The Batek of Malaysia - Research Paper Example

? The Batek of Malaysia                 The Batek of Malaysia The Batek are a peace-loving aboriginal group of Malaysia known for their nomadic yet nonviolent lifestyle. The Batek belong to the approximately 133,000 aborigines known as the Orang Asli, or “original people,” of Malaysia (Beswick, 2010). The Batek are one of the 18 ethnic groups in the country and make up around 0.5% of the national population of Malaysia (Beswick, 2010). An in-depth look into the aspects of the Batek society will hopefully provide a deeper insight into how these people live and which values they possess that contemporary society should emulate. Kinship The Batek of Malaysia are a kinship-based society, which means that it emphasizes nurturing and sharing (Sault, 2010). Batek parents spend a lot of time playing with their children of either sex and they also spend this time holding, cuddling and talking to them (“Batek,” 2011). Batek parents also do not use harsh disciplinary methods when scolding their children, as their vernacular term sakel, which means hit also means the same as kill, thus the idea of even hitting their children disgusts them (“Batek,” 2011). Moreover, Batek parents raise their children in the spirit of respect, care and affection, and the whole camp even shares their own time in order to facilitate care for the child and to feed them (Sault, 2010). Lastly, as the Batek children are growing up, they are usually made to engage in active play but not in an aggressive or competitive manner, as competition is simply outside of the Batek system of belief (“Batek,” 2011). The kinship system of the Batek, just like many of the contemporary foraging aboriginal groups of Southeast Asia, follows the kinship classification of the Inuit, where parents are different from uncles and aunts (Fortier, 2012). Social Organization The Batek society has the conjugal family as its basic unit, and this conjugal family is politically independent and economically self-sufficient (Endicott, 1988). These conjugal families, which mostly consist of eight or more children each, live in a camp that in turn consists of two to fifteen families related by blood (“Batek,” 2011; Endicott, 1988). These camps are classified by the Batek themselves as belonging to one of the three “river valley groups,” who, although practically indistinguishable, occupy the Aring, upper Lebir or lower Lebir watersheds (Endicott, 1988). Generally, the Batek society fosters equality between husband and wife, and the married couple is always expected to show affection to each other (“The Batek De,” 2010). Political Organization The political organization of the Batek is relatively simple since the society is highly egalitarian. A closely-knit settled group of Batek may be assigned a headman, who is tasked to represent the group and to act as its spokesperson in matters where the Batek have to deal with the non-Batek (“The Taman Negara,” 2010). The headman, who is called penghulu in the native Malay language, is usually chosen because he is believed to possess “charisma, extroversion, and a familiarity with the Malay language” (“The Taman Negara,” 2010; Endicott, 1988). The headman is usually appointed by the Malaysian government through the Department of Aboriginal Affairs in order to have a spokesman for the group of Batek and for the group to have someone to relay to them the sentiments or wishes of the non-Batek (Endicott, 1988). Moreover, the headman is expected to possess an in-depth knowledge of the traditions of the Batek community, and may at times, because of such knowledge, assume the title of “Tok Batin” or “Spiritual Elder” (Ahmad, 2009). Nevertheless, the headman can only act as a persuasive leader and not an authoritative one (“Batek,” 2011). On the whole, the Batek society exemplifies political equality and the basis of this is most probably the fact that the Batek do not foster the practice of imposing their will upon their fellowmen, and except for the settled Batek whom the government has to deal with at times, the nomadic Batek in general do not have any leader or leaders among them (Endicott, 2011). Economic Organization Basically, the economic activities of the Batek consist of hunting, gathering, collecting and trading forest products, and occasional small-scale crop planting, and since the Batek have no sense of land ownership, their produce is just about anything that they can harvest (“Batek,” 2011). Moreover, almost all food products are shared by the Batek with the exception of fruit from the orchards of a particular valley, where those from another river valley are discouraged, but not prohibited, from taking (“Batek,” 2011). The Batek has a number of moneymaking schemes including collecting and trading rattan, which is actually the major source of their cash income (“The Batek De,” 2010). Other sources of income include the wage labor and petty trades but this is relatively more common among the settled Batek than among the nomadic ones (“The Batek De,” 2010). Raising animals like cattle and fowl is also common among the settled Batek (“Nomad Hunter-Gatherers,” 2011). Other activities of the settled Batek include jungle-guiding, although licensed Malay trail guides are usually preferred by tourists (“The Taman Negara,” 2010). Selling activities, however, remain as a common economic option among the settled Batek where not only rattan but also resin is obtained and sold. The cash that the Batek obtain from their economic activities is usually spent on rice, sugar, sardines, tea and biscuits, although their main diet still consists of gathered fruits and leaves, and small game like fish and monkey (“The Taman Negara,” 2011). Honey and tubers are also a common choice for food among the Batek (Endicott, 2011). Gender Relations Gender relations among the Batek are highly egalitarian (“The Batek De,” 2010). This is perhaps due to the fact that both male and female members of the Batek society obtain and share food. Nevertheless, there are differences when it comes to the procurement of food as men hunt for wild animals while women gather vegetable foods, but hunting is not restricted to men and vegetable procurement is not limited to women (“The Batek De,” 2010). This means that roles between males and females in the Batek society may overlap without any trouble on anyone’s part. Aside from food-getting, both men and women also engage in the same activities like collecting and trading rattan, which is a major source of income for the Batek people (“The Batek De,” 2010). The egalitarian sex roles of the Batek are an integral part of their lives and such roles remain free of any discrimination or symbolic meanings. These roles are deeply embedded in their culture and tradition and this explains why it is difficult for the Batek to emulate the Malays in the latter’s system of gender relations where men are superior to women (“The Batek De,” 2010). Malays cling to the Islam religion, which defines a subordinate role for women, and where the two sexes are never equal (“The Batek De,” 2010). Gender roles among the Batek differ in building houses. The women, who are taught to weave at an early age, are in charge of building the roofs, while the men, being taught how to use the machete at a young age, are tasked to build the huts (Beswick, 2010). Nevertheless, these assigned roles are not strictly imposed on either sex and that the main reason behind these assignments is that men are “too hasty in the sewing and leave holes” (Beswick, 2010). Aside from hunting and building huts, other roles of the men which are more or less restricted only to their gender include the making of blowpipes and mating, where a man has to have more than eight children in order not to be called lazy (Beswick, 2010). Overall, the men and women of the Batek enjoy “equality, compatibility and affection” when exercising their roles and making decisions together (“Batek,” 2011). There is also no discrimination whatsoever if there is an overlapping of roles and duties among men and women. Beliefs and Values One of the core beliefs of the Batek is the idea of sharing almost everything, especially food (“The Batek De,” 2010). For the Batek, the sharing of food is more of a duty and not necessarily an act of kindness. Food is believed to belong to the forest and so basically no one owns any food that he or she finds, and therefore he or she has to share this food with the rest of the Batek community (“The Batek De,” 2010). The Batek share food because of the belief that if the food is not shared, this may cause anger among the spirits of nature, and these spirits may in turn cause supernatural reprisal among the people (“The Batek De,” 2010). An integral part of the Batek culture is their belief in spirits, thus making them animists (“The Batek De,” 2010). The Batek see the world and nature as being filled with spirits, and even jungles and rivers as being animated by these spirits. The dead Batek are also considered to be significant in that they serve as intermediary between the living world and the spirit world, and this explains the elaborate burial rituals of the Batek in order to honor their dead (“The Batek De,” 2010). Together with their beliefs in the spirit world and serving as the basis of the Batek’s practice of sharing, their belief in fostering peacefulness seems to dominate their lives. For the Batek, just a simple act of unjustified anger against someone can cause in the latter a condition called ke’oy or a combination of “fever, depression, shortness of breath, and weakness” in the angry person (“Batek,” 2011). Thus, because of this fear of causing someone to experience such an illness as ke’oy, every member of the Batek community treats each other with kindness, and those who violate this tradition suffer from ostracism and the possible loss of social support (“Batek,” 2011). This ostracism is usually accompanied by social pressure and feelings of hostility towards those who do not share food, those who are violent and those who steal property, and the purpose of such pressure and hostility is to instill guilt in those against which these feelings are directed (Endicott, 1988). The thief, for example, is ostracized until he decides to return the stolen property. One last belief of the Batek and one which is corollary to the belief in the idea of peacefulness is the avoidance of warfare and conflict (“Batek,” 2011). The Batek would rather just flee the enemy than retaliate, and when asked why they would not fight back, they would simply answer something like “Because it would kill them” or “Because it would hurt them” (“Batek,” 2011). It would then follow that the belligerent Batek are ostracized by the community. Sickness and Healing As previously mentioned, certain sicknesses that the Batek experience, such as the ke’oy, are believed to be a result of unjustified anger or hostility coming from a resentful person. The treatment for ke’oy is for the resentful individual to control his anger in order for the sick person to recover (“Batek,” 2011). The person responsible for causing the ke’oy is also expected to treat the affected person with folk remedies and to follow a particularly mystical step-by-step procedure in order to remove the illness: “[The person responsible] tells the victim’s heart to be cool, blows on his or her chest for the cooling effect, and grasps and throws away the disease” (“Batek,” 2011). Social Change The year 1979 marked the beginning of the efforts of the Malaysian government to relocate the Batek and the first settlement was one at Kuala Atok in the Taman Negara national park, Malaysia’s oldest and established in 1939 (“The Taman Negara,” 2010). The purpose of such relocation is to prevent the Malay communist rebel groups to use the Batek as providers for their needs, since during the communist era from 1948-1960, the nomadic aborigines in the mountains provided physical aid to the rebels (“The Taman Negara,” 2010). The reaction of the Batek towards the relocation plan of the government in 1979 was that of hesitation since the land in the northern part of the Tembeling River – where they were residing at that time as hunter-gatherers – is considered by the Batek as their ancestral land (“The Taman Negara,” 2010). There was a strong disapproval from the headman but the relocation pushed through. The main problem with the settlement at Kuala Atok, however, was that the houses were in a large clearing which was unshaded, unlike the shady jungle where the Batok came from (“The Taman Negara,” 2010). Since this disrupted the lives of the Batek, a new, healthier and cooler settlement was constructed between the Yong and Tembeling Rivers (“The Taman Negara,” 2010). However, except for the cooler surroundings, the new settlement still brought with it the same problems that the Batek experienced upon relocation. The problem of having to adjust to the new environment as well as to adjust to the new economic conditions plagued the Batek. Wage-labor and agriculture replaced hunting and gathering, and since then, the cultural organization of the Batek was somehow forcibly changed. The roles of the men as wage-earners and farmers somehow brought them a relatively more superior status than women, but the difference is still not pronounced at this time (“The Taman Negara,” 2010). References Ahmad, R. (2009). Malaysia’s Oldest Nomads Struggle to Find a Home. Retrieved Jan. 26, 2012 from Reuters.com: http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/11/06/us-malaysia-indigenous-idUSTRE5A508U20091106 Batek. (2011). Retrieved Jan. 27, 2012 from PeacefulSocieties.org: http://www.peacefulsocieties.org/Society/Batek.html Beswick, J. (2010). Exploring Eye: The Batek Tribe of Malaysia and Their Architecture. Retrieved Jan. 26, 2012 from the Architectural Review: http://www.architectural-review.com/essays/exploring-eye-the-batek-tribe-of-malaysia-and-their-architecture/8606050.article Endicott, K. (1988). Property, Power and Conflict among the Batek of Malaysia. Retrieved Jan. 27, 2012 from PeacefulSocieties.org: http://peacefulsocieties.org/Archtext/Endic88.pdf Fortier, J. (2012). Regional Hunter-Gatherer Traditions in Southeast Asia. Retrieved Jan. 29, 2012 from The University of California-San Diego: http://ucsd.academia.edu/JanaFortier/Papers/451000/Regional_hunter-gatherer_traditions_in_Southeast_Asia Nomad Hunter-Gatherers. (2011). Retrieved Jan. 27, 2012 from the University of Kent at Canterbury: http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/sonja/rf/ukpr/report61.htm Sault, N. L. (2010). Many Mothers, Many Fathers: The Meaning of Parenting Around the World. Retrieved Jan. 27, 2012 from Santa Clara University: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/other/lawreview/manymothers.html The Batek De’ of Malaysia. (2010). Retrieved Jan. 27, 2012 from Cultural Survival: http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/malaysia/batek-de-malaysia The Taman Negara Batek – A People in Transition. (2010). Retrieved Jan. 26, 2012 from Cultural Survival: http://www.culturalsurvival.org/ourpublications/csq/article/the-taman-negara-batek-a-people-transition Read More