Preserving Murut Bookan through Collaborative Documentation Initiatives in Sabah

Presented by Siak Bie Soh at the Language Documentation and Archiving Conference, Berlin & Online, 4-6 Sept, 2024.

Sabah, known for its rich cultural tapestry and linguistic diversity, hosts numerous ethnic groups and indigenous communities. However, many minority indigenous oral languages remain under-documented, particularly those of the Murut tribe. The Murut Bookan language is verbal and lacks sufficient documentation. The Murut Bookan community, numbering around 2,100 to 2,400 individuals, represents one such group. Interviews with over 50 Murut Bookan community members revealed that fluency in Murut Bookan is primarily preserved among the elderly, aged 70 to 86 years, with some influence of the Malay language observed among individuals aged 50 to 69. Concerningly, individuals below 50 years old, as well as younger parental generations in their 30s to 40s, exhibit minimal to no fluency in Murut Bookan. This demographic shift raises serious concerns about the vitality of the language and the sustainability of language documentation efforts within the community across various age groups. It highlights the importance of engaging and supporting indigenous communities in documentation initiatives and a pressing need to establish and nurture relationships among community members, local authorities, and researchers/academicians, refine collaboration approaches, and actively engage and support indigenous communities in collaborative and community-driven documentation projects. The significance of this presentation lies in advocating for the adoption of adaptive and flexible methodologies that can evolve in response to community input and evolving circumstances. Central to these efforts is the collaborative development approach, wherein community members are recognized as equal partners in shaping the direction and implementation of documentation projects, such as co-creating project objectives, methodologies, and outcomes that resonate with cultural values and address the unique needs and context of the community. The cultivation of relationships from the outset ensures that community voices are prioritized in decision-making processes and that indigenous knowledge systems are honoured and safeguarded against exploitation or appropriation.