Reconnecting with the past, the tradition, the plants, the forest, the indigenous community, and the sustainable life before the age of industrialisation.
Recalling Forgotten Tastes is a beautiful and informative illustrated book by Malaysian designer, painter, and print maker Syarifah Nadhirah with grant funding from INXO Arts & Culture (L) Foundation in 2019 – it’s a recollection of forest edible plants, also focusing on the environmental knowledge and traditional culinary practices in the past and present by the Orang Asli (origin people) communities in Peninsular Malaysia, primarily from the Semai and Temuan subgroup, for example Paeh Ikan Keli, a Temuan dish including catfish, kulim leaves, fermented durian and torch ginger flower.
Through the book, we can learn about the recollection of various edibles and plants tended by the native people in the past, specification of rare and endangered plant species, completed with brief notes of the plant history, interviews with the particular groups of Orang Asli, researches and documentations of the plants.
Besides their scientific names, Syarifah also highlighted the indigenous names of the plants, to bring the indigenous culture and language across in the book with more 50 watercolor and ink illustrations.
Syarifah Nadhirah, 27 years old, furthered architecture study at the International Islamic University Malaysia in Selangor and currently runs a design and print company called Paperweight Studio. “On the side, I practice as an artist, and work on different projects such as this book,” she said during an interview with The Star news online.
“The idea of food and where it comes from has always excited me,” she added. Her mother is great in cooking using old-age recipes, passed down for generations in the family. The recipes and food stories from her mother have always made Syarifah curious about the food history and plant.
The book is a compilation of edible plants – as told by OA guides and teachers (primarily from the Temuan and Semai groups) in Gombak, Kuala Langat and Negeri Sembilan. Source: The Star News Malaysia. Illustration by Syarifah Nadhirah.
Besides meeting the indigenous communities in some areas, her researches and documentations were enriched by meeting some experts. The anthropologist Dr. Rusaslina Idrus, Orang Asli Raman Bah Tuin, indigenous artist Shaq Koyok, and more.
She met the anthropologist Dr Rusaslina Idrus in 2018 where she was introduced to a Temuan community in Labu, Negri Sembilan. Soon after the experience, she enrolled into an art residency (Rimbun Dahan programme in 2019) and led the start to the birth of the book project. Later on she also met Raman Bah Tuin, an Orang Asli from Kampung Batu 12 Gombak in KL where she learned about culture and heritage of Semai, and edible medicinal plants in the Gombak forest. And she also learned from indigenous artist Shaq Koyok, visited his village in Pulau Kempas, Banting, in order to learn about the neighbouring forest reserve, Hutan Simpan Kuala Langat.
“Before industrialisation, their people would rely entirely on nature for what to cook. They had to pay attention to how nature worked, and follow the rhythms of the forest and the land – what fruiting trees to look out for at certain times of the year, what plants grow best when. As seasons changed, so did the food and vegetation. It was all about adapting to what the land provided and working with what you had,” Syarifah explained in article written by Ann Marie Chandy, a contributor of The Star Malaysia.
For more information about Syarifah Nadhirah: Website www.syarifahnadhirah.com – Instagram @syarifahnadhirah.
Source: Tales of forgotten tastes, herbs and remedies found in Malaysian jungles — Official Website of Syarifah Nadhirah order book — LITERATURE – RECALLING FORGOTTEN TASTES.
MAAKNU 