Author: Valentine Tawie Salok

War hero out of scoffed mongrel

All his life he tried to be a good person. Many times, however, he failed. For after all, he was only human. He wasn’t a dog. – Charles M. Schulz, American cartoonist Dog shows in the got talent series such as Britain Got Talent (BGT) and America Got Talent (AGT)

My Iban book

If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it. – Toni Morrison, American novelist Two days ago I was awakened by my own acclamation in my own mother tongue. Somebody in my dream was asking me about what happened

Book: Of overwhelming response, uniting entity

If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking. ― Haruki Murakami, Japanese writer It is certainly an awesome feeling. I am referring to the overwhelming response to my newly published book LONGHOUSE TO CITY. Using social media FB

Mystery over unspecific name-calling 

I use a pseudonym, because my real name is very difficult to pronounce, to remember, and to spell. And many people who have been talking about me on television have yet to pronounce it correctly. – Jeff Gannon, American columnist In my earlier articles I did share at least three

Still crooning, dazzling at 80

I’ve developed a karaoke habit. I’ve become a crooner. – Serena Williams, tennis star As I write, I am thinking of my eldest brother Edward Jelani, who turns 80 on July 1. Edward, who recorded two Iban songs (our lingo’s versions of the Elvis Presley’s), with RTM in 1963, is a

Inevitable clutch of long arm of the law

What I’ve learned to do is arrest my addiction – arrest it myself, so I don’t get arrested. – Rodney King, African American man who was a victim of police brutality After editing most of crime and police stories, I can humbly say that the Penal Code is at my

From haplessness to feat of wealth

Many readers responded positively to my two articles on ‘pemali’ (ancestral ban) in the last two weeks. A few told me they also observe and practise injunctions of their own inherited from their forebears. All are in favour of more tales on these prohibitions which relate Iban world of old

Blessed with prosperity, thanks to ‘Raja Kenyalang’

I believe in everything until it’s disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it’s in your mind. Who’s to say that dreams and nightmares aren’t as real as the here and now? – John Lennon, singer-songwriter In my column last week, I shared

Total compliance with ancestral bans

Folklore provides a socially sanctioned outlet for the discussion of the forbidden and taboo. – Alan Dundes, American interpreter There are still many in the Iban community of the current generation who still submit fully to their families’ taboos or injunctions. These prohibitions are inherited from their forebears who were

Mixed feelings of joy, sadness

When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile. – Stephenie Meyer, American novelist There was joy during last Gawai, especially after a two-year hiatus. And sadness too – my relatives in Munggu Embawang, Saratok, my late dad’s birthplace, were