Ex-cancer patient finds solace in wood carving

VARIOUS DESIGNS: Kennedy showing the drawings of his collection of dagger grip designs.

ONE look at the machete, parang and dagger sheaths at the home of Kennedy Mark Tegang and one can safely vouch that their magnificent designs are the work of a master craftsman. Indeed, the exquisite motifs on the wooden casings for the blades are carved by self-taught Kennedy who discovered his latent talent while recovering from nose cancer years ago. “Life was unpleasant as I just had chemotherapy and I was worried about my family. Then one day, in my kitchen, I took a look at my old parang casing and thought it had a very dull design,” recalled the 49-year-old civil servant of the lowest point of his life. At that moment, Kennedy suddenly felt inspired to do something about improving the appearance of the casing. So without second thoughts, he headed for the hardware shop to buy some carving tools and got to work on the sheath right away on reaching home. That was 11 years ago. And now, after recovering from the cancer, he has received so many orders (for the casings) that his clients have to wait patiently for their delivery. “With machine, it would be much faster but they all want my personal touch,” he said. Kennedy explained the beautiful native designs gave the casings a unique character of which the owners could be proud. The Ibans often use this type of “general purpose” parang while working at their farms and many of them like the sheaths to have certain ethnic motifs.

ALL DONE: Kennedy with some of his finished products.

 Patience and time According to Kennedy, mainly Iban designs are carved on the casings and the work takes patience and time. “Very few people have the heart for this kind of work,” he said. At first, Kennedy paid scant attention to his exquisite carvings on the casings until friends and family members asked him who made them for him. “They couldn’t believe I did it because to them, only a master craftsman could produce beautiful carvings on wood.” As word got around, his orders started to pile up. But he is getting a bit worried about his expanding clientele as he is a part-time artisan and only does the carvings in his free time. “It’s only a hobby,” he said. He gets his ideas from books on Iban motifs before coming up with his own designs on a piece of paper and selecting the right tools for the carving process. “I taught myself everything about wood-carving and improvised some of my tools for better handling. I don’t consider myself a master craftsman. I do it as a pastime but I’m happy to say, it has helpd me regain my perspective after being a cancer patient.” Kennedy, an Iban from Sri Aman, said during the recovery period, he worried constantly about not being given a clean bill of health again. “Chemotherapy was not very pleasant – it made me weak. But doing something with my hands really helped me forget I was sick — even if temporarily. “Designing the sheaths with my carvings was the therapy I needed to motivate myself to live from day to day and I thank God I’m still here.”

ORIGINAL: The various native designs Kennedy uses for his carvings.

Devastated Kennedy revealed his father died of cancer and he was devastated when the doctor also diagnosed him with the same affliction (nose cancer). “It seemed the world just collapsed on me when I got the bad news. I was also constantly plagued by a sense of panic – my siblings were all very young at the time and my mother was a housewife. When my father died of cancer, my brothers and sisters were still teenagers and our family life was greatly affected by his death. “My father’s death was already a big blow to us. I couldn’t bear to see my family suffer further because of my illness. We all had to fend for ourselves – we must finish our secondary education and find jobs to become independent and not bother our mother who was surviving our father’s pension.” Looking back, he said his new-found talent and hobby had helped him clear his thoughts of his illness “and my life now is pretty normal.” Kennedy said he could not explain how or where he got his talent from as he hadn’t the foggiest idea whether his grandfather or other relatives had ever done any handiworks. “I’m not a person who is into culture and arts either but, of course, no one will want to see his or her unique culture just vanish — so in a way, I’m helping to preserve it with my carvings,” he added. He usually recommends traditional Iban designs to clients but the final decision lies with the clients themselves. How fast he finishes his carvings depends on how intricate the designs are and what wood surface he is working on. He gets his materials from discarded wooden boxes or from his clients. The work involves not only carving the sheaths but also binding them. He uses varnish to make the designs stand out, and ensures the blade is secure in the casing by reinforcing it with nylon string or metal wire. On the top of that, he also designs the handle of the blade to ensure it matches the casing. Kennedy said he did not make much money out of his craft, adding that besides showing their appreciation, people just paid him between RM50 and RM100 for each casing. “I don’t think I want to commercialise my hobby now — maybe when I retire,” he laughed. “There is a long list of people who order from me and they all wait patiently because they know I do the carvings only when I’m free in the evening and on weekends or when my inspiration is right.” Kennedy hoped people would appreciate their cultures and he felt he had contributed to ensuring his own (Iban) culture would not just disappear. “I don’t think my children will follow in my footsteps — they have their own interests but it’s too early to tell,” he reckoned. He said he was not asking or looking for more re-wards from what he was doing because he loved doing it. “I hope I can help preserve the Iban culture through my hobby,” he added.

Iban Agressive Expansion(part 4)

by Stephanie Morgan

This glance at relatively recent history has brought out some of the main characteristics of Iban migration. It was in most cases rapid; aggressive; persistent; and successful. It also seems to have been so basic to the Iban outlook on life that there are few cultural and technological traits of their society that do not either necessitate a frequent change of site, facilitate it, or (the exact relationships are hard to trace) even derive from it. Culture and the migratory pressures perhaps evolved together; where this happened, what might be the source land of migration, is itself a problem frequently discussed. As recounted in Mr. Sandin’s book, the earliest people to possess a recognizably Iban culture seem to have been inhabitants of the Kapuas basin in West Kalimantan.

                                               (ignore this pic of me...i just have no idea of what pic to put)

Most probably the curious immigrants from overseas, landing at Merudu Hill and Cape Datu, head some of the traditional Iban genealogies because their descendants married Ibans rather than for any Iban identity of their own; indeed, Derom is curiously linked through his offspring not only with Ibans but with peoples as diverse as Bukitans, Melanaus, and Kelabits.7 Through many similarly misty links (such as those shown in the tusut appended to Mr. Sandin’s book) the line of Iban ancestry seems to go back to men, if they were men, living somewhere in the Middle East (some of them near Mecca) who moved, or whose descendants moved, to Sumatra then to Kalimantan, sometimes by way of Brunei. It is not likely that this outline represents any actual mass movement of population (favourite recourse of early theories, like that of Dr. Hose which derived the Ibans from fighters imported from Sumatra by Malay pirate nobles); but it may be symbolic of the drift of some of the cultural traits which apparently diffused into the Kapuas area, there to be woven by a people of unknown origin into their own style of life, whose shape we can only guess at, with explosive results. The historical processes surrounding the evolution of the Iban ethnic identity can only be viewed through a prism of myth; the commitment to expansion which permeates traditional Iban culture, however much of it may be the result of what it might be used to explain, is far easier to investigate.

...to be continued

*source Tansang Kenyalang GN Mawar

Iban Agressive Expansion (part 3)

By Stephanie Morgan

 The more traditional, more lasting process of aggressive expansion up into the Rejang and Balleh was rather curiously accelerated by the Brooke regime, whose avowed interest was to keep the Ibans close at hand. Migration was under way well before the English, intending to control the pirate raids, built their forts in the Iban rivers; but the resulting official divisions into downriver and upriver groups gave a new impetus to population movements. As some Iban groups had co-operated for mutual benefit with Malays, so the same groups came to co-operate with the English. “Only Dayaks can attack Dayaks to make them feel in any way a punishment” said the Rajah Charles Brooke, and he made great use of Iban levies, conveniently costless: they came gladly, arranging if possible attacks on their own enemies, or taking advantage of the government’s.

The great Kayan expedition of 1863, while it thoroughly revenged the murder of Fox and Steele, in the process so completely broke the power of this other expansionist group that they never again resisted Iban migration into the Rejang.5 This went so far that some non-Iban interior tribes concluded that invading Ibans were always working for the Government. The rebellious pioneers took heads and raided; and after them came the equally deadly allies with official blessing, taking heads and burning longhouses, punishing them in the way most familiar to both. The inevitable result was that the upriver and downriver Ibans retained and practiced their ideology of aggression; and those upriver, who had most opportunity to migrate away and were most often raided to punish them for trying to do so, migrated even farther to be out of reach.

Both these aspects of Iban expansion and aggression in the nineteenth century – piracy, and movement to the north and east – were affected by outside pressures that suggested their form and direction; but it seems clear that neither Malays nor English had any real control over the wellsprings, the pace or the ultimate expression of Iban activity. The rare efforts to counteract this cultural drive (as with settlement in the Balleh) met with no more permanent success than did, in the long run, attempts to direct the urge for the formal rulers’ benefit. It is clear that in the matter of aggressive expansion Iban culture, while superficially highly adaptable, had a fundamental resistance to being changed.

*to be continues...

Source= Tangsang Kenyalang

Iban Aggressive Expansion (part 2)

By STEPHANIE MORGAN
 
Recent expansion:
The main expressions of the second surge of restlessness were migration to the Rejang, which continued an old trend partly under new impulsion; “intertribal warfare”, which may be seen as a natural outgrowth of the local territorial rivalries of periods I and II, extended farther by more settled and regionally consolidated populations; and piracy, which shaded off from the above intra-Iban conflicts, through attacks on mixed and weaker groups, to predatory sea-raiding on non-Ibans far down the coast of Kalimantan. On this vast scale of numbers involved and distances covered, raiding was something quite new; it seemed to be a sparking-over of the resurgent aggressive drive, an expansion not at all connected with ecology. Land was available to the north and east; the pirates went southwest for heads. The Europeans, who could understand taking a head as souvenir of a warrior’s valour, found the emphasis on simple quantity a wanton exacerbation, and blamed as instigators the Malays – with whom the Ibans, as their population continued to expand, had come into closer contact along the coast.3
Undoubtedly the Malays did encourage Iban warfare, among Ibans themselves (Indra Lela) and against Malay-ruled peoples who evaded contribution. They sanctioned raids in return for a share of the plunder, and at times joined with the Ibans, dividing work and spoils in a manner which showed that the value systems of the two cultures were conveniently complementary: “Their pilots are Malays, who always show the way; the spoil is the property of the pilots, the women and children and skulls are the property of the Dayaks.”4 Each group in fact made use of the other, for the Ibans were strong enough to resist being manipulated against their will, and had, moreover, the ever-present option of migration. (It was evident then, and still more so under the Brookes, that what the Ibans considered political oppression was as much of an impetus as the desire to avoid a feud.) The techniques of piracy may have been learned under Malay guidance, though at this time or earlier some Ibans were serving apprenticeship on Illanun pirate ships while others, such as Unggang (Lebor Menoa), adopted their methods and fought against them; but the uses to which the techniques were put were purely Iban, and often Malays themselves were their victims. The indiscriminate emphasis on a quantity of heads, as far as it existed, may well have grown from the novelty of the entire situation. These raids were not in the traditional context of inter-group hostility, and would usually not be reciprocated; the most dangerous part of a raid on land was getting away, but these shore-dwellers, if they had boats large enough to give chase, would rarely be left with either the men or the daring to do so.
The nomadic groups that the Ibans had attacked before were few in number, but their defeat freed vast areas of good land, Here the raiders made no settlement (for which, according to Mr. Sandin, they were criticized by more migration-minded leaders); unable to gain prestige by working his well-earned forests, the raider made up the lack in heads alone. Each warrior owed the first bead or captive that he took to his war leader, which meant that he must take several to get some of his own; and as more heads were taken, the prestige value of small numbers fell, evidently creating an inflationary spiral to be stopped only by force.

source= Tansang Kenyalang

Iban Aggressive Expansion: Some Background Factors

By,
STEPHANIE MORGAN

Mr. Benedict Sandin’s recently published book, The Sea Dayaks of Borneo before White Rajah Rule, has no doubt become familiar to all interested in the people and traditions of Borneo. Here, for the first time, a highly educated and scholarly Iban writes with authority on his own people, and therefore with an understanding which a Westerner, even after years of field study, could rarely hope to approach. Familiar from childhood with the traditions of the Iban past, Mr. Sandin has drawn the skeletal structure of his study from the orally transmitted genealogies, tusut, of which thirty-two are appended to his text. The tales associated with these remembered ancestors illustrate his main theme, the westward migrations of the Iban people from Indonesian Borneo to the Second Division of Sarawak, and west again and north, during approximately the past fifteen generations. The material so vividly presented here is enough to feed theory for many years to come, and another book dealing with earlier and more recent periods is underway. The present short paper draws on aspects of Mr. Sandin’s material as well as other sources in an attempt to explore certain generalities, which underlie his narrative, and some of the points, which, because of their speculative nature, fall outside the scope of his book. In dealing with this complex range of material, I have drawn upon suggestions given by Dr. Robert Pringle and Dr. George Appell. The impetus and advice provided by Mr. Tom Harrisson, for whose seminar on Malaysia at Cornell University the body of this paper was originally written, have been invaluable; and Mr. Sandin himself has contributed the benefit of his experience in essential explanation.

The process of Iban migration, as Mr. Sandin’s material makes very clear, was far from orderly or organized either in space or in time. Its patterns were shaped by chance, by a network of individual decisions. A man such as Punoh* would quarrel with a neighbour, and move out to avoid the consequences; another, like Tindin, would make a friend in new rich land; another would hastily migrate, as Kaya did, to prevent relatives or strangers from getting to new territory before him. In the days when local conflict spread and hardened into “inter-tribal” hostility, the whole river populations might be driven out, even long-settled ones like the Undups. But the basic force of most directed migration was the desire for fertile land, which led to prestige and prosperity; and this meant, in these areas of thin and basically infertile soil, the old jungle living richly on itself. Those who felled it first owned the land forever, or as long as they wanted it: but as long as the forest seemed inexhaustible, farther pioneering was more attractive, symbolically and practically, than close-knit, rotated exploitation. So untouched land might be left ignored and once-settled areas deserted, till claims had lapsed so long that no one of a later immigration could tell who had first felled the forest they were clearing once again.(1) Specially erratic, migrations also moved at varying paces, according to the strength of the migrants’ motivation and the quality of the land. If nothing compelled them and the land was good, a group (probably several related families) would move gradually up from the mouth of a tributary, clearing its side spurs from valley to crest, as far as the headwaters: then away to a neighboring tributary, perhaps to return ten or twenty years later, or not at all. The Tuan Muda judged their average progress as four or five days’ journey every one or two years.2

(*The particulars of his story, and those of other men mentioned, may be found in Sea Dayaks of Borneo: page references are given with the names, in the first Index following this paper.)

The conscious motivations of migration, however, need not be the only reasons for the existence and persistence of this cultural option; nor do they explain why it became such a powerful and cherished part of Iban values, nor why its impulse seemed to be stronger before 1700 and after the early 1800′s (periods I and III of Mr. Sandin’s book) than in the relatively sessile interim. The first period, out of range of written history, is the more problematical; in the more recent, Iban movements were affected by outside influences, novel and shallow compared to the cultural drives which often they invoked (and then found most difficult to repress). But this very lack of depth may make their effect on the Iban easier to trace; and the more recent, documented Iban may be a convenient introduction to the Iban of the farther past, which is in large part an extrapolation.

*to be continued

source= Tansang Kenyalang

Myth and History – Early Migrations and the Origins of Iban Culture

In ancient times, when the island of Borneo was still only sparsely inhabited, those who dwelled there lived in fear of many kinds of demons, dwarfs and spirits. These beings might either look after men or else punish them with death if they broke taboos.

As spirits (antu) were everywhere, men had to be very careful in what they said and did. They could not speak arrogantly when they fished the river or hunted the forests. If they did so, boasting that they could easily obtained fish or game, their efforts would come to nothing. Similarly, an individual was strictly forbidden to mock other living things; if he did so, the spirit would destroy him with kudi, a violent supernatural storm in which a culprit and all his belongings were turned to stone (batu kudi). Houses and human beings believed to have been petrified in the past can still be seen in many places in Sarawak.

Migration from Kapuas River mouth upriver: Where the Ibans meet the Arab Traders.

In these very early times, because of the presence of spirits all around them, settlers in Borneo frequently discussed the nature and dwelling place of the gods and spirits, to find the best way to worship and pay respect to them. The Muslim missionaries had already started to arrive to trade and spread their Islamic teachings to this part of the country. They had already established their foothold in the islands of Sumatra and Java and gradually weakened the Hindu Majapahit Empire. It was at about this time, at a place called Ketapang in Northwest Kalimantan, there lived a very famous Iban ancestor named Bejie. The Muslim missionaries had frequently spoken of the almighty god named Allah whose abode is high in the sky. The people began to believe that this god is living above all other deities of this world. On hearing this, Bejie thought of an idea to visit the almighty Allah in the sky to ask god personally about the best way for his people to worship and pay respect to god. He called for a large meeting of his people to discuss the construction of a stairway, on the tallest enchepong tree in the country, to reach heaven. They all agreed to his proposal hoping that they could reach god’s house in heaven.

The ladder was constructed from ironwood (belian) trunk. The base of the ladder was planted at the base of the enchepong tree branches to reach the next branch. Eventually, after some years, the top of the ladder stood above the cloud. As Bejie and his men, all dressed up to visit almighty Allah in the sky, made a final climb to heaven. As they proceed up the ladder, the enchepong tree unfortunately gave way due to the sheer weight of the ironwood ladder. Its root had been rotten and eaten away by termites throughout the construction period. As the ladder collapsed, Bejie and his followers fell headlong to the earth. The ladders landed on various rivers throughout the west-central Borneo. Any ironwood trunk which may be found inside many rivers, are known as “Tangga Bejie”, and it is a taboo to use it to construct any part of the longhouse as it would bring bad omen to the house owner.

Before the construction of the ladder, Bejie had assigned his brother named Bada to lead his people. Bejie had also begot a son named Nisi whose praised name was “Bunga besi enda semaia makai tulang”. Nisi begot a son named Antu Berembayan Bulu Niti Berang who was the father of Telichu, Telichai and Ragam. Ragam was the mother of Manang Jarai (or Manang Tuai – the first Iban shaman).

After the death of Bejie, their people moved to Kayung. There were other Iban along the coast at the time, especially at Trusan Tanjong Bakong and in general around the mouth of Kapuas River. After Bejie’s descendant had settled there for quite sometime, Arab traders arrived in large sailing ship from Jeddah. They do barter trade with the Ibans exchanging clothes and spices for rice and jungle products. This was the first time the Iban had ever seen woven clothes. Before then, they had only lion clothes and skirts made from barks of trees.

As more Arab traders and Muslim missionary came to trade with the Ibans, many Ibans were converted to this new faith. Soon, divisions began to appear among the Iban leaders between those who adopted the Muslim faith and those who still followed traditional beliefs. Those who chose to follow traditional ways of life began to separate themselves and moved up river in large number. Those who were prepared to accept Islamic teachings, stayed at Kayung. They began to call themselves the Malay of Pontianak, Sampit, Kayung, Sukadana and Sambas. In time, they began to marry new Malays who had come to trade in Kalimantan, especially the traders from Minangkabau in Sumatra.

Due to the tolerances of the Iban people, no reported incidents were recorded in their songs with regards to this manner of separation or with Muslims in particular. This tolerance has been the major factor that contributes to the prosperity and harmony of the Iban people living together with other people of different races and religions to this present day. Infact, the Ibans thrive well under this circumstance because they are hardworking people, a tribute found in the pioneering spirits of their ancestors. Only those who were crazy for power and wealth brought major conflict to this country, not the tolerant and resilient Ibans.

The Ibans then moved further up the Kayung until they reached a place called Ulu Landak. After settling there for sometimes, some of them migrated up the Melawi River. After settling along the banks of Melawi River for three generations, their leaders, Raja Ningkan, Sagan-Agan, Bedali and Jugah called for a large meeting to discuss further migrations. They agreed to migrate and separate from their relatives, and they built many large boats with the help of those who wished to remain behind. It is also to be noted that all the material wealth or properties that the Iban people value today is the same as that which was valued by the people of Malawi in the past, especially the old Chinese jars and brasswares.

From Melawi, they separated and moved to the Sintang River where the passed a large areas of farmland. They looked for the owner of the farmland and were told that the farmland owner had moved to Pontianak and that they could farm there that year only as the informer could not guarantee that the owner would not return to reclaim the land. They started to plant padi that year and had a bountiful harvest. After the harvest, they left the area to live at the mouth of Sintang River for one year.

From Nanga Sintang, the Iban went up the Kapuas where they meet other people. They found that not many people had settled along the right bank of the Kapuas River, as majority of them preferred to live along the more fertile land of the left bank. From the main Kapuas River, they went up the Sakayam tributary. From the mouth of this river, all lands on both banks are owned by the Mualang Dayaks. It took them two full days to reach the first Mualang Dayak Longhouse from its mouth. They stayed only a few nights in the Mualang Dayak Longhouse.

In their conversation with the Mualangs, Jugah and Bedali told the Mualangs the story of their movements since they left the Kayung settlement. They told the Mualangs that they had separated from their relatives who had been converted to Muslims by the Arab missionaries to avoid conflict and religious persecution. They told them that they had lived in the Melawi and had migrated down the Sintang River to look for new lands in which to settle. They asked the Mualangs whether they might give them land to live on. The Mualangs told them that although there was still a lot of virgin forest on both banks of the Sakayam, as the Iban had seen, all the land belongs along both banks had been claimed by them from its mouth up to the settlement they had reached.

The Mualang further told the Iban that all the lands above their settlement belonged to the Chengkang Dayaks, and then further up to Balai Kerangan, the land belonged to the Sebaru Dayaks. All land beyond that belonged to the Remun Dayaks.

The Iban told the Mualang that they did not want to migrate further and wished to settle alongside the Mualang there. The Mualang agree only if the Iban agreed to live in the same longhouse with them. The Iban finally agreed to live in the same longhouse with the Mualang. They lived many years with them, and a great number of them intermarried, becoming Mualang.

After the Iban had greatly multiplied; they separated from the Mualang and moved to the Sanggau River. Here they lived much closed to the Bugau Dayaks. After some years of staying there, the moved to Semitau under their chiefs, Raja Ningkan, Jenua, Jugah, Rawing, Jimbun, Sagan-Agan and Jengkuan. All these chiefs were brave men. Due to their bravery and aggressiveness, all other Dayaks were afraid of them.

*source Tansang Kenyalang

The Origin and Traditional values of Iban Cock-fighting

Cock-fighting is another type of culture or recreation which is commonly shared by the Ibans. Their interest for this culture originated from the game introduced by Raja Machan who held a cock-fighting bout with Ambong Mungan. The later lost the contest to Raja Machan and decided to go to visit the supernatural being in the sky to look for a fighting cock. In the domain of the God in the Sky, he met with a Supreme God called Raja Petara who gave him a fighting cock with the coloration of “Tuntong Lang Ngindang Terbai, Biring Belangking Pipit Kechuai”. Raja Petara told him that the fighting cock would never be defeated in the contest. With this prized possession given by the Supreme God, Ambong Mungan staged another cock-fighting session against Raja Machan. With such divine help, he won the contest.

There is another story of an Iban man named Kendawa, who went to the underworld in search for a good fighting cock with the coloration of “Biring Gerunggang”. In the underworld, he met with Ensing Jara who is a deity who looks after the soul of the dead fighting cock. He is also known as God of Cockfighting. These tales goes to show that cock fighting is a serious affair to the past Iban man who went through great length in search for a good fighting cock. Furthermore, they also imitated the game where their fable hero Keling, his friends and Gods of war, Sengalang Burong and his party held a cock-fighting contest against their arch enemies, Apai Sabit Bekait and demon Nising or Beduru in the sky.

The Iban believed that all the fighting cock that the supernatural being (Petara and Bunsu Antu) used in the cock-fighting contest, turned into human warriors. That is why cock fighting is closely tied to intangible qualities of human nature, their spiritual fulfillment and their religious refinement. It signifies a man’s chivalry while fighting enemies during war expeditions. As human beings became the fighting cocks of the supernatural being, they bore many different types of coloration (bulu manok), which is believed to reflect the personality profile of each warrior. The Iban believes that every warrior is born with his or her own “god given” fate (tuah diberi Petara) and destiny (nasib). These fate and destiny can only be seen and read from the scales of the fighting-cock’s leg and in its coloration. The scale is unique to individual rooster reflecting the unique fate given by god to individual warrior. That is why an Iban warrior is called “manok sabong” (fighting cock), spiritually sharing and possessing similar properties and characteristic. Thus, through these supernatural being, the Iban learn how to recognize the different type of coloration of the fighting cock and choose their preferred colorations that fit their personality when they became true warrior. With this traditional knowledge, the Iban learn how to recognize the quality and profile of each warrior and the natural element that influence them.

An Iban man is only a true warrior after he has slain an enemy in a battle. A true warrior will declare to God his praise name (ensumbar) and his choice of fighting cock coloration with the blood of his first slain enemy on their hand, which they tapped on their knees, elbows, on top of their head (bubun) and at the tip of their tongue. The declaration is also followed by swearing to God to abide by the rules of engagement handed down for generations. Once the fighting cock coloration has been declared with an enemy blood, the same coloration fighting cock must be used to honour the said warrior when he is invited to grace any major festival of the Iban people. If he needs to change his praise name later in life, he needs to repeat the same process using a fresh blood of his slain enemy.

The Iban warriors adorn beautiful headgear during major festivals or war expedition. These headgears are decorated with beautiful Angus pheasant feathers to resemble the beauty and grace of a fighting cock. The art of cock fighting teaches them to recognize the vulnerability of individual warriors. This helps the warleader to select individual warriors to perform specific task in a war expedition, which, at times, would include death duel with enemy warriors. That is why cock-fighting is not only a favorite pastime, but it is also a school of thought that teaches chivalrous behavior (courteous and considerate behavior) associated with the spirit of Iban warriors. It also teaches the Iban about the natural behavior, character and instinct of different fighting cock as it’s coloration represented the type of fish, birds, animals and insect living in its natural environment; location of the sun for their active and inactive time, feeding time, playing time, rest time; river tide situation; etc. Cock fighting thus represented the Iban’s religious and personal ideal. It is certainly their unique way of life.

The period when the Ibans normally hold cock-fighting bouts is between the felling season and the time when the burning is approaching. In the past, this was known as the annual cock-fighting Season.

In the past, on the eve of a cock-fighting contest, leaders of the cock-fighting teams would ask two bards to sing renong (folk songs), one after another. The renong that they sang were the ones that were formerly prescribed for war expeditions. They mentioned Keling, Bunga Nuing and party who went on war expeditions against their archenemy, Apai Sabit Bekait. War expeditions are similar to cock-fighting contests. Therefore, whenever the Iban leaders wanted to go on war expeditions, they would ask the bards to sing the renong specifically prescribed for cock-fighting contests, following what Ensing Jara did when he held a cock-fighting bout against Ngerai and Niram from the land of the dead (sebayan). Whenever they sing the renong, mainly for cock-fighting bouts or war expeditions, they must prepare offerings because the supernatural being that used to go on war expeditions or held cock-fighting contests are all mentioned in their songs.

However, to the Ibans who adhere to the old customs, cock fighting does not bring them any harm. It is a traditional sports and if organized professionally, it will be good for the tourism industry which benefits the Dayak people. In the past, the cock-fighting session is the time they exchange views and contemplate various meaningful undertakings with each other. Through their conversation at the cock-fighting arena, a majority of them receive ideas on how to improve their methods of farming, gardening, trading and carrying out activities to raise their community standard of living.

The cunning ones do not indulge themselves too much in gambling and betting during cock-fighting bouts because they remember the advice of their elders on being thrifty. They are aware of the dangers of doing things irresponsibly which will not only reduce their families to destitution but create problems for their children after their deaths.

Nowadays, cocks fighting are being organized occasionally following a major festival, annual gawai Dayak festival and final death rites (ngetas ulit) to mark the end of mourning period. In the headhunting past, death rites was completed with the acquisition of fresh heads. Such practices of blood letting have been replaced with cock-fighting session. This beautiful tradition should be preserved and kept alive in a contemporary Iban society through a better-organized session, proper set of rules and better arena.

(additional*in Iban)

RUKUN SABONG

1. Mimpi rurus – Manah

2. Burong rurus – Manah

3. Bulu manok maioh bunoh – Ngeraup – Siti Bulu

4. Manok manah bintih – Kering sereta Silat

5. Tisik ngemudi ka bulu manok ti manah – Tuah

6. Ngangkat ka manok ngena hari – enggau atur

7. Saa manok enggau chukup – manah intu

8. Taji ka bulih – tajam

Lapan iti Rukun Sabong ti diterang ka datas nya, rukun sabong menang, enda bertuakal agi, tentu menang. Nya baru tau berani masang manok naka pemisi, tau dipasang nerima pasang besai.

Enti kita nyabong enda ngena rukun sabong datas nya, kita semina nyabong enggau buta-tuli, sapeneka ati aja, nyabong betuakal, nyabong nasit, nyabong ngapa, nyabong nadai penemu, nyabong nadai pelajar. Tampak bendar kitai enda nemu nyabong dipeda orang ti bisi ngembuan pelajar nyabong.

Enti udah belajar sereta nemu rukun sabong, nya baru tau nyatup orang nyabong sabarang maia lalu manok ke dibai kita ka gelanggang endang disadang menang. Baka kitai ka ngerja pengawa bukai, kitai mesti bisi petua, isharat enggau rukun awak ka pengawa kitai lurus pejalai. Nadai semua utai nyamai sereta mudah diulih kitai enti enda enggau petua, isharat enggau rukun. Kitai enda tau ngutuk diri empu enti alah kategal salah petua, isharat tauka rukun, laban penyalah nya endang penyalah kitai empu ti enda chukup pelajar tauka penyabar dalam pengawa nyabong.

Besabong ka manok tu baka pengawa kitai mensia ka bentaruh ka nyawa bebuti enggau pangan diri. Sapa alah, nya mati. Nya kabuah kitai enda tau enda betati ka tiap-tiap rukun sabong, enggai ka alah uti enggau pangan diri. Kelia, enti alah uti enggau pangan diri, ngagai ringka ga pemulai sida. Nya alai rukun sabong enda tau enda dipelajar awak ka enda lebu bebuti enggau pangan diri.

NGELALA BULU MANOK

Bansa kitai iban endang udah lama bisi panemu ngelala bulu manok. Ngelala bulu manok tu siti panemu sabong ti nyelai bendar enti dibanding enggau panemu bansa bukai ke sama bekunsi ka uti sabong bakatu. Bulu manok endang dikelala bansa iban nyemaka semua bansa utai ti idup (jelu, burong, ikan, indu utai enggau bansa utai tumboh) baik ka di dalam ai tauka di darat. Lalu pengangkat bulu manok mega ditemu kitai bansa nitih ka ulah, bunyi, gaya, pendiau enggau pemakai utai idup ti sabaka bulu enggau manok nya. Bakanya mega tuah manok ti dipeda kitai ba tuboh enggau ba tisik kaki manok sabong kitai. Tisik enggau tuah manok endang nitih ka pemai enggau gamal utai idup ti sabaka nama enggau bulu sida. Semua ulah enggau pendiau utai idup ti nyemaka enggau bulu manok endang dipelajar ka kitai Iban ngambi ka nemu maia hari sida kering, maia sida makai, maia sida diau, bansa utai di empa sida enggau maia ulah bukai. Semua utai tu endang bisi sangkut-paut enggau maia kitai nyabong manok sereta enggau sapa bulu manok ti disabong kitai nya ninggang pangan diri. Ari tuah enggau bulu manok, orang ke nemu nyabong endang nemu ni bagi manok ke bebintih nya tau dulu datai kaki ba lawan diri.

Bedudok ari pelajar sabong tu anak pungka lelaki Iban kelia endang udah diajar ngelala bulu manok kenyau ari sida iya agi biak. Sida mega diajar ngintu manok sabong ti aroh ati diri empu. Enti sida nyau udah nyadi ka manok sabong orang, sida nemu ngambu bulu manok sabong nyadi ka tanda pemerani sida tauka pengering bulu diri. Pengawa ngambu bulu manok sabong tu dikerja chara besumpah ngena darah munsoh ka udah didengah sida. Bulu manok sabong tu beguna bendar dikena miau enggau niki ka bala Raja Berani enggau Bujang Berani enti sida diambi ngerja pengawa gawai besai kitai bansa. Enti salah bulu manok dikena, pengawa sida tau sabau ngapa laban salah ripih pengawa lalu enda chukup intu. Utai baka tu tau ngemedis ka orang ka bempu pengawa. Nya kabuah ngadu enggau ngintu pengawa ba pengarap bansa kitai Iban pedis bendar enti nadai penemu ti chukup kena ngerja pengawa. Nya alai anak Iban enda tau enda nemu ngelala bulu manok, ukai semina dikena bebuti nyabong aja, tang mega ka penemu kena ngerja pengawa pengarap kitai bansa.

source: THE HOUSE OF SENGALANG BURONG

Iban History

The origin of the name Iban is a mystery, although many theories exist. During the British colonial era, the Ibans were called Sea Dayaks. Some believe that the word Iban was an ancient original Iban word for people or man. The modern-day Iban word for people or man is mensia, a slightly modified Malay loan word of the same meaning (manusia) of Sanskrit Root.

The Ibans were the original inhabitants of Borneo Island. Like the other Dayak tribes, they were originally farmers, hunters, and gatherers. Not much is known about Iban people before the arrival of the Western expeditions to Asia. Nothing was ever recorded by any voyagers about them.

The Ibans were unfortunately branded for being pioneers of headhunting. Headhunting among the Ibans is believed to have started when the lands occupied by the Ibans became over-populated. In those days, before the arrival of western civilization, intruding on lands belonging to other tribes resulted in death. Confrontation was the only way of survival.

In those days, the way of war was the only way that any Dayak tribe could achieve prosperity and fortune. Dayak warfare was brutal and bloody, to the point of ethnic cleansing. Many extinct tribes, such as the Seru and Bliun, are believed to have been assimilated or wiped out by the Ibans. Tribes like the Bukitan, who were the original inhabitants of Saribas, are believed to have been assimilated or forced northwards as far as Bintulu by the Ibans. The Ukits were also believed to have been nearly wiped out by the Ibans.

The Ibans started moving to areas in what is today's Sarawak around the 15th century. After an initial phase of colonising and settling the river valleys, displacing or absorbing the local tribes, a phase of internecine warfare began. Local leaders were forced to resist the tax collectors of the sultans of Brunei. At the same time, Malay influence was felt, and Iban leaders began to be known by Malay titles such as Datu (Datuk), Nakhoda and Orang Kaya.

In later years, the Iban encountered the Bajau and Illanun, coming in galleys from the Philippines. These were seafaring tribes who came plundering throughout Borneo. However, the Ibans feared no tribe, and fought the Bajaus and Illanuns. One famous Iban legendary figure known as Lebor Menoa from Entanak, near modern-day Betong, fought and successfully defeated the Bajaus and Illanuns. It is likely that the Ibans learned seafaring skills from the Bajau and the Illanun, using these skills to plunder other tribes living in coastal areas, such as the Melanaus and the Selakos. This is evident with the existence of the seldom-used Iban boat with sail, called the bandung. This may also be one of the reasons James Brooke, who arrived in Sarawak around 1838, called the Ibans Sea Dayaks. For more than a century, the Ibans were known as Sea Dayaks to Westerners.

*source www.enotes.com

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Traditional Iban food

The Iban tribe are from Sarawak, Borneo. Their traditional foods are called Pansuh food, which simply means the cooking of food or dish in a bamboo stem. It's naturally clean, easy and simple. The food (meat, chicken, fish, vegetables and even rice together with the spices) will all be put together into the bamboo stem, then directly placed over an open fire to be cooked. The uniqueness of using the bamboo stem to cook is that the bamboo will give a special aroma and texture to the food where it's impossible to have using other methods such as using woks.

Since they settled in the Malaysian state of Sarawak over 400 years ago, the Iban have made the surrounding rainforest their supermarket and hardware store, tapping the tremendous variety of plants, animals and raw materials for their food, medicines, dwellings and rituals.

Sarawak’s forests and rivers largely influence the lives of the indigenous people, who have a history of being very reliant upon the forest for food and medicines, as well as much of their building materials. Their forebears lived in or at the forest fringe, usually along rivers, fishing, hunting and foraging for food.

Forest ferns have a special place in the diet of the people, with the two most popular ferns used as vegetables being midin and the fiddlehead fern (pucuk paku). Midin grows wild in the secondary forests and is peculiar to the state. It has curly fronds and is very crunchy even after it has been cooked. Rural dwellers have always considered the fern a tasty, nutritious vegetable and the jungle fern’s rise from rural staple to urban gourmet green occurred in the 1980s with the increased urban migration of the Iban. Aromatic leaves from trees, such as the Bungkang, are also used in cooking to flavour food.

The Iban still live by the river and forest fringe, and cook over open fires using implements fashioned from Nature. Commonly found in the forests, the hardy bamboo is an essential cooking utensil. Rice, meat, fish and vegetables are stuffed into bamboo logs and stand in wood fires to cook, the bamboo infusing the food with a fresh aroma.

One of the best known Iban dishes is pansoh manok (ayam pansuh), which features chicken and lemongrass cooked in a bamboo log over an open fire. This natural way of cooking seals in the flavours and produces astonishingly tender chicken with a gravy perfumed with lemongrass and bamboo.

A visit to the longhouse will usually see guests welcomed with a glass of tuak, a home-brewed rice wine. The brew has a sweet fragrance and is highly alcoholic – a small glass is enough to send the unaccustomed to euphoric heights.

The numerous riverine areas of Sarawak provide the state’s inhabitants with abundant fresh water fish, with the Tilapia being the most widely cultivated. There are sago grubs, bamboo clams and temilok (marine worms) to try. The bright yellow, round eggplants and turmeric flowers are also found in Iban foods

Iban longhouse

The longhouse faces the river. Each family unit in the longhouse has its own section, consisting of a room (bilik) with a solid door, an equal-width section of the common area onto which all rooms open, and an equal-width section of the porch (tanju) -- which, as you can see, is a rickety affair made of split bamboo laid (not fastened) across supporting logs. We tourists were warned not to go out on the porch because it likely would not hold our weight, and believe me, we were not tempted. In addition to hanging laundry, the porch is used for doing work. An old man spent the morning out there building a door from fresh-looking boards.

Below, you can see some chicken coops on the left side, beneath the living quarters. The people kept a large number of chickens, which strut all around but are chased out if they come into the house. Several dogs and one very small, friendly, flea-infested cat shared the house. The people raise fish to eat in their own fish farm on the river; big bags of tilapia feed are stacked inside the longhouse.

First thing in the morning, most women went out to gather some food. They raise padi rice, vegetables and pepper on the hills above the house. (Black pepper is a major export of Sarawak; we saw pepper plants trained to climb poles in long rows everywhere as we traveled the roads.) The women strap a giant cylindrical basket on their back, put a conical hat on their head, and wearing long sleeves and usually pants, climb up a narrow path to the cultivated fields. When they return, the basket is filled with greenery. They make the baskets from grasses and rattan; the straps are made from tree bark.

One of the two women who cooked for us came in with what appeared to be some kind of tree leaves brimming from her huge basket. Later I realized I had heard a dull pounding coming from the kitchen for a very long time, so I went to investigate. In a small stone mortar she was mashing all the leaves to pulp. She already had a big blue plastic basin full of it. I signaled that I would like to try it and she gestured permission. But she had meant touch and not taste, because as I moved to put a clump into my mouth, both women urgently warned me not to do it. Pointing to the wok on the double-burner gas cooker (same as what most city Malaysians also use), they explained that the pulp had to be cooked. We ate it at lunch that day, and like everything we ate in the longhouse, it was delicious. The texture was heavier than chopped spinach but equally smooth. I don't know if they cooked it in chicken stock or just a combination of flavorings such as soy sauce, but the unique taste of the leaf remained, neither sweet nor bitter, a cross between mustard greens and collards.

Courting girls

In the old days,at the age of fourteen, an Iban boy begins to attain his bachelorhood. His parents teach him to behave and speak politely to others. He also learn to court girls together with older bachelors. Courting girls at night (ngayap) has been an Iban traditional dating method to look for suitable partner and pave the way for their future love. Hence, they must learn the polite manners in approaching the girl of their heart.

The bachelors must learn to establish and maintain their good reputation by paying due respect to the girls’ bed. They ought to be considerate with other people who are sleeping without disturbing them from their dreams. In addition, they should walk quietly along the verandah, which was very difficult to do in the dark for the nervous and the inexperienced. The wooden floors surfaces were mostly uneven with a lot of loose domestic items lying around the corners, or hanging from deer antlers tied to the posts or hanging on loose bamboo beams.

This courting activity is also a test of the young boys’ courage and maturity as they have to travel at night through forest, crossing rivers or swamps to reach the girls’ longhouse. In the headhunting days, this kind of travel could be a very risky affair as they could fall upon a band of marauding enemies. So they are trained to exercise extreme caution to keep them on guard against untoward incident. These include keeping themselves adequately armed, be alert of danger and are prepared for action at all time in their travel. They were also taught to properly identify themselves should they meet other people in their journey.

This nightly travel by the bachelors is also treated as an inter longhouse night security petrol by the community. Any sign of danger detected, these bachelors could give early warning to the community. This would give them time to respond to these emergencies and quell any surprise attacks by enemies. For this reason, ngayap was encouraged as part of the Iban culture and treated as an important early learning and social interaction process for their children. Though there is no set of established rules to this tradition, common understanding by the community at large have accepted this traditional courtship as part of the Iban way of life. There has been no reported incident of property stolen or damaged and fatality incident in the history of the Saribas Iban society due to ngayap activities.

On the other hand, for the girls who aim high or those who have been properly counseled by their parents, they will automatically know how to recognise certain behavior of a suitor to be entertained. The boys who have been ill-cultured and talked boisterously are to be avoided as the girls normally abhor boys who have been badly groomed.

In their conversation with girls whom they court, many boys say that they wish to marry them, or tell the spinsters that their arrivals are made through the requests of their parents to ask for their hands in marriage. On hearing such proposals, the girls must think profoundly. Perhaps the declarations can turn to be mere tricks to induce the girls to offer themselves to the boys. At this juncture, many girls like to test the boys by telling them that they have as yet, no intentions of getting married unless these lads have shown their manly qualities like participating in venturing abroad to search for fame and fortune.

In the old days, when there were many enemies around, spinsters usually declared their refusals to get married unless Iban bachelors had killed enemies and taken their heads. Due to such encouragement on the part of the girls, the male Ibans in those days were rarely found not to have gone abroad or joining a war expeditions because they feared that they could not easily obtain suitable wives. Any man who spent his entire life in his own longhouse was usually labeled as a coward who could, as the women termed it, “put on a woman’s sarong”. Hence, they found it difficult to marry high profile (clever and skillful) girls, unless they are not aware of his true qualities.

Moreover, when a girl reaches maturity, and if there is a suitor, her parents will arrange for her to settle down. Normally, an Iban girl marries when she is seventeen years of age. When a girl attains her spinsterhood, her mother teaches her the ways employed to protect her. She must be taught to behave and speak courteously to boys who court her at night. She is aware that it has been a tradition for a boy to court a girl. However, the question of getting her to offer herself to the boy depends very much on the girl herself, because he cannot force her to give consent unless they love each other through his kindness and winning ways. These are secretly explained to her by her mother. The mother also emphasizes the methods in which her daughter can judge whether or not the boy is sincere enough to marry her.

*source

GN Mawar Wordpress

CEREMONIAL BATHING OF THE CHILD

Following the traditional naming of the child, the parents begin to think of giving the child a ceremonial bath at a river. Unless this is done with offerings, the child cannot yet be merely allowed to be bathed at the river. On the eve of the festival, the child’s father must get his longhouse mates to assemble at his common room, and inform them of the proposed celebration. All the people at the longhouse are requested to be at home the following day to observe the ceremony. Those who stay at their farm huts are also called back for the occasion.

Early the following morning, the longhouse dwellers start to go down to the river in a procession led by a flag-bearer. He is immediately followed by a man who carries a fowl. The two men are chosen from the influential personality of the longhouse because the flag-bearer will be tasked to slice the water with a nyabor sword (other type of traditional sword would be used if nyabor sword is not available) while the man who carries the fowl will recite an invocation prior to the slicing of the water.

Note: Nyabor sword is the ultimate Iban warrior’s weapon that can only be made by those warriors who have killed an enemy in battle. It is considered a taboo for ordinary people to make such weapon. It’s special identity is the “Butoh Kunding” design at the ricasso lower shoulder of the sword.

They are followed by two women, walking in line one after the other. The first lady bears offerings while the second carries the baby in a sling with a hand woven blanket (pua kumbu belantan or lebor api). These two women are also selected from among the most productive and fortunate breed amongst the longhouse ladies. Next in line are the other ordinary people and they are immediately followed by those who continuously beat the musical percussion throughout the event. Their purpose is to drown away any sound made by unfavorable omen birds during the ceremony.

On arrival at the river, the appointed man starts to recite the following invocation:

“Where are you, Seragindi, the maker of water?
Where are you, Seragindah, the creator of earth?
Where are you, Seragindong, the maker of cape?
Where are you, Seragindee, the creator of day?
Where are you, Seragindit, the maker of sky?”

“This morning we are giving so and so (the child’s name is then mentioned at this juncture) a bath in accordance with our tradition. We beseech thee to confer on him fortune, Give him sharp vision, So that he will be fortunate and wealthy in his life.”

“Where are you the king of fish, the king of gemian (a kind of sea fish).
Where are you the king of semah, the king of tapah (two kinds of river fish).
Where are you the king of soft shelled turtle, the super natural king of turtle.
Where are you, the king of barbus macrolepidoius, the king of fish called kulong?
Where are you the king of crocodile, the king of soft-shelled turtle?”

“If in future if this child, grandchildren of ours, happens to capsize and sink, when he is on his journey, We beseech thee to lift him up and keep him afloat, so that he can convalesce and recuperate and free from any danger and risk.”

“Oh Hoi! Oh Hoi! Oh Hoi!
Sa, Dua, Tiga, Empat, Lima, Enam, Tuuuuuuujoh.
Ni kita Seragindi ke dulu ngaga ai ke bepati enda sebaka nanga?
Ni kita Seragindah ke dulu ngaga tanah ke betingkah nyadi kerapa?
Ni kita Seragindong ke dulu ngaga tanjong betuntong dua?
Ni kita Seragindie ke dulu ngaga hari ke terunji petang kelita?
Ni kita Seragindit ke dulu ngaga langit nungkat neraja?

Nyadi pagi tu kami meri bala anak kami mandi.
Kami endang nitih ka pekat, nitih ka adat.
Kami endang nitih ka adat kelia, adat menya.
Kami endang nitih ka adat aki, nitih ka adat ini kami.
Nya alai kami minta sida iya bidik, minta sida lansik.
Kami minta sida kaya, minta sida raja,
Kami minta sida iya jelai rita, tampak nama.
Kami minta sida lantang, minta sida senang.
Kami minta sida iya pandai, jauh pejalai.

Oh Ha!
Ni kita Raja Ikan, Raja Gamian?
Ni kita Raja Tapah, Raja Semah?
Ni kita Raja Adong, Raja Kulong?
Ni kita Raja Genali, Raja Lelabi?
Ni kita Raja Gumba, Raja Baya?

Kami ngasoh kita nyaga, ngasoh kita ngemata,
Kami ngasoh kita meda, ngasoh kita ngila,
Ngasoh kita ngiching, ngasoh kita merening,
Ngasoh kita nyukong, ngasoh kita nulong.
Nyangka ka dudi hari ila anak telesak,
Uchu ambu kami tu bisi bejalai, bisi nyemberai,
bisi karam, bisi tengelam.
Kami minta kita nanggong,
minta kita melepong ka sida.
Kami ngasoh kita nyagu,
minta kita ngintu sida.
Awak ka sida pulai nyamai, pulai gerai,
Pulai lantang, pulai senang,
Pulai nadai apa, nadai nama.”

Upon the conclusion of reciting the invocation, the flag-bearer then slices the water with his knife, symbolizing the child’s life will be blessed, pure and flow continuously until it reaches its final destination. He then slaughters a fowl a bit further upstream from the spot where the woman is bathing the baby so that the fowl blood may flow towards the child.

When the child is being bathed, the onlookers hilariously make a lot of noise. At this juncture, the gongs are not normally beaten loudly but if the children wish to hit them hard, they are permitted to do so in order to drown any of the sounds made by omen birds, which are either ominous or foretell good fortune.

After the baby has been bathed, and if he is a boy, one of the wings of the slaughtered fowl is then hung on to a shaft of a multi-pronged spear (gansai), tied with a red ribbon. If the baby is a girl, the wing is fastened on to a heddle rod used by ladies in their weaving work. Placed near to the wing of the fowl is the offering which is being put inside a rough bamboo basket (Kalingkang), and hung from the top of the bamboo that still bears leaves.

The people return home after the ceremony held beside the river is over. On their way back, the procession maintain the same order as before. The gongs are being played loudly to avoid hearing the sounds made by omen birds.

On arrival at the longhouse, the child, is wrapped up and held by the mother in her lap as she sits on a large gong placed at the middle of the gallery. A Bebiau ceremony then conducted to cast away any bad omen and to bless the child. The child is then sprinkled with water. The water which the child is being sprinkled with is the water of a stone crystal (batu kuai) that possesses the power to wipe out bad omens brought about by the omen birds. This stone crystal is placed on a large antique china plate together with dollars coins, a gold ring and rain water poured on the same plate.

After the casting away of bad omen and the water sprinkling ceremony is over, the people then begin to eat various kinds of food and drinks prepared by the host like buns, rice wine, liquor and other traditional food. Later, a luncheon is held at the child’s family gallery for the guest and this is termed as the child’s bathing ceremony luncheon.

*source ; GN Mawar Iban Cultural Heritage

Borneo's headhunters enraged by centuries of loss

Dayak youths carrying a spear ride past a burning ethnic Madurese house near Palangkaraya on the island of Borneo Sunday. Indonesian security officials flew into a ravaged district of Borneo on Sunday where up to 400 people have died in a week of ethnic bloodshed and where gangs armed with spears still roam the streets.

For centuries, Indonesia's Dayak headhunters have been cheated and robbed by outsiders, but now they are fighting back.

But their target — mainly dirt-poor settlers from Madura — appear to be more scapegoats than villains.Dayaks — actually an umbrella term covering more than 200 indigenous groups — have killed up to 400 Madurese over the past week after long-simmering tensions erupted into brutal slaughter in the rugged Borneo province of Central Kalimantan.However, the roots of the slaughter lie more in poverty and dispossession than outright ethnic hatred.

"(Dayaks)...are simple and honest and become the prey of the Chinese traders, who cheat and plunder them continually," wrote naturalist Alfred Wallace in the mid-1800s.

Their plight has only worsened since.

In modern Indonesia, the central government joined the plunder, stripping the Dayaks of their lands and shipping in hundreds of thousands of immigrants.

Most of the new settlers came from the tiny, arid island of Madura, off distant East Java. The warrior-like Madurese are renowned for their hot-tempered aggression, which sits at odds with the normally reserved, accepting Dayaks.

"The ethnic Dayaks are very gentle, tolerant and they like to give in," said Sarosa Hamongpranoto, a sociologist at East Kalimantan's University of Mulawarman. "But they can explode in rage to the extreme if their self-worth is constantly offended."

Once stirred, the Dayaks are fearsome — often reverting to the ritual headhunting that was formally abandoned around the turn of the century, and ripping out the hearts of their victims."In a way, they are now going back to basics," said Hamongpranoto. "The fact they are doing it again now indicates the magnitude and the greatness of the problem. This is a culmination of a long, deep-seated conflict."

Their reputation strikes fear into the hearts of even the Madurese, who themselves terrify Indonesia's majority Javanese.

Refugees fleeing the latest violence tell of Dayak hunters saying they can "smell" who are Madurese.

The Dayak lifestyle of hunting and shifting agriculture, centred on longhouses housing whole villages, does not sit well with Indonesia's rush to modernise.

As their lands across Indonesia's three-quarter share of Borneo were snatched for plantations, logging and mining — and bureaucrats from the main island of Java ran the province --they found themselves increasingly at the bottom of the social and economic ladder, usually along with the Madurese.

The Madurese are easy targets for Dayak resentment because they too are largely powerless and because what little economic success they enjoy is usually conspicuous as market stallholders.

Religious differences fan the flames. Madurese are Muslim and most Dayaks still follow their ancient kaharingan traditions — a mixture of animism and ancestor worship.

Dayak-Madurese tensions have long smouldered — hundreds died in West Kalimantan two years ago — but Central Kalimantan is the only province still with a Dayak majority, although no ethnic breakdown of its 1.4 million people is available.

The province itself was born in violence — formed by the fledgling Indonesian government in 1957 after a Dayak revolt demanding more autonomy.

But the immediate cause of the latest savagery is unclear. The police blame two local officials for inciting the bloodletting because they were angry at missing top jobs in a reshuffle under new regional autonomy laws.

"There could also be a third party who fanned the situation and tried to blow out this problem for a political reason," said Hamongpranoto.

Copyright 2001, Reuters February 26, 2001 By Terry Friel

Omen birds of the Iban (Burung Mali)

Embuas (pictured above) whose earthly manefestation is Banded Kingfisher - Lacedo Pulchella, is the son of Raja Taka. He is married to Endu Kechapang Dulang Mas, Iyak Ketupang Bunga Libas, the fifth daughter of Sengalang Burong. He is known for his weeping call sound, which is very important, when it is heard near the enemy territory. It indicates the weeping cry of the enemies in defeat. He came from a country, which is hollow, like the cover of a basong basket (di tanah lengkap, baka saap moa basong). Embuas is also nicknamed wave of feathered headress (Tipas Sibui Jabong) or Embuau (the weeping sound). Praise name (Ensumbar or Julok): A swift boat which passed a troop on the march (Bangkong Deras ke bejalai kebas-kebas ngelimpas moa bala) Special possession: Owns a randau malam creeper to tie up a house support and a group of meregang tree used for timber to construct a house ridge (ngembuan randau malam ambi ka tanggam tanchang sukong enggau madang kayu meregang tetak luntang lumpong ka parabong) By Gregory Nyanggau Mawar Uchu Sengalang Burong