Memories of Our Belagan Wedding

Memories of Our Belagan Wedding

A net of beads, trade seeds lore,
Some wood made cloth, rice wine pours,
Banana leaf plates, bamboo bowls,
Memories linger 'round the longhouse poles.

Up the Rajang, that perilous river,
Our express boat loudly whirls,
The rapid waters through jungle cut,
Deep and dark it churls...

Longhouse people seem to stand midstream
On what, we cannot see...
Or jump aboard from a longboat's tip...
They seem to beckon me.

Some sequins, feather, beads, and mat
Covered with cloth, so colorful that
It dances at night, when the farming's done
And the longhouse meal and talk's begun.

Sit on the gong, pass food and drink,
Along with money, beads, and brass--
A parang, a shield, a hat, a dance
Will make the wedding evening pass.

The mosquito's song, a lullaby,
The moon and stars a lamp...
Sit or sleep there on the floor...
The whole family around encamped.
Ó Copyright 2002, Daphne Yvonne Bradshaw.

Notes for understanding:
    *Belaga-- home to my husband, found in the interior of Sarawak, Malaysia
(on the western side of Borneo)
    *longhouse--a type of linked house on stilts in Sarawak
    *Rajang--river in Sarawak
    *parang--the long knife...heavier than a machete