Sarawak: Land of the hornbills

Long before European contact, Sarawak's river systems supported established trading networks and indigenous communities with their own political structures. In 1841, the region came under the personal rule of James Brooke, beginning a century of dynastic governance by the Brooke family from 1841 to 1946. Sarawak later came under British colonial administration following the Second World War, before joining the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.

Sarawak is home to a striking diversity of indigenous groups, including the Iban, Bidayuh, Melanau, Orang Ulu communities, and others, alongside Chinese and Malay communities shaped by generations of trade and settlement. Sarawak's indigenous population makes up the majority of the state, giving its culture a distinctly indigenous character.

Longhouse living remains a defining feature of Sarawak's indigenous communities, alongside distinct customs, festivals such as Gawai Dayak, traditional weaving, and oral storytelling traditions that continue to carry historical memory forward.

From Brooke-era forts and administrative buildings in Kuching to longhouses along the Rejang and Baram rivers, Sarawak's landscape holds physical markers of both its colonial and indigenous history.