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Culture

Longhouse life, music, craft and the forty-odd communities that make Sarawak what it is.

Anthropomorphic mask with basketry cap, Borneo, Kalimantan, Kenyah-Kayan, 19th century, wood, rattan, polychrome, Honolulu Museum of Art , accession 10197.1Featured

Sarawak's baskets: a different one for every job, and who runs the craft now

A guide to Sarawak's plaited basketry: what each shape is for, how the Penan, Kayan, Bidayuh, Melanau, Iban and Kelabit forms differ, and the bodies that now run the craft economy.

Muhammad Kashif5 min read
A long Iban longhouse at Betong stretching away under a single roofCulture

Life Inside an Iban Longhouse: The Ruai, the Bilik and a Roof Shared by Dozens of Families

Muhammad Kashif12 JulA timber Iban longhouse raised on stilts behind a swept open yardCulture

Visiting an Iban Longhouse in Sarawak: A First-Timer's Guide

Muhammad Kashif11 JulFreshly cut sago logs stacked at the water's edge on the Melanau coastCulture

The Melanau and the Sago Palm That Built Their Coast

Muhammad Kashif21 JunA ceremonial pua kumbu, its rust-red ikat motifs woven in dense repeating bandsCulture

Pua Kumbu: The Cloth the Iban Dream Before They Weave It

Muhammad Kashif20 JunThe bamboo-floored walkway of Annah Rais longhouse, houses on either sideCulture

Annah Rais: A Bidayuh Longhouse an Hour from Kuching

Muhammad Kashif25 MayA pua kumbu cloth spread flat, its rust and ecru ikat motifs in repeating bandsCulture

Inside an Iban Longhouse: Community, Ritual and Pua Kumbu

Muhammad Kashif8 May