Edi V. Petebang, Contributor, Pontianak | Feature | Wed, October 31 2012, 10:49 AM
“If you wish to maintain your offspring, go to Arut, Central
Kalimantan, in the direction of the sunrise. Behead Patih Arut [the
communal chief], bring his whole and fresh head here in place of you for
menganjan [sacrificial ritual],” village elder Ukot Bebodah ordered two
brothers, Sesulor and Sesileh.
This legend is always remembered
by the Dayak Pesaguan ethnic group living by Pesaguan River and its
tributaries in Ketapang regency, West Kalimantan, when conducting the
menganjan ritual to usher spirits of the dead to heaven, formerly with
human sacrifice.
“In this ritual, the community of Dayak
Pesaguan is reminded of the sacrifice of the Tuluyan people in the
group, who used to serve as offerings in menganjan ceremonies,” said
Gemalo Nius, 55, the communal chief of Serengkah Kanan village.
Menganjan
is either observed three or four days after someone’s death, or several
years later. A rectangular building for the grave (tambak) and a jar
for ashes is placed on a pole (sandung) and readied. “It’s a
manifestation of victory over doom, so that the atmosphere of grief
should be turned into joy. After menganjan even the bereaved can get
married again,” explained Nius, who led the ritual.
The latest
menganjan was held recently in Serengkah Kanan, Tumbang Titi district,
Ketapang regency, 450 kilometers south of Pontianak city. It was for
four people: Gando Bakah Berandong Marsianus Silan, Salesta Ita, Petrus
and Dalmasius Itan. Silan was former Serengkah Kanan communal chief for
nine years and the others were his children. Thousands of people from
nine villages were invited.
It began with the cutting of garong
wood by 20 people representing the invitees. After a bout of gun fire
and firecracker burning as well as the yells of dozens of guests, four
pairs of dancers greeted and guided them to the place of ceremonies,
where they were treated to a traditional alcoholic drink (tuak) and
betel leaves.
Menumang kepala is one of the sacred rites of
menganjan, which has 14 ceremonies. It means the burning of the human
head on a three-legged stove, which used to be practiced when the
beheading custom or pengayauan prevailed, as a symbol of victory. Today
the object to be burned is a young coconut.
After the burning,
the coconut replacing the head was fed chicken, cold ash and cold rice.
Then the fruit was holed to drain its water and fill it with tuak, with
which all those present were served. Following the drink, the coconut
was wrapped in yellow bark and carried in a dance with a gamelan
accompaniment in a quick rhythm.
The “head” burning and dance
was followed by the ritual leader’s narration of the story of Sesulor
and Sesileh. The two brothers were descendants of the Tuluyan people,
who were destined to be sacrificed in menganjan ceremonies, after being
tortured and killed with traditional weapons.
In order to end
this fate, Ukot Kebodah, the founder of Serengkah village, ordered
Sesulor and Sesileh to behead Arut’s communal chief in Central
Kalimantan. This Arut chief had supernatural powers and three faces. His
head had to be delivered intact because Ukot Kebodah wished to see how
the faces looked. The brothers agreed and managed to decapitate the
chief, but had to dry his head to prevent decay due to their week-long
walk back home.
In Serengkah, both were welcomed but as the head
was disfigured, they were even accused of stealing another head from
the grave. Sesulor and Sesileh were sacrificed. Yet they left a message
before dying: “If a keratio tree grows at the foot of their grave and a
kumpang tree at the head, it means we did bring home the real head.”
Three
days after their burial, Pesaguan people were totally flabbergasted to
find the two trees right at the places designated by Sesulor and
Sesileh. The Pesaguan community finally acknowledged the skull they had
brought as the Arut chief’s head. Since then, pigs and chickens have
been offered instead of human heads.
According to Gemalo Nius,
as a token of appreciation for Tuluyan descendants, when they die they
are allowed to use jars for their ashes, which are supported by 3-4
meter wooden poles, representing their graves or sandung. This practice
is called menyandung.
“Menganjan thus implies a reminder for
Pesaguan people of the sacrifice of Tuluyan members, and particularly
with menyandung, it’s a kind of redemption of the Pesaguan group from
the sin against Tuluyan offspring,” noted Nius.
Cutting a jarau
tree was the other interesting rite awaited by children, because its
fruits would be distributed. The tree was not actually felled, but its
stem with the fruits on it was laid down after tree-felling mantras were
read out. The fruits were then given to children and other people, and
the drink (tuak) put on a pole was consumed by guests.
Menganjan
was closed with pepiring beras, a farewell ceremony in which the host
expressed gratitude for the presence and assistance of all guests. “We
are satisfied and happy for having organized the ritual of respect for
our father and siblings. We believe they are now also happily in Sebayan
Tujuh Serugo Dalam [heaven],” concluded Sunyan, the late Silan’s son.
Gradually
but surely, this ritual will be left behind because of the big costs
involved and the increasing difficulty of supplying the necessities. The
recent menganjan for Marsianus Silan, according to Sunyan, needed 25
pigs, 200 chickens, hundreds of kilos of rice and vegetables, and 500
liters of tuak and arrack.
Gemalo Nius added dozens of kinds of
fruits were also needed by the ritual besides vegetables. “Another
requirement is now also even harder to find, which is ruai —
Kalimantan’s typical bird with beautiful feathers. It is inseparable
from the shrinking forests due denudation for oil palm estates, timber
estates and mining projects,” he remarked.
In fact, Nius
indicated, the culture of Pesaguan was influenced by Javanese culture as
well as Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic and Catholic religions. In 1918,
missionaries set up a Catholic school in Serengkah. The religion has had
an important role in the development of Dayak Pesaguan culture from the
past right up to the present.
The biggest challenges being faced
today are the aggressive plans for the entry of several oil palm
estates and timber estate companies into Dayak Pesaguan villages. While
there are the pros and cons of such enterprises, the big floods that
caused serious destruction in the hamlets of Beringin and Batu Beransah
are believed to have resulted from deforestation around Beringin in the
uppermost part of the Pesaguan River, to be replaced with sengon timber
estates.*
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