THE FUTURE OF THE DAYAK BIDAYUH(S) IN MALAYSIA BY PETER MINOS.

This`s the first comprehensive book written by a qualified and concerned Bidayuh on the Dayak Bidayuhs,a small community of only 164,500,found mainly in the four contigous administrative districts of Lundu,Bau,Kuching and Serian in the eastern part of the state of Sarawak,Malaysia.The writer,Peter Minos,has poured out all about what he actually knew and thought about his own people,from their origin and history to their current socio-economic predicament and to their future.Trainedin law and economics and once the president of Dayak Bidayuh National Assocation,Peter Minos is in a good position to tell the world about the hopes and aspirations,the fate and future as well as the fears and concerns of his own community,in a concise and open manner.Readers and scholars interested  about the Dayaks of Sarawak,especially the DAYAK BIDAYUHS,will gain tremendously in reading this book.

ENGLISH VERSION.

SHŭ N NYAMBA NANG BY BIDAYUH BIATAH.

THIS`S THE COLLECTION OF LAND DAYAK STROIES BY PETER H.H HOWES MACMILLAN AND CO.LIMITED ST,MARTIN`S STREET,LONDON(1952).

ENGLISH VERSION.

HEIDI MUNAN COLLECTION(S)

STORIES BY ELDERS TO HEIDI MUNAN.

Noheb,Jagat and Numis are siblings who are orphans.Little sister Numis is not wise in the ways of the jungle.It`s not long before she incurs the wrath of the spirits,and the brothers are forced to rescue her from the Ghost King in a cave in Krokong.It`s wily Noheb who saves the day,and it`s the brothers`brave deed that forms the story behind the famous birds`nests of the caves Krokong.

The Cave of Krokong is one of seven stories in this book.Read about the mysterious stones at Nani Sit,the tree of Siburan,Majag`s Cave,the origin of the honey tree song,and why the descendants of mentu tapu Shun Ikan Bangkuh-as told by the Bidayuh elders from Bau to Heidi Munan.



ENGLISH VERSION.

ARUH RUSONG/RICE MORTAR

Rusong yuh-i nuh kayuh adi nga daya puh/ngasur timang ka pedi,baras,gura,siberang ka masam masam tadu kayuh.Di jeman jah,aruh rusong dog pijog di tarun adi bigatung ka bayah amai di jeman jah aruh rusong agi biyun genggang.


Kada daya ndai rusong pakai kayuh Tass ato kayuh Den,Pak siraru-i kayuh Tass taun-i nang kana so kayuh adi bekun amai-i tan...Aruh taun-i duh bida jo so rusong ka kambui meting aruh taun kerja nutuk ati duh re jadi.Aruh yuh-i nuh kayuh ambu adi nga daya nutuk pedi sripas abo brumuh.Aruh dog ndai so dibung ato so kayuh tass pak kambui tuda so penyipuan ku ambu-i atur 8-10cm ka ejog-i 150cm.


Sito nutuk pedi sraru dog nembit duwuh ato taruh naan amai nga-i prikas kerja pingandai..



BIDAYUH VERSION.

WARRIOR NECKPIECE/SRAMBUK

 Bidayuh Warrior neckpiece of glass,shell,claws and brass bells,strung on rattan.It`s worn during ceremonies.



ENGLISH VERSION.

MODERNITY THREATENS RITES AND RITUALS OF ANCIENT PRACTICE [DAYUNG BERIS]

  Visit some Bidayuh villages during one of their Gawai festival for an opportunity to witness a dying ritual. As Christianity penetrates into the interior, it is only the older generation that practise the old adat, an ancient form of animistic worship that is no longer taken up by the younger people. Therefore, in the villages, the older Bidayuh women are central to the original meaning of gawai as they don their colourful traditional costumes during the various festivals celebrated by the believers.
These female mediums possess the knowledge to perform the rituals and rites for the festivals. They are the ones who conduct most of the Gawai ceremonies. Without them, some of the festivals would no longer be performed as they may be meaningless for the young.
These female medium or tukang gawai are known in the local dialect as tukang beris. They carry out a form of worship so old that when it first came to the Bidayuh society no one knows. It was so long ago that nobody can pinpoint the actual date. According to oral folklore, it was believed that way back then, a sick Bidayuh woman called Nyamba was taken to kayangan by a kawangan woman named Sindu Bawang.
There, Nyamba was treated and given the knowledge to treat other women by conducting certain rites. Nyamba was then sent back to earth with powers no one else possessed. From then on, Nyamba carried out her responsibilities of curing the sick, besides teaching ordinary women to become tukang beris who can conduct the Gawai rituals.
During the annual Gawai Pedi, more commonly known as the Gawai Sewa, tukang beris play important roles. They are the only ones who can communicate with the outside world and this they do for two sleepless nights - enchanting traditional prayers.
Gawai can be divided into two main categories, that is the Gawai connected with paddy cultivation and harvesting and the other is Gawai for curing the sick. In both these categories, the dayungs play a major role.
During the Gawai associated with padi planting, the dayungs chant traditional prayers, perform age-old dances and help prepare all the things needed for the occasion. During the ceremony, they leave the Remin Gawai (prayer house) to perform rites at a special platform on a nearby stream. On this platform, they communicate with the simengi pedi or rice spirits, asking for a good harvest the following season.
At night when not chanting prayers, they perform traditional dances to entertain the simengi pedi. Though perhaps hardly entertaining to the younger generation, the dances must be entertaining enough for the simengi pedi to ensure a good harvest.
The other category is the Gawai for curing the sick. Besides communicating with the other world, the tukang beris are also capable of communicating with the soul of the sick. Wondering souls must be saved and brought back to the sick person so that he or she can be well again.
Among the grand occasions for curing the sick is pinya. Four or five of these tukang beris are needed to perform it, together with a few male tukang gawai (shaman).
Though the men are present, the real force are the dayung beris. In fact, about eighty percent of all the proceedings are carried out by these female tukang gawai. It can only be assumed that they must have some healing power as the ceremonies have been performed through the ages, through the request of believers.





ENGLISH VERSION.

BIDAYUH CULTURE FOR ALL TO SEE

LOCALS and foreigners had a rare glimpse of the colourful culture of the Bidayuh community from the Singai area in Bau district during the three-day Fifth Gawai Carnival Redeems that ended on the outskirts of Kuching 27 JUNE 2010.
  Thousands of people from all walks of life thronged the carnival themed 1Malaysia, Bogo Adat or 1Malaysia, Multi-Cultures organised by the Association of Research and Development Movement of Singai Sarawak (Redeems).

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin was the guest of honour at the opening.
  He was accompanied by his wife Puan Sri Norainee Abdul Rahman, Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud and Redeems president and carnival organising chairman Datuk Peter Nansian Ngusie.
Redeems is a community-based organisation made up of people from 12 villages of Singai, a predominantly Bidayuh area.
The 12 villages showcased its customs in the form of food, attire, music, folk songs, games, dances, art and crafts, and its languages at a bamboo longhouse aimed at reviving, preserving and promoting the Bidayuh culture in its young generation as well as visitors.                
   Among other activities, the locals and visitors sampled Bidayuh food and took part in games such as top spinning, an inter-community football tournament for men and women, and blow-pipe competitions.
Among the highlights was the crowning of Bitaning Dayung Skora, a contest for Gawai maidens of the Bidayuh community.
The carnival also showcased cultural presentations by other ethnic groups in Sarawak like the Melanau, Bisaya, Iban and Orang Ulu to promote the diversity of Malaysia and instill better cooperation, integration, unity and understanding in the nation’s multi-racial society.
It was also aimed at promoting the district as a tourism area and encouraging locals to become entrepreneurs in developing their community.


ENGLISH VERSION.

ADAT ASAR DAYAK BIDAYUH SIBURAN

This`s the Dayak Bidayuh Traditional Dance perform by Dayung Bujang from Sg.Duuh Siburan a located at Mr.Jurip ak Ranchan from Siga Siburan.
 

GAWAI PADDY HARVEST (RESPECT FOR THE RICE GODDESS)

                     Picture taken since 2009 at siga siburan.

Normally,when you`re taking picture you miss a lot of what is going on around you,but I was so close to the action that I couldn`t help being involved.I suppose could sit down with one of the village elder or an itinerant anthropologist,and write a step-by step description full of ethnographic detail,but here`s what really happened as seen through my uninformed eyes.

After circling the altar a few times,the priestesses sat down in a circle and began preparing the offerings for the goddess.Rice,Betel nut and Tobacco were wrapped together in small bundles,and holding the bundles as if they were offering them to the goddess.Suddenly a remarkable thing happened;one by one all of the women went into a trance,as they were possessed by the spirit of the rice goddess.They reeled drunkenly a few times,then fainted.As they were falling they were gently caught by the members of the audience,and placed in a seated position at the center of circle.At the few minutes the women began to revive,and were led off by the men into the "Remin Gawai".

It appeared to be all over,but there was more to come.the rice goddess had successfully possessed the bodies of the priestesses,and thereby blessed the ceremony and accepted the offerings of the villagers.It was only polite to thanks her,so the priestesses were led out again to perform a rice harvesting dance,this time fully conscious.Then it was finally over,the culmination of more than six months of mediating with the spirits to ensure the well being of the community.For people who had carried such a havy burden,they all seemed in a remarkably lighthearted mood when I spoke to them a short while later.

"The old people believe that everybody who is at the gawai comes under the begin influence of the rice goddess.If you leave the village before sunrise you offend her,and bad luck is sure to follow".

BENUK VILLAGE AND THE LONGHOUSE

Benuk Village Homestay Program is Borneo's latest Eco tourism Destination manage by Ministry of Urban Development and Tourism Sarawak.

  The homestay program offers visitors with an excellent opportunity to experience exotic culture, warmth and friendly hospitality along with nature at its best. Benuk Village Longhouse is one of the very few surviving Bidayuh Longhouse in Sarawak.

  With its history of being the first Bidayuh longhouse in Sarawak,Benuk Village had played host to royalties including the previous Sultan of Pahang, British Navy officials, Heads of Governments, Ministers and tourists from all corners of the world gives evidence that tourism was booming in Benuk Village since the 1950s.

  Their daily activities are mainly traditional farming (planting padi, pepper, rubber, cocoa, bananas and vegetables) Its has a population of 2,500 with some living in traditional longhouse while the rest live in typical modern Bidayuh village house.

SIBURAN LONGHOUSE

                          "PANGGAH" IN 1998

                       BIDAYUH SIBURAN LONGHOUSE(1998)                                                                                                                                                                                                 Siburan is one of the small town allocated in 17th Miles. It is one of the biggest Chinese settlement in Kuching area followed by the Bidayuh Biatah group. The tallest mountain in Siburan is Gunung Siburan. (1,090 ft)

  In order to access the village, most of the visitors will park their car at the bottom of the hill and walk to the hill which takes approximately 20 minutes (for the new visitors). The nearest village to the mountain is Kampung Sungei Duuh.

  Sentah is the oldest village in Siburan and according to the origin of Biatah group, most of them are actually originated from there and expand their settelment to Kampung Quap. Nowadays, all the villagers are living in a single house and the old longhouse is renovated and preserved as part of the homestay programe.

ANNAHRAIS BIDAYUH LONGHOUSE(PADAWAN AREA)

Located in the Padawan district lies sarawak`s more popular Bidayuh Longhouses.The Bidayuh originated from Kalimantan and while making their way into Sarawak back in the 16th Century,their journey has been interrupted 7 times by fights for domination of land,forcing them to disperse into 7 sub groups.
  Thus,each individual Bidayuh group speaks their own language quite different from each other.Confining their settlements to the valleys sourrounded by undulating terrain,the Bidayuhs formerly called Land Dayaks by the British,live in longhouses accommodating from a more 25 families to as large as more than 100 families. 
  Annah Rais Longhouse is the most popular one in the Padawan district.About 2 hours drive away from Kuching;the journey to Annah Rais is unique as it winds through scenic countryside along to zigzag road framed by hills and private plantations.A top at a pepper plantation is optional.It was built along a stream of crystal clear running water,which the longhouse folks use to wash,bath and fish.At least 5 longhouse are joined together to make Annah Rais a grand and unique longhouse,in the middleset of it lies the Panggah/Baruk(the headhouse).
  Generally,these longhouse folks are self sufficient farmers with their little extras earned from cash crops like papper,rubber and cocoa.