Pieces of me………

Before I let memories fly by, I guess I ought to share some sweet memories which I experienced while I was in Sarawak early July this year

This is an Iban longhouse along Sg. Lemanak, it’s called Rumah Anding in Telinting. Until today, I have difficulty remembering all the names of the villages and the rumah panjangs that I have visited. What I remember most vividly is the name of the Lemanak river. The people who live along this river are mainly pure Ibans and the culture and practices of the Iban tribe still remains strong among it’s people. Though some of them still believe in their own traditional "Gods and Spirits", many have converted into Christianity (mainly Anglicans) or the Bahai Religion. Unlike the other longhouses, Rumah Anding has a "no alcohol policy". The occupants of this house do not drink alcohol as it brings harm to the human body. Therefore, we were not served with "Tuak" the traditional rice wine upon our arrival.

Along the rivers of Sg.Lemanak, you can only find boats that are as long as this one. Such boats are the only mode of transport of the people around here. The boat has to be this long because the "Lemanak" river is very shallow, the deepest part of the river is only up to knee length. Very often, the boat gets stuck between the rocks and the passangers will have to push the boat off the rocks before we continue our journey. The The journey to our destination took us 3 hours but i enjoyed it.

It is a culture among the Ibans to welcome their guest with food and "tuak’. For every Iban longhouses that we visited, we were served with appetizers, together with ‘tuak’ served individually by the host followed by lunch. The people of the longhouse were very generous and were proud of the food they served. The rice and vegetables they served were either planted by themselves or picked from the jungle. The fish they served was what they caught from the river. Meals were delicious because what was served came right from the heart of the host "penuh dengan kasih sayang".

If you have never drank alcohol, I would suggest that you don’t act macho when drinking ‘Tuak’, it has a very strong content of alcohol. Let your host know that you can’t drink alot so that they don’t pour too much into your cup. It is very rude and offensive to make funny faces and not finish whatever that is being served. However, if you are an alcohol drinker, i think you would enjoy ‘Tuak’. It’s sweet, abit like ‘Tapai’ but slightly stronger.

Lucky guest will also get to participate in a small fellowship whereby the host family will perform the Ngajat (traditional warrior dance) and also teach you how to dance. I was a total hopeless case when it came to the Ngajat…..Weak knees and stiff body…..my host family found me amusing instead.

People of Sg. Lemanak are lovely people, very hospitable and humble. Though I was only there for 1 night, i made alot of new friends among the adults despite having some language problem. The only sad thing was that the majority of the villagers have aged, the young have moved on with their lives in the city and only visit their folks during festive seasons. Greedy loggers and irresponsible authorities have also been a pain in the lives of these people. They destroy the jungles that surrounds these villages at the expense of the people of Sg. Lemanak for the sake of logging and their own wealth…..Hope that was not my first last visit to my dear Iban friends…….special thanks to Khiro and our host family in ‘Rumah Anjan’ for being a great guide.

Ps.Kindly correct me if you think my contents and opinions is wrong.

Prescribed by the Great Physician