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Greetings, a VERY warm welcome to you ;)

My name is NUR KAREENA MOHAMED SUFFRI BINTI ABU BAKAR. I am 19 years old this year & am currently studying

English for Intercultural Communication.

I am from Sarawak & my hometown is in Miri.

Personally, I enjoy studying about cultures around me as I have developed a passion in studying, getting to know & to sort of analyse thus process new informations about various cultures since I was quite young. Finally, at the age of 19 did I realised that studying culture, especially on cultural perspectives in Malaysia was like a dream come true.

With the help of Padlet & through this assignment, my only hope is that I will able to tell more on the knowledge of the 5 communities that I have chosen regarding its cultural element ; Superstitious Beliefs.

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a representation of the Iban ethnic, photograph taken by the Sarawak Tourism Board in 2016.

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1. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- get to know the author of the Padlet

2. WHAT IS SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS ?
- a brief, visual & dictionary-based definition of superstitious beliefs.

3. IBAN
- history of the Iban ethnic
- crocodiles

- death

4. KADAZANDUSUN

- history of the Kadazandusun ethnic (1.0)

- history of the Kadazandusun ethnic (1.1)

- paddy spirits (bambarayon)

- the sacred Mount Kinabalu

5. MURUT

- history of the Murut ethnic

- healing dance (magunatip)

- animals

6. MALAYSIAN INDIAN

- history of the Malaysian Indian ethnic

- new clothes

- household superstitions

7. MELANAU

- history of the Melanau ethnic (1.0)

- history of the Melanau ethnic (1.1)

- healing diseases

- beads

8. REFLECTION WRITING (EIC404)

- cultural awareness

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a representation of the Kadazandusun ethnic, doing the Sumazau dance - printed on a postcard back in 2011.

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a representation of the Murut ethnic, taken by Faizal Dawar during his trip to Sabah in 2013.

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a representation of the Melanau ethnic which was held in conjunction with Pesta Kaul in Mukah, Sarawak, taken by Rumiezah Mohd Saiful in 2023.

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a representation of the Malaysian Indian ethnic at Shantanand Auditorium - taken by Sugam Karnatica, a Performing Arts School on 22nd July 2023.

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Visually.. a better insight of Superstitious Beliefs are..

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Visually.. a better insight of Superstitious Beliefs are..

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a video on a very clear example of superstitious beliefs & where they come from!

REFERENCES :

TED-Ed. (2017, March 9). Where do superstitions come from? - Stuart Vyse [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quOdF1CAPXs

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Where do superstitions come from? - Stuart Vyse

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According to the DICTIONARY.. Superstitious Beliefs are..

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According to the DICTIONARY.. Superstitious Beliefs are..

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:- a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation

:- an irrational abject attitude of mind toward the supernatural, nature, or God resulting from superstition

:- a notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary

REFERENCE :

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Superstition. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2023, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/superstition

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a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation; an irrational abject attitude of mind toward the supernatural, nature, or God resulting from superstition… See the full definition

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The Melanau are particularly well-known for using the sago palms that surround their villages to produce starch. The Melanau are said to have relocated to the coast from their homeland centuries ago. They are culturally and linguistically related to some inland peoples to the southeast. Some local Melanau speakers perceive the dialects of the northeastern and southwest parts of the Melanau region as distinct languages due to their extreme differences.

REFERENCE :

Malaysia | History, Flag, Map, Population, Language, religion, & Facts. (2023b, November 4). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Malaysia/People#ref1007468

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Other articles where Melanau is discussed: Malaysia: Sarawak: ...the traditional territory of the Melanau. The Melanau are especially known for their production of starch from the sago palms that surround their villages. Culturally and linguistically linked to certain inland peoples to the southeast, the Melanau purportedly moved to the coast from the interior centuries ago.

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Iban(s) are formally known as Sea Dayaks & the original headhunters of Borneo. They are in fact the largest tribe in Sarawak, followed by Chinese, Malays, Bidayuhs, Melanau & etcetera.

The early migration of the Iban community can be identified based on their oral traditions & historical sources.

The pattern of farming / agriculture that they practiced became the reason for them to separate & scatter all around Sarawak :  Sri Aman, Samarahan, Betong, Sarikei, Sibu, Pakan, Kapit, Bintulu, Baram, & Miri.

REFERENCE :

Haslinda, Md. Nazri (2018) Aspek sosial dan kebudayaan masyarakat Iban di Sarawak / Haslinda Md.Nazri. Idealogy Journal, 3 (2). pp. 79-90. ISSN 2550-214X

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The name Kadazan, which is also known as Dusun or Kadazan Dusun, refers to a group of people that collectively make up the largest indigenous ethnic group in the Malaysian state of Sabah, which is located on the northeastern tip of the Borneo island.

REFERENCE :

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (n.d.). Kadazan | Dusun, Sabah, Indigenous. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kadazan-people

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Kadazan, term embracing a number of peoples that together constitute the largest indigenous ethnic group in the state of Sabah, Malaysia, on the northeastern extremity of the island of Borneo. The Kadazan are grouped along the coastal plain from Kudat to Beaufort and in the hills around Tambunan.

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The Murut are one of the less numerous indigenous ethnic groups in Indonesian Borneo. They speak a unique Austronesian language known as Murut and are primarily found in the rugged southwestern uplands of northeastern Malaysia.

Following the significant Japanese invasion of 1921–1931–the Murut lost a considerable number of people to malaria, to which they lacked immunity. In 1980, there were roughly 34,300 of them.

REFERENCE :

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (1998, July 20). Murut | Indigenous, Sabah, Borneo. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Murut

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Murut, least numerous of the indigenous ethnic groups of Indonesian Borneo, living mostly in the hilly southwestern uplands of northeastern Malaysia and speaking a distinctive Austronesian language also called Murut. Of Proto-Malay stock, their prehistoric ancestors migrated from Asia. The Murut were historically headhunters living in longhouse settlements on hilltops for defense; they were gradually displaced into the interior by immigrant settlers. The Murut Rebellion in 1915 was a protest against British colonial indifference. After the large influx of Japanese in 1921-31, the Murut lost many members to a form of malaria against which they had no resistance. They numbered about 34,300 in 1980. Practicing slash-and-burn agriculture, they cultivate dry rice, corn (maize), and sweet potatoes. The nuclear family is the main kin group. Many Murut have entered the labour market to raise the traditional dowry for their daughters. Their traditional religion includes some elements of totemism.

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Murut, least numerous of the indigenous ethnic groups of Indonesian Borneo, living mostly in the hilly southwestern uplands of northeastern Malaysia and speaking a distinctive Austronesian language also called Murut. Of Proto-Malay stock, their prehistoric ancestors migrated from Asia. The Murut

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Indian traders arrived in Malaya in the fourteenth century. They introduced the people, especially the Malays, to Islam through trade. This was also accomplished by getting married into other royal houses and rising to powerful positions as a result.

Due to Malaya's quick economic development, a flood of Indian immigrants did not occur until the latter part of the 19th century.

Malaysia is home to nearly every ethnic subgroup of Indian descent. This encompasses the Tamil, Gujarati, Malayalis, Pathans, Punjabi, Sindhis, Telegus, Kannarese, and the Tamil and Singhalese people of Sri Lanka. They were of various faiths and hailed from all over India. However, the majority of Malaysian Indians - 87.6% of the country's total populations are Tamils.

REFERENCE :

Malaysian Indians | Encyclopedia.com. (n.d.). https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/malaysian-indians

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PRONUNCIATION: muh-LAY-zhun IN-dee-uhns
ALTERNATE NAMES: Tamils
POPULATION: 1.8 million (2004)
LOCATION: Malaysia
LANGUAGE: Tamil; Malay; Chinese; other ethnic Indian languages
RELIGION: Hindu (majority); Sikh; Buddhist; Muslim; Christian
RELATED ARTICLES: Vol. 3: People of India; Vol. 4: Malaysian Malays; Tamils

INTRODUCTION

Indian traders came to Malaya as early as the 14th century. Through trading, they introduced Islam to the locals, particularly to the Malays. This was also done by marrying into the various royal families, consequently achieving positions of great influence. It was only in the latter half of the 19th century that an influx of Indian immigrants came to Malaya, due to its rapid economic development. The largest annual flow into Malaya occurred during the period of 1911-30, when more than 90,000 persons landed each year. They were recruited and solicited by the British, mostly as indentured laborers to work on rubber plantations. A large number of clerical workers were also brought in from Ceylon, while a number of professionals, doctors, and teachers were brought in from India, particularly after World War I. Almost every Indian ethnic subgroup is represented in Malaysia. This includes the Tamils, Gujaratis, Malayalis, Punjabi, Sindhis, Pathans, Telegus, Kannarese, and the Sri Lankan Tamil and Singhalese. They came from many parts of India and belonged to different faiths. Nevertheless, Malaysian Indians are mostly Tamils, forming 87.6 per cent of the population in Malaysia.

Even though the number and power of the Indians in Malaysia are far inferior to those of the Malays and Chinese, they are well represented in Malaysia's political arena. The Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) plays an important role as a vehicle of political representation among the Indian Malaysians. It represents the Indians in the interethnic grouping of political parties called the Alliance. It was brought in as the third partner of the Alliance after the elections of 1964.

LOCATION AND HOMELAND

Since most Malaysian Indians were brought in by the British government to work as laborers on the plantations, most of them live in the major plantation states of Selangor, Negri Sembilan, and Johor, with spillover in other states, such as Kedah, Perak, Penang, and Pahang. Even today, plantations still provide employment for most of the Indian population. Gradual urbanization, however, continues among Indians, as with other Malaysians, with many drifting from plantation areas to neighboring cities and towns. This rural-urban migration has increased since the 1980s as a result of a shift in plantation agriculture from rubber to the less labor-intensive oil palm. This is also due to improved education and industrialization. The latter has generated employment opportunities in urban areas. All of this has led to a decrease in the rural population from 65% in 1970 to 30% in 2000.

LANGUAGE

Besides being able to read, write, and speak in their mother tongue of Tamil, or other Indian languages, almost every Malaysian Indian is also able to speak and write Malay. A large number are able to speak and read Chinese characters as well.

Unlike Western names, the Malaysian Indians do not have surnames. Their names consist of two parts: their given name, and their father's name, with "s/o" ("son of") or "d/o" (daughter of) to append the father's name. For example, Dorai, the son of Sivam s/o Ramesh, is not Dorai Ramesh, but Dorai s/o Sivam. The same principle applies to a daughter's name, except that upon marriage she has to take her husband's name. Therefore, Dorai's wife, Suseela, will be known as Mrs. Dorai or Madam Suseela. There are times when the initial of the father's name is placed in front of a person's given name. For instance, Ramesh s/o Arul will be known as A. Ramesh, "A" being the initial of the father's name, while Ramesh is the person's given name.

While the more traditional families will name a son after a Hindu god and a daughter after a Hindu goddess, the Christian Indians, such as the Thomian Christians in Malaysia, have biblical surnames like Abraham, John, Samuel, or Jacob that are perpetuated in the family. There are others who adopted Portuguese names, such as Rozario, DeSilva, and Santamaria, as family surnames. These are descendents of Indians from Ceylon, Goa, and Malacca, which were colonies of Portugal.

FOLKLORE

The Malaysian Indians have many folk tales and myths that are closely related to their majority religion, Hinduism. One of their legends is the story behind the celebration of the Festival of Lights, or Deepavali, as a celebration of Nagarasuran's death. Nagarasuran was a Hindu tyrant and an extremely cruel king. As a result, his people appealed to Lord Krishna to remove him from the kingdom. Lord Krishna favored their appeal by having Nagarasuran defeated and fatally wounded in a battle. However, before his death, Nagarasuran repented from his cruelty and begged Lord Krishna for forgiveness. He also asked for a favor from Lord Krishna, that is, to let his people celebrate his death instead of weeping for him. Lord Krishna granted his request by letting them celebrate the Festival of Lights, the Deepavali.

RELIGION

Indian Malaysians are of different faiths. However, most of them are Hindu, while others are Sikh, Buddhist, Muslim, and Christian. For most Indian Malaysians, the Hindu religion is a way of life. They believe in the ultimate reality, which appears in many forms and for different purposes such as for life, creation, energy, and protection. They also believe in reincarnation that one's life and actions will determine one's next life and that the actions of one's previous life have determined one's present life. Since the spiritual goal of a person is to reach a state of perfection and enlightenment, she or he is given an opportunity to make up for any harmful deeds during her or his previous existence by being reborn.

Malaysian Indians have a deep faith, which is woven into their everyday lives. An Indian mother offers prayers and burns incense at the family altar every morning before the sun is up. This is done to greet her god and the new day. She may perform the same ritual at sunset, too.

Friday is a special day for Hindus in Malaysia. This is the day the Malaysian Indians flock to temples to offer prayers. At the temple, they make several different kinds of offerings. One of these offerings is the "banana" offering or "half-coconut" offering. This is done by giving a donation of 30 cents for a banana or 80 cents for half a coconut and by writing their name on a small slip of paper that will be read out loud by the priests during their formal prayers. After the formal prayers, the devotees are given holy ash to put on their foreheads and betel nuts that can be chewed by the older folks or placed on the altar at home. The blessed banana or coconut is then taken home, either to be eaten or to be placed on the family altar. If the offerings are not eaten, they will not be thrown away, even after they have become rotten. Instead, they will be placed under a tree or into a river.

MAJOR HOLIDAYS

Two of the Malaysian Indians' major holidays are the Deep-avali and Thaipusam. The Deepavali is known as the Festival of Lights and is usually celebrated in October. The exact day of the celebration is, however, determined by astrologers. It is largely a day for family reunions and also a time for non-Hindu friends to come visit during the Open House.

While Deepavali is a family celebration, Thaipusam is a very public celebration and takes place in late January or early February. It is a festival connected with penance, atonement, and thanksgiving for favors granted by the gods. It is dedicated to Lord Murugan, a god personifying the virtues of courage, youth, power, and endurance. At this festival, a person who had received answers to prayers will reciprocate by doing some sort of penance to show his or her gratitude. This act of gratitude is usually accomplished by carrying a kavadi on his or her shoulder on the procession day. Although a kavadi can be any form of offering to the gods, it is usually a large semicircular object, almost like half of a bicycle wheel, which is carried on the shoulder. Metal hooks and spikes are attached to the kavadi, which are fastened onto the devotee's skin.

Thousands of Hindus take part in the Thaipusam procession, which usually takes place at the Batu Caves in the State of Selangor. As a result, it enhances the social identity of the community and reinforces the spirit of "communitas." It is on this day that every Indian is equal in the sight of every other Indian. Women have equal status with men, lower castes have equal status with higher castes, and there is no distinction made between individuals.

RITES OF PASSAGE

An Indian couple always hopes for sons, as only sons can perform certain rites during the father's funeral. A mother and her child are considered unclean and in a state of danger for 28 days after the birth of the child. Therefore, many restrictions are placed on the mother throughout this period. The child's birth is celebrated on the twenty-eighthday, with friends and relatives invited to the celebration. The child is dressed up in fancy clothes and jewelry for the occasion. A child will be named on this day by placing the child on the father's lap, or on the lap of some relative, while his or her name is whispered gently into his or her ears. From then on, the child will be known and called by that name.

Like many other communities in Malaysia, the Malaysian Indians increasingly observe their birthdays in the Western way. Some Indians have puberty rituals, particularly for their daughters. The Ceylonese Tamils have a ritual called Chamati Chadanja, which is usually carried out at the time of the girl's first menses, though it may be done just before the girl marries. This ceremony is usually held on an odd-numbered date, i.e, the seventh, ninth, or eleventhday of the month. Unlike the girls, Indian boys do not normally go through puberty rituals or circumcision.

Marriage in the Indian community is seen as sacred and eternal, lasting through life and even after. An Indian girl is expected to be married between the ages of 22 to 23, while a boy usually marries between the ages of 25 to 28. Even though young Indians have more freedom to choose their life partners than in the past, arranged marriages are still widely practiced among Malaysian Indians. Normally, two related families would arrange a marriage between their children. However, an Indian boy can only marry his father's sister's daughter or his mother's brother's daughter, but not his father's brother's daughter or his mother's sister's daughter. It is preferable to marry a girl of the same class, caste, and community.

A marriage is arranged by calling a priest from each side of the family to compare the horoscopes of the prospective bride and groom. If all is well, then the marriage is agreed upon. Once a match is made, the dowry is settled. It is important to note, however, that a marriage proposal usually comes from the girl's side. This is because, by tradition, a female has to provide a male with a dowry. The amount of the dowry depends on the eligibility (in terms of affluence and profession) of the young man.

There are certain marriage symbols used by Indian women once they are married. While South Indian women wear pottu, a red dot on the forehead, and thali, a necklace tied by their husband around their necks at the wedding, North Indian women wear bangles on their arms and red streaks on the parting of their hair.

The sixtieth birthday is the landmark age for an Indian gentleman. A celebration is held to pray for his longevity and good health. Malaysian Indians believe that when a person dies, the soul leaves the vicinity of the house only on the sixteenth or fortieth day, if the soul is very attached to his or her family. In respect for the soul, an oil lamp is left burning in the home day and night throughout that period. Although the soul may linger for a longer period, the body of the deceased is usually removed from the house within 12 hours. While most adults are cremated, children are not. When a woman's husband dies, she has to remove the thali from her neck and wipe off the pottu from her forehead. This symbolizes the end of her married life.

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS

Traditionally, handshaking as a form of greeting is not widely used by the Malaysian Indians. Their usual form of greeting is to put the palms together in the prayer position and raise the hands to chest level in front of their face, with their head slightly bowed. However, today handshaking is an acceptable form of greeting, though it is best to let an Indian woman extend her hand first for a handshake.

When entering an Indian home, it is customary to remove one's shoes, unless told otherwise. Shoes are never to be worn in kitchen and prayer areas. The right hand should be used for any social purposes, such as to give and receive items. It is considered polite to bow slightly when passing in front of people, saying, "Excuse me, please."

Conversations between members of the opposite sex are normally kept to a minimum. Coarse jokes and sex talk are not to be spoken in the presence of any woman. Even though dating has never been part of their culture, it is becoming a common practice among young Malaysian Indians. They are partly influenced by mass media-television, magazines, novels, etc. It is also a result of young Indians mixing more freely with their friends in schools and universities.

LIVING CONDITIONS

Among Malaysia's Indians, there is a clear distinction between the urban middle class and the rural poor. While Malaysian Indians in urban areas have easy access to a better standard of living, the Malaysian Indians on the plantations have to cope with a lower living standard. Many children on the plantations do not receive proper nutrition before being sent off to school in the morning. Many families could not afford to buy even the basic necessities for their children's education, such as uniforms, shoes, notebooks, pencils, etc.

Unlike most other industries in the country, the plantation industry has built houses to accommodate its workers. This is because the plantations are usually located far from inhabited centers. Most plantation workers are currently living in "line-site" houses. There are two types of line-site house: the wooden barracks and the raised brick cottage. The wooden barracks are old and are arranged usually in rows of five. The walls are made of planks, and the roof is usually made of aluminum. Each dwelling in a row occupies an area of roughly 3 m by 6 m (10 ft by 19 ft), and is about 3 m (10 ft) high. It has a small veranda, a living room, a bedroom measuring roughly 3 m by 2.5 m (10 ft by 8 ft), and a tiny kitchen of 1 m by 2 m (3 ft by 6 ft). The raised brick cottages have a covered floor of roughly 5 m by 6 m (17 ft by 20 ft) and consist of two living quarters inhabited by different families. The two quarters are partitioned by a brick wall, but share a common tile roof. Each quarter has a living room, two bedrooms, a kitchen, a toilet, and a bath.

Unlike the urban areas, basic amenities, such as water, sanitation, and electricity in the plantations, are seriously below legal standards. The plantations get their water supply either by water piped to each house, stand-pipes shared by a few families, well or pond water, a river, or through the JKR (Department of Public Works) water supply. While some plantations are provided with electricity by an estate generator, others obtain electricity by running their own generators, and others use gas or oil lamps.

FAMILY LIFE

Like many communities in Malaysia, the Malaysian Indian families are organized in relation to nuclear family units. It is through the family unit that values, culture, and religion are imparted to younger generations. Many of these nuclear families, however, are linked together into extended families. Family size among Malaysian Indians varies according to standards of living, education level, and location. There are households in the plantations that contain as many as 9, 10, 11, or even 12 family members. Living conditions for most people are crowded, but all members of the household benefit from the mutual support of parents, children, and grandchildren living under the same roof.

Malaysian Indian women in some ways are still highly conservative. This is mainly because of a strong emphasis on male line descent and a patrilineal system. The father is ranked highest in the hierarchy of authority. He commands the family. Although the mother's position is respected, she is expected to be subservient to all of the males in the family.

CLOTHING

A sari, the traditional dress of an Indian woman, is a flowing silk or cotton wrapped dress worn over a short, tight-fitting, elbow-length-sleeved blouse. An Indian girl usually starts wearing a sari when she turns 13 years old. While Indian women wear a sari, Indian men wear a dhoti, a wrapped white skirt worn either with or without a shirt or white tunic.

Besides the sari, a Hindu Indian woman may wear a pottu (dot) on her forehead. A pottu can be worn in one of three traditional colors: red, yellow or black. These colors have certain significance among Indian women. While red is worn by married women, black is traditionally worn by unmarried women. However, red and yellow can also be used simply as an auspicious color. While these two colors are thought to have a calming effect when put on the forehead after prayers, black is used to counteract the effect of the evil eye. A black dot is able to protect a girl from harm by repelling evil influences, particularly when a young girl receives too many compliments.

Except during festivities and other celebrations, it is very common to see Malaysian Indian women dressed in blouses, jeans, skirts, dresses, or shorts. Malaysian Indian men commonly wear pants, shirts, shorts, and tee-shirts. Even the color of the pottu on the forehead is worn simply to match the color of women's attire these days, regardless of their marital status.

FOOD

As in most Asian communities, rice is the staple food of the Malaysian Indians. Breads, such as chapati (a thin, flat, unleavened wholemeal bread), naan (leavened white bread), puri (a deep-fried wholemeal bread), and rothi paratha (a flaky whole-meal bread), are also staple foods among the Malaysian Indians. While these breads are usually eaten with hot curry gravy, rice is eaten with curries, sauces, vegetables, and other dishes. Since most Indians are Hindu, they tend to be vegetarian. Their foods are usually cooked in coconut milk or yogurt and are seasoned with hot peppers and spices, thus making them very spicy. They normally add colors to their food by adding chili powder for red, curry powder for brown, and turmeric for yellow. This helps enhance the appearance of their food. They also have a variety of snacks. These snacks include vadai, deep-fried cakes made with ground lentils, green chilies, and ginger; muruku, crispy and crunchy pretzels; pakhora, mixed vegetable fritters; and samosa, deep fried pastries containing meat, onion, and spices.

Like the Malays, the Tamils traditionally use the fingers of the right hand for eating. A popular traditional style of dining among the Malaysian Indians is by eating off banana leaves. A variety of curries, vegetables, and sauces are placed around a pile of rice on the banana leaves. Even the dessert after the main meal is served on the same banana leaf. The banana leaf is folded in half after the meal, to indicate that one has finished one's meal. Sometimes, foods are served on a thali, a metal tray with several small matching bowls for food. This is particularly true in traditional Indian homes. All the food, including the desserts, is served at the same time, with the rice or bread placed in the center of the tray.

EDUCATION

The Indian community is the poorest of the three major communities in Peninsular Malaysia. Because of this, Malaysian Indian youth have relatively low rates of enrollment in schools. Their enrollment rates in both urban and rural areas are lower than those among Malays and Chinese. Furthermore, in comparison with the Malays and Chinese, more Indian youths drop out of school due to low motivation. As a result, the position of the Malaysian Indians in reference to education is comparatively poor in Malaysia.

However, the government has taken impressive measures to uplift the standard of education among the Indian community in Malaysia. Since it is mandatory for Malaysians to attend schools between the ages of 6 and 15, the government has made an effort to build primary and secondary schools on the plantations across the country. After the age of 15, youths are encouraged to attend vocational or technical colleges and other institutions of higher learning. They can obtain loans and scholarship programs from the government, the NUPW (National Union of Plantation Workers), and the MIC (Malaysian Indian Congress). An increasing number of Malaysian Indian parents see education as a means for their children to gain better employment than plantation work. Through and increased emphasis on education, many young adult Malaysian Indians are now working as professionals, managers, and clerical staff in all sectors of modern economy.

CULTURAL HERITAGE

Malaysian Indians' dance, music, and literature revolve around their religion, Hinduism. Their dances are greatly influenced by the two great Indian poetic epics, the Ramayana and Mahabhrata. These two epics do not only influence Indian dances and music, but also the Malays' dance and theater performances, such as the wayang kulit and makyong ( see Malaysian Malays) .

Since most Malaysian Indians are Hindu, the Vedas (Hindu scriptures) play an important role in the community. They are ancient writings that explain the mystery of life. They contain some simple parables, which are easily understood by the common people, but which can also be read and understood at the highest levels of abstract philosophy.

WORK

Even though the majority of Malaysian Indians work on plantations as laborers, there are many who are doctors, lawyers, trade unionists, police and army personnel, small shopkeepers, teachers, etc. Basically, they are found in every strata of the society class structure. As traders, they usually sell textiles, perfumes, and jewelry. Many are successful professionals, traders, and businesspeople. At the other end of the scale, however, the Indian laborers on the rubber estates are among the poorest Malaysians.

SPORTS

Like among many other ethnic groups in Malaysia, sports such as soccer, rugby, basketball, badminton, and cricket are becoming very popular among the Malaysian Indians in rural and urban areas. The most popular spectator sport is soccer (known as football in Malaysia), particularly among the youth. Both on the plantations and in the cities, it is not unusual to see Indian youths and adults get together to play soccer on any open field.

ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION

Forms of entertainment among the Malaysian Indians depend greatly on where they live. Those who live in urban areas have the same forms of entertainment that people have in suburban areas in the United States and the United Kingdom. They have easy access to movies and theater, while those who live on the plantations do not have the same privileges. In urban areas, the Malaysian Indians do not only attend Indian movies and theaters, but also have access to Chinese and Malay movies and theater. They also have access to video arcades, parks, etc., which are popular places for recreation among the youth. Televisions, radios, compact discs, and cassettes players are common forms of entertainment in Malaysian Indian homes in urban areas. Some homes on the plantations do have television sets and video players as forms of entertainment. This is, of course, only true in homes that have access to electricity.

FOLK ART, CRAFTS, AND HOBBIES

Like most parts of their cultural heritage, Malaysian Indian arts and crafts are closely related to Hinduism. Their fine art and carvings can be seen in stone carvings and terra-cotta sculptures, inset tile work, and other colorful details in their temples across Malaysia. Their painters have also produced hundreds of paintings (or, in recent times, colored prints) of gods and goddesses. These paintings are usually for devotional use in home shrines.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS

The persistent poverty and political powerlessness of rural Indians in Malaysia is one of the country's best-known and most-severe social problems. Even though the plantation industry is a major source of income for Malaysia, low wages and poor working conditions for its plantation laborers have caused the Indians to be one of the poorest communities in Peninsular Malaysia. Most of them, like their contract-laborer ancestors, are rubber workers, though some are now small farmers. Poor budgeting and excessive drinking seem to aggravate the problem of low incomes and savings among the Indian poor. Furthermore, features such as low self-respect, apathy, poor parental responsibility, and weak community cooperation seem to reinforce one another and worsen the economic hardship faced by the Malaysian Indians.

GENDER ISSUES

The strong emphasis on the patrilineal system among the Indians shapes gender issues and relations in the community. Women usually do not sit with the men at any function. In some homes, the wife does not even sit down when male guests are present. In some cases a wife is not to call her husband by name nor openly object to his decisions and ideas. This is particularly true in many traditional homes. A wife may serve the guests, but otherwise she will stay in the kitchen or in some other part of the house. A wife usually stays at home, except for the occasional shopping trip to the department stores. However, these traditional values are changing with modernization, educational opportunities, and equal rights of women. In the plantations, women tap rubber and weed alongside men and receive wages at identical rates.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Arasaratnam, Sinnappah. Indians in Malaysia and Singapore. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1979.

Craig, JoAnn. Culture Shock: What Not to Do in Malaysia and Singapore, How and Why Not to Do It . Times Books International, 1979.

R. Rajakrishnan and Manimaran Subramaniam, "The Indians: Classification, origins and social organization," IN Hood Salleh (ed.) The Encyclopedia of Malaysia, Peoples and Tradtions . Kuala Lumpur: Editions Didier Millet, 2006 (pg.59).

Ramachandran, Selvakumaran. Indian Plantation Labour in Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: S. Abdul Majeed and Co., 1994.

Tan, Raelene. Indian and Malay Etiquette: A Matter of Course. Landmark Books Pte. Ltd., 1992.

Weibe, Paul D., and S. Mariappen. Indian Malaysians: The View from the Plantation . Manohar Publications, 1978.

-by P. Bala

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malaysian indianspronunciation: muh-lay-zhun in-dee-uhnsalternate names: tamilspopulation: 1.8 million (2004)location: malaysialanguage: tamil; malay; chinese; other ethnic indian languagesreligion: hindu (majority); sikh; buddhist; muslim; christianrelated articles: vol. 3: people of india; vol. 4: malaysian malays; tamils

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Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life

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Malaysian IndiansPRONUNCIATION: muh-LAY-zhun IN-dee-uhnsALTERNATE NAMES: TamilsPOPULATION: 1.8 million (2004)LOCATION: MalaysiaLANGUAGE: Tamil; Malay; Chinese; other ethnic Indian languagesRELIGION: Hindu (majority); Sikh; Buddhist; Muslim; ChristianRELATED ARTICLES: Vol. 3: People of India; Vol. 4: Malaysian Malays; Tamils Source for information on Malaysian Indians: Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life dictionary.

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The Melanau refer to themselves as "A-Liko X," which translates to "the people of a river, a district, or a village," depending on the context. They do not have a single name for all Melanau-speaking people. They claim that the Bruneian Malays gave them "Melanau."

Perhaps, based on research that the name means "coast-dweller" as opposed to "inland-dweller."

Melanau speakers live in the regions of Sarawak that run from Bintulu on Borneo's northwest coast to the Rajang Delta in the southwest and up the Rajang River to Kanowit.

Despite the fact that European explorers and cartographers mapped names resembling "Melanau" along Borneo's northwest coast, there are scant trustworthy historical accounts of the Melanau prior to the nineteenth century. Chinese records also likely contain references to the Melanau from even earlier times. According to the Coastal Melanau and the interior Kajang groups, their ancestors came from central Borneo, where they established a Kajang kingdom, from which the Coastal Melanau broke away. The mythical empire of the folk hero Tugau, who was overthrown in a conflict with Brunei, is said to have been the source of much of the Coastal Melanau's culture and institutions.

REFERENCE :

Melanau | Encyclopedia.com. (n.d.). https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/melanau

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ETHNONYMS: A-Liko, Kelemantan, Malanow, Melano, Melanu, Milano

Orientation

Identification. The Melanau have no name to cover all Melanau-speaking people: they refer to themselves as "A-Liko X," meaning "the people of a river, a district, or a village," according to context. "Melanau," they assert, was given to them by the Malays of Brunei. The name possibly signifies "coast-dweller" in contrast to "inland-dweller."

Location. The areas of Sarawak inhabited by Melanau speakers stretch from Bintulu on the northwest coast of Borneo to the Rajang Delta in the southwest, and up the Rajang River to Kanowit. Beyond Kanowit are closely related Kajang peoples, who also are found on the River Baluy. The inhabitants of the coastal area live along rivers (Balingian, Mukah, Oya, and Igan) that run parallel to one another through dense tropical-rain-forest swamp, and frequently are referred to as the Coastal Melanau to distinguish them from Melanau speakers on the Rajang. The swampy environment, in which the only reliable food crop is the sago palm, is frequently flooded during the northeast monsoon from November to March, which virtually stops fishing from the coastal villages in January and February.

Demography. In 1980 the population of Sarawak was 1,233,103. The Melanau numbered 69,578, of whom 53,689 were Muslim; 8,486 were Christian; 1,749 were tribal; and 5,328 were registered as having no religion, which in practice means they adhered to tribal religion.

Linguistic Affiliation. Melanau is an Austronesian language of the Western Malayo-Polynesian Branch. It has no standard orthography; today individuals use their own spelling and the roman script. The Melanau language is divided into dialects, not all of which are mutually intelligible. The Coastal and Rajang dialects are linguistically related to those of the Kajang groups and groups on the coast between Bintulu and Brunei and the interior, groups sometimes referred to as Kelemantan. All Melanau people, even Muslims, speak a Melanau dialect, although today most are bilingual in Malay and Melanau.

History and Cultural Relations

Few reliable historical records of the Melanau exist before the nineteenth century, although European travelers and map-makers placed names not unlike "Melanau" on the northwest coast of Borneo. There are also probable references to the Melanau even earlier in Chinese records. The Coastal Melanau and the Kajang groups in the interior relate that their ancestors migrated from central Borneo and founded a Kajang kingdom from which the Coastal Melanau broke away. The Coastal Melanau believe that much of their culture and many of their institutions are derived from the legendary empire of the folk hero Tugau, who was overthrown in a struggle with Brunei. Some historians suggest that these events occurred in the fourteenth century, others, as early as the seventh. In 1861 the Melanau coastal district was ceded to James Brooke, the rajah of Sarawak, by the sultan of Brunei. The Rajang Delta was already under the control of Sarawak. The cession was made to gain control of the export of sago flour to Singapore. The trade was essential for the survival of the regime of the rajah of Sarawak. So as not to disturb the flow of trade, the rajahs interfered as little as possible with the local social and political organization. During World War II the third rajah sold the country to the British government, which, until Sarawak became a part of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, instituted a number of modernizing economic and educational changes, accompanied by further developments in representative government and administrative institutions.

Settlements

Modern villages vary in size from 300 to 1,000 inhabitants. Houses, averaging 7 by 10 meters, are built on durable wooden frames in a ribbon pattern along both banks of a river and stand some 3 meters above ground. Walls are of plank or sago bark, and roofing is of palm thatch or wooden shingles. In some areas, notably on the River Tillian at Mukah, villages were closely adjacent, and today the banks of the river are a continuous line of housing with several thousand inhabitants. Administratively the villages are still separate. Traditionally a village was made up of two, sometimes three longhouses, each with a population of about 300 people. A longhouse, consisting of separate apartments with a common veranda in front, facing the river, was essentially a fortress on ironwood piles, some 10 meters above the ground. They were often sited on the bank of the main river opposite the mouth of a tributary stream, which allowed them to see enemies approaching on the water. At the mouths of the main rivers, where representatives of the sultan of Brunei nominally held suzerainty over the river to its source, villagers had by 1830 already begun to build small separate houses, but still retained longhouses for defense. By the beginning of the twentieth century the rajah of Sarawak had successfully put an end to intertribal warfare and most longhouses were abandoned. Sago gardens were cultivated as near the village as possible, and a communal rice field was organized annually by village elders, with a strip allocated to each household.

Economy

Subsistence and Commercial Activities. Hunting and gathering, combined with the cultivation of sago gardens (normally about 4 acres in area) and the export of sago biscuit and forest products (gums, resins, rattan, timber) in exchange for metal goods, weapons, ceramics, and cloth traditionally formed the basis of the Melanau economy. 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.

Trade. During the northeast monsoon, when access to the rivers was limited and fishing was dangerous, expeditions upriver from the coastal villages with dried fish, salt, nipa palm sugar, and craft productspalm-leaf thatch, mats, baskets, and hatswere undertaken to exchange these items for sago biscuit, fruit, canoes, and timber. A similar intrariverine trade for forest products and rice was also maintained with Iban settlements in the hills beyond the swamps. Traditionally sago biscuit was exported under the auspices of aristocratic leaders from both inland and coastal villages and of Malay traders from Brunei and elsewhere. With the foundation of Singapore in 1819 and the demand from the European and American cotton industry for cheap industrial starch, the nature of the sago-export trade altered. After the conquest of the coastal district by the rajah of Sarawak in 1861, Melanau and Malay carriers and traders were replaced by Chinese immigrants, who also entered into the production of flour to the extent that they were allowed. The government, however, did not permit the sale of land to immigrants; the primary production of flour remained in the hands of Melanau villagers until after World War II, when all production was mechanized and only the gardens remained in Melanau ownership. Even though the primary production of flour remained in the hands of the Melanau until then, by 1900 the economy had become dependent on the single cash crop, and extensive changes had occurred in the social system.

Division of Labor. Male tasks include clearing the forest and planting and maintaining sago gardens, felling the ripe palm and bringing the trunk to the villages, and stripping the bark off the segments into which the stem has been cut, before rasping the pith inside into a rough sawdust. The sawdust is given to the women to wash on a platform over the river. This rasped pith is placed on a fine-woven mat on the platform, mixed with water, and trampled by the women; the water with the flour in suspension is forced through the mat and a thin straining cloth onto draining boards leading to a trough below the platform, where the crude flour settles and surplus water is drawn away. The sale of this crude flour to a Chinese dealer is also the work of women. The proceeds of the sale are divided in various ways between the owner of the palm, the male feller, and the female trampler of the pith. This cottage industry, in which men and women controlled their own labor and profits, came to an end in the 1950s when Chinese dealers mechanized all aspects of the industry, except the growing and felling of palms. The Chinese dealer did not usually pay cash, but entered the transaction in his books and allowed goods to be bought on credit from his retail shop, thus ensuring that his clients could be kept at regular work and that he could supply his creditors with a regular and predictable supply of flour for export.

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.

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

Land Tenure. 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.

Kinship

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 ribbonlike villages largely consisting of relatives, and known as a-sega a term also used for close relatives up to second cousin; and (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. In some districts 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.

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. Theoretically, 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.

Domestic Unit. People who cook and cater together are considered to be a family (tegen) ; but a household may consist of several separate catering and cooking units. Six or seven people constitute an average household.

Inheritance. 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.

Socialization. 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.

Sociopolitical Organization

Sarawak is a state in the Federated States of Malaysia; it consists of divisions, each of which in turn is divided into districts under the supervision of district officers.

Social Organization. Formerly a village was an independent unit governed by a group of self-appointed aristocrats known as a-nyat, or elders. The rajah of Sarawak appointed one of them as headman, answerable to the district officer. Today the influence of the elders varies with local circumstances; their power is now primarily ceremonial, concerned with validating social mobility at weddings. The suppression of endemic tribal warfare by the rajah of Sarawak allowed people other than aristocrats to acquire wealth by planting sago gardens; the gradual introduction of a cash economy permitted commoners and even slaves to acquire wealth and make claim to higher rank and even enter the group of governing elders.

Political Organization. Village headmen today are minor magistrates and try certain civil suits in addition to collecting taxes. Criminal offenses are a matter for the district officer, native officers under him, and the police. Districts vary in size and, in coastal areas, are comprised of Iban and Malay people as well as Melanau. In addition to administrative services, the state government today provides schools, dispensaries, hospitals, land surveys, and various advisory services. It also maintains highways, canals, and bridges, and subsidizes mosques and churches.

Social Control. 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 or criminal theft, but each village claims its own version of the adat and often does not adhere to the official codification. Social control, however, is maintained primarily by a value system that places a high premium on respect for seniority, rank, and the proper order of things as embodied in the adat, any violation of which entails civil penalties imposed by the elders and automatic supernatural penalties that can be averted only by correct reparation.

Conflict. Conflict is usually seen as a disregard of proper respect, and children are brought up to avoid conflict at almost any cost.

Religion and Expressive Culture

Religious Beliefs. In 1980 53,689 Melanau were Sunni Muslim, 8,486 were Christian, 1,749 were tribal, 5,328 were listed as having no religion (but were probably all tribal), and 326 were listed as miscellaneous. For Muslims, Christians, and tribals alike, the world consists of this, the middle world, the upper world (the sky), and the world below. Traditionally the world was egg-shaped, seven layers or worlds above and seven below the middle world, the whole being balanced on the head of a buffalo standing on a snake, all surrounded by water. The breathing of the buffalo caused the ebb and flow of the tides. For some people the land of the dead was an underworld; others thought it elsewhere, but did not know where. Its topography was exact, but differed for Muslims, whose view was shared by Christians.

For Muslims, Christians, and tribals alike, the world, the sun, the moon, and the stars were created by Alla-taala, but how is not known. He is remote and little interested in human affairs. All "layers" of the world are inhabited by spirits ( tou ), who, together with humans, animals, and plants, share this middle world. Every being has its own proper place in the world, which is ordered by adat. Overstepping boundaries causes trouble, and most human illness is caused by trespassing on some spirit's living space. Spirits are of many kinds: earth, air, water, forest, etc. Sometimes they are referred to as ipu', who are less malevolent than tou, and may indeed be invited to reside in and protect dwellings. Supernaturals live on the moon and punish disorderly and disrespectful behavior by men, especially mockery of animals. A female guards the entrance to the land of the dead. People are reluctant to call such supernaturals "tou" or "ipu'," but no other term exists for such demigods. Muslims and some pagans call them melaikat.

Religious Practitioners. No pagan priests exist. Expert carvers of spirit images, or bilum, diagnose what spirit (sometimes also called "bilum" and not "tou") is likely to have caused an illness and, in a short ceremony, forces the spirit into its carved image so that it may be taken to its proper place and forbidden to harm the patient for at least three days. Spirit mediums, with the help of familiar spirits, also cure illness and practice divination. Every village, Muslim and tribal alike, holds an annual cleansing ceremony, kaul, to call uninvited spirits that have taken up residence in the village to a feast before they are sent home to their proper places.

Ceremonies. Apart from the annual kaul, private ceremonies of increasing complexity and expense are held for the curing of illness by spirit mediums. Ceremonies for the safety of a child two months before its delivery initiate a series of taboos, culminating in the birth. There are also ceremonies at the wake of a dead person; they may continue for several months, until a secondary burial.

Arts. Among most Melanau groups, tattooing was never widely practiced. Strongly built longhouses, fortresses thirty feet above ground, were traditionally decorated with elaborate wood carving. Bilum carved in sago pith were widely used and are a sophisticated form of sculpture. 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.

Medicine. Most illness was attributed to an attack by a spirit, but certain ailments, mostly minor, were attributed to a failure to keep a proper balance between hot and cold conditions in the body. Herbal medicines existed to restore the balance, most of which have been taken over by practitioners of Malay medicine.

Death and Afterlife. An individual's funeral is one of the most important events in the life cycle. At death the soul begins a boat journey, accompanied by attendant spiritsusually called "tou"to the land of the dead. Chants, ceremonies, and games during the wake ensure the soul a safe journey. Once admitted, the soul is sent to one of seven pagan villages, appropriate to the manner of death, and lives a life similar to that of this middle world. Eventually a second death occurs, and many believe that the soul then becomes dew. Muslims and many Christians also believe that the soul sets out for the land of the dead by boat or, according to some, along a road that comes to a place where the path becomes a sword across a pot of blazing fire. An individual who has led a good life can walk along the flat edge of the sword; the sharp edge of the sword ensures that one who has led a bad life falls into the pot. Beyond the sword is the land of Mohammed, Jesus Christ, and the pagans.

Bibliography

Crocker, W. M. (1876). "A Short Account of the Melanos of Sarawak." Sarawak Gazette (Kuching), no. 119.

Morris, H. S. (1953). A Report on a Melanau Sago Producing Community in Sarawak. London: H.M.S.O.

Morris, H. S. (1978). "The Coastal Melanau." In Essays on Borneo Societies, edited by Victor T. King, 37-58. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Morris, H. S. (1981). "The Melanau View of Their Environment." Sarawak Museum Journal 27 (5).

Roth, Henry Ling (1896). The Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo; Based Chiefly on the mss. of the Late H. B. Low, Sarawak Government Service. London: Truslove & Hanson. Reprint. 1980. Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya Press.

H. S. MORRIS

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milano
orientation
identification. the melanau have no name to cover all melanau-speaking people: they refer to themselves as "a-liko x

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was given to them by the malays of brunei. the name possibly signifies "coast-dweller" in contrast to "inland-dweller."

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Melanau
ETHNONYMS: A-Liko, Kelemantan, Malanow, Melano, Melanu, Milano
Orientation
Identification. The Melanau have no name to cover all Melanau-speaking people: they refer to themselves as “A-Liko X,” meaning “the people of a river, a district, or a village,” according to context. “Melanau,” they assert, was given to them by the Malays of Brunei. The name possibly signifies “coast-dweller” in contrast to “inland-dweller.” Source for information on Melanau: Encyclopedia of World Cultures dictionary.

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The term Kadazan-Dusun exists from the merge of two ethnics : Kadazan & Dusun. The merging of the two ethnics are caused by political conflicts. Moreover, there are not many differences between the two.

Kadazandusun consists of forty tribes of Dusun and Kadazan : Bisaya, Bonggi, Bundu, Dumpas, Gana, Garo, Idaan, Kedayan, Kimaragang & more as listed.

REFERENCE :

Bali, M. (2015). BUDAYA - KADAZANDUSUN. Ukm-my. https://www.academia.edu/11383356/BUDAYA_KADAZANDUSUN

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One of the most well-liked traditional dances performed by the Murut ethnic group in Sabah, Malaysia's interior districts, is magunatip.

Originally used in healing rites, the Magunatip is now mostly performed at weddings, harvest festivals, and bride wealth exchange ceremonies. Oral accounts suggest that Magunatip originated as either a healing ceremony ritual or a folk game played during paddy pounding sessions.

REFERENCE :

On, L. K., Magi, S., Hussin, S., Shafii, A. H., & Bakhir, N. M. (2018). The healing ritual context of the Magunatip Dance of the Murut in Sabah, Malaysia. Advanced Science Letters. https://doi.org/10.1166/asl.2018.11203

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In the Iban culture in Sarawak, they have a superstition that if you don't follow a particular food custom known as 'negu' (touch food), which is being offered food before you set out on a journey, particularly by river or before driving on a busy road, a crocodile will catch you. 'Puni' could be imposed if this custom is broken. 'Punan' is the other way to say it.

This is generally done in order to avoid any unlucky accidents. It is advisable to take the food even just a bit or at least touch it.

Not only that, the Iban ethnic believes that Crocodiles can be 'humane' creatures. In the event that a human is killed during a struggle in the water, drowning is assumed to be the cause of death rather than a wound or blood loss.

It is said that it is not the enemy's fault that the human was unable to save himself from drowning during the underwater battle. They are supposed to be relatives, after all. It may seem strange, but a lot of people in Sarawak seem to still hold onto myths and superstitions in the twenty-first century.

REFERENCE :

Crocodile tears. (2015, November 7). Borneo Post Online. https://www.theborneopost.com/2015/11/07/crocodile-tears/#:~:text=Among%20the%20Iban%2C%20there's%20a,driving%20on%20a%20busy%20road

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THE culling of crocodiles in a river called Batang Kayan in Lundu was good news, for a change. I’m not sure if this was an one-off operation mounted by the Forestry Department and the local police to specially target the suspect which had mauled a farmer a fortnight ago in the same river. Will it

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The relation of Crocodile & the Sarawak community, Iban is strong & everlasting. It all started from the tales of Bujang Senang, an undefeatable Iban warrior who was cursed into a crocodile.

This is one of the many reasons why the Iban community believes that by the rivers of Sarawak, crocodiles are a creature close to home.

REFERENCE :

Administrator, B. (2020, May 11). Bujang Senang: A tale of terror. BorneoTalk. https://www.borneotalk.com/bujang-senang-a-tale-of-terror/

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There is a tale that strikes terror into the hearts of those who hear it. It is a tale of Bujang Senang a giant white back crocodile in Sarawak, that is said to have terrorised the waters of Batang Lupar.

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further chronology & informations about the history & journey of Bujang Senang can be found here!

REFERENCE :

Badd. (2018, July 23). Here’s the story behind Bujang Senang, a crocodile that once terrorized Sarawak. CILISOS - Current Issues Tambah Pedas! https://cilisos.my/heres-the-story-behind-bujang-senang-a-crocodile-that-once-terrorized-sarawak/

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[ Artikel ni asalnya ditulis rakan rakan kami kat SOSCILI. Untuk baca dalam BM, klik sini!]

Other than being known as the land of the hornbills, Sarawak is also known for its crocodiles. This year alone, we've found five instances of crocodile attacks in East Malaysia:

1. A student waiting for his SPM results was taken by a crocodile at Sungai Tapang, Ulu Peking, Sarawak. (23 Feb 2017)

2. A teenage boy died from a crocodile attack after falling into the Kampung Kawi River, in Bintangor, Sarawak. (22 May 2017)

3. An estate worker was gobbled up in front of his friend, while checking his fishing line at Sungai Pelasan, Sarawak. (14 Jul 2017)

4. A man was eaten by a crocodile while fishing with his cousin at the bank of Sungai Kuala Besar, Kampung Hulu Tambak, Sarawak. (27 Sep 2017)

5. An estate worker went missing, believed to have been chomped by crocodiles at Lahad Datu, Sabah. (5 Nov 2017)

Those were among the crocodile attacks reported so far. From 2007 to 2013, the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development had stated that out of 42 reports of crocodile attacks in Malaysia, 40 of them are from Sarawak. These attacks brings to mind the tale of Bujang Senang, a crocodile that once terrorized the Batang Lupar river area back in the 1940s.

While Bujang Senang had in the past been rumored to be as big as a bus, being able to eat a full-grown man in one bite, you might be shocked to know that...

The Ibans believe that Bujang Senang used to be... a man.

Some Ibans in Sarawak believed that the giant crocodile Bujang Senang was actually a human who was cursed post-mortem to become a crocodile. According to the legend, Bujang Senang used to be an Iban warrior named Simalungun. It was said the Simalungun was a famous warrior back when people practiced 'mengayau' ( cutting off and collecting the enemies' heads), and those who stood before him had no chance of defeating him in battle.

This was probably due to the fact the Simalungun practiced a mystic art that caused his body to become invulnerable to weapons, and his enemies knew about that. They also knew that practitioners of the art had to observe a certain taboo, and if Simalungun was to break that taboo, he would become vulnerable again. Simalungun's taboo was a closely-kept secret, so his enemies decided to kidnap his wife and make her tell them what his taboo is.

Simalungun, realizing that his wife had been kidnapped by his enemies, went to confront them at the Batang Lupar river. As the story goes, his enemies released his wife, but before Simalungun can get to her they impaled her with a javelin, killing her on the spot. This caused Simalungun to fly into a rage, and a terrible battle ensued. However, his enemies soon noticed their weapons worked on Simalungun as soon as he stepped into the river.

It didn't take long for them to come to the conclusion that Simalungun's taboo was to never stand in a river, and despite Simalungun's rage, he was soon defeated. Both his and his wife's corpses was left to sink in the river, but for unknown reasons the deities residing in the river cursed Simalungun's body to become a giant crocodile, identified with a white stripe on its back. Ever since then, the crocodile, called 'Bujang Senang', had terrorized the descendants of his killers living near Batang Lupar.

But why is it called 'Bujang' (bachelor) when according to myth, Simalungun was married?

"The colloquial name of 'bujang' means someone who is a champ, a great person, and it's a sign of respect to call a man bujang. So these wild reptiles are called bujang as a sign of respect." - Indet Sanabong, Crocodile Shaman. Excerpt from Kosmo.

Bujang Senang's heyday was said to be in the 1940s, but after that the tales of its atrocity died down... for a while. In the 1980s, Bujang Senang made a comeback.

Bujang Senang raged again, but this time it was defeated... with a nail bullet

On his return in 1982, Bujang Senang's first reported victim was Headman Bangan from the Pali Longhouse in Sri Aman. It was said that the headman was attacked while he was fishing for shrimps by the riverside. His brother, Kebir, who was with him at that time, failed to rescue him. But he did saw a white streak down the crocodile's back, leading him to believe that what they were dealing with was the legendary Bujang Senang.

Following that incident, the local police launched ' Operasi Buaya Ganas ' (Ferocious Crocodile Ops) at all big rivers in Sarawak, but they couldn't find Bujang Senang.

"Bujang Senang continued to rage, and between 1982 and 1991 it was believed that 13 people fell victim to the giant beast's rage. His reign of terror reached its peak in May 1992, when the beast snatched his 14th victim, 20-year-old Dayang, daughter of Bayang, when the Iban lady was crossing the Pelaban River with her mother." - Excerpt from BH Online.

The attack prompted both the police and the villagers to hunt down Bujang Senang. Within four hours, Bujang Senang was cornered, but they failed to kill him with javelins and normal bullets. So a shaman suggested that they use nails as bullets. The suggestion seemed to work, as Bujang Senang finally fell after receiving 40 shots of 10cm nails.

The crocodile's corpse did have a white stripe on its back, but it's not the size of a bus as some have claimed. It was 5.46 meters long, and its belly had a girth of 2.12 meters. Despite the capture, some remained skeptical with the history and legend of Bujang Senang, while others were convinced that the real Bujang Senang is still out there, and what they killed wasn't really Bujang Senang.

Despite its fame, Bujang Senang wasn't the only famous crocodile who attacked people

While in the beginning we mentioned a few cases of crocodile attacks, it would seem that the cases were isolated incidents, judging by the fact that none of the crocodile perpetrators were given specific names. Bujang Senang, on the other hand, received a somewhat legendary status in Malaysia, but there are other notorious crocodiles in Sarawak's history, all with Bujang at the front of their names: Bujang Samarahan, Bujang Tisak, Bujang Belawai, Bujang Subis and Bujang Seblak.

In 2001, the crocodile Bujang Subis was shot dead after eating a 10-year-old boy. The boy's father, upon cutting open the crocodile's belly, discovered both his son's arms and legs inside. The boy's head and other parts were later found floating around at the Niah National Park.

Later, in 2012, the country was again shocked by another crocodile attack, this time by one called Bujang Seblak. The crocodile had eaten a woman named Siah Munsong. A hunt ensued, using both modern and traditional methods.

"Even though we tried to bait Bujang Seblak, it was smart enough to escape the traps we set for him. However, two other medium-sized crocodiles we trapped instead. We believe these two were his minions." - from Utusan Malaysia.

Two weeks after he ate Siah Munsong, Bujang Seblak was finally caught by a crocodile shaman. This time, they knew for sure it was Bujang Seblak, judging by the two gunshot wounds on his eye and jaw from when he was carrying Siah's corpse. Upon weighing the crocodile, they found its weight to be more than 200kgs.

What's interesting about Bujang Seblak's capture was that he was killed by a slap. A shaman's spell-infused slap.

"I had to slap Bujang Seblak in the head to kill him instantly. This was because he tried to resist, and I had to think of my safety as well because the boat I was riding can't handle his weight." - Indet Sanabong, Crocodile Shaman. Taken from Utusan Malaysia.

The handling of crocodiles sometimes involve mystical methods

Indet Sanabong is a famous crocodile hunter in Sarawak: whenever there is a crocodile attack, people will seek him out. Indet was also the shaman who slapped Bujang Seblak dead, but according to him he had already captured tens of thousands of crocodiles all over Sarawak before that. He learned how to catch crocodiles from a teacher in Sipitang, Sabah.

"I put five of my children through school using the money I got from selling crocodiles to crocodile parks and private buyers. But as soon as I found out that my actions were against the law, I stopped." - Indet Sanabong, Crocodile Shaman for Kosmo.

According to Indet, crocodiles don't just attack anybody, as they prefer people who are in a 'puni' or 'punik' state. No, that's not a typo.

"According to the Ibans, 'puni' is sort of like longing for something but not getting it, but in this case it's more like an unfulfilled promise by someone. For example, someone was invited to eat, but instead of eating, he did other stuff. That person is said to be in a puni state." - Indet Sanabong, Crocodile Shaman for Kosmo.

So basically, puni is like some sort of unfulfilled wish or unfinished business. Indet further explained that puni can also happen to crocodiles who have eaten people before. This is because once a crocodile got a taste of human flesh, it will start to like it and actively seek it out, by attacking people. When this happens, Indet have to end the crocodile's puni by feeding it a charmed bait.

Indet claimed that only crocodiles who had eaten humans before will eat the charmed bait. The bait, on the other hand, is made of the meat of a white dog placed on three fishing hooks, all tied to a rope made of living rattan. He further claimed that a crocodile that eats humans already had a curse on them: even without eating the bait, they can still be killed.

"The killing won't involve the use of firearms or sharp weapons, but just my bare hands. After reciting a spell, I would slap the crocodile's head and it will instantly die." - Indet Sanabong, Crocodile Shaman, for Kosmo.

Sarawak's trying to reduce the number of crocodiles, but maybe their population alone isn't the problem

Starting October this year, Sarawak's Forestry Department (JHS) approved 10 licenses to catch crocodiles in Sarawak. Most of the license holders come from the Batang Lupar area, as there's a high number of crocodiles there.

Last year, it was estimated that there were more than 20,000 adult-sized crocodiles in Sarawak. Some rivers were even estimated to have an average of 14 crocodiles for every kilometer of their length. This was the reason the state government declared 60% out of that 20 thousand can be hunted. Besides that, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) had already lowered the status of crocodiles (specifically, Crocodylus porosus) from Appendix I to Appendix II.

"We managed to downgrade the crocodiles from Appendix I to Appendix II, meaning that the species can be hunted, killed and their meat and skin can be marketed globally." - Sapuan Ahamad, Director of Sarawak's Forestry Department, for Utusan Borneo.

However, the effort to cut down on the crocodiles' population didn't go over well with the culture and beliefs of Sarawakians, especially the Ibans. This is because some of them believe that crocodiles are manifestations of a river's spirit, or Ribai. Therefore, they try their hardest to not kill a crocodile, as it may bring them misfortune later.

"The people living by the riversides still believe that killing a crocodile is an unbreakable taboo... Whatever their religion is, when it comes to crocodiles, they will try their hardest to not kill a crocodile, as they fear their lives would be in danger the next time they are near rivers." - Prof Madya Dr. Ruhana Hassan, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, for Harian Metro.

Even though Sarawak's Forestry Department did distribute crocodile hunting licenses, at the same time they are encouraging the people of Sarawak to run crocodile farms. According to them, these farms won't only provide them with crocodile skin and meat, but can also be a tourist attraction, like the Miri Crocodile Farm that pulls in a huge number of tourists to Miri, Sarawak.

The government's permission to hunt crocodiles can be said to be an effort to control their population, and consequently the risk they pose to humans. However, some researchers believe that the crocodile attacks are our fault to begin with, because of river pollution.

"The pollution of rivers is also a factor in crocodile attacks. We have found plenty of plastic bags in the bellies of the crocodiles we've operated on. We have found that crocodiles are attracted to trash as they may think that there is food in the plastic bags." - Christopher Kri Ubang, a wildlife officer from the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC), for Utusan Borneo.

According to media reports, the state of rivers in Malaysia are getting worse. Besides trash, rivers are also exposed to pollution from factories and industries.

The skull of Bujang Senang displayed at the Sarawak Museum may invoke legends of warriors and curses from a bygone era in the visitors' minds. However, at the rate things are going now, one might wonder if crocodile legends a century from now will involve a superhero whose powers came from being bitten by radioactive crocodiles instead.

bujang belawai, bujang samarahan, bujang seblak, bujang senang, bujang subis, bujang tisak, croc attack, crocodile shaman, crocodile slap, Iban, just bujang, myth, nail bullet, sarawak, simalungun, werecrocodile

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Here's the story behind Bujang Senang, a crocodile that once terrorized Sarawak

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Artikel ni asalnya ditulis rakan rakan kami kat SOSCILI. Untuk baca dalam BM, klik sini!] Other than being known as the land of the hornbills, Sarawak is also known for its crocodiles.

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a short video & an interview on The Legend of Bujang Senang by SE FILMS in 2017.

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Regarding another superstitious belief of Iban, they also believed that death ceremonies should be done properly or else there would be certain misfortunes & disasters would happen.

The Ibans' death customs include a number of rituals & have 5 ceremonies that should be held for the deceased.

1 - DURING DEATH: THE CUSTOM OF MATI ENGGAU RABAT

2 - DURING BURIAL

3 - THE MOURNING CEREMONY

4 - THE NGETAS ULIT CEREMONY

5 - THE BERSERARA BUNGAI CEREMONY

Based on their beliefs, each ceremony has to be done completely in order to avoid tons of disturbance from the deceased as well as to help the deceased rest in peace.

For example, on the 1st ceremony, during the death of the deceased : Mati Enggau Rabat, it is said that the family members and relatives of the deceased will be given time to weep for ten minutes or longer after a death. In order to prevent the dead spirit from entering the house and bringing live spirits to the afterlife, which will cause more deaths in the house, two rice pounders are positioned horizontally at the end of the long house.

REFERENCE :

THE CULTURE AND CUSTOM OF THE IBAN ETHNIC: THE DEATH CUSTOM. (n.d.). https://pemetaanbudaya.jkkn.gov.my/en/culture/dis/318

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THE CULTURE AND CUSTOM OF THE IBAN ETHNIC: THE DEATH CUSTOM

INTRODUCTION

The death custom of the Ibans covers a variety of fixed procedures and abcentisms. They believe that if not properly implemented then misfortune and calamaties will prevail. The deceased spirit will also not be at peace.

DURING DEATH: THE CUSTOM OF MATI ENGGAU RABAT

When a death occurs, the deceased family members and relatives shed tears for at least 10 minutes. Two rice pounders are placed horizontally at the end of the long house to obstruct the deceased spirit to enter the house and bring along with it live spirits to the after world that will result in more deaths in the house.

The corpse is cleansed with soap water made from the pounded skin of the langgir fruit. Three dots of turmeric are marked on the forehead. The hair is oiled and combed after the corpse is dressed up to the best according to the teachings of the God Pun-tang Raga. Then the corpse is laid down on a rattan mat in the deceased room.

The Pua Kumbu material is hung in the living room to be erected as a sapat (an enclave) with a dimension of nine feet square and about five feet from the floor. If the sapat fails to be vertically erected then the audience there may easily fall ill. Then the corpse is brought out of the bedroom and placed inside the sapat. When the corpse just exited the door that separates the deceased room with the living room, the eldest woman in the deceased family sprinkles rice on the corpse and recites short prayers believed to enable the deceased to heaven without obstructions.

After the corpse is properly laid down on the sapat the deceased women family members lead other family members in shedding tears for a while. Biaya (the deceased possessions) is put inside an empty box whereby the box is placed near the corpse head. Baiya pandang (pieces of cloths) are hung above the corpse. Small fires are lighted next to the corpse feet and the fire must not be extinguished until the burial ceremony ends. The corpse is left for about two days or longer waiting for the arrival of the deceased relatives.

The corpse must not be stepped on or stepped over by cats or dogs as it is believed that such action cause the deceased spirit to be unpeaceful and will always chase after living persons. Therefore, the corpse is always guarded by elderly women until the corpse is buried.

The head of the house discusses with the audience in the living room about the invitation to other villages to attend the burial ceremony so as to to make it easier for the deceased family in the preparations. A RM5.00 contribution is to help buy foodstuff. Two men are chosen to send the invitation, one to the upstream and the other downstream. If the deceased long house doesnt have a tukang sabak (person to sing death songs) then one such person is to be invited from another long house.

Guests arrive with contributions like glutinous rice, money or chickens. At 6 p.m. the tukang sabak starts singing slowly and melancholy. He cites the journey of the deceased spirit from this world to the hereafter. He sits on a chair near the corpse head with part of his face covered with a handkerchief. He recites mantras continously till dawn, stopping only to eat and drink. His payment is a chicken, and in the form of utensils like a jar, plates, as well as a machete or iron sheets to strengthen his spirit and as shields from unwanted incidents during his lifetime.

Guests are served with a heavy meal at 8 p.m., a lighter one like coffee and bread at 10 p.m., and a late night meal at 2 a.m. The honoured guests, like the village head and the house head, sit in a line with the deceased family members on the above floor of the living room, while other family members sit on both sides of the living room of the deceased room. Representative of the deceased family delivers a speech informing the audience the cause of death and that mourning period is for three months. Finally, he thanks those who help the deceased family in the burial ceremony.

Among the abcentisms during mourning is that it is forbidden to shout when passing by the long house compound of the deceased. Neither does an event be held, but if unavoidable then a RM2.00 fine is imposed as a safeguard.

Family members and guests are only free to discuss about other topics after the late night meal is over.

DURING BURIAL

The coffin is brought to the cemetery before dawn, about 5.30 a.m. A man leads the way with a torch to light the pathway. Upon reaching the cemetery a chicken is slaughtered and its blood smeared on the ground where it is going to be the burial place. A little bit of rice is sprinkled around the grave. The coffin is lowered into the grave together with the deceased personal possessions, believed to be used by him in the other world.

The corpse head is placed towards the upstream. If the dead were a faith healer then his head was to be placed towards downstream. The Ibans believe that the faith healer spirit rests forever on the highest level of the sacred Rabong Mountain, the place where the first Iban faith healer, Iban Menjaya Manang Raja, was immortalized. He was the younger sibling of Sengalang Burong, the God of War.

After the burial ends a mark is planted on the grave. Then the burial members satisfy their needs with foods cooked earlier in the morning along the river.

THE MOURNING CEREMONY

All the elderly long house residents visit the deceased room to witness an elderly woman eating the sacrifice meal called asi pana. Normally, it is three bowls of black rice. Each bowl signifies each day the long house residents do not work outside the long house. If the residents agree not to work for three days of mourning then the person who leads the mourning ceremony eats a bowl of the asi pana every morning.

During the three days mourning the deceased room is left in the dark, with the purpose that the dark world life will bring brightness to the deceased. After the three-day mourning ends the windows of the deceased room are smeared with chicken blood before they are officially opened by the elderly woman. After the last asi pana rice is consumed the deceased valuables are placed inside a lengguai (box) tied with rattan and kept in the room during the mourning period. This box must be safeguarded from being disturbed or reached by children or stepped on.

If the three-day mourning coincides with the harvest season, the farmers can pay sigi jabir or pana benda (compensation) of RM1.00 to the deceased family to enable the farmers to work in the paddy fields. Those not involved or tied with the mourning abcentisms can help the farmers in harvesting.

At dusk during the three-day mourning the deceased family light up a fire near the side of the long house. This is to avoid the deceased spirit from wandering or roaming around in search of food prepared by humans.

THE NGETAS ULIT& CEREMONY

A day before this ceremony begins, after the three months mourning is over, the deceased family members convey their intention to end the three months mourning by holding the ngetas ulit ceremony, to the long house residents.

Closed relatives of the deceased arrive early in the morning the next day and congregate in the deceased family room. Then a man in Iban warrior attire makes three screams upon reaching the deceased house. His scream is reciprocated by gong beating by a man at the veranda of the deceased family room. A chicken is then given to the warrior whereby he swings it on the lengguai (box) while uttering mantras to bless the audience so that they live peacefully after the ulit is taken off.

The warrior performs the ngetas ulit ceremony whereby he cuts the rattan that ties the box, opens it and takes out the contents. Then the deceased family members request the warrior to cut a bit of their hair with his knife. The payment to take off the ulit is mostly sharp objects. Foods are served after this ceremony ends.

THE BERSERARA BUNGAI CEREMONY

This final ceremony is held about one or two months after the ngetas ulit ceremony, and performed by a faith healer that has power and is able to communicate directly with the unknown world. This ceremony is to separate the living world with that of the death world and expedite the separation process of the deceased spirit and his living family. If there were a family member that still think of the deceased then this member might fall ill that may cause death.

It is believed that if the deceased spirit is not separated then the spirit will continue to be around and will disturb. The spirit too will ensure that the family members will waste food as the wasted food will be the deceased food. This will result in the family losing on wealth.

This ceremony ends when the deceased copper vase is opened and its handle cut by the faith healer. If this is not performed then the deceased family members will continue to be disturbed by the deceased spirit and they will be befallen with unwanted debacles.

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THE CULTURE AND CUSTOM OF THE IBAN ETHNIC: THE DEATH CUSTOM

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THE CULTURE AND CUSTOM OF THE IBAN ETHNIC: THE DEATH CUSTOM INTRODUCTION The death custom of the Ibans covers a variety of fixed procedures and abcentisms. They believe that if not properly implemented then misfortune and calamaties will prevail. The deceased spirit will also not be at peace.

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a clear video of the Magunatip dance, held at Oceanus Waterfront Mall in 2019.

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The Kadazandusun people who live on the west coast of North Borneo (Sabah, Malaysia) eat rice as their main food source. The Kadazandusun farmers place a high value on crop yields, so it is not unexpected that all aspects of rice farming are of major religious significance.

A belief in Bambarayon, the paddy spirits, is evident in the myths and stories of the different Kadazandusun subgroups. Every paddy grain is believed to contain bambarayon, which is the source of numerous rituals, charms, and taboos related to paddy farming.

REFERENCE :

Low, K.O. (2012). BELIEF IN BAMBARAYON (PADDY SPIRITS) AMONG THE KADAZANDUSUN OF NORTH BORNEO. (n.d.). https://ejournal.um.edu.my/index.php/BRJ/article/view/9845/6955

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BELIEF IN BAMBARAYON (PADDY SPIRITS) AMONG THE KADAZANDUSUN OF NORTH BORNEO | Borneo Research Journal

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Rice is the staple food of the Kadazandusun community residing on the west coast of North Borneo (Sabah, Malaysia). Crop yields are of the utmost importance to the Kadazandusun farmers, and it is not surprising that great religious significance is attached to all aspects of rice cultivation. Belief…

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Since ancient times, the Kadazan-Dusun tribe has practiced a very unique tradition and celebration, which is the spirit of rice (paddy spirit) in the Kamaatan Festival. The Kadazan-Dusun community believes that their sustenance will increase and not be cut off if they practice this Kaamatan festival.

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In Sabah's paganic past, Mount Kinabalu was significant. In addition to being a significant landmark and state symbol in Malaysia and Borneo, the enormous granite rock has deep spiritual meaning for the indigenous tribes.

It was believed that after passing away, spirits rest on Mount Kinabalu until entering Libabou, the Kadazan-Dusun afterlife. To ensure that the bodies reached their resting place as soon as possible, the villagers buried their bodies facing Kinabalu.

The local Shamans, known as Bobohizan (as shown in the picture above), sacrificed chickens and carried out rites to placate the spirits of the mountains and wait for their arrival.

REFERENCE :

Bedford, S. (2018, June 11). A guide to Sabah’s ancient Paganism and animism. Culture Trip. https://theculturetrip.com/asia/malaysia/articles/a-guide-to-sabahs-ancient-paganism-and-animism

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A Guide To Sabah’s Ancient Paganism And Animism

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Discover the almost forgotten pagan and animist traditions in Sabah Borneo including Bobohizan priestesses spirits and Harvest Festival.

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a news article by The Borneo Post back in 1996 regarding Kadazandusuns' Superstitious Beliefs.

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REFERENCE :

Yong, F. L. (2022). KadazanDusuns - beliefs and practices. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359207587_KadazanDusuns_-_beliefs_and_practices

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www.researchgate.net needs to review the security of your connection before proceeding.

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Ethnological Notes on the Muruts of the Sapulut River, Sabah on JSTOR

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Since animism is implemented in the Murut ethnic, animals have become a very significant thing in the Murut community. They believe that certain animals, such as birds carry luck & help for each representative functions.

For example, there are 4 birds that are top priority & has said to matter :

1. Lalantil (Scarlet Mini vet): for cuts, "ti-til", repeated).

2. Mangapi (Piculet): for sickness (call: twl)

3. Sahap (Banded Kingfisher): for journeys (call : sahap)

4. Munur (Flowerpecker): for journeys (call :'tik')

REFERENCE :
Harrisson, T. (1967). Ethnological Notes on the Muruts of the Sapulut River, Sabah. Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 40(1 (211)), 111–129. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41491909

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Ethnological Notes on the Muruts of the Sapulut River, Sabah on JSTOR

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Tom Harrisson, Ethnological Notes on the Muruts of the Sapulut River, Sabah, Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 40, No. 1 (211) (JULY, 1967), pp. 111-129

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Often, we see Malaysian Indians community have various, colorful & eye-striking clothes especially on Deepavali. Well, a specific reason for that is related to their beliefs. It all brings back to the story of Sagunthla Subramaniam who was born on March 23, 1937.

Collectively, as a group, they emphasize the value of new clothes by saying that "Deepavali is a day of celebration and has spiritual significance for all Indians." As a result, everyone dresses up for the holiday and believes that the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, pays them a visit.

REFERENCE :

Utomo, D. (2021, November 3). Deepavali in Malaysia: the myths and real stories behind its celebrations. Time Out Kuala Lumpur. https://www.timeout.com/kuala-lumpur/things-to-do/deepavali-in-malaysia-the-myths-and-real-stories-behind-its-celebrations

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Good over evil: tales of epic proportions

Like all antiquated traditions that have moulded many cultures around the world, the reasons behind why things are done a certain way usually varies. It is said that Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world and well, time has a way of distorting the origins. Deepavali and its first intentions are not exempt from this, with many regions in India choosing to remember it differently. Here are the two most popular versions according to Hindus.

Ramayana, an antiquated epic detailing a story of how Rama, an exiled prince rescues his kidnapped wife Sita with the help of his brother Lakshmana and Hanuman (a monkey god). A war breaks out, and the demon kidnapper King Ravana with his evil army is defeated. The quartet return to Ayodhya where Rama is from, and the people welcome them home by lighting the lamps we have come to associate with the celebration.

Another tale has Krishna (the popular, blue-skinned god of protection) and his wife, Satyabhama killing off a demon known as Narakasura. There's a bit of complexity here because Narakasura was given a boon for his years of prayerful devotion. Brahma, who is known as the creator of our universe, rewarded him and granted his wish of conditional immortality; Narakasura may never die, except at the hands of his mother. Feeling invincible, he wreaked havoc upon many lands and abducted girls right from their homes. Krishna and Satyabhama stepped in, with the latter being able to mortally wound him because she's a reincarnation of his mother - surely you get where the inspiration for soap operas come from. What follows is the release of the 16,000 girls that were taken and a ceasing of terrors.

Deepavali over Diwali: differences between the North and South

The main difference between the two is the belief system and the insistence of the people that fuel them. The ethos is somewhat similar with both the North Indians (Rama's return) and South Indians (Narakasura's defeat) commemorating that goodness will always prevail. Now, etymologically speaking, many agree that 'Deepavali' translates to 'illuminate in a row' in Sanskrit. It is the term most Malaysian and Singaporean Indians use as the diaspora here are Tamilians. 'Diwali' is a derivation of 'Deepavali' and is a Hindi term.

Real stories: traditions and beliefs

Sagunthla Subramaniam was born on March 23, 1937. She was a hardworking woman who never ever could be remembered as being idle - her hands were always doing something, be it cleaning her large house, caring for her family, or tying flower garlands at night. Every year before Deepavali, she would be busy preparing and would have many household chores done before the sun gets to peek over the horizons. Chickens would be slaughtered and marinated, traditional sweets would be made with hand-grinded flour, and hand-sewn clothes for her seven children would be made.

On each Deepavali's eve, Sagunthla would cook many dishes for the ancestral prayers (some Indians would choose to do this either one, three, five or seven days before). Her children would have showered by sunrise, waiting for her husband and her to bless them in front of the prayer altar. In her parents' home, she was accustomed to the ritualistic oil bath with sesame oil and shikakai powder, but since she got married, her husband's family have observed this as a pantang (taboo) since there were some unfortunate deaths the few times they did it. Plus, Indian women observe their husband's customs the moment they get married and so she raised her children that way she was supposed to. The hems of the newly made clothes would be dusted with turmeric and laid to rest at the prayer altar. The children would be blessed and given the clothes along with some money, and she would continue preparing food for the multitudes that would visit her home.

2021 marks the year Sagunthla made it to 84 and the year she passed. This year, her children are understandably not in a festive mood nor did they make preparations for all their immediate ancestors as they normally do. Instead, they prepared her favourite food and laid them out alongside flowers, fruits and oil lamps. They sat cross-legged, and they chanted mantras just for her. It is customary like it is with the Chinese, that a death of an immediate family member would result in the festivities not taking place.

Sarojanie Devi Ayavoo, Sagunthla's third child shares, "Deepavali is a celebration made possible with a lot of work, but the family gets together to bring happiness." She, alongside her siblings, sat down on the land they grew up in and reminisced about how Deepavali was mostly like while they were growing up. They talked about how their mother would make adhirasam (a type of Indian doughnut) the first thing on her Deepvali to-do list because it rhymes with atirstam (luck in Tamil). Sarojanie's children, Haribala and Sageswary Gopal along with Haribala's wife, Yugeranee Rajndran have a shop in which they sell clothes called Harinee Trendz. Collectively, they point out how important new clothes are, " Deepavali is a day of celebration and has a spiritual significance for all the Indians. Thus, everyone celebrates by wearing new clothes and there is also the belief that Goddess Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth) visits their houses."

Deepavali is a great many things to people

Each family may have some sort of quirk in how they choose to be festive and there is no way to list them all down. Sagunthla's parents would make sure that any children that came to their house and ate meat would walk away with a piece of charcoal to deter spirits from following them. Her brother's family had echoed the Chinese practice of fireworks and would set them off early in the morning. Some families would prefer not to wash the store-bought clothes and to dust them with turmeric instead, so they remain 'new'. While most Hindus are cremated and thus an ancestral prayer is done with their photographs, some are buried and then depending on the belief, some families would visit the gravesite with the food.

Narakasura's story even has some families preparing food made with oil (it is said that his last wishes were for people to celebrate with light for he had seen the error of his ways), and they would set up a separate table just for him. If you know someone who celebrates Deepavali, why not ask them how their family observes it - you might just be enlightened by this festival.

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Deepavali in Malaysia: the myths and real stories behind its celebrations

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One of the best things about living in a multicultural society like Malaysia is the abundance of festivities and the accompanying food all-year round.

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For the Malaysian Indian community, household superstitions also exists such as regarding boiling milk, haircuts, numbers & more.

REFERENCE :

Propsocail Editor. (n.d.). 5 Indian household superstitions you might not know. PropSocial. https://www.propsocial.my/topic/1262/5-indian-household-superstitions-you-might-not-know-posted-by-propsocial-editor

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Malaysia is a boiling pot of culture, much due to the multiracial country that we are. That being said, our neighbourhood dances to the same rhythm. We have neighbours of different faith and beliefs, and we have learnt to respect it. However, there are only so much we know about our friends next door, and we're here to help you out!

With Deepavali, an auspicious day celebrated by the majority of the Indian community here in Malaysia coming around the corner, here are a few superstitions you might not have known about, in an Indian household.
Let's start off by watching a with a fun Deepavali video from PropSocial below:
1. Boil Your Milk!

When a family moves into a new house, it is tradition to boil a pot of milk over the new kitchen stove, until the milk overflows from the pot. This is to signify an abundance of prosperity and food that will also bless new home. The boiled over milk is then offered to chosen deities, before it is offered to the guest with a bit of sugar.

2. Crack Your (Coco)Nuts!

Yes! New house means new reasons to break things!

Don't worry, there's no collateral damage to the house, nothing important is being broken, but only a coconut. It's a tradition when buying a new car or new house, for a family to throw a coconut to the ground, and made sure that it is shattered into pieces. This is to signify a commemoration of a new item, blessing it in the process.

3. Mind Your Numbers!

...Particularly the numbers 3, 8 and 13. The number 8, in Indian numerology, is governed by Saturn (Shani), which is said to bring destruction. Numbers associated to 8, such as 17 and 26 , are also considered unlucky numbers. It's uncanny that the number 26 is linked to a series of unfortunate events, such as the tsunami that struck on the 26th of December, 2004, and the Ahmedabad blasts on the 26th of September 2008, just to name a few.

The number 3, and 13 are associated with the Hindu saying " teen tigaada kaam bigaada ", which means "bad luck comes when there are three". It's even worse in some sections of the Indian community, when Friday the 13th comes by, with Friday being a bad day for some beliefs.

4. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays = No Haircut Day!

You heard that right! Here's why: elders believe that on these days, planets emit rays that can be harmful to the health and wellness of a person. The human brain is important to one, and should one get a haircut on the days, the rays will have a direct effect on the head. Here's what the religious texts and astrology have to say about the days:

Religious Text - Your life will be cut short by 8 months if you cut your hair on this day.

Astrology - Mars resides in blood, and hair originates from blood. Cutting your hair on a Tuesday can cause blood-related illnesses.

Religious Text - Thursday is the day of Lakshmi, Goddess of Wealth. You'll have less in your pocket if you cut your hair.

Astrology - Thursday is reigned by Jupiter, which represents wealth, knowledge and offspring. You might have your intelligence diminished if you had a haircut today.

Astrology - Saturday is the day of Saturn, which signifies death as well as increases life. Get your haircut on this day, risk losing 7 months from your life.

5. The "Evil Eye"

Have you ever noticed lemon and chillies being tied together at the doorway of some of your neighbours houses? That is the Nimbu-Mirchi Totka, and it's used to ward off the "Evil Eye", which can bring in a negative to the household.

It is believed that the Nimbu-Mirchi-Totka is there to keep Alakshmi, sister of Goddess Lakshmi away. Alakshmi is believed to bring poverty and misery, and likes sour, pungent and spicy things. The lemon and chillies are tied outside so she stays there to satisfy her hunger, and then walks away without casting her evil eye into the house.

Conclusion

So, there you have it - 4 Indian household superstitions you might or might not know. Do you have any superstitions you practice at home? Share with us in the comments below!
To end this piece, the PropSocial team would like to wish you all celebrating a very Happy Deepavali. May the Festival of Light bring you joy and prosperity into your homes and family!

(Written by: Henry Choo, 16th Oct 2017)

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5 Indian Household Superstitions You Might Not Know

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In conjunction with Deepavali, we would like to share a few superstitions you might have not known about in a Malaysian Indian ...

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The Melanau people believe that the four basic elements of a human being are body, spirit, feelings, and life. To be able to live and be healthy, a person needs these four things. As a result, these four components have to function as one without conflict.

According to Yasir (1987), the Melanau people assign accidents and diseases to people who break customs, are bothered by subtle beings and/or come into contact with black magic.

Yasir also said that the Melanau community's traditional medicine is founded in their customs. Nearly all of the community's illnesses are attributed to supernatural forces or subtle beings known as tow, amow, and similar entities. This demonstrates the superstitious beliefs held by the Melanau community, which holds that subtle being interference rather than a bacterial or viral infection that causes the disease. Shamans are needed for the medical procedures this community uses.

Often we hear only modern medicines such as pills, liquid medication or even injections would heal a person. Unfortunately, it is the opposite in the Melanau community. Certain materials are used to cure each persons' diseases.

For instance, plants such as hempedu bumi, which is a blend of various lime buds including Chinese, pagar, and lelang limes, and kancing baju are used to treat diabetes; Hempedu bumi, misai kucing, and sea saga leaves are used as high blood pressure medication; coconut root, melor root, white hibiscus root, and bemban tubers are used as cancer treatments.

Always, not everyone would believe in the functionality of the Melanau's way of curing diseases.

REFERENCE :

Omar, Salmah & Latip, Malisah. (2022). The Use of Plants in Traditional Medicine of The Melanau Community in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences. 12. 10.6007/IJARBSS/v12-i5/13028.

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Traditional and modern medicine have the same goal of curing diseases and alleviating the suffering experienced by patients in their own concepts and way. Like other traditional communities, the Melanau community also relies on traditional medicine to overcome health-related problems. The entry of elements of modern medicine into the Melanau society does not entirely affect their knowledge and trust in the traditional medical system. This situation occurs because the traditional system is still relevant. It is believed that its ability to heal and cure a disease is incompatible with modern medicine and treatment. The focus of this study was to investigate the use of plants in the traditional medicine of the Melanau community in Sarawak. Primary data was obtained as a result of field studies and library research. Field studies involved the method of interviews with the primary informants, shamans and midwives, and observations of the plants used by them. The information obtained includes how they gain knowledge about the use of plants, the types of plants used, how the plants are used, when they are used, what purpose they are used, and their effects on patients. In general, medicinal plants among the Melanau community have two functions, the first to cure the disease and the second to prevent the disease from developing infections. This study shows that the use of plants in traditional medicine among the Melanau community continues to develop and is practiced until this day. This is because the Melanau community is surrounded by a natural environment that supplies plants in their daily lives. Plants can be found on the banks of rivers, swamps, and forests and planted around the house. The use of natural plants in the environment does not require considerable capital and does not involve a large amount of energy. The continuation of this traditional practice is also influenced by generations' beliefs, knowledge, experience, and skills inherited by the Melanau community. The values, beliefs and heritage of the Melanau community in the use of plants are seen as still relevant and can survive the challenges of today's development and modernization.

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Bidin, A. A., & Aishah, M. (1998). Kegunaan tumbuh-tumbuhan. In Robiah Sidin, & Juriah Long, Nilai Budaya Masyarakat Desa, Kajian Etnografi Di Kampung Tekek, Pulau Tioman, Pahang, 2. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
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In-Text Citation: (Omar & Latip, 2022)
To Cite this Article: Omar, S., & Latip, M. (2022). The Use of Plants in Traditional Medicine of The Melanau Community in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(5), 1069 - 1080.

Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s)
Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non0-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

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The Use of Plants in Traditional Medicine of The Melanau Community in Malaysia

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HRMARS is well established journal publisher based in Pakistan. It is publishing prominent journals in social sciences since 2011.

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Beads could be categorised as accessories for any other people. But for the Melanau community, certain beads hold a very significant meaning in their lives that might involve luck, status & a whole representation of someone or something.

The Melanau are an aristocratic society that were settled on Sarawak's coast of the South China Sea. They were historically strongly tied to the animist religion and had a vibrant bead culture. Modern times have had a profound impact on the customs of the 19th and 20th centuries, to the point where very few Melanau retain a substantial amount of beads.

Beads are still used in healing and purification rituals by shamen and healers, followers of the ancient religion. In order to protect themselves, bereaved families wear special beads and give the deceased beads based on their position in the traditional hierarchy. Certain types of beads are also commonly used in customary marriage rituals.

REFERENCE :

Karklins, K. (2016). Heidi Munan -- Melanau Bead Culture: a Vanishing World? www.academia.edu. https://www.academia.edu/24325921/Heidi_Munan_Melanau_Bead_Culture_A_Vanishing_World

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Heidi Munan -- Melanau Bead Culture: A Vanishing World?

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Settled on the South China Sea coast of Sarawak, the Melanau comprise an aristocratic society which used to have a strong bead culture, tied to animist religion. Developments in the 19th and 20th centuries have influenced the traditional way of life

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ceremony of the 'berserara bungai'

timestamps :

18:58 - manang (similar to a shaman) will faint in order to contact the deceased's spirit

38:03 - manang ensures that there are no more of the deceased's spirit in their family house

50:40 - the process of returning the family's living soul to encourage health & longevity in their lives

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UPACARA "BESERARA BUNGAI" ADAT KAUM IBAN DAYAK BORNEO.

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"Posogit", an offering ritual at Mount Kinabalu

to show that Mount Kinabalu is sacred & is a main traditional belief for the Kadazandusuns

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“Posogit”, offering ritual held at Mount Kinabalu

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in this episode of 'Take Me to Sarawak', discovering the cultures of Melanau community, there are certain aspects of superstitious beliefs stated inside.

timestamps :

16:17 - 'Mejak', which means to shape a flat forehead. The Melanau believed that by flattening their foreheads since they are a baby will beautify their face as a Melanau lady.

16:59 - As seen and mentioned, the beads can be seen on the deceased figure (shows status) along while he explains the plates under each body parts.

17:26 - shows the medicinal corner & explains that a shaman, known as A'Bayoh will tell the diseases through his drum.

17:42 - 'Sebulang Langit', a traditional belief on to cure sickness. The person with the sickness will have to chew on some betel nuts, and spit it on the statue. A mantra will be said & summon to the statue

(further method explained in the video).

18:15 - other traditional healing beliefs explained by the Melanau ethnic.

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Melanau Culture in Mukah | Episode 3 - Take Me To Sarawak

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a belief you put into yourself (which means that you trust will happen & follow the beliefs) regarding supernatural forces such as the need to find a solution to uncertainty, a desire to control unpredictable elements, and a belief in supernatural influences like fate.

REFERENCE :

Drinkwater, K. (n.d.). The science of superstition – and why people believe in the unbelievable. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/the-science-of-superstition-and-why-people-believe-in-the-unbelievable-97043

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The number 13, black cats, breaking mirrors, or walking under ladders, may all be things you actively avoid - if you're anything like the 25% of people in the US who consider themselves superstitious.

Even if you don't consider yourself a particularly superstitious person, you probably say "bless you" when someone sneezes, just in case the devil should decide to steal their soul - as our ancestors thought possible during a sneeze.

Superstition also explains why many buildings do not have a 13th floor - preferring to label it 14, 14A 12B or M (the 13th letter of the alphabet) on elevator button panels because of concerns about superstitious tenants. Indeed, 13% of people in one survey indicated that staying on the 13th floor of a hotel would bother them - and 9% said they would ask for a different room.

On top of this, some airlines such as Air France and Lufthansa, do not have a 13th row. Lufthansa also has no 17th row - because in some countries - such as Italy and Brazil - the typical unlucky number is 17 and not 13.

What is superstition?

Although there is no single definition of superstition, it generally means a belief in supernatural forces - such as fate - the desire to influence unpredictable factors and a need to resolve uncertainty. In this way then, individual beliefs and experiences drive superstitions, which explains why they are generally irrational and often defy current scientific wisdom.

Psychologists who have investigated what role superstitions play, have found that they derive from the assumption that a connection exists between co-occurring, non-related events. For instance, the notion that charms promote good luck, or protect you from bad luck.

For many people, engaging with superstitious behaviours provides a sense of control and reduces anxiety - which is why levels of superstition increase at times of stress and angst. This is particularly the case during times of economic crisis and social uncertainty - notably wars and conflicts. Indeed, Researchers have observed how in Germany between 1918 and 1940 measures of economic threat correlated directly with measures of superstition.

Touch wood

Superstitious beliefs have been shown to help promote a positive mental attitude. Although they can lead to irrational decisions, such as trusting in the merits of good luck and destiny rather than sound decision making.

Carrying charms, wearing certain clothes, visiting places associated with good fortune, preferring specific colours and using particular numbers are all elements of superstition. And although these behaviours and actions can appear trivial, for some people, they can often affect choices made in the real world.

Superstitions can also give rise to the notion that objects and places are cursed. Such as the Annabelle the Doll - who featured in The Conjuring and two other movies - and is said to be inhabited by the spirit of a dead girl. A more traditional illustration is the Curse of the Pharaohs, which is said to be cast upon any person who disturbs the mummy of an Ancient Egyptian person - especially a pharaoh.

Numbers themselves can also often be associated with curses. For example, the figure 666 in a licence plate is often featured in stories of misfortune. The most famous case was the numberplate " ARK 666Y ", which is believed to have caused mysterious vehicle fires and "bad vibes" for passengers.

Sporting superstitions

Superstition is also highly prevalent within sport - especially in highly competitive situations. Four out of five professional athletes report engaging with at least one superstitious behaviour prior to performance. Within sport, superstitions have been shown to reduce tension and provide a sense of control over unpredictable, chance factors.

Superstitions practices tend to vary across sports, but there are similarities. Within football, gymnastics and athletics, for example, competitors reported praying for success, checking appearance in mirror and dressing well to feel better prepared. Players and athletes also engage with personalised actions and behaviours - such as wearing lucky clothes, kit and charms.

Famous sportspeople often display superstitious behaviours. Notably, basketball legend Michael Jordan concealed his lucky North Carolina shorts under his Chicago Bulls team kit. Similarly, the tennis legend Björn Bork, reportedly wore the same brand of shirt when preparing for Wimbledon.

Rafael Nadal has an array of rituals that he performs each time he plays. These include the manner in which he places his water bottles and taking freezing cold showers. Nadal believes these rituals help him to find focus, flow and perform well.

Walking under ladders

What all this shows is that superstitions can provide reassurance and can help to reduce anxiety in some people. But while this may well be true, research has shown that actions associated with superstitions can also become self-reinforcing - in that the behaviour develops into a habit and failure to perform the ritual can actually result in anxiety.

This is even though the actual outcome of an event or situation is still dependent on known factors - rather than unknown supernatural forces. A notion consistent with the often quoted maxim, "the harder you work (practice) the luckier you get".

So the next time you break a mirror, see a black cat or encounter the number 13 - don't worry too much about "bad luck", as it's most likely just a trick of the mind.

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The science of superstition - and why people believe in the unbelievable

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This is the real reason you believe in superstitions.