulauan Bangka Belitung Province, widespread, Bangka island..   Source:  Ethnologue 2016
Map of Bangka in Indonesia Ethnolinguistic map or other map

Primary Religion: Islam
Major Religion Percent
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.00 %)
0.50 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
99.50 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Bangka
Language Code mfb   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 2
Secondary Languages
Malay
Primary Language Bangka
Language Code mfb   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 2
Secondary Languages
  Malay
People Groups Speaking Bangka

Primary Language:  Bangka

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (2020)
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
Film / Video Jesus Film: view in Bangka Jesus Film Project
General Scripture Earth 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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