Semang or Negrito is known to be the earliest Orang Asli tribes arrived in Peninsular Malaysia which about 25,000 years ago. Today the Semang live in the coastal foothills and inland river valleys of Perak, interior Pahang, and Ulu (upriver) Kelantan, and rarely occupy lands above 1000 meters in elevation. But in the early twentieth century, the areas regarded as Negrito country included lands from Chaiya and Ulu Patani (Singora and Patthalung) to Kedah and to mid-Perak and northern Pahang.
The Semang are Austroasiatic (Mon-Khmer) speakers who have been described by anthropologists as “Negritos” – short, dark skinned, wooly-haired people with broad noses and thick lips. Their average height is about 150 cm for men and about 140 cm for women.
The origin of the term “Semang” is most likely the northern Aslian “semaaq”, meaning “people” or “human being”. Semang populations traditionally live-in small bands of 15 to 50 people. The Semang sub-group of Orang Asli are concentrated in the highlands of Kelantan, Terengganu and the northern regions of Perak, Kedah and Pahang. They are broadly classified under the sub-divisions of western and eastern groups.
There are 6 different subgroups of Semang:
• Kintak
• Lanoh
• Kensiu
• Jahai
• Mendriq
• Batek
Until recently, the Semang have been traditional nomadic hunters, moving from place to place with the seasons in search of food, water, and grazing land. They are ethnologically described as nomadic hunter gatherers. They use blowguns to hunt small game and gather wild roots and fruits.
A very small number, especially among the Negrito groups (such as Jahai and Lanoh) are still semi-nomadic, preferring to take advantage of the seasonal bounties of the forest. A fair number also live-in urban areas and are engaged in both waged and salaried jobs.
Observers have remarked that the Semang do not wander randomly in the jungle but as far as possible remain within their own territories. The Negrito Batek do move beyond their territories in search of spouses, but they tend to remain within their own familiar territory where they know where food and other resources can be found and where they have close kin.
The Semang language belongs to a Mon-Khmer language. Most of the vocabulary used in languages spoken by the Semang originated from a common proto-Aslian and ultimately protoMon-Khmer and proto-Autroasiatic vocabulary.
Semang tribe in Malaysia
