The Orang Batin/Orang Sakai in the Malay Kingdom of Siak Sri Indrapura
The Orang Batin/Orang Sakai in the Malay Kingdom of Siak Sri Indrapura
One of the Orang Asli groups of mainland Riau (Sumatra) is the Orang Sakai, formally called Orang Batin. From the few early accounts and recent ethnographic research, this paper reconstructs their political-economic and political-cultural relationship with the former Malay kingdom of Siak Sri Indrapura. The Orang Batin had a specific economic and ritual role within the kingdom, and the Orang Asli/Malay nexus was relatively benign and balanced compared to what was described for some kingdoms of the Malay peninsula and even elsewhere in Sumatra. Further, unlike the Orang Asli of the Malay peninsula, they did not suffer from slave raiding. The paper also reconsiders the Malay-peninsula-centered Orang Asli categories (Northern, Central, Southern Aslian, and tribal Malay). It proposes that most (although not all) of the East Coast Sumatran (tribal) Orang Asli should be considered as forming a fifth category of Orang Asli: Malay-speaking Sumatran Orang Asli.
Indigenous Peoples History, Orang Batin/Sakai, Riau ( Indonesia), Kingdom of Siak, Indigenous trade
285-306
Porath, Nathan
3ec6e51c-ceb8-46e2-8fd0-71a416f0f095
2018
Porath, Nathan
3ec6e51c-ceb8-46e2-8fd0-71a416f0f095
Porath, Nathan
(2018)
The Orang Batin/Orang Sakai in the Malay Kingdom of Siak Sri Indrapura.
Asian Ethnology, 77 (1/2), .
Abstract
One of the Orang Asli groups of mainland Riau (Sumatra) is the Orang Sakai, formally called Orang Batin. From the few early accounts and recent ethnographic research, this paper reconstructs their political-economic and political-cultural relationship with the former Malay kingdom of Siak Sri Indrapura. The Orang Batin had a specific economic and ritual role within the kingdom, and the Orang Asli/Malay nexus was relatively benign and balanced compared to what was described for some kingdoms of the Malay peninsula and even elsewhere in Sumatra. Further, unlike the Orang Asli of the Malay peninsula, they did not suffer from slave raiding. The paper also reconsiders the Malay-peninsula-centered Orang Asli categories (Northern, Central, Southern Aslian, and tribal Malay). It proposes that most (although not all) of the East Coast Sumatran (tribal) Orang Asli should be considered as forming a fifth category of Orang Asli: Malay-speaking Sumatran Orang Asli.
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Published date: 2018
Keywords:
Indigenous Peoples History, Orang Batin/Sakai, Riau ( Indonesia), Kingdom of Siak, Indigenous trade
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Local EPrints ID: 439294
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/439294
PURE UUID: 2364fe6f-5061-458a-b47c-c177b23120d5
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Date deposited: 08 Apr 2020 16:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 07:26
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