Malaysian Borneo - Longhouse Visit (Lalang) - Travel Story

Written by Thomas Dembie

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Lalang, Malaysian Borneo

Traditional Longhouse Visit

At 7:30 AM I met up with my ride and we headed out of Kuching towards Sri Aman. Before we left, he handed me my breakfast, which consisted of some sticky rice, a banana and peanut butter pancake and a can of Fanta. Not exactly a breakfast of champions, but it was really tasty!

 

A Crash Course in Local Culture

The trip took approximately four hours which provided me with a great opportunity to ask Apa, the tour organizer, a ton of questions about life in Borneo. Apa drove like a maniac the whole way. He told me that if he drove the speed limit he’d get tired and might fall asleep. We took our first break stop in the town of Serian. Apparently this is a big pit stop for Indonesian workers from Kalimantan who are heading to Malaysian factories. We stopped at a shop for some gifts for the tribe we were going to visit and also went next door for a quick bite to eat.

Mountains to the west, which separate Sarawak from Kalimantan were visible for much of our journey. You’d have to be quite the adventurer to attempt that crossing! Four hours later we arrived in a small village where I met up with four English girls, our guide Entalai and our driver to take us up the Skrang river. The boat we took was about as wide as a canoe and had enough space for eight people. For the first few minutes of the journey, I couldn’t hear anything but high-pitched shrieks from the girls, until they realized that the boat was more stable than it appeared. For the next two hours, the sounds of crickets, birds and other insects serenaded us all the way up to Lalang.

By the time we arrived at the Lalang longhouse, my behind was sore and slightly numb. The wooden seats and lack of space to shift positions contributed to this. However, the wonderful sights along the way, such as large monitor lizards and longhouses, helped me forget some of the pain during the ride.

 

What is a Longhouse?

Try to imagine the following: twenty-two families, one-hundred and thirteen people as well as a few animals all living in a wooden building under one big tin roof with temperatures soaring above 30 degrees daily! That’s a brief description of the way of life for the Iban people. As we entered the twenty-two year old edifice, we took off our shoes and were greeted with smiles and looks of curiosity. Each of the twenty-two families had their own room and a common open-space area. Every family also had a deck and a piece of farmland somewhere near the longhouse. The Iban basically live off of the land, though some items, such as toothpaste and a poster of Hulk Hogan & the Rock, proved that they did not live in total isolation from the modern world. The building itself was made of wood, bamboo and tin for the roof. We were told to always place our feet where pieces of wood intersected as many of the pieces of wood were rotted so you never know when one single piece may give way. Falling through to the ground below (which was only three to four feet below) would not be terribly harmful, but would definitely be an unpleasant experience, as you’d most likely be landing in some animal droppings.

Learning the Rules...

After sitting around and learning the rules of the house, we met Bau, the tribe’s chief, and offered him some gifts. Quite an interesting man! He had large holes in his earlobes and tattoos on his arms, chest and neck. Though this traditional look was not too common with the younger generation, some people still went through the pain. He had on a very old collared shirt and a pair of shorts with a large hole in the derrière. Hanging from the ceiling in front of Bau’s door were three skulls in nets. The Iban people used to be headhunters and skulls were often displayed as trophies. Fortunately, this tradition is no longer in practice – or so they say!

Get Used to the Heat!

You can really feel the heat in the building. Especially after you’ve had some piping hot tea! I tried to limit my movement, but it didn’t help - it was time to head down to the batang (river) for a little dip. The river is quite a social area. The Iban do their washing and their laundry here and the kids come down to play. It’s also a great place to greet other Iban who are passing by on their way to or from work. After a nice little swim in a very strong current, I sat around watching the kids play and the adults do their chores. 

Take Some Time to Wander

I walked around near the longhouse to see what else people did. I found many caged animals, mostly pigs that were likely being raised for consumption. The children ran around, hiding and staring at me who, I'm sure, they found very strange looking. By that time some of the Iban had returned from their farmland and I watched as they stomped on branches, separating what looked like little green and red seeds. Entalai told me they were pepper seeds, and I wandered up onto their decks to get a closer look. The people here are very friendly and often spoke to me in their native language thinking I’d understand, which I found entertaining.

An Unusual Hair Salon!

When I returned into the longhouse, something very strange took place. A man approached me with a pair or scissors and was pointing to his head as if he wanted me to do something to his head. I took the scissors from him, cut off a little chunk of his hair and then he motioned for me to throw the hair on the ground. I later found out that having your hair cut by a foreign person is good luck. Little did I know, he was just the first of many to ask for a new hairstyle! I wanted to give some of these guys a nice mullet or beaver tail to leave a bit of Canadian heritage with them, but I wasn’t willing to risk it in this former headhunting tribe.

Enjoying Local Treats

At around 19:00 we were invited into Entalai’s home for dinner. We sat in a circle on a bamboo carpet and shared a wonderful meal. There was rice, chicken, fish, beans and other green vegetables as well as bananas for dessert and tea to finish up. I think the most difficult aspect of the meal was trying to sit comfortably cross-legged like everyone else and to bring the food to my mouth without losing half of my rice and looking like a goof in the process. The challenge seemed to make the feast taste even better and made the meal last longer.

The After Party...

Following dinner, some of the male members of the longhouse performed some traditional war/hunting dances for us while some of the women and children played accompanying music. Many of the moves seemed to mimic fighting, while others looked as if they were trying to catch their prey and elude danger. After each man had their turn in the spotlight, we were asked to join them. If my dancing reflected my fighting/hunting capabilities I surely would not be alive today.

When the locals are not cooking, farming, hunting or talking, they spend some of their time working on various crafts – to make money off tourists. These crafts were all brought out for us to see after the dancing. They ranged from jewellery to masks to bamboo-woven drawings to hunting tools. This was a great time to interact with all of the people. Even some of the kids had items to display.

After a nice hot drink and some cookies, we prepared our beds and mosquito nets. Sleeping in the large open-area was not easy! I had to find a way to cool down my body. It’s hot enough in the building without the mosquito net, but once you add that, the air circulates even less. I also had to sleep amidst roaming dogs, the sounds of animals and the chattering of some Iban who were still up smoking their bamboo cigarettes and bongs. I made a point not drink too much water before going to bed, as leaving the longhouse to use the facilities would have been quite the adventure.

Bright and Early

It’s difficult to sleep past the crack of dawn around here due to the temperature, the light rays that penetrate the building and of course, the animals that are up at 5:00 and insist you get up with them. The breakfast that was prepared for us that morning was a special treat. Between the 3-inch thick banana pancake, fresh pineapple and bananas, fried eggs, bread, coffee and tea this was a meal fit for a king. In case you are wondering, the meal we ate is not your every-day meal. Normally, rice is served for breakfast.

Tour of the Countryside

Entalai then led us on a little tour of the countryside to see the land where the tribe members farm. It was quite steep and slippery from the evening’s rainfall, so we had to be extra careful. As we walked away from the longhouse along the path, we passed some pineapple plants and other local greenery before our first stop at the rubber trees. Apparently, the bark of the tree is cut off in small strips, which allows the rubber substance to drip down into a container. Removing only the bark will allow the tree to re-generate its outer layer so it is important not to cut down the tree entirely. We also visited an area where rice was growing as well as pepper plants. The view from atop the hill, looking towards the river and longhouse, was spectacular.

Heading Back to Kuching

As we prepared our bags to head down the river, many of the locals uttered some words to me, which I later found out was them telling us to come back and visit again. It seemed that having strange and curious people from another world visit was as pleasant an experience as it was for us. Well, either that or they really enjoyed the cookies we brought as a gift and wanted more.

A Meal Cooked in Bamboo

Part way down the river we stopped at a small rocky beach area up a little estuary to cook lunch and have a swim. Today’s lunch was similar to last evening’s meal, but cooked slightly differently. First, pieces of bamboo were cut up into segments about one to two feet in length. Second, rice, fish, chicken and palm were placed in the bamboo casings. Third, the bamboos were filled with water from the river and finally the items were placed over an open fire. Even our tea was made in a piece of bamboo. We used the bamboo shoots for our glasses and banana leaves as our plates. About forty-five minutes later, we all sat together near the food to enjoy a great meal cooked the traditional way.

During lunch, we were told that most of the Iban believe in spirits, and that prior to our arrival, some Christian missionaries from Kuching had visited the longhouse trying to convert the tribe. Apparently the older generation did not want to give up their spiritual beliefs, but many of the younger generation were converted. Some say they converted so that the missionaries would be satisfied and leave, but others were serious – even though they really didn’t understand what had happened. They just knew they were now Christian and could not work on Sunday. This obviously upset some of the older generation, who have always worked on Sundays.

The trip back to town was a little rougher than the trip to Kuching. I didn’t have the comfort of the Proton, and the local bus we took was not exactly comfortable. To make the situation worse, about half an hour into the journey, our bus stopped to pick up another busload of locals who were stranded on the side of the road due to their bus breaking down. This did not go over well with the four girls, who were quite tired, very uncomfortable and slightly grumpy. I just thought it was funny. On top of that, we encountered some heavy rainfall about an hour before we reached Kuching. This resulted in a number of people getting soaked, as the bus’ roof had a quite a few leaks.

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