Tepuq-tepuq sekalian

One of the main objectives of Project WHEE! is to assist the tepuqs in ther daily activities such as farming and harvesting, while teaching them basic English through casual conversations. With that, I have acquainted a couple of tepuqs, they are Tepuq Ribed, Tepuq Bulan, Tepuq Janet, Tepuq Lemupok (Aunty Tagung) and Tepuq Sinah Rang.

I will briefly describe the character of each tepuq that I have observed throughout my three weeks in Bario. These are merely just my observation and opinions, so if you were a past participant, and don't agree with my words, I apologise in advance.

So here it goes, I will begin with Tepuq Ribed!

Tepuq Ribed is a very cute lady. Even though she does not speak fluent English, she is keen to learn. She would sometimes strike a random conversation with you, and you will be surprised with her sense of humour at times. Then both of you will just end up laughing out loud.

From left: Tepuq Ribet, Myself and Tepuq Bulan. We were winnowing.

Tepuq Bulan. When I first met her, she spoke decent English to me. I was surprised. I mean I was there to teach English, and this lady can hold a proper English conversation with me. She loves to sing. First, you need to understand that the work we did was very mundane, and the only entertainment we can get is someone singing. She could sing a couple of songs in English, taught by previous participants, more songs in BM and dozens in Kelabit. She likes taking selfies and take photos with the scenery. Once, she asked me to sing a song for them, and I came up with ‘Dua Harimau’, a Chinese nursery rhyme translated into BM. And she found it surprisingly fun to sing, I sincerely hope she still remembers me and the song.

Me and Tepuq Bulan with sunglasses

Tepuq Janet is one of the ladies who speaks the best English in the community. She represented the Bario community to present their Bario rice in one of the Italy's organic food festival/competition (I can’t remember the title clearly). She brought tourists around for the longhouse and paddy field trails, explaining to them about the history of longhouse and the paddy field seasons throughout the year. You can talk about anything with her in English. One random fact is that she is married to one of the coolest guys in the Bario community. You must remember to shake hand with her husband, Uncle Gerawat. You will feel honoured to be able to shake his hand.

Me and Tepuq Janet

As for my assigned lady, Tepuq Lemupok/Aunty Tagung, first things first: never call her Tepuq. She dislikes it a lot and she wants to be referred to as Aunty. When I first met her, she gave me an impression as a not-so-friendly and strict lady. She was different compared to other lady in the community. But after working with her for a while, I realise she can speak basic English and is just the same as the other ladies, just that she is more reserved and does not show much of herself. She does not express her love like the other ladies, and does it in a way that you will not see it but can feel her love towards you, deep inside. She cares for you and surprises you with little little things. Once during lunch, she gave me a salmon fillet. She did not know that it was a salmon but thought it was sardine. She would always ask me what I would like to eat, then she would cook according to my preference. She likes to speak too, so you have to be a good and patient listener while talking to her. At the end of the trip, she gave me so many presents that I regretted not giving her enough. Yes, she still surprises me.

Me and my pretty Aunty Tagung

Last but not least, our homestay host Tepuq Sinah Rang is a very friendly and sporting lady. She takes care of our minum-minum and makan-makan throughout the programme. Breakfasts were usually pisang goreng, tapioca goreng, tapioca pizza and MI SEDAP! She is very sporting in the sense that she will wear sunglasses indoor (at night), pick up the guitar and sing a song.

Me and Tepuq Sinah Rang

Overall, tepuq-tepuq sekalian took very good care of us. They always asked us to rest and drink water. They made sure we had more than enough food to eat. They are a very welcoming, caring and friendly community.