Analysis of the Penan Culture in Malaysia

Analysis of the Penan break inping point in Malaysia ingressThe Penan is sensation of the groups in South East Asia and they atomic number 18 live in Sarawak, Malaysia. there be about ten thousands Penan live in Sarawak and scarcely about two hundred of them atomic number 18 unsettled Penan volume left. The nomadic Penan is the people who ar move from matchless place to former(a) refreshful place in every month to detect new places to hold on and solid food. The just about primary(prenominal) in Penan association birth me feel regal is they atomic number 18 non discriminate toward female and children. All the people be equal in dividing food and sharing food. They are fair in distributing item and especially in food. The run forers search animals and divided totality equation to all(prenominal) family. The most unique I think that in Penan union is their woodland sign language. Forest sign language is very important to Penan people in the set. The Pen an has their lineament sign language in the forest and it is a complex forest sign language. For instance, the sign like they run in the forest and went to this way. So, the early(a) Penan people leave alone k today that they went to that way. In addition, there is also a sign can know that whether the psyche leaving the sign is in the good mood or non.Culture in Penan communityCulture mean learned behavior in any particular purchase order includes those ideas, techniques and habits which are advanceed on by one generation to an separate. This learned behavior or brotherly inheritance, of any inn is called its culture. It is the possession of a common culture and the ability to communicate and pass it on to others that distinguishes the compassionate being from other animals. Human are human beca utilisation they contend with others a common culture, a culture which includes not solely the artifacts of its living members but also those of members of past generations. Hu man beings are fitting to develop and pass on their culture by means of language. (Tony Biton, Kevin Bonnett, Philip Jones, Michelle Stanworth, great deal Sheard and Andrew Webster, 1987, pg 11 and 12). Culture in Penan has already changed especially in materials culture. They cast influence by occidental country materials like they deliver wearable jeans, t-shirt, shoes, and using plastic. The Penan can get the western materials when they exchange item with the fellas. The processes ply to culture change is diffusion. Diffusion is the movement of things and ideas from one culture to another. The record companies are the cause of the culture change in Penans culture. Loggers influence the Penan people by change item with them. The item commonly change are pokes, cloths, cooking item and so on. close of the youngest are influence by the western culture. But the eldest not really influenced by western culture, they wear traditionalistic cloths and traditional tattoos.Besi des that, they shake off using traditional track down like using blowpipes. The Penan hunters usually use blowpipes to hunt loose animals. Blowpipes are the weapon that can use by them efficiency to exhaust vicious animals. Blowpipes are made by problematic wood and it got two holes at the beginning and the end of the blowpipes. The Penan hunters also involve shotgun but they not often use it, because shotgun is very expensive to proclaim one and hard to get shotgun. Short blowpipes are usually use in the short range in the forest. Blowpipes are use with the poisonous substance dart in order to start the nonsensical animals. Poison speed make from the milky latex in the tajem tress and warmed by fire to produce the darts. Specious darts are use to kill biggish animals piece of music simple darts are use to hunt small animals. During hunting, the Penan hunters usually carry two knifes. One is long knife and the other is the shorter knife. These knifes are use to cut mea t, blowpipe darts and so on.In religion, Penan people are belief in Christian since galore(postnominal) years ago. Christian has brought into Penan communities by British since colonial time. The definitions religion includes beliefs about the existence of superhuman beings or forces, the practice of rites and rituals, the institutional forms that religion takes and the reason relationships believed to be obscure between human being and suprahuman beings. (Robert wagon train Krieken, Daphne Habibis, Philip Smith, Brett Hutchins, Michael Haralambos and Martin Holborn, 2006, pg 390). But, they take over strong believe in myths and spirits in well-nigh place. For example, some rituals can expel good-for-nothing luck in hunting and unrealised in hunting. By doing the ritual the hunters can change their hunting bad luck change by reversal good luck in hunting. Besides that, subscriber line pacts are one of the cultures in Penan community and usually happen between the Penan ge t goingers and neighboring tribes. In some of the cases, the leaders would shed strain onto tobacco and then it smoke together, and then consuming each other blood and preventing future conflicts. If got a breach of this pact was believed causing retch blood and violent death.Economy in Penan CommunityThe term economy, from which we get economics, comes most directly from the Old French word economie, meaning counsel of a household. The French adopted the term from the Latin word oeconomia, which was in turn derived from the Greek word oikonomia. Oikonomia came from the word oikonomos, which separates into oikos, meaning house, and -nomos meaning managing. (Mankiw, 2008, varlet 4). Economy in Penan community is based on the animals meat that they hunted, rattan cane make by themselves, sago and so on. Most of the item they change is meat that their hunted in the forest to the loggers. The Penan people get their profit by selling these items to the companies. The Penan people we re trade for manufactured goods like knifes, cooking item, cloths and so on. Gaharu is the one of the goods sell to other country like China, Taiwan and lacquer to get more profit from it. Gaharu is for medicinal, religious purposes and devising perfume.The patterns of economic subsistence are foraging and horticulture in the Penan community. Foraging is the most ancient of human subsistence patterns in foraging for wild plants and hunting wild animals. Most of the Penan hunters are hunting in a small group of relatives and friends. They have their own settlements that are not permanent which they can live in there while hunting. thither are three major variations of the foraging subsistence pattern that is pedestrian, horseman and aquatic. Penan hunters are using pedestrian while hunting wild animals. unglamourous is diversified hunting gathering on their foot.Hunting is the common natural action in Penan to obtain meat from wild animals. Government has give abide to Penan for hunting in the forest. Male are pickings part in the hunting activity. Most of the animals hunt by the hunters is wild pigs. They also hunt small animals like birds, squirrels and so on. Before log begins, many an(prenominal) wild animals can be hunted by hunters. afterwards logging started in their forest, wild animals become less and the animals loss their habitant. Trees are helicopterping down and animals are decrease. So, the hunters become harder to hunt animals where animals are becoming less.The Penan people have come to in the horticulture. Horticulture is the small scale and low intensity of farming. This subsistence pattern involved at to the lowest degree part time planting and tending of domesticated food plants. They have grown their own plants for food and they also economise the chickens and other relatively small domesticated animals are raised for food. Most of the foods are used by them and the surplus of meats will be sold to the loggers. They will gain pr ofit when they sell their own meats to the logging camps.Family and gender in Penan communityThe family may then be be as a small group of closely related people who share a distinct sense of identity and a responsibility for each other that outweighs their commitments to others, this group is commonly, but not necessarily, based on marriage, biological descent, or adoption. (James Fulcher and bum Scott, 2007, pg 447). In Penan community, most common forms of the family distinguished in the literature are nuclear families and extended families. The nuclear family is usually defined as two generation unit consisting of parents and unmarried children. A bankers bill is generally made here between the family of origin and the family of destination. (James Fulcher and John Scott, 2007, pg 448 and 449). nuclear families in Penan community are less if comparing to the extended family. They usually live with their parents and their children in their own hut in the forest. The extended family includes other family members. It extends vertically to include at least three generations that is at least grandfather and grandmothers. It extends horizontally to include in law, cousins, aunts, uncles, though how far it extends will vary and depends upon perception of the composition and boundaries of the family. (James Fulcher and John Scott, 2007, pg 448). Most of the families in Penan community are extended family. They live together in a big family with their relative. Most extended family live in bigger huts in the forest. sexual practice refers to differences in the way that men and women in a particular society are expected to feel, think, and behave. Thus, males are typically expected to feel, think, and behave in a masculine way, and females in a feminine way. (James Fulcher and John Scott, 2007, pg 156). in that location are some differences in gender roles in Penan community. For instance, males are taking part in hunting activity and rough activity. Females ar e most likely doing soft fits like taking care their children, making rattan, finding firewood and so on. Gender roles are that specify the ways in which men and women are expected to feel, think, and behave. These prescribe not only the kinds of work that men and women are expected to do but the flavours they can draw out and everyday aspects of their behaviour , such as the way that they speak and dress. (James Fulcher and John Scott, 2007, pg 159). But, in Penan community, females, males and children are taking parts in making sago flour. There is no gender stratification in making sago.LoggingSarawak forest has been logging seen 1970 years. The purpose of logging is to processed timber. The authorities of Sarawak has given sanction to logging companies to log in the forest. It can enhance the local lucre and become the first world in 2020. Most of the timber trade to other country like Japan, India and Europe. The logging companies using bulldozers to clear up the forest and cutting down trees. The logging companies which include Shin Yang, Samling and Interhill are logging in Sarawak. The company workers usually live in the houses that they have build when they logging.The problem verbal expression by Penan is logging in the hobo camp where they live. Logging can cause many problems toward Penan people. Penan are very hard to live in the jungle where are many logger are logging in their habitant. The changes in the jungle will make them satiate difficult to stay at the jungle. The change in the sound of the machines chop trees, the light in the jungle become brighter because of less trees and the temperature become high than before. Besides that, Penan also facing problems like hard to hunt animals in the jungle where logging activities are started. All the animals run away from the jungle and animals are dying during logging. Penan also hard to get medical plants and food when many trees are destroys by the logging companies. The fruits tress and the sago palm become less after logging has started in Penans forest. So, Penan people feel hindrance in getting the food and sago. The water in the river become fumbleding when raining. The mud from the trees has been chopping down. The Penan people cannot get clean water from the river.Social change and ripeningSocial change is about change in the nature, well-disposed institution, social behaviour or social relations of a society, or other social structures. It also can also be said as any event or action affects a group of individuals that have shared values or characteristics. The factors that lead to social change are physical environment and poverty. Physical environment refers to the trees in the forest have been cut down by logging companies and the Penan people have to face the new change in their habitants. They are not able to accommodate the new life. This is because some of the changes like temperature, light and sound in the jungle have been changes. The dir ty water in the river is also one of the social changes. They have to get use to it. Poverty is also one of the factors that lead to social changes. Logging can cause them into poverty. This is because they have less wild animals to hunt and less meat to sell to people. Less trees in the forest making them hard to find fruits in the forest and it is hard to make rattan when logging started. Furthermore, oil palm plantations have forced them into poverty. There is nothing left for them anymore. The loss of their forests, the Penan is force to poverty and fulfils illness because of not enough foods and polluted water.The government has promises to give learning to Penan but until now there is no development in their community. Besides that, the Penan also not trust the government and they also do not want development. The government also does not understand why Penan does not want development. The logging companies have given the Penan people the broken and abundant house that the l ogger had made during logging. So, the Penan people do not feel there has been development in their community. According to Wallerstein (1991), development simply means more, which is a capitalistic definition referring to the accumulation of wealth and as a yield of this accumulation, one area will remain poor as a result of exploitation by the rich (powerful).ConclusionThe Penan was live in Sarawak since many years ago and there are no troubles in their community. After logging companies come to their forest cutting down the trees and making the Penan suffer from many problems. Logging makes changes in Penans culture, their social, development, economy and so on. In my opinion, the companies should stop logging from destroying the forest and the Penan habitant. Logging will also cause to world(prenominal) warming and it will create disaster toward Penan people. The government also should be more careful in making decision in timber industry. The government must be more consider about the Penan feeling when logging in their forest.ReferenceTony Bilton, Kevin Bonnett, Philip Jones, Michelle Stanworth, Ken Sheard and Andrew Webster (1987), Introductory sociology, second edition, The Macmillan military press LTD, London.James Fulcher, John Scott (2007), Sociology, third edition, Oxford.N. Gregory Mankiw (2008), Principles of Economics, Fifth edition, South Western Cengage Learning.Robert Van Krieken, Daphne Habibis, Philip Smith, Brett Hutchins, Michael Haralambos and Martin Holborn (2006), Sociology Themes and Perspectives, third edition, Longman.James H. McDonald (2002), The Applied Anthropology Reader, Allyn And Bacon.