Tracking with Batek Hunter-Gatherers of Malaysia

Tuck-Po Lye

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-60406-6_18

Abstract

AbstractTropical hunting studies that focus on tracking – how signs are interpreted – are rarely done if at all. This paper provides a preliminary sketch of the tracking strategies and knowledge of Batek of Malaysia. Studies of hunter-gatherer tracking rely heavily on Liebenberg’s carefully observed documentation of San tracking, enriched by his own scientific expertise in faunal behavior. Of the three levels of tracking he mentions, simple tracking is unreliable for the Batek, simply because of the nature of tropical forests. The default mode is systematic tracking, carefully gathering information, and piecing together a multisensorial picture of where prey is to be found. Their visual, auditory, and olfactory acuity is exceptional and so is their vocabulary for expressing these states. Tracking for Batek is not limited to the interpretation of tracks, or, rather, the notion of tracks needs to be broadened, to include tracks that cannot be seen, but can be heard and smelt. Tracking is about multisensory engagement in the needs of the moment and deploying the skills to decide what is and is not relevant information. It is about performance.

Highlights

This paper sets out, in a preliminary way, how tracking is done in the tropical forest, by Batek hunter-gatherers in Pahang, Malaysia
Studies of hunter-gatherer tracking rely heavily on Liebenberg’s carefully observed documentation of San tracking, enriched by his own scientific expertise in faunal behavior. The environment he worked in is very different from the tropical forests of the Batek
The effective difference is that simple tracking is unreliable for the Batek, except for extremely large animals, which leave unmistakable traces of passage through the forest

Summary

Introduction

This paper sets out, in a preliminary way, how tracking is done in the tropical forest, by Batek hunter-gatherers in Pahang, Malaysia. While it is reasonable to assume that successful hunters are expert trackers of prey, tropical hunting studies that focus on tracking – how signs are interpreted – are rarely done if at all. Hunting ethnographies do give some attention to how various game animals are tracked or the spoors characteristic of particular animals (e.g., Puri 1997, 2005; Sillitoe 2003), but do not generally take tracking as their primary interest.

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Conclusion