Revisit Nanga Jela at Telang Usan Hotel on Saturday October 6, 2025 – Posted in: In The News
KUCHING: A special panel discussion titled Pemulai ke Nanga Jela: Return to Nanga Jela will take place at 4pm this Saturday (Oct 4) at Telang Usan Hotel, here.
The event, jointly organised by Friends of Sarawak Museum (FoSM), Sarawak Heritage Society (SHS), and Sarawak Dayak Graduates Association (SDGA), is free and open to the public.
Conducted in both Iban and English, the session aims to shed light on the importance of preserving memories, history and traditions of Iban communities from Batang Ai.
“The longhouse at Nanga Jela was more than just a home, it represented generations of knowledge, customs, and land use that connected people deeply to the Engkari River landscape,” said FoSM, in a statement on Tuesday (Sept 30) highlighting the significance of the upcoming discussion.
“Through this panel and the book Pemulai ke Nanga Jela, we hope to ensure that the history of the community will not be lost to time, especially for younger generations who may only know these places through stories,”it said.
The discussion will feature prominent voices including anthropologist Christine Padoch, Charlie Dudang, and Jayl Langub, who will reflect on the process of documenting communities whose way of life has been disrupted by modern development.
It also coincides with the official launch of the book Pemulai ke Nanga Jela: Return to Nanga Jela by the Governor of Sarawak at the Sarawak Book Fair 2025, organised by Pustaka Sarawak.
“Nanga Jela, once located along Sarawak’s Engkari River, was home to an Iban longhouse community whose lands covered about 8,500 hectares of orchards, forests, graveyards, and river beaches.
“It was considered one of the longest-occupied Iban territories in Sarawak. However, with the construction of the Batang Ai Hydroelectric Dam in 1985, Nanga Jela and 21 other longhouses were submerged, erasing a centuries-old settlement,”it said.
In the 1970s, Padoch, sponsored by the Sarawak Museum, lived in Nanga Jela for two years and documented the community’s dynamic lifestyle and deep relationship with the land.
The bilingual Iban–English book, co-authored by Padoch with Bobby Anak Nyegang and Itin Anak Langit, revisits this history while making accessible archival materials collected more than fifty years ago.
“For the descendants of Nanga Jela and the wider Dayak community, the book provides not just a scholarly account but also a cultural inheritance, a written record of a landscape and way of life now at risk of being forgotten,”it said.
Seats for the event are limited, and early registration is encouraged at tinyurl.com/nangajela.
Fasiha Khushiri
This article was first published in Sarawak Tribune, 30 Sept 2025
Pemulai ke Nanga Jela, Return to Nanga Jela, is now available on Areca Books’ website and in-store.
