lun bawang culture

 

The Lun Bawang (formerly known as Murut or Southern Murut) is an ethnic group found in Central Northern Borneo. They are indigenous to the highlands of North Kalimantan (Krayan, Malinau and Long Bawan), Brunei (Temburong District), southwest of Sabah (Interior Division) and northern region of Sarawak (Limbang Division). In the Malaysian state of Sarawak, the Lun Bawang (through the term Murut) are officially recognised by the Constitution as native of Sarawak^[2] and are categorised under the Orang Ulu people; whilst in the neighbouring state of Sabah and Krayan highland in Kalimantan, they are also known as Lundayeh or Lun Daye, besides the name Lun Bawang. In Brunei, they are also identified by law as one of the 7 natives (indigenous people) of Brunei, through the term Murut.^[3] At a regional level, the Lun Bawang people identified themselves using various names, for example Lun Lod, Lun Baa' and Lun Tana Luun.
Lun Bawang people are traditionally agriculturalists and practise animal husbandry such as rearing poultry, pigs and buffaloes. Lun Bawangs are also known to be hunters and fisherman.
 

Origin

The Lun Bawangs made up of one of the ethnic natives that occupied the Borneo Island for centuries. According to Tom Harrisson (1959) and S. Runciman (1960), the Lun Bawang Community is one of the earlier settlers in the mountainous regions of central Borneo and they are related to the Kelabit tribe. Both tribe are linked to a common lineage termed the Apo Duat or "Apad Uat" people, of which Apo Duat is the area consisting of the Krayan highland and Kelabit Highlands.
One theory suggests that Apo Duat is the homeland of this common ancestor, and that they have expanded out to the coastal area.^[9] The migration of these people to the low lands and gradual spreading out might have been spurred by various waves of migration of the Lun Bawang people from different clans. The migration of Lun Bawang people from one clan to a region already inhabited by another clan, causes the latter to move to another region, despite them having similar culture and language. The strong clan identity of the Lun Bawang people is shown by their common tradition of identifying themselves based on their village or geographical location, for example, 'Lun Adang' who once resides the Adang river basin or 'Lun Kemaloh' who comes from the Kemaloh river.
One other theory suggests that that these Apo Duat people were once natives of old Brunei, but were pushed upriver into the highlands by the invading tribes such as Kayan, Kenyah and Iban people. The ones that remained downriver (Lun Bawang people) were isolated from the ones who migrated to the highlands (Kelabit), causing their culture and language to slightly diverged.
Another theory, on the other hand, suggests that the migration originated from the opposite side of Borneo (now East Kalimantan). It was suggested that the Apo Duat people were once farmers in the lowlands downstream of Malinau river, living closely with the Tidong people. However, attacks by Muslim raiders (Bugis and Tausug) probably in the 17th century, caused them to migrate to the Kerayan highlands, whilst the Tidong people converted to Islam.^[10]
Nevertheless, these theories have yet to be proven and there are no substantial evidence to trace the origin of the Lun Bawang people or to prove any of these theories.

Sarawak's Lun Bawang Festival - IRAU ACO LUN BAWANG

This festival is the largest gathering of the Lun Bawang community at any one place in Sarawak. It is traditionally a celebration of the rice harvest but now it showcases a variety of Lun Bawang (an Orang Ulu sub-group) culture in Lawas; the northern most town of Sarawak.

This event takes place end of May every year.  Their counterparts; the Lun Dayeh from Sabah are also invited to the festival.
You will be entertained with the the community's cultural dances, 'nguip suling' (bamboo flute band), 'angklung' performance, and also modern day band performance. There are handicrafts and traditional Lun Bawang cuisines for sale and telematches; traditional and modern.

Lun Bawang Bamboo flute band (nguip suling)

The iconic emblem of Lawas, the last town in north-eastern Sarawak before crossing the border into Sabah.

The beauty pageant is a crowd puller at the festival.

The men are not to be left out, donning their splendid Lun Bawang costume



The Merarap HotSpring Lodge by the Trusan River, located 70-km from Lawas



Other tourist attractions in Lawas include Merarap Hot Spring, Bakelalan Apple Farm and the coastal region of Kuala Lawas, Punang and Tagang 'Fish Spa'.