THIS IS NOT A FINAL VERSION

Penan from Borneo

The Penan are an indigenous tribe on the island of Borneo, Malaysia/Indonesia. Today there are around 10’000 tribesman left. Most of the Penan settled down and left the nomadic lifestyle behind, but they still rely on the rainforest for most of their basic needs. Roughly a few 100 Penan still live the nomadic lifestyle and fully depend on their surrounding for their day-to-day needs. The traditional nomadic lifestyle includes hunting, fishing, and gathering of over 300 plants, roots and fruits.

Lifestyle

Usually they live in simple huts, elevated from the floor and without any walls. As soon as all the natural resources have depleted, they move on in search for a new spot to settle down, so they can repeat the cycle. They just always use as much as they need, and protect the other natural resources. This kind of lifestyle is extremely ecological friendly and allows them to return to places they have already been. Through this special way of life, they have a close bond to the surrounding nature. Their knowledge of their surroundings is extraordinary and has been passed down for generations. Unfortunately, most of the Penan are analphabets. Furthermore, the Penan do not use time, they do not count days or years.

The Penan use a blowgun for their daily hunting, with poison darts they created themselves. Additionally, they keep pets and create wickerwork. The society they build for them self is not a hierarchy. The only separation they do is, that the males go hunting, and the females produce the sago flour. Besides that, there is no further specialization. In the Penan community there is no such thing as private possession, they share everything they own. To not share is seen as a crime. The difference to other indigenous tribes is, that the Penan have never been head-hunters.