INTERLUDE

Oang Kadayan Babuu Payau





Sdr Arkin Hj Garai
Pegawai Penyelidik
Pusat Pemprosesan dan Penyelidikan Makanan Ternakan Lok Kawi





Disabab akan artikal yang ku tulis di dalam blog ani hantap baat asanya, yang mbaca pun mungkin langu sudah, jadi ani tah ku salat akan caita panglipur lara yang diantat oleh kawan baikku Sdr Arkin Hj Garai daie Kota Kinabalu.

Sdr Arkin Hj Garai ani oang Kadayaan banaa daie Sipitang. Dalam sakitaa tahun 1971/1972, lapas papaiksaan Pom 5, kami bakaaja di Kota Kinabalu dan diam aah umah siwa di Sambulan. Yang sabanaanya kami nyiwa bilik nganya, bukan nyiwa umah. Bilik yang kami siwa atu damit nganya. Siwanya bila indaku kalupahan 50 Inggit sabulan babahagi tiga oang. Batiga tah kami diam sabilik iaitu Sdr Arkin Hj Garai, Sdr Safar Yaakob dan aku. Masa atu bilang oang kami kakal bujang.

Umah siwa atu bahatap jink inda basiling, bila sambat hantap sajuknya tapi amun kia-kia matahaie sudah atas bumbunan, hangatnya kan mbaie pusah, inda dapat dicaita akan. Bila aie minggu inda olah tiduu subalah tangah haie.

Dalam patangahan tahun 1972, masing-masing mbawa diee, aku ka KL balajaa, Sdr Arkin pun balajaa jua, macam atu jua Sdr Safar. Lapas atu Sdr Arkin ka Amerika Syarikat, aku ka UK dan Sdr Safar bila inda ku silap jadi Cikgu. Tadangaa habaa Sdr Safar pincin sudah ya, kaang ani manatap di Labuhan.

Ani kan bagalap-galap nganya uja dangan, macam ani caita yang diantat oleh Sdr Arkin. Nama caitanya atu “OANG KADAYAN BABUU”. Macam ani caitanya.

Alum batah hantap jua - oang Kadayan ani babuu payau - di bawa nya sama kuyuk hidupannya. Dalam pajalanan babuu kuyuk nya bacaai (bapisah) dai tuan nya.
Dalam kasadihan oang ani pun inda tahu lagi mana ah kuyuk nya. Kuyuk ani nganya haapan untuk luih babuu macam bilang kali ; Nasip nya baik inda samana-mana ia tadangaa bunyi salak kuyuk nya.

Dituut akan nya bunyi salak kuyuk atu sampai tah tajumpa sabuah sungai. Tapi bila sudah di sungai atu inda lagi tadangaa bunyi2 kuyuknya atu, tapi oang atu inda putus asa kan ndapatkan kuyuk nya atu sabab ia hantap picayanya yang kuyuk nya atu inda jauh daie sungai atu. Lihat punya lihat di sungai atu ada aiing buinih-buinih ah limbauuh sungai hampii siing nya melihat-lihat kuyuk kasayangan nya atu. Oang atu hantap jua kan tahu apa bangsanya yg buinih-buinih ah limbauh atu jadi di ingatinya banaa2.

SAKALI TAHU KUYUK NYA TIMBUL DAIE AIING MBAWA KALI SUNGKO AH MULUTNYA . . ."

Bah atu tah nganya panyudahan caita ani. Bila kamu ada caita-caita Kadayan, antat aah ku. Dapat jua kita dangaa-dangaa.

Taima kasih banyak-banyak aah Sdr Arkin Hj Garai. Batambah-tambah hensem liau kita ani.

ISLAM UMMAH AND GLOBAL CHALLENGES (Part 4)

Sunni and Shi’a Conflict

Before I go any further, let me share some information about the two biggest Muslim sub-groups namely the Sunni Muslim and Shi’a Muslim. The readers must understand and recognise that both Sunni and Shi’a Muslims share the most fundamental Islamic beliefs and articles of faith. The differences between these two main sub-groups within Islam initially stemmed not from spiritual differences, but political ones. Over the centuries, however, these political differences have spawned a number of varying practices and positions which have come to carry a spiritual significance.

If any of the information I produce in this article are inaccurate or out of context, kindly let me know and I am very much obliged to ammend or effect changes to improve the quality of information in this blog.

Sunni Muslims or Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamaah

The word "Sunni" in Arabic comes from a word meaning "one who follows well-trodden path and the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h).”

The term Sunni Muslim refers to the great majority of the world's Muslims (approximately 85% - 90%), distinguishing them as the Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamaah ("the people of the sunnah and the community") from the Shia Muslims. Sunni Muslims are, by this definition, Muslims who strictly follow the Al-Quran and Sunnah (practices) of the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) and preserve the unity and integrity of the community. Anyone who stands within the mainstream of the Islamic tradition and acts in accordance with generally accepted practices of the community is, therefore, a Sunni. Most Muslims see the Sunnah as complementary to the Koran insofar as it explains certain points and elaborates some Quranic principles by offering details necessary for the practice of Islamic law.

Sunni Muslims view the caliph (khalifah) as a temporal leader only and consider an imam to be a prayer leader.

Shi’a Muslims

The word "Shi’a" in Arabic means a group or supportive party of people. The commonly-known term is shortened from the historical "Shia-t-Ali," or "the Party of Ali." They are also known as followers of "Ahl-al-Bayt" or "People of the Household" (of the Prophet)

Shi’a Muslim adheres to the teachings of Islamic Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) and the religious guidance of his family (who are referred to as the Ahl al-Bayt) or his descendants known as Shi'a Imams, whom they consider to be infallible. The Shi’a Muslims believe that following the demise of Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h), leadership should have passed directly to his cousin/son-in-law, Saidina ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (r.a), rejecting the legitimacy of the first three caliphs (khalifah) of Islamic history. The first three Caliphs (khalifah) are Saidina Abu Bakr Siddiq (r.a), Saidina Umar Ibn al-Khattab (r.a) and Saidina Uthman ibn Affan (r.a).

Shi’a Muslims view the other caliphs (khalifah) were merely de facto rulers while the rightful and true leadership continued to be passed along through a sort of succession of Prophet Muhammad's (p.b.u.h) descendants.

Shi’a Muslims make up about 10% - 15% of Muslims all over the world. Significant populations of Shi’a Muslims can be found in Iran and Iraq, and large minority communities in Yemen, Bahrain, Syria, and Lebanon.

The Divide

The division between Shi’a and Sunni dates back to the time of the demise of the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h), and the question of who was to take over the leadership of the Muslim nation. Sunni Muslims agree with the position taken by many of the Prophet's companions, that the new leader should be elected from among those capable of the job. This is what was done, and the Prophet Muhammad's (p.b.u.h) close friend and advisor, Saidina Abu Bakr Siddiq (r.a), became the first Caliph of the Islamic nation.

On the other hand, some Muslims share the belief that leadership should have stayed within the Prophet's own family, among those specifically appointed by him, or among Imams appointed by God Himself.

From this initial question of political leadership, some aspects of spiritual life have been affected and now differ between the two groups of Muslims.

Shi’a Muslims believe that the Imam is sinless by nature, and that his authority is infallible as it comes directly from God. Therefore, Shi’a Muslims often venerate the Imams as saints and perform pilgrimages to their tombs and shrines in the hopes of divine intercession. Sunni Muslims counter that there is no basis in Islam for a hereditary privileged class of spiritual leaders, and certainly no basis for the veneration or intercession of saints. Sunni Muslims contend that leadership of the community is not a birthright, but a trust that is earned and which may be given or taken away by the people themselves.

Shi’a Muslims also feel animosity towards some of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h), based on their positions and actions during the early years of discord about leadership in the community. Many of these companions (Saidina Abu Bakr, Saidina Umar, Saidatina Aisha, etc.) have narrated traditions about the Prophet's life and spiritual practice. Shi’a Muslims reject these traditions and do not base any of their religious practices on the testimony of these individuals. This naturally gives rise to some differences in religious practice between the two groups.

It is important to remember that despite all of these differences in opinion and practice, Shi’a and Sunni Muslims share the main articles of Islamic belief and are considered by most to be brethren in faith. In fact, most Muslims do not distinguish themselves by claiming membership in any particular group, but prefer to call themselves simply, "Muslims".

The Conflicts

As I have mentioned in Part 2 of this article, political, economic and ethnic factors have also driven people of the same faith to fight each other. The already fragile balance of power between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims in Iraq was further aggravated by the US-led invasion of Iraq in March, 2003.

Sunni and Shi’a Muslims have not always been openly hostile. In many parts of the world they live together peacefully. During Saddam’s regime, the Sunni and Shi’a Muslims in Iraq were able to live together and get along well. The political scenario changed drastically after the invasion and its continuous occupation till to this day where sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shi’a Muslims are common sight in Iraq.

Under Saddam regime, the Sunnis ruled Iraq, even though they were the minority. But throughout the world, Sunni Muslims vastly outnumber Shi’a Muslims. There are approximately 1.3 billion Muslims, and only about 15 percent are Shi’a. But Shi’a Muslims are the majority in Iraq and the overwhelming majority in Iran.

What caused the deep division between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims in Iraq? Why can’t they unite for once to achieve a common goal i.e. to liberate Iraq from the illegal occupation of the US-lead forces? After all both of them are Muslims. Or is it the U.S. military and political strategy to let the sectarian violence continue and later escalate the conflict to a civil war in Iraq? In my opinion, the Divide and Rule strategy has been well implemented by the U.S. in Iraq. Successful? Not too sure!

On the other hand, is it true that the sectarian violence in Iraq is a sign of the Shi’a revival as mentioned by Vali Nasr in his book entitled THE SHIA REVIVAL: HOW CONFLICTS WITHIN ISLAM WILL SHAPE THE FUTURE. I have the opportunity to browse the excerpt of the book as well as several articles and interviews by Vali Nasr that helped me to better understand the political landscape of Sunni and Shi’a Muslims in Iraq and Lebanon in particular and Iran in general. But don't be mistaken, this is not the only reference I sought to write this article in the most balanced and unbiased manner.

For a Malaysian laymen like me and may be some of the readers too, it is very difficult for us to really understand and appreciate the Shi’a – Sunni conflicts in its true sense simply because of the distance factor and the other notable reason is that I would say 100% of Muslims of the Far East (Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Southern Philippines, Southern Thailand and Singapore) are Ahlu Sunnah Waljamaah. But thanks to the ICT, internet and multimedia technology that enabled Malaysian to access vast information and free flow of video and audio streaming delivered direct to our homes via broadband technology.

On a personal note, my first encounter with the Shi'a Muslims was in England way back in my student's days in 1978. I have both Sunni and Shi'a Muslim friends from the Middle Eastern countries notably from Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. At first, I was slightly taken a back by the way my Shi'a friends performing their prayers. Being Malaysian, Ahlu Sunnah Waljamaah and adopting the practices of Mazhab As-Shafiee, I began to realise only then, that the Shi'a Muslims are "different" in many aspects from Muslims in Malaysia. Over the period of 3 years I began to learn more about the Shi'a Muslims as well as Sunni Muslims from other Mazhabs namely Hanafi, Maliki and Hambali.

Malaysia is very fortunate to have good government under the able leadership of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who embraces the concept of power sharing. To achieve a politically stable government in a multi religious, multi racial and multi ethnic society of Malaysian fabric is extremely difficult task. But, Alhamdullilah, Malaysia has been so far very successful in managing major crisis and tragedies.

The Malaysian success stories in overcoming major political, racial and economic crisis and tragedies is not by chance but are the results of cohesiveness between the Malaysian people and the government. The dynamics behind the cohesiveness is none other than our extraordinaire high level of TOLERANCE which is the essence of our value system. Our very own approaches through Islam Hadhari, which is the brain-child of our Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has further enhanced the Malaysian Value System to the next level.

In Part 5 of the article ISLAM UMMAH AND GLOBAL CHALLENGES, I will try my level best to analyse the Shi’a – Sunni Conflict in more detail in the context of Iraq and Lebanon.

To be continued…….

ISLAM UMMAH AND GLOBAL CHALLENGES (Part 3)

Overview of the Challenges Facing the Muslim Ummah

The challenges facing the Muslim ummah are very complex. To reach to an amicable and long lasting solutions to the continuous injustice, oppression or aggression against Muslim countries by the predominantly Western powers is viewed as near impossible. Nevertheless, efforts to achieve long lasting solutions to the problem are being endlessly pursued by leaders of Muslim world through various organisations, dialogues and forums which include the Arab League (League of the Arab States), Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), individual Muslim leaders and various peace initiatives organised by Western powers.

Depicted below are the major challenges that caused deep division between the West and the Muslim world.

1. We do not need to go into the long and occasionally tortuous episodes of the history of Islam to establish this. Suffice it is to mention here that in the last nearly sixty years and to this day, the primary issue driving a wedge between the two worlds has been the Palestinian issue. No other issue has alienated the Muslim world from the United States in particular as much as this issue. Palestine is also the issue that divides the Arab and Muslim world and Israel;

2. The readers will agree with me that the further deterioration in the relations at present dates from the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, the “war” on terror, and the invasion of Iraq by predominantly Western powers. In the years since then other developments have aggravated the situation. Terrorist attacks against Western interests in Indonesia, the bombings in Madrid and London, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and the persistent unrest in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to arouse sentiment on both sides;

3. The pressure on Iran mounted by Western powers to prevent it from enriching uranium for peaceful nuclear energy because of suspicion that Iran will develop nuclear weapons. The West on the other hand turns a studiously blind eye on the nuclear weapons already possessed by Israel. One of the ironies of the situation is that this same nuclear weapon-armed Israel is condemning Iran for allegedly developing nuclear weapons. No Western power appears to notice anything odd about this.

4. The other major issue is the denial of assistance to the Palestinian people and the government of their democratic choice by Western powers, because Hamas is considered a terrorist organisation and because it has not recognised Israel and the road-map. Even taxes collected on behalf of the Palestinian government and people, which is legitimately theirs, is withheld by Israel in violation of all moral and legal principles. In the meantime what was already a critical situation in the occupied Palestinian territories is developing into a humanitarian disaster, and the situation is being allowed to descend into chaos.

5. One cannot leave this discussion of the factors aggravating relations between the West and the Muslim world without mentioning the unfortunate association of terrorism with Islam and Muslims. We must hold three main parties accountable for this: the groups that commit terror in the name of Islam; governments that attempt to demonise and thereby criminalise legitimate movements of resistance and national liberation, and the media.

As a matter of fact, Muslims see the killings of Palestinians and the blatant US support of Israel as a direct attack against the Islamic world as a whole. The al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Ladin, for instance, has cited the Palestinian struggle as one of the reasons why his organisation has launched the 9/11 attacks in the US and the London bombing in July 2005.

As I have mentioned in my other article in this blog pertaining to the invasion of Iraq in which the US bypassed the United Nations and subsequently invaded Iraq under the false pretext that Baghdad had weapons of mass destruction (WMD). What is more, while the Bush Administration supported India’s development of nuclear programs, it opposes Iran’s. Why, Muslims worldwide ask. Is because Iran is a Muslim nation and India is not?

Thus, Muslims across the world have increasingly joined the Islamic struggle against the US and its allies, including Australia, India and the UK. In Asia, for instance, terrorist attacks continue to happen in Pakistan and India as of this writing, following the two bombings in the Indonesian island of Bali in 2002 and 2005 as well as those of the Marriott Hotel and the Australian Embassy in Jakarta in 2003 and 2004, respectively.

In what they see as their defence against the rise of the West and its anti-Islamic values and the unilateral US foreign policy, leaders of Muslim organisations have found no other way other than resigning themselves to terrorism.

In summary, I would like to quote the speech by our former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, at the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on October 16, 2003:

QUOTE - None of our countries are truly independent. We are under pressure to conform to our oppressors’ wishes about how we should behave, how we should govern our lands, how we should think even.

Today if they want to raid our country, kill our people, destroy our villages and towns, there is nothing substantial that we can do. Is it Islam which has caused all these? Or is it that we have failed to do our duty according to our religion?

Our only reaction is to become more and more angry. Angry people cannot think properly. And so we and some of our people reacting irrationally. They launch their own attacks, killing just about anybody including fellow Muslims to vent their anger and frustration. Their Governments can do nothing to stop them. The enemy retaliates and puts more pressure on the Governments. And the Governments have no choice but to give in, to accept the directions of the enemy, literally to give up their independence of action.

There is a feeling of hopelessness among the Muslim countries and their people. They feel that they can do nothing right. They believe that things can only get worse... They will forever be poor, backward and weak. Some believe, this is the Will of Allah that the proper state of the Muslims is to be poor and oppressed in this world.

But is it true that we should do and can do nothing for ourselves? Is it true that 1.3 billion people can exert no power to save themselves from the humiliation and oppression inflicted upon them by a much smaller enemy? Can they only lash back blindly in anger? Is there no other way than to ask our young people to blow themselves up and kill people and invite the massacre of more of our own people?-UNQUOTE

To be continued…….

ISLAM UMMAH AND GLOBAL CHALLENGES (Part 2)

Introduction

This article will delve into the challenges faced by Muslim Ummah in the context of political, social and economic perspectives. Let me emphasise here that the writer will refrain himself from discussing issues pertaining to Islamic faith per se, simply because I am not a qualified person to delve into the issue. I am a responsible Muslim and I would not like my opinion and perception about Islamic faith to mislead the readers particularly if it is something to do with the “akidah”, the most fundamental and the very basic of our Islamic faith.

Conflicts between people professing different beliefs are nothing new. They have occurred since time immemorial. Often however, the conflicts are not so much conflicts between followers of different faiths. Rather, they are conflicts between people of different ethnic groups, or people who have conflicting political and economic interests, who happen to be of different faiths. The differences in faith then become emphasised, and are used by the conflicting parties in different ways to serve their objectives and interests.

We can recall many such examples in history as well as in contemporary times. The Reconquista between Christians and Muslims that was waged over eight centuries revolved around territory although religion distinguished the two sides. More recent examples include the conflict involving Muslims, Roman Catholics and Serbian Orthodox in Bosnia-Herzegovena; Russian Orthodox Christians and Muslims in Chechnya; Jews, Muslims and Christians in Palestine; mostly Hindus and Muslims in Kashmir; Muslims and Buddhists in southern Thailand; Muslims and Catholics in southern Philippines; Muslims and Christians in Indonesia’s Ambon and Halmahera provinces; and Christians and Muslims in the former East Timor.

Sometimes the conflict is between people who are within the same family of religion, such as between Sunni and Shi’a in Iraq and Pakistan.

Political, economic and ethnic factors have also driven people of the same faith to fight each other. In fact, the bloodiest war and conflict of this nature was fought between Muslims in the case of Iraq and Iran.

But my focus in this article is on the prevailing tensions between the West and the Muslim world which in my personal opinion is the root cause of the challenges faced by the Muslim world today.

Extremism and radicalism has indeed become the scourge in many parts of the world today. Terrorist attacks against Western targets perpetrated by groups in the name of Islam since September 11 has also triggered strong suspicion and distrust of Muslim minorities living in Western countries. There is now perceptible intolerance and antipathy towards Muslims driven by a new wave of Islamophobia.

Islamophobia must be removed and the international community must take a stand to stop actions which contribute, directly or indirectly, to the perpetuation of injustice, oppression or aggression against Muslim countries and the Muslim ummah anywhere and everywhere.

The international community has a clear duty to disallow the marginalization of Muslims and instead enable them to take part in influencing and setting the international agenda. The increasing gap and misunderstanding between the West and the Muslim world must be bridged. But it requires both sides to work in tandem to close the chasm.

Perhaps the worst manifestation of this religious dimension of the tensions between the West and the Muslim world was the controversy over the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h). Already alienated by a host of other perceived injustices, the Muslim world closed ranks and erupted in anger, because pictorial depictions of the prophets of Islam, including Moses and Jesus, are prohibited by the religion. Associating a bomb denoting terrorism with the revered Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) incensed Muslims around the globe.

I must say, the main objective of this article at the end of the day is to provide sufficient information and understanding on the dynamics of the global challenges faced by Muslim ummah, hence in a small way would assist the readers to appreciate Islam Hadhari in its true meaning and perspective as the driving force to achieve peace, security and political stability in the Muslim world.

To be continued…….

ISLAM UMMAH AND GLOBAL CHALLENGES

Abstract

This article is written to clarify issues in my own way and style, pertaining to the views by some quarters who perceived that the challenges faced by the Muslim Ummah of this decade are the end results attributed by ways Islam was taught, influenced and propagated by the past and current Islamic preachers, scholars, thinkers and ulamaks who failed to provide connection to the real life situation. According to these school of thoughts, such predicament had created regression, negation, backwardness, insensitiveness towards global challenges, anti- modernisation, anti-establishment, oblivious to reality of life, creation of Al-Qaeda & Taliban and various other negative connotations that are labelled against the genuine Islamic preachers, scholars, thinkers and ulamaks alike.

As a layman and a responsible Muslim, I am prompted to write this article as a minute / small contribution to a bigger picture which had been or will be discussed and brain-stormed by experts or think tank groups on the subject matter. I’m not part of the groups, thus this article is written based on my personal opinion and perception of the challenges faced by Muslim Ummah. I am trying to position myself as part of the solution provider rather than part of the problem. There are so many people out there who considered themselves as scholars and thinkers but in actual fact they are part of the problem instead of the solution. They can talk and write in the most convincing ways, but talking and writing alone will not produce tangible results. They are good in creating approaches but failed in its deployment and producing results.

A glaring example is when our Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi introduced Islam Hadhari, several people who consider themselves as Islamic scholars openly declared that Islam Hadhari as a step backward and an act of regression and even worst some people branded Islam Hadhari as unislamic and accused the Prime Minister as a creator of another Islamic sect or denomination.

The people who proclaimed themselves as Islamic scholars and thinkers with Ph.D and Masters Degrees behind their names are excellent writers with the ability to write in excellent English and producing convincing evidences to substantiate their opinions and claims to the extent that the readers are being lured to literally believing what was written by such writers. Nevertheless, not every reader is dumb stupid to swallow every thing written by such writers. There are great many people out there who are capable to use their grey matter to evaluate the whole situation and considered those opinions as an insult to their intelligence.

As I have declared in my blogs, I am not a writer, neither a columnist nor a journalist. I cannot write in excellent English with jargons and bombastic words but what I can do is to write in plain and simple English to express my opinion to be easily understood by the readers who are in the same level as my self. For those readers out there who think their IQ (intelligence quotient) is very much above, and then my advice is to leave now and look for something else commensurate with your degree of intelligence. This blog may just not a place for you.

Due to its vastness, this article will be divided into several series that will encompass topics of interest, which in my personal opinion are relevant to the title of this article namely ISLAM UMMAH AND GLOBAL CHALLENGES…..A.S. Kasah

Content

The content of this article will encompass the following topics: -

1. Introduction
2. Overview of the challenges facing the Islam Ummah;
3. Sunni and Shia Muslims
4. The four Mazhab
5. Backlashes and aftermath of the 9/11;
6. War on terror and weapon of mass destruction (WMD);
7. The plight of Palestinian people
8. U.S. Economy and its impact on global markets
9. The Way Forward

To be continued…….

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…….

SELAMAT MENYAMBUT MA'AL HIJRAH 1429 H

Assalamu'alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

Besempena dengan Maal Hijrah yang akan kita sambut esok, saya dan seluruh ahli keluarga ingin mengucapkan Selamat Menyambut Maal Hijrah 1429 H. Semoga di tahun baru ini kita akan dimurahkan rezeki dan sentiasa mendapat rahmat dan hidayah dari Allah SWT.

Jutaan terima kasih saya ucapkan kepada pengunjung-pengunjung yang budiman yang selama ini telah menyokong kemunculan blog ini.

Salam hormat. Terima kasih.

OLDEN DAYS KADAYAN - In a Savage Land (Part 3)

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيم
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Firman Allah SWT di dalam Surah Ar-Baqara Ayat 191 yang bermaksud,
Dan bunuhlah mereka di mana sahaja kamu menjumpai mereka, dan usirlah mereka dari mana sahaja mereka mengusir kamu; penganiayaan (fitnah) adalah lebih besar daripada pembunuhan, dan janganlah memerangi mereka di Masjidil Haram (Masjid Suci) sehingga mereka memerangi kamu di dalamnya. Kemudian, jika mereka memerangi kamu, bunuhlah mereka. Itulah balasan ke atas orang-orang yang tidak percaya (And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. And fight not with them at the Inviolable Place of Worship until they first attack you there, but if they attack you (there) then slay them. Such is the reward of disbelievers.)- Surah Al-Baqara Ayat 191

In a Savage Land

Let us travel through the passage of time to the 15th century Island of Borneo. This was the same time as the Golden Age of Malacca during the reign of Sultan Mansur Shah and the era of the legendary Malay warrior, none other than Hang Tuah. What was it like then in the Island of Borneo? The interior parts of the Island of Borneo were mostly inhabited by the indigenous people called the Dayak tribes, whereas the coastal areas were inhabited by native inhabitants of Malay origin. The Dayak tribes are sub divided into many other tribes such as Punan, Kenyah, Iban, Murut etc to mention just a few. The sub tribes are divided again into about 400 smaller tribes inhabiting various places of the Island of Borneo. The Dayak tribes of the Island of Borneo were very notorious and savage people. They were well known for tribal and communal warfare and of course the head hunting.



The tribal and communal warfare were sparked off mainly due to territorial disputes, trespassing & encroachments, leaderships, family feuds, disregarding cultural and traditional practices, marriage, and personal conflicts. In a highly sensitive tribal environment any issues regardless of its intensity would spark off serious tribal and communal warfare, creating deep division amongst the tribal communities that lasted for a life time.

Head hunting is synonym to the Island of Borneo where according to the belief of the Dayak people, dried human skulls provided the most powerful magic in the world, vital transfusions of energy. After decapitating the enemy, great homecoming celebrations awaited returning warriors. The brains were carefully extracted through the nostrils, and then fresh ULU (heads) were placed in plaited rattan nets and smoke-cured over fires.

According to their beliefs, a good head could save a village from plague, produce rain, ward off evil spirits, or triple rice yields. Dayak people believed a man's spirit continued to inhabit his head after death. Surrounded by palm leaves, heads were offered food and tobacco, so their spirits would forgive, forget, and feel welcome in their new home. New heads increased the prestige of the owner and impressed sweethearts; they were an initiation into manhood.



In some tribes, a head's powers increased over time; cherished skulls were handed down from generation to generation. The beliefs varied from tribe to tribe, in some tribes, a head's magic faded with age, so fresh heads were needed to replenish the older ones. Such belief was the driving force behind the ruthless killings to obtain new heads. Villages without ULU were spiritually weak, easy prey for enemies and pestilence.

Living in a savage land of lawlessness, where the strong dominated the weak and “kill or be killed” environment, is unspeakable in a modern society like now. The head hunters were not ordinary people from the tribal community. They were warriors, trained to execute their tasks successfully i.e. to kill and decapitate the enemies’ heads. Their looks were gruesome, “dressed” in their half-naked warriors’ attire, tattooed bodies and equipped with weaponry suitable for the purpose. The tribal warriors or the head hunters were savage, vicious, notorious and ruthless people of their time.

The Kadayan people of the time were nomadic, shifting from one place to another looking for better and fertile areas for their agriculture activities. The Kadayan people were defined as “coastal” people of the Island of Borneo by the early western emissaries. In actual fact, the Kadayan people were not really the “coastal” people of the Borneo Island where they were depending on the sea as fishermen to support their livelihood. Traditionally, Kadayan people were never been fishermen as compared to other coastal indigenous people of Island of Borneo, like the Brunei Malay for example.

The traditional KADAYAN people settlements were in a “buffer” zone, somewhere in between the savage people of the interior and the coastal people of Island of Borneo. Being nomadic, coupled with their nature of settlements, the Kadayan people were under CONSTANT THREATS and HARASSMENTS from the savage people of the interior and in many occasions they themselves were the victims of the head hunters and tribal warfare. Such predicaments compelled the Kadayan people to develop their own “defence systems” against the act of the savage people of the interior of Borneo Island.

It would be wonderful if there is any where we can “carbon date” the beginning of time when the Kadayan people first developed their defence system. In my personal opinion, in depth research should be done to determine when and how the Kadayan people acquired their “defence systems” so superior that lasted over generations enabling the Kadayan people to earn their reputation as the ultimate warrior of their time.

My analysis on The Olden Days Kadayan had just begun where every key word in the Olden Days Kadayan definition I have given earlier will be substantiated accordingly. To refresh our memory, let me re-quote the definition: -

“KADAYAN PEOPLE WERE THE MOST FEARLESS, INVULNERABLE, NOTORIOUS AND RUTHLESS NATIVE OF THE ISLAND OF BORNEO, FEARED BY MOST NATIVES AND TRIBES OF THE ISLAND FOR THEIR UNSURPASSED MYSTICAL , SPIRITUAL AND SUPERNATURAL POWERS.”

The key words are fearless, invulnerable, notorious, ruthless, mystical, spiritual and supernatural.



A flying Malay warrior



The Olden Days Kadayan “Defence Systems” may be categorised as follows: -

1. Defensive – the defence systems were used to protect their settlement (village), properties, family and self in the form of physical and spiritual means. Technically the defence systems are known as 1st, 2nd and 3rd Line of Defence. These systems will be elaborated in the later parts of this write-up.

2. Offensive – the offensive mechanisms were used to outwit the enemies in the form of both physical and spiritual means. Besides the extreme “words” used in the definition above, the Olden Days Kadayan people were also SHREWD and DECEPTIVE. Such characteristics are still notable amongst the present day Kadayan people.

Besides the “Defence System” the Kadayan people also acquired other trades and skills to enhance their livelihood of their time. Overtime, the Kadayan people perfected their skills in various fields such as planting of hill paddy & cash crops, fresh water fishing, hunting, defence against wild animals & supernatural beings, medicinal herbs, handicraft, and other skills that were considered of paramount importance to their survival in a harsh and challenging environment of their time. I called these skills as “Survival Skills” and will be discussed in later parts of this article.

To be continued…….

OLDEN DAYS KADAYAN (Part 2)

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Firman Allah SWT di dalam Surah An-Nisa Ayat 91 yang bermaksud,

Kamu akan mendapati yang lain, yang menghendaki untuk aman daripada kamu, dan aman daripada kaum mereka. Setiap kali mereka dikembalikan kepada pertikaian, mereka digulingkan di dalamnya. Jika mereka tidak berundur daripada kamu, dan tidak melemparkan perdamaian kepada kamu, dan tidak menahan tangan-tangan mereka, maka ambillah mereka, dan bunuhlah mereka di mana sahaja kamu menjumpai mereka; terhadap mereka, Kami memberi kamu satu kuasa yang nyata. (Ye will find others who desire that they should have security from you, and security from their own folk. So often as they are returned to hostility they are plunged therein. If they keep not aloof from you nor offer you peace nor hold their hands, then take them and kill them wherever ye find them. Against such We have given you clear warrant.) - Surah An-Nisa Ayat 91






Google Earth Image of the Island of Borneo







Remnants of our pasts / roots (cont…….)

Before I proceed any further, I just would like to give the readers a brief overview of Borneo Island which is the “ancestral land” of the Kadayan people. I assume Borneo Island is our ancestral land because there are no written historical documents to suggest otherwise. There were some theories that the Kadayan people were originated from Javanese Island and some said from Sumatra, Indonesia. Both theories were not substantiated accordingly and therefore my assumption that Borneo Island is our ancestral land still stand until proven otherwise.

At this moment in time, I consider the Sultanate State of Brunei as special due to the fact that the Kadayan people recorded history begun in the State, thus the history of the Sultanate State of Brunei is expanded in this article.

Depicted below are the key facts of Borneo Island: -

Key Facts of Borneo Island

References:
1. National Geographic website
2. Asean Focus website
3. Islamic World.Net
4. Asian Development Bank Institute

Approximate area : 287,000 square miles
Political regions : Kalimantan (Indonesia), Sabah & Sarawak (Malaysia) and Negara
Brunei Darussalam
Highest peak : Mt Kinabalu (13,455 ft) in the State of Sabah, Malaysia
Indigenous people : More than 400 tribes (non-Malay (non-Muslim) and Malay (Muslim))
Non-Malay : Dayak and its sub-tribes, Kadazan / Dusun and its sub-tribes
Malay : Indigenous people of Kalimantan, Sarawak, Sabah and Brunei Malay origin. Kadayan ethnic is in this group.

Historical facts:

15th Century : Arrival of Islam followed by the arrival of emissaries of Spain
and Portugal
17th Century : Arrival of the Dutch and British



The arrival of Islam to Indonesia was recorded in history as early as 1281 A.D. when Chinese Chronicles record an embassy led by two Muslims from Jambi or Melayu Sumatra to the Mongol court. In the Malay Peninsula, the first physical evidence of the arrival of Islam was found at a spot twenty miles up the Terengganu River. There, a stone inscribed with Arabic letters has been found, dating as far back as 1386 A.D. or probably 1326 A.D.

The arrival of Islam at the Moroland was in the year 1210 AC, that is more than three centuries before the arrival of Christianity brought by Ferdinand Magellan (a Portuguese who was then working for Spain) to the region in the year 1521 AC. The arrival of Islam to Mindanao and Sulu is most probably was the result of the missionary activities of Arab traders and teachers or sufis who came along the trade routes, and this is agreed by most of the historians. The participation of some Muslims from the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent is also admitted. This kind of spreading the Islam also occurs in other Muslim Sultanate such as Malayan Peninsula, Indonesia and Borneo. Philippines is famous with its Muslim Sultanates, they are, the Sultanate of Sulu embracing Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Palawan and the neighbouring islands the Sultanate of Mindanao where most of the Muslims are now living.


The Sultanate State of Brunei was a small cog in the early Southeast trading networks but well enough known to figure in the records of the major states. The Brunei ruler seems to have converted to Islam in the middle of the 15th century when he married a daughter of the ruler of Melaka (now Malacca in Peninsular Malaysia). The Portuguese conquest of Melaka in 1511 closed it to Muslim traders, forcing them to look elsewhere. Brief history of Brunei is as follows: -

Timeline (Brunei History)

1987: Brunei joins ASEAN
1984: Brunei becomes a sovereign state
1962: State of Emergency declared after first and only elections held
1959: Self government
1920: Oil and natural gas was discovered
1888: Britain declares Brunei a protectorate
1839: James Brooke arrives and becomes the Governor and "White Rajah" of Sarawak (then part of Brunei)
18th century: Brunei's area of economic and political influence gradually declined
16th and 17th centuries: Brunei becomes a major regional Kingdom extending to southern Philippines, Sabah and Sarawak
1521: Magellan visits a flourishing trading community linked to Southeast Asia and China
14th century: Brunei claimed as part of the Majapahit Empire
6th - 9th centuries: Kingdom of Puni on northwest coast of Kalimantan paying tribute to China

The Ancestral Land of Kadayan People

Which part of Borneo Island was the ancestral land of Kadayan? This is a tough simple question to answer. The most probable locations are the Sultanate State of Brunei, Kutai Karta Negara (Eastern Kalimantan) or Banjarmasin (South Kalimantan). My justifications for the assumptions are as follows: -






The Sultanate State of Brunei







• Majority of Kadayan people now are found in the Sultanate State of Brunei. Similarity in dialects between Brunei Malay and Kadayan are most notable and therefore their coexistence was not a coincidence. If Kadayan people were “brought” by the Sultan of Brunei (as suggested by many)from other parts of Borneo or from Java or Sumatra or from other places of the region for that matter to the Sultanate State of Brunei, how do we explain the similarities of the Kadayan dialect with that of Brunei Malay? Is it evolutionary or assimilation process? Not likely, the reason is simply that the known traditional Kadayan people settlement was never together with that of Brunei Malay, even to this date. This may suggest that the Kadayan people are native inhabitants of the Sultanate State of Brunei;

• There are reports mentioning that amongst the indigenous people of Kutai, one of them shares about 90% dialect similarities with that of Kadayan people. If the report is true, how do we explain such similarities? The probable reason are the origin of Kadayan people were from Kutai or the other possibility is that the Kadayan people were taken to Kutai by the Sultan of Brunei as “gift” to the Sultan of Kutai then, because the Kadayan people were well known for their courage and bravery. Kadayan people were born warriors;





Banjar Community during breaking of fast





• The other possibility is that the origin of Kadayan was from South Kalimantan. This theory is supported by dialect similarities between Banjar people and the Kadayan people. It is not known what are the percentile similarities between the two dialects but I presume it is not that high.

We have a few Banjar families in our village and as a matter of fact my wife is a Banjar herself, I don’t seem to understand their dialect very well. There are of course a few Banjar words such as “batian, bakamih, sabuting, paloi, etc.” which are similar to our Kadayan dialect. Such similarities to me do not provide sufficient justification to suggest that the Kadayan people were from Banjarmasin because there are more similarities in our dialect with Bahasa Melayu than with Banjar dialect. If the Banjar theory is applied here, there is also a possibility that the Kadayan people were from Peninsula Malaysia. Such similarities to me are the characteristic of the various languages and dialects spoken by races and ethnic groups of the Malay Archipelago.

To be continued…….

OLDEN DAYS KADAYAN (Part 1)

Sahih AlBukhari







REMINDER

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Firman Allah SWT di dalam Surah Al-Baqarah Ayat 102 yang bermaksud,
"Mereka (membelakangkan Kitab Allah) dan mengikut ajaran-ajaran sihir yang dibacakan oleh puak-puak Syaitan dalam masa pemerintahan Nabi Sulaiman, padahal Nabi Sulaiman tidak mengamalkan sihir yang menyebabkan kekufuran itu, akan tetapi puak-puak Syaitan itulah yang kafir (dengan amalan sihirnya) kerana merekalah yang mengajarkan manusia ilmu sihir dan apa yang diturunkan kepada dua malaikat: Harut dan Marut, di negeri Babil (Babylon), sedang mereka berdua tidak mengajar seseorang pun melainkan setelah mereka menasihatinya dengan berkata: Sesungguhnya kami ini hanyalah cubaan (untuk menguji imanmu), oleh itu janganlah engkau menjadi kafir (dengan mempelajarinya). Dalam pada itu ada juga orang-orang yang mempelajari dari mereka berdua: Ilmu sihir yang boleh menceraikan antara seorang suami dengan isterinya, padahal mereka tidak akan dapat sama sekali memberi mudarat (atau membahayakan) dengan sihir itu seseorang pun melainkan dengan izin Allah dan sebenarnya mereka mempelajari perkara yang hanya membahayakan mereka dan tidak memberi manfaat kepada mereka dan demi sesungguhnya mereka (kaum Yahudi itu) telahpun mengetahui bahawa sesiapa yang memilih ilmu sihir itu tidaklah lagi mendapat bahagian yang baik di akhirat. Demi sesungguhnya amat buruknya apa yang mereka pilih untuk diri mereka, kalaulah mereka mengetahui." – Surah Al-Baqarah Ayat 102

Sabda Rasullullah SAW yang di riwayatkan oleh Bukhari dan Muslim berbunyi demikian,
"Jauhilah tujuh perkara besar yang merusak. Para sahabat bertanya: Apakah tujuh perkara itu, ya Rasulullah? Jawab Nabi, yaitu: 1) menyekutukan Allah; 2) sihir; 3) membunuh jiwa yang oleh Allah diharamkan kecuali karena hak; 4) makan harta riba; 5) makan harta anak yatim, 6) lari dari peperangan; 7) menuduh perempuan-perempuan baik, terjaga dan beriman." - Riwayat Bukhari dan Muslim





Silat (Kadayan Self-Defence)





Olden Days Kadayan (Part 1)

I have received some e-mails with regards to my promise to write an article pertaining to “SIFAT-SIFAT ORANG KADAYAN ZAMAN SILAM” asking me to write the article soonest. In response to their requests I’ve done a little bit of research and I am very much obliged to share it with all the readers. I am opening this article for an intellectual discussion and would like the readers to contribute their ideas, experiences, etc as told by their elders to enable us to reconstruct and visualise the Olden Days Kadayan way of life, environment, weaponry, clothing, daily chores and livelihood, traditional medicine, expertise and how they survive the mystical world of head hunters, black magic and lastly but not the least how Islam changed their way of life.

Firstly, I have to declare that I am not the authority to write this article, simply because I am not a historian neither a cultural activist nor an anthropologist. I am just a simple telecommunication engineer trying my level best to fill up the gap on a dull subject matter, so scarcely written by the Kadayan people themselves i.e. about our cultural heritage. I love my dialect, I love my cultural heritage and above all I am proud to be a Kadayan. I am proud to mention here that visionary Kadayan personalities such as Sdr Amde Sidik, Tn Hj Ramlee Dua, Sdr Mahmud Osman and the administrators of Kadayan Universe http://www.kadayanuniverse.com/ namely Indahau (Editor), Giin Buagas (Manager), Kaawai Tanah (Super Administrator) and Aaja Kadayan (Contributor) are the pioneers in their own rights attempting to research and revive the soul of our Kadayan cultural heritage. I am very sure there are more Kadayan people out there who are very well versed on this subject matter that can make positive contributions towards achieving our goals to document and preserve our cultural heritage for the benefit of our future generations.



It is nice to see if a documentary film about Kadayan people is shown on National Geographic or Discovery Channel or even in National Geographic Magazine for that matter. Such vision may be realised if we, all of us begin our contribution right now to document our very own cultural heritage. The least we can do is to make our own documentary film or ask TV3 or Astro Awani to make one for us. I think Tn Hj Osman Ahmad as the President of Sabah Kadayan Association has humongous roles to play here.

The contents of this article are generic and non-exhaustive due to the fact that a proper research has not been conducted particularly on the timeline and road maps that define Olden Days Kadayan. This article serves as a framework and I tried to make it as modular as possible to facilitate top-ups and future development.

Remnants of our pasts / roots

What is it that Kadayan people have now or we have known to have had that we can make up of our pasts? Sounds too complicated? Nevertheless I will make it easier for the readers to understand, just be patience and navigate through this article at your own pace. In order for us to visualise the Olden Days Kadayan, let us ask ourselves what are the remnants of our pasts that are most unique to best describe or define the Kadayan people? Based on my personal experience and as told by the Kadayan elders, I have constructed a preliminary definition that best describe the Kadayan people of the olden days.


KADAYAN PEOPLE WERE THE MOST FEARLESS, INVULNERABLE, NOTORIOUS AND RUTHLESS NATIVE OF THE ISLAND OF BORNEO, FEARED BY MOST NATIVES AND TRIBES OF THE ISLAND FOR THEIR UNSURPASSED MYSTICAL, SPIRITUAL AND SUPERNATURAL POWERS.

The above definition of Kadayan people can not be found in any dictionary or encyclopaedia because I made it up myself. Other definitions of Olden Days Kadayan are most welcome. Such definitions would facilitate us in the reconstruction of the Olden Days Kadayan. In defining the word Kadayan, I cannot afford to lose sight of the single most important aspect of Kadayan cultural heritage i.e. its mystical, spiritual and supernatural powers. No matter how negative, heinous and ugly it sounds in these modern days, but facts are facts and I am not the authority to change such facts. For the younger Kadayan generation, you have to accept the fact as it is and look forward for a better future. To some, the definition may be a bitter pill to swallow and to others it is just a passing remarks doomed to oblivion. Rewriting history to suit our taste is not a wise thing to do.

To be continued…….

NOSTALGIA MAJLIS KAAMAIAN DI KAMPUNG KADAYAN TAHUN 60an (Bah. 4)

Masjid al-Haram




Dialek : Kadayan Sabah

Naik Haji

Naik haji ani uja oang mulanya bukannya kasana macam atu nganya. Mau banyak basadia. Basadia atu maksudnya mangatahui SYARIAT dan MAKRIFAT haji atu sandiee. Bila kasana inda cukup palajaan inda ya baguna, ngabis akan usin nganya uja oang tuha-tuha mulanya. Tapi saingat-ingat ku oang kan naik haji mulanya inda ya bakursus macam kaang ani. Kaang ani hantap sanang kan naik haji, kursus haji dimana-mana ada, yang parcuma kah, yang babaai kah samuha ada, pilih saja mana yang kita tapakai. Tapi mulanya inda ya macam atu, saingat-ingat ku oang kan naik haji mulanya balajaa daie dangan yang sudah naik haji dan kitab-kitab PARUKUNAN. Mangkali aku salah, tapi yang ku ingat macam atu tah, bila ku salah tolong luus akan.

Tapi di kampung mulanya, ada jua oang tuha-tuha yang sudah naik haji dan dikia bapangalaman. Jadi bisia ani tah jadi rujukan dan tampat batanya-tanya. Bila ndangaa caita oang yang sudah naik haji banyak tia yang mbaie takut aie diee damit mulnya. Aku yang hantap ku takut amun oang tuha-tuha bacaita pasal sasat di Makah. Kan bilang oang yang naik haji mulanya bacaita pasal sasat di Makah. Uja dangan amun sasat di Makah ani ada sababnya, macam-macam tia caita dangan, tapi bagi pandapat aku lah, oang yang sasat atu sabab amai dangan, inda ya tahu aah kan nuju, sama tia nganya palihatannya. Lagi pun bisia atu kabanyakannya oang tuha-tuha, mata pun abun dikit-dikit, inda bacaamin mata. Tahu-tahu tah saja bahaau tah maasaie tajumpa oang amai, dikampung inda baapa amai, bilang haie kita bajalan, tahu sudah diee mana kan dituju, tapi di Makah jalama amai palihatan bisia sama tia nganya, jadi inda tah tahu kan dituju. Picaya banaa ku, oang amai macam atu, amun inda biaksa tatap sasat.

Takanang diee lagi mulanya, oang yang kan naik haji atu banyak yang kan di palajaie, satu daipadanya balajaa NGIKAT SAAL. Ada yang inda tahu SAAL tu apa? SAAL tu dalam Bahasa Malayunya SARBAN. Uja oang Kadayan SAAL. Ngikat saal ani yang sabanaanya bukan mudah, amun inda maasaie balajaa. Mudah tapacul, bila inda tahu malilit. SAAL ani simbol yang panting bagi oang yang sudah naik haji di kalangan oang Kadayan di kampung kami mulanya. Ia macam satu kamastian. Bila yang sudah naik haji atu misti makai SAAL. Takanang jua diee lagi, amun sambahyang aie aya aidil fitri atau aie aya haji, kala-kala sambahyang Jumaat pun ada, musim atu tah bila kan malihat oang tuha-tuha yang sudah naik haji, makai SAAL langkap bajubah, batali pinggang haji, makai minyak ATAR lagi tu, ada jua dua tiga oang yang mbali pakaian arab di Makah aienya naik haji mulanya makai pakaian Arab, langkap dian “head gear” yang ampat pasagi atau bulat di tauh aah SAAL yang inda balilit. Arab “head gear” yang babantuk ampat pasagi atau bulat atu inda ku takanag namanya, bila ada pambaca yang tahu namanya tolong baie tahu. Macam oang Arab upa bisia. Musim atu diee kakal damit, inda bakamera kan nangkap gambaa bisia. Bila ada gambaa hantap bangisnya kan di kanang-kanang uja dangan.

Ani kan babalik pasal caita ngikat SAAL, yang sabanaanya SAAL ani ada dua jinis yang aku tahu. Saal yang partama, kain alus, barwarna putih inda babunga-bunga, babantuk ampat pasagi. Saal yang nomboo dua, kain alus jua babantuk ampat pasagi tapi bawarna hitam atau miah-miah dikit dalam bantuk pitak-pitak damit, sieng SAAl atu ada bainda-inda di sakalilingnya. Cara ngikat kadua-dua SAAL atu pun balainan. Biaksanya SAAL yang putih atu diikat aah kupiah haji. Ikatannya pun adun. SAAL yang babunga-bunga atu yang diee talihat mulanya inda baapa adun ikatannya. Basaa upanya di kapala oang tuha-tuha yang makai SAAL atu.

Oang yang kan naik haji ani, aie kan batolak daie umah ada yang nuun akan. Takanang ku lagi aie diee damit-damit mulanya, ada dangan BABAANG lapas atu BASALAWAT. Sudah bisia kan batolak ada yang basadakah dahulu aah oang amai, tarutamanya kanak-kanak. Tapi bisia mbaie sadakah inda ya sawang-sawang gayanya, usin pacah atu dihamboo tia nganya macam atu. Apa lagi yang diee kanak-kanak ani iski hantap tah diee, baabut-abut ngambil usin, amun taluus aie hujan, banyak yang tadasoo, inda olah nih tanah likin. Abis kamah saluaa dian baju. Lapas atu bahaau tah bisia batolak. Biasanya amai dangan ngantat aie oang kan naik haji batolak. Tahun 50an atu oang batolak kan naik haji daie umah, bajalan batis nganya inda ada “UNGKAH” uja dangan. Jalan basaa pun balum ada, yang ada pajalanan batis nganya yang kala-kala licak amun musim hujan. Mulanya aie dangan batolak daie kampung kami, bila ku inda silap, ka Labuhan bisia dahulu. Daie Sipitang bisia naik paahu ka Labuhan, daie Labuhan atu inda tah ku tahu, sama ada batolak taus daie Labuhan atau ka Api-Api ya dahulu bahaau tah bisia batolak ke Jeddah. Bila ada yang tahu caita ani tolong padah-padah akan. Uja ku oang kan naik haji ani batolak ka Labuhan ya dahulu sabab atu tah jalan yang paling sanang sabab daie Sipitang dalam tahun 50an mulanya inda ada jalan ka Bopot (Beaufort, uja oang Kadayan BOPOT). Yang ada mungkin jalan kuita api daie Weston ka Bopot nganya, lapas atu bahaau tah ka Api-Api. Ada kamungkinan jua oang mulanya yang kan naik haji atu ka Weston ya dahulu, lapas atu taus ka Api-Api inda ya ka Labuhan tujunya. Yang tahu-tahu atu tolong baie tahu lai.



Mercedes F700 (in my 2008 wishlist, what a beautiful car!!)





Dalam tahun 50an atu, di kampung kami balum ada UNGKAH. Inda olah BAUNGKAH amun jalan pun inda ada. Ungkah ani saingat-ingat ku dalam tahun 60an bahaau tah maasaie talihat apa upanya ungkah atu. Yang sabanaanya “UNGKAH” ani daie bahasa oang Baitis macam “INGGIN” jua. Amun INGGIN atu datangnya daie tutuan oang Baitis “engine”, jadi lidah oang Kadayan ani KAAU dikit jadi tia INGGIN. Asal usul tutuan UNGKAH ani macam ani caitanya. Caita ani yang sabanaanya datang daie Labuhan bukan daie Masapol atau kampung-kampung Kadayan lain di Sipitang. Jaman Baitis mulanya di Labuhan, ada tah oang Kadayan yang jadi dareba Tuan Residen atau Tuan DO. Nama oang Kadayan yang jadi dareba atu inda tah kita nie tahu. Kita nama akan tia Si Lamat (macam dalam lagu Sdr Ibrahim Hj Diman). Macam ani gaya tutuan nya:

Si Lamat : “Apa gaya tuan Residen / DO mulih ka umah aie ani?’
Tuan Residen / DO : “Aku mulih naik my OWN CAR”.

Jadi luan hantap salajoo Si Lamat ndangaa tutuan Tuan Residen / DO ngucap “OWN CAR”, jadi daie sana tia malaat tutuan “OWN CAR” jadi “UNGKAH”. Ia jadi UNGKAH atu pun pasal lidah oang Kadayan ani KAAU, inda ya dapat nyabut OWN CAR, hantap oang Baitis bunyinya, lagi pun huup “R” dalam CAR atu hantap payah kan di tutuan akan. Macam caitaku bianie pasal ngaji kan nyabut "RA” atu hantap payahnya. Jadi yang paling sanang ditutuan akan ialah UNGKAH. Sampai tia kaang ani oang Kadayan makai tutuan UNGKAH atu. Tapi ada jua oang Kadayan yang yang nyabut KUITA, yang datangnya daie sabutan oang Malayu. Antah banaa antah inda, kan caita jua nganya. Bila ada caita lain pasal asal usul tutuan UNGKAH atu padah-padah akan tia aahku atu tulis dalam komen yang disadia akan atu.

Nunggu oang kampung mulih daie naik haji ani hantap batahnya. Paling-paling awal pun dalam 8 – 9 bulan, ada oang mulanya yang sampai batahun-tahun bahaau tia mulih, sabab manuntut di Makah. Nyambut oang mulih daie Makah ani labih daie kan ngantat bisia batolak ka Makah. Amun tadangaa habaa yang naik haji atu kan mulih taya, amai oang kampung nunggu. Macam biaksa lah amun sudah bajumpa dian oang yang bahaau mulih daie naik haji, batakul-takulan tia bisia kan ngambil BAAKAT uja dangan. Mudah-mudahan yang balum naik haji atu dapat “LAMBAI” kan naik haji. Tutuan “LAMBAI” ani pun inda ku baapa tahu ngapa oang tuha-tuha mulanya ngucap LAMBAI bila kan naik haji. Kala-kala ada yang cukup usinnya sudah, tapi balum ya naik haji, ujanya balum dapat LAMBAI. Haati tutuan lambai atu tahu diee, tapi ngapa ya di pakai untuk naik haji. Bila ada yang tahu-tahu atu tolong ku lagi lai, ngapa ya kana ucap LAMBAI?

Ada jua ku taima komen daie pambaca dalam tulisan ku yang sabalum ani. Komen pambaca yang manggunakan nama BANGKUTUT atu macam ani bunyi nya: -

Ceita pasal naik haji ani, banyak hantap pantang larangnya, yang kuingat;

i. Bersedakah jangan PISANG karang tergelincir di Makkah.
ii. rajin-rajin bersedakah Galagah (tebu) inda karing lihir di sana.

Mbaie hijap banaa oang Kadayan ani.

Oang mulih naik haji ani banyak caita bisia, tapi aie diee damit mulanya ada jua oang tuha-tuha bacaita yang ada caita di Makkah atu yang inda dapat dicaita akan. Bila dicaita akan jua, jalama atu jadi “LULUI” sabab kana “KISAS”. Inda jua ku baapa tahu, bila ada yang tahu-tahu atu tolong jalas akan caita ani. Caita ani inda dapat ku panjang-panjang akan sabab di kampung kami mulanya ada kes yang macam ani. Tapi ani samuhanya kuasa Allah Taala, sama ada ia jadi LULUI atu disabab akan bacaita kisah-kisah sulit yang dialaminya di Makah atau di sabab akan parkara-parkara lain yang inda kita tahu. Wallahu 'alam bisawab.

Kisah-kisah yang ku caita akan di dalam tulisan ani kan caita jua nganya uja dangan. Bila yang baik atu di jadi akan tauladan, bila yang inda baik atu di jadi akan sampadan . Yang panting hantap dalam soal naik haji anie ialah kita samuha mandapat HAJI MABRUR dari Allah SWT. Bila yang sudah naik haji atu, tantu tahu apa paasaan masing-masing samasa di tanah suci Makkah. Marilah kita sama-sama berdoa ke hadrat Allah SWT semoga ahli keluarga kita, sudara mara kita dan para muslimin dan muslimat yang menunaikan fardhu haji tahun ini Selamat Kembali ke tanah air dan semoga dianugerahkan dengan haji yang mabrur oleh Allah SWT. Amin.

"SELAMAT MENYAMBUT HARI RAYA AIDIL ADHA"