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…….

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…….