Total population | |
---|---|
76,000[1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Timor: | |
East Timor | 55,837 (2010)[2] |
Indonesia (West Timor) | 23,000[3] |
Languages | |
Bunak, Indonesian, Kupang Malay, Tetum, Portuguese | |
Religion | |
Animism (originally), Catholic (predominantly) | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Papuan people |
The Bunak (also known as Bunaq, Buna', Bunake) people are an ethnic group that live in the mountainous region of central Timor, split between the political boundary between West Timor, Indonesia, particularly in Lamaknen District and East Timor.[4] Their language is one of those on Timor which is not an Austronesian language, but rather a Papuan language, belonging to the Trans–New Guinea linguistic family.[5] They are surrounded by groups which speak Malayo-Polynesian languages, like the Atoni and the Tetum.
According to Languages of the World (Voegelin and Voegelin, 1977), there were about 100,000 speakers of the language, split evenly between the two nations.