What is Melanau's?

People of Melanau's.....

The Melanau are a people who live on the island of Borneo, primarily in Sarawak, Malaysia, but also in Kalimantan, Indonesia. They are among the earliest settlers of Sarawak, and speak a NorthwestMalayo-Polynesian language.

The Melanau were in the 19th Century, settled in scattered communities along the main tributaries of the Rajang River in Central Sarawak. Melanau or problematic Kajang speaking tribes such as the Sekapan, the Rajang, the Tanjung and the Kanowits gradually moved and assimilated into Dayak migrations settling in the Rajang. The Punan (or Punan Bah) today are closely linked to the last riverine dwelling Melanau communities previously inhabiting the middle and upper Rejang tributaries. The Kajang language is kept relatively alive by the isolated Sekapan communities Kapit division of Sarawak.

The Melanau are considered among the earliest settlers in Sarawak. The name Melanau was not used by the Melanau to refer to them until recently. They call themselves a-likou meaning 'people of the river'. Legend has it that the name Melanau was given by one of the Sultans of Brunei to the inhabitants of the coastal swamp flats and riverbanks of central Sarawak.

Eda Green, writing in 1909, referred to "...the Milanaus, whose girls are as fair as any Europeans and the belles of Borneo."

The Melanaus can be divided into six different groups which are: Melanau Mukah, Melanau Dalat, Melanau Oya, Melanau Matu-Daro-Rejang, Melanau Ba'ie (Bintulu),Melanau Balingian and Melanau Jatti Mirek. Each group has its own characteristic dialect but they share the same cultural and lingual background (except for Melanau Bintulu dialect which can hardly be understood by the rest. Many linguists feel that it hardly fit into the Melanau language grouping). The Melanau languages have been divided in the following eleven: Mukah, Balingian, Oya, Dalat, Daro-Matu, Rajang, Kanowit, Sibu, Bintulu, Seru and Tanjong. 

There is one group that have been missed out, they are the Melanau Igan. They live in kampungs (example: Kampung Skrang, Kampung Tengah,Kampung Hilir etc) near the river that borders the Mukah - (Matu-Daro) district. The main languages are Melanau, some speaks Malays. This group of Melanau are almost 100% Muslim. The Muslim side have adopted cultures that are similar of those of Malays culture and the rest remain with the Melanau culture (Christianity, Pagan). Basically the original people of Igan were Malays who settled in the area. However their mixed intermarriages with the Melanaus and today have instead produced a new generation who considered themselves Melanaus.

                         

Similar to the Igan Melanaus ancestral beginnings, many Melanaus who had migrated to different areas in Sarawak experienced the same transformation. A group of Matu Melanaus settled in Bintawa Area in Kuching after World War 2. However their offspring are mostly Melanaus by blood but cannot speak the language. They are considered as Malays. However as a point of interest, the new secondary school built in Bintawa Kuching in 2007 is named SMK Matu Baru. Many areas in Kuching notably Petra Jaya, Lundu and Santubong do have a significant Melanau population. Miri the oil town, Bintulu the gas town, Sibu the riverine town are also places where there is a significant Melanau population. However the 'Bin' and 'Binti' factors in their names had confused the census workers (read the following paragraph). There are some cases whereby the 'Bin' and 'Binti' are used by the Likou and Christians. One of the reasons the Muslim Melanau migrated to Malay is during the registration of birth of the new born, they will automatically consider as Malay if the parent didn't inform the registration officer.