The Temiar are a Senoic group indigenous to the Malay Peninsula and one of the largest of the eighteen Orang Asli groups of Malaysia. They reside mainly in Perak, Pahang and Kelantan. 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: Year 1930s 1960 1965 1969 1974 1980 1991 1993 1996 2000 2003 2004 2010 Population 2,000 8,945 9,325 9,929 10,586 12,365 16,892 15,122 15,122 17,706 25,725 25,590 30,118
Culture Traditional food Nasi serempad, rice cooked in bamboo Umbut Bayas Masak Gulai, pith curry Pucuk Paku Peno’ol, vegetable pucuk paku fern, tapioca leaves and anchovies cooked in bamboo
Settlement area Major settlements of the Temiar are: Jeram Bertam, Kelantan Kampung Chengkelik, Kuala Betis, Kelantan Kampung Merlung, Kuala Betis, Kelantan Kampung Jarau Baru, Kemar, Gerik, Perak Kampung Sungai Cadak, Ulu Kinta, Ipoh, Perak Kampung Tonggang, Tanjung Rambutan, Ipoh, Perak Kampung Ulu Gerik, Gerik, Perak Pos Poi, Lasah, Sungai Siput (North), Perak Kampung Temakah, Sungai Siput (North), Perak Pos Perwor, Lasah, Sungai Siput (North), Perak Air Banun, Hulu Perak District, Perak Kemar, Gerik, Perak
Notable people Zumika Azmi, Malaysian Cricketer Ramli Mohd Nor, Malaysian Politician Sasha Azmi, Malaysian Cricketer
See also
Dream Theory in Malaya
References
Further reading
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.