Orang Pendek

In Indonesian folklore, the Orang Pendek (Indonesian for 'short

person') is the most common name given to a creature said to
Orang Pendek
inhabit remote, mountainous forests on the island of Sumatra. The
creature has allegedly been seen and documented for at least 100
years by forest tribes, local villagers, Dutch colonists, and Western
scientists and travelers. Consensus among witnesses is that the
entity is a ground-dwelling, bipedal primate covered in short fur,
standing between 80 and 150 cm (30 and 60 in) tall.[1]

Location
While Orang Pendek and similar animals have historically been
said to dwell in the landscapes of Sumatra in Indonesia, and Artist's impression of the Orang
Southeast Asia, claimed sightings have occurred largely within the Pendek
Kerinci Regency of central Sumatra and especially within the
borders of Kerinci Seblat National Park (Taman Nasional Kerinci Other Short Person
Seblat or TNKS).[2] The park, 2° south of the equator, is located name(s) (translation)
within the Bukit Barisan mountain range and features some of the Country Indonesia
most remote primary rainforest in the world. Habitat types within
Region Sumatra
the park include lowland dipterocarp rainforest, montane forests,
and volcanic alpine formations on Mount Kerinci, the second Habitat Rainforest
highest peak in Indonesia.[2]

Attestations
The following sources make reference to the purported creature:

Suku Anak Dalam

The Suku Anak Dalam ("Children of the Inner-forest") – also Farmers near newly cleared land
known as Orang Kubu, Orang Batin Simbilan, or Orang Rimba – within TNKS
are groups of nomadic people who have traditionally lived
throughout the lowland forests of Jambi and South Sumatra.
According to their legends, Orang Pendek has been a part of their world and a co-inhabitant of the forest
for centuries.

In Bukit Duabelas, the Orang Rimba speak of a creature, known as "Hantu Pendek", whose description
closely matches that of Orang Pendek. However, Hantu Pendek is thought of more as a supernatural entity
or demon rather than an animal, with the name translating to "short ghost".[3] According to the Orang
Rimba, the Hantu Pendek travel in groups of five or six, subsisting on wild yams and hunting animals with
small axes. Accounts of the creature claim it ambushes unfortunate Orang Rimba hunters traveling alone in
the forest. Along the Makekal River on the western edge of Bukit Duabelas, people recount a legend of
how their ancestors outsmarted these cunning yet dim-witted creatures during a hunting trip, and the story is
often used to boast of their intellect and reason.

Dutch colonists

Dutch settlers in the early 20th century provided Westerners with their modern introduction to Orang
Pendek-like animals in Sumatra. One account in particular is widely reported:

Mr. van Heerwarden, who described an encounter he had while surveying land in 1923:

I discovered a dark and hairy creature on a branch... The sedapa was also hairy on the front of
its body; the colour there was a little lighter than on the back. The very dark hair on its head
fell to just below the shoulder-blades or even almost to the waist... Had it been standing, its
arms would have reached to a little above its knees; they were therefore long, but its legs
seemed to me rather short. I did not see its feet, but I did see some toes which were shaped in a
very normal manner... There was nothing repulsive or ugly about its face, nor was it at all
apelike.[1]

See also
Bukit Timah Monkey Man
Homo floresiensis
Homo luzonensis
Orang Mawas
Ebu gogo
Yeren
Orangutan

References
1. Smith, Charles A. (1924-11-09). "Reported Find of Missing Link Will Be Probed". Nevada
State Journal.
2. "Kerinci Seblat National Park" (http://www.kerinci.org). Kerinci Seblat National Park. 2004.
Retrieved 2005-08-17.
3. Sager, Steven (2008). The Sky is our Roof, the Earth our Floor: Orang Rimba Customs and
Religion in the Bukit Duabelas Region of Jambi, Sumatra [1] (http://hdl.handle.net/1885/493
51)

External links
Guardian Science Notes (https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2011/sep/08/orang-pen
dek-sumatra-mystery-ape) September 2011
 Dunning, Brian (December 4, 2007). "Skeptoid #77: Orang Pendek: Forest Hobbit of
Sumatra" (https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4077). Skeptoid. Retrieved October 27, 2020.

Related
Bipedalism in orangutans (http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleId=E33CE33C-E7F2-99
DF-398486ECF156C73E), from August 2007 issue of Scientific American

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