Murut people
Encyclopedia
The Murut is the warrior tribe of indigenous ethnic groups inhabiting northern inland regions of Borneo
. The Murut comprise several people groups that are scattered in parts of Borneo Island (The East Malaysian states of Sabah
and Sarawak
) including Brunei
, Kalimantan
(Indonesia). Their largest numbers are in Sabah but some also inhabit the rural in Limbang Division
, Sarawak
and in Brunei
, The Murut population in is mainly found in the sparsely populated Temburong district
but their population has dwindled in recent years. The Murut once supplied military might as special army to the Sultans of Brunei. They are defined as one of the seven indigenous groups that are considered to be Bumiputera in Brunei.
A large percentage of the Murut communities are in the southwest interior of Sabah, specifically the districts of Keningau
, Tenom
, Nabawan
, and Pensiangan
, along the Sapulut and Padas rivers. They were among the last tribal groups on Borneo to renounce headhunting. The largest Murut people groups are Tagol, Nabai, Tidung, Timugon, Sembakung, Paluan, Bookan, Kalabakan, and Serundung Murut. The Sabah Murut population is around 135,000 while around 1,200 are found in Brunei. The literal meaning for Murut is ‘hill people’. The Murut were formerly shifting cultivators moving their settlements every few years. Each people group has their own dialect, but most are also conversant in Malay which is the national language in Brunei and Malaysia.
Antanum
was a famous and influential Murut warrior from Sabah who according to local oral history claimed to have supernatural powers. Because of this he was able to receive support from the chiefs and villagers from around Keningau, Tenom, Pensiangan and Rundum and led the Rundum uprising against the British North Borneo Company
but was killed during fighting with the company army in Sungai Selangit near Pensiangan.
. This event was recorded in the Hou Han Shu compiled by Fan Ye
in the 5th century. The seal itself was discovered in northern Kyushu
(Saga Prefecture
) in the 18th century and one in Mount Murud
, Sarawak
in the 20th century. Wa was also mentioned in 257 in the Wei zhi, a section of the San Guo Zhi compiled by the 3rd century scholar Chen Shou
.
Early Sino-Japanese historians described Wa as a land of hundreds of scattered tribal communities rather than the unified land with a 700-year tradition as laid out in the 8th-century work Nihon Shoki
, a partly mythical, partly historical account of Japan which dates the foundation of the country at 660 BC. Archaeological evidence also suggests that frequent conflicts between settlements or state-lets broke out in the period. Many excavated settlements were moated or built at the tops of hills. Headless, human bone discovered in Yoshinogari site
and Mount Murud site are regarded as typical examples. In the coastal area of the Inland Sea, stone arrowheads are often found among funerary objects.
3rd century Chinese and 14th century Japanese sources reported that the Murut people lived on raw fish or pickled fish mixed bamboo shoots, vegetables, and rice served on bamboo and wooden trays, clapped their hands in worship (something still done in Japanese shrines today), hunting with blowpipes and built earthen-grave mounds. They also maintained vassal-master relations, collected taxes, had provincial granaries and markets, and observed mourning. Society was characterized by violent struggles in which the Murut people were anciently known as Shinobi
or mercenaries.
In recent years, more archaeological and genetic evidence has been found in eastern China
, southern Japan
and Borneo
to lend credibility to this argument. Between 1996 and 1999, a team led by Prof. Satoshi Yamaguchi, a researcher at Japan's National Science Museum
, compared Muruts remains found in Japan's, Yamaguchi
and Saga Prefecture
with those from early Han Dynasty
(202 BC-8) in China's coastal Jiangsu
province, and found many similarities between the skulls and limbs of Murut, Kyushu
and Ryukyu Japanese and the Jiangsu Chinese remains. The genetic samples from three of the 36 Jiangsu skeletons also matched part of the DNA sequences of the Sino-Japanese and Murut remains.
Emigration from Japan (Kyushu
and Okinawa) was recorded as early as the 9th century to the Borneo
and Philippines
,. Like the Iban
and Tagalog, genetic testing of the Murut people has shown them to belong mainly to Y-haplogroup D2
. Y-DNA haplogroup D2 is found frequently throughout the Japanese Archipelago
including Okinawa and other Ryukyu Islands
. In a study by Tajima et al. (2004), two out of a sample of sixteen (or 12.5%) Murut men have been found to belong to Haplogroup C3
, which is the most common Y-chromosome haplogroup among the indigenous populations of the southern Korean peninsula
and Kyushu
including Ryukyu island of Japan.
Based on analysis of one sample of 51 modern Muruts, their mtDNA lineages have been reported to consist mainly of haplogroup Y
(11/51 = 21.6% according to Tanaka et al. 2004, or 10/51 = 19.6% according to Adachi et al. 2009, who have cited Tajima et al. 2004), haplogroup D
(9/51 = 17.6%, particularly D4(xD1)), haplogroup M7a
(8/51 = 15.7%), and haplogroup G1
(8/51 = 15.7%).
, a branch of the Austronesian family
. The Tagol Murut language
serves as their lingua franca
. As Murut is a cluster of the Dayak tribes in northern East Kalimantan, Brunei and Sabah, Sarawak, East Malaysia, it has divided into 3 groups languages:
Murut language group:
Okolor (Indonesia (East Kalimantan))
Keningau Murut / Nabai (Malaysia: Sabah, Keningau)
Tagol Murut (Malaysia (Sabah, Sarawak) and Brunei)
Gana Murut (Malaysia, Sabah)
Selungai Murut (Indonesia (East Kalimantan))
Timugon Murut (Malaysia (Sabah, Sarawak) and Brunei)
Language group of North:
Bookan (Malaysia (Sabah))
Tidung language group:
Quarterly Tidung (Indonesian: Jawa Timur, Kota Tarakan)
Quarterly Bulungan (Indonesia (East Kalimantan, Regency Bulungan)
Kalabakan Murut (Malaysia, Sabah)
Dayak tribe Tagol / Sembakung Murut (Malaysia Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Kalimantan)
Serudung Murut (Malaysia, Sabah)
in late 60's. As with the Iban
of Sarawak
, collecting heads of enemies traditional served a very important role in Murut spiritual beliefs. For example, a man could only get married after he presented at least one head to the family of the desired girl.
The Murut were shifting cultivators of hill padi
and tapioca
, supplementing their diet with blowpipe
hunting and with some fishing
. They live in communal longhouses, usually near rivers, using the rivers as their highways. Many have now converted to Christianity
, however they still maintain their culture, however a small number of Muruts are Muslims. Most Muruts now were well educated and trained at many well known institution local or abroad, and most of them holds important post in the government, professionals like engineers, scientists, lawyers or doctors and not to mentioned a very successful business persons.
Traditional dress for men was a jacket made of tree bark (Artocarpus tamaran), a red loincloth
, and a headdress decorated with Argus pheasant
feathers. Women wore a black sleeveless blouse and sarong
, which fell just below the knees. Like most of the other indigenous groups in Sabah, the Murut decorated their clothing with distinctive beadwork
and also made belts out of old silver
coins. Another belt made of reddish-brown glass beads plus yellow and blue beads was hung loosely around the waist.
Murut wedding or funeral feasts can last several days. Ancient Sino-Japanese jars hold a prominent status in Murut customs. Jars are also a place of spirits, and larger jars were formerly used as coffins.
Magunatip performed in the Magginakan Day who worships the spirit of the paddy. Usually does not require an accompanying dance music as the sound of bamboo crashed together will sound and rhythm and the rhythm of powerful interests. This is performed by a pair of dancers dressed in traditional. Two people strike between pestle and two others hold the base of the pestle so as not to budge from its position. Magunatip Dance aims to enliven a ceremony held.
s which act as drone without any accompanying melodic instrument.
Murut also used bamboo as a music, using bamboo to compose a songs. Some instrument of music like tangkung (Similar to a guitar although it only has 4 strings) was also made from bamboo. Tangkung usually played when their leisure time.
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
. The Murut comprise several people groups that are scattered in parts of Borneo Island (The East Malaysian states of Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
and Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
) including Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
, Kalimantan
Kalimantan
In English, the term Kalimantan refers to the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo, while in Indonesian, the term "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo....
(Indonesia). Their largest numbers are in Sabah but some also inhabit the rural in Limbang Division
Limbang Division
Limbang Division is one of the eleven administrative divisions of Sarawak, east Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. It has a total area of 7,788.50 square kilometers, and is the fourth largest division after Kapit Division, Miri Division and Bintulu Division. Limbang Division consists of two...
, Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
and in Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
, The Murut population in is mainly found in the sparsely populated Temburong district
Temburong District
Temburong is the eastern-most district in Brunei. It is an exclave, as it is separated from the rest of Brunei by Malaysia and Brunei Bay. Its capital is Bangar. The main town located in the district is Pekan Bangar.-Geography:...
but their population has dwindled in recent years. The Murut once supplied military might as special army to the Sultans of Brunei. They are defined as one of the seven indigenous groups that are considered to be Bumiputera in Brunei.
A large percentage of the Murut communities are in the southwest interior of Sabah, specifically the districts of Keningau
Keningau
Keningau is a sprawling timber and agricultural town and district located in the Interior Division of Sabah, east Malaysia on the island of Borneo...
, Tenom
Tenom
Tenom is a town located in Interior Division of Sabah, east Malaysia on the island of Borneo. The town was called Fort Birch in the early colonial period. Its population was estimated to be around 46,200 in the year 2000....
, Nabawan
Nabawan
Nabawan is a town located in Interior Division of Sabah, east Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Its population was estimated to be around 23,890 in 2000, and is almost entirely ethnic Murut. Nabawan covers an area of 6089km²...
, and Pensiangan
Pensiangan
Pensiangan is a small town and also a parliamentary constituency in the state of Sabah in Malaysia. It is located in the Interior Division and is the capital of the district of Pensiangan. It is one of the most rural towns in Sabah located deep in the jungles of Borneo, and about 115 kilometres...
, along the Sapulut and Padas rivers. They were among the last tribal groups on Borneo to renounce headhunting. The largest Murut people groups are Tagol, Nabai, Tidung, Timugon, Sembakung, Paluan, Bookan, Kalabakan, and Serundung Murut. The Sabah Murut population is around 135,000 while around 1,200 are found in Brunei. The literal meaning for Murut is ‘hill people’. The Murut were formerly shifting cultivators moving their settlements every few years. Each people group has their own dialect, but most are also conversant in Malay which is the national language in Brunei and Malaysia.
Antanum
Antanum
Antanum or Antanom was a famous and influential Murut warrior from North Borneo , Malaysia who according to local oral history claimed to have supernatural powers...
was a famous and influential Murut warrior from Sabah who according to local oral history claimed to have supernatural powers. Because of this he was able to receive support from the chiefs and villagers from around Keningau, Tenom, Pensiangan and Rundum and led the Rundum uprising against the British North Borneo Company
British North Borneo Company
The North Borneo Chartered Company or British North Borneo Company was a chartered company assigned to administer North Borneo in August 1881. North Borneo became a protectorate of the British Empire with internal affairs administered by the company until 1946 when it became the colony of British...
but was killed during fighting with the company army in Sungai Selangit near Pensiangan.
Origin of the Murut people
The earliest written records about Murut people in Borneo are from Sino-Japanese sources from Yayoi Jidai or Iron Age era. Muru (ムル) or Wa, the Japanese pronunciation of an early Chinese name for Murut, was mentioned in 57 AD; the Na state of Wa received a golden seal from the Emperor Guangwu of the Later Han DynastyHan Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
. This event was recorded in the Hou Han Shu compiled by Fan Ye
Fan Ye
Fan Ye |Liu Xuan]] and Russian gymnast Svetlana Khorkina for the longevity of their involvement in the sport.Fan Ye is best known for her work on the balance beam. Her biggest accomplishment in gymnastics is winning the 2003 World Balance Beam Title...
in the 5th century. The seal itself was discovered in northern Kyushu
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
(Saga Prefecture
Saga Prefecture
is located in the northwest part of the island of Kyūshū, Japan. It touches both the Sea of Japan and the Ariake Sea. The western part of the prefecture is a region famous for producing ceramics and porcelain, particularly the towns of Karatsu, Imari, and Arita...
) in the 18th century and one in Mount Murud
Mount Murud
Mount Murud or Muru is a sandstone mountain located in the Malaysian part of Borneo. At 2,423 m , it is the highest mountain in the state of Sarawak....
, Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
in the 20th century. Wa was also mentioned in 257 in the Wei zhi, a section of the San Guo Zhi compiled by the 3rd century scholar Chen Shou
Chen Shou
Chen Shou was a historian during the Jin Dynasty period of Chinese history. He is best known as the author of Records of Three Kingdoms, a historical account of the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms period.-Biography:...
.
Early Sino-Japanese historians described Wa as a land of hundreds of scattered tribal communities rather than the unified land with a 700-year tradition as laid out in the 8th-century work Nihon Shoki
Nihon Shoki
The , sometimes translated as The Chronicles of Japan, is the second oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate and detailed than the Kojiki, the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeologists as it includes the most complete extant historical...
, a partly mythical, partly historical account of Japan which dates the foundation of the country at 660 BC. Archaeological evidence also suggests that frequent conflicts between settlements or state-lets broke out in the period. Many excavated settlements were moated or built at the tops of hills. Headless, human bone discovered in Yoshinogari site
Yoshinogari site
Yoshinogari is the name of a large and complex Yayoi archaeological site in Yoshinogari and Kanzaki in Saga Prefecture, Kyūshū, Japan. According to the Yayoi chronology established by pottery seriations in the 20th century, Yoshinogari dates to between the 3rd century BC and the 3rd century AD...
and Mount Murud site are regarded as typical examples. In the coastal area of the Inland Sea, stone arrowheads are often found among funerary objects.
3rd century Chinese and 14th century Japanese sources reported that the Murut people lived on raw fish or pickled fish mixed bamboo shoots, vegetables, and rice served on bamboo and wooden trays, clapped their hands in worship (something still done in Japanese shrines today), hunting with blowpipes and built earthen-grave mounds. They also maintained vassal-master relations, collected taxes, had provincial granaries and markets, and observed mourning. Society was characterized by violent struggles in which the Murut people were anciently known as Shinobi
Shinobi
Shinobi is the Japanese word for male ninja. It may also refer to:*Shinobi , a series of video games**Shinobi , the original video game in the series developed by Sega**Shinobi , the PlayStation 2 sequel...
or mercenaries.
In recent years, more archaeological and genetic evidence has been found in eastern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, southern Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
to lend credibility to this argument. Between 1996 and 1999, a team led by Prof. Satoshi Yamaguchi, a researcher at Japan's National Science Museum
National Science Museum
National Science Museum may refer to:*Science Museum *National Science Museum of Japan*National Science Museum, South Korea...
, compared Muruts remains found in Japan's, Yamaguchi
Yamaguchi
Yamaguchi is the 15th most common Japanese surname.-People:People bearing the surname Yamaguchi include:*Adam Yamaguchi, an American television correspondent and producer at Current TV...
and Saga Prefecture
Saga Prefecture
is located in the northwest part of the island of Kyūshū, Japan. It touches both the Sea of Japan and the Ariake Sea. The western part of the prefecture is a region famous for producing ceramics and porcelain, particularly the towns of Karatsu, Imari, and Arita...
with those from early Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
(202 BC-8) in China's coastal Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
province, and found many similarities between the skulls and limbs of Murut, Kyushu
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
and Ryukyu Japanese and the Jiangsu Chinese remains. The genetic samples from three of the 36 Jiangsu skeletons also matched part of the DNA sequences of the Sino-Japanese and Murut remains.
Emigration from Japan (Kyushu
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
and Okinawa) was recorded as early as the 9th century to the Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
and Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
,. Like the Iban
Iban
IBAN or Iban may refer to:People* Ibán Espadas , footballer* Iban Iriondo , bicycle racer* Iban Mayo , bicycle racer* Iban Mayoz , bicycle racer* Iban Nokan, anthropologist and ethnographer...
and Tagalog, genetic testing of the Murut people has shown them to belong mainly to Y-haplogroup D2
Haplogroup D (Y-DNA)
In human genetics, Haplogroup D is a Y-chromosome haplogroup. Both D and E lineages also exhibit the single-nucleotide polymorphism M168 which is present in all Y-chromosome haplogroups except A and B, as well as the YAP unique-event polymorphism, which is unique to Haplogroup...
. Y-DNA haplogroup D2 is found frequently throughout the Japanese Archipelago
Japanese Archipelago
The , which forms the country of Japan, extends roughly from northeast to southwest along the northeastern coast of the Eurasia mainland, washing upon the northwestern shores of the Pacific Ocean...
including Okinawa and other Ryukyu Islands
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
. In a study by Tajima et al. (2004), two out of a sample of sixteen (or 12.5%) Murut men have been found to belong to Haplogroup C3
Haplogroup C3 (Y-DNA)
In human genetics, Haplogroup C3 is a Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup mainly found in indigenous Siberians, Kazakhs and Mongolians. Haplogroup C3 is the most widespread and frequently occurring branch of the greater Haplogroup C...
, which is the most common Y-chromosome haplogroup among the indigenous populations of the southern Korean peninsula
Korean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
and Kyushu
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
including Ryukyu island of Japan.
Based on analysis of one sample of 51 modern Muruts, their mtDNA lineages have been reported to consist mainly of haplogroup Y
Haplogroup Y (mtDNA)
In human mitochondrial genetics, Haplogroup Y is a human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup.-Distribution:Haplogroup Y has been found in approximately 66% of Nivkhs and approximately 20% of Ainus. However, this haplogroup also has been found in approximately 2% of Koreans, and in South Siberian and...
(11/51 = 21.6% according to Tanaka et al. 2004, or 10/51 = 19.6% according to Adachi et al. 2009, who have cited Tajima et al. 2004), haplogroup D
Haplogroup D (mtDNA)
In human mitochondrial genetics, Haplogroup D is a human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup.-Origin:Haplogroup D is believed to have arisen in Asia some 48,000 years before present. It is a descendant haplogroup of haplogroup M.-Distribution:...
(9/51 = 17.6%, particularly D4(xD1)), haplogroup M7a
Haplogroup M (mtDNA)
In human mitochondrial genetics, Haplogroup M is a human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup. An enormous haplogroup spanning all the continents, the macro-haplogroup M, like its sibling N, is a descendant of haplogroup L3....
(8/51 = 15.7%), and haplogroup G1
Haplogroup G (mtDNA)
In human mitochondrial genetics, Haplogroup G is a human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup.-Origin:Haplogroup G is a descendant of haplogroup M. Haplogroup G is divided into subclades G1 and G2a, which represent the Koryaks and Itelmen.-Distribution:...
(8/51 = 15.7%).
Murutic languages
The group is divided between lowland (Timugon) and highland (Tagol) subgroups. They speak the Murutic languagesMurutic languages
The Murutic languages are a family of half a dozen closely related Austronesian languages, spoken in the northern inland regions of Borneo by the Murut people.The languages are:...
, a branch of the Austronesian family
Austronesian languages
The Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia that are spoken by about 386 million people. It is on par with Indo-European, Niger-Congo, Afroasiatic and Uralic as one of the...
. The Tagol Murut language
Tagol Murut language
The Tagol Murut language is spoken by the Tagol subgroup of the Murut people, and serves as the lingua franca of the whole group. It belongs to the Bornean subdivision of the Austronesian language family. Murut Tagol usually lives in borneo area around lawas and limbang. Most of the murut tagol is...
serves as their lingua franca
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
. As Murut is a cluster of the Dayak tribes in northern East Kalimantan, Brunei and Sabah, Sarawak, East Malaysia, it has divided into 3 groups languages:
Murut language group:
Okolor (Indonesia (East Kalimantan))
Keningau Murut / Nabai (Malaysia: Sabah, Keningau)
Tagol Murut (Malaysia (Sabah, Sarawak) and Brunei)
Gana Murut (Malaysia, Sabah)
Selungai Murut (Indonesia (East Kalimantan))
Timugon Murut (Malaysia (Sabah, Sarawak) and Brunei)
Language group of North:
Bookan (Malaysia (Sabah))
Tidung language group:
Quarterly Tidung (Indonesian: Jawa Timur, Kota Tarakan)
Quarterly Bulungan (Indonesia (East Kalimantan, Regency Bulungan)
Kalabakan Murut (Malaysia, Sabah)
Dayak tribe Tagol / Sembakung Murut (Malaysia Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Kalimantan)
Serudung Murut (Malaysia, Sabah)
Customs
The Murut was famous with the title of silent headhunter or 'Tampadau' and were the last of Sabah's ethnic groups to renounce headhuntingHeadhunting
Headhunting is the practice of taking a person's head after killing them. Headhunting was practised in historic times in parts of China, India, Nigeria, Nuristan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Borneo, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, Micronesia, Melanesia, New Zealand, and the Amazon Basin, as...
in late 60's. As with the Iban
Iban people
The Ibans are a branch of the Dayak peoples of Borneo. In Malaysia, most Ibans are located in Sarawak, a small portion in Sabah and some in west Malaysia. They were formerly known during the colonial period by the British as Sea Dayaks. Ibans were renowned for practising headhunting and...
of Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
, collecting heads of enemies traditional served a very important role in Murut spiritual beliefs. For example, a man could only get married after he presented at least one head to the family of the desired girl.
The Murut were shifting cultivators of hill padi
Padi
Padi or PADI may refer to:* Padi, Chennai, India* Padi , a musical group* Paddy field, a type of cultivated land * Professional Association of Diving Instructors, a scuba organization...
and tapioca
Tapioca
Tapioca is a starch extracted Manihot esculenta. This species, native to the Amazon, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and most of the West Indies, is now cultivated worldwide and has many names, including cassava, manioc, aipim,...
, supplementing their diet with blowpipe
Blowpipe
Blowpipe can refer to:*The Blowpipe missile*Blowgun, a weapon*Blowpipe *Blowpipe , several Transformers characters....
hunting and with some fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
. They live in communal longhouses, usually near rivers, using the rivers as their highways. Many have now converted to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, however they still maintain their culture, however a small number of Muruts are Muslims. Most Muruts now were well educated and trained at many well known institution local or abroad, and most of them holds important post in the government, professionals like engineers, scientists, lawyers or doctors and not to mentioned a very successful business persons.
Traditional dress for men was a jacket made of tree bark (Artocarpus tamaran), a red loincloth
Loincloth
A loincloth is a one-piece male garment, sometimes kept in place by a belt, which covers the genitals and, at least partially, the buttocks.-History and types:Loincloths are being and have been worn:*in societies where no other clothing is needed or wanted...
, and a headdress decorated with Argus pheasant
Pheasant
Pheasants refer to some members of the Phasianinae subfamily of Phasianidae in the order Galliformes.Pheasants are characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, males being highly ornate with bright colours and adornments such as wattles and long tails. Males are usually larger than females and have...
feathers. Women wore a black sleeveless blouse and sarong
Sarong
A sarong or sarung is a large tube or length of fabric, often wrapped around the waist and worn as a kilt by men and as a skirt by women throughout much of South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, the Horn of Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric most often has woven plaid or...
, which fell just below the knees. Like most of the other indigenous groups in Sabah, the Murut decorated their clothing with distinctive beadwork
Beadwork
Beadwork is the art or craft of attaching beads to one another or to cloth, usually by the use of a needle and thread or soft, flexible wire. Most beadwork takes the form of jewelry or other personal adornment, but beads are also used in wall hangings and sculpture.Beadwork techniques are broadly...
and also made belts out of old silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
coins. Another belt made of reddish-brown glass beads plus yellow and blue beads was hung loosely around the waist.
Murut wedding or funeral feasts can last several days. Ancient Sino-Japanese jars hold a prominent status in Murut customs. Jars are also a place of spirits, and larger jars were formerly used as coffins.
Traditional Tribal Dance
This is a traditional tribal dance of the Murut Timugon in Tenom district. Magunatip derived from the word 'apit', which means that the pins (when the dancers dancing feet squeezed or sandwiched by two bamboo if being trapped).Magunatip performed in the Magginakan Day who worships the spirit of the paddy. Usually does not require an accompanying dance music as the sound of bamboo crashed together will sound and rhythm and the rhythm of powerful interests. This is performed by a pair of dancers dressed in traditional. Two people strike between pestle and two others hold the base of the pestle so as not to budge from its position. Magunatip Dance aims to enliven a ceremony held.
Musical Heritage
The Murut have a musical heritage consisting of various types of agung ensembles - ensembles composed of large hanging, suspended or held, bossed/knobbed gongGong
A gong is an East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet....
s which act as drone without any accompanying melodic instrument.
Murut also used bamboo as a music, using bamboo to compose a songs. Some instrument of music like tangkung (Similar to a guitar although it only has 4 strings) was also made from bamboo. Tangkung usually played when their leisure time.