Semelai language

Semelai
Spoken in	Malaysia
Region	Malaya
Ethnicity	6,400 (2003)
Native speakers	unknown  (date missing)
Language family	Austro-Asiatic Aslian Semelaic Semelai
Language codes
ISO 639-3	sza

The Semelai language is a language spoken by the Semalai people, one of nineteen groups called Orang Asli or "original people" by the Malaysian government. The Semelai reside in the region between Segamat (Johore) and the Pahang River. The Semelai are classified as so-called "Proto-Malays", one of three categories into which the Orang Asli are officially divided. Actually the Semelai language is an Austro-Asiatic language, while the other groups classified as "Proto-Malay" speak Austronesian languages.

Further reading

• Gianno, Rosemary. 2004. Women are not brave enough: Semelai male midwives in the context of Southeast Asian cultures. Bijdragen Tot De Taal-, Land- En Volkenkunde. 160, no. 1: 31.
• Hoe, Ban Seng, Adela S. Baer, and Rosemary Gianno. Semelai Communities at Tasek Bera: A Study of the Structure of an Orang Asli Society. Subang Jaya, Malaysia: Centre for Orang Asli Concerns, 2001. ISBN 9834004230
• Hood, M. S. Semelai Rituals of Curing. University of Oxford, 1978.
• Kruspe, Nicole. A Grammar of Semelai. Cambridge grammatical descriptions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. ISBN 0521814979
• Santharamohana, Mohala. Knowledge, Culture and Beliefs of the Semelai People in Tasek Bera. Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia: Wetlands International, Malaysia Office, 2002. ISBN 9834096046

External links

• JOURNEY INTO TASEK BERA WITH THE ORANG ASLI SEMELAI
• More support for indigenous Semelai at Tasek Bera Ramsar Site
• Knowledge, Culture and Beliefs of Tasek Bera's Semelai People. Tasek Bera, Malaysia's first Ramsar site, is important not just for its flora and fauna. It is also home to the Semelai, the indigenous Orang Asli people who inhabit the area around the lake. WETLANDS INTERNATIONAL reports on their unique culture and beliefs.