To get through rapids, people sometimes take the cargo off the raft and carry it down to a safe landing place. Then they ride the empty raft through the rough water, as these young men are doing here, and reload the cargo below the rapids. Relai River, Kelantan.
After piercing the girls ears, the man puts tiny pieces of medicinal plant stems on the quills to prevent infection. The quills and stems are left in place until the holes heal. Here he examines his handiwork.
During the 1960s it was quite rare to see any patients from the negrito tribes. They lived mainly in the north of the states of Kedah, Perak, Kelantan and Tregannu. While I was at Gombak there was only one family. They were from Perak and were from the Jahai tribe.
Usually Batek move from one camp to the next on foot, carrying their possessions on their backs, but sometimes they use bamboo rafts. Bamboo grows in clumps here and there along the main rivers. Here two men are making a raft by tying lengths of bamboo to wooden cross-pieces using split rattan bindings. The raised platform is to keep the cargo dry.
This young boy accompanied his parents and siblings to Gombak. I found the negrito children quite quiet and retiring at first, but eventually joined in with the other children around the hospital.
Instead of skinning game, Batek burn off the hair and cook the skin with the meat. Here two men are scraping singed hair off a leaf monkey with a stick. Then they will gut it and roast the carcass over the fire. Finally, they will butcher it and distribute portions to all families in camp. Batek share all food if needed, but they make a special point to share meat, which they obtain less regularly than vegetable foods.
The Semai are part of the large Senoi group of Orang Asli of central Malaysia. The Temiar are also part of this group. I think that the Senoi group formed the largest at the hospital
Fruits that do not fall when ripe must be harvested. A common method of harvesting is for someone to climb the tree and cut off the fruit-bearing branches. Here a man has cut most of the branches off a fruit tree. This looks bad, but it does not necessarily kill the tree.
