The Besemah territory surrounds a volcanic peak, Mount Dempo. Besemah communities spread from that volcano's slopes to the west, south and southwest along the Bukit Barisan Mountain range. Historically, their political center was Pagar Alam, which helped protect the Besemah from their aggressive neighbors, mostly the Rejang. The Besemah live in South Sumatra province across a few districts in the Lahat regency and the entire Pagar Alam municipality. Some Besemah also live in the South Ogan Komering Ulu (OKU) regency and in North Kaur district.
The Besemah make a living in farming centered around three key crops: rice, rubber and coffee. Groups of 5-10 people working in a wage or crop sharing system carry out the planting and harvesting.
The Besemah build their houses Besemah houses on raised platforms as high as 1.5-2.5 meters off the ground. Their houses are built from wood, with tin roofs and usually have three to four rooms including a closed kitchen in the back part of the house. They use the area under the house for various purposes, such as a place to cool down on hot days, or a place to store tools, food and other items.
The Besemah recognize three types of marriage: (1) belaki, where groom pays a bride price, pays for the wedding and the newlyweds live with the husband's family; (2) ambil anak, in which the husband moves in with the wife's family and does not need to pay for anything, neither the bride price nor for the wedding; (3) semendean, in which the wedding cost is split and the newlywed couple are free to choose where to live. These days, many youths follow yet another pattern for marriage, eloping.
For the most part, the Besemah follow Sufi Islam. Islam entered the southeastern part of the Besemah area in the 16th century. The west and northwest areas converted to Islam in the 19th century. Sufi Islam focuses on feelings and stresses the importance of knowing God more than merely observing religious rituals.
The Besemah also practice elements of Buddhism and animism. The Besemah highlands include 26 historical sites including ruins, cemeteries and domes enclosing statues of Buddha that have been considered sacred places since the 2nd century. Large stone statues depict such scenes as a soldier riding an elephant, a man wrestling with a snake and a large ocean wave. Besemah people still use these statues as sites for making sacred oaths and calling upon their ancestors' spirits for blessing and seeking their protection against natural disasters.
The Besemah people need better medical care. They also need help and training to increase crop production through use of appropriate technology for packaging coffee for sale. Wise development of the coffee industry could greatly benefit the Besemah.
The New Testament is available in the Central Malay language spoken by the Besemah, as are the JESUS Film and other Christian resources.
Thank God for the availability of the New Testament and the JESUS Film in the Central Malay language; pray for distribution of the scriptures and opportunities to show the JESUS Film.
Ask the Holy Spirit to give Besemah leaders a spiritual hunger that will lead them to seek and find the only savior.
Ask God to send the Besemah gospel workers who can help with their needs for medical care and agricultural training, along with sharing the gospel.
Pray for a Disciple Making Movement among the Besemah people.
Scripture Prayers for the Besemah in Indonesia.
Profile Source: Joshua Project |
People Name General | Besemah |
People Name in Country | Besemah |
Alternate Names | Pasemah |
Population this Country | 742,000 |
Population all Countries | 742,000 |
Total Countries | 1 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | No |
GSEC | 1 (per PeopleGroups.org) |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 15 |
People ID | 20294 |
ROP3 Code | 116022 |
ROP25 Code | 301101 |
ROP25 Name | Besemah |
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 island, Sumatera Selatan Province; east down Lematang and Ogan river valleys, south of Muaraenim town, east and southeast of Lahat town; Bengkulu Province; central Bukit Barisan highlands west to Indian Ocean along Bengkulu coast; Lampung Province, 4 separate enclaves. 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 island, Sumatera Selatan Province; east down Lematang and Ogan river valleys, south of Muaraenim town, east and southeast of Lahat town; Bengkulu Province; central Bukit Barisan highlands west to Indian Ocean along Bengkulu coast; Lampung Province, 4 separate enclaves.. Source: Ethnologue 2016 |
Primary Religion: | Islam |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent |
---|---|
Buddhism |
0.00 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical 0.01 %) |
1.50 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
0.00 %
|
Islam |
98.50 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.00 %
|
Unknown |
0.00 %
|
Primary Language | Malay, Central (742,000 speakers) |
Language Code | pse Ethnologue Listing |
Primary Dialect | Pasemah |
Dialect Code | 1181 Global Recordings Listing |
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing |
Total Languages | 1 |
Primary Language | Malay, Central (742,000 speakers) |
Language Code | pse Ethnologue Listing |
Primary Dialect | Pasemah |
Dialect Code | 1181 Global Recordings Listing |
Total Languages | 1 |
People Groups | Speaking Malay, Central |
Primary Language: Malay, Central
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes |
Bible-New Testament | Yes (1995) |
Bible-Complete | No |
FCBH NT (www.bible.is) | Online |
YouVersion NT (www.bible.com) | 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 | Story of Jesus audio | Jesus Film Project |
Film / Video | Jesus Film: view in Malay, Central | Jesus Film Project |
Film / Video | World Christian Videos | World Christian Videos |
General | Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video | Faith Comes by Hearing |
General | Scripture Earth Gospel resources links (Ogan) | Scripture Earth |
General | Scripture Earth Gospel resources links (Pasemah) | Scripture Earth |
General | Scripture Earth Gospel resources links (Serewai) | Scripture Earth |
General | YouVersion Bible versions in text and/or audio | YouVersion Bibles |
Mobile App | Android Bible app: Malay, Central | YouVersion Bibles |
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 |
Mobile App | iOS Bible app: Malay, Central | YouVersion Bibles |
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. |