110
activities are decreasing because of the changes to their lifestyle due to
modernisation.
Keywords Orang Asli · Sustainable livelihood · Wildlife · Malaysia
Introduction
The Semoq Beri people are a sub-group of the Senoi Orang Asli, who are estimated
to have reached Peninsular Malaysia about 8000 years ago during the second wave
of migration from the mountainous areas of Cambodia and Vietnam (Zahidin et al.
2018; Baer 1999). Currently, Semoq Beri tribes can be found in few areas of
Peninsular Malaysia, namely in Jerantut, Kuantan, the Maran district in Pahang, and
the Hulu Terengganu and Kemaman districts in Terengganu (Abdullah et al. 2016,
2017; Masron et al. 2013) (Fig. 1). They speak the Semoq Beri language, which is
an Austroasiatic language. Their primary religion is an ethnic religion, which is
more closely associated to people’s ethnic identity and cultural assimilation. Some
of them have embraced Islam, Christianity and Evangelicalism. They used to live as
nomads, but the government (the Orang Asli Development Department or JAKOA)
provides them with permanent settlement, education, and healthcare.
Most of them live close to or within forested areas as they depend on natural
resources to survive. This enables them to engage in rice cultivation and the trading
of natural resources, such as petai, durian, resins, and rattan, mainly to generate
income (Nicholas 2003). Since the forest is their source of food and income, they
place importance on it. They are known to live as hunter–gatherers, consuming
wildlife and largely depending on forest products to survive, resulting in them having a more developed olfaction in terms of locating food resources (Majid and
Kruspe 2018). With their technological efficiency and skills in using the blowpipe,
the Semoq Beri people heavily consume meat in a strategic manner, which results
in them leading an active hunter–gatherer life (Kuchikura 1988). They also fish and
harvest forest resources, such as wood, chandan, rattan, and bamboo (Kuchikura
1996). Those who still hunt tend to live in settlements located in the forests of
Jerantut, Kuantan, the Maran district in Pahang, and the Hulu Terengganu and
Kemaman districts in Terengganu.
Ethnozoology comes from the Greek words ethno, which means ethnic, and
zoology, which means animals (Castetter 1944). Thus, ethnozoology can be simply
understood as the study of the interrelationship between animals and humans of
certain ethnic groups. The study of the interrelationships between the cultural
knowledge of a particular ethnic group and biology is known as ethnobiology
(Anderson 1988). There are three main classifications of ethnobiological study,
namely ethnozoology, ethnobotany, and ethnoentomology (Fig. 2). However, it is a
complex field involving different approaches and theoretical problems, which also
comprise ethnoecology and ethnomedicine, among others. Besides ethnozoology,
M. A. B. Abdul-Latiff et al.
activities are decreasing because of the changes to their lifestyle due to
modernisation.
Keywords Orang Asli · Sustainable livelihood · Wildlife · Malaysia
Introduction
The Semoq Beri people are a sub-group of the Senoi Orang Asli, who are estimated
to have reached Peninsular Malaysia about 8000 years ago during the second wave
of migration from the mountainous areas of Cambodia and Vietnam (Zahidin et al.
2018; Baer 1999). Currently, Semoq Beri tribes can be found in few areas of
Peninsular Malaysia, namely in Jerantut, Kuantan, the Maran district in Pahang, and
the Hulu Terengganu and Kemaman districts in Terengganu (Abdullah et al. 2016,
2017; Masron et al. 2013) (Fig. 1). They speak the Semoq Beri language, which is
an Austroasiatic language. Their primary religion is an ethnic religion, which is
more closely associated to people’s ethnic identity and cultural assimilation. Some
of them have embraced Islam, Christianity and Evangelicalism. They used to live as
nomads, but the government (the Orang Asli Development Department or JAKOA)
provides them with permanent settlement, education, and healthcare.
Most of them live close to or within forested areas as they depend on natural
resources to survive. This enables them to engage in rice cultivation and the trading
of natural resources, such as petai, durian, resins, and rattan, mainly to generate
income (Nicholas 2003). Since the forest is their source of food and income, they
place importance on it. They are known to live as hunter–gatherers, consuming
wildlife and largely depending on forest products to survive, resulting in them having a more developed olfaction in terms of locating food resources (Majid and
Kruspe 2018). With their technological efficiency and skills in using the blowpipe,
the Semoq Beri people heavily consume meat in a strategic manner, which results
in them leading an active hunter–gatherer life (Kuchikura 1988). They also fish and
harvest forest resources, such as wood, chandan, rattan, and bamboo (Kuchikura
1996). Those who still hunt tend to live in settlements located in the forests of
Jerantut, Kuantan, the Maran district in Pahang, and the Hulu Terengganu and
Kemaman districts in Terengganu.
Ethnozoology comes from the Greek words ethno, which means ethnic, and
zoology, which means animals (Castetter 1944). Thus, ethnozoology can be simply
understood as the study of the interrelationship between animals and humans of
certain ethnic groups. The study of the interrelationships between the cultural
knowledge of a particular ethnic group and biology is known as ethnobiology
(Anderson 1988). There are three main classifications of ethnobiological study,
namely ethnozoology, ethnobotany, and ethnoentomology (Fig. 2). However, it is a
complex field involving different approaches and theoretical problems, which also
comprise ethnoecology and ethnomedicine, among others. Besides ethnozoology,
M. A. B. Abdul-Latiff et al.