The Temiar are a

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 peninsula ...

c group indigenous to the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...

and one of the largest of the eighteen

Orang Asli The Orang Asli are a Homogeneity and heterogeneity, heterogeneous Indigenous peoples, indigenous population forming a national minority in Malaysia. They are the oldest inhabitants of Peninsular Malaysia. As of 2017, the Orang Asli accounted f ...

groups of

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 ...

. They reside mainly in

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 ...

Pahang {{Infobox political division , name = Pahang , official_name = Pahang Darul Makmur , native_name = , settlement_type = States and federal territories of Malaysia, State , image_skyline = , imagesize ...

and

Kelantan Kelantan (; Kelantan-Pattani Malay, Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate''; ) is a state in Malaysia. The capital, Kota Bharu, includes the royal seat of Kubang Kerian. The honorific, honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' ("The Blissful Abode"). ...

. Their total population is estimated at around 40,000 to 120,000, most of which live on the fringes of the rainforest, while a small number have been urbanised. Temiar are traditionally animists. The ceremonial Sewang dance is performed by the Temiar people as part of their folk beliefs.

Population

The changes in the population of the Temiar people are as the following:

Culture

Traditional food

* Nasi serempad, rice cooked in bamboo * Umbut Bayas Masak Gulai,

pith Pith, or medulla, is a tissue in the stems of vascular plants. Pith is composed of soft, spongy parenchyma cells, which in some cases can store starch. In eudicotyledons, pith is located in the center of the stem. In monocotyledons, it ex ...

curry * Pucuk Paku Peno’ol, vegetable '' pucuk paku'' fern,

tapioca Tapioca (; ) is a starch extracted from the tubers of the cassava plant (''Manihot esculenta,'' also known as manioc), a species native to the North Region, Brazil, North and Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast regions of Brazil, but which has ...

leaves and

anchovies An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...

cooked in bamboo

Settlement area

Major settlements of the Temiar are: * Jeram Bertam,

* Kampung Chengkelik, Kuala Betis,

* Kampung Merlung, Kuala Betis,

* Kampung Jarau Baru, Kemar,

Gerik Gerik (alternate spelling: Grik) is a mukim and the district capital of Hulu Perak District, Perak, Malaysia. The town is also known as Rest Town due to its strategic location next to East-West Highway Federal Route 4, the main route linkin ...

* Kampung Sungai Cadak, Ulu Kinta,

Ipoh Ipoh (, ) is the capital city of the Malaysian States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Perak. Located on the Kinta River, it is nearly north of Kuala Lumpur and southeast of George Town, Penang, George Town in neighbouring Penang ...

* Kampung Tonggang, Tanjung Rambutan,

* Kampung Ulu Gerik,

* Pos Poi, Lasah, Sungai Siput (North),

* Kampung Temakah, Sungai Siput (North),

* Pos Perwor, Lasah, Sungai Siput (North),

* Air Banun, Hulu Perak District,

* Kemar,

Notable people

* Zumika Azmi, Malaysian Cricketer * Ramli Mohd Nor, Malaysian Politician * Sasha Azmi, Malaysian Cricketer

References

* Benjamin, Geoffrey. 1966. "Temiar social groupings." ''Federation Museums Journal'' 11: 1–25. * Benjamin, Geoffrey. 1967. "Temiar kinship." ''Federation Museums Journal'' 12: 1–25. * Benjamin, Geoffrey. 1968. "Temiar personal names." ''Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde'' 124: 99–134. (print), (online). . * Benjamin, Geoffrey. 1968. "Headmanship and leadership in Temiar society." ''Federation Museums Journal'' 13: 1–43. * Benjamin, Geoffrey. 1993. "Temiar." In: Paul Hockings (ed.), ''Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Volume 5: East and Southeast Asia'', Boston: G. K. Hall / New York: Macmillan, pp. 265–273. * Benjamin, Geoffrey. 2001. "Process and structure in Temiar social organisation." In: Razha Rashid & Wazir Jahan Karim (eds), ''Minority Cultures of Peninsular Malaysia: Survivals of Indigenous Heritage''. Penang: Malaysian Academy of Social Sciences (AKASS), pp. 125–149. . . * Benjamin, Geoffrey. 2014. ''Temiar Religion, 1964–2012: Enchantment, Disenchantment and Re-enchantment in Malaysia's Uplands''. With a Foreword by James C. Scott. 68 figures. 470 pages. Singapore: NUS Press. (paper covers) * Jennings, Sue. 1985. "Temiar dance and the maintenance of order." In ''Society and the Dance'', ed. Paul Spencer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 47–63. * Jenning, Sue. 1995. ''Theatre, Ritual and Transformation: The Senoi Temiars.'' London: Routledge. * Roseman, Marina. 1991. ''Healing Sounds from the Malaysian Rainforest: Temiar Music and Medicine.'' Berkeley: University of California Press. {{Ethnic groups in Malaysia Orang Asli Ethnic groups in Malaysia Indigenous peoples of Southeast Asia Peninsular Malaysia