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Penan, Kenyah, and the Island of Borneo

Updated: May 8

Listen to some relaxing music, learn about the island of Borneo, its rainforest, and 2 of the many Indigenous peoples who call this third largest island in the world their home.

 

The island of Borneo is divided among the countries of Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia. It holds the Borneo rainforest, which is one of the oldest rainforests on the planet. There are about 15,000 species of flowering plants, 3,000 species of trees, 221 species of terrestrial mammals, 420 species of birds, and 440 freshwater fish species. You can find giant apes, pygmy elephants, wild cats, flying frogs, and the critically endangered Orangutan.  

 

The Penan are a nomadic Indigenous people living in the territory of Sarawak, Malaysia, as well as some in the country of Brunei. They number around 16,000, with approximately 200 still living a nomadic lifestyle. They are known as the last of the nomadic hunter-gatherers living in the world's tropical rainforests today. They have their own language called the Penan language, which is generally divided between Eastern and Western. They also relay messages by using items like leaves, stones, sticks, and feathers to send messages along the paths in the jungle. These can show directions, give instructions to wait or follow, or indicate forms of danger. Information about the Penan has only been available since the 1950s. They are included in the broad term Dayak, which stands for all of Borneo's Indigenous peoples.

 

The Kenyah number about 45,000 and live in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, and Sarawak, Malaysia. There are about 40 sub-groups that mostly share common migration histories, customs, and related dialects. They have their own language family called the Kenyah languages. They traditionally live in long houses and are known to be very musical. They have unique instruments, choral singing, folk songs, and kendau kancet, or dancing songs. Music is entwined in their culture, language, and way of life. The Kenyah are also included in the term Dayak.

 

The Dayak term loosely covers more than “200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic groups”, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory, and culture. There are approximately 170 languages and dialects spoken.

 

The artist this week is Uyau Moris, a Dayak Kenyah musician from North Borneo, Indonesia. He specializes in playing the Sape (or Sampe), a typical Dayak Kenyah stringed instrument. Music and art run in his family, with his grandfather making and playing the same instrument and his mother being a dancer. He has been playing the Sape since he was 8 years old. You can find 100s of songs on his YouTube channel, link is below.

 

The Sape is a wooden-base instrument with strings attached, and works in a manner similar to the guitar. There are carvings in ancient temples that date it back at least to the early 8th century. The tone, style, and speed played can vary based on location, and it is often accompanied by chants of folk songs.

 

This peaceful song is called Leleng Uyau Along; a traditional song of the Dayak Kenyah. It has several versions, including a version for boys and for girls. The video includes dance and close-ups of the different instruments, as well as being filmed in the forest.

 

In the 1960s, the Indonesian and Malaysian governments opened large areas of Borneo's interior to commercial logging. The Penan people have been fighting and trying to resist logging operations since then. There is an interesting story of Bruno Manser, a Swiss environmentalist and human rights activist who stayed with the Penan from 1984 to 1990. He helped organize Indigenous rainforest blockades in Sarawak against timber companies. He was ridiculed as a “white Tarzan”, but the Penan gave him the name "Laki Penan", meaning ‘Penan man’. The government declared him an enemy of the State and dispatched a Malaysian army unit to find and capture him. He left in 1990 and founded a non-profit dedicated to the plight of the Penan and the deforestation happening. He returned to Sarawak 10 years later with a film crew, but was never seen again. It’s 25 years later, and the Penan, the Kenyah, and other Dayak tribes are facing the same predicaments with massive palm oil plantations currently ripping down their rainforest home.


Take a moment to lend your support with the petitions below and enjoy the beautiful music. 🌅


** Information above was found by searching the internet and sources like Wikipedia.

 

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Petition Link and Description:


In the beautiful Ulu Belaga forest in Malaysian Borneo, Indigenous Forest Defenders are putting their bodies on the line to blockade encroaching palm oil plantations. They are being arrested and forced to sign documents agreeing to their arrest. Indigenous Kenyah and Penan communities depend on the Ulu Belaga forest for their livelihoods, as a source of traditional medicines, and for fish and food with the pristine river that runs through it. Sin Heng Chan is a company growing palm oil plantations that have already destroyed more than 14,000 football fields worth of forest. They publicly said all new deforestation has been stopped, but satellite data and footage from drones shows forests are being destroyed at breakneck speed. Villagers have been fighting back and are being bullied and threatened. Please show and share support by signing this petition telling Sin Heng Chan to stop chopping down the Ulu Belaga forest.


 

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