KUCHING: Maintaining the authenticity of a longhouse is not as easy as one may think.
The famous traditional Annah Rais Longhouse is one of the few remaining Bidayuh longhouses here facing difficulties in preserving its original materials while adapting to modernisation.
Sustaining its concept, such as its layout form, is not a problem as far as the longhouse is concerned.
However, keeping or sustaining the antiquity of the building elements or the materials is a major challenge.
Kampung Annah Rais chief, Ketua Kaum Joda Mamung, said it is impossible to maintain the longhouse with the traditional materials in today’s era.
While some of the building elements of the longhouse still stand the test of time, replacing the rotten materials with the original materials is something that the owners need to think twice nowadays.
“We have tried our best to maintain and sustain the layout and concept, and indeed we have managed to prevent any demolishment to give way to the construction of the single dwellings within the longhouse area.
“We have been able to persuade and convince our fellow longhouse dwellers to at least keep their structures or buildings while they can build their single dwelling somewhere else if they wish to.
“Because of the cooperation of the people in this longhouse, we have managed to sustain its traditional layout and concept,” he told Sarawak Tribune.
From my personal observation during our tour, modern materials were used to replace some of the traditional indigenous materials.
For example, bamboo, the original material for the tanju and the awah, are being replaced with metal C-channels or concrete floors.
The tanju is a veranda that connects the row of houses or homes while the awah, which is in front of each individual house, is also the entrance to each house from the tanju.
The traditional materials for these elements are normally bamboo.
Aside from bamboo, other traditional longhouse materials include ironwood, light-weight timber, sago leaves and rattan.
The uniqueness of those materials includes being eco-friendly as compared to more modern materials.
Aside from that, it is believed that those materials have the ability to control the amount of heat that enters the longhouse, thus allows natural ventilation.
Joda said over 200 hundred years ago, when the Annah Rais Longhouse was first built by their forefathers, ironwood or belian, lightweight timber bamboo and sago leaves were used.
He said the same materials were used after about 100 years later, adding that while a few belian posts still stand till now, the roof and the floor, which are traditionally made of palm leaves and bamboo, had been replaced annually from time to time.
He said the longhouse had maintained its original layout and concept since 1818 until today as one can see the houses still stand on stilts, having high pitch roof and the units sharing the same walls.
“However, we hardly see any more roof with timber shingles or sago thatch as its coverings due to economical and durability reasons.
“People now prefer metal roofing than sago thatch because the former is more durable. While timber shingles are more durable than palm thatch, you can’t find the materials nowadays,” he added.
Joda said there are still plenty of materials like bamboo in the jungle near the longhouse.
The problem is that the individual houses do not have the manpower because most of the young people, who focus more on their education nowadays, do not know how to cut or process bamboos or sago leaves to replace the original materials.
“It’s also impractical to maintain the authenticity of the longhouse 100 per cent in this day and age.
“Imagine the time required to collect the original material and the cost. And then bamboo, if exposed to rain and shine, can last less than a year.
“Over the years, the accumulated time and cost of fixing bamboos could exceed the cost of using modern materials, especially for the tanju,” he explained.
Kampung Anah Rais village security and development committee chairman, Abraham Bunyoh, said except for belian, most of the traditional materials are still abundant for the villagers to get.
He concurred with Joda, saying labour and long-term cost are the major problems.
“Because of that, it’s very difficult for the home owners to maintain the authenticity of the longhouse 100 per cent but we can still at least maintain the original layout of the longhouse.
“The original concept and layout of the Bianah clan’s longhouse is still the same, many structures are still the same with the ones built over 200 years ago, although there were some modifications with modern materials here and there,” he said.
Kampung Annah Rais is one of the early Bidayuh settlements in Sarawak.
It is located in Padawan, about 60 kilometres from Kuching City.
Divided into two sections by Sungai Semadang, Kampung Annah Rais has been a home to over 100 families.
The main longhouses there consist of Kampung Sijo, which is located upstream, Kampung Saba and Kampung Tirakan (both downstream).
Kampung Sijo is on the other side of the Semadang River and connected with Kampung Saba and Kampung Tirakan via a belian timber bridge.
It is understood that the longhouses expanded gradually over the years as more families settled in the area and built individual houses along the river.
Each longhouse, especially the two main longhouses located by the river, seems to have been built following the curves of the river.
The longhouses there include two existing panggah, representing the Bidayuh Bianah tribe’s vernacular architecture that remains relevant to this day.
The house units are generally of the same size, which is about 12 meter by 5 meter each.
Outside every unit are the awah and the tanju, which also connect the units to each other.
As seen from outside, some of the houses use furnish wood and some use concrete as their front walls.
Timber door and timber-framed windows are commonly used.
Most of the windows are placed on the back wall facing the river, allowing cool breeze to enter.
Upon entering every block of the three longhouses there, a timber stairs lead one up to the outdoor, bamboo tanju.
In front of every house unit is the awah, a shared space commonly used during the annual Gawai celebration.
On ordinary days, the awah is used for daily activities such as selling souvenirs and sometimes paddy pounding while the tanju is used to dry paddy or pepper.
While modernisation has altered some aspects of the longhouse, its connection to nature remains strong.
Nestled amid lush forests and a serene river, Annah Rais Longhouse continues to embody the Bidayuh heritage, offering a glimpse into traditional longhouse living while adapting to the realities of the modern world.
