Malaysia S Original People

The Malay-language term for the indigenous minority peoples of Peninsular Malaysia, “Orang Asli”, covers at least 19 culturally and linguistically distinct subgroups. This volume is a comprehensive survey of current understandings of Malaysia’s Orang Asli communities (including contributions from scholars within the Orang Asli community), looking at language, archaeology, history, religion and issues of education, health and social change, as well as questions of land rights and control of resources. Until about 1960 most Orang Asli lived in small camps and villages in the coastal and interior forests, or in isolated rural areas, and made their living by various combinations of hunting, gathering, fishing, agriculture, and trading forest products. By the end of the century, logging, economic development projects such as oil palm plantations, and resettlement programmes have displaced many Orang Asli communities and disrupted long-established social and cultural practices. The chapters in the present volume show Orang Asli responses to the challenges posed by a rapidly changing world. The authors also highlight the importance of Orang Asli studies for the anthropological understanding of small-scale indigenous societies in general.

Sharply focused on key issues affecting indigenous and ethnic groups worldwide, this book is part of a series of ethnographies, authored by leading figures in the field of anthropology and builds on introductoy material by going further in- depth and allowing readers to explore, virtually first hand, a particular issue and its impact on a culture. Concentrates on a well-researched, specific issue and its impact on a particular culture. Provides in-depth information on a particular culture, expanding the readerOs grasp of the experiences and problems encountered by different cultures.

This revised and updated edition of the Chronicle of Malaysia brings the full dramatic sweep of Malaysia's history up to date, taking the reader through the nation's first 50 years from the formation of Malaysia in 1963 all the way to 2013. It is packed with illustrated news stories covering hundreds of the nation's key social, political, cultural and sporting events. As a compendium of all aspects of Malaysian life, the book captures the mood of the day with a sense of vividness and immediacy. Concise, accessible articles—revised and rewritten to engage today's readers—are introduced by headlines and liberally illustrated with photographs and specially commissioned cartoons. The book is structured chronologically, with an average of eight pages devoted to each year beginning with a succinct summary of the year's key events. A host of themes are covered: not just the major political and economic events but also the human side of the Malaysian experience—sports, fashion, music, the arts, architecture, lifestyle, disasters, crime and the social scene. These combine to give readers the feel of each era of Malaysia's past and enables them to draw parallels with the present.

Tall Tales of Malaysia is a collection of 18 vivid and memorable short stories about life in the Federation of Malaysia. The stories vary greatly in scope and theme. However, taken together, they capture the distinctive flavour of the people and states that make up modern Malaysia, its exotic rainforest, its diverse races, its indigenous people and their belief in ghosts, djinns and bomohs. There is a good deal of flashback to the colonial era and some mention of the legacy issues which still remain. The stories are entirely fictional and belong to the rich oral tradition of storytelling across Southeast Asia. Tall Tales of Malaysia are refreshingly different. They are gripping and a joy to read.

To date, most studies of Malaysia’s aboriginal people, the Orang Asli, have studied the community in either the rural or forest settings. This book, however, outlines the dynamics of Orang Asli migration to Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia’s most urbanised region – and explores the lived experiences of these individuals in the urban space. The book begins by charting the history of the Orang Asli under British colonial rule followed by the community’s experiences under the Malaysian government, in an attempt to provide a deeper understanding of the economic and social complexities facing the Orang Asli today. Based on extensive original research, the book goes on to discuss the interesting changes taking place among urban Orang Asli migrants with regards to gender dynamics, while exploring the unique ways in which these urban indigenous migrants maintain close links with their home communities in the rural spaces of Peninsular Malaysia. The book concludes by assessing how research on the urban Orang Asli fits into broader studies of urban and contemporary indigeneity in both Malaysia and abroad.

To date, most studies of Malaysia's aboriginal people, the Orang Asli, have studied the community in either the rural or forest settings. This book, however, outlines the dynamics of Orang Asli migration to Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia's most urbanised region - and explores the lived experiences of these individuals in the urban space. The book begins by charting the history of the Orang Asli under British colonial rule followed by the community's experiences under the Malaysian government, in an attempt to provide a deeper understanding of the economic and social complexities facing the Orang Asli today. Based on extensive original research, the book goes on to discuss the interesting changes taking place among urban Orang Asli migrants with regards to gender dynamics, while exploring the unique ways in which these urban indigenous migrants maintain close links with their home communities in the rural spaces of Peninsular Malaysia. The book concludes by assessing how research on the urban Orang Asli fits into broader studies of urban and contemporary indigeneity in both Malaysia and abroad.

Bringing together over thirty years of detailed ethnographic research on the Menraq of Malaysia, this fascinating book analyzes and documents the experience of development and modernization in tribal communities. Descendents of hunter-gatherers who have inhabited Southeast Asia for about 40,000 years, the Menraq (also known as Semang or Negritos) were nomadic foragers until they were resettled in a Malaysian government-mandated settlement in 1972. Modernity and Malaysia begins with the ‘Jeli Incident’ in which several Menraq were alleged to have killed three Malays, members of the dominant ethnic group in the country. Alberto Gomes links this uncharacteristic violence to Menraq experiences of Malaysian-style modernity that have left them displaced, depressed, discontented, and disillusioned. Tracing the transformation of the lives of Menraq resulting from resettlement, development, and various ‘civilizing projects’, this book examines how the encounter with modernity has led the subsistence-oriented, relatively autonomous Menraq into a life of dependence on the state and the market. Challenging conventional social scientific understanding of concepts such as modernity and marginalization, and providing empirical material for comparison with the experience of modernity for indigenous peoples around the world, Modernity and Malaysia is a valuable resource for students and scholars of anthropology, development studies and indigenous studies, as well as those with a more general interest in asian studies.

Dwelling in the highland areas of Northeast India, Bangladesh, Southwest China, Taiwan, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Peninsular Malaysia are hundreds of “peoples”. Together their population adds up to 100 million, more than most of the countries they live in. Yet in each of these countries, they are regarded as minorities. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Peoples of the Southeast Asian Massif contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on about 300 groups, the ten countries they live in, their historical figures, and their salient political, economic, social, cultural and religious aspects. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more.