Murut

Murut means “Men of the hill,” the 3rd largest indigenous groups in Sabah, they are usually farmers and hunters live in interior area. Murut are people also found in Sarawak and Kalimantan.  Murut comprise of subgroups such as Baukan, Gana', Kalabakan, Okolod, Paluan, Sulangai, Serudung, Tagal, Timugon and the Beaufort and Keningau Murut. Though all Murut sub-ethnics sharesimilar culture, they can look very different from one another.

A woman from one of the Murut's sub-group

They are mostly shifting cultivators and hunters with some riverine fishing. Once feared as fearless headhunters and longhouse dwellers, the Murut these days have abandoned much of their age-old traditions especially headhunting. They are also very skilled in hunting with blowpipe.

One of the tourist taking picture with the Murut warrior

Pesta Kalimaran (Kalimaran Fest) is an annual cultural celebration of the Muruts. It celebrates the richness of culture of the Muruts and presents most of their cultural aspects. The word Kalimaran refers to the craftsmanship activities of the Muruts. It is derived from the Murut's words ralaa and alimar. Ralaa means young lady and alimar means hardworking, strong-minded, diligent and trustworthy. According to the story, there was a young Murut lady called Ralaa. She was a hardworking, strong-minded, diligent and trustworthy young lady. But her brother Yolomor had to sacrifice her for the benefit of their community.

Generally speaking, the Murut in Brunei have participated in the economic prosperity and modernization of Brunei Darussalam over the past few decades. The Murut in Sabah have also had increased opportunities resulting from modernization, although those who live in remote locations have not benefited as much from these changes.The era of conflict and headhunting has become a thing of the past. Now, they are basically focusing on improving their life.