Subsistence Modes and its Impact on a Culture
Subsistence Modes and its Impact on a Culture
Introduction
The subsistence and the nomadic nature of the Batek people influence their culture and make their lives non-materialistic (Tuck-Po, 2005). The community practices egalitarianism in economic and social organization. Cooperation is the crucial attribute in their cultural belief and value system. The community’s economic system depends on the skill and labor of both gender groups. Although, designation of activities identifies with gender, participation in various activities has no barriers based on gender. The Batek is one of the aboriginal minority tribes of Peninsula Malaysia known collectively as Orang Asli (translated as “original people” in Malay) (Howell, 1989). It is an ethnic group that lives in lowland forests among the last of the nomadic hunter-gatherer societies in the Peninsula. The total population is about 900 spread across three states, Terengganu, Kelantan, and Pahang (Lampell, 2010). The Batek people live in groups or camps that comprise approximately 38 members. In the groups, the people participate in economic activities and share resources among themselves. The community does not restrict itself to the forest, but move in and out of the forest. They practice political and sexual egalitarian social structure.
Mode of Subsistence
The Batek is one of the last surviving ethnic community that practice hunting and gathering in the lowland forest areas of the Malaysian Peninsula. However, the community does not participate in one line of subsistence activity. They also practice planting of fast-growing crops such as cassava and trade forests products such as aromatic wood. They are a nomadic community and their mode of subsistence change with the change in location. However, hunting and gathering is the principal economic activity, in which the community holds its identity. In the economic system of the Batek, is the exceptional model of organization that shapes the culture of the community.
Impact of the Mode of Subsistence on Culture
Beliefs and values
The Batek community believes that certain superhuman beings created the earth in the form of a disk of land enclosed by the sea (Tuck-Po, 2005). The community holds that the supernatural powers created the people on earth and created a place for the Batek separate from other people. The super natural humans created the animals and plants of the forest for the needs of the Batek people. When they pray, the people ask for abundance of food products and are grateful for the super natural humans for providing the food. They have faith in the super natural being and ask for a cure from sickness whenever they face a disease. The Batek believe that they have a responsibility to provide support and share food and resources among themselves. According to them, that is the will of the creators of the earth and humans. The basis of this feeling of obligation is the belief that refusing a request can cause harm to the person to refuse a request can cause harm to the person involved.
The Batek people believe that if they fail to honor a request, then misfortune will befall them (Lampell, 2010). In the camp, members grant favors to each other and support each other move along in social and economic life activities. According to the community, the super humans have the body of a tiger, a show of power and might. The Batek believe in the presence of powerful shamans who have tiger bodies. The shamans protect them at night.
Economic organization
The economy of the Batek involves shifting from one form of activities depending on ecological conditions (Howell, 1989). They do a variety of activities and do not like monotonous activities or routine work. The ability to change work and move quickly into new economic locations boosts their economic strategy. The variation in economic activities provides a safety net and boosts their survival against the uncertainties in one line of work. In the course of every day, the Batek people often perform more than one type of work. In an ordinary day, the work includes a combination of hunting and gathering activities and collection of forests products. The tribe has work groups formed on the basis of kinship and friendship that develops depending on the type of work at hand. These work groups may include a single hunter, a multi-family group, multi- generational group, or bi-gendered group. Throughout their daily, seasonal, and annual economic activities, gathering and hunting of forest foods remain constant. It is significant and the preferred alternative to other valued activities and cash purchases.
Hunting and gathering activities include, but not limited to fishing, blow-pipe hunting, and digging of wild tubers (Tuck-Po, 2005). These are very essential to the Batek not just as a source of subsistence, but as central symbols of gender and cultural identity. They provide a vital platform through which young children come to know the forest and learn early skills of foraging. The cardinal source of cash is the sale and trade of products collected from the forest, which include aromatic woods and rattan. Their main cash collection includes trade in tobacco, aromatic woods, black sugar (usually taken with tea), and rice. Other activities include guiding tourists, planting fast-maturing crops such as cassava, and day laboring.
In the list of Batek’s favorite economic options, farming appears at the bottom of the list (Lampell, 2010). They detest the monotonous nature of the farming activities. The most significant seasonal activities include harvesting honey both for consumption and trade and collecting fruits. Forest fruits are Batek’s favorite foods. The lowland forests of the Malaysian Peninsula are fast becoming depleted as civilized communities invade the forest and destroy trees for economic functions. Their territory is constantly constricting and making their nomadic lifestyle untenable. It is because of this that the community practices other forms of economic activities to supplement their forest resources. However, the community can adapt, and their trade activities with other communities enable their economic sustainability.
The process of disruption of the forest ecosystem began after the independence of Malaysia that occurred in 1963 (Howell, 1989). Commercial export crops such as rubber tree plantations and oil palms replaced the indigenous trees that provide livelihood for the Batek ethnic community. Malaysia introduced economic policy that altered natural resources for agriculture in place of forests, in order to improve their economic superiority. The lost of indigenous forest cover will definitely hamper the livelihood and social system of the indigenous community. The community may have to seek new living environments, and hence the possibility of dilution of its culture.
Social organization
In Batek’s culture, leadership is contextual and activity oriented as opposed to ascribed leadership (Lampell, 2010). Decisions occur at the level of individuals. This confers authority in individuals and even children can detest and refuse to comply with decisions. The primary unit of social organization is the family. Inter-family interactions and sharing of food is the principal idiom of social life and a display of social performance. When a hunter captures a large wild game, the hunter’s household, their next of kin, and other members of the camp share the game depending on the size. The sharing of forest fruits, fish, and tubers is not popular, but the members of the community do not withhold them whenever people ask for them. The belief is that it is better giving than asking. Social life is dance between retaining control of the products of one’s labor and making things available to others. The other popular idiom of the Batek is that the society discourages being a parasite and living off others without reciprocating contributions. The trend is social interaction based on collective performance and contribution to one another’s well being.
Gender relations
The Batek is one of the many ethnic hunter-gatherer groups, who practice male and gender relations that are highly egalitarian (Tuck-Po, 2005). In this society, both women and men share search and share food. While the daily routine of food production and collection differ between men and women, the Batek community values the contribution of either gender to the food basket. The women’s routine activities include collection of vegetable foods as the men participate in hunting activities. In this respect, each individual has equal and direct access to food and the networks that share foods. The Batek people do not exhibit rigid norms that separate activities of both gender groups (Howell, 1989). Women can choose to participate in hunting and men can also participate in gathering vegetables and tubes, activities majorly done by women. Both gender groups participate in the trading of rattan, a significant source of cash. Both male and female participate in agricultural activities whenever the Batek agrees to the government’s agricultural scheme.
Their egalitarian nature of economic production matches with the egalitarian nature of marriage among the native peoples (Lampell, 2010). Women and men have equal roles as regards the choice of spouse, which occurs on the basis of compatibility and affection. Every individual, man or woman has the freedom to make their own choice marriage partner. The family is an independent social unit, in which man and women conduct economic c activities base on joint decision making about hunting, gathering, and cash generation activities. The family is the basis for true companionship and cooperation between the woman and man. In case the marriage experiences difficulties, ether husband or wife can initiate the process of divorce.
Men, as well as women, can survive on their own after divorce because they can depend on the food sharing networks that exist in the camp (Howell, 1989). They can build individual build shelter with the help of the other members of the camp including child support activities. The Batek’s cultural and religious beliefs promote the idea of gender equality. They foster the platform for equal roles in the order of economic and social responsibility. In this respect, gender differences are not as a result of cultural beliefs. The culture is devoid of discriminatory or asymmetrical messages concerning both gender groups. In essence, egalitarian gender relations are the foundation of the life of the Batek.
Conclusion
The Batek of Malaysia is an exemplary community whose egalitarian nature of subsistence activities is symbolic for the role of the mode of subsistence as the principle determining factor for culture (Tuck-Po, 2005). The world system of political, social, and cultural organization is changing. However, the magnitude and the rapid nature of evolution do not seem to interrupt so much the cultural fabric of the Batek people. The community practices egalitarian system in its economic and social activities, a practice reflected in cultural belief system. The values of the Batek people embrace equal participation of men and women in decision making, economic contribution, and even the choice of marriage partner. The principles that guide economic and social function are active in cultural systems. The Batek community believes in the existence of super human creators of the world. They believe in the oversight function of the super human powers and in their requirement for justice in the society. In view of the economic system of the Batek, the community embraces the equal potential of men and women in their contribution to the livelihood of the community. Their economic system fosters direct and equal access to the food distribution networks existing in the camps.
References
Howell, B. (1989). “Society and Cosmos (2nd ed.)”. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Lampell, E. (2010). “The Batek De` of Malaysia”. Women in a Changing World, 8, 2(1984)
Tuck-Po, L. (2005). “The Meanings of Trees: Forests and Identity for the Batek”. The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, 6(3): 249-261.
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