MALAYSIAlonelyplanet.com MALAYSIAN BORNEO – SARAWAK •• Kuching
Maybank (%082-416889; Jln Tunku Abdul Rahman;
h9.15am-4.30pm Mon-Thu, 9.15am-4pm Fri, ATM
6am-midnight daily)
POST
Main post office (Jln Tun Abang Haji Openg; h8am-
4.30pm Mon-Sat)
TOURIST INFORMATION
The excellent Visitors Information Centre (%082-
410944; http://www.sarawaktourism.com; Sarawak Tourism
Complex, Jln Abang Tun Haji Openg; h8am-6pm Mon-Fri,
9am-3pm Sat & Sun) is in the old courthouse. The
centre’s staff can tell you just about every-
thing you need to know about travelling in
Sarawak, and there are enough brochures to
paper your living room. Maps abound and
transportation schedules are also readily
available if you’re unsure about which buses
go where. Ask about the invaluable Official
Kuching Guide.
The National Parks & Wildlife Booking Office
(%082-248088; h8am-5pm Mon-Fri) is next door
to the visitors centre (with the same hours
of operation) and arranges accommodation
at national parks (most people swing by to
arrange an overnight stay at Bako; p514 ).Sights
Like many cities, Kuching is a whole lot greater
than the sum of its parts. There are a few in-
teresting museums and historical attractions
to keep you occupied, but the main attraction
is the city itself. Note that the Astana and FortOFF WITH THEIR HEADS!
Borneo has often been dubbed ‘the Land of the Headhunters’ – a catchphrase popularised by
the Sarawak Tourism Board when they chose it as their promotional slogan (then they promptly
abandoned the motto after realising that travellers weren’t particularly psyched about the threat
of decapitation). Headhunting has been a key facet of Borneo’s indigenous culture for over
500 years, yet many of the rites, rituals and beliefs surrounding the gruesome tradition remain
shrouded in mystery.
The act of taking heads was treated with the utmost seriousness; warriors practised two types
of premeditated expeditions. The first was known as the kayo bala – a group raid involving sev-
eral warriors – and the second, kayo anak, was performed by a lone brave, or a bujang berani.
In the upper regions of the Batang Rejang, the kayo anak was a common method of wooing a
prospective bride. Believe it or not, the most valuable heads were those belonging to women
and children, who were usually hidden away from marauders near the longhouse hearth. Only
the savviest and sneakiest warrior could ambush a child or woman as they bathed or picked
berries unattended.
After a successful hunt, the warrior would wander the jungle, wrestling with the taken spirit
rather than letting down his guard for a nap. In the morning he would return to his longhouse
where the head would be smoked and strung up for the others to see and honour. Heads were
worshipped and revered, and food offerings were not uncommon. A longhouse with many heads
was feared and respected by the neighbouring clans.
The fascinating tradition began its gradual decline in 1841 when James Brooke, at the behest
of Brunei’s sultan, started quashing the hunt for heads in order to attract foreign traders. No one
wanted to trade in Borneo due to the island’s nasty reputation for harbouring ferocious noggin-
grabbing warriors. However, the sultan wasn’t interested in importing goods – he wanted to charge
traders hefty port taxes (you see, Brunei’s cache of black gold hadn’t yet been discovered). A
nasty skirmish involving a knife-wielding pirate and a Chinese merchant’s noodle gave Brooke the
opportunity to show the Dayaks that he meant business – he promptly executed the criminal.
Headhunting flew under the radar until WWII, when British troops encouraged the locals
to start swinging machetes at Japanese soldiers (many of their heads still hang as longhouse
cranium ornaments). Today, murmurs about headhunting are usually sensationalised to drum up
foreign intrigue – the last ‘tête offensive’ was during the ethnic struggles in the late 1990s (in
Indonesian Kalimantan). As Borneo’s indigenous people continue to embrace Christianity over
animistic superstition, many longhouses have dismantled their dangling dead, although, if you
ask around, you’ll quickly learn that the heads haven’t actually been tossed away – that would
just be bad luck!509