Orang Mawas or Mawas (also known as the Orang Dalam) is a hominid cryptidreported to inhabit the jungle of Johor in Malaysia. It is described as being about 10 ft (2.4–3 m) tall, bipedal and covered in black fur, and has been reported feeding on fish and raiding orchards. There have been many sightings of the creature, which the local Orang Asli people call hantu jarang gigi, which translates as 'Snaggle-toothed Ghost'.[1]Recorded claims of Mawas sightings date back to 1871.[2] Some speculate the creature may be a surviving Gigantopithecus, while others dismiss the sightings as misidentifiedSun Bears.The creature is similar to the Muwa, another hominid, this time found in thePhilippines.
There have been many reported sightings since the 1950s, and in 1995 in Johor large tracks with four toes were reported.[3] In November 2005 a much publicised sighting occurred when three workers clearing ground for a pond saw a Mawa family of two adults and a child walking near the Kincin River. Later large humanoid footprints were found, including one 18 in (46 cm) long.[1] A photograph of a fresh footprint in tar, attributed to the Mawas, was printed in Malaysian newspapers in January 2006. A government team has been searching for more evidence of the Mawas. In late January 2006, the authorities in Johor announced an official expedition to prove the creature's existence, making it the first country to have an official hunt for a mystery hominid. A news story on Cryptomundo.com said that an Orang Mawas was captured in Johor on the expedition of Johor, as reported on April 19, 2006 in the Berita Harian, but an official report released by Bernama denied it.[4]
In Sumatra, mawas (sometimes maias) is common name for the orangutan.
GIANT HOMINID of Southeast Asia.
Etymology: Malay (Austronesian), “man of the
interior.” This term is common throughout
Malaysia and Indonesia and usually refers to tribes
in the jungle or hills. In peninsular Malaysia, it
generally refers to the Senoi people. However,
when used by the Senoi themselves, the term may
refer both to humans and to other hominids.
Variant names: Ensut ensut (in Melaka),
Hantu jarang gigi (“thin-tooth demon”), Kaki
besar (Malay/Austronesian, “big foot”).
Physical description: Height, 6–10 feet. Covered
with dark-brown hair. Red eyes.
Behavior: Bipedal. Powerful smell like urine.
Eats fishes. Approaches humans in a friendly
way at first, then becomes frightened and runs
away.
Tracks: Four-toed. Length, 16–19 inches.
Width, 8–10 inches.
Distribution: Pahang, Johor, Melaka, and
Perak States, Malaysia.
Significant sightings: In 1959, a mining engineer
named Arthur Potter was sleeping in his
boat by the side of Lake Tasek Chini, Pahang
State, Malaysia, when something lifted off part
of the roof of the boat. He switched on a flashlight
and saw a huge, red eye. The next day, he
found 18-inch tracks in the mud.
Apelike footprints 18 inches long, 6 inches
wide, and 5 inches deep were found near Segamat,
Johor State, in early August 1966.
In 1970, Harold Stephens and Kurt Rolfes
photographed giant hominid tracks, 19 inches
long and 10 inches wide, on a sandbar in the
upper reaches of the Sungai Endau River, Pahang
State.
Students at a vocational institute near Lumut,
Perak State, reported seeing 10-foot hairy creatures
at night during the second week of August
1979.
Huge, four-toed footprints were found near
Cape Tanjung Piai, Johor State, on January 12,
1995.