Malaysia: Longhouse of Sarawak

Abstract

Sarawak, a Malaysian state of Borneo, is covered mostly by dense tropical rainforest. The longhouse, or “Rumah Panjang” in Malay, is an architectural form in Borneo found throughout Sarawak. The traditional longhouse is home to most natives of Sarawak, including the Iban. A majority of the Iban population is concentrated around the Kapit district and along the Rajang River. The Iban are known as the Sea Dayak and are distinguished from the Bidayuh, a homologous ethnic group known as the Land Dayak. The Land Dayak also live in a longhouse similar to the Iban in an area of West Sarawak around Kuching province. Instead of constructing and settling in separate buildings, several small families live together in an elongated longhouse built along the river. Iban longhouses are found in largely “roadless” tracts of tropical rainforest, with little land access to their slash-and-burn farms or to other longhouses. Thus, every household owns a longboat, and the river is the main thoroughfare.