Evolution of their song

• The song from the late 1900s has several lyrics that describe the native plants and fruits that are grown in Mah Meri. The indigenous people lifestyle and the shift from subsistence to market economic reliance are also shown in these songs. 

• Songs that described native plants and animals were gradually dropped from the repertory. Of the seven songs from the late 1900s, Jaboi Song and Tok Naning Song were two that bore the designation of moyang, or ancestor spirits. 

• This marks a change in the concept of the song text since, in contrast to the early 1900s, when only song snippets were addressed to these spirits, songs from this era had titles that mentioned spirits.

• This marks a change in the concept of the song text since, in contrast to the early 1900s, when only song snippets were addressed to these spirits, songs from this era had titles that mentioned spirits.

Evolution of song themes

• Another novelty in song words that was seldom present in early 1900s music started to gain prominence: the advising component. By this time, songs from this era also start to express human feelings, particularly love.

• This can be the outcome of encounters with Malay people and inspiration gained from weddings and celebrations. The songs of the later century are multi-thematic, lack a primary idea, and explore descriptions and phenomena beyond the names, in contrast to the early 1900s songs that recounted a story centered on a topic.

History of Lagu Jaboi

• A moyang known as Jaboi has been seen in a Malaysian forest. Some other Orang Asli call it "Marwas"

• Jaboi has inverted feet (toes facing backward) and an upside-down nose, according to Che Yah (pers. com., February 2009). Huge footsteps are left in Jaboi's wake.

• It is actually traveling south, even if its footsteps seem to be going north. Jaboi uses a pallas leaf to cover its nose since it hates the rainy season and is terrified of raindrops getting in it.  

• Jaboi, according to Che Yah, has shears attached beneath its arms that serve as a weapon or knife, chopping away leaves from trees and plants that obstruct its progress through the jungle.

• Should you encounter an inhospitable Jaboi, throw a simpai (a rattan wristband). The simpai, which is thought to possess magical abilities, becomes tangled between Jaboi's wrists, preventing it from using its hand shears (Che Yah, pers. comm., February 12, 2009).

• The Ogre Jaboi Song is a description of natural jungle plants and animals, such as the ketab bangsal (mangrove crab), nireh trees, and pepat (mangrove plant). But the song also looks at some of the cultivated plants from the Mah Meri gardens, like the sugar cane (boi) and cashew-nut (kanjik).

• The song talks about the villagers' sense of community and proposes that they should keep growing there. The next song illustrates how texts gradually shifted from having a single theme at their center to having multiple themes.