FROM SARAWAK TO ENGLAND AND BACK
There is a streak of green, across the hills west of the river. Younger trees among a forest of old and ancient foliage; the one that his father saw as a young boy …
THE SOCIAL LIFE OF THE SARAWAK RIVER
First, a geography lesson. Rivers go through three stages in development – youthful, mature and old age – each stage showing differences in size, speed and behaviour…
TRADITION AND LIFESTYLE: PERMANENCE AND IMPERMANENCE
Longhouse life has been a long-term choice of Sarawak’s rural communities. These singular structures, housing anywhere up to several hundred families, have made Sarawak special yet …
OF KAMPUNG SELABAT & KARANGAN
Next time you cross a river by Sampan, or photograph one crossing to / from one of the many Pangkalang Sampan that dot the north and south banks of the river, spare a thought for the master wooden boat builders…
SPIRITS, HEALING AND IDENTITY
The shaman goes by many names in Sarawak – Manang, Dukun, Bomoh, Sin. Every linguistic group gives them their own title, a reflection of their centrality in these traditional cultures …
Part 2: An Anthropological Perspective
THE VOICE OF MY GRANDFATHER Ribuh Long (his name means “The confluence of a thousand rivers”), still rings clear in my ears: “Rivers flow downriver from their origin upriver; their flow can never be reversed from the rivers’ mouth where they end.
The 12 summits of the Kerangan Rocks
LIKE THE ICONIC STONES clustered on the grassy plains of far-away England, Karangan’s huge megalithicrocks are unique in the Sarawak landscape. These bare rock pinnacles protrude 20 meters above a 200 meter high, forested ridge between Bako National Park and mouth of the Sarawak River at Muara Tebas.
The Wild and the Exquisite
DO YOU KNOW YOUR ROOTS? Cultivated in your backyard or gallivanting wild in the jungles, roots are usually hidden underneath the ground. They lack the glory given to leaves and flowers often paraded for their beauty.
Working with Tom Harrisson
MY COUSIN AND I WERE in charge of setting up the annual Christmas Nativity scene outside St Joseph Church. It was an impressive affair – 6m x 3m, a painted backdrop, enclosed on three sides and a roof with atap sheetings.
Recording History through On-Location Sketches
URBAN SKETCHERS KUCHING (USk), founded by 3 architects back in 2010, is one of 280 Urban Sketchers chapters of sketchers worldwide. They were formed to record the disappearing markets that lined the Kuching old waterfront.