Brunei Darussalam

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Welcome to Brunei Darussalam; the Abode of Peace. Feel free to leave a comment, or even tag at the tagboard :) The navigation is on the top menu above.

Brunei In Brief

Brunei Darussalam is located on Borneo Island and is approximately 5765 sq. km in size. The population is approximately 385, 000 according to present statistics. It lies near the equator hence its hot and wet climate all year round. The capital is Bandar Seri Begawan in the Brunei-Muara District. The official Language is Bahasa Melayu and the official religion is Islam.



The Sultanate of Brunei was very powerful from the 1300 to the 1600 AD. At that time, both Sarawak and Sabah were under Brunei's reign. By the 1900s, Brunei weakened due to Europe's colonial expansion and tribal wars. Brunei didn't join the Federation of Malaysia in 1963 and instead opted to become an independent sovereign Sultanate.
opted to become an independent sovereign Sultanate.

National Anthem

Ya Allah lanjutkanlah Usia
Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia
Adil berdaulat menaungi nusa
Memimpin rakyat kekal bahagia
Hidup sentosa negara dan Sultan
Ilahi selamatkan Brunei Darussalam

Local Delicacies

Brunei has a lot of local delicacies, from fruits to bakery.

Local fruits include the tarap, chempedak, durian, rambutan, coconuts, bananas, cikus, mangoes, and more. The fruits are delicious and have unique tastes.


Chempedak

Bakery is divided into two, dry cakes and wet cakes. Dry cakes are those you can keep for days, while wet cakes are those which cannot.

Dry Cakes (kuih kering)
Examples: Amping, Ardam, Bauhulu, Cacah, Cakul, Panganan Cincin, Jala, Jit Manis, Kekara, Kerutup, Koya, Kubal, Kulat, Kuripit, Liking Pisang, Liking Tibadak, Madu Kesirat, Panganan Papan, Roti, Sapit, Sesagun, etc.


Sapit


Kuih Cincin

Wet Cakes (Kuih basah)
Serimuka, penyaram, ketupat, wajid, linggang, selurut, etc.


Kuih Serimuka


Kuih Penyaram

People, Culture and Language

People

The people of Brunei Darussalam are made of many different groups; Malay, Chinese, Indians, local Malays and so forth. Together they make up about 385, 000 people.

Malays
Melayu Brunei
Their houses are situated in rivers, and are on stilts. They live their lives as farmers to sell fruits and vegetables on a small boat from houses to houses (known as Padian) and also as a fisherman which is common job to earn for a living in the early years of Brunei Darussalam.

Kedayan
According to history, the Kedayans came from Jawa. Sultan Bolkiah, the 5th Sultan of Brunei was interested by their farming techniques and so invited them to live in Brunei and become local residents of Brunei.

Belait
These people are from the Belait District. Their main dialect is similar to Brunei Malay but has its own differences.

Tutong
They are those who live in the Tutong District. Their language is a bit different, but is very similar to Brunei Malay. It is said that Tutong was the name of a man who saved the village from cannibals, and in his honour, they called the area they lived in as Tutong, and the people there as Orang Tutong.

Bisaya, Dusun and Murut
These people live in the inlands of Brunei Darussalam. Most of them use farming as part of their everyday life as a source of income.

Nowadays all these groups live in any part of Brunei.

Culture

The culture of Brunei is mainly similar to the Culture of Malays. There are rules of etiquettes that the people here follow such as stated at EveryCulture.com

The following rules of etiquette are universal: pass items only with the right hand; refuse food by touching the container with the right hand, never verbally; use a thumb, never an index finger, to point; remove shoes whenever entering a home or public building, especially a mosque; shake hands gently and then gently touch the center of one's chest with the right hand afterward; never address a person by name alone; never consume items until specifically requested to do so; avoid public intersexual bodily contact; and never lose one's temper.

Other important etiquettes are stated in this article.

Language

The people of Brunei Darussalam speak many languages, but the most commonly used one is Brunei Malay. It is quite similar to Standard Malay, but has it's own uniqueness. Apparently most of the words beginning with letter H in Standard Malay is removed, because it is said that in the past, Bruneians could not pronounce the letter H. Examples are like "hilang" becoming "ilang".

Examples

"Hari ani syiok kaliah!"
Today was fun!

"Entah... tanya ia!!"
I don't know, ask him!

"Macam mana tah exam mu ah?" "Sadang....."
"How was your exam?" "It was okay"

Kg. Ayer

Brunei's very own Kampung Ayer, a water village, known as the Venice of the East, is one of the most unique thing about Brunei. It is located at the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan. Most tourists come to Brunei Darussalam as they are fascinated by these traditional and historic houses built on stilts over the water, spanning the greater part of the Brunei River.

Brief Information

About 30000 people live there and you can access Kampong Ayer by water taxis or wooden bridges from Bandar Seri Begawan. The government has provided various modern facilities for the residents, such as schools, clinics, police station and mosques. A visit to Brunei would not be complete without a trip to the this unique and intriguing place.

Brief History

The history of Kampung Ayer is stated in the early Chinese records in about 518 AD. It was known as Poli during that time. It was then known as Puni in 1370 AD. History suggested that the name Brunei came into being when the founders found the capital and declared it as 'Baru nah', literally translated into 'now we found it', which eventually became Brunei.

It is believed that Kampung Ayer existed as early as during the reign of Sultan Muhammad Shah (1363 - 1402). Antonio Pigafetta, an Italian traveller described Kampung Ayer as a water village made up of about 25, 000 households with a palace built in the middle. It was a major port for barter trading. However, after the loss of Brunei's huge empire, the wealth of Brunei declined, and in 184, Brunei had an approximate population of 15, 000.

Acknowledgements

I'd like to extend my appreciation and gratitude to the following websites for the completion of this blog. They are:

BruDirect
Official Government of Brunei's Website
Borneo Bulletin
Wikipedia entry: Culture of Brunei
Wikipedia Entry: Kampung Ayer
Bruban Dictionary
Picture of Kelupis
MamaFaMi's Fotopages
Made in Sabah, for the picture of the Sapit

Thank you to my parents and siblings for their constant motivation and support throughout the duration of this project. I would also like to thank the organisers of the RSIP blog competition for giving me this opportunity as well as to the readers.