 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2015) |
 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 7,500 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Indonesia (Seram Island, Moluccan Islands) | |
| Languages | |
| Wemale language (weo); Classification: Malayo-Polynesian, Indonesian language | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity, Animism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Alune people |
The Wemale people are an ethnic group of Seram Island, Indonesia. They number over 7,500[1] and live in 39 villages of the central area of the island. Like the Alune people in the west, the Wemale people originate from a common ancestral group called the Patasiwa.[2]
The Wemale language is of Malayo-Polynesian origin and it is divided into a northern and a southern variety, having dialects known as Horale, Kasieh, Uwenpantai, Honitetu and Kawe.[1][3] Northern Wemale is spoken by about 5,000 people and the Southern Wemale is spoken by about 3,700 people.[4] The Hainuwele legend is an origin myth from the Wemale and Alune folklore.[5] It was recorded by German ethnologist Adolf Ellegard Jensen in a 1937–1938 expedition to the Maluku Islands.[6]
- ^ a b "Wemale". Ethnologue.com. 1999-02-19. Retrieved 2015-06-10.
- ^ Reuter, Thomas, ed. (2006). Sharing the Earth, Dividing the Land: Land and Territory in the Austronesian World. Canberra: ANU E Press. doi:10.22459/SEDL.10.2006. ISBN 19-209-4270-X.
- ^ "Wemale, South". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on July 15, 2007.
- ^ List of languages in Indonesia
- ^ Leeming, David (2005). The Oxford Companion to World Mythology. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780195156690.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-515669-0. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013 – via www.oxfordreference.com.
- ^ Adolf Ellegard Jensen: Hainuwele. Volkserzählungen von der Molukken-Insel Ceram. Vittorio Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main 1939