Chinese doctors opt for all-out traditional Iban wedding

The couple with their Iban parents, Angki and Margaret.

The exchange of baskets during the ‘Beambu Isan’ ritual between respective parents of the bride and groom.

Dr Poi walks with his bride around the longhouse – another Iban traditional rite for newlyweds.

Dr Poi strikes a ‘warrior’ pose as he arrives in a longboat to claim his bride.

The couple with their Chinese family members. — Collection of Dr Denise Tan Suyin

KANOWIT: The decision by a Chinese couple to tie the knot in an all-out traditional Iban ceremony has turned them into online celebrities.

Dr Chris Poi Jia Hwang and Dr Denise Tan Suyin – both currently serving in Kanowit Hospital – have now become Internet sensation following the posting of their wedding photos, which have gone viral.

The ceremony was conducted at 64-door Rumah Benjamin Angki in Rantau Kemiding here on Sept 26 last year.

Dr Poi, who is the hospital’s director, and his wife are both from Peninsular Malaysia.

“Even more interesting (in our wedding) was that we’re both given Iban names. Mine is ‘Nuing’, while my wife’s ‘Menti’.

“We actually have our own reasons behind our choice of having an Iban wedding,” Dr Poi told The Borneo Post here via WhatsApp, but without elaborating any further.

For the wedding, longhouse chieftain Benjamin Angki and his wife Margaret Klokok took the roles as parents of the bride and groom.

“It was a very colourful celebration, where we hosted around 300 family members and friends of the couple – some coming from as far as Australia.

“All of them stayed at the longhouse. Actually, it was our very first traditional wedding celebration of any non-Iban couple. It was a grand event,” said Angki.

For the record, Rumah Benjamin Angki was the winner of the ‘Outstanding Hotel and Accommodation Provider (Homestay) Category’ at the 6th Sarawak Hornbill Tourism Awards 2013/2014’.

The longhouse still retains its traditional Iban structure. It will turn 80 years old this November.

 

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