Penan

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The Penan are a nomadic aboriginal people living in Sarawak. They are one of the last such peoples remaining^[1]. The Penan are noted for their practice of 'molong' which basically means never taking more than necessary.Most Penan were nomadic hunter-gatherers until the post-World War II missionaries settled many of the Penan, mainly in the Ulu-Baram district but also in the Limbang district. They eat plants, which are also used as medicines, and animals and use the hides, skin, fur, and other parts for clothing and shelter.

1 The Penans today
2 Logging in Sarawak, Bruno Manser and the destruction of the Penan's world
- 2.1 Bruno Manser's death and legacy
- 2.2 Logging today
3 The Future of the Penan
4 Penan Language
5 References

[edit] The Penans today

Today the Penan number around 10,000; around 350-500 are nomadic (figures from Survival International^[2]. They have settled into small settlements, usually based around a village 'longhouse', typical of other tribes of Sarawak's interior. Some, typically the younger generations, now cultivate rice and garden vegetables but many still rely on their nomadic diets of sago (from the jungle palm), jungle fruits and their prey which usually include wild boar, barking deer, mouse deer but also snakes (especially the Reticulated Python or kermanen), monkeys, birds, frogs, monitor lizards, snails and even insects such as locusts. Since they practice 'molong', they pose little strain on the forest: they rely on it and it supplies them with all they need. They are outstanding hunters and catch their prey using a 'lepud' or blowpipe, made from the Bilian Tree (superb timber) and carved out with unbelieveable accuracy using a bone drill. The darts are made from the sago palm and tipped with poisonous latex of a tree found in the forest which can kill a human in a matter of minutes. Everything that is caught is shared as the Penan have a highly tolerant, generous and egalitarian society, so much so that it is said that the nomadic Penan have no word for 'thank you' (However, 'jian kinin' is typically used in the settled communities.)

[edit] Logging in Sarawak, Bruno Manser and the destruction of the Penan's world

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The Penan's way of life is in serious threat. Their forests are being destroyed at unsustainable rates and without their permission. Their case was fostered by the now notorious anti-logging activist Bruno Manser during the 1980s and 1990s. After an expedition to the caves of Mulu national park Manser traveled into the interior and followed a band of nomadic Penan until they took him into their group. He formed an extraordinary relationship with the Penan and their jungle world. After seeing the devastating effect of the logging industry he championed the Penans cause, organising road blocks, writing letters from the Penan to Sarawak's government and to the Western government, urging them to stop importing Malaysian timber. Since the logging industry powers Sarawak's economy Manser became public enemy number one, with a $50,000 bounty on his head. He successfully illegally entered and exited Sarawak on numerous occasions, returning to Europe to rally support. However, Manser went missing on his last clandestine run into the forests near Bario in 2000. His body was never found, nor his rucksack or belongings.

[edit] Bruno Manser's death and legacy

Theories have sprung up of assassination by government or logging companies, suicide after decades of unrewarded effort and simply accidental death in the dense forests. Bruno Manser has become a living idol to the Penan and rumours still circulate that he is still alive. His legacy however, is bitter-sweet. His efforts attracted public attention but his efforts caused the ejection of many productive NGO's from Sarawak and, according to some, sped up the rate of logging for fear of Western reprisals.

[edit] Logging today

[edit] The Future of the Penan

Will their forests and their way of life survive the impending logging industry? NGOs are helping them identify their Native Customary Rights (NCR) which demarks their ancestral forests. If they can prove that they have lived there prior to 1956 then their NCR will be granted and this theoretically protects their lands from logging. However, this has proved to be continually ignored by the logging companies such as Samling and the Malaysian Timber Certificate Council.

[edit] Penan Language

It has been suggested that this section be split into a new article. (Discuss)

The Penan language is linguistically interesting since it has six words for varying levels of "we" depending on how extensive the described group in the society is at the same time as having no word to describe the status of a domestic animal. This provides a good example in discussion of the subject-object problem in philosophy and its relation to language and power.