Kayan 族
The Kayan tribe, who build their longhouses in the northern interiors of Sarawak midway on the Baram River, the upper Rejang River and the lower Tubau River, were traditionally headhunters. They are well known for their boat-making skills, which they carve from a single block of belian, the strongest of the tropical hardwoods. A close neighbour of the Kayans is the Kenyah tribe who live in Long San, along the Baram River.
Kenyah 族
The Kenyah culture is similar to that of their neighbours, the Kayans, and both tribes are believed to have come from the Kayan River valley in eastern Borneo. The Kenyah and Kayans are primarily farmers, cultivating rice in cleared forest areas. Typically, a Kenyah village is made of just a single longhouse. A common aspect of the Kayan and Kenyah tribes is the singing the parap, a folklore song relating expressions of love, happiness, loneliness and anger while singing praises for the beauty of nature and all living things.
Kelabit 族
Residents of the mysterious, cloud-covered highlands of Sarawak are the Kelabits. Making their home in Bario, the Kelabits is a tight-knit community that practices the traditional form of agriculture. Mainly rice farmers; the Bario Highland rice is a famous product of the Kelabits. In recent years, the Kelabits have also cultivated various temperate-climate fruits including apples and grapes. The Kelabits are predominantly Christians and they celebrate Christmas day.
Penan 族
The last truly nomadic people of Sarawak, the Penan are hunter-gatherers who roam the deep interiors of Sarawak’s jungles, and are spread out among the hilly regions of Sarawak, and neighbouring Brunei and Kalimantan.
Using basic, traditional hunting tools such as the blow-pipe and woven rattan baskets, the Penans hunt for wild boars, deers and other forest game. Largely animistic, the Penans worship Bungan, a supreme god.
Today, a great number of Penans have opted to settle down in longhouses, leaving their nomadic lifestyle behind. Many have also converted to Christianity. They still create beautiful woven baskets and mats which they use to trade with outsiders for a number of essential items including salt, cloth and tobacco. Their staple diet, like the Melanaus, is the sago, supplemented with various wild fruits, roots and greens.
