The Sounds of Storm

“Su’ho” (in the past) Penan communities lived nomadically within the forest interior. However, the communities were forced to settle by the Malaysian Government in order to open up the forest interior. Many of these settlements were built on the shores of the rivers that run through Sarawak. Not only did this change life from being nomadic into being settled, but it also made the shift of communities adopting practices of life on the river.

Mutang Tu’o remembers that when he was a child, all Penan peoples were afraid of getting on a boat. They were afraid of being on the water, but now Penan communities have adopted the practices of building long boats, both out of wood and metal. And just as life has changed in the practices that the community employ, so too the weather conditions have changed.

Sarawak has always had rain. It has always had the seasonal change, like many tropical places, that is often referred to as the monsoon. But now all of that is changing. For the past ten years, we have watched “Dau Keliwah” (Climate Change). The rains are much more intense and end up causing the high level of flooding of the rivers.

In this clip, we watch the rising river Tutoh in an onslaught of tropical monsoon. This clip is filmed in Long Iman, a village that is in close proximity to Mulu National Park. Unlike many other Penan villages, due to tourists occasionally visiting Long Iman, it is often favorited by the Malaysian government and receives assisted resources. This is interpreted to be as a means of trying to show a good image of how the Penan live for the tourists. In the face of a changing climate and due to the ever-increasing floods, the village of Long Iman now has a newly erected building up the mountain away from the river. By Mutang and his fellow villages, this is referred to as “Lamin Ba Ka’lap” (the House of Running away from Water”).