"KAYAN"(ORANG ULU SARAWAK)

In this page i would like to share to all my buddies about the Kayan ethnic.Kayan is a minority ethnic in Sarawak.As a Kayan,I really proud because I was born in this minority ethnic.Kayan is an indigenous tribe from the island of Borneo.Kayan is categorized under the Orang Ulu ethnic group.

The phrase Orang Ulu means upriver people and is a term used to collectively describe the numerous tribes that live upriver in Sarawak's vast interior. Such groups include the major Kayan and Kenyah tribes, and the smaller neighbouring groups of the Kajang, Kejaman, Punan, Ukit, and Penan. Nowadays, the definition also includes the down-river tribes of the Lun Bawang, Lun Dayeh(mean upriver/far upstream), Berawan, Saban as well as the plateau-dwelling Kelabits. The various Orang Ulu groups together make up roughly 5.5% of Sarawak's population. The Orang Ulu are artistic people with longhouses elaborately decorated with murals and woodcarvings. They are also well-known for their intricate beadwork and detailed tattoos. The Orang Ulu tribe can also be identified by their unique music - distinctive sounds from their sape, a stringed instrument not unlike the mandolin.A vast majority of the Orang Ulu tribe are Christians but old traditional religions are still practiced in some areas.

• Kayan

There are approximately 15,000 Kayans in Sarawak. The Kayan tribe built their longhouses in the northern interiors of Sarawak midway on the Baram River, the upper Rejang River and the lower Tubau River, and were traditionally headhunters. They are well known for their boat making skills, which they carve from a single block of belian, the strongest of the tropical hardwoods.Although many Kayan have become Christians, some are still practise paganistic beliefs, but these are very rare today.