Moonriver Lodge, Sigar Highlands
FOR OUR CHILDREN'S CHILDRENArchive for Orang Asli
Orang Asli Trap
A month ago I went for an impromptu mini trek with a few others,
It was really random though,
It so happened that they decided to trek some unchartered path,
So I tagged along (Which I wish shouldn’t have because I ended up with 3 blisters on my feet as I was totally unprepared for trekking)Orang Asli Trap
Oh well, so, one of them came across this animal trap, (I’ll call it Orang Asli Trap)
If we weren’t careful enough,
One of us might get injured – our foot trapped in a hole or something,
Thank goodness I brought a camera with me (Told you it was impromptu) and I snapped these two shots,
They do looked pretty scary eh,
I believe they wanted to catch some wild boars or other animals in the forest,
It’s definitely an eye-opener to all of us,
By the way,
To those who trek a lot,
Do be careful of these traps,
I’m sure you don’t want to end up like James Franco in ‘127 Hours’
(In case you haven’t watched this show, you guys should!)
If you ever encounter an Orang Asli,
Don’t be afraid of them,
They won’t bite you,
Don’t believe in all those old silly superstitious stories eg that they eat human meat or whatever,
They are the nicest people on earth,
Just smile at them and be off your way,
Good day guys!
Who is Ajing?
Who is Ajing
An animal or someone’s offspring?
A new sub-district crops
From early settlers beside Sungai Belatop?
Read more About Lojing under Locations & Directions
Pokok Rut
During the Rafflesia Flower trek, the Orang Asli pointed out the pokok rut to us. The smell of the freshly picked plant reminded me of my childhood days when we waited in anticipation for our Root Beers during Chinese New Year visitations and special treats to A&W’s.
Used to relieve wind, stomachache.
What can we do for the Temiars?
Our COMMITMENT to help the Temiar include the following:
- Providing WORK, hence income for them by utilising their craftsmanship and skill in simple construction at the Lodge.
- Providing INCOME for them through purchasing bamboo as natural material of construction from their deft forest clearing skills
- Provide higher PROFITS, hence income by engaging them directly as Guides for the Rafflesia Flower Trek and Blowpipe Demonstration activities for Guests.
We PLAN to :
- Harness their skills as hunter-gatherers to help collect useful forest seedlings for our Forest Seedling Nursery in our efforts to rejuvenate the forest and establish natural corridors, supporting the biodiversity of wildlife and flora in the jungle.
- Slowly educate the Guides to learn simple English words to be able to converse directly with the Guests.
Kelantan, Temiar Country
Did you know that the Orang Asli here is different from the Orang Asli in Cameron Highlands?
They are the Temiar tribe in Kelantan and the tribe in Cameron Highlands are the Semai.
(Map is courtesy of www.temiar.org)
Mad about Petai (Parkia speciosa)
The next time you purchase a bunch of Petai from the Orang Asli, think twice before you ask for a discount. In most cases the pods are gathered from the wild and sometimes they have to risk their lives to climb up the tree to do so. The petai tree can grow to about 90 feet (30 metres).
Petai contains three natural sugars – sucrose, fructose and glucose. Be sure to have your petai before your next workout in the gym. Not only will you get a good boost of energy, the smell might just drive the unwanted crowd at the gym elsewhere.
Anak Temiar
In Malaysia the Orang Asli, like the Malays (who are 55% of the population), are officially known as ‘Bumiputera’ (children of the earth) or ‘natives of the country’. A subgroup of the Senoi, the Temiar are found to be mainly in Perak, Kelantan and some in Pahang.
“The Temiar do not see themselves as forest people. They see themselves as people who live in cleared spaces which happen to be surrounded by forest” (Jennings 25: 1995)
A Tiny Branch – Standing Tall
I just watched Carl Sagan’s video on evolution. yoism.org http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl89HIJ6HDo. We are but a tiny branch on a 4 billion old tree. Yet we are affecting all the other branches. Time is much, much longer than our 70-100 years of finite human life. Homo sapiens have successfully clobbered out ancestral cousins; let’s not clobber whatever little diversity that is left. Out of sheer degradation – moral & intellectual decadence. There is the internet now; there is no reason for not being aware. Re-study the gaps in our organised learning. Let’s not drop the “DNA baton”. It’s in EACH and EVERYONE’s HANDS. And quit saying you can’t afford to do whatever you need to do or that you don’t have time or bandwidth. To ensure the continuity of 4 BILLION years.
Moonriver Clinic
We met about ten Asli children gathering sticks. It set me thinking. The doctor among us kept seeing one of the rooms as a “treatment room”. I asked about public healthcare for the Asli. According to the doctor, the funding is there but the Asli don’t know how to access it. And so Moonriver Clinic came to be. Image of Moonriver Clinic under construction.
