The Skrang River was one of the first areas settled by Iban immigrants in the 16th to 18th centuries. On my exploring trip to Sri Aman, I saw the signboard saying Skrang river safari, so I decided to go in and have a look.
Upon reaching the village, I can see a yellow colored river next to the village, and a lot of cars parked there. Only I notice that it was the harvest festive, and all of the people went back to their longhouse for celebration. I saw two kids riding a bike there. I stop them to ask about what do they have on upstream, the kids told me that there are many traditional Iban longhouses along the Skrang River.
Share with you my experience and joy on the magnificient outdoor life in Borneo 和你分享我的探险故事与经验,带你一起探险婆罗洲
Exploration to Batu Nabau, Snake Stone Valley at Engkilili, Borneo
Unwritten history about Engkilili
The word Engkilili belongs to a name of a tree which grows there, the tress glow along the river. The Engkilili trees are mostly discovered in the Engkilili, and Lubok Antu area. So with this special gift, the people just name the town to be the same as the tree. The river plays an important roles back in the old day as the only source to connect to other small towns in Sarawak.
Another name for Engkilili for old generation of Chinese is called "上梯頭", means "up the staircase" there are such name is because back in the old days, The coal miner (Chinese, Hakka dialet) workers from Kalimantan, Indonesia traveling via river to the Engkilili town to work and settle down, they build staircase to go up the wharf, this is to let the trader and worker to easily unload their stuff.
And later the Chinese (Teo Chew dialet) traders came for business. And will always said they need to go "up the staircase" to unload their stock. So that is why its called "up the staircase", and later the locals had build another new wharf, therefore the name "up the staircase, down the staircase" (下梯頭) was born.
How to get there?
- First, go to the Engkilili town, there is a welcome signboard on your left. Then, there are new shops lot upon entering the town. You will see a Chinese temple on your left.
- Then, drive into the town again, and you will see the old wooden shoplots which runs by the Chinese there.
- After that, turn to your right, and drive all the way in, you will see an arch which will lead you to the Malay village.
- Continue to drive in again, and you will reach the end of the tar road, and continue with the stone, and dirt road.
- Drive all the way in for about 15 mins, and you will see a nice concrete bridge. This is the Bukong Nyalau village, there is a longhouse near the bridge.
- You may park your car beside the house just before the bridge. The house belongs to a friendly Iban people. then ask for direction.
- Its easy to search, upon entering the jungle, the local puts up a signboard at the entrance there, to remind visitor what to avoid when at the snake stone area. So please respect the rules there.
Stories about the Snake Stone (Batu Nabau)
According to the information I had, the "snake" measure at around nine meter in length and two meter in diameter. There are a few version regarding the snake stone, the Chinese, Malay, and Iban people each have different version.The giant snakes are from Limbang, but only 6 of them reached Engkilili, the biggest one is the female, and the fierce one is the male snake which still stays in Limbang.
Another tale which I found goes like this:
The tale regarding Batu Nabau resurfaces after a Siamese man from Kuala Lumpur made a claim on the existence of a huge snake that turned into stone as he doubled his efforts to locate it.
With the assistance of the local residents in the Sri Aman District, he located Batu Nabau as dreamt. Together with the local residents, he painted the boulder and cleared the areas around it.
The man’s tale was published in the local newspaper.The tale did not end there as Jawi-like alphabets were said to have been found in the central portion of Batu Nabau. The alleged Jawi alphabets of alif, lam, nun, mim and sinwere said to have been arranged in a reverse order and separated from one another.
The discovery was made by one of the local residents who had visited the area after reading an article about Batu Nabau in the local newspaper.
What Else to see after the Stone Snake?
After I visit the stone snake, I drive back to the wooden shop again. And visited the suspension bridge which connect the village opposite the river to the town. Its very windy while standing in the middle of the bridge.
Oh... I forgot to tell you, Engkilili also have big ass rat, just look at this cage!!!
Visiting Fort Alice at Sri Aman (Simanggang), Borneo
Sri Aman is a market town and port, and the capital of Sri Aman District and Sri Aman Division in Sarawak, Borneo.
Sri Aman is famous for the benak, or tidal bore, of the Batang Lupar River. The tidal bore comes in from the river mouth and fills up the river very rapidly in the course of about 10 minutes.
Some story about the Fort Alice
The 150-year-old fort built in 1864 in Sri Aman – then called Simanggang – is a legacy of the white rajahs who ruled Sarawak.
Simanggang was the favourite abode of Sir Charles Brooke, the nephew of James Brooke, Sarawak’s first white Rajah.
STF Heritage Development Committee chairman Lim Kian Hock said Charles Brooke joined the Sarawak civil service in 1852. As the Tuan Muda, Charles was installed Resident Officer in Lundu.
The Sultan of Brunei had ceded the territory of the Batang Layer, Skrang and Saribas rivers to James Brooke in 1853.
Charles moved to Lingga to take over from the Resident who was killed by Iban Warrior Rentap.
A year later (1854), he moved to Skrang and in 1864 established his headquarters at Simanggang, where he started building the fort and the Astana with the help of the local communities.
It was here that Charles held court every morning, administering justice to a string of Iban and Malay litigants and received courtesy calls from Dayaks from the ulu and beyond. Both criminal and civil cases were considered and recorded.
Tuan Muda Charles Brooke’s day finished at eight every night when the fortmen would pull up the drawbridge, hollering up and down the river: “Oh ha, oh ha, oh ha; pukal dilapan tau udah behuni (eight o’clock has sounded); tangga udah tarek (the bridge is pulled up); pintu udah kunchi (the doors are locked); orang enda tau niki agi-i-i (people are not allowed to come up anymore)”.
When Rajah James Brooke left Sarawak for the last time on Sept 24, 1863, Charles was made his deputy to run Sarawak on his behalf.
On the death of James Brooke, Charles was proclaimed second Sarawak Rajah on Aug 3, 1868. He was sad to leave Simanggang for Kuching.
The Simanggang fort was named Fort Alice after his consort Ranee Margaret Alice.Author Lili de Windt tells a beautiful story of how in the absence of Charles Brooke, they managed to hold the fort with one canon, a dog and a mate against a flotilla of boats carrying tribal warriors.
The tradition Charles established in Simanggang lived on at Astana Kuching such as the Brooke tradition of firing the canon at Fort Margherita Kuching at eight every night until 1968.
The revival of Fort Alice as Sri Aman Heritage Museum will remind of those days, and be an enduring experience for generations of Sarawakians.
I had gain some knowledge after visiting this place, and hope that after this being setup as a museum, it will be able to benefit our future generation to know more about history, and make some good thing about their knowledge.
Wilson Chin Gunung Gading Camping and Hiking Exploration, Borneo
A very nice place for camping, have all the facilities. Washroom, barbecue pit, nice camp site. I like it very much.
Me and Sui Chin stop for a while to enjoy the gift from nature.
Amorphophallus Hewittii (bunga keladi / 魔芋花 )
The Rafflesia Flower
The Borneo Explorer Wilson Chin (Me) reach the summit of Mount Gading.
My record on going up to the summit.
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