Three Simeulue languages declared national cultural heritage

Banda Aceh, Aceh (ANTARA) - The Simeulue Tourism and Culture Office in Aceh Province said the Ministry of Culture has designated three local languages in the island district as Indonesian intangible cultural heritage.

Acting head of the Simeulue Tourism and Culture Office Zulfatah said in Simeulue on Thursday that the three languages are Devayan, Sigulai, and Simolol.

"These three languages are the native languages of the people of Simeulue Island. Now, they have been officially registered as intangible cultural heritage," Zulfatah said.

He said that besides these three languages, the Simeulue District administration has been processing the submission of another native Simeulue language, Lekon, for designation as intangible cultural heritage.

"There is one more language proposed as intangible cultural heritage, namely Lekon. We hope Lekon will be designated as an intangible heritage language," he said.

Zulfatah said the district government is also working to have the three already-designated languages included in the school curriculum.

He said the goal of including them in the curriculum is to preserve the local languages, so that the native languages of the people of Simeulue Island can be passed down to future generations.

Simeulue is the outermost island district in Aceh. Simeulue Island is located in the Indian Ocean, about 180 nautical miles from the western coast of Sumatra.

Simeulue District was formed from the division of West Aceh District in 1999. It has 10 sub-districts with 138 gampong, or villages, inhabited by around 96,000 people.

Indonesia currently has 2,727 nationally designated intangible cultural heritage elements out of an estimated 30,000 potential items, with the country home to 1,340 ethnic groups and 718 regional languages, according to the Ministry of Culture.

Related news: Gov't supports nomination of local scripts as UNESCO's heritage

Translator: Agus, Kenzu
Editor: Bayu Prasetyo
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