From Migrants to Citizens: The Iban of Melilas Longhouse, Brunei Darussalam

Abstract

There are an estimated 14,000 to 20,000 Iban living in Brunei Darussalam, most of them in the Belait and Temburong districts. They migrated to Brunei from Sarawak just before the Second World War in search of new land and an opportunity to improve their livelihoods. Not recognised as one of the seven indigenous ethnic groups (puak) by the state, the common narrative is that they face challenges of incorporation into the sultanate. In the Sukang subdistrict in Belait, there are eight Iban longhouses. This case study of the Iban of the Melilas longhouse documents how one particular community has successfully negotiated and managed their acceptance as full citizens of Brunei while retaining their Iban identity.

1 Introduction

Estimates of the Iban population in Brunei Darussalam range from 14,000 to 20,000 or less than 5% of the total population of the country (Sercombe 1999: 606; Coluzzi 2010: 122; Pang 2018: 1–2). Most of them originally came from the Ulu Belait and Labi communes, with only 2,173 ‘other indigenous’, including Iban, in Temburong district in 2018 (Pang 2018: 2). The Iban are not considered indigenous to the sultanate under the terms of the Brunei Nationality Act 1961 and the Brunei Nationality Enactment 1961 and therefore not recognised as one of the seven indigenous ethnic communities (puak) that are entitled to the full benefits of citizenship. For this reason, the common narrative among some members of the community and observers is that the Iban have found it difficult to be fully accepted and incorporated into Bruneian society. This chapter examines how one particular group has managed and responded to the challenges of living as a non-puak community.

The Iban migrated ‘across Sarawak to the Baram River’, located near the border with Brunei, ‘between 1900 and 1941’ and ‘settled largely in the lower Baram’ region (Sercombe 1999: 597). The Iban of the Melilas longhouse (rumah panjang), the subject of this chapter, first entered Brunei in 1942 in search of a better life before finally settling in their present location in 1946. Melilas is in the isolated interior (ulu) of Belait district and is the most remote settlement of the district. This commune is occupied by just one Iban longhouse. According to the head of the longhouse, Melilas has 15 permanent residents and 10 households. Most reside in the towns of Kuala Belait and Seria because of work and education, but the numbers in the commune can increase from 50 to 70 during weekends or on public holidays, while on weekdays the population may decrease to fewer than 10. A large proportion of the inhabitants have ancestors who migrated to the district from Sarawak and their current descendants have benefited from the assistance the Brunei government has provided, such as education, welfare and health care, especially if they are citizens. Today the Iban of Melilas live what may be described as a ‘Bruneian life’ and their Iban-ness has changed compared to the period after they first arrived.

Melilas is one of several longhouses in Sukang subdistrict. The others are Kampong Sukang, Kampong Biadong Ulu, Kampong Buau, Kampong Bang Taong (not currently occupied), Kampong Biadong Tengah, Kampong Kukub and Kampong Dungun (Noriah 2017), while in Labi there are four longhouses: Kampong Mendaram Besar, Kampong Mendaram Kecil, Kampong Rampayoh and Kampong Teraja. There is no published information on how active these other longhouses are and their significance for the local communities. Until research is carried out on these longhouses, it is not possible to come to any conclusion about the more general position of the Iban in Brunei, how each community has responded and managed their sense of ethnic identity, and whether these circumstances are localised and specific. We hope that this study of Melilas is a first step towards that goal.

Why is the Melilas longhouse still standing and why has it become a focal point for the non-resident Iban community? What value does this longhouse hold for its people despite being exposed to modernity? Being the most remote village in the whole of Brunei, what comes to mind is that the longhouse has lost its purpose as a permanent and reliable safe haven most days of the week, but also that the longhouse is consistently inhabited and almost never empty. In 2017 the Sultan of Brunei sponsored a full rebuilding of Melilas, changing it from a wooden to a concrete longhouse. The original longhouse had deteriorated, especially its roof. While the inhabitants requested the Royal Brunei Armed Forces to help them fix the roof, they received more than they expected—a new and fully renovated longhouse.

Many studies of the Iban refer to the effects of modernity on this ethnic group in relation to the decline of or changes to cultural practices and traditions. Some examine the social institutions of the longhouse such as marriage and leadership while others look at migration, but overall there are few documented studies on the Iban in Brunei. This chapter focuses on the social changes that the Iban of Melilas have experienced and how they cope with them, an especially important case study because they are located far from Brunei’s urban areas.

The Iban in Brunei appear to be more flexible and open to change compared to the past and are somewhat different from the Iban in Sarawak, most notably in relation to conversion to Islam, so that the inhabitants of Melilas longhouse have a small prayer hall (balai ibadat) for themselves and the head of the longhouse is himself a Muslim. In other respects, there are similarities; for example, the longhouse in Melilas is now fully concrete and the same holds true for a number of longhouses in Sarawak. Growing up, the first author recalls that the typical Iban longhouse was made of wooden stilts decorated with traditional art on the walls, and the head of the longhouse was an elder with distinguished tattoos on his body. Wooden stilt houses were preferred so that they could be easily abandoned whenever the residents needed to move or migrate. Having a concrete house means that they will settle for the long term or for good. The Iban in Brunei have been exposed to modernity as early as 1960s and by the 1980s, many Iban were employed in government sectors and the oil and gas industry, but despite that the longhouse has not been abandoned.

2 Fieldwork and Interviews

Some of the data for this research was drawn from blog entries and the Melilas community’s own Facebook page called ‘Melilas Legend’, while some were timeline entries from an old typewritten paper kept by a key informant. Gathering primary data through interviews was not an easy task. Although it was not difficult to look for respondents since the Iban community in Belait is small (and people are mostly related in some way), the key informants were more challenging to identify. The process of interviewing elders was also time-consuming as the respondents had difficulty recalling past events in their lives. Some answers were repetitive and vague, and some questions needed to be repeated and clarified.

Another limitation was the physical restriction of field research because it takes at least three hours to get to Melilas from the main highway on the way to Kuala Belait and the poor road conditions resulted in cars getting stuck in the mud in the middle of the jungle. There is also no cellular network in the area. However, there were no language barriers. Even though Malay is not their mother tongue and speaking in Malay can sound a little awkward for them, the first author grew up in the Iban community and had no difficulty communicating with the respondents in the Iban language. She is half-Iban and while interviewing one of the informants she found out that their fathers are related. In this way, and with others whom she discovered she is related to, trust and rapport were established quickly.

Establishing rapport was very important for this research. To do this there must first be descriptive conversations as William Foote Whyte (1984) notes. This helps to minimise evaluative questions that may contaminate the data. According to Tim May (2001), establishing rapport consists of four processes. First, the interviewer should ask descriptive questions to open up the conversation. The second process is exploring what has been asked previously to ascertain what interests the informant has and their familiarity with the topic. The third stage is when both parties understand what to expect of one another to facilitate ease of communication. The final stage is participation when, according to May, informants fully cooperate with the researcher in providing information. At this stage informants reveal new information that was not forthcoming previously.

Another method used in this research is sequential interviewing. The interviewer asks about the events that the informants have experienced, just like a life history interview where the researcher is interested in the documentation of life events, experiences and meanings. Sequential interviews use a chronological format, where the informant recalls certain events that they have mentioned.

3 Background Literature

This research on the Iban of Melilas covers the period from 1942 to date. As noted earlier, there are few studies on the Iban in Brunei. However, this is not the case for the neighbouring Malaysian state of Sarawak. Most of the literature used in this research is drawn from Sarawak since much of the oral history of the Iban in Brunei is reliant on the memories of the people. Past studies of the Iban are primarily about their traditional way of life, language, migration and traditional crafts and most of these were conducted in Sarawak. One of the few studies of the Iban in Brunei is by Peter Sercombe (1999), a comparative study of Iban of the Teraja longhouse in Ulu Belait with the Iban of the Ridan longhouse in Marudi, Sarawak. His work focuses on language differences from a geographical perspective. He makes some attempt to address how being in Brunei has changed the lives of the Iban, transitioning from a traditional to a modern community.

Another study by Dominikus Riki Yonda (2016) analyses social change and the Iban of Sungai Utik in Kalimantan, Indonesia, and its consequences for traditional practices. The marriage ceremonies in the longhouses no longer follow the ancestral tradition since many of the ceremonies carried out are now based on Catholic practices, pointing to the critical impact of religious conversion. In a similar vein, in Brunei a relevant issue is to examine how Islam has affected the lives of the Iban and how they have responded to the dominant influence of Malay Muslim society.

In addition, Victor T. King (1994) refers to how the promotion of Malay Islamic monarchy (Melayu Islam Beraja) as a national ideology has contributed to the strengthening of Brunei Malay culture. Even though it is not explicitly stated that all ethnic groups should assimilate into the dominant Malay culture, G. Braighlinn (1992 cited in King 1994: 179, 186) notes that ‘assimilation … was definitely a long-term aim of political incorporation’ through various means. King argues, ‘[I]t does translate into active strategies to incorporate the non-Malay “sub-groups” into the dominant society and culture’. This chapter addresses how the Iban of Melilas have managed to negotiate and adopt strategies to maintain their Iban identity even though they regard themselves as Brunei citizens loyal to the sultanate, without necessarily being assimilated into the dominant Malay culture.

Derek Freeman (1981: 7) views the Iban as a ‘pristine’ society, one untouched by the forces of migrant labour, administration, schooling and modern media—at least until the time when his work was published. However, his research focuses on the Iban in Sarawak (see also Freeman 1970). By the 1970s the Iban in Brunei had already been exposed to schooling and the modern economy. In fact, the Iban in Brunei had been exposed to modernity as early as 1960s, and by the 1980s many were employed in the government sector and the oil and gas industry.

Vinson H. Sutlive’s work is one of the most relevant studies for this research on the Iban of the Melilas longhouse. This was based on research he conducted among the Iban of Sibu district in Sarawak between 1969 and 1972, at a time when significant social and economic changes precipitated migration and mobility. In his discussion on Iban migration, Sutlive (1978: 22–24) notes that the practice of shifting cultivation by the Iban meant that they were constantly on the lookout for new or productive land to avoid overcultivation of the soil. In order to sustain such a livelihood, they had to maintain a low population density which resulted in the periodic hiving off of small groups. Much of Sarawak, including the division of Miri—where Marudi is located on the banks of the Baram River and is the original home of the Melilas Iban—has seen population growth for much of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This placed some pressure on the Iban to seek better land elsewhere. Furthermore, the establishment of colonial rule in Sarawak in the mid-nineteenth century, the restrictions on Iban movements and headhunting, and the imposition of taxes also contributed to their migration (ibid.: 32). For any group to survive and prosper in traditional Iban society, it was imperative for its leaders to be pioneers and demonstrate their competence in terms of economic livelihood and in rice cultivation (ibid.: 25–26; see also Rousseau 1980). We shall see later how these dynamics are relevant to the movement of the Iban to Melilas and their success in adapting to the conditions present in the Brunei sultanate.

4 The Iban: An Ethnic Profile

The majority of the Iban population in Brunei are located in Belait and Temburong districts. Most of their longhouses are located along riversides or in close proximity to roads since these facilitate an engagement in work activities and help communication between different communities. Their lifestyle practices are based on customary law (adat) and on the close ties of kinship.

In colonial Sarawak, the term ‘Dayak’ referred collectively to ‘the three ethnic categories of Bidayuh, Iban and Orang Ulu’, and was a means of distinguishing the ‘indigenous, non-Muslim peoples of the region’ (Boulanger 2002: 221–222). The designation Bumiputera (literally ‘sons of the soil’) refers to those considered the original inhabitants of the land, the autochthons, and is used in official Malaysian discourse. In Brunei the officially recognised indigenous communities are the seven puak jati or puak-puak Melayu—Belait, Bisaya, Brunei (Brunei Malays), Dusun, Kedayan, Murut and Tutong. Together, these communities were reclassified under the common census category of ‘Malay’ in 1971 (de Vienne 2015: 213). For all intents and purposes, Malay Muslims are regarded as the majority population in Brunei. Essentially, those who do not identify themselves as belonging to a recognised indigenous groups are regarded as non-Bumiputeras—even though the term is not officially or unofficially used—and they are usually those who are of Iban, Kayan or Penan origins, among others.

The Iban are known for their mobility, a process they term ‘bejalai’, to walk or go on a journey, and are believed to have migrated from Sarawak to other parts of Borneo. Originally, they were mostly found along Sarawak’s coastline, especially in the Skrang and Saribas areas, and eventually went on expeditions southwards to the Kapuas River delta in West Kalimantan (Austin 1976: 64). The Iban are believed to have entered Brunei during the rule of the Brooke ‘white rajahs’, and it is possibly for this reason that they are not recognised as a puak by the Brunei sultanate and they are regarded as outsiders. This exclusion has consequences for the integration of Iban into Bruneian society, especially youths who have been born and raised in the country. As an unrecognised ethnic minority residing in a Malay-dominated society, this presents a barrier to being fully accepted as Bruneians.

Iban do benefit if they become Bruneian citizens, since these rights include free education in public schools from primary to tertiary levels, free health care, and the national housing scheme that ensures that every citizen has the right to own a house. In effect, the Iban are denied the privileges provided specifically for the Malays, including not having access to particular occupations such as enlisting in the Royal Brunei Armed Forces.

Gawai is the main Iban festival, with many iterations such as Gawai Dayak, Gawai Burung, Gawai Batu, Gawai Kenyalang, Gawai Panggul, Gawai Kelingkang, Gawai Tuah, Gawai Lelabi and Gawai Antu. Gawai Dayak, which is celebrated annually on 1–2 June, is an important occasion. Typically, a ngajat dance (tarian ngajat) is performed as thanksgiving for the rice harvest. The longhouse headman (tuai rumah) is responsible for managing this important celebration. The Gawai festivities are not complete unless an alcoholic beverage made from natural yeast and fermented rice (tuak) is served.

Some Iban still live in the longhouses scattered throughout the Belait River valley. They are engaged in agricultural activities such as cultivating paddy or upland rice. In the past, Iban were leading pioneers in opening up the forest for paddy planting. Exploration activities were carried out in suitable areas, with the goal of producing rich rice harvests, the main source of food. In the community, someone who can produce a rich harvest is considered a wealthy, respected, intelligent and hardworking person. Nowadays, most of the younger generation who have received a formal education and obtained qualifications work in the government and the private sector and not as rice farmers.

The Iban are mainly autonomous and unstratified communities, unlike those of many other Bornean groups which are generally more institutionally hierarchical in their social organisation (Revel-Macdonald 1988: 80 cited in Sercombe 1999; see also Rousseau 1980). They are not necessarily egalitarian, however, and each longhouse settlement has a headman or, exceptionally, a headwoman. Since the arrival of European colonisers, the way an Iban longhouse leader is viewed, and the way in which he retains his position, has come to be more influenced by factors outside Iban society, particularly those relating to the state. As was recognised by Julian H. Steward (1955: 32) a long time ago, in trying to account for cultural change among traditional societies around the world, he argues that ‘[i]n states, nations and empires, the nature of the local group is determined by these larger institutions no less than by its local adaptations’.

5 Origins and Settlement of the Melilas Longhouse

One respondent, Sam, the son of Melilas’s first chief (penghulu), explained how the Iban first arrived in Melilas.

It all began at Marudi, a settlement by the Baram River, southwest of Brunei’s border. My father’s family came from there [Marudi] to Brunei through the Belait River before the Second World War in search of a better life.… They paddled by boat. The journey took about a week.

His father, who previously worked in the Land Survey Department and was thus familiar with the route through Belait, drew on his connections with local grassroots leaders. They first arrived in Bukit Uding, building a temporary settlement. But after the war, their community split into what became four longhouses named Tempinak, Banggerang 1, Banggerang 2 and Melilas. Currently, the Melilas commune consists of one longhouse (Fig. 15.1). Many longhouses have been destroyed by massive floods and even the longhouse that is standing today has been rebuilt several times.

Fig. 15.1

Source Peter G. Sercombe (1999: 600)

Brunei, with particular reference to Melilas and Marudi, Sarawak.

Another respondent, Azlin, told us that during that time there was no border between Sarawak and Brunei. ‘You can even walk by foot’, he said. The Iban of Melilas moved from Marudi because they wanted to find new land to live on and cultivate. The first longhouse was led by the headman Kena, who later became the chief of Melilas. Azlin had lived through several reconstructions of the Melilas longhouse. Its transition is explained in the next section.

Melilas is governed by a chief (penghulu), according to the arrangements for the administrative divisions of Brunei. The administrative divisions consist of districts (daerah), subdistricts (mukim) and/or villages (kampung), and they are organised hierarchically under the purview of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The administrative areas have limited or no autonomy, with the village having the most autonomy. Major sociopolitical provisions such as education and the law are centralised and managed through separate government ministries or departments.

Currently Melilas subdistrict is headed by a chief who is also the head of the longhouse and it has a Village Consultative Council (Majlis Perundingan Kampung, MPK). The MPK is the equivalent of a community association or organisation consisting of a deputy head, secretaries, treasurers and five committee members. The other committee members consist of the Women’s Bureau (Biro Wanita) and also various village committees that organise events in the longhouse.

Currently, agricultural activities are mainly undertaken for leisure and are no longer the main source of income since many Iban are in urban employment. Some inhabitants of Melilas are well educated and have become educators themselves while others are civil servants. In addition, like most who reside in Belait district, working in the oil and gas industry is common while a few women engage in handicrafts and sell their products in local markets and also in Thailand and China.

6 Informants

Azlin is the key informant for this research (Fig. 15.2). He is a 66-year-old retired Malay-language schoolteacher. He was one of the first group of those to convert to Islam in 1992 and was also one of the very first students of Melilas Primary School. Azlin is from Ulu Belait and is a friend of a friend of the first author’s father. The Iban Muslim community is very small and that is how they know each other; moreover, the wider Iban community itself is close despite living in separate longhouses. Being educated, working for the government and often an active representative for the Melilas community, Azlin is the most knowledgeable person in the longhouse when it comes to Melilas’s history and current progress. In the past he has accompanied many researchers studying the Melilas rainforest.

Fig. 15.2

Source Personal collection of Azlin

Azlin [middle top] and his family attending an event in the 1980s.

Bu Hajah is Azlin’s wife. She is a 63-year-old homemaker and she converted to Islam together with her husband. Bu Hajah’s father was the man who proposed that education be introduced in the community and encouraged young children to go to school. Bu Hajah helped Azlin in recalling the past when the interviews were conducted.

Aji is the tuai rumah, penghulu and village head (ketua kampung) of Melilas. He was one of the second group who converted to Islam in 1992. Aji manages the longhouse.

Sam is a 77-year-old retired Brunei Shell Petroleum worker. He is the son of the first penghulu of Melilas and he came to the longhouse from Marudi with his father by boat. He is knowledgeable about the locations of the interior area.

Sally, aged 60, is the first Iban from Melilas to study in Britain. She is a retired lecturer from Universiti Brunei Darussalam. Sally was also one of the high achievers at Melilas Primary School. She initially pursued a career as a nurse but she was offered a scholarship by the government to undertake a bachelor’s degree instead. As soon as she graduated and came back to Brunei, she said, ‘I went back to Melilas straightaway by boat. Deep down, I know I will always be a person of the village [orang kampung]’.

7 Migration from Sarawak to Brunei, 1942–1960

The mobility of the Iban has been discussed in detail by Ryoji Soda and Logie Seman (2011). The institutionalised custom of the male’s journey in particular has been regarded as symbolic of Iban mobility. In the act called ‘bejalai’, adult males often leave their villages for a considerable period, lasting from a few months to a few years. Through this journey, they accumulate rich experiences in the outside world, so bejalai has played an important role for adult males to enhance their social prestige. Peter M. Kedit (1993: 2) explains that to bejalai is ‘to go on journeys with the view of acquiring wealth, material goods [and] social prestige’. Some Iban never return from their bejalai journey and settle somewhere else. Others return to improve their own community at home.

As noted earlier, the Iban of Melilas entered Brunei in 1942 looking for better land to ensure that they were able to cultivate and fish for survival, finally settling in 1946. It was definitely not an easy journey to find the most suitable land to settle on. There were many challenges that they had to face including natural disasters such as floods. It is important to highlight their first entry to Brunei as significant. By settling in Brunei for good, especially after the Second World War when the British were preparing to withdraw and grant independence to territories they had colonised, the Iban were faced with a new challenge. National boundaries were beginning to develop and the official identification of inhabitants became a pressing issue. The Iban had no choice but to come to terms with affirming their allegiance to the government since they had settled in Brunei. In other words, they needed to live by the laws of the state in return for official recognition. This meant they had to become Bruneians.

8 Being Bruneian after 1960: ‘We need a school’

The reason the Iban moved to the upper part of the Belait River in 1960 was to facilitate the entry of officials from the Brunei government to the village. This was their first exposure to the state and to Bruneians. The Iban of Melilas at that time wanted recognition of their existence, since they were already satisfied with the land they had settled on. Their crops and livestock farm prospered until 1974.

In the early 1960s, Bu Hajah’s father decided to bejalai and visit his relatives in Sibu, Sarawak, by foot. Although the borders were already drawn, going in and out of the country was not difficult. It took him seven years to bejalai just to trace long-lost relatives. Bu Hajah said: ‘My father was surprised when he reached there. The people lived in modern conditions and the children went to school. Some became nurses, teachers, civil servants and so on. They were educated! We need a school!’ The impression that schools made on Bu Hajah’s father is well appreciated in Sutlive’s (1978: 161–162) account of the state of education in Sibu in the 1960s. By the mid-1950s, Sutlive comments, many Iban parents realised the importance of education to employment. Schools had been built in 16 Iban communities at a time when many other longhouse communities were also demanding them. In the urban areas where government-aided secondary schools were available, Iban parents were willing to pay fees to send their children there. Of the 143 Iban who went to secondary schools between 1960 and 1970 most were employed (ibid.: 161). Education had made it possible for the Iban to transition from rice cultivation to modern employment.

It finally occurred to Bu Hajah’s father how underdeveloped the Melilas community was. After seven years of his journey and when he returned to Melilas in the early 1970s, he consulted the community and proposed to the longhouse headman to build a small school hut for the children. The community gathered together, cleared a piece of land and built a temporary hut just big enough for 20 students. The small, temporary and newly built primary school was first run by a Bruneian Malay teacher, at the request of the longhouse headman to the District Office, which then forwarded the proposal to the Department of Education (now Ministry of Education). Azlin was one of the first students to study there, although he was older than the other children. He learned both Malay and English and also other subjects included in Brunei’s primary school syllabus. In the early 1970s the Department of Education decided to build a permanent and comfortable school for the community but it was regularly affected by floods. When a massive flood occurred in 1974 they had to move to the current location.

After 1975 Melilas Primary School was built on elevated land just a few hundred metres from the new longhouse at a budget of BND150,000 (Fig. 15.3). Students who passed the Primary Certificate of Education (now Primary School Assessment) were sent to a secondary school in the town area and stayed in the school hostel. Azlin and Sally were a few of the high achievers during that time. Azlin later became Melilas Primary School’s principal. Sally had the opportunity to study up to her National Diploma and later became a nurse before then being offered a scholarship to pursue her studies in Britain just after she started working. She eventually became a lecturer at Universiti Brunei Darussalam.

Fig. 15.3

Source Personal collection of Azlin

Melilas Primary School, built on stilts to avoid flooding.

8.1 To Serve and Be Loyal to the King (Daulat kepada Raja)

In the early 1970s the Department of Immigration and National Registration went to Melilas and a nearby longhouse in Sukang to encourage the community to become Bruneian citizens. The two longhouses became an assessment centre for Ulu Belait. Other longhouse residents such as those from Kampong Buau and Kampong Biadong had to walk quite a distance to go for the assessment and some gave up their journey halfway.

Other ethnic groups that were not considered Malay and other people who had been living in Brunei for a while, and who wished to become citizens, could also apply. However, they had to fulfil the requirements stated in the Brunei Nationality Act 1961, which permits people to become citizens or subjects by registration or by naturalisation. As stated in the act (AGC 1961: 10–11), an applicant had to fulfil Malay-language proficiency in order to be eligible by naturalisation, and thus

• (e) has been examined by a Language Board and such Board is satisfied that he—

  (i):

  has a knowledge of the Malay language to such a degree of proficiency as may be prescribed; and

  (ii):

  is able to speak the Malay language with proficiency or is unable to speak such language with proficiency by reason of a physical impediment or an impediment of speech or hearing.

However, according to Aji, when the government officials came to Melilas, they were not strictly assessed and everyone was only given an oral assessment. As long as they could speak and understand a little Brunei Malay it was considered sufficient. What is interesting is that the community did not have to apply; instead they were offered citizenship. Many of the residents of Melilas became citizens of Brunei as a result.

‘The most important thing about being Bruneian, and what makes us Bruneian, is to serve and be loyal to our king [daulat kepada raja]’, said Sam. But being Bruneian does not mean that the Iban of Melilas have had to abandon their identity. They still maintain their language and culture as long as they do not contradict Islam. The younger generation can still communicate fluently in Iban, for example, Azlin and Bu Hajah taught their children and grandchildren to speak Iban. The current longhouse is a modern structure, even though some traditional elements have been lost. There is also some negotiation in terms of their traditional clothing. Being Muslim does not mean that the Iban dress as Malays. During national events such as National Day or the sultan’s birthday celebration, the Iban of Melilas still appear proudly wearing traditional Iban dress (Fig. 15.4).

Fig. 15.4

Source Personal collection of Azlin

Iban of Melilas in traditional dress.

Sally emphasised that the younger generation should not forget their roots and should uphold the Iban saying, ‘Agi idup agi ngelaban’ (‘as long as one lives, one will continue to fight, seek challenges, strive to achieve and go all-out for improvements and overall success’) (Low 2018: 421). In fact, these words are held in the hearts of all Iban in Borneo and the Iban of Melilas take them to another level. They have proven that despite being a minority group, initially living far away in remote locations, they have not been left out or hindered from self-development.

9 Becoming Muslim in 1992

Some 85% of the Iban of Melilas are Muslim (around 40 families). The remaining 15% also live their everyday lives almost like Muslims. The only difference is that they have not officially embraced Islam.

After the government made it a policy to establish prayer rooms (surau) and a prayer hall (balai ibadat) in every subdistrict and village, the Ministry of Religious Affairs at that time offered a special course in religious instruction for the Iban of Melilas, especially those who were unemployed. The newly built prayer hall needed a few local residents to work there, especially assisting the imam in managing it. However, in order to join the course and be employed they had to convert to Islam first. The first batch attended the course and were sent to the Islamic Da’wah Centre (Pusat Da’wah Islamiah). In the 1990s, converting to Islam was initially frowned upon in the Iban community in Ulu Belait. This is because conversion resulted in food prohibitions, the abandonment of ancestral practices and as far as the Iban were concerned a loss of identity.

After 20 years of formal education, the Iban of Brunei had been exposed to Malay culture and values but not so much to Islam. The earliest cohort to convert comprised four people and it was celebrated privately. Azlin and Bu Hajah were two of the first group. A year later, Azlin and Bu Hajah undertook the hajj to Mecca, fully funded by the government. The pre-pilgrimage event took place in the longhouse (Fig. 15.5).

Fig. 15.5

Source Personal collection of Azlin

Azlin and Bu Hajah during a pre-pilgrimage ceremony.

All new converts vowed to abandon all beliefs, cultures and traditions that were incompatible with Islamic values. Indeed, it was expected that the new converts would abandon their Iban values. The new Islamic values were brought into the longhouse by Azlin and Bu Hajah. And yet they believed that just because they had embraced Islam this did not mean that they had to become Malay and abandon their Iban identity. They could still be Iban and Muslim at the same time. ‘Whatever is forbidden [haram] in Islam, we abandon it. But whatever does not go against Islam, we maintain it as much as possible’, said Azlin. Azlin’s and Bu Hajah’s way of life attracted 32 new converts and it is the biggest conversion ceremony in Brunei to date (Fig. 15.6).

Fig. 15.6

Source Personal collection of Azlin

Front cover of the programme booklet for the Islamic conversion ceremony for families of the Melilas longhouse in Ulu Belait, held on 28 June 1992.

When Azlin and Bu Hajah first converted to Islam and then made their pilgrimage to Mecca they did not know much about Islam. All they knew was how to pray, do and consume things that were halal, and fast during Ramadan. They lived their lives based on guidelines prepared by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. It was only after the mass conversion in 1992 that they finally learned about being real Muslims. There were religious classes and religious events such as the chanting of phrases and prayers (tahlil) and thanksgiving ceremonies (doa selamat) held in the longhouse and prayer hall (Fig. 15.7). Melilas Primary School began religious classes (kelas ugama) in the afternoon. Non-Muslim children also attended the religious classes.

Fig. 15.7

Source Personal collection of Azlin

Women sitting on the floor during one of the Islamic events held in the Melilas longhouse in the 1990s.

Every year since 1992 until the present, officials from the Ministry of Religious Affairs have visited and stayed in the longhouse, especially during Ramadan and Hari Raya Aidilfitri (Eid), so that the Muslims and also non-Muslims in Melilas can celebrate despite being far away from town (Fig. 15.8). It has helped in building an Islamic community in the longhouse.

Fig. 15.8

Source Personal collection of Azlin

Residents of Melilas celebrating their first Hari Raya in the new longhouse in 2017.

Gawai is without doubt considered sinful or not permissible (haram) for Iban Muslims to celebrate. But this does not mean that they reject and isolate themselves every time Gawai is celebrated by non-Muslim residents (Fig. 15.9). Aji said:

Some of our [non-Muslim] residents still celebrate Gawai in the longhouse. But of course, with limitations in respect for those who are Muslims. They [non-Muslims] definitely can’t serve pork if they want us [Muslims] to attend the Gawai celebration. We understand the limitations.

Fig. 15.9

Source Personal collection of Azlin

A ritual dance during a Gawai celebration in Melilas in the early 1990s.

Sally explained, ‘We won’t let this divide the community just because we have different beliefs. The Iban community here is one big family that is inseparable’.

The Muslim and non-Muslim residents of Melilas try their best to maintain the integrity and unity of the community. It is strongly felt by the non-Muslim residents that they have to modify their traditional practices in order to adapt to the Muslim majority. However, modification of tradition does not mean that the tradition is lost. ‘At the end of the day what makes you an Iban is your ancestral blood’, Azlin said. ‘You can be illiterate in Iban language, stop practising the culture and tradition and everything. But you can’t deny what is in your blood and your ancestral roots’. The Iban are still Iban despite converting to Islam. For them, being Iban does not mean that they have to be Malay. Nonetheless, as observed, the Iban of Melilas have maintained their longhouse, language and the integrity and unity of the residents. Of all the longhouses in Ulu Belait, Melilas is the most optimistic and open to change as they find themselves trying their best to maintain their Iban identity.

10 The Making of a Longhouse

The longhouse is the traditional dwelling of many indigenous communities in Borneo such as the Iban, Bidayuh, Penan and other Orang Ulu (literally ‘people of the interior’). This indigenous architecture is made up of a row of separate dwellings covered by one roof. In a typical longhouse, each family has its own separate room. Communal activities are carried out on the covered veranda (ruai). A small number of traditional longhouses in Ulu Belait are still inhabited today, such as those in Kampong Buau and Kampong Biadong. Even though some of the longhouses were built before the Second World War, they provide the basic need for shelter for the occupants. The use of local materials and the setting create harmony with the environment and climate conditions, and provide comfort for the residents. Local materials reduce energy consumption and lessen the environmental impact on the surrounding area. Some of the Iban longhouses in Ulu Belait have disappeared while others are being constructed mostly for tourists or are being maintained as cultural artefacts rather than as actual living spaces. There is a genuine concern that someday the distinctive identity of the longhouses may be lost.

10.1 The Longhouse in Melilas

As the first author was interviewing Azlin, a retired teacher and the key informant, he suddenly stood up from his living room sofa and rushed to the kitchen to call his wife, Bu Hajah. They had a muffled discussion in Iban, recalling what their old house (rumah lama) looked like. He came back, sat down and stared into space. Azlin said:

I don’t know about other longhouses, but for us in Melilas it’s like this. After we moved from Marudi to Bukit Uding in 1942, we only stayed for a while and established the first Melilas longhouse by the Belait River in 1944. It was during the Japanese occupation and the soldiers also established their small base at the opposite side of the river. The first longhouse that was built was only a temporary settlement to build a bigger and sturdier one. But we stayed for only a decade as a temporary settlement, still. By 1960 we moved to the upward side of the Belait River so that our house was accessible to government officials. It wasn’t perfect, but it’s habitable. We stayed there until 1974 and were then forced to move because there was a massive flood. It was difficult for us to do our activities. We even crossed the flood using rafts! Our properties, our farms, our ricefields and also our animals were destroyed.

This account explains the reason why the Iban did not settle permanently because they were always looking for better places to live. They knew that living by a river could impose many environmental disadvantages, but the benefits of living by a river were very much needed for survival as well.

Azlin paused suddenly. He took out a blue pen from his pocket and began to draw a floor plan of how the first longhouse looked (Fig. 15.10). After a few minutes, he finished his drawing. He said: ‘Sorry my child [lai], there are no photos of the first house. And drawing it in 3D is too difficult for me so this is all I can do for you’. He then chuckled to himself. It occurred to him how the house was so sturdy that its roof never leaked despite heavy rainfall. He remembered helping his people prepare the timber made of ironwood (belian) and meranti for the house. Ironwood is a rare and very valuable tree found only in Borneo and some Indonesian and Philippine islands, and helps explain how the longhouse was able to stand for more than a decade.

Fig. 15.10

Source Azlin

Floor plan of a one-room apartment of the first Melilas longhouse.

Structurally, each house consists of a series of family apartments arranged side by side. The term ‘bilik’ refers to both the longhouse apartment and the family group that occupies it. The bilik family typically consists of three generations—grandparents, a son or daughter, their spouse and their children—with membership acquired by birth, marriage, incorporation or adoption (Freeman 1957: 15–52; see also Freeman 1970). Fronting the bilik is a covered, unpartitioned veranda (ruai) which runs the entire length of the house and, while divided into family sections (each built and maintained by an individual family), the whole area is available for communal use. This, in turn, is fronted by an uncovered veranda (tanjo). The wall that separates the bilik from the veranda bisects the structure into two equal halves. The darker shade of the veranda is covered with a woven mat (tikai) made of rattan. Each bilik apartment contains, at its front upriver corner, a source foundation post (tiang) (Fig. 15.10). These posts or pillars are the first to be erected during construction and, when the longhouse is completed, they extend down its central axis to separate the bilik apartments from the unpartitioned veranda. A hearth (dapur) consists of an earth-filled firebox, supported in a frame (para) with posts extending through the floor directly into the earth below. Above the hearth is a rack for storing and drying firewood and for keeping the family’s salt stores. Traditionally, the hearth was constructed immediately behind the front wall of the bilik, inside an area of the family apartment. Next we explain how the bilik are different between the first and second constructions of the longhouse.

10.2 Permanent Resettlement

In 1975 the second longhouse was built on a piece of land that seemed perfect and hopefully permanent (Fig. 15.11). Azlin held up another pen, coloured red, and made a few tweaks to the initial sketch. He called his wife again to come into the living room to sit with us, so that he could double-check his memory of the second house. He said:

There’s only a bit of difference between the first and second house. We added a back veranda for us to hang our clothes instead of the front at the uncovered veranda [tanjo]. Some people would extend it with stairs so they could go down through the back, but my father didn’t. In the second house we finally had doors to our bedrooms. The kitchen was also finally at the back of the house instead of the middle.

Fig. 15.11

Source Personal collection of Azlin

The second longhouse after permanent settlement in Melilas.

Bu Hajah and another respondent, Yassin, giggled. ‘It’s funny how our elders couldn’t think of the consequences of having a stove and a sink in the middle of the house! Because if anything happen to the floor—burnt or wet—it will be very difficult to repair. The whole floor could collapse!’ Bu Hajah interrupted her husband: ‘Hygiene issues as well, lai! All that dirty water could get into our bedrooms and dining room floor but we were not aware of this back then’ (Fig. 15.12).

Fig. 15.12

Source Azlin

Floor plan of a one-room apartment of the second Melilas longhouse.

When the first informal classes were organised by the residents themselves in 1961, it showed that by this time people wanted to expose themselves to modernisation. ‘Without a school, we could have been stuck just like the old ways’, said Yassin. With education, they were able to improve their lives gradually so that they could live at the same standard as people in urban areas.

The second longhouse lasted for almost 40 years (Fig. 15.13). In 2015 the roof and floor started deteriorating. The house was at the end of its life. The residents tried to fix the roof and ordered the materials needed from Bandar Seri Begawan, but the truck carrying the materials was buried in mud on the way to the longhouse. Prior to 2017 the route to Melilas was fully off-road and hiring contractors would be expensive considering the transportation fees. The people requested help from the Royal Brunei Armed Forces instead, their only hope since they were always present in the interior. Officers and contractors inspected the place but realised that the house could not be fixed at all. In the end, the Sultan of Brunei decided that the old longhouse should be demolished and rebuilt as a modern concrete longhouse (Fig. 15.14).

Fig. 15.13

Source Personal collection of Azlin

The second Melilas longhouse in 2011.

Fig. 15.14

Source Personal collection of Azlin

The current Melilas longhouse, built under the Julangan Titah project funded by the Sultan of Brunei.

The second Melilas longhouse had gone through a lot of changes, while still maintaining its physical appearance. From 1990 onwards, the second longhouse could be seen with Astro satellite dishes on its zinc roof, television and radios inside the rooms, and a generator to power the fans and lights. The second longhouse had also witnessed changes, from the Iban who practised a more traditional way of life to exposure to modernity and conversion of its people from animists to Muslims. It is not surprising that the longhouse has a special place in their hearts.

The current longhouse is like a typical terrace house. In each bilik apartment, there is a living room with at least two bedrooms, two toilets and a kitchen combined with a dining room (Fig. 15.15). The veranda is now indoors surrounded by walls and there are no foundation posts supporting the veranda anymore. The veranda is more like a long hall and can accommodate wedding ceremonies as it is so spacious and convenient for big events.

Fig. 15.15

Source Azlin

Floor plan of a one-room apartment of the present Melilas longhouse.

Bu Hajah said:

It’s not that we are not happy with the new house. We just love the old longhouse [second longhouse] more. We lived there for years, we grew up there, we got married and raised our children there. I wouldn’t want it to be demolished, but the old house couldn’t be saved. But I guess it’s good to some extent. If there is no more Melilas, people wouldn’t want to come back to the interior. The jungle, the river, the land and the animals—oh, I love them so dearly. When I wash the dishes at the back [in the kitchen], many rare animals can be sighted such as the crested fireback [keruai]. I take care of the rainforest with my husband, we volunteer to accompany the researchers to study the rainforest. We even stayed in the thick jungle for two weeks eating canned food every day!

Azlin regretted how the rare animals barely showed up anymore:

Sometimes I feel like the animals are running away. Their natural habitat is disturbed way too much by human activity. I feel sad for our jungle that sometimes when I catch a wild chicken or any other animals, I would feel sad and let them go instead. I’m worried that my great grandchildren won’t be able to see these animals in Melilas again.

Even up until today, the Iban of Melilas are still connected emotionally to the jungle and they attach a high sentimental value on it. Apart from the longhouse, the nearby jungle has also witnessed the changes they had gone through and provided all the necessities for their survival since they first came to Brunei. The surrounding environment is indeed their home.

The head of the longhouse emphasised how the younger generation should always come back to Melilas every week and never leave it empty. ‘I always advise the children of Melilas to come back, the sultan had given us a comfortable home and we should not leave it empty. That’s why during weekends and holidays the number can reach over a hundred’. Other than the sentimental value of the longhouse for these people it is also a sign of gratitude to the sultan. Bu Hajah said, ‘The sultan sponsored this house using his “pocket money”. If it was up to us [to reconstruct], we were not able to pay for it. The elders are all retired, our children also have other commitments with their families. So we are thankful for the reconstruction’.

When the sultan directed the reconstruction of the BND2 million budget longhouse, it was reconstructed without the approval of the Ministry of Development. What was important was the safety and welfare of the people of Melilas. But there were other reasons why the longhouse was reconstructed on the same land and in the area, instead of moving the residents out of the interior and into towns. According to Aji and Azlin, the reconstruction was made for security purposes. Melilas is 30 km from the Brunei–Malaysia border. With increasing logging activity around Mulu in Sarawak, illegal crossover into Ulu Belait is bound to happen. ‘Sometimes we can hear gunshots in the jungle and whenever I go for a short stroll I can usually pick up one or two empty bullet shells along the way’, said Azlin. ‘The sultan didn’t want the interior area to be deserted’, Aji explained. ‘Our green jewel and the border need to be protected. The army is always here too’ (Fig. 15.16).

Fig. 15.16

Source Personal collection of Azlin

The Royal Brunei Land Force visiting the Melilas longhouse in 2018.

11 Conclusion

Researchers who have written about indigenous communities in Sarawak, Malaysia, and Brunei, which have come under British colonial influence, have invariably resorted to classifications and census categories that have colonial origins. More often than not, official categories do not reflect the reality on the ground. The consequence of such aggregation is to essentialise the indigenous populations. Hence in the past the Iban were referred to as the Dayak population by the colonial administration. When Sarawak was incorporated into Malaysia in 1963, the politics of ethnicity practised by the federal government encouraged the Iban to distinguish themselves from other indigenes and led to its ethnic formation. Being late arrivals to Brunei just before the Second World War, the Iban have sought to maintain their identity in various ways.

However, the common reference to Iban-ness in Brunei as if it is a homogenous community belies differences and nuances that exist below the surface. In the absence of documented research of the Iban in Brunei, it is difficult to make sense of how the Iban communities have responded and adapted to the assimilationist policies implicit in how the government manages indigenous minorities in the state. This study of the Iban in Melilas is one step in demonstrating that Iban communities, usually identified with their symbolic attachment to the longhouse, do not always respond uniformly as they strive to settle in the sultanate over time.

From the 1940s, when they first entered Brunei through its porous borders, until the 1990s when they converted to Islam, the community had gone through many economic and social changes. Although located in one of the more remote parts of Brunei, they were impressed by the benefits of education for their Iban relatives in Sibu and the leaders took it upon themselves to build a primary school. Their exposure to a bilingual education of Malay and English and their proximity to the oil and gas industry of Seria—the powerhouse of Brunei’s economy—have changed their outlook. As a community known for their strong belief in their folk religion and pride in their identity (Jensen 1974; Metom 2013), the Iban of Melilas were the first to convert to Islam in significant numbers, yet were able to retain their Iban-ness to some degree. Their openness to change has brought benefits to the community.

One of the more visible milestones of the development of the community was the construction of the concrete longhouse with modern amenities in 2017 to replace the older wooden traditional structure that had deteriorated over the years as a result of floods. This was a notable departure from the temporary structures of the past and over the years—preceded by conversion to Islam and full citizenship—marked the milestone that the Iban of Melilas had finally found a permanent home in Brunei. Some of the local Iban had also found employment in the Brunei army. It is fortuitous that Melilas is located close to the southern Brunei–Malaysia border and for security purposes it is strategic to have a military presence there.

The Iban of Melilas, despite their conversion to Islam, have been able to maintain their identity separate from the Malays. The longhouse, which over the years has been transformed from a traditional construction to a modern structure, remains an important site and space for the periodic gathering of the local Iban who have been dispersed from their place of origin due to the increasing availability of opportunities for better education, livelihood and housing. Gawai, like other significant events in the life course, is an occasion for members of the kinship community to return to the longhouse to celebrate and to affirm their connections. The Iban of Melilas who have converted to Islam have adapted their traditional practices to the demands of syariah. On National Day and the public celebration of the sultan’s birthday, the Iban wear their traditional dress to symbolically mark themselves out as a distinct ethnic community. Sociologically, this discussion of the ethnic formation of the Iban of Melilas illustrates the view that ethnic identity is both instrumental and expressive. The Iban are conscious of maintaining and retaining their unique identity, but at the same time aware that they have to do so to adapt to changing political and economic conditions. This chapter documents one instance of the Iban response.