On Going Back to the Longhouse: Getting Permission to Marry

Manesh tells the story of two Baha’i newlyweds on his blog Good People We Meet. -gw

Maybe it’s that jungle girl spirit in her. You see, Tara’s ancestors are decendents of the headhunters of Sarawak, the Ibans.

Last Gawai (harvest festival), Eric and her made a 4 hour boat trip deep into the rainforests of Borneo to meet the family. They slaughtered pigs, watched a mesmerizing traditional warrior dance, witnessed a berbalas pantun session (poetry tennis) and joined in the general festivities of a 70-family-wide long-house.

Eric passed the family’s assessment and went on to marry Tara in Penang.

http://goodpeoplewemeet.wordpress.com/2008/11/13/eric-n-tara-gila-gila/

Top photo: “The Iban live in the traditional and iconic longhouse. A long house is exaclty what its name implies, an elevated structure where familys live together. Each family has their own rooms connected to a long (nearly 100 meter) common room where community activities are held. The long house is on stilts for floods, but normally it is a storage area for chickens and other noisy animals”  Uploaded on August 10, 2006 by bertrudestein on flickr. Bottom photo: “Interior view of long house…37 doors in a row. Each family has two rooms off the main hall.” Uploaded on August 10, 2008 by Lauras512  on flickr. Both photos licensed Creative Commons.