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Trae the Truth( Trae tha Truth )
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Ridin Dirty
ban Religion and Pantheon
The Iban religion involves worshiping and honouring at least four categories of beings i.
the supreme god called Petara and his seven deities, the holy spirits of Orang Panggau Libau and Gelong, the ghost spirits (Bunsu Antu) and the souls of dead ancestors.
Some Iban categorizes these gods into beings from the sky (ari langit) which refers to goods living in the sky, from the tree tops (ari pucuk kayu) which refers to omen birds, ari tanah (from the land/soil) which refers to augury snakes and animals, and ari ai (from the water which refers to fishes.
The supreme God is called Bunsu (Kree) Petara, sometimes called as Raja Entala or even Tuhan Allah Taala (Arabic defines the article al- 'the' and ilāh 'deity, god' to al-lāh meaning 'the deity, God') in modern times.
The Iban calls this supreme god whos creates the universe by the three names of Seragindi which makes the water (ngaga ai), Seragindah which makes the land (ngaga tanah0 and Seragindit which makes the skt (ngaga langit).
There are seven main petaras (deities or gods or regents) of Iban Dayaks who act as the messengers between human beings and God.
These deities are the children of Raja Jembu and the grandchildren of Raja Burong.
Their names are as follows:
Sengalang Burong as the god of war for protection and sustenance
Biku Bunsu Petara (female) as the high priest
Sempulang Gana as the god of agriculture along with his father-in-law Semarugah as the god of land
Selempandai/
Selempeta/
Selempetoh as the god of creation and procreation
Menjaya Manang as the god of health and shamanism being the first manang bali
Anda Mara as the god of wealth
Ini Andan/
Inee (female) as the natural-born doctor and the god of justice
In addition to these gods, there are mystical people namely the orang Panggau Libau and '
Gelong' with the most notable ones being Keling and Laja, and Kumang and Lulong who often help the Iban Dayaks to be successful in life and adventures.
Other spirits are called bunsu jelu (animal spirits), antu utai tumboh (plant spirits), antu (ghosts) such as antu gerasi (huntsman) and antu menoa (place spirits like hills or mounts).
These spirits can be helpful, cause sickness or even madness.
The souls of dead ancestors are invoked by the Iban when seeking their blessings and showing respects for their souls usually during Gawai Antu (Festival for the Dead) and when visiting their graves.
Stages of Iban propitiation
Masing in 1981 and Sandin clearly categorise Iban's propitiation and worshiping into three main successive stages of increasing importance, complexity and intensity i.
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bedara (serving and distributing offerings), gawa (literally working) and gawai (festival).
Bedara can be divided into bedera mata (unripe rite) if the service is performed inside the family room (bilik) and bedara mansau (ripen rite) where it is carried out at the family gallery (ruai).
Other specific miring rituals are called minta ujan (requesting for rain), minta panas (requesting for sunniness), berunsur (soul cleansing), mudas (omen appreciation), muja menua (praying to the region), pelasi menua (cleansing the territory), genselan menoa (smearing the earth with blood) or nasih tanah (paying land rent).
Other bedara or miring ceremonies include makai di ruai/ngayanka asi (dinner at the gallery), sandau ari (mid-day ceremony) and enchaboh arong (head receiving reremony).
Gawa includes all the medium-sized rites that involve normally one day and one night ritual inchantation by a group of bards such as gawa beintu-intu (self-caring rituals) and gawa tuah (Fortune ritual).
There are various types of gawa beintu-intu such as timang sukat (Life Measuring Chant), timang bulu (Human Mantle Chant), timang buloh ayu (Soul Bamboo Chant), timang panggang (Jar Board Chant), timang panggau (Wooden platform Chant) and timang engkuni (House Post Chant).
As this category of rites involves mainly timang (chant), it is also normally called nimang (chanting).
Gawa Tuah has two subgroups called nimang ngiga tuah (fortune seeking chanting) and nimang namaka tuah (fortune welcoming chanting).
Gawai comprises seven categories of festivals which mostly involve ritual inchantation by a group of lemambang bards that can last several to seven successive days and nights.
These categories are namely gawai bumai (farming festivals), gawai amat/asal (real/original festival) or gawai burong (bird festival), gawai tuah (fortune festival), gawai lelabi (River turtle festival), gawai sakit (Sickness-healing festival), gawai antu (ghost or spirit festival) and gawai ngar (dyeing festival).
Gawai or Traditional festivals
Main article: Gawai Dayak
Significant traditional festivals to propitiate the above-mentioned gods can be grouped into seven categories which are related to the main activities among the Iban Dayaks i.
the Farming-related festivals to propitiate the deity of agriculture Sempulang Gana, the War-related festivals to honour the deity of war Sengalang Burong, weaving-related festival (Gawai Ngar) for patrons of weaving, the Fortune-related festivals dedicated to the deity of fortune Anda Mara, procreation-related festival (Gawai Lelabi) for the deity of creation Selampandai, the health-related festivals for the deity of shamanism Menjaya and Ini Andan and the death-related festival (Gawai Antu or Ngelumbong) to invite the dead souls for final separation ritual between the living and the dead.
Because rice farming is the key life-sustaining activity among Dayaks, the first category of festivals is related to agriculture.
Thus, there are many ritual festivals dedicated to this foremost vital activity namely:
1) Gawai Batu (Whetstone Festival),
2) Gawai Benih (Seed Festival),
3) Gawai Ngalihka Tanah (Soil Ploughing Festival),
4) Gawai Ngemali Umai (Farm-healing Festival),
5) Gawai Matah (Harvest-starting Festival)
6) Gawai Ngambi Sempeli and
7) Gawai Basimpan (Rice-Keeping) Festival.
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