Gombak was full of happy healthy children from different tribes. They had accompanied a sick parent to hospital along with the healthy parent. It had been found that many Orang Asli were reluctant to leave their kampongs for hospital treatment, and those who did were unhappy in the strange environment. To encourage them to come to Gombak and also to recover quicker it was found that the presence of the family around them was essential. Most of the children enjoyed the newness of the hospital setting and were happy to be occupied during the day with basic lessons in the three Rs, and art and handicrafts in particular.
Women and men often decorate themselves just for fun with flowers, leaves, and pigments. This woman has put shredded fragrant leaves (probably from wild gingers [Zingiber spp.]) in her ear holes, a garland of flowers on her head, and has painted a line of white lime paste (obtained by trade) across her forehead.
People stopped to watch the helicopter. An open area in the center of the hospital grounds provided a landing zone for helicopters, operated by the Malaysian Air Force, to transfer patients to/from jungle kampongs and the hospital.
Gombak was full of happy healthy children from different tribes. They had accompanied a sick parent to hospital along with the healthy parent. It had been found that many Orang Asli were reluctant to leave their kampongs for hospital treatment, and those who did were unhappy in the strange environment. To encourage them to come to Gombak and also to recover quicker it was found that the presence of the family around them was essential. Most of the children enjoyed the newness of the hospital setting and were happy to be occupied during the day with basic lessons in the three Rs, and art and handicrafts in particular.
Patients were sometimes transported to the hospital by helicopter. This photo shows hospital staff carrying a patient by stretcher from the helicopter.
While women specialize in making baskets and mats of pandanus leaves (Pandanus spp.), men usually make the rattan (Calamus spp.) baskets. This man is making an openwork rattan basket for leaching poison out of a species of poisonous yam (Dioscorea hispida).
Gombak was full of happy healthy children from different tribes. They had accompanied a sick parent to hospital along with the healthy parent. It had been found that many Orang Asli were reluctant to leave their kampongs for hospital treatment, and those who did were unhappy in the strange environment. To encourage them to come to Gombak and also to recover quicker it was found that the presence of the family around them was essential. Most of the children enjoyed the newness of the hospital setting and were happy to be occupied during the day with basic lessons in the three Rs, and art and handicrafts in particular.
People usually cook gadong again, after the poison has been leached out, by steaming it over a fire in a section of bamboo, sometimes with fish or vegetables mixed in. Here a man has split open the bamboo container and is removing the cooked gadong.
Yok Pan was found abandoned in her kampong as she could not walk due to poliomyelitis. She was brought to Gombak and efforts were made to see if she could walk again. Sadly she couldn't. She was then taught how to use a wheelchair.
One of the most abundant wild tubers is gadong (Dioscorea hispida), which grows mainly on sandy riverbanks. The tubers are larger than potatoes and are shallowly rooted, so they are easy to dig up. Their drawback is that they are poisonous in their natural state. Batek process them to remove the poison. These women have peeled some gadong tubers and cut them into chunks. They are now slicing them into thin slices which they will boil in the iron pot (center). (They can slice the chunks before or after boiling.) Later they will put the slices in an openwork rattan basket, which they will anchor in a stream for a day or so, using the flowing water to leach out the poison. Gadong is easy to gather, but laborious to process.
