Rivers: The Historical Relevance to the Bidayuh.

Holiday is coming soon. Can't wait to go back to my kampung and get ideas on the Bidayuh way of life. I plan to experience a boat ride, something that I've missed for about 11 years.

May be I introduce the importance and relevance of rivers to the Bidayuh, briefly. When I was young my family moved from one place to another. All the villages were situated along the Kayan River; the upper part of Sadong River. To be exact, the 'border' is the Sadong Bridge. From the bridge, up river is Kayan, down river is Sadong.  My father used to have a Johnson 6 (meaning 6 horse power) "enjin sangkut". We used to travel between Reteh Mawang, Reteh Plaman, Tema and Saan.  I was born when my father was teaching in Reteh. At that time the school was situated in Reteh Mawang. Later it was moved to Reteh Plaman. When I was about two years old, we moved to Mawang Taup. Later on, when I was about five, my family settled down in Tema. My father still worked in Mawang Taup but we stayed with our mother in Tema. When I was seven, we moved to Kampung Saan. This was because we wanted to study in SRK Tebedu (I'd written about my life there). Once a while we would travel between Saan and Tema. 

The villagers relied very much on  rivers because they were the only means they could travel between the villages. Even those from Pangkalan Amu, Mawang Taup, Reteh would use rivers to move between Krusen and their villages. Before the construction of Mongkos Road, Tebakang was their destination. There are four four main rivers that played a vital role to the Bidayuh villages in Tebedu and Mongkos areas. The rivers are Kayan River (Kampung Sejijag, Sungan, Saan, Tema, Reteh Plaman, Reteh Mawang and Reteh Karas, Krusen and Tebakang), Ruben River (Pangkalan Amu and Mawang Taup), Suhu River (Tebedu) and Kedup River (not sure about the villages). Rivers are less relevant to these villages after the construction of Mongkos Road, Tebedu Road and other village roads. Today we could drive all the way from Kuching to Gahat Mawang in about two hours (non-stop). This was impossible even up to the early millenium.

Rivers were not only as a means of communication but they play a major role in the Bidayuh way of life. They were the source of  water and fish to the villagers. I still remember in my younger days, how we used to go to the river early in the morning. Along the river we could see the mothers doing their washing. The villagers would carry their water supply from the river back to their houses in bamboos tied together. There were no pails or jerry cans in those days. We could  see a lot of people along the river in the evening. This was the time they got back from their farms and were cleaning themselves. During dry season, the men would come out at night looking for frogs and fishing. Life was simple.

I enjoy river until today. Whenever possible, I'll make sure that I have 'time with river'. I enjoy the cool and refreshing water. Tap water can never take the place of river. River...I could dip myself in it, swim, splash, float, dive, jump...I can't remember when was my first swimming lesson, that's because I don't have one. I LIVE WITH IT. So folks, till my next entry on river cruise experience, "Bidapud lagi..."



Even used as "natural" studio. This photo was taken...I don't know when.