170
All through this period, new discoveries were made, including the names and locations of indigenous tribes that were previously unknown to the Western scholars.
These researchers also managed to revisit the tribes themselves and refined earlier
classifications of the Orang Asli. Among the many contributions are those of
Schebesta (1952, 1954, 1957, 1973), which give in-depth insights into the Semang
he encountered, as well the first grammatical accounts of the Aslian language.
After World War 2, more scholars started to show keen interest in the Orang Asli,
especially with the establishment of the Department of Aborigines by the colonial
administration to document personal, historical and political accounts of the natives.
One of the most prominent writers during this period was P.D.R. Williams-Hunt,
who produced an overall survey on Orang Asli tribes, focusing on their cultures and
societies in 1952. In the 1960s and 1970s, the researchers who made major contributions were Needham (1956, 1974, 1976, 1984), Hood (1974, 1978), Dunn (1975),
Carey (1976) and Howell (1982, 1989, 2011) and Endicott and Endicott (2008).
Aside from anthropological and ethnographical studies which focus on the culture
and lifestyle of the Orang Asli, new studies on ethno-archaeology have also been
carried out recently. Systematic research in this field was done by A.H. Taha, especially in Upper Kelantan and Pahang (Taha and Jaafar 2015; Taha 1983, 1985a, b,
1988, 1991). Currently, Ethno-Archaeological research is being carried out by the
archaeological team of Universiti Sains Malaysia led by Dr Hamid Mohd Isa. His
research involves the study of the cultural materials of the Orang Asli in comparison
with prehistoric societies in the Malay Peninsula, as well as remapping of the Orang
Asli settlements in Kelantan, Perak and Pahang (Isa 2007, 2010a, b, 2015; Isa and
Ramli 2015; Isa et al. 2015). The Orang Asli revolves around what they can get from
their immediate surroundings. For the Semang and Senoi groups, economic activities revolve around hunting and gathering forest products, either for self- consumption
or trade. They also plant several types of crops, and work for Malay paddy planters.
Their staple includes wild yams, dry rice, bushmeat, maize, tubers and fish. Their
traditional hunting equipment includes blowpipes, spears, hooks and lines. They
also use knives, machetes, pots through trading with the Malays.
The Semang practise conjugal marriage and marriages among relatives are
discouraged (Benjamin 2001). The marriage ceremony involves bestowing gifts to
the bride’s family with a small feast. Couples may live with the bride’s family or
vice versa, or even alternate between them, as there is no specific rule governing this
matter. In most cases, divorce is acceptable when couples stop living together. Such
separation is done on good terms and often, the separated couples still continue to
live in the same village. Children are raised by both parents, though the wife plays
a more important role. The children learn their skills through participation and
observation rather than formal training. As for the Senoi, marriage is a casual practice and sometimes brothers may swap wives. After marriage, the couple first live
with the bride’s family and later move in with the groom’s relations. Apparently,
divorce among Senoi couples is quite common (Benjamin 2001).
The Semang form egalitarian societies, which are made up of units of conjugal
families, which come together and break up in the village camps according to their
A. T. Ahmad et al.
All through this period, new discoveries were made, including the names and locations of indigenous tribes that were previously unknown to the Western scholars.
These researchers also managed to revisit the tribes themselves and refined earlier
classifications of the Orang Asli. Among the many contributions are those of
Schebesta (1952, 1954, 1957, 1973), which give in-depth insights into the Semang
he encountered, as well the first grammatical accounts of the Aslian language.
After World War 2, more scholars started to show keen interest in the Orang Asli,
especially with the establishment of the Department of Aborigines by the colonial
administration to document personal, historical and political accounts of the natives.
One of the most prominent writers during this period was P.D.R. Williams-Hunt,
who produced an overall survey on Orang Asli tribes, focusing on their cultures and
societies in 1952. In the 1960s and 1970s, the researchers who made major contributions were Needham (1956, 1974, 1976, 1984), Hood (1974, 1978), Dunn (1975),
Carey (1976) and Howell (1982, 1989, 2011) and Endicott and Endicott (2008).
Aside from anthropological and ethnographical studies which focus on the culture
and lifestyle of the Orang Asli, new studies on ethno-archaeology have also been
carried out recently. Systematic research in this field was done by A.H. Taha, especially in Upper Kelantan and Pahang (Taha and Jaafar 2015; Taha 1983, 1985a, b,
1988, 1991). Currently, Ethno-Archaeological research is being carried out by the
archaeological team of Universiti Sains Malaysia led by Dr Hamid Mohd Isa. His
research involves the study of the cultural materials of the Orang Asli in comparison
with prehistoric societies in the Malay Peninsula, as well as remapping of the Orang
Asli settlements in Kelantan, Perak and Pahang (Isa 2007, 2010a, b, 2015; Isa and
Ramli 2015; Isa et al. 2015). The Orang Asli revolves around what they can get from
their immediate surroundings. For the Semang and Senoi groups, economic activities revolve around hunting and gathering forest products, either for self- consumption
or trade. They also plant several types of crops, and work for Malay paddy planters.
Their staple includes wild yams, dry rice, bushmeat, maize, tubers and fish. Their
traditional hunting equipment includes blowpipes, spears, hooks and lines. They
also use knives, machetes, pots through trading with the Malays.
The Semang practise conjugal marriage and marriages among relatives are
discouraged (Benjamin 2001). The marriage ceremony involves bestowing gifts to
the bride’s family with a small feast. Couples may live with the bride’s family or
vice versa, or even alternate between them, as there is no specific rule governing this
matter. In most cases, divorce is acceptable when couples stop living together. Such
separation is done on good terms and often, the separated couples still continue to
live in the same village. Children are raised by both parents, though the wife plays
a more important role. The children learn their skills through participation and
observation rather than formal training. As for the Senoi, marriage is a casual practice and sometimes brothers may swap wives. After marriage, the couple first live
with the bride’s family and later move in with the groom’s relations. Apparently,
divorce among Senoi couples is quite common (Benjamin 2001).
The Semang form egalitarian societies, which are made up of units of conjugal
families, which come together and break up in the village camps according to their
A. T. Ahmad et al.