Mante people
Legendary ethnic group of Indonesia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Mante people (Manti in Gayonese) or also spelled as Mantir,[1] are one of the earliest ethnic groups frequently mentioned in legendary folklore to have inhabited Aceh, Indonesia.[2] This ethnic group, along with other indigenous people such as the Lanun, Sakai, Jakun, Senoi, and Semang peoples, are the ethnic groups that formed the existing Acehnese people today.[3] The Mante people are regarded as part of the Proto-Malay people group[4][5] that initially settled around the region of Aceh Besar Regency[6] and in the interior jungle.[7] These indigenous people were thought to have migrated to Aceh through the Malay Peninsula.[3]
Manti or Mantir | |
|---|---|
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Indonesia (Aceh) | |
| Languages | |
| Mante language (extinct) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Proto-Malay, Acehnese |
In the Acehnese legend, the Batak and Mante peoples were mentioned as the descendants of Kawom Lhèë Reutōïh (lit. 'the people of three hundred'); which were also one of the indigenous peoples in Aceh.[8] Today, the Mante people are extinct or have disappeared as a result of intermarriage with other non-indigenous people groups that arrived later.[2] To date, there is no strong scientific evidence for the existence of this people.
Alleged last appearance
In March 2017, there were video recordings by a group of bikers in Aceh who accidentally saw and recorded a man who was thought to be a Mante tribesman. The alleged Mante man at the site was caught by surprise and ran away immediately; and the scene was recorded by one of the bikers in the group. The video recording was uploaded on YouTube and quickly became a viral topic of discussion on social medias and in the news in Indonesia.[9]
The spread of the news gained the attention of the Aceh government to dispatch a search team to find the Mante people and examine their real existence.[10] The Ministry of Social Affairs department also participated in the search in order to provide social security to the Mante people.[11]