In 1642 the Dutch governor of Malacca wrote: Upstream between the territory of Naning and Muar there is a mountain called Ledang which is said to be a cursed land, because there are many ghosts there who reside (so people say). There resides there a nation of Malayu called the Semang, or "Wildman," where men and women walk around completely naked and live on tubers, fruit, and wild animals. Their huts are made of leaves or trees and they rarely stay in the same place for more than two or three days, settling mainly at the foot of major mountains (Andaya, 2008). The purpose of this article is to identify the cultural characteristics of the Bateks of Malaysia by identifying the type of society, its form of reciprocity and describing the cultural characteristics associated with the Bateks to understand the foundations of this culture. The Batek of Malaysia are also known as Semang, which refers to a group of mobile hunting and gathering societies living in Malaysia. The Batek use the kinship method of bilateral descent, living in camps (which can be set up or dismantled in a day) of multiple families. The camp generally has control of the immediate surrounding territory, but the Batek do not believe in private ownership of the land, but rather refer to themselves as the custodians of the land. Since the Batek are a nomadic society, once they run out of usable resources from the place where they are camped, they will pack up and move to another place that can support them. They predominantly reside in the Taman Negara National Park. The Batek support themselves by hunting, gathering, and minimal trading with outside cultures. Generalized reciprocity is practiced in this hunter-gatherer society that revolves around... middle of paper... incorporating some of the ideologies of what we see and understand in less developed cultures, allows us to be more culturally diverse by giving one take a closer look at our culture or way of life. Works Cited Andaya, L.Y. (2008). Leaves from the same tree. (University of Hawaii Press) Retrieved July 12, 2011, from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/doc?id=10386598&ppg=230Lampell, K. (2010). Cultural survival. Retrieved July 13, 2011, from The Batek De' of Malaysia: http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/malaysia/batek-de-malaysiaMorrison, k. D. and Junker, L. L. (2002). Forager traders in South and Southeast Asia: Long-term histories. (CU Press, producer) Retrieved July 12, 2011, from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/doc?id=10070227&ppg=274Smith, H. J. (2005). Parenting for primates. MA, USA: Harvard University Press.