1.
Bintulu
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Bintulu /biːnˈtuːluː/ is a coastal town on the island of Borneo in the central region of Sarawak, Malaysia. Bintulu is located 610 kilometres northeast of Kuching,216 kilometres northeast of Sibu, with a population of 114,058 as of 2010, Bintulu is the capital of the Bintulu District of the Bintulu Division of Sarawak, Malaysia. The name of Bintulu was derived from the native language Mentu Ulau. Bintulu was a fishing village when Rajah James Brooke acquired it in 1861. Brooke later built a fort there in 1862, in 1867, the first General Council meeting was convened in Bintulu. It is the earliest state legislature system in Malaysia, the construction of the earliest airstrip in Bintulu began in 1934 but was halted in 1938 due to financial difficulties. During World War II, the airstrip was heavily bombed by Allied forces, the British later rebuilt the airstrip, and it became fully operational in 1955. The old airport was replaced by a new airport in 2002, Bintulu remained a fishing village until 1969 when oil and gas reserves were discovered off the coast. Since then, Bintulu has become the centre of energy intensive industries such as a Malaysia LNG plant, a Shell Middle Distillate Synthesis plant, the economy has also expanded into oil palm and forest plantations, palm oil processing, wood-waste processing, and cement manufacturing. The port of Bintulu is the busiest in Sarawak, the town is also a gateway to Samalajau Industrial Park. The Borneo International Kite Festival is held annually in the town, during the 16th century, Bintulu was named River de Burulu by Portuguese cartographers. There are several legends surrounding the name Bintulu, during the Brooke dynasty, the indigenous practised headhunting to maintain their social status in the community. They threw the heads into the Kemena River, after which the heads had to be collected from the river, the practice of collecting the heads was known as Mentu Ulau in the local native language. Another story relates that two vaee segahan/segaan named Berengik and jaleb built houses along the river and they and their followers frequently carried out preservation of severed heads near a small river stream branching off from Sebezaw River because the river bank was flat and wide. Therefore, the river stream was named Mentu Ulau river. Outsiders who came to Bintulu subsequently pronounced the name as Mentulau, James Brooke was appointed the White Rajah of Sarawak by the Bruneian Empire in 1841. In 1861, the Sultanate of Brunei ceded the Bintulu region to Brooke, Bintulu was a small settlement at that time. A wooden fort named Fort Keppel was built in the village, named after Sir Henry Keppel, Sir Henry Keppel was responsible for crushing the Dayak piracy in the Saribas between 1840 and 1850
2.
Iban people
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The Ibans or Sea Dayaks are a branch of the Dayak peoples of Borneo. Most Ibans are located in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, Ibans were renowned for practicing headhunting and tribal/territorial expansion, and had a fearsome reputation as a strong and successful warring tribe in the past. The Iban population is concentrated in Sarawak, Brunei, and in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan and they traditionally live in longhouses called rumah panjai. Although Ibans generally speak various dialects which are mutually intelligible, they can be divided into different branches which are named after the areas where they reside. The majority of Ibans who live around the Lundu and Samarahan region are called Sebuyaus, Ibans who settled in areas in Serian district are called Remuns. They may be the earliest Iban group to migrate to Sarawak, Ibans who originated from Sri Aman area are called Balaus. Ibans who come from Betong, Saratok & parts of Sarikei are called Saribas, the original Iban Lubok Antu Ibans are classed by anthropologists as Ulu Ai/batang ai Ibans. Ibans from Undup are called Undup Ibans and their dialect is somewhat a cross between the Ulu Ai dialect & the Balau dialect. Ibans living in areas from Sarikei to Miri are called Rajang Ibans and this group is also known as Bilak Sedik Iban. They are the majority group of the Iban people and they can be found along the Rajang River, Sibu, Kapit, Belaga, Kanowit, Song, Sarikei, Bintangor, Bintulu and Miri. Their dialect is similar to the Ulu Ai or lubok antu dialect. In West Kalimantan, Iban people are more diverse. The Kantu, Air Tabun, Semberuang, Sebaru, Bugau and they can be related to the Iban either by the dialect they speak or their customs, rituals & their way of life. For hundreds of years, the ancestors of the Iban practiced animistic beliefs, although after the arrival of James Brooke, many were influenced by European missionaries, the longhouses of Iban Dayaks are constructed in such a way to act as an accommodation and a religious place of worship. The first thing to be erected during the building is the tiang pemun from which the pun ramu is determined and followed along the longhouse construction. Any subsequent rituals will refer to the tiang pemun and pun ramu, the supreme God is called Bunsu Petara, and is sometimes called Raja Entala or even Tuhan Allah Taala in modern times. The Iban calls this supreme god who creates the universe by the three names of Seragindi which makes the water, Seragindah which makes the land and Seragindit which makes the sky, there are seven main petaras of Iban Dayaks who act as the messengers between human beings and God. These deities are the children of Raja Jembu and the grandchildren of Raja Burong, Menjaya Manang as the god of health and shamanism being the first manang bali Anda Mara as the god of wealth and fortune
3.
Han Chinese
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The Han Chinese, Han people or simply Han are an ethnic group native to East Asia. They constitute approximately 92% of the population of China, 95% of Taiwan, 76% of Singapore, 23% of Malaysia, Han Chinese are the worlds largest ethnic group with over 1.3 billion people. Similarly, the Chinese language also came to be named the Han language ever since, in the Oxford Dictionary, the Han are defined as The dominant ethnic group in China. In the Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania, the Han are called the dominant population in China, as well as in Taiwan, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the Han are the Chinese peoples especially as distinguished from non-Chinese elements in the population. The name Hanzhong, in turn, was derived from the Han River, which flows through the regions plains. The river, in turn, derives its name from such as Tianhan, Yinhan, Xinghan or Yunhan, all ancient Chinese poetic nicknames for the Milky Way. This gave rise to a commonly used nowadays by overseas Chinese for ethnic identity – Huaren. The term is used in conversation and is also an element in the Cantonese word for Chinatown. The vast majority of Han Chinese – over 1.2 billion of them – live in areas under the jurisdiction of the Peoples Republic of China, where they constitute about 92% of its population. Han Chinese also constitute the majority in both of the administrative regions of the PRC—about 95% and 96% of the population of Hong Kong and Macau. There are over 22 million Han Chinese in Taiwan, they began migrating from the coastal provinces of mainland China to Taiwan during the 13th to 17th century. At first, these migrants chose to settle in locations that bore a resemblance to the areas they had left behind in mainland China, hoklo immigrants from Quanzhou settled in coastal regions, and those from Zhangzhou tended to gather on inland plains, while the Hakka inhabited hilly areas. Clashes between these groups over land, water, and cultural differences led to the relocation of some communities, of about 40 million overseas Chinese worldwide, nearly 30 million live in Southeast Asia. They are collectively called Nanyang Chinese, according to a population genetic study, Singapore is the country with the biggest proportion of Hans in Southeast Asia. Up until the past few decades, overseas Han communities originated predominantly from areas in southern China, christmas Island has a Chinese majority at 70%, large Chinese populations also live in Malaysia and Thailand. Prior to the 1965 split, Malaysia and Singapore used to have the largest overseas Chinese population in the world and this position has since been taken by Thailand. The prehistory of the Han ethnic group is closely intertwined with both records and mythology. Han Chinese trace their ancestry from a confederation of late neolithic/early bronze-age agricultural tribes that lived along the Guanzhong, the Yellow Emperor is traditionally credited to have united with the neighbouring Shennong tribes after defeating their leader, Flame Emperor, at the Battle of Banquan
4.
Melanau people
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Melanau or A-Likou are an ethnic group indigenous to Sarawak, Malaysia. They are among the earliest settlers of Sarawak and they speak in the Melanau language, which is part of North Bornean branch of Malayo-Polynesian languages. In 2010, there are estimated to be 123,410 who consider themselves Melanau, in the 19th century, the Melanaus settled in scattered communities along the main tributaries of the Rajang River in Central Sarawak. Melanau or problematic Kajang speaking tribes such as the Sekapan, the Rajang, the Tanjung, the Melanau people were regarded as a sub-group of the purported Klemantan people. Today the Punan people are closely linked to the last riverine dwelling Melanau communities previously inhabiting the middle. The Kajang language is kept alive by the isolated Sekapan communities Kapit division of Sarawak. The Melanau are considered among the earliest settlers in Sarawak, the name Melanau was not used by the Melanau to refer to themselves until recently. They call themselves a-likou meaning people of the river, legend has it that the name Melanau was given by the Malays of Brunei to the inhabitants of the coastal swamp flats and riverbanks of central Sarawak which might signifies coast-dweller. Eda Green, writing in 1909, referred to, the Milanes, whose girls are as fair as any Europeans and the belles of Borneo. Grouping-wise, the Melanaus can be classified into the followings, Melanau Matu-Daro Melanau Pulau Bruit, Melanau Dalat Melanau Oya Melanau Mukah Melanau Belawai-Rajang Melanau Rejang Melanau Balingian Melanau Bintulu, and Melanau Miri. The largest group is the Matu-Daro Each group has its own characteristic dialect, an exception is the Melanau Bintulu dialect, which can hardly be understood by speakers of other dialects and is thought by many linguists to hardly fit into the Melanau language grouping. This tribe is known as Vaie whose language is very similar to Punan Lovuk Pandan and Punan Bah. Their early establishment were from Lavang and Segan riverine areas, the Melanau languages have been divided in the following eleven dialects Mukah Balingian Oya Dalat Matu-Daro Rajang Kanowit Sibu Bintulu Seru Tanjong. Another Melanau group worth mentioning and inclusion is the Melanau Igan and they live in kampungs by the Igan River, e. g. Kampung Skrang, Kampung Tengah, Kampung Hilir, that border the Mukah - district. However some speak a local Malay dialect and this group of Melanau is probably all Muslim. They have mainly adopted Malay culture, while preserving some aspects of Melanau culture and it is believed that this group was originally Malays who settled in the area. However, intermarriage with Melanaus over many generations produced new generations who considered themselves Melanau, similar to the Igan Melanaus ancestral beginnings, many Melanaus who had migrated to different areas in Sarawak experienced the same transformation. A group of Matu Melanaus settled in Bintawa area in Kuching after World War 2, however their offsprings, even though mostly Melanaus by blood, normally do not speak the language
5.
Bintulu Division
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Bintulu Division is one of the twelve administrative divisions of Sarawak, Malaysia. It has an area of 12,166.2 square kilometres. Bintulu Division consists of two districts which is Bintulu and Tatau, together with a sub-district under Bintulu, which is Sebauh, three major towns in Bintulu are Bintulu, Tatau and Sebauh. The population of Bintulu Division was 179,600 and this makes Bintulu as one of the most loosely populated division in Sarawak with only 14 people per kilometre. Despite being the most thinly populated, Bintulu Division has the fourth biggest town in Sarawak, most of the Bintulu divisions population is concentrated in this town. Bintulu is traditionally a home to Iban, Chinese, Melanau, Malay, Orang Ulu, most Ibans are scattered throughout rural areas of Bintulu, namely in Tatau and Sebauh. Whilst, Melanau people are concentrated at the areas in Bintulu and rural communal areas, namely at Bintulu town, Tatau town, Kuala Tatau, Sebauh, Pandan. Many Malay people are not originally from Bintulu, however, intermarriage with locals especially Melanau people has made Malay as one of the major ethnics in Bintulu. Chinese people are concentrated at town areas, such as at Bintulu, Sebauh and Tatau town, while some resides at Sangan. Orang Ulu people, such as Kenyah, Kayan, Tatau, most of them still live deep in the rural areas like Kakus and Jelalong. Kedayan people, although small in number, can be spotted at Nyalau areas just at the border with Miri Division, there is a large influx of foreign worker population due to the strength of the petroleum industry. It was estimated more than 20% of Bintulu population are foreign workers, the economy is largely based on the petroleum and natural gas industries. Bintulu has an estimated 85% of Sarawak’s known natural gas reserves, in addition to export as liquified natural gas, on-shore facilities produce fertiliser, and formaldehyde resins. Bintulu also has half of Sarawaks crude oil reserves of 500 million barrels. Bintulu has around 27% of Sarawak’s tropical rainforest, and the industry remains a strong component of the Divisions economy. Bintulu Division has a designated area of 1,071,031 hectares for logging purposes. The Division is the producer of wood species from peat swamp forests such as Ramin, Alan. Bintulu Division produces an average of 4.7 million m3 of logs per year, agriculture is relatively minor although growing steadily, with oil palm, rattan and pepper the main products
6.
Tatau
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Tatau is a town, and the capital of the Tatau District in Bintulu Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. Tatau became a district in 1987, before that it was a Sub District under Bintulu District. The main spoken languages are Iban, Kenyah, Beketan and Punan, SMK Tatau SK Tatau SJK Chung Hua Tatau
7.
Malays (ethnic group)
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These locations today are part of the modern nations of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, and southern Thailand. In literature, architecture, culinary traditions, traditional dress, performing arts, martial arts, throughout their history, the Malays have been known as a coastal-trading community with fluid cultural characteristics. The epic literature, the Malay Annals, associates the etymological origin of Melayu to Sungai Melayu in Sumatra, the English term Malay was adopted via the Dutch word Malayo, itself derived from Portuguese, Malaio, which originates from the original Malay word, Melayu. Prior to the 15th century, the term Melayu and its variants appear to apply as an old toponym to the Strait of Malacca region in general. Malaya Dwipa, Malaya Dvipa, is described in chapter 48, Vayu Purana as one of the provinces in the sea that was full of gold. Some scholars equate the term with Sumatra, but several Indian scholars believe the term should refer to the mountainous Malay peninsula, maleu-kolon - appeared in Ptolemys work, Geographia. Mo-lo-yu - mentioned by Yijing, a Tang dynasty Chinese Buddhist monk who visited the Southeast Asia in 688–695, according to Yijing, the Mo-Lo-Yu kingdom was located in a distance of 15 day sail from Bogha, the capital of Sribhoga. It took a 15-day sail as well to reach Ka-Cha from Mo-lo-yu, therefore, a popular theory relates Mo-Lo-Yu with the Jambi in Sumatra, however the geographical location of Jambi contradicts with Yi Jings description of a half way sail between Ka-Cha and Bogha. Among the terms used was Bok-la-yu, Mok-la-yu, Ma-li-yu-er, Oo-lai-yu - traced from the source of monk Xuanzang). Malayur - inscribed on the wall of the Brihadeeswarar Temple in Tamil Nadu. It was described as a kingdom that had a mountain for its rampart in Malay peninsula. Bhūmi Mālayu -, a transcription from Padang Roco Inscription dated 1286 CE by Slamet Muljana, the term is associated with Dharmasraya kingdom. Ma-li-yu-er - mentioned in the chronicle of Yuan Dynasty, referring to a nation of Malay peninsula that faced the southward expansion of Sukhothai Kingdom, the chronicle stated. Animosity occurred between Siam and Ma-li-yu-er with both killing each other. In response to the Sukhothais action, a Chinese envoy went to the Ram Khamhaengs court in 1295 bearing an imperial decree, Keep your promise and do no evil to Ma-li-yu-er. Malauir - mentioned in Marco Polos account as a kingdom located in the Malay peninsula, malayapura -, inscribed on the Amoghapasa inscription dated 1347 CE. The term was used by Adityawarman to refer to Dharmasraya. The word Malay refer to Mountain, other evidence that supports this theory include, stone tools found in the Malay Archipelago are analogous to Central Asian tools, the similarity of Malay customs and Assam customs. The New Guinea theory - The proto-Malays are believed to be knowledgeable in oceanography. Over the years they settled at places and adopted various cultures
8.
Orang Ulu
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Orang Ulu is not a legal term and no such racial group exist or listed in the Malaysian Constitution. The term was popularised by a minority known as Orang Ulu National Association that was formed in 1969. The Orang Ulu typically live in longhouses elaborately decorated with murals and they are also well known for their intricate beadwork detailed tattoos and rattan weaving. The Orang Ulu tribes can also be identified by their unique music - distinctive sounds from their sapes and they also practice Kanjet, a form of traditional dance. A vast majority of the Orang Ulu tribes are Christians but old traditional religions are practiced in some areas
9.
Elaeis
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Elaeis is a genus of palms containing two species, called oil palms. They are used in agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African oil palm Elaeis guineensis is the source of palm oil, it is native to west and southwest Africa. The American oil palm Elaeis oleifera is native to tropical Central and South America, mature palms are single-stemmed, and can grow well over 20 m tall. The leaves are pinnate, and reach between 3–5 m long, the flowers are produced in dense clusters, each individual flower is small, with three sepals and three petals. The palm fruit is reddish, about the size of a large plum, each fruit is made up of an oily, fleshy outer layer, with a single seed, also rich in oil. The two species, E. guineensis and E. oleifera can produce fertile hybrids, the genome of E. guineensis has been sequenced, which has important implications for breeding improved strains of the crop plants. Since palm oil contains more saturated fats than oils made from canola, corn, linseed, soybeans, safflower and it contains no trans fat, and its use in food has increased as food-labelling laws have changed to specify trans fat content. Oil from Elaeis guineensis is also used as biofuel, human use of oil palms may date back about 5,000 years in coastal west Africa. Palm oil was discovered in the late 19th century by archaeologists in a tomb at Abydos dating back to 3000 BCE. It is thought that Arab traders brought the oil palm to Egypt, Elaeis guineensis is now extensively cultivated in tropical countries outside Africa, particularly Malaysia and Indonesia which together produce most of the world supply. Especially in Indonesia, there is growing pressure for palm oil producers to prove that they are not harming rare animals in the cultivation process. Attalea maripa, another oil-producing palm Journal of Oil Palm Research Energy and the environment List of Arecaceae genera Social and environmental impact of palm oil
10.
Rattan
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Rattan is the name for roughly 600 species of old world climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. Rattan is also known as manila, or malacca, named after the ports of shipment Manila and Malacca City, the climbing habit is associated with the characteristics of its flexible woody stem, derived typically from a secondary growth, makes rattan a liana rather than a true wood. Calamoideae also includes tree palms such as Raphia and Metroxylon and shrub palms such as Salacca and they dont have spinose stems and climb by means of their reflexed terminal leaflets. Of these only Desmoncus spp. furnish stems of sufficiently good quality to be used as rattan cane substitutes, there are 13 different genera of rattans that include around 600 species. The largest rattan genus is Calamus, distributed in Asia except for one species represented in Africa, the rattan genera and their distribution, In Uhl & Dransfield, and also Dransfield & Manokaran, a great deal of basic introductory information is available. Available rattan floras and monographs by region, Uses by taxon, rattans are also superficially similar to bamboo. Unlike bamboo, rattan stems are solid, and most species need structural support, many rattans have spines which act as hooks to aid climbing over other plants, and to deter herbivores. Rattans have been known to grow up to hundreds of metres long, most of the worlds rattan population exist in Indonesia, distributed among the islands Borneo, Sulawesi, and Sumbawa. The rest of the supply comes from the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Malaysia. In forests where rattan grows, its value can help protect forest land, by providing an alternative to loggers who forgo timber logging. Rattan is much easier to harvest, requires simpler tools and is easier to transport. It also grows faster than most tropical wood. This makes it a tool in forest maintenance, since it provides a profitable crop that depends on rather than replaces trees. It remains to be seen whether rattan can be as profitable or useful as the alternatives, rattans are threatened with overexploitation, as harvesters are cutting stems too young and reducing their ability to resprout. Unsustainable harvesting of rattan can lead to forest degradation, affecting overall forest ecosystem services, the use of toxic chemicals and petrol in the processing of rattan affects soil, air and water resources, and also ultimately peoples health. Meanwhile, the method of rattan production is threatening the plants long-term supply. Generally, raw rattan is processed into products to be used as materials in furniture making. The various species of rattan range from millimetres up to 5–7 cm in diameter
