Manuscript Collection OA-1,  3.5 linear feet

Biography:
Adela S. Baer received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Zoology from the University of Illinois at Urbana in 1953. After receiving a Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of California in 1962 she took a professorship at San Diego State University and served as the coordinator of graduate programs in Biology in 1969-1971 and 1981-1983. She also was chair of the Biology Department between 1975-1978 and in 1982. Baer received a Fullbright Scholarship to the University of Malaya in 1967-68 and had the opportunity to make a brief visit to Mah Meri at Pulau Carey, Jah Hut in Pahang and Temuan in Bukit Manchong, Selangor. During a year's sabbatical in 1971-72 she worked with the Hooper Foundation, a cooperative Malaysian-American medical research foundation, and lived in the Temuan village of Ulu Serendah, Selangor studying human genetics and related health problems of the Temuan.

Baer continued to observe Orang Asli as a short-term visitor for a decade and then made contact and began working with Malaysian colleagues working on the same issues, research that has continued through today. She has also worked in East Malaysia, particularly in 1999-2000, and has provided comparative health information on Orang Asli vs. Sarawakian rural ethnic groups. Between 1997 and 2001 she was a co-coordinator (with Kirk Endicott of Dartmouth) of the Orang Asli Assistance Fund (which was under the umbrella of Cultural Survival of Cambridge MA). Baer visited Sarawak, Malaysia under a Fullbright scholarship in 2001. She belongs to the following associations: Sigma Xi, the American Society of Human Genetics, the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association and is a fellow of the Borneo Research Council.

Scope and Content Note:
The Adela S. Baer (ASB) papers document a human biologist's fieldwork, scholarly research and professional contributions to the study of the Orang Asli peoples. There are only two field records in the collection at this time, the Malaysian Road Atlas and a Temuan Genealogical Chart. The map, found in series 1 (box 1, folder 1), is annotated with Orang Asli place names. The majority of ASB's field records will be added to the collection at a future date. One collection, the John Brandt photography collection (OA-2), was processed separately. ASB acquired this collection for the Orang Asli archive and gathered information related to it from John Brandt. This contribution is documented in the incoming and outgoing correspondence found in series 3 (box 2, folder 1). That same folder also includes a Smithsonian museum catalog for the ethnographic objects collected in Malaysia by John Brandt.

Three documents authored by ASB are viewable in a digital format on-line. Two works, A Temuan-English-Malay Lexicon and A Temuan Syntax, were developed for use by the Temuan and the general public but not according to current linguistic standards. The Index of Locations or Place Names Relevant to Orang Asli History in Malaysia indexes place names mentioned in the 1906 work, Pagan Races of the Malay Peninsula, by W. Skeat and C. Blagden. Hooper publications (Series 6, Subseries B, folder 1) were collected as a result of work that took place at the Hooper Foundation during and subsequent to ASB's sabbatical in 1971-72.

The works of other professional colleagues are found in Series 6 (Subseries A and C). A number of these works are annotated by ASB (as noted in their folder titles) and document her professional contributions to the field of Orang Asli studies. Some folders include related correspondence with authors and other parties.

The majority of photographs (Series 4) include detailed captions with the following abbreviations: bt.= binte=daughter of; b = bin = son of; s/o is son of; h/o is husband of; laki = husband of. The sound recordings include Temuan ballads and a recording of the story Mamah Bungsu Gunong Tujoh (Series 4). A translation of the story can be found in the collection (Series 2, folders 4-6). A collection of published books and journals were donated along with the archival records and have been cataloged separately from the rest of the collection. They are housed in the Orang Asli Archive and are included in this list of Published Materials in the Archive.

Copyright:
The KSC Orang Asli Archive holds the copyright to the writings, photographs and sound recordings created by Adela Baer. The College does not hold the copyright to the other records in this collection.

Adela S. Baer (1931-)
Papers 1885, 1896, 1898, 1925-1926, 1930
1936-2005

Series 1: Field Records
Series 2: Manuscripts
Series 3: Correspondence
Series 4: Photographs, 1971-1972, 1998, 2001-2002

Subseries A: Kampong Ulu Kuang and Kampong Sungai Klubi, 1971, 1972
Subseries B: Selangor and Perak Photographs, 1971-1972
Subseries C: Photographs included with Budu's Word- list, Series 2, Folder 2, 1972
Subseries D: The Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association Conference and Kampong Ulu Kelantan, 1998
Subseries E: Bukit Tampoi, Selangor, 2001
Subseries F: Digital Photographs, 1971-1972
Subseries G: Summer 2002
Subseries H: Digital Photographs, July 2002

Series 5: Temuan Sound Recordings
Series 6: Vertical Files
Gallery

Return to Orang Asli Archive page.