June 2004: This page is being reconstructed with new information.
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LINTANG OF INDONESIA
LOCATION : mainly on the Pasemah Lebar highland plateau of Sumatra
POPULATION : 70,000
LANGUAGE : Lintang
PEOPLE CLUSTER : Pasemah
RELIGION : Muslim (Sunni) 99.5%
% OF CHRISTIANITY : 0%
SCRIPTURE : None
RADIO BROADCAST : None
JESUS FILM : None
GOSPEL AUDIO RECORDING : None
MISSION AGENCY / CHURCH PLANTING WORKING AMONG THEM: 0
The Lintang are a sub-group of a larger cluster of peoples known as the Pasemah that live mainly on the Pasemah Lebar highland plateau of Sumatra. However, some also live on the nearby islands, especially those between the eastern coast of Sumatra and the coast of Borneo. Lintang 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. Large communities of Lintang are located westward to the city of Muaraenim.
Like the Pasemah, the Lintang are a rural people, living in villages of 50 to 1,000 people. Within their settlements, the Lintang build their houses on stilts raised four to eight feet off the ground. Farming is the primary occupation of the Lintang, with about 80% of all employment being in agriculture. Since most of the people make their living from farming, major ceremonies are usually held immediately following the harvest. These events include marriages, circumcisions, and hair cutting rituals. Every family in the village participates in such activities. The diet of the Lintang consists mainly of rice, along with corn, yams, legumes, sweet potatoes, fish, bananas, peanuts, cassava, and durian (a fruit with a prickly rind and soft pulp). Chicken and goat are only eaten on special occasions. Water is plentiful since there is no real dry season in the region. Lintang families do not usually live together as extended families. Instead, each family tries to have its own separate home.
Though the influence of Hinduism from India has been great among the Lintang, today they are nearly all Sunni Muslims. 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 Lintang have also preserved some of their animistic beliefs (belief that non-human objects have spirits). Traditional medications are widely used, and shamans (medicine men) are frequently consulted for physical, mental, and spiritual ailments.
Unemployment is high among the Lintang that is why many of the men are forced to temporarily, or even permanently, move to the cities in search of jobs. Currently, there are no missions agencies working among this people group and no Christian resources available in the Lintang language. Evangelistic tools and missionaries are needed to share the message of salvation with these precious people.
PRAYER POINTS
- Ask the Lord of the harvest to send missionaries to share the Gospel with the Lintang of Indonesia.
- Pray for the translation of the Jesus film and other evangelistic material into the Lintang language.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to soften the hearts of the Lintang so that they will be receptive to the Gospel.
- Pray that God will send loving Christian laborers, educators, businesspeople and community workers that can be helpful to the Lintang people's need and could be a good open door to reach them.
- Pray that God will protect the small number of Lintang believers and enable them to stand firm in their faith.
- Take authority over the spiritual principalities and powers that are keeping the Lintang bound.
- Ask God to raise up faithful intercessors who will stand in the gap for the Lintang.
- Pray that strong local churches will be raised up among the Lintang.
links to related information: http://www.bethanynorth.com/profiles/profile1.html , www.joshuaproject.net
