Bota ( Jawi: بوتا; ) is a

mukim A mukim is a type of administrative division used in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The word ''mukim'' is a loanword in English. However, it was also originally a loanword in Malay from the Arabic word: (meaning ''resident''). The c ...

Perak Tengah District Perak Tengah District (Central Perak) is a district in Perak, Malaysia. It is administered by the Perak Tengah District Council, which is based at the town of Seri Iskandar; Parit is however the largest settlement in the area. Administrative ...

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. It comprises two geographical areas: Bota Kiri and Bota Kanan (Left Bota and Right Bota, respectively) as it is divided by the

Perak River The Perak River ( ms, Sungai Perak; ) is the second longest river in Peninsular Malaysia after Pahang River in Pahang, Malaysia. A number of towns are on the banks of the river including the royal town of Kuala Kangsar. Most of the settlements in ...

. There is a river terrapin breeding center in Bota Kanan. Bota is also well known for its

durian The durian (, ) is the edible fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus ''Durio''. There are 30 recognised ''Durio'' species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit. '' Durio zibethinus'', native to Borneo and Sumatra, is the o ...

fruit. The town has over fifteen mosques.

History

Name origin

The town was used to be named Brahman Indera. However, mythical

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, r ...

began to emerge among the locals of "

ogres An ogre ( feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the wor ...

" or giants that used to hid inside caves or holes underground around the river called ''bota'' (likely from the ''bhuta'', a jin-like creature which itself has been mentioned in the

Malay Annals The ''Malay Annals'' (Malay language, Malay: ''Sejarah Melayu'', Jawi script, Jawi: سجاره ملايو), originally titled ''Sulalatus Salatin'' (''Genealogy of Kings''), is a literary work that gives a romanticised history of the origin, ev ...

): these giants are said by the folks to have an earthy, muddy complexion and commonly lurk around yellow bamboo groves on the banks and edge of paddy fields where fish perch. They find food commonly in the soil and will occasionally forage in the form of human or animal flesh, however these ''bota'' being nocturnal in nature rarely stumble upon humans. They are said to come out to pursue children who did not wear their trousers. The presence of a ''bota'' is also believed to be associated with someone's death or loss: if a resident is found to be missing, they believe the ''Bota'' is responsible and residents have violated the taboo of ''bota'' 'existence' in the area. Another version of the folklore is that the ''bota'' is a type of animal that could crush human bones when it bites and often brought along by the

Sultan of Perak The Sultan of Perak (سلطان ڤيراق) is one of the oldest hereditary seats among the Malay states. When the Sultanate of Malacca empire fell to Portugal in 1511, Sultan Mahmud Syah I retreated to Kampar, Sumatra, and died there in ...

during long-distance travel. Bota is also humorously called as

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

cowboy town (Malay: Pekan koboi Boston) by the locals and the people in neighbouring area.

Demographics

In general, Bota's Malay population can be divided into three main groups, the natives of Perak, the natives of

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman and historically as Queda, is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km2, and it consists of the mainla ...

and the Banjar people. The natives of Perak constitute the majority of Bota's populace, particularly along the left and rights banks of the Perak River. The Kedah natives in Bota moved to this town in the 1960s, and they primarily reside in some areas of Titi Gantung. There also traces of Javanese and

Bugis The Bugis people (pronounced ), also known as Buginese, are an ethnicity—the most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassar and Toraja), in the south-western province of Sulawesi ...

people in the region. Chinese and Indians constitute a minority of the population in Bota, and they mainly reside in the vicinity of Seri Iskandar.

Local economy

Agriculture

Plenty of

farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors o ...

can be found in Bota and the regional area. Most of the local vegetables and fruits sold in the market are self-grown by the sellers living in the area. Bota is also famously known for

Durian The durian (, ) is the edible fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus ''Durio''. There are 30 recognised ''Durio'' species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit. '' Durio zibethinus'', native to Borneo and Sumatra, is the o ...

and

Tempoyak Tempoyak ( Jawi: تمڤويق), asam durian or pekasam is a Malay condiment made from fermented durian. It is usually consumed by the ethnic Malays in Maritime Southeast Asia, notably in Indonesia and Malaysia. Tempoyak is made by taking the f ...

.The town is one of the main producers of the fruit in the region. Furthermore, the town also currently focusing on the plantations of oil palm trees that are being integrated with

kenaf Kenaf tymology: Persian ''Hibiscus cannabinus'', is a plant in the family Malvaceae also called Deccan hemp and Java jute. ''Hibiscus cannabinus'' is in the genus ''Hibiscus'' and is native to Africa, though its exact origin is unknown. The name ...

plantations.

Manufacturing

In Bota Kanan, there is a rubber processing plant operated by Mardec Processing Sdn Bhd. The plant focuses on processing the Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) 10, 20 and MARUB 10CV, 20CV at the capacity of 38,000 metric tons per annum. There is also a large-scale solar photovoltaic (LSSPV) plant to be developed in the area at the cost of RM66 millions.

Tourism

Among the main attractions in Bota is an

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...

visit to breeding center for a critically endangered species of southern river terrapin in Bota Kanan. The visitors are able to interact with the terrapin offspring and feed them with vegetables. The tourist could also visit the Malay cultural center in Pulau Misa Melayu of Kampung Teluk Kepayang in Bota Kiri. The center which opened in 1996, showcases varieties of Malay cultural activities such as music and dance performance and traditional Malay dresses exhibition. Similarly, the tourists can visit Nasaruddin Rais Gallery in Kampung Padang Tenggala for a historical tour on an independence activist that was born and bred in the area.

Dialect

There are few types of Malay dialect that can be found in Perak. These dialects which are also known as

Perak Malay Perak Malay ( Standard Malay: ''bahasa Melayu Perak''; Jawi script: بهاس ملايو ڤيراق) is one of the Malay dialects spoken within the state of Perak, Malaysia. Although it is neither the official language nor the standard dialect in ...

, are generally categorized into five main dialects of which the Bota or Perak river valley dialect is considered as the purest form of dialect among the five of them in the state.

In popular culture

Bota has appeared in numerous Malaysian films and dramas. The latest and most significant ones are ''Lambor Kanan Belakang Dewan'' and ''Heri Bota''. Lambor Kanan Belakang Dewan was aired in 2017 by Astro for

Hari Raya , nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast , observedby = Muslims , type = Islamic , longtype = Islamic , significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan , date ...

special screening featuring Izara Aishah and Rashidi Ishak while Heri Bota was aired in 2020 by RTM TV1 featuring

Aedy Ashraf Mohammad Addy Ashraf bin Rosmadi (born 20 September 1993), better known by his stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are ado ...

References

External links

JPN Bota
{{Coord, 4, 21, N, 100, 52, E, region:MY_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Mukims of Perak Perak Tengah District