The Kelabit attitude to the Penan: forever children

Abstract

The Kelabit homeland at the headwaters of the Baram river is one where forest dominates. As was the case traditionally in all of Sarawak, a human-dominated enclave has been carved out of the primeval forest through agriculture, which has tamed and controlled a small piece of the natural environment. Nevertheless, agriculturalists in this environment have continued to rely heavily on the forest as a source of much of their food, building materials and materials for handicrafts. The concentration of population in the area around Bario which has taken place since the Confrontation with Indonesia has meant that in Bario the importance of the forest has decreased, since it is now further away and because foods can be brought in by air - although it is still the case that the majority of everyday meat and many of the vegetables are still wild. However, in the community of Pa' Dalih in the southern part of the Kelabit Highlands, where I did fieldwork from 1986 to 1988, the traditional reliance on the forest has changed little. The forest has remained a great provider.