The Kelabit are an indigenous Dayak people of the Sarawak/North Kalimantan highlands of Borneo with a minority in the neighbouring state of Brunei. They have close ties to the Lun Bawang. The elevation there is slightly over 1,200 meters. In the past, because there were few roads and because the area was largely inaccessible by river because of rapids, the highlands and the Kelabit were relatively untouched by modern western influences. Now, however, there is a relatively permanent road route on which it is possible to reach Bario by car from Miri. The road is marked but driving without a local guide is not advisable, as it takes over 11 hours of driving to reach Bario from Miri through many logging trail junctions and river crossings.
A group of native Kelabit men, 1912.
Three native Kelabit women, 1922.
Kelabit woman's tattoo, 1912.
All Kelabit women are tattooed when they reach the age of 16. Bold zigzag bands are traced on the forearm, not completely encircling the limb, and strikingly decorative geometrical designs are tattooed on the thigh, the shin, and sometimes, on the knee-cap. They wear strings of large blue beads around the waist and wrist, and necklaces of smaller beads. 1922.
The Lun Bawang is an ethnic group found in Central Northern Borneo. They are indigenous to the southwest of Sabah and the northern region of Sarawak, highlands of North Kalimantan and Brunei.
Lun Bawang girls in traditional attire.
Four Lun Bawang tribesman from Sarawak, previously called Trusan Muruts, photos taken by ethnologist Charles Hose in 1896.
A Traditional Lundayeh Longhouse in Desa Pulau Sapi, Malinau, North Kalimantan, Indonesia
Lundayeh women from Sabah, Malaysia in traditional attire.
