In March 2023, we embarked on a fieldwork residency across two states: Pahang and Perak – first to the Semai village of Kampung Barreh Barrah, Lenjang in Pahang and then around Kinta Valley in Perak. It was for a project initiated by London-based artist and researcher, Youngsook Choi titled ‘In Every Bite of The Emperor’ exploring ecological grief across communities in the UK, Malaysia, South Korea, and Vietnam.
With support from British Council’s Connections Through Culture grant, Youngsook together with Emily Gee, a senior producer from Merseyside-based community arts organisation Heart of Glass travelled to Malaysia and spent two weeks with us immersing in and learning about Semai ecological wisdom, spiritual ties to the land, ritual healing practices, as well as the mining history in Malaysia.
In Pahang, we were hosted by our Semai host family at Kampung Barreh Barrah, situated along the banks of Jelai Kecil River. Here, together with our host family, we guided both Youngsook and Emily on the traditional territories of this Semai village–from understanding their relationship with more-than-human beings within the landscape known as mai serak to the ways they maintain harmony within their cosmos–all of which contribute to the stability and continuity of peace of their ecosystem and their lives.
In Perak, we headed to the traditional borders of the Semai and the Temiar, where in the past the two tribes formed an oral agreement of their borders as a way of self-governance in a pre-nation state setting. These areas are close to the heart of today’s heavily mined areas of Simpang Pulai, as well as part of the past when Kinta Valley held the biggest tin mining economy in the world. We explored as far as Tanjung Tualang in our fieldwork in investigating Perak’s tin mining history.
Back to our respective homes, Youngsook and Emily in the UK and us in Kuala Lumpur, we started gathering our thoughts in preparation for Heart of Glass’ annual conference, With For About. Following that, our team put together a digital publication collating our research and writings.
Download and read the outcome of our fieldwork residency for this project below:
Research assistance from the committee members of ITAH Campsite, Kampung Barreh Barrah, Lenjang, Pahang & Shazni Bhai. Commissioned and produced by Heart of Glass, supported by Arts Council England and British Council.