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Iban Longhouses (MALAYSIA)
Have you ever seen a house 2 kilometers long?..
In Kuching, in the forests of Saravak, the indigenous Iban (Dayak) people live in what are called traditional Iban Longhouses.
Why are they long houses? Because approximately 18 families of the Iban tribe live under one roof of a long house. This communal system of life derives from the historic necessity of protection from wild animals (still valid) and from enemies in the early days.
A long house is built of wood, on stilts andis only 1.5 stories high. Each family unit builds a house one room wide and the side walls are shared with the neighboring unit. There is a shared verandah where the Ibans socialize with each other. In fact, due to their habitat, the Ibans are very sociable and it is rare to see enemosity grow among neighbors.
Although one may think that this way of accomodation may sound very unindividualistic, they are wrong.. we discovered that each individual unit are uniquely different because the material used for each one differs quite a lot. So from outside the longhouse may look as a patchwork style of building.
So... eventhough the Ibans are quite a hospitable tribe, entering their longhouses is not that easy. If you wan to be a guest to their house the very first thing you must do is TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES and definitely take with you A PACK OF CIGARETTES to share with them because they simply love it.