Geography of Wealth
Iban People/Malaysia: Profile
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For Malaysia's indigenous Iban people, the fortunes of an entire community can hinge on the success of its rice harvest. A good crop means the gods have smiled on them and food will be plentiful. A failed harvest means desperate times lie ahead.
Photo: an Iban harvester walks through a field of rice.
An Iban harvester walks through a field of rice.
The importance of rice to the Iban is not only pragmatic. Rice plants, they say, house the souls of their ancestors and give strength to those who consume it.
The Iban have for centuries made their homes along the forested banks of the rivers and tributaries of Sarawak (pronounced suh-RAH-wahk) in Malaysian Borneo. They live, surrounded by the jade-colored hills where they plant their rice, in communities of enormous family longhouses, which sometimes house up to 200 people.
Residents of each longhouse must sustain themselves, clearing new rice fields from the jungle each year and cultivating them meticulously. They also plant fruit trees, rubber trees, and vegetables.
Rice is pervasive throughout Iban culture. A visitor entering a longhouse can expect to receive a cup of tuak, a potent brew made from rice. Declining to drink this offering is considered an insult.
According to Iban lore, rice plants house
the souls of ancestors and give strength to
those who consume them.
The Gawai Dayak festival is held each year on June 1 to celebrate the rice harvest, and sweet rice-flour cakes called penganan and bamboo-roasted rice are among the traditional offerings.
As new roads intrude on their lands and logging shrinks their forest world, modern life has begun to encroach on the Iban. And though many of their traditions and customs are being lost or forgotten, for the Iban one important truth still remains: Rice is Wealth.
Discover More
Photo: Iban people fishing together
Watch a video showing how Malaysia's Iban people fish, hunt, and farm together, with everyone sharing in the fruits of their labor.
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See photos of the cultures, customs, and farming techniques of the hard-working indigenous Iban of Malaysian Borneo.
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