I. Introduction
Sacral rites and mythical narratives and observances are depicted on rattan
mats, wooden objects and bamboo tubes, which were made by the Ngaju Dayak in
Central Borneo (Kalimantan Tengah), Indonesia.
The texts describing the rituals, which make use of a sacred language: bahasa
Sangiang (S) **, are set out in detail by Hardeland (1858: 209-374),
Mallinckrodt a.o., (1928: 292-346) and Schaerer (1966 II, 261-961).
The mythical narratives (sansana), which tell about the deeds of the gods, are
related from generation to generation in the local language (bahasa Ngaju Dayak),
mainly by women during festivities or while plaiting rattan mats. Their
melodious reciting of the sansana in the evening, even into the small hours of
the night, has the audience of those still awake in the house. These tales form
part of the oral literature of the Ngaju Dayak, some of which have been
published (Sundermann, 1911: 169-214; Klokke-Coster a.o., 1976: 1-121; Klokkea.o.,
1988: 1-79).
Both the ritual texts and the mythical narratives give us an understanding of
Ngaju Dayak religion.
In the concept of this religion the cosmos is divided into three parts: the
mundane world, the upper world and the underworld. The upper world centres
around the primeval mountain, which is the seat of the god known as Mahatara or
Hatalla. It is a male divinity represented by the hornbill, tingang or bungai
(S) and also by the lance, lunju or buno (S). His colour of identification is
white.
Next to Mahatara a pantheon of other gods, living in the upper world, is known,
each of them covering a field that at any time may be of vital importance for
the well-being of a supplicator (Mallinckrodt, 1924: 530-1).
The primeval mountain at its foothills is surrounded by a mythical delta of
rivers and lakes, which are skilfully depicted in drawings by priests (Schaerer,
1963: Plate III-VII). This is the dwelling place of the Sangiang, usually
helpful spirits who mediate between god and men.
The underworld is dominated by Jata, a female god depicted as a snake, jata,
naga, ihing or tambon (S). Her subjects adopt the form of a crocodile, bajai,
when emerging into a river on earth. Her identification colour is red. Although
both the god of the upper world and the goddess of the underworld are
independent autonomous beings, yet in the religious concept of Ngaju Dayak
religion they are presented as a unity. Priests call upon them with the
invocation 'tambon haruei bungai(S)', the snake befriends the hornbill*. This
illustrates the concept of dualistic monism (Schaerer, 1963: 18-9).
This divine unity is frequently depicted in cultic objects. It is seen in the
sacrificial pole (sanggaran), which is erected at the mortuary festivities (tiwah)
in the centre of the village (Pl. VI). This sanggaran shows a snake, which is
horizontally situated in combination with lances and a hornbill in vertical
position, thus depicting the union of the underworld and the upper world as the
'total divinity' (Schaerer, 1963: 18). The sanggaran shows a marked resemblance
to the finial of a Hindu-Javanese processional staff, a trident with two
vertical daggers (the central one is missing), supported by two horizontally
situated snakes (van Lohuizen-de Leeuw, 1984: 91).
The domain of the Sangiang is portrayed as a paradise where everything is more
beautiful and more perfect than on earth. The tree of life (batang garing)
flourishes here with blossoms of gold and fruits of agates tones (lamiang), the
juice of which is the water of life (danum kaharingan). Nowadays after this
latter expression Ngaju Dayak religion is called 'agama kaharingan'.
The genealogy of the Sangiang begins with Tanta Olang Bulau, who lived in the
primeval village called Batu Nindan Tarong in the delta of rivers and lakes at
the foothills of the primeval mountain. He had 14 children, 7 sons and 7
daughters.
To six of his sons he apportioned as their residence a river, a mountain or an
island, all of them outside the primeval village. The seventh son stayed behind
in his ancestral village. Three of the six sons of Tanta Olang Bulau play an
important role in Ngaju Dayak religion:
1. Raja Pampulau Hawon, to whom the river Jalayan was assigned. He was living
there with his 14 children, 7 sons and 7 daughters. His most famous child was
Rawing Tempon Telon.
2. Raja Panyarawan Katingan, who received the river Barirai as his residence. He
also got 14 children, 7 sons and 7 daughters, cousins of those on the river
Jalayan.
3. Garing Hatungko, to whom the river Sangkalila Bulau was allotted. He lived
there with 2 sons of whom Sangumang was the most famous one. Sansana relating
the deeds of Sangumang (Klokke-Coster a.o., 1976: 1-65) were very popular in
Central Borneo, at least till 1959.
How Rawing Tempon Telon, one of the sons of Raja Pampulau Hawon, received his
epithet 'Tempon Telon', is reported by Hardeland (1859: 506). Rawing, descendant
from the river Jalayan, had a cousin, Kameluh Tempon Tiawon of Barirai river
lineage. A powerful dreaded Sangiang chased after her wanting to force her to
marry him. This mighty Sangiang was pursued and finally killed by Rawing. This
was a heroic deed, which compelled widespread admiration. Telon, a prominent
inhabitant of the river Jalayan was so much impressed by Rawing's courage that
he declared himself Rawing's slave. Ever since, Rawing has been known with the
epithet 'Tempon Telon', which means: 'he who is the master of Telon'. After
having rescued his cousin, Rawing Tempon Telon married her. Subsequently all
other cousins from the river Jalayan and the river Barirai married each other.
In this short review on Ngaju Dayak religion, which quotes sources as far apart
as 1858 and 1992, one wonders whether in this course of time a change in
preference for certain Sangiang can be traced to whom people directed their
supplications. The outcome of this comparison is that after more than a century
the preference for a certain Sangiang as focus for supplications has not changed
much. In 1859 Rawing Tempon Telon and Sangumang took pride of place (Hardeland,
1859: 506). Second in line to them, in 1859, were 7 Sangiang, male and female
cousins from Jalayan and Barirai lineage.
In 1952, while questioning a priest (basir) about the images on the bamboo tube
under discussion in this paper, the author found that Rawing Tempon Telon and
Sangumang still figured prominently. Ranking after them, 4 Sangiang were
mentioned by the priest, who had also been mentioned in 1859 by Hardeland. Only
3 Sangiang, mentioned by Hardeland in 1859, were no longer mentioned by the
priest in 1952. Other Sangiang, not mentioned in 1859, did not come to the fore
in 1952.
II. The bamboo tube (solep)
11.1. The origin of the bamboo tube
In 1952 the author acquired the bamboo tube from a priest (basir) in Telok Nyatu,
downstream from Kuala Kuron on the river Kahayan. Formerly the bamboo tube had
been used by him for religious ceremonies and as a kind of visual aid for
religious instruction. The detailed information about the images on the bamboo
tube and their meaning originates from this priest.
The bamboo tube lateron had been donated to the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde,
Leiden, where it is kept in the Indonesian collection.
The bamboo tube was made ca. 1910 by the then famous traditional chief (damang)
Singa Kenting at Tumbang Korik on the river Hamputung, a tributary of the river
Miri in the upstream district of the Kahayan river. Damang Singa Kenting has
made quite a number of these bamboo tubes similar to the one described here.
Most of these bamboo tubes were distributed by him among his children and
grandchildren. While the author was visiting the village Sangal on the banks of
the river Rongan, a downstream tributary of the Kahayan, he attended a wedding
feast of one of Singa Kenting's grandchildren. The bamboo tube he had received
from his grandfather formed part of the collection of sacred objects present
under the sacrificial frame (palangka balaku untung) which was erected in the
centre of the house (Pl. VII).
11.2. The bamboo tube and its images
The bamboo tube (solep) is made of a thick species of bamboo, humbang betong (Dendrocalamus
asper Backer). The tube measures 41 cm in length and 8 cm in diameter
(Pl. VIII). A small knife with a long
handle (langgei) has been used for the carving of the images. This knife with
its long handle of ironwood, tabalien (Eusideroxylon Zwageri), is kept in a
separate sheath attached to the back of the Ngaju Dayak mandau, a kind of
chopping knife or sword.
The background surfaces deepened by the knife have been worked by dragon's blood
(jarenang) collected from resiniferous fruits of a species of rattan (Daemonorops
Draco Blumei). The images which are at the original level of the bamboo
internode have preserved the pre-existent yellow-brownish colour of the bamboo
cane.
The images on the bamboo tube representing figures and observances in Ngaju
Dayak religion, are rolled out in plane surface (Pl.
IX). These pictures their detailed description follows in part III - are
arranged in two sections divided by a white horizontal band, hereunder named
Section A and Section B.
Section A
This upper section shows scenery pertaining to the mortuary festivities (tiwah)
and is itself divided into two subsections, Subsection A.i and Subsection A.ii.
Subsection A.i
The lower part which can be viewed directly, centres round the tree of life (batang
garing).
Subsection A.ii
The upper part which in Pl. IX is
presented upside down, centres round the sacrificial pole (sanggaran). For the
discussion of this scenery the picture will be presented again after having been
turned round in Pl. X.
Section B
This lower oblong section shows the mihing, a trap for catching fish on earth,
the origin of its mundane use being based upon certain sansana According to
these sansana, myths of origin for the mihing, in the upper world there is a
trap used by the Sangiang in order to catch treasures from neighbouring villages
(Klokke, 1994: in press).
III. Detailed description of the images on the bamboo tube
Ill. Section A.i. - lower subsection of upper section A
(Pl. IX)
The large tree in the centre of this section is the venerated batang lunok (Ficus
consociata Blumei) with leaves and flowers at the end of its branches. This
tree, the equivalent of the Javanese waringin, is the earthly representative of
the mythical tree of life (batang garing). It is significant that in this tree
two hornbills are pecking at the tree of life and are thus seeking to destroy it
(Schaerer, 1963: 170-2). The tree is also inhahited by other animals: monkeys (kalawet)
and small squirrels (tupai). Evil
spirits (nyaring) are known to populate lunok trees: here they are depicted as
three women clad in a chequered or dotted sarong. hovering above and at the
right side of the tree. .
At the base of the tree two figures perform a ritual dance on the occasion of
the mortuary festivities (tiwah), a dance which is called haliung lunok. The
left dancer is a woman and the right one a man identifiable by his loin cloth (ewah).
To the left of the dancing couple three men are depicted with headwear (sampulau),
which is crowned by three feathers of the hornbill (tingang), recognizable by
the transverse dark band. Only for the squatting person the priest had a name:
Raja Runjan, 'king of the jars', an epithet for Garing Hatungko, the uncle of
Rawing Tempon Telon. To the right of the tree, next to the dancing man, a man is
seen with bent knees holding a blowpipe (sipet) in both hands. This is Tuah Amai
Tukai, the treasurer, who carries the epithet panangkenya panatau 'he who speaks
in a soothing tone to his treasures' . The two upright persons, the left one
with a sipet, were called Jampong and Timbong, both common names for Ngaju Dayak
men.
To the right of Timbong a jar is seen from which a sawang plant (Cordy line
fruticosa Backer) is coming up. This shrubby growth with long lanceolate leaves
plays a significant role in Ngaju Dayak religious festivities. In this case its
presence points to the holding of the tiwah. There are twelve other religious
functions when a sawang tree has to be erected (Mallinckrodt, 1924: 540-1). To
the right of the sawang Garing Hatungko is sitting on a jar (runjan (S),
symbolizing his epithet Raja Runjan. To the far right three men are seen
carrying rifles. This points to the episode in the mortuary festivities when at
a certain time the priestesses (balian) cease their reciting of the ritual
songs. By gunshots the attending guests are called for the communal meal (Hardeland,
1858: 289, 365). The edge of the right border gives a stylized picture of the
river Karimoi*. Below the head of a snake emerges. On top a cockatoolike bird is
seen. It is the piak liau, the chicken of the dead with its epithet hatalusong
pantonge, 'with her crest standing on end'. This bird plays a role during the
burial rituals. The lid of the betelnut box carried around by a balian bears the
image of this bird (Hardeland, 1858: 242,357).
At the left edge of the bamboo tube a sloping dotted line is seen signifying the
surface of the earth. Its upper margin ends in a white crest (putak) which
represents the outer rim of the deep whirlpool (labeho) at the centre of which
'the sound of the drum is resounding' (tumbang ulang hagandang). It marks the
entrance to the underworld where Jata and her subjects live (Schaerer, 1963:
16). Jata's symbol, the water snake, is depicted here keeping guard over her
treasures: jars (balanga, runjan (S) ) and gongs (garantong).
A water buffalo (hadangan) is standing upon the surface of the earth. A man
wearing headgear with three hornbill feathers, depicted above the buffalo,
carries a two-edged knife (dohong) in his right hand. In his left hand he has a
sling with which he tries to catch the animal. This buffalo, about to be
captured, forms the link with the images on the upper part of the picture
(Section A.ii), which is represented upside down. There the same buffalo stands
hitched to the sacrificial pole (sanggaran) erected for the burial rituals.
Ill. Section A.ii. - upper subsection of upper section A
(Pl. X)
The burial rituals (tiwah) apparently have begun. The sacrificial pole (sanggaran)
is seen in the centre of this subsection (Pl.
X). The water buffalo hitched to the sanggaran will be sacrificed in the
course of the ensuing festivities. The sanggaran is constructed of a vertical
pole and a horizontal axle. The top of the vertical pole which is drilled
through a jar, is crowned by a skull, in former days obtained during headhunting
(Mangayau). The skull is decorated with three hornbill feathers. To the left and
right of the skull two flags are unfurled. Although no colour is indicated, its
colour is supposed to be laid down in white and red representing the colours of
the upper world and the underworld. At both sides of the vertical pole three
lances (lunju) are erected. The hornbill feathers and the lances represent the
god of the upper world. The horizontal axle is formed by the snake as symbol of
the goddess of the underworld. As mentioned before (sub I-Introduction) the
composition of the sanggaran shows that it is a cultic object symbolizing the
oneness of the god of the upper world and that of the underworld.
On the outer left side of the sanggaran a house on poles is depicted. It
signifies the village of Batu Nindan Tarong, the primeval village of the
ancestry of the Sangiang. Their ancestor Tanta Olang Bulau is looking out of the
only window. In the attic the treasures are stored: jars and gongs. An ordinary
everyday scene is depicted below the floor of the house. Each of the two boys
(there is no loin cloth around their waists) carry two hollow pumpkins (baloh
asip) which they are about to submerge in the nearby river in order to fill them
with water. The water will be needed for the preparation of the festival meal.
In the doorway a slave, partly visible, is seen unfurling a flag. This is an
indication that an important person is descending in front of the slave. The
steps of the staircase (hejan) from which they are descending are carved out of
the trunk of a coconut tree. The important person leaving the house carries a
rifle on a shoulder strap. The priest questioned about the name of this person,
told the author he was not in a position to pronounce his name as this was
forbidden (pali) to him. One of the onlookers not inhibited by this pali said
that this was Sangumang leaving the house of his grandfather Tanta Olang Bulau.
To the left and right of the house a betel palm, batang pinang (Areca catechu
Linn.) is seen. Two hornbills are gliding on their wings above the right betel
palm. The house is connected with the sanggaran by a long rattan cane from which
feathers of the hornbill are dangling. The man girded with a chopping knife (mandau)
carrying a jar on his back was named Raja Lalung Lali*. To the right of the
betel palm three women are depicted whose heads are covered with a rattan
plaited hat topped by hornbill feathers. Hornbill feathers are also dangling
from the rim of their hats.
The woman to the left is the wife of Tanta Olang Bulau, named Kameluh Bakowo
Batu. The central person is Kameluh Bawi Mandalan Bulan, a sister of Garing
Hatungko. Next to her, to the right, is standing Nyai Haselan, sawan Raja Iru.
Nyai is a name of honour for the wife (sawa) of a rich man, here named Raja Iru*.
In spite of this title of honour her status apparently is lower than that of the
other two women as her hat is topped by only one hornbill feather.
To the right of the sanggaran next to a large betel palm five Sangiang are
depicted. The central one is the most important of them. It is Rawing Tempon
Telon, to the left flanked by his wife Kameluh Tempon Tiawon Bulau. To the left
of his wife his sister Kameluh Tempon Hendan Bulau is standing. As Rawing's
sister she obviously enjoys a higher status as her headgear is topped by three
hornbill feathers instead of two in the case of Rawing's wife. To the right side
of Rawing Tempon Telon his cousin, at the same time' his brother-in-law, Tempon
Kanarean Sawang, is standing. The latter for his part is flanked by Raja Dohong
Bulau, one of the brothers of Rawing Tempon Telon. Both men are carrying a jar
on their backs; one of them carries a blowpipe (sipet) the other one a cup. The
headgear of all male persons is topped by three hornbill feathers, the customary
outfit for men of their status.
Above these five Sangiang three heads are floating in the air, two of them with
their hair down. These are the much dreaded hantuen barowut takoloke 'evil
spirits whose heads are tom off from the body'. They are known to visit at night
those whom they want to destroy by sucking their blood while their victims are
sleeping.
Ill. Section B. -lower section of the bamboo tube
(Pl. IX) Introduction
The lower oblong plane shows a mihing. According to Hardeland (1859: 365) it is
'a kind of fish trap'. As such it is in use till very recently. A mihing is made
of a bamboo construction, 6 metres long and 5 metres wide, which is connected
with two large ironwood poles driven into the riverbed. The construction of a
mihing is only undertaken in the upper course of the river Kahayan in Central
Borneo. The reason for this selected site can be found in the myths of origin of
the mihing. The construction of a mihing is only undertaken when the riverbed is
drying out, as is usual in the dry monsoon. The construction must be finished
before the approach of a banjir from the upper reaches of the river is to be
expected. When suddenly a banjir occurs, the flooding water containing many fish
is washed onto the horizontal plane of the bamboo construction which is sloping
upwards at its downstreams end. Here people are ready to catch the fish by hand.
The construction of a mihing in the river Kahayan, witnessed by the author in
1952, was last recorded in 1972 (Baier, 1977: 141). Nowadays the construction of
a mihing attracts academic attention. The teaching staff of the University of
Palangka Raya, the capital of Central Borneo (Kalimantan Tengah), are planning a
research project to construct a mihing. Government subsidies already applied for
have not yet been granted (Herson, 1992: personal communication).
In the scholarly literature the mihing is recorded as a 'mythical fish trap'
(Taylor a.o., 1991: 150-1), without linking it up with the actual fish trap
practised upstreams the Kahayan and without either mentioning the myths of
origin upon which such a 'mythical device' can be expected to be based.
The author obtained two scripts of the myths of origin about the mihing written
down by Ngaju Dayak, one in 1938 and the other in 1953. The myths explain how
the actual trapping of fish came about, due to the interference of
Rawing Tempon Telon (Klokke, 1994: in press). In short the story runs as
follows: Rawing Tempon Telon visiting the earth, takes a man named Buwak (or
Buno) with him to the upper world. There Rawing Tempon Telon starts to construct
a mihing which can catch treasures from neighbouring villages. Though this skill
is concealed from the captured man, he manages to detect the secret of its
construction. Upon his return home, he starts to imitate the upper world mihing.
After its construction on earth the mihing is catching treasures from the
village of Rawing Tempon Telon in the upper world. Thereupon an angry Rawing
descends to earth forbidding the use of the mihing as a treasure trap,
henceforth only allowing it to be used for catching fish.
Detailed description of the lower section of the images on the bamboo tube.
The right side of the oblong plane is taken up by a triangular construction of
the mihing proper, the base of this construction representing its mouth. Towards
the top of the triangle the mihing is tapering off to form the stem of a proa.
This end is marked by four hornbill feathers and an unfurled flag. Next to it a
squatting man is seen representing Rawing Tempon Telon. The mouth of the mihing
is lined by two sloping poles (sapundu) each crowned by a human skull, inbetween
a jar (runjan (S)) is seen. Accordingly the mihing is given the epithet
manyapundu runjan 'based upon poles with a jar'. To this epithet is usually
added 'halaseh lamiang' 'with a floor of agatestones'. These agatestones (lamiang)
are here depicted as a row of oval structures forming the sides of the triangle.
In the interior of the mihing gongs and jars are seen at both sides of the keel
which is formed by a row of triangular forms. Besides a hornbill and a human
figure are depicted there. The mihing is surrounded by a large number of fish of
different species, which together with three snakes (ihing) are heading for the
mouth of the mihing. In the left comer a fisherman is seen in a small proa (sudur).
It looks like an everyday scene: a fisherman is holding a fishing rod in one
hand, while with the other hand he is steering the proa with an oar (besei)
which he keeps pressed to the side of the proa. According to the priest this
figure represents Buwak (Buno), who was abducted by Rawing Tempon Telon to the
upper world. At the extreme right side of the plane a lunok tree is seen, its
branches being trodden by a monkey.
The. mundane entourage of the mihing and the abundance of fish heading for the
mouth of the mihing points to its use on earth as a fish trap. The presence of
some treasures inside the mihing and the presence of both Rawing Tempon Telon
and Buwak (Buno) gives way to the supposition that this particular image of the
mihing narrates the event when Rawing Tempon Telon had descended to the earth,
forbidding its use as a treasure trap - a few of its treasures still being
present in its interior - and allowing its change into that of a fish trap.
* The author studied Ngaju Dayak religion between 1949-1959 while on duty in
the interior of Kalimantan as
a doctor.
** (S) signifies a word in Sangiang language.
* This translation is based upon the word 'ruei'(S), which means 'friend' (of
either sex). Schaerer translates: 'the snake forms a unity with the hornbill',
or: 'the snake, which is also the hornbill' without taking into account the
meaning of the word 'ruei' (Schaerer, 1963: 18-9).
* The name of this river mentioned by the priest could not be traced in the
literature.
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