Malaysian Zoologist: Call Them Orang Dalam

Okay, I know. You’ve been hearing this from me for awhile. I have been hammering on the issue of names, that the Malaysian unknown hairy hominoids are hardly "Bigfoot," for weeks. Now comes the same message from Malaysia.

This week, Malaysian zoologist Amlir Ayat decided to recommend one moniker for the cryptids. Here’s what he said to the local media:

It would also help if a common name was used for the Bigfoot. He felt it would be a good idea to adopt the name "Orang Dalam" used by the Orang Asli, like the name Sasquatch for the American Bigfoot, which originated from the Red Indians. Amlir said there was also a need to clear the confusion among villagers of mawas or orangutan and the Johor Bigfoot.

Amazing! Orang Dalam! You perhaps read this word first at Cryptomundo, in connection to this recent series of sightings, on December 24, 2005, with reference to how the term was used for similar bipedal giant hominoids in the 1950s and 1960s. On January 4, 2006, you might have also read what I wrote here about: "…what is unfortunately being called a ‘Bigfoot.’ (Hey, what’s wrong with using the local name for this cryptid? Maybe Orang Dalam, perhaps?)"

Mawas is used in the Southeast Asian region to refer to the orang utan (Pongo pygmaeus) which can grow to a height of 1.8m. Villagers in Kampung Mawai Lama in Kota Tinggi said they were familiar with mawas and were sure it was not the same as Bigfoot.

"The mawas’ feet are not as big as the footprints that have been discovered so far. I have seen the giant footprints myself and am certain it was not made by mawas," said fisherman Islah Midi, 62.

His nephew, Ariffin Ali, 38, said he had seen a footprint of the Bigfoot measuring more than 60cm in the jungles of Endau while searching for timber a few years ago. He said he was positive the footprint was not that of a mawas.

Thanks to cryptozoologist Chad Arment for bringing this significant article to Cryptomundo’s attention.

Loren Coleman About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct). Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015. Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.

Email • Facebook • Twitter •