Song, Sarawak

Song (GPS: 2.00644, 112.54976) is a small town in Sarawak. It is the district capital of the Song District within the Kapit Division. The Song district covers an area of 3935 square kilometers, much of which still forested.

Song district has a population of around 22,200, according to the year 2006 census. The Iban forms the majority in Song, followed by the Orang Ulu, Chinese, Malay, Melanau and Bidayuh. The town is located on the banks of the Kitibas River, a tributary of the Rajang River. It is an important stopover for river traffic going up the Rajang.

The history of Song goes back to the early part of the 19th century. In those early days, Song was a settlement where Malay traders come upriver to trade with the Melanaus what come down from the forest with forest products such as rattan. The forest products are taken downriver to the port in Sibu for export. In return, the tribes purchase daily goods such as salt, sugar, salted fish as well as cockery, china, gong as well as textile.

The Industrial Revolution in Europe created a demand for raw material, and this propelled the growth of Song, from a settlement into a small village. Chinese migrants from Guangdong province settled here, building a row of shophouses in the village. Malays also came to settle in Song, establishing a Malay kampung. As a result of the increased importance of Song, the White Rajah set up an administrative centre for Song. It was located at the estuary of the Song River in 1870. Around that time, and until the turn of the 20th century, there were repeated uprisings staged by the Iban tribe against the imposition of tax.

Song was under Japanese Occupation from Christmas Eve of 1941 until September of 1945. Alliad bombings destroyed much of the buildings in the village including the district office. This compelled the district officer Abang Tunku Haji Wan Mat to relocate the administration of Song to the estuary of the Katibas River. The Song Fort was built there in 1947 and the Song Administrative Office was relocated in it the following year.

Song is on the map of Towns in Sarawak

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