Negeri Sembilan: Map & History

History

The earliest possible human settlement in Negeri Sembilan can be traced back around 14,000 years to the Pasoh Caves, a complex of karst caves near Simpang Pertang in the Jelebu district. Artefacts found around the caves include stone tools and food remains, estimated to date from 12,000 BCE based on carbon dating. The early inhabitants of Negeri Sembilan were the ancestors of the Semelai, Semai, Semang, and Jakun peoples, who lived either as hunter-gatherer nomads or as subsistence farmers.

According to the Malay Annals, Parameswara reportedly visited the settlement of Sening Ujong, which was located in what is now Seremban.

Economy

The state's manufacturing sector contributes almost half of the state's gross domestic product (GDP), followed by services and tourism (40.3%), agriculture (6%), construction (2.2%) and mining (0.3%). Manufacturing activities include electrical supplies and electronics, textiles, furniture, chemicals, machinery, metal works and rubber products. The main industrial areas in Negeri Sembilan include Senawang, Bandar Sri Sendayan, Sungai Gadut, Bandar Enstek and Nilai in Seremban, Tanah Merah in Port Dickson and Chembong in Rembau.

Culture

The Minangkabau influence in the state can be found in dances and food as well.

Traditional buildings in Negeri Sembilan are grouped into two different architectures: one directly Minangkabau with familiar lengkung or gonjong ("curved") buffalo horn motifs, and another featuring flatter or lentik roofs in villages of a "Malay" motif adopted by Minangkabau generations intermarrying with Jakun tribes; the lentik houses were based on traditional houses found in Kampar, Riau where the Minangkabau migrants stopped first.

Negeri Sembilan also has traditional music like the Caklempong, Dikir Rebana, Tumbuk Kalang, and Bongai.

The musical instruments used to bear some semblance to Sumatra, the ancestral home of the Minangkabau people.

Geography

Facing the Strait of Malacca, Negeri Sembilan is one of the West Coast states of Peninsular Malaysia. It is specifically part of the southern region, along with Malacca and Johor. However, some sources define Negeri Sembilan as a central region state with Selangor and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

The state is slightly smaller than Selangor, with a total land area of 6,686 km² (430 sq mi). It is the fourth smallest state in Malaysia by area and the second largest in the southern region behind Johor. Its shape is roughly pentagonal.

Topographically, Negeri Sembilan consists of two plains divided by a mountainous spine in the middle. This region is well drained by various rivers on both sides.