Murut



ETHNONYMS: Sabah Murut: Idahan, Tagal, Taggal, Tagol, Tagul; Sarawak Murut: Kelabit, Kemaloh Kelabit, Lun Bawang, Lun Daya, Lun Daye, Southern Murut


Settlements

The Idahan traditionally lived in longhouse villages at the confluence of a river and a tributary; they now live in smaller longhouses that are spread out along the tributary, and there are no longer village centers. Kelabits inhabit fairly large longhouses (as long as 75 meters, and housing an average of 100 people), which are built in clusters on alluvial plains.


Kinship

For the Idahan, the nuclear family is of paramount importance; the extended family has an undefined role. The Kelabits reckon descent ambilineally.


Bibliography

LeBar, Frank M. (1972). "Kelabitic Murut." In Ethnic Groups of Insular Southeast Asia, edited by Frank M. LeBar. Vol. 1, Indonesia, Andaman Islands, and Madagascar, 158-163. New Haven: HRAF Press.


LeBar, Frank M. (1972). "Murut." In Ethnic Groups of Insular Southeast Asia, edited by Frank M. LeBar. Vol. 1, Indonesia, Andaman Islands, and Madagascar, 153-154. New Haven: HRAF Press.


Prentice, D. J. (1972). "Idahan Murut." In Ethnic Groups of Insular Southeast Asia, edited by Frank M. LeBar. Vol. 1, Indonesia, Andaman Islands, and Madagascar, 154-158. New Haven: HRAF Press.


Saging, Robert Lian R., and Lucy Bulan (1989). "Kelabit Ethnography: A Brief Report." Sarawak Museum Journal 40:89-118.

DANIEL STROUTHES

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