Mai makan Jep

Amai of the Jakun tribe, RPS Jong village, Mercung river, (Kuala Rompin, Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia) 2019
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We paddled upriver using traditional dugout canoes to reach this newly-built riverside jetty. Mercung is one of the last few rivers left that is pristine enough to support & provide. We had a feast of endemic river fish, Amai (Aunt) ‘Mai Jep makan’, calling out to start lunch.

The Jakun puak kuala (estuary sub tribe) depended solely on the rivers as their way of life. As most elders are illiterate, it is a wonder how much lives on in the living memory, with names of every corner & river bend, and the nature of every flora & fauna.

This river has faced an onslaught of pollution from irreversible environmental impact, deforestation, pollution & global warming. The correlation of their spiritual health to the river is evident as suicide rates are high.
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She waves me closer

Minah of the Jakun tribe, (RPS Jemeri village, Kuala Rompin, Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia) 2018
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Seated right with her extended family she called out to me from afar. On a small piece of land cleared for growing palm oil, it is one of the only ways they know how to join the monetary economy.

The Jakun tribe has had a long history with our known narratives and urban vocabulary, mostly through oral and written histories from other cultures. According to this community, there are four puak (sub tribes) according to area: bukit, kuala, hulu, sisir pantai (hill, estuary, upstream, coastline).

Minah is one of over a 100 households that have been resettled from their ancestral land into concentrated government settlements (RPS) Rancangan Pengumpulan Semula. Being part of an estuary tribe, the youth group are now actively advocating for their cultural and spiritual links to the river, as they try to recover their lost and stolen narratives.
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Talking to the wind

Jar of the Jakun tribe, (RPS Jemeri village, Kuala Rompin, Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia) 2018
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Tok Bomoh (Shaman) of the village, is a hereditary trait. Traditionally, together with his family, they prepare and mediate all cultural and spiritual aspects of the community. Jar, here with the signifying headdress cloth, still finds himself mediating major cultural events in the village where most of the youth have been evangelised into christianity.

World religion groups have been, since first encounters, introducing institutionalised religion and spirituality, together with other social concepts. Indigenous communities are challenged from conflicts between their animistic beliefs, the spiritual link to spatial context, language & culture, and modern representation of religion. Blurring the lines between traditional and indigeneity.

At Kuala Keramat (shrine estuary), Jar flings ‘pop-rice’ as he talks to the wind, to the spirits and ancestors gathered there, in announcing the day, giving offerings and mediating their intentions. It is the officiating of a cultural site organised by the youth group, advocating for their cultural and spiritual links to the river, as they try to recover their lost and stolen narratives.
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Fields of smoke

Jeliah of the Jakun tribe, (RPS Jemeri village, Kuala Rompin, Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia) 2018
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She is the wife to Jar, belonging to a shamanic family. Inseparable as a pair, they were always together at every spiritual initiation. Resting in a day hut, after clearing the land around Kuala Keramat (shrine estuary), the air around us was filled with smoke from the burning of leaves.

Jeliah had little understanding of malay but understood when I needed her to be still for the making of this portrait. Before continuing to chew on betelnut she pounded earlier, laughing at my antics as I tried to operate my large camera. She couldn’t see well, but her extended family were amused after they saw her printed portrait and I made more portraits.
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She said you are cute

Hanako Yamasaki, native from the Monobecho Onishi 物部町大西 mountain range, Kami district, Kochi, Shikoku island, Japan 2018
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Hanako, now 98 years old, was born into a semi-nomadic family. Her father was a craftsperson who made wooden wares, travelling between mountain villages using the mountain passes without ever coming to the lowlands. It was only during harvest festivals that different villages would come together.

Japan only started to officially recognise one indigenous group in 2019, the Ainu, although there are many other unique cultural groups. Using linguistics to correlate, Tosa is the major dialect in this region, and some districts have sub-dialects. Further, each house in the village had a name, signifying an embodiment of the spirit for a family. Similarly practised in other mountain tribes in Taiwan. Are these clues to remnants of a forgotten indigenous past.
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Nobody is an outsider

Lavakaw Kasepelane of the Rukai tribe, Shensan village, Wutai, (Pingtung, South Taiwan) 2018
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Singer-songwriter, indigenous activist, native land rights advocate, he is also the native-language teacher, and farmer. Lavakaw is one of the returning youths, advocating indigenous language as a spiritual way to reconnect with earth.

He requested for his portrait to be on his ancestral farm, where for the past four years he attempted to grow their tribe’s indigenous millet. This was his first successful crop. Strewn on his shoulders is the campaign 沒有人是局外人 https://www.nooutsider.tw/ and his tribe’s pattern weaved bag.

As the generational gap widens and cultural significance changes, returning youths play a big role in bridging the legacies of their heritage, finding new relevance between preserving their spiritual link and regenerating cultural context.
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Living culture

Peresang Sukinarhimi of the Rukai tribe, Shensan village, Wutai, (Pingtung, South Taiwan) 2018
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Curator at the Rukai Culture Museum, Peresang is the keeper of culture at the museum in Wutai. Graduating in Architecture and returning, she holds a wealth of knowledge over the heritage and culture, mostly through oral memories and artefacts from the elders.

Going through the exhibits, she led the preschoolers through song in Drekai (Rukai) language as a means to provide context and relevance to their cultural significance. Many younger generations here do not speak their native language, caused by years of emphasis on nationalism & forced assimilation.

Peresang feels the need to rethink the function of a cultural museum, not just as artefacts or displays, but as a living culture that lives with the community. Evident when elders visit, they would become alive, dance and sing on being with the artefacts.
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Saya nyanyi sikit2 sahaja

Jessie Justin of the Dusun tribe, Kampung Kiau (Kota Belud, Sabah, East Malaysia) 2017
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Community representative, music graduate. Jessie just graduated last year (2019) in Shah Alam, Selangor but returned to her village due to lack of work prospects. Kiau is situated just at the foothills of Mount Kinabalu, bringing in some economic opportunities with tourism. But for most, having monetary income is a scarcity, having to still depend on agriculture to be resilient. She currently works ‘kerja kampung’ (village work).

Jessie’s pursuit in music stemmed from a young age, recalling her first musical experience from Odu (grandmother) singing to her. Traditional music was always part of her life, especially from her father who sings and plays the gong and kulintangan. Through the community organisation, she hopes to contribute using music as a bridge for their cultural tradition, and also as a means to collaborate with others.
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We are Pangcah

Ilíd of the Pangcah tribe, Fatáan village (Guangfu, Hualien, East Taiwan) 2018
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One of the exceptional elders, recognising my darkroom process from her experiences during the Japanese colonial era. She is a keeper of narratives, adding layers to our understanding, innovating & adapting lost crafts for spiritual practices.

The Pangcah tribe has been mislabelled as Amis since they were first classified during the ‘definition’ of the world. (‘We are Pangcah’) Ilíd emphasised this repeatedly to our two indigenous interpreters.

Although celebrated by activists as a matriarchal / feminist society, having female leaders, but through my understanding, it is rather as an equality of voice, no matter the sexes. Ilíd adorn a collared t-shirt as a form of state formality, she goes by (吳連妹) as her official state name, consequence of the imposition from the many years of the nation state.
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Can you make another one

Tomu Futing Mayaw of the Pangcah tribe, Fatáan village (Guangfu, Hualien, East Taiwan) 2018
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Futing is the great leader of the tribes’ five villages, Tomu is a given title meaning leader. At 90 years of age, our interview was conducted via 3 interpreters, layered with narratives on the origins from the hills following the river. To recent history of migration, passive assimilation, colonisation & nationalism.

Pangcah are a river plain tribe, but their cultural & spiritual links to sites, ancestral land and the river have been deterred with each invading forms of state. His first portrait was with his ‘Sunday’s best’ but Futing requested for his portrait to be made again after seeing his first print. Donning his full Tomu attire, behind him was his previous shirt on the sofa, in his living hall with Japanese Shoji. He also wanted the entire headdress for this portrait.
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Ong teh susu Jep

Amran & Akid of the Temiar tribe, Cunex village, (Gerik, Upper Perak, Peninsular Malaysia) 2019
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Amram greets me with his son, Akid, ‘Ong teh susu Jep (drink tea milk Jeff)’. Everyday teaching me new indigenous words, stopping at almost every plant, reciting names and medicinal uses as we walk through the forest. Sporadically announcing the cultural significance of an area. There is a strong spiritual connection to the environment, giving context & form to language.

Amran and the people of Cunex village are breakaways from the government’s resettlement program. Like many other (RPS) Rancangan Pengumpulan Semula on the peninsula, there has been an exodus. Almost all the time, returning to a barren and logged waste-forest that used to be their ancestral land, setting up blockades to save what little nature there is left from the onslaught of modern development. Passing on the intangible wealth of oral tradition & narratives.
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Stalks of ‘Mangis’

Pagi of the Temiar tribe, Cunex village, (Gerik, Upper Perak, Peninsular Malaysia) 2019
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Deep in the forest, we tracked to LZ (Landing Zone) and old village site Pos Keled, passing grave sites, and bombed-out craters. Pagi is holding stalks of ‘Mangis’, a cane-like plant which has spiritual significance in Sewang rituals. The fibrous stalk holds liquid which is dripped over foreheads in a ritual to form a spiritual bond with earth, with the creator, with Aluj.

The site where Cunex village is situated is unlike any other, it is of highest spiritual importance to all Temiar, if not to the narratives of origin for the people of this peninsula. As a sacred place to the days of creation, where the Sun came to rest. Setting up blockades against state-sanctioned logging and the onslaught of development, it is inconceivable to understand the challenges for survival, and their endeavour to persevere.
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Arang api

Aguc / Shahlan of the Temiar tribe, Cunex village, (Gerik, Upper Perak, Peninsular Malaysia) 2019
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Aspiring village school teacher, Aguc taught more than four subjects, from language, malay, english, to maths, sciences and also art. He expressed his keen interest in learning english and coming to the city. Being a breakaway village from the government’s resettlement program, education is key to becoming resilient and conscious of the challenges and circumstances they face.

Aguc was part of a teacher’s training workshop and had the chance to live and study in Kuala Lumpur city. However after a few months he had to return to the village, falling ill constantly and unaccustomed to the city’s environment. Aguc still has a burning desire to learn english and return to the city. His nickname Aguc derives from an experience with arang api (amber fire).
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Slamat yeyah cikgu

Village class of the Temiar tribe, Cunex village, (Gerik, Upper Perak, Peninsular Malaysia) 2019
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The Balai Adat (cultural hall) also doubles as the classroom. Children from the village, ranging from seven years to early teens, come together every morning during the weekdays, to have a curriculum of subjects that have been catered in their interest, to read, write and discern.

Shahlan is the assistant village school teacher, and in a stern manner, manages to hold the attention of over 30 students on his own. The main teacher from another village has been on leave for several months due to illness in the family.

Being a breakaway village from the government’s resettlement program and the assimilating nationalist schools, these community education programs are key to becoming resilient and conscious of the challenges and circumstances that they face as tribespeople.
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Payak, Payak

Jaja Andak Geniau of the Temiar tribe, Cunex village, (Gerik, Upper Perak, Peninsular Malaysia) 2019
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Grandmother to Shahlan, she was one of only two in the village that still holds the collective knowledge of weaving the Pegok (backpack basket), use of natural dyes from mud, and collecting Seke (pandanus leafs). She was giggling at our antics when we were trying to understand the process, repeatedly saying ‘payak, payak’ (submerge, submerge) to naturally dye the pandanus leaves in ‘dark water’.

Returning to their ancestral land, on the fringe of devastation and deforestation, there were little natural resources left. The stream where Batu Asah (sharpening stone) was situated, a resource rich area and the ‘walking highway’ to the neighbouring village, has all disappeared. State-sanctioned logging, bulldozed, and vanished from their spatial context to cultural relevance.

Andak passed away in March this year (2020), she was unable to weave, or fully pass on that cultural knowledge in her village. She was buried within village grounds.
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Oik Oik Oik Oik

Dave Diaman of the Mah Meri tribe, Kurau river village, (Carey island, Klang, Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia) 2019
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One of three sons under apprenticeship with their carver father, Diaman of Bumbun village. Dave is a fisherman, and passionately follows his father’s craft of woodcarving. He is holding his own creation, a carving inspired from the ‘burung Oik’ (bird), ‘Oik Oik Oik Oik’ as I tried repeatedly to mimic the intonation of the bird call with Dave.

Kurau village is slated for government resettlement off the island. With barely any mangrove forest left & the irreversible environmental impact, the oral narratives & spiritual connection with earth are getting harder to hold any context. With every new generation losing their cultural link, Dave & many youths are trying to regenerate and create new relevance of their spiritual understanding, with an uncertain future.
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Teluk Gunjeng

Masmay of the Mah Meri tribe, Bumbun village, (Carey island, Klang, Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia) 2019
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‘Panggil saya Didi’ (call me Didi), Masmay is one of the women leaders in her community of weavers. She is part of a program enabling women, to create monetary economic means for themselves through arts & craft. She has travelled to other indigenous communities to hold workshops, training other women groups.

Carey island is not an island, it is referred to as Teluk Gunjeng (Gunjeng Bay) by the tribespeople. More than 80% of their ancestral land is palm oil plantation, apart from the 18-hole golf course, with sea reclamation & port development that are ever so tightly surrounding the last five villages left. The government plans to relocate them off the island in the near future, removing these indigenous groups from their spiritual link & relevance to their environment.
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The wave, ocean and sun

Syaman Lamuran of the Tao tribe, Iratai village, Pongso no tao (Lanyu Island, Taitung, Taiwan) 2018
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After spending 9 years abroad in the US graduating with an MBA in engineering, being one of the first to do so, he returned to the island much to the dismay of many from his tribe. At a young age of 33, Lamuran was elected to represent the Tao people at the Council of Indigenous Affairs.

It was a time of turmoil when he returned, the transition to the state economy was challenging, economic opportunities were scarce and the biggest issue was nuclear waste disposal. Returning for him was not only a filial, or self-responsibility, but he felt most alive ‘from the wave, ocean and sun, it’s incredible to me’.

Syaman Lamuran (Lamuran’s father) wore his Tao outfit and, for the first time, the heirloom headdress and breastplate which belonged to his father Syapen Lamuran (Lamuran’s grandfather). Perhaps reflective of the Paedonymic (親從子名) naming system, giving emphasis to each next generation.
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Terang kenin

Sia Ngedau of the Penan tribe, Long Kerong, (Lawas, Sarawak, East Malaysia) 2017
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Indigenous activist and Penan coordinator for Baram Peace Park. Little did I know who Sia was when he sat for his portrait at the World Indigenous Day celebrations in Keningau 2017. Featured in many documentaries and feature films on the struggles of the Penan. They were the first tribe I started researching and was inspired from when Kanta project started.

Sia always has a positive outlook through the many campaigns over the span of his lifetime. Even through the amount of challenges the tribespeople have faced, it is amicable, the energy and advocacy of an activist and the people.

Advocating for autonomy over their ancestral land, with the intention of creating a Baram Peace Park to preserve the rainforest, culture and rights of Orang Ulu ethnic groups. The recent completion of the Penan Community Maps, a 15 year project, displays the tenacity and deep passion in the fight to preserve a way of life.
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From the clouds

Dato Jenang Johos of the Temuan tribe, (rps Kampung Orang Asli Sg Broga, Lenggeng, Negeri Sembilan, Peninsular Malaysia) 2019
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Adat Pepatih / Ketua Adat (cultural leader). At 120 years old, perhaps in relation to indigenous concept of time, which means very old. Jenang lived for most of his life in Broga, but remembers his time in the jungle fondly, with the Sangkoi / orang dalaman (spirit of the forest).

Broga river got its name, from the beginning of time, of the great flood, when a sail ship was stuck here, and the Temuan heaved the ship back out to sea, ‘Ohga Ohga Ohga’. Broga is now known for a shrine called Sak Dato Temple 石拿督庙. Originally of spiritual and cultural significance to the indigenous community here, it has been subsumed into a chinese shrine, much like many other indigenous narratives, readapted and pilfered by other invading cultures.

Jenang, in turn, adorned the malay sultanate headdress and sash as our interview progressed, ‘Saya akan naik jadi Raja, Raja orang asli’ (I will rise to be King, King of the indigenous), in reflection to our enquiries on the creation of man, ‘dari awan’ (from the clouds).
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