CULTURAL SPACES IN ORANG ASLI ORAL TRADITIONS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21837/pm.v24i43.2128Keywords:
Orang Asli, Oral Traditions and Expressions, Intangible Cultural Heritage, Place-Based Narratives, Cultural LandscapeAbstract
This study develops a spatially grounded Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) framework for Orang Asli (OA) oral traditions. The study interprets oral heritage through cultural spaces linked to ancestry, Adat, sacred ecology, place memory, mobility, restriction and cosmological meaning. Existing documentation is dispersed across separate studies of myths, folktales, historical narratives, transmitted beliefs and proverbs, making it difficult to interpret Orang Asli oral traditions as an integrated ICH system. The study combined interviews with OA knowledge holders and community representatives with ethnographic records, publications and heritage reports. Content analysis identified manifestations by narrative form, function, symbolic meaning and community context. Inductive-deductive thematic analysis organized them into codes, facets and themes. Six experts assessed the framework using the Content Validity Index, informing four themes and sixteen facets. Spatial interpretation generated four conceptual layers and eight cultural spaces covering lineage, customary order, sacred landscapes, story landmarks, mobility routes, restricted areas, spirit guardians and cosmic time. The framework supports documentation, place-memory mapping, cultural-route planning, sacred-site protection and community-led safeguarding.
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