Messages of Twigs: Punan Batu’s Communication Method
Over the thousands of years they have lived as hunters and gatherers in the Kalimantan wilderness, they have developed a method of communication that uses the ancient method of using twigs.
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The Punan Batu community still lives on the move in karst caves and forests in the interior of Bulungan Regency, North Kalimantan, as seen, Monday (10/15/2018). They are the early inhabitants of the island of Borneo which are now increasingly pressured by massive forest clearing, especially for mining and conversion of oil palm plantations.
The Punan Batu people in Bulungan regency, North Kalimantan, do not read or write. However, over the thousands of years they have lived as hunters and gatherers in the Kalimantan wilderness, they have developed a method of communication that uses the ancient method of using twigs.
They use signs made of twigs and leaves to communicate with fellow members of their community, ranging from requests for assistance, information on the availability of food, news about disease and the threat of danger, to the direction they are moving and arrangements to meet.