• A Keris worn on the back of the body is commonly known for Javanese people while putting a Keris in the front of the body is commonly seen for the Malays.

On the 8th day of the third month in that year, my mother had given birth to me as her only dearest male child in the family. I am the second and youngest child among my siblings. My older sibling is my sister who is one year older than me.

• About the creator

Table of Content

1.0 Malaysian Javanese

1.1 Who are the Malaysian Javanese people?

1.2 Where does the Malaysian Javanese people live?

1.3 What is a Keris?

1.4 Video regarding the Keris

1.5 Reference

2.0 Bugis

2.1 Who are the Bugis people?

2.2 Where does the Bugis people live?

2.3 What is a Badik Kawali?

2.4 Video regarding the Badik Kawali

2.5 Reference

3.0 Penan

3.1 Who are the Penan people?

3.2 Where does the Penan people live?

3.3 What is a Blowpipe?

3.4 Video regarding the Blowpipe

3.5 Reference

4.0 Iban

4.1 Who are the Iban people?

4.2 Where does the Iban people live?

4.3 What is a Nyabor?

4.4 Video regarding the Nyabor

4.5 Reference

5.0 Bidayuh

5.1 Who are the Bidayuh people?

5.2 Where does the Bidayuh people live?

5.3 What is a Mandau?

5.4 Video regarding the Mandau

5.5 Reference

6.0 Reflection

According to Gan(2021), the kundieng is the part of the Nyabor that protrudes on the upper half of the blade near the hilt. This part of the blade is used to parry an attack from enemies thus served as a guard to the fingers. Other than that, the hilt of the Nyabor is usually crafted from the antlers of a deer and was engraved with a motif that resembles the head of a bird, horse or even a dragon.

The sheath of the Nyabor however is undecorated rather than the blade itself. The sheath would only be decorated with plain bands, feathers, and some animal teeth or small bones. These attachment would serve to be talismans for the warrior in order to gain more strength and skills during battles (Gan, 2021).

Other than signifying as a weapon on headhunting people, the Mandau also served as a status symbol to a family and usually kept as a family heirloom (Peter, 2020). He also states that the sword is designed with a moderate curve is used to efficiently penetrate and withdrawn the limbs of a person or animal. The Mandau's blade has a narrow base near the hilt and it becomes wider towards the tip of the blade. Usually the sharper edge of the blade is longer than the back of it with a moderate slanted tip at the end.

The blade hilt are usually made from carved deer antler with a motif of a hybrid between a dog and a dragon feature. The end of the hilt will have an attachment of an animal hair such as a horse or even with ordinary human hair. Meanwhile, the scabbard for the Mandau is made from carved wood and is wrap with braided rattan around it. (Peter,2020).

The Javanese people were already practicing the Islamic religion even before coming to the Malayan land. Arriving to Malaya, the Javanese would introduce Islamic education schools known as pondok to the community. They intended in expanding the teaching of Islam to everyone using books and building mosque for a place to learn (Latifah, 2015).

A person image or status can also be identify by the type of Badik Kawali that the person is using. A right ranking person in the social society would often choose a Badik Kawali or Badik Gecong to show that they are from a royalty lineage. Another type of badik is Badik Lagecong which means to end anything. The Badik Lagecong is a war type of badik that only be use during battles and it is called Lagecong because it is believe to have poison in the blade itself hence it is nickname the blade that end anything (Sekret, 2023).

According to Yi (2015) the poisonous darts for the blowpipes are made from sago palm and the tip is poison with the venom of a poisonous snake such as a cobra. Once the dart has hit its target, the poison would quickly kill it in minutes or even seconds. The poisonous darts needs to be kept in a special container to ensure the darts would not be accidentally touched.

The design of a keris is asymmetrical where the blade would have a wavy pattern on the blade with different number of it. Usually a keris length would varried from 12 to 15 inches long and both side of the keris's edge are sharpened. The sheath for the keris is commonly crafted from wood. (Maisey, 2024).

It is believes that the keris is not only a good weapon in battle but also in a spiritual aspect for its user. Other than that, the keris is also use as a family heirloom that is handed down through generations to generations and serve as an indicator to their social status as well (Unesco, 2018).

Iban People | History, Culture & Ceremonial Events | Study.com. (2023)

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2. Galvinaven. (2011, April 28). Iban Tribal Tattoo. Galvin Entalai. https://galvinaven.wordpress.com/2011/04/28/iban-tribal-tattoo/

3. Gan, R. (2021, November 8). N is for Nyabor. Museum Volunteers, JMM. https://museumvolunteersjmm.com/2021/11/08/n-is-for-nyabor/

   
   

4. Mujan83@tempan anak iban. (2023, May 5). Parang Nyabor Tradisi Iban. YouTube. https://youtu.be/sQ7I0QFKtOM?si=Pk9AHnKyW3zfXOK6

   
   

5. Mujany83@tempan anak iban. (2021, July 16). Menguji Kelasakan Parang Nyabor Iban dan Mandau Iban@dayak borneo. YouTube. https://youtu.be/H62a96s3Uj4?si=Ye-SYcEwmtFL33pt

The believes of the Penan people was originally animistic but was christianised by Australian missionaries. Its is also stated that the Penan is a nomadic tribe same goes as to many of the indigenous tribe that are found in Sarawak. The livelyhood for the Penan depend on natural resources from the forest such as hunting, fishing and gathering fruits and plants. The main food source of the Penan people would be the sago that comes from the sago palm and then they would make it into a porridge (Bruno Manser, 2024).

• The Penan blowpipes are made from selected wood from the forest. Wood from hard trees are the more preferable one to become blowpipes.

• After shaping the blowpipes into a cylindrical shape with a hole through it, the craftsman then sanded down the outer layer of the blowpipe with sand paper and tree leaves to smoothen the surface.

• Then the poison for the darts are applied from the saps of a tree called the tajem tree. After applying it, the darts is then burn slightly where the poison was applied to make it hard.

• The craftsman then shows how the blowpipe is use to hunt small animal such as squirrels and birds.

• He then explains how even a little scratch from the dart onto the skin could be very fatal.

However luckily there was some suitable information that was found and could be used. In my personal opinion, these ethnic artefact need more awareness form other people so that it would not be forgotten and preserving the weapon's history is a valuable aspect in an ethnic identity. Knowing the difficulties in finding the informations regarding these ethnicities, the process has open my eyes wider on the truth that there is a lot of aspects that needs to be recorded and analyze on certain group ethnicities. Specifically for ethnic groups that are hard to be found or even be contacted with limited accessibility outside their native locations.

As an example, I would imagine that reaching out to the Penan people would be a hard task to do as information about them are very limited. Their living location that is in the deep forest of Sarawak crates a big barrier for people who wants to get in touch with them. The minority of this ethnic group also contribute to the little information about them. In conclusion, doing this work had me realise how important a culture heritage is and to be known by others.