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Among the most sought-after plant food by Bateq women were tubers (ubi in
Malay). The women of Bateq or Semoq Beri were responsible for collecting ubi,
which used to be a staple before being replaced by rice. Ubi could be a tuber or root
of forest plants, commonly a climber species (woody or non-woody) (Table 1). A
few examples of tubers largely sought after were ubi woh, ubi takop and ubi cengel
or ubi pasir (Fig. 6). Ubi takop was the sub-tribe’s staple long before rice. The tuber
wast prepared by grilling over a fire. The harvesting of tubers often involved deep
excavation of the soil and the taste could range from sweet to bitter. However, this
food was among the most promising source for their survival and deserved to be
conserved and investigated further. The utilisation of tubers and other food plant
resources by the Bateq and Semoq Beri were strongly guided by traditional or indigenous knowledge inherited from their ancestors. This gave them the ability to differentiate between edible and poisonous parts of plants and animals.
Fig. 4 (Left) A Bateq woman processing palm leaves collected from the forest for hut maintenance and roof replacement and (right) a Bateq man preparing poison for blowpipe darts
Fig. 5 Foraging by the Bateq in Kuala Koh, Kelantan
J. Mohd Salim et al.
Among the most sought-after plant food by Bateq women were tubers (ubi in
Malay). The women of Bateq or Semoq Beri were responsible for collecting ubi,
which used to be a staple before being replaced by rice. Ubi could be a tuber or root
of forest plants, commonly a climber species (woody or non-woody) (Table 1). A
few examples of tubers largely sought after were ubi woh, ubi takop and ubi cengel
or ubi pasir (Fig. 6). Ubi takop was the sub-tribe’s staple long before rice. The tuber
wast prepared by grilling over a fire. The harvesting of tubers often involved deep
excavation of the soil and the taste could range from sweet to bitter. However, this
food was among the most promising source for their survival and deserved to be
conserved and investigated further. The utilisation of tubers and other food plant
resources by the Bateq and Semoq Beri were strongly guided by traditional or indigenous knowledge inherited from their ancestors. This gave them the ability to differentiate between edible and poisonous parts of plants and animals.
Fig. 4 (Left) A Bateq woman processing palm leaves collected from the forest for hut maintenance and roof replacement and (right) a Bateq man preparing poison for blowpipe darts
Fig. 5 Foraging by the Bateq in Kuala Koh, Kelantan
J. Mohd Salim et al.