‘Have family tree to stay connected with distant relatives’
MIRI: The younger generation is less likely to know their extended families, much less their distant relatives, and one of ways to arrest this is to have a family tree chart.
A member of Brunei’s community council, Tahamit Nudin, said families would be cut off if there was no contact over several years, coupled with the absence of a family tree chart.
He said this during a function at Kampung Selanyau in Bekenu here recently.
He was commenting on his extended Kadayan families whose members are found scattered in Brunei, Sabah, Labuan and Sarawak. According to Tahamit, who has many distant relatives in Kpg Selanyau the presence of his family tree helped him to keep track of the extended family here and in Brunei.
He said through constant contact the family was able to keep track of each other’s movement and their history.
“Nowadays, every body is busy with their own work and families. Not many have the time to connect with each other, including relatives. They only know their immediate family members and first cousins. Second and subsequent cousins are forgotten.”
Meanwhile, Tahamit’s extended family in Kpg Selanyau and Brunei took part in a family day at the village recently, and one of the events was cycling held in collaboration with the villagers and several local agencies.
The ‘makan tahun’ event in Bekenu is another avenue to get the family together.
A villager from Kampung Selanyau, Juha Baha, chipped in, saying family roots were important and should be preserved to keep the family together.