Bidayuh Community of Malaysia: Presenting Culture and Nature as a Package for Sustainable
Development of Indigenous Tourism

Shazali Johari, Ahmad Shuib, Sridar Ramachandran, Syamsul Herman

Institute of Agricultural and Food Policy Studies
Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract

This paper presents the cultural attributes owned by the Bidayuh community in Malaysia that could be
utiziled for indigenous tourism development. The Bidayuh community is also known as the 'people of
land' and well equiped with their cultural products like 'Ogong' gong ensemble, gigantic drums and a
unique bamboo percussion instrument known as the 'pratuakng'. Apart from that, this study also reveals
the readiness of the native community to participate in tourism activities and obstacles faced by them to
develop tourism in their area. The cultural uniqueness of the community is recognized by both the
international tourists and the other Malaysian communities. However, the development of tourism to
expose the culture of the community to outsiders is still questionable. Initial investigations done shows
that the community is willing to involve in tourism to share their culture with outsiders although no
effective developmental programs by the government. Thus this study is important to create awarenes
to outsiders about the untapped indigenous resources to enhance cultural commercialization in a
sustainable manner.

Keywords: Cultural tourism, initial inquiry, community development, sustainable tourism, rural
destination, Sarawak

Introduction

Bidayuh is one of several indigenous groups found in southern part of Sarawak, on the island of Borneo.
The name "Bidayuh" means 'inhabitants of land'. Originally from the western part of Borneo, the
collective name Land Dayak was first used during the period of Rajah James Brooke, the White Rajah of
Sarawak. They constitute one of the main indigenous groups in Sarawak and live in towns and villages
around Kuching and Samarahan in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. This community constitute 8.1
percent of Sarawak' s population and less than 1 percent of Malaysia's population. According to Geddes
(1954), Bidayuh means "people of the interior". This community is well known for their longhouses and
unique culture. According to a key respondent, the community is very close to the nature.

“Bidayuhs are mainly Pagans or animist and they believe in ancestral worship and they also
believe in the ancient spirits or nature. Due to that, they would have big celebrations like the Gawai
(June 1st) which is a celebration to please the padi’s spirit for good harvest. They would also hold small
praise and worship sessions occasionally to the River and Jungle spirits to cure illness and ward of bad
luck. However, at least 50% of the Bidayuh community have converted into Christianity since the arrival
of missionaries into Sarawak” (personal communication 11 August 2012, Dihoi Anak Nyawen, Head of
Village, Krokong-Tringgus).

Dihoi also highlighted the uniqueness of their culture which can be transformed for torism business.
Cultural dances, music and food are considered as the generally practiced attributes by the community.

“Being the people of colourful culture, the Bidayuhs have their own cultural dress code (which, in
the modern days, are only worn during festivities and celebrations) They have their own cultural dance
and they play their own cultural music which comprises of a set of Gongs.  The Bidayuhs are generally
very soft-spoken people. While the men are proud and strong, the women are more gentle, less
outspoken and would usually shy away from strangers and outsiders. The Bidayuh’s staple food is rice
but in a lot of places, wild-sago became their staple food (personal communication 11 August 2012,
Dihoi Anak Nyawen, Head of Village, Krokong-Tringgus).

They include six main subgroups: Bau-Bidayuh, Biatah-Penrissen, Bukar-Sadung, Padawan-Sembaan,

Rara and Salako. All the subgroups were collectively called Land Dayak before officially named Bidayuh
by the government in the year 2002.

Literature Review

Cultural resource usually drives the whole tourism business in the rural areas which would contribute
for positive socio-economic development (Butler and Hinch, 2007). One of the most established
definitions of cultural resources can be seen in the work of Pedford, (1996). According to the scholar,
the cultural resources are any living history attributes such as rural customs and folklore, local and
family traditions, values, beliefs, and common heritage. Arguably, culture is the main resource that
indigenous people possess. Their unique customs and traditions are developed as attractions to lure
tourists to the rural areas (Brown and Cave, 2010; Cohen, 2007; Liu, 2009). Thus, it can be said that
cultural resource is a must for any community as an identity to show their uniqueness to the outsiders.

Method

This study employs a qualitative approach which is inductive in nature. The aim is to gather data with no
assumption of the primary researcher (Creswell, 2003). This qualitative approach helped the researcher
to eliminate the research biasness that can occur. In-depth interview was the main data collection
technique supported by observation technique. The collected data was analyzed using thematic analysis
technique.

Table 1: Key Respondents of the study

No
Name of Respondent Position Location Gender Age
.
1. Gabriel Tonga Noweg Profesor UNIMAS UNIMAS Male 54
2. Dihoi Anak Nyawen Penghulu Kpg. Krokong / Tringgus Male 58
3. Nani Anak Lajou Woman Club Chairman Kpg. Peros Female 47
4. Lipik Anak Salau Counselor Kpg. Bijulin Male 51
5. Jorim Anak Ayup Coperation Member Kpg. Batu Sepit Male 53
6. Risik Anak Giyan Head of Village Kpg. Belimbing Male 48
7. Pisiew Anak Salam Head of Village Kpg. Kaman Male 60
 8. Takim Anak Sitam Head of Village Kpg. Peros Male 58
9. Abam Anak Asoi Head of Village Kpg. Pengkalan Tebang Male 48
Joseph Jap Anak
10. Homestay Chairman Kpg. Krokong Male 45
Sayon
11. Jesen Anak Laun Head of Village Kpg. Puak Krokong Male 51
12. Rajulin Head of Village Tringgus Male 48

Table 1 above shows the respondents that were interviewed. However, for this paper, not all the
interview conversations from all the respondents are revealed. Selected conversation within the scope
of cultural and natural resources was interpreted.

Natural Resources

According to the community, their surroundings are their biggest advantage to package tourism
smoothly. The villages are located nearer to the caves and jungle.

“But, the main attraction in this village is a beautiful river with crystal clear water. There are many other
natural resources in our area and we have access to these resources without any constraints. The Pedi
River is the largest. (Respondent No. 9)

“There is a beautiful and attractive place on top of the mountain which is really wide and from there one
can see the panorama of the whole of Kuching. People seldom go there. It is about 4 to 5 hours from
Kampung Tringgus. There is Bobot waterfalls which is also another attraction that can be reached in
about 4 hours using the staircase. There are some tourists who go there are nature lovers” (Respondent
No.12).

Some of the resources are operated by the Sarawak Cooperative Society under the patronage of the
Sarawak Ministry of Tourism which means there is government intervention in tourism development in
the rural areas.

“There are separate packages which include exploring jungle, rivers and caves in Bau, with very low
charge for foreign tourists. We do offer package which include activities in attractive places at Fairy
Cave, Sarawak Kanan River and explore old forest. In 2013, 3 groups of students from Singapore came
for climbing the Fairy Cave and forest for 2 nights (Respondent No.10)

“Below the Fairy Cave at Tringgus, there is the Brobot Waterfalls. The waterfalls can be accessed by foot.
On the high ground there are 2 pools, a small river and an orchard. It takes about 6 hours to get there,
one way” (Respondent No. 4).

However, some of the respondents also claimed that there are some setbacks in the local natural
resources for tourism development which require attention from the local authorities.

“The problems that we face with regards to resources are firstly the group known as Larian 3H
which has disturbed the villagers’ crop and forest. Most of the problems that arise are from the aspect of
safety of participants if they had a fall, disappear in the forest and others. (Respondent No. 8)
Most of the respondents claimed that there are sufficient natural resources in their village that could be
used to attract tourists. However, genuine participation is needed to make tourism business successful
(Arnstein, 1969)

Cultural Attraction

The community rely mainly on their culture to attract tourists. Their longhouses and dance with
costumes are considered as their main cultural tourism products. According to them, they always want
to show their culture to outsiders.

"We have the uniqueness that the city people do not have. They might have money, but we have our
culture which can be converted to money. A Baruk is a round house usually in the middle of the the
village. This house was used as a meeting place to perform their traditional rituals, dances and festivals
(gawais). The Bidayuhs had several annual gawais, e.g one for the rice to spring out, one for the rice to
grow strong and healthy and one when all the rice were  harvested.Some  of these traditional gawais are
still practised, but are now held on a certain date every year” (Respondent No.2).

“On 1st of June the Bidayuh people celebrate their Gawai and this lasts for about a week. During
Gawai most of the Bidayuhs who are living or working outside the village usually returns to their
respective village to meet and socialise with friends and family. It is not unusual to combine Gawai with
a wedding since the whole family already are  together. The  Bidayuhs are a peaceful people and their
hospitality is huge. Other than that, we offer group cultural performances at night and traditional food
recipes. We also offer traditional sport for both tourist and locals” (Respondent No.5).

“The Bidayuhs are also known for their warrior audacity. In a war, a Bidayuh man’s status
is  judged by the numbers of skulls hung on the ceiling just before entering their houses. The more skulls
you have, the higher your warrior’s rank” (Respondent No.7).

Apart from that, the natural resources available in their area are adequate. However, many of these
resources have not been identified and have not been developed to make as tourism products. So he
suggested there should be cooperation to attract tourists to the area from government agencies for
infrastructure. He himself felt that they did in terms of financial constraints for tourism projects.

"Resources available in our area are too many. But many of these resources have not been identified and
unexplored like Budu Cave to be made as tourism attraction. So I suggest that there should be
cooperation to attract tourists to the area from government agencies. I personally feel that there is a
constraint in terms of finance for tourism projects" (Respondent 8).

Generally, the community believe that they are rich of resources especially their cultural resource. They
agree that their culture is something that people could not see elsewhere in the world. Apart from that,
they are rich natural resources. However, it must be explored and developed as tourism products. Thus,
they suggested there should be cooperation to attract tourists to their area.

Conclusion
The Bidayuh community has a lot of cultural and natural resources that can be commercialized for
tourism business. The community believe that tourism will not only provide them financial support, but
also helps to protect and sustain their culture. However, they are still not genuinely participating in any
tourism developmental programs by the government. Although they are included in the planning
process, the final decision only made by the governmental agencies. Thus, the community hopes that
they are valued as equal partners by the government before taking any decision to develop tourism in
their area.

References

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Cohen, E. (1988). Authenticity and commoditization in tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 15(3): 371-
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