Dinner time and about 7:00 p.m., preparations got underway for the our big Dayak welcoming ceremony. The bonang, a series of kettles in a rack related to gongs…View image… was set up and the Gamelan ensemble musicians…View image… began arriving to tune up, smoke and play. Some people call the bonang “gong chimes.” Mrs. Dinson had a big bowl of Betel Nuts ready for the village guests, ceremonial objects…View image… were placed on the mat along with the ugliest chicken I’ve ever seen wrapped in a plastic bag , and the children were still glued to the television.

It seems that every single man, without exception, chain smokes in Indonesia. It’s a marvel that the longhouses don’t burn down but Fery said he’s never heard of one burning. By coincidence, an article appeared in an Indonesian magazine while we were there that stated, “…cigarettes are sold individually from rolling carts outside school….there are no age restrictions…15 year olds are chain smokers…Indonesia is on par with India and China as the countries with the world’s biggest smoking problems…”

Tumon Dayak gamelan musicians in Borneo 

cigarette in one hand (or mouth), rice wine in the other in the Dayak village, Borneo
Mr. Dinson rang the gong to tell neighbors the welcoming Horn Bill Dancing Party was going to begin and the Dayaks began arriving. The hornbill is the symbol of the Dayak people because a Hornbill mates until death and travels in pairs or small family groups. Let’s party! The Borneo Discovery dossier said, “We will be welcomed like a king and queen” and…we were. ex-Marine (Steve) and I were dressed in our party best. Boxer shorts, t-shirts and barefoot..View image, and if it had been appropriate to be naked, this would have been the time for it. We completely understand why primitive people in hot climates don’t wear clothes.

carved Hornbill on Dayak longhouse in Borneo 

hideous looking chicken for the Tamon Dayak ceremony in Borneo
One of the guests arrived with his baby gibbon, perhaps one month old, rescued in the forest/jungle. The baby was by itself and never could have survived without its mother. He said he didn’t know what had happened to the mother. Will the gibbon eventually be released back into the wild? This male baby can become up to three feet in height so who knows but right now it was the cutest little thing.

baby gibbon in Bakonsu, Indonesia
There is a standardized greeting as each Bakonsu villager entered. Go to every person in the longhouse, greet with a two-handed shake, followed by a small bow and hand touch to your chest. It wasn’t difficult to learn and when the gathering was large enough, we were escorted to a place of honor on the mat. A local Government V.I.P. introduced the village secretary, elders, other important people, welcoming us while Fery translated. Then it was my turn to stand and talk about us. Where we live…why we chose to visit their village, etc. ex-Marine then stood and continued relating bits of information.

The ceremonial plate (and ugly chicken) before us, a Bakonsu elder described what was on the plate. Grains of rice, a piece of iron, string, leaves, each with its own symbol. Rice for food, iron to make our spirits strong, and string to be tied around wrists with a teeny piece of leaf for long life (I’ll drink to that).

The ceremony continued…