A Dictionary of Mah Meri as Spoken at Bukit Bangkong

PREFACE

PREFACE This dictionary endeavors to document the lexicon of the language of the Mah Meri, an indigenous people of the Malay Peninsula. The compilation of this dictionary began in 2000 when I undertook my initial field trip at Bukit Bangkong. As the first attempt to compile a dictionary it is as thorough as our collective effort has permitted, but naturally it is not exhaustive. It represents an important first step in comprehensively recording a language that has resiliently held its ground, particularly in an environment where the community has faced considerable adversity in a century ofradical upheaval. The research that has contributed to the compilation of this dictionary was undertaken in two phases, the first when I held a post-doctoral position at the Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig (1999-2001), and the second during a post-doctoral position with the Hans Rausing Fund for endangered languages, School of Oriental and African Studies, London (20052007 ). It had been my intention to carry out fieldwork on the well-known Pulau Carey (Carey Island), but I was directed to Bukit Bangkong by Mohamed Sayed Abdullah of the Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli (JHEOA), who first introduced me to his home village. There are too many individuals to thank, in what has been a truly collective venture, but I am indebted to Sanggu Katan @ Fatimah Abdullah, former Batin Aboi Darns, Azman Zainal, Zainal Simbi, Misah Akhil, Menoh Simbi, Apit Ayem, G::lnd::ly Aton, Minah Bogot, Bakar Mogot, Ayer Bogel and Mbep Cik @ Mbep Laya, Sayam Ma'id, the late Ampon Pandak, sisters Esah Pandak, Sipot Pandak, and Angka Pandak, Using Laya, the late Sembuh Selai, Zamzuri Zarnzam, Azmi Mujir, Fauziah Zainal, Taat Ari, Bakir Antan, Nando Onggo, Kapur Atan, and the late Jalim Katan. I am grateful to the Federal and State offices of the Economic Planning Unit, and the JHEOA, and to Prof. Datuk Dr. Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, Institut Etnik, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, for making my research in Malaysia possible. Eva Fenwick and Joanne Taylor assisted in the preparation of the manuscript. The maps were prepared by Chandra Jayasuriya, The University of Melbourne. IX ...