Indigenous Culture Essay

1799 Words8 Pages
Overview
Indigenous cultures are those societies which have their own unique languages and communication, historical knowledge, religious beliefs and their own methods of conserving the natural habitats through their sustainable way of life. At the same time, they face many challenges that are prone to minority groups all over the world. Such challenges include lack of political rights, negligence in terms of social needs and also discrimination based on their religion, culture and lifestyle.
In Malaysia, there are 95 different ethnic cultures which are existent in both Peninsular Malaysia and West Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak). They face many challenges, even today either through socioeconomic terms or culturally. Politically as well these indigenous people are overlooked and their rights are not recognized as they should be. These challenges will be explained further in the following parts.
History of Indigenous Cultures
The Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia dates back about 5000 years. Most of these Orang Asli are believed to have come from China and Tibet, through their migration in Southeast Asia before their settlement in Peninsular Malaysia and Indonesia. The term Orang Asli is the Malay word for “Original People” or the “First People”. It is a term used to describe the 19 sub ethnic groups that exist in Malaysia which is generally classified under Semang (Negrito), Senoi and Aboriginal Malay (Proto Malay). These groups have their own unique languages, cultures and