Lun Bawang, Sarawak

About Lun Bawang

Lun Bawang is a tribe in Sarawak. They are a component of the group of indigenous people collectively known as Orang Ulu. They can be found in the Limbang Division of Sarawak, as well as in the Interior Division of Sabah, Temburong District of Brunei, and in East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Althougyh they are known as Lun Bawang in Sarawak, in Sabah they are called Lun Dayeh. Among themselves, they go by the names Lun Lod, Lun Baa and Lun Tana Luun. The different names give a clue as to where they settle. The name Lun Bawang means "people of the interior", Lud Lod means "people of the estuary" and Lun Dayeh means "people of the upriver". When the British were governing Sarawak, the Lun Bawang were often listed as Murut by them, although the Lun Bawang insisted that they belong to a separate, distinct tribe from the Murut, which is another ethnic group in Sabah.

Food

The Lun Bawang were traditionally peasants who cultivated hill rice and wet paddy. Their staple is rice cooked in banana leaves called Nuba Laya. Meat and fish are pickled in brine and kept in hollowed bamboo for a month, to make Telu. Another way to prepare and preserve meat is by smoking.

Costume

As with other tribes in Sarawak, cattle and buffaloes are reared for their meat as well as for use as dowry. The men wear jackets made of tree bark called kuyu talun. Their loincloth is called abpar. They wear a machete, called pelepet, around their waist.

Festivals

The Lun Bawang celebrate a festival called Irau Aco Lun Bawang, literally "Lun Bawang Festival". It takes place on 1 June every year in Lawas. This is a harvest festival in which visitors can get a glimpse of the Lun Bawang culture. Among the events include the beauty pagent, Ruran Ulung and the bamboo orchestra, Ngiup Suling.

Religion

Until the 1920s, Lun Bawangs were mostly animists. Since then, many have converted to Christianity, predominantly Protestant through the work of the Borneo Evangelical Mission, as well as other Christian denominations such as the True Jesus Church, Seventh-Day Adventist Church and the Roman Catholic Church. It is said that some have also embraced Islam or Buddhism, but no figures are available.

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