Reputed to be the most fearsome of Borneo’s headhunters, it was not so long ago that the Iban celebrated the captured heads with a grand festival called Gawai Kenyalang (the Hornbill Festival). It was believed that the magical power of the heads would bring strength, virtue and prosperity to the longhouse.
Thankfully the Iban no longer headhunt, and have adopted a peaceful agrarian lifestyle. Any modern day visitor to an Iban longhouse will testify that they are a generous, hospitable and placid people.
The Iban are the most numerous of Sarawak’s ethnic groups forming 30% of the state’s population, and are sometimes erroneously referred to as the “Sea Dayaks” because of their skill with boats. The Iban actually originated from deep within the Kalimantan hinterland. They first crossed into Sarawak in the mid 16th century – a mass migration of people that lasted until the early 1900s. The first Iban settlements in Sarawak were at Lubok Antu (approximately four hour’s drive from Kuching). The Iban then settled in nearby river valleys such as Batang Ai, the Skrang River, Saribas, the Layar Basin. In a second wave of migration in the 1800s, the Iban settled on the Rajang River and the lower reaches of the Baram River. By the early 1900s the Ibans had migrated as far across the state as Limbang, Tatau and Kemena Rivers.
Although the majority of Iban are nowadays Christian, many traditional rituals are still practised, including the Gawai Dayak (harvest festival), Gawai Kenyalang (hornbill festival) and Gawai Antu (festival of the dead). The traditional Iban religion is a fusion of animistic and Hindu-Buddhist beliefs, and they worship a triumvirate of gods under the authority of Singalang Burung, the bird-god of war. Iban women are superb weavers, using the backstrap loom, while Iban men are excellent silversmiths, and are famous for their colourful ngajat dance and their majestic and imposing tattoos. The Iban have a strong tradition of hospitality, and a longhouse visit is an unforgettable experience.
Rest assured, head hunting definitely has not been practiced in Sarawak for many, many years. But practiced it was in days gone by as skulls hanging from the rafters of several longhouses bear witness.
A few glasses of tuak in a longhouse and you might get the older men relating tales of the grisly exploits of their not-too-distant ancestors. Another reminder of those days is the Headhunters’ Trail, now a favorite jungle trek. The trail is just part of the route used by Kayan tribesmen on headhunting raids to a neighboring river valley. They did not just walk the trail; they carried their war canoes along it from one river to another.
Taking a head was a sign of manhood. One reason it became so popular was that no self-respecting maiden would consider a young man who had not taken a head.
The longhouse is the very center of communal life in Sarawak. To visit a longhouse is to look deep into the State’s soul.
As most traditional longhouses are riverside dwellings, the real longhouse experience begins with the journey upriver. River travel in a perahu – a shallow draught canoe – affords you the pleasure of seeing Sarawak at its best; your boatman will take you along idyllic waterways with white pebble beaches, under the over-arching branches of tropical hardwoods, whose dense emerald foliage allows through only a dappling of sunlight. As you meander upstream, and your boatman punts through the river’s shallows, kingfishers glide past, hornbills fly overhead, and local children dive from the riverbank into the cooling waters.
As you arrive at the longhouse, it is customary to be greeted by the longhouse maidens and young men performing traditional dances and playing ceremonial gongs. From the moment you step inside the longhouse you will be treated as an honored guest. Visitors will be offered a glass of tuak – the very palatable local rice wine. Or more often than not, several glasses of tuak will be offered to wash down a banquet of local delicacies. Then your hosts will start beating the gongs. This is the cue for the traditional dance, usually the Ngajat. The inspiration for the graceful movements of the dancers comes from the effortless flight of the hornbill, Sarawak’s emblem. Then your newfound friends will enthrall you with stories of Sarawak’s legendary past. Usually a longhouse party lasts all night. As the sun is eclipsed by the moon, weary from your day’s travel, and a night of dancing and feasting, retire to the ruai- a covered verandah – for a good night’s sleep.
