We were so lucky to have been assigned a great guide, Liban Ingan, a member of the Kenyah tribe, who married Rose, a Penan. She had lived  a nomadic life with her family in the rain forest until 1987, when the Malaysian government asked these nomadic people to come out of the jungle to make a permanent home along the river. Liban met Rose when he worked for the Sarawak government, teaching this tribe how to farm. I was very touched when he told us that the Penan were very resistant to learning to farm. They had neither seen, nor tasted rice, and were being taught to plant it for food. Their resistance to farming came mostly from the hard reality that they had to work in the heat of the sun. A people accustomed to the shaded canopy of the forest where they hunted game and gathered forest plants for food and medicines, the Penan people firmly believed that too much exposure to the sun would “break their hearts” and kill them. In the village where Rose and Ingan lived with their one year old son, we were told that the Penan are still unhappy being in a permanent settlement. Henry and I were taken to their house, which is on stilts near the river, to meet Rose. We were honored  to have been introduced to his family. Rose is a petite, sweet and gentle woman, who was bouncing her darling, giggling boy in a sling suspended from the dwelling’s ceiling, when we showed up.  We learned that the Penan are among the last of the nomadic hunter gatherers living in the world today. The lifestyle of the Penan people represents the original human condition and was the way our ancestors lived for many hundred thousand years. The Penan, being at one with their environment have a traditional animistic set of beliefs. They believe that everything, the mountain, the river, the stream, a rock, a tree has its own spirit. Maintaining a harmonious relationship with these spirits is essential for their well-being and survival. The Penan language has a word for every forest plant and creature, but it has no word for forest, probably because they took it for granted.  They use the word tongtana which means “the world where people live and sustain life”. The forest was their world and their world was the forest.  The Penan do not own land,  have no concept of ownership, and will not let anyone go hungry. They are described as simple, gentle, shy, and warm-hearted people. Correct behavior is instilled at the earliest age. Young boys mastering the art of hunting are encouraged to share the smallest  of animals in equal portions with other children. The Penan’s society is egalitarian, with no hierarchy no social classes, neither wealth nor poverty, where all food is shared. The greatest transgression in this society is called sihun, translated to mean “failure to share”. Because the Penan have been dependent on the forest for survival, they have institutionalized generosity as a means to insulate the group from the inevitable uncertainties of life in the nomadic hunter-gathering lifestyle. They practice a forestry management style called molong which means “never  take more than necessary”. They take responsibility for the stewardship of the forest and are careful to preserve its resources for future generations. There are approximately 10,000 Penan people living in Borneo’s interior.  It is estimated that of this number, 300 Penan are still living in the forests of East Malaysia, representing the only true nomadic people living in the tropical rainforest of Sarawak today.

Blowgun and Poison Darts Liban also showed us his prized possession, his blowgun and poisoned darts in two sizes: sharp pointed for small animals, a chiseled arrow-shaped point for wild boar. We learned that birds were difficult to find after being hit with a dart because they fly away. Squirrels would often lie down on the limb of a tree, making it hard to find them and obtain the kill. Wild boar offered a special challenge, because it required about 40 minutes for the poison in the dart to take effect. Liban warned us that it was very important to remain perfectly still after shooting a wild boar with a poison dart. The angered boar would either charge, or run away, making it more dangerous and more difficult to track him.

PHOTOS: Left Column: 1. A forest habitat with a family of the nomadic rainforest Penan tribe. 2. Houses in the government settlement along the  Melinau River. 3. Village house in the Penan settlement. 4. The silhouette of Rose, bouncing her baby in a sling suspended from the ceiling of her house. 5. Beadwork necklaces for sale at the crafts market of the Penan settlement. 6. Colorful longboats at the village settlement. Center, Top: Penan father and his son, atop a felled tree, unhappy with the government’s decision to allow the cutting of the forest. Center, Middle: Liban Ingan with his blowgun and poison darts (in their bamboo container). Center, Bottom: Elderly Penan woman, selling her bracelets at the village craft market. Right Column: 1. Penan woman preparing food in her forest hut, raised several feet above ground. A smaller hut is used as a sleeping pavilion. 2. Detail: settlement house with longboat stored beneath it. 3. Liban, showing us his poison coated dart with arrow shaped point, used to hunt wild boar. 4. Liban’s son and wife, Rose framed by the clothes line, where towels were drying in the sun. 5. Beaded necklaces at the craft market. 6. Beautiful  woven rattan basketwork of the Penan people. These were used as backpacks. Too bad they couldn’t  be packed in my suitcase!

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