Kampung Chang Lama, an aboriginal enclave about one-and-a-half hour drive from Kuala Lumpur, sits I a lush valley through which the Gepai River flows.

The 113.3ha settlement and its surroundings mere once part of Malaysia’s sprawling tropical rain forest. It is also home to 469 Semai, peninsular Malaysia’s Orang Asli, a term which means "original people" or "first peoples".

As with other indigenous territories in Malaysia, Kampung Chang Lama’s rustic simplicity belies its importance to the world’s continuing quest for knowledge in tropical medicinal species.

Among the inhabitants are 15 elders-10 females and five males age between 45 and 70-whose accumulated knowledge about medicinal plant species could provide clues to cures for present and future disease.

Villager who have simple ailments consult any one of the 15 elder, who do not carry a specific title. They are as much teachers as they are herbalists, passing on knowledge of old-time plant remedies to the young when providing prescriptions.

"The elders tell us where to find what plant species for a particular illness and its method of preparation," says Tijah Yok Chopil, a native of the village and president of the Indigenous People Network of Malaysia.

No payment, however, is made. This is because all forest produce is considered communal property and everyone has equal success to them. The elders are revered for their knowledge and it is wisdom that sets them apart from the rest.

The Semai use a variety of plant parts-roots and bark extracts, leaf poultice, juices among other things- to treat simple cases.

The cure for stomachache, headache, scabs, wounds and bites, broken bone and allergic reactions to food can be found in the forest, as is the bleeding and shrinking the uterus after delivery.

Plants can also be used to clean the hair and to get rid of dandruff besides being an ingredient in facial powder. Such information, through both intelligent observation as well as trial-and-error.

Accompanying a few of the elders on a trip to collect medicinal plant materials form their "garden"-looking very much like jungle in the making-is like going on a nature study walk.

The garden, which is close to their dwellings, is a former rubber smallholding which has been planted with all sort fruit trees. Over the years, medicinal species have sprouted, much to the delight of the elders.

Beyond the garden lies the Semai’s forest at the foothills of the Main Range, where other Semai communities reside.

The Semai’s backyard is a gardener’s heaven where all sorts of herbaceous plants and vegetables spring.

Semai elders have also tried growing medicinal plants no longer thriving in nearby forests, in their compounds but, as they are found out, most of then do not grow well in domesticated surroundings.

The elders’ breadth of knowledge of medicinal plant species is at once impressive and humbling. What to the common eye is a shrub or a weed is a precious resource resource to them.

In Orang Asli culture, every forest product has a specific use and the elders are able to identify this. "This is good for treating scabs," says Ken Peri, 50, as she scrapes the bark of the keratmot tree.

"But you must boil it together with the leaves of the geronggang and gelanggang and the bark of the helbat for about 30 minutes. Cool it for a while before applying the mixture over the scabs. Half-a-glass of the bitter brew can also be consumed to soothe gastric pain."

About a year ago, Wak Risa, another elder, was stumped for the cure when she developed fungal infection on her left hand after bathing at a waterfall.

She tried all sorts of remedies but the infection persisted. When then sought treatment at nearby government hospitals but it was no good. Neither could the Chinese medicines man help her.

On impulse, she took the shoot of the sireh muhak and rubbed it all over the infected area; within a week she was cured.

The sireh muhak is an example of the on-going process of discovery and innovation in the Semai’s natural healing system.

Before this, the Semai did not pay much attention to the plant simply because it is found in areas near cemeteries, and therefore is associated with death (the leaf is used for making wreath in other culture).

How about medicine for the broken heart?

The question was greeted with laughter. The elders laugh easily and their weather-beaten faces are etched with life lessons.

Wak Uni, 70, says there is no such thing but offers the low-down on the efficacy of mixture of plants in attracting the opposite sex.

Take the leaves of the pengaksih, petunduk, pelekat and benyeg and soak them in a big bucket of water for a while.then, scoop a handful of water from the bucket and dab it on the forehead before using that water for a bath.

Do that twice a day-in the morning and evening-until the intended person responds favourably. Failing that, three more types of leaves are to be added to the blend and the process repeated.

It is vital stop the herbal baths when the desired results are achieved. This is to prevent interest from turning into an unhealthy obsession.

But the elders do not condone the practice and they deplore its evil promise. Love should be natural and spontaneous, they say.

"The elders fear that the younger generation may abuse the knowledge and may even resort to jampi, or supernatural means to increase the potency of the concoction," says Tijah.

Researcher Dr. Colin Nicholas says the elders are not medium nor are they halaq or shamans. They are simply herbalists or, as he puts it,"they are pharmacists and the forest is their pharmacy,"

"There are no Orang Asli mediums, only shamans. They are simply herbalists or, as he puts it, "they are pharmacists and the forest is their pharmacy."

"There are no Orang Asli mediums, only shaman and elders or holders of knowledge in traditional medicine," says Nicholas, who is coordinator of the Centre For Orang Asli Concerns, a group advocating indigenous peoples’ right.

Drawing such a distinction is relevant because many Malaysia perceive Orang Asli herbalists as mediums, often associated with the practice of invoking the spirits of dead people to do their bidding.

Orang Asli shamans recognise the presence of spirits in the environment and use them as intermediaries in the context of traditional healing ceremonies and in performing swidden (rotational agriculture) rites.

Plants are just one elemant of the ritual to entreat the assitance of the guniq, or the "spirit familiar" in these ceremonies.

Holders of traditional knowledge such as the 15 elders use their understanding of plants for therapeutic purpose without necessarily appealing to the spirits.

But young Semai are disinclined to find out more about ancestral curative systems and this is a cause for cencern among elders.

Tijah attributes this to what she calls "instant medicine."

Yet another worry, and a growing one, is the prospect of pharmaceutical giants or their agents decending on their community and robbing them of their knowledge in medicinal species.

"This is a threat to us because they are using Orang Asli to get to the source of the medicinal plants which they want to use in drug development," says Tijah.

Says Tijah, "Before convertng forests to other uses you must consider our needs. The elders fear thet one day when no forest is left, their descendant cannot keep cultural traditions such as natural healing."

The Semai of Kampung Chang Lama and those in neighbouring Kampung Chang Lama have been waiting for 35 years for their land to be gazetting as an Orang Asli Reservea as approved by the Government in 1965.

Why the authorities have not proceeded with the gazetting is unclear.

Even so, says Nicholas, "the gazzeting of Orang Asli reserves does not guarantee they will be the owners of their lands in perpetuity because the Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954 provides for the de-gazzeting without cash compensation or provision of equitable alternatives plots."

Respecting indigenous territorial rights is therefore central to the issue of proctecting biodiversity and rain forest cultures, say Nicholas.

Biodiversity conservation which only focuses on animals and plants while ignoring the human culture with which biodiversity co-evolved is short-sighted.

Dr. N. Manokaran, director of the biodiversity division at the Forest Research Institute Malaysia, says the National Policy and Biological Diversity recognises the role of local and indigenous communities in the conservation, management and utilisation of biodiversty.

"The document stresses that these communities should be given their rightful share of benefits arising from the use of biodiversity," says Manokaran, one of the architects of the policy.

"The policy’s principles sound nice but there is nothing in its strategy to show how this is to be implemented," says Nicholas, author of the book Orang Asli And The Contest For Resources which was realeased this week.

"What is important," says Manokaran, "is that a move has been made towards tackling issues relating to conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity through adopting such a policy document."

However, only tough measures to protect Malaysia’s biodiversity will help to conserve indigenous knowledge like that diplayed by the elders in Kampong Chang Lama.

28/05/2000