Wonders of the Baram Brochure
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yelaiKe NaiN nyah! K E D Nai A L Y E A V T A E L T R A N N G U S A Nyelai by Simpson Njock Lenjau & Dr. Christine Horn Horn & Dr. Christine Lenjau Njock Simpson by Kenyah!* WELCOME TO THE KEDAYA TELANG USAN! A brochure for Kedaya Telang Usan Travel * Come and visit the Kenyah in the Kedaya Telang Usan! I ndex Introduction........................................................2 The.Fishtrap........................................................34 Long.Semiang.....................................................73 Long.San...............................................................3 Long.Palai............................................................36 Long.Tungan.......................................................76 The.Padi.Harvest...............................................5 Batu.Palau............................................................39 Kenyah.basketry................................................79 Long.Akah.Kubu................................................9 U’Ong.Arau..........................................................42 Lio.Mato...............................................................83 Long.Akah.Lost.City........................................12 Jala.fishing...........................................................44 The.100.Islands.................................................85 Kah.Benuang.......................................................14 The.Silat.river.....................................................48 Awang.Pamen.....................................................87 Long.Selatong.....................................................16 Long.Silat.............................................................50 Batu.Siman...........................................................92 Tanjong.Tepalit..................................................18 Long.Makabar....................................................52 Local.food............................................................100 U’Ong.Geneh.......................................................20 Long.Jekitan........................................................56 Nature.walks.......................................................105 Long.Apu..............................................................22 Parang.manufacture........................................57 Animal.spotting.................................................107 Long.Julan...........................................................24 Long.Jeeh.............................................................61 Playing.Sape........................................................108 Long.Julan.Pelutan...........................................27 Angan.Pampok...................................................63 Blowpipes.............................................................110 Batu.Awang.Raja.Semaun..............................29 Long.Moh.............................................................66 Before.you.go.....................................................112 Long.Anap............................................................32 Long.Selaan.........................................................71 Kenyah.vocabulary...........................................115 1 Introduction Above. the. Kedaya. Telang. Usan. Travels’. logo. is. The.river.bank.of.Kedaya.Telang.Usan.is.home.to. Except. for. a. few. in. Long. Moh. where. we. can. see. written.the.welcoming.cry.of.the.Kenyahs,.“Nai.Nyelai. the. Kenyah. and. Penan. tribes.. The. rich. traditional. hanging.human.skulls.at.the.veranda.of.their.ritual. Kenyah”..It.literally.means,.Come.Visit.the.Kenyah.. culture.of.the.the.Kenyahs.in.Kedaya.Telang.Usan. hut..The.past.glories.of.Long.Akah.City.is.also.seen. This.book.highlights.the.tourism.destinations.within. is. captured. here. in. the. pictures. of. their. dancing. in. the. remnants. of. the. decaying. shop. buildings. the. Kedaya. Telang. Usan,. which. is. stretching. from. and. musical. instruments. and. their. mural. designs. at. Long. Akah.. It. used. to. be. a. convenient. trading. Long. Akah. to. Lio. Mato. and. located. at. the. upper. on.the.walls.of.their.traditional.longhouses.and.rice. centre. for. the. whole. of. Kedaya. Telang. Usan. until. reaches.of.“Alo.Telang.Usan”.in.Kenyah,.also.called. barns.. In. the. olden. days,. there. was. no. alternative. it.was.abandoned.in.the.late.80s..Besides.that,.the. the.Baram.River.by.the.Government.Administrators. way.to.travel.from.one.longhouse.to.another.except. historical. Kubu. (British. Fort). of. Long. Akah. and. during.the.Rajah.Brookes.era..As.a.tourism.brochure,. by.longboat,.riding.through.some.dangerous.rapids. Lio. Mato,. the. catholic. mission. and. the. missionary. it.documents.and.profiles.the.places.of.interests.in. along.the.Alo.Telang.Usan.like.Kah.Benuang.. primary. school. of. St.. Pius. at. Long. San. bring. to. order.to.expose.the.hidden.wonders.that.are.deep. This.book.also.shows.that.people.are.still.living.by. light.the.existence.of.the.colonial.reign.in.the.area.. in.the.country’s.interior..Since.Kedaya.Telang.Usan. their. ancient. traditions. and. customs,. and. this. is. In. an. effort. to. promote. tourism. in. Kedaya. Telang. is.far.up.in.the.hinterland,.it.is.high.above.sea.level,. explicit.by.the.artefacts.of.their.Pagan.deities.and. Usan,.this.book.emphasises.on.some.of.the.history,. its. rivers. loop. and. twist. through. valleys. of. the. ritual..Although.Kenyahs.have.been.devoted.Pagans,. adventure,.culture,.nature.and.legends.found.in.the. mountains.before.crossing.their.journey.to.the.sea.. worshipping.the.spirits.of.nature,.holding.fast.to.a. region. of. the. Kedaya. Telang. Usan,. which. you. will. At.times.it.is.broad.and.peaceful,.at.others.they.rage. fear.of.demons.and.living.a.life.that.was.guided.by. see.if.you.Nai.Nyelai.Kenyah! violently.through.gorges,.forming.waterfalls.such.as. faith. and. superstitions. in. the. past,. today. they. are. U’Ong.Geneh,.Arau,.Paih.and.the.Julan.Waterfall.. mostly.Christians.. Simpson.Njock.Lenjau. Councillor,.Marudi.District.Council 2 04.May.2015 Long San Long. San. is. the. first. place. may. visitors. of. the. Kedaya.Telang.Usan.will.visit.because.the.region’s. only.rural.airport.is.located.here..It.is.one.of.the. biggest.communities.in.the.area,.and.home.to.the. local.secondary.school..It.has.several.shops.where. you. can. buy. food. and. drinks. and. local. crafts,. or. hang.out.with.the.locals.drinking.coffee.and.eating. local.delicacies. Long.San.was.the.first.Kenyah.community.on.the. Baram.to.convert.to.Christianity.in.the.1950s.. Long.San.is.the.home.of.the.first.Kenyah.Paramount. Chief,.the.late.Dato’Temenggong.Oyong.Lawai.Jau. The Temenggong.felt.that.the.Kenyah.needed.to. move. on. from. their. traditional. religion.. The. old. religion.imposed.many.restrictions.on.daily.life..The. Temenggong.requested.for.a.Christian.missionary. to.be.deployed.to.the.area.and.built.the.first.church. here,.St..Paul’s.of.Long.San.. 3 The.Roman.Catholic.Missionaries.brought.along.a. Miri,.which.is.a.4.hour.drive..From.here,.you.can. mission.school.and.a.maternity.clinic.to.cater.for.the. explore.the.whole.of.the.Kedaya.Telang.Usan..Long. needs.of.the.people..In.the.80’s.the.first.Secondary. San.itself.has.a.long.history.and.many.interesting. School.was.also.built.in.Long.San.and.it.was.named. places.to.visit,.for.instance.nearby.Long.Akah.Fort. after.Dato’.Temenggong.called.SMK.Temenggong. or.Kubu,.the.lost.city.of.Long.Akah,.and.there.are. Dato’.Lawai.Jau..From.Long.San.Christianity.spread. nice. small. rivers. all. around. to. go. swimming. or. to.all.surrounding.communities..Today,.only.very. fishing..You.can.also.visit.the.Penan.who.make.and. few. people. practice. the. old. religiton. among. the. sell.parangs.in.Long.San.. Kenyah,.for.instance.in.Long.Moh.. It’s.a.great.place.to.habituate.yourself.to.the.region,. You. can. fly. to. Long. San. with. a. small. twin. otter. and.it’s.quite.multicultural:.You.may.meet.Kenyah,. airplane. from. Miri. on. Mondays. and. Fridays.. You. Kayan,.Kelabit,.Penan.and.many.other.people.who. can. also. reach. Long. San. by. logging. road. from. have.moved.here! 4 The Padi Harvest any.of.the.people.of.the.Baram.practice. This page, below: A man with a basket of freshly harvested padi. This page, top right: Everyone in the village will start harvesting traditional. shifting. cultivation. of. rice,. their padi once the grains start to turn yellow. and.during.harvesting.time.everyone.is. This page, bottom right: A woman is using an implement made M from plastic pipe and a knife blade to cut each individual stalk. in.their.farm.harvesting.their.padi..The.harvesting. season.is.usually.sometime.in.February..The.time. of. planting. is. determined. communally,. and. is. dependent. on. the. phases. of. the. moon.. Because. they.plant.at.the.same.time,.people.also.harvest.at. roughly. the. same. time. six. months. after. the. seed. has.been.planted,.when.the.rice.in.the.fields.starts. to.turn.yellow..Harvesting.is.usually.done.by.hand,. with.home-made.implements.with.which.the.stalk. of.each.plant.is.cut..It.is.tiring.work.in.the.hot.sun,. but.it.will.provide.families.with.the.rice.they.need. for.the.whole.year!. If.you.are.visiting.the.Kenyah.during.this.time,.you may.be.invited.to.take.part.in.the.harvest.for.a.while,. and.experience.the.hard.work.which.is.necessary. to.provide.people.with.their.most.important.staple.. 5 The Padi Harvest Depending.on.how.much.rice.people.have.planted. After.the.rice.has.been.harvested.it.is.dried.in.the. the.harvest.can.take.days,.and.even.over.a.week.