Before there were doctors and nurses, the people of Sarawak relied on traditional healing ceremonies to cure sickness. Every ethnic group has its own healing ceremony, for example the Ibans have their pelian and the Melanau turn to berayun and berbayoh to heal the sick. For the Bisaya people in the Sarawak,
Tag: sarawak culture
The Lun Bawang legend of a giant man named Temueng
Long time ago, there was a giant man named Temueng and his friend named Pengiran who first lived at Kemaloh in Kalimantan, Indonesia. According to legends, these people were believed to be the ancestors of Lun Bawang people. Benedict Sandin in his paper The Bisayah and Indigenous Peoples of Limbang, Sandin recorded
Get to know the three principal sources of Iban augury
Where were omens believed to have come from? Get to know the three principal sources of Iban augury In Iban augury, believers rely on different ways to receive indicative omens when making a decision or taking an action. The omens can be deliberately sought or accidentally encountered. According to Clifford Sather in his
How a magic mushroom caused people to speak in different languages
How everyone began speaking in different languages according to a Taman legend. Have you heard of Psilocybin mushroom? Widely known as 'magic mushroom', this type of fungi is usually consumed for its hallucinogenic effects. Once consumed, the person may experience euphoria and change in consciousness, mood and even perception. They may even experience
7 things Kayan women were forbidden to do when the men left for headhunting trips
In the olden days, Kayan men were known as notorious headhunters. Their reputation as fierce warriors spread so wide and wild that they were often mistaken as cannibals. Whenever the men went for headhunting trips, the women were left in the longhouses fending themselves. These headhunting trips usually took months before they
The Iban legend of Batu Indai Binjut you might never have heard of
The Melanau Oya legend of Bunga Lawan and the wicked antu sababu
Iban, Malay or Chinese? Looking at the origin of the name ‘Santubong’
The name Santubong is widely known among Sarawakians as the name of a mountain located in Sarawak.The common myth is that the mountain takes its name after a celestial princess. But what other origin stories are there behind the name Santubong? The legend of Princess Santubong The common understanding of the legend
Iban olden customary laws against adultery and elopement
Some people call it love, while others call it breaking the adat (custom). Historically, many cultures consider adultery a very serious crime, subject to severe punishment such as capital punishment, mutilation or torture. This includes the Iban people of Sarawak. According to Iban ethnologist Benedict Sandin, before Sarawak was under Brooke rule, if
