By Dayak Daily Team
KUCHING, July 22: A book on the history of Long Peluan titled ‘Border History of A Borneo Longhouse—The Search for a Life that is Very Good’ was launched yesterday (July 21) in Amsterdam.
Researched and written by an anthropologist, Datin Dr Valerie Mashman, the book tells the history of a village in the Kelabit Highlands where her husband, Datu Ose Murang, is from.
In a statement today, Mashman revealed that her research on the topic began in 2010 when the village chief, Malian Tepun, an ex-border scout, handed her some tapes that he had recorded of his narration of the history of his people from Long Peluan.
“His historical stories celebrate pioneering heroes who led through warfare and migrations, interacted with the Brooke state-initiated peace-making, and journeyed to seek local Christian missionaries.
“This microhistory highlights the resilience of values in the face of transformative change, values providing a cultural structure for the Kelabit to redefine and adapt whilst maintaining their identity as a community,” she shared.
Mashman elaborated that this work is relevant to Austronesian studies, Southeast Asian history, oral history, the anthropology of value, sociality and ethnic identity, Christian conversion, and issues of borderlands, decolonisation, and indigeneity.
“It is of interest to readers concerned with the history of transnational peoples of Borneo, including the Kelabit, Sa’ban, Kenyah, Ngurek, Penan, and Lun Dayeh,” she added.
Her husband, Datu Ose Murang, who worked closely to interpret, translate, and transcribe the interviews and findings and who travelled with Mashman into the Ulu Baram area during the research period, echoed that this research is significant micro-histories that are often time left out of the mainstream historical narrative of Malaysia.
“Yet, these are the many micro-histories that make up our country,” he added.
Mashman’s daughter, singer-songwriter Alena Murang, added that through her parents’ research, they also came across two songs they taught her, one in Kenyah and another in Kelabit.
Alena said she shared these songs at the book launch event in Amsterdam to complement the stories of the longhouse as told by her father and coupled with her mother’s research.
The event was attended by the Ambassador of Malaysia to the Kingdom of Netherlands, his Excellency Roseli Abdul, publishers Amsterdam University Press, and the Malaysians living in the Netherlands, including a few from the Kelabit community.
The event was organised by the Association of the Netherlands-Malaysia at Cloud Gallery, and it ended with a ‘Liling’ dance performance on the street next to the canal.
With Malian Tepun himself on the book cover, the 274-page hardback can be purchased online at Amsterdam University Press. — DayakDaily
