Alune_people
Alune people
Ethnic group of Seram Island, Indonesia
The Alune (sometimes Sapalewa or Sapolewa) people are one of the long-established ethnic groups of Seram Island, Indonesia. They number about 21,300 and live in 27 villages of the western-central area of the island. Like the Wemale, they originated in a common group called Patasiwa.[2]
The Alune speak a language of Malayo-Polynesian origin. It is also known as Sapalewa or Patasiwa Alfoeren and, despite the small number of speakers, it has a few dialects. The most prestigious dialect is the Rambatu speech variety.[3] The Hainuwele legend is an origin myth from the Alune and Wemale folklore.[4] It was recorded by German ethnologist Adolf Ellegard Jensen in a 1937–8 expedition to the Maluku Islands.[5]