Semelai people

Last updated
Semelai people
JOHN SEMELAI (16044798638).jpg
Semelai people receiving visitors at Tasik Bera, Pahang.
Total population
9,228 (2010) with Temoq people included in the census [1]
Regions with significant populations
Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia:
Negeri Sembilan & Pahang 5,026 (2000) [2]
Languages
Semelai language, Malay language
Religion
Animism (predominantly), Christianity, Islam
Related ethnic groups
Temuan people, [3] Semaq Beri people, Mah Meri people, Temoq people

Semelai people are an Orang Asli people of the Proto-Malay people group found in Negeri Sembilan and Pahang states of Malaysia. [4]

Contents

Settlement area

They are divided into two major groups, namely:-

Population

The population of the changes of the Semelai population are as the following:-

Year1960 [9] 1965 [9] 1969 [9] 1974 [9] 1980 [9] 1991 [10] 1993 [10] 1996 [9] 2000 [11] 2003 [11] 2004 [12] 2010 [1]
Population3,2381,3912,3912,8743,0964,7754,1034,1035,0266,4187,1989,228

The 2010 census, the Temoq people were included in the Semelai population due to the small numbers of Temoq people. [1]

Music

The Semelai music have been passed down for generations except with little modification to suit with the modern times. There are two musical instruments used, which are the Rebana and Gong (including both "male" and "female" Gongs). [13] This musical style is often performed in community halls or houses during feasts, weddings, circumcision ceremonies, gatherings and welcoming visitors for the purpose of entertainment. [14] This music is performed with songs sung in Semelai language. There are also dances but it is only done with regulation and under certain requirements. The music of the Semelai is also used for healing purposes, [13] such as singing in fertility ceremony. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pahang</span> State in Malaysia

Pahang, officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific Darul Makmur is a sultanate and a federal state of Malaysia. It is the third largest Malaysian state and the largest state in peninsular by area, and ninth largest by population. The state occupies the basin of the Pahang River, and a stretch of the east coast as far south as Endau. Geographically located in the East Coast region of the Peninsular Malaysia, the state shares borders with the Malaysian states of Kelantan and Terengganu to the north, Perak, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan to the west, Johor to the south, while South China Sea is to the east. The Titiwangsa mountain range that forms a natural divider between the Peninsula's east and west coasts is spread along the north and south of the state, peaking at Mount Tahan, which is 2,187 metres (7,175 ft) high & the famous Kuantan 188 which is 188 metres (617 ft) high. Although two thirds of the state is covered by dense rain forest, its central plains are intersected by numerous rivers, and along the coast there is a 32-kilometre (20 mi) wide expanse of alluvial soil that includes the deltas and estuarine plains of the Kuantan, Pahang, Rompin, Endau, and Mersing rivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orang Asli</span> Indigenous ethnic groups of Malaysia

Orang Asli are a heterogeneous indigenous population forming a national minority in Malaysia. They are the oldest inhabitants of Peninsular Malaysia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jakun people</span> Group of indigenous people of Malaysia

Jakunpeople or Orang Ulu/Orang Hulu are an ethnic group recognised as Orang Asli of the Malay Peninsula in Malaysia.

Bera Lake is a natural freshwater lake system, located in Bera District, Pahang, Malaysia in the saddle of the main and eastern mountain ranges of Peninsular Malaysia, extending 35 km long and 20 km wide, drainings into the Pahang River. It lends its name to the Bera district and parliamentary constituency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temerloh</span> Municipality and district capital in Pahang, Malaysia

Temerloh is a municipality in central Pahang, Malaysia. Located about 130 kilometres (81 mi) from Kuala Lumpur along the Kuantan–Kuala Lumpur trunk road, Temerloh is the second largest urban area in Pahang after Kuantan, the state capital city. It is situated at the confluence of the Pahang and Semantan Rivers. Today, Temerloh usually refers to the territory under the administration of Temerloh Municipal Council which includes Mentakab, Lanchang, Kuala Krau and Kerdau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batek people</span> Group of Malaysian indigenous people

The Batek people are an indigenous Orang Asli people ; belonging to the Semang group, who live in the rainforest of peninsular Malaysia. As a result of encroachment, they now primarily inhabit the Taman Negara National Park. The Batek are nomadic hunters and gatherers, so the exact location of their settlements change within the general confines of the area that they inhabit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bera District</span> District of Malaysia in Pahang

The Bera District is a district in southwestern Pahang, Malaysia, bordering Negeri Sembilan and Johor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 in Malaysia</span> List of events

This article lists important figures and events in Malaysian public affairs during the year 1996, together with births and deaths of notable Malaysians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lanchang</span> Small town in Temerloh District, Pahang, Malaysia

Lanchang or so called Semantan is a small town in Temerloh district, Pahang, Malaysia, located 32 km (19.883878152 mi) from the town of Temerloh and has a total population of (38,473) with a density of from the census results of the Jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia Negeri Pahang in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mah Meri people</span>

The Mah Meri are an ethnic group native to western part of Peninsular Malaysia. They are one of the 18 Orang Asli groups named by the Malaysian government. They are of the Senoi subgroup. Most of the members of the Mah Meri tribe live along the coast of South Selangor from Sungai Pelek up to Pulau Carey, although there is at least one Mah Meri Community on the other side of the Klang River.

Semelai is an Austroasiatic language spoken in the Malay Peninsula. It belongs to the Southern branch of the Aslian language subgrouping. The Semelai reside predominantly around the Bera, Serting and associated river systems in the states of Pahang, Negeri Sembilan and Johor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temuan people</span> Ethnic group of Peninsular Malaysia

The Temuan people are a Proto-Malay ethnic group indigenous to western parts of Peninsular Malaysia. They can be found in the states of Selangor, Pahang, Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Malacca. The Temuans are classified as part of Orang Asli group according to the Malaysian government. They are also one of the largest and the most widespread of the Orang Asli ethnic groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temiar people</span>

The Temiar are a Senoic group indigenous to the Malay peninsula and one of the largest of the eighteen Orang Asli groups of Malaysia. They reside mainly within Perak, Pahang and Kelantan states. The total ethnic population is estimated at around 40,000 to 120,000, most of which live on the fringes of the rainforest, while a small number have been urbanised.

Orang Kanaq are one of the 18 Orang Asli ethnic groups in Malaysia. They are classified under the Proto-Malay people group, which forms the three major people group of the Orang Asli. The Orang Kanaq are considered as the smallest Orang Asli group with the population of approximately 90 people only.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malaysians of Indonesian descent</span> Malaysian citizen of Indonesian descent

The Indonesian Malaysians are Malaysian citizens of Indonesian ancestry. Today, there are many Malaysian Malays who have lineage from the Indonesian archipelago and have played an important role in the history and contributed to the development of Malaysia, they have been assimilated with other Malay communities and are grouped as part of the foreign Malays or anak dagang in terms of race. The Malaysian census does not categorize ethnic groups from the Indonesian archipelago as a separate ethnic group, but rather as Malay or Bumiputera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jah Hut people</span> Ethnic group of Malaysia

Jah Hut people are one of the Orang Asli tribes living in Pahang, Malaysia. As of 2000, the population of the Jah Hut people are 2,442 and by 2005, it is estimated that there are approximately 4,000 people living in 11 kampungs (villages) that are located along the west bank of the Pahang River from the north in Jerantut to the south in Temerloh, Pahang.

Temoq people belong to the Proto-Malay of the Orang Asli ethnic group that are found in Pahang, Malaysia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheq Wong people</span> Group of indigenous people of Malaysia

Cheq Wong people are an indigenous Orang Asli people of the Senoi branch in Peninsular Malaysia. Although they have the physical appearance of the Senoi sub-group, the Cheq Wong language that they speak is closely related to the Northern Aslian languages.

2020–2021 Malaysian floods is an event when several states in Malaysia were flooded in late 2020 and early 2021. Floods caused about tens of thousands of people to be evacuated to evacuation centers. The floods also claimed several lives, causing almost all types of land transport in the areas affected by the floods to be cut off.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minangkabau Malaysians</span>

The Minangkabau Malaysians are citizens of the Malaysia whose ancestral roots are from Minangkabau of central Sumatra. This includes people born in the Malaysia who are of Minangkabau origin as well as Minangkabau who have migrated to Malaysia. Today, Minangkabau comprise about 989,000 people in Malaysia, and Malaysian law considers most of them to be Malays. They are majority in urban areas, which has traditionally had the highest education and a strong entrepreneurial spirit. The history of the Minangkabau migration to Malay peninsula has been recorded to have lasted a very long time. When the means of transportation were still using the ships by down the rivers and crossing the strait, many Minang people migrated to various regions such as Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, Penang, Kedah, Perak, and Pahang. Some scholars noted that the arrival of the Minangkabau to the Malay Peninsula occurred in the 12th century. This ethnic group moved in to peninsula at the height of the Sultanate of Malacca, and maintains the Adat Perpatih of matrilineal kinships system in Negeri Sembilan and north Malacca.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kirk Endicott (2015). Malaysia's Original People: Past, Present and Future of the Orang Asli. NUS Press. ISBN   978-99-716-9861-4.
  2. "Orang Asli Population Statistics". Center for Orang Asli Concerns. Archived from the original on 2012-02-09. Retrieved 2017-04-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. "S. Karger". Human Heredity. Karger. 1978. p. 62.
  4. Katia Iankova, Azizul Hassan & Rachel L'Abbe (2016). Indigenous People and Economic Development: An International Perspective. Routledge. ISBN   978-13-171-1731-5.
  5. Kyōto Daigaku. Tōnan Ajia Kenkyū Sentā (2011). Tuck-Po Lye (ed.). Orang asli of Peninsular Malaysia: a comprehensive and annotated bibliography. Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University. ISBN   978-49-016-6800-2.
  6. Rosemary Gianno (1990). Semelai Culture and Resin Technology. Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences. ISBN   18-785-0800-8.
  7. "Suku Orang Asli Semelai gagal peroleh kebenaran merayu". Malaysia Kini. 23 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
  8. Mohd Husni Mohd Noor (11 September 2016). "6 pelajar Orang Asli ke UK". Harian Metro. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Nobuta Toshihiro (2009). "Living On The Periphery: Development and Islamization Among Orang Asli in Malaysia" (PDF). Center for Orang Asli Concerns. Retrieved 2017-10-27.
  10. 1 2 Colin Nicholas (2000). The Orang Asli and the Contest for Resources. Indigenous Politics, Development and Identity in Peninsular Malaysia (PDF). Center for Orang Asli Concerns & International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs. ISBN   87-90730-15-1 . Retrieved 2017-10-27.
  11. 1 2 "Basic Data / Statistics". Center for Orang Asli Concerns. Archived from the original on 2020-10-29. Retrieved 2017-10-27.
  12. Alberto Gomes (2004). Modernity and Malaysia: Settling the Menraq Forest Nomads. Routledge. ISBN   11-341-0076-0.
  13. 1 2 "Semelai Folk Music". National Department for Culture and Arts. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
  14. James Alexander (2006). Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore. New Holland Publishers. ISBN   18-601-1309-5.
  15. Hi-fi News & Record Review, Volume 26, Issues 2-6. Link House Publications. 1981.