Paper short abstract:

The aim of this presentation is to discuss diversification of Chinese communities in an upriver area of Sarawak, Malaysia from their relationship with the natural environment and other ethnic groups.

Paper long abstract:

Most of the studies of Malaysian Chinese tend to research in urban Chinese communities and confirm their analytical focus within the Chinese communities. Therefore the previous studies do not pay enough attention to the Chines in rural area. There are some report about the interrelationship between the Chinese and indigenous people in Sarawak. However these reports are fragmented and do not explain the nature of the Chinese communities in Sarawak.

This presentation takes Chinese communities in an upriver area of Sarawak as a case study and discusses two topics. One topic is the variety of the Chinese communities in this area. Second topic is the interrelationship between the Chinese and the indigenous peoples in this area. By discussing these topics, I will try to analyze the nature of the diversification process of the Chinese from perspective of utilization of environment surrounding them.

According to the historical research in Sarawak, there may be a possibility that Chinese first arrived at upriver area where was favorable to trade with the indigenous peoples, and then gradually removed to the downriver area. This migration pattern may affect diversify of the Chinese communities in the upriver area of Sarawak, and influenced the ethnic characters of the Chinese. From this point of view, this presentation will try to describe the sub ethnic diversification by analyzing the Chinese migration and settlement in this area.