Rawas in Indonesia

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

Introduction / History

The Rawas are a people group of south Sumatra. Those who live near the Rupit River are also known as the Rupit, while those who live near the Rawas River are most known as the Rawas. They live in the Rawas Ulu and Rawas Ilir districts in the Musi Rawas regency of South Sumatra Province. Many Rawas people live in small cities. In the west, Rawas territory ascends to the peaks of the 2,068-meter-high Mount Hijau. To the south is the Musi Rawas regency capital, Lubuk Linggau, through which runs the trans-Sumatra highway. The Rawas language is a branch of the Malay language cluster.


What Are Their Lives Like?

The main sources of income for the Rawas come from rubber and palm oil plantations. They are self-sufficient in producing their food supply. The Rawas area also produces various fruits such as oranges, mango, pineapples, duku (small white fruit), langsat (small yellow fruit), jackfruit, papaya, rambutan (red hairy fruit) and durian (large fruit with a spiky skin and a strong smell). They also raise livestock such as ducks, chickens, goats and water buffalo. When catching fish, the Rawas still use traditional boats without motors. The Rawas are highly motivated in pursuing their economic needs and many work until they are old.
The Rawas strongly value honestly in their work and this can be seen in how they earn their money. Honesty is a community value and therefore the Rawas area is quite safe. Their relationships with the transmigrants in their area are very good. In fact, the indigenous residents or village people are known as people who don't really bother much with the affairs of transmigrants. On Friday's the market is quieter because the people limit their time with work activities to prepare for Friday prayers. The line of descent is bilateral, which means that a child may choose his line of descent, or it can be decided through discussion with his parents before they are married. There is a clear division of work between the men and women. Men work in the fields, plantations, rivers (gathering stones), or in making bricks. The women cook and care for the children at home or run small shops.
The Rawas have interesting art forms. Their art forms include singing and traditional dancing with tambourines, like the Tari Piring (Plate Dance) and Tari Pisau (Knife Dance). Art groups that are formed among the young people, encourage these traditional arts of dancing and singing. Other than that, the Rawas are also active in developing pencak silat (Indonesian martial arts).


What Are Their Beliefs?

The Rawas embrace Sunni Islam. They obediently and joyfully perform the religious duties of fasting and other Islamic celebrations. One of these celebrations includes the circumcision of boys aged six or seven years old. They also hold religious meals to remember the deceased at 7 days, 40 days and 100 days after a death. They often use an object which is carved or engraved with Islamic designs as a charm when they bury their dead.


What Are Their Needs?

They seem to have sufficient income from their rubber plantations. However, currently they need medicine for treating malaria which is often a cause of suffering for them. In the area of agriculture, they need help with improving the quality of their fruit. Other than that, the rich flora in this area, especially with the wide variety of trees, has great potential for expanding to become a highly valuable economic commodity.


Prayer Points

Pray for the Rawas people to experience and embrace the glory of the Lord.
Pray for their elders to have dreams and visions that will open their hearts to Jesus Christ.
Pray for loving and dedicated workers.


Scripture Prayers for the Rawas in Indonesia.


References

IPN, 2011 Copyrighted © Used with permission


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Rawas
People Name in Country Rawas
Alternate Names Musi Rawas; Musi-Rawas
Population this Country 233,000
Population all Countries 233,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 5
People ID 14529
ROP3 Code 108327
ROP25 Code 306976
ROP25 Name Rawas
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 Rawas 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
95.00 %
Non-Religious
5.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
Primary Language Musi (233,000 speakers)
Language Code mui   Ethnologue Listing
Primary Dialect Rawas
Dialect Code 15961   Global Recordings Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Musi (233,000 speakers)
Language Code mui   Ethnologue Listing
Primary Dialect Rawas
Dialect Code 15961   Global Recordings 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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