A traditional Suang Lotud house, consisting of a veranda, kitchen and dining area, elevated sleeping and living area and storage attic, is said to replicate the houses in the spirit world of the Suang Lotud belief system.
The Lotud traditional longhouse is a remakable form of architecture. It is in fact the most sophisticated achievement in architecture in the whole of Sabah. This is because it is made of planks (in the old days) strenuously carved with the adze (Malay: beliung) without the facility of saws! The whole house uses not a single nail (as nails were almost impossible to obtain in the old days) but clever slip-in techniques of fitting beams, as well as tying up conenctions with rattans. A unit of the longhouse consists of a sleeping area (ko'odopo'), a kitchen (ropuhan), an attic (tilud), a corridor (olot-olot) separating the walled part of the house and the common varendah (soliw). The number of poles or stilts depends on the length or the number of living units. In the Tuaran district,.
FEW traditions in South-East Asia have the antiquity and universal acceptance of betel chewing. The custom is over 2,000 years old and has survived from ancient times into the twentieth century. Its use cuts across class, sex, or age: ‘The habitual and universal solace of both sexes is the areca nut and betel…which is rarely absent from the mouth of man or woman,’ wrote the Honourable George N. Curzon, a nineteenth-century observer. Its devotees include farmers, priests, and kings, men, women, and children. The homeliness of the name belies its importance.
Three ingredients—an areca-nut, a leaf of the betel-pepper, and lime—are essential for betel chewing; others may be added depending on availability and preference. The leaf is first daubed with lime paste and topped with thin slices of the nut, then it is folded or rolled into a bite-size quid. The interaction of the ingredients during chewing produces a red-coloured saliva. ‘If a person speaks to you while he is chewing his “quid” of betel, his mouth looks as if it were full of blood,’ reflected Isabella L. Bird, an intrepid woman traveller of the nineteenth century. Most of the betel juice is spat out. The tell-tale residue looks like splotches of dried blood. Indeed, the resemblance is so close that some early European visitors thought many Asians had tuberculosis. The splotches of betel spittle are spaced consistently enough for use as measurements of time and distance in rural areas. A short time is ‘about a betel chew’ and the distance between two villages, for example, may be ‘about three chews’.
The tantagas constitute a female hierarchy, with the most elderly who are grandmothers having the greatest spiritual knowledge and power. Younger women learn the rinait and the rituals from older tantagas (the novice is called tantagas wagu), while the most senior one is known as tantagas lawid). In addition to her personal name, each tantagas has a ritual name which is the name of her first grandchild prefaced with the title Odun (Grandmother) - kampungpanjut.blogspot.my
In Sarawak, the dominant tribal groups are the Dayak. There are the Iban (Sea Dayak), and the Bidayuh (Land Dayak).Tribal people live in longhouses and there are over 4,500 longhouses in Sarawak.
The longhouse is often considered as a village by itself, with a leader called Tuai Rumah, often elected by the majority of the tribe members. That fact itself is small paradox to the common practice of certain countries or kingdoms which the leadership thrones are passed from one of similar descendant to another. In an Iban longhouse, the leader is elected based on merits, hence the progenies of the previous chief will not necessarily be taking up the vacant position.
The Lotud traditional longhouse is a remakable form of architecture. It is in fact the most sophisticated achievement in architecture in the whole of Sabah. This is because it is made of planks (in the old days) strenuously carved with the adze (Malay: beliung) without the facility of saws! The whole house uses not a single nail (as nails were almost impossible to obtain in the old days) but clever slip-in techniques of fitting beams, as well as tying up conenctions with rattans. A unit of the longhouse consists of a sleeping area (ko'odopo'), a kitchen (ropuhan), an attic (tilud), a corridor (olot-olot) separating the walled part of the house and the common varendah (soliw). The number of poles or stilts depends on the length or the number of living units. In the Tuaran district,.
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| Dusun Long House. |
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| Root top Of Dusun House Build By Palm Leaves/"Atap" |
Three ingredients—an areca-nut, a leaf of the betel-pepper, and lime—are essential for betel chewing; others may be added depending on availability and preference. The leaf is first daubed with lime paste and topped with thin slices of the nut, then it is folded or rolled into a bite-size quid. The interaction of the ingredients during chewing produces a red-coloured saliva. ‘If a person speaks to you while he is chewing his “quid” of betel, his mouth looks as if it were full of blood,’ reflected Isabella L. Bird, an intrepid woman traveller of the nineteenth century. Most of the betel juice is spat out. The tell-tale residue looks like splotches of dried blood. Indeed, the resemblance is so close that some early European visitors thought many Asians had tuberculosis. The splotches of betel spittle are spaced consistently enough for use as measurements of time and distance in rural areas. A short time is ‘about a betel chew’ and the distance between two villages, for example, may be ‘about three chews’.
"Tantagas" Suang Lotud Borneo:
Mamahui Pagun 2011.
Traditional priestesses and ritual specialists, or tantagas, are nearly always women, and are skilled in memorizing the rinait, the long ritual chants and prayers that are addressed to the Lotud deities. As among other Dusunic peoples, rinait constitute a unique genre of poetic oral literature. They consist of series of biambic lines--the first in the everyday language, the second (having the same meaning) in the ritual language. They tell of the Creation of the World, the exploits of the deities, the origins of rice, prescriptions for moral living, ritual practices and other aspects of cultural life. Recitation of "rinait" may involve loud chanting or soft whispering, and can last for hours or days, according to the context and occasion.
The tantagas constitute a female hierarchy, with the most elderly who are grandmothers having the greatest spiritual knowledge and power. Younger women learn the rinait and the rituals from older tantagas (the novice is called tantagas wagu), while the most senior one is known as tantagas lawid). In addition to her personal name, each tantagas has a ritual name which is the name of her first grandchild prefaced with the title Odun (Grandmother) - kampungpanjut.blogspot.my
There are different type of buildings that represent every major ethnic group in Sarawak: -
IBAN LONGHOUSE
Iban mostly thrive along the coastal areas with some have made settlement inland and further up-rivers. At present day, there are quite a number of the ethnic tribe members are living in urban areas such as Kuching, Miri and Bintulu.
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