Smoking Bidayuh’s traditional bamboo pipe & feasting on local food; Part VI

Never felt more at home in a stranger’s house

The hospitality of the Bidayuhs in Semban is overwhelming. They shared with us the bountiful produce of their land, made sure we saw & experience all the things we wanted to and even had the doors of their home open for us to spend the nights.  We totally enjoyed our visit to their village. It was also our first encounter with the Bidayuh’s traditional bamboo smoke pipe, Tepui and fermented pork called Kersam (or Kersem)

Walking on the steep trail towards the Semban village, we noticed that there were numerous fruit trees along the way, especially Rambutans. The skin of the fruit is littered along the trail but surprisingly many of the fruits on the ground were never even eaten. These fruit trees became sort of ‘energy’ boosters for the locals who climb the trail. Back at the village, we were presented with all sort of fruits harvested from within the village. We had Langsat (Lansium domesticum) at Sagen’s place as soon as we dropped our packs, followed by ‘Pisang Liat’ (tough banana) later in the evening. This is followed by Cempedak, young coconuts and Pomelo on the following day.

This Pomelo or ‘Limotan’ (in Bidayuh) we had at the waterfall

Really sweet this Cempedak- pic by Meun

Even the vegetables are harvested from the garden plot behind the house!

Not only does the Bidayuhs of Semban plant and harvest their own rice, but they also rely on their traditional methods of food preparation to store food, especially meat. We were served with a particular type of fermented pork called ‘Kersem’ during our first dinner at Sagen’s house.

Kersem is wonderful!

Sure it tasted salty but what amazes me is that according to Sagen, Kersem can be kept for months if prepared right. Cleaned meat is mixed with salt and cooked rice and left fermented in an urn for months. We asked to see the urn, though he warned us the smell is rather strong.

The urn containing the fermented pork…yup, smell strong indeed- pic by Meun

Before dinner, we all tried Hookah, a traditional water pipe for smoking tobacco. Made from bamboo, the pipe is half filled with water and the smoke passes through the water before being inhaled by the smoker. Not wanting to offend our host, we all tried and coughed without fail each time we inhaled, enough to make our hosts burst into laughter.

Local guide Nyun enjoying Hookah

Meun trying the Hookah

Go Danny go! So much more tobacco to finish!

Local fruits, tobacco and then rice with fermented pork. Just as we thought we have finished dinner, Sagen’s wife brought a bottle of Tepui to us. I have heard about Langkau and Tuak and their reputation as very strong local brews but I can’t start to describe how lovely this Tepui drink is. Made of sugarcane juice, this alcoholic drink is both smooth and soothing.

The Tepui is surprisingly a very nice drink

Aside from the instant noodles for breakfast, the rest of our meals at Semban village are all 100% local produce. The local fruits, rice, homemade Tepui and fermented pork isn’t only about good food and drinks, they are also a true sign of our host’s hospitality and generosity in sharing whatever good things they have with their guests. Truly amazing.