Bario, Sarawak - Some journeys, even those fairly close to home, come up with some interesting surprises. "Even though our primary school was just next door to our longhouse, we were not allowed to speak Kelabit to our teachers and to our friends."

Not only was it odd to hear that some native people on Borneo were not allowed to talk to their friends in their awn language, but to hear this in English from a native in Pa Dallih, near Bario in the northern highlands of Sarawak, was just plain confounding.

Even my introduction to the village was odd. It was my first trip to region, as part of a 4x4 group adventure tour organised by Borneo Jungle Safari and Sarawak Tourism Board. When our groups were introduced to our homestay families on arrival, we spoke in Malay so they could understand.

But the tribesfolk replied slowly, word by word, making it hard for us to establish flowing communication. Finally, we tried speaking in simple English, asking basic questions, such as, "What is your name?"

They just looked at each other, then the 65-year-old Kelabit grandma looked straight back and said, "You may call me Mama." To top it off, she spoke with good, clear pronunciation.

The experience was, in short, delightful and humbling.

Kelabit tribesman Temumu Balang Ngalipo, 40, explained to me - in English - that the first schooling available to the locals came after World War II. During World War II, the British Army, Australian Navy and Gurkhas all set up bases at Palungan, near Bakelalan, and at Pa Main, one hour's drive from Pa Dallih.

Palungan and Pa Main villages became the first places in Bario to have schools, he explained.

During that time, the British Army asked all tribes in the region to learn English. "To qualify (for the classes), all tribespeople had to do was reach over their head with their left hand and touch their right ear," he said.

During wartime, their first teachers were Paul Kohan, who had been a prisoner of war on Java, and a Brit who locals called "Paul Tony B". These two are considered the "Fathers of all teachers in Bario", Temumu Balang said.

In addition to teaching classes, the two taught Christianity as well. "Before Christianity, the Kelabit people here were headhunters and 'free-thinkers' (did not observe any of the major religions) as well," he added.
Temumu Balang recalled that in 1979, when he was in Primary Six, every lesson was still taught in English. "I still remember our longhouse was just next to school, but we could speak only Kelabit in the house but not in the school," he said.

"The moment we stepped into the school compound: no more Kelabit language, (just) strictly English," he said.

If anyone was found speaking Kelabit, Temumu Balang said, the teacher would have them wear a Maggie Mie box around their neck with the words "I must speak in English" written on it.

He said that it was embarrassing because they had to wear it throughout the whole school day, in the village and even worse, inside the long-house. He added that their parents acknowledged and enforced the teacher's punishment, even in the longhouse.

"The only time we could take it off was when we were sleeping," he said.

But it was quite fun as well, as he said that the next morning they would try to find somebody else and get them to speak in Kelabit in front of the teachers.

"So they would have to wear the sign," he laughed.

After 1985, schools in Bario started slowly changing their classes so that every lesson eventually was taught in Malay, except English, of course.

"I really appreciate it. It was really useful to us, as most Kelabit people, especially those over 40 years old, can speak English properly," he said.

Today in Pa Dallih, more than 30 children attend the village primary school, which is staffed by five teachers who originally come from other parts of Sarawak.

-- Courtesy of Brunei Times

 

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