The Ngajat Dance

Accompanied by the melody of gong, engkeromong, bebendai and others traditional musical instrument, the Ngajat dance is performed during Gawai Dayak celebration which is one of the Ibans' festival. Apart from that, it is also performed in other occasions such as welcoming guests and during formal dinner.

Traditionally, the Ngajat dance was performed by male dancers to celebrate warriors who had just returned home from war. The dancers would wear loincloth and their heads would be accessorized with feathers on their headgears. A sword and a shield would accompany each of them in the dance. The moves are swift and fierce as if the dancers are on the battle field.







 Nowadays, the dance is performed by both men and women. The female dancers will wear "sugu tinggi"(headdress) on their heads, handmade beads covering their necks, heavy chains of coins and a knee-length weaved dress. The moves are more soft and graceful. When I was a kid, I used to help my mother to weave the Ngajat dress. She also had made the handmade beads for me to wear during my performance in 2001.

Era of the Headhunters

Skulls of the enemies 

Centuries ago the Ibans were feared because of their bravery in war and were acknowledged as the headhunters. This tradition of headhunting is called "ngayau" in Iban language. The Ibans practiced the tradition in order to protect their land from being populated by others. They also believed that whoever managed to chop off their enemy's head the most would be recognized as "Bujang Berani" (brave man). The elders would choose a brave man to be their son-in-law in order to ensure he could guard his family as well as to maintain their family social status. However, the bachelors were not merely the ones who need to prove themselves but also married men because the Ngayau tradition was not merely acted as a symbol of bravery but also as a symbol of manliness and social status. 

Other than protecting their own land, the Ibans were known as cruel warriors as they tend to wipe out their enemies during war. Researchers had found out that certain ethnics had been wiped out by the Ibans such as Seru and Bliun while others were forced to move away.

Nowadays, this tradition has been completely banned. In fact, the Iban are known because of their good attitude when welcoming guest to their place.   

The Origin of the Iban Tribe

               

The origin of the Iban tribes still remain mysterious until today since they have no written record about their history. Everything about the tribe was told from generation to generation in the form of poem, story and song. Once in a while my grandparents would told us, the youngsters about those stories of our origin. However, many writers believe that the Iban ethnic is originated from Batang Kapuas, Kalimantan, Indonesia. This is proven by the fact that there are Iban settlements in Indonesia. One of the Iban writers said they migrated to the land of Borneo long time ago because of some reasons. There are also some other theories that said the Iban tribe is originated from the main land of China and some said that the Iban is the original inhabitant of the Borneo island. The Ibans are also known as Sea Dayak because their settlements are placed nearby rivers. According to researchers, they also got the name because of their history as pirate.

Land of the Hornbills

Located on the north-east of Borneo across the South China Sea from the Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is a home to various races and ethnics. It is the largest state in Malaysia with 11 divisions in total. The list starts with Kuching as the capital state and follows by Betong, Bintulu, Kapit, Limbang, Miri, Mukah, Semarahan, Sarikei, Sibu and Sri Aman. Sarawak is also known as the Land of the Hornbills as various species of hornbills inhabited its forest. 

Different hands had ruled Sarawak before the formation of Federation of Malaysia. The state was originally ruled by the Brunei Sultanate from 15^th century to early 19^th century. In 1841, Sarawak fell into Rajah Brooke control for quite a long period of time before being invaded by the Japanese during World War II. Then, Sarawak was again colonized by the British before it finally gained its freedom on the 16^th of September 1963 during the formation of Federation of Malaysia.

There are more than 30 ethnic groups which made up the Sarawakian community. These ethnic groups are not merely different in terms of language but also in their way of living and culture. Among the ethnic groups, the Ibans are the largest community of all. Besides Iban, the other ethnics include Bidayuh, Melanau, Kayan, Kenyah, Kelabit, Penan, and the list goes on. 

For the next entry, I will introduce about the Iban culture. Stay tuned. ;)