Penom - An Iban Longhouse

The most salient characteristic of Iban social organization is the practice of longhouse domicile. A longhouse is made up of a series of independently owned family apartments which are joined longitudinally one to other as to produce a single attenuated structure. (Freeman 1970:1)

A traditional longhouse is built of axe-hewn timber, tied with creeper fiber, roofed with leaf thatch. It is nearly always built by the bank of a navigable river and the visitor approach it from the boat jetty.

Penom longhouse is not a traditional longhouse. However it maintains the main characteristics of the traditional longhouse.

Penom longhouse can be divided into 6 main parts which are;

i. Bilik (family living room)

Bilik is a family living room. It's a place for sleeping, for a variety of other domestic tasks, and for storing family heirlooms. It is separated from other bilik and from the ruai (further discussed below) by walls, usually of wooden planks. Sometimes there are openings in the side walls, so providing inter-communication between adjacent appartments.

ii. Ruai and Panggau (gallery)

The ruai and panggau is about the same size as the bilik, the difference being that the later is open on all sides, thus giving access to all parts of the longhouse. Consequently it is used by members of the community as a kind of public thoroughfare.

iii. Sadau (loft)

Above each family room and jutting half-way above the gallery is the sadau. In the olden days, here, in tibang (huge bins) a padi (paddy) is stored. The sadau is also to store family possessions like mats, cane baskets of all sorts and other implements for domestic use.

iv. Tempuan (corridor).

The tempuan is the walking space of about three to four feets wide immediately adjacent to the wall which separates the bilik from the ruai.

v. Dapur (kitchen and dining room).

The dapur is the place for cookimg and dining. It is the combination of a kitchen and a dining room.

vi. Tanju (open platform)

The tanju is an open platform of about 10 meters wide adjacent to the panggau and joined to all sections within the longhouse to form an unbroken raised platform. Because it is uncovered, hardwood is used to withstand the weather. The tanju is the main venue on which the padi, immediately after harvest, is winnowed and sunned before being stored in the barkbins (tibang) in the garret.

Brief History of the Iban Migration into Sarawak

The Ibans form the largest percentage of Sarawak's population, making up some 30%. Formerly the ‘Iban’ were better known as ‘Sea Dayak’, due to their frequenting of the sea (Roth 1968: 143) for piracy (Jensen 1974: 16). The Iban of Sarawak migrated from the Kapuas River (which is now part of Kalimantan, Indonesia) into Batang Lupar during the sixteenth to the seventeenth centuries (Sandin 1967; Freeman1970; Pringle 1970; Jensen 1974). According to Masing, from the mid Batang Lupar, the Iban migrated into Sarawak in three main directions to;

a. The North-West: Lupar River, Bukit Balau

From here, Iban proceeded westward into the Sebuyau, Sadong and Samarahan river basins.

b. The North-East : Saribas-Skrang River (Sandin 1967)

This group came into contact with the pre-existing population of the Baketan and the Seru. The Baketan, after some initial resistance, accommodated themselves to the way of the newcomers, while the Seru strongly opposed Iban incursions. A number of the Seru were converted to Islam and thereby became ‘Malay’.

c. The East : Ulu Ai, Engkari, Lemanak

From here, Iban proceeded eastward into the Baleh river basin (Masing 1997).

In the olden days, Ibans are reputed to be the most fearsome headhunters on the island of Borneo. But nowadays headhunting is no more practiced in Sarawak and the Iban of today are the hospitable people. You may visit the Iban longhouse & you will be warmly welcomed.

Adat Membina Rumah Panjang

(in Bahasa Melayu)

Apabila sebuah rumah panjang sudah usang adalah menjadi tanggungjawab tuai rumah untuk mengadakan perjumpaan dengan pengikutnya bagi membincangkan pembinaan sebuah rumah panjang baru. Sekiranya ketua setiap keluarga setuju, semua lelaki dan setiap keluarga diminta untuk mengumpulkan bahan-bahan pembinaan (ramu) yang diperlukan dengan secukupnya seperti tiang kayu, alang, kasau, papan-papan dan lain-lain. Sekiranya semua keluarga melaporkan mereka telah habis mengumpulkan semua ramu, tuai rumah dengan bantuan tuai Burung atau tukang ramal akan menentukan tarikh bertuah untuk membersihkan tapak (ngerembang) rumah panjang baru itu.

Beberapa hari sebelum tarikh itu, tuai rumah akan masuk ke dalam hutan untuk mencari alamat atau petanda baik. Sekiranya rumah panjang baru itu akan dibina di hilir sungai dan tapak rumah sebelumnnya, dia akan cuba mencari bunyi burung Nendak di, sebelah kanannya. Apabila dia terdengar bunyi burung itu., dia akan mencabut sebatang anak pokok di kawasan itu untuk menandakan kejadian itu, dikenali sebagai tambak burung, dan dia akan membawa balik anak pokok itu untuk disimpan.

Pada keesokan harinya, tuai rumah masuk lagi ke hutan untuk tujuan yang sama. Apabila dia terdengar bunyi burung dan sebelah kanannya dan mencabut anak pokok itu menandakan kejadian itu, dia pun pulang ke rumah bersama-sama tambak burung. Pada awal pagi hari ketiga, dia masuk ke hutan lagi. Kali ini untuk mencari bunyi burung dan arah sebelah kirinya. Apabila dia terdengar bunyi burung itu, dia akan mencabut sebatang anak pokok di situ dan pulang dengan tambak burung yang terakhir.

Pada awal pagi ngerembang, tuai rumah akan membakar tambak burung di tengah-tengah tapak baru itu sebelum memimpin ahli-ahli rumah panjang memulakan kerja membersihkan tapak itu. Setelah ngerembang tamat, ahli-ahli keluarga diminta mengumpulkan semua bahan-bahan binaan yang telah dikumpulkan pada tapak rumah baru masing-masing.

Tiga bulan selepas ngerembang, adat mendirikan tiang permun (tiang utama rumah) dan diikuti oleh tiang rumah lain dilakukan. Sebelum itu, tuai rumah akan merenjis darah babi betina dewasa sambil membaca doa ringkas untuk memohon tuhan (Bunsu Petara) dan roh-roh, terutamanya roh-roh nenek moyang bagi merahmatkan rumah baru mereka supaya semua penghuninya akan mencapai kejayaan dalam segala yang mereka lakukan pada masa depan. Selepas doa dibaca, tiang rumah dimasukkan ke dalam lubang dengan garam, seketul kecil emas, kulit-kulit buah langgir dan serantingmumban (pohon rendah yang tumbuh di sepanjang dasar sungai) diselitkan bersama-sama. Setelah peringkat ini siap, bumbung rumah didirikan. Sebaik sahaja rumah panjang itu telah siap dibina, tuai rumah dan tuai burung akan memimpin keluarga-keluarga masuk ke dalam bangunan baru itu. Sebelum mereka berpindah tetap ke bilik baru, setiap keluarga mesti membina dapurnya di rumah baru itu.

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