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14 SARAWAK GAZETTE
prevailed again. The sound of the cascading Tabun territory as petty traders with their
rapids, the monotonous call of the woodpecker, ‘perahus’ (boats). One such boat capsized in Ulu
the hooting of the owl and the jarring sound of Medamit and the Malay traders drowned in the
the cicadas produced a music akin to that of mishap. To commemorate that disaster the spot
electronic video games was later named as Pulau Brunei.
Ulu Limbang is a natural hunting ground. Honestly, I was a lettle disappointed on my
The bearded pig, “Kijang” (the barking deer) and arrival at Long Napir. It was a barren hamlet after
‘rusa’ or locally known as ‘payau’ (Sambhur deer) all. However, we were cordially welcomed by the
roam freely in the tropical rain forest. The area inhabitants. A character who caught my attention
provides a haven for these beautiful wild game. was an octagenarian by the name of ‘Puloh Ribu’
All a hunter need is a reliable shotgun, carbide to (which literally means Ten Thousand). He was
mesmerize the animals and above all patience. a former headman of the village. It took some-
Next morning, after a light breakfast we headed time for him to emerge from his ‘bilek’ for he
for our destination. ‘Long’ means ‘kuala’ or was flamboyantly dressed in his overcoat. The
‘nanga’ while ‘Napir’ is Tabun word for ‘asam two Kelabit longhouses were partially completed.
pauh’ (a sour fruit of a type of tropical tree). Minor Rural Projects like the football field and
Whilst ascending the rapids. Councillor Siga who cement footpath were shabbily constructed.
was also our convertible ‘jaga luan’ managed to After promising the local folks that we would
cast his net at the ‘lubok’. We stopped for lunch stay the night at Long Napir on the very next day
on a ‘karangan’ (formation of rocks) at Rantau we moved to another ‘karangan’ where we put up
Marau. We had barbecued fish and pelandok our camp. It was drizzling the whole day. We had
meat. Before that we also witnessed a new bridge to make small fires to smoke-out the bloodsuck-
(later known as the Wong Fujita Bridge) almost ing sandflies and mosquitoes. This reminded me
completed at Jukut. This is of course one of the of my old scouting days. Our new campsite was
latest technology transfers from Japan which cost at Nanga Menuang or now popularly known as
two million dollars for Limbang Trading Limited ‘Kem Salahuddin’ i.e. named after the visit of
to construct the infrastructure. former Tuan Yang Terutama. For dinner we had
According to narrations from Penghulu fish first wrapped in simpor leaves and conse-
Madang, Rantau Marau was formerly a place for quently placed in spliced bamboos before being
putting ‘pengaroh’ (charms) in order to deter put to the fire. The final outcome was delicious.
aliens from trespassing the boundary above the It was a very hot and humid day the following
rope (in the form of ‘tali marau’/tali sabut) which morning and we had to jump into the cool
was put across the river with the charms hanging mountain stream to relieve ourselves from the
on it. The demarcation served as a point of no blistering sun. As promised, we returned to Long
entry. Amongst the charms were tiger’s fangs Napir in the evening where there was a marriage
(ngeli harimau), sharp-pointed poles and roots of ceremony. Tuai Rumah Lejuk and his Punan
trees. This was supposed to be a Tabun traditional tribesmen were also present in one of the Kelabit
rite in the event of epidemic occurrence. longhouses. At first the Punans were shy and
Penghulu Madang, a pure Tabun by race, also unassertive but later they overcame their shyness
narrated to me about the stories of the Tabun and presented everyone with their exclusive
people. Tabuns might probably be one of the first dance.
inhabitants of Limbang. Today Tabuns are only We left Long Napir early the next morning.
a minority racial group in Limbang. My record The torrential rain during the night made our
shows that they number about two hundred. Most journey downstream relatively easier althrough
Tabuns were annihilated by ‘disasters’ owing to there were scary moments when our boat plunged
the breach of promise ‘sumpah’ with the Bruneis into the eddies and whirlpools and missing the
or ‘Abai’. (This is a Tabun word for Malays). By menacing boulders only by a few feet. The trip
the way there is also a Malay village in Limbang was an added experience and a worthwhile one
named ‘Buangabai’ (Malay casteaways?). In indeed for now I can raise my head and say “I
those days the Bruneis used to frequent the have been to Long Napir”. Have you?
252 | Dahulu Terasing Kini Terjalin
prevailed again. The sound of the cascading Tabun territory as petty traders with their
rapids, the monotonous call of the woodpecker, ‘perahus’ (boats). One such boat capsized in Ulu
the hooting of the owl and the jarring sound of Medamit and the Malay traders drowned in the
the cicadas produced a music akin to that of mishap. To commemorate that disaster the spot
electronic video games was later named as Pulau Brunei.
Ulu Limbang is a natural hunting ground. Honestly, I was a lettle disappointed on my
The bearded pig, “Kijang” (the barking deer) and arrival at Long Napir. It was a barren hamlet after
‘rusa’ or locally known as ‘payau’ (Sambhur deer) all. However, we were cordially welcomed by the
roam freely in the tropical rain forest. The area inhabitants. A character who caught my attention
provides a haven for these beautiful wild game. was an octagenarian by the name of ‘Puloh Ribu’
All a hunter need is a reliable shotgun, carbide to (which literally means Ten Thousand). He was
mesmerize the animals and above all patience. a former headman of the village. It took some-
Next morning, after a light breakfast we headed time for him to emerge from his ‘bilek’ for he
for our destination. ‘Long’ means ‘kuala’ or was flamboyantly dressed in his overcoat. The
‘nanga’ while ‘Napir’ is Tabun word for ‘asam two Kelabit longhouses were partially completed.
pauh’ (a sour fruit of a type of tropical tree). Minor Rural Projects like the football field and
Whilst ascending the rapids. Councillor Siga who cement footpath were shabbily constructed.
was also our convertible ‘jaga luan’ managed to After promising the local folks that we would
cast his net at the ‘lubok’. We stopped for lunch stay the night at Long Napir on the very next day
on a ‘karangan’ (formation of rocks) at Rantau we moved to another ‘karangan’ where we put up
Marau. We had barbecued fish and pelandok our camp. It was drizzling the whole day. We had
meat. Before that we also witnessed a new bridge to make small fires to smoke-out the bloodsuck-
(later known as the Wong Fujita Bridge) almost ing sandflies and mosquitoes. This reminded me
completed at Jukut. This is of course one of the of my old scouting days. Our new campsite was
latest technology transfers from Japan which cost at Nanga Menuang or now popularly known as
two million dollars for Limbang Trading Limited ‘Kem Salahuddin’ i.e. named after the visit of
to construct the infrastructure. former Tuan Yang Terutama. For dinner we had
According to narrations from Penghulu fish first wrapped in simpor leaves and conse-
Madang, Rantau Marau was formerly a place for quently placed in spliced bamboos before being
putting ‘pengaroh’ (charms) in order to deter put to the fire. The final outcome was delicious.
aliens from trespassing the boundary above the It was a very hot and humid day the following
rope (in the form of ‘tali marau’/tali sabut) which morning and we had to jump into the cool
was put across the river with the charms hanging mountain stream to relieve ourselves from the
on it. The demarcation served as a point of no blistering sun. As promised, we returned to Long
entry. Amongst the charms were tiger’s fangs Napir in the evening where there was a marriage
(ngeli harimau), sharp-pointed poles and roots of ceremony. Tuai Rumah Lejuk and his Punan
trees. This was supposed to be a Tabun traditional tribesmen were also present in one of the Kelabit
rite in the event of epidemic occurrence. longhouses. At first the Punans were shy and
Penghulu Madang, a pure Tabun by race, also unassertive but later they overcame their shyness
narrated to me about the stories of the Tabun and presented everyone with their exclusive
people. Tabuns might probably be one of the first dance.
inhabitants of Limbang. Today Tabuns are only We left Long Napir early the next morning.
a minority racial group in Limbang. My record The torrential rain during the night made our
shows that they number about two hundred. Most journey downstream relatively easier althrough
Tabuns were annihilated by ‘disasters’ owing to there were scary moments when our boat plunged
the breach of promise ‘sumpah’ with the Bruneis into the eddies and whirlpools and missing the
or ‘Abai’. (This is a Tabun word for Malays). By menacing boulders only by a few feet. The trip
the way there is also a Malay village in Limbang was an added experience and a worthwhile one
named ‘Buangabai’ (Malay casteaways?). In indeed for now I can raise my head and say “I
those days the Bruneis used to frequent the have been to Long Napir”. Have you?
252 | Dahulu Terasing Kini Terjalin
