A peek into Tribal Life
I remember my first encounter with the Malaysian Tribal people; they call them ‘Orang Asli’ (Aboriginal people) in Malay. I was traveling to the grand rainforest of Taman Negara in Malaysia for the first time. The whole purpose of my trip was a getaway. But on that trip I came across the ‘Bateq’ tribe living in that forest. These people resembled the Africans. Dwelling in homes made of bamboos, Bateq are hunter-gatherers living a nomadic lifestyle in groups of about 10 families or less. But my first experience was extremely brief and disappointing, as we had to pay to visit these people. The locals used these people as a tourist attraction to earn some money. They had organized a few activities for tourists, which were conducted by these tribal people, such as learning how to use the blowpipe and a few more. This kind of treatment was disturbing.
I did not understand a single word they spoke. I was told that apart from the Bateq language, they also spoke Malay. The younger generation seemed happy and well accustomed to the civilization, but I strongly felt discomfort and sadness amongst the older people, especially around the tourists. I believe they were extremely unhappy with their surrounding. It was very unnatural to them. The Bateq who live like nomads, hunting and wandering around, were trying to earn a living. It seemed as though they were in display for the tourists.
After this brief encounter, I developed a keen interest in learning about the life of these Tribal people. According to the recent stats, there are only about 750 of them in the jungle. Until 1970, the Bateq were widespread, but their turf has since been reduced to Taman Negara as the Malaysian jungle was deforested for logging.
Even though they share some common physical features with African pygmy populations, such as the short stature, natural afro-hair texture, and dark skin, their origin and the route of their migration to Asia is still a matter of great speculation.
My curiosity led me to visit these people again. This time I went to the Kuala Koh, a part of Taman Negara in Kelantan. This experience was completely different from the previous one. It also gave me a better picture about the lifestyle of the Bateq. Although, I still have many unanswered questions.
I did not understand a single word they spoke. I was told that apart from the Bateq language, they also spoke Malay. The younger generation seemed happy and well accustomed to the civilization, but I strongly felt discomfort and sadness amongst the older people, especially around the tourists. I believe they were extremely unhappy with their surrounding. It was very unnatural to them. The Bateq who live like nomads, hunting and wandering around, were trying to earn a living. It seemed as though they were in display for the tourists.
After this brief encounter, I developed a keen interest in learning about the life of these Tribal people. According to the recent stats, there are only about 750 of them in the jungle. Until 1970, the Bateq were widespread, but their turf has since been reduced to Taman Negara as the Malaysian jungle was deforested for logging.
Even though they share some common physical features with African pygmy populations, such as the short stature, natural afro-hair texture, and dark skin, their origin and the route of their migration to Asia is still a matter of great speculation.
My curiosity led me to visit these people again. This time I went to the Kuala Koh, a part of Taman Negara in Kelantan. This experience was completely different from the previous one. It also gave me a better picture about the lifestyle of the Bateq. Although, I still have many unanswered questions.