On Day 1 of our
Belaga trip, we set off to explore the rich culture of the Orang Ulu in the
heart of Borneo. Our journey began with a pick-up at the Bintulu City Hotel
where we boarded a 4WD that took us on a 5-hour drive to the beautiful Uma
Pawa, Long Urun in Belaga.
Long Urun Uma Pawa
is situated along the Upper Belaga River and has an approximate population of
300 people. The area was established as a result of migration from Belaga
downriver in 1941.
The local community
in this area consists of the Kenyah people, who live in a 35-door longhouse
with 70 families. This longhouse is located around 50 km from Sungai Asap
Resettlement.
The highlight of
Long Urun Uma Pawa is the culture of the Kenyah people, and visitors can also
enjoy the natural surroundings and adventure activities in nearby Lepau Uten.
This includes the Lepau Uten chalet, which is just 10 km from the Uma Pawa
longhouse. The owner of the chalet is passionate about tourism and has helped
establish it as a new and exciting destination for campers, trekkers, and
waterfall enthusiasts.
As soon as we
arrived, we were welcomed with tuak, local cultural performances, and
handicraft displays, prepared by the local Kenyah communities. This was a rare
opportunity for us to learn about their customs and practices and appreciate
their unique way of life. I bought 2 of the small parang, cost RM35 each, super
cheap. One for me, and one for my dad.
We were treated to
a delicious lunch at Uma Pawa, Long Urun, Belaga where we indulged in local
cuisine and took in the peaceful surroundings. In the afternoon, we organised a Responsible Tourism session with
the local communities of Long Urun.
After that, we went to visit the Penan Resettlement about 3km away from the longhouse. It is something like a
mini Cultural Village for the Penan where they built huts that show how they
used to live many years ago.
We then took a
break from the activities and stopped by the nearby stream with clear
water. Some of us took a bath there.the water was so cold.
Then we went back
to the longhouse and had our dinner.
After dinner, we
enjoyed a cultural performance: 1. “Saga asok (papan)” - a bamboo dance, only
performed by women. For healing sickness and removing evil spirits. 2. "Liling"
- a Kenyah cultural performance participated by 10 or more participants which
is usually performed during any occasion, for example, to welcome visitors to their
longhouse or any other celebrations in the longhouse. Liling means, you make a
round and round or a circle until the song ended. 3. A Kenyah traditional song
called 'Along' to welcome visitors to the longhouse. For this song, only 1 will
be the lead singer and the rest will follow or answer the song's lyrics.
We were served with
supper consisting of 'pito/adut/upey' in Kenyah dialect, Pulut or glutinous
rice wrapped in either 'daun biruk/kan' leaves or in 'sang' leaves. Fried
kampung chicken and Tuak.
The night's
programme continued until midnight, but I was feeling quite exhausted from all
the activities and decided to retire for the night at 11 pm. I'm going to share
more about the adventures of Day 2, so stay tuned.
