Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
mantan, where native groups have rallied around the Dayak banner and the term has be-
come a focus for political unity across tribal lines.
For the purposes of affirmative action (positive discrimination) in Malaysia, Dayaks,
like Malays, are considered
bumiputra
('sons of the soil'; ie people considered indigenous
under Malaysian law).
THE PENAN
The least integrated - and most economically disadvantaged - aboriginal group in Sarawak and Brunei is the Pen-
an, traditionally nomadic hunter-gatherers known for never taking more than they require from the jungle - and
for never having engaged in headhunting. Because of their distinct culture and lifestyle, some people do not con-
sider the Penan to be Dayaks.
Christian missionaries and the Sarawak government have long pressured the Penan to settle in longhouses, and
today many live sedentary lives in northern Sarawak's Baram, Belaga and Limbang districts; only a few hundred
are believed to remain true nomads. Settled Penan may plant rice, but they continue to rely on the jungle for medi-
cine and food, including sago from palm trees and game that they hunt with blowpipes.
With their lands and way of life under severe threat from timber concessions and dams, the Penan have long en-
gaged in civil-disobedience campaigns that have included blocking logging roads. While many sympathisers -
such as the celebrated Bruno Manser (
www.brunomanser.ch
), an environmental activist who disappeared near
Bario in 2000 - seek to protect the Penan's unique way of life, Malaysian authorities insist that they should be as-
similated into mainstream society, whether they like it or not.
Sabah
More than 30 indigenous groups make Sabah a medley of traditions and cultures. The
state's largest ethnic group, known as the Kadazan-Dusun, make up 18% of the popula-
tion. Mainly Roman Catholic, the Kadazan and the Dusun share a common language and
have similar customs, though the former originally lived mainly in the state's western
coastal areas and river deltas, while the latter inhabited the interior highlands.
The Murut (3.2% of the population) traditionally lived in the southwestern hills border-
ing Kalimantan and Brunei, growing hill-rice and hunting with spears and blowpipes. Sol-
diers for Brunei's sultans, they were the last group in Sabah to abandon headhunting.
Sarawak
Dayak culture and lifestyles are probably easiest to observe and experience in Sarawak,
where Dayaks make up about 48% of the population.
