The Mah Meri are an ethnic group native to western part of

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

. They are one of the 18

Orang Asli Orang Asli (''lit''. "first people", "native people", "original people", "aborigines people" or "aboriginal people" in Malay) are a heterogeneous indigenous population forming a national minority in Malaysia. They are the oldest inhabitants ...

groups named by the Malaysian government. They are of the

Senoi The Senoi (also spelled Sengoi and Sng'oi) are a group of Malaysian peoples classified among the Orang Asli, the indigenous peoples of Peninsular Malaysia. They are the most numerous of the Orang Asli and widely distributed across the peninsul ...

subgroup. Most of the members of the Mah Meri tribe live along the coast of South Selangor from Sungai Pelek up to

Pulau Carey Carey Island ( ms, Pulau Carey) is an island in Selangor, Malaysia. It is administered by the Zone 17 of the Kuala Langat Municipal Council. Carey Island is located to the south of Port Klang and north of Banting town. It is a huge island sepa ...

, although there is at least one Mah Meri Community on the other side of the

Klang River The Klang River ( ms, Sungai Klang) is a river which flows through Kuala Lumpur and Selangor in Malaysia and eventually flows into the Straits of Malacca. It is approximately in length and drains a basin of about . The Klang River has 11 major tr ...

. 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 A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

) 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:-

Definition

Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula (1906) (14758624876)

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 Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi: , Rencong: ) is an Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spoken in East Timor and parts of the Philippines an ...

) or Persisir (meaning, "coastal" in

). They are also considered as

Orang Laut The Orang Laut are several seafaring ethnic groups and tribes living around Singapore, peninsular Malaysia and the Indonesian Riau Islands. The Orang Laut are commonly identified as the Orang Seletar from the Straits of Johor, but the term ma ...

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 Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the northwest. Johor shares mariti ...

to the coastal shores of

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sem ...

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 The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family in Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. These languages are scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China and are th ...

language. It is part of

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

Aslian sub-branch of

Aslian languages The Aslian languages () are the southernmost branch of Austroasiatic languages spoken on the Malay Peninsula. They are the languages of many of the ''Orang Asli'', the aboriginal inhabitants of the peninsula. The total number of native speakers o ...

, 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

Carving

Mah Meri spider spirit mask (6346812079)

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 The Kuala Langat District is a district of Selangor, Malaysia. It is situated in the southwestern part of Selangor. It covers an area of 858 square kilometres, and had a population of 307,787 at the 2020 Census (exclude foreign). It is bordered ...

have high artistic value and the potential to be recognised at an international level.

Traditional dances

Sewang dance Sewang is a traditional dance performed by the aboriginal Orang Asli people of Malaysia. Originally the dance was performed for funeral, for thanksgiving, or to treat the sick or wounded, and now it is also used to entertain foreign travelers. ...

* 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 Orang Asli communities recruited in the study

Major settlements of the Mah Meri people are:-

References

External links

* http://projekt.ht.lu.se/rwaai RWAAI (Repository and Workspace for Austroasiatic Intangible Heritage) * http://hdl.handle.net/10050/00-0000-0000-0003-66E2-7@view Mah Meri in RWAAI Digital Archive {{Authority control Indigenous peoples of Southeast Asia Ethnic groups in Malaysia Orang Asli