The Headman was a Woman: The Gender Egalitarian Batek of Malaysia

21 Feb 2012 by admin

A comprehensive ethnography of one of the few remaining hunting and gathering peoples of Southeast Asia, The Headman Was A Women presents the gender concepts, roles and relations of the highly egalitarian Batek of Peninsular Malaysia. Based on longtime fieldwork, the book describes the lives of Batek men and women in the tropical rainforest, and includes discussuins of fieldwork, hunting and gathering, social organization, religion, gender, nonviolence, and cultural persistence in the face of a changing landscape. Rich in detail yet clearly written, The Headman Was a Woman introduces readers to an egalitarian people whose way of life is both thought-provoking and rare. The ethnography is accompanied by a 37-minute DVD, The Batek: Rainforest Foragers of Kelantan, Malaysia. Footage shows vivid highlights of camp life and social activities as well as all of the important economic processes described in the book.

Author: Kirk M. Endicott and Karen L. Endicott
Publisher: Centre for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC)
Year: 2012
ISBN: 9789834324889
249 Pages
RM30.00/ S$21.00