“This Forest Is Our Supermarket” Communicating Sustainability Through The Lens Of Batek Negrito Of Kuala Tahan

The Batek Negrito is one of the Orang Asli groups who primarily inhabit the rainforest in Peninsular Malaysia. This paper attempts to discuss the unique relationship of the Batek with the forest, their daily sustainability practices and their perceptions of development. Arguing that the forest is...

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Main Authors: Teh, Kate Yng, Hasan, Nik Norma Nik
Format: Conference or Workshop Item
Language:English
Published: 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://eprints.usm.my/32116/1/TEH_KATE_YNG%2C_NIK_NORMA_NIK_HASAN.pdf
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author Teh, Kate Yng
Hasan, Nik Norma Nik
author_facet Teh, Kate Yng
Hasan, Nik Norma Nik
author_sort Teh, Kate Yng
collection USM
description The Batek Negrito is one of the Orang Asli groups who primarily inhabit the rainforest in Peninsular Malaysia. This paper attempts to discuss the unique relationship of the Batek with the forest, their daily sustainability practices and their perceptions of development. Arguing that the forest is their native lands, this study also focuses on the impacts of the national park on livelihoods of the aborigines. The data were collected from in-depth interviews with Batek respondents and participant observations at one of the Orang Asli settlements, Kampung Dedari. The findings reveal that the livings of the Batek people were highly inseparably linked to the forest; the forest is their true home with great dependence on the forest resources which they also claimed as their ‘supermarket’. Not just important for food subsistence, it has been found that the forest also shapes their customs, traditions, and beliefs about the spirits of the nature. They also regard themselves as the ‘wildlife’ of the jungle whose protect the natural resources in their care. Although the ecotourism development surrounding Kampung Dedari has been benefiting the Batek in term of economic returns, at the same time it has also put pressure on their natural living environment. Hence, understanding how they communicating their sustainability practices can contribute to even greater understanding of local sustainability discourse which could help preserves the cultural rights of the aborigines, their ‘supermarket’ and the national park, at the same time.
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spelling usm.eprints-321162021-02-26T02:24:35Z http://eprints.usm.my/32116/ “This Forest Is Our Supermarket” Communicating Sustainability Through The Lens Of Batek Negrito Of Kuala Tahan Teh, Kate Yng Hasan, Nik Norma Nik P87-96 Communication. Mass media The Batek Negrito is one of the Orang Asli groups who primarily inhabit the rainforest in Peninsular Malaysia. This paper attempts to discuss the unique relationship of the Batek with the forest, their daily sustainability practices and their perceptions of development. Arguing that the forest is their native lands, this study also focuses on the impacts of the national park on livelihoods of the aborigines. The data were collected from in-depth interviews with Batek respondents and participant observations at one of the Orang Asli settlements, Kampung Dedari. The findings reveal that the livings of the Batek people were highly inseparably linked to the forest; the forest is their true home with great dependence on the forest resources which they also claimed as their ‘supermarket’. Not just important for food subsistence, it has been found that the forest also shapes their customs, traditions, and beliefs about the spirits of the nature. They also regard themselves as the ‘wildlife’ of the jungle whose protect the natural resources in their care. Although the ecotourism development surrounding Kampung Dedari has been benefiting the Batek in term of economic returns, at the same time it has also put pressure on their natural living environment. Hence, understanding how they communicating their sustainability practices can contribute to even greater understanding of local sustainability discourse which could help preserves the cultural rights of the aborigines, their ‘supermarket’ and the national park, at the same time. 2015-12-02 Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://eprints.usm.my/32116/1/TEH_KATE_YNG%2C_NIK_NORMA_NIK_HASAN.pdf Teh, Kate Yng and Hasan, Nik Norma Nik (2015) “This Forest Is Our Supermarket” Communicating Sustainability Through The Lens Of Batek Negrito Of Kuala Tahan. In: Second International Conference On Media, Communication And Culture (ICMCC 2015), 30 Nov. - 2 Dec. 2015, Vistana Hotel, Penang. http://www.icmcc2015.usm.my/
spellingShingle P87-96 Communication. Mass media
Teh, Kate Yng
Hasan, Nik Norma Nik
“This Forest Is Our Supermarket” Communicating Sustainability Through The Lens Of Batek Negrito Of Kuala Tahan
title “This Forest Is Our Supermarket” Communicating Sustainability Through The Lens Of Batek Negrito Of Kuala Tahan
title_full “This Forest Is Our Supermarket” Communicating Sustainability Through The Lens Of Batek Negrito Of Kuala Tahan
title_fullStr “This Forest Is Our Supermarket” Communicating Sustainability Through The Lens Of Batek Negrito Of Kuala Tahan
title_full_unstemmed “This Forest Is Our Supermarket” Communicating Sustainability Through The Lens Of Batek Negrito Of Kuala Tahan
title_short “This Forest Is Our Supermarket” Communicating Sustainability Through The Lens Of Batek Negrito Of Kuala Tahan
title_sort this forest is our supermarket communicating sustainability through the lens of batek negrito of kuala tahan
topic P87-96 Communication. Mass media
url http://eprints.usm.my/32116/1/TEH_KATE_YNG%2C_NIK_NORMA_NIK_HASAN.pdf
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