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Black Indigenous Malaysians embody Anarcho-Taoism
Harmonious Emptiness posted a topic in General Discussion
Some interesting correlations, not to say that they are or aren't related: Some Daoist classics often refer to "the Ancients" who knew how to live with Dao. We know that modern humans migrated from Africa to Southeast Asia nearly 60,000 years ago. http://originalpeople.org/batek-people-indigenous-group-malaysia/ Batek People: Indigenous Group of Malaysia Batek are a peaceful society. If a member of the group has a conflict with another member of the group they will discuss the matter privately. If that does not end the disagreement, each will publicly share their side of the argument in an attempt to have other members of the camp suggest a resolution. Since each adult member of the camp is equal, there is no internal leader or adjudication system so one or both of the aggrieved parties will leave the camp until cooler heads prevail. [....] External disagreements become a little more tricky, since the Batek do not have leaders or a military, the Batek are generally at the mercy of the Malaysian Government. Malaysia does not recognize Batek sovereignty so during the 20th century the Government gradually encroached on the Batek land, to use it for logging and farming. Since the 1960s the Government has encouraged the Batek to live in Pos Lebir and become non-nomadic farmers. Most Batek are unwilling to settle in Pos Labir because it has not been dedicated to the Batek, they would have to leave there if the Government asked and they would lose their nomadic lifestyle and their religion. One of the Batek summed up the situation by saying: “We Batek are rich if we have a cooking pot, digging stick, bush-knife, lighter, tobacco, salt and fishing pole. Also a man is sad if he doesn’t have a blowpipe. We only want four or five sarongs, we don’t need trousers. If we live here (in Pos Lebir), we need money, if we have money we buy a lot. But if we have no money, no problem, we reject possessions. When we live in the forest, we don’t need them. We can dig tubers. If someone doesn’t have food, others give it as in the old days.” I find it fascinating how the Batek people have managed to survive all of these millennia with no leaders and have managed to maintain the values and practices of non-ownership, non-attachment, and non-egotism/non-selfishness in their culture. On a side note, it also made me think of how our DNA is in societies like this, sharing with one another and ensuring our survival by doing so. This is why we have "group mentality," which is often seen as and taken advantage of as a weakness. Something we can learn from the Batek people is how to live with each other in groups of well meaning people. Governments try to displace people from their inherited land, yet they don't realize how much more value and history will be destroyed in the missteps of misguided "industry."- 9 replies
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