Chapter 2. the Lahanan Longhouse
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Chapter 2. The Lahanan Longhouse Jennifer Alexander Longhouses are the archetypical form of Bornean domicile, although this form of dwelling is also found in other parts of the world.1 Much larger than most visitors expect, longhouses are built on piles and comprise a row of individual domestic units accommodated under one roof. This unusual form of architecture has provoked considerable speculation concerning the reasons for its development and for its persistence in contemporary societies which are otherwise rapidly changing. A functional explanation for the siting of the longhouse on piles has been sought in the protection it provides from flood and heat in a tropical monsoon climate. It is also ecologically effective in that household waste ends up beneath the longhouse where it is disposed of by foraging pigs and poultry; and economical because a longhouse requires less time and material to construct than separate dwellings (Avé and King 1986:56). A second and perhaps more compelling argument lies in the defensive and security aspects of the structure. Numerous ethnographers (Kelbling 1983:149; MacDonald 1956:103; Rousseau 1978; Sutlive 1978:183) have pointed to the importance of the length of the longhouse in providing protection against enemy attacks. According to MacDonald, the bigger the house the stouter its walls. The more numerous its inmates, the more plentiful its guard. That is the simple explanation of the remarkable size of Bornean residences (1956:103). Kelbling (1983:149-150), in less declamatory terms, states that head-hunting and incessant clashes between indigenous groups made it `sensible' to accommodate the village under one roof. He also notes two features of the longhouse, apart from its length and unity, which are designed for security purposes: the removable notched ladder by which people gain access from the compound to the gallery, and the doors of apartments which are raised some 50 centimetres above the floor to restrict entry. Avé and King (1986:56) remark on the defensive effectiveness of houses raised high above the ground on massive posts, as well as other features including hidden trenches, man traps and palisades. But while all these writers stress the fortress-like nature of the longhouse they also see it as facilitating interpersonal relations and contacts between households (see also Rousseau 1978:80). This final point seems the most convincing argument for the persistence of the longhouse form in contemporary Borneo societies, for all appear to place a very high value on sociability. While 31 Inside Austronesian Houses they rely on the jungle for their livelihood, many members of these societies regard the longhouse as a domestic haven in a dangerous and hostile environment. The individual apartments afford sufficient privacy for domestic life, but the permeability of the adjoining walls, the close proximity of neighbours and the communal veranda provide the opportunities for highly valued social interaction. Balui Longhouses The Lahanan are one of the core groups of the Kajang2 who regard themselves as the original settlers of the Belaga region in Sarawak's Seventh Division. Their position has been usurped by two main groups of later arrivals. The Kayan, who left the Apau Kayan in Kalimantan more than 200 years ago, pushed all of the Kajang, apart from the Lahanan, downriver to the lower Balui and `imposed' Kayan wives on Kajang chiefs. The Kenyah also originated from the Apau Kayan and began migrating in waves either prior to or at the same time as the Kayan. One of the earliest Kenyah groups to arrive was the Uma Kelap Kenyah now located immediately downriver from the Lahanan longhouse in the middle Balui, but Kenyah migration has continued until recent times. Both groups have a record of disputes and armed conflict with the Lahanan (Guerreiro 1987). Interethnic conflicts, head-hunting and war are part and parcel of the early settlement in the Balui region, but the Kayan were largely subdued and their expansion halted by a punitive expedition organized in 1863 by Charles Brooke, the second Rajah of Sarawak (de Martinoir 1974:267). Early this century the Iban started raiding the Balui region, and the Kayan, Kenyah and Kajang joined forces to repel the invader, although the Lahanan at times apparently acted as mediators.3 The Iban raids continued until the early 1920s Ð at times restricting farming and trade in jungle produce. In 1924 armed conflict came to an end with a peacemaking ceremony in Kapit (Runciman 1960:238). Over the past 350 years the Lahanan have established a great many longhouses over a wide area. Settlement patterns have largely been a response to the demands of swidden agriculture, but head-hunting and warfare have also played a part. Early this century Balui Kayan and their Lahanan allies established a group of longhouses near the mouth of the Linau River in response to the Iban attacks. These settlements later dispersed when land suitable for agriculture was exhausted. Demands on land and the establishment of boundaries around longhouse communities and their lands have led to the increasing sedentarization of the Balui ethnic groups, while the introduction of fertilizers, weedicides and cash crops have enabled them to cope with restrictions on expansion into new territory. In the Belaga district, the Kayan, Kenyah and Kajang peoples all build substantial dwellings of ironwood. The Balui longhouse is frequently, but not universally, conterminous with the village. Most Kayan and Kajang communities 32 The Lahanan Longhouse consist of one longhouse, but the Kenyah usually build two or three longhouses within the one village.4 The massive nature of these longhouses has been attributed to the hierarchical social structure of the Kayan, Kenyah and Kajang and also, in comparison with the Iban, their less predatory agricultural practices (Avé and King 1985:56). These societies, in contrast to the Iban, were stratified into four ranks or hereditary strata. The laja/maren, commonly glossed as `aristocrats', belong to the ruling family's apartment. The hipui are `minor aristrocrats' with kinship relations to the laja. The panyin or `commoners' form the bulk of the longhouse community. The fourth rank were `slaves' (lippen/dipen) commonly captives of war. The substantial nature of the longhouse structure has been linked to the aristocrats' vested interest in maintaining control. Not only is the apartment of the laja much larger than others but, under traditional adat, panyin could not secede from their natal longhouse to form a new longhouse unless they were accompanied by a member of the aristocratic group.5 This, in conjunction with the absence of a preference for farming primary jungle, is seen as inhibiting resettlement and favouring solid, enduring buildings. The Levu The Lahanan distinguish between a levu larun, a longhouse containing a number of individual apartments, and a levu karep, a detached dwelling occupied by a single domestic group. But the word levu usually refers to the longhouse, and is also the term for the communal veranda or gallery. The veranda side of the longhouse faces the river and the longhouse itself runs parallel to the river or stream on which it is located. Longhouse people orientate themselves in relation to the river. Naju refers to `upriver' and nava to `downriver', and many activities are also viewed in terms of the river and longhouse: one `goes up' (baguai) to the longhouse but `down to work' (ba'ai nyadui); that is, down to the river to paddle the canoe to the fields. Unlike the Iban longhouse described by Sather (this volume), the Lahanan longhouse, as with most other longhouses on the Balui River, is not orientated in terms of the sunrise and sunset. 33 Inside Austronesian Houses Figure 1. Levu Lahanan, Leng Panggai The Lahanan levu is located on a river bank near the confluence (leng) of the main river (batang) with a smaller stream (hungei). Their current longhouse on the Balui River is about 50 metres from the river up a steep slippery incline, although of course, the river rises and falls dramatically according to the season and weather. It is located just upriver from Leng Panggai hence the name Levu Lahanan, Leng Panggai (see Figure 1). The Lahanan build massive dwellings of hardwoods Ð the exceptionally durable belian (Eusideroxylon zwageri), meranti (Shorea spp.) and berangan (Castanopsis spp.) Ðsupported by a number of vertical posts some 3 metres in height. The main posts are sunk 1.5 metres into the ground and pass through the floor to support the roof and rafters above. The structure consists of a front section forming a long gallery extending the entire length of the longhouse and a rear section containing individual household apartments. Each apartment (tilung) comprises sleeping quarters, a hearth and living area. Access is through a door (bah tilung), literally the mouth of the tilung, to the common gallery. The gallery not only provides access to each apartment, but also serves as a playground, workplace and relaxation centre. Each apartment `owns' and is responsible for the upkeep of the gallery in front of it. The rice mortar (lesung), 34 The Lahanan Longhouse frequently many years older than the longhouse itself, is placed in the front of the apartment on the gallery, and other goods such as paddles, spears and fishing nets are stored in the rafters of the levu. Before the introduction of the Bungan cult6 in the early 1950s, the skulls of victims of head-hunting raids were also hung here. Each apartment also has a rear entrance reached by a notched log, and, in the past, access to the gallery was gained by means of removable notched logs. It is not uncommon to have open doorways between contiguous tilung belonging to close friends and relatives. Neighbouring apartments may also be entered via the drying platform located in the centre of many apartments.