<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><mads xmlns="http://www.loc.gov/mads/" xmlns:mods="http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.loc.gov/mads/
mads.xsd"><authority><topic authority="http://AATesaurus.cultura.gencat.cat/aat/getty_en">Acehnese</topic></authority><related type="broader"><topic>Indonesian regional styles and periods</topic></related> <note xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[ The Acehnese are an ethnic group of mixed Malay, Arabic, and Indian ancestry inhabiting Aceh, a Special Autonomous Region located on the northwestern tip of Sumatra in western Indonesia, with a population estimated between 890,000 and 3.6 million. Historically, Aceh developed into a powerful Islamic sultanate that established a monopoly on the Sumatran pepper trade and maintained strong ties to the Arab and Indian Islamic world, reaching its cultural and political peak during the seventeenth century. The Acehnese speak a language belonging to the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian family and practice a form of Islam more closely aligned with the traditions of the Arabian Peninsula and Indian subcontinent than with the moderate Islamic practices prevalent elsewhere in Indonesia. ]]></note></mads>