they will disperse to (Lye 2004: 134–135). The fruit trees are not evenly distributed
around the forest, with some patches being particularly rich and others not; yields
are uneven from year to year; and species distribution can be quite localized
(Endicott 1995: 249; Lye 2004: 133). Thus, whether the forests are of good quality
or not, there is always an inbuilt anxiety about what to expect from the upcoming
season (similar to the uncertainties faced by farmers and fruit growers). Unlike
those in Kelantan (Endicott 1984, 1995), the Batek in Pahang do not congregate
in large numbers for the fruits; the Kelantan people were largely harvesting fruits
from orchards abandoned by Malay farmers in 1949.9 Rather, they have a certain
agreement to disperse groups widely, to avoid crowding and competition. There
have been cases where a subgroup miscalculated the prospects of the upcoming
season, chose not to travel to the fruits, and missed out on a good harvest. Such
miscalculations are surely not anomalies. They are part of the risks inherent in
muddling through.