I doubt if I can get over the parangs used by the Ibans, jungle food and the long houses in Batang Ai. Just a couple of weeks after the trip and already I am thinking of going back. There is simply too [...]]]>

An Iban elder taking rest from the hot day in the long house

I doubt if I can get over the parangs used by the Ibans, jungle food and the long houses in Batang Ai. Just a couple of weeks after the trip and already I am thinking of going back. There is simply too many things I wanna see, learn and experience still. As brief as this trip may be…I think the group of us ‘visitors’ had a really good time, hosted by these lovely people.

One of the Candong parang from another long house we visited briefly

Okay…I love parangs. Not just any parangs but locally produced, if possible hand made parangs. I love them so much that I have another blog just talking about parang. Click here to find out more.  Meun understands and allows for that small room for my entire collection but some friends thinks it is over the top. My reason is simple. It is a artform that is slowly disappering. The least I can do is to record and promote it.

The parangs carried by our Iban guides on the trip in Batang Ai

To say that I was obsessed with the parangs owned by the Ibans in Batang Ai would probably be an understatement. I have made several trips to various locations in Borneo but this is the first time ever I see so many parangs in one place. The parangs are used for their farming work but there are also the more intricate and ‘old’ parangs. Blades that are obviously passed down through the family…some claimed to have taken lives.

This parang is estimated to be more than 60 years old and it has a small porcelain jar attached to it

Well, I will probably write more about the parang ‘experience’ on my other blog . I kept telling and begging the locals, never trade or sell their old parangs. They should always remain in the family as part of their history and legacy. This is my sincere hope.

To me, parang is part and parcel of the Iban’s way of life. They use it for farming, hunting and almost everything else. To see how they use the parang in the jungle is simply amazing. And it is also with the parang that the Iban guides (while we were visiting Gugu long house) used to working a Sago palm trunk for the infamous Sago grub.

The Iban guide working on the Sago trunk to look for the worms

Having a parang makes harvesting these crawlies so much easier

Vincent was the first one to had a go at them bulging grubs....

Gugu Longhouse is located near to where the longboats were left. There is this strange belonging that I feel as soon as I enter the longhouse grounds. It is a strange feeling and I just can’t point out what exactly. Perhaps it is the atmosphere, perhaps it is the sight of the long house itself. Or perhaps it is this connection that I feel with some of its residents.

I like Gugu long house

Cute buggers...yummy too!

Several piglets...all roaming free at Gugu longhouse. My kind of long house!

We chatted for quite a bit at Gugu long house, since the chief (Mr Siam) is around

There can never be a rush when one is at a long house. Danney told me this earlier but I couldn’t really make sense of it initially. After Mengiling and Gugu, I think I understand what he meant. Seating, sharing some tuak and chatting about the history of the long house, the people, their life, their recent hunt right up to who to vote for in the next general election. It was a lengthy chat…one that is necessary but absolutely impossible for me. Thankfully my friends were there to help.

The jungle experience with the Ibans was fantastic. I think all of my friends had their fair share of adventure as well. Before we head back to the Batang Ai jetty where our van would be waiting to transfer us back to Kuching, we made one last stop at Mengiling longhouse. To bid farewell as well as to thank them for their hospitality. By the time we got to the long house, everyone was around, eager to know how we did in the jungle. The stove in the kitchen started going, aroma of food filled the long house and us visitors took turn visiting the ‘throne’. While all these was going on, our friendly guide Isa continued his round with his bottle of ‘mineral water’.

Friend Jan enjoying some Langkau

Of all the trips I have done to Borneo, Batang Ai is probably the one place that has given me good real taste of Borneo. I am happy but not contended. I will be back to the Iban long houses of Batang Ai.

Thanks to Ming...this is a testament of how much Langkau-Tuak concoction I had for lunch

Traveling in an Iban long boat on Batang Ai towards the Menyiling long house marks the beginning of our adventure. The longboats, powered by mere 15hp outboard engines are quite fast and rather ‘flimsy’ to my liking.

There were two long [...]]]>

We spent one night at Menyiling long house, Batang Ai Sarawak before entering the jungle

Traveling in an Iban long boat on Batang Ai towards the Menyiling long house marks the beginning of our adventure. The longboats, powered by mere 15hp outboard engines are quite fast and rather ‘flimsy’ to my liking.

There were two long boats and it did not take long before we could spot the long house. According to our guide Mr Danney Tan, he has been trying to bring guests to this longhouse as it is unique. It is not the typical Iban long house as it is sort of like an adaptation between a Bidayuh and Iban culture (a result of inter marriages). By the time we got off the boats onto the pontoons, we were told to wait for the people of the long house welcome us. It soon became apparent that they have been waiting almost the entire day for our arrival.

The villagers coming down to greet our group

The welcoming party, consisting of a few man and women made their way down to greet us while playing their traditional instruments (gongs and drums). It was an overwhelming feeling and it gets emotional when I was told that I had to lead my group through a short ceremony.

Yours truly representing the group- Pic by Jan

We were led into the long house. This was followed by an Iban warrior dance and more ‘ceremonies’. Among the ceremonies involves food items. A small glass was passed around, filled with what appears to be Tuak. Each of us receives the glass but had to pour its content away into a bowl. Then there was also come food items where each of us had to take some from each plate and placed it on another plate.

A welcome dance by the Ibans of Menyiling long house

Couldn't make out what exactly was on the plate on the right

Plates of long house prepared food which was later consumed

John pouring away the Tuak into a bowl

After all these, an Iban man appeared with a live chicken and he moved it around the food on the blade while speaking out loud in Iban language.

The chicken being used in the ceremony

With all the formal ceremony done, it was chow time. Danney later took out the food stuff we bought from Serian to be shared with the villagers. An outdoor burner got going and we all gathered outside, enjoying our BBQ pork with local brew and good company.

Everyone was involved in the cooking. It was an entire long house event

We all shared the food cooked that evening. Note the parang in the picture

We stayed a night at Menyiling long house in Batang Ai Sarawak that night. The food, local brew and good company made it an enjoyable evening. The following day promised more adventures as we will be camping inside the jungle.

I had the good fortune of accompanying a group to an Orang Asal (a.k.a Orang Asli) village called Kampung Chuweh in Temenggor lake in the state of Perak. This is probably my forth visit to the lake but this is the first time I will be staying [...]]]>

One of the villager's kids checking me out

I had the good fortune of accompanying a group to an Orang Asal (a.k.a Orang Asli) village called Kampung Chuweh in Temenggor lake in the state of Perak. This is probably my forth visit to the lake but this is the first time I will be staying overnight with the Orang Asal (indigenous people) here. The last time I came, we paddled a great distance on our kayaks but oblivious to the fact that this village was so near by to one of our stops.

It took more than 5 hours by bus to get to Pulau Banding from Kuala Lumpur by bus. The jetty at Pulau Banding was one of the main access to the entire Temenggor lake.

The bridge that connects Grik with Banding Island and the west coast of Peninsula Malaysia

With a few good minutes to stretch our legs and down some food at the jetty, we donned our orange life jackets and hopped onto the small fiber glass boats manned by the OA from the village. The boats were not fast and it too us 1 hour (or so) ride with an amazingly scenic view along the way.

Lake Temenggor is scenic and extremely peaceful

The Chuweh village propped on the top of a small hill which turns out to be ab island on its own

Well, except for an newly installed but not operational power generator, the entire Chuweh village seems as authentic as I would have imagined it. The children broke the silence of the village with their giggles and shouts playing self ‘thought up’ games and tricks. Some women tended to the kids while the men were mostly out working at the nearby shops or catching fish.

The houses at Chuweh is mostly made of bamboo and other jungle sourced materials. Below are some pictures of the houses, huts and gathering hall in the village.

One of the houses where a family of Orang Asal resides in

The lower section of the house is where the kitchen normally is

The bamboo kitchen top decorated with more modern facilities

Bamboo obviously is the main building material. Most of the bamboo is actually sourced from the nearby jungle and not from the island where the village is located. Upon harvesting, the bamboo are then transported, often times bundled up together and towed by boat back to the village.

Bamboo rafts are the villager's washing area in the early morning for kitchen utensils as well as clothing

The Chuweh village in Lake Temenggor is currently a popular place among visitors to the area. Scores of tourists flock the village with cameras almost everyday from the nearby resorts to catch a glimpse of this Jahai tribe. Sadly, the village gains very little from such ‘visits’, except for the small packets of junk food and candies brought by the tour operator to ’sweeten’ the visits. I am encouraged to see however the group that I am accompanying is actually staying in the village itself, contributing economically directly to the locals, empowering them with jobs to shelter, boat and guide us around. At the end of the day, we made new friends and at the same time placed some dollars into the pockets of the local villagers.

I always wondered what makes an Iban longhouse authentic. How would a long house looked like generations ago? I have not a clue but this Ukom longhouse in Batang Ai certainly has some characteristics that makes it ‘authentic’ I reckon.

As I was awaken by the [...]]]>

This old and rustic Ukom longhouse certainly has its charm

I always wondered what makes an Iban longhouse authentic. How would a long house looked like generations ago? I have not a clue but this Ukom longhouse in Batang Ai certainly has some characteristics that makes it ‘authentic’ I reckon.

As I was awaken by the ruckus of pigs and chicken in the wee hours of the morning, I decide that perhaps it is time to snoop around and ‘absorb’ as much as possible of the place. Honestly, I wasn’t sure the night before if this Ukom longhouse is authentically Iban or it is just a poorly maintained old longhouse. However, it became apparent in the morning that this longhouse (still being occupied by over 25 families) is very much alive and real. As I went looking around, the villagers started off to their farms despite the light morning pour. Everyone seems to be in a hurry with woven baskets, supplies behind their backs and some with kids tailing along. I interrupted one of them and it turns out that everyone is rushing to plant their padi (hill rice) before the season ends. Hardworking they are.

An iban villager making his way to the farm

Sure, there are elements of modern influence here (the window panes for example) but the people of the longhouse still live a sustainable life here. In a way there are rather independent from the outside world. They plant, harvest and consume their own rice, hunt for game, set nets to catch fish, build and repair their existing longhouse to their best ability. Most of the materials used in the longhouse is locally sourced. The jungle around their village supplies bamboo, rattan and timber used to build the longhouse.

The Ukom longhouse at Batang Ai

Some parts of the wall in the longhouse still using tree barks

Note all the woven baskets and mats stacked above

From an angle, one can see the patterns on this (otherwise plain looking) hand woven mat

One of the things I look out most when I visit a native house is how much of the traditional stuff still goes into the house. This include skills and techniques. Ukom longhouse has plenty to offer. Personally, it is like finding treasure when I am able to see old tree bark still being used as walls. These aren’t walls put up for tourist to admire and ’see’ but actual pieces still being used. The picture below is one of the doors (pintu), a family room that still uses tree bark as its wall.

This family 'pintu' still uses tree bark as wall

Rattan vines still being used to bind bamboos to make rails

A view of the porch or tanju at the longhouse

An Iban man reparing his fish net

Villagers still source local materials to build their own longboats

A Kuching friend informed me that it is hard to find an authentic longhouse such as this one. Other authentic ones are  hard to access (transport), making it almost impossible to convince visitors/ tourist to visit. Ukom longhouse is under threat as the villagers are thinking of moving to another site and build a newer and more modern ‘longhouse’ so that they can attract tourists to supplement their income. This ‘move’ is probably unavoidable and is just a matter of time before it happens. But I am glad that I had the opportunity to visit this authentic Iban longhouse while it is still standing.

There is a sense of ruggedness & suspense when we arrive at Ukum Longhouse jetty that night at Batang Ai. I prepared myself for what is supposed to be a ‘real’ traditional longhouse. We were made to wait at [...]]]>

A strong Iban from the Ukom village carrying our full ice box up the the longhouse

There is a sense of ruggedness & suspense when we arrive at Ukum Longhouse jetty that night at Batang Ai. I prepared myself for what is supposed to be a ‘real’ traditional longhouse. We were made to wait at the jetty, made off floating logs held together with long wooden poles at the edge of the water. A sudden movement on the jetty sends a tilt on the entire floating ‘pontoon’. When we finally got the good to approach the longhouse, I began to wonder if any of us in the group (except for the guide) is as jittery as I am.

One of the boat man on his boat near the Ukom long house jetty

So…what’s the story behind this longhouse? Well, it is old. For years the village’s generator was broken and they went to the village nearby to borrow a set for us visitors. The wooden flooring we were walking on creaked as we made our way to the central gathering area where an old oil lamp shed its flickering lights, surrounded by curious eyes that followed us. It got brighter when the ‘generator on loan’ arrived.

One of the pics that (barely) turned out while the 'borrowed' generator was on its way

The people of Ukom longhouse wanted to abandon this long house. They felt that their longhouse no longer is an attraction to visitors (tourist) and that they needed to ‘upgrade’ their longhouse to make it more attractive. They felt that some proper (modern) TVs, factory milled floor boards and perhaps a fresh coat of paint on the wooden walls would make the difference. How remote is this Iban village? Well, as we were cruising on the long boats towards the village, my GPS was showing us traveling on dry land. It’s almost uncharted territory.

The single (borrowed from nearby village) florescent light that lid the walkway of the 29 odd 'doors' long house

Well, the first order of the day was or course food, booze and entertainment. And yes, we got a lot of that alright. The women and men got busy with the food that we brought. Rice boiling on the wood fire, pork meat grilling on the pit outside the longhouse and bottles of Langkau starts making its way around the crowd.

The pork meat grilling on the pit on one of the verandah outside the long house

An iban woman cooking rice over wood fire in the 'guest' room at the Ukom long house

Grilled pork and local whiskey...a match made in heavan

Dinner came and went quick. Everyone was obviously hungry and the atmosphere was filled with cheers and laughter. With dinner out of the way, we were ushered to the main gathering area, were a performance was about to begin. Though our group was small (only 4 of us outsiders), the villagers insisted on having a small ceremony to celebrate our visit to their village. And while the traditional music played and dancers in traditional costumes parades themselves, more local whiskey made its way around the crowd, fueling the atmosphere with chatter of guffaws and cheers of half drunken men and women alike.

The whiskey kept coming

I think one has to witness the dance personally to understand 'Ngajat'

Some survival books talk about getting drinking water from a banana tree trunk in a survival situation. Though I rarely see any banana trees in the jungle, I reckon it would be a cool thing to try. So, with a [...]]]>

An opportunity to test out if I can really get water from a banana tree

Some survival books talk about getting drinking water from a banana tree trunk in a survival situation. Though I rarely see any banana trees in the jungle, I reckon it would be a cool thing to try. So, with a banana tree to be chopped down, I put this ‘survival tip’ to the test.

Well, if my memory serves me right, getting water from a banana tree trunk involves decapitating the entire tree. Only about a foot (off the ground) of the trunk is kept. A ‘bowl’ like depression is then dug into the trunk (the part that is still connected to the root). Cover it with a plastic or banana leaves (to keep insects of other foreign materials) from falling in and there ought to be drinkable water in the ‘bowl’ the following day.

Dug a ‘bowl’ in the tree trunk

So, I did exactly what I remembered. I wasn’t planning to drink the water, so I decided to leave it uncovered overnight.

In the mean time, I decided to slice through the banana trunks just so that it will leave a nice patina on the blade. After some chopping and slicing, I noticed the blade got darker, stain like.

Decided to continue chopping to ‘patina’ my blade

Blade turns darker, like stained

With the entire tree trunk down to pieces, I left the remaining tree till the following day (overnight).

The next morning, true enough the ‘bowl’ in the tree trunk has water in it. Not full but probably a good half full. Well, in a real survival situation, I guess every little drop counts. I decided not to ‘taste’ the water as I did not cover it the previous day. Good to know that water can be obtained from bamboo and banana trees.

Water accumulated in the bow in the trunk of a banana tree

Its been a while since we been kayaking anywhere. So, with plans made as early as two months before, we headed to Sungai Perak for a kayaking adventure.On the way there, we decided to stop and try the famous Kampar ‘Chicken in Bread’ at a restaurant called Yau Kee. How did we [...]]]>

The herbal chicken

Its been a while since we been kayaking anywhere. So, with plans made as early as two months before, we headed to Sungai Perak for a kayaking adventure.On the way there, we decided to stop and try the famous Kampar ‘Chicken in Bread’ at a restaurant called Yau Kee. How did we know which restaurant to go to? We don’t, the GPS did!

Turns out we had two choices. Either go with the curry chicken or the herbal chicken. We thought to be on the safe side, the herbal chicken is the way to go. In less than 2 minutes, smiley aunty got our ‘bread’ and started ‘dressing’ it. In style I would say.

Aunty 'preped' our bread profesionally

The bread being peeled away to reveal the inside

Yummy!

Walaaaa...the herbal chicken is 'contained' inside a paper wrapper INSIDE the bread

Not bad these 'Chicken in Bread' stuff at Kampar, though a bit pricy

Well, the entire dish tasted better than I would imagine but a little bit pricey I suppose. After we had our makan, we continued on our way to Sungai Perak. Halfway, we made a quick toilet break, a good opportunity to take the picture below.

Our kayaks on our new 'old' pajero

A few hours later, we arrived at our launching place. Somewhat near lenggong area. After checking into our homestay place and all, we got our kayaks down, can’t wait to hit the water.

Meun by our boats...ready for a 'test' drive

All of us went for a ’short’ paddle on day 1. Did not go far, just to get the feel. Jim (our expat friend) too took the opportunity to paddle out his canoe. All in anticipation for day 2, paddling day.

Jim and his canoe

More on our kayak trip to Sungai Perak:

• Paddling along Sungai Perak & beyond
• Tasting the fresh water kepah clams
• Wild water buffalo on Sungai Perak
• Lotus lagoon along Sungai Perak

Every wondered how jungle traps, when set are marked to warn others? There are a few Orang Asal villages I have visited that still uses traps as means to hunt game. While some traps like snares are less harmful to human beings, there are other traps that inflicts some serious injuries. [...]]]>

Spot the trap marker

Every wondered how jungle traps, when set are marked to warn others? There are a few Orang Asal villages I have visited that still uses traps as means to hunt game. While some traps like snares are less harmful to human beings, there are other traps that inflicts some serious injuries. In order to mark and warn others about the trap, some of the Semais in Perak fashions a ‘pointy marker’ to do the job.

It is important to mark the locations of animal traps for obvious reasons. In the jungle, it also serves as a reminder to the hunter where he/she has placed it. After a while walking in the jungle, one can easily miss a location. It is common when a hunter goes out to set traps, he/ she will set up numorous sets.

By using two pieces of stick, a Semai will mark the whereabouts of his/ her trap similar to how we would normally use a road sign. The only difference is that the signs used in the jungle does not have wordings on it and one would have to know the local ‘language’ to read the markers.

A marker placed by a Semai, pointing to the direction of the trap

The above is one of the many markers placed by a Semai hunter along a trail in the jungles of Perak. We initially thought it was a marker telling others the direction to follow, instead, our local guide explained that it is actually a marker telling others there is a deadly tap inside. The sharpened end of the short piece of stick tells the use of a ’stabbing’ type of trap, probably armed with a spear like tip.

I wondered what would have happened if me and Jan treaded this trail without a local guide. What would have happened if we followed the direction of the marker, following the faint trail it was pointing to. I am curious to as how ‘deadly’ this trap is. Our guide however insisted that it is not safe to go in and explore as some of the traps laid are highly concealed. Okay…we decided that perhaps getting stabbed by sharpened bamboos meant for game is the last thing we wanna get ourselves into.

Further down the trail, we came to yet another marker. Near to a small creek and clearing, this marker consists of two pieces of sharpen bamboo. One of the pieces pointing slightly upwards. It turns out that this indicates that there are two traps within the vicinity and both are deadly. One of the other traps however is located further inside, hence the slight point upwards.

This trap marker indicates that there are two deadly traps within the vicinity

Another deadly jungle trap marker along the trail

There are also markers to mark non-deadly traps. The Semais in the area normally uses green leaves  in replacement or with the bamboo arrow.

Green leaves used to mark jungle traps that are not so lethal

I have seen this sort of markers elsewhere but they are normally used to indicate travel directions. Here in Perak, some of the Semais actually uses them to mark and identify their jungle traps. This is a reminder that whenever one treads on unfamiliar jungle areas, it is best to have a local guide to walk with.

There are some really beautiful and almost undiscovered Orang Asal homes in Perak. Good friend Jan invited me for an exploration trip to a region around near Ipoh to look for a waterfall. I skipped work and went with Jan. It was all worth it. Not only did [...]]]>

Hand woven attap made of palm fronds

There are some really beautiful and almost undiscovered Orang Asal homes in Perak. Good friend Jan invited me for an exploration trip to a region around near Ipoh to look for a waterfall. I skipped work and went with Jan. It was all worth it. Not only did Jan found his waterfall, but I too was equally amazed with the beauty of the people and the jungle there.

The knowledge and skills of the Orang Asal in identifying, selecting, preparing and building the traditional homes is amazing. A dying art, these original people of the land are slowly departing from their traditional ways to embrace modern lifestyle. This village is one of the few that I have seen that still retains parts of their traditional homes.

Some of the Orang Asal homes along the way into the jungle

The jungle homes are built above ground using natural materials and can house quite a number of people. Bamboo in this village seems to be the main material used. They are used to make the walls of the huts, the flooring and some of the attap supporting beams.

After about another hour walk, following a trail lead by our local guide, we come to yet another Orang Asal village. Here, there are some abandoned huts but also nearby a bigger and what seems to be a grander jungle hut is on its way. It is a shame that I could not spend time to see it being built. Would love to document that very much.

A local told us the occupants of this hut has moved out to stay closer to the city

A new hut is being built here

Note the neat lashings used on the hut building

Rattan is commonly used for lashing

Look closely and we noticed that one of the main supporting vertical beams has a plastic tied at it’s end. Our trail guide pointed out to us that the ‘wrapping’ usually means that particular pole is the ‘Tiang Satu’ or ‘Pole No. 1′. Tiang Satu is important because it is the first pole to be erected and it symbolizes many things to the different community. And of course, it comes with a lot of do’s and dons as well. As the main structure in in progress, work is also on the way to see the completion of the natural hand wooven attap made from palm fronds.

This is probably the 'Tiang Satu'

Palm fronds being weaved to make natural attap

This particular hut being built is rather long, easily spacious enough for two families. When it is fully built, it would probably look as nice or perhaps even better than this other Orang Asal jungle home that is located just a few hundred meters away.

A beautifully built jungle hut by the Orang Asal of Perak

We had the good fortune of visiting a working Semelai (hill) rice field. Though all the rice stalks have been harvested, some burnt…there were still many things to see and learn here. Even the hut that is poised on the fringe of the rice field was interesting enough. It is [...]]]>

The rice field after harvest

We had the good fortune of visiting a working Semelai (hill) rice field. Though all the rice stalks have been harvested, some burnt…there were still many things to see and learn here. Even the hut that is poised on the fringe of the rice field was interesting enough. It is authentic and divinely bushcraft.

The feast marks the first meal with rice cooked with the newly harvested rice. Naturally, we were curious to know more about the rice. We decided to visit the rice field after our lunch. But before we left, we got the chance to see the traditional rice pounder, made entirely of wood which is used to de-husk the rice he harvested. After that, the rice is kept in a woven basket.

The rice pounder used by the Semelais

The pounded rice is then kept in a woven basket

Naturally, we wanted to buy some of the rice to bring back with us but according to locals, the bomoh or local shaman advised against it. We would have to wait for a number of days before the rice can be taken away from the owner. It is only then that we were told that the bomoh has ‘chanted’ over the rice before it was cooked or otherwise we would all have stomach discomfort.

We made our way to the rice field, located not very far away from our kenduri place. It was a hot day and it started to drizzle a bit. Rain on a hot day like this is called ‘hujan panas’ (hot rain) and is generally believed to cause fever. We quicken our pace and seek shelter in the hut on near the rice field.

The hut on the rice field

All four of us scrambled up into the hut. We were not the only occupants. Inside there are two cats and gunny sacks filled with newly harvested rice. Even with the bamboo flooring, the heat can still be felt inside the hut.

The bags of rice in the hut

I decided to wait under the hut for the rain to stop. It was only then that I realize how much the hut was built on the basic knowledge of bushcraft. The hut  is amazingly sturdy, built  using traditional knowledge and mostly materials available from the surrounding areas. The steps leading into the hut for example is tied together using knots (unfamiliar to me) and notches on the wood pieces.

Except for the few nails used, most of the steps are held together using rattan and notches

The knot that starts the rattan coil downwards the steps

The rattan is used to hold the steps together

Note how the rattan is ended with a coil

Underneath the hut, I noticed that no time is wasted by the villagers. There are materials used to make fish traps or Bubu, there’s even a completed one. Bubus are made in between working on the rice fields. The Semelais seems to maximize their time very well.

Making fish traps were the order of the day when the padi farmers had free time at the rice field

The rain stopped after about 15 minutes. The air is filled with humid scent of raindrops but the heat was more than I can bear. The landscape around displayed a rather barren land. Some parts were burnt; mostly dried stems can only be seen left standing. It was a good harvest this year and villagers are looking forward to an even better next season.