Buluq

Bulu' Betung (Betong) (?)
Photo by Richard Howard

Puluh Reniki
Photo by Richard Howard

Apir Bulu'
Matthew Freedman©
Reproduced with Permission

Translation

English

bamboo

Malay

buluh

Uses

1. The shoots of most bamboo (puluh) is edible and is a mainstay of the Kelabit diet
2. Rice and other foods are cooked inside the culms. See nutung.
3. The culms are used for various construction purposes - fencing, bridges, flooring, and for basketry
4. Bulu' betong (betung) is the strongest of the bamboos found in the Kelabit highlands and has an unending list of uses - for construction, making tools, musical instruments, kitchel utensils, etc. The skin of the culm is used as fibre for making the bubuh (fish trap). The culms were formerly used as platforms for damar lamps. ⁽¹⁾
5. The water inside the culms is drunk. Even thought to have medicinal values, primarily to cure constipation. The water from bulu reshan is said to be used as eyedrops to treat tired and sore eyes. ⁽¹⁾

Local Highland Bamboo Species ⁽¹⁾

1. buluh barit - schizostachyum brachycladum
2. buluh bayuh - schizostachyum lima
3. buluh betong (betung) - gigantochloa levis
4. buluh i'ie (i'ii) - bambusa vulgaris]
5. buluh leck (lek) - donax cannaeformis
6. buluh payo - schizostachyum lima
7. buluh payor - schizostachyum lima
8. buluh payur - Sp. (0742); Poac
9. buluh poran (puren) - schizostachyum blumei
10. buluh reshan (redtan) - dinochloa cf. darvelana
11. buluh talang (telang) - schizostachyum brachycladum

(Note: spellings are Pa' Dalih pronunciations. Bracketed spellings are central Bario)

Not included in Ref. (1) below

1. bulu' lagang

References

1. Ethnobotany of the Iban & the Kelabit by Hanne Christensen