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Lifestyle
Modernisation and assimilation have changed how the Semoq Beri people in Pahang
live. While they still practice hunting, the frequency of wildlife consumption has
decreased. Their lifestyle has shifted to a modern way of living, which had a great
impact on the types of their houses, hunting skills, food sources, income sources,
and education. Based on our study, we categorised the Semoq Beri people in Pahang
into five types of lifestyle (Table 1). On this note, we classified the education
received by them into two, formal and informal education. Formal education is
defined as “an institutionalised, chronologically graded and hierarchically structured educational system, spanning lower primary schools and the upper reaches of
universities,” whereas informal education is “the lifelong process by which every
person acquires and accumulates knowledge, skills, attitudes and insights from
daily experiences and exposure to the environment” (La Belle 1982).
The first category of lifestyle is the nomadic lifestyle, where they are almost
entirely hunter–gatherers. Most of their food sources come from hunting wildlife
and gathering non-timber forest products (NTFP), such as herbs, wood, and mushroom. They do not have permanent homes, and they also have never resided in one
place for more than 3 days. They forage as a means to survive. One of the philosophies of the Semoq Beri people is “Suap tara, yukdoi untuk uincha,” which translates to: “Start working in the morning to find food and return in the evening.” Men
in this category hunt for food to feed their families, whereas women in the family
search for staple food, such as sweet potato, herbs, and mushrooms. People in this
group remain highly skillful. They eat only wild animals, depending on the availability and the level of difficulty in capturing those animals. The limiting factor
Table 1 The classification of the Semoq Beri people’s lifestyle
Level Type of houses
Hunting
skills
Food source
Income source
Education
1
None, hut
High
Hunting,
gathering
None, wildlife and
NTFP trading
Informal
2
Hut, cottage
High
Horticulture,
hunting,
gathering
Horticulture product,
land rental
Informal
3
Village houses, Moderate,
(hobbyist)
Agriculture,
horticulture,
hunting,
gathering
Agriculture product,
horticulture product,
land rental
Formal,
informal,
4
Rural houses,
aided by the
government
Moderate,
low
(hobbyist)
Horticulture,
trading, market
Horticulture product,
government aid, small
business, industrial
worker, government
servant
Formal,
informal,
5
Rural houses,
urban houses
Low
Market, retails
Business, public and
private service worker,
land rental
Formal
The Ethnozoology, Wildlife Utilisation and Hunting Practices of the Semoq Beri Tribe…
Lifestyle
Modernisation and assimilation have changed how the Semoq Beri people in Pahang
live. While they still practice hunting, the frequency of wildlife consumption has
decreased. Their lifestyle has shifted to a modern way of living, which had a great
impact on the types of their houses, hunting skills, food sources, income sources,
and education. Based on our study, we categorised the Semoq Beri people in Pahang
into five types of lifestyle (Table 1). On this note, we classified the education
received by them into two, formal and informal education. Formal education is
defined as “an institutionalised, chronologically graded and hierarchically structured educational system, spanning lower primary schools and the upper reaches of
universities,” whereas informal education is “the lifelong process by which every
person acquires and accumulates knowledge, skills, attitudes and insights from
daily experiences and exposure to the environment” (La Belle 1982).
The first category of lifestyle is the nomadic lifestyle, where they are almost
entirely hunter–gatherers. Most of their food sources come from hunting wildlife
and gathering non-timber forest products (NTFP), such as herbs, wood, and mushroom. They do not have permanent homes, and they also have never resided in one
place for more than 3 days. They forage as a means to survive. One of the philosophies of the Semoq Beri people is “Suap tara, yukdoi untuk uincha,” which translates to: “Start working in the morning to find food and return in the evening.” Men
in this category hunt for food to feed their families, whereas women in the family
search for staple food, such as sweet potato, herbs, and mushrooms. People in this
group remain highly skillful. They eat only wild animals, depending on the availability and the level of difficulty in capturing those animals. The limiting factor
Table 1 The classification of the Semoq Beri people’s lifestyle
Level Type of houses
Hunting
skills
Food source
Income source
Education
1
None, hut
High
Hunting,
gathering
None, wildlife and
NTFP trading
Informal
2
Hut, cottage
High
Horticulture,
hunting,
gathering
Horticulture product,
land rental
Informal
3
Village houses, Moderate,
(hobbyist)
Agriculture,
horticulture,
hunting,
gathering
Agriculture product,
horticulture product,
land rental
Formal,
informal,
4
Rural houses,
aided by the
government
Moderate,
low
(hobbyist)
Horticulture,
trading, market
Horticulture product,
government aid, small
business, industrial
worker, government
servant
Formal,
informal,
5
Rural houses,
urban houses
Low
Market, retails
Business, public and
private service worker,
land rental
Formal
The Ethnozoology, Wildlife Utilisation and Hunting Practices of the Semoq Beri Tribe…