Orang Gadang is a cryptid from Sumatra, Indonesia. It is said this creature is believed to be an Indonesian Bigfoot because of its shared characteristics. They are said to stand between 7.5–12 feet (2.3–3.7 m) tall and be covered with bushy dark hair. Sightings have been reported for centuries in the forests of Sumatra and Malaya. It has other names, Giant Man or Giant Mias. The name "Orang Gadang" means big/giant man. It is also called Orang Tinggi which means tall man. Since some people are superstitious and regard this creature as a supernatural entity, it is also called Hantu Tinggi which means tall ghost.
Story and Sightings[]
Stories say the creature is shy, nocturnal and omnivorous. It is generally reported to explore campsites after dark, leave behind large humanoid footprints, emit unusual whistle sounds, and hurl stones from locations that are hidden from view. In numerous reports, it has also been said to emit a "blood-curdling" scream; described as sounding like a woman in "great distress". Accounts of the creature regularly describe an "eerie silence prior to the encounter, an appreciable stillness in the woods that commonly surrounds predatory animals". Like Bigfoot, the Orang Gadang is peaceful and will generally quietly walk away when encountering people.
It's possibe that the Orang Gadang was the creature mentioned in Abraham Cresques' Catalan atlas of 1375. A text on the map reads:
The island of Trapobana (Sumatra). This island is called Magno Caulii by the Tartars, and it is the last island of Orient. The island is inhabited by people that are very different from the rest; there are burly men in some mountains of this island, twelve-cubit (5.5 m) in height, like giants; they are very black and dim-witted; they eat white men and foreigners should they be apprehended.[1]
Giovanni de Marignolli (1338–1353) recorded that when he visited the Kingdom of Saba (Java, an island located east of Sumatra), he seldom caught sight of hairy men, who would flee into the forest when they perceived anyone coming. They did a great deal of work, sowing and reaping corn and other things, and people may trade with them by putting items in the middle of a path. Then the purchasers come forward and deposit the price, and take what has been set down. Giovanni concludes that:
...these monsters are not men, although they may seem to have some of the properties of men, but are merely of the character of apes; (indeed if we had never seen apes before we should be apt to look upon them as men!); unless forsooth they be monsters such as I have been speaking of before, which come of Adam's race indeed, but are exceptional and unusual births.[2]
Possible Attack[]
A group of wild monkeys went on a rampage in a village in eastern Indonesia, entering houses and attacking residents during Thursday 31 <of which month?> 2013. Seven people were injured, including one who is in a critical condition. Ambo Ella, a spokesman for Sidendeng Rappang district in South Sulawesi province, said on Wednesday that about 10 monkeys attacked Toddang Pulu village on Monday. A 16-year-old boy was being treated in hospital after being badly bitten, he added.
The spokesman said the animals were thought to have come from a nearby forest protected by a local tribe. Local authorities are investigating why the monkeys, which are usually afraid of humans and flee when they hear human voices, emerged and attacked. Monkeys are not uncommon in Indonesia, however, some local descriptions of the primates claim that they were four or five feet tall, larger than any Asian primate, and that they stood upright with a gorilla like "stub nose and glaring eyes." Some reports stated that the monkeys were tailless, a trait only apes have. Although some cryptozoologists claim these primates were Orang Gadang, it could be one of the many primate cryptids throughout the region.
Gallery[]
See Also[]
References[]
- ↑ https://www.cresquesproject.net/catalan-atlas-legends/panel-vi
- ↑ Yule, Sir Henry (1913). Cathay and the way thither: being a collection of medieval notices of China vol. III. London: The Hakluyt Society. p. 259-260.
External links[]
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRy_nRf1Kso
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39SLGiSgYbE Will Jevning interview with Dally Sandradiputra, regarding Orang Pendek and Orang Gadang