"We weep when we see the forest that has been destroyed, when we see the red land. It is hard for us to look at the red land."
"We yearn for the sounds of the forest. We have always heard these sounds. And now it is harder for us because we hear the sound of bulldozers. And that is what we always talk about, we women, when we get together. How will we live, how will we thrive, now that we have all these new problems? To us the sound of bulldozers is death. We weep when we see the forest that has been destroyed, when we see the red land. It is hard for us to look at the red land."
Lejeng Kusin
Ubong River, May 1993
Quotes can be found translated by Wade Davis, Ian Mackenzie, Thom Henley and Shane Kennedy.
They will appear in quotation marks throughout this blog offering a direct insight into the Penan thinking and the customs & values they hold dear in our lifetime.
Unlike other isolated tribes, the Penan have remained calmly nomadic in their remaining tracts of virgin forest. There are so few people left on earth who have the capability and the lacklustre of the wanting or needing of the outside world. They have at times been brushed with civilisation and periodically openly express their distaste for the outside world, drawing further attention to their plight rather than their enigma.
"Listen to Dawat. He is what we once were. He attests to a nobility that we must again become". David Suzuki
Unlike other isolated tribes, the Penan have remained calmly nomadic in their remaining tracts of virgin forest. There are so few people left on earth who have the capability and the lacklustre of the wanting or needing of the outside world. They have at times been brushed with civilisation and periodically openly express their distaste for the outside world, drawing further attention to their plight rather than their enigma.
"Listen to Dawat. He is what we once were. He attests to a nobility that we must again become". David Suzuki
Dawat Lupung
Ubong River, May 1993