The Sasak live mainly on the island of Lombok, numbering around 2.6 million (85% of Lombok's population). They are related to the Balinese in language and race.

Language

The Sasak language belongs to the Bali-Sasak-Sumbawa subgroup, in the Western Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family. The ISO/DIS 639-3 three-letter code is "sas".

History

Little is known about Sasak history except that Lombok was placed under direct rule of the Majapahit prime Minister, patih Gajah Mada. The Sasaks converted to Islam between the late 16th century to early 17th century under the influence of Sunan Giri and the Muslim Makassarese, frequently mixing basic Islamic beliefs alongside with Hindu-Buddhist beliefs, thus creating the Wektu Telu religion. Lombok was conquered by the Gelgel Balinese kingdom in the early 18th century, thus bringing a large population of Balinese to Lombok. The Balinese population of Lombok today is about 300,000, 10-15% of Lombok's population. The

Religion

Most of the Sasaks today are adherents of the Wektu Lima version of Islam. Wektu Lima or Five Times signifies the five daily prayers which Muslims are required to do.

The term Wektu Lima is used to distinguish them from the Sasaks who are practioners of Wektu Telu or Three Times who only pray three times a day. Orthodox Islamic teachers generally instruct adherents to pray five times a day.

Large numbers of people adhering to the Wektu Telu faith can be still found throughout the island, especially in the village of Bayan, where the religion originated. Large Wektu Telu communities can be still found in Mataram, Pujung, Sengkol, Rambitan, Sade, Tetebatu, Bumbung, Sembalun, Senaru, Loyok and Pasugulan. A small minority of Sasaks called the Bodha (estimated population: 8000) are mainly found in the village of Bentek and other remote areas of Lombok. They are totally untouched by Islamic influence and worship animistic gods, incorporating some Hindu and Buddhist influences in their rituals and religious vocabulary. Sasak Suku Sasak