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The Penan Gang
The Penan Gang occupy seven communities in the northern part of Belaga district. They trace their origins to the Apat river, a tributary of the Jek river, and, as a single band, they were known as the Penan Apat. They moved out of the Plieran watershed and into the Gang River, in the present community at Kenyah Badang at Long Gang. Early this century, they returned to the Plieran and split into two groups five years later, one remaining on the Plieran River and the other moving to the Seping River. Several other splits later resulted in the seven communities.
The rivers are essential to the Penan. Knowledge is organized around the rivers, streams, brooks and even some dry stream beds that become water-filled during the monsoon season. Much of the information is contained in the river names. Several rivers are named for the fruit trees that grow at the mouth of the river. Some are named for a particular kind of stone. Others are named for an event such as the killing of a rhinoceros, the death of a favourite dog or an abundant fruit season. Still others are named for particular individuals who have either been born or died. When a person passes on, they are designated by the river’s name where they died and are buried prefaced by Lake’ if male of Redu if female. The rivers in which the ancestors are buried are the source of livelihood for the living descendants.
Weaving through the landscape are a vast network of well-maintained trails. When Penan travel through the forest, they are continuously cutting away saplings, branches and vines. Such trails are followed repeatedly, connecting the various rivers. The tracks follow ridges between components of given rivers or between waterways. These trails are not named, but numerous points along the way are. These include a cleared resting place (lasan), a particularly steep portion of a trail (miang), the ridge may dip (sawak), and occasional rock faces which may appear(ulu).
Trees are also recognized. They may be owned by an individual such as one that will be good for boat building later or community trees such as durian or mango trees. They are marked as having ownership. Trees are named for the person who first spotted it, to the deceased buried near it or to the river near which it occurs. Many of these trees are recognized as owned by long-dead ancestors (molong), which connect the ancestors to the present.
The Penang Gang economy is centred around four pursuits: sago production, hunting, collecting forest products and shifting agriculture.
Sago Production
Sago starch is derived from the palm tree Eugeissona utilis. It is the primary source of carbohydrates for the Penan. The Penan maintains two types of settlements, the main one where everybody has a house (Lamin Jau) and near the sago trees (Lamin Tana). The Lamin Tana camps last anywhere from three days to six months, depending on the number of sago trees. The starch is transferred back to the main settlement every three to seven days.
The process of producing sago begins with the finding of suitable trees. The Penan knows precisely where the significant concentrations of palm trees are and approaches the group while flowering. The first stage occurs when a group of men or boys cut three or four clumps from the stand. These sections are then rolled, carried or slid down to a nearby river. They are then transported via the river to the processing platform.
On the second day, a large group of men, women and children travel to the platform. Men and boys chop the pith while women press and wash the pith to extract the starch.(much like corn flour or wheat flour). Six to ten palm trunks are usually processed in a single day producing 45-65 kg (100-150 pounds) of starch.
One would think the exploitation of the sago palm by the Penan would result in the depletion of the tree. However, the palms have developed a bamboo like strategy in recovering from the harvest. The Penan allow the clumps to grow for several years before there is another harvest.
Hunting
The most important animal to the Penan is the bearded pig (Sus barbatus). Every other day the Penan use spears and dogs for hunting. Two or three men and four to six dogs begin at about six in the morning, returning late in the afternoon. Dogs usually encounter pigs about four times per hunt, but only one is killed. The hunting success is usually 90%. Blowguns are used to kill smaller types of game such as gibbons, monkeys and squirrels.
Collection of Forest Products
Trade with other communities has long been a significant component of the Penan economy. The forest products are exchanged for salt, tobacco, metal and cloth. Before, camphor, jelutong,(wood used for carving) damar (used for sealing boats) and bezoar stones (Chinese medicine) were essential commodities. Garu wood(used in incense, perfume and small carvings) was necessary during the 1960s and 1970s, but this product has been depleted. However, now the weaving of rattan has replaced those items.
Penan men may make a one or two day visit to rattan stocks and bring back the rattan. The women split the rattan into eight individual lengths. These are shaved and stripped down to the width and fineness necessary for weaving. After drying, large bunches of these strips can then be transported to the main settlement for weaving over several months. A single mat from collecting to the finished product may take three weeks to a month to complete. The finished products are sold or traded to middlemen.
Shifting Agriculture
The Penan of Long Jek began to grow crops in about 1969 at the urging of the District Development Officer at Belaga. They planted only cassava for the first three or four years, and there were years when no planting was done. In the mid-1970’s they began to grow rice and became quite proficient. Crop failures have not been uncommon. 1984/1985 was highly successful, whereas one or two of the swiddens planted in 1985/1986 failed because of late burning resulting in the loss of over half the crop.
The clearing of swiddens occurs between April and June, with burning and planting in August and September. Harvesting takes place in late January and early February, and the rice is generally consumed by April, when the sago processing begins once more. Small amounts of cassava may be harvested throughout the year.
From:
Brosius, Peter J. River, Forest and Mountain: The Penan Gang Landscape in the Sarawak Museum Journal December 1986
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