The Semai: Peace Is Survival

The Semai: Peace is Survival

In cultural anthropology there are a lot of different cultures from around the world that are studied. One of the cultures that were studied are the "Semai" people of Malaysia. The Semai are from the Malay Peninsula, in Malaysia, Southeast Asia and live in densely forested central mountains in that area. The Semai of Malaysia are a peaceful foraging horticultural society. They live off of the land and also mastered how to plant and cultivate food as a form of survival. The Semai are a society that in not governed by anyone and are primarily controlled by the public opinion in their society. The Semai are still around and as of 2007 there are about 43,500 alive and known as the Orang Asli, which stands for "the original people" in the Malay language (peacefulsocieties.org). The Semai live off of the land by hunting, fishing and also cultivate rice and manioc. This is their main means of food for their survival. Another part of their survival is they are also known to do a little trade in minor forest products of rattan. Rattan is a name for the different kinds of plant species that the Semai use and depend on for survival. The Semai have survived for thousands of year because of their beliefs and values, their kinship system and gender relations. These aspects are important to the present and future of the Semai people.

The Semai's primary mode of substance is foraging and using horticultural artistry with minor pasturing. The Semai use the swidden cultivation method. This method is also known as the slash-and-burn cultivation, which consists of cutting trees, then burning them to provide ash-enriched soil for the planting of crops. They also get their food from fishing, hunting and trapping. Another form of where they get a little of their food is from domesticated animals such as ducks, chickens and goats (Fabbro, 1978, pg. 69). In order for the Semai to successfully obtain food there is a little division of labor. Men are the primary hunters in the tribes but all women, men and children partake in the clearing of forest in order to plant their crops. The older men and women who cannot help with the clearing of fields will be involved with the easier tasks of gathering food and fishing. Since the men are the primary hunters the women of the Semai do the domestic tasks of weaving baskets, carrying water and harvesting rice although both men and women plant the crops. Another thing that both men and women are involved in is the cooking and winnow of grain (Fabbro, 1978, pg. 70). As we can see even though there is division of labor everybody is involved in the labor and the families must get along in order to ensure their survival.

The Semai's family system is bands of nuclear families. The nuclear families consist of the father, mother and all of their children. Within the Semai bands there is no particular political structure involved. The Semai consider the foremost male elder the headman of the band whose responsibility is to keep the peace within the band. The elders are in the group are given respect within two aspects. One is that the elders have the largest amount of experience and are considered valuable sources of information. Another aspect why they are respected is that most of the young people and the younger married couple move quite frequently between homesteads, which leaves the elders to provide stability and continuity inside the homestead. Even though the older men have the most influence in decisions, they do not have a final say in a decision their input is considered more as advice (Fabbro, 1978, pg. 78). With the decisions both men and women are allowed to partake in the process. This takes us into the Semai's gender relations beliefs.

The gender relations system that the Semai use is a bilateral decent system. This system is that the Semai do not recognize familial relationships based upon gender and both of the husband and of the wife are going to be recognized. This makes it so that one gender is not going to be put over the other and it makes them equal to participate in activities within the tribe. So in their culture there are no activities or work that is considered to be specifically for one gender over the other. . Even though there are not too many differences in gender relations there are informal barriers. These informal barriers will sometimes prevent women from fully participating in group decision making and women do not hold a position of headman (Fabbro, 1978, pg.70). I believe that since there is no major difference within the gender relations and it allows the Semai to live peacefully and also efficiently. In order for the Semai to live together and grow there is kinship.

Kinship is the system of culturally defined social relationships based on marriage and birth (Nowak & Laird, 2010). The Semai's kinship allows marriage between people as long as there is no direct blood line between the two individuals (Dentan, 1970, pg.360). The Semai are matrilocal and the husband will move and live with the family of the bride for some time. The husband will go live with the wife's family so that he can help out her family and also it allows the parents of the wife to make sure that the husband is going to treat their daughter well. Within the kinship system of the Semai there is also no type of formal marriage system. When there is a man and a woman who live together, eat together and sleep together the Semai consider them to be married. With the marriage there also is separation. The Semai do not look down upon couple who decide to get separated, that is just how their kin system works. In order for a couple to be considered separated all they have to do is to stop living together, sleeping together and eating together (peacefulsocieties.org). A big thing that happens within the kinships in the bands is that food is shared between the different kinships. With the kinship system that the Semai have in place; it allows and helps ensure the survival of the men women and children within the tribe. The kinship system the Semai have in place shows us how much their survival is based on working together rather than doing things on their own. This is because of their belief system.

The Semai belief system is what keeps them working together. The Semai's central belief is that they should be taking care of each other and provide for those who cannot obtain what they need to survive. This is a very unselfish and generous way that the Semai live. The religious system of the also falls into their central belief system. The people of the Semai do not give power to elders or religious leaders. The Semai believe in Punan which is interactions within social and central organizations that making others unhappy can bring them physical harm (Fabbro, 1978, pg.70). Punan also ties in with the way they