Dancing the Main jo'oh: Hma' Btsisi' Celebrate Their Humanity and Religious Identity in a Malaysian World.

Official government census takers tick the religion box titled 'none' when they fill out the forms for most Orang Asli. Yet at weddings and other festivities, the Hma' Btsisi', an indigenous Mon-Khmer speaking people of Peninsular Malaysia, perform a religious dance and song cycle called the main jo'oh. Today, in Malaysia, the main jo'oh is a government centrepiece for Oreng Asli culture. Btsisi' are frequently asked to perform the main jo'oh for the Malaysian public and for tourists. The main jo'oh is displayed as a curious, albeit beautiful and exotic performance by a heathen people who have 'no' religion. But this paper points out that the dance is far from being solely an exotic relic. I argue that the meanings embodied in the dance performance form the foundation of Btsisi' beliefs; in other words, their religion. I conclude by discussing the main jo'oh in the modern Btsisi' and national context In particular, I demonstrate that the main jo'oh is a way for the Btsisi' to identify and distinguish themselves from other Orang Asli communities as well as from the majority Malay population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]