11/5/2004 - AFSers Welcomed by the Malaysian Semai Tribe

On a sunny Saturday, AFS chapters, volunteers, students and staff gathered at a hilly Semai Village at Kampung Batu 10 near Cameron Highlands. The Semai tribe welcomed the guests to their village with a traditional dance and presented their guests with a beautiful, handmade head dress.

The villagers welcomed two AFS students, Christina Sutter from Switzerland and Ugla Johanna Egilsdottir from Iceland who will spend their Short Term Exchange (a two-week program) with the Semai Tribe. It will be another new experience for these students who are in Malaysia on the AFS year program, currently hosted in Shah Alam (near Kuala Lumpur) and Sitiawan, Perak respectively. The students presented a short performance for the villagers and an AFS Malaysia representative also gave a token of appreciation to the Head Village and the host family for their warm welcome.

More about the Semai Tribe and The Orang Asli
Can you imagine? The Semai people of Malaysia never fight. Whenever tribe members have a conflict it is resolved with words — lots of them. The village leader calls a meeting to discuss the dispute. Anyone with opinion can speak up. It is no secret that the vast majority of the world’s societies are nothing like the peaceful Semai. But why? Perhaps these two students will have a better answer for us when they come back. The Semai language is from the Aslian branch of the Mon-Khemer language family with only 33,000 speakers.

The Orang Asli are the indigenous minority of Peninsular Malaysia where there are many tribes in this area including the Semai. The name is a Malay term which translates as ‘original peoples’ or ‘first peoples.’ The Orang Asli, nevertheless, are not a homogeneous group. Each has its own language and culture, and perceives itself as different from the others.

The Orang Asli, numbering nearly 100,000 people, are made up of over 18 ethno-linguistic groups living in Malaysia. They reside in scattered villages, camps and estates, in the rainforest, mountains, and coasts, as well as in some towns and cities.