LAMPONG

also called Abung, people indigenous to Lampung province on the Sunda Strait in southern Sumatra, Indonesia. They speak Lampong, a Malayo-Polynesian language that has been written in a script related to the Hindu alphabet. A dependency of the Sultan of Bantam (western Java) after 1550, southern Sumatra contains many Lampong whose ancestors were granted noble titles. Great value continues to be placed on such distinctions; titles are commonly bought from tribal chiefs. Former foreign rule has strengthened the internal clan organization of Lampong villages, which in turn comprise the larger tribal unit, the marga, headed by a chief. The Lampong are organized patrilineally; inheritance passes only to the eldest son, who must support the family if the father dies. A few noble or wealthy Lampong preserve a matriarchal arrangement in which only women can own property. Marriage is clan exogamic. The Lampong practice swidden agriculture, growing dry rice, coffee, and pepper, the last as a cash crop for trade in nearby towns. Although mostly converted to Isl am, the Lampong also still observe their traditional religious animism and customary law, even when these contradict Islamic practices.