Melanau

Melanau people
Orang Melanau / A-likou

When a Melanau child is about a month old its head is placed in a wooden device called Tadal, the object of which is to flatten the forehead and so make the face as near the shape of a full moon as possible. The pressure is applied only while the child is asleep. 1912.
Total population
132,600 (2014)
Regions with significant populations
Malaysia (Sarawak)
Languages
Melanau, Malay
Religion
Islam, Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Dayaks, Bruneians, Orang Ulu

Melanau or A-Likou (meaning River people) are an ethnic group indigenous to Sarawak, Malaysia. They are among the earliest settlers of Sarawak. They speak in the Melanau language, which is part of North Bornean branch of Malayo-Polynesian languages. In 2010, there are estimated to be 123,410 who consider themselves Melanau, making it the fifth largest ethnic group in Sarawak (after Iban, Chinese, Malays and Bidayuh). Even though a minority in Sarawak, Melanau forms a large part of Sarawak's political sphere, 5 out of 6 of Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak is of Melanau ethnicity including the current Yang di-Pertua Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud and 2 out of 5 of Chief Ministers of Sarawak are ethnic Melanau.

In the 19th century, the Melanaus settled in scattered communities along the main tributaries of the Rajang River in Central Sarawak. Melanau or problematic Kajang speaking tribes such as the Sekapan, the Rajang, the Tanjung and the Kanowit gradually moved and assimilated into Dayak migrations settling in the Rajang. The Melanau people were regarded as a sub-group of the purported Klemantan people.

Today the Punan (or Punan Bah) people are also closely linked to the last riverine dwelling Melanau communities previously inhabiting the middle and upper Rejang tributaries. The Kajang language is kept relatively alive by the isolated Sekapan communities Kapit division of Sarawak.

The Melanau are considered among the earliest settlers in Sarawak. The name Melanau was not used by the Melanau to refer to themselves until recently. They call themselves a-likou meaning 'people of the river'. Legend has it that the name Melanau was given by the Malays of Brunei to the inhabitants of the coastal swamp flats and riverbanks of central Sarawak which might signifies "coast-dweller".

Eda Green, writing in 1909, referred to "... the Milanes, whose girls are as fair as any Europeans and the belles of Borneo."