110 Travel Long Sa an

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Travel | Long Sa’an

David Metcalf joins a brave crew on a true adventure through the wild rivers and forests of Borneo in search of the ancestral village of six Dayak elders. Words and photography by David Metcalf Translation by Cininta Analen


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But like an oasis in the desert we came upon, of all things, a logging camp, which seemed to appear out of the early evening darkness; quite surreal. We had seen very few signs of logging as we made our way up the Kayan and had no idea of this camp’s existence. As is often the case when travelling in Indonesia, the local people greeted us like family and, within an hour of us arriving unexpectedly at their camp, we had clean comfortable accommodation, a delicious meal cooked for us, much laughter and an exchange of photo taking. So how did we end up here in the first place? After 18 months of planning, I had set out from Tanjung Selor, the provincial capital of North Kalimantan (Indonesia’s newest province). I was accompanied by 14 other men, including six from the local Dayak Kenyah tribe. Others were from backgrounds spanning Bali, Sumatra, New Zealand, Australia, the Lakota tribe from North America and a token Englishman. Our objective was to take these six Dayak men back to the place of their ancestors, to a location in the forest called Long Sa’an on the Punjangan River, deep in the heart of Borneo. Time is irrelevant when travelling up these rivers, and we were told before embarking on this journey it could take us two days or a week to make the dangerous trip to Long Sa’an. It would depend entirely on the weather and amount of rainfall. Too much rain and the river becomes too dangerous and powerful to navigate; too little and we would need to drag the large, heavy boat across the shallows, which is physically challenging and time-consuming, greatly slowing the journey.

“Huge boulders ahead, keep left!” yelled the boatman, balancing precariously on the front of our 10m longboat as we ploughed through yet another set of huge rapids on our journey up the mighty Kayan River in North Kalimantan in Indonesia’s Borneo.

The sacred mountain, heading up the Bahau River.

We had been travelling all day, and as dusk began to shroud us in darkness with still no sign of human habitation I feared the possibility of taking on the rapids in the dark. As the rain started to tumble down I was contemplating a rather uncomfortable night on the side of the river, as we had no tents and very little shelter.

The river spirits were clearly kind to us as the rain from the night before was just enough to keep the river at the right navigable depth, so we set out on our journey, and on day two we made good time before arriving at the small friendly Dayak village of Long Punjangan. From here we were told we would change over to a smaller craft, because as we got closer to Long Sa’an the river was shallow. However, our crew had a different agenda. During lunch, there was a lot of discussion. Someone left and came back with a bottle of local arak (rice wine). After more discussion, it was decided the boat crew would attempt to get all the way to our destination of Long Sa’an in the longboat. Around 2pm the river changed. We were approaching huge rapids and our captain made the call to pull over. It looked impossible to attempt to navigate through this rough stretch so, not surprisingly,


we were advised to lighten the load and disembark. We would continue the journey by walking along the riverbank and wait for our boat further upstream. The captain and crew prepared themselves to take on the rapids. This preparation took two hours. First it seemed essential to eat (again) and a serving of Dayak fast food appeared out of nowhere. Two of the Dayaks dived into the river and pulled up a large fish with their bare hands! They promptly grilled it over a fire on the riverbank. After the river-fresh meal, the crew threw down a few more shots of arak and plucked up enough courage to take on the rapids. Their screams of delight could be heard above the sounds of the rapids as they managed to somehow steer their way through the turbulent waters as we watched safely but nervously from the riverbank. That night we sat around listening to the sounds of the forest and the lilting melody of the sape, the traditional Dayak guitar. We shared a beautiful evening of music as the Lakota Indian, Kevin Locke, played the flute, evoking his ancestral spirits in the heart of the Borneo jungle. Together with Balinese artist Robi Navicula and the Dayak musicians, we shared a common ground through musical collaboration and a melding of cultures in the world’s most ancient rainforest, estimated to be 150 million years old. The next morning we set off on foot, for a three-hour walk (one-hour walk for the Dayaks!), high above the river. I had a pretty restless night, as thoughts of the whole of the jungle crawling into my sleeping bag kept me awake. We arrived at Long Sa’an around noon. The village of Long Sa’an was once a thriving community of Omah Long people, a sub-tribe of the Dayak Kenyah, yet just a single cabin is all that is left of the village. The Dayak Kenyah existed in this area for thousands of years and their history traces back 80 generations. They lived in harmony with the forests and rivers with plentiful food, and the six men we had accompanying us still had distant but treasured memories

The bones of the ancestors are buried high up in the cliffs above the valley floor. Pak Philius, so happy to return to his homeland.

Dayak's Longhouse in Numbers

500m

29

100

The length of the longhouse. Ukuran panjang dari rumah tradisional Suku Dayak.

There are 29 rooms inside the longhouse. Jumlah kamar yang terdapat dalam rumah panjang.

One hundred families live in the longhouse. Jumlah keluarga yang mendiami rumah panjang.

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Travel | Long Sa’an of living in Long Sa’an. They spoke fondly of it being a kind of utopian existence. With great reluctance the village council made a decision in the early 1970s to leave Long Sa’an and move to Setulang, a village about 120km further north, where they live today. There were challenging health issues living in such an isolated place, and they decided their children needed to be educated. For these two reasons the entire village packed up their belongings, including dismantling three longhouses, and gradually made their way across the mountains.

They have a deep reverence and respect for Mother Earth and an ability to live in harmony with the environment and the jungle animals and have done so for thousands of years.

But for many, including 60-year-old Philius, their hearts still belong in Long Sa’an, as the Dayak people love to live in the forest as true custodians of the land. They have a deep reverence and respect for Mother Earth and an ability to live in harmony with the environment and the jungle animals and have done so for thousands of years.

5 Senses – Sight THE FORESTS

We spent the next four days in this beautiful forest environment and were given the honour, as the first foreigners, of visiting the ancient burial grounds of their ancestors, high up in the cliffs, where the hornbills dwell. What began as an adventure up the wild rivers of Borneo became, for many of us, a spiritual and emotional journey into a very powerful place with the Dayak people, for whom we gained enormous respect, and who guided and protected us. They showed us the ways of their people and presented a tantalising glimpse into their rich cultural heritage and an experience that will live with us for the rest of our lives.

A flute made from the trees of Long Sa’an. Music blended with the sounds of the forest. A happy, welcoming logging camp. The Dayaks always love to dance.

Kalimantan is thought to contain the oldest rainforests on the planet, however, the island has lost half of its original forest cover since the 1950s. This has caused huge disruption in the lives of the original inhabitants and wildlife. Through better education and understanding there is hope that the original forests such as Long Sa’an will be returned to the Dayak tribes. Hutan di Kalimantan diyakini sebagai hutan hujan paling tua di Bumi. Sayang, lebih dari separuhnya sudah hilang sejak 1950-an. Hal ini sangat berpengaruh pada kehidupan penduduk asli dan satwa liar. Dengan pendidikan dan kesadaran yang lebih baik diharapkan hutan-hutan asli, seperti Long Sa’an, akan kembali hijau dan dapat dihuni lagi oleh Suku-Suku Dayak.

115 Handcrafted Tenun

Handwoven fabrics called tenun are worn by the Dayak people to exhibit status during cultural ceremonies. Kain tenun biasa dipakai oleh masyarakat Suku Dayak. Tenun menjadi salah satu pakaian mewah yang biasa digunakan pada upacaraupacara kebesaran.

Lampit

Lampit is a traditional braided rattan mat from Kalimantan commonly used decoration in the home, and in local restaurants and hotels. Kerajinan tangan dari jalinan batang rotan berupa tikar khas Kalimantan. Umumnya digunakan untuk pelengkap rumah, restoran, resor dan hotel.

Perisai

In addition to its original function as a shield, perisai today are used in cultural ceremonies, and several different sizes are often produced solely as souvenirs. Selain untuk menangkis serangan musuh, perisai juga digunakan dalam upacara adat. Kini perisai banyak dijual sebagai suvenir khas Dayak.

A waterfall near the ancestral burial grounds – Long Sa’an.

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David Metcalf bersama beberapa orang kru melakukan petualangan yang berani, menjelajahi sungai-sungai besar dan hutan-hutan di Kalimantan guna mencari desa leluhur dari enam orang tetua Dayak.

“Awas! Di depan ada batu-batu besar, tetap di kiri!” pengayuh perahu berteriak sambil berusaha mengatur keseimbangan di depan perahu sepanjang 10 meter, ketika kami berhadapan dengan arus deras di Sungai Kayan, Kalimantan Utara. Sudah seharian kami berada di perahu. Hari semakin senja dan kami belum melihat ada tanda-tanda kehidupan. Saya mulai khawatir kami akan melewati jeram dalam gelapnya malam. Hujan turun, dan saya berpikir lebih tidak nyaman lagi bila kami bermalam di tepi sungai, karena kami tidak membawa tenda dan tidak ada tempat berteduh. Namun bak oase di padang gurun, sebuah kamp penebang kayu tampak di tengah kegelapan. Rasanya seperti mimpi, karena sepanjang perjalanan tadi kami tidak melihat ada penebangan hutan dan kami sama sekali tidak tahu tentang keberadaan kamp ini.

Bones and artefacts are contained in wooden coffins.

Seperti pengalaman saya sebelumnya saat mengunjungi daerah-daerah lain di Indonesia, penduduk lokal menyambut saya seperti keluarga mereka sendiri, dan langsung menyiapkan akomodasi yang nyaman dan bersih. Mereka juga memasak

makanan yang lezat, membuat kami tertawa, dan mengajak kami foto bersama. Bagaimana ceritanya kami bisa sampai di sini? Setelah 1,5 tahun menyusun rencana, saya memulai petualangan saya dari Tanjung Selor, Ibu Kota Kalimantan Utara (provinsi terbaru Indonesia). Saya didampingi 14 orang, termasuk enam tetua Suku Dayak Kenyah. Sisanya datang dari berbagai daerah, mulai dari Bali, Sumatera, Selandia Baru, Australia, Inggris, sampai Suku Lakota di Amerika Utara. Tujuan kami adalah membawa keenam tetua Dayak tersebut ke tanah leluhur mereka, sebuah tempat di tengah hutan yang dikenal dengan sebutan Long Sa’an di Sungai Punjangan, pedalaman Kalimantan. Sulit diprediksi berapa lama waktu yang dibutuhkan untuk melintasi sungai tersebut. Kami sudah diberi tahu sebelum berangkat bahwa perjalanan menantang ke Long Sa’an ini bisa memakan waktu dua hari sampai satu minggu. Semuanya tergantung cuaca dan curah hujan. Kalau curah hujan tinggi, sungai jadi terlalu berbahaya untuk dilalui


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The Dayak People There are more than 70 different Dayak tribes in Kalimantan, speaking a multitude of languages. In the late 1950s an Australoid skull was found in Borneo, which is believed to be 35,000 years old. The Dayaks prefer to live in the forests and river villages, and some still live a nomadic lifestyle.

A traditional baby carrier, in use for centuries. Children of Long Pujungan village, happy and content. Faces of the Dayak Kenyah.

karena arusnya sangat kuat. Sebaliknya, kalau curah hujan terlalu rendah, kami harus menyeret perahu yang berukuran besar dan berat melewati perairan dangkal. Tidak hanya menantang secara fisik, tetapi juga akan memakan waktu sangat lama. Untungnya, kondisi sungai saat itu sedang bagus karena curah hujan pada malam sebelumnya membuat kedalaman sungai pas untuk dilewati. Maka, kami pun memulai perjalanan, dan tanpa banyak hambatan pada hari kedua kami sampai di desa kecil Suku Dayak yang ramah di Long Punjangan. Dari sini kami diberitahu kalau kami harus memakai perahu yang lebih kecil, karena semakin dekat ke Long Sa’an, sungai semakin dangkal. Akan tetapi, kru kami punya rencana berbeda. Saat makan siang, kami berdiskusi panjang-lebar. Seorang dari kami membawakan sebotol arak. Setelah melanjutkan diskusi, akhirnya kami memutuskan bahwa awak perahu akan tetap memakai perahu panjang untuk sampai ke tujuan kami di Long Sa’an. Sekitar pukul dua siang, kondisi sungai berubah. Kami mendekati jeram besar dan kapten memerintahkan kami untuk menepi. Kelihatannya jeram ini sulit sekali untuk dilewati, sehingga kami diminta turun agar muatan perahu

lebih ringan. Kami pun melanjutkan dengan berjalan kaki menyusuri tepi sungai dan menunggu perahu kami di hulu. Sementara, kapten dan kru bersiap-siap menghadapi jeram. Persiapan ini memakan waktu dua jam. Sebelum mengarungi jeram, kami berpikir bahwa kami harus makan lagi, dan tiba-tiba saja muncul seporsi hidangan “cepat saji” ala Dayak. Dua orang Dayak dalam rombongan kami menyelam ke sungai dan berhasil menangkap ikan besar dengan tangan kosong! Mereka lalu membakarnya di tepi sungai. Setelah menyantap makanan segar ini, kru menuangkan beberapa gelas arak untuk memacu semangat mengarungi jeram. Teriakan gembira para kru terdengar di tengah gelegar suara jeram, ketika mereka—entah bagaimana caranya—berhasil melewati arus yang begitu deras itu, sementara kami menyaksikan dengan cemas dari tepi sungai. Malam itu pun kami duduk-duduk ditemani suara hutan dan alunan melodi dari sape, gitar tradisional Dayak. Kami melewati malam yang indah dengan musik dari permainan seruling Kevin Locke, seorang Indian Lakota, yang seolah membangkitkan roh leluhurnya di jantung hutan Kalimantan. Bersama seniman Bali, Robi Navicula, dan para musisi Dayak, kami larut dalam kolaborasi musik dan

Terdapat lebih dari 70 Suku Dayak di Kalimantan, dengan berbagai macam bahasa. Pada akhir 1950-an, tengkorak Australoid (diyakini sebagai ras nenek moyang orang Dayak) ditemukan di Kalimantan dan dipercaya telah berumur 35.000 tahun. Masyarakat Dayak hingga kini memilih tinggal di hutan dan desa-desa di pinggir sungai, dan sebagian masih hidup secara nomaden.

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BORNEO RIVERS LENGTH COMPARISON

The intrepid crew get to the heart of the Borneo by way of river.

Kapuas

Mahakam

Barito

Seruyan

Indonesia's longest river, the Kapuas spans most west Kalimantan, and is home to over 300 species of fish. Sungai terpanjang di Indonesia, yang melewati Kalimantan. Sungai ini merupakan rumah dari lebih 300 jenis ikan.

The Mahakam river is East Kalimantan's longest river and is connected through small channels to 30 shallow lakes in the area. Sungai terbesar di Provinsi Kalimantan Timur yang terhubung dengan 30 danau di sekitarnya.

The Barito Riveris known locally by several names, including the Banjar Besar River or the Banjarmasin River. Sungai Barito memiliki sejumlah nama yang dikenal masyarakat lokal sebagai Sungai Banjar Besar atau Sungai Banjarmasin.

Formerly known as the Seroejan River, the Seruyan River flows from north to south and is has an average depth of 6m. Dahulu bernama Sungai Seroejan, Sungai Seruyan mengalir dari utara ke selatan dengan kedalaman rata-rata 6 m.

1,143km

980km

890km

350km

A map of the rivers CELEBES SEA

5 Senses – Touch THE RIVERS

Kapuas Mahakam Barito North Kalimantan

Seruyan

East Kalimantan

West Kalimantan

Bangka Belitung

JAVA SEA

Central Kalimantan

Sulawesi

A great network of rivers flows through this huge island. Beginning in the mountainous interior near the shared border with Malaysia, they flow hundreds of kilometres before emptying into the Java Sea. Many of these rivers, including the Kayan, Bahau, Markham and Kapuas, contain rapids and can be very dangerous to navigate. There are no dams in Kalimantan, although some have been proposed recently. Sungai-sungai besar terbentang dan saling terhubung di Kalimantan. Mulai dari daerah pegunungan yang berbatasan dengan Malaysia, sungai-sungai ini mengalir sepanjang ratusan kilometer hingga bermuara di Laut Jawa. Sebagian besar sungai di Kalimantan, termasuk Kayan, Bahau, Markham, dan Kapuas, memiliki jeram yang sangat berbahaya. Tidak ada bendungan di tempat ini, meski pembangunannya sudah beberapa kali diusulkan.

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5 Senses – Sight SEE THE DOCUMENTARY David Metcalf is making a documentary film about this experience which will be released in Indonesia in June this year, with plans to take the film to Paris in December for the UN Climate Change Summit to raise awareness of the impact of deforestation on indigenous cultures such as the Dayaks. www.thejourneyback.info

Fish and rice, daily Dayak food. A longhouse gathering at Long Jelait.

David Metcalf merekam pengalamannya selama perjalanan ini dalam sebuah film dokumenter yang akan dirilis di Indonesia bulan Juni. Dokumenter ini juga akan ditayangkan pada Konferensi Perubahan Iklim PBB di Paris, Desember 2015, untuk meningkatkan kesadaran akan dampak deforestasi terhadap kebudayaan suku asli seperti Suku Dayak. perpaduan budaya di tengah hutan hujan paling tua di dunia, yang diperkirakan telah berumur 150 juta tahun. Keesokan paginya kami berangkat dengan berjalan kaki selama tiga jam (satu jam saja untuk para tetua Dayak), jauh dari atas sungai. Saya agak gelisah di malam hari, pikiran-pikiran aneh tentang hutan terus membayangi, membuat saya terjaga. Kami sampai di Long Sa’an sekitar tengah hari. Desa Long Sa’an dahulu merupakan tempat masyarakat Omah Long, Sub Suku Dayak Kenyah, yang berkembang. Namun, yang tersisa dari desa ini kini hanya sebuah rumah. Dayak Kenyah telah tinggal di sini selama ribuan tahun dan sejarahnya melintasi 80 generasi. Mereka hidup harmonis bersama hutan dan sungai yang melimpahi mereka dengan makanan. Enam orang Dayak yang kami dampingi masih menyimpan kenangan manis akan kehidupan mereka di Long Sa’an. Dengan bersemangat, mereka menceritakan desa yang utopis ini. Dengan berat hati, hasil rembuk desa memutuskan untuk meninggalkan Long Sa’an pada awal 1970-an dan pindah ke Setulang, sebuah desa sekitar 120 km ke arah utara, tempat mereka tinggal sampai hari ini. Di Long Sa’an yang lokasinya terpencil, para penduduk menghadapi bermacam masalah kesehatan dan anak-anak tidak bisa sekolah. Dua alasan tersebut mendorong mereka untuk pindah, membawa serta tiga rumah panjang secara bertahap melewati pegunungan.

Tetapi bagi sebagian besar warga, termasuk Philius (60 tahun), hati mereka tetap di Long Sa’an. Masyarakat Dayak memang lebih suka hidup di hutan sebagai sang penjaga karunia alam. Mereka sangat menghormati bumi dan hidup harmonis dengan alam selama ribuan tahun. Kami menghabiskan empat hari berikutnya di hutan yang indah ini, dan mendapat kehormatan, sebagai orang asing pertama yang mengunjungi makam nenek moyang mereka di atas tebing, tempat tinggal burung-burung enggang. Bagi kami, perjalanan yang awalnya sekadar petualangan mengarungi sungai liar di Kalimantan berubah menjadi perjalanan spiritual dan emosional ke tempat yang luar biasa, bersama orang-orang yang sangat kami hormati. Mereka menunjukkan kepada kami cara hidup orang Dayak dengan kekayaan warisan budayanya. Sungguh pengalaman yang akan kami kenang seumur hidup kami.

JAKARTA TO TARAKAN VIA BALIKPAPAN Flight Time 2 hours 40 min Frequency 7 flights per week

Tarakan • • Balikpapan • Jakarta

110 Travel Long Sa an

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