PENYAHBONGS
(Notes from the Upper Busang River, Central Borneo)
The Dutch officials give this tribe the name of Punan-Penyahbongs; the
Malays call them Punans, seldom Penyahbongs. The Saputans, a neighbouring
tribe, told me that the Penyahbongs and the Punans make themselves
mutually understood. Whether they really are Punans or have been called so
because of their recent nomadic habits is difficult to determine. However,
since they declare themselves to be Punans, in view of all related
circumstances it is safe to conclude that they are allied to that great
nomadic tribe.
According to the Penihing chief in Long Kai the name Penyahbong was
applied formerly not only to the people, but also to the mountain range in
which they were living, the Muller mountains, around the headwaters of the
Kapuas River in the Western Division. The western sides of the Muller
mountains seem to have been their headquarters, and most of them still
live west of the mountains. To one of the tributaries of this river the
tribe owes the name by which they are known among Punans, Saputans, and
Bukats, who call the Penyahbongs simply Kreho.
They are not numerous and so far as my information goes they are limited
to a few hundred.
