About Sarawak

Sarawak is the largest State in the Federation of Malaysia, with an area of approximately 124,450 sq km which accounts for about 37.5% of area of Malaysia and also Sarawak is blessed with vast of natural resources. It is a tropical country with an equatorial climate. it is hot throughout the year ranging from 23 degree to 32 degree celcius.The North East Monsoon occurs between November to February, which brings heavy rainfall. Kuching City is the capital of Sarawak, and Sarawak's population isn't so great comparing to the Peninsular Malaysia. Its population is only about 2.31 million throughout Sarawak State.
Tourists coming here are those who love nature and culture, where Sarawak maintain the culture of the natives. There are over 27 tribes of natives living throughout Sarawak and its country covers with 2/3 of rainforests , many rivers, and mountains.
Sarawak has more than 40 ethnic groups with their own language, culture and lifestyle. Kuching City and larger towns are populated Chinese and Malays and a smaller percentage of Ibans and Bidayuhs who have migrated from their home-villages for employment to bigger towns / City. Sarawak is rather distinctive from the rest of Malaysian State as there is only a small community of Indians living in the state. One of the most attractive features of the state of Sarawak and one which sets it aside from many of the other Malaysian states is its cultural diversity. With so many indigenous ethnic groups that speak several different languages and dialects, Sarawak can be proud for racial harmony amongst a variety of traditions, practices and religions.

Place of interest

Niah Cave
One of the famous Cave with its popular bird nests which existed some 40, 000 years ago, Among the Paleolithic and Neolithic paintings and artifacts is South East Asia's oldest burial site, discovered in 1958. Today the local Penans climb films bamboo scaffolds to collect birds' nests from cave ceiling.
Today the cave is home only to bats and swiftlets . Some locals still venture in the dark to collect guanno ( bird and bat droppings used as fertilizer ).

The earliest phase of cave occupation is referred to as the Palaeolithic (old stone age) and occurs in the late Pleistocene epoch. The Pleistocene ends with the beginning of Holocene epoch around 10,000 years. There is evidence for the use of pottery as funerary gifts and also as burial jars, with much later evidence for the deposition of imported metals, ceramics and glass.

The Painted Cave is another highlight of a visit to Niah.
Area : 3140 hectres




Mulu Cave
The Park is dominated by sandstone mass of Gunong Mulu rises to 2,376m. Lower slopes are covered in dense tropical rainforest which rises to meet the forest of Mulu's upper slopes. Mulu is rich in plant and animal life. This virgin forests harbour not less than 20,000 animal species , mostly insects, over 3,500 plant species. In the limestones beneath the jungle canopy lie some of the world's most impressive caves. It includes the world's largest cave passage (Deer Cave ) the world's largest natural chamber ( Sarawak Chamber ) and at 107km longest cave in South East Asia ( Clearwater cave ) . Just for info Sarawak chamber can accommodate 40 (747 Boeing ) aircrafts . The four show caves are : Clearwater, Wind , Deer and Lang Caves can be visited as day trips from Mulu. More adventurous visitor is encouraged to do the Mulu summit, the head hunter's trail, the pinnacles or adventure caving






Iban Longhouse
The Iban are the most numerous of Sarawak ethnic groups from 35% of Sarawak's population and are sometimes referred as "sea dayaks", once also famous for head hunting. They still maintain staying in longhouses as long as 24 doors with 24 families. The nearest Iban longhouse from Kuching City will take around four hours to reach by land and 45 minutes by a longboat which can accommodate only 4 people.
Reputed to be the most formidable head hunters on the island of Borneo, the Ibans of today are hospitable and placid people. The early Iban settlers who migrated from Kalimantan set up home in the river valleys of Batang Ai, the Skrang River, Saribas, and the Rajang River. The Ibans dwell in longhouses, a stilted structure comprising many rooms and many families. The Ibans are renowned for their Pua Kumbu (traditional Iban weavings), silver crafting and wooden carvings . Iban tattoos which were originally symbols of bravery for the Iban warriors . They are also well known for their tuak, a sweet rice wine which is served during festive and occasions. Many Ibans are Christians, but some still hold their traditional rituals and beliefs and celebrate the festivals such as Gawai Dayak a harvest festival, Gawai Antu a festival of the dead and also the Gawai Kenyalang which is the hornbill festival.



Iban well known dance
A well known dance among the Iban natives of Sarawak. Reputed to be the most fearsome of Borneo's headhunters it was long ago the Iban celebrated the captured heads with a grand festival called Hornbill Festival. It is believed that the magical power of the heads will bring strength, virture and prosperity to the long house. Today they are no more headhunters and have adopted a peaceful lifestyle. 35% of Sarawak population are the Ibans whom they were once called "sea dayaks". Any visitors visit to longhouses will see the real Ibans , the natural lifestyle and the performance of the Ngajat will always be unforgettable experience






Orang Utan
Sarawak has the biggest wild population of these apes that are found in Borneo and Sumatra. They travel across vast ranges of forest browsing for fruits for food. Second in size comparing to the gorilla, the orang utan lives almost completely on trees. Swinging from branch to branch takes enormous strength.
Semonggoh wildlfe rehabilitation centre is a temporary home for various endangered wildlife of Sarawak especially orang utans which has rescued from captivity. They are trained to conditioned to learn their natural instincts living independently. This centre is part of Nature Study centre which consists of Botanical research centre, a Forest Nursery, Orchid, fern, Bamboo and wildlife gardens.
An orang-utans day consists of searching and eating food. They spend most of their time in the lower to middle branches of the trees. At night, they build large leafy nests in the trees, some 10m (33ft) above the ground. A new nest is built every night by bending over branches into a firm base and tucking in smaller twigs to make a springy mattress. They sleep on their backs or sides, sometimes with a hand under their head.

Life span : 30 years - 40 years






Bako National Park
Protected area on 1 May 1957 and was published to public on 4 may 1957. Bako is Sarawak's oldest national park, covering an area of 2,727 hectares at the tip of the Muara Tebas peninsula. It is one of the smallest national park in Sarawak, yet one of the most interesting as it contains almost every type of vegetation found in Borneo. A well maintained network of trails from the forest to full day jungle treks, allows visitors to get the most out of this unique environment.




Sarawak Land of the Hornbill
There are 54 species of Hornbills in the world. They comprise the order Bucerotiformes which is sub-divided into 2 families and 9 genera. Hornbills are strictly 'old world' birds meaning their range extends from Africa across India and Asia to Papua New Guinea. They do not occur in the Americas where a similar ecological niche of medium sized species is filled by Toucans. Hornbills come in a large range of sizes from the small Dwarf Red-billed Hornbill (Tockus camurus) weighing in at 111 grams to the Great Southern Ground Hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri) standing nearly 3 ft tall and weighing 4190 grams
One of the bird spiders cannot tackle is the hornbill. Black, and size of a swan, there are a few various species of hornbills. The picture indicates the most well known hornbills is distinguished by the casque. The huge beak is used to crack nuts and seeds of the fruits in the forest. The hornbill is an omen bird to one of the natives, Iban who had in mind that it carries messages from spirit world and also part of so many rituals and ceremonies for the Iban and had been adopted as Sarawak's State Bird.
Incubation begins with the first egg laid which means that the young hatch out in sequence rather than altogether. In the larger species only one or two eggs are laid, but in the smaller species as many as 8 eggs may be laid. This inevitably produces a succession of variably sized young. The percentage of young which survive will depend on the number of helpers and/or on the amount of food available. Incubation takes from between 23 and 46 days. The larger the species, the longer the incubation period. This correlation between size and developmental time also applies to the fledging period (the time it takes for the young to develop sufficient plumage to be able to fly) - the range is 42-137 days - smaller species reach sexual maturity in a year, medium sized species in two years, and larger species in 3-6 years.

Ai Ansah (melah pinang)

Ai Ansah Tukang Tusut Lebuh Betusut Maia Melah Pinang.

Nyadi aku ke bediri degi-degi
Di moa kitai sabala,
Ukai jegak enda bebasa,
Tang nyangkai ka pengawa nembu ka kereja.

Tu ga ai tempuli tanah nyadi,
Sua antu Bunsu Seregenti,
Datai ari kaki tanah rinda,
Tu ga ai terutu tanah ladu,
Sua Antu Bunsu Petara,
Tu kena sua ka Bunsu Kamba,
Datai ari lempa maram kerapa.

Tu ga ulih kami ngempong ensong,
Paung burong gaga,
Tu ga ulih nengkadah takang bintang tiga,
Ulih bechuan ka tandan bulan pernama.
Tu ai terutu ambun engkenyang jera,
Ai tangkai leka sesangga,
Endang ka chunta anak mensia,
Ngereja umai nginang dandang.

Tu datai ari tuga tunggul chenaga,
Datai ari bidang dandang uma,
Nya pemulai padi lengudai,
Ka penyurai rumah raya,
Ulih jelangoh tuboh remba,
Muka moa pedar tibang.
Kena jembi dara mereti,
Sahari-hari panas bisa,
Tu ga udah kena kunyah beruang mangah,
Ngelampin buah melanjan jera,
Kena entong dara lempong,
Di lumpong kayu chenaga.
Kena peit dara tinggi,
Di lunti buloh bala,
Kena tuchi dara nangi enggau ragi chukup bansa,
Kena pelam dara ganggam chukup malam abis maia.



Nya baru nempuah bau manah,
Datai bau nyamai ngaba bau bisa,
Kechit-kechit ai nyumpit,
Pansut ari burit benda menaga,
Kena kandang dara kumang dalam balang butol segala.
Nya baru jenti dipuji belebih bisa,
Abis mutah puang rimau garang,
Bejako kempang di moa bala.
Agi kalia menya amat ga tu dikena ngansah
Perapang pedang surong bisa,
Enggi niang Rekaya Dana,
Kena iya mapa ka China puang Batang Singkawang.

Tang ka sahari tu enda baka nya,
Tu dikena nuan nerinting puting dabong saleka,
Meda nuan bengat tak tinggi
Di lenggi labong surong baya,
Meda ngepan pekayan chukup gaya,
Meda tandang nuan ke tampak terang,
Manah simbang arong moa,
Dia lambu nuan tau bejako nusoi rita.


Nya baru aku nyua ka nuan enggau tapa jari dua,
Irup nuan kechup-kechup,
Ngambi ka begurup tama nyawa.
Tang terinting puting dabong saleka nuan aya tebah manah-manah,
Anang ngaga mit enggai ka bisi enda ninga,
Anang kalalu inggar enggai ka dikumbai orang nyada,
Tak beri pemanah iya,
Ngambi ka terang didinga orang.
Enti salah sebut nuan,
Sida teruna dara lembut ka bekerut kukut jari dua,
Enti salah tebah nuan,
Sida teruna dara bungah,
Bagas ketawa ngakah bepampul moa,
Ti ngena kami sama deka nunda ngambi ka chunta.

Tu ga kena nuan ngusai ka jala panjai,
Ngambi ka ngerembai mungkor dunya,
Kena nuan nesa penyauh sida,
Kena ngusai ka penyauh kitai,
Ka meda ka penyauh antara.
Dikena nuan ngempong daun apong,
Diara ka di moa bala mensia,
Kena tinda nuan ngara ka leka,
Besebut ka rurun tusut.

Cara pengidup bansa kitai jeman kelia nitih ke pansik bala org ribai.
Kelalu panjai nyau nda alah di 'translate'...baca kediri empu meh...



Society of IBAN

The Iban or Sea Dayak (Dyak) are a riverine group of rice cultivators
inhabiting the interior hill country of Sarawak (Malaysia) and parts
of Indonesian Borneo. They were mistakenly named Sea Dayak by the
British who came into contact with them in the 1840s, at which time
many were involved in coastal piracy with the Malays. The name Iban
is from the Kayan language and means "immigrant." It was introduced
into the literature in 1901 by Haddon and has continued to be the
accepted term (Freeman 1958: 50). The Iban refer to themselves by
the name of the longhouse village or river where they reside. They
have no cover term for all Iban.

Presently the Iban occupy the "remote jungle-covered ranges of the
underdeveloped interior zone of Sarawak, and also certain of the inaccessible
headwaters of the great Kapuas river in what is now Kalimantan or
Indonesian Borneo" (Freeman 1959: 15). The main rivers of their occupation
are the Batang Lupar, Saribas, Krian, and Rejang. Some Iban have moved
to coastal and urban areas.

The Iban speak a dialect of Malay (Malayan subfamily, Austronesian
family) that is distinct from other Bornean languages. It does, however,
contain many loan-words from other parts of Borneo, as well as some
from Sanskrit.

In Sarawak, the Iban population was estimated to be 330,000 in 1971
(Sutlive 1973: 77). As far back as 1947, they comprised over a third
of the country's population and in some areas were the dominant ethnic
group. They are principally a rural people; the cities are still mainly
the preserves of the Malays and the Chinese. Freeman's population
distribution map (ca. 1950) shows the Iban located along Sarawak's
major rivers and their tributaries, with the densest concentrations
along the Rejang in the Third Division (one of Sarawak's five major
political divisions) (Freeman 1955:12). No figures are available for
the Kalimantan Iban.

The climate of the Iban region is wet and it is not uncommon for annual
rainfall in the interior to reach 180 inches. Heavy rains, flat delta
land, and swampy inner coastal regions combine to cause frequent flooding
of the best agricultural land. The rainfall pattern is, however, very
erratic and its variability presents great difficulties for swidden
agriculturalists. Those farmers who, with government assistance, have
begun to practice wet-rice cultivation may use herbicides to clear
their smaller fields and are thus better insulated from climatic variations.
The temperature range is approximately 72 degrees-88 degrees F., or
22.2 degrees-31.1 degrees C.

Three quarters of Sarawak is still covered with primary forest, the
remaining quarter with savannah and secondary growth. Soils are generally
poor. Most cleared forest areas can be used only for a season or two,
and then must be left fallow for 15 to 20 years. Contrary to what
early observers supposed, the shifting agricultural techniques of
the Iban were probably the best adaptation to this poor soil, causing
the least disturbance and allowing the small cleared areas time to
recuperate.

The tropical forests provide the Iban with a variety of trees, leaves,
fibers, and foods, which they exploit themselves and have found to
be profitable exports (especially rubber and timber).

Rice cultivation is the occupation of 89 percent of the Iban population
(two-thirds of the country's rice cultivators). But fewer than 40
percent are self-sufficient, and most Iban must buy rice to supplement
what they grow (Sutlive 1973: 201). Iban are no longer free to move
their settlements after exhausting an area, but they still shift their
fields every few years to allow the land to regenerate. Rice agriculture
is a highly ritualized activity and is really a complete way of life,
rather than just an economic pursuit. Nearly all of the religious
ritual has to do with insuring the success of the crop. Along with
the rice, mustard, cucumber, pumpkins, and gourds are planted in the
same fields and ripen at different times. Maize, cassava, changkok,
and pineapple are also grown. Fowls and pigs are kept under the houses,
to be eaten on festival days. Wild pigs are hunted with dogs, but
salt fish, obtained from Malay fishermen, is more popular. Fighting
cocks are kept by the men for gambling.

The common Iban settlement is a single longhouse composed of from
4 to 50 independent family units (an average of 14 in Baleh region)
that are called bilek families. The bilek family is small, ranging
from 3 to 14 members, with an average of about 5.5. It is usually
composed of two or three generations, but two adult, married siblings
never co-reside. Each bilek family constitutes a separate household
that cooks and eats together, owns its own land, cultivates its own
crops, has its own rituals, charms, taboos, and its own sacred rice.
There are no large-scale corporate groups above the bilek family.
The bilek family is the status-conferring group. Children are named
after grandparents, thus providing continuity with ancestors and an
identification with the kin group. Among the status-conscious Iban,
these names provide links with their illustrious forebears. Membership
in a bilek family, and hence the longhouse, may be by birth, marriage,
or adoption. A family may also join a longhouse because of ties of
friendship.

Postmarital residence is called utrolocal, which is an equivalent
concept to ambilocal residence. A couple may reside with either set
of parents (or in their longhouse), but they must choose between one
or the other. Uxorilocality and virilocality are equally common. Preferred
marriages are within the kindred, especially with first to fifth degree
cousins. Marriage within the longhouse is as common as marriage outside.
The Iban are strongly monogamous, but in the early years of marriage,
divorce is simple and not uncommon. Inter-ethnic marriages, though
dangerous in some ways, often help to establish and maintain advantageous
commercial relations. Recently, educated Iban have tended to marry
later. They are looked on as valued marriage prospects, regardless
of their backgrounds, because of their high earning potentials.

Longhouse communities are almost always located along watercourses.
Populations of these communities vary from averages of 80.5 (Baleh
region) to 137 (Sibu District). The upper ranges do not often exceed
200. In Baleh, where virgin forest is plentiful, communities are composed
of single longhouses located every one or two miles along the river.
In the Sibu District, where the government has long since curtailed
the migratory settlement pattern, clusters of longhouses within hailing
distance of one another are common. Nevertheless, these clusters do
not represent villages. Each longhouse has its own well-defined territory,
within which each bilek family has its own hereditary lands. A longhouse
has no property of its own. Each longhouse community usually has a
core group of founding members, related cognatically, who occupy the
center of the house. Membership in the house is usually through relations
with one or more of these families. In Baleh the rate of interrelatedness
was lower than in Sibu's more permanent longhouses, where interrelatedness
was sometimes 100 percent (Freeman 1955: 9; Sutlive 1973: 360-361).

There are two important longhouse officials. The tuah burong is an
augur, who reads the omens, especially from birds, before all important
events and is important events and is generally responsible for the
ritual wellbeing of the longhouse. The tuah rumah is the administrator
and custodian of adat, Iban customary law, and the arbiter in community
conflicts. He has no political, economic, or ritual power. Usually
a man of great personal prestige, it is through his knowledge of custom
and his powers of persuasion that others are induced to go along with
his decisions. Influence and prestige are not inherited. The Iban
emphasize achievement, not descent.

Although Iban society is classless, it is a very status-conscious
and competitive society in which personal achievement is important
for providing status and prestige in the community. The acquisition
of wealth and the production of consistently good rice crops are the
main criteria of success. The institution of pejalai (bejalah), in
which young men travel to distant areas to gain wealth and experience,
is an old and important part of Iban life. To return with valuable
items is the object of the trip, and his numerous tattoos testify
to a man's travels. Iban women do not travel, and their lack of contact
with the outside world has made them and their craft styles more conservative.
Women are not, however, of a lower status. Households heads are women
as often as they are men, and women have traditionally played an equal
role in public meetings (Gomes 1911: 80). While the two principal
offices in the longhouse are limited to men, the rights of men and
women are equal in matters of property and inheritance.

Iban religion revolves around augury, omens, and rice. There are a
great number of gods and spirits, with Petara, who some see as borrowed
from the Hindu, at the top. Ancestor worship is important, but the
assurance of a good rice crop is the principal function of the religion.
Rice is believed to have a soul, and it must be treated respectfully
and propitiated in order to provide a good yield. In a number of areas,
Christianity has been adopted in addition to, rather than in place
of, the old faith. It is viewed as another method of bringing good
luck.

The Iban have long been in contact with other ethnic groups. First
the Chinese and Malays, and later the Europeans. While there has been
some friction, especially with the Chinese over land claims, relations
have been generally peaceful. The Chinese form the majority of commercial
middlemen and shopkeepers in both the rural and urban areas. It is
only recently that Iban have begun to run their own stores, and very
few have been successful without Chinese backing. The Malays, through
their membership in the army and, since 1966, through Sarawak's association
with Malaysia, are powerful politically. Independence of spirit and
their inability to work together have kept the Iban from gaining political
power commensurate with their numbers. Inter-ethnic marriages are
common and accepted, but ethnic conflicts have flared from time to
time, as in the mid 1960s, when violent rioting brought armed government
intervention.

A brief summary of Iban culture based on sources in the file as well
as on others not included here may be found in LeBar (1972: 180-184).
J. D. Freeman (c.f. 1955, 1958) is the modern authority on Iban culture,
and his sources cover many aspects of their life.

Culture summary by Martin J. Malone



Freeman, John Derek.
Iban agriculture: a report on the shifting cultivation of hill rice by the Iban of Sarawak.
London, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1955.
12, 148 p. illus., maps.
Freeman, John Derek.
The family sustem of the Iban of Borneo.
In Jack Goody, ed.
The Developmental Cycle in Domestic Groups.
Cambridge, University Press, 1958: 15-52.
Gomes, Edwin H. Seventeen years among the Sea Dyaks of Borneo: a record of intimate association with the natives of the Bornean jungles.
With an introduction by the Reverend John Perham.
London, Seeley, 1911.
343 p. illus.
LeBar, Frank M., ed.
and comp.
Ethnic groups of Insular Southeast Asia.
2 v. New Haven, Human Relations Area Files Press, 1972: Vol.
1, pp.
180-184.
Sutlive, Vinson Hutchins, Jr.
From longhouse to pasar: urbanization in Sarawak, East Malaysia.
Ann Arbor, University Microfilms, 1973.
4, 10, 479 l. illus., maps, tables.
(University Microfilms Publications, no.
73-16,345).
Dissertation (Anthropology) -- University of Pittsburgh, 1972.

Gambar2 Iban

RUMAH PANJAI (LONG HOUSE)















IBU' BENUNG BETENUN KE PUA KUMBU(IBAN'S WOMEN MAKING A 'PUA KUMBU')















'PUA KUMBU'