Kubu people

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For other uses, see Kubuś.

Kubu chief

The Kubu (traditional name) or Orang Rimba ("People of the Forest", which they prefer to call themselves) are an indigenous people inhabiting the foothills of Bukit Barisan in central Sumatra, Indonesia, in the vicinity of the cities of Palembang and Jambi. They are the last-known hunter-gatherer society in Southeast Asia. A survey made in 1988 found that they consisted of some 2,700 individuals, most of whom live in the forest.

The Kubu/Orang Rimba are nomads who construct temporary shelters of branches and leaves on platforms in forested areas, moving on when game and resources dwindle. They have developed ingenious way to effectively use available resources to survive. For instance: to fish, they beat the stripped bark of a poisonous tree into the water, stunning the fish, which then surface, making them easy to catch. They have developed unique wooden traps for each type of game animal in their vicinity.

They live in small groups, due to the need for high mobility. Hierarchies are based on relative age. Distinct social classes are rare, as opposed to the ethnic groups around them (for instance, the Minangkabau).

The Kubu/Orang Rimba are not isolated: they trade forest products (animal skins, damar, benzoin and camphor) with other settled agriculturists people. Their trading contacts have also affected the social and economic lives of the Kubu: for instance, they purchase cigarettes, cigarette lighters and machetes from the nearby cities.

Their traditional culture is under threat of extinction, as deforestation on Sumatra is shrinking the areas in which the Kubu live, and the Indonesian government is actively drawing all primitive ethnic groups into the mainstream of the country's economic and social life.