The Ukit, also known as Bhuket are a tribe found in

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 ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. They are a small minority people who until recently were nomads in the rain forests of Borneo. Some were settled at Rumah Ukit on the upper reaches of the Batang Balui or Balui River. Most of the Ukits are found in the Upper Rajom and

Tatau Tatau is a town, and the capital of the Tatau District in Bintulu Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The district's reported total population for Tatau was 31,920 in 2020. Tatau became a district in 1987. Before that it was a sub district under Bi ...

rivers, Baleh, Sarawak. The Ukit people were also regarded as a sub-group of the purported Klemantan people. The Ukit's population is small in numbers and suffer potential extinction due to many of the tribesmen being killed a long time ago. Heavy losses in war to stronger Dayak tribes in Borneo (

Iban IBAN or Iban or Ibán may refer to: Banking * International Bank Account Number Ethnology * Iban culture * Iban language The Iban language () is spoken by the Iban, one of the Dayak ethnic groups who live in Brunei, the Indonesian provinc ...

, Kayan and others) resulted them being chased out of their homelands (believed to be the Saribas, Kalaka and Krian areas). Intermarriage with other tribes is also another factor for their decreasing population. Today, the Ukit population is estimated to be only about 120. However, there may still be an unknown number of Ukit living in their traditional way as forest nomads. In 1880 the Ukits were encountered by the English explorer Harry De Windt who described them as follows:Harry De Windt "On the Equator"
/ref>

References

Bibliography

* O'Hanlon Redmond (1985): ''Into The Heart of Borneo''. pp. 143–4, 171–183. Penguin (Salamander Press 1985) Dayak ethnic groups Ethnic groups in Sarawak {{Asia-ethno-group-stub