Orang Asli: Difference between revisions

{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}

{{Infobox ethnic group

|image = [[File:Orang asli.jpg|300px]]

|caption = A group of Orang Asli from [[Malacca]] in [[folk costume]]

|popplace = {{flag|Malaysia}}

|langs = {{ubl|[[Aslian languages]] ([[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic]])|[[Aboriginal Malay languages]] ([[Austronesian languages|Austronesian]])}}

 

'''Orang Asli''' (''lit''. "native people", "original people", or "aboriginal people" in [[Malay language|Malay]]) are a [[Homogeneity and heterogeneity|heterogeneous]] [[Indigenous peoples|indigenous]] population forming a national minority in [[Malaysia]]. They are the oldest inhabitants of [[Peninsular Malaysia]].

As of 2017, the Orang Asli accounted for 0.7% of the population of Peninsular Malaysia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indigenous World 2020: Malaysia - IWGIA - International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs |url=https://www.iwgia.org/en/malaysia/3605-iw-2020-malaysia.html |access-date=2022-07-23 |website=www.iwgia.org}}</ref> Although seldom mentioned in the country's demographics, the Orang Asli are a distinct group, alongside the [[Malaysian Malays|Malays]], [[Malaysian Chinese|Chinese]], [[Malaysian Indians|Indians]], and the [[Orang Asal|indigenous East Malaysians]] of [[Sabah]] and [[Sarawak]]. Their special status is enshrined in law.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954 (Revised 1974)|url=http://www.commonlii.org/my/legis/consol_act/apa19541974255/|access-date=2021-12-13|website=www.commonlii.org}}</ref> Orang Asli settlements are scattered among the mostly Malay population of the country, often in mountainous areas or the jungles of the rainforest.

 

 

==Terminology==

* [[Negrito]] (or [[Semang]]), generally located in the northern portion of the peninsula, were short dark-skinned nomadic [[hunter-gatherers]] with Asiatic facial features and tightly curly hair.

* [[Senoi]] (or Sakai), residing in the central region, were wavy-haired people taller than the Negrito, engaged in [[slash-and-burn]] agriculture, and periodically changed their place of residence.

 

 

 

 

The Proto-Malays were originally considered [[Malays (ethnic group)|ethnic Malay]], but reclassified arbitrarily as part of Orang Asli by the British colonial authorities due to the similarity of their socio-economic and lifestyles with the [[Senoi]] and [[Semang]]. There are various degrees of admixture within all three groups. Only over time did indigenous peoples begin to identify themselves under the common name "Orang Asli" as a marker of collective identity as natives, distinct from the predominant ethnic groups more recently arrived to the peninsula.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Orang Asli of West Malaysia: An Update |author=Shuichi Nagata et Csilla Dallos |journal=Moussons |url=https://journals.openedition.org/moussons/3468 |date=April 2001 |issue=4 |pages=97–112 |access-date=2023-08-04 |publisher=Open Edition Journals|doi=10.4000/moussons.3468 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Orang Asli seldom associate themselves with the categories of "Negrito", "Senoi" and "Aboriginal Malays".<ref name="MOP1-38">{{cite book|author=Kirk Endicott|title=Malaysia's Original People: Past, Present and Future of the Orang Asli|year=2015|publisher=[[NUS Press]]|isbn=978-99-716-9861-4|pages=1–38|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=geXsCgAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref name="LOTP">{{cite book|author=Nobuta Toshihiro|title=Living On The Periphery: Development and Islamization Among the Orang Asli in Malaysia|year=2009|url=http://www.coac.org.my/dashboard/modules/cms/cms~file/93c38c2f6837049ec87607013c0c5404.pdf|publisher=Center for Orang Asli Concerns, Subang Jaya, Malaysia, 2009|isbn=978-983-43248-4-1|access-date=2021-02-09}}</ref>

The term "Senoi" comes from the words sen-oi and seng-oi, which means "people" in [[Semai language]] and [[Temiar language]], respectively.<ref name=":0"/>

 

 

In the daily life of the Senoi people, the norms of [[customary law]]s are observed. Since the days of the colonial era, missionaries of world religions have been active among these jungle dwellers. Now some people among the tribes are adherents of [[Islam]], [[Christianity]], or [[Baháʼí Faith]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Barbara A. West|title=Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania: M to Z|year=2009|publisher=Facts On File|isbn=978-0816071098|page=723}}</ref>

 

==Demography==

 

Population of the Orang Asli:

 

===The emergence of the Malays===

 

[[File:Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula (1906) (14779130654).jpg|thumb|right|The Orang Asli of [[Hulu Langat]] in 1906]]

However, the relationship between the Malays and Orang Asli was not always hostile, as many other groups enjoyed peaceful and cordial relation with their Malay neighbours.<ref name="BOA"/> With the easement of mobility and contact between various groups of people, the walls that separated the myriad of historical Austroasiatic and Austronesian tribal communities who once dwelled across the peninsula were dismantled, being gradually drawn and integrated into the Malay society, [[Malayness|identity]], [[Malay language|language]], culture and belief system. These [[Malayisation|Malayised]] tribes and communities would later be part of the ancestors of present-day Malay people.{{cn|date=August 2022}}

 

 

===Colonial period===

Realising the absurdity and flaws of their actions, the British administration changed tactics. Two administrative initiatives were introduced to highlight the importance of the Orang Asli, as well as to protect their identity. First, the [[Department of Aborigines]] was established in 1950, which was to take over the implementation of state policy towards the Orang Asli. Secondly, the British abandoned the "new villages" and began to create so-called "forts in the jungle", located within the traditional lands of indigenous communities. These reference points were provided with basic medical institutions, schools, and points of supply of basic consumer goods, designed for Orang Asli. Subsequently, the forts ceased their activities, and the Orang Asli began to create so-called exemplary settlements called Patterned Settlements.<ref>{{cite book|author=Bernadette P. Resurreccion & Rebecca Elmhirst|title=Gender and Natural Resource Management: Livelihoods, Mobility and Interventions|year=2012|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-11-365-6504-5|page=123}}</ref> A number of Orang Asli communities have been relocated to these settlements, which are accessible to Aboriginal and Security Department officials and yet close to traditional indigenous ancestral lands. They promised to provide their residents with wooden houses on stilts, as well as modern amenities such as schools, hospitals and shops. They also had to grow commercial crops (rubber, palm oil) and practice animal husbandry in order to be able to participate in the monetary economy. This strategy was successful, and support for the rebels from the Orang Asli weakened.<ref>{{cite book|author=Roxana Waterson|title=Southeast Asian Lives: Personal Narratives and Historical Experience|year=2007|publisher=Ohio University Press|isbn=978-08-968-0250-6|page=215}}</ref>

 

 

===Post-independence===

The rules governing marriage differ from one tribe to another Orang Asli. In Semangs, social structures are adapted to the nomadic way of life of hunter-gatherers. They are forbidden to marry and have intimate relations with blood or related relatives through marriage. These rules of exogamy require one to look for a spouse among distant groups, thus creating a wide network of social ties. The tradition of Senoi is associated with the practice of slash-and-burn agriculture. Their local groups are more stable than those of the Semangs, therefore the prohibition of marriages between relatives is not so strict, as a result, family ties are concentrated within a certain river valley. The Malay tradition is associated with a sedentary lifestyle, so Malays and Aboriginal Malays prefer to marry within a village or locality, and marriages between cousins are allowed. This practice of local endogamy strengthens people's commitment to their own economic system and keeps them from accepting other traditions. Such differences in views on the rules of marriage allowed for several thousand years to coexist side by side and not to intermarry with groups with very different economic complexities.

 

 

Traditional Orang Asli rituals are designed to maintain a harmonious relationship between humans and supernatural beings. They offer sacrifices to the spirits, praise and gratitude, ask permission to kill animals during hunting, cut down trees, plant cultivated plants, and ask for abundant harvests of wild fruits. More complex rituals are performed by [[bomoh|shamans]], many of whom have their own spiritual guides in the spirit world. Most of these people believe that spells can cure diseases or ensure success in any field of activity, usually with the help of supernatural beings. During those ritual sessions, the shaman falls into a [[trance]], and his soul goes to travel the worlds, looking for the lost souls of sick people, or meets with supernatural beings and asks them for help.

The Aboriginal Peoples Act is the only law that specifically applies to the Orang Asli.<ref name="OARPS">{{cite book|author=Colin Nicholas |title= Orang Asli: Right, Problems & Solutions |url=http://www.coac.org.my/dashboard/modules/cms/cms~file/6a54e49eb50bf6af44f31ab443fb82a2.pdf|publisher=Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia (SUHAKAM), Center for Orang Asli Concerns |date=2010 |isbn=978-983-2523-65-9 |access-date=2021-04-10}}</ref> It defines and describes in detail the terms and concepts for recognising the status of Orang Asli communities. Legally, Orang Asli is defined as members of an indigenous ethnic group who are of such origin or who have been admitted into the community by adoption, or they are children from mixed marriages with the indigenous, provided that they speak the indigenous language and follow the way of life, customs and beliefs of the indigenous people. Preservation of the traditional way of life involves the reservation of land for the Orang Asli. Legislation of such matters concerning the Orang Asli is the National Land Code 1965, Land Conservation Act 1960, Protection of Wildlife Act 1972, National Parks Act 1980, and most importantly the Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954. The Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954 provides for the setting up and establishment of the Orang Asli Reserve Land. However, the Act also includes the power according to the Director-General of the JHEOA to order Orang Asli out of such reserved land at its discretion, and award compensation to affected people, also at its discretion.<ref name=coacland>{{cite web|publisher=Center for Orang Asli Concerns|url=http://www.coac.org.my/codenavia/portals/coacv2/code/main/main_art.php?parentID=11400226426398&artID=11475792539604|title=The Law on Natural Resource Management|access-date=2 February 2008}}</ref> The state government may also revoke the reserve status of these lands at any time, and the Orang Asli will have to relocate, and even in the event of such relocation, the state government is not obliged to pay any compensation or allocate an alternative site to the affected Orang Asli victims. A landmark case on this matter is in the 2002 case of [[Sagong Tasi|''Sagong bin Tasi & Ors v Kerajaan Negeri Selangor'']]. The case was concerned with the state government using its powers conferred under the 1954 Act to evict Orang Asli from gazetted Orang Asli Reserve Land. The [[High Courts of Malaysia|High Court]] ruled in favour of Sagong Tasi, who represented the Orang Asli, and this decision was upheld by the [[Court of Appeal (Malaysia)|Court of Appeal]].<ref name="coacland" /> Nevertheless, customary land disputes between Orang Asli and the state government still occurs from time to time. In 2016, the Kelantan state government was sued due to a dispute over land by Orang Asli.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/343518 |title=Temiar Orang Asli get day in court against Kelantan gov't |author=Alyaa Azhar |publisher=Malaysia Kini |date=30 May 2016 |access-date=2016-12-22}}</ref>

 

[[File:Taman Negara (30509997143).jpg|thumb|A [[Batek people|Batek]] family in [[Kuala Tahan]], [[Pahang]]]]

While Malays have been considered a "native people" in Malaysia since colonial times, the Orang Asli, according to local notions, are communities of "primitive" people who never formed an "effective statehood"<ref name="EIAIR"/> and were dependent on the Malay state with political status determined by the practice of Islam, knowledge of the Malay language, and compliance with the norms of Malay society preferring that the Orang Asli "''masuk Melayu''" which is "to become a Malay."<ref name="EIAIR"/>The Malaysian state government does not recognise the Orang Asli as a "people" at all in the sense as defined in United Nations documents.<ref name="Nicholas"/> The Orang Asli's "nativeness" is their attempt to defend a broader political autonomy. Recently, some Orang Asli groups, with the support of volunteer lawyers, have made some progress in asserting their constitutional rights to customary lands and resources in the courts. They demanded compensation in accordance with the principles of common law and the international rights of indigenous peoples.<ref name="MOP1-38"/>

 

 

{{quote box

==Modernisation==

[[File:Orangaslifirestarter.jpg|thumb|right|An Orang Asli in [[Taman Negara]] starting a fire using traditional method]]

 

In 1980, the state began creating Orang Asli settlements under the so-called ''Rancangan Pengumpulan Semula'' (RPS), a "regrouping scheme". There were established 17 RPS with 6 in the state of Perak, 7 in the state of Pahang, 3 in the state of Kelantan and 1 in the state of Johor;<ref name="SSDP">{{cite web |url=http://www.jakoa.gov.my/en/orang-asli/pembangunan-orang-asli/program-pembangunan-penempatan-tersusun/ |title=Structured Settlements Development Programme |publisher=JAKOA |date= |access-date=2021-04-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115212053/http://www.jakoa.gov.my/en/orang-asli/pembangunan-orang-asli/program-pembangunan-penempatan-tersusun/ |archive-date=15 November 2017 }}</ref> totaling of 3,015 families that lived in them.<ref name="MOP1-38"/> The RPS scheme targeted remote and scattered settlements and was to organise Orang Asli agricultural activities as their main source of livelihood. Programmes for the introduction of commercial crops, such as rubber trees, oil palm, coconut palm, and fruit trees, were implemented. These programmes were implemented mainly by two government agencies, namely the [[Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority]] (RISDA) and the Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority ([[FELCRA Berhad]]).<ref name="TDOTOACIPM"/> Each family received up to ten acres of land as part of large plantations and two more acres for housing and homesteading. JHEOA provided people with tools, seedlings, herbicides and fertilisers for farming.<ref name="MOP1-38"/>

==Further reading==

* {{Citation | editor=Benjamin, Geoffrey & Cynthia Chou | title=Tribal Communities in the Malay World: Historical, Social and Cultural Perspectives | date=2002 | publisher=Leiden: International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) / Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) | page=490 | isbn=978-9-812-30167-3 }}

* {{cite journal |author=Benjamin, Geoffrey |date=2013 |title=Why have the Peninsular "Negritos" remained distinct? |journal=Human Biology |volume=85 |issue=1–3 |pages=445–484 |doi= 10.3378/027.085.0321|pmid=24297237 |hdl=10220/24020 |s2cid=9918641 |issn=0018-7143|url=https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2068&context=humbiol |hdl-access=free }}

* ''Orang Asli Now: The Orang Asli in the Malaysian Political World'', Roy Jumper ({{ISBN|0-7618-1441-8}}).

 

==External links==

* [http://www.yos.org.my/ Malaysian Orang Asli Foundation]

 

{{Orang Asli}}

{{Ethnic groups in Malaysia}}