iban culture

The Ibans are a branch of the Dayak peoples of Borneo. In Malaysia, most Ibans are located in Sarawak, a small portion in Sabah and some in west Malaysia. They were formerly known during the colonial period by the British as Sea Dayaks. Ibans were renowned for practising headhunting and tribal/territorial expansion and had a fearsome reputation as a strong and successful warring tribe in ancient times.
Since the arrival of Europeans and the subsequent colonisation of the area, headhunting gradually faded out of practice although many tribal customs, practices and language continue. The Iban population is concentrated in Sarawak, Brunei, and in the West Kalimantan region of Indonesia. They live in longhouses called rumah panjai[1].
Nowadays, most of the Iban longhouses are equipped with modern facilities such as electricity and water supply and other facilities such as (tar sealed) roads, telephone lines and the internet. Younger Ibans are mostly found in urban areas and visit their hometowns during the holidays. The Ibans today are becoming increasingly urbanised while retaining most of their traditional heritage and culture.

Ibanic Subgroup and Language

Iban language

Although Ibans generally speak a dialect which is mutually intelligible, they can be divided into different branches which are named after the geographical areas where they reside.

• Majority of Ibans who live around the Lundu and Samarahan region are called Sebuyaus.

• Ibans who settled in areas in Serian district (places like Kampung Lebor, Kampung Tanah Mawang & others) are called Remuns. They may be the earliest Iban group to migrate to Sarawak.

• Ibans who originated from Sri Aman area are called Balaus.

• Ibans who come from Betong, Saratok & parts of Sarikei are called Saribas.

• The original iban Lubok Antu Ibans are classed by anthropologists as Ulu Ai/batang ai Ibans.

• Ibans from Undup are called Undup Ibans. Their dialect is somewhat a cross between the Ulu Ai dialect & the Balau dialect.

• Ibans living in areas from Sarikei to Miri are called Rajang Ibans. This group is also known as "Bilak Sedik Iban". They are the majority group of the Iban people. They can be found along the Rajang River, Sibu, Kapit, Belaga, Kanowit, Song, Sarikei, Bintangor, Bintulu and Miri. Their dialect is somewhat similar to the Ulu Ai or lubok antu dialect.

In West Kalimantan (Indonesia), Iban people are even more diverse. The Kantu, Air Tabun, Semberuang, Sebaru' , Bugau, Mualang & along with many other groups are classed as "Ibanic people" by anthropologists. They can be related to the Iban either by the dialect they speak or their customs, rituals & their way of life.
 

Types of Iban Ngajat Dance

There are about four categories of Iban traditional ngajat dance according to their respective functional purpose as follows:
A) Showmanship dance

• ngajat ngalu temuai (welcoming dance) by a group of females,
• ngajat indu (female dance),
• ngajat pua kumbu (a female dance with a woven blanket which is most likely woven by herself),
• ngajat lelaki (male dance),
• ngajat lesung (rice mortar dance),
• ngajat pinggai ngau kerubong strum (dance with one rice ceramic plate held on each palm while tapping the plates with an empty bullet shell inserted into the middle fingers of both hands),
• ngajat bujang berani ngena terabai ngau ilang (warrior dance with full costume, a shield and sword),
• ngajat bebunoh (hand combat dance normally between two male dancers),
• Ngajat nanka kuta (fort defence dance)
• ngajat semain laki ngau indu (dance by a group of men and ladies),
• ngajat niti papan (dance by a group of men and ladies on a raised up wooden plank)
• ngajat atas tawak (dance on top of gongs by ladies with gentlemen in the background)
• ngajat ngalu pengabang (dance by a man with several ladies behind who lead the procession of guests during festivals)

These types of dance can be performed either on an open space or around the pun ranyai which is the tree of life.

Types of Iban pantang

The Ibans like to tattoo themselves all over their body. There motives for each part of the human body. The purpose are to protect the tattoo bearers or to signify certain events in their life. Some motives are based on marine lives such as lobster (rengguang), prawn (undang) and ketam (crab) while other motives are based on dangerous creatures like cobra (tedong), scorpion (kala), pasun (ghost dog) and naga (dragon). Other normal motives include items which Iban travellers meet during their journey such as aeroplane on the chest.
Some Ibans call this art of tattoing as kalingai.
To signify that an individual has killed an enemy (udah bedengah), he is entittled to tattoo his throat (engkatak) or his upper-side fingers (tegulun).


  

The 'tuak' or Iban's alcoholic drink

Tuak is originally made of cooked glutinous rice (nasi pulut) mixed with home-made yeast (ciping) for fermentation. It is a wine used to serve guests especially as welcoming drinks when entering longhouses. Nowadays, there are various kinds of tuak, made with rice alternatives such as sugar cane, ginger and corn. However, these raw materials are rarely used unless available in large quantities. Tuak and other types of drinks (both alcohol and non-alcoholic) can be served on several rounds in a ceremony called nyibur temuai (serving drinks to guests) as ai aus (thirst queching drink), ai basu kaki (Feet Washing drink), ai basa (respect drink) and ai untong (profit drink). Another type of a stronger alcoholic drink is called langkau which contains a higher alcohol content because it is actually made of tuak which has been distilled over fire to boil off the alcohol from the tuak, cooled down and collected into containers.

Traditional Iban food

The Iban tribe are from Sarawak, Borneo. Their traditional foods are called Pansuh food, which simply means the cooking of food or dish in a bamboo stem. It’s naturally clean, easy and simple. The food (meat, chicken, fish, vegetables and even rice together with the spices) will all be put together into the bamboo stem, then directly placed over an open fire to be cooked. The uniqueness of using the bamboo stem to cook is that the bamboo will give a special aroma and texture to the food where it’s impossible to have using other methods such as using woks.

Since they settled in the Malaysian state of Sarawak over 400 years ago, the Iban have made the surrounding rainforest their supermarket and hardware store, tapping the tremendous variety of plants, animals and raw materials for their food, medicines, dwellings and rituals.

Forest ferns have a special place in the diet of the people, with the two most popular ferns used as vegetables being midin and the fiddlehead fern (pucuk paku). Midin grows wild in the secondary forests and is peculiar to the state. It has curly fronds and is very crunchy even after it has been cooked. Rural dwellers have always considered the fern a tasty, nutritious vegetable and the jungle fern’s rise from rural staple to urban gourmet green occurred in the 1980s with the increased urban migration of the Iban. Aromatic leaves from trees, such as the Bungkang, are also used in cooking to flavour food.

One of the best known Iban dishes is pansoh manok (ayam pansuh), which features chicken and lemongrass cooked in a bamboo log over an open fire. This natural way of cooking seals in the flavours and produces astonishingly tender chicken with a gravy perfumed with lemongrass and bamboo.

A visit to the longhouse will usually see guests welcomed with a glass of tuak, a home-brewed rice wine. The brew has a sweet fragrance and is highly alcoholic – a small glass is enough to send the unaccustomed to euphoric heights.

The numerous riverine areas of Sarawak provide the state’s inhabitants with abundant fresh water fish, with the Tilapia being the most widely cultivated. There are sago grubs, bamboo clams and temilok (marine worms) to try. The bright yellow, round eggplants and turmeric flowers are also found in Iban foods.

 

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