Suku Tionghoa in Kalimantan Barat
YOU are going to miss your Chinese New Year, my friends told me when I said I was going for the Inaugural Dayak Danau Sentarum Kapuas River Cruise Adventure 2017.
I was the only Sarawakian of Chinese descent among the travellers to have chosen this cruise (from the Eve to the Fourth Day of the Lunar New Year) on the Mitra, an old-fashioned bandong, a wooden vessel, originally used by Chinese traders of yesteryear as both cargo boat and mobile home. The bandong varies in size — from 10 to 100 metres long – and a big bandong can carry a large amount of cargo and up to 100 passengers.
On the First Day of Chinese New Year, Major General Stephen Mundaw and Datuk Pemancha Janggu Banyang led a group of 64 tourists from Sarawak, Sabah, Peninsular Malaysia, Brunei and Jakarta to Sekadau and Sintang in West Kalimantan. The cruise leaders and members wished me Happy Chinese New Year, one of the national holidays of Indonesia, as I got on board.
The sounds of firecrackers and drums greeted the arrival of the bandong at Sekadau at about 3am. The passengers got off to join the welcoming dignitaries. I felt so much at home as the Chinese New Year celebration in Sekadau was not very different from that at home. The reception party waited six hours for the bandong to sail in. There were three reception venues to welcome the group. Dredges and bird houses One special feature, particularly noticeable along the river, was the presence of gold mining dredges. We were told by the bandong captain many ‘gold diggers’ had tried their luck in the shallower waters of the Kapuas. We passed by hundreds of these small dredges, some tied to huge trees on the riverbanks. The captain said many of these dredges were owned by Indonesians of Chinese descent. Hakka gold miners had set up kongsis (mining companies) in Kalimantan since the 16th century. Most of these dredges have licence to operate. Some don’t though. Kapuas gold is said to be in nugget form. “The sultans of Kalimantan Barat had permitted Chinese labourers to work in gold or tin mines. A number of kongsis (common managements) enjoyed some political autonomy and Lanfang was the best documented among them.
Another recognisable Chinese influence in the Kapuas Valley is the presence of bird or swiftlet farms. Today, Indonesia is one of the world’s largest suppliers of edible bird’s nests, found in the caves of Kalimantan Borneo. Many Chinese companies from Kuching and other parts of Sarawak and Sabah have reportedly been investing in the bird’s nests business. And bird’s nests from Kalimantan are much sought after because of their good quality. Moreover, as the costs are cheaper in Kalimantan, bird’s nests are sent over from Sarawak for cleaning and processing.
Half an hour before the bandong reached Sintang, s i x speedboats from the Sintang Fishermen’s Club came out to escort it in. An awesome welcome. It was just the evening before that the group from Sarawak, Sabah, Brunei and Jakarta were crossing the Danau Sentarum, watching the stars overhead in their boats and counting the number of lamps from the nearby fishing boats. Good Chinese New Year At the bow of the Mitra, I quietly told my fellow traveller, Patricia Yong, from Sabah, this was, indeed, a good Chinese New Year Day for me. The fanfare – red-coloured decorations and awesome costumes of the welcoming party — reminded me of Chinese New Year back home.
Even more surprising were the many huge banners and posters put up at the places we visited by the local politicians and community leaders to wish everyone Happy Chinese New Year of the Rooster.
Chinese shops were decorated with lanterns, lamps and fairy lights. Some shops even had huge roosters fashioned from different kinds of materials to welcome customers. Hotels were spruced up by Chinese New Year lighting and décor.
A fellow traveller commented, “Some of the hotels and shops give me the feeling we are in Taiwan.” Special Chinese New Year menus were also widely advertised. Chinese restaurants Several restaurants, owned by the Indonesians of Chinese descent in Sintang and Sanggau, serve good food. According to Salam Chimie, one of the cruise organisers, fresh fish is readily available and we can even bring what we buy at the fish market to be cooked in the restaurants.
They can steam the fish Teochew-style or Cantonese style. Some of the kopitiam towkays have even opened branches in Pontianak which has a sizeable Tionghoa population. In fact, overseas tourists can enjoy Chinese as well as local cuisine at the different restaurants. The diverse cuisine makes tours to West Kalimantan gastronomically satisfying.
Another frequent visitor to Kalbar added, “There is a famous recipe called fish porridge in Pontianak. It’s steamed rice served with the freshest fish caught by the Indonesians.” Temples in Suka Lanting There are many Chinese temples in Putussibau, Sintang, Sanggau and other smaller towns in West Kalimantan. But the most interesting one is in Suka Lanting. Our bandong could even berth at its wharf in the early morning.
There are three temples at the same spot by the river. A Hakka family are the keepers of the temples and the locals have been using the compounds for multiracial, multi-religious and social activities.
Suka Lanting is in the Kubu Raya regency. While there, we were entertained to rebana (Malay tambourine) music while Dayak dancers performed in the compound of the Chinese temple. It was a memorable occasion, sharing a wonderful breakfast with members of the Kalbar Tourism Ministry and witnessing the special performances. The songs were in Javanese and the choreographer was of Chinese descent. Pontianak A colourful Chinese New Year dance was performed at the Istana. Wearing cheongsam, the girls of Tionghoa descent performed with silk banners and fans to traditional Tionghoa music. There were more than five dance performances to showcase the cultural diversity of Kalbar. To reciprocate, our group performed Sarawak dances and music.
Across the Kapuas is the busy District of Siantan where travellers can see awesome Chinese temples and ‘feel’ the local Tionghoa culture.
Pontianak, also known as Khun Tien in Chinese, is today a multiracial city. The largest concentration of Orang Tionghoa in Kalimantan is found there. What struck us during our city tour of Pontianak was the alacrity with which the local politicians and leading community leaders celebrated their national holiday. Banners and posters were put up at strategic places to wish the people Happy New Year.
The 700km journey by bandong had revealed more than just the culture, arts and geography of Kalbar. Cruise members would long remember what they saw – the various communities living in harmony, the contributions of both locals and immigrants to West Kalimantan and the spirit of sharing — or kongsi.
A Pontianak friend suggested, “It will be a dream come true if an inaugural road trip can be organised from Tawau to Pontianak soon. This will augur well for the future of both places as locals and travellers can traverse the whole Borneo Island by road. We may be divided by borders but we can be united by good roads.”
The Inaugural Dayak Danau Sentarum Batang Kapuas Cultural Cruise 2017 was made possible by the collaboration of Sarawak and Kalbar consultants with the support of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Tourism, Kalbar, and members of the cruise.