Tribal long house in Sarawak

In the mountain jungles of Sarawak, many people of the indigenous (native) tribes or groups still live in traditional kampongs (villages).

One family's living space in a longhouse

We visited a longhouse of the group known as the  Bidayuh. (say bid-eye-oo) The longhouses are built on stilts and are made mainly of bamboo. Each longhouse is divided into many separate family living spaces. Each family has it's own living, cooking and sleeping space. Often grandparents live in the home with the family.

Long ago the Bidayuh were headhunters.
We saw these old skulls kept in the longhouse!

Each day the children go to school and the parents go to work in the jungle as farmers, or go to jobs in towns nearby. For some indigenous children school is boarding school. These kids stay at the school for week days and travel back to the kampong for the weekend.The school day for kids in Sarawak starts at 7.30am and finishes at about 1pm. The main school holidays are In November and December.

There is also a holiday for kids at the end of the Muslim holy time of Ramadan. All the people of Sarawak, including those who are not Muslim, the Christians and the Buddhists also enjoy this 2 or 3 day celebration known as Eid ul-Fitr.
You can read more about the festival of Eid ul-Fitr on kidcyber