Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Day 3 - Sun 10 Jun 07 (Bintulu)
We had to leave the hotel early for 9 am Service at Emmanuel Methodist Church. The church buildings we have visited so far looked modern and impressive. We presented 2 song items before Rev Khoo spoke on Psalms 33.
When we were ready to leave the church, the coach had broken down and it was raining heavily. The church very quickly garnered the help of their members to ferry us back to the hotel using their private vehicles. After unloading our stuff, they again ferried us to the lunch venue. The rain had stopped and the bus was repaired by the time we were done with our lunch. How blessed we were!
After lunch, we were very fortunate to have a special private visit to a longhouse (called rumah panjang) of the Iban tribe arranged by the church. The Iban or Sea Dayaks were the largest of the tribal groups in Sarawak who lived along the coastal belt. The Iban tribe were formerly head-hunters who were quite competitive in the pursuit of their trophies. However, the majority of them are now Christian and continue to observe both Christian and traditional ceremonies.
The longhouse we visited contained 48 houses, 50+ families and 300+ members. The back of the longhouse is a typical river for easy access for fishing and laundry etc. Some of the interiors have modern appliances like TV and refrigerators. We were welcomed with rice wine or tuak (reserved for special occasions), variety of snacks and drinks. Fortunately, we were pre-warned not to get ourselves intoxicated as we will have to oblige to the hospitality of all the houses we visit once we accept an offer. The community entertained us with traditional songs and dance (ngajat). The Iban music is very percussion-oriented.
After the visit, we returned to the hotel to freshen up, went out for dinner before going to Gloria Methodist for the evening Mandarin Service. This time we rendered 2 Mandarin songs.
We gathered at the meeting room when we returned to the hotel. As it was our final night in Sarawak, we had a longer time of open and honest sharing of our experiences and to express our appreciation for one another.
When we were ready to leave the church, the coach had broken down and it was raining heavily. The church very quickly garnered the help of their members to ferry us back to the hotel using their private vehicles. After unloading our stuff, they again ferried us to the lunch venue. The rain had stopped and the bus was repaired by the time we were done with our lunch. How blessed we were!
After lunch, we were very fortunate to have a special private visit to a longhouse (called rumah panjang) of the Iban tribe arranged by the church. The Iban or Sea Dayaks were the largest of the tribal groups in Sarawak who lived along the coastal belt. The Iban tribe were formerly head-hunters who were quite competitive in the pursuit of their trophies. However, the majority of them are now Christian and continue to observe both Christian and traditional ceremonies.
The longhouse we visited contained 48 houses, 50+ families and 300+ members. The back of the longhouse is a typical river for easy access for fishing and laundry etc. Some of the interiors have modern appliances like TV and refrigerators. We were welcomed with rice wine or tuak (reserved for special occasions), variety of snacks and drinks. Fortunately, we were pre-warned not to get ourselves intoxicated as we will have to oblige to the hospitality of all the houses we visit once we accept an offer. The community entertained us with traditional songs and dance (ngajat). The Iban music is very percussion-oriented.After the visit, we returned to the hotel to freshen up, went out for dinner before going to Gloria Methodist for the evening Mandarin Service. This time we rendered 2 Mandarin songs.
We gathered at the meeting room when we returned to the hotel. As it was our final night in Sarawak, we had a longer time of open and honest sharing of our experiences and to express our appreciation for one another.
Penseur 12:52 AM