Simply beautiful
I decided to join Jan on a trip to an Orang Asal (a.k.a Orang Asli) Semai village in Pos Betau in Pahang. Jan obviously was in search of another elusive waterfall in Malaysia while I was more than happy to be part of the recee trip. This will be my first real visit to a Semai village and I was also hoping to find some new sites that I can use for work. As it turns out, this trip had so much more to offer than just waterfalls and village life.
Continue reading A visit to Orang Asal Semai village, Pos Betau Pahang (Part I)
The beautiful parang gift from Danny
Since my trip to Sarawak, I have fallen in love with parangs from Sarawak. Old school it may be but these blades of the Orang Ulu are amazingly functional and tried tested. I have a few parang Ilang but recent pieces given to me as gifts by Danny Voon of Kuching has really impressed me a lot.
Continue reading Sarawak parang gift from Danny Voon
Traditional ciggies?
Besides the traditional fire piston, Tok Ali was also kind enough to tell us more about his blow pipe, aquarium and herb garden. With his charm and willingness to share his knowledge, we felt that the 2 hours spent with him is nowhere enough to learn more.
Continue reading Tok Ali’s blow pipe, aquarium and herb garden; Final Part
The Penan’s parang comes in a complete set!
It is true that people say the best blade for any one place is the ones the locals there use. This is no exception for the Penans of Sarawak. I was fortunate there were a couple of Penan guides on a trip to the interior of Sarawak jungle. For the first time in my life, I saw how the parang used by the Penans.
Continue reading Malat & Penat, the Penan’s jungle parang and knife
A village house in the interior of Sarawak
There are some really unique houses in the interior of Sarawak. The houses reflect not only practicality and simplicity but also the way of life for the folks in the area. Having spent 1 night in one of the local houses, coupled with their hospitality made me realize how over-dependant we city folks are to our ‘modern’ & materialistic world.
Continue reading Unique houses in the interior of Sarawak; A trip to Sarawak’s jungle Pt. IV
A kampong boy ready to spin his top
This is traditional top spinning at its best. Somewhere in the remote regions in Pahang, I had my first experience with kampong style top spinning competition. The set-up is simple. Open area with dry, dusty crack earth, a few spectators and well built, half naked youths with overly sized hand made tops. The objective is to hit with the purpose of stopping or even splitting the other top and hopefully…your top stays spinning the longest.
Continue reading Traditional top spinning in Malaysia; Final part
A traditional top ‘split’ after being hit by another
I am indeed privileged to see, touch and experience authentic traditional hand carved tops (‘Gasing’ in Malay) in Malaysia. While most common kampong kids these days would opt for the mass factory produced tops, these authentic, 100% ‘original’ tops are rare to come by. Free from the influence of modern short cuts of machines and factory produced materials, these tops from a village in Pahang is the real thing.
Continue reading Traditional hand carved tops in Malaysia; Part I
Our Orang Asal guide proudly showing off his Keruing torch
It was an amazing experience watching an Orang Asal makes a jungle torch using the resin of a Keruing tree. The Semelais may have relied on this jungle torch for hundreds of years to ensure their safety and comfort during the nights of the rainforest jungle. Watching him take his time making the torch makes me wonder how long this jungle skill will continue to be practice among his people.
Continue reading Making a traditional jungle torch from Keruing tree oil
Part of the Keruing extraction process
Traditional extraction of the resin from the Keruing tree is a rare sight there days. Keruing (Dipterocarpus kerrii) is an important tree to many cultures because of its many uses resin. The Keruing name is used by the Semelais of Peninsula Malaysia. It is known as Eng in Burma, Apitong in the Phillipines and Yang among the Thais.
The Keruing oil has many applications. In the olden days, it is used to make a light torch, as sealants for making musical instruments, caulking boats and as a varnish (see pic below). Orang Asli has also been known to use the oils for medicinal purposes and the more recent application is in perfume making.
Continue reading Traditional Keruing tree resin extraction by the Orang Asal of Malaysia
Meun is always on to safety
This is our first experience cooking fish in the jungle using the Orang Asli way. It’s like a Malaysian bush cooking crash course. We have cooked and BBQ fish in the bush before but it normally involves some form of stove or metal grill. There’s also the process of cleaning the fish, seasoning it with salt and spices and wrapping them in some sort of aluminum foil or banana leaves.
This particular experience cooking fish in the jungle changed how we used to view bush cooking. Simplicity is often the best way to prepare food.
Continue reading Cooking fish in the jungle; the Orang Asli way- Part I
