The Iban of Borneo (Sarawak)

A Life in the Longhouse

One of the journeys in my life which marked me considerably was to be a guest in an Iban longhouse in midst of the tropical rainforest of Borneo.

The following travelogue dates back to april-june 1988, based on a research trip to survey the impact of resettlement schemes due to hydropower projects on the local population in Sarawak. Meanwhile, the project did not take place as planned; I took advantage to get in touch with the Iban people, the largest ethnic group of Borneo to learn more about their lifelihood and culture in the tropical rainforest.

Borneo and Sarawak, some interesting facts

Covering an area of about 748.168 km2 (288,869 sq mi), Borneo is the third-largest island in the world. The island is divided into four political regions: the Indonesian part is named Kalimantan, Sabah and Sarawak are part of Malaysia and fourth part belongs to the sultanate of Brunei an independent state.

The climate in Borneo, due to its equatorial geographical situation can be described as tropically hot and very humid. The temperatures remain constant over the day and the year and stay between 27° and 32° C. Borneo has two monsoon seasons: the “dry” monsoon (May - October) and the “wet” monsoon (November - April), but with 250 rainy days (in Sarawak) there is rainfall at any time of the year which can exceed 4.000 mm annually. The humidity is above 80%

Sandy beaches at Bako National Parkwith view to the South China Sea

Typical landscape of Sarawak with rolling hills, patches of secondary Rainforest and scattered settlements

a small pond in Bako National Park with Cascades. Nature pure!

Roots, vines and lianas hanging or climbing up a huge forest tree.

the giant Rainforest Trees have a complex root system to survive

it is not only a carnivorous plant but live in many interdependent relations to their environment ....

... they represent a whole cosmos in itself.

"Orang bellanda" (meaning Dutch People or people with long noses) is the name of the Probiscious Monkey here in Baku National Park

evening mood at Bako National Park (sorry for the poor quality of that picture taken in 1988)

sunset above the Batang Ai Dam close to Lubock Antu

The state of Sarawak

The city of Kuching is the capital of the state of Sarawak. At the time of my trip in 1988, Kuching was the starting point of every trip into the interior of Borneo and as far as I know it has remained so until today.

Jalan Masjid Bus Station with the Old State Mosque or Kuching Mosque in the background.

Kuching is the commercial center of Sarawak and a place where all ethnic groups of different origins meet and exchange.

Many different religions are represented in Kuching. One example is the chinese Tua Pek Kong Temple, the oldest temple in the city, which is affiliated to the taoism.

At the time of my trip in 1988, there were only a few accommodations available on the way into the inner part of Sarawak, as here in Sri Aman.

there are different possibilities to travel from Kuching inside the country, to use one of these vessels as a transportation (I used) is for a small budget

A view at the Kapit wharf terminal. Kapit is a amall town and the capital of the Kapit District inhabited by the Iban, Chinese and Kayan people. It is the last stop of express boats coming from Sibu....

The journey to the longhouse

Already the journey to the longhouse, to which I was invited was adventure.

From Kuching the capital of Sarawak, I took a speedboat to Sibu, a city shaped by Chinese dwellers, and then another postboat up the Rajang River towards Kapit, the capital of the Kapit District. From there, with the postboat to a small boat landing pier to change to the typical longboat with an outboard motor. My host drove me upriver a small tributary.

click on the pictures to enlarge the photographs and to read the full story

Staying in an Iban longhouse (Rumah)

This picture shows a traditional Iban Longhouse "rum" with a corrugated iron roof. It is a communal living place but with private family units called "bilek"

when you enter the longhouse there is a long verandah called "tanjuh"

on this long gallery called "ruai" all the communal, social and cultural live happens

behind there are doors which lead to the private living space for the family called "bilek"

Each "bilek" has it's own kitchen area "sunkai" inside leading to the back of the house

In front there are other buildings but they are used for storage and not for living

the backside of the house with the Rainforest in the background

two young man throwing a casting net at Batang Ai River

a group portrait of my hosts and friends after fishing successfully in the Batang Ai River

Rubber harvesting: a man cutting trees to extract the rubber for further processing

My personal view about the trip

The trip to Borneo and staying in a longhouse with the Iban marked me considerably.

While I can easily transcript my written notes in detail, the slides had to be scanned and restored commpletely.

Taking photos in the tropical rainforest with an analog Minolta X300 camera with a f3,5 35-70 mm lens in the conditions of the tropical rainforest with the high temperatures and humidity, rain and water in the boat and difficult lighting situations in the forest or longhouse was a great challenge. In many situations I left the camera aside. which is not always a bad thing, also for reasons of dicretion.

Self Portrait in Baku National Park — Swimming in a source in sourrounded by monkeys and birds in Baku National Park, self-portrait

Sitting in the front right together with my hosts on the occasion of a festival where a lot of rice wine flowed