Bukitan (also Baketan or Bakatan) are the indigenous people native to the Nanga Palin in Embaloh Hilir of

Kapuas Hulu Regency Kapuas Hulu Regency is a regency in West Kalimantan province of Indonesia. Located around the upper drainage area of the Kapuas River, it has a total land area of 31,318.25 square kilometres or around 21.3% of West Kalimantan province's area. Th ...

, Indonesia. Nowadays, the Bukitan diaspora can be found in the neighbouring Nanga Palin as well; including the district of

Bintulu Bintulu is a coastal town on the island of Borneo in the central region of Sarawak, Malaysia. Bintulu is located northeast of Kuching, northeast of Sibu, and southwest of Miri, Malaysia, Miri. With a population of 114,058 as of 2010, Bintulu ...

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

History

Origin

The origin of the Bukitan is from the Nanga Palin in Embaloh Hilir of

West Kalimantan West Kalimantan () is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five Indonesian provinces comprising Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital and largest city is Pontianak. It is bordered by East Kalimantan and Central ...

. Due to the tribal conflict with its neighbouring tribe (

Iban people The Iban are an indigenous ethnic group native to Borneo, primarily found in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, Brunei and parts of West Kalimantan, Indonesia. They are one of the largest groups among the broader Dayak peoples, a term historically ...

), some of Bukitans have to migrate out of their homeland. However, significant population of Bukitan people can still be found in their ancestral territory.

Diaspora

Some of the Bukitan fled to Saribas which is what is now in the

Betong Division Betong Division, formed on 26 March 2002, is one of the twelve administrative divisions in Sarawak, Malaysia. Formerly part of Sri Aman Division, Betong is in the Saribas area. It has a total area of 4,180.8 square kilometres, and is the smalle ...

. There, they settled and built their community. During those years, they co-existed with another diaspora of Ibans there, after a peace sealed by the marriage of the daughter of their leader Entinggi to the son of the Iban chief Tindin. Some of them also moved into

via Lubok Antu and settled there in the 19th century. After many years, due to some misunderstandings, war broke out with the Ibans and they lost. They again fled to various places before settling in Merit River, a tributary of Batang Tatau river in

division and its vicinity until today. Evidence of Bukitan existence can be found in areas such as the Saribas ( Paku, Layar and Rimbas) and Lubok Antu in the form of

burial grounds A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

, name of places and ancient

orchards An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of lar ...

Notable people

* Jonathan Tinggang Ngabang, a high jumper Malaysian athlete.

References

{{Portal bar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Society Dayak ethnic groups Ethnic groups in Indonesia Ethnic groups in Sarawak