The Legend of Nabau
Feb 18th, 2009 by Clare
Nabau, according to the Iban legend, is an ancient sea serpent. It is also said to be a mythical creature which can tansform itself into a lot of animals. I’d like to think of it as the Iban language for anacconda.
Recently there was a sighting of Nabau cruising along the Baleh River in the Kapit Division in Sarawak. On 31 January 2009, a member of the disaster relief committee Sibu was monitoring the flood situation at Ulu Rajang in a helicopter when he saw a giant snake cruising along the river, so he took photographs.
I was as skeptical as everyone else when I saw the photographs. Some people said it’s only a log. But, a log can’t be that winding, can it? While the others said it’s a moving speedboat. It could be. Or not. Normally, you man your speedboat straight to save fuel, I’ve never seen anyone manning a speedboat in zig-zag unless he/she is avoiding being shot, like in the movies. And the rest of the people said the picture was photoshopped…
The only question I have is the picture engineering part. I have no rebuttal for that because I am not an expert in that department 
Besides, I don’t understand why would anyone photoshop the picture and start the rumours. Publicity stunt? What’s the gain? To who? How? You tell me.
Legend has it that in the ancient times, there was a large serpent called Nabau. One day, the mythical serpent turned into a human being, trying to seduce a warrior’s wife. The warrior caught and sliced the serpent into seven pieces and threw them into the river. The flesh later settled to form seven rocks where the seven rapids are now situated, along the great Rejang River.
I’ve never heard of Nabau before. A colleague told me about this and I consulted my best friend, Google. I want to believe but a part of me is skeptical.
So what say you? Real or not?
Saw this in buwau’s blog last wk. Said it was in utusan sarawak, and bluff one. Didnt bother to read the details.
It’s a good read. It shows how some people would go to the extent of making it a publicity stunt, you see.
Think the person who took the photo (disaster relief dude) must have gotten really bored and found his job a real drag. So fo rhim, laa dee daa, lets do something exciting. LOL eh why only one picutre?
But i agree with you on the publicity stunt bit. haih… some people. Did you hear about the luak bay horse in miri?
Someone said that the horse came from the sea. This was sometime back in 2004-05. Miri + promoting of the seahorse = some horse story in luak bay
haih… haih
fake. absurd.
Could be. And your argument is?
Perhaps check the Lost and Found section of your local newspaper first, it might read something like this:-
“Lost - Serpent, 100 metres long, yellow colour. Last seen in Baleh River heading upstream. Answers to name of Nabau. Contact local Iban if found. Reward offered”
Not sure if is real or not, but I might cancel my swimming in this river. haha (Sarawak newspaper headline. “Tourist eaten by local serpent)
If anything, it’s great publicity for Sarawak I reckon. Anything that will draw tourists and get them talking and spending money is good for local economy( Even if they get eaten!).
Hahahahahaha!!! Even better if get eaten, the more people will flock Sarawak just to catch a glimpse of the damn thing, whatever it is. Well, any publicity is publicity - good or bad.
This snake looks kickass. It would make a great biological weapon, unleashing terror on some savage villages.
Geram nar aku tok kena tipu sidak nyamentahmentah terang terang. Si caya nar nanga ular sebesar tu. Hmmmm….lebih besar daripada kanopi pokok yang terbesar di tebing sungai atau tongkang ekpres. Dalam anggaran kamik, kanopi pokok tu agak agak tidak kurang 15 kaki garispusat. Jadi jika ular itu benar, saiz nya saya agak 10 kaki diameter pada bahagian terbesarnya ha ha ha….tipu betul lah!
Satu keraguan saya ialah sungai itu nampak tak keruh, ie, kehitaman macam air gambut di kawasan berpaya gambut di hilir Rejang. Lagi pun, tidak nampak air sungai tu cetek dan deras, ada jeram. Kalau di ulu Baleh dan anak sungainya tu, banyak kawasan cetek dan jeramlah!
Satu lagi, kalau benar, sipenangkap gambar tu akan perkenalkan diri kepada awam dan sudah tentu dia ambi seberapa banyak gambar yang boleh. Sapa ambil foto, jadi mistri tapi boleh tanyak abang Ibrahim Gani. Dia lebih arif sumber ceritanya.
Walau macam mana pun, kalau ikut saiznya dibanding kanopi pokok dan ular tu merayap di darat, sudah tentu ia dapat buat trak jalan balak sebagai jalan raya menghubungi Kapit dan Sibu, keh keh keh keh…..
Hidup unggal Ibrahim Gani of Utusan Sarawak hah! Wooooi Haaaaaa…..!
Yeap….this is the real thing..no doubt about it. When we were children we used to swim with it. Didn’t realised it has grown so big since.
Hahahahahahahaha!!! Ini loyar buruk very lihai!
y doesnt any of this weird stuff comes in a video version…and always in a photo stunt..plus y dont any1 juz take the video of this rather than in jpeg form…something to ponder eh!!
Nabau in Borneo is the same in India what we call Sheshnath
I swear I saw it swimming in my backyard the other day, failed to take a picture.. so for all that didn’t believe me, here’s the proof!
quite a big snake, better not tease it.
Common sense….the water in Balleh River isn’t black/red like Sungai Merah. It is like Teh-C peng. Moreover, the topography isn’t that flat too.
When I read this, my mind immediately picture the photographer taking pictures of sample landscaping displayed at showrooms or something like that. Some govt depts got this kinda display in glass.
I trust the picture and the anacconda really exist
to abg ibrahim gani kau bukan iban ney ada u percaya benda-benda kami orang iban tok….walaupun kebanyakkan kaum iban menganuti agama kristian but the kepercayaan us still there about this.
i’m as a iban girl believe that nabau is still exist……don’t ever2 look down ibanez….
hard 4 me to say here. couse it could be image photoshop crap..and could be real. but for me, photoshop perheps..if a big foot image can be create by actor wearing a orgutan suite, why not and easy photoshop image impact create a little worm imge, then enlarge it to fit the size of the river…
For those that read the book of The life story of Temenggong Koh, 1870-1956
Author : James Ritchie
Publisher Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia : Kaca Holdings, [1999]
I think they will know. How Temenggong Koh accrossed the river by running on the back of ‘Nabau’ which is that ‘ Nabau’ was lying accross the river and after he reached on the other side of the river bank he grabbed the stone on the ‘Nabau’s head. The stone was called
“batu gemala”. All of this story have written in this book.
For those that still have any doubt better they clarify their doubt and buy this book. I trust on the first picture.
I believe every races have their own legend that was told by the old folks from generation to generation and we cannot deny the old folk’s story because that is the reason why the legend still exist until today.
http://books.google.com.my/books?q=The+life+story+of+Temenggong+Koh+(1870-1956)&rview=1
http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2267647
bulak crta kta nyak…engai ke mdh ke 1 ribu kaki lah,ngambi gmbr lah..seratus meter x ulih ambi gmbr ngenak tlpn..!pajak ka pemulak kta diak meh..ngnti amat lapa y x ngambi gmbr mayuh2 deh…!
helicopter nyak ukai nyak x ulh bpusing2 bak diak..lapa x ngambi gmbr mayuh2?pau crta!
For #17. Why the picture that was taken from 1000 ft still can be seen? bcz the object is really big. if not of coz it cant been seen and if I was the Ahli Jawatankuasa that on duty, of coz I will take the picture as many as I can, but I’m not the one that witness of that ‘nabau’.
Maybe many young ppl they don’t believe on the legend of their own. Bcz it’s just like a story that we see on the movie.
But I was so lucky bcz when I was still young/ kids I ever heard of the old folks tell the story of ‘nabau’ and I can’t imagine how it looks like.
Yet, many yrs ago, the relatives of my relatives that stay in Kapit, told the story that one day while they were working in their padi field that located nearby the river they heard of the noisy sound like an express boat that wantes to passed by, and when the came nearer to the river bank, they saw this creature ( Nabau) crusing the river.
Coincidently, I was read the book title The life story of Temenggong Koh, 1870-1956. Author by James Ritchie. After I read the book now I know that the legend is really exists.
And that day on the 11/2/09 I was proved and shocked by the newspaper about ‘Nabau’ cruising at Baleh river’.
Now I relate, from the old folk’s story, to mouth to mouth story, and from the book that I’ve read, to the article from the newspaper.. What I know, I believe on that story even though the picture can’t clarify our doubt in mind but the legend / history we can’t deny. History proves by fact while legend narrates from one another to another.
That is why it is called legend.
totaly.. absurd..fake..i think.. it is photoshop magic…just a publicity stunt…why only two photos… n…y they r so far…photo grapher must had followed that serpent… taken few more phots..or…made a video…
it is just apublicity stunt.
The picture indicating the serpent wading in clear water, meadow and winding river does not reflect the actual situation in Balleh river.
Physically, Balleh area is hilly / mountainous all over. River bank can be clearly seen with silt or stretch of gravel along the river with yellowish water due to frequent downfalls most of the year round.
The other picture where the serpent spotted crossing a river seems
to resemble certain part of Balleh river but the house pattern nearby is rarely found in Balleh region. The serpent spotted in
“Baleh River” could not convince most local people there.
It may be just an imagination to stir curiousness as the two picture
tell different tales - not related to each other.
By Ballehman
In Iban myth and belief, when a nabau is sighted it is a sign that something is going to happen like a natural phenomena or catastrophe.
for those dat doesnt believe in dis…
believe it..its all fact..
and dont pandang rendah with people..just same lyke apa yang dianuti..
hormati hak-hak kaum..jangan nak suka hati buat fitnah..
kalau nak ambik gambar banyak2..nak tahu cerita sebenar..
actually semuanya kebetulan tertangkap gambar..
then that nabau tenggelam…
kalau benar nak gambar banyak2..itu dah jadi perkara yang sengaja. Its all kebetulan..
ini kepercayaan orang iban…kalau tak percaya tu hak korang..
yang penting Nabau memang EXISTS!!!
Kalau dah anacconda wujud..kenapa tak NABAU!!
Lu pikey sendiri!!
kalau korang yang sendri alami..
Baru korang DOK DIAM!!!
Kepercayaan iban…jangan pandang rendah lah…
Semua benda yang berlaku adalah kehendak TUHAN..
kita tak boleh menafikan semuanya….
kalau dah BUJANG SENANG wujud..
kenapa tak NABAU!!!
hahaha….
I wont dare say that Nabau doesnt exist…. but i dare say the photo is fake. Check out the original photo “without the snake” on this website.
http://www.aquabird.vn/forums/showthread.php?t=25895
I won’t dare to say Nabau doesn’t exist as well. Saw the picture. Confirm fake one. First picture is originally some sungai in Africa, wtf! But, huah!, look at all the comments…people get emotional pula, commenting multiple times.
PS: You got popcorn?
Come on people, it’s not about believing in the existence of the Nabau or not. I personally wouldn’t say that it is non existent. All people are suggesting here is that the picture might be fake. Nabau might exist but the picture is fake and it is now proven. Do not start judging and commenting on people and saying people are being racist before even analyzing your own facts.
I respect everybody’s opinion, but some have gone too far as to bring this up as a racial issue. Get your facts right before commenting on people not believing the picture. Now that is has been proven to be a fake, what have you got to say now?
At the end of the day, I am not denying the existence of the Nabau just like how I do not deny the existence of supernatural forces although I have not personally encountered anything of that sort but please respect other people’s opinions just like how they respect yours. This is not about being a racist. Just because the Nabau is an Iban belief and just because we doubt the authenticity of the photo, doesn’t mean we do not believe in the existence of the creature.
Just my 2 cents because it’s a sore to the eye to see that a simple post about a possible sighting of the Nabau and to confirm the authenticity of the news has turned into a racial thing. Again, I reassert that I DO believe in the possible existence of the Nabau but I just doubt the authenticity of the picture now that KpgNangkaBoy has pointed out the original picture. Cheers people and be cool.
An AC reporter actually wrote an article about and called the bamboo with the aerial on it a “streetlamp” citing that how could such a remote place have a streetlamp. LOL
And it doesn’t look anything like streetlamp at all. Hahahah!
kalu kata x caya tu…. bulaklah!!!kekadang,ada gak manusia yang sik percaya ngan apa yang ganjil kat dunia ni.tapi sememangnya ada yang ganjil danpelik.sebab tu la benda tu susah nak di percayai….anyway, nabau tu memang wujud…tak yah la nak pertikaikan ketidakwujudannya
Dude! No one says they don’t believe the existence of Nabau! The main concern about this post is NOT whether Nabau exists or not, it is about whether the PHOTOS are REAL OR NOT! Get it??? I repeat, this post is NOT about the existence of Nabau!
Photoshop photos only. I could produce better ones with photoshop ;p
But the nabau existence is true. Been hearing lots of stories especially from timber people who usually are the first to go deep into thick jungles for land clearing. They’ve encountered many unexplainable things out thr, nabau have been one of them.
Finally someone who understands the purpose of the post. So sick and tired of reading comments from people who can’t differentiate whether this post is talking about the fake photographs or the existence of Nabau. Yeah, the photos are definitely fake!
dammit!
i dont belief such things!!
apa yg ku nemu,nabau is a LEGEND n MYTHS!!
ndai dlm realiti cuma dlm fantasi aja..
terpulang la pd kita ka percaya or nda..
ukai ku look down kpercayaan iban,lbn nabau tu cgek dah jdi simbol dlm cura pua kumbu ktai iban suba..
so,hak seseorg utk menilai ia..x slh phm au..
tabik bala menyadik mntak ampun nti jaku ku tu bc salah..
peace.. no war..
nuju urg ke ngadu cerita tu.cda sengaja ngaga publisiti muraaahhh ngemelik ke kitai iban..!!!!!
KAPIT : Seorang pemburu Orang Ulu dari rumah panjang di Ulu Belaga dekat sini berjaya membunuh seekor ulu sawa gergasi sepanjang 30 kaki dengan berat lebih daripada 100 kilogram. Beliau yang terjumpa dengan reptilia itu ketika berburu di dalam hutan di Ulu Belaga telah bertindak menembak ular sawa tersebut yang sedang kekenyangan selepas menelan seekor babi hutan sebesar tong gas. Pemburu terbabit sempat merakamkan gambar ular sawa yang dibunuhnya dengan kamera telefon bimbitnya. Beliau yang berusia lingkungan 40-an memberitahu telah terjumpa ular berkenanan di tebing sungai ketika sedang pergi memburu. Beliau memberitahu terpaksa memotong badan ular itu kepada beberapa bahagian sebelum membawanya pulang ke rumah. Berikutan penemuan ular sawa gergasi itu pelbagai spekulasi dan khabar angin bertiup kencang di pekan Kapit, kononnya ular tersebut adalah seekor “nabau” yang kelihatan di Sungai Baleh sebelum ini dan berjaya dirakamkan gambarnya. Bagaimanapun beberapa orang tua kaum Iban menafikan sekeras-kerasnya khabar angin itu yang mendakwa kononnya seekor “nabau” muncul di sungai di Kapit dan mengatakan ular yang ditembak pemburu tersebut adalah seekor ular sawa yang sememangnya bersaiz besar. Menurut penduduk terbabit yang berasal dari Baleh dekati sini, “nabau” adalah seekor ular sangat besar malah berpuluh kali ganda besar daripada ular sawa biasa. Ia adalah binatang misteri dan dianggap suci oleh masyarakat Iban serta tidak akan menunjukkan diri sebarangan kepada manusia. “Nabau adalah lagenda kaum Iban dan menurut lagenda ia seekor ular yang sangat besar dengan panjangnya lebih 100 kaki, bertanduk satu, dan mempunyai sisik seperti ‘pua kumbu’. “Anda tidak akan dapat menemuinya melainkan dia ‘mencari’ kita dengan tujuan. Malah menurut kepercayaan Iban, seseorang itu akan mati selepas melihat “nabau”, ini kan pula menunggu orang untuk membunuhnya. Tidak LOGIK (merujuk kepada khabar angin yang tersebar baru-baru ini dan penemuan oleh pemburu berkenanan),” katanya lagi sambil berharap masyarakat setempat berhenti memainkan khabar angin berkenaan.
-UTUSAN MALAYSIA..MUKA DEPAN-
Kami dtok banjil kenak nabau.. Kenpa org cina boleh percaya ada naga, knapa kta mlysia tak caya kat nabau… Idup mcm2 benda plik… Idup iban!!….
a’a.. kalo betul kenapa jurugambar tu cuma ambik sekeping gambar jer???
nabau memang salah satu legenda org Iban.. elok jgn dipersenda..
harap mereka yg main2 dgn kepercayaan bangsa lain kena sumpahan..
from wha
from what i heard… nabau can only be seen if there’s a disaster or catastrophe. the recent photos are taken during the flood in 2009. add to the fact, u will not be dead if u see nabau lor… if tht’s the case then the person who took the pictre surely be dead by now. the photos are proven fake, n just to add… it is said tht if u swim in the river after the big snake pass thru, swim while the ripples still produce.. u can get super strength (kebal).. i wont speculate more, but it’s not tht u would be immortal.. still will be dead frm natural cause but not from weapons. and fr those interested in super strength, dont bother to find nabau. it will only appear when it wants… to those who r favour by it.
fake……gamabr tu dr brazil…bodo tol…tu la….tngk youtube bnyk kali….sblm bajir sy dah tngk gmbr tu…thats mean its not from sarawak u fool….