INDEGENOUS COMMUNITY

INTRODUCTION Among the indigenous peoples are those of the Americas (for example, the Lakota in the USA, the Mayas in Guatemala or the Aymaras in Bolivia), the Inuit and Aleutians of the circumpolar region, the Saami of northern Europe, the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders of Australia and the Maori of New Zealand. These and most other indigenous peoples have retained distinct characteristics which are clearly different from those of other segments of the national populations.

HISTORY

referred to as First Peoples, indigenous people are members of an ethnic group that are the original or earliest known inhabitants of a nation or area of land. This is in contrast to groups who settled or colonized these places during more recent periods of history. Many indigenous peoples, despite their rich culture and traditions, are sadly noticeably absent from the historical narrative written by those who came after them.

RELIGION OF INDEGENOUS Buddhism. Christianity. Confucianism. Daoism. Hinduism. Indigenous Religions Islam. Judaism.

LANGUAGE

The indigenous languages of Malaysia belong to the MonKhmer and MalayoPolynesian families. The national, or official, language is Malay which is the mother tongue of the majority Malay ethnic group.

traditional food

Ayam masak dalam buluh, (below) ubi kikir

A Semai dish, nasi dalam buluh and rebung

traditional attire

The Ibans are an indigenous community in Malaysia. They are known for their warrior-like outfits and weaving of colourful, patterned cotton cloths called "pua kumbu". Men: Iban men have baju burung as their traditional dress. This is basically a warrior-like outfit having vest on top and a skirt like woven cloth as the bottom. These men also wear a silver belt, armlet and anklet and a headgear. Women: The traditional dress of Iban women is made of bidang cloth (a cloth used for stitching women’s skirts) and consists of marek empang (a chest adornment), sugu tinggi (headgear) and silver accessories including belt, bangles, etc.

traditional dance The traditional dances of the Peninsular Malaysia’s Orang Asli are strongly rooted in their spiritual beliefs. Dances are commonly used by witch-doctors as rituals to communicate with the spirit world. Such dances include Genggulang of the Mahmeri tribe, Berjerom of the Jah-Hut tribe and the Sewang of the Semai and Temiar tribes

TRADITIONAL MUSIC Akar Umbi has presented live renditions of the songs of Mak Minah Anggong, a Temuan ceremonial singer who lived in Kampung Orang Asli Pertak, a forest reserve in Peninsular Malaysia (shaded region in red on the map on the left).

Temuan songs include healing ritual songs (sawai orsewang ) with buluh limbong accompaniment. The buluh limbong are pairs of bamboo instruments struck on a long block of wood which are used in healing rituals and also to accompany other songs for entertainment by many orang asli groups.

FESTIVAL/CELEBRATION

Turun mandi - baby blessing ceremony Sunat rasul - circumcision ceremony Baralek - wedding ceremony Batagak pangulu - clan leader inauguration ceremony. Other clan leaders, all relatives in the same clan and all villagers in the region are invited. The ceremony will last for 7 days or more. Turun ka sawah - community work ceremony Manyabik - harvesting ceremony Hari Rayo - Islamic festivals Adoption ceremony Adat ceremony Funeral ceremony Wild boar hunt ceremony Maanta pabukoan - sending food to motherin-law for Ramadhan Tabuik - Muslim celebration in the coastal villages Tanah Ta Sirah, inaugurate a new clan leader (Datuk) when the old one died in the few hours (no need to proceed batagak pangulu, but the clan must invite all clan leader in the region).

TRADITIONAL GAMES Tempurung kelapa•a traditional toy that is made from a pair of coconut shells.•Aim : for the players to compete to see who can move fastest while standing on the coconut shells.