Tundai home stay experience

TUNDAI HOME STAY

3 days 2 nights

Live with a family in a traditional isolated fishing village


Only accessible by boat, Tundai is about 2 hours south of Palangkaraya by klotok or traditional canoe and covers an area of 4,250 hectares. The stilt village is built on swampy land, which is inundated by black water in the rain season, when you walk on board walks and bridges. No roads access this village, and power is from solar cells.

This quiet and beautiful place opens its door to visitors for short stays. You will be hosted by the home owners, who will bring you to and from the village by canoe from the nearest port (Bukit Pinang), give you simple sleeping accommodation and all your food (max 2 guests per house).

Your program includes meeting villagers and accompanying them in their daily activities and joining them in games and music. Also, by canoe, you will visit nearby forests for animal spotting, including proboscis monkeys, macques, and birds all year round.

In the wet season only, October-May, it is possible to see wild orangutans on a special canoe trip – this trip is extra cost Rp 150,000, payable directly to your host. You will go one person per canoe only.

Japanese guidebook features Rahai'i Pangun cruises

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Japanese travel writer, Konno Masao, joined us on a cruise earlier this year. His enjoyment of the experience led him to recommend visiting us. The pictures in this page from the Globe Trotter Travel Guidebook (Chikyuu no Arukikata) are all taken from the Rahai'i Pangun experience.

Visiting the Pasar Ramadhan

The fasting month of Ramadhan is half way through now, and the afternoon and evening market or 'pasar' selling sweet and savoury delicacies to 'buka puasa' or break the fast and to enjoy for supper in the evening is in full swing. We stop by every evening to pick up a different selection, all sold in small amounts.

Mass tiwah in Palangkaraya

Every year the Government of Central Kalimantan sponsors a huge 'tiwah' ritual for Dayak families who could not otherwise afford to have this ceremony to release their ancestors souls on their journey to the 'Prosperous Village' in the upper world.

The traditional Dayak religion, Hindu Kaharingan, requires that the family of status ancestors perform the tiwah, not only for the ancestors to be released from the state of wandering spirits in this world, but also to being merit and good fortune on the surviving family members.

The burden of costs of this ceremony are huge, and are largely related to the carving of the sapundu or totem pole with the servant to join the ancestor, to the purchase of sacrificial animals, for the ceremonial blood spilling and feeding of the great numbers of invited guests, and most importantly, for the hire of the Kaharingan expert to conduct the ceremony correctly. Great supernatural risk is taken on by engaging in the tiwah and by building the sandung or wooden mausoleum, that the riitual practices must be followed exactly by ritual specialists.

From the disinterring of the bones, their cleaning and perfuming, to the extraordinary gentleness and respect with which the sacrificial animals are prepared, to the raising of the totems, where the beasts are tied, and the final placement of the bones in the mausoleum (which may be distant from the tiwah site and near the ancestors houses), everything is done according to ritual.

The centre piece of the event is the place where massed bamboo poles are decorated with a yellow skirt and festooned with yellow and batik banners. Yellow is the colour which represents the spiritual world, and will attract the good spirits, who gather to prevent disturbances and protect the ceremony. The totem pole with the ugly face painted below is also designed to scare away disruptive spirits.

Independence Day in Tundai village

17th August Independence Day in Indonesia is always celebrated with great gusto. During our recent cruise, we happened to visit Tundai on Independence Day, and greatly enjoyed the Besei Kambe competition. This event pits 2 teams of 2 paddlers rowing in opposite directions in the same canoe. Causing great hilarity in all the on lookers, the competitors nevertheless put everything into their performance.

The celebrations, the biggest ever in the village, were covered by a reporter from the local Palangkaraya broadsheet, Detak. This is what they said :

On the celebration of Independence Day last week, the tiny village of Tundai held the biggest celebration ever in the village. Many traditional games were competed such as Besei Tali (tug of war), Bese Kambe (canoe paddling), Sepak Sawut (fireball) and art performance on the stage.

This event was not only attracted the local people’s enthusiasm but also foreign tourists.

We interviewed an Italian Tourist, Ms. S who came to visit Kalimantan together with her husband. They are accompanied by Ms. Gaye Thavisin, joint owner of the Rahai’i Pangun (a cruise boat operated by Kalimantan Tour Destinations)

Detak : 'Hallo Ms. S, how long have you been in Palangkaraya?'

Ms S : 'This is my first time coming to Kalimantan and now is our 3rd day. Before we were
Bali and tomorrow we have to go back.'

Detak : 'What do you think about the traditional games competed today?'

Ms S : 'I am very interested! This game (Besei Kambe) is very unique and I have never see
this before anywhere. Besei Kambe shows the strength, spirit of competition and battle.'

Detak : 'Would you like to try the game?'

Ms S : 'No,no, no. For now I will just watch. Maybe next time.'

Detak : 'What do you think about the tourism in Central Kalimantan?'

Ms S : 'This is a lovely place. I like to see the culture. Unfortunately we have to go back
tomorrow. Next time, I would like to comeback and see the culture again and seeing Orangutans in Tanjung Puting as well.'

Detak : 'What do you think about the people?'

Ms S : 'Yes, lovely people! They are very friendly! They have unique culture. Congratulations!'

Home industry rattan weaving

In the tiny riverside village of Jabiren, older women keep alive the art of rattan weaving. Using the natural motifs of water plants, with curling leaves, and striking geometric designs, coloured with natural dyes, these beautifully woven mats have a long tradition in Central Kalimantan.

Rattan grows prolifically here, and it is said this region produces some of the best rattan in the world. Cleaned and processed manually in simple factories, the rattan canes, sulphur dried to a soft gold colour in lengths of about 6m, are the starting point for these weavers. Using simple tools, the canes are spliced into narrow shreds, some are dyed, and the weaving process starts.

Using a bench seat, or the living room floor, these works of art grow over about a month into the typical large floor mats, so often used here for seating and sometimes sleeping.

The Swiss Church at Mandomai

Swiss Protestant missionaries built this Church in 1807 with local people, who they had trained as carpenters.

Made in a traditional glass town in Germany, the magnificent stained glass window is one of only 2 in the world. The other one is in Brazil.

The carpentry school, located behind the Church, was established in 1946, when it was clear that the wood working skills of the people were of a very high standard, and could be developed even further by training. Working by traditional methods, this workshop produces high quality cabinets, tables and chairs for the local and export markets.