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Mah Meri people

Field	Value
group	Mah Meri
Maq Betiseq / Besisi
image	[[File:Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula (1906) (14594821020).jpg	300px]]
caption	A Batin (village chief) of the Besisi people from Kuala Langat, Selangor, Malaysia, 1906.
population	2,120 (2010)
popplace	Malaysia (Pulau Carey, Selangor)
langs	Mah Meri language, Malay language
rels	Forest & Natural Spirituality, a type of Animism and a significant population practicing Islam or Christianity
related	Semaq Beri people, Semelai people, Temoq people

Maq Betiseq / Besisi

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.

According to the Orang Asli Office of the Malaysian government, they numbered around 2,200 in 2005. Most of the Mah Meri live in small villages (kampungs) on the fringes of other cities and on Pulau Carey, which has five separate villages of Mah Meri.

The Mah Meri people of Pulau Carey are internationally well known for their traditional wood carving skills.

History

Their ancestors are believed to be associated with the arrival of Austro-Asiatic migrants associated with the emergence of fire-cutting agriculture on the Malay Peninsula and the emergence of rice. Due to cultural exchanges and trade, some Mah Meri and Senoi have intermixed with local Negrito tribes.

Population

The changes in the Mah Meri population are as the following: | 1960 | 1,898 | 1965 | 1,212 | 1969 | 1,198 | 1974 | 1,356 | 1980 | 1,389 | 1993 | 2,185 | 1996 | 2,185 | 2000 | 3,503 | 2003 | 2,986 | 2004 | 2,856 | 2005 | 2,200 | 2010 | 2,120

Definition

A group forming a "war formation" in [[Jugra]], [[Kuala Langat]], [[Selangor]], [[Malaysia]], 1906.

Mah Meri in Mah Meri language means "Jungle people" (Mah = people, Meri = jungle)., while in another term the meaning of the name means Bersisik (meaning, "scaly" in Malay language) or Persisir (meaning, "coastal" in Malay language). They are also considered as Orang Laut due to them residing in settlements that are nearby seasides and work as fishermen. They are believed to have migrated from the islands in southern Johor to the coastal shores of Selangor in order to escape from their enemies.

Today Mah Meri community has undergone changes in terms of mentality and development as a result of integrating with other neighbouring communities.

Language

The Mah Meri language, also called Besisi, is an Austroasiatic language. It is part of Southern Aslian sub-branch of Aslian languages, and is related to Semelai, Temoq and Semaq Beri. There are an estimated 3,000 people still speaking the language, but it is seriously endangered.

Culture

A Mah Meri ''daun nipah'' style [[tempok]], a traditional headgear of the Orang Asli.

Carving

Many among them are skilled in carving statues that are made from wood. Their carvings include deities, humans, flora and fauna figurines. These carvings have gained recognition from the UNESCO. Handicrafts produce of the Mah Meri community in Sungai Bumbun, Kuala Langat have high artistic value and the potential to be recognised at an international level.

Traditional dances

Sewang dance
Tarian Jo'oh (Jungle dance)
Tarian Topeng (Mask dance)

Political organization

In common with other Orang Asli Villages, each kampung elects its own Batin (Village Headman) and a council of "elders" to represent the people living in the kampung. The Batin is paid an annual salary by the Malaysian government. The Bomoh, who functions as a shaman in their society, plays an important role in the kampung. Main puteri (meaning "Playing princess"), a dying ritualistic form of treatment due to Islamisation; is performed by the Mah Meri shaman to rejuvenate patients with emotional depression, physical fatigue or psychological problems caused by metaphysical forces.

Settlement area

Geographical location of Mah Meri people (located in west coast of [[Selangor]]) and other [[Orang Asli]] communities in [[Peninsular Malaysia]].

Major settlements of the Mah Meri people are:-

Name of Kampung	Nearest Town
Kampung Orang Asli Bukit Bangkong	Sungai Pelek
Kampung Orang Asli Sungei Kurau	Pulau Carey
Kampung Orang Asli Sungei Judah	Pulau Carey
Kampung Orang Asli Sungei Bumbun	Pulau Carey
Kampung Orang Asli Sungei Jugra	Pulau Carey

References

Kirk Endicott. (2015). "Malaysia's Original People: Past, Present and Future of the Orang Asli". NUS Press.
"Department of Orang Asli Affairs | Orang Asli".
Selangor Tourism. (5 April 2014). "Celebrate Mah Meri's cultural diversity". Sinar Harian.
Soong Phui Jee. (8 June 2013). "Palm tree shaded island". Sin Chew Daily.
Rouwen Lin. (2 February 2016). "Mah Meri carvers do it with spirit". The Star.
Nobuta Toshihiro. (2009). "Living On The Periphery: Development and Islamization Among Orang Asli in Malaysia". Center for Orang Asli Concerns.
Colin Nicholas. (2000). "The Orang Asli and the Contest for Resources. Indigenous Politics, Development and Identity in Peninsular Malaysia". Center for Orang Asli Concerns & International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs.
"Basic Data / Statistics". Center for Orang Asli Concerns.
Alberto Gomes. (2004). "Modernity and Malaysia: Settling the Menraq Forest Nomads". Routledge.
Asmah Haji Omar. (2006). "Bahasa Mah Meri". Penerbit Universiti Malaya.
Ab. Aziz Mohd. Zin. (2006). "Dakwah Islam di Malaysia". Akademi Pengajian Islam, Universiti Malaya.
Asmah Haji Omar. (2004). "Massa: majalah berita mingguan, Issues 425-433". Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Berhad.
Clare Chan Suet Ching. (December 2010). "Mah Meri Onstage: Negotiating National Policies, Tourism, And Modernisation In Kampung Sungai Bumbun, Carey Island, Malaysia". University Of Hawai’i.
Asmah Haji Omar. (2003). "Language and Language Situation in Southeast Asia: With a Focus on Malaysia". Akademi Pengajian Melayu, Universiti Malaya.
Patricia Hului. (8 July 2014). "Rediscovering the Mah Meri". The Borneo Post Seeds.
Nurul Afida Kamaludin. (1 July 2012). "Bringing the world's attention to Malaysia's heritage". The Borneo Post.
Leong Siok Hui. (22 July 2006). "Preserving the skill". The Star Online.
(22 February 2014). "Kekalkan tradisi". Utusan Online.
(26 October 2015). "Festival Orang Asli, pribumi pukau pengunjung". Sinar Harian.
Rouwen Lin. (5 August 2015). "Malaysian shamans brave Islam's ill winds". The Malay Mail.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

indigenous-peoples-of-southeast-asia ethnic-groups-in-malaysia orang-asli

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