Punan, Sarawak

A kelirieng pole at the National Museum (9 October 2004)


Punan is a tribe in Sarawak. They are a component of the group of indigenous people collectively known as Orang Ulu, and should not be confused with the Penan. They are also unrelated to another tribe called Punan found in neighbouring Kalimantan. They got their name Punan, or Punan Bah, from the rivers where they lived.

Punan people are slash-and-burn farmers who cultivated hill rice, maniok, taro, sugar cane and tabacco. They also hunt for meat such as wild boar.

Punans live mostly in the Bintulu Division as well as along the Rajang River.

Punan are best known for their unique burial custom. Their aristocrats are not buried, but rather placed high on poles known as kelirieng. These poles can be as high as 10 meters, and were put up during the time when the Punan were still animist. Today many have embraced Christianity. Only about 30 kelirieng poles are still found in Sarawak, many already aged and in stages of decay.

For more information about the Punan, visit also the Punan National Association website, https://punan.net/ Their office is at 5 Taman Megajuta, Lorocn 1C1m Jalan Batu Kawa, 93250 Kuching, Sarawak.

Back to Discover Sarawak mainpage

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

About this website

Thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye. My hobby is to research information about places, and share the information with people on this website. I started this website on 5 January 2003, and since then, have written about over 20,000 places, mostly in Malaysia and Singapore.

Please use the information on this page as guidance only. While I try my best to provide you information that is as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors. Also, as I might not be able to update some information on time, some of these pages may contain outdated information.