The Tapang Tree and Honey

The Tapang Tree is a spiritual kind of tree for the Sarawak indigenous people.

By the adat of the people, no one should cut down a tapang tree. Any one who does that would be cursed. Indeed many culprits suffered tremendously including early death or insanity. In fact in Sibu one Chinese man suddenly died after he came home from his timber camp. No doctor could identify the cause of his death. It was later that a co-worker whispered that he had bulldozed a tapang tree in the ulu. Every one kept quiet about it.

The Tapang tree is home to honey bees and for that reason, the Ibans in particular revere the tree. They will never cut down a tapang tree for its timber.

Tapang trees often have honey combs which hang from their branches as my photo shows very clearly. (Zoom lens used)  The combs can be " 6 feet across and can contain as many as 30,000 bees. One tualang tree can contain more than 10 nests. The world's largest honey bees, Asian rock bees are 1 inch long and the tapangs are their preferred tree speciesbecause their tremendous height provides them safety from marauders. Except for the human kind."

Traditionally, Ibans from a longhouse would form an expedition to extract honey from the honeycombs of a tapang tree, owned by one of the longhouse residents.

As the tapang tree is usually quite tall, a team would be necessary. A frie would be built below the tree and literary the bees would be smoked out of their combs. The best climbers would carry a torch of ambers as they climb up the tree to reach the honeycombs.

"The bees become disoriented and remain on the ground until dawn. "

It will be a honey bee collection party and every family would bring back a pail of pure honey!! This is how much the Tapang Tree can give.

No wonder it is a great friend of the Ibans.