Kédang - Orientation

Identification. The Kédang speak "the language of the mountain" ( tutuq-nanang wéla ), as opposed to the Lamaholot of their neighbors on the small eastern Indonesian island of Lembata. Most are Roman Catholic, many are Muslim, and a few retain the traditional religion.

Location. Kédang lies between 8° 10′ and 8°20′ S and between 123°35′ and 124° E, at the east end of the island of Lembata (known on most maps as Lomblen) in the Indonesian province of Nusa Tenggara Timur.

Linguistic Affiliation. The language belongs to the Central Malayo-Polynesian Subgrouping of Austronesian.

Demography. According to the 1980 census there were 28,677 persons living in Kédang. The average population density was 108 persons per square kilometer. There were 81 males per 100 females, compared with 99.6 for the province as a whole. This low figure results in part from out-migration of men seeking employment elsewhere. The ratio among the age group 15 to 24 years, for example, is 53 males per 100 females.