Memories of Melupa’s historic cemeteries

‘In the sacred grounds of our community cemeteries, the roots of our history run deep.’
– Unknown

‘Burial grounds are not merely plots of land, but hallowed spaces that connect us to our ancestors.’
– Unknown

In our Facebook group, Ruai Raban Melupa Saratok, we often engage in discussions about various topics, and one that has piqued our interest is the cemeteries scattered throughout the Melupa area.

There are three main community burial areas or cemeteries in Melupa/Assam, Krian, and Saratok. These are Nanga Burui, Nanga Assam, and Mendas cemeteries. The largest among them is Nanga Burui Cemetery, which was first used to bury a man named Beti in the early nineteenth century. It is located near our family rubber plantation, on the roadside of the Pan Borneo Highway at Nanga Burui, a tributary of the Melupa River. It is situated a short distance (about 2 kilometres) from Kedap longhouse and approximately 23 kilometres from Saratok town.

Initially, both Christians and non-Christians were buried there. However, nowadays, burials at Nanga Burui Cemetery are very rare, as most community members are Christians and are buried at Nanga Assam Christian Cemetery, which is situated next to Nanga Assam Primary School. In Mendas cemetery, both Christians and non-Christians are buried. Within the Nanga Burui cemetery, there are three tombs belonging to members of my family. These include my maternal grandpa Narang Jeluka, who died in 1949, my infant brother Tambi, who died at the age of 40 days in 1959, and my uncle Ngauh Narang, nicknamed ‘Layang Mandi Tengah Malam’ (Sparrow Bathes at Midnight), who was my mom’s eldest brother. He passed away in 1973.

My last visit to the cemetery was in 1969 when we erected a special tomb for my grandpa Narang. I remember that his jar was half buried, along with other items given to the deceased, including a very expensive tea set, which is now considered an antique valued in the hundreds, if not thousands, of ringgit. Fortunately, these items were not stolen when grave robbers first became active in 1966. During that time, the trunk road passed through the area, and these thieves used our rubber garden as a landing ground to transport stolen jars and other items from the graves across the river.

I recall spending a night above my grandpa’s tomb around 1968 before it was renovated. It happened during a nocturnal hunting trip with my elder brother Jon, where we failed to catch any game and decided to sleep above the tomb.

In 1966, just a day after Gawai Antu in Munggu Embawang, Melupa, which was hosted by my paternal grandpa Jembu, we were at Nanga Burui cemetery, placing the ‘sungkup’ (burial home) for our deceased family members. This included my paternal great-grandma Edek, who passed away at the age of 103 around 1961. After placing the ‘sungkup’ atop her tomb, I and two others went around the burial ground to inspect the tombs. We came across one tomb with interesting items placed as ‘baiya’ (items meant for the dead). We opened one of the tins and found it filled with Japanese Banana Currencies. However, upon touching them, some turned into dust.

I remember being among four individuals, at the age of 14 in 1968, carrying the coffin of my granduncle from Munggu Embawang longhouse, which was my dad’s birthplace. It was my first time involved in carrying a casket to the burial ground. From Munggu Embawang, my paternal grandpa Jembu Ussak and grandma Ensingan Jelani were both buried at Nanga Burui. However, I did not attend the burials, although I was present at their funerals in 1970 and 1980, respectively.

I was informed that my late uncle Langie Enjup, who passed away while I was in Brunei in 1999, was buried in Mendas. According to a tale, while placing flowers on his grave, his offspring poured some beer into a glass on top of his grave and noticed bubbles, as if someone was drinking it. Later that night, one of his daughters dreamt of him, and he thanked her for the beer. During his lifetime, Langie was an interesting person, and his children used to joke that he was the only punter alive who never won the lottery despite betting for about half a century.

While tapping rubber by the roadside in Nanga Burui, I often saw the cemetery across the river, but it never frightened me. The forest canopies above the cemetery used to be filled with monkeys. Sometimes, I would aim a shotgun at them, but they would simply ignore me and turn their backs. The last time I tapped rubber there was in 1974. After that, my dad and Jon planted cocoa in the area, along with numerous rambutan trees. Recently, we started growing pepper there and built a small hovel where Jon and his family occasionally stay overnight.