Another description of it is in these words: "The family groups (bilek) join together to make a longhouse which, with the surrounding contiguous territory, make up the menoa. It includes besides farms and gardens, the water that runs through It and the forest round about it to the extent of half a day's journey" (A.J.N. Richards on The Land Law and Adat, p.24).

Such a territory Is chosen because of the presence of arable land, of rivers and forests from which life sustaining resources like water, fish, animals and forest products (Including timber, wild vegetables, edible ferns, palm shoots, rattans, herbs or medicinal plants, fruit trees and bamboo) can be obtained. The evidence of the Plaintiffs supports this since that is not disputed.

The pioneers of a longhouse community are usually relatives who banded together in search of a new territory and when this is found, the pioneers would build a Ionghouse with sufficient rooms arranged In a row, all joined together to accommodate the families.

The longhouse will just expand with new families. It is within this territory, called the pemakai menoa, that each longhouse community has access to land for farming, called the temuda, to rivers for fishing and to jungles, called the gaIau or pulau galau, for the gathering of forest produce. It has a boundary separating it from that of another longhouse. The boundary is reckoned by reference to mountains, ridges and rivers or other permanent features on the earth.

Since the rights of an Iban came about because he is a member of a community that occupies a longhouse it means an Iban at birth enjoys what his parents are enjoying. Therefore, the rights to a pemakai menoa that had not been lost can be passed down to the future generation of the longhouse community.

Within a pemakai menoa, various parts of the land bear different descriptions. You have tanah umai which is land that had been cultivated with paddy or cash crops and this can be owned by the Individual family of a longhouse that had cultivated the same and can be passed on to the family members.

It can be lost to the whole community of the longhouse if the family pindah (moved) from the longhouse and it can be lost totally where the whole community had pindah.

Then there is temuda which is farm land and including land left deliberately fallow for varying periods of time to allow for the soil to regain Its fertility and for the regeneration of forest produce. Some land are left fallow for upward of 25 years to allow for trees to grow. Thus during the course of time, secondary jungle would appear and for that reason the description of temuda as secondary jungle is also correct. Tembawai is a term for the old site of a longhouse.

Finally we have pulau which is a term for primary forest preserved to ensure a steady supply of natural resources like rattan and timber and for water catchment, to enable hunting for animals to be carried out and to honour distinguished persons.

Utong Anak Sigan, a witness called by the Defendants, and who is a judge of the Chiefs Court and the penghulu of Sebauh sub-district testified to the custom of maintaining such a pulau and of its vital importance to the Iban community.