Urban populations consist predominantly of Malays, Melanaus, Chinese, and a small population of urban Ibans and Bidayuhs who migrated from their home villages seeking employment.
(meta data) TITLE: Sarawak Tourism Federation 17 captures 31 Dec 2007 - 22 May 2019 About this capture COLLECTED BY Organization: Alexa Crawls Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. Collection: Alexa Crawls Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20150106051053/http://www.stf.org.my:80/sarawak/index.php?do=people Welcome to our Official Website About Sarawak The Sarawak People Ethnic Groups Sarawak has more than 40 ethnic groups with their own distinct language, culture and lifestyle Cities and larger towns are populated predominantly by Malays, Melanaus, Chinese, and a smaller percentage of Ibans and Bidayuhs who have migrated from their home-villages for employment reasons Sarawak is rather distinctive from the rest of Malaysia in that there is only a small community of Indians living in the state. Ibans form the largest percentage of Sarawak's population, making up some 30%. Reputed to be the most formidable headhunters on the island of Borneo, the Ibans of today are a generous, hospitable and placid people. The Ibans dwell in longhouses, a stilted structure comprising many rooms housing a whole community of families. The Ibans are renowned for their Pua Kumbu (traditional Iban weavings), silver craftings, wooden carvings and beadwork. Iban tattoos which were orignally symbols of bravery for the Iban warriors have become amongst the most distinctive in the world. The Ibans are also famous for their tuak, a sweet rice wine which is served during big celebrations and festive occasions. Today, the majority of Ibans are practice Christianity. However, like most other ethnic groups in Sarawak, they still hold strong to their many traditional rituals and beliefs Sarawak is unique to colourful festivals such as the Gawai Dayak (harvest festival), Gawai Kenyalang (hornbill festival) and Gawai Antu (festival of the dead). Malays make up 21% of the population in Sarawak. Traditionally fishermen, these seafaring people chose to form settlements on the banks of the many rivers of Sarawak Today, many Malays have migrated to the cities where they are heavily involved in the public and private sectors and taken up various professions. The Malays are famed for their wood carvings, silver and brass craftings as well as traditional Malays textile weaving with silver and gold thread (kain songket). Malays are Muslim by religion, having brought the faith to Asia some 1000 years ago Their religion is reflected in their culture and art and Islamic symbolism is evident in local architecture - from homes to government buildings. Melanaus have been thought to be amongst the original settlers of Sarawak. Originally from Mukah (the 10th Administrative Division as launched in march 2002), the Melanaus traditionally lived in tall houses. Nowadays, they have adopted a Malay lifestyle, living in kampong-type settlements. Traditionally, Melanaus were fishermen and till today, they are reputed as some of the finest boat-builders and craftsmen. While the Melanaus are ethnically different from the Malays, their lifestyles and practices are quite similar especially in the larger towns and cities where most Melanau have adopted the Islamic faith. The Melanaus were believed to originally worship spirits ina practice brinking on paganism. Today many of them are Christian and Muslim, though they still celebrate traditional animist festivals such as the annual Kaul Festival. Chinese first came to Sarawak as traders and explorers in the 6th Century. Today, they make up 29% of the population of Sarawak and comprise of communities built from the economic migrants of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The first Chinese migrants worked as labourers in the gold mines at Bau or on plantations. Through their clan associations, business acumen and work ethic, the Chinese organised themselves economically and rapidly dominated commerce. Today, the Chinese are amongst Sarawak's most prosperous ethnic groups The Sarawak Chinese belong to a wide range of dialect groups, the most significant being Hokkien, Foochow, Hakka, Teochew, Cantonese and Henghua. Hokkien and Mandarin are the most widely spoken dialects. The Chinese maintain their ethnic heritage and culture and celebrate all the major cultural festivals, most notably Chinese New Year and the Hungry Ghost Festival. The Sarawak Chinese are predominantly Buddhists and Christians. from West Kalimantan, the Bidayuhs are now most numerous in the hill country of Bau and Serian, within an hour's drive from Kuching Historically, as other tribes were migrating into Sarawak and forming settlements, the meek-natured Bidayuhs retreated further inland, hence earning them the name of "Land Dayaks". The traditional Bidayuh abode is the "baruk", a roundhouse that rises about 1.5 metres off the ground. Typical of the Sarawak indigenous groups, the Bidayuhs are well-known for their hospitality and are reputed to be the best makers of tuak, or rice wine. The Bidayuhs speak a number of different but related dialects. While some of them still practice traditional religions, most modern-day Bidayuhs have adopted the Christian faith. ORANG ULU phrase Orang Ulu means upriver people and is a term used to collectively describe the numerous tribes that live upriver in Sarawak's vast interior. Such groups include the major Kayan and Kenyah tribes, and the smaller neighbouring groups of the Kajang, Kejaman, Punan, Ukit, and Penan. Nowadays, the definition also includes the down-river tribes of the Lun Bawang, Lun Dayeh, Murut and Berawan as well as the plateau-dwelling Kelabits. The various Orang Ulu groups togther make up roughly 5.5% of Sarawak's population. The Orang Ulu are artistic people with longhouses elaborately decorated with murals and woodcarvings They are also well-known for their intricate beadwork detailed tattoos. The Orang Ulu tribe can also be identified by their unique music - distinctive sounds from their sape, a stringed instrument not unlike the mandolin A vast majority of the Orang Ulu tribe are Christians but old traditional religions are still practiced in some areas. Penan are the only true nomadic people in Sarawak and amongst the last of the world's hunter-gatherers The Penan make their home under the rainforest canopy, deep within the vast expanse of Sarawak's virgin jungle. Even today, the Penan continue to roam the rainforest hunting wild boar and deer with blowpipes. The Penan are skilled weavers and make high-quality rattan baskets and mats. The traditional Penan religion worships a supreme god called Bungan. However, the increasing number who have abandoned the nomadic lifestyle for settlement in longhouses have converted to Christians. Sarawak More Than a Paradise (Video) STF | Contact Us | Sitemap | Hotlines | Hotlinks | Privacy Copyright © 2015 Sarawak Tourism Federation (STF). All Rights Reserved.
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Sarawak
Demography.
Sub-ethnic groups of Dayak in Sarawak (2014) 
 The 2015 census of Malaysia reported a population of 2,636,000 in Sarawak, making it the fourth most populous state. However, this population is distributed over a large area resulting in Sarawak having the lowest population density in the country with only 20 people per km. Although it has a low population density, the average population growth rate of 1.8%, from 2000 to 2010, is very close to the national average of 2.0%. In 2014, 58% of the population resided in urban areas with the remainder in rural areas, but over the next 10 years it is predicted that the urban population would rise to 65%. As of 2011, the crude birth rate in Sarawak was 16.3 per 1000 individuals, the crude death rate was 4.3 per 1000 population, and the infant mortality rate was 6.5 per 1000 live births.