Ethnobotany – Food

• One of the most important roles of plants in ethnobotany is their function as a source of food, which forms the most vital link between plants and people.
• Plants are a fundamental part of the diet of many ethnic groups across Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak.
• In Malaysia, the indigenous group known as Orang Asli possesses profound knowledge and reverence for plant life, as well as for the nature and environment inherited from their ancestors. Indigenous communities like the Orang Asli, Iban, Melanau, Temuan, Kadazan-Dusun, and Bidayuh rely heavily on wild edible plants and cultivated species [1,2].
• As most of the ethnobotanical plants utilized are nearly identical between these two cultures, numerous traditional practices of Orang Asli have been embraced and modified by Malay communities over the centuries.
• Specifically, most plants are utilized for medicinal and therapeutic purposes, as well as for consumption, ceremonies, practical purposes, and aesthetic purposes.

Table 1: Common plant species that have value in the local Malay community [2].

Several research and documentation were identified to uncover plants that had been consumed by some of these ethnic groups in Malaysia based on our database.

1. The Semai, a subgroup of the Orang Asli in Malaysia, particularly from three villages: Telimau, Bukit Terang, and Kampung Sat [3].

• Given the Orang Asli’s long-standing reliance on wild edibles for food, medicine, and building materials, such practices contribute to the preservation of their cultural heritage. 
• Older Orang Asli women are considered to have greater knowledge than male elders or other community members in recognising wild edibles and their potential medicinal properties. 
• A total of nine wild edible plants were identified, which are used both as food and in traditional medicine.

Table 2: Wild edible plants identified at Pos Sungai Telimau (T), Bukit Terang (BT), and Kampung Sat (KS) settlements [3].

2. The Muruts community in Sabah, Malaysia; Keningau Murut, Timugon Murut, Paluan Murut, Kalabakan Murut and Tagal Murut [4].

• Sabah is home to 36 indigenous communities, with the Murut being the third largest with an estimated 91,700 people. They are dispersed throughout the districts of Kalabakan, Tenom, Nabawan/Pensiangan, and Keningau.
• Ethnic groups such as the Murut depend on the forest for their daily needs and for income. Produce such as wild vegetables, fruits and medicinal plants are gathered and sold in the weekly markets or ‘Tamu’ for an additional income. 
• High-value plants, whether for medicinal purposes or other purposes, are gathered from the forest and frequently replanted in gardens or close to homes to provide a ready supply of raw materials. Hence, many such plants can be found within the community itself. For this reason, the community is home to many of these plants. However, a variety of other plants can be found along roadsides, in disturbed forests, or in nearby ladang (upland agricultural fields) and relatively undisturbed mixed dipterocarp forests.
• Wild plants have been used for food, building, household tools, and social and religious purposes for an equally long time.
• Remedies were typically administered by knowledgeable elders or traditional healers, often accompanied by rituals depending on the illness being treated. For the Murut, the river and the forest symbolise the world, providing clothing, food, medicine, and household supplies.

Table 3. Some of the useful plants that are consumed by the Muruts in Sabah, Malaysia [4].

3. The Dusun people reside in Tikolod Village, Tambunan District, Sabah, Malaysia [5].

• The research was conducted in Tikolod village, in Tambunan district of Sabah, Malaysia. The road distance from Kota Kinabalu city to the east of Sabah is about 90 km.
• A 2010 census by the Malaysian Department of Statistics found that there were roughly 30,529 Tambunan, with the Tambunan Dusun tribe making up the majority.
• They grow some hill paddy rice in hilly and mountainous regions but predominantly wet padi rice on the plain. 
• Since the 1800s, the Tambunan people have made extensive use of bamboo resources, particularly “Poring” bamboo (Gigantochloa levis) in their daily lives.
• Tikolod village is almost entirely inhabited by Dusun people.  Most of whom are Christians (Catholic), although some elders still practice pagan beliefs
• The villagers rely mainly on subsistence farming for livelihood, with most cultivating wet paddy rice alongside cash crops such as vegetables and ginger. 
• Shifting cultivation is also practiced on nearby slopes, where forested areas are cleared, burned, and planted with hill paddy rice for several years.

Table 4: List of edible plants in Tikolod village, Tambunan, Sabah, Malaysia [5].

4. Among local communities in Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia [6].

• A study was done to record the indigenous leafy vegetables (ILV) consumed by the local people, and mode of consumption of the ILV in Bintulu, Sarawak. In Malaysia, the ILV were consumed in various ways either eaten raw, cooked, fermented, blanched, or boiled and commonly included in a meal with rice, a staple food. Some of the ILV are very well known in the preparation of various traditional dishes.
• The study was conducted at three native markets in Bintulu, Tatau, and Sebauh where the locals commonly traded their harvested ILV.
• This study was participated by various ethnics with the highest percentage recorded by Iban communities (58.30%), followed by Malay (12.50%), Chinese (7.50%), Melanau (4.20%), Kenyah (5.80%), Bidayuh (4.20%), and other ethnics (7.50%).

Table 5. Lists of the ILV consumed by local people in Bintulu, Sarawak [6].

5. Among Sama-Bajau community in Kampung Taun Gusi, Kota Belud Sabah, Malaysia [7].

• A preliminary ethnobotanical survey of traditional salad food or ulam was conducted within the Sama–Bajau community in Kampung Taun Gusi, Kota Belud Sabah.
• Sama-Bajau people is the largest Muslim ethnic group in the state of Sabah; their population is approximately 477 000 people. Sama-Bajau people can be found up north of Sabah in Kudat, Kota Marudu, and Pitas, in Kota Belud, Tuaran, Kota Kinabalu, Putatan, and Papar.
• Since their traditional means of subsistence are agriculture and rice fields, they are referred to as inland Bajau. They are also renowned for being exceptional eastern riders.
• Kampung Taun Gusi is a village predominantly inhabited by the Sama-Bajau people, located in the Kota Belud District, a growing township on the west coast of Sabah.

Table 5: List of traditional salad foods (ulam) used by Sama-Bajau people of Kampung Taun Gusi, Kota Belud, Sabah [7].

Family	Scientific name	Local name	Part used
Acanthaceae	Clinacanthus nutans	Belalai gajah	Leaves
Anarcardiaceae	Anacardium occidentale	Jagus	Young shoots
Annonaceae	Annona muricate	Durian belanda	Young leaves and fruits
Apiaceae	Centella asiatica	Pegaga	Leaves
Asphodelaceae	Aloe vera	Lidah buaya	Leaves (flesh & bud)
Asteraceae	Lactuca sativa	Daun salad	Leaves
Asteraceae	Cosmos caudatus	Ransa ransa/Ulam raja	Leaves
Asteraceae	Crassocephalum crepidioides	Tanduk manggarang/gipun	Leaves
Brassicaceae	Brassica oleracea	Kubis	Leaves
Convolvulaceae	Ipomoea aquatic	Kangkung	Leaves
Convolvulaceae	Ipomoea batatas	Ubi rambat	Young shoot/leaves
Cucurbitaceae	Cucumis sativus	Timun	Fruit
Cucurbitaceae	Benincasa hispada	Buah kundur	Young leaves and fruit
Caricaceae	Carica papaya	Betik/Kapayas	Young flower
Euphorbiaceae	Manihot esculenta	Ubi kayu	Young shoot
Fabaceae	Vigna unguiculate	Kacang panjang	Fruit
Lamiaceae	Ocimum basilicum	Daun bawing	Leaves
Lamiaceae	Orthosiphon stamineus	Misai kucing	Leaves
Malvaceae	Abelmoschus esculentus	Kacang bendi	Fruit
Moraceae	Artocarpus heterophyllus	Nangka	Young fruit
Musaceae	Musa paradasiaca	Pisang	Young flower
Pandanaceae	Pandanus amaryllifolius	Pandan wangi	Leaves
Passifloraceae	Passiflora foetida	Lapak lapak	Fruit
Solanaceae	Capsicum annuum	Lada padi	Young shoot, young fruit
Solanaceae	Solanum melongena	Terung	Fruit
Zingiberaceae	Curcuma caesia	Kunyit hitam	Young leaves
Zingiberaceae	Curcuma zanthorrhiza	Temu lawak	Young leaves
Zingiberaceae	Zingiber zerumbet	Lempoyang	Young leaves

References:

1. Sayok AK, Teucher U. Loss of food plants knowledge and identity among indigenous peoples in Malaysia. J Adv Res Soc Behav Sci. 2018;11(1):174–188.
2. Adnan N, Othman N. The relationship between plants and the Malay culture. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2012 Jan 1; 42:231-41.
3. Tharmabalan RT (2023) Identification of wild edible plants used by the Orang Asli, indigenous peoples of the Malay Peninsula. Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 7:1036490. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2023.1036490
4. Kulip J. An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal and other useful plants of Muruts in Sabah, Malaysia. Telopea. 2003 Jul 4;10(1):81-98.
5. Kulip J. The ethnobotany of Dusun people in Tikolod village, Tambunan district, Sabah, Malaysia. Reinwardtia. 2014;14(1):101-21.
6. Saupi N, Saidin AA, ZAKARIA MH, Sarbini SR, Yusli NA. An ethnobotanical study of indigenous leafy vegetables among local communities in Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia. Borneo Journal of Resource Science and Technology. 2020 Dec 31;10(2):155-65.
7. Awang-Kanak F, Bakar MF, Mohamed M. Ethnobotanical survey on plants used as traditional salad food (ulam) in Kampung Taun Gusi, Kota Belud Sabah, Malaysia. InAIP conference proceedings 2018 Aug 15 (Vol. 2002, No. 1, p. 020024). AIP Publishing LLC.