Location : Kampung Tang Itong, Lawas District, Limbang Division, Sarawak, Malaysia.

Our first stop at Long Tuma to visit the bead making workshop turned out to be a disappointment as it was locked with no one around to ask or a notice at the door to let visitors know they were closed for the day. We later found out that the lady in charge was attending a wedding reception somewhere out of town. All we could see through the louver windows were a number of kilns for the firing of the hand painted ceramic beads. I remember how my friend Gerald Goh a ceramic expert from Kuching help kickstarted this bead production more than a decade ago.

Kampung Tang Itong, village, Malaysia, artisan, backpackers, dayak, native, Orang Ulu, Lun Bawang, Limbang, Tourism, traditional, Long Tuma, 老越砂拉越, 婆罗洲, culture,
Lawas tourist attraction
Kampung Tang Itong, village, kulit kayu, tree bark handicrafts, hats, Malaysia, Lun Bawang artisan, Borneo, Limbang, Tourism, tourist attraction, traditional, travel guide, Ceramic beads, Long Tuma, 老越砂拉越
Junction to villages
Kampung, village, handicrafts, Kraftangan Malaysia, artisan, culture, backpackers, dayak, Orang Ulu, Lun Bawang Festival, Borneo, tourist attraction, travel guide, Manik Seramik, 老越砂拉越, 婆罗洲
Long Tuma beads centre
village, handicrafts, Kraftangan Malaysia, artisan, culture, native, tribal, tribe, Irau Aco Lun Bawang Festival, Borneo, Limbang, Tourism, traditional, travel guide, Ceramic beads, 老越砂拉越,
Bead making workshop
Kampung Long Tuma, village, handicrafts, artisan, backpackers, dayak, native, Orang Ulu, Lun Bawang Festival, Borneo, Lawas, Limbang, tourist attraction, travel guide, Manik Seramik,
Kilns of different shape and size

The Lun Bawang’s love for beads has always been well known but to produce their own beads is something never seen in other communities of Sarawak. Their ladies are always proudly adorned with beautiful glass beads from the headcaps to necklaces and bracelets. Antique beads are hard to come by these days. What we see nowadays are mostly replicas made in Gujarat India but they are just as beautiful. I remember meeting this guy from Bali at a hotel in Marudi some 20 years ago selling these Gujarati beads all over the interior of Sarawak. He made a killing, I am sure.

We left shortly for Tang Itong further down the same road where tree barks were turned into beautiful crafts by another Lun Bawang community.

native, village, kulit kayu topi, tree bark crafts, Kraftangan, artisan, authentic, culture, tribal, Irau Aco Lun Bawang Festival, Borneo, tourist attraction, traditional, travel guide, 婆罗洲, 原著民树皮工艺品
Kampung Tang Itong
Kampung, kulit kayu topi, tree bark handicrafts, Kraftangan Malaysia, backpackers, artisan, traditional, dayak, native, tribe, Borneo, Limbang, tourist attraction, travel guide, 老越砂拉越, 树皮工艺品
Tree bark factory at Tang Itong

Mr Suut and his son Johnny was at the factory to receive us. Suut wasted no time to demonstrate his magic by turning a branch of the terap or talon tree into a neat piece of beaten bark. He pounded, slit, split, rolled and more pounding and in less than 30 minutes was an amazing piece of processed bark. It needed to be further soaked in water and air dried before it could be made into shirt, purse or cowboy hat. Next……Penawan Waterfall.

Tree barks making

Tang Itong village, kulit kayu topi, hat handicrafts, Kraftangan Malaysia, authentic, dayak, native, Orang Ulu, tribe, Lun Bawang artisan, Lawas, Limbang, tourism, tourist attraction, 老越砂拉越, 原著民树皮工艺品
First pounding to seperate the tree bark from the trunk
Kampung Tang Itong, handicrafts factory, hats, Malaysia, artisan, backpackers, native, Orang Ulu, Lun Bawang, Lawas, Limbang, tourist attraction, traditional, travel guide, 老越砂拉越, 婆罗洲树皮工艺品
Slitting the beaten bark
Kampung, kulit kayu topi, hats, Kraftangan Malaysia, artisan, authentic, culture, native, tribal, Lun Bawang, Borneo, Lawas, Tourism, traditional, travel guide, 原著民树皮工艺品
Splitting and removing the outer layer. Only the smooth inner layer is used

Kampung Tang Itong, kulit kayu, handicrafts, Kraftangan Malaysia, artisan, authentic, backpackers, tribal, Dayak Lun Bawang, Borneo, Limbang, Tourism, traditional, travel guide, 婆罗洲, 原著民树皮工艺品

Kampung Tang Itong, tree bark crafts, clothing, Kraftangan Malaysia, authentic, backpackers, dayak, Orang Ulu, tribe, Lun Bawang artisan, Borneo, Sarawak, Lawas, tourist attraction, traditional, travel guide,
Johnny helping his dad spin the press
Kampung Tang Itong, kulit kayu topi, hat handicrafts, Kraftangan Malaysia, culture, backpackers, native, Orang Ulu, tribal, Lun Bawang artisan, Borneo, Lawas, Limbang, travel guide, 婆罗洲, 原著民树皮工艺品
Thinning the bark with a press originally made for pressing rubber sheet #treebarkproducts
Kampung Tang Itong, kulit kayu, handicrafts, Kraftangan, Malaysia, authentic, culture, native, Orang Ulu, Lawas, Limbang, tourism, traditional, travel guide, 原著民树皮工艺品
After pressing the bark is further pounded into the right thickness
Tang Itong village, Kraftangan kulit kayu, handicrafts, Malaysia, artisan, culture, native, tribe, Dayak Lun Bawang, Orang Ulu, Lawas, Limbang, Tourist attraction, traditional, 老越砂拉越, 原著民树皮工艺品
Finished piece folded in halves, double its original size

village, kulit kayu topi, hats, Kraftangan Malaysia, authentic, dayak, native, Orang Ulu, tribal, Irau Aco Lun Bawang Festival, Borneo, Sarawak, tourist attraction, traditional, travel guide, 婆罗洲树皮工艺品

Tang Itong village, tree bark factory, hats, Kraftangan Malaysia, artisan, native, Orang Ulu, tribe, Irau Aco Lun Bawang Festival, Limbang, Tourism, traditional, travel guide, 砂拉越, 原著民树皮工艺品
Ms Sophia slowly getting the hat into shape with the ever reliable Singer sewing machine

Kampung Tang Itong, kulit kayu topi, Kraftangan Malaysia, authentic, dayak, native, Orang Ulu, tribe, Borneo, Lawas, tourism, traditional, travel guide, 老越砂拉越, 树皮工艺品

Kampung Tang Itong, tree bark crafts, hats, Kraftangan Malaysia, tribal, artisan, culture, native, Orang Ulu, tribe, Borneo, Sarawak, Tourism, traditional, travel guide, 原著民树皮工艺品
Finished product

Tang Itong village, kulit kayu topi, tree bark crafts, authentic, culture, dayak, Orang Ulu, tribe, Borneo, Lawas, Limbang, Tourism, traditional, travel guide, 砂拉越, 原著民树皮工艺品 Tang Itong village, kulit kayu topi, hat, Kraftangan Malaysia, culture, native, dayak, Orang Ulu, tribal, Lun Bawang, Borneo, Sarawak, Lawas, tourism, traditional, travel guide,

Tang Itong village, culture, kulit kayu, handicrafts, Kraftangan Malaysia, culture, dayak motif, native, tribal, Lun Bawang, Borneo, Lawas, Tourism, traditional, 婆罗洲, 原著民树皮工艺品
Tree bark painting

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Kampung Tang Itong, village, kulit kayu topi, tree bark crafts, Kraftangan, Malaysia, dayak, native, Orang Ulu, Lun Bawang Festival, Lawas, Limbang, Tourism, travel guide, traditional, buah
Tarap / Terap tree
Marang tree, Tang Itong village, kulit kayu topi, tree bark crafts, handicrafts, hats, clothing, Kraftangan Malaysia, dayak, native, Irau Aco Lun Bawang Festival, Lawas, Limbang, Tourism, travel guide, 老越砂拉越
Fruit of the terap tree where the branches are cut and made into tree bark

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