Not many Malaysians are aware of the existence of the Kensiu, the only surviving Orang Asli community from the Negrito tribe in Kedah.
With a small population of 350 dwelling in Kampung Lubuk Legong, about 12 kilometres from the rural town of Baling, it comes as no surprise when this ethnic group is faced with the challenges of preserving their culture, including their native language which has been assimilated with other languages.
"Yek sayeng Kensiu… bahasa menik Kensiu men'ed ap jagak be'ed be'ed',” said Mazwan Ibrahim, a young Kensiu, who spoke to Bernama in his mother tongue when met at his village recently.
“I love the Kensiu tribe...Kensiu language is unique, hence we need to preserve the culture and make it bloom”, he said, flashing a smile as he translated the language.
According to the Form Four student from a religious school in Sik, as the younger generation among his indigenous group, he felt that the responsibility for preserving the Kensiu culture rests on his shoulders.
“For this reason, I have volunteered to compile and input Kensiu words in the Wikikamus dictionary,” shared the youth, when met at a programme to document the language and culture of the Kensiu people on Feb 24 and Feb 25.
The programme was organised by Wikimedia Community User Group Malaysia in collaboration with Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM).It is also part of efforts by Wikimedia Malaysia to document the Orang Asli language which is on the brink of endangerment in this country, starting with the Mendriq tribe in Kelantan last year.
LANGUAGE ASSIMILATION
Meanwhile, the Tok Batin of Kampung Lubuk Legong Razali Kulim, the original Kensiu language spoken by their ancestors, has been assimilated with the local language and dialects given that the Kensiu community residing in the village are from several districts in Kedah.
“According to history, the community were brought here by the government in 1952. There were others who settled in Sik, Kupang, Sedim and also south Thailand. All of them were placed in this village.
“While all of them are from the Kensiu tribe, the local community’s influence has brought about diversity in their respective spoken language, in terms of words or pronunciation sounds. For easy communication, we have gradually replaced certain words with the Malay language.
“Take for example, the word udang (prawn). We used to call it ‘kleksuk’,” explained Razali, 45, adding that there are words which have been ‘modernised’ as it is easier to pronounce and understood by the younger generation.
“Although in this village we speak the Kensiu language, there are old words that are rather difficult for the younger generation to understand, as such parents and the older people have replaced them with other words which are easier to pronounce and understand,” he added.
“Other examples, the word ‘batu’ (stone) or we call it ‘balok’ previously, is now changed to ‘batuk’. The word ‘metless’ or ‘subsied’ or ‘beras’ (rice) in Malay, is now called ‘bias’, said Razali.
He further explained that the Kensiu language does not have any text and the spelling is only created after they have attended formal education in the national schools.
“The younger generation has taken the initiative to spell out Kensui words based on pronunciation sounds so that we can have a written record,” he said.
At present, Kensiu children received their primary education at Sekolah Kebangsaan Siong located about two kilometres from their settlement. For secondary education, besides Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaaan Siong, some children are selected by Lembaga Zakat Negeri Kedah to pursue their education at Maahad Dini Sultan Abdul Halim, Sik, managed by the institution.
COMPULSORY TO SPEAK KENSIU
Razali who was appointed as Kensiu Community Chief in 2016, said only 60 families were residing in the village then, which had a population of about 200.
“Today, the population has increased to 350 with 85 families living in the village. Except for three families, others are all Muslims,” he said.
Just like the Mendriq tribe, mixed marriage is also prevalent among the Kensui people and other communities of Semai, Temiar, Jahai,Kintaq and Batek tribes.
“To preserve our culture and language, it is compulsory for mixed marriage couples who reside in this village to learn and practise the Kensiu language.
“There are also marriages involving Malays and other races, but most of them choose to stay on their own outside this village,” he said, adding that the issue is among the constraints in preserving the ethnic group’s culture and language.
As such, said Razali, the initiative undertaken by Wikimedia Malaysia is a step in the right direction.
“The Kensiu tribe is the smallest group among the Orang Asli in Malaysia and are only found in this village...we fear that the Kensiu language will eventually disappear if it is not documented or properly recorded.
“As such, I will ensure the volunteers involved in the compilation and inputting of Kensiu words in the dictionary will not stop halfway and remain committed to the project,” he added.
DIGNIFYING THE KENSIU LANGUAGE
Meanwhile, Treasurer for Wikimedia Community User Group Malaysia Mohd Taufik Rosman said seven volunteers including three from Indonesia, are involved in the mission at the village, in addition to 26 UIAM students.
“The Wikikata project is aimed at preserving the language and ensuring ethnic languages in this country are protected and are recorded on the internet...today everything is just a click away but not all words can be found on the internet.
“What’s available on the internet are dominant words such as Malay, English, Mandarin and other languages...ethnic languages are sadly lacking, for example, the Orang Asli language in the peninsula and ethnic languages in Sabah and Sarawak,” he told Bernama.
According to him, efforts at the village were undertaken following the success of recording 300 words from the Mendriq tribe.
“We helped out by giving some guidance to the volunteers comprising 17 youths from the Kensiu community, to compile words as well as their meaning to be included in the Wikikamus dictionary.
“The programme will not stop after this two-day workshop as we will continue to guide them through WhatsApp....whatever that they don’t understand they can contact us,” he said.
He said throughout the two-day workshop, they managed to record 390 Kensiu words.
“A total of 215 audio pronunciations and three video conversations in the Kensiu language have been produced.
“We hope that more words can be included in the Wikikamus...all these must be done in a consistent manner as our concern is this language could be endangered if it is not preserved,” he stressed.
MISSION TO RECORD ENDANGERED LANGUAGES
A lecturer at the Centre for Research and Linguistics, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, UKM Assoc Prof Dr Fazal Mohamed Sultan who was also involved in the workshop, said the mission was to record the Orang Asli language from the Negrito tribe, which is the smallest Orang Asli tribe in Malaysia.
“There are six tribes under the Negrito tribe namely Kensiu, Kintaq, Jahai, Mendriq, Bateq and Lanoh. The Kensiu community has the smallest population after the Mendriq tribe. We have managed to record the Mendriq language and Kensiu is the second project,” said Fazal, who fully supported the Wikimedia Malaysia mission.
Fazal said that he has been conducting a study on the Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia, especially the Mendriq community, over the last 14 years.
During the period, he said much of the data has changed including Mendriq words which are no longer understood by the younger generation, triggering concern that Kensiu will face the same fate.
“We want to save as many (languages) as possible...we want them to evolve with the times, but at the same time, we don’t want them to disappear,” he said, adding that the next project will be the Bateq language.
At the same time, Fazal said his team only played the role as facilitators as the onus is on the community themselves as without their commitment and cooperation, the project would not achieve success.
LEARNING EXPERIENCE
For UIAM student Ahmad Ali Karim, 21, he opted as a volunteer for Wikimedia Malaysia which is an entirely different field compared to other volunteering activities that he was involved in.
“I joined Wikimedia as a volunteer in 2020, and it was a lifetime experience for me as I had the opportunity to visit the Orang Asli settlements in this country. The first was in Kelantan and the second here.
“It was a journey of experience and knowledge, among others I was able to learn the Kensiu language which reflected their identity. Despite modern development taking place, they managed to preserve their mother tongue as a language of communication,” said the second year political science student.
He said that albeit the negative vibes from some quarters, the team soldiered on and remained committed to the project aimed at preserving the Orang Asli language in the country.
“In South America for example, many indigenous tribes are prevalent there; some tribes have also recorded medical treatment in their language.
“It would be a loss if their language is not recorded and becomes extinct as not all traditional medication is ineffective; in fact, there are some with health benefits,” he added.
A Wikemedia volunteer from Indonesia, Dr Arjuna Fikrillah, 27, said his profession as a medical doctor has not deterred him from learning the Orang Asli language.
"In my country, there are many native languages, about 700 of them, but only a few have been preserved.
“From such a programme in Malaysia, I get the opportunity to learn how this language is preserved and perhaps it can be applied in Indonesia.
“This is my first visit to Malaysia and my first to participate in the programme at the Kensiu Orang Asli settlement...indeed, it has been a valuable learning experience,” he added.
Translated by Salbiah Said
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