A selfie with "Orang Ulu" tribe girls.
A sketch day out in THE LIVING MUSEUM.
Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV) portrays "live'' state's rich cultural diversity in one single place as a natural showcase. It is a 17.5 acre sprawling expanse on the foothill of the legendary Mt Santubong fronting the South China Sea with 7 authentic ethnic houses built around a man-made lake.
The lake represents the usual planning of Sarawakians to build their houses alongside coastal areas and rivers. In each house, they showcase their unique culture of the unique tribes in various perspectives such their traditional games, household chores, ceremonies and rituals by the real descendant of each tribes.
Ive been here about 15 years back during my last visit to kuching but that time, i dont really bother much about all the showcases and buildings. But this time around was really different as ive developed my architectural knowledge, i sketch, i do photography, i understand the history now, all of these have given me a whole new experience on this visit.
The cultural show.
The show is definitely a not-to-missed if u're visiting SCV. We were there just perfect timing to catch the first show at 11.30am, and we've got the best seat in the theater. :D
and fueled up with my excitement and passion...
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...i start sketching rightt awayyy. There and then. :p
Sketch 01: The dance. Warm up sketching of some gestures and garments of the dancers.
...and oh! at the end of the show i went on the stage to join them dancing and got to take a selfie with one of the main dancer of Orang Ulu.
Starting the tour.
We were given a passport with informations and spaces to collect stamps from each house so we wont be missing out anything.
But ive decided to fill in the stamps inside my sketchbook with the sketches instead. :)
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Sketch 02 : The Bidayuh tribe tall house.
Most of the houses here have several similar elements. One big one is their building materials are all from timber and bamboos. And the the second one is most of these houses area communal housing which they live together as friends and families.
A view from the inside of the Bidayuh tall houses.
Then we move along the trail,
And i saw a really nice angle to sketch the Orang Ulu longhouse that have a tremendous detaillings and perfect setting.
Sketch 03 : Orang Ulu tribe longhouse
Then i went in the house and get to chill in there with this guy named Robert, a true aboriginal from the descendant of the "Orang Ulu" tribe who showed me the process of making and playing this musical instrument called "Sape". The Sape produced a very calming and fresh sounds that will reminds you of the feeling of being inside a rainforest.
I spent some time there listening to Robert play while he entertained me, i also have something for him;
Sketch 04 : The Sape Player.
Robert wasnt that much of a chatter, most of the thing ive learned about them were through a conversation with this lady selling merchandise;
And she let me took a flat-lay photo of the sketches at the home of Orang Ulu tribe.
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On my way out of the house, i was greeted by these lovely girls and they brought me to the next house...
...the Iban Longhouse.
Theres few activities going on inside;
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This lady preparing the 'kuih sarang semut' the traditional way.
...and their delicate craftmentship.
So i did one sketch too, analysing the building's spatial quality and few portrait sketches.
then we continue our journey to my last next sketching point.
Sketch 05 : The round house.
Finished this piece and then took a photo with them there too!
Special thanks to my whole bunch of buddies with me for the trip and thanks for helping me with the photos!
A memorable, fun and awesome trip indeed!
Do check up some other posts on my other sketch when i was in Kuching for the weekends here;
1 - @kymio/sketching-kuching-day-01-arriving
2 - @kymio/sketching-kuching-a-view-from-hilton-timelapse-video
3 - @kymio/sketching-kuching-klsketchnation-meets-kuching-urbansketchers-timelapse-video
I really couldnt ask for more, the weather, the people, the shows, the exhibit, the foods was all awesome. I enjoyed the trip so much and im sure ill be back here very soon. :)
The momentum is still on, i was still touching up my sketches inside our Grab Car on our way back to the hotel. lol
The next thing to do you ask? Follow the instruction on my tshirt! Thank you! ;P
