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While men hunted or searched for upper-end plant resources, Bateq or Semoq
Beri women fish or forage for food and plants for other uses. Fishing was done by
moving along a nearby river and it would sometimes take the whole day. They
would return home only in the evening to prepare meals for their families. Foraging
in the forest occured daily (Fig. 5), and the harvesting of plant products was greatly
influenced by season and availability. For leisure, the women spend time making
handicraft and ornaments which they could use at home, such as a bamboo comb
(sikat buluh). Sometimes, the women also knitted mats and and hats from Areca
leaves (daun cucuh) collected by the men.
Fig. 3 (Top) A Bateq woman harvesting wild fruits known as jabong (Baccaurea sp.); (middle)
edible seeds of Hodgsonia macrocarpa (cucurbitaceae); and, (bottom) a Bateq woman showing the
tawes or wild jackfruit
Sustainable Utilisation of Forest Plant Resources by the Bateq and Semoq Beri…
While men hunted or searched for upper-end plant resources, Bateq or Semoq
Beri women fish or forage for food and plants for other uses. Fishing was done by
moving along a nearby river and it would sometimes take the whole day. They
would return home only in the evening to prepare meals for their families. Foraging
in the forest occured daily (Fig. 5), and the harvesting of plant products was greatly
influenced by season and availability. For leisure, the women spend time making
handicraft and ornaments which they could use at home, such as a bamboo comb
(sikat buluh). Sometimes, the women also knitted mats and and hats from Areca
leaves (daun cucuh) collected by the men.
Fig. 3 (Top) A Bateq woman harvesting wild fruits known as jabong (Baccaurea sp.); (middle)
edible seeds of Hodgsonia macrocarpa (cucurbitaceae); and, (bottom) a Bateq woman showing the
tawes or wild jackfruit
Sustainable Utilisation of Forest Plant Resources by the Bateq and Semoq Beri…