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Introduction
Malaysia has approximately 3.5 million indigenous people, which is 12% of the
total population (Kardooni et al. 2014). Locally known as “Orang Asli”, the indigenous people in Peninsular Malaysia make up approximately 0.6% of the population. They can be classified into three major tribes, namely the Negrito, Senoi and
Proto-Malay, based on linguistic, physical and anthropological characteristics
(Aghakhanian et al. 2015). Each tribe is made up of several sub-tribes. For the
Negrito, there are the Kensiu, Kintak, Lanoh, Jahai, Mendriq and Bateq sub-tribes,
among others. Meanwhile, the Temiar, Semai, Semoq Beri, Jahut, Mah Meri, Che
Wong are the sub-tribes of Senoi, while the Kuala, Kanaq, Seletar, Jakun, Semelai,
Temuan are the sub-tribes of Proto-Malay. The Orang Asli communities are scattered around the peninsula and most of them are found in the outskirts and forests
in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Selangor, Kedah, Perak, Johor and Negeri
Sembilan (JAKOA 2016).
There are records of wild mushrooms being utilised by the Orang Asli and other
rural communities for various purposes, including food and medicine (Chin 1981,
1988; Christensen 2002; Chang et al. 2005; Lee and Chang 2007; Lee et al. 2009).
Wild mushrooms are macrofungi, or large fungi, found on trees or the ground of
forest floors, that have unique fruiting bodies (Mueller et al. 2007). Wild mushrooms mostly belong to two of the most common phyla, the Basidiomycota, which
can grow above the soil surface (epigeous), and Ascomycota, which grow below the
soil surface (hypogeous). It has been recorded that there are 1000 species of edible
wild mushrooms, and they are collected in 80 countries for food or trade (Boa 2004;
Semwal et al. 2014). However, no records have been documented in the east coast
of Peninsular Malaysia, including Terengganu and Kelantan. Thus, this study was
conducted with the objectives of identifying the wild mushroom species and documenting the traditional knowledge on the utilisation of wild mushrooms for food
and medicine by the Orang Asli in Kampung Sungai Berua, Hulu Terengganu, in
Terengganu state of Peninsular Malaysia.
Materials and Methods
The study was conducted at Kampung Sungai Berua, Hulu Terengganu (5°4′49.79″N,
102°53′2.85″E), which is located 18 km from Kuala Berang town. The village was
established in 1977 by the Orang Asli Development Department (JAKOA) under the
Rural Development Ministry (Appendix 1). Permission to access the village was
obtained from JAKOA. The villagers mainly comprised the Semoq Beri and Bateq
subtribes. A qualitative approach and in-depth interviews were carried out to collect
data on the species and traditional knowledge on wild mushrooms. The interviews
were conducted individually, as shown in Fig. 1a, or in groups, as shown in Fig. 1b,
with further hands-on discussions with the communities using semi-structured
H. N. Hamzah and A. Mohammad
Introduction
Malaysia has approximately 3.5 million indigenous people, which is 12% of the
total population (Kardooni et al. 2014). Locally known as “Orang Asli”, the indigenous people in Peninsular Malaysia make up approximately 0.6% of the population. They can be classified into three major tribes, namely the Negrito, Senoi and
Proto-Malay, based on linguistic, physical and anthropological characteristics
(Aghakhanian et al. 2015). Each tribe is made up of several sub-tribes. For the
Negrito, there are the Kensiu, Kintak, Lanoh, Jahai, Mendriq and Bateq sub-tribes,
among others. Meanwhile, the Temiar, Semai, Semoq Beri, Jahut, Mah Meri, Che
Wong are the sub-tribes of Senoi, while the Kuala, Kanaq, Seletar, Jakun, Semelai,
Temuan are the sub-tribes of Proto-Malay. The Orang Asli communities are scattered around the peninsula and most of them are found in the outskirts and forests
in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Selangor, Kedah, Perak, Johor and Negeri
Sembilan (JAKOA 2016).
There are records of wild mushrooms being utilised by the Orang Asli and other
rural communities for various purposes, including food and medicine (Chin 1981,
1988; Christensen 2002; Chang et al. 2005; Lee and Chang 2007; Lee et al. 2009).
Wild mushrooms are macrofungi, or large fungi, found on trees or the ground of
forest floors, that have unique fruiting bodies (Mueller et al. 2007). Wild mushrooms mostly belong to two of the most common phyla, the Basidiomycota, which
can grow above the soil surface (epigeous), and Ascomycota, which grow below the
soil surface (hypogeous). It has been recorded that there are 1000 species of edible
wild mushrooms, and they are collected in 80 countries for food or trade (Boa 2004;
Semwal et al. 2014). However, no records have been documented in the east coast
of Peninsular Malaysia, including Terengganu and Kelantan. Thus, this study was
conducted with the objectives of identifying the wild mushroom species and documenting the traditional knowledge on the utilisation of wild mushrooms for food
and medicine by the Orang Asli in Kampung Sungai Berua, Hulu Terengganu, in
Terengganu state of Peninsular Malaysia.
Materials and Methods
The study was conducted at Kampung Sungai Berua, Hulu Terengganu (5°4′49.79″N,
102°53′2.85″E), which is located 18 km from Kuala Berang town. The village was
established in 1977 by the Orang Asli Development Department (JAKOA) under the
Rural Development Ministry (Appendix 1). Permission to access the village was
obtained from JAKOA. The villagers mainly comprised the Semoq Beri and Bateq
subtribes. A qualitative approach and in-depth interviews were carried out to collect
data on the species and traditional knowledge on wild mushrooms. The interviews
were conducted individually, as shown in Fig. 1a, or in groups, as shown in Fig. 1b,
with further hands-on discussions with the communities using semi-structured
H. N. Hamzah and A. Mohammad