….. Well yes. That's true.
Can you make fire without your matchstick and lighter? If your answer is an emphatic ‘No’ then chances are that all you guys would not be seen as being ready for marriage in Batek tribe of Malaysia..
The Batek are one of Malaysia’s 133,000 Orang Asli, which simply means ‘original people’ in Malay. They lead nomadic life and have little to no formal tradition of story telling.They have their own language although now they have picked up malay too
As with other tribal groups, urbanisation, development and the logging of their traditional habitats has resulted in their numbers falling and has pushed them deep into the protected national park of Taman Negara. There are an estimated 750 remaining Batek living in this dense rainforest The best way to access the remote region is by water, down the Sungai Tembeling river on a traditional wooden long boat. The journey is lengthy, but it offers the chance to contemplate the density and vastness of the rainforest.
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| A typical hut |
The two main tribes in the area have built around 20 villages between them. The village is made of rectangular huts in plan and raised on stilts. The settlement is mostly parallel to the river in a sandy, man-made clearing. The raising of the huts is nothing to do with the proximity of the river but rather to encourage air movement beneath the building. ( A common sight with a lot of other housing style in Borneo )The shape and size of the huts are determined by the limited roof-span and by palm widths. The structure is made from assorted hardwood branches lashed together, while the walls are bamboo, which is hammered flat and held in place by two sticks on either side.Despite interaction with people from the nearby Malaysian village, corrugated metal sheeting hasn’t yet reached the Batek. Instead all the roofs are constructed in atap, traditional leaf thatching. Batek women who are taught to weave from an early age make all the roofs while the men make the hut.
They survive on a combination of hunting and gathering wild food and trading products like rattan an resins. In return they get money which they use for buying food products. Men also trade it for tobacco!!
Hunting is purely a male domain.They go out alone or in group.Sometimes when without any catch they have to remain in the forest for 3-4 days. Women in those situation land up to the nearby river for fishes.
Everything in the village is shared, including the food, whether it has been hunted or gathered. Food is divided for the entire village with immediate family receiving portions first, then the extended family, then other families
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| Here come the smoke |
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| Vigorous rubbing of bamboo plank |
Marriage happens within the Batek tribe. That's where the art of making fire plays an important role. All men must know how to make fire with the help of bamboo plank. Besides they also need to perfect the art of making blowpipe- their weapon for hunting. The blowpipe is a work of art, hollowed from two trunks of young palm using monkey bone tied to rattan. Once hollowed, a piece of cane is used to make the smooth barrel bore. Resin seals the mouthpiece. The darts are made from pine leaf, which is thin and flexible. The dart’s plug creates an airtight seal. The tips are then dipped in a natural poison that can paralyse and kill a man. With monkeys watching from the trees, a villager demonstrates how it’s used. Amazingly he’s accurate to the millimetre from a distance of over 30 metres.
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| Sharpening the dart |
The Batek also believe that all food belongs to the forest, so a person in possession of food has a moral duty to share. In addition, upsetting someone in the village may not only cause anger among the community but also to the spirits. The fear of supernatural reprisal is enough to ensure the Batek are a peaceful society. This also explains the social importance of communal meals and the grand bamboo dining table, complete with bamboo benches large enough to cater for the entire village. Bamboo is tied together using bark lashing to form benches, while the table top is constructed from flattened bamboo similar to the walls of the huts.Marriage is not an elaborate affair. It's performed in the middle of the jungle with entire village as attendees. Post marriage the bridegroom is supposed to stay in the jungle for at least a month ( sans the bride of course) a ritual to make him realise what they are leading to ( hunting hunting and hunting)
The Batek have no concept of land ownership. They are just caretakers, looking after the land. So they have no difficulty in moving every five months to allow the forest to replenish. All Batek are animists, without organised or codified religious beliefs. They see the world, especially the river and jungle, as being animated by spirits. It is the respect for the spirits that command the entire village to move if someone dies. The departed are very important and are considered to act as intermediaries between this world and the next.
Uprooting the village is just the start of a hugely elaborate burial ritual, in which the body is brought by procession to a hut, similar to the ones in the village, but constructed in a tree some 50 metres high. The body is covered and left with its possessions alongside it, together with food for the spirits. It is then left undisturbed for two to three years, upon which time the village returns to procure a bone from the skeletal remains. This is then buried, so returning the family member to the forest.
And thus continues the cyclic process of moving from one village to another.
