Iban people

The Iban, great Dayak nation of northwestern Borneo, people Sarawak, Brunei and West Kalimantan from the Kapuas-Ketungau homeland. Longhouse republics of extended families farm hill rice by shifting cultivation, hunt, fish and weave ikat; warrior headhunting ordered status and spirit until the early 20th century. Hornbill carvings, tattooed throats, gawai festivals and the tuak rice wine order the longhouse year. Brooke rajahs, Dutch patrols, Japanese occupation, loggers and oil palm fenced the forest; Iban trackers, soldiers, teachers and weavers carried the nation through. Kuching longhouse suburbs, Sibu churches and the Gawai Dayak holiday keep Borneo's sea-Dayaks sailing. Sarawak's rivers still carry longboat traffic. Brunei and Kalimantan kin share the Gawai. Kapuas grandmothers still tell the migration epics. Ketungau tributary villages keep the oldest rites. Dayak cousins across Borneo share the festivals. Shifting rice still feeds every longhouse. Longhouse elders still judge every dispute. Headhunting's end is dated to living memory.