Kayan Burial Hut (Salong)

In the not too distant past, the Kayans of Sarawak used to inter ( bury) their dead in special burial huts called " Salong".  Today while visiting the Sarawak Museum grounds, I had a closer look at two tall Salongs, made from the hardest timber of Sarawak called the 'belian'.  Both  are at least 10 meters high and have been brought to the museum gardens from their original locations hundreds of kilometers away in the interior regions of Sarawak.

There was one that is constructed as a single pole and another as a double pole. 

( Inset is painting of a Kenyah warrior with his head trophies)

Single Pole "Salong"

Double Trunk " Salong"

This double trunk "Salong" was originally erected more than 150 years ago on the banks of Long Segaham, above the town of Belaga in Sarawak.  This burial hut was ordered to be built by the chief of the Kayan tribe in Belaga to inter his young daughter named Lisan.  It was reported that it took five craftsmen plus many helpers and five years to complete the carvings on the solid 'belian' tree trunks.  In 1973, the "Salong" were  presented by the people of Belaga to the Sarawak Museum.

Close Up of the "Salong" or Burial Hut

Above is a picture of the Sarawak Museum's original building dated 1891.  Over time the Museum authorities added more buildings, offices etc., to house more collections to cover archaelogical and anthropological  artifacts, artworks, etc., Today the Museum is a must visit place for tourists or local visitors to Kuching.

I Call Thee - the Rajah Brooke

Sunday is a good day to visit the Sarawak Museum. Tourists and local visitors flocked to the Sarawak Museum everyday, including Sunday. A must place to check out if you are in Kuching. What caught my attention today was this over-sized replica of the Rajah Brooke Birdwing Butterfly ( Ornithoptera brookeana) on the front wall of the National History Museum building here. This gorgeous, chastely beautiful of all butterflies has deep velvety black wings that are marked by a band of spots in brilliant metallic green colour. For those familiar with the theory of 'natural selection' and 'the origin of species' might like to note that Darwin had incubated his theory for many years but did not attempt to publish it until his contemporary Alfred Wallace hatched upon the same idea. Alfred Wallace travelled to the Far East especially the Malay archipelago and Indonesian Islands area including Sarawak ( Borneo) to collect samples. It was during his travel here that he named the birdwing butterfly as Rajah Brooke, after the first white Rajah of Sarawak -Sir James Brooke.

The Natural History Museum at the Sarawak Museum garden area.


The Rajah Brooke in flight sucking honey from the Pagoda flowers.
Location: Kambatik eco-farm, Bintulu.

It is not easy to come across the birdwing butterflies. However at my eco-farm in Bintulu, they are everywhere. From my experience birdwing butterflies like upstream waters, marginal forest areas where there are plenty of food sources and bright sunlight. In Bintulu I see them frequently visiting the Pagoda Flower ( Clerondendrum japonicum/paniculatum) blooms, Hibiscus flowers and the Bleeding Heart flowers ,too.

Scenes around the Sarawak Museum Garden

Today I went to see the Sarawak Museum grounds.  The Sarawak Museum building has stood the test of time since it was built in 1891 by Charles Brooke, the White Rajah of Sarawak.

This is the view of the garden area of the Sarawak Museum seen from the back of the building. The Sarawak Museum building is in the middle ground of the picture. The tall building in the background is the Merdeka Palace, a 5-star hotel within walking distance of the museum.

The road sign indicates other buildings located close by the museum ground. This is the gradual climb  leading to the front of the museum building.

Walking up the small hill on which the museum is situated I met a line of the tropical and native palm of Sarawak called the  sealing wax palm ( Cyrtostachys renda) having orange sheaths. This variety is unique because normally the prevalent variety is the red coloured ones.

An interesting garden feature within the museum garden grounds. There are plenty of blooms that caught my attention today like the official flower of Malaysia called the hibiscus ( Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) or the shoe flower grown by the many colours and varieties as shown below.