Visit to an Iban Longhouse

The Iban are a group of people indigenous to Borneo. We were lucky to be able to visit two of the traditional "longhouses" where Iban live.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iban_people

Batang Ai Reservoir

We drove until we reached the Batang Ai Reservoir. This reservoir was constructed to provide hydorelectric power for Kuching.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batang_Ai_Dam





When we reached the reservoir we were picked up by people from the Menyang Tais longhouse, the first of the two longhouses we were going to visit. Here I am enjoying the slightly longer than 1 hour trip to Menyang Tais. I am sorry for the unladylike pose.


Along the shore you can see the Batang Ai Hilton Hotel.


These clouds looked pretty ominous, but luckily we took the right fork in the river so we avoided the big storm.


It took about a 15 minute hike to reach the longhouse.


Menyang Tais Longhouse

Welcome to Menyang Tais Longhouse.


The longhouses had an interesting design. Menyang Tais longhouse contained interconnected 16 dwellings. They all shared a long external porch. The colorful tarps are covering the recently harvested rice that they are preparing for storage.


Inside of the longhouse was a long, shared open area. The sacks contain rice. the front doors of the 16 individual houses opened onto this common area.


Our lodgings at Menyang Tais longhouse was a home stay in the home of the longhouse's headman. The headman's wife and other relatives cooked our dinner.




Our dinner was served on the floor of the common area. As you can see it was quite a spread.


Originally, only the men joined us for dinner ...


while the women ate on the floor in the kitchen.


Going into the kitchen to take the women's photo appeared to break the ice because soon after the women joined the men in the common area and the party began.


They encouraged us to try their rice wine and rice whiskey which were both pretty tasty and could probably do some serious damage if you were not careful. With one of my friends and our guide acting as interpreters we were all able to communicate a bit. They were very interested to learn what I did, how old I was, how many kids I had, etc. It was a very enjoyable evening!!


Inside the headman's home.


We slept on a mattress inside of the headman's living room.


Because Menyang Tais longhouse is used for home stays they had built a little shower room with a toilet, sink, and shower for the guests to use. It was quite a comfortable place to stay (considering that you were in the middle of the rainforest).