BORNEO ETHNIC GROUPS AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

INDIGENOUS ETHNIC GROUPS IN SABAH

ethnic groups of Borneo

The largest indigenous ethnic groups of Sabah's population are the Kadazan Dusun, the Sama-Bajau (See Below) and the Murut (See Below). Kadazan Dusuns form about 30 percent of the state's population. Actually consisting of two tribes; the Kadazan and the Dusun, they were grouped together as they both share the same language and culture. However, the Kadazan are mainly inhabitants of flat valley deltas, which are conducive to paddy field farming, while the Dusun traditionally lived in the hilly and mountainous regions of interior Sabah. See Separate Article: DUSUN factsanddetails.com

Rungus live on Sabah. They show goodwill by shaking hands and then placing their right hand to their chests. They eat papaya “hinava” (a kind of local picked fish), Sabah vegetables, dry rice, and do a traditional bamboo stick dance, sort of like the one Filipinos do. Dancers jump up and down while the sticks are clapped together without getting their feet whacked. They also do a dragon dances and play nasal instruments. The Rungus live 230 kilometers from Kota Kinabalu, They drink large amounts of “Mentako”, a transparent liquor similar to Japanese sake, and “lihing”, a sweet rice liquor. Usually one man pour single shots and passes them around. People spend much of their cracking open and chewing betel nut.

Tidong live in northern Kalimantan and Sabah. Also known as the Bolongan, Camucones, Nonukan, Tarakan, Tedong, Tidoen, Tidung, Tiran, Tiroes, Tiroon and Zedong, they are believed to have originated from the interior of Borneo but now have largely been acculturated the through contact with the Tausug and Bugis.

Indigenous Ethnic Groups in Sarawak

Major ethnic groups in Sarawak (Clockwise from top right): 1) Melanau girls with the traditional Baju Kurung; 2) Sarawak Chinese woman in her traditional dress of Cheongsam; 3) Bidayuh girl
4) An Iban warrior in his traditional dress

Collectively known as Dayaks, the Iban, Bidayuh and Orang Ulu are the major ethnic groups in the state of Sarawak. Typically, they live in longhouses, traditional community homes that can house 20 to 100 families. Other indigenous groups include the Melanau, Kenyah, Kayan (See Below for All Three) and about 10,000 Penan people.

Iban are the largest of Sarawak's ethnic groups. They form 30 percent of the State's population of 2.5 million. Sometimes erroneously referred to as the Sea Dayaks because of their skill with boats, they are actually an upriver tribe from the heart of Kalimantan. In the past, they were a fearsome warrior race renowned for headhunting and piracy. Traditionally, they worship a triumvirate of gods under the authority of Singalang Burung, the bird-god of war. Although now mostly Christians, many traditional customs are still practised. [Source: Malaysian Government Tourism]

Bidayuh have been described as peace-loving, easy-going and gentle and are famous for their hospitality and tuak or rice wine. Making their homes in Sarawak's southern regions, they are mostly farmers and hunters. In their past headhunting days their prized skulls were stored in a 'baruk‘, a roundhouse that rises about 1.5 metres above the ground. Originally animists, now most of the 200,000 strong population have converted to Christianity.

Orang Ulu, or upriver people, refers to 27 inland tribal groups of Sarawak. A total estimated population of around 100,000 people belong to tribes varied in size from 300 to 25,000 individuals. Arguably Borneo's most artistic people, their large longhouses are ornately decorated with murals and superb woodcarvings; their utensils are embellished with intricate beadwork. Traditional tattoos are a very important part of their culture; aristocratic Orang Ulu ladies also cover their arms and legs with finely detailed tattoos.

Penan are an aboriginal people included in the Orang Ulu grouping by government census but the Penan are traditionally nomadic people living in small family groups constantly moving from place to place within the rainforest. Today most of the estimated 16,000 Penan people have settled in longhouse communities where their children have the chance to go to school. Like the Iban and Bidayuh, most of the Orang Ulu have converted from animism to Christianity or Islam.

Bisaya

Rungus woman preparing the traditional drink tinonggilan and other traditional foods at a tourist village in Sabah

Bidayuh live mainly in southern Sarawak and western Sabah. Bisaya is a general term to describe people living in central Borneo reached by the rivers in Sabah and Sarawak. Also known as the Besaya, Bisayah, Jilama Bawang, Jilama Sungai, they tend to be culturally diverse and live among other groups. Most practice wet rice agriculture and raise a variety of fruits and vegetables. They are skilled woodcarvers but never learned to smelt or forge metal or weave cloth. [Source: Daniel Strouthes, “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 5: East/Southeast Asia:” edited by Paul Hockings, 1993]

The Bisaya live in small, scattered communities among other peoples and have adopted many cultural traits from their neighbors. Their language belongs to the North Indonesian branch of the Austronesian family. According to the Christian group Joshua Project the Bisaya population was 81,000 in the early 2020s and 90 percent of them were Muslims, Population estimates counted 4,000 Bisaya in Sarawak in 1983, roughly 7,000 in Brunei in 1960, and around 14,000 in Sabah in 1970.

Traditional Bisaya religion is animistic, with shamans and diviners playing key roles. Illness is believed to result from soul loss and is treated through spirit-medium rituals. The dead are respected, though there is no formal ancestor worship, and improperly mourned spirits may cause harm. The major agricultural rite is the harvest, or “crocodile,” ceremony, during which wealthy families provide large quantities of food.

Bisaya villages typically contain between 30 and 200 people. Although they have a central area, settlements often extend along riverbanks, with occasional temporary camps in the interior. Villages are permanent and usually include at least one longhouse with four or more apartments (lobok). These rectangular longhouses are raised on pilings 3 to 4.5 meters high, can reach up to 60 meters in length, and are divided lengthwise, with a closed veranda used for ceremonies. Public buildings are absent, but rice granaries are common.

The main kin units are the apartment family, which shares food, a hearth, and agricultural prayers, and the house family, which shares ritual responsibilities and maintenance duties. Bisaya prefer to marry close kin. Only sex and marriage between parents and children is forbidden. Other kinds of unions are okay. Polygyny is allowed but rarely practiced because of the expense. Sometimes marriages are arranged for children as young as eight.

Bisaya in traditional clothes

Rice is the staple food and is grown using both wet and dry swidden cultivation. Because of declining soil fertility, disputes, and omens, wet-rice fields are rarely used for more than two years. Rice is planted with dibble sticks rather than plows. Swiddens also produce cash crops such as chilies, corn, cucumbers, gourds, pumpkins, and yams, while bananas, breadfruit, coconuts, and jackfruit are grown as fruit crops. Hunting is more important than fishing and targets wild pigs, buffalo, deer, and pheasants using guns, spears, and blowguns. Women, and some men, gather wild vegetables, fruits, medicinal plants, honey, camphor, and gutta percha. The Bisaya also raise buffalo, pigs, and chickens. Although skilled carpenters, they traditionally did not smelt metal or weave cloth; clothing was once made from bark before cloth became available through trade. Trade today is mainly with Chinese merchants, who supply cloth, metal goods, and pottery.

Murut

The Murut are the third largest ethnic group in Sabah. They make up about 3 percent of the state's population and 6.4 percent of the indigenous population, or about112,900 people. Traditionally inhabiting the northern inland regions of Borneo, they were the last of Sabah's ethnic groups to renounce headhunting. Now, they are mostly shifting cultivators of hill paddy and tapioca, supplementing their diet with blowpipe hunting and fishing. Like most indigenous tribes in Sabah, their traditional clothing is decorated with distinctive beadwork.

The Murut live in central Borneo in Sabah. A few thousand live in Sarawak. Sabah Murut are also known as the Idahan, Tagal, Taggal, Tagol, Tagul. The Sarawak Murut are also known as the Kelabit, Kemaloah Kelabit, Lun Bawang, Lun Daya, Lun Daye, Southern Murat. Marut means “hill people.”

The Sabah Marut used to live in large longhouses set up along a confluence of a river but now live is smaller longhouses set up on tributaries. The Sarawak Murut traditionally lived longhouses up to 75 meters long set up on alluvial plains. The Murut are regarded as a fun loving tribe who have a lansaran, or trampoline in all of their villages. When they get drunk on tapai, a rice wine, Murat warriors sing and dance and jump all night on their trampolines. Apparently the Murats don't need much of an excuse to do this either.

Murut Society and Headhunting

The Murats still use blowguns for hunting. They used to hunt heads. The Murats have traditionally practiced slash-and-burn agriculture and grown rice, corn, bananas, tobacco and citrus fruit. Fishing is done with traps and poison. Dog are used in hunting and pigs are raised for sacrifices.

Marriages have traditionally taken place after the payment of a bride price. A bridal feast was paid by the groom’s family. Rules on these matters are not a strict as they once were. There are strict taboos on sex between first cousins. In the past people who violated this taboo were speared to death. These days they pay a hefty fine.

The Murut have traditionally had no political organization above the village level. In the old days there were three classes of slaves, with prisoners of war being the lowest of the low. Aristocrat as well as commoners engaged in headhunting.

The Murats don't bury their dead. They put them in houses covered with brightly colored flags which are scattered throughout the jungle. Each house comes complete with tools, utensils and perhaps a blowpipe which, you never know, might come in handy in the afterlife.

Flyingdusun.com reported: The Murut, though having a reputation as fierce headhunters, are being considered less ‘noble’ by the Kadazan. Every young Murut man would need a head to prove his manhood and in order to get married. This is in stark contrast to the Kadazan who trained warriors to defend their territories and who collected the heads of their enemies as proof of victory. Mostly, that is! A head was still prestigious and might win you that sweetheart you covet. [Source: flyingdusun.com ]

Young Murut men would go on headhunting raids, and any head would do – an old lady collecting vegetables from the jungle, or an unsupervised child near a rice field would do just as nicely as the head of a young warrior. I fear that it was probably easier for many young men to ‘hunt down’ an old lady – and thus not risk their own lives – than to face another headhunter, hence the perception of other tribes in Sabah that the Murut were maybe fierce headhunters, but at heart cowards nevertheless.

Kelabit (Sarawak Murut)

The Kelabit (Sarawak Murut) are a small tribe with only around 6,000 members. A least until the early 2010s they lived in villages at an elevation of 1,000 meters without phones or reliable sources of electricity. They traditionally have survived by planting rice and papayas, hunting wild boar, fishing and weaving baskets. They have generators for electricity but they are expensive to run because fuel has to be flown in. For that matter anything that the Kelabit can not produce themselves is expensive for the same reason.

For centuries, the Kelabit people lived in relative isolation in the forested highlands of Borneo that lie along the border between present day Malaysia and Indonesia. They traditionally practiced animist beliefs and engaged in headhunting until the arrival of Christian missionaries in the 1940s when widespread conversion took place. Unlike the coastal regions of Borneo, which have been extensively studied by archaeologists and anthropologists, the early history of the highland peoples remains poorly documented. The Kelabit have not been studied very extensively. Recent archaeological research in the region, however, is beginning to shed light on previously unknown aspects of Kelabit history and that of the earlier communities who lived there. [Source: Karen Coates, Archaeology magazine, March-April 2014]

Until relatively recently, the Kelabit highlands were accessible only by small aircraft or by an arduous journey that could take up to a month on foot through dense jungle. Although a dirt logging road now links the interior to the coastal areas, many local residents who remain in the highlands still rely on long treks to gather food and meet daily needs. Life continues to be closely tied to the surrounding forest. One Kelabit man said, distances are often measured in the time it takes to smoke a cigarette. A walk described as a “two cigarette” hike leads from his mother’s rice field to a recently abandoned longhouse known as Batu Patong, passing through open fields bordered by thick rainforest alive with the constant sounds of insects.

In the early 2000s, as part of an experiment, the Kelabit were give computers and taught how to send e-mail and use the Internet. The computers were powered by diesel- and solar-powered generators and connected to the Internet with satellite dishes. The tribe members used the Internet to communicate with family members that have moved to the cities and live abroad, find markets for its fragrance rice and attracted tourists for jungle treks.

Life of a Kelabit Man

Henry Lagang is a member of the Kelabit tribe. He was born in 1967. Karen Coates wrote in Archaeology magazine in 2014: Each day, Henry Lagang heads into the forest to hunt and forage with a machete slung over one shoulder, a gun over the other, and dogs at his heels. His mother grows rice, and so do his neighbors. For generations, people have lived and worked like this to claim the land — and survive — in the inland jungles of Malaysian Borneo. [Source: Karen Coates, Archaeology magazine, March-April 2014]

For outsiders, traveling through the Bornean jungle is a constant challenge of balance, strength, and determination. But Lagang knows this place, how it behaves, and how he must respond. Even fording rivers is routine for him. He braces his body against the forceful flow of cold water rushing over rocks. Once across the water, he bushwhacks through vines and leaves

One day, Lagang stands atop a perupun just a few hundred yards from his longhouse. From this vantage point, he looks to the past. “Before, when I was small, this was all jungle,” he says, gazing at his neighbors’ homes and vegetable gardens. Lagang used to hunt birds with his blowpipe right around here. Life was a bit different then. More people lived in the longhouse, gathering in the evenings and early mornings around smoky open fires in the communal hallway that traditionally connected one Kelabit family to dozens of others. It was a close, collective existence. But these days, many permanent village residents opt for individual family homes. Modern houses with metal roofs have sprung up around the perupun where Lagang used to hunt. Rice paddies and gardens sit where trees once stood. Though jungle still surrounds the village, times have changed, and so has Kelabit culture.

At sunset, Lagang works in the longhouse kitchen, preparing a dinner of paddy rice, fried pork fat, bamboo shoots, and mouse deer soup — all harvested from the forests that feed him every day, the same forests that fed millennia of highlanders.... When dinner is finished and the dishes are cleaned, Lagang sits alone beside the open-hearth fire, staring into the night. It’s Sunday, the last evening of a weeklong holiday. Almost all the young adults have returned to school and work in the city. Just a few elders sit and chat on the wobbly wooden floor planks, 300 feet away from Lagang, at the end of the longhouse. The lights are out, and the lengthy common corridor ends in blackness.

Sama-Bajau

The Sama Bajau are the second largest ethnic group in Sabah and generally known as Bajua in Malaysia. Making up about 15 percent of Sabah's population., they have historically been a nomadic sea-faring people that worshipped the Omboh Dilaut or God of the Sea. Those who chose to leave their sea-faring ways became farmers and cattle-breeders. These land Bajaus are nicknamed 'Cowboys of the East' in tribute to their impressive equestrian skills, which are publicly displayed in the annual Tamu Besar festival at Kota Belud.

The term Sama-Bajau is used to describe a diverse group of Sama-Bajau-speaking people who are found in a large maritime area with many islands that stretch from central Philippines to the eastern coast of Borneo and from Sulawesi to Roti in eastern Indonesia. The Sama-Bajau people usually call themselves the Sama or Samah (formally A'a Sama, "Sama people") and have traditionally been known by outsiders as Bajau (also spelled Badjao, Bajaw, Badjau, Badjaw, Bajo or Bayao). They have also been Sea Gypsies, Sea Nomads and Samal as well as Sama Moro and Turijene in the Philippines, Luwa’an, Pala’au, Sama Dilaut and Turijene in Indonesia, and the Bajau Laut in Malaysia. Some of these names refer to Sama-Bajua subgroups. [Source: Clifford Sather, “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 5: East/Southeast Asia:” edited by Paul Hockings, 1993; Wikipedia]

Sama-Bajau speakers are probably the most widely dispersed indigenous ethnolinguistic group in Southeast Asia. Their settlements are scattered throughout the central Philippines, the Sulu Archipelago, the eastern coast of Borneo, Palawan, western Sabah (Malaysia), and coastal Sulawesi. They also have small enclaves in Zambales and northern Mindanao. In the Philippines, most Sama speakers are referred to as "Samal," a Tausug term also used by Christian Filipinos, with the exceptions of Yakan, Abak, and Jama Mapun. In Indonesia and Malaysia, related Sama-speaking groups are known as "Bajau," a term of apparent Malay origin. In the Philippines, however, the term "Bajau" is more narrowly reserved for boat-nomadic or formerly nomadic groups referred to elsewhere as "Bajau Laut" or "Orang Laut."

Melanau

The Melanau live in Sarawak, mainly around northwest parts of Borneo and up the lower Rajang River. Also known as the A-Liko, Kelemantan, Malanow, Melano, Melanu and Milano, they are closely related to the Kajan who traditionally resided further inland while the Melanau resided close to the coast. The Melanau-speaking areas of Sarawak stretch from Bintulu on the northwest coast of Borneo to the Rajang Delta in the southwest and up the Rajang River to Kanowit. Beyond Kanowit, the Kajang are found on the Baluy River. [Source: H. S. Morris. “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 5: East/Southeast Asia:” edited by Paul Hockings, 1993]

Melanau make up about 6 percent of the population of Sarawak and are believed to be among the original people to settle in Sarawak. Their language has different origins to the other ethnic groups of the state and today they are found mainly along the rivers and coastal plains of central Sarawak. Originally animists most have converted to Islam although some of the inland communities are Christian. According to the Christian group Joshua Project the Melanau population in the early 2020s was 155,500.In 1980, Sarawak's population was 1,233,103 and the Melanau numbered 69,578.

There are few reliable historical records of the Melanau before the 19th century, though their name appears in early European maps and possibly in Chinese sources. Oral traditions among the Coastal Melanau and interior Kajang trace their origins to migrations from central Borneo and the rise of a Kajang kingdom, from which the Coastal Melanau later separated. Much of Coastal Melanau culture is believed to derive from the legendary empire of Tugau, overthrown by Brunei, an event dated by historians anywhere from the 7th to 14th century.In 1861, Brunei ceded the Melanau coastal district to James Brooke of Sarawak to secure control of the sago trade, vital to Sarawak’s economy. To protect this trade, Sarawak’s rulers largely left local institutions intact. After World War II, Sarawak was sold to Britain, which introduced economic, educational, and administrative reforms until Sarawak joined Malaysia in 1963.

Melanau Language is an Austronesian language of the Western Malayo-Polynesian Branch.It is divided into dialects, not all of which are mutually intelligible. The Coastal and Rajang dialects are linguistically related to the dialects of the Kajang groups, as well as the groups on the coast between Bintulu and Brunei, and the groups in the interior. These groups are sometimes referred to as Kelemantan. All Melanau people, including Muslims, speak a Melanau dialect. Today, however, most are bilingual in Malay and Melanau.

Melanau Religion

According to Joshua Project, 55 percent of Melanau are Muslims and two to five percent are Christian. In 1980, out of a Melanau population of 69,578, 3,689 were Muslim, 8,486 were Christian, 1,749 were tribal, and 5,328 were registered as having no religion, meaning they likely adhered to a tribal animist religion. Among Muslim, Christian and animist Melanau, the cosmos is divided into three realms: the middle world, the upper world (the sky), and the world below. Traditionally, the universe was imagined as egg-shaped, with seven layers above and seven below the middle world, all balanced on the head of a buffalo standing on a snake and surrounded by water. The buffalo’s breathing was believed to cause the ebb and flow of the tides. Beliefs about the land of the dead varied: some placed it in the underworld, others elsewhere, though its exact location was unknown. Its geography was precisely conceived, but differed between pagans and Muslims, whose views were shared by Christians. [Source: H. S. Morris. “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 5: East/Southeast Asia:” edited by Paul Hockings, 1993]

All groups believe that the world, sun, moon, and stars were created by Alla-taala, though the manner of creation is unknown. He is regarded as distant and largely unconcerned with human affairs. Every level of the cosmos is inhabited by spirits (tou), who coexist with humans, animals, and plants in the middle world. Order in the universe is governed by adat, which assigns every being its proper place. Illness is often thought to result from humans violating these boundaries and intruding into the domain of spirits. Spirits take many forms—of earth, air, water, forest, and other realms. Some are called ipu’, generally considered less dangerous and sometimes invited to protect houses. Supernatural beings also dwell on the moon and punish disorderly or disrespectful human behavior, especially cruelty or mockery toward animals. A female figure guards the entrance to the land of the dead. Although people hesitate to label these beings as tou or ipu’, no other term exists; Muslims and some pagans refer to them as melaikat.

Religious Practitioners in the form of formal priests have traditionally not been present. Instead, skilled carvers create spirit images known as bilum. These specialists identify the spirit believed to cause an illness and, through a brief ritual, compel it into the carved image, which is then returned to its proper place, preventing harm to the patient for at least three days. Spirit mediums, aided by familiar spirits, also heal illness and practice divination. Each village, whether Muslim or tribal, holds an annual cleansing ceremony called kaul, during which unwanted spirits are invited to a feast and then sent back to their rightful domains.

Beyond the kaul, private rituals of varying complexity and cost are performed to cure illness. Ceremonies related to childbirth begin about two months before delivery and establish taboos that continue until birth. Funeral rites are also extensive, beginning with wakes that may last for months and culminating in a secondary burial.

Death Rituals are among the most significant events in the life cycle. At death, the soul embarks on a boat journey to the land of the dead, accompanied by attendant spirits. Chants, ceremonies, and games during the wake help ensure a safe passage. Upon arrival, the soul enters one of seven villages, determined by the manner of death, and lives a life resembling that of the middle world. Eventually, a second death occurs, after which many believe the soul becomes dew. Muslims and many Christians likewise believe the soul travels after death, either by boat or along a path that narrows into a sword laid across a pot of blazing fire. Those who lived good lives can walk safely along the flat edge, while those who lived badly fall into the flames. Beyond this crossing lies the land of Mohammed, Jesus Christ, and the pagans.

Melanau Society and Family

Melanau family at a wedding in 2015

The Melanau are divided into aristocrats, commoners and slaves. Villages have traditionally been ruled by a council of elders Social control is exerted mainly through adat (custom), overseen by headmen and elders. Although a codified version of Coastal Melanau adat exists, villages often follow their own interpretations. Respect for seniority, rank, and proper order is central, with violations punished by civil fines and feared supernatural sanctions. Conflict is viewed as disrespectful, and children are taught to avoid it. [Source: H. S. Morris. “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 5: East/Southeast Asia:” edited by Paul Hockings, 1993]

.The authority of elders is largely ceremonial, especially in validating social rank at weddings. The end of tribal warfare and the rise of a cash economy allowed commoners and even former slaves to gain wealth and social mobility, weakening rigid aristocratic control. Village headmen now serve as minor magistrates, handling civil cases and tax collection, while criminal matters fall under district officers and police. Districts are multiethnic, and the state provides administrative services, infrastructure, education, health care, and religious subsidies.

Descent is theoretically patrilineal for rank but does not form corporate groups. Kinship operates through households, clusters of related families within villages (a-sega), and flexible kin groups drawn from both parental lines for specific activities. Kinship terminology is bilateral, recognizing relatives up to second cousins closely, and more distant kin as strangers.

In the 1990s, households averaged six or seven people and sometimes included multiple cooking units. Inheritance is divided equally among children, with the family house usually given to the child who remains with the parents. Children are raised collectively within the household, with little physical punishment, and are taught independence balanced by respect for elders and custom.

Marriages have traditionally been done with a second cousin of similar rank and the payment of a pride price by the groom’s family. Polygyny is permitted but rare. Weddings are key public events for confirming social status. Marriages are usually arranged with input from the couple. Residence is the wife’s community is preferred initially, and divorce is by mutual consent with equal division of acquired property.

Melanau Villages and Economic Activity

The Melanau traditionally lived in villages with about 1,000 people, divided in two or three longhouses with about 300 people each and a few single-family houses, laid out in ribbon-like patterns along rivers, with raised wooden houses. Earlier villages consisted of large fortified longhouses for defense against warfare, but these were abandoned by the early twentieth century after peace was imposed by the Sarawak rajah. Villages were supported by nearby sago gardens and communal rice fields, though rice harvests were unreliable. [Source: H. S. Morris. “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 5: East/Southeast Asia:” edited by Paul Hockings, 1993]

Large traditional Melanau house

The Melanau have traditionally subsisted of sago palms which grow well in the swampy lowlands where they reside. Some of their longhouses were built on piles as high as 10 meters off the ground. This made the longhouses safe from high water and easier to defend. Sago was a cash crop as well as a stable food crop. Fishing and collecting forest products have also been important economic activities. They traded extensively with inland Kajang tribes.

Traditionally, the economy combined hunting, gathering, sago cultivation, fishing, and trade in forest products. Sago was the main export crop, supplemented by swamp rice and orchards, while coastal villages relied heavily on fishing and trade. Seasonal trading networks linked coastal, riverine, and upland communities. From the nineteenth century, the sago trade expanded dramatically with global demand, and control gradually shifted from Melanau and Malay traders to Chinese merchants, especially after Sarawak took control in 1861. Although Melanau retained ownership of sago land, mechanization after World War II transformed production and made the economy dependent on a single cash crop, leading to major social changes.

Labor was traditionally divided by gender, with men cultivating and felling sago palms and women processing and selling the flour, giving both economic independence. Mechanization in the mid-twentieth century ended this household-based industry, reducing women’s economic autonomy and forcing many men into migrant labor in the timber industry or permanent migration.

Villages collectively own their territories, while sago gardens and orchards are individually held and rarely subdivided. Traditional crafts, ironworking, and weaving declined with the rise of the cash economy. Melanau artistic life centered on carved longhouses, spirit images (bilum), music, and oral epics. In medicine, illness was mainly attributed to spirits, though some ailments were treated with herbal remedies based on hot–cold balance, later absorbed into Malay medical practice.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 5: East/Southeast Asia:” edited by Paul Hockings, 1993; National Geographic; New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Reuters, AP, AFP, Wikipedia, BBC, CNN, and various books and other publications.

Last Updated January 2026