We were lucky to find an Orang Asli tribe in Malaysia and were invited to stay for as long as we liked. The Orang Asli are the indigenous minority peoples of Peninsular Malaysia. The name is a Malay term which transliterates as 'original peoples'.The Orang Asli could be mistaken for Australian aboriginals, it is here I find my ancestors. My grandfather and his mother lived in the jungle in tribes settling in villages near the river. They still live in a traditional way in the rainforests of Malaysia hunting with blowpipes for birds, small animals and monkeys.
"The blowpipe is made from bamboo. Darts are made from the split leaf-stalks of Arenga palm cone is made of light weight pitch and the tip is coated with a lethal preparation made from the sap of the lpol tree (Antiaris toxicaria) and carried in a carefully closed bamboo tube. As for the windage, a soft fluffy "wool' is made from as kind of bark. Blowpipe is deadly accurate within 20 meters. Fear of the spirits of dead ancestors and hunted animals is very strong amongst them, and it is an unwritten law that all animals caught, in the forest should suffer no pain"They traditionally practice an animistic religion believing there is a soul in animals and plants. Music plays an important role in calling spirits. Theirs is a musical universe! Everything has a "living tonality," and the soul of every animal, plant, rock, or other inanimate object contains a melody or rhythm.
They use mouth organs, flutes and nose flutes to communicate with the essence of a rock or a tree spirit. In the ceremony, hypnotic music and dancing cause the shaman to go on a journey to the spirit world. The shaman obtains supernatural knowledge and requests help from the spirits for his community.
