Kampong Stenggang
History and origin of Kampong Stenggang
This is the transcript on an interview held on the 26 Dec 1998 with Nyapeng Pa Jisam, the then Tua Kampong.
TK: for Tua Kampong, KA: for Kron Aken.KA: As a Tua Kampong, could you tell the story of how the village was formed: from Bung Tebawang to the present village.
TK: Yes I can. In reality, the prosperous village of Kampong Stenggang of which there are currently about 300 families originated from Bung Tebawang. Among those who originally came from Bung Tebawang were: Kalus, Kasak, Katok and Komai.
KA: So Balung Tongang was the first balung and not Balung Manas?
TK: Balung Tongang was the first balung. During the 'sowa jaat' (bad years) as the old folks called it, the people then farmed at what is now Balung Manas, near Sungei Ruh.
KA: What is meant by 'sowa jaat'?
TK: 'Sowa jaat' refers to the years when the kampong people where afflicted by the cholera epidemic. In those days they called it 'sowa jaat', referring to the bad years, because they have no other name for that sort of sickness. During the sowa jaat there were deaths in every family and deaths occured every day. The victims vomit, have diarrhoea (nguta moki), and they died straight away. So people left Balung Tongang for Balung Manas.
KA: How long did they stayed at Balung Tongang?
TK: They did not stay long at Balung Tongang. The evidence of this is, their fruit trees, like coconut, betel nuts have not bear fruits yet. So if the fruit trees have not bear fruits, I estimate that to be less than four years. Because after 6-7 years, the trees would bear fruits. When people stayed in Balung Manas, similar epidemic happened, because there was no medicine.
KA: Was it the same illness - cholera?
TK: No it was a different one. The old folks called the illness 'bongoh', because when the victim has a high body temperature, they soon die. This is just like disease affecting chicken. Because of the illness in the village, people decided to disperse to other places. They left and settled at Balung Sibodoh.
KA: How long did people stayed at Balung Manas?
TK: They stayed for quite a while at Balung Manas, maybe around 6-8 years.
KA: How many long houses or families were at Balung Manas?
TK: There were not many long houses or rawang, because at that time not many families have decided to leave Bung Tebawang for Balung Manas. Maybe about two long houses.
KA: How many families would that be?
TK: About ten families.
KA: When they were staying at Balung Manas, were the people farming at where the current village is, or was this village area still primary forest?
TK: They were farming at where the village is now, and the area was still under primary forest. They also farmed at Balung Sibodoh and Balung Seruboh. That is why there is now Balung Sibodoh, Balung Seruboh and Balung Sido'oh, because these places were close to Balung Manas.
KA: After they left Balung Manas because of the epidemic, where do people fled to?
TK They spread themselves to three places: Balung Sido'oh, Balung Seruboh, Balung Seruboh.
KA What about Balung Brosi?
TK: Yes there is Balung Brosi oma. But I do not know how many years have passed. During those years people were trying to find a place to form a new village.
KA: So you are not sure how long the balung period last?
TK: No, I do not know how long. People were trying to form a new kampong, during the times of Kanyap, Kasak, Katop, those group of people I referred to earlier. These people were always for the look out (sipah) for the site for the new village. Sipah is the Iban equivalent of 'cari burung', or 'karik kutieng' as we call it. They look for the night bird or 'manuk ngarom', kutieng onu (daytime kutieng bird). The place where they were listening to the bird calls is by the tawang (swamp) next to Pa Lehem's house. This is where they built their temporary hut (garang).
KA: So they just stay and wait for the bird calls?
TK: Yes, this was done at night. They would cook a special meal. This meal is to mark the occasion of them listening to the bird calls. So around dawn, they heard frogs croaking. At first light, they heard the bird call of the 'tonum bubuh'. So they went to the tukang tutah (clairvoyant) at Bung Tebawang. His name was Komum Pa Rayu. The tukang tutah said that they are good omens. The frogs call is interpreted as the village would be populated by people and they would multiply to occupy the available village land. Where ever the village people choose to live, they will be blessed with many children. Pa Rayu reassured them that the frog and bird calls that they heard represents good omens and that they should not to be afraid to use this omen to start a new village. When Pa Rayu interpreted the meaning of the 'tonum bubuh' bird call, he did not know about schools. He said that tonum bubuh represents the acquisition of new skills and ways to earn an income. His interpretation of the tonum bubuh is as follows:
Nyaa bipajak borih
Bipajak bisah ponai
Bipajak jadin Pa Pimurang
Gong adat gong basa
Kajug bori pak, bori oran
Kajug bawar kajug bisogit
Bijak ponai yeh bibuboh
Bidabar nyunak borih
Jadi pinyigar pinguguh
Gong adat gong basaAfter that people start to built the village of Kampong Stenggang at Obut Rodan. This is the section of the village where my house is at the moment. This area is called Obut Rodan, because there was an obut (forest left over from farming), because no family would want to farm it because the soil was sandy and infertile (tanah manas). The obut had a lot of rodan (meranti) so people called it 'Obut Rodan'. This was the site where the first long houses was built in the village.
KA: In those days who owned the land? The land must belong to somebody.
TK: No, it was a left over forest (obut). It was only a small area and was never farmed. So people collectively felled the trees in the obut and built their houses in the cleared land. After that all the site of the 'Obut Rodan' was filled with houses. This is when people asked for owner of land neighbouring the Obut Rodan for land to build their village houses.
KA: Whose land was neighbouring the Obot Rodan?
TK: The land belong to Koyuo, Koyak and Konah. These were the landowners that I know of. It is about two ongan. The land that has been declared as kampong land by our forefathers and therefore the original owners of those land cannot revived their claim. Nobody can fell old fruit trees that have been planted by our forefathers, because these trees from part of our heritage. People are not to chase away house owners who built houses on their ancestral land, because the kampong land is what the Malay called 'tanah amanah', for this was the basis of creating the kampong, which was envisaged by our 'tukang tutah' mentioned earlier. Nobody can reclaimed their land from the original two ongan of kampong land. Beyond this original two ongan, where new houses are built currently, people can sell their land for other villagers to build their houses. This is OK, because this periphery land were not declared as kampong land when the kampong was first established.
KA: In the beginning of the new village, were there long houses and if so how many?
TK: Yes there were longhouses: four short longhouses, two on one side and two on the other side of the main footpath. All were made of attap.
KA: Who were the first families to built their houses at the new village?
TK: They were: 1. Kanyak, my great-grandfather 2. Pa Miaw - Pa Diot's grandfather, 3. Konah-Pa Lehai's father, 4. Kiloh-Peter Minos grandfather.
KA: Who was the first Tua kampong?
TK: The first Tua kampong of this village was Komai, your great grandfather (babai pesaka) This was under the Brooke era, before any World Wars. In the old days when the white Resident visited the village, people called then 'Tuan Rajah'. After Komai's death, Koga took his place as Tua kampong. Koga is Ko'on's father. Ko'on is Pa John's father.
KA: When did Komai died? What was the historical event in the kampong at that time?
TK: I do not know the year Komai died. During Komai's time people were mainly farming. Towns and shops were very far away. Life was still very hard. People were farming. They fish and hunt for wild pigs. If there is salt and matches, you can make fire and together with parang you can live a comfortable life for there were plenty of fish and game animals to your hearts content. There were only a few guns in those days not like now.
KA: How long was Koga and Komai tua kampong?
TK: Koga's reign as Tua kampong was longer than that of Komai. Maybe Komai was about four years and Koga about eight years. After that Ko'on and Pa Ginol (Marin's father) were both wanting to be Tua kampong. Pa Ginol persuaded his supporters to move with him and built their houses at Kupuo Sojuh.
KA: Was Pa Ginol tua kampong already?
TK: No, not yet, but Ko'on was. This is Ajap's father. Pa Ginol died before he was Tua Kampong of Kupuo Sojuh. So Ko'on was Tua kampong for the main kampong and Kupuo Sojuh.
KA: So Kupuo Sojuh was to become a second and separate village?
TK: It was like this and the analogy is to Iban longhouse politic now. In the longhouse if you support the opposition party, they will ask you to move out of the long house and build a new long house. So Pa Ginol was like the Opposition party. He brought his relatives who was supporting him to build a new village. Thirteen families move to Kampong Sojuh. This is where Kiloh, Minos's father went. I have seen the people living at Kupuo Sojuh. I was already about 8 years old. My mother died at Kupuo Sojuh, so did Kiluh, Sino Rimog, Sino Judin, and Pa Nyodei. This are the people I seen. Those that I did not seen I cannot talk about.
After that Ko'on and Kadap complained to the District Officer in Bau, saying that the people of Kupuo Sojuh are disrespectfully dirtying the water from the river that they bath and obtain water from. They dirtied the water by washing soiled baby clothings upriver while the people downstream fetch the same river water for drinking and cooking.
After that time, the District Officer gave authority to OKP Kanung Pa Nyokem from Opar to settle the villagers grievances. He asked the people to make a Gawai using chicken for the ceremony. During the Gawai preparation he made a weighing scale (dacing) out of a bamboo rice. He took one bamboo rice and shaved the outer skin. He also removed the nodes and remove a bit from the opening of the bamboo. Then he marked the half-way point, where he tied a string. On one end he placed a can of soil from the main kampong and on the other end he placed a can of soil from Kupuo Sojuh. Lifting by the string attached to the middlepoint of the bamboo rice scale, he found that the end with the soil from Kupuo Sojuo went up. OKP Kanung then gave his judgement. The lighter soil from Kupuo Sojuh means the site has less nasib and tuah. The family and village will not prosper because the soil is sandy and infertile. So he instructed the people of Kupuo Sojuh to rebuild their houses at the main village. He told the people of the main village that they should provide the land on which Kupuo Sojuh families can build their houses, regardless whether the land have been planted with fruit trees on the land. This was the two ongan that I refered to earlier. This was Koyah's, Kayuo's and Konah's land. So Kupuo Sojuh families gradually move back to the main village. The last person to leave was Minos Pa Pita. Minos was a policeman and the British Colonial Government had given him education up to Primary 2. He inscribed on a plank 'Kampong Stenggang Baru 1935'. This plank was nailed to the wall of his house. This signboard still exist until the house was pulled down. This is where I knew about the date of the Kampong Stenggang Baru. I did not go to school then, but I heard from other people and learned my ABC and I when looked at the sign I noticed the numbers 1935. Now people have all grouped into the one village. People by this time were converting to Christianity in 1957 under Mr. Barin.KA: Where was the village boundary when there were two separate kampongs?
TK: Of Kupuo Sobah (the main kampong), the periphery houses were that of Kadap and Kurug's house. Kurug is Pa Aken, bordering Pa Jikem's house. This is where Pa Sipa is building his house now. At Kupuo Sojuh, at the periphery were the joined-house of Kamah and Komab. Their house was the closest to Sungei Pidaram. This is where Pa Sian's house is at the moment. So Kupuo Sojuh never expand, according to Kanung's ruling. So according to the old 'titah' of Kampong Stenggang, every month people get married, people are born. People work in places like Kuching, Lundu and Bau. This is now easier with good roads. This is in line with the interpretation of the 'kaban gerogag' (frogs).
With regards to the interpretation of the 'tonum bubuh' bird call, it refers to people like you who works in Australia. You studied there, and now you earn a good salary because of your qualifications. There are now in the villages lawyers, doctors, nurses following the interpretation of the call of the 'tonum bubuh' bird. This was the vision of our forefathers. So this is why, even though I am now a Christian, there are truths in the old sayings of our forefathers. If they predict that something will bring good things it will deliver good things, for the older generation have a lot of advices (panduan). They know what is good and what is bad. If it is something bad, they are afraid of it. They will run away from it, like they fled from Balung Tongang and Balung Manas. They knew from the bird calls just like they did when they were determining the place for the village (nyipah tanah). If the bird calls is interpreted to give good conditions for up to last for four years only, then after fourth years they have to leave. If the interpretation for good years lasting eight years, than after the eighth year they have to leave the area. At this place, where they heard the 'kaban gerogag' and 'tanum bubuh', there was no such restriction imposed. So they can stay at the one village for eternity. So this is why the kampong is expanding. From here to Topah, from Topah to Stuum, bordering kampong Tugag. This area will become part of the kampong in ten years.