Sarawak Cultural Village - Stage Presentation

The SCV @ 1130 and 1630H have a little performance for it's visitors in the auditorium. And it's certainly something nobody should miss; be it local or foreigner.

The backdrop to the stage, behind the instruments.

Yes, the colour changes. Pretty cool!

The Iban dance.

And they are going to pick up those logs...

With their teeth! It's heavy by the way...

And still dance with it!

The Bidayuh dance.

Melanau. This started really quiet with a bloke carrying that bamboo log.

And another bloke carrying a candle...

And then, "BOOM"! It explodes with a bang of movement and surprise.

4 guys and 4 girls and 4 bamboo logs which are placed across, intersecting like a + sign. And the ladies dance in tandem as the logs are moved. I have seen this dance on local telly, but watching it live is another thing. It's best viewed as a video which I had recorded and will post later.

Now is the guys turn. One of them will climb up to the top and have a spin at the top as the remaining guys spin the log. Again, something to be seen on video!

Orang Ulu. By far, the most entertaining dance or routine. Reason? Crowd interaction.

Left Guy: You sure you can aim there kah?

No, I intend to aim right in front of ME!

Let's all dance together...

What'cha looking up bub? You want a piece of me?

Look at us. We are 2 men. Brave men. Strong men. And well dressed!

"I like your fur"...

But it smells funny.

Who says we are not hip enough?

And are so serious?

And that we don't know how to play?

Left: What's that you're wearing?

Left: What is this contraption that she has on her feet?
Right: Now, ignore him and learn how to use my blow pipe.

Hmmm... I think I can fit my feet into this contraption!

Uggggggh! My Feet! Arrrrrrrgh... get it off!

Flanked by 2 brave souls... or is it the other way round?

Closing act: Let's all have a merry time.
Whilst that is the case, the same can't be said about a certain little girl ...

And guy... "I want my mommyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!"

The End.

Sarawak Cultural Village

Sarawak Cultural Village or popularly known as SCV is located near Damai beach. To get to here, one needs to either come by car or bus, as it's a 40 odd min drive from the city centre itself.

For us, as we stayed in Tune Hotel, we just went to the Riverside Hotel concierge and book our bus tickets to get here. It's RM10/way and RM45 for admission fees. These shuttle bus runs every few hours, so it's best to find out what time to go...

As Sarawak is made up of many different indigenous tribes, the SCV showcases all of their attributes in one location. Pretty nifty in that it saves you time from laking those long boats and visiting the real deal... although this would come close.

The SCV is also home to the famous Borneo Rainforest Festival...

After entering, one of the 1st things you gotta do is to walk across this bridge... built of bamboo...

Yes dear. I am behind you...

But 1st, one gotta climb up these steps ...

River... what river??? :P

Great way for a kid to learn balancing here...

And we come to the 1st tribal house - Bidayuh. Click on the image to open in full size and read...

What else would you expect? Microwave oven???

The house, when view from the outside resembles a round pancake design with a high roof. A fire sits underneath the hole in the roof. If you notice, there are 2 ... skulls hanging up there...

There isn't much between the floor mats and you... and the ground beneath.

The fire that is now, filled with embers and ashes...

"Ohhhhhh... I can't bear to look. He's carving another one..."

This is what the house looks like from outside. One thing you would notice is that all tribal houses are built on stilts; both as a form of protection from creepy crawly's on the ground (you wouldn't want unintended visitors right) and also from water, as in flood, etc...

Self explanatory on the board.

Next, the largest tribe in Sarawak, Iban.

Their house is looooong. It's more like halls, than anything else!

Musical instruments.

Farming equipment.

Am sure they still pretty much use these stuff up there in the jungles...

More musical instruments.

And this is the house taken from the opposite end.

From another angle... Airy isn't it?

What got my missus interested was the fact that the stage had tree's growing right through it. No, it's not a design flaw, but one that takes the environment into consideration.

Penan's.

Not much as the are nomads... So the houses are small as they tend to move a fair bit.

And here's another biggie.

Can you spot my missus up there? :)

Yep, it's a tall tall house...

Interesting flooring design.You wonder whether it's for aesthetics or for traction?!

Old meets new... I'm playing with the times brother!

"Come on, let's have a jam session..."

And what's he carving?

A wall ornament!

As this house is situated high up compared to the rest (as in hill slope), you get a nice view of where you are in the SCV.

View of the Iban house from waaaaay across.

Yes. We are going a climbing up that stairs!!!

Yes dear, no TV, Hifi, Computer... :P

They use mangrove wood and as you can see, gaps are there. Although it does it make the house airy... Maybe that's why our houses are so darn hot. Zero ventilation!!! All these houses have tons of it!

The bedroom chambers.

More steps Luv...

Big and tall best describes it.

What you get from Sago. We were hungry and so the food that was made by her, Sago Pancake was walloped by us in no time... and then we realised that we forgot to take a picture of it!!!

The common Malay house which we didn't enter but for any foreigner, I would encourage you to take a look.

And finally, the Chinese house.

I think if the missus could, she would be envisioning herself as the slave driver and me having to work this grinder... :D

There are 2 live shows that are staged at the auditorium @ 1130 and 1630H. These are free, and you shouldn't miss them at all. Heck, even the people in SCV will shoo you to head towards to auditorium! :)

And that's next, the stage performance.