Parade Of Culture, Celebration As Resistance

In June last year, a colorful parade and showcase of culture and stories filled the plenary of the International Festival for People’s Rights and Struggles (IFPRS) in Penang, Malaysia.

Led by the Indigenous Peoples from Sabah and Sarawak through Gabungan Orang Asal Sabah and Sarwak (GOASS), together with Moningolig Pogun Tokou (MOPOT), around a hundred delegation brought high spirits and welcoming warmth to the international participants of the festival.

The Sabah and Sarawak delegation marched in a parade showcasing their embroidered dresses, accessories from environment elements like bird feathers, animal bones and teeth, gold, metal, beads, warrior tattoos, and traditional instruments.

More than just colorful attires, these are ritual components symbolizing their history and warrior courage, identity, and spiritual resilience.

Miring ‘Nanya nama penatai Pengabang, a specific miring ritual in Iban culture centered around welcoming a guest (pengabang) and acknowledging their origin or identity, was held by the Indigenous Iban leaders welcoming all IFPRS leaders and attendees.

In a warrior-like, strong and thunderous voice, Panglima Peter John Jaban invited the guest to say their names, their origin and the purpose of coming into their lands as part of showing a spiritual formality. He then introduced his name and his people, introduced their land and culture, and finally shook hands, hugged and invited everyone to gather in the plenary hall affirming the rite’s spirit of unity and peace.

Miring ‘Nanya nama penatai Pengabang also made sure that delegates don’t come with bad omens and bad intentions, and similarly to send a message to the ancestors and guardian spirits that the event was sincere and peaceful, removing any fear or ill will.

Everyone also witnessed the Ngalu ke Pengabang dance (welcoming of guests/ welcoming the heroes) where Iban comrades gracefully danced with a shield and a sword, chanting their songs, with mothers swaying their hands and feet like birds in the wind.

The bird dance, widely danced by Iban in Sarawak and Kadazan-Dusun in Sabah, ushered the audience to stand up and dance. The dance shows the peoples’ freedom like birds, with everyone’s arms move up and down like wings, representing harmony with nature.

These dance were followed by a heart stomping playing of traditional drums by elders. Elder men playing drums is the symbol of strength, courage, unity, and physical and mental resilience of the Indigenous Peoples in Borneo island, according to GOASS.

The Ngayanka Ranyai or Nyangkai Ranyai is a special celebratory dance also performed for IFPRS’ communal thanksgiving.

In here, participants danced around the ranyai tree, a tree of abundance and blessing filled with rice cakes, food and snacks, to the beat of gongs and sape (traditional boat lute guitar). The dancer carried a sword and dance around the tree.

The dancer then placed some money in a basket of offering at the feet of the tree as a gesture of reciprocity and to honor the spirits. After that, the dancer cut an item or food from the tree. The whole community cheered as the next dancer accepted the sword for their turn. The dancing and ritual comes with drinking rice wine.

These dances and performances were accompanied by expert Sape players. Sape is a two to four, sometimes six, stringed long-necked wood guitar resembling a lute. The Sape is said to carry the soulful and peaceful sound of Borneo forests.

Performing and showcasing the color, ways of life, and art of Indigenous Peoples of Sabah, Sarawak and the whole Borneo, is reclaiming Indigenous Peoples identity in a world that has long attempted to erase, or forcibly assimilate and marginalize it.

Proudly showcasing their culture is reclaiming the narrative that Indigenous Peoples culture are vibrant, modern, relevant and not backward, primitive and obsolete. It is deeply rooted on how they take care of their lands and territories, environment, sustainable livelihood, and communal values of equality and unity.

With the forcible assimilation to present nation-states and imposition of capitalist development models, the entry of massive logging, palm oil plantations, and mega hydroelectric dams have displaced Indigenous communities and destroyed sacred lands where their rituals are rooted.

Without Indigenous Peoples territories, ceremonies lose their context and meanings.

Thus, every dance, every song, and every beat of gongs is an invitation for all to visit and integrate with our Indigenous Peoples in Sabah and Sarawak.

Learn from their history and culture. Stand with their fight and dreams. Dance with them until their rights are won and their identities upheld.

© Scoop Media