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 [...]]]>

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.

With the harvested Keruing oil , Mat Kechik (our Orang Asal guide) started mixing the blackish liquid with flakes of fibers from a rotting tree. The dried wood fibers absorbs the Keruing oil, making a paste like mix.

Mat Kechik adding dried and rotting wood fibers into the Keruing oil container

Mixing the keruing oil and wood fibers together using a stick

With the mixture almost ready, the next step was to make a mold for the torch. Literally everything needed to make this jungle torch comes from the jungle. Mat Kechik, with his parang started to shape a piece of wood into the shape of a stake. Palas fronds are then used to wrap around the wooden stake, making the shape of a torch.

All Mat Kechik needed to make this jungle torch is a Parang

The Palas fronds are wrapped around the wooden stake to take it’s shape

With the Palas fronds wrapped around the wooden stake, a length of fiber from the Mengkuang (Pandanus odoratissimus), the Palas are then tied together starting from the bottom of the stake right to the top with what looks like a timber hitch to me.

Even the cordage used to tie the fronds together comes from the jungle

With the Palas mold ready, the next step was to stuff it with the Keruing-wood fiber mixture. As the mixture is pushed into the mold, the wooden stake is used to compact it. Making the torch firm and compact.

The mixture is compacted using the wooden stake used to shape the mold in the first place

What amazes me most throughout the torch making was how comfortable, calm and relax Mat Kechik was squatting on the junge floor working with his hands. I did not even see him break a sweat despite the many eyes watching over him.

Finally, peeling back the end bits of the Palas fronds, Mat Kechik took out his lighter and lit it. The mixture in the torch caught fire almost immediately. Emitting both a steady flame and smoke.

The Keruing torch caught fire almost instantly

The torch, according to Mat Kechik will burn for about 8 hours. Back in the olden days, before the arrival of cheap hurricane lanterns and kerosene, this jungle torch was his people’s main form of lighting. Simply amazing!!

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, [...]]]>

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.

I was fortunate to be with the Semelai (Orang Asal/ indigenous people)  during a work trip back in May 09. Our local guide agreed to demonstrate to us how his people have been harvesting this precious oil for generations. In some other Orang Asal communities in Malaysia, such Keruing trees are considered a family heirloom and trespassers can expect a nasty poison dart from a blowpipe if they are not careful.

With development and cheaper alternatives, many Orang Asal have opted to use their hard earned money to purchase alternatives to the Keruing oil. Traditional torches made of Keruing oil is rapidly being replaced by modern, instant alternatives like kerosene lamp and other instant fixes from the hard ware shop.

The Keruing tree spots a rather big ‘man made’ hole in the tree trunk. This is where the oil is harvested.

This hole in the tree is used to harvest Keruing oil

With whatever oil is left in the hole, our guide lit a fire in there, starting off a small flame which within seconds grew into huge fire in the tree!

What started as a small fire…

Within seconds the flame turns really big!

I have never seen anything like this before. The flame, lit in a hole in a live tree was growing bigger by the seconds! The fire acted like a stimulant that encourages the tree to secrete its precious oil. I can literally hear crackling sounds as the oil starts to burn. To extinguish the fire, our guide used some fronds of Palas palm, covering the hole and beating it at the same time. The action somehow created a suction-vacuum that puts out the fire

The Palas frond is used to help extinguish the fire

Fire extinguished…smoldering hole in the Keruing tree

With the fire out, our guide when on to collect Keruing oil into a container. According to him, the tree will continue to secrete the oil for days. With the oil he collected, he went on to demonstrate to us how his people lit their nights in the jungle using a torch made with this very useful Keruing resin