Punan mortuary customs


Photos featured in this post, is showing the last traditional Punan burial custom, I had personally witnessed. It was the funeral of my late aunt Ake' Sita (Dodek Mukud) in 2004.

Her funeral observed most of the required tradition, for instance; 'pesetou' (death rites of passage), 'nengok tomu 7-elou' (compulsory 7-days mourning period), and '7-telio jusuk' (7-circles before the coffin brought to the burial ground). She also had a "kayu aren" (carved ceremonial pole) erected near her tomb (tanom).

Today, modernizing Punan society, it is common for the coffin buried on the same day - followed by three, five, or seven days mourning period.
Traditionally, Punan mortuary customs could be categorized into two types 1) above ground 2) below ground.

The above ground tombs are klirieng, kludan, and klamen (also known as salong). The below ground or underground are salong tanom (underground salong) and tanom (underground tomb).

The above ground tombs described variously as  "pillar tomb", "burial pole", "funeral post", "burial post" by scholars (see Nicolaisen 1976, Blust 1985, Metcalf 2010, Guerreiro 2017). These type of tombs no longer practiced by Punan. Klirieng which requires human sacrifice was abandoned in late 19th century amid pressure from Brooke Government.


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