The Batek of Malaysia The Batik is an indigenous tribes living in the rainforest of the peninsula of Malaysia. They live in camps composed of five to six nuclear families. They are mostly foragers although the occasionally practice horticulture. To survive the tribes relies on hunting, gathering and trading rattan or forest products. Malaysia is on the south Malay Peninsula and stretches from the Thai border down to the island of Singapore. The population of Malaysia is about twenty-three million. The main idea of the research is to provide a basic understanding of the Batek behavioral and cultural lifestyle. In this paper, you will see how this culture shares their kinship, the role of gender relation, their belief and values, and other distinct cultural action unique to the Batek.
The Batik people are a foraging culture. They are reliant on the land and their success is dependent on the values instilled in the camp. These camps made up of “three to six nuclear family members. The nuclear family is the most common type of family in foraging societies. A nuclear family is composed of a mother and father and their children. The nuclear family is most common because, in a foraging setting, it is adaptive to various situations.”(Endicott, 1981). These camps live in groups and move from place to place so they can hunt, dig tubers, and gather goods from the forest. Both the men and the women share the same amount of work in order to take care of their families and find food. Most often the men take care of the hunting (using handmade bamboo pipes and poison darts), and the women gather the tubers and berries. Though both the men and the women interchange food gathering roles “both foods are valued equal and both sexes are part of the food-sharing network” (Peaceful, n.d). Although both genders take, part in both of these, there
