Loloan Malays or Balinese Malays (Malay: Melayu Loloan; Jawi: ملايو لولون) are a sub-ethnic group of the Malay who've lived in Loloan, Jembrana, Bali, Indonesia since the 17th century. There are approximately 28,000 up to 65,000 Loloan Malays living in Bali.[1][2]
The Loloan Malays are predominantly Muslim, which is distinguished from the majority Balinese ethnic group who are predominantly Hindu.
History
The arrival of Malays in Bali Island was recorded in 1669 when four ulama and their followers arrived in Jembrana to spread the teachings of Islam in Bali. This mission was permitted by King of Jembrana namely I Gusti Arya Pancoran. The four scholars are Dawan Sirajuddin from Sarawak, Empire of Brunei; Sheikh Basir of Yemen, Ottoman Empire; Mohammad Yasin from Makassar; and Syihabbudin who also comes from Makassar.[3][2]
In 1799, four ships from Pontianak City, Pontianak Sultanate arrived in Jembrana and were welcomed by the King of Jembrana namely Putu Seloka. The delegation was led by Syarif Abdullah Yahya al-Qadri and brought a scholar from Terengganu namely Muhammad Ya'qub. By King of Jembrana, the group was allowed to live on 80 hectares of land in Loloan Barat (West Loloan) and Loloan Timur (East Loloan).[3][2]
However, according to the Loloan elder, Haji Achmad Damannuri, the development of Balinese Malay society was the result of encounters between Buginese who initially fled to Perancak, Jembrana from the pursuit of VOC in Makassar in 1653 with a scholar from Sarawak, Buyut Lebai, in 1675 who taught Islam using Malay as the instruction language. The Buginese people then received approval from Jembrana to occupy the Loloan area.[4]
Another study conducted by Udayana University academics agrees with Haji Achmad Damannuri's narrative, suggesting that the Balinese Malay was the result of mixed marriages between the Buginese people who were allowed to settle in Loloan and the Balinese who lived in the vicinity. The second wave of Balinese Malay identity formation in Loloan was explained by the arrival of migrants from Pontianak which also led to mixed marriages.[5] According to another source, it was written that the difference between the majority of Balinese Hinduism and Muslim immigrants actually had an impact on the exclusion of these migrants.[2]
Indonesia (Bali): 28,000