A Closer Listen
Three field recordists and a cinematographer walk into a forest. What comes next is not a punchline, but a story. Earlier this year, Yii Kah Hoe, Nigel Brown and Yannick Dauby, along with William Kok, visited the Borneo village of Bung Jagoi, and collected hours of pristine recordings. They also spent time in the village, listening to the stories of Juis Migan, and returned with two hours worth of material, now available as a double release.
Bung Jagoi is a “hidden jewel” of Malaysia, steeped in history and natural beauty. As ancestral home to the Dayak Bidayuh, the village preserves many ancient traditions, including the paddy harvesting festival, and most uniquely contains the Skull House, which remains filled with enemy skulls, although the few remaining residents no longer feed the skulls’ spirits. The 500-hectare rainforest is home to the Libuan Pinomu Waterfall and some incredible hilltop views. Note to tourists: you will not be considered enemies!
The listening experience is peaceful, filled with crickets, birds, frogs and the occasional dog. There are 61 avian species in Borneo, an incredible 60 of them forest residents, so birdwatchers – or in this case, listeners – may want to bring a checklist. In the third track, over a field of crackle, one of these species sounds like a rusty swing, in the fourth a foraged washboard, in the fifth a chorus of train whistles. It’s sobering to learn that logging has destroyed much of the surrounding territory, as the biosphere is so diverse.
The 17th recording is a carpet of insect drone, settling over the land at 14:05 as the other species are less active in the heat of the day. From time to time a nearby stream can be heard, perhaps the waterfall, but surprisingly, no downpours or deluges. The entire collection of walks takes as long as a round trip on foot to and from the village.
The village “greeter” is a foreground dog, welcoming the listener to the second recording. There is some cleaning up to be done, some wrestling with cans. Juis Migan speaks of the differences between “woman wine” and “men’s wine” as the visitors share a drink; the interviews are interspersed with field recordings from town. Women (perhaps not hearing about the wine) go about their work. Migan educates his guests about spirit offerings, healing rituals and other village traditions. A repository of wisdom, he makes for an entertaining guide. Rain echoes from tin roofs as he speaks. In “A Strange Encounter,” his father teaches him to throw a piece of burning wood outside to cease the call of a restless spirit beneath the house. As he recalls his childhood, the listener thinks of the future: how long will the village survive, given its paucity of structures? How many generations will pass down these stories? How long will the forest hold out as the timber market draws ever closer? The visiting artists treat the region and its residents with incredible respect: through film, field recording and interview, they capture indelible snapshots of unnamable value. (Richard Allen)
Thu Feb 20 00:01:00 GMT 2025