Bota (

Perak Malay Perak Malay (''Bahase Peghok'' or ''Ngelabun Peghok''; Standard Malay: ''bahasa Melayu Perak''; Jawi script: بهاس ملايو ڤيراق) is one of the Malay language, Malay Malayan languages, dialects spoken within the state of Perak, Malays ...

: ''Bote''; Jawi: بوتا; ) is a

mukim A mukim is a type of administrative division used in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The word ''mukim'' is a loanword in English language, English. However, it was also originally a loanword in Malay language, Malay from the Arabic word ...

in Perak Tengah District,

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. It comprises two geographical areas: Bota Kiri and Bota Kanan (Left Bota and Right Bota, respectively) as it is divided by the Perak River. There is a river

terrapin Terrapins are a group of several species of small turtle (order Testudines) living in freshwater, fresh or brackish water. Terrapins do not form a taxonomic unit and may not be closely related. Many belong to the families Geoemydidae and Emydid ...

breeding center in Bota Kanan. Bota is also well known for its

durian The durian () is the edible fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus ''Durio''. There are 30 recognized species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit. ''Durio zibethinus'', native to Borneo and Sumatra, is the only species ...

fruit. The town has over fifteen mosques.

History

Name origin

The town was used to be named Brahman Indera. However, mythical

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

began to emerge among the locals of "

ogres An ogre (feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the world. ...

" or giants that used to hid inside caves or holes underground around the river called ''bota'' (likely from the ''bhuta'', a jin-like creature which itself has been mentioned in the

Malay Annals The ''Malay Annals'' ( Malay: ''Sejarah Melayu'', Jawi: ), originally titled ''Sulalatus Salatin'' (''Genealogy of Kings''), is a literary work that gives a romanticised history of the origin, evolution and destruction of the Malacca Sultanat ...

): these giants are said by the folks to have an earthy, muddy complexion and commonly lurk around yellow bamboo groves on the banks and edge of paddy fields where fish perch. They find food commonly in the soil and will occasionally forage in the form of human or animal flesh, however these ''bota'' being nocturnal in nature rarely stumble upon humans. They are said to come out to pursue children who did not wear their trousers. The presence of a ''bota'' is also believed to be associated with someone's death or loss: if a resident is found to be missing, they believe the ''Bota'' is responsible and residents have violated the taboo of ''bota'' 'existence' in the area. Another version of the folklore is that the ''bota'' is a type of animal that could crush human bones when it bites and often brought along by the

Sultan of Perak The Sultan of Perak (, Jawi script, Jawi: ) is the Constitutional monarchy, constitutional monarch and head of state of the Malaysia, Malaysian state of Perak. It is one of the oldest hereditary seats among the Malay states. The current Sultan o ...

during long-distance travel. Bota is also humorously called as

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

cowboy town (Malay: Pekan koboi Boston) by the locals and the people in neighbouring area.

Demographics

In general, Bota's Malay population can be divided into three main groups, the natives of Perak, the natives of

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman (دار الأمان; Arabic for 'The Safe Abode') and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of ...

and the Banjar people. The natives of Perak constitute the majority of Bota's populace, particularly along the left and rights banks of the Perak River. The Kedah natives in Bota moved to this town in the 1960s, and they primarily reside in some areas of Titi Gantung. There also traces of Javanese and

Bugis The Bugis people, also known as Buginese, are an Austronesian ethnic groupthe most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassarese and Torajan), in the south-western province of Sula ...

people in the region. Chinese and Indians constitute a minority of the population in Bota, and they mainly reside in the vicinity of Seri Iskandar.

Local economy

Agriculture

Plenty of

farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or ...

can be found in Bota and the regional area. Most of the local vegetables and fruits sold in the market are self-grown by the sellers living in the area. Bota is also famously known for

Durian The durian () is the edible fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus ''Durio''. There are 30 recognized species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit. ''Durio zibethinus'', native to Borneo and Sumatra, is the only species ...

and

Tempoyak Tempoyak (Jawi script, Jawi: ), asam durian or pekasam is a Malay cuisine, Malay condiment made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented durian. It is usually consumed by the ethnic Malays in Maritime Southeast Asia, notably in Indonesia ...

.The town is one of the main producers of the fruit in the region. Furthermore, the town also currently focusing on the plantations of oil palm trees that are being integrated with

kenaf Kenaf tymology: Persian ''Hibiscus cannabinus'', is a plant in the family Malvaceae also called Deccan hemp and Java jute. ''Hibiscus cannabinus'' is in the genus ''Hibiscus'' and is native to Africa, though its exact origin is unknown. The n ...

plantations.

Manufacturing

In Bota Kanan, there is a rubber processing plant operated by Mardec Processing Sdn Bhd. The plant focuses on processing the Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) 10, 20 and MARUB 10CV, 20CV at the capacity of 38,000 metric tons per annum. There is also a large-scale solar photovoltaic (LSSPV) plant to be developed in the area at the cost of RM66 millions.

Tourism

Among the main attractions in Bota is an

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

visit to the breeding center for a critically endangered species of southern river terrapin in Bota Kanan. The visitors are able to interact with the terrapin offspring and feed them with vegetables. The tourist could also visit the Malay cultural center in Pulau Misa Melayu of Kampung Teluk Kepayang in Bota Kiri. The center which opened in 1996, showcases varieties of Malay cultural activities such as music and dance performance and traditional Malay dresses exhibition. Similarly, the tourists can visit Nasaruddin Rais Gallery in Kampung Padang Tenggala for a historical tour on an independence activist that was born and bred in the area. Meanwhile, due to the major box office success of the Mat Kilau film which featured several scenes recorded at Padang Koba in Bota Kanan, the area has gained an influx of tourists. Padang Koba in Perakian Malay stands for buffalos' field. Tourists are able to bathe in Perak river, relax, picnic, fly kites and could also watch free-roaming buffalos eating grass and wallowing in the mud, hence the name. Besides the Mat Kilau film, the area was also featured in Kota Setia (1997) TV drama and Ta'in (2003) TV series.

Dialect

There are few types of Malay dialect that can be found in Perak. These dialects which are also known as

, are generally categorized into five main dialects of which the Bota or Perak river valley dialect is considered as the purest form of dialect among the five of them in the state.

In popular culture

Bota has appeared in numerous Malaysian films and dramas. The latest and most significant ones are ''Lambor Kanan Belakang Dewan'' and ''Heri Bota''. Lambor Kanan Belakang Dewan was aired in 2017 by Astro for Hari Raya special screening featuring Izara Aishah and Rashidi Ishak while Heri Bota was aired in 2020 by RTM TV1 featuring Aedy Ashraf.

References

External links

JPN Bota
{{Coord, 4, 21, N, 100, 52, E, region:MY_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Mukims of Perak Perak Tengah District