Dalat as I see it

Dalat is one of the town that we passed as we drive home from Sibu which is also my hometown. Dalat is the town that most of the villages used to visit when they need any food supplies or medical treatment.

Armed with my buddy Nikon D7000 matched with Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 VC, I roamed the street and along it's beautiful Oya River.

This Dalat as I see it either during the day or night.

Let's start with something close to the Melanau as I am a Melanau by race.
The symbol of Dalat is Jerunei or Kelidieng as it is called in Melanau language. This symbol also shows that Dalat is a Melanau town where Melanaus are the majority beside Iban and the Chinese.

 It's raining when I captured this images and I hope my camera can cope with a bit of water drops. Yet I am hoping to get something weather sealed camera like Olympus OMD-EM5 one day.

If you could not read the plate.
It says something like this: JERUNEI/KELIDIENG
JERUNEI or KELIDIENG is a post which has armful diameter. It is made of belian timber, a wood that can stand the weather condition and can last for centuries. The JERUNEI is carved in various kind of patterns. Some of the JERUNEI has simple patterns and some were carved with complicated designs which takes years to finish. Those patterns were made by Melanau's craftman. According to legend, when a King dies his corpse will not be buried immediately but placed inside the cascade. Later the cascade will be placed inside a special shelter near the JERUNEI.
After the King's corpse rotten, the bones of the late King will be gathered and placed inside an urn. Then the urn which contained the King's bones will be placed inside the JERUNEI. During the burial ceremony, a daughter of a slave will be brought to the King by the King's family. That young slave's daughter will then be hanged on the top of the JERUNEI and leave her staved to dead. (According to my mother's story her Grandparents used to tell stories of young virgin slave crying from the top of the JERUNEI asking for water.) The reason behind this act is so that the spirit of the slave can serve the King just like when the King lives.
A male slave will be thrown into the JERUNEI so that his spirit will become the guard, waiter or oar craftsman for the King's spirit in his way to death realm (Liko Matai).
(According to my Father Ragai Bin Dit, in the old days the living Melanau will send their dead to the Liko Matai in a special ceremony where the living actually row their boat into the Death Realm and can pluck the fruit over the other side and bring back to the living world. Hard to believe but that is their story.)

Dalat's Tao Pek Kong captured just after sunset.

In the evening I have another round with my wife to Dalat town to buy something from the night market which opened twice a week. I cannot choose my time for photography but time of the day has their own beauty and uniqueness in photography either it's a Golden Hour or a Blue Hour or complete darkness.

Melanau's village by the the Oya River

Dalat's Wet Market

Dalat's Shop lots

Boats - Main mode of transport before the building of Road.

This are their River Kancil or Mini Austin

Melin, my dear friend.