Sarawak Culture Sarawak Penan Culture People of the Forest : The Penan

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Main Penan Settlements

The Penan in Sarawak reside in what were once the most inaccessible areas of  tropical forest in the watersheds of the Baram and the Rejang rivers. According to Langub (1989, p170), there were 78 settlements of Penan in Sarawak. Based on the information obtained from the Miri Resident’s Office (2008), there are currently about 121 settlements (settled, semi-nomadic and nomadic) expanding from Baram to Belaga.

Due to timber logging and the opening up of palm oil plantations in these areas, most of the Penan settlements can now be accessed by land. In 2008, the Penan population was about 16,281 with 3% still nomadic and about 20% semi nomadic or semi settled (State Planning Unit, 2008). In Miri Division alone, there are about 11,155 Penan inhabiting the headwaters of Tutoh and Magoh in the Baram District. Others could be found in Bintulu, Limbang and Belaga (Miri Resident Office, 2008).  The Penan settlements tend to concentrate in what was once primary forest adjacent to an area occupied by a specific sedentary agricultural people. A primary forest area is an area that has never been cleared for cultivation or one which has previously cultivated but left empty for a period of time (Hoffman, 1984, p129-130). In Bintulu, Niah and Suai, the Penan’s immediate neighbours are the Ibans, Malays and to a certain extent, the Chinese.  However, in the Baram and Rejang watersheds their closest neighbours are the other Orang Ulu  tribes (Langub, 1989, p172). The proximity of the Penan to certain ethnic and tribal groups have had an impact on their customs, traditions and language.