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Life Histories of Migrants: Bejalai Experiences of the Iban in Sabah

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Life Histories of Migrants: Bejalai Experiences of the Iban in Sabah 地理学論集 Geographical Studies №86（20) №86（20) Life Histories of Migrants: Bejalai Experiences of the Iban in Sabah, Malaysia Ryoji SODA* and Logie SEMAN** Key words：Iban, Sabah, Malaysia, migration, life history Ⅰ .Introduction construct the migration history of the Iban in The Iban people of Borneo island has Sabah, but we believe the record of life histories been recognized as major shifting cultivators in of our interviewees could contribute to further Southeast Asia. Their homeland is in the upper research on the Iban in Sabah, which has been areas of Kapuas River in West Kalimantan, so rare. Indonesia, but they have been well known for An advantage of this study is to focus their aggressiveness and high mobility and on 'ordinary' people. Previous studies on the they have never stopped to migrating into and Iban migration in Sarawak and Kalimantan expanding around the whole Sarawak in the last have mainly illustrated migration processes 00 years. Today, as a result, Iban groups can and the situations of village headmen, political be found in the whole Borneo Island, including key persons, historical heroes, and influential Brunei and the state of Sabah, Malaysia. households (bilik-families). There is nothing The spatial expansion process of the Iban wrong with it, but those stories are not population has attracted scholarly attention, and necessarily providing us with an accurate village abundant researches have been accumulated in history. Simply put, not many investigators the fields of anthropology and other disciplines have shed a spotlight on migratory behavior of (Sutlive and Sutlive, 200), but most researches 'ordinary' people before. were conducted in Sarawak, Malaysia. Although In Tawau, Sabah, Iban people has not it is a well-known fact that the state of Sabah moved in this area from Sarawak or Kalimantan, has a considerable number of the Iban people, as a whole. Truth is, Iban villages were formed the accurate population data has never been when Iban migrants, individuals or small groups extracted). began to get together in Tawau. This village In October, 200 the authors visited formation process is something different from several Iban villages in Tawau District, Sabah those Iban villages in Sarawak. This indicates to conduct hearing investigation on the Iban that within the same village, each member has migration into Sabah2). Our intensive interviews different life history of migration in terms of with the Iban in Tawau indicated that the route, period, background and motivation. In first Iban migrants arrived in Tawau around this sense, interviewing with the Iban in Tawau 920, and the number of the Iban settlers about their individual migration history will lead increased significantly since the 960s. The data us to know the migratory patterns of 'ordinary' we obtained in Tawau are still insufficient to Iban in the past. ＊ Osaka City University, Japan ＊＊Ex-Assistant Forest Officer, Forest Department Sarawak, Malaysia －32－ The mobility of the Iban has been shown in Fig. explained by many researchers from various First, we visited Kampung Ibam Merotai aspects (Soda, 2007, 2008). The institutionalized Besar village (hereafter, KIMB), which is custom of male's journey, in particular, has been located along a major road about 25 kilometers thought to be a symbolic of Iban's mobility. northwest from the Tawau Town. The village is In Iban society, adult males often leave their probably the largest Iban settlement in Sabah, villages for a considerably long period ― from having a population of 925 with 30 households a few months to a few years ― which is called as of October, 200. Although the majority of 'bejalai' in Iban language. Through this journey, the population is Iban, the specific percentage is Iban men accumulate rich experience in the unclear as inter-ethnic marriages have become outside of their Iban society, so bejalai has a common thing. The headman of the village played an important role for adult males to guessed, the Iban occupies approximately 70% of enhance their social prestige. While the purposes the total population, while the group of Kadazan- of the bejalai journey in the past were diversified Dusun and Murut consists 25% and the Chinese from spouse-seeking, searching for preferable 5%. land for swidden agriculture, collecting non- There is a longhouse called Rumah Lulut timber forest products, barter trading, to located north-northeast about 20 kilometers in headhunting expedition, since the 960s it has airline distance from KIMB (Fig. 2)3), which is become almost synonymous with engaging in probably the only Iban longhouse in Sabah being wage labor outside the village. comprised of 20 households (bilik-families). This Some Iban people never returned from longhouse is the center of the Kampung Iban their bejalai journey and settled in somewhere Ulu Merotai village (hereafter, KIUM), and the else. Our interviewees in this paper are those total population of KIUM is 9 people with 3 who settled down in Tawau as a result of their households (mostly Iban). The road condition to bejalai journeys. this village from a major road is terrible; people We conducted interviews with the 0 have to drive a rough dirt road constructed Iban migrants in Tawau area on their life by an oil palm plantation company about 30 histories mainly focusing on the moving process kilometers. When it rains hard, often the road is after leaving their home villages until settling unable to drive. For this reason, many villagers down in Tawau. The villages that we visited are have extra houses on the major roadside, and major roads Kampung Iban international boundary Ulu Merotai study villages Town Kampung Iban Kampung Merotai Besar Sedudun Baru Tanjong Batu Tenggah Tawau Kampung Iban Kuala Nansang INDONESIA 0 10 20 km Fig.2.Longhouse in Kampung Iban Ulu Merotai Fig.1. Map showing Tawau and its vicinities. (Rumah Lulut). －33－ THAILAND BRUNEI MALAYSIA MALAYSIA MALAYSIA SABAH SINGAPORE Kota Kinabalu Sandakan INDONESIA INDONESIA Labuan Bandar Seri Sipitang Lahad Datu Begawan BRUNEI Miri Tg. Lobang Tawau MALAYSIA m Bintulu INDONESIA SARAWAK 2000 Dalat 1000 Sibu ② Song ① ～ ⑩： original places 500 ⑩ ①④ ⑦ ⑤ 200 ⑧⑨ of interviewees Betong Kuching 0 Engkilili ⑥ Puttusibau ③ 0 100 200 km Fig.3.Major place-names in Northern Borneo. Table1. List of informants. Year of Years of Year of Years of Informant Year of bejalai until settling bejalai until Name Sex Age Adress Home village arrival in settling Notes No. departure the arrival down in Tawau down in in Tawau Tawau Tawau Kampung Iban Merotai Sungai Sepaku, 1 Paung anak Buja Male 85 1930 1950 20 1951 21 Besar Baleh , Sarawak Rh.Pg.Jawa, Madur, Wakil Ketua Anak 2 Ngalit anak Bali Male 74 Kampung Sedudun Baru 1948 1962 14 1967 19 Binatan g, Sarawak Negeri (Iban) Linggong ana k Puttusibau, West 3 Male 75 Kampung Sedudun Baru 1948 1950 2 1963 15 Jawi Kalimantan , Sungai Sebaku Headman of the Banyau anak Kampung Iban Merotai 4 Male 76 (Sepaku), Baleh, 1949 1958 9 1958 9 Kampung Iban Nanjah Besar Sarawak Merotai Besar Sungai Tekalit, Kampung Iban Merotai 5 Undi anak Bugap Male 76 Katibas, Song, 1952 1954 2 1961 9 Besar Sarawak Sungai Jela, Kampung Iban Merotai 6 Bantir anak Tang Male 86 Langkau Bala, 1959 1960? 1 1960s 1 Besar Engkari , Sarawak Headman of the Kampung Kuala Sungai Lajang, Song, 7 John anak Sulutan Male 55 1968 1968 0 1968 0 Kampung Kuala Nansang Sarawak Nan gang Headman of the Lulut anak Ng.Entuat, Katibas, 8 Male 46 Kg. Iban Ulu Merotai 1969 1969 0 1978 9 Kampung Iban Ulu Junggai Sarawak Merotai Sungai Tekalit, Manngai anak Kampung Iban Merotai 9 Male 57 Katibas, Song, 1971 1971 0 1971 0 Mayau Besar Sarawak 10 James anak Male 5 Tanjong Batu Tenggah Bawan, Sarawak 1972 1972 0 1972 0 occasionally go back to the longhouse of their a population of 827 with 205 households). village to harvest cash crops such as cocoa and Although the majority of this village is Murut oil palm. (about 70 percent), the Iban also consist about The third Iban settlement that we visited 5 percent of the village population5). In spite of was located about 20 kilometers east-northeast its relatively small proportion in KSB, the Iban from Tawau. The village, called Kampung Iban seem to be somewhat potent in the village as a Kuala Nansang (hereafter KIKN), is the third regional Iban Native Chief Representative (locally largest Iban settlement in Tawau area with 70 called WNC) lives in this community. people and 60 households. The estimation of the There are other Iban communities in the demographic of the village is 358 Iban people, state of Sabah, such as Sipitang, Kunak, Lahat and the rest are comprised of 76 Tidong, 0 Datu, and Sandakan, but it is safe to assume that Murut, and others. Tawau District has the largest Iban population Nearby KIKN is the village of Kampung in the state. Serudun Baru (hereafter KSB) which has Compared to their counterpart in －3－ Sarawak, a significant difference can be found Tawau. among the Iban in Tawau in the aspect of their way of living. Iban culture has often been Ⅱ .LifehistoriesofIbanmigrants referred to as 'paddy cult,' because of their 1.Bejalai journey before the World War II tenacity to swidden rice cropping. Inside of the (before1941) plantation sites or around suburban residential [Narrative ] areas, they would make the most of idle land Paung anak Buja (approximately 85 years old, and grow rice. This is not the case, however, Kampung Iban Merotai Besar) with the Iban in Tawau. Iban people in this area My home village is along the Sepaku concentrate on oil palm and cocoa cultivation River, a tributary of the Balleh River. I believe and very few people are still engaged in paddy it was 930 or 93 when I left.
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