Navigation in the Rainforest: The Case of the Batek in the Upper Lebir River Watershed, Malaysia

抄録

This paper investigates the spatial cognition and navigation techniques of the Batek of Malaysia. It has been recognized that people who travel long distances without modern navigation techniques use natural objects for orientation. Such populations travel through open spaces using winds, mountains, valleys, and astronomical phenomena as reference points. On the other hand, wayfaring in the tropical rainforest cannot refer to such features because the dense vegetation obstructs them, though little has been discussed on spatial cognition and navigation in such environments. The Batek are hunters and gatherers of the Malaysian rainforest. By analyzing their wayfaring and social customs, it was found that 2 elements play a crucial role in their navigation and spatial cognition. The first is their detailed knowledge of river systems that serve as a frame of reference in the rainforest. Their naming custom and analogical understanding of river systems help the Batek to memorize places by environmental socialization. The second is their classification of the environment into 3 main divisions: the Tom (“river”); the Gunung (“mountain”); and the Hep (“forest”), and vertical movement plays an important role for orientation in the former two, whereas horizontal movement plays an important role in the latter. Among those divisions, the border of the Tom and the Hep corresponded to the norm of not mixing the cooking fire of water-dwelling creatures and that of land-dwelling creatures. The Batek navigation in the rainforest is realized with iterated camps made along rivers and topography recognition in both vertical and horizontal dimensions.