Loloan: Where Different Cultures Live in Harmony

Loloan is the name of two villages in Jembrana Regency of Bali Province, separated by a river; Ijo Gading, which runs through the village. East part of the river is called Loloan Timur and the west part is called Loloan Barat. The village is connected each other by a bridge called the Old Sharif Bridge. Loloan has its own language that is different as the language of the surrounding areas, not Balinese, Javanese, or any other. The language is called Loloan Language (Base Loloan) which is similar to Malay language.

The existence of Loloan area cannot be separated from the history of Islam in Jembrana. According to H. Husin Abdul Jabbar, Islam first entered Jembrana circa 1653 until 1657. Those who came at that time were residents of South Sulawesi. It is estimated that they were being chased by VOC soldiers.
Finally, residents who came by boat and Phinisi (Bugis style ship) land in Air Kuning area. Air Kuning’s population at that time was very low. The arrival of the Bugis and Makassar makes the Air Kuning crowded and it has become the first Moslem settlement in Jembrana.
Until the year 1669, Yellow Water was very peaceful. Bugis people are an active people, they cannot stay without doing anything and they started do activities such as yachting trade.
Jembrana Kingdom at that time was led by descendants of I Gusti Ngurah Pancoran who was pleased with the presence of Bugis people. The reason, they are a well trained soldiers and posses complete equipments.

In 1670, the kingdom of Buleleng is jealous with the existence of Jembrana, an decided to attack. Jembrana was beaten. Buleleng started to regulate the market trade. They built a new dock on the trench of Ijo Gading River. This dock was made circa 1671 and was named Tibu Bunter. Settlements and markets were also made around the area. Over time these settlements became known as the Moslem village and it is also known as Pancoran or Kerobokan Village.

 
In 1798, some groups of people came from Pontianak and docked at Pancoran. Previously they were in Lombok, to fight against the Dutch fleet. The delegation led by Sharif Abdullah bin Yahya  Maulana Al Qodri who is also known as Syarif Tua. The member of Syarif Tua army came from Bugis, Malays even the Arabs.

Syarif Tua met with the leader of Jembrana Gusti Putu Handul. As a newcomer, Sharif Tua and his people were given a place east and west side of the River Ijo Gading. They also cleared the area for two years to open a settlement. When they cleared the area, they have to follow the river which has a lot of bends, in Banjarmasin language it is called “liluan” over time it change to Loloan.

The second version says, Loloan means a very deep river trench which is used as a dock. The third version, derived from the word “loloh” (herbal medicine). At that time, there were a lot of herbs merchant in Pancoran. Because the areas were planted with many herbs plantation, the area is also known as lolohan or loloan. "The second version is the closest, why Loloan is being called Loloan." Said Husin Abdul Jabbar.
Based on historical records, there was a big flood in 1697, the Ijo Gading River overflowed. Many houses are washed away. Since then, people make houses on stilts to reduce the risk of being washed away by the flood. Moreover, houses on stilts are also made based on safety factors. Stage house was built in accordance to the origin of the settlers. Until the 1700s, these types of houses began appearing in Loloan region.

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