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Sarawak State Library

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The Penan : Forest Nomads of Sarawak in Transition

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Call no.
: 305.899225 PAU
Author
: Paul C.Y. Chen
Contributor
: Fezzanne Anak Raymond Umpu
Summary
The Penan people were largely nomadic until the 1950's. The forest is an intergral element in the nomadic life of these Penan. There is very little doubt that the Penan are very good stewards of the forest. The Kenyah and Kayan have influenced the Penan mode of daily living including bringing Christianity to the Penan. These early contacts initially did not bring the nomadic Penan any closer to a settled life, but it was an exposure to the settled form of life, and in the end the nomadic Penan began to build semi-permanent settlements even though they remained nomadic without any love for agriculture which many hated. This book attempts to set out the key intangibles held through oral traditions that are fast being lost. It also looks at the impact of urbanization as the Penan join in the increasing rural-urban drift.