THE ABORIGINAL TRIBES OF PERAK, 



By 

 W. E. Maxwell. 



(Read at a Meeting of the Society, held on the ISth October, 1879.J 



The wild tribes of the peninsula being Kafirs, or infidels, it is 

 the privilege of their Malay neighbours, who are Mahomedans, to 

 capture and make slaves of them whenever they can do so. The 

 adult Sakei or Semang has no market value ; he is untameable and 

 is certain to escape to his native woods and mountains. Chil- 

 dren of tender age are generally sought for ; they grow up ignorant 

 of the language of their tribe and of the wild freedom of the forest, 

 and have, therefore, little inducement to attempt to escape. In 

 Perak, Kedah, and on the borders of Patani, I have met Sakei or 

 Semang slaves in bondage among the Malays, sometimes children, 

 sometimes adults, the latter having passed their childhood in servi- 

 tude. They are not unkindly treated, but the mere fact that chil- 

 dren are liable to be carried off into slavery is quite enough to ac- 

 count for the distance which the aborigines generally put between 

 themselves and the Malays. An investigation which has resulted 

 in the severe punishment of six Malays found guilty of dealing in 

 Sakei children in Ulu Perak has lately, it is believed, struck a death- 

 blow at this practice, as far as the State of Perak is concerned. No 

 less than seven children were recovered in various Malay villages 

 by the exertions of the Police, Some difficulty was experienced ia 



