Smoky affection: The Kayan community’s story behind a ‘cigarette roll request’

A ‘jakok Kayan’ with dried tobacco leaves at Rumah Orang Ulu, Sarawak Cultural Village. Photo taken on June 28, 2024.

By Marlynda Meraw and Shikin Louis

KUCHING, June 28: Do you know that requesting for a cigarette roll can translate to an expression meaning ‘I like you’ in the Kayan community?

Apparently, to 51-year-old Julia Livan Talek, it was one of the ways for a Kayan man to show his interest towards a woman in a subtle manner.

“For example, if a man likes me, he would come and ask me to roll him a cigarette.

“Our romance begins when I agree to roll him a cigarette,” said Julia when met by DayakDaily reporters at the Rumah Orang Ulu at the Sarawak Cultural Village today.

Julia, who is from Rumah Juman, Sungai Asap in Belaga, said that ‘Jakok Kayan’ (Kayan cigarettes) are especially significant to lovers in the Kayan community.

She shared that in the old days, Kayan men who were away for travels would leave behind a young banana leaf that had already dried up for their lovers.

“The women would then use the (dried-up young banana leaves) to roll their cigarettes and smoke them. This (smoking) is to ‘melepas rindu’ (relieve their longing),” said Julia.

As opposed to the usual cylindrical-shaped cigarette, the ‘jakok Kayan’ is more of a conical shape, with the burning end much bigger than the other.

Julia showed a roll of dried-up banana leaves within her possession and even demonstrated how to roll the ‘jakok Kayan’ with her deft fingers, stuffing the leaf with dried-up tobacco leaves.

“Another way for a man to show that he likes a woman is by asking her to check his eyebrows,” she said.

According to Julia, the man approaches the woman, telling her that his eyebrows are itchy and requesting that she groom them. If the woman agrees, then it means that his feelings are reciprocated.

Visitors are encouraged to visit Julia’s stall, where she sells handmade crafts alongside other vendors under the Orang Ulu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OUCCI) at the Rumah Orang Ulu at Sarawak Cultural Village during the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF). —DayakDaily

Julia showing the roll of dried young banana leaf.