Dayak Tamambaloh Tribe

Dayak Tamambaloh is a tribe lives as a group, stays along Tamambaloh river and Labian river, across the north Kapuas Hulu. The tribe still alive relies heavily on nature and people always keep the closeness with vicinity.

Unlike Dayak Iban tribe or Dayak Taman tribe which still reside in long houses, the people of Dayak Tamambaloh tribe live in single house gathering nearby a river or a road.
Nowadays Dayak Tamambaloh is rarely found dwell in the long house. A culture of living in a long house has decreased as government suggested local people to build single house because of healthy reasons.

Indeed, there are some villages that still retain the tradition of this unique and old culture, such as Bukung and Bakul village. Besides, many traditional rituals have been unpreserved. It happens because of no regeneration.
Along with old age, the old culture is also getting older and eventually lost, while trust in the spirits of the ancestors and the supernatural, have been replaced by "modern" belief named religion (Catholic) which has come more than a hundred years ago.



There are so many cultures that have not been conducted by Dayak Tamambaloh tribe or rarely carried out nowadays.
For instance, the traditions of taking a bath in a river at downstream of a human's cranium, at the time of traditional ritual called “Buang Pantang” (Buang Pantang is the last death traditional ritual to release the sorrow of families who have died). A human's cranium that was used in the ritual is an enemy's skull.(Long time ago, ingenuous people hunted heads of their enemies. The head-hunting is called Mangayo).

Now, the head of the human's cranium is replaced with the head of buffalo or pig. Moreover, prominent figures decide not to conduct the ritual by using a human's cranium anymore as it is not appropriate with modern era, and it's totally against human rights.

Another example is Baranangis.
Baranangis is a kind of an old oral literature. It's a hum of Dayak Tamambaloh ancient literature language that is mostly not understood by its young generation. Previously, Baranangis was often used not only to traditional ceremony for talking but also to chat or to tell story to children, like this present, as little ingenuous people can do Baranangis. It happens because of transitional era and language.

Nevertheless, this tribe still maintains the inheritable tradition of their forefathers. For instance: farming, weaving mats, making farm and catch fish equipment, making trinkets and clothing accessories of traditional beads.

In the past, Dayak Tamambaloh used bark to their house walls. Now they don't use it anymore as it's taken from tree in forest. They are aware of the importance of forests for life.

Nowadays almost of all Dayak Tamambaloh can read and write.
One interesting culture about the tribe is Gotong Royong (working together. Such as: work together in farming and cleaning the environment).

Rumah Lanting, Living On the Floating House

No matter how hard the wind blows, it keeps standing on its shelf. Often ripple shakes, it feels like a beautiful dance of an earthquake. Such a long unbroken swell from a speedboat rushing past through the river, it stands still, tough and rough along-side the river.

It looks like a house, because, yes, it is. It’s a floating house, an unique abode which also can be found on several canals in Amsterdam, Netherlands that’s called woonboot; but for people of Kapuas Hulu, it’s called “Rumah Lanting”.

Lanting refers to some large logs bounded together on the water that is used by local people as a quay for their dinghies to be moored. Besides, lanting is also utilized as a “floating bathroom” in where they take a shower, wash clothing and other household stuffs with the water from river. People live next to the river side still use “lanting”.

But rumah lanting, is a dwelling. It also has several bedrooms, dining room, kitchen, a small toilet, and of course, a rather wide of porch in front and terrace. Rumah lanting is allowed to take electricity current from house on the upland, and the owner is also obliged for electric bill. From four directions: two in front side and remains in rear of the building, there are ropes tightly holding the house from breaker therefore it won’t be drifted.

On Kapuas rive, in towns of Putussibau, Kalis, Embaloh Hulu, Bunut Hulu, Jongkong, Suhaid and Semitau we find some “Rumah Lanting” are still use as residence by natives (mostly for them who are acquainted as Non-Dayak).

Instead of permanent house on the land, some people live in Rumah Lanting with the reason of efficiency that they don’t have spend more money and energy for cutting grass on the yard. You don’t have to buy a land to build that house, and you also do not have to pay any kind of tax due to the presence of rumah lanting nearby the river. But when the dry season comes and river goes subside, the owner should slack the rope so the house could reach sufficient level of water to keep it floating.

Surprisingly, floating house is not only in Kapuas Hulu, but also can be found in Netherlands. I looked at some canals in Amsterdam.

There’re some woody floating houses with some greeny plants decorate as if they’re not ordinary houses. But those were built on deck of the metal ships, while rumah lanting is purely from wood.**

Mercury Pollutant in Kapuas River Basin

In the last few years, the concerns on mercury pollutant of Kapuas River awareness have grown from the environmentalist groups as well as the whole stakeholders. The sources of mercury pollutant are from small scale gold mining which is considered as illegal.

So far, the efforts to prevent water pollution and environmental destruction are in failure as a result, the damage is continuous with no promising solution.
Kapuas River, which criss-crosses west Kalimantan province, has long been recognized supporting either conventional or non-conventional activities. Mostly, it has been utilized for domestic use and industry.

However, in 1998, since the economic crisis hit Indonesia along with the claims of reformation era, have made the local people considered that the gold mining activity in Kapuas River as the most promising sector to support their economy. As a result in the last ten years, the illegal gold mining has been dramatically bloomed.

In the gold mining process, mercury is used as the chemical agent to perform amalgam, which facilitates the separation of gold from the unwanted materials. Hence, Kapuas River is undergoing environmental and social problems due to poor mining practices and lack of economic alternatives.

Kapuas River is found crisscrossed the West Kalimantan and constructed from many tributaries, some of them, Embaloh, Manday, and Kapuas Hulu are located in Kapuas Hulu. Kapuas Hulu is the regency whereby the upstream of Kapuas River is located, while the downstream regencies of Kapuas River are represented with Sanggau regency and the city of Pontianak.

Hence, most of the mercury assessments were designed to cover such regions. According to the research of Mardan Adijaya (Centre for Freshwater and Coastal Studies, Tanjungpura University, West Kalimantan) and Takao Yamashita, based on data from the time periods from 1995 to 2003, the monthly discharge of Kapuas River ranges between 1964-9432 m3/s. It is seen that the flow is dropped during May, June and July, and its highest ranges appear on November and December.

This trend is crucial not only to plan mercury content monitoring periods but also to generate a reliable assessment of pollution load.Small scale gold mining by the indigenous mineral exploitation of the rivers is known as the common practices in developing countries. Bugnosen (1998) suggested that the small scale gold mining is mostly labour intensive which engages a large number of men and women, over six million world-wide.

It has been believed as a safety net in the current economic crisis. Most of small scale mining is unregulated and illegal. It is called PETI (Penambangan Emas Tanpa Izin) in Indonesian.The mercury pollution from gold mining and processing plants causes the contamination of aquatic and terrestrial resources by inhalation and uptakes.

The mercury is used in the amalgamation of gold. The contamination is come from the amalgamation process wastes and from the evaporation of the roasting process. No proper protection and care is adopted to guard against poisonous mercury.
Commonly, the mercury pollution of gold mining is viewed as the emission halo. The survey on the parties contributed in illegal gold mining which is conducted in 2001 reported that there are more than 449 labours and 100 investors involved in Kapuas Hulu.

The mining took place in Bunut Hulu river; Banut river, Nanga Suruk Village, Bunut Hulu sub-district; Tebaung river, Nanga Sebilit, Bunut Hulu sub-district, Mentebah river, Selaub, Bunut Hulu sub-district, Embau river, Mentawit Village, Hulu Gurung sub-district; and Embau river, Mentawai Village, Hulu Gurung sub-district.

Precious Kalimantan Wetland Losing Ground

Lake Sentarum National Park, frequently called the heart of Borneo, is the largest wetland ecosystem in Asia, covering 132,000 hectares of swamp and marsh. The park’s existence is so vital that the zone has held a place on the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance since 1994.
Located in West Kalimantan’s Kapuas Hulu regency, the park is facing a gloomy future, threatened by a plan to permit oil palm plantations, water-greedy and homogeneous, to develop on its perimeter.
The giant sponge serves many purposes. It retains water coming down the Kapuas River during the rainy season, then supplies that water to the area in the dry season, preventing aridity, and serves as West Kalimantan’s major source of freshwater fish.
Although people find little direct use for wetlands — un-navigable, swampy, and unfit for cultivating standards food crops — this terrain contributes a high degree of biodiversity of land and water biota. Wetlands also serve as a breeding ground for many species significant to humans.People who rely on fishing and fish farms for their livelihoods living near the park are concerned about the proposal to open up oil palm estates near the preserve.
Hari Sudirman, a resident of Sungai Lalau village in Suhait district, said he feared it could put an end to his 15-year-old fish breeding business. “Now we have problems regulating our water needs,” he said.He said he was aware the regent had not yet issued licenses for the project, which could turn over 18,000 hectares in Suhaid sub-district.
Some of the eighteen companies in the plan, however, have been bold enough to already start reclaiming land, he said.Premature development has also been observed in nearby Semitau sub-district, Kapuas Hulu.
A Selimbau community leader, Walidad, said he had been asked to attend a stakeholder meeting with residents, Selimbau district head Aband Sudarmo and employees of the oil-palm company. refused to put my signature because I disagree with the plan,” he said. “It’ll spoil the natural conditions and threaten the rare orchids near the Selimbau royal cemetery.”
Abang confirmed some 3,000 hectares in his district could host the new project. He said he was unaware of the size of the total area affected by the project across the regency and was only carrying out the regent’s instructions to mediate between the company and residents.“The outcome here depends on the residents,” he said.
The national park’s administrative head, Himawan Gunadi, said he had received letters from community groups opposing the oil palm plantations. He also said he would examine a map of the area affected by this plan, adding the park should be located far from any planned plantations, particularly as oil palm trees are water-consuming plants that should not be grown around the park.
“Since oil palm plantations will only harm the environment, I hope the plan will not be implemented and be further reviewed,” Himawan said. An ecologist from CIFOR, Elizabeth Linda Yuliani, who has been conducting research in the park for four years, said physical changes on the park’s perimeter — its contours, topography and spatial plan — could alter Lake of Sentarum’s role in the water cycle.
She warned such changes might reduce the rate of water flow, causing more mud to accumulate, and in turn lead to declines in the fish population. Mono-cultural plantations and intensive agriculture practices rely on pesticides and chemical fertilizer, which will also detract from the lake’s water quality.
“Based on our research, pesticides could harm at least 95 fish species in Sentarum Lake and then accumulate in the human population through water and fish consumption,” Linda said. Changes to the water system, especially sedimentation and reduced water flow, could lead to the extinction of 89 indigenous fish species.
The lake hosts 200 species of high economic value, including the super-red arowana (dragon fish) — a freshwater species which lives in black-water rivers, slow-moving waters that flow through forested swamp, peat-land and marsh. The water appears black because of the underlying peat, but it is clear and relatively free of sediment. If oil palm estates are opened around the park, 965.2 million hectares of peat-land and 128 million tons of peat might be affected, a low estimate based on the regency’s estate location map.
Peat-land provides efficient carbon reserves in addition to its role in mitigating the rate of water flow. Despite its role, peat-land appears unproductive. Industrial developers see advantages to making peat-land more productive by harvesting the peat and converting it to cropland.
“The local forestry office has announced that eight of the 18 locations planned for oil palm estates have been granted survey permits,” Linda said. She warned the Rp 34.7 billion annually earned by the community through fishing would be lost if the park’s surroundings are turned into single-crop plantations which rely on intensive farming practices.
A similar fate could also affect arwana breeders, who currently earn collectively between Rp 70 billion and Rp 145 billion annually. “Any mono-cultural plantation undertaking will change the natural setting, while oil palm and acacia trees are among the plants that cause the greatest water exhaustion.”
Source: http://old.thejakartapost.com/detailfeatures.asp?fileid=20090113.Y04&irec=1

Kapuas Hulu to Conservation District

The idea of determining Kapuas Hulu district to be a conservation district is based on fact that there are various conditions of the existing condition of Kapuas Hulu and other external factors which can be integrative support to establish conservation district. It’s declared with the Decree of the Head District of Kapuas Hulu, No. 144/2003.
These factors include firstly, total area of Kapuas Hulu is 29,842 km2 in where 1,686,318 ha (56.51%) of it is a protected area (conserved area); secondly, there are two national parks in Kapuas Hulu; Betung Kerihun national park (800,000 ha) and Danau Sentarum nasional park (132,000 ha). Betung Kerihun national park is located directly adjacent to the conservation area in Sarawak, named Taman Negara Batang Ai and Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary.
It becomes the first trans-frontier reserve in Asia. Further this can be developed in the form of area-based development cooperation for natural conservation border in the region, for instance ecotourism and cultural tourism.
Biodiversity of Betung Kerihun and Danau Sentarum is a very valuable asset for scientific research and development.The responsibility of forestry management is important to be noticed. Geographically, Kapuas Hulu in the upper-stream area is important as a hydro-ecologically function for the downstream area as Kapuas river flows through five districts in West Kalimantan.
Protected area and buffer zones for the half of conservation area in Kapuas Hulu are included in the protected forest management unit IV with the total area 677,090 km2. It’s divided into two sections of protected forest management units, 12 resorts if protected forest management unit and 25 units of protected forests.

Kapuas River A Big Waste Dump

The Kapuas river is far from the picture-perfect mountain stream it once was. Indeed, the big river in Selimbau district, Kapuas Hulu regency, West Kalimantan, is threatening to become a giant waste dump.

Plastic and paper waste, feces and other detritus produced by humans meander down the banks of the river from houses perched on stilts. Where there are animals in barns, yet more unpleasant waste is ejected into the brown water, in which many residents bathe and wash.

The district authorities are at a loss as to how to separate the once fresh water from the garbage, and how to solve the problem in the long term by raising awareness among residents about the hazards of living amid trash and the importance of a clean environment.

Selimbau district, which covers an area of nearly 10,000 hectares, is home to 14,274 residents, or 4,560 families, most of whom have settled along the river's banks.

Idrus, a ranger at Betung Kerihun National Park, said the river's source was in the park. The river is 1,143 km long, and its basin covers 9.4 million hectares.
Sukirman, who breeds cows and fish, said it was the norm for residents to discard their trash into the river.

"Our neighborhood is surrounded by water andall right to dump trash under homes as it will be naturally be swept away, making our environment clean again," said the resident of Gudang Hulu village in Selimbau.

Selimbau district head Abang Sudarmo said it would be difficult for the villagers to overcome the habit. He said his district had never promoted the concept of a clean environment to the residents, let alone prevented them from sullying the river.

"It's because I'm confused myself about how to solve the garbage disposal problem here," he said. "I know waste can be turned into compost but only a few people understand that."

The History of Dayaknese

The Dayak or Dyak are the peoples indigenous to Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups, located principally in the interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily identifiable.
Dayaks are categorised as part of wider Austronesian-speaking populations in Asia. Physically, many Dayak tend to resemble Occidental rather than Oriental peoples. Clear anthropological groupings are difficult, if not impossible, to determine because of the long admixture of Chinese, Malay, and Negrito stock. The Ibans, known as Sea Dayak and famous as pirates and conquerors, were probably the latest of the Dayak to arrive in Borneo; they alone of the Dayak groups inhabit the coastal region.
They bear strong ethnological similarities to the Malays, who came to Borneo in the 12th century. The Dayak were animist in belief; however many converted to Christianity, and some to Islam more recently. Estimates for the Dayak population range from 2 to 4 million.

Common interpretations in modern anthropology agree that nearly all indigenous peoples of South East Asia, including the Dayaks, are descendants of a larger more common Austronesian migration from Asia, regarded to have settled in the South East Asian Archipelago some 3,000 years ago. The first populations spoke various languages and dialects now termed under the collective Austronesian Lingua, from which Dayak languages are traced. About 2,450 years ago, metallurgy was introduced and subsequently became widespread.

The main ethnic groups of Dayaks are the Bakumpai and Dayak Bukit of South Kalimantan, The Ngajus, Baritos, Benuaqs of East Kalimantan, the Kayan and Kenyah groups and their subtribes in Central Borneo and the Ibans, Embaloh (Maloh), Kayan, Kenyah, Penan, Kelabit, Lun Bawang and Taman populations in the Kapuas and Sarawak regions. Other populations include the Ahe, Jagoi, Selakau, Bidayuh, and Kutais.

The Dayak people of Borneo possess an indigenous account of their history, partly in writing and partly in common cultural customary practices. In addition, colonial accounts and reports of Dayak activity in Borneo detail carefully cultivated economic and political relationships with other communities as well as an ample body of research and study considering historical Dayak migrations. In particular, the Iban or the Sea Dayak exploits in the South China Seas are documented, owing to their ferocity and aggressive culture of war against sea dwelling groups and emerging Western trade interests in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Coastal populations in Borneo are largely Muslim in belief, however these groups (Ilanun, Melanau, Kadayan, Bakumpai, Bisayah) are generally considered to be Islamized Dayaks, native to Borneo, and governed by the relatively high cultural influences of the Javanese Majapahit Kingdoms and Islamic Malay Sultanates, periodically covering South East Asian history.

Borneo is island, third largest in the world (after Greenland and New Guinea), South-East Asia, in the Malay Archipelago. It is bounded on the east by the Sulu Sea, the Celebes Sea, and the Strait of Makassar; on the South by the Java Sea; and on the Wwest and North by the South China Sea. Politically, Borneo is divided into Sabah and Sarawak, which are states of Malaysia; Brunei, an independent sultanate; and Kalimantan, part of Indonesia. The area is about 743,325 sq km (287,000 sq mi).

Introducing Some New Thoughts About Working From Home

Technology is evolving at a rapid rate. And if you do not keep up with the rate of change it could easily leave you behind in its wake. One of the results of this technological improvement is the way people communicate with each other and the world around them. The revolution in communication has lead to newer ways of doing business.
Working at home is one such phenomenon that has been made possible by the advance in the field of communication technology. The phenomenon has gained wide acceptance in the past few years as a novel way of doing business. Working at Home has changed the need for commuting to an office and working. Whether it is working for someone else or completely for yourself it is a growing theme in today’s fast paced world.
As the term in itself implies, it means that people work right from their homes using sophisticated equipment to communicate with others. There are home based businesses that don’t even require people to step outside of their homes except to withdraw money through the ATM machines. Such is the power of the latest technology. And there are some instances that people do not even step outside of their home. They can do all transactions including money right at home.
There are a great number of different businesses that people can do from home. Writing, editing, graphic designing, software developing, multi level marketing, tele-marketing, taking up agencies for travel business, ticket reservations, providing human resources to companies and organizations, and debt collecting agencies – the list of things that can be turned in to business from home is virtually endless.
People also are setting up successfully small industries for manufacturing items such as: soaps, candles, stuffed dolls, and homemade foods. There are equally large numbers of services that can be offered from home including: secretarial services, book keeping, accounting, legal advice, real estate consultancy, management consultancy, interior designing, garden landscaping, and carpet cleaning.
People have successfully started careers and made a living by working at home. Transcription, data entry, buying and selling on ebay, and home inspection jobs have fetched people a lot of money to make a decent living, not just paying the bills. With the growing numbers of people on the internet today the numbers for people actually making a living just by working from home is also exploding.
People that know how to repair mobile phones, TV sets, computers, and other appliances can conveniently start working from their homes. Women form a sizable chunk of the work at home population. There is still a significant population of women that are stay at home moms. This gives them the extra time that they can spend in setting up a home business. They also find their skills at stitching, embroidery, knitting, and dress designing profitable in running a home based business. People having experience or having the qualities to offer customer service can work for big companies’ right from their home.
Virtual assistance is also fast becoming popular in this area. Getting frustrated by the rigors of the corporate world many people are quitting their regular jobs and beginning to work from home. Of course the present economy is not helping much either with all the companies laying people off. With downsizing being the trend everywhere many people has no other choice. Many become successful and some do not. It all depends on the attitude and aptitude of the person working from home.
The rules that govern the possibility of success applies to succeed in a home based business as well. You do not have someone there telling you must work so you must have the discipline to make yourself work. If you want to succeed you must have the drive.
Working from home makes certain things easier, but the bottom line still remains the same. Hard work always pays. Simply getting seduced by the idea of working at home shouldn’t prompt people to quit their regular jobs. The move should be calculated and be made after calculating all the risks involved.
People should find their niche and determine if they have the self discipline to make the idea a success. It becomes easy to succeed with hard work and determination in home based business. There are many different types of work available out there for someone who has the discipline to drive themselves to success.
And even though working moms are fast becoming a large part of the work from home force, it is quickly changing with today’s economy for everyone.

Archaelogical Sites Surround Kapuas River Banks

Contrary to what many scholars may believe, Borneo offers scores of archaeological sites, even in its far hinterlands, and one can only regret that so little attention has been granted to an island whose history is crucial in Southeast Asia.

Hardly any of these sites have been excavated, besides a few famous ones in Sarawak. At Tanjung Lokang, a Hovongan (or Punan Bungan, another formerly nomadic group) settlement on the Bungan River, one of the uppermost tributaries of the Kapuas, people preparing an airstrip in the early 1980s unearthed a hoard of artefacts very similar to those of Nanga Balang (necklaces, bracelets, rings, beads, stone axes, and plenty of pottery shards).

These two sites, and others in the same region, still remain to be scientifically excavated.

Other sites in West Kalimantan are briefly described by Goenadi Nitihaminoto (Laporan Hasil Survai Kepurbakalaan di Propinsi Kalimantan Barat, Jakarta: Departemen P & K, Proyek Pengembangan Media Kebudayaan, Berita Penelitian Arkeologi series, no.6, 1977, 51 pp.). Some of them, in the regency of Kapuas Hulu, have yielded ceramic plates or shards thereof.

Further downstream along the middle Kapuas River, in the regency of Sintang, several lingga – including one with a carved face of Shiva (mukhalinga) and a basal yoni are found, also large stone tools and anthropomorphic stone statues.

Near Sanggau, inscriptions have been reported, both Hindu and Buddhist, as well as stone statues of Nandi bulls and Ganesha, and a bronze statue of Shiva with four arms (see F.D.K. Bosch, "Oudheidkundig Verslag over het derde en vierde Kwartaal 1925", Oudheidkundig Verslag (1925), pp. 69-104, particularly p. 89; N.J. Krom, "Voorloopige Lijst van Oudheden in de Buitenbezittingen", Oudheidkundig Verslag, Bijlage T. (1914), pp. 101-177; N.J. Krom, Hindoe-Javaansche Geschiedenis ('s-Gravenhage: Nijhoff, 1926), p. 72; D. Lombard, "Guide Archipel IV: Pontianak et son arriere-pays", Archipel 28 (1984): 77-97; particularly pp. 78, 80;also Anonymous, Monofrafi, p. 1; and Anonymous, Peta Sejarah Kalimantan Barat (Jakarta: Dep. P & K, Proyek Inventarisasi dan Dokumentasi Sejarah Nasional, 1985-86).

At the north-western tip of the island, several hoards of gold objects were excavated, some attributed to a Tantric Buddhist cult. (see T. Harrisson and S.J. O'Connor, Excavations of the Prehistoric Iron Industry in West Borneo (Ithaca: Cornell University, Southeast Asia Program, Data Paper no. 72, 1969, 2 vols.); and T. Harrisson, "The Prehistory of Borneo", in Prehistoric Indonesia, ed. P. van de Velde (Dordrecht: Foris, 1984), pp. 297-326 (this article first published in 1970).

To the south, on the upper Melawi River, an elaborate lingga-and-yoni was found in the territory of the Ot Danum groups.(see E.L.M. Kuhr, "Schetsen uit Borneo's Westerafdeeling", BKI 46 (6, 2 1896): 63-88, 214-39; 47 (6, 3 1897): 57-82; A.H.B. Agerbeek, "Batoe Darah Moening. Eene Kalang-legende van West-Borneo", Tijdschrift v. Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (Bataviaasch Genootschap) (1910): 153-57.)

Farther to the southwest, some Hindu-Buddhist objects were also reported. To the east, on the Mahakam River, a number of stone Nandi bulls had been placed at the sites of important settlements by the Pin groups (who lived along the Mahakam before the Kayan invasion); one can still be seen in situ. Also in East Kalimantan, inscribed yupas (in Pallava script; fourth or fifth century A.D.), gold jewellery, stone statues of Hindu gods and Boddhisatvas (ca tenth century), and a bronze Buddha were discovered. (see H. Kern, "Over de Sanskrit opschriften van Kutei (Borneo) ca. 400 A.D.)", in Verspreide Geschriften 7 ('s-Gravenhage: Nijhoff, 1917),pp. 55-76; J. Ph. Vogel, "The Yupa Inscriptions of King Mulavarman from Koetei (East Borneo)", BKI 74 (1918): 167-232; F.D.K. Bosch, "Oudheden in Koetei", Oudheidkundig Verslag, Bijlage G. (1925), pp. 132-46; N.J. Krom, Geschiedenis; J.G. de Casparis, "Some Notes on theOldest Inscriptions of Indonesia", in A Man of Indonesian Letters -- Essays in Honor of Professor A. Teeuw, ed. C.M.S. Hellwig and S.O. Robson (Dordrecht: Foris/KITLV, 1986), pp. 242-56.)

According to Bernard Sellato from the Journal of Southeast Asian Studies (Vol. 24, 1993), it is clear that Indian cultural influence, at least in some of its visual manifestations, reached quite far inland up Borneo's major rivers. As the uppermost Kapuas region is rich in gold and forest products, this should not be surprising. Networks of trade and, along with it, cultural interaction - probably induced the emergence there of supra-tribal polities in the form of petty trading kingdoms.

According to the region, this Indian influence appears to have been either Shivaist or Buddhist. Among the artifacts found at the site of Nanga Balang, the presence of gold jewellery (if not that of the phallic stone) might be interpreted as an unambiguous clue to such influence.

If Indian influence reached the coasts of Borneo in the fourth or fifth century A.D.,it most probably took several centuries to diffuse to the populations of the far interior. In any case, western Borneo later came under the influence of the Hindu-Javanese kingdom of Majapahit (around 1350).

Similarly Islam, known to have reached the coastal regions of West Kalimantan in the mid-sixteenth century, probably did not diffuse to Putussibau before the first half of the eighteenth century.

Catholic missionaries established themselves near Putussibau in 1924, and it probably took another couple of decades before they actually started converting the Bukat. Bernard Sellato stated that none of the sites mentioned above has yielded metals (that is, other than gold), with the exception of the two bronze statues mentioned above.

Although metal (bronze and iron) technology might have reached certain points of Borneo's coasts around 2000 B.C., we know that notable iron production in Borneo only started in the tenth century A.D. (see T. Harrisson and S.J. O'Connor, Excavations, J.W. Christie, "Ironworking in Sarawak", in Metalworking in Borneo: Essays on iron-and silver-working in Sarawak, ed. J.W. Christie and V.T. King (Hull: The University of Hull, Centre for South-East Asian Studies, 1988), and was widespread only among a few inland groups (e.g., the Iban and Kayan), and probably not earlier than the fifteenth century. Neither of these groups was present on the uppermost reaches of the Kapuas at any time before the early nineteenth century.

Most inland groups went on using a Neolithic-technology until a couple of centuries ago, and the most isolated retained the use of stone tools until after World War II.

These groups relied on a horticultural economy until the availability of iron tools allowed for the real opening of tropical rainforests and for the advent of swidden rice agriculture in their hinterland territories.

Introduction to Kapuas Hulu

Kapuas Hulu district is located at the eastern part of West Kalimantan province. It is situated at 0o08’ NL – 1o36’ NL, and 111o32’ EL– 114o09’ EL. The capital city is Putussibau. It can be reached by land, air and water. It takes about 18 hours (660 kilometers) by car or bus from Pontianak to Putussibau, or 1.5 hours flight by ATR 42 aircrafts from Supadio airport in Pontianak to Pangsuma airport in Putussibau.

Bordering with East Malaysia in the north, Kapuas Hulu is also bordered with Central Kalimantan to the south, Melawi to the west and Central Kalimantan to the east. Its topography is characterized by a shape of wok with a concave part in the middle.

The area consists of swamp, river stream, lakes and hills bordering to Sarawak (East Malaysia) along East Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan.Its total area is 29,842 kilometers square (1,677,601 ha).

Approximately 56% of the area is a protected and conservation area. It has two national parks: Betung Kerihun and Danau Sentarum national parks. Kapuas Hulu plays a big role in water circulation management in West Kalimantan due to its location at the tip of the Kapuas Hulu river that flows to almost all districts in West Kalimantan.It has a tropical rain isothermal with hot temperature in dry season.

The temperature is ranged from 22,9o C - 31,05o C. Average temperature in daytime is 29oC. Officially structured based on the 1959 Codes No. 27 on Emergency Law and 1953 Codes No. 3 on the Establishment of Local Administrations in Kalimantan (State Page No. 9/1953), since 2006 Kapuas Hulu districts has twenty five sub-districts, 154 villages and four administrative villages.

As one of the oldest districts in West Kalimantan, Kapuas Hulu has mainly potentials on natural resources for instance plantation of rubber and crude palm, as well as gold and fishery (arwana fish), and also tourism. Natural resources and cultural heritages have become the main tourist magnetism for Kapuas Hulu. It has forests, waterfalls, river rapids, lakes and caves that are potential for ecotourism.

Betung Kerihun national park and Danau Sentarum national park have a lot of endangered animal’s species such as orang utan, honey-bear, forest cat, many kinds of fish included arwana fish, the most expensive fish in the world.

The two biggest ethnics of Kapuas Hulu, Malay and Dayak, have beautiful culture, arts and traditional rituals. The ethnic of Malay is famous for its dances such as Jepin.

In addition, they are also known for their traditional poetry and poem, traditional chants and also communal gatherings; while Dayak ethnic is well-known by its long house, traditional rituals and traditional clothes, made from small beads, and traditional woven clothes.