GEORGE BRILL

Between 2018 and 2020 I spent several months living with the Batek hunter-gatherers of Peninsular Malaysia’s central rainforest. What began as a research expedition concerning their subsistence skills and tree-climbing proficiency quickly shifted to a series of friendships and a desire simply to spend time among these remarkable people; visits led to many weeks of jungle expeditions and long firelit evenings of language learning and discussion—accompanied by their continued amusement at my persistent incompetence across everything from shelter building to machete fishing. My time among the Batek offered a rare perspective into the resilience and vulnerability of indigenous cultures in a rapidly changing world: the bewildering juxtaposition between the isolated self-confidence of a traditional lifeway and belief system, beside the wary uncertainty of a society attempting to negotiate the ever-encroaching influences of global economy, culture and religion.

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Photos and written stories from the project can be found here and here

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RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS & FUNDING

• ​​Running Reborn

• ​​Malayan Rainforest Station

• The Royal Society for Asian Affairs