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A Review of Anthropological Studies
The broad descriptive term “Orang Asli” refers to the 18 tribes of ancient indigenous
people who live in Peninsular Malaysia, and who are believed to be among the
oldest inhabitants of the country. As explained earlier, they have conventionally all
been seen as belonging to one of three main groups, namely the Semang, Senoi and
Proto-Malays (Table 1). They were first classified according to their morphology,
language, culture and geographical distributions for administrative purposes by the
British and Malayan authorities (Masron et al. 2013). The Semang generally have
frizzy hair and dark skin. In contrast, the Senoi have a range of skin colours and
curly hair, while the Proto-Malays have lighter average skin colour, straight hair and
epicanthal folds. The Senoi are the most populous and they are widely distributed
across the central part of the Peninsular Malaysia. Unlike the Semang and Senoi,
who mostly live in the hinterlands, the Proto-Malays are seafarers who established
their settlements in coastal and riverine areas (Andaya 2002). They possess agricultural skills as well as advanced knowledge in acquiring maritime commodities.
Most of the Orang Asli have retained their old form of economic subsistence, which
include hunter-gathering and swidden-agriculture. A small number of Semang still
retains a semi-nomadic lifestyle. Their culture and technology revolve around utilising surrounding resources. The Orang Asli have existed side-by-side with the predominant Malay community for centuries, with continuous cultural and economic
interactions. Trade relations involve jungle products being exchanged for salt, iron
tools, cloths, etc. (Andaya 2002). In certain cases, the Orang Asli became part of the
Malay political organisation and often became intermediaries between the Malay
rulers and their chieftains in the hinterland (Tuck-Po 2011). In Perak, various headmen of the Semai sub-tribe to have been conferred titles and awards by the sultan as
recognition for being representatives of people in the state’s interior. The Temiar
have a history of interacting with the Thais (Masron et al. 2013). Such economic
and political relationship show that in spite of differences in language, culture and
distribution, the Orang Asli were not entirely isolated from the dominant Malays.
Early references regarding the Orang Asli were made in the sixteenth century in
literature like Sejarah Melayu, the accounts of the French Catholic missionaries as
well as British adventurers (Tuck-Po 2011). More complete accounts about them
started to surface in the nineteenth century, especially in the works of Abdullah
(1960), Clifford (1897) and Logan (1847a, b, c, d, e, f, g, 1848a, b), as well as other
European scholars and travellers such as Borie (1865, 1886, 1887), Mikluho-Maclay
(1878) and Saint-Pol Lias (1883). From the early twentieth century, there were more
systematic observations of Orang Asli, especially through the work of Skeat and
Blagden (1906) entitled The Pagan Races of the Malay Peninsula. This work contained detailed descriptions about the Orang Asli and their way of life, as well as
classifications regarding their ethnic divisions and nomenclature. Systematic
fieldwork- based research on the indigenous tribes have been done by a few specialised scholars, such as Vaughan-Stevens (1892–1894), Winstedt (1922), Evans
(1923, 1927), Noone (1936, 1939, 1954), Wilkinson (1971) and Schebesta (1952).
A Multidisciplinary Account of the Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia
A Review of Anthropological Studies
The broad descriptive term “Orang Asli” refers to the 18 tribes of ancient indigenous
people who live in Peninsular Malaysia, and who are believed to be among the
oldest inhabitants of the country. As explained earlier, they have conventionally all
been seen as belonging to one of three main groups, namely the Semang, Senoi and
Proto-Malays (Table 1). They were first classified according to their morphology,
language, culture and geographical distributions for administrative purposes by the
British and Malayan authorities (Masron et al. 2013). The Semang generally have
frizzy hair and dark skin. In contrast, the Senoi have a range of skin colours and
curly hair, while the Proto-Malays have lighter average skin colour, straight hair and
epicanthal folds. The Senoi are the most populous and they are widely distributed
across the central part of the Peninsular Malaysia. Unlike the Semang and Senoi,
who mostly live in the hinterlands, the Proto-Malays are seafarers who established
their settlements in coastal and riverine areas (Andaya 2002). They possess agricultural skills as well as advanced knowledge in acquiring maritime commodities.
Most of the Orang Asli have retained their old form of economic subsistence, which
include hunter-gathering and swidden-agriculture. A small number of Semang still
retains a semi-nomadic lifestyle. Their culture and technology revolve around utilising surrounding resources. The Orang Asli have existed side-by-side with the predominant Malay community for centuries, with continuous cultural and economic
interactions. Trade relations involve jungle products being exchanged for salt, iron
tools, cloths, etc. (Andaya 2002). In certain cases, the Orang Asli became part of the
Malay political organisation and often became intermediaries between the Malay
rulers and their chieftains in the hinterland (Tuck-Po 2011). In Perak, various headmen of the Semai sub-tribe to have been conferred titles and awards by the sultan as
recognition for being representatives of people in the state’s interior. The Temiar
have a history of interacting with the Thais (Masron et al. 2013). Such economic
and political relationship show that in spite of differences in language, culture and
distribution, the Orang Asli were not entirely isolated from the dominant Malays.
Early references regarding the Orang Asli were made in the sixteenth century in
literature like Sejarah Melayu, the accounts of the French Catholic missionaries as
well as British adventurers (Tuck-Po 2011). More complete accounts about them
started to surface in the nineteenth century, especially in the works of Abdullah
(1960), Clifford (1897) and Logan (1847a, b, c, d, e, f, g, 1848a, b), as well as other
European scholars and travellers such as Borie (1865, 1886, 1887), Mikluho-Maclay
(1878) and Saint-Pol Lias (1883). From the early twentieth century, there were more
systematic observations of Orang Asli, especially through the work of Skeat and
Blagden (1906) entitled The Pagan Races of the Malay Peninsula. This work contained detailed descriptions about the Orang Asli and their way of life, as well as
classifications regarding their ethnic divisions and nomenclature. Systematic
fieldwork- based research on the indigenous tribes have been done by a few specialised scholars, such as Vaughan-Stevens (1892–1894), Winstedt (1922), Evans
(1923, 1927), Noone (1936, 1939, 1954), Wilkinson (1971) and Schebesta (1952).
A Multidisciplinary Account of the Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia