Sweating in Sarawak
January 8, 2010 by Craig Guillot
Filed under Feature Articles, Featured, Sweatin' It
Skulls & Teddy Bears
I awoke with a dry throat and spinning head to the commotion of fighting cocks battling outside my room. The birds flapped around, thrashed at one another and let out terrifying shrieks. The men tore them apart just before any damage could be done. While it may be illegal and seen as barbaric in much of the world, cockfighting is a popular sport in Iban culture and a way to socialize and compete with other longhouses. It’s also a great way to get weary guests out of bed.
After a breakfast of fresh fruits and Indonesian tobacco, I was invited into the chief’s residence. Perched in the middle of the traditional longhouse, it had a surprising array of amenities including a television, radio and raggedy, but contemporary furniture. Scattered all about the house was a massive collection of stuffed animals. There were perhaps a couple hundred or more, ranging from tiny pink elephants to big brown teddy bears and even a dozen or so knock-off Barbie dolls. It wasn’t quite what I expected to find in the house of a fierce warrior.
Having once fallen through the floor in an indigenous house in the Amazon, I treaded lightly through the chief’s residence by picking my knees up high and moving about slowly. I must have looked like a rooster but floors made for people who weigh little more than one hundred pounds can often buckle under the weight of an American adult.
Before I left for the long boat ride back to the modern world, one of the elder men suggested that the United States hire Iban to fight the war in Iraq. I looked at my guide, who had been translating between us, and asked why. “Because they believe that their magic will make them invisible. They won’t suffer any casualties,” he said. Regardless of whether or not that was possible, the drumming, chanting, dancing and excessive consumption of tuak made us all feel invincible the night before.
The Iban had every chance to take my head – the only thing they took was my heart.
