Coming to the third house of the cultural village tour, the Lundayeh tribe is also known as Lun Bawang and concentrates at the region where Sabah meets Sarawak and Indonesia's Kalimantan.
It might appear to be a typical kampong house commonly found in Malaysia but you would have to look closer to see the differences, with the helpful information dispensed by our guide.
Forgive me for thinking this was yet another display of rice wine; it was in fact a 'coffin' which begets the question on how they manage to squeeze the body inside! Answer is pretty easy; cut the jar into half, put the dead body into the bottom half and then glue the top. After about two years, the shrunk body would then be transferred to a smaller jar and buried in the ground.
A cultural symbol on the rock; didn't really quite catch the words of the guide as i was busy taking photographs. I really need to stop being so trigger happy!
Want to guess what this is? Hint - the Lundayeh lived by the river and there was a particular creature which the river as its home that they honoured despite its supposed ferocity.
The crocodile shaped memorial didn't quite do justice to the cold blooded creature but yah, that's the answer. Frankly, i was under the impression it was a humongous gecko!
Nevertheless, the tribe was still aware of the dangers of staying in close proximity with the crocs and aside from chickens and dogs which would help to sound the alarm, they would also set up primitive bamboo signaling devices.
Another informative session in this hut.
Rope and vest making; interesting as i have never known that tree bark can be used as an attire! Aren't they too rough for our tender skin!?
Making it sounded quite laborious - you have to pour water on the bark to soften it, continuously pound it and then scrap off the harder section and then leave it to dry.
Focus on the wooden staff with bunches of hair - in the tradition of the Lundayeh, the men would display bunches of hair that belonged to the severed head of their enemies.
Photo taking opportunity! How to judge if a Lundayeh lady is single? Only a single gal would wear accessories on their head.
Step into the house and you would notice something different from the houses of the Dusun and Rungus. Tree barks on the floor as protection in case of attacks by rival tribes!
Windows overlooking the hut explaining rope and vest making; this particular group of travelers was so boisterous with their voices booming throughout the village!
One of the rooms in the house.
As with the Dusun tribe, single ladies would sleep on the upper deck as an additional security from horny men and would you like to guess the purpose of that thick bamboo pole?
It's a ladder to get to the second floor! It would definitely take some skill to use the ladder! Without any railing, i bet i could barely go up past the third step.
An interesting aspect of the Lundayeh House was its movable roof! How cool is that!?!? On hot summer days, the men would prong up the roof to allow cool air into the house. Needless to say, the men treat it as a sort of exercise for their upper body!
It would be relaxing to sit by this section; smoking a cigarette, having a cup of green tea and reading a novel / playing candy crush.
Moving off to our fourth house!
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Location
Within Mari Mari Cultural Village. To read more, kindly refer to the main posting on Mari Mari Cultural Village.
For the summarised itinerary of my 7 days, 6 nights Kota Kinabalu (Sabah) trip, please click here.