Sibu - An Ethnic Kaleidoscope

Introduction I An Ethnic Kaleidoscope I Sibu I Kapit I Sarikei I
Belaga I Exploring The Rejang

Along the banks of the Rejang and its tributaries, in towns, villages and longhouses, a great variety of people have made their home. The Rejang delta, where the river spreads out before it meets the sea, is the heartland of the Melanau, intrepid fishermen who also cultivate the sago palm for its starch. Further up, the river is lined with Malay kampungs (villages) and padi fields as far as Sibu. The majority of Sibu's inhabitants are Foochow Chinese, descendants of the town's founders, who migrated from Sounthern China at the turn of the century to escape persecution and civil war.

Above Sibu, Chinese shophouses give away to Iban longhouses. The Rejang and its tributaries, the Katibas and the Baleh, have the largest Iban population in Sarawak, a result of the great Iban migration of the 17th and 18th centuries. Beyond the Pelagus Rapids, Iban culture ceases to dominate and the longhouses of the various Orang Ulu (upriver people) groups start to appear. At first there are just isolated settlements of Punan Bah and Kajang, but above Belaga lies the heartland of the Kayan and kenyah, the two great tribes of Borneo's interior, as well as many smaller Orang Ulu groups, including the Bukitan, Lahanan, Punan, Ukit and the semi-nomadic Penan. However, even this far from the main towns there are small settlements of Chinese in the bazaars and villages, descendants of bold and enterprising traders who risked life and limb opening up the 19th century Rejang to commerce.