by Oliver Lalor
I guess you can't really say that you have been to Sarawak without having had the longhouse experience. The best and most traditional longhouses are quite inaccessible. However, I want to tell you about one of Sarawak 's most interesting longhouses which is relatively easy to get to. One must travel from Brunei to Bintulu and then on to Tatau. Bintulu is about four hours drive from Miri. Miri is now reached much more quickly with the new bridge over the Baram. No more waiting for the ferry and all the cars arriving at the border crossing at the same time. You can bypass Miri coming out on the road to Bintulu beyond the airport.
Tatau is about 40 kms from Bintulu. You don't actually go into Bintulu if you are going on to Tatau but turn off following the road that goes to Sibu and Kuching.
There is a brand new police station with a large compound in Tatau and I parked my car there having gotten permission. It couldn't have been in a safer place. I then got a boat up the Kakus river from Tatau. The boat journey up to the longhouse only takes two hours. Boats currently leave at 9am , 12,30pm and 1.30pm . The name of the longhouse has changed as the heads have changed so in older guidebooks you may find it referred to as Rumah Bilong or even Rumah Keseng but the current head is a woman and it is called Rumah Ado after her.
Rumah Ado is a Punan Bah longhouse. There is a community of about 400 people there. You will see the traditional salong (a storage place for the bones of the departed) as you climb up out of the boat. Ado is the former headman's daughter so you should ask for her or her husband, Bugang Sati. They live in the central section at the top of the steps. Usually people stay at the back of their house.
Rumah Ado is a large longhouse with 64 doors. When you stand at one end of the verandah you can't see the other end as it curves gently around. I found the people very friendly and really enjoyed seeing them getting on with their daily tasks. There was an old man on the verandah making a sheath for his parang and some women weaving. There is a school behind Rumah Ado and also another 34 door longhouse nearby.
On my second day I arranged for Bugang Sati to take me up to Gua Maing caves. It was a terrific experience. In 1913 his family was given the rights to the birds' nests by Rajah Brooke. I was accompanied by Bugang, an old man who was crippled and a boy. The old man sat out on the prow of the boat and looked out for snags, he would point them out with a slight nod of the head or a fingerpoint and Bugang would take diversionary action. It became really interesting when we turned off the Kakus river and onto the smaller streams through virgin rainforest and could no longer use the boat engine. We saw two crocodiles on the way. One big one was sunning itself on the bank of the river and paid no attention to us. The other one which was young scurried off as soon as it saw us.
The swiftlets build their much sought after nests in Gua Maing caves. It was a bit messy underfoot as there is no walkway like at Niah Caves . There is some basic accommodation at the caves where you can stay by arrangement with Bugang. His two men there cooked us up a delightful meal. We returned to Rumah Ado the same day.
Bugang brought a net with him and fished on the way up and back. To see him in action was magnificent. He would stand up on the prow of the boat and cast out the net which had a chain attached all around the edge. The chain would sink into the water quickly and nine times out of ten couldn't be pulled in as
it was snagged on tree stumps or submerged branches or whatever. Then Bugang, always with cigarette in mouth, would jump into the water to release it. He never once lost the cigarette. All you would see protruding from the water were his lips and the cigarette as he freed the net. He caught fish with every catch as well as every sort of detritus that was on the river bed. That one man with his net caught 40 kilos of fish on the trip. We weighed them when we got back to the longhouse and he distributed them amongst various houses.
It was a magic place to visit and what you pay is up to yourself. The boat had to be hired and the petrol paid for. That can be negotiated with Bugang. Ado should be paid for the food and accommodation. Again it is up to you what you pay. Be generous if you enjoy the experience.
By the way, you will have to `mandi di sungai' like everybody else. . |
