South-East Asian Foragers
The Agta
The Agta are composed of several groups who were historically foragers. Located in the Eastern portion of the Island of Luzon in the Philippines. Today these groups trade for domesticated crops and also practice limited horticulture in various areas as well (Estioko-Griffin, and P. Bion Griffin 1981:122).
The Ainu
These are the indigenous people of northern Japan, who, although are classified as foragers, their society has still undergone drastic changes. The encroachment of modern Japanese society had, at one point, completely subsumed their identity.
The two best-known museums about the Ainu are in Hokkaido. The website for The Ainu Museum is available in English, but the recreated village of Nibutani, known as Niputay in Ainu-itak, is called The Ranko Museum and is only in Japanese. The Ranko Museum is one example of an attempt to revitalize the language (Ainu-itak) from near extinction, considering onlu 15 known people in the world speak the language today. The greatest interest to those who speak English is John Batchelor's
A Grammar of the Ainu Language.
References Cited
Estioko-Griffin, Agnes, and P. Bion Griffin
1981 Woman the Hunter: The Agta. In Woman the Gatherer. Frances Dahlberg, ed. Pp. 121-151. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
External Links
These articles provide more about the Ainu:
- "Ainu Religion" (complete with bibliography).
- here. Ainu-English Dictionary
