The importance of Adat, or culture, and the need to be guardians of your own land and forest

The modest longhouse in Long Iman is usually a side visit on the tourist map, as tourists from across the world make their eco-adventure trip to the Mulu Caves in Mulu National Park in Sarawak. Today, however, is Pesta Penan (Penan festival) and the longhouse comes alive as it is the sole destination for Penans coming from villagers near and far, travelling for hours by boat and car. I and eight others were the only outsiders to Pesta Penan. It was also my first time in “Penan country,” and I was there with mixed feelings of awe and sadness.

As a city dweller, much of what I know of the Penan people is from the news. Since the 1990s, there have been many heroic stories of these traditional hunter-gatherers’ attempt to resist logging in their traditional land through the setting up of makeshift blockades on logging roads. Alongside those stories are photographs of men and women dressed in their traditional clothes and holding a spear or blowpipe symbolically, guarding the blockades.

More recently is the media coverage on the Penan girls being raped by workers in the logging camps; these girls are dependant on hitching a ride on logging trucks to get to and back from school. Coupled with news of poverty in the resettlement camps, it seems like bad news is the only news coming from the Penan people. A group of Penan set up a committee to change that by organizing the Pesta Penan, backed by the Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Programme (NTFP-EP).

During the festival which fell on 3-5 December 2009, the Penans organised many activities. The first were the blowpipe competitions, followed by demonstrations of “jungle sign language” where branches and leaves were arranged to leave messages to one another. There was also a visit to a herbal garden in the compound of Long Iman. The elders and leaders explained to the group the many traditional medicinal uses of plants found in the jungle. Between activities, the veranda of the longhouse was filled with crafts for display and sale. Avid craft collectors would have a tough time deciding how many rattan mats and bags they can haul out without sinking the boat, while visitors would be able to buy little trinkets such as bamboo banglesand keychains.

As night fell, everyone gathered to share musical performances and dances. Sketches were performed and well-received, especially one which required some acrobatic skills to depict how the Penan collect honey.

The activities brought out some nostalgia amongst the elders, but they were new to the younger Penans who were raised in settlements. “This event is really good. We are very happy to be a part of this, and happy that this knowledge can be passed down to the younger generation,” said Eteng Liyan, an elderly women from Btu Bunyan. The material culture of the Penan seemed modest compared to their fellow neighbours such as the Kayan and Kelabit groups – whose traditional costumes boast many striking colors and their hats proudly wearing feathers of rare birds. Instead, it was a subtle affair with Penans dressed in loin cloth or other costumes influenced by different groups in Sarawak. Nor did their musical instruments include gongs which can be heard from miles away. Instead they played softer instruments such as the nose flute.

The Atui, a giant musical instrument made from a carved log and adorned with a beautiful piece of clouded leopard skin, took center stage. “We (Penan) believe that the clouded leopard is very powerful. We greatly respect it because it is the epitome of perfection.” Isarai Weng explained to me. “The clouded leopard strives for perfection in everything. For example, if it got a wound or broke a tooth, it would want to die because it is not perfect anymore. An ‘imperfect’ leopard would follow a human hoping to get caught and killed. This is why it is a very special and good creature.”

As a show of respect, the Penans would beat on the Atui whenever a clouded leopard is caught and brought back to camp. The same treatment would also be given to leaders of high ranks if they visited; and only those leaders are given the honor of wearing the skin of the clouded leopard. Clearly, the Pesta Penan clarified whatever misconceptions people have about the Penan people not having “culture,” just because they are traditionally hunter-gatherers. On the contrary, the Penan people share many similarities in music, dance, traditional knowledge, oral history and pride for their culture as other indigenous groups in Borneo.

It may take many years to work through the complexities of finding an arrangement where the state development plans can happen while respecting the indigenous peoples as rightful forest stewards. For now, let’s hope that we read more stories such as on the Pesta Penan, which celebrates its culture and people, instead of being highlighted as victims of development.

Puah Sze Ning, Elevyn, Malaysia
Photos by Puah Sze ning