A Week in Borneo - Day 2: Village Life

As much as we'd like to, we won't pretend that we journeyed deep into the jungle to find a village of Bornean headhunters, untouched by time. No, to get a taste of what life in Borneo looked like a generation or two ago, we did what most visitors to Kota Kinabalu do. We made a visit to the nearby Mari Mari Cultural Village, a living museum preserving the lifestyle and culture of the six dominant Bornean ethnic groups. In this village, each tribe is represented by a traditional home, either a mult-family longhouse or a single family stilt home. Throughout, descendants of each tribe give the visitor a taste of what life looked like for their people -- through food, dress, and living conditions within the home. Before a visit to the final village home, our small group of eight had to select a leader to represent our clan. Ash was selected as our leader and had to greet the tribal leader at the gate in a customary exchange of information before we were allowed to enter. With a hand on his shoulder and staring into his eyes, the warrior's questions were translated for Ash before she could answer. We knew we had selected the best leader when Ash passed this test successfully and proceed to be the only one of our group to hit a coconut with a tiny dart shot out of a long, bamboo blowpipe.  Now I know that I never want to be caught in a winner takes all scenario in the jungle with Ash with blow darts as our only weapons. As made for tourists as this entire experience was, it was done in a way that felt authentic and with respect to the history and culture of each ethnic group. It really was a highlight of our week in Sabah.