THE BATEK OF MALAYSIA

The Batek of Malaysia

The Batek of Malaysia

Introduction

The name Batek means original people in Malay and were first documented by Europeans in 1878, when Nicholai Miklukho-Maklai of Russia wrote about them. They have their own language, culture, traditions and, to a certain extent, architecture. In this research paper you will see how this culture shares their kinship, learn about their beliefs and values, as well as the roles that gender plays with their people. As urbanization intensifies, traditional and modern lifestyles are put against each other. Many Orang Asli have now left their ancient tribal heartlands to live and work in urban areas. Until about 1970 much of inland peninsular Malaysia was difficult to reach for the purposes of logging, so the Batek were widespread throughout that region. Since it is now possible to harvest the trees in that region, the Batek are pretty much confined to Taman Negrara National Park and the surrounding region. They are nomadic hunters and gatherers, so their site of settlement changes within the general confines of the area that they inhabit. (Richter, 1999)

Analysis

The Batek De' Negritos are one or-several aboriginal people, called Orang Asli, living an unassimilated life in Malaysia. Numbering about 350, the Batek De' (hereafter simply Batek) live in camps of five or six nuclear families in the rain forest regions of the state of Kelantan. They maintain themselves by hunting, gathering, and trading forest products. In the past, the reaction of the Batek to such outside incursions as the settlement of Malay farmers in neighboring areas was to remove themselves to the deeper reaches of the forest as much as possible, while taking advantage of the trade opportunities presented by the proximity of the Malays. Until recently contact between the Batek and outsiders occurred largely on an individual basis, with individual Malay farmers living along the main rivers of the area. Since the 1960s, contact with outsiders has been increasingly the result of government policies and programs. Much of the forest area inhabited by the Batek is currently being logged to make way for rubber and palm oil plantations and for land development schemes intended to provide family plots for landless Malay farmers. (Richter, 1999)

The government, through the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli, abbreviated JOA) has been attempting to induce the Batek to give up their nomadic life, to settle down and take up swidden agriculture which the JOA appears to sincerely believe is a great step up for them. Under the settlement schemes, the Batek are given tools, seeds, rations, and technical assistance to induce them to clear fields and plant crops. Except at one location on the lower Lebir River, Kumpung Machang, these schemes have only temporarily achieved their aim. Generally the Batek participate in them only until the rations run out or become insufficient, usually even before the planting is completed. They then return to the forest and resume their nomadic foraging. (Miller, 2003)

The Batek value the freedom afforded by the foraging ...