The Sa'ban people (also spelled Sa'baan or Saban) are an indigenous ethnic group native to

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

and

North Kalimantan North Kalimantan () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. North Kalimantan borders the Malaysian states of Sabah to the north and Sarawa ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. In Malaysia, they are classified as part of the

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 30 ...

group. With fewer than 3,000 people, the Sa'ban are one of the smallest indigenous groups in Malaysia and Indonesia. In recent years, many have migrated to urban areas such as

Miri Miri () is a coastal city in north-eastern Sarawak, Malaysia, located near the border of Brunei, on the island of Borneo. The city covers an area of , located northeast of Kuching and southwest of Kota Kinabalu. Miri is the second largest ...

(Malaysia), Malinau and

Tarakan Tarakan is an island and co-extensively the sole city within the Indonesian province of North Kalimantan. The island city is the largest urban area in North Kalimantan population-wise and is located in northern Borneo, midway along the coast of ...

(Indonesia) in pursuit of better employment and living conditions. However, some still reside in their ancestral villages, including

Long Banga Long Banga is a rural village located in Marudi District, Sarawak, Malaysia. It lies approximately east-north-east of the state capital Kuching. The name of "Long Banga" originated from a small river near the site of the village. History The vill ...

, Long Puak (formerly Long Ballong) and

Long Peluan Long Peluan is a settlement in the Marudi division of Sarawak, Malaysia. It lies approximately east-north-east of the state capital Kuching. The village is located in the Ulu Baram area in the interior of Sarawak. The nearby village of Long Ban ...

in Sarawak. In North Kalimantan, they are primarily concentrated in Desa Tang Paye, a village located in the hilly region of Krayan Tengah District. The Sa'ban share close cultural and

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

ties with the Kelabit people. Dialectometric analysis indicates that the Sa'ban language exhibits a 93%–100% lexical difference from neighboring languages, including Abai, Bulungan, Kenyah, Lundayeh, Tenggalan, Tidung and Punan Pakin.

Language

Some simple phrases in Sa'ban:

References

External links

* * * * Ethnic groups in Indonesia Ethnic groups in Sarawak Dayak ethnic groups Headhunting {{Ethnic-stub