Penghulu Nyipa and Penghulu Berasap

The Klirieng at the Belak Besar River, recently discovered by Nicholas Daby and his team from the Sarawak Museum Department. Photo credit :Sarawak Museum Department

The emergence of the “Tatau tulen” versus “Punan” identity debate cannot be understood without revisiting the pivotal relationship between two men: Penghulu Nyipa, a native Punan of the Tatau River basin (Gueritz 1884), and Penghulu Berasap, an Iban migrant from Saribas. Though they came from different worlds, their lives became entangled during one of the most significant demographic shifts in 19th-century Sarawak.

Both men were appointed Penghulu by the Brooke administration in December 1883—an appointment that marked the formalisation of native leadership in a river basin undergoing rapid change. At the time, Tatau was still a multiethnic frontier, but a major transformation was already underway.

Nyipa’s ancestry ran deep into Tatau’s history (Anon 1877). His family traced descent from Orang Kaya Jingade, the daughter of Sega, a renowned Punan leader, and his Melanau wife Merisim from Oya. Sega, the successor to his father Saghe, lived during the reign of Sultan Muhyiddin in the 17th or early 18th century. Punan oral histories remember even earlier episodes: how Sega’s ancestors fought alongside the Melanau hero Tugau of Igan against Alak Betatar, the Bruneian prince who later became Sultan Muhammad Shah. Though defeated, the Punan never forgot their resistance. That memory was etched into sadang, uket, and u’a—epics and chants passed down through generations.

By the time of Nyipa’s birth around 1840 in Rantau Belak, the Punan had long established their settlements along the main Tatau River. But that world was changing. The Iban migration into the region—initially led by Runggor, Penghulu Berasap, Saong, Asan, and Kalambu—marked a turning point. According to both Iban and Punan oral accounts, this first wave of settlers came from Saribas. They were granted permission to enter the area by Lidom (also known as Ledam or Lidam in Iban)—Nyipa’s father—who still held authority at Rantau Belak. The Iban narrative puts it this way (Rekan 1961):

“Ninga berita Basat udah bini Punan, Iban ari Saribas pun minta pindah ngagai Marin Ledam leboh sida iya diau di Rantau Belok. Marin Ledam lalu nerima sida’ ti minta pindah tu.”

(Upon hearing that Basat had married a Punan woman, the Iban from Saribas requested permission from the aristocrat Ledam to settle in the area, while he was still residing at Rantau Belak. Ledam granted the request.)