For example:

• They are not allowed to point at graveyards.

• They are not allowed to visit any funerals when their house is undergoing renovations or construction.

Here are a few examples of them.

1. Marrying your relatives

2. Commiting adultery

3. Stealing crops and animals

4. Destroying crops

5. Killing livestock

6. Proven guilty of rape

7. Disturbing or running away with a girl

If any of these are violated, a fine will be imposed onto the person who violated these rules of customs.

1. Don't make loud noises in the forest (shouting someone's name, whistling)

2. Don't discard things randomly in the forest ( like moving stones and dead branches haphazardly, if you want to move it, move it properly )

3. If a snake is seen, turn back (seen as bad luck)

4. Don't bring any wet items (like raw meat and fish)

5. Reading a mantra (referred as Renait) to ensure they are protected by the forest spirits and ensure they will be able to get blessings for the items they want to get from the forest.

   
   

When marrying a relative ( a distant relative specifically, as it is seen as acceptable in the community), the Sogit is they will take a pig to a stream of a river or the upper side of a river stream that flows to the village and they will slaughter the pig. A Bobohizan (someone who has knowledge of the old tradition) will be invited and He or she will make a chant, slaughter the pig then let the blood flow in the river. This allows it to pass through the village and it is believed that it can purify the guilt of the offense of marrying a relative. The bride and the groom will also be bathed in the blood.

Actions

The Ibans are not allowed to eat with a pot's lid as it is believed that a moustache will grow thickly. (When someone uses the lid when eating, the uneaten food will not be covered unless the lid is washed and this will cause a burden to the people in charge of cleaning as time is wasted, which causes them to set aside their other responsibilities)

Items

Husband and wife are not allowed to fix the head of a machete as it will cause their child to be born with hearing disabilities (as machetes are sharp and dangerous if held, this taboo is formed to ensure expecting mothers don't hold such an item during pregnancy)

Animals

• The Ibans are not allowed to eat crocodiles as they are believed to be humans originally.

• Pua kumbu weavers are not allowed to weave snake motives arbitrarily as snakes are believed to bring bad luck and are always associated with ghosts.

  
  

Bekalih di Darat is a ritual done because a couple who are from different generations within the degree of third to fifth cousin intend to get married and wish to sanctify their union.

marriage between these relatives are strictly forbidden by 'pemali ngudi menoa', the rule of Iban law.

Alongside this ritual, the couple will also have to pay fines based on which degree of relatives they belong to.

• Taboos include things regarding:

1. Choices of motives

2. The location of the tattoo on the body

3. Social status

• Back then, having tattoos symbolizes that someone is apart ofthe Iban ethnic group.Tattoos are also given to a person that has abided by the taboos as well as rules of customs.When someone does not have a tattoo, other ethnic groups can't differentiate if the person is Iban or if the person is from another ethnic.

• Hence when you didn't have a tattoo back then, you are believed to have not obeyed the rules and customs of the Iban, not avoiding the taboos of Iban culture and not being faithful to their beliefs.

• Their beliefs (for example, there are some Melanau families whose descendants are not allowed to eat linut to avoid themselves from getting a body filled with blisters as their ancestors used linut that is still scalding hot to pour it onto their enemies before they can manage to enter their territory.)

• Generational taboos ( each family has its own curses and the taboos differ from each generation). For example there are families that are not allowed to eat meat from a deer because based on stories from their ancestors, a female deer came to feed their crying child milk when their ancestors were working in the forest. As a way to show gratitude, they didn't eat the deer. It is feared that if a deer is eaten they will gain fatal wounds.

• These taboos regarding food consumption are actually a way for the Malanau people to control their diets as most of the taboos are regarding foods that may have caused certain ailments such as allergic reactions that are passed down from generation to generation. Since people back then did not have the liberty of having modern medicine, they came up with these taboos as a prevention method to these ailments.

Taboos regarding food preparation

• The Melanau people are not allowed to talk about death during food preparation as it is believed the food will turn out bad.

• Some foods also have taboos regarding it's preparation. For example, girls who are in their menstruation period are not allowed to prepare linut because it is believed that the linut will not mix well and become lumpy.

Taboos regarding activities done in the forest

• They are not allowed to bathe for three days after setting a hunting trap or else the animals would avoid the trap as they can sense the scent of a human.

• They are not allowed to scold a person or their children before entering the forest or else the person would have the misfortune of having tree branches fall on them or they would meet a wild animal.

Most of these taboos are seen as a way to ensure the well-being of the community is maintained.

• When eating, all family members are not allowed to discard food waste especially rice as it is believed it will anger the paddy's spirit as throwing out rice is seen and wasteful and the action would cause the grain yields from the paddy plant to lessen the following year.

• People are not allowed to pass in front of people who owns a strong spirit as it can cause someone to collapse. This situation is known as mesangod. People were advised to not bring their children when meeting these people to avoid their children from getting sick from mesangod.

  
  

• When it rains at night, both husband and wife have to wake up and only return to sleep once the rain stops. Based on the beliefs of the Lun Bawang, this functions as a way to ward of evil spirits and prevent the pregnant wife from getting disturbed by them

• A pregnant woman is not allowed to consume the heart of an animal or a certain type of white mushroom known as kulat buda'

https://www.tiktok.com/@cikgulenz/video/7311476437972815112‌

3. Development, jised) A., & Othman, I. (2021). Amalan Sogit Dalam Masyarakat Kadazandusun Di Kampung Tuarid Liawan Keningau Sabah: Analisis Terhadap Perubahan Pengamalan Ritual. Journal of Islamic, Social, Economics and Development, 6(40), 61–72.

https://jised.com/PDF/JISED-2021-40-10-04.pdf‌

4. Kadazan. (2022, August 19). Wikipedia.

https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kadazan

‌

‌

‌

‌

‌