Lye Tuck-Po - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Books by Lye Tuck-Po

Blurb, 2025

Preview: https://www.blurb.co.uk/b/12411325-an-agricultural-year-in-cambodia From its source n... more Preview: https://www.blurb.co.uk/b/12411325-an-agricultural-year-in-cambodia

From its source near the border with Thailand, the Stueng Saen (Saen River) meanders its way into the Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Cambodia and all of Southeast Asia.

Innumerable villages line its course, becoming denser and more populous as the river finds its way through the rice plains. I took most of these photos in one such village, Kampong Chheuteul in the central province of Kampong Thom, where I conducted anthropological fieldwork from October 2005 to May 2006.

This is primarily a book of photographs depicting rice agriculture in Cambodia. Rice is central to Cambodian history and culture. At the village level, the rhythms of the growing seasons help to shape social life. Most of the old agricultural rituals are no longer practiced but the underlying meanings of those about the proper relationship of people to the environment are still key to villagers’ notions about their world.

Living with one host family, the household of Sat and Yi, I was able to observe many everyday practices. When not conducting landscape surveys and interviews, my assistants and I followed the family to their fields, and learnt how they balanced the competing demands of home, community, and land. I observed temple and life cycle rituals, and stayed at other villages farther up the river. I also spent many hours exploring the nearby monuments of Sambor Prey Kuk, a sprawling 8th century temple complex, and sought to trace the ways that local peoples interact with the templescapes.

This book is arranged as in a traditional agricultural ethnography. Most of the photos show (largely) agricultural activities month by month.

Book for children based on the environmental messages in: Changing Pathways: Forest Degradation a... more Book for children based on the environmental messages in: Changing Pathways: Forest Degradation and the Batek of Pahang, Malaysia by Lye Tuck-Po (2004)

Changing pathways: Forest degradation and the Batek of Pahang, Malaysia

The social ecology of tropical forests: Migration, populations, and frontiers (2005). de Jong, Wil, Tuck-Po Lye, and Ken-ichi Abe, eds. Kyoto: Kyoto University Press.

The political ecology of tropical forests in Southeast Asia: Historical perspectives (2003). Lye Tuck-Po, Wil de Jong, and Ken-ichi Abe, eds. Kyoto: Kyoto Area Studies on Asia, Kyoto University Press and Melbourne: TransPacific Press.

(the full text is now available on https://www.lyetuckpo.com)

Papers by Lye Tuck-Po

Lye Tuck-Po. 2022. Images of Self and Other in an Ethnohistory of the Batek of Pahang, Malaysia. In Borneo at Heart. Tribute to Bernard Sellato, the Argonaut of the Tropical Forest, edited by Pierre Le Roux, Sander Adelaar and Bernard Moizo. France: Le Murmure.

Lye Tuck-Po. 2005. Review of: Thomas N. Headland and Doris L. Blood, eds., What Place for Hunter-Gatherers in Millennium Three? Asian Anthropology 4:152–155

A. Pastoors & T. Lenssen-Erz (Eds.), Reading prehistoric human tracks: methods and material. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 2021

Tropical hunting studies that focus on tracking—how signs are interpreted—are rarely done if at a... more Tropical hunting studies that focus on tracking—how signs are interpreted—are rarely done if at all. This paper provides a preliminary sketch of the tracking strategies and knowledge of Batek of Malaysia. Studies of hunter-gatherer tracking rely heavily on Liebenberg’s carefully observed documentation of San tracking, enriched by his own scientific expertise in faunal behavior. Of the three levels of tracking he mentions, simple tracking is unreliable for the Batek, simply because of the nature of tropical forests. The default mode is systematic tracking, carefully gathering information, and piecing together a multisensorial picture of where prey is to be found. Their visual, auditory, and olfactory acuity is exceptional, and so is their vocabulary for expressing these states. Tracking for Batek is not limited to the interpretation of tracks or, rather, the notion of tracks needs to be broadened, to include tracks that cannot be seen, but can be heard and smelt. Tracking is about multisensory engagement in the needs of the moment and deploying the skills to decide what is and is not relevant information. It is about performance.

The Batek are a foraging-trading people living in and around Peninsular Malaysia’s largest nation... more The Batek are a foraging-trading people living in and around Peninsular Malaysia’s largest national park, Taman Negara. In recent years some of their semi-permanent camps near the park headquarters at Kuala Tahan have become tourist attractions. Batek residents allow groups of Malaysian and foreign tourists to visit, and they demonstrate some of their specialised skills, including shooting blowpipes and making fire with rattan vines and dry wood, as well as selling handicrafts. In this article
we examine the reasons why some Batek participate in the tourist business, how they integrate it into their overall economy, and how they preserve their distinctive cultural values and practices while offering a simplified picture of their culture to curious
outsiders.

Keywords: Batek, Peninsular Malaysia, economy, tourism, cultural resilience

The so-called negritos adapt not just to a tropical forest environment but also to an environment... more The so-called negritos adapt not just to a tropical forest environment but also to an environment characterized by perturbations and fluctuations. As with other hunter-gatherers in the region and, indeed, throughout the world, they use both social and ecological methods to enhance their chances of survival in this changing environment: socially, they have developed networks of trading and marriage partners; ecologically, they maintain patches of key resources that are available for future harvesting. As evidenced in the case of the Batek (Orang Asli), patterns of forest structure and composition are sometimes direct outcomes of intentional resource concentration and enrichment strategies.

for most recent transcriptions. bab food or starchy food (generic). bah-at, to; preposition indic... more for most recent transcriptions. bab food or starchy food (generic). bah-at, to; preposition indicating directionality. Most commonly prefixed to locative nouns (bah-kəntəʔ [upriver]; bah-kiyɔm [below; downriver]; bah-kiriʔ [to the left]; bah-həp [to the forest]; bah-teʔ [groundward]). bakar (M. bakar) to burn (vegetation only). banar (M. bandar) town, city. Less commonly used than dəŋ. ʔɔraŋ banar or batɛk banar urban peoples. banyir (M. banjir) flood. baŋkol (M. gaharu or kayu wangi) eaglewood (Aquilaria spp.). baŋkoŋ (M. bangkong) wild jackfruit (Artocarpus integer var. silvestris Corner). baŋsaʔ (M. bangsa) race or ethnic group; type or group of similar objects. bat to land or perch on. batɛk people. batɛk həp people of the forest. batuʔ (M. batu) stone or rock. batuʔ cənɛl mythicized stone or rock: i.e.,

This essay reviews the history of Orang Asli studies, from colonial-era reports right up to the p... more This essay reviews the history of Orang Asli studies, from colonial-era reports right up to the present. It chronicles generational changes in personnel and quality of work, and highlights significant studies and researchers in the field. It is intended to stimulate renewed interest in the literature and provide a quick guide to the primary sources.

Kyoto Journal, 34–37, 2007

This paper argues that the landscape is an important source of knowledge and continuity.

. In Property and equality, vol. 2: Encapsulation, commercialisation, discrimination. T. Widlok and W. G. Tadesse, eds. Pp. 90–103. Oxford: Berghann., 2002

Blurb, 2025

Preview: https://www.blurb.co.uk/b/12411325-an-agricultural-year-in-cambodia From its source n... more Preview: https://www.blurb.co.uk/b/12411325-an-agricultural-year-in-cambodia

From its source near the border with Thailand, the Stueng Saen (Saen River) meanders its way into the Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Cambodia and all of Southeast Asia.

Innumerable villages line its course, becoming denser and more populous as the river finds its way through the rice plains. I took most of these photos in one such village, Kampong Chheuteul in the central province of Kampong Thom, where I conducted anthropological fieldwork from October 2005 to May 2006.

This is primarily a book of photographs depicting rice agriculture in Cambodia. Rice is central to Cambodian history and culture. At the village level, the rhythms of the growing seasons help to shape social life. Most of the old agricultural rituals are no longer practiced but the underlying meanings of those about the proper relationship of people to the environment are still key to villagers’ notions about their world.

Living with one host family, the household of Sat and Yi, I was able to observe many everyday practices. When not conducting landscape surveys and interviews, my assistants and I followed the family to their fields, and learnt how they balanced the competing demands of home, community, and land. I observed temple and life cycle rituals, and stayed at other villages farther up the river. I also spent many hours exploring the nearby monuments of Sambor Prey Kuk, a sprawling 8th century temple complex, and sought to trace the ways that local peoples interact with the templescapes.

This book is arranged as in a traditional agricultural ethnography. Most of the photos show (largely) agricultural activities month by month.

Book for children based on the environmental messages in: Changing Pathways: Forest Degradation a... more Book for children based on the environmental messages in: Changing Pathways: Forest Degradation and the Batek of Pahang, Malaysia by Lye Tuck-Po (2004)

Changing pathways: Forest degradation and the Batek of Pahang, Malaysia

The social ecology of tropical forests: Migration, populations, and frontiers (2005). de Jong, Wil, Tuck-Po Lye, and Ken-ichi Abe, eds. Kyoto: Kyoto University Press.

The political ecology of tropical forests in Southeast Asia: Historical perspectives (2003). Lye Tuck-Po, Wil de Jong, and Ken-ichi Abe, eds. Kyoto: Kyoto Area Studies on Asia, Kyoto University Press and Melbourne: TransPacific Press.

(the full text is now available on https://www.lyetuckpo.com)

Lye Tuck-Po. 2022. Images of Self and Other in an Ethnohistory of the Batek of Pahang, Malaysia. In Borneo at Heart. Tribute to Bernard Sellato, the Argonaut of the Tropical Forest, edited by Pierre Le Roux, Sander Adelaar and Bernard Moizo. France: Le Murmure.

Lye Tuck-Po. 2005. Review of: Thomas N. Headland and Doris L. Blood, eds., What Place for Hunter-Gatherers in Millennium Three? Asian Anthropology 4:152–155

A. Pastoors & T. Lenssen-Erz (Eds.), Reading prehistoric human tracks: methods and material. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 2021

Tropical hunting studies that focus on tracking—how signs are interpreted—are rarely done if at a... more Tropical hunting studies that focus on tracking—how signs are interpreted—are rarely done if at all. This paper provides a preliminary sketch of the tracking strategies and knowledge of Batek of Malaysia. Studies of hunter-gatherer tracking rely heavily on Liebenberg’s carefully observed documentation of San tracking, enriched by his own scientific expertise in faunal behavior. Of the three levels of tracking he mentions, simple tracking is unreliable for the Batek, simply because of the nature of tropical forests. The default mode is systematic tracking, carefully gathering information, and piecing together a multisensorial picture of where prey is to be found. Their visual, auditory, and olfactory acuity is exceptional, and so is their vocabulary for expressing these states. Tracking for Batek is not limited to the interpretation of tracks or, rather, the notion of tracks needs to be broadened, to include tracks that cannot be seen, but can be heard and smelt. Tracking is about multisensory engagement in the needs of the moment and deploying the skills to decide what is and is not relevant information. It is about performance.

The Batek are a foraging-trading people living in and around Peninsular Malaysia’s largest nation... more The Batek are a foraging-trading people living in and around Peninsular Malaysia’s largest national park, Taman Negara. In recent years some of their semi-permanent camps near the park headquarters at Kuala Tahan have become tourist attractions. Batek residents allow groups of Malaysian and foreign tourists to visit, and they demonstrate some of their specialised skills, including shooting blowpipes and making fire with rattan vines and dry wood, as well as selling handicrafts. In this article
we examine the reasons why some Batek participate in the tourist business, how they integrate it into their overall economy, and how they preserve their distinctive cultural values and practices while offering a simplified picture of their culture to curious
outsiders.

Keywords: Batek, Peninsular Malaysia, economy, tourism, cultural resilience

The so-called negritos adapt not just to a tropical forest environment but also to an environment... more The so-called negritos adapt not just to a tropical forest environment but also to an environment characterized by perturbations and fluctuations. As with other hunter-gatherers in the region and, indeed, throughout the world, they use both social and ecological methods to enhance their chances of survival in this changing environment: socially, they have developed networks of trading and marriage partners; ecologically, they maintain patches of key resources that are available for future harvesting. As evidenced in the case of the Batek (Orang Asli), patterns of forest structure and composition are sometimes direct outcomes of intentional resource concentration and enrichment strategies.

for most recent transcriptions. bab food or starchy food (generic). bah-at, to; preposition indic... more for most recent transcriptions. bab food or starchy food (generic). bah-at, to; preposition indicating directionality. Most commonly prefixed to locative nouns (bah-kəntəʔ [upriver]; bah-kiyɔm [below; downriver]; bah-kiriʔ [to the left]; bah-həp [to the forest]; bah-teʔ [groundward]). bakar (M. bakar) to burn (vegetation only). banar (M. bandar) town, city. Less commonly used than dəŋ. ʔɔraŋ banar or batɛk banar urban peoples. banyir (M. banjir) flood. baŋkol (M. gaharu or kayu wangi) eaglewood (Aquilaria spp.). baŋkoŋ (M. bangkong) wild jackfruit (Artocarpus integer var. silvestris Corner). baŋsaʔ (M. bangsa) race or ethnic group; type or group of similar objects. bat to land or perch on. batɛk people. batɛk həp people of the forest. batuʔ (M. batu) stone or rock. batuʔ cənɛl mythicized stone or rock: i.e.,

This essay reviews the history of Orang Asli studies, from colonial-era reports right up to the p... more This essay reviews the history of Orang Asli studies, from colonial-era reports right up to the present. It chronicles generational changes in personnel and quality of work, and highlights significant studies and researchers in the field. It is intended to stimulate renewed interest in the literature and provide a quick guide to the primary sources.

Kyoto Journal, 34–37, 2007

This paper argues that the landscape is an important source of knowledge and continuity.

. In Property and equality, vol. 2: Encapsulation, commercialisation, discrimination. T. Widlok and W. G. Tadesse, eds. Pp. 90–103. Oxford: Berghann., 2002

Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, 2005


This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from t... more This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer.

Originally written in Malay as a lecture to students Since superseded by: Lye Tuck-Po. 2021. Trac... more Originally written in Malay as a lecture to students Since superseded by: Lye Tuck-Po. 2021. Tracking with Batek hunter-gatherers of Malaysia. In Reading prehistoric human tracks: methods and material, edited by Andreas Pastoors and Tilman Lenssen-Erz. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.

wildlife conservation; governance; implementation

L e c t u r e , t h e H u m b o l d t U n i v e r s i t y z u B e r l i n -U n i v e r s i t a s ... more L e c t u r e , t h e H u m b o l d t U n i v e r s i t y z u B e r l i n -U n i v e r s i t a s G a d j a h M a d a -U n i v e r s i t i S a i n s M a l a y s i a I n t e r n a t i o n a l S u m m e r S c h o o l i n S o u t h e a s t A s i a n S t u d i e s , " T h e R e t u r n o f t h e P a s t : M e m o r y -m a k i n g a n d H e r i t a g e i n S o u t h e a s t A s i a " , U S M , P e n a n g , 1

Boldface: slide change Preamble: previously, fieldwork and then fieldnotes, now visual ethnograph... more Boldface: slide change Preamble: previously, fieldwork and then fieldnotes, now visual ethnography. Concern with practical issues to get ready for weekend of fieldwork. We will discuss the more conceptual & theoretical issues after the mid-semester break.