Part 4 Long House Stay - Prohibited Behaviour or Acts

     During my stay at the Long house what I observed, was the prohibited behavior or acts which are something rare to my knowledge. I was told that outsiders especially men are not allowed to enter their house and even if they are given an opportunity to enter their house, the men are not allowed to use the toilets in the house, they must  go to the jungle or other parts of the area either to defecate or to urinate.
     One of the relatives of the long house told me that, when the rice they cooked  is burnt, that particular family need to pay certain amount of money to the Long house"s most senior man as punishment .This is to remind them that they wont  repeat it. when rice is burnt while cooking, to the Ibans it  is a bad sign.

   I was quite sad to look at those kids and babies who do not have any toys or even play corner. I suggested to them , to get a swing, or slide and a sea saw for the little ones in the living room or rest room of the longhouse.According to them, That part of the house should not be disturbed, and need to be left with nothing.
They said , there shouldn't be any furniture's, those furniture are prohibited in that particular area.
    These people have their own believes and their religion is Animisma. They believe That spirits live every where.When a family member is dead, The body will be taken to a place very far from home and no one should visit that place again. Many of them Now converted to Christianity but they don't go to Church. The group whom I met, the younger ones have the Christian Names such as Tony,Moses and Farah, but Many of them still preserve the fore fathers culture. 
   
  Life is not easy for these People but they accept life as it is, eat what they found around them and everything is organic, from the bamboo shoots, to the ferns and edible leaves. Farming is their second choice, other than hunting. The men either go for hunting or fishing, the senior women involved in farming when they are free.They grow, hill paddy which is known as "beras Iban", pepper, coffee, corn, vegetables and fruits such as rambutan , durian, "cempedak"  ( mawang, kepayang ) +these two fruits belongs to the mango family.They grow only for consumption and not for sale, so just a small plot of land is used to grow their basic food.
     Other than farming the ladies mend the torn or wornout fishing nets when they are free. They do make their own earthen ware which is uniq. It  is common for these families  to have as many earthen wares as they can afford, because they make their own.
weaving mat and making trays and baskets from rattan is another way of making money. "Pua Kumbu "  is their traditional way of making their clothes , very thick and colorful threads are used in making Pua kumbu.It is more like "songket but This material is much thicker than Songket. This material is wraped around The waist and it is the skirts length.

     The ladies of the long house most of them are not educated but they are the most hardworking ones. I met a lady who worked so hard to feed her extended family members who live under one roof, they are 24 of them. Early morning after cooking meal for the family members, she goes to the jungle to search for mushrooms , ferns and bamboo shoots.When she had  collected everything for the day, she returns to her farm and works in her farm. Around noon she returns home for lunch and after eating lunch she started to weave huge mats. I saw her hand made mats and baskets in huge collection.
  Other than rattan she uses Plastic wires  to make various types of baskets. The married ladies who had become  the grand mothers are the most hardworking ones at the long house. These ladies got married at tender age of 12 or thirteen and , whenn their daughters are 12 or thirteen, they are married off. But these girls remain in the long house with their mothers, while then husbands went far far away from home to earn money. These husbands visit their wives only every 3 months. So thats the main reason these married young girls live with their mothers as long as they feel they can be independent. No wonder those grannies whom i met were only in their mid fourties. Some of them even have teenage grandchildren.