Why a Booktrail?
Timeless: The first in the fantasy trilogy set in the jungles of Borneo
Iban Dream
What you need to know before your trail
Orphaned as a young boy in the rainforests of Borneo, Bujang is brought up by a family of orangutans, but his adult future has already been decided for him by Sengalang Burong, the Iban warpath god. On reaching adulthood, Bujang must leave his ape family and serve the warpath god as a warrior and a headhunter. Having survived his first assignment — to kill an ill-tempered demon in the form of a ferocious wild boar — subsequent adventures see Bujang converse with gods, shamans, animal spirits and with the nomadic people of Borneo as he battles evil spirits and demons to preserve the safety of those he holds dear to him. But Bujang’s greatest test is still to come and he must rally a large headhunting expedition to free his captured wife and those of his fellow villagers
Locations
Reset- Indonesia/Malaysia -Borneo
- A: Borneo Island
- B: Sarawak - Kuching
- C: Sarawak - the jungle
- D: Gunung Palung National Park
Travel Guide
Borneo and the Iban people
The Ibans are a people of Borneo. Most of them live in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. They also live in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan in longhouses called rumah panjai.
Ibans were renowned for practicing headhunting and tribal/territorial activities. They also have had a fearsome reputation as a strong and successful warring tribe in the past. The Iban language continues to thrive.
Author Golda Mowe — herself an Iban from Borneo — uses real beliefs, taboos and terminology of the Iban (a longhouse-dwelling indigenous group of people from Borneo who, until very recently, were renowned for practising headhunting) to weave an epic tale of good versus evil.
“Mist rose from the land, carrying a fragrance of fern from the forest floor up to the canopy. Pillar of white and black and gold stood in chaotic rows, some covered in lianas, others with curtain-like tendrils of the air-roots of epiphtes plants. Life was in their roots and life was in their branches, scampering, skittering or perching and swinging.”
“The sun turned the sky gold, then grey and soon waned into a soft flow that disappeared into the horizon beyond Mount Menuku.”
BookTrail Boarding Pass: Iban Dream
Destination: Malaysia, Indonesia, Borneo Author/guide: Golda Mowe Departure Time: Timeless
Back to ResultsWhere Next?
