By Shikin Louis
BAU, May 11: Deep in the hills of Jagoi, before roads carved paths through the forest and settlements grew into villages, there was a story that shaped the land and its people—a story of a towering spirit known simply as Buow.
Said to be a tall and ghostly figure, Buow was believed to haunt what is now called Plaman Buow, a quiet, elevated village nestled within the Bung Jagoi highlands near Bau.
According to Jagoi Gunung village chief Dael Nagek, who also oversees Plaman Buow, the mysterious spirit once roamed only that area and nowhere else. For generations, the community lived in the shadow of the ghost’s presence.
“Back then, people feared it. But they also learned to live with it.
“Eventually, our ancestors found a way to drive it away using traditional knowledge. The spirit is no longer here—but the place remains,” Dael told DayakDaily.
While the ghost has long been banished, its name endures in local memory, preserved in the very name of the village: Plaman Buow. In this way, the legend of Buow continues to shape the cultural identity of the Jagoi people—reminding them of what was once feared and ultimately overcome.
But the land offers more than echoes of myth. Tucked away in the Bung Jagoi forest is a natural spring known as ‘Ayak Skuang’, a stream that flows perpetually from solid rock.
In local tradition, it is no ordinary water.
Dael said the spring has long been revered as a source of healing.
“People still collect the water and use it to treat fevers, especially in children.
“They believe that wiping the water gently on a child’s face helps break the fever. It’s something we still practise,” he said.
What makes Ayak Skuang even more remarkable is its resilience. Even in periods of intense drought, when other water sources may dry up, the spring continues to flow.
Once collected in large ceramic jars and now stored in ‘pansu’—traditional water containers—the spring water has become a symbol of hope, healing, and continuity.
While no one can confirm whether the healing spring and the story of Buow are spiritually connected, both are remembered together as part of the same sacred landscape.
Dael further said Plaman Buow remains unofficial in administrative terms, not yet gazetted as a separate village. But in the hearts of those who live there and those who return to visit, it is a place where legend and life still flow side by side.
From a ghost once feared to a spring still treasured, the story of Bung Jagoi lives on—not only in tales, but in every drop of water that continues to fall from the ancient stone. — DayakDaily
