AgroTouri - Borneo Dayak LongHouse Stay

It put a smile on my face

........................................... — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 06:43:38 +0000

I really miss all the fun time we had with our clients and friend. Every time i looked back at old photos, it just cheer my day. That’s why i kept coming back here, every single weekend and holiday. All the good time cherish, put a smile on my face.

Cheers.

Snowie’s Dad

Do not look back in anger & Let the good time roll

........................................... — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 06:19:45 +0000

When i was young, every time i had a heated argument with my parent or sibling, i would just run away or avoid them by hiding in my room.

At the age of 31, living on my own, it is so easy to ignore your parent and love one. Word of advise, “Never look back in anger”. Flip out your photo album and cherish the beautiful moment you had with your parent, brother, sister and friend.

Anger and Hatred should not be your driver. Love and happiness will steer you away from the storm.

Trust me, Hamilton.

Hairy Berry with Jimmy

........................................... — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 09:59:59 +0000

A couple months ago, our honorable guest came and stay with us.

Lucky for him, it was fruit season.

Lucky again for him, our hairy berry plant bore fruit for the first time.

It looks like rambutan, but taste even sweeter. Monkey and sapience all around the world rejoices.

** My mom and dad look like papa/mama smurf. Hehehe ..

Enjoy the pictures and HAPPY EASTER.

Hamilton

OCIP 2009 Cont.

........................................... — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 09:03:03 +0000

These photos are long overdued. Chinese New Year is coming really soon. Agrotouri would like to wish ACJC, the teachers, student and all those celebrating Chinese New Year, “Gong Xi Fa Chai !”.

Enjoy the “piccas”!

Happy Holidays everyone!!

Hamilton

p/s:

RRRR.. Me are Capt Jack Sparrow.

OCIP November 2009

........................................... — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 06:46:29 +0000

We had a lot of fun with you guys. I know its really x3 late to post about it but i could not get hold of those beautiful photos. It was kept in Charles’s notebook and then, the notebook got infected with viruses.

We at Agrotouri would like to thanks ACJC, teachers and student, for the wonderful friendship and helping our community.

Will upload more photos soon, once i find a way to re size it. Its clogging the bandwidth .

Cheers

Hamilton

A date with Miss Raflessia

........................................... — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:23:44 +0000

I had a wonderful date with Miss Raflessia.

Met her Grandpa as well.. We call him Ah Kong.

and finally, her little cousin.

We called her ” Kokop “ because she all curled up once you touch her. Extremely shy.

and here is my hash pipe.. Rrrrr, me popeye, the sailor man!

The scenery made my eyes go green. Green is good.

Yours truly,

Cobain.

The Origin of Braang Tribe

........................................... — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 08:57:02 +0000

Origin of Bra’ang Community.

Bra’ang Community is one of the splinter group from a larger Biatah Tribe which is one of the Dayak’s tribes of Borneo Island. This community name came from a family clan known as Bra’ang.

According to the Bra-ang legend, the Biatah’s tribes evolved from the big explosion by the lightning on the lime stone rocks found in one of the several mountains ranges between Sarawak and Kalimantan Border known as Mount Songkong. This was because the dayaks did not have any scientific explanation and they would always see how lightning strike, so they built their belief that when the lightning strike the lime stone rock, human being appeared from that as all human being at that time then, lived in the cave. However, as we all know now, basically this Biatah tribe could be just one of those primitive and stone age habitants found in several caves throughout the island of Borneo including the famous one, the Batu Niah Cave in Miri, Sarawak. Based on the historical records, Batu Niah’s inhabitants were existed as far back as more than 40,000 years ago.

2. Movement of the Bra’ang community.

As the Biatah Tribe become more and more intelligence, they realized that planting crops for their food would be far better than just depending on the jungle produce. Besides, living in the cave was not ideal anymore as space became a problem when its population started to grow and hence building a longhouse where it could be extended to meet the demand of the population. But when they started planting crops and living in a build-in house, they received continuous attacks from other less intelligence/civilized cave tribes and hence they decided to move north ward to Sarawak(as it known today)side where land were vast and free from any inhabitants. Many went further to as far as Mount Siburan (about 50 kilometers apart a long distance in the past as it took at least two to three weeks walking on foot), while some splinter, like the Bra’ang’s family clan decided to stop at the nearer mountain ranges and hills which eventually name after the clan as Bra’ang Mountain and Range.

When Bra’ang clan finally settled down, a smaller group decided to build a longhouse at Bilimbing (western side of Bra’ang mountain range) slightly nearer from the place of origin while majority chose to go further and build their first longhouse at a place call Bung(Hill) Sebagag(Northern range). However, as the population grow bigger and bigger, some more adventurous group moved down to river valley known as Abang. Two spots were chosen, one in Bayur, a lower part of the river while another spot known as Peyang (because of a lot of jungle fruit call Peyang or wildly known as Kepayang trees found here) on the upper part of the river.

When those still at Sebagag saw some of their relatives moved down to valley and plain, many decided to move to another hill top, known as Bung Wa . But as time past, the place became very congested and some splinter group decided to move to Bung Tebesik while some still remained at Bung Wa. However, after a while this group also decided to move to a lower part of Bung Wa. Again space and shifting cultivation (hill padi planting) took a toll. Hence some from Bung Wa and Bung Tebiseh, decided to follow their relatives and friends in Payang while a smaller group both from Bung Wa and Tebesih decided to form a new temporary farm houses in Sigandar(eventually became Kampung Sigandar) for bigger land area for their farming activities. As a result of this movement, Kampong Payang is the biggest among all the kampongs.

Hence in pre- 1970s, the Bra’ang community were comprising five major locations namely, Kampong Bra’ang Wa, Kampong Bra’ang Tebesik, Kampong Bra’ang Payang, Kampong Bra’ang Bayur and Pelaman Sigandar. Even though they were living separately, many of their community’s animistic rituals and festivals were celebrated together regularly. They still share the farm land, fruit orchards and many other communal land areas as basically they are all descendant of a single family clan of Bra’ang. Except for Kampong Blimbing, it was a kind of isolated from the rest of Bra’ang community due to its geographical and historical factors.

As education and luxury living slowly invaded the Bra’ang community, the younger group started seeing the convenience of living in lower valley and plain. Hence towards late 1960s and early 1970s, Bung Wa final remnants moved to Kampung Taburang and Bung Tebisek remnants moved to Kampung Bidak.

Written and documented by James Agro.

8 hours of foot prints

........................................... — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:51:07 +0000

Ndi, Duoh, Taruh!! Seramat ndok to our humble Cyber CRIBS!

First of all, i am sorry for not updating this website for quite sometime. There were a lot of assignment and deadline till photos that were meant to be posted here, constipated in my 7 years old, trusty Canon PowerShot camera.

My dad always told us that this was his playground when he was at our age. Boy i am glad we had playstation and Xbox. It took me 8 hours to walked/climbed from Kpg Braang Payang to Kpg Timurang in order to visit Braang Tribes original settlement while it took him(when he was young) 2 hours to visits relatives who are still residing there, before. I even passed out a couple of time due to over exhaustion.

When headhunting era has ended, a lot of timid Dayak tribes came out from the mountain and valley, in search for fertile land, for farming. My late grandpa was the few one who migrated from Buk Sebangan and ventured to Braang Payang, established land and livelihood. Although it was a peaceful era, but some of our relative refuse to leave their home, at the peak of the mountain.

Few years later, when the Malaysia was formed, mass migration happened and the Braang Tribes was split into few kampungs and communities. It has been fourth generations since we left Buk Sebagan.

I am glad that i made this journey. Relics and footprint of past still visible and remembered by those who have spend their life here. Thank you Ketua Kampung of Braang Payang for telling us about Braang Tribe’s wonderful lives in the past. We visited “Old man’s pond” , “Batu berketis (narrow lime stone)”,”Baan Singad Tree Waterall”, “Ritual Stone Buk Benang”, ” Rafflesia Garden” , “5 Generation durian tree”, ” Ara with still legs -Treebeard” and more.

More photos will be uploaded soon!

Cheers

Cobain the Timid Dashund

p/s: “Buk” means peak of mountain.“Seramat ndok” means wellcome.

Bonus Post : A walk in the park

........................................... — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 05:09:30 +0000

This is a bonus post specially for my buddy Cobain. Yes, our daschund was name after legendary Kurt Cobain.

Cobain : no hill is tall for me.. eat pineapple for good health.

He has no fear.. knows no weaknesses. strength of a bull. for he is our Cobain, our timid daschund and our loyal comrade.

Cobain : No land is big for me. Faster, bos!! We are going to be late.

He shall not be afraid of rivers and bamboo bridge…

Cobain : No river will stop from crossing. I am faster than your camera flash.

I owe you all readers for late posting.

Cheers

Agrotouri, Braang Payang

........................................... — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 06:48:28 +0000