ORANG ULU

THE LONGHOUSE

The orang ulu are made up of a few tribes namely the Kenyah, Kayan, Klemantan, Kelabit, the Lun Bawang, Penan as well as a few minor tribes in the interior. Orang Ulu, means the "up-river dwellers" mainly living in Central Borneo, which accounts for 5.5% of the population. The Penan, Kayan and Kenyah, live in the middle and upper reaches of and the Kelabit and Lun Bawang live in the highlands. 

The Kayans live in the main territories in central Borneo. They are warlike, conservative and religious people. The Kayan are considered more skilled in handicraft then all other peoples and believed by early anthropologists to be the original people in Sarawak who adorned their bodies with tattoos. The Kenyahs are found mainly in the highlands a little north of the centre of Borneo . As recorded in The Pagan Tribes of Borneo,'Physically they are without question the finest people of the country. Their skin-colour is decidedly fairer than that of Sea Dayaks or Kayans. They are of medium stature, with long backs and short, muscular, well-rounded limbs; a little stumpy in build, but of graceful and vigorous bearing. They are perhaps the most courageous and intelligent of the peoples; hospitable and somewhat improvident, sociable and of pleasant manners.' 

TATTOO

The most elaborate body tattoos are from the Kayan tribe. 'The dog design figures very prominently in Kayan art, and the fact that the dog is regarded by these people and also by the Kenyahs with a certain degree of veneration may account for its general representation. The design has been copied by a whole host of tribes, with degradation and change of name'Charles Hose,Pagan Tribes of Borneo. 

WEAPON AND TOOLS

The weapons of war used by the orang ulu especially the Kayan and Kenyah are generally the wooden shield, the sword and the spear. The prized weapons are often decorated with human hair from the rewards of warfare. They accentuate the beauty of their weapons with designs which they also lend to designs in tattoo, beadwork, as murals to adorn the house walls, tombs, boats and Padi barns, woodwork and musical intruments. One of the musical instrument much regarded in the Rainforest festival is the Sape.

The Kayans are also the best ironsmiths amongst all the peoples of Borneo . In the olden days, the iron ore were collected from riverbeds but later bars were procured from Malay and Chinese traders.