ofthe SAME TREE

people in the region (see chapter 3). Stories of the sacred powers of these rulers
would have arrived in the Malay Peninsula during the Malayu immigration
of the late fourteenth century or even earlier as a result of the free flow of
goods and information across the Straits of Melaka. The Orang Asli may have
absorbed the traditions from the Minangkabau settlers, but it is more likely
that the reputation of the Minangkabau sacred center preceded the immigrants.
This reputation facilitated marriage between the Minangkabau and
the Orang Asli, particularly in Negeri Sembilan, which has often been seen as
a way in which the early Minangkabau settlers obtained access to the land. 141
Yet for the Orang Asli communities there was much to gain spiritually from
such unions. Their tales of the spiritual potency of Pagaruyung, reinforced
by the reputation of its rulers’ sacred “words,” 142 would have made the idea of
marriage with the Minangkabau attractive indeed.
Perhaps the most poignant theme in these Orang Asli/Suku Terasing tales
is the nostalgia for the time when their relationship with the Malayu was good.
In the Semai chermor, the marriage of the prince from Sumatra and the Orang
Asli princess living on Gunung Ledang results in the assistance of the Orang
Asli communities in the establishment of Melaka. The Orang Asli then become
the prince’s palace workers, guards, and army, tasks they continue to perform
for the descendants of this first Melakan ruler. 143 A similar development is
described in the Semai chermor. After the foundation of the Perak kingdom
following the marriage of the Johor prince Tok Betangkuk to an Orang Asli
woman of white blood, the Orang Asli come to perform such tasks as palace
workers, guards, and hunting partners of the ruler. In this and other Semai
tales, the Malayu ruler dreams of the supernatural partner among the Orang
Asli and goes in search of her. Before the marriage is contracted, the Orang Asli
always ask and obtain a commitment from the Malayu prince to assure that he
will treat them well and accept them as subjects. 144 The past is thus depicted as
a time when the Orang Asli and the Malayu were related by blood or by agreements
of mutual assistance. In many Orang Asli tales involving the Malayu,
the latter is useful as a counterpoint to a group’s creation of ethnic boundaries
while still retaining what Rosemary Gianno calls a “sense of relatedness.” 145
The reality of more recent times is baldly described in the tales of the Ma’
Betise’. According to their trimbow, or origin tales, the Ma’ Betise’ are pushed
out of Merekah (Mecca) and go to Mahdinah (Medina), where they are again
deprived of their land by the Malayu. From here they go to Batak country in
Sumatra where they are well treated, but the harshness of Batak law, particularly
regarding adultery, convince them to leave. They move to “peninsular
country” at Batu Pahat, where the group divides to become the Semai, the
Temiar, and the Ma’ Betise’. The Ma’ Betise’ remain on the coast, with one
group later splitting off to form the Blanda, today known as the Temuan. 146
The Orang Asli/Suku Terasing and the Malayu 231