Culture in Sarawak
Sarawak is famed for its astonishing national parks and biodiversity, but its unique cultural identity tends to prove just as fascinating for visitors. Around half the Sarawak population is made up of Malays and Chinese, the other half indigenous tribes collectively known as Dayaks, each of which has its own distinct language and customs. The largest tribe, the Iban, make up 30 percent of the population and along with the Melanau, they comprise the ‘Sea Dayaks’ who actually live along the river valleys. The ‘Land Dayaks’ meanwhile live up in the hills of Sarawak, and are represented largely by the Bidayuh and the Orang Ulu, which include the Penans, hunter gatherers that live nomadically, among their numbers. Phew!
The Malay language spoken on Sarawak is very different to that which you’ll hear spoken on the mainland. To help with communication most Sarawakians use Pasar Malay, a kind of patois. As well as all the other indigenous tongues you’ve got Mandarin and English, while between the ethnic groups a variety of religions are practiced, from Christianity, Islam and animism to a fusion of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.
A highlight of many tours of Sarawak is to visit an Iban kampong (tribal village) where you can stay in a traditional longhouse and learn a little about their ways of life. You can also explore the many historic and cultural landmarks of the Brooke Dynasty, the White Rajahs, particularly around the state capital, Kuching. And of course Kuching is an excellent place to whet your appetite with Sarawak’s distinctive cuisine. The food stalls along the waterfront are a good place to start for noodle dishes, kompia buns stuffed with pork, the alcoholic and herby chicken dish kacangma, the famous layer cakes, and pitcher plants that overflow with rice. There’s also a fragrant spice market and of course the many restaurants of Chinatown set just back from the promenade.
Our Sarawak Holidays
Singapore and Sarawak holidays
A wildlife and Cultural Holiday to Singapore and Sarawak
From
£3050
15 days
inc UK flights
Borneo 8 day tour, the wild heart of Borneo
A unique experience in the untouched, beautiful Sarawak.
From
£895
8 days
ex flights
Sarawak and Singapore holiday
Discover beautiful Sarawak with a 2 night Singapore stopover
From
£1720
15 days
ex flights
Sarawak family holiday
An action-packed holiday got the whole family to enjoy!
From
£998
9 days
ex flights
Borneo wildlife holiday, Sarawak
A light trekking and jungle adventure holiday in Sarawak
From
£3015
14 days
inc UK flights
Borneo tour, Orangutans and Iban
Spotting wild orangutans and meeting indigenous tribes
From
£3499
22 days
ex flights
Orangutans and Ibans tour to Borneo
Vast jungles of Sabah and Sarawak & Iban Headhunter tribe
From
£3750
15 days
inc UK flights
Iban longhouse experience in Sarawak, Malaysia
Take a 3 Day Tour to be part of the Iban Tribe!
From
£595
3 days
ex flights
Borneo overland tour, Sarawak, Sabah & Brunei
Exotic Trans-Borneo Rainforest Discovery, including Brunei
From
US $1098
13 days
ex flights
Sarawak holiday, wildlife adventure
Tailor-made wildlife and turtle holiday to Sarawak
From
£2770
15 days
inc UK flights
Borneo tailor made tour
A Borneo holiday for the adventurous traveller.
From
£1960
12 days
ex flights
Borneo holiday, Sarawak highlights
Wildlife, Orangutans, longhouse stay & beach in Sarawak
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£2296
13 days
ex flights
Sarawak 5 day cultural tour
Explore Sarawak’s remote and fascinating coastal region
From
MYR3568 to MYR5201
5 days
ex flights
Sabah & Sarawak holiday in Borneo
Wildlife, jungles, culture and idyllic beaches
From
£2535
14 days
inc UK flights
Sarawak off the beaten track tour
Explore Remote Sarawak’s Coastal and Interior Region
From
MYR3646 to MYR5814
7 days
ex flights
Sarawak Rainforest music festival holiday
Explore Malaysia's diverse flavours and gastronomic delights
From
£1475
11 days
ex flights
Land of the Hornbills
Eight of the world’s 54 species of hornbills are found on Sarawak. The bird is the state symbol and to Sarawak’s indigenous Dayak people, hornbills represent the spirit of God. If one of them flies over your home, you can expect good fortune.
The Iban
The largest group of Dayaks by far is the Iban people, with many different branches that are often named according to where they live, and a shared language spun off into countless dialects. The Iban consider themselves protectors of Sarawak’s endangered orangutans, which they believe carry the souls of their ancestors. Theirs is some of the most intricate of tribal tattoo artwork on Sarawak, once used to symbolise the heroism of warriors.The Kayan
Expert blacksmiths and proficient rice-growers, the heavily tattooed Kayan people were once fearsome headhunters. Their longhouses are found on riverbanks, and most Kayan are now Christian, their former religious practices included shamanism and gauging the future by the behaviour and entrails of animals.The Kelabit
Living in the Bario Highlands, the Kelabit are a small group, with entire communities usually sharing one large longhouse. Skilled carvers, they live on a mainly vegetarian diet with rice the staple of most dishes, and in the past were known for using salt as a form of currency.The Kenyah
Comprising some 40 ethnic subgroups, the Kenyah people have much in common with the Kayan, though they speak different languages. The Kenyah are renowned for their creativity especially when it comes to folk music, and performances are a frequent highlight of Sarawak tours.The Orang Ulu
This upriver people live deep in Sarawak’s forested interior. The Lun Bawang are self sufficient, farming, hunting and fishing; while another sub-group, the Penan, are the last nomadic people in Sarawak, and some of the world’s last hunter gatherers, hunting with blowpipes, defiant in the face of deforestation that threatens their land, and resisting government efforts to resettle them in permanent kampongs.The Bidayuh
Known for the potency of their rice whisky moonshine, the Bidayuh are most frequently found in the hill country around Kuching. They are stewards of the ancestrally important Fairy Cave in Bau, a popular climbing destination. If you do any kayaking along the Sarawak River during your trip, the chances are you’ll be guided by a member of the Bidayuh tribe.
Longhouse stays
Batang Ai National Park is a sacred place for the Iban. You can trek through rainforest or travel along the river by boat to stay in a longhouse, where you’ll have a glimpse into the lives of people who have stewarded the forest for generations, perhaps helping them with mending fishing nets, weaving rattan backpacks or planting food. The river journey is particularly atmospheric, as skillful Iban boatmen steer around the branches of sunken trees and great black boulders on the way to remote villages.Sleeping arrangements in longhouses are, as you would expect, quite basic, but comfortable enough. You may help your hosts with preparing dinner, and in the evenings you’ll often be guests at a performance of traditional music and dance. Some longhouses have a slightly unnerving feature of interior design; headhunting was a common practice between warring Dayak tribes until the first White Rajah largely stamped it out, but there are a few communities that still keep a collection of old shrunken heads around.
Sarawak Cultural Village
Outside Kuching, the Sarawak Cultural Village is an award winning ‘living museum’ that showcases the state’s remarkable cultural diversity. There are authentic replica buildings representing major Dayak groupings, craft and cookery lessons, an on-site theatre and music workshops that use traditional instruments. You can also find an excellent introduction to Sarawak’s tribes in the vast ethnographic collection at the Sarawak Museum in Kuching, founded by Charles Brooke, the second White Rajah.Our top Sarawak Holiday
Singapore and Sarawak holidays
A wildlife and Cultural Holiday to Singapore and Sarawak
From
£3050
15 days
inc UK flights
Tailor made:
This trip can be tailor made throughout the year to suit your requirements
This trip can be tailor made throughout the year to suit your requirements
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about Sarawak or need help finding a holiday to suit you we're very happy to help.
The Brooke Dynasty
James Brooke, a British soldier and adventurer, defeated rebelling Iban tribes as well as pirates on behalf of the Sultan of Brunei and was made Rajah of Sarawak in 1841 as a result. He and his family ruled for a century with what was, at the time, a relatively enlightened approach, ending the practice of headhunting but also considerably expanding the economy and their own territory. The White Rajahs are still generally remembered with respect in Sarawak, and, especially around Kuching, there are several well-preserved buildings that illuminate their legacy. Fort Margherita contains numerous artefacts from the Brookes’ time, the Astana Palace serves as the official state governor’s residence, and the Old Courthouse now contains the Sarawak Tourism Complex.
Sarawak Festivals
As you might expect from a state with such a varied cultural landscape, Sarawak has a lively events calendar. Both Christmas and Chinese New Year are celebrated here, and the annual Sarawak Regatta is a competitive boat-racing event dating all the way back to James Brooke and his attempts to placate feuding Dayak tribes. The Rainforest Music Festival, held in Kuching, is a major world music gathering. For more traditional, tribal festivals on Sarawak, you could visit during Gawai Dayak at the end of May, which marks the end of the rice harvest and sees much dancing, feasting and romance too – it’s a popular time for weddings and proposals. Kaul, meanwhile, is celebrated by Sarawak’s fishing communities at the end of the monsoon season, with offerings to placate the spirits cast off into the river in boats, and groups of young men swinging from ropes in a risky event called tibou.
Responsible Travel would like to thank the Sarawak tourist board for their sponsorship of this guide
More about Sarawak
A quick glimpse at our temperature & rainfall chart will tell you the best time to visit Sarawak in terms of the weather however, delve a little deeper and you’ll discover a month by month guide.
If you’re looking to learn all about Malaysia’s largest state then our Sarawak travel guide does just the job with a brief history of Sarawak as well as a 2 minute summary to help you travel like a local on your Sarawak holiday.
Make the most of your time by checking out our interactive map of highlights, travel times and suggested itineraries which will give you a much better idea as to where to go in Sarawak and what to do when you get there.
There's lots of things to do in Sarawak with Mulu National Park, Bako National Park and Gunung National Park all providing trekking and nature trails to help you understand everything from orangutan conservation to living like a local.
If you travel into the Central Highlands of Sarawak you'll find the Lun Bawang people living in a collection of villages known as Ba’kelalan, their culture and heritage at the core of community tourism in Sarawak.
There are some 30 Sarawak national parks, all different, all extraordinary although not all accessible - you have to keep a few secrets to yourself naturally, but our guide explains where to start your journey around the biodiverse beauties.
Sarawak adventure holidays release you into a truly spectacular natural landscape, one of dense rainforest and vibrant green plateaus snaked across by the toffee-coloured waters of the Sarawak River.
If the late, great Ella Fitzgerald were still singing on our mortal coil, she would almost certainly have graced the stage of the Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak, one of the most celebrated of its kind in the world.
Community led conservation projects are really a change in Sarawak, and these also provide some of the most fascinating and life affirming experiences for visitors keen to contribute to orangutan conservation efforts.
There are over twenty Important Bird Areas in Sarawak alone - really is birding bliss - and with a plethora of national parks too, the infrastructure allows lots of ways to go bird watching in Sarawak.
Sarawak is a truly unsurpassed destination to see the highly endangered orangutan in the wild in Batang Ai National Park, living symbiotically with the local Iban community which contributes to it's protection.
Discover the picturesque riverside gateway to Sarawak and Malaysian Borneo - Kuching: a romantic, sophisticated city that's just as rich with culture heritage as it is with colourful atmosphere.
It’s easily reached from both Kuala Lumpur and Singapore by air, and there is a great deal to see in a fairly compact area, so the benefits of a short tour to Sarawak are as clear as the waters of its many dive sites.
The illustrious Brooke dynasty heritage can be seen across Sarawak, from the historic wooden forts they built to protect their kingdom, to renowned museums and a beautiful palace by the river.
Sarawak wildlife ranges from the endangered orangutans that are found only here and Sumatra to big-nosed proboscis monkeys, rare Irrawaddy dolphins and sea turtles, found across some 30 protected areas.
Travelling in Sarawak with kids is all about finding things they’ll enjoy and learn from at the same time with cultural villages, Kuching Cat Museum and the Sarawak Caves in Gunung Mulu National Park, all perfect activities.
If you’re searching for Sarawak travel advice then make sure you pay attention to the tips from our friends - we’ve published a few pearls of wisdom to help you travel safely with kids, and without.
Wildlife & environment issues are integral to responsible tourism in Sarawak - reforestation, volunteering responsibly and positive community tourism are just a few of the areas you’ll need to read about to travel better.
protection
Photo credits: [Page banner: Rod Waddington] [Top box (Bidayuh man): John Ragai]
[Dayak child: Anton Surya Wijaya Atmaja]
[Longhouse: watchsmart]
[Sarawak regatta: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Malaysia]
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