Survival of Indigenous Peoples` Heritage, Culture `Under Threat`

Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam - Government policy can pull significant weight in ensuring the continued existence of indigenous peoples should the government value cultural diversity, said a professor of Southeast Asian Studies from the University of Leeds.

Following his public lecture at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) on his 35 years of research in Borneo, Victor King told reporters that the government can have a lot of influence by implementing policies in favour of preserving the heritage and cultures of indigenous groups.

He said these groups were under threat of diminishing and getting blended with other cultures, to the point when the distinctions between certain groups become less identifiable.

Over a long period of time, the passage of people from one ethnic identity to another (reaches a point) until identities become too similar to one another," he said.

King elaborated that this happened through marriage and religious conversions, for example.

He added that it was "almost a natural process", but nonetheless, he urged that the government introduce or increase efforts to retain as much of this "heritage" as possible.

King, who has spent about five years on and off researching in Brunei, pointed out that the problem was not unique to the Sultanate but was experienced throughout Borneo island.

Brunei is home to seven indigenous groups, namely, Belait, Bisaya, Brunei, Dusun, Kedayan, Murut or Tutong.

King lauded the government's recent initiative to compile dictionaries of the seven ethnic languages, as a means to keep the languages alive, commenting that it was an "excellent idea".

As reported by The Brunei Times yesterday, the Language and Literature Bureau said that it was in the process of compiling Dusun-Malay and Belait-Malay language dictionaries, with plans to do the same for the Bisaya and Murut languages already in the pipelines.

The professor, who is also the executive director of Leeds University's White Rose East Asia Centre which focuses on Japan and China studies, said that the initiative would ensure the future of these languages, "otherwise, there is danger that certain languages will not be used by people, especially the young generation".

King had spent about five months on research leave to work with Brunei's Museums Department in 1985 as well as had interactions with UBD.

He said that in understanding Bruneian society, it was necessary to take in all the cultures of Borneo island into consideration.

'You can't understand the Brunei-Malay population without understanding the other groups that they interact with," he said during his lecture.

King also stressed the need for people from the various indigenous groups to carry out studies on their own cultures. This way, he explained, with more local scholars conducting the research, it would give greater value to these cultures.-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

Source: http://brudirect.com
Picture: http://www.skyscrapercity.com

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