Conclusion and Reflection

Conclusion

Bidayuh is the collective name for several indigenous groups found in southern Sarawak, Malaysia and northern West Kalimantan, Indonesia, on the island of Borneo, that are broadly similar in language and culture (see also issues below). The name Bidayuh means 'inhabitants of land'. Originally from the western part of Borneo, the collective name Land Dayak was first used during the period of Rajah James Brooke, the White Rajah of Sarawak. They constitute one of the main indigenous groups in Sarawak and West Kalimantan and live in towns and villages around Kuching and Samarahan in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, while in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan they are mainly concentrated in the northernSanggau Regency. In Sarawak, most of Bidayuh population are found within 40 km of the geographical area known as Greater Kuching, within the Kuching and Samarahan division. They are the second largest Dayak ethnic group in Sarawak after the Iban and one of the major Dayak tribes in West Kalimantan.

REFLECTION

Our group members had learnt a lot through the MPU classes. We understand the culture and heritage of other ethnics including the minor ethnics too. We had learnt to respect each other in their religions and cultural habits.
Our group members have also performed a skit and it enhanced our understanding in the bidayuh culture further.
We realized that many cultural activities and traditional festivals are not celeberated now. The yound generation should be more active in their cultural activities. 

Performance

Finally, here comes the day for our performance. In the bidayuh ethnic group, when a boy reaches the age of 17-18, he will have to decide on what role do he have to play in the ethic. Therefore, our skit would showcase on a teenage bidayuh boy name Nyatoy on his journey of deciding his future role.

The first scene is about him running into a few farmers in the village whereby, the job of the farmers is not only farming but also to keep the evil spirit away from the household. The second scene is about Nyatoy observing how the healer/priest providing care and cure for disease that spreads in the village. The third scene, which is also the last scene is about Nyatoy getting to know how the headhunter protects the village from the evil spirit by chooping an individual's head off and hang it infront of the headhunter's house.

Here are the videos of our skit. Enjoy!

Skit Part 1:

Skit Part 2:

Skit Part 3:

Preparation for performance

After much discussion, our group decided to do a skit/drama for the performance. We first started out planning the basic storyline of our drama. Since our ethnic group is Bidayuh, we wanted to present a drama based on Bidayuh culture, so we did a lot of research and exchanged ideas on which aspects of Bidayuh culture we wanted to use.

We've gathered many ideas and soon found one relatively simple to prepare and easy for the audience to understand. Our drama will showcase the different and unique occupations in Bidayuh society such as the shamans, the healers/priests , the headhunters etc. We also incorporated a few key Bidayuh celebrations such as the Gawai Dayak.

After completing our planned storyline, our group started to create characters for the drama. We mostly volunteered on characters that suited our looks and quickly proceeded into planning on how are we going to act. Most of the acting will be impromptu, but our group wanted to make sure everyone is clear and did a short rehearsal during our breaks in college.

That's all for preparing for the big day, we hope you enjoy our drama. :)

Importance of preserving the Bidayuh culture

          It has been noted over the years the minority races are fast disappearing and people, especially the natives, are sincerely concerned as their disappearance would mean an end to their identity and heritage. Bidayuhs look similar to Filipinos and Indonesians, so as to not be assimilated as one of them, losing their identity, efforts must be made to preserve the race, language and culture, which are thier distinctive characteristics.

          Effort should be from the people, not the government, because only from the people will the culture be kept authentic. There should also be a body or association to oversee and spearhead the efforts of the people.We must stress the urgency to preserve what we have because young people would not know much about their roots without the help of older people. 

          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.

          Workshops are done as one of DBNA’s initiatives to preserve Bidayuh culture and provide a platform for the Bidayuh community to gain more knowledge about their own tradition. Furthermore, more intellectual Bidayuhs are encouraged to undertake research and to write literatures on the Bidayuhs. 

          The more their ideas are written and passed around, the better it is for the people. The literatures will facilitate better understanding about our origin and uniqueness of our culture and social behaviour which can help us to gain control of our future. While we must always think and behave like and as Malaysians, at the same time we must be knowledgeable and learn from our history, roots and culture. That is the only viable option within our multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious Malaysia.

Arts of the Bidayuh

Arts of  The Bidayuh

Crafts of the Bidayuh

berinchoyo bamboo transverse flutes
These playable flutes are made from baloi bamboo and are played by both men and women. The upper third of the flute is decorated with buti’ dawe’ tiko (edible fern shoot motifs), using the bamboo whittling technique.

kiromboi musical ‘rain-makers’
Made using a pair of edible kiromboi paddy snail shells and played with a bamboo stick, such ‘rainmakers’ are based on a local legend where a prolonged drought was ended when frog like calls were played en-masse.

ka-be lidded bamboo baskets
Very thin strips of buru or pasak bamboo are used for these fine, lidded baskets. There are several basket forms but only a handful weavers. Some baskets include patterns interwoven with painted strips.

pintar buloh bamboo IQ puzzle
An IQ-puzzle based on an old fashioned weighing scale, this highly ornamented puzzle is believed to have originated from outside Kg. Pichin. The object of the game is to move the pieces from one side to another.

tara simpot bamboo blowpipe dart casing
These were traditionally used to hold ma-te darts which were paired together with a simpot wooden blowpipe. These modified containers are now elaborately decorated with buti’ designs.

Traditional Dance of the Bidayuh



             Ritual dance has always been associated with every culture in the world. It is performed to worship spirits and several other functions. Each body move and gesture are important to deliver messages which cannot be spoken in ordinary words.
             In Bidayuh tradition, they are several ritual dances which serve as a mean to bring goodness in their lives. In ancient times, the Bidayuh believed that the world was being inhibited by good and bad spirits. These spirits were believed to cause disaster and hardship if they were being disturbed. To ensure their safety, the ritual dance was performed as a medium to communicate with the spirits. There are eight types of ritual dances namely langi julang, nguguoh or simutur, tulak bala, rejang nyijikau bayang, wek jongan, langi nantang sirig - purom, nantang julang sambuh and rejang padi or ngirindang.

Bidayuh Culture

Festivals

Bidayuhs are mainly Pagans or animist and they believe in as well as in the ancient spirits or nature. Due to that, they would have big celebrations like the Gawai (June 1st ) which is a celebration to please the paddy spirit and to pray for good harvest. 

For three days and nights, the priests, men and women of the village would gather in a longhouse balcony to celebrate their harvest festival, Gawai.

The offering and ritual ceremony is held on the first day. The feast chief or the Ketua Gawai may sacrifice a pig or a cockerel to thank the gods for the good harvest and to ask for guidance, blessings and long life. The priestesses would recite the chants in an archaic Bidayuh dialect. The hymn is called beris in Bidayuh Biatah or boris in Bidayuh Bau dialect.

The priestesses were dressed in mostly black hand-woven costumes, lavishly decorated with antique beads and silver necklaces called sembon, silver belt and cap with a long wide piece of cloth, hanging down the back.

Arrayed on a bamboo shrine or platform are the offerings or sadis, normally consisting of rice and meat, presented to the gods to bestow blessings on the village. Ritual music — beating of gongs and drums or jubat in Biatah — was played at the stroke of midnight on Gawai Eve.

.They would also hold small praise and worship sessions occasionally to the River and Jungle spirits to cure illness and ward off bad luck. 

An ancient practice of the Bidayuhs in the Land of the Headhunters, ‘nyobang’. It is a ritual of appeasing the spirits (of the heads taken) where the skulls are bathed with coconut water and fed with food and tuak. 

Taboos

There are certain customs to be followed during pregnancy. These particular customs are for the well-being of both mother and child. Once the wife is pregnant, a ceremony of treating the stomach or “birayang ite” will be done to encourage the baby to grow well. Only an experienced midwife is invited to perform this ceremony. As soon as the chanting ritual is over, the body of the pregnant woman will be wrapped with cloth to get rid of any dirt or bad things. After that, she will be put in clean clothes and laid down with the face facing upwards At this time,the midwife will stain the mother’s stomach with tumeric, coconut oil while shaking the wand over the stomach and chanting 

During pregnancy, the spouses are encouraged to practise these customs:

1. Avoid stealing because the newborn will be a thief once he/she grows up 

2. Do not eat deer meat because it might cause madness and it might also cause difficulties during the delivery.

3. Do not go out during the twilight hours to avoid ghost disturbance or “umot sanja” which will harm the baby.

4. Do not mix with anyone who has skin disease to prevent any infection which may lead to premature birth.

6. Do not spike, tighten the band or clog any hole because the child may be die during childbirth.

7. Do not dry the ponds, wells, or rivers because the wife will suffer from excess bleeding upon pregnancy. 

Beliefs

A Bidayuh man’s status is judged by the numbers of skulls hung on the ceiling just before entering their houses. The more skulls you have, the higher is your warrior rank.

Being the people of colorful culture, the Bidayuh have their own cultural dress code (which , in the modern days, are only worn during festivities and celebrations) They have their own cultural dance and they play their own cultural music which comprises of a set of Gongs. 

The Bidayuh of Bau have a unique tradition of hanging the bodies of the dead on trees and leaving them to rot away. The skeletons are left on trees as a reminder of the dead. The tradition is rarely done nowadays.