Punan

The Punan are an indigenous ethnolinguistic group of Borneo, comprising several subgroups that share cultural and linguistic ties. They inhabit interior rainforest areas of northern and central Borneo, including portions of Malaysia’s Sabah and Sarawak and Indonesia’s East and North Kalimantan. The Punan languages form a small branch of the Austronesian language family and are spoken by communities across these regions; many Punan people are bilingual in regional linguae francae such as Malay or Indonesian.

Traditionally, the Punan practiced hunter-gatherer foraging and shifting agriculture, relying on river systems and forest resources for food, shelter, and medicine. Settlement patterns varied from dispersed hamlets to riverine villages, and social life has centered on kinship networks. Customary practices, or adat, have governed aspects of community organization in some areas.

In recent decades, Punan communities have faced pressures from logging, mining, and palm oil development, along with land-rights disputes and cultural change. Some communities have adopted mixed economies, combining subsistence activities with wage labor and small-scale agriculture, while others participate in market economies in towns and cities. Language transmission and cultural practices have been affected by these changes.

Efforts to preserve language and culture include bilingual education and cultural programs. The Punan remain a distinct part of Borneo’s Dayak mosaic, seeking to maintain identity and secure land rights within national legal frameworks and regional governance structures.