Serian, Sarawak

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Serian is a town, and the capital of the Serian District (2,039.9 square kilometers) in Samarahan Division, Sarawak, east Malaysia. It is located about 40 miles (65 km) from Kuching.

The town is very famous for its durians, which are popularly believed to be the best in Sarawak. This has prompted the Serian District Council to erect a giant monument to this "king of fruits" right in the middle of the market square. The town is very well connected to its rich hinterland both by road and by water and thus one can find all sorts of jungle produce available in the jungle produce market.

The district population (year 2000 census) was 84,800. About 65% of the population are Bidayuh. The other main ethnic groups rest are Iban, Chinese, and Malay.

[edit] Language issues

The Serian Bidayuhs have a distinct dialect known as the Bukar-sadong Bidayuh, which is not intelligible to Bidayuhs from other Districts. Here are some examples of the differences in the various dialects spoken in Serian, with their English and Malay equivalents:

English	Malay	Bukar-Sadong	Bau-Jagoi	Siburan-Padawan
Father	Bapa	Amang	Sama	Sama
Mother	Ibu	Andĕ	Sino	Sinĕ
Food	makanan	pima-an	pinguman	pimaan
Rice	nasi	songkoi/sungkoi	tubi	tubi
I	aku/saya	aku	oku	ku
You	engkau/anda	amu/akam	mu-u/ingan	ku-u/kaam

[edit] Geography

There are many waterfalls found in Serian District. The most famous is the Ranchan Waterfall, located about 5 kilometers from Serian town and is easily accessible by road. The other one is Simuja Waterfall. It is located some 7 kilometers away from the town and also easily accessible by road.

The border village of Tebedu, recently renamed Bandar Mutiara, is located some 50 kilometers away from Serian town, but within Serian District.

Kampung Krusen is one of the many Bidayuh kampung (longhouse village) in Serian District. It is located about 10 kilometers from Serian town. Most of the inhabitants in the 150-door kampung are Roman Catholic as they were converted some 50 years ago by the Mill-Hill Missionaries. But the Bidayuh culture and traditions are still being strongly preserved and observed. So every year, come the 1st of June, the Gawai Celebration will bring the young and old, the kampung folks and the visitors to celebrate the festival till the wee hours.

Another isolated kampung named Bidak Plaman and Bidak Mawang is located about 26 Km from town. The roughly 100 families lived there.

	Sarawak
Divisions: Betong Division | Bintulu Division | Kapit Division | Kuching Division | Limbang Division | Miri Division | Mukah Division | Samarahan Division | Sarikei Division | Sibu Division | Sri Aman Division
Cities: Kuching | Miri
Towns: Asajaya | Ba'kelalan | Bau | Belaga | Betong | Bintangor | Bintulu | Dalat | Daro | Debak | Julau | Kanowit | Kapit | Lawas | Limbang | Lingga | Lubok Antu | Lundu | Mato | Meradong | Mukah | Marudi | Pakan | Pusa | Samarahan | Saratok | Sarikei | Serian | Selangau | Sibu | Simunjan | Song | Spaoh | Sri Aman | Tanjung Kidurong | Tatau | Tebedu