Batek
Batek Illness Becomes Deadly
Back in early April, reports came out about a mysterious illness that was afflicting the Batek of Kuala Koh: some young people were becoming sick and having breathing problems. The state health authorities in Kelantan attempted to provide cover for themselves by blaming the Batek for not being willing to take transportation to clinics to […]
Pepper, Chalk, and a War of Words
That classic authority on the English language the Oxford English Dictionary (the OED) defines a “war of words” as a journalistic phrase meaning “a sustained conflict conducted by means of the spoken or printed word.” Such a “war” had erupted three weeks ago in news stories about the causes and cures for a skin disease […]
Mysterious Illness Infects the Batek
A mysterious illness has struck a Batek community in Malaysia and the causes are uncertain. A report in Kosmo, a Malay-language news source, provided the puzzling clues in an article last week. Mamat Potok, the traditional headman in Kuala Koh, told the reporter that the outbreak of the disease began last October when about 50 […]
The Batek Love the Forests
A group of birders and photographers gathers around the young Batek widow hoping for a close-up view of the wreathed hornbill she’s raised. Doubtless attracted by news stories in August about the huge bird and its human protector, the visitors to Kampung Aur, located in Malaysia’s Taman Negara National Park, try to lure the bird […]
Solar Lighting for the Batek
Three different Malaysian news sources over the past month featured a story about gifts of solar-powered lighting for Batek villages that are off the electric grid. In its report dated August 30, the Malaysian Insight, a news website, said that the Batek in Kampung Aur had received the electric lights on August 8 as a […]
Batek Woman Enjoys Avian Companion
A fairly young Batek widow has found comfort from the loss of her husband by caring for a huge tropical forest bird, a wreathed hornbill. Several Malaysian newspapers, including the New Straits Times and The Star, published articles about the human/avian friendship last week. The 37-year-old Batek woman, named Umi, lost her husband a year […]
Batek Change their Minds about Schooling
Some Batek living in a village called Kampung Dedari, located in Malaysia’s Taman Negara National Park, have changed their minds about the value of their young people getting a formal education. Ahmad A. Talib traveled up the Tembeling River to visit the village, interview some parents and children, and write a piece last week for […]
The Batek Love Forests
Numerous Batek people living in Kuala Koh say that they still prefer living nomadically in the Malaysian forests rather than in permanent houses. Several were interviewed by Aimuni Tuan Lah for a report published in the Malay-language newspaper Utusan Malaysia last week. Over 60 Batek families move about the forest of Kuala Koh, also known […]
Altruistic Values of the Orang Asli
An anthropologist who has studied the Orang Asli for 40 years advises Malaysians to expose themselves more effectively to their lifestyles and cultures in order to better understand them. Professor Alberto Gomes argues that societies such as the Semai, Batek, and Chewong are not respected as they should be by the broader population of Malaysians—the […]
Attack of a Sun Bear
A Batek man and his son were attacked by a sun bear in the forest near Malaysia’s Taman Negara National Park on Tuesday last week and the nine-year old boy was seriously injured. Many Malaysian news sources reported on the incident over the next several days. The attack occurred at a river near the National […]
