If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it. – Toni Morrison, American novelist Two days ago I was awakened by my own acclamation in my own mother tongue. Somebody in my dream was asking me about what happened
If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking. ― Haruki Murakami, Japanese writer It is certainly an awesome feeling. I am referring to the overwhelming response to my newly published book LONGHOUSE TO CITY. Using social media FB
I use a pseudonym, because my real name is very difficult to pronounce, to remember, and to spell. And many people who have been talking about me on television have yet to pronounce it correctly. – Jeff Gannon, American columnist In my earlier articles I did share at least three
I’ve developed a karaoke habit. I’ve become a crooner. – Serena Williams, tennis star As I write, I am thinking of my eldest brother Edward Jelani, who turns 80 on July 1. Edward, who recorded two Iban songs (our lingo’s versions of the Elvis Presley’s), with RTM in 1963, is a
What I’ve learned to do is arrest my addiction – arrest it myself, so I don’t get arrested. – Rodney King, African American man who was a victim of police brutality After editing most of crime and police stories, I can humbly say that the Penal Code is at my
Many readers responded positively to my two articles on ‘pemali’ (ancestral ban) in the last two weeks. A few told me they also observe and practise injunctions of their own inherited from their forebears. All are in favour of more tales on these prohibitions which relate Iban world of old
I believe in everything until it’s disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it’s in your mind. Who’s to say that dreams and nightmares aren’t as real as the here and now? – John Lennon, singer-songwriter In my column last week, I shared
Folklore provides a socially sanctioned outlet for the discussion of the forbidden and taboo. – Alan Dundes, American interpreter There are still many in the Iban community of the current generation who still submit fully to their families’ taboos or injunctions. These prohibitions are inherited from their forebears who were
When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile. – Stephenie Meyer, American novelist There was joy during last Gawai, especially after a two-year hiatus. And sadness too – my relatives in Munggu Embawang, Saratok, my late dad’s birthplace, were
Hari Gawai Dayak must be preserved as an occasion to meet, exchange visits, interact and understand each other’s customs and traditions so that a celebration, which has been given a public holiday, can help to strengthen the unity of all communities not only in Sarawak but in Kuala Lumpur and