Lematang - Un-Reached People Group Of Indonesia

June 2004: This page is being discontinued.

This people group is no longer on our least reached list.

LEMATANG OF INDONESIA

LOCATION : mainly on the Pasemah Lebar highland plateau of Sumatra
POPULATION : 150,000
LANGUAGE : Lematang
PEOPLE CLUSTER : Pasemah
RELIGION : Muslim (Sunni) 99.9%
% OF CHRISTIANITY : 0%
SCRIPTURE : None
RADIO BROADCAST : None
JESUS FILM : None
GOSPEL AUDIO RECORDING : None
MISSION AGENCY / CHURCH PLANTING WORKING AMONG THEM: 0

The Lematang are a part of the larger Pasemah people group. The Lematang live mainly on the Pasemah Lebar highland plateau of Sumatra. However, some also live on the nearby islands, especially off the eastern coast of Sumatra to the coast of Borneo. Lematang communities first expanded along the Bukit Barisan Mountain Range. Their political center, Pagar Alam ("nature's fortress"), was designed to protect the Pasemah from their more aggressive neighbors, the Rejang. Today, the Indonesian government has designated the city of Lahat as the capital of the district.

Like the Pasemah, the Lematang are a rural people, living in villages of 50 to 1,000 people. Much of the country is covered by jungle, but the villages are located along the coasts, rivers, and roadways. Within their settlements, the Lematang build their houses on stilts raised four to eight feet off the ground. Farming is the primary occupation of the Lematang, with about 80% of all employment being in agriculture. Rubber is the main cash crop, but coffee and rice are also grown. Wet-rice plots are worked by hoeing, or by plowing with oxen or water buffalo. Since most of the people make their living from farming, major ceremonies are usually held immediately following harvest that includes marriages, circumcisions, and hair cutting rituals. Every family in the village participates in such activities because of the strong feeling of community. Lematang families try to have their own separate home. Newlywed couples may temporarily live with their parents, but they prefer to have their own homes as soon as possible.

Today, nearly all Lematang are Sunni Muslims, although in the past, the influence of Hinduism from India has been great. A mosque serves as the formal religious center in each village, and most men attend Friday prayers at least some of the time. In rural areas, the Lematang have also preserved some of their animistic beliefs (belief that non-human objects have spirits) in spirits of the soil and jungle. Traditional medications are widely used, and shamans (medicine men) are frequently consulted for physical, mental, and spiritual ailments and diseases.

Because the Lematang live in rural areas, unemployment is high. As a result, many of the men are forced to temporarily, or even permanently, move to the cities in search of jobs. Very few of the Lematang have ever heard the Gospel, and there are no missions agencies currently working among them. At the present time, they are without any portion of the Scriptures, the Jesus film, or Christian radio broadcasts in their own language. Committed Christian missionaries, Bible translators, and media personnel are greatly needed if the Lematang are to hear the Good News that Jesus loves them.

PRAYER POINTS

Ask the Lord of the harvest to send missionaries to share the Gospel with the Lematang of Indonesia.
Pray for the translation of the Jesus film and other evangelistic material into the Lematang language.
Ask the Holy Spirit to soften the hearts of the Lematang so that they will be receptive to the Gospel.
Pray that God will protect the small number of Lematang believers and enable them to stand firm in their faith and that God will use them to reach their fellow people.
Take authority over the spiritual principalities and powers that are keeping the Lematang bound.
Ask God to raise up faithful intercessors who will stand in the gap for the Lematang.
Pray that strong local churches will be raised up among the Lematang.