The Loagan Bunut National Park supports an indigenous community known as the Berawan. For them, the lake and its vicinity is not just a source of food and income, but an integral part of their culture and way of life.

The Loagan Bunut is a symbol of life to the Berawan of Sarawak. The Berawan are mostly fishermen and rely on the lake for their livelihood. They utilise a sustainable fishing technique called the selambau which has been used for centuries to harvest migrating fish when the water level fluctuates. The fishermen catch the fish using a special system of scoops and nets. This unique fishing method is a major cultural attraction at the park.

Although the park is inhabited by three main ethnic groups – Berawan, Penan and Iban – the authorities have accorded special rights to the Berawan, an orang ulu sub-group numbering fewer than 5,000 in Sarawak.

According to Darshan Singh from Curtin University, Miri, the Berawan were very supportive of the park despite it being gazetted over their traditional lands.

In view of their traditional rights, the Berawan were given special rights after the park was established to fish in the lake, cut trees to build their houses, and collect produce from the forest.

“Traditionally the Berawan were here first. However, they understand what the national park is all about, and the benefits it could bring them,” said Darshan. “So they encouraged the development of the park, giving away their land to be gazetted. They know the importance of preserving the land. They were also very supportive of our expedition and gave us a lot of help.”

The Berawan use a sustainable fishing technique called the selambau to catch fish.

The Berawan have adapted so well that they can virtually live off the land.

“They are very enterprising people. Besides fishing, they have gone into small industries like the keropok industry, and even built chalets around the park to cater to tourists,” said Darshan. “Some people take years to join the mainstream, but these people are moving very fast. They are giving great emphasis to their children’s education too.”

The team from Curtin University was part of the Loagan Bunut National Park Scientific Expedition.

“We are studying how tourism contributes to the development of the park and the local community,” said Darshan.

“Currently, there is still too much dependence on the national park, especially among the Berawan,” said Darshan. “We are studying how much income they can get from eco-tourism so that they can become less dependent on the park’s natural resources, and lean towards the service sector. They can also contribute towards the conservation of the park.”

Music of the Berawan

The music of the Berawan is passed down from one generation to another. Sadly, the only musicians left today are the elderly folk.

“Their music is dying because the younger ones have no interest in traditional music,” said Ng Sie Ai, a lecturer from Unimas’ Faculty of Music. “Music is part of their culture and identity. If it dies, the Berawan will lose part of their identity. It is hard for the older generation. Although they want to preserve the old ways, they also want the community to move with the times, so they encourage the young to do just that.”

For her study, Ng visited two Berawan longhouses – Rumah Kajan Sigeh and Rumah Meran – which were located within the boundary of the national park.

“Each ethnic group has its own sound or musical instrument, and the sape is unique to the orang ulu tribes, especially the Berawan,” explained Ng. “The sape is a chordophone string instrument similar to the pluck lute.”

At Rumah Meran, Ng was pleasantly surprised to meet a man who makes the sape and sells it to tourists.

However, at Kajan Sigeh, she was disappointed to find that all their musical instruments had been destroyed in the 1999 fire that razed the original Berawan longhouse north of the park.

“Their musical instruments are made from wood and bamboo. They have not got around to replacing them, as making one would mean not going fishing or tending to their farms,” said Ng.

Ng also visited the longhouses of the Iban and Penan which were in the vicinity of the park.

She found that although the Berawan have their own musical instruments, they have also assimilated influences from other groups. The engkerumong – an instrument that consists of several metal gongs on a wooden rack – which is unique to the Iban has found its way into the longhouses of the Berawan.

“The Berawan are very intelligent people. It is wonderful that they can create such beautiful music even without formal training,” said Ng. “They even have their own tuning system for their musical instruments. Once, I switched the gongs around, but they managed to return the gongs to their original positions just by listening to the sounds alone.” – By Michael Cheang

Post your feedback >>