The Essence of A Kelabit Woman

On the first morning everyone was to officially start following/ accompany their assigned Tepuqs and Sinas, Daniel received a text from Aunty Dayang Nalin who is the lady I have been paired with saying she’ll be late in picking me up from our longhouse because, get this- she had to put out a bushfire!

I envisioned this woman in a firefighter uniform- looking extremely badass- holding a big pipe with water blasting out extinguishing the bushfire. Obviously I was over imagining but the feeling of awe was definitely there.

Aunty Dayang is tall and slender, with light makeup brightening her elegant features and she wears jeans and three- inch wedges; not your typical Kelabit women get up. But that’s Aunty Dayang for you- wearing three- inch wedges when putting out bush fires.

Aunty Dayang and I at the airport

What is a typical Kelabit women supposed to be like though? Well for Aunty Dayang’s case, she does everything in the name of servicing the community. She is the person who escorts ministers sent by the government; she deals with government officials regarding the agriculture of Bario, she also goes out of her way to give anybody who needs a ride to the airport.

There are days where she is so busy that she doesn’t have time to cook lunch for herself or drink water, hence the common occurrence of dry and cracked lips. She sacrifices her own time tirelessly driving around to have meetings with various people. Even if she has time to go home, she will always find things to improve in her homestay.

The picture below shows Aunty Dayang's homestay. The banners on the wall are a compilation of pictures she took herself which showcases Bario's culture and people. She carried the tall ladder and and heavy banners herself, climbed up (even though she was afraid of heights) and nailed it on.

We coincidentally colour coordinated with the table cloths behind!

Aunty Dayang does have tiring days where she has to wait on people causing her schedule to be messed up or she just has so many issues to attend to she feels burnt out. But whenever the request for her help is needed, she is ready no matter the circumstance.

She always tells me during our car ride conversations that she is always willing to do anything for the benefit of the community. She doesn’t need to, but she wants to. And that itself is a reminder to me that I can’t afford to be selfish all the time.

And I have concluded that Kelabit women are just so selfless and able. Everyday they are kept busy with the hard labour of planting, reaping, sowing and maintaining their land. They practically uphold the agricultural production considering they do all the planting by hand, yet they still find the energy to cook, wash and care for their families.

Perhaps without them, the Kelabit women, every one of us project participants wouldn't have experienced such hospitality and care like we have. And I admire their openness to accept us and be perceptive to the project objective. Being the age of retirement, yet so eager and striving to learn English is a great motivation to all that we are all able.

Ai Jin 
Aren