Orang Laut
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Orang Laut are a group of Malay people living in the Riau Islands of Indonesia. More broadly the term is used to encompass the "numerous tribes and status groups inhabiting the islands and estuaries in the Riau-Lingga Archipelagos, the Pulau Tujuh Islands, the Batam Archipelago, and the coasts and offshore islands of eastern Sumatra and southern Malay Peninsula."[1] The Malay term Orang Laut literally means sea people. Other Malay terms for the Orang Laut were Lanun, Celates or Orang Selat (straits people). They are mainly Muslims.
Historically, the Orang Laut were pirates, but they also played important roles in the Sultanate of Malacca as well as Johor.
