Kelabit Highlands Research Articles

Exploring Asset-Based Community-led Development (ABCD) Elements for Determining Farm Technologies in Rural Rice Farming Community – Kelabit Highlands, Sarawak

Malaysia is a net importer of rice, and Sarawak itself contributes approximately 8.2% of total national rice production. Although Malaysia national policy targeting to achieve 80% self-sufficient level of rice for national food security agenda, another alternative is to explore some premium quality traditional rice varieties that potentially entering into premium market for the socioeconomic advancement especially for the rural areas. Traditionally, the choice of farm technologies are implemented through government direction in a top-down approach, through decisions, strategies, and diffusion processes driven by the agencies. This study aims to explore the elements of Asset-Based Community-led Development (ABCD) as an alternative to conventional needs-based development within a community of rice farmers based in the Kelabit Highlands – a rural community in the highlands of the East Malaysia state of Sarawak. The study collected interview data from rice farmers in the Kelabit Highlands community and also discussed the role of agencies and their efforts to form partnerships, and peer collaborations based on those assets identified and community strength. The study also evaluated the ABCD framework as a means to visualize community-based assets. Clarifying these factors would identify suitable farming technologies that are socially desirable in the Kelabit Highlands and determine a bottom up method for other rural communities to evaluate and pave a path forward in selecting farming technologies that fit into their landscape.
 
 Keywords: ABCD, bottom-up, farm technologies, rice farming, top-down

Stories from the Kelabit Highlands. Folklore, Myths and Legends of the Kelabit tribe of Borneo collated and transcribed by Datin Nikki Lugun

Book review

When Digital Doesn’t Work: Experiences of Co-Designing an Indigenous Community Museum

The challenges to implement digital technologies in community-based projects are exposed in a case study co-designing an indigenous Community Museum, situated in the Kelabit Highlands of Borneo, Malaysia. Over a five-year period, this co-design project consisted of field trips, community engagements, and creating a documentary film and an inaugural exhibition in the newly constructed Kelabit Museum. This article highlights the limitations of digital technologies in museum contexts. Co-designing with stakeholders resulted in the decision to take a non-digital approach to the museum development to encourage greater community agency and prevent disengagement, as it incorporated heritage values in local community developments and cultural tourism plans. The findings demonstrate that community self-determination conflicted with preconceived outcomes, resulting in a need to re-evaluate the goals of the project. Instead, the ambition of cultural heritage preservation that maintained community participation emerged as the central goal. Removing the focus on a digital solution expanded community participation, which is a finding that should be used to frame other community cultural developments.

Elmidae of Sarawak: the genus Potamophilus Germar, 1811, with a description of P. kelabitensis sp. nov. (Insecta: Coleoptera)

Potamophilus kelabitensis sp. nov., a new riffle beetle (Coleoptera, Elmidae) discovered in the Kelabit Highlands (northern Sarawak) and Sapulut environment (southern Sabah), is described. Illustrations of the habitus and diagnostic characters of the new species are presented. Differences from the type species P. acuminatus (Fabricius, 1792) from the Palaearctic region, based on DNA barcodes and morphological characters, are discussed. Selected morphological characters of all known species of Potamophilus from Vietnam, Myanmar, and Papua New Guinea are also compared with the new species. The systematic position of the genus relative to other sympatric genera of the subfamilies Larainae LeConte, 1861 and selected Elminae Curtis, 1830 belonging to three tribes is discussed based on phylogenetic trees inferred from the mitochondrial COI and nuclear ArgK as well as 18S rRNA gene sequences.

PEMBENTUKAN NILAI MURNI SEBAGAI SARANA MESEJ BERDASARKAN KARAKTER NAMA DALAM KATA PANGGILAN ADAT MASYARAKAT KELABIT

This study discusses the formation of moral values as being a message based on a character name in the Kelabit Highlands community custom terms of address. This study was conducted in Bintulu, Sarawak. Seven ethnic Kelabit from Bario Highland and aged between 50 and 70 years of informan. The main data sources obtained through interview, observation, photography and analysis of documents. The tide of change globalization which traction among new generation causes less kelabit communities to their ancestral treasure in particular related character names and subsequently made a message in life their daily. Due to the current scenario and problems, the study was done to identify the formation of moral values as being a message based on a character name in the Kelabit Highlands community custom terms of address. Character name referred to in this study specific to the selection a combination of vocabulary name Aran Raja, Raja, Aran Paran Pelaba and Maran Bala in the Kelabit Highlands community custom terms of address. A combination of vocabulary name concerned is a combination of vocabulary name in the category Element Name first class in name change or Irau Mekaa Ngadan '. Study on the character of the name of this vocabulary to nurture theory presented by Lickona (1992) and the related description of the formation of moral values based on the principles of moral values as outlined by the Ministry of information communication and Culture (2013). The study found that every individual to be granted the title of the relevant combination is able to form a noble personality character and became a symbol of community identity Kelabit ethnic character. In addition, the title also to create individual identity in your welfare values for himself and for the ethnic Kelabit. Pure Pembentukannilai based on character names are as follows, namely, highlighting responsible character, showing character dear exhibit sincerity/integrity (honesty) and symbolizes justice and leadership qualities.

Prey into kin: the cosmological role of the pig in the Kelabit Highlands, Sarawak

In this article I explore the role of both the wild pig (baka) and the domesticated pig (berak) among the Kelabit of Sarawak, focusing in particular on their pre-Christian cosmological role. The wild pig (mainly Sus barbatus Müller, 1838 but also Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758), the main source of wild meat in the area, used to be associated with the spirit world, particularly with the Great Spirit. The domesticated pig (Sus scrofa) was, in pre-Christian Kelabit belief and practice, important in communication with the spirit world. I suggest here that the pig is transformed into kin to humans through being fed rice, and that this may be seen as the basis for its appropriateness as a way of communicating with the spirit world.

TRAVERSING SACRED STONES IN THE HEART OF BORNEO: TRANSBOUNDARY ECOTOURISM THROUGH THE MEGALITHIC LANDSCAPES OF THE KELABIT HIGHLANDS OF SARAWAK, MALAYSIA AND THE KERAYAN HIGHLANDS OF KALIMANTAN, INDONESIA

The Kelabit Highlands of Sarawak, Malaysia and the Kerayan Highlands of Kalimantan, Indonesia areculturally contiguous areas separated by the Apad Wat mountain range, consisting of a number ofvillages that are related ethnically, linguistically, and through marriage. Though now separated by apolitical boundary, locals have always traversed this border. Now, foreign tourists also walk across thisborder, as community-based transboundary ecotourism is often centered around long-distance trekkingamong villages. The main attractions along the way for most tourists are impressive megaliths thatinclude erected stones, carved stones, and large piles of stones, and other cultural sites such as oldlonghouse sites, and earthworks in various shapes such as crocodiles. These cultural sites, and thelandscape in which they are found, represent a complex history of movement in the landscape by various,but related, ethnic groups that predates political separation. These sites have deep cultural and religioussignificance to local people on both sides of the border, and the experience of trekking among them hassignificance beyond mere tourism for many visitors as well. There is strong local, governmental, andinternational support for ecotourism development here, as well as an awareness of the possible pitfallsof expanding ecotourism in this region. This paper provides background on elements of the landscapeitself, particularly megalithic structures located within intact rain forest, that attract visitors. It alsopresents a synopsis of some of the cross-boundary efforts to simultaneously promote responsible andculturally sensitive ecotourism development and to protect the ecological and cultural integrity of thisunique megalithic landscape in the “heart of Borneo.” Research for this article was conducted primarilyin the Kelabit Highlands, and emphasis on this area is reflected in the data and discussion.

Ancyronyx lianlabangorum sp. nov., a new spider riffle beetle from Sarawak, and new distribution records for A. pulcherrimus Kodada, Jäch & Čiampor based on DNA barcodes (Coleoptera, Elmidae).

Ancyronyx lianlabangorumsp. nov. (Coleoptera, Elmidae), a new spider riffle beetle from the Kelabit Highlands (Sarawak, northern Borneo), is described. Illustrations of the habitus and diagnostic characters of the new species and the similar, polymorphic A. pulcherrimus Kodada et al. are presented. Differences to closely related species, based on COI nucleotide sequences and morphological characters, are discussed. Ancyronyx pulcherrimus is here recorded from Sarawak for the first time, based on DNA barcoding.

End-user perceptions of success and failure: Narratives from a natural laboratory of rural electrification projects in Malaysian Borneo

Located deep in the Kelabit Highlands in Malaysian Borneo, the remote town of Bario offers us a natural laboratory of rural electrification projects through which to understand end-user perceptions of success and failure, and the factors that contribute to these perceptions. We use a case-study based approach and focus on three off-grid energy projects: a 110 kW mini-hydro power plant; a 12 kW wind turbine system; and a 1.59 MW solar-diesel hybrid system. We find that end-users primarily see the success or failure of a project in technical terms, but that this narrow conceptualization masks important interactions between technical, economic and institutional factors. We further find that end-user perceptions of newer projects are heavily affected by their perceptions of previous projects. Our findings suggest several ways forward to improve the effectiveness of rural electrification initiatives. Firstly, we should expect complex interactions between technical, economic and institutional factors and build-in the necessary capacity into rural electrification projects to identify and address these interactions. Secondly, there is no one size fits all solution to creating the requisite capacity to deal with interactions among technical, economic and institutional factors. Thirdly, ongoing qualitative or mixed-methods evaluations of rural electrification initiatives can help unravel what would otherwise be hidden interactions between technical, economic and institutional factors.

The Story of Lun Tauh, "Our People": Narrating Identity on the Borders in the Kelabit Highlands

Stories across Borders: Myths of Origin and Their Contestation in the Borderlands of South and Southeast Asia edited by Monica Janowski and Erik de Maaker

Protosticta joepani sp. nov. from Borneo with notes on P. kinabaluensis Laidlaw, 1915 (Odonata: Zygoptera: Platystictidae).

Protosticta joepani sp. nov. is described from Malaysian Borneo (holotype male Bario, Kelabit Highlands, Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, deposited in the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden). It is the sister species of P. kinabaluensis Laidlaw, 1915; some descriptive notes and a set of illustrations are provided of the latter species. A COI gene tree for both species is provided. The placement of both P. joepani and P. kinabaluensis is discussed, but although it is very unlikely that they belong in Protosticta sensu stricto, the issue is left open here.

Two New Ansonia from Mountains of Borneo (Anura, Bufonidae).

Two lineages of stream toads in the genus Ansonia from Malaysian Borneo have long been suspected to be specifically distinct on the basis of molecular data. We assessed the taxonomic status of these lineages using morphological and additional genetic data. In mtDNA phylogeny, each lineage-one from Bario, Kelabit Highlands of Sarawak, the other from Mt. Mulu of Sarawak and the Crocker Range of Sabah-is separated from other congeners by large genetic distances, comparable with those observed between heterospecific species in the genus. These lineages are also morphologically distinguishable from other species, and are considered to represent valid, independently evolving species. We therefore describe them as A. kelabitensis sp. nov. and A. kanak sp. nov.

Two new species of Thismia subsect. Odoardoa (Thismiaceae) from Borneo

Background – Two new species of the sect. Thismia subsect. Odoardoa, Thismia cornuta Hroneš, Sochor & Dančák and Thismia pallida Hroneš, Dančák & Rejžek, from Malaysian Borneo are described and illustrated. The former species is distributed in the Bario area of the Kelabit Highlands of Sarawak, and the latter occurs in the SAFE (Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystem) Project area, northwest of Tawau in Sabah.Methods – This study is based on field observations in several forest localities in Sarawak and Sabah and herbarium material deposited in SAN, SAR and OL. Both conventional herbarium techniques and comparison with protologues of described species were applied.Results – Thismia cornuta is morphologically closely related to T. inconspicua Sochor & Dančák from Brunei Darussalam and T. chrysops Ridl. from the Malay Peninsula but it differs from both species by the presence of only two appendages at apical margin of the connective, by horn-like projection on each side of the lateral appendage and by white colour of perianth tube. It was found at three localities and is preliminarily treated as endangered (EN). Thismia pallida is morphologically close to T. filiformis Chantanaorr. from Thailand but differs by the presence of five appendages at apical margin of connective, by box-shaped lateral appendage exceeding apex of connective and by shorter filiform appendage of perianth lobe. It was found at a single locality within twice logged secondary forest and it is preliminarily treated as critically endangered (CR). This is only the second record of Thismia species inhabiting secondary forests in tropical Asia.

Octosporopsis erinacea and Octospora kelabitiana (Pezizales) – two new hepaticolous ascomycetes from Borneo

Two new hepaticolous ascomycetes from the Kelabit Highlands (Sarawak, Borneo) are described and illustrated. Both of them infect thallose liverworts growing in damp and shaded localities. Octosporopsis erinacea parasitizing Dumortiera hirsuta (Marchantiopsida) has tiny, light yellow, rimless, setose apothecia, usually 8-spored asci and ellipsoid ascospores. Hyphae with appressoria develop superficially on, and intracellularly within, the host thallus. Dumortiera was recorded as a host for any bryophilous fungus for the first time. Octospora kelabitiana parasitizes species of the genus Riccardia (Jungermanniopsida). It is characterised by very small, light orange, setose apothecia, 8-spored asci, ellipsoid, biguttulate spores and very thick hyphae with conspicuous warts and ridges. Generic placement of both species was inferred based on DNA analysis of two nuclear loci (EF1α, LSU rDNA).

The ‘cultured rainforests’ of Borneo

Borneo has a 50,000-year record of Homo sapiens' interactions with rainforest on the coastal lowlands assembled especially by the interdisciplinary investigation of the archaeology and palaeoecology of the Niah Caves on the coastal plain of Sarawak (Barker et al., 2007; Barker, 2013). More recent work by many of the same team in the interior of Borneo, in the Kelabit Highlands of Sarawak, has combined those approaches with ethnography and anthropology to investigate recent and present-day, as well as past, human-rainforest interactions. In combination, the two projects indicate that the present-day rainforests of Borneo are the product of a deep ecological history related to both natural factors such as climate change and cultural factors such as how different groups of people chose to extract their livelihoods from the forest, including in ways that do not have simple analogies with the subsistence activities of present-day rainforest foragers and farmers in Borneo.

The cultural antiquity of rainforests: Human–plant associations during the mid-late Holocene in the interior highlands of Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo

Rainforests are often described as the world's last virgin landscapes; however hunter–gatherers may have been modifying these environments for over 50,000 years. Despite this, the antiquity of early tropical forest exploitation by hunter–gathers and the transition to farming are still poorly understood. Today globalization drives deforestation of rainforests at an unprecedented rate. The forest, the lives of its present-day inhabitants, and the archaeological evidence for their history are unlikely to survive for much longer in their present form. The ‘Cultured Rainforest Project’, an interdisciplinary project involving anthropologists, archaeologists and palaeoecologists, was set up in 2007 to investigate the long-term and present-day interactions between people and the rainforest in the Kelabit Highlands of central Borneo, so as to better understand past and present agricultural and hunter–gatherer lifestyles and landscapes. This paper examines the environmental evidence used to investigate initial signs of plant exploitation and the transition to agriculture, as well as to understand the wider significance of past plants in a changing cultural landscape. Results have shown that two pronounced cultural waves of human–plant interactions took place in the Kelabit Highlands during the late Holocene; although tentative marks may be present on the landscape ca.7000–6000 years ago. The first pronounced wave of human–plant interaction begins from at least 3000 cal BP. It seems to correspond with the appearance of stone mounds and open-air sites recorded in the archaeological record. The sago palm Eugeissona plays an important role during this period. A second wave of cultural activity, particularly in the last 450 years, is recorded in the southern Kelabit Highlands and is marked by rice becoming important. This may be linked to the construction of a wide range of different megaliths and earthworks, due to its inferred association with wealth and status in prehistoric and historic periods. It is perhaps also linked to a rise in trade between the coastal regions and highlands.

A New Species ofLimnonectesfrom the Border of East Kalimantan and Sarawak, Borneo Island (Anura, Dicroglossidae)

Abstract: A new dicroglossid frog allied to Bornean Limnonectes kuhlii-like fanged frogs is described from Krayan of East Kalimantan, Indonesia, and Kelabit Highlands of northern Sarawak, East Malaysia based on morphological characteristics. The new species, L. sinuatodorsalis is superficially similar to other Bornean species L. asperatus and L. hikidai in small body size and poorly developed webbing on the fourth toe, but differs from them in several characteristics, especially in dorsal texture. The new species occurs syntopically with Limnonectes cf. kuhlii in both the two known localities, possibly through ecological segregation by large body size difference between them.

Lun Bawang and Kelabit Potteries of Sarawak

In 2013, an ethnographic study of the Lun Bawang and Kelabit potteries in Sarawak was undertaken by the authors and staff of the Centre for Global Archaeological Research (CGAR), Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang and the Sarawak Museum Department, Kuching in the district of Lawas and the Kelabit Highlands, Sarawak (Fig. 1). The primary objective of the study is to locate the few remaining Lun Bawang and Kelabit potters in these regions in order to gather data and information on traditional pottery technology, types and functions. It is also hoped that the findings of the study can provide some useful insights into the connections between the past and present pottery-making traditions in Sarawak. The Lun Bawang and Kelabit potteries have been studied since the mid-1950s by a number of researchers such as Harrisson (1955), Morrison (1955) and Janowski (1991). Harrisson’s (1955: 301) work, however, was focussed mainly on the distribution and general characteristics of native pottery in Sarawak and Sabah. He made brief mentions of the possible links between the traditional and prehistoric pottery of Borneo. Morrison (1955) reported briefly on the Lun Bawang pottery-making in Ba’ Kelalan, Lawas. Between 1986 and 1988, Janowski (1991) studied and reported in detail about the Kelabit pottery-making at the village of Pa’ Dalih in the Kelabit Highlands. Although these previous studies have provided useful records of traditional pottery-making of the Lun Bawang and Kelabit, they are too brief and not comprehensive enough for understanding the traditional pottery-making of Sarawak. This study is therefore an attempt to fill the gaps in knowledge about the traditional pottery-making of the Lun Bawang and Kelabit which is now a dying tradition.

Bird Ringing Data and Field Notes from The Kelabit Highlands: 1993 to 2010

The initial bird surveys of Sarawak, from 1985 to 1992, covered a few National Parks, and several other lowland sites. From January 1993, until November 2010, a new survey began, to explore a wide expanse of the Kelabit Highlands, including parts of the Pulong Tau National Park. During this eighteen-year period, the sites selected ranged from lower montane areas of the Kelabit plateau close to its border with Kalimantan to the higher montane slopes of Mount Murud massif to the north. The duration of these surveys, largely self-funded, ranged from short-term ones, of ten to fourteen days each, to several extended ones that lasted as long as three continuous months at the same location. A large volume of data, on 227 species, was collected during this time. A small part of it has been analysed to support a series of short papers previously published in The Sarawak Museum Journal. Much of it, however, especially the ringing data, remains unpublished. It is now released into public domain for use by other workers. The data collected in the lowland surveys will be published in a separate paper.

A pollen morphology study from the Kelabit Highlands of Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo

Despite the rich biodiversity of plants in the islands of southeast Asia, modern pollen reference collections are still sparse for this part of the world. With only limited availability of pollen data, the ability to answer questions, regarding climate change and environmental change, to aid archaeological investigations through the reconstruction of past vegetation, or even for modern investigations, is challenging. No palynological work had ever been carried out in the Kelabit Highlands of Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, before this investigation. During 2007–2008, as part of the ‘Cultured Rainforest Project’, a number of cores were extracted for multi-proxy palaeoecological analysis, including pollen analysis. The cores produced a 50,000-year record of climate, environmental and later anthropogenic change. To aid fossil pollen identification, a modern pollen reference collection was also established. In August 2008, 253 modern plant species from a wide range of habitats were collected from in and around the villages of Bario and Pa’Dalih. Specimens were identified at the Department of Forestry Sarawak Herbarium (SAR), whilst pollen slides from all of the plant specimens were prepared at Queens University Belfast. This paper presents a detailed account of the pollen grains (176 species) collected from the Kelabit Highlands, and from SAR (25 species).