For other uses, see Gayo

Gayo

Gayo may refer to* Gayo language of Sumatra, ISO 639-2* Gayo people, a tribe in Aceh, Indonesia* Gayo Lues Regency, a regency in Aceh, Indonesia* Gayo, or K-pop, the Korean term for pop music* Gayo , old form of the Korean traditional poetry...

Gayo is a tribe

Tribe

A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...

 living in the heights in Aceh

Aceh

Aceh is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Daerah Istimewa Aceh , Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh . Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin...

 Province, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

. They live in 3 regencies: Central Aceh

Central Aceh Regency

Central Aceh is a regency in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Province, Indonesia.The regency covers an area of 4318.39 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 177,631 people. Most of its inhabitants are Gayo. Central Aceh is famous for its Lake Laut Tawar. Its capital is...

, Bener Meriah

Bener Meriah Regency

Bener Meriah Regency is a regency in Aceh province, Indonesia. The regency covers an area of 1,457 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 65,018 people.Its capital is Simpang Tiga Redelong...

 and Gayo Lues

Gayo Lues Regency

Gayo Lues Regency is a regency in the Aceh province of Indonesia. Its capital is Blangkejeren. The regency covers an area of 5,719 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 60,800 people....

 regencies. They also live in several subdistrict

Subdistrict

Subdistrict is a low level administrative division of a country. In Thailand it may refer to the King Amphoe or to the Tambon. In England and Wales it was part of a Registration district....

s in other regencies, such as Serba Jadi Subdistrict, Simpang Jernih Subdistrict in East Aceh Regency

East Aceh Regency

East Aceh Regency is a regency in eastern Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. The regency covers an area of 6906 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 628,288 people....

 and Beutong Subdistrict in Nagan Raya Regency. The Gayo live in the isolated central mountains of Aceh province on the island of Sumatera. Their homeland lies in the Bukit Barisan Range ("Parade of Mountains") which has elevations of over 12,000 feet and extends more than one thousand miles. Most Gayo live in the Central Aceh and Southeast Aceh regencies. The Gayo language has four dialects: Lut, Serbejadi-Lukup, Lut and Luwes. Their language does not have a writing system, but folk tales, stories and poetry are passed down in oral tradition.

The Gayo are close neighbors to the strongly Islamic Aceh people. In the past, the sultans of Aceh conquered the Gayo region and made the Gayo slaves. After the initial Dutch resistance (during which many Gayo were killed), the Dutch occupied the area from 1904-1942. During this time, the Gayo developed a thriving cash crop economy in vegetables and coffee. During the occupation and during the last several decades of Indonesian independence, the Gayo have gained access to higher levels of education, and participated to some degree in the Islamization and modernization of their area.

The Gayos are known for their adherence to Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

. Most Gayo are Muslims, but lacking orthodox understanding of the religion. Many Gayo people believe in good and bad spirits and in holy men, both dead and alive. They regularly give ritual offerings and sacrifices to the spirits, to holy men, and to their ancestors.

The traditional house of the Gayo is the Umah.

The Gayonese are commonly found in American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 regions such as Provincetown, Mass and San Francisco, CA