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| Traditional, short and comfortable |
There are three longhouse structures at Annah Rais, though
the original longhouse dates back over a century. We didn’t get a chance to
enter any of the longhouses mainly because they are divided into various small
apartments as opposed to one main communal living area. Every door along the
longhouse represents one family’s private apartment, though they technically
all share the same roof.
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Though it has long been banned in Sarawak, headhunting was a
major part of the longhouse community culture. There are two main reasons why
headhunting was practiced. Firstly, it was related to traditional ceremonial
funeral rites. In the Iban and Orang Ulu groups, during the mourning period,
restrictions were placed on the community’s day to day life until the head was
collected from the deceased. Once the head was obtained and ceremonial rituals
were done, the mourning period would end and the community could go back to
daily life.
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