The Old Village at Tumbang Malahoi

 Recently we spent a long day visiting this Dayak cultural gem, and can highly recommend it! For the slow traveller, who could choose to sleep in the longhouse and tune into the pace and character of the place over 3 days, or for those having time only for a quick day trip from Palangka Raya.

The village of Tumbang (or confluence of rivers) Malahoi is sited where the Malahoi River joins the much larger Rungan River, which is in turn a tributary of the Kahayan River. The Kahayan runs through Palangka Raya on its way south to Bahaur, on the Java Sea. This web of waterways was once the transport route for communication, trade, and culture, but it is now mostly used by barges carrying raw materials for export. People journey along the much faster roads.

There are some remarkable ossuaries or Dayak bonehouses (sandung) alongside the road on the way to Tumbang Malahoi which are worth a closer look. This one is owned by a Dayak family, who have repainted and extended it, still living with the old traditions, and happy to chat with visitors.

A leisurely stroll around the picturesque village rewards the visitor with many brilliantly painted sandung, all raised beside the homes of families of the ancestors in whose memory they are built. The decorations have significance to those whose bones are lying inside. They are surrounded by little effigies and scary masks protecting the area from mischievous spirits.

The original longhouse still stands with its ironwood bark wall coverings, the totem poles or Sapundu, and Sandung. These remain there, inviting guests to climb the notched pole to enter the living area. It is possible to stay here a few days, to enjoy the warm hospitality of the longhouse inhabitants, the slower pace of living in a Dayak village and learn more about the resilient lives of the people.

This photo was taken almost a decade ago by frind John Boyd Macdonald, whose wonderful Blog of his travels with his wife Karen around Kalimantan makes for rewarding reading.  It so captures the sense of vivid and almost chaotic life experienced in these remote places.

Wow Borneo receives TripAdvisor's 2024 Travellers Choice Award

 The brilliant flash of the Kingfisher is often seen along the rivers of Central Kalimantan

The Grand Old Lady of the Kahayan River

Recent renovations to the Rahai'i Pangun improved the cabins, added ensuites and replaced equipment. She is returned, happily plying the river she has serviced for 50 years. A grand old lady, she was built in the locally famous Mandomai carpentry school near the regional capital of Pulang Pisau on the Kapuas River. Built solely from the first-grade hardwood called ulin growing prolifically in those days, she has outlived many other vessels on the river. Launched with the name Noah, she was purchased by Wow Borneo in 2014 and comprehensively converted and upgraded. We take maintenance seriously, and in spite of the worst possible conditions - extreme tempratures, heavy rain and widely variable river conditions - she continues to live up to her new name, Rahai'i Pangun. It means big development in Dayak, and she continues to pioneer a river tourism industry along the Kahayan River.

 

The improbable proboscis monkey

Nasalis larvatus is a large, exquisitely coloured and graceful monkey that is a native of the rivers, swamps and coastal mangroves of Borneo. It is classified as endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to habitat loss, illegal poaching, and land conversion.

Among the largest of Asia's monkey species, they are found in energetic groups along riversides often near the sea. This guy is photographed by the side of the Sekonyer River, along the boundaries of the Tanjung Puting National Park. Like orangutans, the proboscis or bekantan (as it is locally known) is one of the Bornean flagships that faces serious threats to its population.

 

It may seem hard to believe, but male proboscis monkeys probably use their out-sized noses to attract mates by amplifying their calls to mates and rivals. They are a highly arboreal species, making spectacular leaps through the canopy, and will venture onto land only occasionally to search for food. They live in organized harem groups consisting of a dominant male and two to seven females and their offspring. Various groups often congregate near water at night to sleep.

Apart from their unique noses and elegant colouring, with the long pure white tail, Proboscis monkeys are the primate world’s most prolific swimmers. They can often be glimpsed crossing rivers in search of food, using their webbed feet and hands to help them outpace the crocodiles, which are their main predator. Over the last 40 years, proboscis monkey populations have plummeted. They are currently protected from hunting or capture in Borneo.

Join Wow Borneo's cruises into Tanjung Puting National Park and to the Sebangau National Park to glimpse these improbable and highly specialised creatures in their native habitats!

Longhouse at Tumbang Manggu

On the Samba tributary of the Katingan River sits this stunning longhouse or betang at Tumbang Manggu. Although constructed over the last 3 decades, it is conceived on traditional principles, using the endemic trees from the once embracing forest - notably massive ironwood treetrunks. Many meters high for safety from annual floods, marauding animals and rival tribes, it was built and occupied by a Dayak family who is locally famous for traditional crafts and especially for dance. Here below is Chechen prepared to perform the sword dance in traditional garb. He trains a village group in dance and the accompanying rituals. Here he is seen on the niched pole which gives access to the betang.

The betang is sensibly located above the river's course and close to a well-established village. One of the delights of staying here is to set off on exploring strolls around the village to find the many examples of carvings created to honour the ancestors who are interred in the magnificent raised bonehouses or ossuaries. The totem poles may depict the departed souls and events in their lifetime. Some illustrate the manner of passing, but all are decorated in highly ritualised symbols and colours. Hornbills are the vehicles for the souls as they travel to heaven and the ferocious beasts keep away troublesome spirits.

The betang itself, although imposing, with beautiful carved posts and elaborate stair access, is simple inside with spaces provided for gatherings and with memorabilia lining the walls. Photos of ancestors and the extended family are fascinating to see. Guests rooms line the side of the meeting area. Meals are served on the balcony or inside a smaller family gathering space. Traditional instruments, the array of gongs, and beaded cloth worked by the inhabitants hang on the walls. Rattan baskets for gathering jungle foods and the traditional long machete or pisau also hang there, ready for the next foray into the forest, to trim the prickly rattan vines or dig up some wild tapioca bulbs.

 

 

Village strolls and walks to the nearby ladangs or family cropping areas yield so many interesting sights and meetings. The village shops line the high street with a few simple eating houses. Passers by have a ready smile. After the shops, houses line the river bank, and interspersed with those are the bonehouses.

 

All remaining occupied longhouses are distant from the city, and only accessibe along bumpy roads and swift rivers. Not for the faint-hearted or luxury lovers, these places are closest to the real life of the longhouse. Every year, communications improve, the adjacent forestry company expands and fells more timber, and the modern world encroaches further.

But the passion of the dancers remains!

The Garden on Kahayan

Opening early for breakfast, come and sit in our delightful and central Garden Cafe on Kahayan for an American style bagel breakfast, all baked in house. We're open through lunch as well. Enjoy our comfortable outdoor area under the trees or inside on the sofas. Meeting rooms make this a perfect setting for small group meetings. Check out our Menu below. We also sell some of the amazing plants we have in The Garden. Great food, great ambiance, great drinks!

 

Mangkok & the Sebangau National Park

Accessing this relatively recently declared wild orangutan National Park, although close to the provincial capital of Palangka Raya, is a challenge through the dense and peaty forest, however, the rewards may be high. Sightings of shy wild orangutans, colourful birds, amazing black water reflections on the lakes and the unusual vegetation are likely. Entering the area along the Lempanen Canal, cutting through the emerald green forest, is a trip by local canoe that will take about 1.5 hours. We work with local villagers to provide this service. Stroll along the boardwalks at the information centre, or else jump off and take an adventurous trek through the forest.

Borneo Beckons! Join us on Wow Borneo Orangutan and Dayak Village Cruises for this experience.