Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a southeast Asian country on the island of Borneo. Other than its coastline on the South China Sea, it is surrounded by Sarawak, which is part of Malaysia.
Brunei Basics
- Brunei is 2,226 square miles, or 5,765 square kilometers, and has a population of around 460,000 people. That makes it slightly smaller than the state of Delaware.
- About 180,000 people live in the capital and largest city, Bandar Seri Begawan.
- The official language is Malay and about 74 percent of the population is ethnically Malay.
- The country is a constitutional absolute monarchy headed by a sultan, with a mix of British constitutional law and Islamic law. As of this writing the country has had the same sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah, since 1967.
- The Bruneian Empire is said to have controlled the whole island of Borneo as well as other lands in the past, and it became a British protectorate in 1888. It gained full independence in 1984.
- The name is said to have come from the phrase Baru nah, which can be translated as “that’s it” or “there,” which the founder of Brunei, Awang Alak Betatar, is said to have uttered when he discovered the land where Brunei was founded.
Brunei National Symbols
The flag of Brunei has a yellow background with black and white diagonal stripes running through the center. The crest of Brunei is featured in red on the center (the crest has a crescent facing up, a parasol and a pair of raised hands. The parasol stands for monarchy, the crescent for Islam and the hands for the benevolence of the government. Yellow is a common color to symbolize monarchy in Asia, and the stripes represent the top ministers of the nation.
The national anthem is “Allah Peliharakan Sultan” or “God Bless the Sultan.” It was adopted as the anthem of the protectorate in 1951 and became the national anthem after independence.
The national animal is the white bellied sea eagle, a large eagle that lives throughout Asia and Australia. The simpor tree and its bright yellow flowers and the national tree and flower of Brunei.
Brunei Activities for Kids
Learn more about Brunei from the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which has a page for kids who want to learn. From that page I learned about Sepak Takraw, a popular sport in Brunei that looks sort of like a cross between volleyball and soccer.
Check out Bukit Pagon (or Pagon Hill), the highest point on Borneo, which is home to a highland species of pitcher plant. Learn more about carnivorous plants from National Geographic Kids.
About 70 percent of Brunei is rain forest, so pull out all your rain forest activities, like these rainforest worksheets from Kids Activities Blog or activity sheets from Hello Creative Family.
Try the national dish of Brunei, ambuyat, which is made from the starch of the sago palm tree. It is starchy and bland and usually served with spicy sauces to give it flavor. It is also often served with durian, which will give you a chance to share with your kids about this super stinky fruit, even if you don’t try it yourself. You can make ambuyat at home using cassava starch, like in this recipe from Amcarmen’s Kitchen, or try potato or tapioca starch like in this recipe from Will Fly for Food.
And be sure to check out the Brunei resources at Teachers Pay Teachers.
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