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1.1 Ethnography
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Acehnese is an Austronesian language spoken by some two
and a half million people in the Province of Aceh in
northern Sumatra, Indonesia. It has been found to have some
connection with Mon-Khmer and Cham on the Southeast Asian
mainland. 1 The Acehnese live mainly in the coastal plains of
the province. They live in all four "kabupatens" (Aceh is
divided into eight "kabupatens" (counties)) along the coast
facing the Strait of Malacca: in Greater Aceh (Capital:
Banda Aceh), which also extends to the west coast facing the
Indian Ocean, in Pidie (Capital: Sigli), in North Aceh
(Capital: Lhokseumawe), and in East Aceh (Capital: Langsa).
The Acehnese share East Aceh with the Tamiang people, who
speak Tamiang, a variant of Malay. The Tamiang live in the
area around the town of Kualasimpang, an area bordering on
the Province of North Sumatra (Medan).
In the west coast, the Acehnese share two other
kabupatens with the Aneuk Jamee: in West Aceh (Capital:
i See Blagden (1929), Collins (1969), Cowan (1948), and
Shorto (1975).