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|
 An Orang Laut family living in a boat, circa 1914–1921. | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 420,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
Malay Peninsula: MalaysiaRiau Archipelago:  Indonesia Singapore | |
| Languages | |
| Loncong,Orang Seletar, Malay (Malaysian, Singaporean,Indonesian) | |
| Religion | |
| Animism,Folk religion,Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Orang Kuala,Orang Darat,Orang Seletar,Sama-Bajau,Moken,Urak Lawoi’ people,Malay people |
TheOrang Laut are several seafaringethnic groups and tribes living aroundSingapore,Peninsular Malaysia and theIndonesianRiau Islands. The Orang Laut are commonly identified as theOrang Seletar from theStraits of Johor, but the term may also refer to anyMalayic-speaking people living on coastal islands, including those of theMergui Archipelago inMyanmar andThailand, commonly known asMoken.
The population of the tribe in the 21st century is estimated to be 420,000 people.
TheMalay termorang laut literally means 'sea peoples'. The Orang Laut live and travel in their boats on the sea.[1] They made their living from fishing and collecting sea products.[2] Another Malay term for them,Orang Selat (literally 'Straits people'), was brought into European languages asCelates.
Broadly speaking, the term encompasses the numerous tribes and groups inhabiting the islands and estuaries in the Ria Archipelago, the Pulau Tujuh Islands, theBatam Archipelago, and the coasts and offshore islands of easternSumatra, the southern Malay Peninsula and Singapore.[4]
Historically, the Orang Laut played major roles inSrivijaya, theSultanate of Malacca, and theSultanate of Johor. They patrolled the adjacent sea areas, repelling pirates, directing traders to their employers' ports and maintaining those ports' dominance in the area.[2][5] In return, the ruler gave the Orang Laut leaders prestigious titles and gifts.[2] The earliest description of the Orang Laut may have been by the 14th century Chinese travelerWang Dayuan who described the inhabitants ofTemasek (present day Singapore) in his workDaoyi Zhilüe.[6]
In the storyThe Disturber of Traffic byRudyard Kipling, a character called Fenwick misrenders the Orang Laut as "Orange-Lord" and the narrator character corrects him that they are the "Orang-Laut".
