Swim with shoals of barracuda, parrot fish, clown fish and the spectacular zebra lion fish. Traditionally, longhouses are built alongside riverbanks, and are up to 180 metres long and 9-18 meters wide. Each longhouse houses up to 50 families and several of them built together make a dayak village . The families within each longhouse are very closely knit. Old women look after the children and do domestic chores, while old men sit together gossiping, smoking and repairing implements.
Children play on the longhouse verandah or in the nearby river.
The longhouse leader lives in the center of the longhouse and is responsible for handling village affairs. Cloths, fish traps, boat paddles and weapons are hung out to dry here and in the past so were heads. A narrow longhouse door faces East in honor of the sunrise . Family areas are separated by partitions and a loft is used for storing, rice, baskets, stacks of woven mats, fishing nets and firewood. Headhunting Many years ago, it was believed that the dried skulls obtained through beheading contained the most powerful magic in the world, vital transfusions of energy and that a good head could save a village from plague, produce rain, ward off evil spirits and increase crop yield.