Batek
Batek Ways of Walking [anthology chapter review]
When they are walking in the forest, the Batek are confident, even proud, of their abilities, but as they move along, they are also fearful at times of dangers. Lye Tuck-Po addresses this apparent paradox in a recent article appearing in an edited volume on the ethnography of walking. In the course of her discussion, […]
Blog Posts About the Batek
Last fall, Lye Tuck-Po launched a new blog in which she sometimes reports recollections of her anthropological field work among the Batek. On Sunday this week she posted an interesting story about a week 12 years ago when she camped with a Batek band on a high ridge along the spine of the Malay Peninsula. […]
Media Focus on the Batek and the Endicotts
For the past few weeks, Dartmouth College has been publicizing the Batek people of Peninsular Malaysia and the faculty couple, Kirk and Karen Endicott, who have done extensive research about them. The Dartmouth College Office of Public Affairs issued a press release to announce a new book by the Endicotts, The Headman Was a Woman: […]
Problems with Orang Asli Education
The Chewong, Batek, Semai, and other Orang Asli (Original People) of Malaysia realize that their lack of education causes them some difficulties, but the reasons for the problem are debatable. The Malaysia Star on Sunday published an analysis of the issue. The statistics of Orang Asli successes in education are unimpressive—large numbers of students drop […]
New Blog Includes Notes on the Batek
On November 14, Lye Tuck-Po launched a blog where she could post essays about her fieldwork and travels, a complement to the photos she has been putting on her flickr website for several years. In the sidebar that accompanies the blog, Dr. Lye tells us that, in addition to studying the Batek of Peninsular Malaysia, […]
Gender Equality Among the Batek [book review]
Kirk M. Endicott and Karen L. Endicott have just published an exciting new book on the egalitarian gender relationships among the Batek. As an added bonus, they have included a 37 minute DVD by Kirk showing life in a Batek band in 1990. The authors define gender equal societies as ones where neither sex controls […]
Orang Asli Lands in a Malay World [journal article review]
According to a young Semai person, the Orang Asli “only know that the police are government, and the government can have them arrested.” Alice M. Nah interviewed the Semai individual for a recent journal article on the indigeneity of the Orang Asli, the “Original People,” of Malaysia. She begins her piece with a history of […]
Biodiversity and Sustainable Development in Malaysia [unpublished paper review]
The Orang Asli, the Original People of Peninsular Malaysia, have linguistic, ancestral, and spiritual ties to the land that allow them to effectively manage and conserve their natural resources. The Semai, Batek, Chewong, and other Orang Asli peoples “live in areas that are rich in biodiversity,” according to Colin Nicholas, and outsiders, such as loggers, […]
Orang Asli Naming [anthology chapter review]
Romeo vaults over a wall, enters the Capulet family garden, and hears his new-found love standing at a window bemoaning the fact that their families hate each other. “`Tis but thy name that is my enemy,” Juliet says abstractly, her young friend still unseen below. She continues with the famous lines, “What’s in a name? […]
Dramatic Forest Photos of the Batek [photography exhibit review]
If another Edward Steichen were to announce a 21st century “Family of Man” exhibition, Lye Tuck-Po could submit some of her pictures of the Batek for possible inclusion. The famous book Family of Man, published in 1955 as a result of the exhibition, includes human-interest photos that are supremely absorbing for the insights they give […]
