Nias people
Nias people are an ethnic group native to Nias, an island off the west coast of North Sumatra, Indonesia. In the Nias language, the Nias people are known as Ono Niha, which means 'descendants of humans'. Nias island is known as Tanö Niha, with Tanö meaning 'land' in the Nias language.
The Nias people are a community that continues living within the norms and practices of their indigenous culture. The customary law of the Nias people is generally referred to as fondrakö, which regulates all aspects of life from birth to death.[2] Historical evidence of megalithic structures and stone carvings that are found in the interior of the island proved that ancient Nias people practiced megalith culture. The caste system is also recognized in Nias society,[3] whereby the highest level out of the 12 levels in the Nias caste system is Balugu.[4] To reach this level of caste, one must be able to carry out big festivals by inviting thousands of people and slaughtering thousands of pigs for several days.
Culture[edit]
Religion[edit]
The predominant religion is Protestant Christianity. Six out of seven Niasans are Protestant; the remainder are about evenly divided between Muslim and Catholic. Whilst the first missionaries visited Nias in 1865, Christianity grew rapidly in the early 1900s when the Dutch established control of the island, however, was adopted and spread by local ministers. This is in contrast to Northern Sumatra in which Christian churches have been burnt down and dismantled due to 'not having building permits'. [13]