Punan Bah

Not to be confused with the Penan people, or Punan, the Semai ethical concept.

Punan Ba people
Punan people
An elderly Punan man performing Bungan rites. Photo taken at Punan Sama village.
Total population
approx. 5,000
Regions with significant populations
 Malaysia
Sarawak (Kapit and Bintulu Division)
 Indonesia
West Kalimantan and East Kalimantan
Languages
Punan Bah, Malay, Indonesian, English
Religion
Christianity and Animism
Related ethnic groups
Dayak people, Sekapan, Kejaman, Lahanan'

Punan Bah or Punan[1] is an ethnic group found in Sarawak, Malaysia and Kalimantan, Indonesia.[2] The Punan Bah people are distinct and unrelated to the semi-nomadic Penan people.[3][4] Their name stems from two rivers along the banks of which they have been living since time immemorial. They have other names including Mikuang Bungulan or Mikuang and Aveang Buan but those are used only ritually nowadays.

The Punan (or Punan Ba) have never been nomadic. In the old days,[when?] they based their living on a mixed economy – Swidden agriculture[5] 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,[5] 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, Sibu, Kuching and Kuala Lumpur 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 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.

  1. ^ Nicolaisen, Ida. 1976. "Form and Function of Punan Ba Ethno-historical Tradition" in Sarawak Museum Journal Vol XXIV No. 45 (New Series). Kuching.
  2. ^ Borrell, Brendan; Irwandi, Joshua (19 September 2023). "A Vanishing Nomadic Clan, With a Songlike Language All Their Own - New genetic research confirms the oral history of a small group of nomadic people living in Indonesia's rainforest". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 19 September 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  3. ^ Wendy Hutton (2000). Adventure Guides: East Malaysia. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 962-593-180-5.
  4. ^ Peter G. Sercombe & Bernard Sellato (2008). Beyond the Green Myth. NIAS Press. ISBN 978-87-7694-018-8.
  5. ^ a b Vandana Shiva (2014). Wendell Berry (ed.). The Vandana Shiva Reader. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-4699-7.