KUCHING: If you are travelling to Betong, Saratok, Sarikei, Sibu, Bintulu or Miri and you desire to take a break and enjoy a cup of teh-C-peng and a bowl of mee kolok or pick up some local souvenirs and purchase a quantity of smoked fish or some fresh jungle produce, Lachau is the stop-over which you should never ignore before you continue your journey to your intended destination.
The writer trying out the male baju burung.
(From left) Modern Pua Kumbu Tie, Lampit, Bendai and Tawak (right).
Delin and her Iban traditional costumes and other handicrafts for sale.
Potential buyers deciding on their choices.
Pulasan, a rambutan species, sells for RM6 per kg.
A trader selling dabai fruits.
Customers looking at some fresh local produce.
Lachau a stopover town
This was exactly what I did on my excursion during the recent Hari Raya holidays to Betong.
After a two-hour drive from home, I stopped by at Lachau town, a small quaint and favourite Iban trading centre, located about 140 km along Sarawak’s only main highway connecting several major towns from Kuching.
Lachau (in Iban, the name of a lizard species) comprises about 40 shophouses of mostly general grocery stores and a handful of coffee shops, is a well-known daily stop-over for tourists, locals and weary road travellers.
This ‘cowboy’ town has several essential public amenities such as a surau, public toilets and a well-taken care of playground besides its unnoticeable simple petrol kiosk. It also enjoys excellent telecommunication coverage.
As most of the local residents are of Iban origin, it is thus not bizarre to come across traders who converse fluently in the local language with their patrons. What really enticed me was the customer-packed Lachau Food Corner restaurant. I had to wait patiently for my turn at a table at the coffee shop to enjoy a glass of iced lemon tea and a bowl of Cantonese fried kueh tiaw. Business is always brisk during weekends, but by 4pm, the little town of Lachau is almost distinctively lifeless.
Every day the pavement and Lachau Pasar Harian (Lachau Daily Market) would be crowded with petty traders selling fresh water fish, jungle produce and Iban costumes and handicrafts. I took the courage and opportunity to interact with some of the local traders and made some magnificent discoveries.
Grandmother Delin Pana, 50, a mother of three, who hails from Rumah Usek, Kampung Sungai Merah, Pantu, revealed that she was never serious in the Iban costume and handicraft industry though she has the skills, knowledge and creativity in weaving and designing Iban traditional items.
Initially, she was more into farming. Selling Iban traditional costume accessories and handicrafts was purely a leisure activity but in 2009 her interest in the business eventually grew after she foresaw the lucrative prospect of it. Though her daily earnings is inconsistent, her average monthly income is about RM1,000. Delin revealed that her earnings usually peaked during the Gawai Dayak months. She, however, was quick to tell me that she donates ten per cent of her weekly earnings to her church though she has to pay a yearly rental of RM90. What an exemplary Samaritan!
Delin offers a great variety of beautiful Iban products such as Ngepan Indu Iban (Iban maiden’s ceremonial costume) and its accessories like the beautiful and eye-catching sugu tinggi (Iban maiden’s headdress), tango or marik empang (chest adornment that is made of beads and threads), selampai (shawl worn over the shoulders), tumpa (silver bracelet), lampit (silver belt), rawai (silver belt decorated with coins), sementing ringgit or sengkeling , buah pauh, anting-anting (earrings), gerunching kaki (anklet), kain kebat (skirt) and other impressive Iban fabrics.
Iban warrior traditional costume accessories such as baju burung (vest), parang ilang (swords) which are kept in bead-decorated sheaths, wooden terabai (wooden warrior shields) and the warrior’s headgears which are ornamented with hornbill feathers are also found at Delin’s handicraft corner.
Also available are other Iban antique items such as gongs which are usually played during any ethnic ritual or Gawai festival. Among those available are a set of engkerumungs (small gongs displayed side by side and played like a xylophone), tawak (also called the ‘bass’) and the bendai gong, all tagged at a negotiable price.
Another prominent Iban traditional art is the hand woven textile known as the Pua Kumbu. The fine design and pattern in the fabric clearly expresses the Ibans’ artistry ability in the handicraft industry. According to Delin, producing a 2 X 4 feet piece of Pua Kumbu might take three months or more to complete. Today, this colourful hand woven material is predominantly used as ornamental items such as drapery, table cover and for fashion as well as furnishings.
Delin’s personal skills and creativity is also clearly illustrated on the hand-made tie manic (bead neck-tie), the bead necklaces and other decorative pieces. She also fashions the Pua Kumbu fabric into tribal carrier handbags, purses, book covers, key-chain and other forms of stationery.
She is thankful to be given the privilege to attend a few entrepreneurship workshops in Mukah and Kuching in 2013 and 2014 respectively, after which she was furnished with equipment such as scissors, sewing machine and other weaving facilities to enable her to pursue her career.
Today, Delin can proudly claim that the Iban legacy of traditional outfits and handicrafts which range from the priceless authentic antiques to the exquisite modern hand-made crafts has not only provided her with a promising employment but most significantly the industry has brought her the pride of being an example of a successful entrepreneur and simultaneously privileged her to restore and preserve the Iban heritage from vanishing due to modern lifestyle.
I also took the opportunity to drop by at Mount Hosanna Chapel, a place of worship with its most noticeable and unique structural design of three huge white candles on top of a hill. Also known as the healing church, parishioners have to climb up more than 100 steps before reaching the church entrance. I also made a brief stop at Sri Aman and Engkilili before proceeding to Betong New Township for the night.