U'a and the other tongue of Punan people

Festivity is the occasion to u'a is often sung to shower praise.


IT SOUND a little weird. In Punan,  we actually use three different languages to communicate.  The everyday spoken language (loie)  is actually distinct from the two other tongues: ba u'a (for socializing), and ba setou (use in death rite of passages).

Studies show, Punan daily spoken language are closely related to the Mukah/Dalat Melanau dialects (see Morris 1970, Blust 1991) and of course the Kajang group. For example with the Kajang, percentage of Punan language collation with Sekapan is reportedly at  61%, Kejaman 56%, and Lahanan (51%) and Melanau (50%).

However, the percentage of collation between u'a and setou with Melanau, for example, is unknown. u'a and setou are sort of the second and third tongues of Punan people - that only the older generations can understand.

Ba u'a is how Punan oral history has been passed down for generations. It tells Punan myth of creation, migration stories - about battle with mythical beings, and more. U'a also uses as a form of entertainment - to shower praises etc.

"Ba setou" - is the language use specifically during the rite of passage for the dead. It is a language of "etun u'a" (the ancestors' tongue). These two tongues are dead among the Punan in Kakus, Pandan and Jelalong. Along the Rejang (baliu pangin), only Ake' Lona (Keluka Nyuak), his wife still well versed in these tongues. The name, "loie etun u'a" itself denotes these tongues were spoken by Punan ancestors.

It is such a shame, they are increasingly forgotten traditions. None of the present generation of Punan youth knows about it.U'a it seems, was the common language of the Kajang in the olden days. This tradition is also found in Sekapan and Kejaman.


Ba setou is the language Punan use in reciting rites of passage for the dead.

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