When you stand at
one end of the longhouse at dinner time, you can look down to the other end and
see all the fireplaces roasting meats, cooking rice or making different
foods. At meal times, everyone always
gathers around the fire to share the food and fill each other in on what has
happened during the day or inform each other about changes in the farm.
 |
| It's hard to see, but there are two other fireplaces behind the front-most one |
When
I was young, I remember all the aunties sharing any food they had with the
relative hosting visitors. Bario Asal is
located in the middle of many other villages and so it is a common route to
take when traveling to another village.
We used to have a lot of visitors when I was a little girl. At meal times, the aunties would pass extra nuba’ laya’ or meats to the relative hosting the visitor to make sure
they were well taken care of. I love
this about my culture. This innate
behavior is the Kelabit way and is why we are known as “the land of a hundred
handshakes.”
