Loa Kulu


Loa Kulu is a district of the Kutai Kartanegara Regency, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. It covers a land area of 1,614.96 km2, and had a population of 39,938 at the 2010 Census and 51,639 at the 2020 Census' the official estimate as at mid 2024 was 58,169 inhabitants. Its district seat is Loh Sumber.

History

During the Dutch East Indies colonial rule, Loa Kulu was a fairly important coal producing area with the operation of a coal mining company called Oost Borneo Maatschapij in the late 19th century. Coal exploitation in Loa Kulu district ended in 1970, exactly 2 years after PN Tambang Batubara took over from OBM in 1968. Since then, Loa Kulu, which was once busy, has gradually become deserted, abandoned by thousands of mine workers.

Governance

Villages

Loa Kulu District is divided into the following 15 villages :
Regional code
NameArea
Population
RT
64.02.02.2001Jonggon Desa278.003,47818
64.02.02.2002Sungai Payang416.903,14520
64.02.02.2003Jembayan170.7810,90224
64.02.02.2004Loa Kulu Kota146.002,88123
64.02.02.2005Loh Sumber109.504,49211
64.02.02.2006Ponoragan91.208,3518
64.02.02.2007Rempanga56.003,7239
64.02.02.2008Margahayu62.503,12425
64.02.02.2009Jonggon Jaya62.504,13117
64.02.02.2010Lung Anai1.104754
64.02.02.2011Central Jembayan
4.722,15011
64.02.02.2012Jembayan Dalam6.501,93610
64.02.02.2013Sepakat3,7456
64.02.02.2014Sumber Sari2,68211
64.02.02.2015Jongkang1,8337
Totals1,614.9657,048204

The administrative villages of Sepakat, Sumber Sari, and Jongkang were all inaugurated on 28 December 2011, by respectively splitting them from Loa Kulu Kota, Loh Sumber, and Rempanga. Their exact areas are still uncalculated.

Demographics

Ethnic groups

Loa Kulu is a multi-ethnic district. It is inhabited by various ethnic groups, including the indigenous Dayak, Kutai, and Paser peoples. There are also Javanese, Bugis, and Banjarese immigrants.
There were two separate southward migration waves of Dayak peoples into Loa Kulu, none of them are truly indigenous to the area. Its western part which includes Jonggon Desa, particularly, has been inhabited by the Basap people since 18th to 19th centuries, following their migration from Manubar. Meanwhile, inhabitants of Lung Anai are mostly Kenyah people who migrated from Apo Kayan during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation.
The following are the majority ethnic groups per village in Loa Kulu district.
VillageMajorityRef.
Jonggon DesaDayak
Sungai PayangDayak or Kutai
JembayanKutai
Loa Kulu KotaKutai
Loh SumberJavanese
PonoraganJavanese
RempangaJavanese
MargahayuJavanese or Bugis
Jonggon JayaJavanese
Lung AnaiDayak
Central Jembayan
Banjarese
Jembayan DalamKutai
SepakatJavanese
Sumber SariJavanese
JongkangJavanese or Kutai

Religion

Based on their religion, the majority of Loa Kulu residents are Muslims, practiced mainly by the Kutai, Paser, Javanese, Banjarese, and Bugis peoples, besides that there is also Christianity which is mainly practiced by the Dayak people. Referring to data as of December 2024, the number of Muslims was 54,722, Protestants 2,565, Catholics 559, Buddhists 12, and Hindus 6.