At Sarawak Cultural Village, Zulkifly Ab Latif not only attends the three day Rainforest World Music Festival but also gets to experience the state’s heritage
THE wooden walkway creak underneath my feet as I negotiate my way through the throng of people. I’m sure that the number of people at Sarawak Cultural Village today multiplies by tens compared to normal days.
Like them, I am here for the world renowned Rainforest World Music Festival.
But not like them, I’m here at the invitation of AirAsia to cover the annual three-day event that celebrates music in its varied forms found throughout the globe.
Well into its 21st year, the festival has grown into an internationally acclaimed event, garnering a following among world music enthusiasts.
The venue at Sarawak Cultural Village means I not only get to sample a plethora of indigenous and international music acts throughout the event but also learn more about the state’s diverse culture, ethnic art, traditions and history at one convenient locale.
The 6.8ha cultural village is a living showcase of Sarawak’s cultural heritage nestled at the foothills of Mount Santubong, some 37km from the capital city of Kuching.
Of the 40 sub-ethnic groups that make the state of Sarawak their home, seven main groups — Iban, Orang Ulu, Melanau, Malay, Penan, Chinese and Bidayuh — are highlighted here in the cultural village that was developed 28 years ago by the state government as a tourism destination.
ICONIC SARAWAKIAN
Stopping at one of the many festival ground map signs placed throughout the cultural village, I look for the location of the Rainforest Music House, the venue for sape lessons offered daily to festival goers throughout the event.
Pronounced as “sa-peh”, this traditional lute is without a doubt oneof Sarawak’s most iconic musical instrument. Once heard only onspecial occasions and festive celebrations, the sape has evolved into an instrument synonymous with the sound of Borneo’s rainforest, so much so that it has been incorporated into the Rainforest WorldMusic Festival logo.
Boat lute in shape, this plucked stringed musical instrument is the traditional instrument of the Kenyah, Kayan, Kelabit, Penan and other ethnic tribes of Orang Ulu community living Sarawak.
The music of the sape has been described as sweet and tuneful, with a pervading air of gentleness and restraint. What makes the sape distinct and unique is its contradictory nature, since most of the ethnic groups that play the sape’s gentle and sentimental melodies such as the Kenyah or Kayan people are known as fierce and fearless warrior tribes.
The Rainforest Music House itself also has various traditional music instruments on display, with information on its history, use and the ethnic groups that play them.
DANCE OF AGILITY
Among the many ethnic groups of Sarawak, there is a dance for almost every occasion, such as celebrating a bountiful harvest or a successful hunt.
Making my way to the Iban Longhouse, an exact copy of a traditional Iban communal home, I observe one of the many interactive dance workshops offered throughout the festival. Interestingly it is not an Iban dance that is being taught, but a dance from the Melanau tribe. The dance makes use of two bamboo poles, and the whole idea of it is to jump between the poles as they are slammed down and against each other.
What makes this dance interesting and entertaining is that therhyth gets progressively faster andfaster as the dance goes on, and the dancers are jumping between the bamboo poles before finally losing balance or getting out of breath.
CHINESE FARMHOUSE
Settlers from China first came to Sarawak during the reign of Charles Brooke, the second White Rajah of the Brooke Dynasty which ruled the Kingdom of Sarawak from 1841 until 1946.
Arriving in the thousands at Sibu, a district located at the confluence of the Rejang and Igan Rivers, the Chinese settlers were provided farmlands and loans from the Brooke administration and encouraged to farm rice.
Their first attempts were not as successful as they had hoped for, and they turned to rubber and pepper cultivation. The pepper cultivation proved far more successful, so much so that Sarawak is now one of the world’s largest producers of pepper.
The history, culture and lifestyle of these Chinese settlers are on display at the Chinese Farmhouse, which also serves as a venue for Cultural Snippets during the Rainforest World Music Festival where festival goers are given a peek into the cultures of the tribes in Sarawak within formative talks ranging from embroidery to head-hunting by experts.
Wandering into the Chinese Farmhouse to escape the searing midday heat, I come upon one such talk on beads and its Bornean heritage by Heidi Munan, a Switzerland-born author who has lived in Sarawak since 1965 and is now considered an expert in the material culture of Sarawak.
Although I would have initially scoffed at the idea of listening to a talk about beads, I gradually find it to be an interesting subject as Heidi masterfully talks about how the indigenous tribes of Borneo have valued and used beads since time immemorial.
Apparently beads are not merely for decorative purposes, but were also a valuable commodity and thought to have supernatural and mystical powers.
DISHES TO REMEMBER
Spread throughout the Sarawak Cultural Village are various venues offering visitors a taste of Sarawak’s various ethnic based delicacies.
One can try Ayam Pansoh, a dish of chicken cooked in a bamboo stalk which is thought to have beencreated by the Iban and Bidayuh people. Pieces of chicken are placed into the bamboo stalk along with seasonings and water.
The bamboo is then stuffed with leaves from the cassava plant, which acts somewhat like a lid to keep the pressure and heat from escaping the bamboo. The resulting concoction is then a soupy dish of delicious greens and chicken that falls straight off the bones.
I chance upon another unique Sarawakian dish when I meet Auntie Min, a caterer of Melanau descent at her stall near the Melanau Tall House.
Among her dishes offered is the sago grub worm, the larva of the Asian palm weevil.
While in its larvae stage, the Sago grub worm burrows into and feeds on the starchy pulp of the sago palm tree and is considered a delicacy throughout many parts of Borneo.
Roasted with only salt and garlic, thes ago grub worm is then skewered with bamboo sticks and then sprinkled with sago starch pearls. Aunti Min offers me a taste but I have to turn her down since the sago worm is not halal by Islamic dietary law.
Another festival goer takes up her offer and pops a worm into his mouth. I asks him how it tastes and he replies “like very chewy prawn”.
Auntie Min tells me that the sago grub worm is also delicious eaten raw with a creamy texture and then hands me a fat, cream coloured worm with a hard shelled head. Squirming on the palm of my hand, the sago grubworm suddenly and painfully bites into my skin with its large mandibles, and I can easily understand how it can easily burrow through the sago palm trees.
A combination of history, culture and architecture, Sarawak Cultural Village is an entertaining and educational experience for those visiting Kuching.
Through its seven unique traditional houses, performance theaters and exhibits, the cultural village offers visitors in-depth insight into Sarawak, its people and indigenous cultures.
Although my visit coincided with the Rainforest World Music Festival, the cultural village is open daily and a visit here at any given time will be no less interesting.
FESTIVAL OF WORLD MUSIC
HELD every July within the grounds of the Sarawak Cultural Village is the Rainforest World Music Festival, a three-day celebration of music and indigenous culture.
Throughout its 21-year history, the festival has grown and now encompasses interactive workshops, cultural talks, mini performances, film screenings and the ever popular evening performances.
The festival, also called RWMF, is a blend of unique world musicians and artistes invited from all around the globe as well as indigenous musicians from Sarawak’s interior.
The festival highlights and preserves the unique and diverse cultures found within the state of Sarawak, as well as provides a platform for emerging local performers to share their talents while also interacting and learning from invited international acts.
For the 21st edition of RWMF, the event was organised by the Sarawak Tourism Board, endorsed by Tourism Malaysia and was jointly supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Malaysia and Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports, Sarawak with AirAsia as its official flight partner. For details on the festival, visit www.rwmf.net.
FAST FACTS
SARAWAK CULTURAL VILLAGE
Pantai Damai, Santubong, P.O. Box 2632, 93752 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.
TEL 082-846 108
FAX 082-846 988
EMAIL enquiry@scv.com.my or scv4you@gmail.com
WEBSITE www.scv.com.my/
HOUR 9am-5pm Daily