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Sunday, August 9, 2009

The sequences of events in the narratives (pengap) by the bards are as follows:

Bujang Pedang ninga auh ribut lalu rari (Bujang Pedang hears the sound of a mighty wind and runs away).
Bini Sengalang Burong chelap bulu (Sengalang Burong’s wife is chilled by the wind).
Ribut mangka ka rumah Sengalang Burong (the wind blows hard on Sengalang Burong longhouse).
Ngiga kayu rumbang tutong (looking for hollow wood for the drum).
Sida Ketupong Mansang ngayau (Ketupong and his friends go to war – looking for fresh head to be brought to the human feast).
Menoa Besi Api (The land of the flint).
Menoa Tuchok (The land Tuchok lizard).
Menoa Sandah (The land of Sandah).
Menoa Rioh (The land of Rioh insect).
Menoa Nendak (The land of Nendak bird, white rumped shama).
Menoa Beragai Samatai Manang Burong (The land of Beragai bird).
Menoa Kelabu Papau Nyenabong (The land of Kelabu Papau bird).
Menoa Pangkas tauka Kutok (The land of Pangkas bird or Kutok).
Menoa Bejampong (The land of Bejampong bird).
Menoa Embuas (The land of Embuas bird).
Menoa Ketupong (The land of Ketupong bird).
Menoa Kunding Burong Malam (The land of Kunding).Menoa Rintong Langit Pengulor Bulan.
Bala Ketupong nyurong lalu ngaga langkau kayau (Ketupong and his warriors erect the war hut).
Ketupong enggau Beragai matak bala (Ketupong and Beragai led their warriors to war).
Bala Ketupong nuntong ba rumah Beduru or Nising (Ketupong’s troop landed at Beduru’s longhouse).
Wa Puji (Songs of praise).
Wa Empas (Songs of anger).
Pulai Ngabas (Return from spying).
Sengalang Burong nusoi mimpi diri (Sengalang Burong relates his dream).
Mimpi Ketupong (Ketupong relates his dream).
Mimpi Beragai (Beragai relates his dream).
Bala Ketupong ngerampas (Ketupong’s troop start to attack).Datai ba tinting pangka sealing pulai nyerang (Arrive at the ridge where the warriors shout victoriously on return from battle).
Bini Sengalang Burong nyambut igi balang (Sengalang Burong’s wife receives the precious skull).
Aki Lang Sengalang Burong mai ngabang (Sengalang Burong leads his people to attend the festival).
Mansa Tembawai Lama Sengalang Burong (passing the old house site of Sengalang Burong).
Menoa Bujang Jegalang (The land of Bujang Jegalang).
Mansa Batu Ansah (Passing the whetstone).
Mansa pun buloh berani (passing the foot of Buloh Berani).
Pintu Langit (Arrival at the door of the sky).
Bala Sengalang Burong ngetu ba pintu langit ke rapit (Sengalang Burong and his followers stops at the closed door of the sky).
Menoa Aki Ungkok (The country of Aki Ungkok).
Menalan Sabong (The cockfighting ring).
Ngerara rampa menoa (Appreciating the view of the landscape).
Menoa Raja Siba Iba (Raja Siba Iba’s country).
Menoa Burong Raya (The country of Burong Raya bird).
Menoa Sera Gindi (The country of Sera Gindi).
Menoa Bengkong apai Kuang Kapong (the country of Bengkong, father of Kuang Kapong bird).
Menalan Besai (a widely cleared space).
Menoa Bhiku Bunsu Petara (The country of high priest of the god).
Menoa Selampandai (The country of Selampandai).
Menoa Raja Rengayong – Kijang (The country of Raja Rengayong the barking deer).
Menoa Rusa – Bunji (The country of sambar deer).
Menoa Raja Remaung (The country of the tiger chief).
Kendi Aji (The road junction).
Kampong Baung (The lonely forest).
Menoa Aki Dunju (The country of Aki Dunju).
Menoa Durong Biak (The country of the younger Durong).
Menoa Bunsu Petara (The country of Bunsu Petara).
Menoa Bangkong (The landing place).
Bala Sengalang Burong mandi (Sengalang Burong and his followers bathes).
Bini Sengalang Burong mandi (Sengalang Burong’s wife bathes).
Bala Sengalang Burong begari (Sengalang Burong and his followers dressed up for the festival). Bala Indu besanggol (The women plait their hair into buns).
Bala Sengalang Burong niki ka rumah (Sengalang Burong and his followers walks into the feasting house).
Ngalu ka Sengalang Burong (Welcoming Sengalang Burong). This event is done early in the morning with the feast chief waving his rooster announcing the arrival of Sengalang Burong. A procession is held heralding the arrival of Sengalang Burong and his followers. The feast chief is leading the procession followed by another man who wave a rooster to honour both the visible and invisible (spiritual) guests. After him walks two influential women, one carrying a plateful of pop rice and another, a plate of offerings. Behind them walk the girls and young men who wear traditional dress. The girls carry empty wine glasses, and the young men have a bottle of rice wine each. At the end of the procession walks a band of young men who play music on drums and gongs.
After they circled the longhouse gallery three times, and have reached the feast chief’s gallery, they stopped and sit down facing the honoured warriors and guests and served them as a symbolic serving of the Sengalang Burong, his followers and other invited spirits. The host, in this instance, are represented by our spiritual heroes of Panggau, Keling and Laja, who will entertain Sengalang Burong himself, and is narrated in the pengap chant of the bards.
Lemambang Nenjang Sengalang Burong (The bards sing a song in praise of Sengalang Burong). In this event, the bards faced the most honoured guest, who is sitting together with other important guest along the upper gallery (Ruai atas). This honoured guest is now representing Sengalang Burong while the others represents his son-in-laws and other followers.
After this, the night’s chants of the bards are concluded. Another nyugu babi procession is held at about 6.30 am and the pigs are sacrificed, their liver being divined by the experts. A morning meal is also served again.
2.5. The End Of The Festival

Miau ka manok kena ka tanju (waving of the rooster to announce the ceremony at the open-air varendah). The feast chief waves a rooster and announces the second event on the open-air varendah is about to happen, as on the previous day and invited every guest to gather at the tanju.
Miring (Dividing the offerings). This is performed by the warrior groups who prepare seven offerings on seven trays at the tanju. When finished, it is covered using the best pua kumbu blankets placed carefully over it. These offerings are placed at the foot of the ritual pole, and some of the offerings are hung at each end of the longhouse roof. While miring is going on, the bards once more bring the skull and the hornbill statue to the tanju accompanied by their ritual song called timang antu pala and timang Kenyalang respectively, same as what was done on the previous day.
After the skull has been placed on the winnowing basket (chapan) and the hornbill statue placed closed to the skulls, gendang rayah music is played, while the leading warriors (raja berani) performed the ngerandang jalai dance circling the tanju three times to clear the space off the evil spirits. Then followed by a rayah dance performed by ordinary warrior (bujang berani) known as ngelalau, also circling the tanju three times. This serves to fence the path already cleared by the raja berani warriors earlier. Shortly after ngelalau dance, older men representing each longhouse invited to the gawai, perform another dance, which is called Berayah Pupu Buah Rumah. They encircle the tanju three times as was previously done.
After the dances are over, one of the most influential war leaders recites a long sampi or prayer, inviting Sengalang Burong and his followers to come down from haven to attend the feast. As he recites this prayer, gendang pampat music is played. Another man beats an iron adze (bendai) inviting the spirits including the spiritual war heroes from Panggau Libau and Gellong world to join the feast. The invited guest like the warleader, hereditary chiefs and community elders has been seated in their respective place of honour during this part of the ceremony.
In this event, the warriors eat raw or half-roasted chicken and pork meat at the foot of the ritual pole. This is done to encourage the invited spirits, who are believed to have come to do likewise, as a show of fearlessness, bravery or courage especially among the warrior groups. Food and rice wine are continuously served throughout this event. Fearsome war cries can be heard frequently as the event climaxed.
Eventually, as the ceremony comes to an end, the bards carried the smoked skulls and the sacred hornbill statue inside the longhouse again. The statue is brought by the bard into individual family room to bless each family as they chant their ritual timang Kenyalang song. The bard, who bears the skull, will leave the skull at the Feast chief gallery (ruai) inside a winnowing basket and they themselves (without the skull) will enter individual family room chanting the timang antu pala songs.
While other bards performed the timang Kenyalang and timang antu pala chant at individual family room, another bard who sang the Gawai Burong festival songs (pengap) during the previous night, start to bless one woman from each family. These women have been gathered and seated in line on the pantar of the Feast chief gallery (ruai). This event is called Denjang Indu (the blessings of the women). The songs may be repeated many times, as they need to bless these women representatives individually and may take considerable time.
Ngamboh (forging war knives for the gawai host). Following the bedenjang ceremony, the bards chant another song to symbolises forging (ngamboh) of the war knives for the host. Other chants including ngiga tanah (to look for suitable farming land) to symbolise the blessing for good farming years to come. The final chant by the bards would be the mulai ka samengat (sending back the spirits and the souls) to the Peak of Rabong Mountain, the domain of the spirit and souls of the bards and shamans.
After the bards have finished chanting their ritual songs, the feast chief waves a rooster along the gallery to announce that the feast has ended. Their respective owners have returned all skulls presented during the festival to their former places, and the hornbill statue returned to their honourable place at their owner’s loft for reuse in future.
After the conclusion of the ceremony, the people of the host longhouse will avoid normal work for seven days. Gendang rayah music is played every day before sunset to invite universal spirits to visit the house and give their blessings during these seven-day periods.
At the end of seventh day, the ritual-offering pole (tiang chandi or kalingkang) is dismantled and the cordyline palm (sabang) is planted on the upriver side of the house as a mark of respect to commemorate the festival just completed.

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