After a day of recovery filled with aloe vera applications and Caroline's pampered complaints in the marine paradise of Maratua, the twentieth day brought the group back to the mainland of East Kalimantan, but with a different destination. Nisa wanted to give The Corrs a deeper cultural experience, a direct interaction with one of the most famous indigenous tribes in Kalimantan: the Dayak Tribe.
With careful planning (and high-level coordination between the Palace team and local government), they visited a cultural village of the Dayak Kenyah or Dayak Bahau (Nisa chose a village that was already accustomed to receiving guests well, to avoid excessive 'disruption' to the original customs, while maintaining its authenticity). The journey to the village itself was an adventure, navigating roads that were sometimes muddy from last night's rain and crossing simple wooden bridges over small tributaries.
Upon arriving at the village, they were greeted by a scene different from the villages they had visited before. Long, elevated wooden houses (lamin) with beautiful, intricate carvings stood majestically. Some villagers wore traditional attire with colorful beads and head decorations made of Hornbill bird feathers. The faint sound of the sape' instrument (a traditional Dayak lute) could be heard from one of the houses.
The welcoming ceremony was simple yet meaningful. The traditional elder gave a warm welcome (translated by a local guide), and then they were treated to sweet tuak (rice wine) (which Jim sampled a little this time for "ethnographic research" reasons, while Andrea politely declined, afraid the effect would be worse than the Bir Pletok).
"They are so friendly and unassuming," Sharon whispered to Nisa, her eyes admiring the carving details on the wall of the traditional house where they were received.
The main agenda of the day, after touring the village and admiring the local handicrafts (Andrea was immediately interested in the brightly colored beaded bracelets), was learning one of the Dayak welcome dances. Several young village dancers, both male and female, in beautiful full costumes – feathered head decorations, beaded vests, ikat woven cloth around the waist, and metal bracelets on their feet that jingled – were prepared in the wide courtyard in front of the traditional house. The soulful strains of the sape' music and the rhythmic thumping of small drums began to sound.
"Wow, the costumes are so cool!" Caroline exclaimed enthusiastically. "I want to try on the one with the feathers!"