THE road to Cameron Highlands is lined with thatched huts along the way. Those who aren’t aware that there are Orang Asli villages on the sides of the cliff, are puzzled by these normally empty huts. Sometimes, these huts are manned by people selling their produce. Cameron Highlands and its surrounding towns in Pahang are home to the largest community of “orang kita” in Malaysia. This is also the focus of the Tourism Ministry’s recent launch of its new programme – the Orang Asli Tourism Package.
To The Village
One of the many participants of this new tourism package is Strawberry Park Resort in Cameron Highlands. In fact, the resort has been organising tours to Orang Asli settlements for a while now.
Its day trip is perfect for those who want to have an idea of life in an Orang Asli village but for those with a little more time to spare, there are package options of up to four days to Taman Negara and Felda Residence Tekam.
As time is of the essence, we pick the Strawberry Park Resort package. We set out, in a 4-wheel drive, for the Pos Terisu settlement in the early morning.
The journey, over both smooth gravel roads and narrow dirt paths, is quite pleasurable, thanks to the crisp, cool air on our cheeks as we move into the valleys where the village is.
As there’s no telco coverage in the area, not having to worry about phones ringing allows us to sit back and enjoy the scenery, from the huge green leaves of cabbage farms to the multi-coloured flowers along the edge of the road as well as the towering mountain half enveloped in the morning mist.
Excited Reception
The trip also lets us to appreciate the small things in life, like the laughter of children that can be heard all the time in the village.
Our arrival in the jeep is announced by a lone child’s excited shout. Then, like ants drawn to sugar, other children magically appear from nowhere and soon, there’s a crowd around the vehicle.
They are followed by adults who emerge from their two-storey wooden houses, dressed in bright colours that cheer up the otherwise rustic-looking houses. Those seated under a tent, busy fanning charcoal pits, also pause momentarily to see what the fuss is before resuming the task at hand – getting two fires ready to cook a meal.
Touching Scenes
I’ve gathered quite a few fans in Pos Terisu... a group of small kids trail behind me as I move from one point to the other but always, they warily keep at arm’s length.
However, they lap up the attention from our group, happily posing for pictures – sometimes laughing, sometimes serious and sometimes seated on top of a huge cement water tunnel.
These are scenes that will tug at even the heart of the grouchy Grinch but, seeing as how my heart is not made of stone like his, I melt over and over again at the sight of the kids having fun, kicking at pools of water, running around in the rain, pulling each other down into the mud. You tend to get the bigger picture when surrounded by innocence like this, I think.
The Semai of Pos Terisu has prepared quite a feast for us. Not only do we get to taste the delicious charcoal-cooked food but we also get to watch them preparing the meal.
Big On Bamboo
While waiting for the meal to cook, we are treated to tapioca wrapped in banana leaves and baked. It is so delicious.
With the food comes entertainment. We watch the Orang Asli perform the sewang dance to the tune of chenten instruments, accompanied by a singer.
The chenten comprises two pieces of bamboo that are knocked against a piece of hard wood, in sequence. It starts with the piece in the player’s right hand that’s slightly shorter than the piece in the left hand. The rule of thumb is that the right hand moves twice for every move made by the left hand and the knocking rhythm is accompanied by singing.
Bamboo is very important to the community as it is used, not only as a musical instrument but also for cooking. For our lunch, rice, chicken and fish are prepared in bamboo tubes.
To prepare the rice, the grains are wrapped in dark green, thick “daun ler”. These packets are then stuffed into bamboo tubes that are placed on the fire. Meat is simply stuffed straight into the tubes. Cooked this way, the meat acquires a lovely smokey aroma.
The Simple Life
It’s amazing how something so simple and straightforward can provide food for thought, even many days later. The total experience of eating the piping hot meal in such rustic surroundings touches me so deeply that when the time comes for us to leave, I do so with a heavy heart.
Till today, more than anything else, I can still hear the laughter of the kids as they jostle to get their photos taken, time and time again.
Another thing I dearly miss is the clean, crisp air, especially in view of the current haze hanging over the city.
More than anything though, I find it hard to leave the spirit of togetherness that exists in the community, the sight of children being children without a care in the world and the feeling of simply being and not being inundated by unnecessary things and needs.
Royal Support
Now you too have a chance to immerse yourself in the culture and daily life of the Orang Asli, not just in Pahang but also in other States.
At the launch of the Orang Asli Tourism Package last month, the Tengku Mahkota of Pahang, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, welcomed such a product and expressed pride about the number of Orang Asli in the State.He advised the community not to mimic the rest of the world but rather, to take pride in its own traditions and to maintain its practices.
He also expressed hope that the programme will benefit everyone involved, especially tourists who, after seeing how the Orang Asli lived, can get tips on taking better care of their health.
Accompanied by his consort Tengku Puan Pahang, Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah Sultan Iskandar, he later visited the various Orang Asli booths with displays of handicrafts.
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My Comments:
As a tour guide, we should know every race culture and lifestyle. The orang asli is definately one of the Malaysia unique attraction but very unfortunately our government did very little to promote about them.
In my experience of tour guiding, I have never come across any travel agents took the trouble to include the orang asli village as a tourist spot to let the tourists understand more about the orang asli.
I should suggest that when tour guides took tour groups to the National museum, don't forget to go to Orang Asli exhibition hall to understand more about them. There is a display of some utensils and daily items used by the orang asli.
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