Sociocultural Perspective Among the Kiput of Baram: a Study of Kuala Tutoh and Benawa Communities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70115/tamaddun.v3i3.361Keywords:
Kiput, Indigenous Communities, Sarawak, Ethnic Identity, Religious DiversityAbstract
The Kiput of northern Sarawak, a small yet culturally significant indigenous group of about 450 people, remains understudied. Living in two settlements, Kuala Tutoh (mainly Christian) and Kampung Benawa (mainly Muslim), they navigate ethnic identity maintenance amid assimilation pressures and internal religious diversity. Using community-based ethnography, which incorporates participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and archival materials, this study employs thematic analysis with member checking to ensure community-grounded interpretations. Findings show that Kiput identity is sustained through shared historical memory, linguistic distinctiveness, and material culture, while religious affiliation is the primary organising principle shaping settlement patterns, livelihoods, and ritual life. Despite religious divergence, ethnic identification remains cohesive through enduring kinship ties. Younger members express reduced engagement with traditional markers yet selectively sustain aspects of their heritage. Cultural continuity persists alongside adaptive strategies, although structural factors such as state schooling, market pressures, and limited economic opportunities constrain intergenerational transmission, especially of the Kiput language. The study recommends strengthening indigenous land rights, reforming language education, supporting community-led heritage initiatives, and ensuring participatory development planning. The Kiput case reflects broader challenges faced by minority indigenous groups in Borneo as national development transforms ancestral landscapes and subsistence systems.
Downloads
References
Allred, A. P., Patterson, S., & Headland, T. N. (2023). Community-based ethnographic research: Methods and reflexivity. Journal of Cross-Cultural Research, 57(3), 287–304.
Blust, R. A. (2002). Kiput historical phonology. Oceanic Linguistics, 41(2), 384-438. https://doi.org/10.1353/ol.2002.0004.
Blust, R. A. (2003). Austronesian languages in Borneo: Classification and lexical comparison. Oceanic Linguistics, 42(1), 23–49.
Brennan, S. J., & Schulze, M. W. (2004). Cultural immersion through ethnography: The lived experience and group process. Journal of Nursing Education, 43(6), 285-288. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20040601-08.
Campbell, R., & Christian, D. (2003). Directions in research: Intergenerational transmission of heritage languages. Heritage language journal, 1(1), 91-134. https://doi.org/10.46538/hlj.1.1.6.
Damit, A. R., & Zulkiflee, Z. (2025). Language Shifts and Transnational Migration in the Belait Community: A History of Resilience and Adaptation. In Transnational Southeast Asia: Communities, Contestations and Cultures (pp. 121-142). Springer Nature Singapore.
Dentan, R. K., Endicott, K., Haden, A. G., & Marlowe, D. V. (2006). Malaysia and the original people: A brief etiolated history. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 37(2), 281–301.
EnviroLab Asia. (2019). Indigenous livelihoods and sustainable resource management in Baram: Community perspectives on development and conservation. Environmental Research Letters, 14(12), 124–143.
Gracy, K. F. (2004). Documenting communities of practice: making the case for archival ethnography. Archival Science, 4(3), 335-365. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10502-005-2599-3.
Horn, C. (2015). The Orang Ulu and the museum: investigating traces of collaboration and agency in ethnographic photographs from the Sarawak Museum in Malaysia (Doctoral dissertation, Swinburne).
King, V. T. (2016). Identities in Borneo: Constructions and transformations. In Borneo studies in history, society and culture (pp. 177-207). Springer Singapore.
Lee, S., & Wang, L. (2018). Language shift and intergenerational transmission among minority language communities in Malaysia. Language and Education, 32(4), 315–332.
Martin, P. W. (2005). Shifting patterns of language use in Borneo. In P. W. Martin (Ed.), Shifting patterns of language use in Borneo. In Papers from the Second Biennial International Conference (pp. 1–28). Borneo Research Council.
McHattie, L. S., & Teo Boon Ting, W. (2024). Indigenous relations: craft, vernacular materials and cultural assets in Borneo. CoDesign, 20(1), 194-217. https://doi.org/10.1080/15710882.2024.2317233.
Minority Rights Group. (2024). The Kiput of Sarawak: Ethnicity, marginalisation and land rights in Borneo. Minority Rights Group International, 156–189.
Murdock, G. P., & Wilson, S. F. (1972). Settlement patterns and community organization: Cross-cultural codes 3. Ethnology, 11(3), 254-295.
Nauck, B. (2001). Social capital, intergenerational transmission, and intercultural contact in immigrant families. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 32(4), 465-488.
PLOS ONE. (2020). Livelihood transformations and resource access among indigenous communities in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. PLOS ONE, 15(8), e0238456.
Riget, P. N., & Campbell, Y. M. (2020). Examining language development and revitalisation initiatives: The case of the Bidayuh language in Sarawak. Journal of Modern Languages, 30(1), 101–121. https://doi.org/10.22452/jml.vol30no1.3.
Soda, R. (2001). Rural-urban migration of the Iban of Sarawak and changes in long-house communities. Geographical review of Japan, Series B., 74(1), 92-112. https://doi.org/10.4157/grj1984b.74.92.
Tessier, S. (2012). From field notes, to transcripts, to tape recordings: evolution or combination?. International journal of qualitative methods, 11(4), 446-460. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940691201100410.
Thambiah, S. (2007). Religion and identity in Islam and Christianity: Conversion processes in Borneo. Southeast Asia Research, 15(2), 201–228.
Tupas, R., & Sercombe, P. (2014). Language, education and nation-building in Southeast Asia: An introduction. In Language, education and nation-building: Assimilation and shift in Southeast Asia (pp. 1-21). Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Wan, R., Renganathan, S., & Phillip, B. (2015). What is the point of us talking? Ethnic language and ethnic identity in Northern Borneo, Malaysia. Humanities and Social Sciences Review, 4(1), 109-120.
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. (2019). Indigenous rights mobilisation and environmental conservation: The Baram Peace Park initiative. Journal of Malaysian Studies, 37(3), 412–436.
Zulkiflee, Z., & Chuchu, I. F. (2025). Belait Language Maintenance in Brunei Darussalam. International Journal of Linguistics, 3(1), 77-92. https://doi.org/10.36312/ijlic.v3i1.2617.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Zulfadzlee Zulkiflee, Ifwah Fauzani Chuchu
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright & License
Authors published in this journal agree to the following terms:
- The copyright of each article is retained by the author (s).
- The author grants the journal the first publication rights with the work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, allowing others to share the work with an acknowledgment of authorship and the initial publication in this journal.
- Authors may enter into separate additional contractual agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of published journal versions of the work (for example, posting them to institutional repositories or publishing them in a book), with acknowledgment of their initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (For example, in the Institutional Repository or on their website) before and during the submission process, as this can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and more extensive citations of published work.
- Articles and all related material published are distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
All writing in this journal is the sole responsibility of the author. BIOS Journal provides open access to anyone so that the information and findings in these articles are helpful for everyone. BIOS can be accessed and downloaded for free, free of charge, following the creative commons license.
License
TAMADDUN: Jurnal Ilmu Sosial, Seni, dan Humaniora is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
You are free to :
Share: copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
Adapt: remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially
Under the following terms:
Attribution: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so reasonably but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
ShareAlike: If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original
No additional restrictions: You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
