Seriously, the girls are younger than the Sewang...

The Sewang may be an ancient ritual dance as old as the Semai custom. The rituals used to be managed, controlled & performed by elderly Semai. Not anymore. The Sewang  girls are now younger, prettier & much travelled. However, their backup "musicians" are still performed largely by the elderlies. Perhaps it takes time to master the bamboo guitar, nose flute & the wood drums. And all the more reason to bring along your cameras & videos when you make a visit here! For more infor, visit ecolifecamp.blogspot.com.

Come join the Sewang dance...

The colourful, mystical Sewang ritual dance...accompanied by 'live' music from bamboo instruments & coordinated 'wailing' of the Semai, a subtribe of the Senoi. And you can join them in their dance... All these can be experienced at Ecolife Basecamp Pos Betau, K.Lipis. Visit ecolifecamp.blogspot.com for enquiries/information.

Gems of the river

If you do happen to stop by at Sungai Koyan on the way to Pos Betau, try to do it on a Wednesday and/or Thursday. This is because of the 2-day Pekan Sehari (farmer's market) held everyweek, the scale of which defied logic for a small town. If you are into local freshwater fish, there's a few species brought in by local breeders. You may also come across the exotic Baung once in a while. So, the next time you are here, don't forget your fishing rods.

Creatures of the night...

When night falls in Pos Betau, it is super-quiet. So quiet that the only thing you'll hear or see is the creatures of the night - the insect kind. One of it that caught my fancy is this colourful, unique, butterfly-like insect. It clinged on the door at the basecamp. Anybody know what's it called?  

Development comes fast to Pos Betau

SIGNS of development are everywhere in Pos Betau. Water issues are being addressed with the construction of a new water pump station and the supply of water tanks to 14 of the 18 kampungs in P.Betau.  Schools are being upgraded with solar panels. Latest to follow is the construction of a road to Pos Lenjang some 29km into the jungle currently accessible by only 4WD, as announced by the PM when he visited the area in the middle of last year. Wonder when will handphone signals, internet lines reach here next.

Akademi Hanxing student's field day at Ecolife

Last 9-10th April saw a busload of students from Akademi Hanxing for Journalism & Communication, K.L.congregating at Ecolife basecamp to finish their coursework in a real life setting. Armed with cameras & videos, they worked hard over 2 days and 1 night covering all aspects of the Semai culture, rode the bamboo raft, jumped from a nearby bridge into the river with the semai kids, visited their orchards, taste their food and finally participated in the colourful Sewang dance in a party-like atmosphere.




Students with a group of friendly Semai kids

 

Students listening to instructions from their lecturer, En Zaki (in orange t-shirt) before embarking on their assignment.





Having a meal after a hard days work, overlooking the river

 


Taking a breather after riding the bamboo raft




Interviewing the Tok Batin before the start of the  Sewang




Participating in the Sewang dance...



One for the album

For all, it was a trully, trully memorable moment in their life. Let's hope more students can enjoy their experience here in the future.