Ogan-Besemah - History and Cultural Relations

The Ogan-Besemah region was relatively independent of coastal Malay rulers. Dutch rule began in 1816, but was largely limited to the area around Palembang city. Local rulers carried out active resistance to Dutch conquest, and only in 1866 was the entire area officially under colonial control. The dialectal differences within the area are not the basis for clear-cut contrastive social identities. Since independence in 1945, Ogan-Besemah people have occupied important posts in local and national government. Within the province they have alternated with Komering people for control of the governor's office and the patronage positions that follow, accentuating the local sense of a division between the two groups. Besemah people have played the most important political role within the Ogan-Besemah grouping.