Banjar  

Total population

4,5 million

Regions with significant populations South Kalimantan (Indonesia): 2,271,586
East Kalimantan (Indonesia): 500,000
Central Kalimantan (Indonesia): 500,00
Indragiri Hilir: 175,000
Malaysia: 538,826

Language(s) Banjar, Indonesian and Malay.

Religion(s) Islam

Related ethnic groups Malays, Kutai, Javanese, Dayak (Dayak Bukit, Bakumpai, Ngaju, Maanyan, Lawangan

Banjar (or Banjarese) is the name of an interior and coastal native ethnic group which settled in the Banjar region and in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Indonesia, the fourth biggest city on the island of Borneo. A few hundred years ago, some of them had travelled to many places in the Malay archipelago. They set up pockets of settlement in those areas, namely in Perak mostly in Parit Buntar and Teluk Intan region, Selangor around Sabak Bernam and Sungai Besar and Batu Pahat, Johor in Malaysia, in Medan, Sumatra in Indonesia and many other places. Banjarese people is a melting pot of the native Dayaks, Malay ethnicity from Sumatra and the Javanese courts.

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History

Proto Malay people migrated to Kalimantan/Borneo in 2500 BC. These are the ancestors of Dayak people (Ot Danum). In 2500 BC, the Deutero Malay migrated to Kalimantan/Borneo. Malay people from Sumatra brought their culture to Kalimantan/Borneo in 400 AD, which fused the birth of Banjar Hulu language. Later on 520 AD, the Malay formed the Buddhist Kingdom of Tanjungpuri in the present-day Tanjung, Tabalong.

In 1200 AD, Empu Jatmika built the Hindu Kingdom of Negara Dipa by the rivers of Tapin. This was the start of the Javanese-style courts in South Kalimantan. The Hindu era in South Kalimantan remained the most remembered time in South Kalimantan history. The glory of Negara Dipa is succeeded by the Hindu Kingdom of Negara Daha in 1400 AD.

Pangeran Samudera, the rightful heir was forced to flee the court of Negara Daha because of his uncle’s revolt against him. He was accepted by the people of the Bandar Masih (Bandar=port, Masih=Malay people). Supported by the Sultanate of Demak, he formed a new Islamic Banjar Kingdom in 1526 with Bandar Masih as its capital. Later on, the name of Bandar Masih slowly changed into Banjarmasin.

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FOR MORE INFO

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banjar_people