Simeulue people

{{Short description|Indigenous people group}}

{{Infobox ethnic group

| group = Simeulue people
Simalur / Simeuloë / Simulul
Long Bano / Devayan

| image = 300px

| caption = A man and woman crushing the pith of sago palm in Simeulue Island, Indonesia.

| pop = 53,500{{cite web |url=http://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/14184/ID |title=Simeulue in Indonesia |publisher=Joshua Project |accessdate=2014-10-15 |archive-date=2014-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140926133902/http://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/14184/ID |url-status=live }}

| popplace = {{flag|Indonesia}} (Simeulue Island, Banyak Islands and Babi Island of Simeulue Regency, Aceh)

| langs = Simeulue language, Indonesian language

| rels = Islam{{cn|date=April 2025}}

| related = Sigulai people, Nias people

}}

The Simeulue people (other names include Simalur, Simeuloë, Simulul, Long Bano and Devayan) are an indigenous group of people inhabiting Simeulue Island off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia.{{cite web |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/smr |title=Simeulue |publisher=Ethnologue |accessdate=2014-10-15 |archive-date=2014-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911061019/http://www.ethnologue.com/language/smr |url-status=live }} They are mostly found in Teupah Barat, Simeulue Timur, Simeulue Tengah, Teupah Selatan and Teluk Dalam districts. The Simeulue people speak Simeulue, a Northwest Sumatra–Barrier Islands language closely related to Sikule (which is also spoken in Simeulue island) and Nias (spoken in neighbouring Nias island). The language also has a strong Acehnese and Malay influence.{{cite book|author1=Arndt Graf |author2=Susanne Schroter |author3=Edwin Wieringa |title=Aceh: History, Politics and Culture, Volume 9|year=2010|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian|isbn=978-981-4279-12-3}}

The Simeulue people became more widely known worldwide after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami because of their high survival rate. Their survival was credited to their tradition of oral history. A previous tsunami in 1908 had affected the island, and stories told about it served as disaster preparation.{{cite journal|title=Recognizing Indigenous Knowledge for Disaster Management: Smong, Early Warning System from Simeulue Island, Aceh |author=Syafwina |year=2013 |doi=10.1016/j.proenv.2014.03.070|volume=20 |journal=Procedia Environmental Sciences |pages=573–582|doi-access=free }} Only 7 people of the total population (78,000 at the time) died in the December 26, 2004 tsunami.{{cite book|author1=Ashbindu Singh |author2=Zinta Zommers |title=Reducing Disaster: Early Warning Systems for Climate Change|year=2014|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-94-017-8598-3}}{{cite web |url=http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2002193085_tsunami01.html |title=Islanders remembered stories of 1907 tsunami |author=Margie Mason |year=2005 |publisher=The Seattle Times |accessdate=2015-01-09 |archive-date=2015-01-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109080404/http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2002193085_tsunami01.html |url-status=live }}