27 April 2010

Merarap Hot Springs

I just spent two days at the Merarap Hot Springs resort in Sarawak (Malaysia), halfway between Lawas (on the coast) and Ba'kelalan (near Bario). Very relaxing and enjoyable.The people who live in the region call themselves the Lun Bawang, and their language is closely related to that of the Kelabit who live in and around Bario.

In an earlier post (here), I referred to them as the Lundayeh people and also suggested that those who live near the coast, in Lawas and Limbang, are called Murut. However, the owner of the Merarap Hot Springs resort insisted that only those who live in Temburung (which is part of Brunei) are called the Murut. Those in Lawas (where they are the largest group, constituting 45% of the population) and also in Limbang (where they are a rather smaller minority, at 10% of the total) all refer to themselves as Lun Bawang. He seemed to be pretty knowledgeable about local things, so I'll take his word for it.

In fact, Wikipedia (here) suggests that the term Lundayeh is more commonly used for those who live over the state border in Sabah. I don't always trust Wikipedia, but this time it concurs with what my informant told me.