Traditional Dayak culture set for the theatre stage, from Sarawak's Kenyah and Kayan communities

The Sarawak-based Lan e Tuyang (meaning ‘among friends’) group of performers, with founding member and sape master Matthew Ngau Jau (far left). Photo: Tuyang Initiative

When Juvita Tatan Wan was a young girl, she spent a lot of time away from her Kenyah community in Sarawak. Due to her father's job in the oil and gas industry, she lived in various cities and towns all across Malaysia.

Her father John Wan Usang, however, always made it a point to travel back to their longhouse in Long San, Baram, near Miri in Sarawak, to make sure their family was connected to their roots.