How are you?
Happy Gawai.
You see there’s still kind of remnants of
the traditions that were held here.
The old head hunting from back when there
was a lot of tribal wars.
I used to remember there were skulls littering
the kind of rafters but now there’s, I suppose
a lone skull, but it always gets you thinking
who did it belong to and how long it’s been
there for.
How are you?
Happy Gawai.
Henry.
They always mix me up with my brother.
Whenever I come back I think I always feel
a little out of place.
It is a little strange.
One, I can’t speak Iban, the local dialect.
Two, I can’t really talk to my relatives
as clearly as I would like but then you just
realise how far we are in Borneo.
We’re pretty much in the middle of nowhere.
Extremely far flung from the likes of the
skyscrapers in Singapore.
So, it’s a sense of relaxation actually.
It’s a sense of, I suppose coming home.
Henry was born in Sarawak, Borneo, to a British
father and an Iban mother.
He lived in the UK for over 15 years but returned
to Asia in 2008.
Despite being of mixed blood each time he
returns home Henry is expected to perform
the duties of a full blooded Iban.
Henry’s arrival has coincided with the annual
Gawai Rice Festival.
And it’s an Iban custom to slaughter
a pig.
That’s that.
That is the traditional way of actually dispatching
a pig.
Every single little bit of it is actually
going to be eaten and it’s going to be shared
around.
There’s 32 kilograms now and I think they’re
sharing about 12 kilograms with the rest of
the village.
The Gawai Festival is one of the oldest traditions
in the Iban calendar.
Some of the earliest film records in existence
were shot by the British explorer Tom Harrisson
in the early 1950s.
The celebrations begin with the elders moving
slowly around the longhouse veranda.
Drinking is always part of these kinds of
ceremonies.
Every guest is given a drink.
This is an occasion when everybody gets dressed
up.
Today passing on the traditional way of the
Iban to the next generation remains an important
part of the festival.
It’s the first day of Henry’s journey
from boy to man.
He’s got all the essentials, he’s got
some warm clothes, he’s got this axe here.
A parang (machete), essential for jungle survival.
I’ve just got really soft clothes, clean
socks.
Nothing of use in here.
I feel quite ashamed.
Alright see you guys later.
All the best Henry.
See you in a couple of days.
Henry’s Bejalai begins with only a satellite
phone in the event of an emergency.
Okay, we’ve just left the crew, it’s me
and uncle Bruin all on our own heading into
the jungle.
Water root.
Wow.
Fresh.
That’s a source of water if you can’t
find a river nearby.
It is just dripping with humidity.
We’re really working our way through the
jungle here.
So, we’ve actually come across a clearing
where we’ll be up to make our camp for the
night.
He’s just setting up a fire right now, easiest
fastest way, carry around a lighter.
There’s no rubbing sticks together, there’s
no banging rocks.
Rattan?
Rattan.
It’s full of these little spikes, extremely
sharp.
So, we’re pretty much about 80% done with
our, with our bed which is raised off the
ground because you don’t want to be sleeping
on the ground with all these kinds of insects.
We’re under a really solid structure.
I really am looking forward to actually sleeping
under that.
What’s this for?
Glass.
Glass?
Iban glass.
It’s pretty amazing how he can communicate
with me without being able to say all too
much.
My Iban is absolutely terrible, but we’ve
always managed to somehow get through to each
other.
Through either a couple of odd words, extremely
broken English or extremely broken sort of
Malay/Iban.
Thank you.
Cheers!
He’s helped me you know realise a few things.
That it’s hard work.
It’s nonstop hard work.
You’re out there to survive, so everything
you do is towards that goal.
