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1. PUNAN

UNFOLDING OUR IDENTITY

SPOT US ON THE MAP

A BITE OF OUR CULTURE

WHERE JOY MEETS CULTURE

2. TEMUAN

UNFOLDING OUR IDENTITY

SPOT US ON THE MAP

A BITE OF OUR CULTURE

WHERE JOY MEETS CULTURE

3. BATEQ

UNFOLDING OUR IDENTITY

SPOT US ON THE MAP

A BITE OF OUR CULTURE

WHERE JOY MEETS CULTURE

4. DENMARK

UNFOLDING OUR IDENTITY

SPOT US ON THE MAP

A BITE OF OUR CULTURE

WHERE JOY MEETS CULTURE

5. HAINAN

UNFOLDING OUR IDENTITY

SPOT US ON THE MAP

A BITE OF OUR CULTURE

WHERE JOY MEETS CULTURE

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The Punan people are an indigenous group (Orang Asli) native to Borneo, particularly in Sarawak, Malaysia, and parts of Kalimantan, Indonesia.

🏞️ Origin

• The Punan are traditionally forest hunters who live along the Rejang, Bintulu and Belaga rivers in Sarawak, before being forced to scatter due to pressure from other groups.

• Archaeological, linguistic and historical evidence all show that a significant Punan existence presents in areas which are now dominated by the Iban and Kayan. (Dayak Daily, 2025)

🌿 Way of Living

• In the past, they lived on a mixed economy. Their main activity was swidden farming, growing hill paddy as the main crop. They also planted other tropical crops like manioc, taro, sugar cane, and tobacco. Besides farming, they hunted (especially wild boar), fished, and collected forest products for their livelihood.

• However, in the late 1980s, many Punan, notably the younger, more educated, gradually migrated to urban areas such as Bintulu, Sibu, Kuching and Kuala Lumpur in search of better state of living.

📜 Culture & Beliefs

• Traditionally animist, believing in spirits of nature and ancestors. Today, some have converted to Christianity or Islam, depending on region and contact with missionaries or surrounding groups.

💭 Fun Fact

• They used to navigate and communicate in the dense rainforest using only sound — without getting lost.

• The Punan are known for their amazing tracking skills — they can tell who passed by a path just by looking at footprints or bent grass.

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🧭 Location Breakdown

1) Sarawak

• Punan communities are located in areas such as Miri, Bintulu, Limbang, and Kapit Divisions.

• More specific settlements of this ethnic can be found along the rivers like the Rajang and Kakus, with the “heartland” of Punan people often cited as being places like Belaga, Pandan and Tatau.

2) Brunei

• A smaller number of Punan does live in Brunei.

3) Kalimantan, Indonesia

• The Punan are also seen present in Kalimantan, particularly in the northeast, near the Malaysia boarder.

Culturally, some Punan people were once nomadic hunter-gatherers, relying on the forest as their source of food for the livelihood. But today, many have settled into longhouses or small villages, farming and even participating in local economy activities, though some still maintain the traditional old way of living— semi-nomadic, ocassionally moving through the forest for food or resources.

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The Temuan are officially recognized Orang Asli (Indigenous) group in Peninsular Malaysia 🇲🇾.

🏞️ Origin

• The Temuan are actually one of those 18 Orang Asli tribes in Malaysia, and they are known as to the Proto-Malay subgroup.

• This tribe mostly scatter in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Johor, and Melaka.

• The Temuan are famous as one of the largest Orang Asli groups, after the Semai and Jakun.

🌿 Way Of Living

• Originally, the Temuan were jungle dwellers, carrying out activities such as shifting cultivation, hunting, and gathering forest products.

• In today’s age, many of them have settled down in villages located near forest areas or small countryside, with some even participate themselves in agriculture sector, rubber tapping, or construction as source of income.

📜 Culture & Beliefs

• Temuan people traditionally believe in animism — they believe that there are spirits living and existing in nature (rivers, rocks, and trees).

• Many of them still practice this belief, though some of them have converted to Islam or Christianity as the time has passed.

💭 Fun Fact

• The Temuan have myths about a great flood similar to the story featuring the Noah — they are convinced the first humans were saved by climbing a mountain called Gunung Raja (which often linked to Gunung Ledang located in Johor).

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🧭 Location Breakdown

1) Selangor

• The Temuan people live in the lowland areas of Selangor, such as Rawang and Hulu Selangor.

• Examples of their villages include Kampung Orang Asli Pulau Kempas and Kampung Orang Asli Serendah.

2) Pahang

• The Temuan have traditional settlements in the state of Pahang.

3) Negeri Sembilan

• The group's territory includes Negeri Sembilan. For example, Kampung Putra, Jelebu is a Temuan village in this state.

4) Johor and Malacca

• The Temuan can also be found in the states of Johor and Malacca.

The Temuan people are an indigenous Proto-Malay ethnic group primarily located in Selangor, Pahang, Johor, Negeri Sembilan, and Malacca in Peninsular Malaysia. Their traditional lands are often lowland valleys, and they are classified as part of the Orang Asli subgroup by the Malaysian government.

👩🏻‍🏫 Do you know?

“Proto-Malay” refers to one of the earliest groups of Malay peoples who migrated to the Malay Peninsula and nearby islands thousands of years ago — long before the arrival of the “Deutero-Malay” (later Malay) groups.

In simple terms:

Proto-Malay = the early Malays, believed to have come around 2,500–1,500 B.C.

They were skilled in farming, boat-building, and metalwork, and settled along rivers and inland areas.

Many Orang Asli tribes, such as the Temuan, Semai, and Jakun, are considered descendants of the Proto-Malay group.

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Punan traditional food includes staples like tapioca and sweet potatoes, reflecting their historical reliance on forest and farm products. They also consume local fruits such as the wild mango (pangin), and a dish made from young rattan shoots called juhu umbut pekat. Community sharing and are central to their food culture.

Staples and starches 🥔🍚

﻿﻿Tapioca and sweet potatoes: Historically, these were staple foods for the Punan before rice became more common.

﻿﻿Rice: In areas where it is grown, rice is also a traditional staple, though historically, Punan communities relied more on other starches due to the difficulty of cultivation.

Wild and local ingredients 🥭🥩🍆

﻿﻿Pang in (wild mango): A type of wild mango, known as mangifera pajang kosterman, is endemic to Borneo. It can be eaten raw when ripe or pickled.

﻿﻿Juhu umbut pekat: A common dish in Central Borneo made from young rattan shoots (umbut uwei) which are slightly bitter and are mixed with other vegetables and meat.

﻿﻿Edible ferns and eggplant: Other examples of Punan food include edible ferns like midin and sour eggplants like terung asam.

Cooking methods and culture 🧂

﻿﻿Communal dining: Sharing food is a vital part of Punan culture, and communal dining is a central part of their social structure.

﻿﻿Pansuh: This cooking method, also popular among the Iban, involves cooking food inside bamboo tubes.

﻿﻿Lempok: This traditional durian cake is made by the Urang Huluk people, a Punan group.

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(Clockwise from above left) Sambal tempoyak with terung pipit and fried anchovies, bamboo braised chicken with pucuk ubi and cekur, barbequed tempoyak chicken wings, and 30-hour cured perkasam talapia. – Haikal Fernandez pic

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(Clockwise from above left) Sambal tempoyak with terung pipit and fried anchovies, bamboo braised chicken with pucuk ubi and cekur, barbequed tempoyak chicken wings, and 30-hour cured perkasam talapia. – From TheVibes.com

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🫛 Haikal Fernandez (2021) explains that rubber shoots (pucuk getah) and rubber nuts (biji getah) are commonly used in the Temuan community’s daily meals. The leaves are typically boiled, while the nuts are pounded and mixed into various dishes. Before cooking, the rubber leaves are thoroughly washed with coarse salt to remove toxins, as the cyanide content must be squeezed out for safe consumption.

🫛 This is because the amount of poison is not fatal but can endanger human with some nausea if it were to be eaten without proper prepping before cooking.

🫛 This showcases the Orang Asli’s solid understanding and clear respect to the natural world.

🥘 The 30-Hour Cured Perkasam Talapia was a favourite, thanks to its crunchy crust and salty flavour, which made each bite enjoyable. Usually cured for 100 hours, this version was only cured for 30 hours to make it milder for those new to the dish.

🥘 The use of tempoyak (fermented durian) was particularly notable, as it’s not commonly eaten and can be an acquired taste for many.

🩹 Abu Pongot quietly shares his knowledge of plants such as Pulai, traditionally used to treat diabetes, malaria, and dysentery, leaving a strong impression of the Temuan people’s centuries-old wisdom (Koshy, 2023)

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The Batek are one of the oldest indigenous groups in the region, and they continue to adhere closely to their traditional lifestyles, using natural resources for their daily needs.

🏞️ Origin

• Bateq (also spelled Batek) is one of the 18 indigenous tribes in Peninsular Malaysia and among the few that still adhere closely to their traditional lifestyle.

• They are a Negrito people belonging to the Semang group of Orang Asli.

• They are believed to originate from Papua New Guinea and Indochina about 7,000 – 8,000 years ago.

🌿 Way of Living

• Numbering about 350, the Batek De' (hereafter simply Batek) live in camps of five or six nuclear families in the rain forest regions of the state of Kelantan.

• They maintain themselves by hunting, gathering, and trading forest products.

📜 Culture & Beliefs

• The cultural and religious beliefs of the Batek strongly emphasize that men and women have equal roles in maintaining the proper order of the world.

• Unlike many societies, in Batek culture, these differences are not linked to discrimination or social imbalance.

• In fact, the idea that both sexes contribute equally is deeply embedded in their way of life, making equal relationships between men and women a central and of their society.

• The Batek people do not follow a formal, organized religion like Islam or Christianity, but instead they practice a form of animism.

💭 Fun Fact

• The Batek people are known for sticking to their own traditions, even when in contact with Malay society. While Malay culture often favors male leaders and Islamic practices, the Batek refuse to follow these rules.

• Women are just as important as men in Batek society, and attempts to imitate Malay polygamy or male-only leadership have mostly failed because Batek women don’t go along with it.

• They might dress in Malay style or trade for Malay goods, but when it comes to gender equality and their own customs, the Batek march to the beat of their own drum.

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🧭 Location Breakdown

Land Ownership: They have no concept of land ownership, viewing the land as a temporary
"loan from nature." They also share food and goods communally, with some exceptions like personal items.

Habitat loss: Significant deforestation has pushed most Batek into or around Taman Negara, the national park that spans Pahang, Kelantan, and Terengganu.

Taman Negara National Park (Pahang): Many Batek communities are located in and around this national park. They often settle along rivers within the park, such as the Kuala Koh River.

Other locations: They also have settlements in other areas of peninsular Malaysia, including parts of Kelantan (e.g., near Gua Musang) and Terengganu.

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1) Gather a variety of wild plants and fungi from the rainforest.

🍠 Wild tubers: A primary staple of the Bateq diet, wild yams are collected from the forest floor. Examples include specific varieties like ubi takupand ubi keluna. Some types require proper preparation before consumption.

🥥 Fruits and shoots: They forage for wild fruits during the fruiting season and gather edible shoots and leaves, such as umbut and bayas.

🍯 Honey: The Bateq collect honey from the forest, particularly during the flowering season.

2) Hunted and caught protein

🦜 Small game: Animals like monkeys, squirrels, and birds are hunted using traditional blowpipes and darts tipped with poison.

🐟 River fish: Fish are caught from the rivers using hooks, lines, nets, or poisoned bait.

3) Cooking methods and culinary practices

🎋 Cooking in bamboo: The Bateq prepare food by placing meat and vegetables into bamboo vessels, which are then cooked over an open fire in a style similar to lemang.

👬 Communal sharing: A core ethic of the Bateq is that all food, whether hunted or gathered, must be shared among the families in the camp.

📑 The Bateq community consumes at least eleven species of wild tubers, including Dioscorea orbiculata, Dioscorea prainiana, and Dioscorea hispida. Most of these belong to the Dioscoreaceae family and require proper processing before they can be eaten. The Bateq’s traditional ecological knowledge includes their expertise in harvesting techniques and in utilising these plants for food (Anuar et al., 2023).

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Denmark's identity originates from its Viking heritage, with the name likely meaning "borderland of the Danes" and referring to the ancient Danish tribe.

🏞️ Origin

The first Danes were hunters and fisherman who probably entered the country migrating from Southern and Eastern Europe by the end of the last Ice Age around 10,000 BC. By 3000 BC, farms had begun to appear on the flat, fertile land we now call Denmark.

🌿 Way of Living

People in Denmark are known for living in a way that balances comfort, simplicity, and community — values that are deeply rooted in their culture.

A core Danish concept meaning coziness, warmth, and togetherness — like enjoying coffee with friends, candles at home, or relaxed evenings indoors.

Work–life balance: Danes typically work around 37 hours per week and highly value time for family, hobbies, and rest.

Most Danes live in clean, organized, and eco-friendly environments — cycling and recycling are everyday habits.

Many homes are minimalist, bright, and filled with natural materials like wood and light fabrics.

Green spaces are common, and people spend a lot of time outdoors, even in cold weather.

📜 Culture & Beliefs

Although most Danes are Lutheran Christians, religion plays a more cultural than strict spiritual role — people celebrate Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter mainly as tradition that bring families together.

💭 Fun Fact

• Lego was invented in Denmark — the name comes from “leg godt,” meaning “play well” in Danish.

• They love pastries — what many people call “Danish pastries” are actually known there as wienerbrød (Vienna bread)!

• Danes don’t like showing off — being humble and modest is part of a social norm called Janteloven, which discourages bragging.

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🧭 Location Breakdown

• Most Danes live in urban areas, primarily on Denmark’s main islands. Zealand (Sjælland), the largest island, is home to Copenhagen and about two million people.

• Jutland (Jylland), the mainland connected to Germany, hosts cities like Aarhus, Aalborg, and Esbjerg, where roughly half of all Danes reside. Funen (Fyn), located between Zealand and Jutland, has around q residents and includes the city of Odense, the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen.

• Additionally, some Danes live on smaller islands such as Bornholm, Lolland, and Falster, though only about 70 of Denmark’s 400 islands are inhabited.

• Outside Denmark, Danish communities exist due to migration, work, and study opportunities.

• Large populations of Danish-Americans live in states like Iowa, Wisconsin, and California, while Canada has smaller historic communities, particularly in Alberta and British Columbia.

• Many Danes also live in Greenland and the Faroe Islands, which are part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

• In Europe, it is common for Danes to move to countries like Sweden, Norway, Germany, and the UK for education or employment.