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is married to

is cohabiting with

is divorced from

is separated from

adopted-in female

adopted-in male

is descended from

is the sibling of

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In villages social control is largely a matter of adat, or custom, supervised and administered by the headmen and elders

The Coastal Melanau Adat, an attempted codification of many village adats, is followed by headmen and elders:-

in cases of family and personal dispute

short of homicide

criminal theft

* any violation of which entails civil penalties imposed by the elders and automatic supernatural penalties that can be averted only by correct reparation

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Property is divided equally among surviving children and the offspring of any dead children

The former longhouse apartment or the contemporary house, in addition to a share of other property, is usually allotted to the child who remains with the parents

Gardens and orchards are divided as whole units and are not subdivided

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Infants and children are reared by both parents, by siblings, and by other household members

Physical punishment is very rare; it is regarded as a debased practice of the Chinese

Individual independence is highly valued, but not at the expense of custom and respect for elderly people

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Marriage

Although polygamous marriage, with the consent of the first wife, is permitted, it is very rare and usually leads to divorce

The population of a village is divided into aristocrats (a-menteri ), commoners (a-bumi), and slaves (a-dipen )

Ideally marriage should be with a second cousin (patrior matrilateral) within the same rank; but in small, politically independent communities the need for talent has always favored cross-rank marriages

The father of a bride is covertly permitted to choose the bride-wealth and rank he desires for his daughter through any line of descent

A wedding is the most important public occasion on which upward or downward mobility is recognized and validated

All first marriages are arranged by parents, but the wishes of the proposed partners are usually taken into consideration

Parents do not arrange second marriages

For a period after the wedding, uxorilocal residence is ideal, but economic advantage often overrides the ideal

One child, usually the youngest, is expected to remain with the parents

Divorce is by mutual consent, and property acquired since the marriage is divided equally

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Kin Groups and Descent -  Theoretically, descent is patrilineal in the allocation of rank, but is not used in the formation of groups.

Three types of groups in which kinship is an important factor are found:

1.  households made up of separately catering individual families, with occasional stem families (tegen )

2.  sections of the modern ribbon like villages largely consisting of relatives, and known as a-sega —a term also used for close relatives up to second cousin

3. ad hoc groups of kin assembled from both paternal and maternal lines of descent for specific tasks (e.g., weddings, funerals, trading expeditions)

Kinship Terminology -  Kin terms are bilateral, with one term, male and female alike, for each of five generations; but the individual family is lineally set apart from other kin.

Seniority and gender in the parental generation and in Ego's siblings are terminologically distinguished

Kin terms are given to all relatives up to the second cousins; relatives up to fifth cousin are recognized, but connections beyond are strangers

No term is used for the kindred

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divided by the place where they live

language is different based where they came from

Melanau Mukah and Melanau Belawai have a diverse way of interacting, but not overall of their language is different than others

They are divided by :

Melanau Mukah

Melanau Dalat – Dalat Town Sharing Channel

Oya Melanau

Melanau Igan

Melanau Matu-Daro

Melanau Belawai-Rajang

Ba’ie Melanau (Bintulu)

Melanau Balingian, and

Miri Melanau

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http://www.lamindana.com/photo-gallery.php

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http://www.lamindana.com/handicraft.php

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Every village collectively owns a delimited territory that it was formerly ready to defend against all outsiders

Within that territory sago gardens and orchards, carefully delimited, are individually owned

Joint tenancy is possible, especially if a single garden is inherited by two women, for gardens are almost never subdivided

Such an arrangement is not thought satisfactory; other solutions are preferred

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In the cottage industry most of the necessary equipment was made locally or acquired through the trade. Ironwork and weaving ceased with the advent of a cash economy at the end of the nineteenth century.

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Male tasks:

clearing the forest

planting and maintaining sago gardens

felling the ripe palm

bringing the trunk to the villages

stripping the bark off the segments into which the stem has been cut, before rasping the pith inside into a rough sawdust

Female task:

wash sawdusk on a platform over the river

house work

small trading

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Because only Melanau are allowed to own sago land, only those with sago gardens now have any part in the production of sago

Many of the crops are mortgaged before they become mature.

A large part of the male population is forced to leave the villages as migrant laborers in the lumber industry; others migrate permanently

Women are no longer economically independent

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During the northeast monsoon (when access to the rivers was limited and fishing was dangerous)

Food Ingredients-

dried fish

salt

nipa palm sugar

Craft products-

palm-leaf thatch

mats

baskets

hats

Exchange these items for

sago biscuit

fruit

canoes

timber

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- Hunting and gathering
- Cultivation of sago gardens
- Export of sago biscuit and forest products (gums, resins, rattan, timber) in exchange for metal     goods, weapons, ceramics, and cloth

The cultivation of sago gardens was supplemented by growing swamp rice (padai paya) and orchards on the levees of the rivers

* Floods at the end of the northeast monsoon frequently ruined the rice crop, which could not be relied on for subsistence. Villages on the coast, where the water of the estuaries was too saline for extraction of flour from the sago palm, depended primarily on fishing and on the import and export trade.

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- The usage of Melanau language taught by the elders.
- Basic skills, like farming, hunting and handicraft

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Melanau Men :
- A jacket cut tunic with brocade samping.
- Canary chiffon shawl as waistband.
- A Javanese styled headgear.

Melanau Women :
- Black satin blouses
- Songket sarong
- Red embroidered chest decoration with string pendant.

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Bulan Pengalan (Months of the North Star)

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Bulan Pengalan (Months of the North Star)

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(September)
The sea will be very calm but there will be little fish to catch as it is the time for the fish to spawn.

This month is called the month of Pegalan because this is the time when the Pegalan (North) Star is high in the sky at the hour of six at eventide.

This marks the seventh month.

Legend has it that this is the month when the Melanau finds it difficult to swallow their saliva i.e. difficult to look for food.

During this month, the Melanau would avoid getting married at all cost as the marriage would be cursed in that they will find it difficult to make a living.

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- Christian missionairies help the development of education of their state.
- The first school seted up was in Papar and Sandakan.
- English was used as the medium of instruction.
- After that, government-aided school was established and they are using Malay as the primary language.

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Unique Beauty: The Melanau's Forehead Flattening Custom (Melipih Beleang)

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Unique Beauty: The Melanau's Forehead Flattening Custom (Melipih Beleang)

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The melanau of sarawak wanted their children to grow up "moon- faced" i.e. having a round face.

Hence the melanaus of mukah, oya and bintulu traditionally had the curious custom of flattening foreheads of their infants also known as "melipih beleang

Considered to be a desired beauty feature

Flattening process took place within the first month after birth.

An apparatus known as "Tadal" or "Ja" is utilized for this purpose.

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(October)
During this month, the ground will seem to grow and rise like waves.

According to Melanau belief, this is caused by the fish swimming back to the ocean and their fins appear to be like waves swimming out.

This marks the eighth month.

The third and final fishing season for the year for the Melanau.

The time for the Melanau to start planting rice and sago palm as well as other crops.

In Melanau tradition, they say that such as the earth grows well so will the crops that they plant.

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Measurement must be odd (e.g 37 feet and not 36 or 38 in length or breadth)

Number of pillars, post, eaves and the like follow the same principles

Calculations for the structure must also follow either of the three basic principles, i.e. puteri malambai, buaya terjun and dian (durian) sepucuk

The same applies to the steps into the house or inside the house.

As such, a trader or merchant will ensure that his house is constructed on the puteri melambai design as it will always bring good fortune.

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Before raising the main pillar of the house, the gold must be put on the top end of the pillar
Believed to strengthen the pillar and the house of the Melanau

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~ No bathing at the river
~ No sleeping during the day

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~ Women are not allowed to eat fruit with strong smell (e.g. durian) and animal that was hunted.

~ Husband are not allowed to eat stingray and can’t look at dead bodies

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Old belief system
1. Animists
- Belief in shaman, it can be either a man or woman who is thought to be "a master of spirits."
- They will seek help from a shaman if they are sick or bothered by spirits.
- Kaul festival is a ceremony to appease the spirits of the sea, land, forest, and farm.

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New belief system
- Muslim
- Christian
- Modern animists

(They respect one another's beliefs and even celebrate one another's feasts and festivities.)

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The Sago worm or Sago grub (si’et), is the larva of the Sago Palm Weevil or Red Palm Weevil

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Sago is the a little tiny sago which being made manually by hand.

They are best being eaten with the dry fish, curry, and Umai.

The taste of sago is salty and creamy. It can replace rice as it have high carbohydrate levels and good for diabetics.

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Famous as the staple food for the Melanau's. The sago flour is mixed it up with hot water. And it will form a clump of glue and continuously mix it up with hot water and the final results; it will appear sticky and solid as glue. Linut is best eaten with the chilli prawn paste while it is still hot.

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Melanau dukun has an elaborate system of ceremonies for curing all kinds of illnesses.

The more serious the illness, the more complicated the ceremonies.

If all effort fails, he will perform a berayun ceremony, which can last five to nine nights. In such ceremonies, spirit statues are present.

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Terendak

Traditional Melanau - headgear, usually worn by women folks. The conical-shaped sunhat is made from sago palm strips and leaves, reinforced with rattan strips.

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Umai
also know as shashimi as it is made by raw fish. The fish must fresh and half alive , it will mix it up with the one cup of slice onion, lime juice, chillies and crush of grounds peanut.

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1. Tattooing was never widely practiced.
2. Live in longhouses decorated with elaborate wood carving.
3. Bilum carved in sago pith were widely used and are a sophisticated form of sculpture.
4. Ceremonies were accompanied by gong orchestras with distinctive chants and music; bards recited and sang epics, legends, and myths of considerable poetic merit at ceremonies or simply for entertainment

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This traditional drum are normally been played during spiritual ceremony for Melanau's ethnic.

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Gendang Traditional ini biasanya dimainkan ketika upacara 'spiritual' ethnik Melanau Likou. Contoh masa KAUL, PAYUN or BEGUDAK [http://naising.net]]

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1. One of the earliest Melanau’s traditional dance.
2. It describes the solemn mood in funeral.
3. It is usually performed in the evening by relatives and friends.
4. This dance is performed from the first until the fourth evening of death.
5. It displays skills of the male dancers as they have to balance themselves on bamboos stick.
6. It is based on dreams, daily task, medicinal rituals and folk games played during Kaul or Sea Spirit- Worship Feast.
7. The dance are influenced by acitivites in the Melanau people’s daily lives.

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(January)
In ancient times, a great shaman was killed by his wife and his head was chopped off. However, the head disappeared from the house and it became the Taboo Star.

This month is named the month of the killing of the great shaman of ancient times.

This marks the eleventh month.

Marriage is not allowed and so are the activities of livelihood, such as fishing, planting, house construction and everything else.
This month is regarded as a month of ill fortune by the Melanau.