'Hudoq', ritual dance of Dayak Bahau

Some 50 people, all wearing masks decorated with red-knobbed bill bird (enggang) feathers, emerged from one end of the Telivaq village by a tributary to the Mahakam River.

Their bodies covered with tassels of banana leaves, each of them carried a wooden stick and a mandau (dagger). They walked towards the Amin Ayaq customary stilt house, which is 2-meters high and 12-meters by 20-meters square.

As soon as they arrived, they danced round the house, led by the customary chief. The sound produced by their sticks when struck against the ground and the stamping of their feet, coupled by the long whining of the hudoq dancers, made your hair stand on end.

After dancing collectively for about an hour, people began to dance individually. After the hudoq dance performance was completed, the audience could enjoy other cultural shows.

It is on an occasion like this that the men and women of the Dayak Bahau tribe will appear dashingly courageous and graceful in their customary attire.

In the Dayak Bahau language, hudoq means a mask. Except in Telivaq, the hudoq dance performed by the Dayak Bahau community in all other villages along the Mahakam (or Mekam in the Dayak Bahau language) river basin is the same.

The Dayak Bahau people living along the Mahakam river basin perform their hudoq ritual usually in October and November, the time when they plant rice in the unirrigated rice fields.

Hanyak, 65, an elder from Mamahaq Besar village, Long Hubung district, West Kutai regency, said the hudoq dance was intended to accompany the soul of the paddy on its journey from the house to the rice field.

This annual rite must be performed in the most festive manner possible to ensure that the soul of the paddy will be pleased to stay in the rice field. The Bahau people believe that animals like deer, hogs, monkeys and birds bring paddy from heaven to them. The hudoq are designed to reflect these animals.

For the Dayak Bahau community along the Pariq River, the hudoq dance is performed every day for seven to 10 days ahead of the harvest. Each day a different hudoq dancer will appear. The climax of the hudoq festivity comes on the last day when all the hudoq dancers that have appeared before will again be seen.



Each hudoq dance requires different masks and accessories. In the Suh Doh hudoq, for example, the inheritor of a hudoq will have to harvest one kilogram of paddy from the rice field and keep it inside a piece of bamboo before the rite is performed. The hudoq rite will be performed for this paddy and at the end of the rite, the paddy will be distributed to the entire audience. Later, this paddy will be mixed with paddy seedlings that will be planted in the rice fields in the next year.

Although hudoq rites are not identical, generally they require wooden masks, banana leaves and roots to be used for tying. The banana leaves will be split into several parts to form tassels that are tied together by their roots. The tassels will cover the waist, the thighs, the legs, the arms and the shoulders. Every time a hudoq rite is performed, fresh banana leaves must be used. After the rite, the banana leaves cannot be burnt but must be piled up and then left to rot to be later used as fertilizer.

Hudoq performers are usually the people staying in the village where a hudoq rite is performed. The only hudoq that can be performed by guests or by dancers from other villages is the Hakaai hudoq dance. When a hudoq dance is performed, masks depicting pests in a rice field such as a monkey, a rat, a hog, a deer and a sparrow will also emerge to entertain the audience.

Aside from the male hudoq dancers, there are also female hudoq dancers. Some are masked while others are not. Some have their bodies covered with the banana-leaf tassels but others do not.

If the female hudoq dancers do not wear a mask, their faces and bodies will have colorful patterns painted on. These dancers carry household appliances such as baskets.

The hudoq dances by the Dayak Bahau women depict how the Dayak go dating and raise their babies or how they catch fish and go hunting. The hudoq performed by the Dayak Bahau women are comical.

It is interesting to note that in the Telivaq hudoq, the highest customary chief of hudoq is a woman.

Song Devung, 80, a hudoq customary chief, said that it was a Dayak Bahau woman that first laid down the hudoq custom and became the hudoq queen. That's why even today the hudoq rite is led by a woman. This, clearly, reflects the egalitarian nature in the relationship between men and women in the Dayak Bahau community.

Edi Petebang (jakarta post)

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Lamin Dayak Traditional House, East Borneo

Most of the inhabitants of east Kalimantan is the Dayak etnic group, therefore the pavilion presents rumah lamin, a traditional house of Dayak people in general. The house is built above pillars and usually is dwelled by tens of families. It is constructed lengthwise and some houses are even built more than 100 meters long. The black painted house look so artistic with the typical bright colored east Kalimantan ornaments. Read More......

Photograph shows 'giant snake' lurking in Borneo river

Villagers living along the Baleh river in Borneo fear a 100-foot snake could be lurking in the murky waters.

An aerial photograph that appears to show a gigantic snake swimming along the remote waterway has emerged, sparking great concern among local communities.

But it is not clear whether the photograph is genuine, or a clever piece of photo-editing. Some suggested the 'snake' was in fact a log or a speed boat and others complained the colour of the river in the photo was too dark.

The most common theory is that the photo has been manipulated on a computer.

The image has even stumped the New Straits Times newspaper in Kuala Lumpur, which suggested readers decide for themselves.

However, on the banks of the river, villagers are convinced of the massive serpent's existence and have even given it a name, Nabau, after an ancient sea serpent which can transform itself into the shapes of different animals.

Earlier this month scientists unearthed the fossil of a snake that was longer than a bus, as heavy as a small car and which could swallow an animal the size of a cow.

The 45ft long monster - named Titanoboa - was so big that it lived on a diet of crocodiles and giant turtles, squeezing them to death and devouring them whole.

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Mawas Conservation

THE Mawas conservation area covers two Regencies (South Barito and Kapuas), five subdistricts and 58 villages comprising around 29,000 Households. The area consists of the so called Block E1 which is 181,743.7 ha and Block E2 which is 242,437.5 ha. The BOS Foundation has been granted a Principle Permission for Conservation Cooperation by the Governor for another 300.000 ha. 

According to local regulations the area proposed for the Mawas Program will be a Conservation area.

The Mawas conservation area needs to be strongly regulated by the local and central government. The Mawas area has a high conservation value not only for Kalimantan and Indonesia, but also for the rest of the world. In this area there are peat domes, which are very rich in biomass and able to absorb high concentrations of carbon dioxide which can assist in the fight against global warming.

There are about 3000 wild orangutans living in this area. (according to van Schaik et al, Population Habitat Viability Assessment - PHVA ) . The Mawas Program is dedicated to the conservation of the orangutans and their habitat, while at the same time bringing benefits to the local communities. 

The biodiversity in this area is very rich, with a peat forest ecosystem. There are plans to develop programs for Carbon Offset Agreements working closely with the local community and government. These kind of strategies will also be developed in other conservation areas within the Central Kalimantan Province.

One of the priorities of the Mawas program is to work with community development by teaching the communities about forestry & agroforestry in order to show that conserving the forest will have positive impact for the people living in and around the Mawas area. The Mawas Program also focuses on field activities like surveys and research as well as improving management and service of the research camps.

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Two new sun bears in Samboja

HAYDEN and Bleki, the new Sun Bears at Samboja Lestari.

In June 2007, two Sun bears arrived at the Sun Bear Sanctuary of the Wanariset Samboja Orangutan Reintroduction Project. This project is managed by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS).

The two sun bears were discovered at the edge of the forest and had been reared by humans. Their owners voluntarily handed them both over to BOS.

Upon arriving at the Sun Bear Sanctuary, the two new little sunbears, Hayden and Bleki had to be placed in separate cages. Hayden was only one month old, so he had to have his own cage while Bleki who is two years old was put into the quarantine cage. Why were they separated? Because humans had already reared Bleki for almost a year, and he had been overfed and was excessively over weight.

On the other hand, Hayden’s keepers had only cared for him for three days before he was handed over to BOS. According to his previous owners, the small sun bear didn’t want to be caught when they found him at the edge of the forest in the Sebulu, East Kalimantan. One wonders what the fate of Hayden’s mother was.

It was not because of love that his finders decided to take Hayden home. They knew that bears are wild by nature. For the first two days little Hayden had been sweet and wanted to drink milk. On the third day, however, the little bear started to show a wild and aggressive nature. They were puzzled and attempted to find information about wildlife reserves, in particular for bears.

Hayden’s owners found out about the Wain River Forest Reserve (WRFR), in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. When they arrived at WRFR, they found that it could not take Hayden. The people at WRFR instead suggested taking Hayden to the Wanariset Samboja Orangutan Reintroduction Project, as it also manages a Sun Bear Sanctuary.

However, it is quite another story with Bleki, who was found at the edge of the forest by Achmad Fauzi, an industrial forest plantation worker employed by PT. ITCI in Sepaku, East Kalimantan. At the time that Bleki was found, he was in poor condition.

Achmad described Bleki’s condition: “Bleki was found during a forest fire. Little Bleki was on his own, without his mother. In the end we decided to take Bleki home and nurse him”. Achmad’s wife was also moved by Bleki’s condition. The cute body of the little bear was what attracted Achmad’s wife to care for it.


Agus, the Sun Bear care coordinator in Samboja Lestari, estimated that Bleki would have just turned one when he was found, and he had been kept at Achmad’s home and reared for a year. While Achmad had him, Bleki was forced to eat biscuits and drink chocolate milk.

“Every two hours Bleki was given a ‘kepok’ banana, and he would not eat anything but kepok bananas” Achmad’s wife said, who had often taken care of Bleki. Bleki was also washed regularly. Although his care was good and his enclosure was regularly cleaned, the small iron-barred cage was certainly uncomfortable for him.

Similarly to the experience with Hayden, when Achmad wanted to hand Bleki over to HLSW, they suggested to take Bleki to the BOS Sun Bear Sanctuary instead. After some discussions with Paramita Ananda and Ishak Yassir, the manager of the Wanariset Samboja Orangutan and Wildlife Reintroduction Project and he manager of the BOS East Kalimantan Regional Projects, were eventually able to accept Bleki into the Sun Bear Sanctuary.

When handing over Bleki to BOS, Achmad’s wife was a little upset, but she was happy that Bleki would have plenty of companions and would be well cared for.

Basically we won’t reject wildlife which is protected by the government if they are handed over by members of the public. However, we must decide whether or not to take animals based on our current capacities and facilities. The welfare of the animals must always be our priority” Ishak told us. Actually, it could be said that the facilities in the sun bear sanctuary at the moment are less than satisfactory. On 56 hectares of land, the BOS foundation must care for 52 honey bears.

[Winda | BOS]
Translated By Peter Crocket, Edited by Michelle Rangitutia

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Tradisional Floating Market of South Borneo

TRADISIONAL Floating Market where people on the canoes sell and buy the vegetables, fruit and other stuff. CEMPAKA village traditional Diamond Mining field. Stone Jewelry at MARTAPURA. Local hot water pool. MALARIS DAYAK Long house, to have chance to meet the native at their village. Bamboo rafting through AMANDIT River, the train & skilled DAYAK rafter drive and maneuver your raft through the river with it's unique and nature panorama.

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BAMBOO RAFTING

BAMBO is the main plantation in Malaris village. They sell it through the Amandit river by rafts as their traditional transportation since past time.

Now you could enjoy adventure bamboo rafting on clean water which originate from Meratus range and feel the fresh air while down stream of Loksado highland.

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Kutai National Park

Kutai National Park represents a number of principal vegetation types, including coastal/mangrove forest, freshwater swamp forest, kerangas forest, lowland flooding forest, ulin/meranti/kapur forest, and mixed Dipterocarpaceae forest. This Park is also part of the largest relatively pristine ulin forest in Indonesia.

Among the plants that grow in this Park are mangrove (Bruguiera sp.), cemara laut (Casuarina equisetifolia), simpur (Dillenia sp.), meranti (Shorea sp.), benuang (Octomeles sumatrana), ulin (Eusideroxylon zwageri), kapur (Dryobalanops sp.), 3 species of rafflesia, and various orchid species.

An ulin tree in Sangkimah has a height without branches of 45 m, a diameter of 225 cm or a circle of 706 cm, and a volume of 150 m3. It is the highest and largest plant recorded in Indonesia.
As well as a variety of plants, this Park also has a high animal diversity. Primate groups like orangutan (Pongo satyrus), Mueller's Bornean grey gibbon (Hylobates muelleri), proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus), long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis fascicularis), maroon leaf monkey (Presbytis rubicunda rubicunda), white-fronted leaf monkey (P. frontata frontata), pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina nemestrina), and slow loris (Nycticebus coucang borneanus) can be found in Teluk Kaba, Prevab-Mentoko and Sangkimah. Ungulate groups like banteng (Bos javanicus lowi), sambar deer (Cervus unicolor brokei), barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak pleiharicus), and lesser Malay mouse deer (Tragulus javanicus klossi) can be found throughout the Park area.

Carnivore groups such as sun bear (Helarctos malayanus euryspilus) and flat-headed cat (Pardofelis planiceps) can be found in Teluk Kaba, Prevab-Mentoko and along the Bontang-Sangatta road.

Fowl groups that can be seen include the lesser adjutant stork (Leptoptilos javanicus), white-bellied sea eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster), green imperial pigeon (Ducula aenea), junglefowl (Gallus sp.), hill myna (Gracula religiosa), and oriental darter (Anhinga melanogaster melanogaster).

Teluk Kaba in Kutai National Park is the location of the nation's third orangutan rehabilitation centre.  

Kutai National Park collaborates with "Friends of Kutai" like PT. Kaltim Prima Coal, PT. Pupuk Kaltim, PT. Badak LNG, Pertamina, some of the surrounding forest concessionaires (HPH), and others, who not only provide financial assistance but are also actively involved in nature conservation and the management of the Park. 


Interesting locations/attractions:

Kaba Bay and Muara Sangkimah: marine tourism and observing animals, especially orangutans, proboscis monkeys, sambar deer, lesser mouse deer, sun bears, and birds.
Lombok Bay and Muara Sungai Sangatta: marine tours and observation of original mangrove forest.
Prevab-Mentoko: research; watching animals such as sun bears, orangutans, lesser mouse deer , and wild pigs.
Goa Lobang Angin: caving.

One of the cultural attractions outside the Park area is the Erau Festival, held in September in Tenggarong.

Best time of year to visit: April to October.

How to reach the Park: Balikpapan-Samarinda by car, 2.5 hours, then Samarinda-Bontang by car, 3 hours, and Bontang-Teluk Kaba by speedboat, about 30 minutes. The main Bontang-Sangatta road passes through the Park area.


Declared Minister of Agriculture, SK No. 736/Mentan /X/82, 
a total area of 200,000 hectares
Designated Minister of Forestry, SK. No. 325/Kpts-II/95, 
a total area of 198,629 hectares
Location Regency of Kutai (Province of East Kalimantan)

Temperature 27° - 33° C
Rainfall 1,543 mm/annual (on average)
Altitude 0 - 397 m asl.
Geographical location 116°58' - 117°36' E; 0°08' - 0°34' N

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wildlife of borneo

THE ORANG UTANS

The SepilokOrang Utan Rehabilitation Centre, the worlds largest Orang Utan Sanctuary, is situated about 25 km west of Sandakan. This much documented and world renown centre rehabilitates Orang Utans rescued from captivity and those orphaned and displaced by logging activities until they are fit to be released for independent life in their natural habitat.

SUKAU : PROBOSCIS MONKEYS

The village of Sukau is accessible by both river and road from Sandakan. This settlement of Orang Sungei, literally meaning river people is surrounded by a secondary forest which has become a natural sanctuary of various wildlife species, including elephants and Orang Utans. Most distinctive are the strange Proboscis Monkeys (Nasalis Larvatus), a species unique to Borneo and which is particularly abundant in the swamps of the lwor Kinabatangan. Moving in groups of up to twenty or more, these placid vegetarians always sleep next to water. They can always be found when searched along the river-banks from a boat, either in the late afternoon before they retire for the night or in the early morning before they move off in search of food.

TURTLES
The Turtle Islands Park, lying about 40 km off Sandakan comprises a group of three beautiful, exotic and unspoilt natural islands. The boat ride will take about an hour. One of the islands, Selingan, has all the basic needs such as accommodation and restaurant, is the main island in the group to see where the Green Turtle comes to lay eggs all year round. Watching the process of laying eggs and returning the hatchlings to the sea is possible here.
We would encourage clients looking to relax at the end of a tour in Sabah, or interested in seeing turtles to visit Lankayan [see dive section ] rather than Turtle Island. Same number of turtles - better facilities and diving.

Also note :
WHALE SHARKS
Every March, April and May for the last four years Whale Sharks have been seen and photographed at Lankayan. We make no additional charge for accommodation and diving during this period but early booking is advised.

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