Punan

Punan Bah or Punan^[1] is an ethnic group found in Sarawak, Malaysia. They are distinct, unrelated to the Penan and also the other so called Punan found in Kalimantan the Indonesian part of Borneo. Their name stems from two rivers along the banks of which they have been living time immemorial. They do have other names - Mikuang Bungulan or Mikuang and Aveang Buan. But these terms are only used ritually these days.

The Punan (or Punan Bah) have never been nomad. In the old days they base their living on a mixed economy. Swidden agriculture with hill paddy as the main crop, supplemented by a range of tropical plants which include maniok, taro, sugar cane, tobacco, etc. Hunting especially wild boar, fishing, and gathering of forest resources are the other important factors in their economy.

However, in the late 1980s many Punan, notably the younger, more educated, gradually migrating to urban areas such as Bintulu, Sibu, Kuching and Kuala Lumpur in search of better living. However, they didn't abandon their longhouses altogether. Many would still return home - especially during major festivities such as Harvest Festival / or Bungan festival as it is known among Punan.

Punan is a stratified society of 'laja' (aristocrats), 'panyen' (commoners), and 'lipen' (slaves). This is a fact determine their historical traditions that have been preserved. Just like most of the history of European Middle Ages is linked to and mainly concerned the various ruling monarchs, so are the historical and mythical traditions of Punan closely connected to their rulings aristocrats.

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

Bujang Timpang Berang

We drove to Betong for a coffee time one afternoon,just to drink at a different town,than just at a coffee shop in Kuching.

Did some fishing...get a great experience of watching the 'head' of Benak (tidal bore=an abrupt rise of tidal water moving rapidly inland from the mouth of an estuary.), which happens very rare in Btg. Layar,Betong.

And of course,we visited the legendary cannon 'Bujang Timpang Berang' at the District Office.

This cannon was use by the warrior Rentap in battles against the White Rajah army from around 1850's until his last battle at Bukit Sadok in 1861.

The missing 'shoulder',which where it get its name from.

The Journey of Matthew Minarchek

Between 15 August and 25 August 2008, I visited the Iban community of Sungai Pelaik located on the periphery of Danau Sentarum National Park in West Kalimantan and development in Indonesia. What follows is a brief sketch of the community.

I traveled from the coastal city of Pontianak via overnight bus to Sintang, about twelve hours up the Kapuas River. In Sintang, I stopped by the Danau Sentarum National Park headquarters to gain entry permits for the park and discuss the research with park staff. The following morning I took a local minibus for seven hours to Semitau located near Danau Sentarum National Park. From Semitau, I entered the park by speedboat, passing through numerous Melayu villages and eventually arrived at the Sungai Pelaik longhouse.

The Iban longhouse is located on the Pelaik River just upstream from the lakes region, about two hours by speedboat from the Melayu village of Laboyan, depending on water leveis. Sungai Pelaik is a 9-door longhouse with 43 residents, and one family of four lives in a neighboring house. The longhouse was constructed at the current location in 2002 and is situated just a few kilometers from the old site. The residents use Iban adat and the annual gawai is still practiced every July. Most commonly the men of Sungai Pelaik leave the village upon marriage and join the household of the wife and the opposite is true of the women, but one of the male residents had stayed after marrying and his wife moved to Pelaik. At the time of my visit, ten residents were working wage labor jobs in Malaysia and a few of the children were in Lanjak for school. It is common in this community for whole families to travel to Sarawak for work and oftentimes families will move there for up to ten months.

I arrived during the dry season and fishing was the main activity for the residents throughout my stay. Villagers woved fishing traps (bubu ikan), fishing nets (nyala ikan), baskets for carrying the fish, and carved pronged fishing spears (jerpak ikan). Throughout the days, both men and women traveled downstream to the lake to check the fish traps or take dugout canoes out for net fishing, and then returned back to the longhouse to clean their catch for drying or to prepare for dinner. To take advantage of the low waters during the dry season, the community partnered with the Melayu village of Nanga Telatap for jakat. Jakat may be described as the following activity. In the early morning, the villagers of Pelaik loaded fishing nets, food, and drinks into their dugouts and paddled out into the lake to meet the residents of Nanga Telatap. All the canoes then moved into a circle formation around a large pole sticking 15 feet out of the water. After the dugouts were in place and the signal had been given, cheers quickly erupted and everyone paddled their canoe as quickly as possible towards the center pole and then cast their nets into the water. The movement of the watercrafts and pounding of the paddles into the lake caused the fish to flood toward the pole in the middle and all the fisher folks' nets emerged out of the water full of fish. After a few more casts, the nets were emptied into the hull of the dugouts and then the boats slowly dispersed. The Pelaik longhouse residents made their way back to the longhouse and the freshly caught fish were sorted by species and then cleaned for drying and cooking. Delicious fish was then grilled over a small fire in celebration of the catch and eaten with rice and a homemade sambal was another of the main activities within the longhouse and women wove traditional textiles such as pua' and tanun, fabrics used in ceremonies or for clothing. Plant material was collected from the surrounding forest to make dyes for the cotton string that would soon be woven on the wooden loom. Rattan was also harvested and used to make floor mats and baskets for use in the longhouse. Some of the floor mats, weavings, and baskets were being sold to buyers in West Kalimantan and Java for supplemental income.

Due to the remote location of the Sungai Pelaik longhouse, electricity from a central grid network is inaccessible. Two of the apartments own diesel generators and produce electricity in the evenings for a few hours when fuel is available. In 2007, a micro-hydro electricity scheme was built on the Pelaik River just upstream from the longhouse. The project produced electricity for all the apartments of the longhouse for nearly a year. However, at the time of this study, the small-scale hydro project had encountered a few problems and the two operators were working to get the system running again. The operators were two residents of the longhouse who were trained to maintain the system throughout the development process. The project was facilitated by the Center for International Forestry Research and Riak Bumi, a Pontianak- based nongovernmental organization. CIFOR initiated an adaptive collaborative management approach and both organizations continue to work with the local people to repair the project. The alternative energy system provided a renewable electricity source for the community and allowed every apartment within the longhouse access to electricity. At the time of writing the micro-hydro system is producing electricity for the longhouse again and it appears the dry season and the low water levels may have affected the project.

Note: This preliminary survey was funded by a Luce Grant from the Center for International Studies at Ohio University.

Matthew Minarchek

Master's Candidate, Ohio University