Mukomuko people

The Mukomuko people are an ethnic group inhabiting Mukomuko Regency, Bengkulu, which borders West Sumatra to the north. The Mukomuko people speak the Mukomuko, which has strong influences from the Minangkabau. In addition to language, many elements of Mukomuko culture are also heavily influenced by Minangkabau culture. In their kinship system, they follow a matrilineal system, similar to that observed in the land of Minangkabau.

The Mukomuko region is part of the Minangkabau migratory area (rantau) or, in the Tambo Minangkabau (chronicles), referred to as ombak nan badabua, an area along the west coast from Padang to southern part of Bengkulu. This region once belonged to the Kingdom of Inderapura, which was based in the present-day Pesisir Selatan Regency. Since the British colonial period, Mukomuko has been administratively separated as part of Bengkulu, a status that has continued after Indonesia’s independence.