The Alas people is an indigenous ethnic group from

Kutacane Kutacane is a town in Aceh province of Indonesia and it is the seat (capital) of Southeast Aceh Regency, Indonesia. Kutacane is known as the main gate to the Gunung Leuser National Park. Susi Air and NBA flies to Kutacane Airport from Medan and ...

, Southeast Aceh district,

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. The Alas are found in the Gunung Leuser, Ketambe, and Alas River areas.

Van Daalen's Alas, Batak and Gayo campaign　

At the final stage of the

Aceh War The Aceh War ( id, Perang Aceh), also known as the Dutch War or the Infidel War (1873–1913), was an armed military conflict between the Sultanate of Aceh and the Kingdom of the Netherlands which was triggered by discussions between represen ...

in 1904,

Gotfried Coenraad Ernst van Daalen Gotfried Coenraad Ernst "Frits" van Daalen (23 March 1863 – 22 February 1930) was an Indo (Eurasian) Lieutenant General of the Royal Dutch East Indies Army who served in the Dutch East Indies. He was also the appointed Governor of Aceh from ...

started on his campaign to Gayoland, Alasland, and Batakland in order to establish the Dutch colonial control over them. After demolishing 7 forts and killing nearly 1300 inhabitants in Gayoland, his

Korps Marechaussee te voet The ''Korps Marechaussee te voet'' (literally "marshal corps on foot") were a colonial gendarmerie of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL), principally used for counter-insurgency in the Dutch East Indies. History On 26 May 1890 the Korp ...

appeared in the Alas valley on 10 June 1904. One local lord (''kejukhun'') at northern Alasland surrendered immediately, but, as the other local lord of

Gayonese The Gayo people are an ethnic group living in the highlands of Aceh Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. The Gayo tribe has a population of 336,856 and they live predominantly in the mountains. Most Gayo live in three regencies in Aceh namely Bener ...

descent at southern Alasland had already been killed in Gayoland by

, his son, the acting southern local lord, and a brother of the northern local lord decided to confront the non-Islamic Dutch, building 3 forts or fortified villages. On 14 June 1904, the Dutch troops demolished the fort of Kuta Reh, killing 313 indigenous men, 189 women, and 59 children, while 2 Dutch soldiers were killed. On 20 June 1904, then, they demolished the fort of Likat, killing 220 men, 124 women, and 88 children, while a single soldier was killed. Indeed, the village of Likat was one of

migrants into the Alas valley. On 24 June 1904, finally, they demolished the fort of Kute Lengat Baru, killing 338 men, 186 women, and 130 children, including the acting southern local lord, while 3 soldiers were killed. On 29 June 1904,

summoned the northern local lord and the son of the deceased southern local lord with all other Alas chiefs and headmen to the village of Pedesi in front of him, to declare that the whole of Alasland belonged to the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

. During this campaign, Henricus Marinus Neeb, a military doctor, took many photos, including ones of fighting scenes, marching through the tropical rain forest, local fishing activities, traditional houses, mosques, and so on.

Society

The Alas (''ukhang Alas'' or ''kalak Alas'') are an agrarian people, who cultivate rice on irrigated fields, but some grow cash crops in gardens. Freshwater fishing in Alas River or brooks used to be indispensable as a source of animal protein, while raising fish in ponds is becoming important. Between the 15th and 17th centuries, they converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, The Alas society is a patrilineal descent society; each belongs to one exogamous clan. Sometimes an Alas village (''kute'') consists of a single clan, while several clans could frequently be observed in one village. As Alas clan names suggest, the Alas people have composite origins.

Language

The Alas people uses the

Alas language Alas, Alas-Kluet, or ''Batak Alas'', is an Austronesian language of Sumatra. The three dialects, Alas, Kluet, and Singkil (Kade-Kade), may not constitute a single language; Alas may be closer to Karo, and the others closer to Dairi. By lingui ...

(''Cekhok Alas'') on a daily basis. The Alas language is most closely related to the language of the

Kluet people Kluet or Kluwat people dwell in a number of districts in South Aceh Regency, Aceh, Indonesia namely North Kluet, South Kluet, Central Kluet and East Kluet. The Kluet people are regarded as part of the Batak people sub-ethnicity. The Kluet region ...

Aceh Selatan Regency South Aceh Regency ( id, Kabupaten Aceh Selatan) is a regency in the Aceh special region of Indonesia. It is located on the west coast of the island of Sumatra. The regency covers an area of 4,173.82 square kilometres and had a population of 202, ...

, and often, these two languages are unified under a single label Alas–Kluet. Together with Karo and Dairi, Alas–Kluet belongs to the northern branch of the Batak subgroup of the Austronesian language family. It is estimated that 80,000 people spoke the language in 2000. Although Alas people live in

Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a s ...

Province, the language they use is entirely distinct from Acehnese.

Clans

COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Een Gayo bruidspaar Noord-Sumatra TMnr 10002960

Each Alas person belongs to a patrilineal clan or descent group (''mekhge''). It has its own name, which is used as surname of the Alas people. In 1988 there were 27 clans as follows, but some had already had no member. Out of them, 8 clans, viz. Bangko, Cibekho, Deski, Keling, Kepale Dese, Kekhuas, Pagan, and Selian, are believed to be original among the Alas. * Bangko * Deski * Keling * Kepale Dese * Kekhuas * Pagan * Selian * Acih * Bekhuh * Gale * Kekakho * Mahe * Menalu * Mencawan (Bencawan) * Munte * Pase * Pelis * Pinim * Ramin * Ramud * Sambo * Sekedang * Sugihen * Sepayung * Tekhigan * Cibekho * Sinage

Arts

Alas traditional dances and musical instruments are as follows: * Mesekat dance * Pelabat dance * Landok alun dance * Tangis dilo * Canang situ * Canang buluh * Genggong * Oloi-olio * Keketuk layakh

Crafts

Alas traditional crafts are as follows: * Nemet (weaving of rumbia leaves) * Mbayu amak ( pandan mat) * Bordikh (customary attire) * Pisau bekhemu (Alas traditional sword) * Payung mesikhat (Alas ritual umbrella)

Traditional dishes

Alas traditional dishes are as follows: * Manuk labakh * Ikan labakh * Puket megaukh * Lepat bekhas * Gelame * Puket megaluh * Buah khum-khum * Ikan pacik kule * Telukh mandi * Puket mekuah * Tumpi * Godekhr * Puket sekuning * Cimpe * Getuk