About Me
We are iban people who form the largest ethnic tribe in Sarawak. Formerly pirates and headhunters, the Ibans were a bane on the Brookes' rule, rebelling against it in its earlier years but becoming its firm allies and strong supporters in later years. With a population of 350,000 people, Iban settlements or longhouses can be found throughout the length and width of Sarawak from Lundu in the West to Skrang, Lemanak, Batang Ai, Rejang and Kapit in central Sarawak to Baram in the East. The IBANS, who form the largest ethnic tribe in Sarawak. Formerly pirates and headhunters, the Ibans were a bane on the Brookes' rule, rebelling against it in its earlier years but becoming its firm allies and strong supporters in later years. With a population of 350,000 people, Iban settlements or longhouses can be found throughout the length and width of Sarawak from Lundu in the West to Skrang, Lemanak, SariBas,Batang Ai, Rejang and Kapit in central Sarawak to Baram in the East. A visit to an Iban longhouse, where many families live under one roof, is a social and cultural experience which you are unlikely to encounter elsewhere in the world. Still very steeped in their traditional and communal way of life, the Ibans in their natural habitat in the longhouses and rainforest provide the outside visitor with a fascinating window into a world which is fast disappearing. It is a world in which animism as a religious belief-system still holds sway and in which the social and cultural practices of its inhabitants are a constant reminder of the egalitarian and communal society that they live in. In your visit you will find the Ibans, as members of a highly developed communal society, to be disarmingly charming, warm, friendly, hospitable and fun-loving. You will also discover that the design of the longhouse, with its long communal verandahs, covered and open, is uniquely orientated to a way of life that believes strongly in sharing, co-operation and harmonious living.
