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Proto-Malay
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Proto-Malay

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The term Proto-Malay, which translates to Melayu Asli (aboriginal Malay) or Melayu Purba (ancient Malay) or Melayu Tua (old Malay), refers to Austronesian speakers who moved from mainland Asia, to the Malay Peninsula and Malay Archipelago in a long series of migrations between 2500 and 1500 BCE, before that of the Deutero-Malays about a thousand years later. The Proto-Malays have ancestry of the first humans living in Southeast Asia.

Key facts

Ethnic group.group
Proto-Malay
Ethnic group.native_name
Malaysia: Melayu Asli, Melayu PurbaIndonesia: Melayu Tua, Melayu Kuno
Ethnic group.image
300px
Ethnic group.image_caption
A group of Proto-Malay Aboriginal people in Behrang, Perak, Malaysia, 1906.
Ethnic group.popplace
Malay Archipelago:
Ethnic group.pop1
13,000,000–15,000,000 (2010)
Ethnic group.pop2
65,189 (2010)
Ethnic group.rels
Animism, Islam, Christianity
Ethnic group.langs
Malayic languages, Semelaic languages, Batak languages, Dayak languages, Indonesian language, Malaysian language, English language
Ethnic group.related
Senoi (Semaq Beri people, Mah Meri people), Orang laut, Malays (ethnic group), Native Indonesians, Malagasy people

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

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Commons category
Proto Malay people
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via Wikidata · CC0

~6 min read

Article

10 sections
Contents
  • Origin
  • Geographical regions
  • Indonesia
  • Malaysia
  • The Philippines
  • Modern scientific consensus
  • Historical perspectives and misconceptions
  • 20th-century "Waves of Migration" theory
  • See also
  • References

The term Proto-Malay, which translates to Melayu Asli (aboriginal Malay) or Melayu Purba (ancient Malay) or Melayu Tua (old Malay), refers to Austronesian speakers who moved from mainland Asia, to the Malay Peninsula and Malay Archipelago in a long series of migrations between 2500 and 1500 BCE, before that of the Deutero-Malays about a thousand years later. The Proto-Malays have ancestry of the first humans living in Southeast Asia.

The Proto-Malays are believed to have been seafarers knowledgeable in oceanography who possessed advanced fishing as well as basic agricultural skills. Over the years, they settled in various places and adopted various customs and religions as a result of acculturation and inter-marriage with most of the people they come in contact with, such as the Semang and Senoi peoples.

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