KALUANG
By: Hamly Hadi
History Observer
The name for a large bat-like animal in Banjarese is KALUANG.
Kaluang in Malay becomes Keluang because Malay is essentially Banjarese with the letter a changed to e. Thus, “ka” becomes “ke,” and “kaluang” becomes “keluang.”
Kaluang in Javanese becomes Kalong because in Javanese, the vowels u and a combine to form “o.” Similarly, “kedatuan” becomes “kedaton,” and “keratuan” becomes “keraton,” thus “kaluang” becomes “kalong.” **
Banjarmasin, January 29, 2026
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