Tomas Wüthrich Fotografie - Doomed Paradise Reportage Captions

Photo book
17.03.2021

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
28.03.2016

Dusk in the rainforest. Meri Peng sits with her daughter Yonani in a traditional hut, Lamin toro, in front of the fire. Night falls quickly in the tropics and a fire provides warmth and light in the darkness.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
25.03.2016

After a successful hunt, Peng Megut crosses the Meli'it river with a captured bearded pig, Babui on his back. In the belly of the sow, he stowed and sewed up the two kittens, which were also shot. With rattan and tree bark he made a kind of backpack out of the 100kg heavy animal. The Penan are able to carry such heavy loads through the rainforest for several hours.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
07.08.2015

Peng Megut cuts up a captured bearded pig in his traditional hut, Lamin toro, in the rainforest. Pedeu Majan watches him and is visibly pleased about the catch. Wild boars, Babui, are the Penan's most popular prey, as they have a lot of good meat and a thick layer of fat.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
13.12.2016

Morning ambiance in the rainforest of the upper Limbang region.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
07.08.2015

Ulen has adorned herself with orange flowers. The ten-year-old boy never went to school. He can neither read nor write but knows all plants and animals by name. He is afraid of the loggers and the threatening destruction of the forest, because he loves his life in nature. It is his wish to live here in the future and to hear the voices of all the different animals.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
25.11.2016

The Penan of Long Tevenga bathe by the Meli'it River.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
09.03.2016

At the fireplace of a traditional Penan hut, a captured rhinoceros bird, Belengang, is brewed in boiling water in order to pluck it afterwards. The beautiful animal is the symbol of Sarawak and strictly protected. For the Penan it is a food like any other bird.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
29.03.2016

Peng Megut and Tepeket Agan hunting for tree squirrels, Telé. with the blowpipe, Keleput, they kill these small animals also from large distance. They use arrows coated with a poison from the latex of the poison-arrow-tree (Antiaris toxicaria), Kayeu tajem. This inevitably leads to death when it enters the bloodstream.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
10.03.2016

Ulen and two tame macaques eat fruits from a felled tree. The young Kuyat (Macaca fascicularis ) and the bigger Medok (Macaca fascicularis ) are kept by the family as pets, Olong.
Monkeys are very popular because they give pleasure to the Penan and warn against snakes and foreign visitors. Often it is young animals of captured monkeys that are raised.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
07.08.2015

Peng Megut's feet are adapted to walking barefoot in the forest. The splayed toes provide support on slippery slopes.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
28.03.2016

Meri takes a break on the way to a new camp site in the rainforest. Her daughter Yonani sleeps wrapped in a rattan mat in the Kiwa, their traditional carrying rack. The Penan have no hurry and take frequent breaks. Everyone goes at their own speed. Lakau dawai, dawai.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
13.12.2016

Pedeu Majan and his son Sigan cut up a bearded pig in their house in Long Tevenga.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
13.12.2016

Da'un (Licuala valida), a large understory fan palm native to Sarawak and West Kalimantan in the rainforest near Long Tevenga. The leaves of this palm are versatile. The Penan use it as a roof for their huts. The young shoots are processed into mats. Sago and other dishes are packed into the leaves and cooked in the fire. The leaves also serve as tobacco paper.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
13.12.2016

Head of a five meter long phyton, Kemanen. The meat of the strangler is tasty and is eaten gladly.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
28.03.2016

Tepeket Agan, his son Sabing and his grandson Sua (from right to left) sit in a traditional hut in the rainforest in front of the fire. The Penan enjoy life in the forest. In the evenings stories of hunting experiences are often told and people laugh a lot.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
06.03.2016

Traditional sign, Oro paleu, of the Penan. With a miniature of the tool, Paleu, which is used in the production of sago to extract the fibres from the palm trunks, it is indicated that in this area there are mature Uvut palms from which sago can be produced.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
11.03.2016

Peng Megut beats the fibres out of the split trunks of some sago palms with a locally produced tool, Paleu. To ensure that nothing of the valuable raw material is lost, he underlaid them with mats woven from palm leaves. Sago, Apo, was traditionally the staple food of the Penan. As nomads, they followed the mature sago palms from whose marrow the starchy powder is extracted. Due to deforestation, most Penan today are no longer able to feed on sago. They have settled down and grow rice. Even the inhabitants of Long Tevenga, who live in intact primary forest, cannot do without additional rice cultivation. In their present area of 126 km2 there are not enough sago palms to feed the whole village community.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
11.03.2016

Peng Megut hits the fibres from a split trunk of a sago palm with great force. This work is physically very strenuous and must be carried out precisely to avoid injuries to the feet.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
11.03.2016

Peng Megut and his wife Uen Along produce Sago, the basic food of the Penan. First the starchy interior is knocked out of the split tribes of sago palms. At a stream a frame is built on which two rattan mats with different densities are laid. The fibres are placed on the upper mat, poured with fresh clean water and stamped with the feet. This releases the starch from the fibres. The starch-containing water collects under the frame in the second, very densely braided, rattan mat. This is where the starch settles. After pouring off the water, the sago remains as a sticky pulp. This is then dried in large lumps over the fire. To eat the dry powder is boiled up with water. The viscous porridge is eaten with forks at all meals. The sago has little taste of its own but tastes very smoky when dried over an open fire.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
12.03.2016

Peng Megut and his family eating sago. The staple food of the Penan is a viscous starchy pulp made from the fibres of palm trunks. It tastes neutral and is eaten with the Atip, a carved wooden fork.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
28.03.2016

The family of Peng Megut having dinner in their traditional hut in the rainforest. The meal consists of rice, sago, meat and fish.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
08.03.2016

Birds and tree squirrels roasted on sticks over the fire.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
07.08.2015

Tepeket Agan and his son Sabing sit at dusk in their traditional hut, Lamin toro by the fire.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
27.11.2016

Die vierjährige Yonani spielt mit einem als Haustier gehaltenen Javaneraffen, Kuyat, (Macaca fascicularis).

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
10.03.2016

Ulen feeds two young birds with rice. He discovered the animals in a nest and brought them to his hut to keep them as pets, Olong. The birds survived for two days.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
07.03.2016

Tepeket Agan makes a blowpipe, Keleput, from Nyangang wood. He sits on a specially constructed frame in the rainforest and drills a hole in the piece of wood with an iron rod. After about two days of work, the hole is continuous. Then the blowpipe is rounded on the outside and sanded. The production of a blowpipe is laborious and takes about a week.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
13.12.2016

Sunrays in the rainforest near Long Tevenga.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
22.08.2015

Death in Long Tevenga. The villagers of Long Tevenga take a last look at the deceased before the coffin is nailed down.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
07.08.2015

Long Tevenga villagers and relatives from other villages pray at the grave of Odong Jeluran before the coffin is lowered into the pit. It is the first death since the village of Long Tevenga was founded in 2009. The Penan originally had an animistic faith, but were converted by Christian missions in the 1950s. Since then, most Penan have converted to Christianity and now practice a hybrid of Christian faith and animistic elements. The funeral ceremony has changed as a result: Today the deceased are buried in a coffin in the ground and the grave is marked with a cross. Through the visibility, the villagers also hope that the cemetery will be respected in the case of deforestation. In the past many burial places of the Penan were destroyed by loggers. Traditionally, the bodies of the deceased were left in the hut and the other clan members moved on and did not return to this place for fear of the spirit of the dead.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
07.08.2015

Tepeket Agan, the husband of the late Odong Jeluran, is the last to stand at his wife's grave in the rainforest near Long Tevenga and prays.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
29.03.2016

Peng Megut has kindled a fire between the huts on a hilltop in the rainforest to warm himself. Due to the rising fog the night is cold for tropical conditions. Also the two tame monkeys freeze and look for the proximity of the fire.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
07.08.2015

Pedeu Majan on his way to a new camp in the rainforest. He carries all his belongings in the, Kiwa, on his back. He is clothed only with a loincloth, Avet.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
17.03.2016

Uen Along fell asleep working on a rattan basket. The sale of this traditional wickerwork is one of the few sources of income for the Penan.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
07.08.2015

Meri Peng harvests rattan, a spiny liana species in the rainforest. The climbing plant grows high up in the crowns of the trees, Meri pulls the climbing plant down piece by piece and peels it out of the prickly bark. Rattan is used, among other things, in the manufacture of wickerwork such as baskets and mats.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
24.03.2016

View of Long Tevenga. The village consisting of five houses at the confluence of the Meli'it river and the Tevenga stream was founded in 2009 and lies in the middle of a 126 km2 piece of primary forest. Around the Long Tevenga area, three different logging companies are active, targeting the tall Meranti trees.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
02.12.2016

Tepeket Agan boils water in his house in Long Tevenga. During the rainy season in November and December there are almost daily torrential showers.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
12.03.2016

Uen Along cuts meat into small pieces in front of the fireplace in the rainforest hut. The Penan, the men are responsible for hunting and slaughtering the prey, while the preparation of meat and other food is usually a woman's business.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
07.08.2015

Udi fishes in the Tevenga River. He hurls a throwing net, which is weighted down with iron chains, over the water basins. The net is lowered to the bottom by the weights. The trapped fish get caught in the net when it is pulled out. Fishing is a popular activity for the children of the Penan and provides variety on the menu.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
07.08.2015

View over the green hills of the rainforest. A large old Meranti tree, growing high above the treetops. The wood of these trees is much sought after by the loggers.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
19.08.2015

Peng Megut makes a hunting arrow, Belat, in the light of a torch. He carves the shaft from the wood of a palm tree species, the metal tip consists of the tin of a Coca Cola can.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
07.08.2015

Peng Megut stands high up on an arrow poison tree, Kayeu tajem, (Antiaris toxicaria), on a self-made ladder and chops notches in its bark with an axe. From the escaping latex, which is caught in a bamboo cane, the poison, Tajem, is prepared for the hunt.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
18.08.2015

Production of arrow poison, Tajem. The juice of the arrow poison tree (Antiaris toxicaria) is slowly boiled down over the fire under constant supervision and occasional stirring. With the already thickened skin Peng Megut coats the first arrows and lets them dry at the fire.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
29.03.2016

Tepeket Agan hunting tree squirrels, Telé. With the blowpipe, Keleput, he shoots these small animals from a long distance. The Penan use arrows coated with a poison from the latex of the poison arrow tree (Antiaris toxicaria), Kayeu tajem. This inevitably leads to death when it enters the bloodstream.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
25.03.2016

After a successful hunt, Peng Megut reaches his house in Long Tevenga with bearded pig, Babui on his back. Although wild boars are very popular and everyone is happy about the catch, his arrival apparently goes unnoticed. Only after the hunter has rested is the prey inspected, dismantled and fairly distributed among the villagers.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
07.08.2015

Peng Megut cuts up a captured Hose's langur, Nyakit, (Presbytis hosei) in his hut in the rainforest. Afterwards the meat is distributed fairly among the familys. Monkeys belong to the regular diet of the Penan, as they are frequent and relatively easy to hunt. Often several are captured because the animals are in large groups on fruit trees.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
07.08.2015

The meat of a slaughtered muntjak, Tela'O, (Muntiacus muntjak), on a base of banana leaves. The meat was divided into portions so that each family in the village receives the same proportion per person. The principle of sharing is very central in Penan culture.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
25.03.2016

Peng Megut has shot and cut up a muntjak. He hands over his share of the meat to Tepeket Agan. The principle of sharing is very central in the Penan culture. The fair distribution of food among the members of a community is so self-evident that the Penan have no word for "thank you". It is also common to avoid eye contact when handing over the shares.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
13.12.2016

A rainbow decorates the forest at the Meli'it river after a violent thunderstorm.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
24.03.2016

Mac Pedeu cuts down a tree with a chainsaw near Long Tevenga. The wood is used to build a house in the cemetery above a grave.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
24.03.2016

The Penan of Long Tevenga are clearing a piece of forest near the village to create a new rice field Terek. Although the inhabitants of Long Tevenga still live in intact primary forest, they cannot do without additional rice cultivation. In their present area of 126 km2 there are not enough sago palms to feed the whole village community.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
13.12.2016

Peng Megut, the headman of Long Tevenga, has discovered that many trees in his rainforest have been marked with red paint. Behind a tree trunk he finds paint cans and brushes. The marked trees indicate to the loggers the course of the road that is to be built into the area to clear the forest. Peng Megut suspects that the Penan of the neighbouring village Ba Peresek have attached the markings. The headman of Ba Peresek, Selai Sega, has agreed to the logging, he wants his village to be connected with a road. Now he no longer respects the borders set by all the villages together. He claims half the land of Long Tevenga for himself. This is an extremely difficult situation for Peng Megut. Now he has not only the lumberjacks as opponents but also the neighbours of his own tribe. To make matters worse, the daughter of Selai Sega is also married to a Penan from Long Tevenga. Peng Megut calls these two spies. The situation threatens to escalate, the cohesion in the village crumbles. Ba Peresek has already threatened with violence if the loggers are to be hindered.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
30.10.2014

Intermediate timber storage between Long Bedian and Long Nen. Over 90% of the original rainforest has already been cleared. But the destruction of the Penan habitat continues.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
07.08.2015

Tepeket Agan with blowpipe on a logging road near Long Tevenga. So far the inhabitants of Long Tevenga have successfully defended themselves against the loggers. But the other villages in the area were not so steadfast and agreed to the deforestation. Tepeket lives in constant fear of the loggers coming back. A land rights suit is pending before the court, but the logging licence has been issued for a long time.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
25.08.2015

Peng Megut has built a barricade of logs on the border to his land to prevent the loggers from entering Penan territory. The barrier is not an obstacle for the machines, but the workers are afraid of crossing it. They are scared of the silent Penan and their poisonous arrows. Peng Megut lives here with his and two other families as a semi-nomad in the middle of intact rainforest. So far they have successfully defended themselves against deforestation in their area. A land rights suit is pending before the court, but the logging licence has been issued for a long time. The Penan live in constant fear of the lumberjacks who want to destroy their livelihood, the rainforest.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
23.10.2014

The wood is transported from the rainforest by lorry.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
08.03.2016

Peng Megut shows a letter written by Bruno Manser in March 1999 to the then Chief Minister of Sarawak, Tahib Mahmund, asking the loggers to withdraw their licenses. Peng Megut and four other chiefs signed the letter with their fingerprints.

Message from the Penan for the CM of Sarawak
Honoured Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Aboul Taib Mahmud
We the Penan live in big problems: Sam Ling and LLT- Company who were on your command to exploit our forest in Ulu Limbang, have destroyed our clear drinking water our food recources and our graveyards.
We ask you to act like father who cares for his children: Please withdraw the logging-licencees within all Penan homelands and protect our virgin forest, who gives us life. Thank you. We send greetings to you and your wife. T.K. Along Sega, Ulu Limbang, T.K.Uian Ngang, Long Keneng, T.K.Kayan Etek, Long Adang, T.K. Aweng Tewai, Long Pusit and Lakei Suti Megut, Meli’it / Magoh

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
05.03.2016

View from the plane on palm oil plantations on the flight from Miri to Long Seridan. Around 90% of the rainforest has been cleared. Nevertheless, the destruction of the rainforest continues unabated. Palm oil plantations are being created on the cleared areas. A green monoculture. Palm oil is a lucrative business. Indonesia and Malaysia are the world's largest producers of cheap palm oil. Switzerland is currently negotiating a free trade agreement with Malaysia. Environmentalists fear that this agreement would accelerate the deforestation of the last rainforests.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
07.08.2015

Peng Megut and his son Ulen on foot to Long Seridan. The trees from the surrounding rainforest are piled up along the logging road.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
09.12.2016

Palm oil plantation next to Lambir Hills National Park, Taman Negara Bukit Lambir.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
13.12.2016

Peng Megut draws the trees marked by the lumberjacks on a rudimentary map that only lists all the rivers. Since 2005, the Bruno Manser Fund has been mapping indigenous land in Sarawak in collaboration with the Penan. This project has now been completed. 23 map sheets at a scale of 1:35,000 document the state of the rainforest and traditional land use over an area of more than 16,000 km2. This is probably one of the most accurate maps of indigenous land in the world. Unfortunately, the Penan of neighbouring Ba Peresek no longer accept the boundaries defined on the maps. They claim half the land of Long Tevenga for themselves and have invited the loggers to cut wood there. In return, they demand a way to their village.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
13.12.2016

Peng Megut and relatives from the villages Long Adang and Ba Nyakit make warning signs out of tin roof. Berhatian! Kawasa LG Tevenga. Di larang masuk tanpa kebenarang. Caution! LG Tevenga Area. No entry without permission. Using hammers and nails, they punch holes in the sheet metal along the letters they have drawn. The signs should prevent the logging company from entering their area.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
13.12.2016

Peng Megut and relatives from the villages Long Adang and Ba Nyakit assemble a warning sign made of corrugated iron at the border to their land. Berhatian! Kawasa LG Tevenga. Di larang masuk tanpa kebenarang. Cautionl! LG Tevenga Area. No entry without permission. The signs are to prevent the loggers from entering their area.

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Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak
13.12.2016

From the left: Tepeket Agan, Peng Megut and relatives from the villages Long Da'un, Long Adang and Ba Nyakit have built a blockade at the border to their country. The corrugated iron warning sign says: Perhatian! Kawasa LG Tevenga. Di larang masuk tanpa kebenarang. , Caution ! LG Tevenga Area. No entry without permission. The action, accompanied by loud calls to the loggers to avoid the area, is filmed with mobile phones to be shown to the manager of the logging company later.

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