The Batek of Malaysia

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One of the most interesting indigenous groups in the world is the Batek of Malaysia, this is a group of people that live in the oldest rain forest of peninsular Malaysia. Orang ASli means “Original people” in the native Malay Language, and they truly are the original people of the land. Being a nomadic group of hunters and gatherers, means that they are at the mercy of the land and the elements for survival. Batek beliefs note that, the rainforest was created by “superhuman” beings for the Batek to use and will destroy the world and everything on it if the Batek were ever to leave the rainforest ( K.M. Endcott 1979a; Lye 2004). The Batek believe that the “superhuman” beings created the forest for the Batek to harvest, build houses in, and provide also to decorations for their ceremonial rituals. The housing of the Batek is quite simple and consists of a camp-like structure, with each camp consisting of about five to six nuclear families. Thus, nuclear families consist of a father, a mother, and their children. Their economic organization is based on hunting, gathering and collecting forest products for trade, although hunting is the primary mode of subsistence. Due to the theory of equality both men and women in this society produce and share food. The responsibilities of the women is to daily gather vegetable food while the men concentrate on hunting game, although, roles can be reversed. The equal contributions of each person to the food- supply are considered equally important. No rules are set for separating the activities of the sexes in hunting and gathering food, once the plant resources are depleted, they move to another area within their habitat in order to survive and live. Marriages are based on equalit... ... middle of paper ... ...t=3&clientId=74379&RQT=309&VName=PQD Endicott, E., & Lampell, K. (1984). The Batek De’of Malaysia. Women in the Changing World. Retrieved from hhpt://culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/Malaysia/batek-de-malaysia. Endicott, Kirk., Endicott, Karen 2008. The Headman was a Women. The Gender Egalitarian Batek of Malaysia. Retrieved from https://www.coursehero.com/textbooks/218028-The-Headman-Was-Woman Nowak, B., & Laird, L. (2010). Culture Anthropology. Retrieved from hhtps://content ashford.edu Rukayah Aman. 1998. Rare and wild fruit of Peninsular Malaysia and their potential uses.InM.N.B. Nair, Mohd Harmami Sahri & Zaidon Ashaari, ed. Sustainable management of non-wood forest products. 14-17 October 1997. Serdang Putra Malaysia Press. Retrevied from http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/005/AB598E/AB598E18htm#3743

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