Saturday, May 19, 2012

Batu Nabau



The existence of a boulder shaped like a huge snake is nothing new to the residents of Nyalau Muang longhouse. The boulder known as Batu Nabau is located in Bukong which is about 50 metres from the longhouse.

The Batu Nabau measures more than nine metres in length and two metres in diameter. It straddles Sungai Bukong at a place called Batu Lintang. The tale regarding Batu Nabau resurfaces after a Siamese man from Kuala Lumpur made a claim on the existence of a huge snake that turned into stone as he doubled his efforts to locate it. With the assistance of the local residents in the Sri Aman District, he located Batu Nabau as dreamt. Together with the local residents, he painted the boulder and cleared the areas around it.

The man’s tale was published in the local newspaper.The tale did not end there as Jawi-like alphabets were said to have been found in the central portion of Batu Nabau. The alleged Jawi alphabets of alif, lam, nun, mim and sinwere said to have been arranged in a reverse order and separated from one another.

The discovery was made by one of the local residents who had visited the area after reading an article about Batu Nabau in the local newspaper. As Batu Nabau has become a public attraction, the Lubok Antu District Council (MDLA) plans to develop the area as one of the tourist destinations. It also proposes to conduct a detailed study on the existence of Batu Nabau which will be documented for public information.

The Nabau Stone became the talk of town when it received media coverage back in 1996 and the story about the stone was published in the following years in a local Mandarin newspaper. Taking advantage of the popularity of Batu Nabau as a public attractoin, the Lubok Antu District Council(MDLA) has planned to develop the area as a tourist attraction.

It also proposed a detailed study to be conducted on the Batu Nabau for public consumption.As a result of the proposal, several representatives were sent to monitor and scrutinise the potential of the area in becoming a tourist attraction in addition to learning about the story behind the stone's existence. MDLA hopes that the location of the Nabau stone could later developed as a tourist's spot in the Engkilili small district. Visitors who wish to see the Nabau stone must be cautious and adhere to the instructions posted at the entrance to the area.

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