The Oldest Tribe In Indonesia, This Is The Most Numbered Tribe

Illustration of the oldest ethnicity in Indonesia. (Freepic)

YOGYAKARTA - Indonesia has areas spread from Sabang to Merauke. From these rows of regions there are tribes that inhabit and one of them is native to the region. There are more than 300 tribes living in Indonesian territory. Of these tribes, there are the oldest ethnic groups in Indonesia who first came.

Reporting from Antara, below are the Oldest tribes in Indonesia:

Suku Wajak is the first tribe to come to Indonesia. Suku Wajak is a group of people living on the island of Java, especially East Java. Suku Wajak came and lived in the Wajak village area located in Tulungagung, East Java, about 500 thousand to 1 million years ago.

The Wajak tribe is said to be the oldest ethnic group in Indonesia based on the findings of an ancient human fossil skeleton, namely homo sapienspakensis. However, this tribe disappeared about 20 thousand years ago after the devastating eruption of Mount Toba.

Some argue that this tribe has moved to Japanese territory, especially the islands of Ainu and Jumono. However, there is no definite note regarding the certainty of the theory

The Kerinci tribe is also one of the oldest tribes in Indonesia. This ethnicity is located on the island of Sumatra, especially in the Jambi highlands. Suku Kerinci is also known for the Kincai tribe which lives on the Jambi highlands. Experts concluded that the Kerinci ethnicity had arrived in Indonesia 10,000 years ago.

However, regarding this, there is no definite information yet, what kind of race they belong to because there has been a merger with other groups of nations. The Kerinci tribe is also said to be older than the Inca tribe which became the first ethnicity in Peru, America. This information was explained by researchers who are members of the Antiquities and National Heritage Institute.

The origin of the Kerinci tribe is from Proto Melaiers or known as Malay Tua which migrated around 400 before BC. One of the groups then headed to Kerinci and lived there until now.

The Gayo tribe is a tribe that lives in the Gayo highlands located in the central region of Aceh Province. The tribe, which is included in the Proto Melayu (Melayu Tua) race, is thought to have originated in India and started coming to Gayo Land about 2000 years before BC. At this time, the Gayo tribe is the majority population in three districts, namely Central Aceh, Bener Meriah, and Gayo Lues. Some of them live in Serba Jadi District, Peunaron, and Simpang Jenih, East Aceh.

The Mentawai tribe is a tribe that inhabits the island of Mentawai on the western island of Sumatra. Mentawai Regency is classified as West Sumatra Province.

The researchers believe the ancestors of the Mentawai tribe have lived in islands west of Sumatra since 500 BC. The Mentawai tribe is scattered on the islands of Siberut and Nias. Uniquely, this tribe has never been colonized by other nations. This can be known from the fact that there are no signs of other civilizations besides the Mentawai tribe.

The Javanese tribe is the majority term in Indonesia with a population of 40.45% of the total population. Based on the research results of archaeologists, the Javanese tribe became one of the oldest tribes. The research shows that the Javanese tribe is an indigenous tribe that existed a long time ago. In the discovery of fossil Pithecanthropus erectus in 1891 in Trinil, the results of DNA tests are proof that the Javanese tribe was and now has many similarities.

The second theory is based on a historian who explains that the Javanese are from Greece and still belongs to the Austronesia clump. The group came to the archipelago about 2000 years before BC. The third theory is based on ancient letters sent from the Malang palace. The letter contains the Turkish king who sent his people to the island of Java to establish settlements. The letter was written in 450 BC. This evidence is the strongest evidence compared to other evidence.

The Dani tribe is a native who lives in Papua, precisely in the Balinem valley, the Central Mountains, Jayawijaya, and several Puncak Jaya areas. Based on historical stories, the Dani Tribe has existed in Papua hundreds of years ago. The Dani tribe holds the belief that they come from a husband and wife who live in a lake in a village called Maina in the Baliem valley.

The Dani tribe is divided into three kinds of sub-family, namely the Wano sub-family which live in the Bokondini area, the Dani Pusat sub-family in the Dugawa large valley, and the Ngalik and Ndash sub-family.

Suku Dayak is a native of Kalimantan. Some experts explain that the Dayak tribe is the largest and oldest native to inhabit the island of Kalimantan. This idea is based on the theory of population migration, where the ancestors of Dayak are thought to have originated from several waves of migration. The migration activity was caused by the colonialism carried out by the Tar-Tar nation. Based on research, this ethnic group eventually reached Indonesia through three routes, including the Kapuas River, Kutai Regency, and Paser Regency.

Suku Melayu menjadi salah satu suku yang mendiami pulau Sumatra dan sekitarnya. Suku ini juga menjadi salah satu bangsa terbesar yang ada di Indonesia. Suku Melayu terbagis dalam dua kelompok, yaitu Kelolah Melayu Muda atau Melayu Deutro. Keloku suku ini diperkira datang ke Sumatra sekitar 500 tahun SM. Kelempat kedua, yaitu Melayu Proto atau Melayu Tua yang datang sekitar 1500 BC.

This tribe spreads almost all over the world, including on the islands of Sumatra, Peninsular Malaya, East Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Philippines, Thailand, and South Burma.

That's a review of the oldest ethnicity in Indonesia. Visit VOI.id to get other interesting information.