Punan Bah or Punan is an ethnic group found in

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

and in

Kalimantan Kalimantan () is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are Brunei and East Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo. In 2019, ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

. The Punan Bah people are distinct and unrelated to the semi-nomadic

Penan The Penan are a nomadic indigenous people living in Sarawak and Brunei, although there is only one small community in Brunei; among those in Brunei half have been converted to Islam, even if only superficially. Penan are one of the last such pe ...

people. Their name stems from two rivers along the banks of which they have been living since time immemorial. They do have other names: Mikuang Bungulan or Mikuang and Aveang Buan. But those terms are only used ritually these days. The Punan (or Punan Ba) have never been nomadic. In the old days, they based their living on a mixed economy – Swidden agriculture with hill paddy as the main crop, supplemented by a range of tropical plants which include maniok, taro, sugar cane, tobacco, etc. Hunting, especially wild boar, fishing, and gathering of forest resources, are the other important factors in their economy. However, in the late 1980s, many Punan, notably the younger, more educated, gradually migrated to urban areas such as

Bintulu Bintulu is a coastal town on the island of Borneo in the central region of Sarawak, Malaysia. Bintulu is located 610 kilometres (380 mi) northeast of Kuching, 216 kilometres (134 mi) northeast of Sibu, and 200 kilometres (120 mi) ...

Sibu Sibu (; Hokchew Romanized: ''Sĭ-bŭ'') is a landlocked city in the central region of Sarawak. It is the capital of Sibu District in Sibu Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The city is located on the island of Borneo and covers an area of . It i ...

Kuching Kuching (), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River at the southwest tip of the state of Sar ...

and

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

in search of better living. However, they didn't abandon their longhouses altogether. Many would still return home, especially during major festivities such as

Harvest Festival A harvest festival is an annual celebration that occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times at different places. ...

or Bungan festival as it is known among Punan. Punan is a stratified society of 'laja' (aristocrats), 'panyen' (commoners), and 'lipen' (slaves). This determines their historical traditions that have been preserved. Just like most of the history of European Middle Ages is linked to and mainly concerned the various ruling monarchs, so are the historical and mythical traditions of Punan closely connected to their rulings aristocrats.

Relation to sub-ethnic Punans

There is this common misunderstanding that all the so-called Punan on the island of Borneo are related and referring to the same tribe. In

, for example, there is the confusion between Punan and

. On the other hand, throughout the island of

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and e ...

, the term Punan often indiscriminately used referring to the then (unknown or yet to be classified) tribes as such as Punan Busang, Penihing, Sajau Hovongan, Uheng Kareho, Merah, Aput, Tubu, Bukat, Ukit, Habongkot, Penyawung as Punan. This heritage from colonial times still remain until today. As a result, there are now more than 20 different tribes or ethnics with the name Punan that may be related or unrelated to one another in the island of

. These tribes include: * Punan Aoheng or Pnihing of

East Kalimantan East Kalimantan ( Indonesian: ) is a province of Indonesia. Its territory comprises the eastern portion of Borneo. It had a population of about 3.03 million at the 2010 census (within the current boundary), 3.42 million at the 2015 census, and 3 ...

* Punan Aput of

* Punan Basap of

* Punan Batu of

* Punan Batu 1 of

* Dayak Bukat of

and

West Kalimantan West Kalimantan ( id, Kalimantan Barat) is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five Indonesian provinces comprising Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital city is Pontianak. The province has an area of 147,307&nbs ...

* Punan Busang * Punan Habongkot * Punan Hovongan of Kapuas Hulu Regency,

** Punan Bungan of

* Punan Kelay / Kelai of

* Punan Lisum * Punan Merah (Siau) of

* Punan Merap of

* Punan Murung of Murung Raya,

Central Kalimantan Central Kalimantan ( id, Kalimantan Tengah) is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five provinces in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo. Its provincial capital is Palangka Raya and in 2010 its population was over 2.2 million, while the 20 ...

* Punan Nibong of

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by th ...

and

* Punan Panyawung * Punan Sajau of

* Punan Tubu of

* Punan Uheng Kereho / Keriau of Kapuas Hulu Regency,

* Punan Ukit / Bukitan / Beketan of

and

Ethnic classification

Officially, as under the Sarawak Interpretation Ordinance, Punan is group under Kajang together with Sekapan, Kejaman, Lahanan and Sihan. Unofficially, they are also included in the politically coined term

Orang Ulu Orang Ulu ("people of the interior" in Malay) is an ethnic designation politically coined to group together roughly 27 very small but ethnically diverse tribal groups in northeastern Sarawak, Malaysia with populations ranging from less than 300 p ...

– popularised by a political association known as Orang Ulu National Association or (OUNA). The association is a Kayan and

Kenyah The Kenyah people are an indigenous, Austronesian-speaking people of Borneo, living in the remote Baram Lio Matoh, Long Selaan, Long Moh, Long Anap, Long Mekaba, Long Jeeh, Long Belaong, Long San, Long Silat, Long Tungan, Data Kakus ...

dominated association which they established in 1969.

Punan longhouses

Punan are mostly found around

, Sarawak. Punan peoples can only be found at Pandan, Jelalong and Kakus in

Bintulu Division Bintulu Division is one of the twelve administrative divisions of Sarawak, Malaysia. It has a total area of 12,166.2 square kilometres, and is the third largest division after Kapit Division and Miri Division. Bintulu Division consists of two di ...

; along the

Rajang River The Rajang River ( ms, Batang Rajang) is a river in Sarawak, northwest Borneo, Malaysia. The river originates in the Iran Mountains, flows through Kapit, and then towards the South China Sea. At approximately , the river is the seventh-longest i ...

, their

longhouse A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America. Many were built from timber and often re ...

s dotted areas spanning from Merit District to lower Belaga town. The Punan are believed to be one of the earliest peoples to have settled in the central part of Borneo, the Rajang River and Balui areas together with the Sekapan, Kejaman and Lahanan. However, the mass migrations of Kayans, subsequently followed by the warfaring Ibans into Rejang and Balui areas approximately some 200 years ago, forced the Punan communities living in these areas retreating to Kakus and subsequently to Kemena basin. As of 2006, there were more than 10 Punan settlements (

s) found along the Rejang, Kakus, Kemena and Jelalong river. These settlements (longhouses) are: * Punan Lovuk Sama, * Punan Lovuk Ba, * Punan Lovuk Biau, * Punan Lovuk Meluyou, * Punan Lovuk Lirung Belang (name by Rumah Bilong before and now as known as Rumah Ado) * Punan Lovuk Mina, * Punan Lovuk Pandan (also Rumah Nyipa Tingang), and * Punan Lo'o Buong (Jelalong also known as Rumah Adi. The total Punan population is estimated to be around 3000–5000 people.

Language

Punan speak the Bah-Biau Punan language, one of the

Punan languages The Punan languages or Rejang-Sajau languages are a group of mutually intelligible isolects spoken by the Punan and related peoples of Borneo in Indonesia and Malaysia. Smith (2017) classifies Punan dialects as follows: * Sru (Seru) † *Punan Tu ...

. Although often confused with

, Punan is closer to the language spoken by the Sekapans and Kejamans. Here are some words spoken in Punan:

1. Nu denge? - How are you?
2. Nu ngaro no? - What is your name?
3. Piro umun no? - How old are you?
4. Tupu koman si - Do you have your lunch/dinner/breakfast?

Religion and beliefs

Punan traditional religion was a form of

animist Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things— animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems ...

known as "Besavik". The Brooke era saw the arrival of

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

missionaries, bringing education and modern medicine into Sarawak. But the Punan communities remain with their traditional religion of Besavik and subsequently adopting a cult religion - Bungan brought by Jok Apui, a Kenyah from Kalimantan. However, the late 1990s showed an increase in the number of Punan converting to Christianity. This is partly due to more and more Punan becoming educated and modernised. As of 2006, almost half of Punan are now Christian, leaving only the elderly, less educated still remain observing "Bungan" religion. The Punan have a unique burial custom. In the early days they did not bury their aristocrats or ''lajar''. Instead they built a pole known as ''kelirieng'' of 50-meter height to lay down their beloved leaders. In Sarawak it is estimated that there are fewer than 30 ''kelirieng'' left standing. The Punan still practise a secondary burial ceremony, whereby the dead body is kept at their longhouses for at least 3–7 days. This is partly to give more time for far-away relatives to pay their last respects to the deceased.

Current associations

There are two Punan association that are in existence today:- * Persatuan Kebangsaan Punan (Punan National Association), Malaysia. * Yayasan Adat Punan (Punan Culture Foundation), Indonesia.

References

External links

Nicolaisen, IDA
1976. ''Form and Function of Punan Bah Ethno-historical Tradition'' in ''Sarawak Museum Journal'' Vol XXIV No. 45 (New Series). Kuching.
Punan National Association
* Leigh, MICHEAL. 2002. ''Mapping the People of Sarawak''. UNIMAS. Samarahan.
The Official Punan Community site
{{Authority control Ethnic groups in Indonesia Ethnic groups in Sarawak Dayak people