SARAWAK CULTURAL VILLAGE LIVING MUSEUM

Sarawak Cultural Village Living Muzeum

SCV Award:

Golden Web Award 2001-2002 Malaysian Tourism Gold Award 1990 Hornbill Tourism Gold Award 1994 National Dance Festival 1996 (Best Costume)

National Dance Festival 1996 (Best Dance) MTV Band Alert 1998 (Breakthrough) MTV Band Alert 1998 (Grand Prix) National Dance Festival 1994

National Dance Festival 1996 (Best Careography) Tourism Malaysia Award 2000(Best Tourism Attraction Best Incentive Theme Vanue)

Expatriate Lifestyle The Best of Malaysia Travel Award 2007 - Best Native Experience

Expatriate Lifestyle The Best of Malaysia Travel Award 2006/07 - Best Cultural & Historical Destinations and Attractions

Aseana Cultural Presentation Effort 1992 Golden Web Award 2002-2003

PATA Cultural Gold Award 1991 Aseana Classis Award 1991

Living Museum:

This living museum depicts the heritage of the major racial groups in Sarawak and conveniently portrays the respective lifestyle amidst14 acres of equatorial vegetation. To see Sarawak in one sunny day .. this is the basic concept of Sarawak Cultural Village, where the 48,000 square miles of Malaysia's most majestic State are condensed into just 17 acres. One leisurely stroll opens seven homes to the visitor, seven cultures, including the famous longhouses of Borneo. Tucked away on the foothills of legendary Mount Santubong, 35 km away from Kuching is Sarawak's fascinating cultural showcase, the award winning "Sarawak Cultural Village".

Bidayuh Longhouse:
Bamboo galore! Bamboo carvings, plumbing, musical instruments, bridges, flooring,walls...welcome to the Bidayuh Longhouse! Let the gongs and war drums welcome you to the Barok - the round head-house. Get caught up in the rhythm of rural activity...sugar cane crushing, paddy pounding, winnowing rice ... Have Fun!!!
The Bidayuh race, accounting for 8.4% of Sarawak's population live mainly within the catchment of the Sarawak and Sadong rivers. Early European travelers gave them the name “Land Dayaks” because they lived in the steep limestone mountains, near the watershed area of West Sarawak, in what was then Dutch Borneo.
Many Borneo natives live in longhouses, in effect, a row of dwellingsand a village street under one roof. The Bidayuhs, a group comprising the Jagoi, Biatah, Bukar-Sadong, Selakau and Lara peoples of West Sarawak, built their houses in mountain fastnesses, tacked to a steep hillside like a gigantic staircase. This was partly for protection against marauding enemies, partly for access to pure, fresh water. The terrain occupied by the Bidayuhs inspired them to construct ingenious systems of gravity-fed water supply. A little river is dammed at a distance above the longhouse, and the water carriedto the dwelling in bamboo conduits.

Iban Longhouse:
OooHAH! Nama berita?" What's the news? You're swept into the joyous atmosphere of the Iban Longhouse - drums and gongs, Pua weaving, kuih jala, tuak (their rice wine), hanging skulls carrying tales of days gone by.The Iban race, once known as “Sea Dayaks”, built their longhouses to last fifteen to twenty years, or, until the farm land in the surrounding area was exhausted. Then they packed up their goods and chattels and moved inland, upriver, along the coast, wherever fresh farm lands looked promising. About one-third of all Sarawakians are Iban; while some of them live in towns or individual houses, a large number still prefer longhouses.
A traditional longhouse is built of axe-hewn timber, tied with creeper fibre, roofed with leaf thatch. It is nearly always built by the bank of a navigable river, and the visitor approaches it from the boat jetty. He climbs up a notched log that serves as a staircase and finds himself on the open verandah face to face with a scene of community and domestic activity. Several doorways lead from the outer to the inner verandah under the roof. This is the village street of the longhouse; the individual family rooms or “doors” front the common walkway. A casual visitor is invited to sit down on a mat here for a chat with the longhouse elder; family members enter through their relatives' doors and make themselves at home.

Penan Hut:
Do not blow from your mouth. Blow from your chest and your stomach." So says the Penan warrior on the art of shooting with the blowpipe at the Penan Huts. Watch blowpipe making or try blowpipe shooting with the Penans, the last of the hunters and gatherers - the forest nomads.
The shy nomadic people of the jungle, the Penans, live in the dense virgin jungles of Central Borneo, among some of the State's most valuable timber resources. Some are 'coming out' and learning to farm the land, others still prefer their roaming life-style. Penan shelters are quickly constructed to last for a few weeks or months. They are sited near a good stand of wild sago trees, the Penan's staple food; after this has been used up, the family moves on. Another Penan specialty is the manufacturing and accurate use of blowpipes. A wood beam of adequate length is fixed in a drilling platform, and then bored through patient manual labour. The pipe is trimmed by axe and knife, and finally polished. The bore is smoothed and ground by pulling lengths of rattan through it. Blowpipe ammunition is a softwood plug tipped with a hardwood dart. Blowpipe poison, carefully dosed to suit the prey, is made from the sap of the upas tree (Antiaris toxicaria).

Orang Ulu Longhouse:
The Kayan, the Kenyah, the Kelabit, the Lun Bawang and the other minor tribes...theseare the Orang Ulu, gentle and graceful people - as reflected in their songs, music and dances.
Sit on the verandah of the Orang Ulu Longhouse nest with the friendly craft-ladiesas they do their intricate beadwork whilst in the background, floats the melodiouslyhaunting tune of the sape, their stringed musical instrument. Other sights of interestare the art of body tattooing, parang ilang, their fighting sword, klirieng, their burial pole (totem pole). Orang Ulu, “up-river dwellers”, is a useful if vague term to describe the central Borneo people living in Sarawak. Accounting for 5.5% of the total population, the orang Ulu comprises the Penan, the Kayan and Kenyah, living in the middle and upper reaches of Sarawak's longest rivers, the Kelabit and Lun Bawang groups in the highlands proper. In the past, the orang Ulu were famous throughout the region as sword-smiths. They extracted iron from the ore found in their area, they forged it into excellent blades which they tempered in the cold mountain streams. Traditionally, an orang Ulu longhouse was built to last. Many of these people practise settled agriculture, and have developed rice field irrigation to a fine art.

Melanau Tall House:
Be entertained by tall tales of spirits and demons at the Melanau Tall House. Try our tall swing, too; the tibau swing is used as a fertility rite during the Pesta Kaul. Watch the step-by-step processing of sago and taste the finished products: sago pearls and biscuits. The Melanau people making up 5.8% of Sarawak's population, now mostly living in the central coastal region, were once more widely scattered. They traditionally lived near the sea within reach of pirates. As a means of protecting themselves, the Melanaus built massive houses forty feet above the ground.
The Melanaus differ from most other Borneo people in one important aspect: they eat sago in preference to rice. Sago palms originally grew wild in the coastal swamps, and the Melanaus took it upon themselves to cultivate these plants. The ten-metre high palm trunk accumulates starch. It swells just before flowering indicating the right time for harvesting by felling. The pith is grated to a fine mash. This is soaked in a long wooden trough, then trodden through a mat to leach out the sago starch. The off-white sediment settles at the bottom of the trough it is spread on mats to dry into lumps. These are broken up and finally ground into flour.

Malay house:
"Selamat Datang!" Welcome! And so many more Malay words to learn in the Malay House. Take a breather in its hospitable surroundings to join in the many traditional games on demonstration here, such as gasing (top spinning) and congkak (a traditional Malay board-like game). The house of an urban Malay family is a gracious structure, well adapted to the tropical climate. Like all local houses, it is built of wood. The Brooke era introduced lofty ideas on columns, stucco, and indoor plumbing. From as early on as the 1860's, a few leading Malay families commissioned professional builders, often Chinese, to construct their stately homes; a few which may still be seen today in Jln. Ajibah Abol in Kuching. From the humblest to the highest, Malay houses share certain characteristics. They are built on stilts and a visitor approaching from the front comes up a staircase. He announces his presence before he reaches the verandah. This may be quite small, leading along from the front of house. It permits a stranger to wait until somebody welcomes him in. The area designated for the men, official occasions and the entertainment of guests, is a front room taking up the width of the house. Windows cut down to floor level admits breeze for the seated people. Much artistic skill is lavished on the decoration of the stair and window railings, fascia boards under the eaves as well as the ventilation grills above or beside doorways .

Chinese Farmhouse:
The first Chinese settlers to Sarawak, the Hakka clan, brought with them Cha Kiak, the traditional Chinese wooden clogs as on display at the Chinese farm house. The typical Sarawakian Chinese abode is a tribute to the pioneering spirit and adaptability of these hardy people. Outside the house is the pepper garden - a sight not to be missed. Chinese farmers in Sarawak are likely to be of Hakka or Foochow descent. These hardy and frugal people migrated to Sarawak in the early 1900s, at the invitation of the Rajah who wanted to build up a solid farming middle class. Many came, most stayed; one-third of the state's population is now Chinese. The flourishing market gardens on both sides of the roads outside Kuching are almost exclusively cultivated by Hakka farmers. Unlike local dwellings, the Chinese farm house is built at ground level. The floor is made of trodden earth, the walls of whitewashed sawn timber. The roof is thatched with leaf attap. The house is divided into two main parts; the family room which contains the kitchen, eating and living area as well as a storage area for valuables such as bicycles or agricultural machinery, and the bedroom. One of the focal points of the main room is the household shrine. A print or statuetteof the god revered by the family is displayed here, surrounded by joss sticks, candles,little cups of tea and other seasonal offerings. The doorpost is also divinely protectedby the application of strips of red paper, inscribed with protection verses.

Here, it is possible to see Sarawak's ethnic diversity at a glance. The handicraft is both bewildering and tempting, including the Kain Songket (Malay cloth with gold inlay), Pua Kumbu (Iban housewives textiles),Melanau Terendak (sunhat), Bidayuh tambok (basket), Iban parang (swords),Orang Ulu wood carving and Chinese ceramic. A few far-sighted planners suggested that we build a 'model' village or longhouse within easy reach of Kuching. In the 1970s, cultural performances in a langkau in the Museum Gardens scored a spectacular success. This reactivated the idea; the Reservoir Park was suggested as a possible site, so was Sungai China in Matang. The Sarawak Museum contributed ethnographic and cultural input... but nothing came of it. There were other development priorities. The 45-minute cultural performance of songs, dances and entertainmentis something you will not want to miss out during your visit to Sarawak.

Ever since tourism took its first hesitant steps into Sarawak in the 1960s, the intrepid 'adventurers' who veered off the beaten track found Borneo's unique house-form an irresistible attraction. Of course they wanted to see the landscape of breathtaking splendour and the world's richest ecosystem, but the fascinating array of peoples and cultures was the real magnet. Unfortunately, Sarawak is huge, much of it covered by rugged mountains and jungle. How can a visitor hope to sample it all in less than three weeks of arduous travel?

The plan for a Cultural Village was resuscitated in the 1980s, after the whole Damai area had been identified as a 'tourism zone'. Architects and engineers engaged in the early stages of the project cruised up and down the river in the time-honoured Sarawak way - Santubong Bridge didn't link the road from Kuching to the sea until 1988. The very road to and from the bridge and around the steep flank of Mt.Santubong had to be built first!

But build it they did - SCV took shape with a Bidayuh, Iban, Orang Ulu and Melanau longhouse, a Penan hut and a Malay village house, and a Chinese farm house. By mid-1989 a solemn house-warming ceremony with offerings and sacrifice put life into the empty wooden structures. The dream had become reality.

Cultural Performance:
The air-conditioned mini-theatre is where the Sarawak Cultural Village's award-winning dancers and musicians present their famous multi-cultural performances. Spectacular costumes and elegant dance routines provide an entertaining and enjoyable introductionto Sarawak's ethnic groups and their cultures. Our dance troupe brings fame to the land, creating awes and gasps from Australia to the Americas and across the globe.

Charming Orang Ulu maidens folllowing the pattern of the hornbills or the rugged Iban warrior performing the ngajat, shield in hand. To the rhythm of deep gongs and rainforest instruments.
Come! see and feel for yourself at Sarawak Cultural Village. They are two cultural performances each day, scheduled at : Morning show ~ 11:30am and afternoon show ~ 4:00 pm.

Getting Here:
40 minutes drive from Kuching5 minutes from Holiday Inn Resort Damai Beach5 minutes from Holiday Inn Resort Damai Lagoon6 minutes from Damai Golf Course A range of transport is also available from Kuching:City-Damai Shuttle, Taxi, Local Tour Agents

AIR
Modern jet aircraft connect Sarawak with the outside world and connect the main centers within the State while smaller turbo-prop planes make once remote settlements easily accessible for the visitor. Kuching International Airport has direct flights to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bandar Seri Begawan and Perth in Western Australia and to Hong Kong via Kota Kinabalu. There are also direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Miri and Sibu, from Johor Bahru to Kuching, and from Kota Kinabalu and Labuan to Kuching and Bintulu.

ROAD
Bus, Indonesia - There are two daily bus services between Kuching and Pontianak. Journey time is roughly 10 hours.. Bus, Brunei - There are five daily bus services between Miri and Kuala Belait (2 hours), with onward connections to Bandar Sri Begawan, plus a direct mini-bus service between Miri and Bandar Sri Begawan(4 hours) twice daily. Self Drive - Visitors may enter Sarawak from Brunei or Indonesia using their own vehicles or rental vehicles, provided they have valid international insurance cover.An international drivers licence is advisable.

Ticketing Info:
Entrance Fee
RM 60.00 (Adult)RM 30.00 (Child : 6-12 years old)Free for Children aged under 6.(Effective 1st January, 2007)
Ticket can be purchased at the Entrance of Sarawak Cultural Village. You can also get it from the authorised local travel agents around Sarawak. Our Opening hours is:0900 - 1715 daily
They are two Cultural Shows per day. Catch it at:1130 - 12151600 - 1645

Accommodation:
HOLIDAY INN RESORT DAMAI BEACH
Holiday Inn Resort Damai Beach is a 4-star hotel, sprawled over 90 acres of prime seafront land, complemented by the lush tropical forest and the majestic Mount Santubong. Set against the lush tropical forest of the legendary Mount Santubong lies the Holiday Inn Resort Damai Lagoon. This 4-star hotel overlooks the South China Sea and sprawls over 25 acres of prime beautifully landscaped gardens. The resort has the largest lagoon-shaped pool in Sarawak.

PERMAI RAINFOREST RESORT
Spread over 44 acres of lush jungle next to pristine beaches and the mystical Gunung Santubong on either sides. With cold waterfalls, steady streams and unspoilt natural rainforests,with vegetation and fauna that nature endows throughout rolling undulating hills, it is nature waiting to be discovered.

Damai Golf & Country Resort
Established in April 1996, the Damai Golf & Country Club in Sarawak boasts the true elegance of a world qualified 18-hole golf course. It is the first in Malaysia designedby the legendary Arnold Palmer and indefinitely supreme in its majestic atmosphere with a breathtaking ocean view and lush mountains complementing the backdrop to this magnificent bona fide designer golf course. This is also the only club in Sarawak providing electric buggies ensuring comfort for all players while they enjoy the vast par 72 course.

Santubong Mountain:
Take white sand beaches lapped by the South China Sea, add rainforest walks and an imposing jungle -covered mountain and you have Santubong.Once accessible only by river, Santubong, is now just a 40 minutes drive from Kuching.Santubong is the main beach area in Sarawak. Damai, situated at the Santubong Peninsular, boasts three international-class resort hotels - the Holiday Inn Resort Damai Beach, Damai Lagoon Resort and Santubong Kuching Resort. Each has its own secluded beach, landscaped, free form swimming pool and offers jet skiing, water-skiing, windsurfing, mountain biking, tennis, squash and fitness centers.

For the more adventurous there is the climb through the rainforest to the summit of Mount Santubong. It's a five to six-hour trek and your hotel will provide a guide and a packed lunch.
If luxury living is not your style or you want to get closer to nature, try Camp Permai at the foot of Mount Santubong. With air-conditioned tree houses or family log cabins, the camp offers "a total rainforest experience. The emphasis is on adventure with abseiling, sea canoeing and trekking and there are instructors on hand.

Annual Event:
SCV 2008 Calendar of Events Date/Month Event Description Organiser 7 & 8February Chinese New Year i) Open House at Chinese Farm House ( 7 & 8 February only)ii) Food & Drinks served to the guests. iii) Discount entrance fee SCV 23 - 25 May World Harvest Festival 2008 i) Three-days festivalii) Activities during the festival: Iron Man Contest, International Concert & Workshop, Food & Craft Fiesta plus Ethnic Beauty Pageant Contest MUDT/ SCV 1 & 2 June Gawai Dayak i) Open House at Iban Longhouse, Bidayuh Longhouse & Orang Ulu Longhouse (1 & 2 June only)ii) Food & drinks servediii) Discount on Entrance Fee SCV 31 August & 1 September National Day i) Discount on Entrance Fee SCV 1 & 2 October Hari Raya Puasa/Aidilfitrii) Open House at Malay Town House (1 & 2 October only)ii) Food & Drinks served for the guests SCV 25 & 26 December Christmas Day i) Christmas Open House at Iban Longhouse, Bidayuh Longhouse & Orang Ulu Longhouse ( 25 & 26 December only)ii) Food & drinks servediii) Discount on Entrance Fee SCV

Welcom to Sarawak Cultural Village!!!