ABSTRACT
Orang asli “original peoples” inhabit tropical forests in the interior mountains of the peninsula. Some have settled on farmlands, but most are hunter-gatherers. Near the foothills and on the coastal plains are the Malay peoples, who for centuries have inhabited and ruled the peninsula. By the second or third century, Indian traders had carried Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism to the peninsula, overlaying with alternate beliefs the animistic practices of the Malay peoples. By the mid-1200s, Arab traders and missionaries had brought Islam to the peninsula. By 1400, the town of Malacca, on the west coast, had become an important center of government, trade, and religion.
