OLDEN DAYS KADAYAN – The Defence Systems (Part 4)

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
رَبُّنَا وَرَبُّكُمۡ‌ۖ لَنَآ أَعۡمَـٰلُنَا وَلَكُمۡ أَعۡمَـٰلُڪُمۡ‌ۖ لَا حُجَّةَ بَيۡنَنَا وَبَيۡنَكُمُ‌ۖ ٱللَّهُ يَجۡمَعُ بَيۡنَنَا‌ۖ وَإِلَيۡهِ ٱلۡمَصِيرُ

Firman Allah SWT di dalam Surah Asy-Syura Ayat 15 yang bermaksud,

Unto this, then, summon (O Muhammad). And be thou upright as thou art commanded, and follow not their lusts, but say: I believe in whatever scripture Allah hath sent down, and I am commanded to be just among you. Allah is our Lord and your Lord. Unto us our works and unto you your works; no argument between us and you. Allah will bring us together, and unto Him is the journeying. Surah Asy-Syura Ayat 15

Oleh kerana yang demikian itu, maka serulah (mereka wahai Muhammad kepada beragama dengan betul), serta tetap teguhlah engkau menjalankannya sebagaimana yang diperintahkan kepadamu dan janganlah engkau menurut kehendak hawa nafsu mereka; sebaliknya katakanlah: Aku beriman kepada segala Kitab yang diturunkan oleh Allah dan aku diperintahkan supaya berlaku adil di antara kamu. Allah jualah Tuhan kami dan Tuhan kamu. Bagi kami amal kami dan bagi kamu amal kamu. Tidaklah patut ada sebarang pertengkaran antara kami dengan kamu (kerana kebenaran telah jelas nyata). Allah akan menghimpunkan kita bersama (pada hari kiamat), dan kepadaNyalah tempat kembali semuanya (untuk dihakimi dan diberi balasan). Surah Asy-Syura Ayat 15

(Nota: Menurut keterangan ayat di atas mengandungi manfaat iaitu - Apabila kita sedang berhadapan dengan musuh, orang yang zalim atau orang yang ditakuti mahupun binatang buas, maka bacalah ayat ini (1x) sahaja. Insya Allah akan lepas dari aniaya dan kejahatan mereka. Wallahualam.)

The Defence Systems

It is difficult to ascertain the exact timeline of WHERE and WHEN the Kadayan people acquired their “defence systems”. Due to the so much ambiguities and uncertainties surrounding the issue, the following theories (assumptions) may provide some light to resolve one of the most complex historical questions of the Kadayan people i.e. when did the Kadayan people acquire their “defence systems”? Was it during pre-Islamic time or post-Islamic time? Or was it the result of fusion process, or in other words, the defence systems were acquired long before the arrival of Islam to the Island of Borneo where the adaptations process or the reengineering of the defence systems were done to suit the requirements of the Islamic faith. The above assumptions were derived from the following logics: -

1. Some of the Mantra / spells or incantation (chanting of magical words in casting spells) used in “Ilmu Kadayan” do not contain verses from the holy Quran which indicate that the origin of such incantation / spells were from other sources probably Hindu or Majapahit influence.

2. Majority of the incantations / spells in “Ilmu Kadayan” contain some forms of verses from al-Quran, normally at the end part of the incantations / spells. The most common verses are “Dengan Berkat Laillahaillallah Muhammadur Rasullah”. The writer is unsure whether such incantations / spells were developed during post-Islamic era or as a result of fusion or modification of the readily available incantations / spells to suit the Islamic teachings / faith.

The Kadayan people “defence systems” were divided into two categories namely, defensive and offensive. Let me refresh our memory what are the meaning of the two words.




Keris





1. Defensive – the defence systems were used to protect their settlement (village), properties, family and self in the form of physical and spiritual means.

The defensive components of the Olden Days Kadayan Defence Systems are as follows: -

a. Warrior skills – Kadayan warriors were expert in martial arts coupled with their spiritual and supernatural powers to make them invisible, invincible, and invulnerable.

b. Weaponry – The Olden Days Kadayan people did not have sophisticated weapon system. The most common weapon used by the warriors and commoners alike were spears & lances, machete, kris, and may be bow and arrow;

c. Protective security – The physical guarding system coupled with invisible fence known as “guis” to deter intruders and tress-passers to enter the Kadayan settlements / villages. The objective of the Kadayan “guis” is to incapacitate and paralyse the target. The victims were taken to the spiritual master / village head to be interrogated and if due cooperation were given by the victim, the spell against him would be lifted and put to immediate recovery, otherwise the victim would be made to “vaporise” without any traces.

d. Engaging supernatural beings to protect the properties and settlements / villages – The Olden Days Kedayan people close relationship with the supernatural beings made it possible to command / instruct the friendly supernatural beings to look after their properties, families and settlements / villages. Even as recent as in the sixties, there were Kedayan houses in our village that were protected by such method. The modus operandi (MO) of the defence system is quite simple where the supernatural beings would take charge of the house in the event that the owner left the house unattended for a period of time, such as going to visit the family members in other village or for any other purposes that require the owner to be away for a period of time.


The supernatural beings would manifest in many forms such as gigantic human figure, shadow, midgets, and sometimes imitated the look of any of the household family members. The supernatural beings made noises / human voices as if the house is occupied.

The Olden Days Kadayan people did not seek a personal relationship with the powers. He rather seeks to manipulate supernatural beings and forces to do his will. He might manipulate supernatural powers in order to determine the source of calamity, to predict the future, to curse those who are in opposition, and to out wit their enemies.

Physical, Spirituals & Supernatural

In Olden Days Kadayan people defence systems, the physical defences alone were considered as inadequate to provide formidable security protection to themselves, families and settlements / villages. To the Kadayan people, physical defences are “useless” if not complemented with the other most vital component of the defence systems i.e. spiritual and supernatural powers.

Some readers might be confused on the meanings of spiritual and supernatural powers. Let me throw some light on the definitions of the two most important words associated with the Olden Days Kadayan people.

Spiritual – Throughout time, Kadayan people have been aware that there is something more to their existence than what can be experienced with the senses of sight, smell, touch, taste, and sight, something more than the physical being and the physical world that is thought of as reality. This is Spirit.




Old photograph of Malay Man with Moustache and Beard




The Olden Days Kadayan people were able to harness, consolidate and control the spiritual powers effectively, so superior that lasted over generations enabling them to earn their reputation as the ultimate warrior of their time.

The secret use of spiritual power in the context of the Olden Days Kadayan people defence system is almost always malevolent, meant to cause suffering or death to their enemies. When used publicly by recognised spiritual masters / leaders of the Olden Days Kadayan society, spiritual power is often benevolent, discovering who has brought evil upon the society. Whether spiritual power is used negatively or positively, its existence is never questioned by the Olden Days Kadayan people. Their ultimate objective was to gain control of the spiritual powers to protect their society against hostile supernatural beings and of course their traditional enemies i.e. the savage people of the interior of Borneo Island.

One of the greatest spiritual powers given to the Olden Days Kadayan people is bravery, which is expressed in the wider concept of “handal”, which means more fully, "bravery, spiritual power."

In the context of Olden Days Kadayan people, the term spiritual power simply means “invisible” power obtained / harnessed from within through defined processes taught by spiritual leaders / masters or through dreams, etc.

Supernatural – A dictionary definition of supernatural is something attributed to a power that seems to violate or go beyond natural forces or relating to existence outside the natural world.

How did the Olden Days Kadayan people obtain such powers? I have to admit that I have very little knowledge about the subject matter. Nevertheless, I'll try my level best to delve into this issue by starting with a phrase that I used many times in my previous articles which is “RELATIONSHIP WITH NATURE”. In the Olden Days Kadayan society, their settlements / villages were surrounded by the unexplored virgin jungles, rivers and unknown inhabitants of supernatural beings (iblis, jin, syaitan and other supernatural beings).




Kulit Buku Hikayat Iblis






According to Kadayan myth and legend, supernatural beings are categorised based on their hostility towards the Kadayan people, super power and religion.

Jin category : Giin baantai, Giin buagas, and Oang Anggau
Religion : Islam / infidel
Power : Rated as #1 most powerful supernatural beings and very hostile

Syaitan / Satan category : Bauta', Sampaa and Mandau (Thanks to Tn Hj Ramlee Dua for reminding me about Mandau)
Religion : Not known
Power : Rated as #2 most powerful supernatural beings and very hostile

Iblis / ghosts category : All other supernatural beings such as Indahau, Siakih and various types of ghosts
Religion : Not known
Power : Rated as #3 most powerful and hostile.

Other supernatural beings: Oang Kabanaan, Kayangan and Bunian
Religion : Islam
Power : Very powerful, yet the most moderate and friendly supernatural beings

According to Kadayan myth and legend, the terms “Oang Kabanaan” means a person from another dimension. The Olden Days Kadayan people believed that there are three “parallel worlds”, in different dimensions, populated by beings almost similar to the earthly beings but with supernatural powers known as “Oang Kabanaan”. “Oang Kabanaan” visited earth regularly and they manifested themselves in physical forms i.e. human beings and only visible to selected Kadayan people.

The myth about the three parallel worlds was told by our elders in very convincing ways. They called the parallel worlds as “upper, middle and lower” and the descriptions are as follows: -

Upper world – populated by beings in which their pregnant women carry their unborn babies in the foreheads;

Middle world – earth our home, where pregnant women carry their unborn babies in the middle part of the body i.e. the abdomen;

Lower world – populated by beings in which their pregnant women carry their unborn babies in their big toe.

[Note : It was also mentioned in Kadayan myth and legend that, Kadayan people were originated from "Kayangan", usually refered to as from the "upper world". The interesting thing about the Kadayan myth is that, most of the stories were associated with beings from another dimensions or "outer space". How could this be? Was it true that the Kadayan people were from Kayangan? OR did the aliens from outer space visit the Olden Days Kadayan people for reasons unknown to us? Is the word “KADAYAN” derived from “KAYANGAN”? Was it intentionally done to disguise their true identities? If there is sufficient evidence to support this theory, then we are opening a whole new chapter of the Kadayan people’s history. Crazy or what? I'll try to do a little bit of research on this topic and try to write an article on the subject matter later. It is interesting, isn't it?.]

There are other terminologies commonly used by the Kadayan people to describe the supernatural beings such as “Oang Kayangan and Oang Bunian”. I am unable to determine whether such terminologies are used to describe similar supernatural being by Kadayan people of different locations, villages or settlements. All the three beings share common characteristics of supernatural in nature, possessing supernatural powers, invisible, invincible and coming from another dimension.

In Kadayan myth and legend, “Oang Kabanaan, Kayangan or Bunian” were considered as friendly beings but there were stories told that those beings occasionally “abducted” selected Kadayan individuals for unknown purposes. The victims were never been physically harmed or killed but somehow the victims were “mentally abused”. In most cases, after the victims were being released and returned to their settlement / village, they suffered severe memory lost and sunk in oblivion.

The most “logical” explanation on how the Kadayan people obtained the supernatural powers was from their close relationship with nature. Overtime the Kadayan people perfected their relationship with nature by “befriending” the supernatural beings (Iblis, Jin, Syaitan, and the other three supernatural beings mentioned above) fostering special bond and cohesiveness between them. Such bonding and cohesiveness enabled both parties to develop trust amongst each other where there were cases of inter-marriage between the Kadayan people with Oang Kabanaan, Kayangan or Bunian. Such bonding is still evident until these days as mentioned in my previous article, where a Kadayan spiritual master is capable of talking and negotiating terms with supernatural beings and request for their settlement to be shifted to another locations through a process known as “NATAKI”.

The Olden Days Kadayan people had a lot to learn from the supernatural beings as compared to the reversed. Why did the supernatural beings choose to visit earth and lived with the Olden Days Kadayan people was not clear. Through the process of their coexistence, strong bond, cohesiveness and mutual respect, the Olden Days Kadayan people acquired substantial amount of supernatural powers from the beings where the super, duper Kadayan spiritual masters of the time were so powerful that no other powers can match them except the power of their creator, the Almighty God.



Remnants of the Olden Days Kadayan people’s spiritual and supernatural powers were manifested in every aspect of Kadayan livelihood and defence systems. Physical defences without spiritual and supernatural powers were considered useless and weak. Thus the Kadayan martial arts, weaponry, bodily strength and all Kadayan physical defences must be complemented with the spiritual and supernatural powers to make them formidable.

To be continued…….