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Introduction to BorneoThe Tropical Rain Forest of Borneo is beautiful, only partly explored, and is home to a diverse family of tribal groups, each with its own distinctive and vital culture. These robust people are self-reliant, dignified and welcome with warm hospitality any
traveller who has made the effort to journey many hours, or even days, to eat, drink and
dance with them. This hospitality richly rewards the traveller for the rigours of the journey. He will learn things that the jaded city-dweller has never known: the art of communal living and self-sufficiency; the reliance on one’s own efforts; to cultivate or capture all the necessities of life for one’s family and neighbours, with enough to entertain unexpected visitors. Guests are cherished for the news they bring of the outside world, and as an excuse for a party. Watch the formal, stylized dancing which is remarkable for its athletic vigour and liquid grace. It continues, after suitable lubrication, with the guests being dragged to their feet by the girls, and often develops into all-night party with guests collapsing into sleep on the verandah. The next day, the men of the longhouse are delighted to show the visitors how the wild boar is hunted with blowpipe, spear, and dogs. If the visitor helps to carry a heavy portion of the animal back to the house then the meal will taste that much sweeter. By the time the guest is familiar with the names of the host’s children, the family will be asking about his own, so he should bring an album of photos, and an illustrated book about his own country. It is surprising how much can be learned through such exchanges, even without a common language. Malay is the lingua franca in the longhouses and jungle of Borneo. It is an easy language and it is well worth acquiring a vocabulary of a few score words. You will feel slightly less isolated. |
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