Orang Ulu Sarawak Cultural Village

Sarawak Cultural Village Orang Ulu
The Orang Ulu is also known as the Upriver People (People who stay way up in the interior rivers). Generally, the name Orang Ulu describes the numerous tribes from the upriver of Sarawak.

Namely, the Kayan, Kenyah, Klemantan, Kelabit, Penan and Lun Bawang tribes; these Orang Ulu people are the most artistic of all the tribes with amazing designing skills shown in the longhouses, murals and woodcarvings.

They are also well known for their Sape (traditional guitar) making, weapon crafting, intricate bead-work, and tattooing.

Rumah Orang UluAn Orang Ulu longhouse on stilts

Orang Ulu Sarawak Cultural Village

At the Sarawak Cultural Village, there is a living longhouse of the Orang Ulu, and when visiting this longhouse, you will find the artwork simply amazing here.

Even from afar, one can see the details which outshine the other tribe longhouses. Built on tall stilts measuring around 30 feet high, the Orang Ulu longhouse is made mostly from hard ironwood and berlian wood which last for generations.

Gambar Rumah Orang UluWalkway up to the Orang Ulu longhouse

Longhouses are also built on uneven terrain, so there will be a wooden staircase leading up to the longhouse's main entrance. As you walk up, you will notice intricate carvings and painted murals on the longhouse stilt poles.

Entrance to Orang Ulu HouseLonghouse Entrance

As I reached the main entrance of the longhouse, a single log staircase leads me to the door. This hand-carved log can only take one person up at a time, and you then enter the amazing world of the Orang Ulu people.

Tree of Life Orang Ulu SarawakOrang Ulu Tree Of Life mural

A unique mural of 'The Tree Of Life' with nature-inspired creepers reflected in overlapping curves in different directions is painted on the main walls of the longhouse.

This is one of the best artworks I have seen from all the tribes. It is also the most photographed mural of all the tribes.

The meaning simplifies the three levels of the people. On the top is the higher class, the middle is the average, and the lower portion is the general class of people.

Warrior Shield Parang Orang UluOrang Ulu warrior shields and vest

Inside the longhouse, there are various sections where a variety of items are being displayed. You see most of the Orang Ulu craft and even some weapons there.

What caught my eye were two old Orang Ulu Warrior Shields mounted on a wall. They must have been at least a hundred years old.

In the middle of the two shields, a protective vest was made from some kind of animal skin that no one could tell me the name.

Traditional Tattoo Kit Orang Ulu Orang Ulu tattoo kit

At one of the tables lies an authentic traditional Orang Ulu tattoo kit. A guide there will even show you how traditional tattoos are done without piercing your skin.

It sounded excruciating from what was explained, and I think I will just pass if the offer came up to get a traditional tattoo.

Several other handcrafted items like baskets and mats are also displayed inside the longhouse, and none of the items is for sale, just in case you decide to want some of them.

You can get some of the items at the souvenir shop just before you exit the Sarawak Cultural Village.

Orang Ulu Sape Making ProcessOrang Ulu Sape making process


The veranda of the longhouse is most interesting. I found that this is my favourite place in the entire Cultural Village.

The chief of the Orang Ulu Longhouse actually stays there, and he makes ethnic traditional Sape (sa-pay) and is one of the few master Sape craftsman left in the tribe. (Update May 2012 - The former Orang Ulu chief has since retired and gone back to his village to live. There is a new person that learned from the chief and taken over as house chief.)

Sape Orang Ulu Asli
Orang Ulu Sape

Spending his free days carving and painting the Sape guitar, the master craftsman then fine-tunes it, tests it, and puts it on sale at the souvenir shop.

If you have a passion for guitars or stringed instruments, you should really consider getting the Sape as a souvenir like I did. To date, I have three traditional Sape's in my collection and hung on my home wall. 

Update 2014: The Orang ulu Chief has passed away peacefully in his village.

Playing Sape Sarawak
  The Orang Ulu chief playing the Sape by the Tree of Life

Video of Orang Ulu playing the Sape


The Sape is a mandolin-like instrument with a peculiarly Celtic sound when played. Some professionals actually rig it up to a speaker for a better effect. The strings alternate between high and low keys and are not similar sounding to the common guitar.

When the Sape is being played, it would sound like a melodic trance with a deep echo. The sounds were so beautiful that I bought a collection of Sape music from all around Sarawak.

I now own about 6 CDs of just ethnic Sape music and three original Sape instruments.

Sarawak Orang Ulu girlsOrang Ulu women

The Orang Ulu women are mostly skilled in various crafts like weaving and bead-working. Some of the bead-working from the Orang Ulu are considered the best among all the tribes.

I took a close look at some of their work and found they are really intricate and colourful.

Bead Work of Orang Ulu Orang Ulu beadwork

The bead-working skills of the Orang Ulu are handed down from mother to daughter, and among the items they would bead are bangles, necklaces and headgear, which are often given away as gifts to others.

Most of the bead-work designs centre around the Tree Of Life design and various animals like Hornbills, Tigers and even Dragons.

Also, at the longhouse, Orang Ulu girls in traditional costumes or uniforms wait for guests to arrive where they will perform a traditional dance at the veranda of the longhouse.

This can be seen during certain times of the day, so please check with the SCV or guide about the performances at longhouses. If you miss this, you can always catch it at the main theatre show.

Perumpuan Orang Ulu
A beautiful Orang ulu girl.

When you leave the Orang Ulu longhouse and make your way to the next place, you will come across one of the huts where a weaponsmith is seen making some traditional weapons.

The Orang Ulu people were once well known throughout the region as master weaponsmiths. According to stories, ore was collected from around and forged into excellent blades at cold mountain streams.

Finally, I would recommend this place to those interested in Sarawak's culture and heritage. The main reason for visiting the Sarawak Cultural Village is that not many people have the luxury of exploring deep in the interiors of the Sarawak jungles to visit the original longhouses.

Therefore the SCV is a wonderful place to see most of the tribes in just one day. 

You can also read about my other articles on each of the ethnic tribes around Sarawak, namely the Iban TribeBidayuh PeopleMelanau Tribe.

You can also visit the official website for the Sarawak Cultural Village for more information.

Entrance Fee to the Sarawak Cultural Village
  • RM 60.00 (US$20)  (Adult)
  • RM 30.00 (US$10) (Child: 6-12 years old)
  • Free for Children aged under 6.
  • Tickets can be purchased at the Entrance of Sarawak Cultural Village.
  • You can also get it from the authorized local travel agents around Sarawak.
Sarawak Cultural Village Opening hours are:
0900 - 1700 daily

They are two Cultural Shows per day.
1130 - 1215
1600 - 1645

Sarawak Cultural Village Address;

Pantai Damai, Santubong,
P.O.Box 2632, 93752 Kuching,
Sarawak, Malaysia.
Telephone: (6082) 846 411
Fax: (6082) 846 988
Email: enquiry@scv.com.my
Website: http://www.scv.com.my/

Female Orang Ulu Dancer
Orang Ulu woman dancer

Conclusion

For those interested in the cultural history of Sarawak, you should not miss visiting the cultural village when you are in Kuching.

As you can easily spend half a day here, it is advisable to visit the SCV in the mornings, so you have ample time to visit all the various tribes found around the Sarawak Cultural Village.

Malaysia Asia

Blogging since 2007, but writing online since 1997. I belong to the 1st generation of worldwide bloggers, which is of course old-school. Since 2008, I created Malaysia Asia and this travel, flood, gadget and lifestyle blog has won numerous physical awards from tourism boards around Malaysia. (Not those online awards). After 12 years of blogging, I have semi-retired and now blog about things I like, do product reviews and enjoy life. My work has been featured in Lonely Planet, CNN Travel, Yahoo Travel, Wall Street Journal, and many other international publications. Find out more about me and thank you.

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