Talking about Sungai Bauk village where the Batek people is living should be completed by the life style of Batek people. According to some physical appearances, Batek people is in group of negritos tribal. As commonly a tribal group, the Batek is led by a leader which is call "Batin". I found the Batin is a charismatic, soft spoken, and polite.


Daniel Quitler is discussing with Batin.

The soft spoken and politeness of Batin are in fact the signature character of Batek people. I found man, woman, and children spoke softly and polite which naturalize the whole village. As consequence, they are a gentle group of people. However, to start the communication, they should be approached first. In contrast, they are not shy. Usually, they will get closer and curious who are the visitors and eager to know what we are doing.

Another main custom within the Batek is that the woman like to beautify their appearances by using make up, jewelries, bright dresses or sarong. On the top of it, it is a custom for the ladies to put on flowers over their heads.


The two bidans of the village. Big ear hole is to insert the flower(s).


A mature woman with Tagetes erecta - bunga tahi ayam and Bougainvillea glabra - bunga kertas on her hairs.


A front view of a woman with flower of Hyminocallis littoralis - bunga bakung or spider lily on her hairs. Notice the multiple chains in contrast colors.


A side view of her. The flowers of Hyminocallis littoralis - bunga bakung or spider lily on her hairs are secured by a bamboo comb. In addition, notice the neatly treated of front hairs.


A young mother is adorned with Bougainvillea glabra - bunga kertas and Tagetes erecta - bunga tahi ayam on her hairs. Notice the yellow forehead, the treated front hair, the neatly drawn eyebrow, and the cheerful pattern of earring. In rear view is her little girl. Beauty is in the soul of Batek woman. The neatly treated front hair of this little girl identifies that the sense of beauty has been taught or exposed since the tender age.


The bidan is beautifully adorned by: Hibiscus schozopetalus - bunga raya and Tagetes erecta - bunga tahi ayam on her hairs, Ruellia simplex on the upper ear, the match color of lipstic, and decorated dots of rice powder on the forehead. Mixture of oil and Curcuma domesticum - kunyit is applied on her face to increase the beauty. Medically, the mixture of oil and Curcuma domesticum - kunyit may provides protection and maintenance onto face skin. A sarong with flowery motifs in bright color is placed over her shoulder to complete the daily set of dressing.

The villagers are still making supit either for hunting or selling them to visitors. Other hand crafts those can be purchased are: bamboo comb, mengkuang mat, mengkuang purse, and mengkuang sac.


An ecoteer staff, Yah Tyng, and Hi Mun Ching are adoring the available hand crafts. At rear, Mr. Shukri is answering his sms.


Cik gu Khamsiah and her daughter Alice in front of their house. Her husband is a Batek people from this village - Sungai Bauk. As she is fluent in Malay and English, she often helps the villagers to sell their hand crafts namely.

I found that almost no person is obese in the village. To me, it is such an interesting phenomenon. In other hand, I quietly observed that the boundary of the village is marked by yam. These two circumstances caused me an eagerness to confirm their relationship. Cik gu Khamsiah responded "we prefer to eat yam since it contains more nutrient, healthier, and do not make us fat".


Colocasia esculanta - keladi or yam which surrounds the village.