Introduction
My name is M.Missy, coming from Sarawak, known as Bumi Kenyalang (Land of Hornbills) on the Island of Borneo. There are eleven administrative divisions in Sarawak such as Betong, Bintulu, Kapit, Limbang, Miri, Sibu, Kuching, Mukah, Samarahan, Sarikei and Sri Aman. There are about 28 ethnics in Sarawak including Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban, Bidayuh, Kayan, Kenyah, Orang Ulu, Kelabit, Melanau and others. Every each one of the ethnic has their own distinct language, culture, beliefs and lifestyle. Overall, Ibans is the largest percentage with about 30% population in Sarawak. Cities and larger towns populated more by Malays, Melanau and Chinese. Ibans and other ethnic groups who have migrated from their home village contribute a small percentage in city or town area.
As for me, I am an Iban who lived in Kuching, Sarawak, the most populated division and also the most diverse multi-racial place in Sarawak. Ethnic composition of Kuching is somewhat different compared to the other areas of Sarawak. Malay and Chinese are the majority in Kuching, followed by Bidayuh and then Ibans. While, other division in Sarawak mostly occupied by Ibans people followed by the rest of other ethnics. Our medium language in Kuching is Sarawakian Malay dialect, which is different compared to the rest of Sarawak area where most of people regardless of ethnic can speak Ibans. Even Chinese in remote area of Sarawak can speak fluently in Ibans. While most of Ibans in Sarawak could not speak other language other than their own language. Good example; me, myself :).
Autobiography
I was born to a mix
marriage family, my father was an Iban from Kapit, Sarawak while my mother is
Chinese by blood from Kuching, Sarawak. Therefore I had black eyes and thick
eyelids, fine, straight, dark hair and very fair skin compared to my other
cousins who are pure Ibans. My sibling and I do look different among my fellow
Ibans friends and relatives. I have always mistaken as Chinese girl wherever I
go since young.
I inherited my father’s
Ibans side culture. He was born at longhouse at Ulu Kapit, Sarawak. My father migrated from
longhouse since his teenage time and joins an army in Kuching, where he married
to my mother and settle down in Kuching. The whole of my life, I only tasted
the living in longhouse when we came to visit our family at Song. We still go back to our longhouse every now and then to visit
our relative over there.
Our longhouse located
deep in the jungle at the riverside of Sungai Rejang, Sarawak. Along the Sungai
Rejang there a lot of other longhouses from other villages. My father’s home village, has three separated long house. Every long house called
after their head/chief name. Each long house has 10 to 20
different room occupied by different families. In one room occupied by few
generation such as grandparents, husband and wife and their children and
grandchildren. In my father longhouse, we have more than 20 rooms occupied by
different families but tied to each other by relative. Our neighbor from other
room could be our aunties, uncles, cousins or grandparents.
Whenever I go back to
longhouse with my family then only I really felt that I am living in real Ibans
environment, with real Ibans people and real Ibans culture. All the people
there speak ‘real’ Ibans language (did not mix with other language such as
Malay and English), living in the longhouse deep in the jungle, they are still
planting paddy around the high hill beside the river, their main transportation
is still river and long boat, their source of food were coming from forest,
fishes from the river and plenty of variety of fruits found around the village
or behind their longhouse. If they need other material such as sugar, cloth,
etc, they will need to go out to small town which half an hour journey by long
boat from our long house. Animal for food such as pig, chicken, rooster and
duck all around under the longhouse. I
just wonder how people living together in such a big community in longhouse can
get together and living in such harmony environment.
In terms of social
class, we as Ibans do not practice an obvious social class system in our
society. Even when I get back to my home village I can’t
see if there are any classism practices in our society. In our long house, we
practice egalitarian or classless system. We Ibans believe that everyone is sebaka or equal. However, in every
longhouse we do have ‘respectful’ people which are our ‘tuai rumah’(house chief), ‘manang’
(shaman), pastor or father from local church and ‘orang tuai tuai’ (the elders who have certain knowledge and
specialties in Ibans adat). When
there are any issues or misunderstanding among members in the long house we
will ‘bergempuru’ or ‘baum’ (gathering/meeting) and talk
about the issues with whole community in the long house. We will discuss
together and look for the solution. Usually our ‘tuai rumah’ appointed by generation is a respectful person because
he is wise in term of ‘adat’
(customary law). Adat is customary
law to maintain and assure harmonious relations among community members. ‘Tuai rumah’ appointed must have
knowledge and fluent to this 'adat' as well any traditional beliefs related to
community well-being such as ritual, health and material prosperity. We also highly respect and honor the person
or individual who are resourceful or holding high position in authority such as
school’s principle, police officer or army. Whenever we having gathering or
meeting, we will take their opinion seriously.
My family living in Kuching
city, but my parents still practice some of value from longhouse. My mother
trains me to cook and look after my younger sibling since I was 9 years old. I
was expected to help my mother to cook simple dishes and rice, tidy up the
house and taking care of my younger sibling. My father is an army, so he is
consider as the breadwinner in our family. My mother, few times a week will
join her other female friend going to small forest to look for green leaf. At
the same time she also keeps a bunch or chicken and rooster behind the house
apart than her small garden. So that, she do not have to go far to look for
food to cook for our family. My father, even though he in army, he still
hunting and went to fish over the weekend with his friends. He said, it is in
his blood and he has to do it.
As the elder in my
family, my elder brother expected to inherited my father’s knowledge in
repairing the house, making tools for fishing and hunting. He also expected to
do well in school because my parents putting a high expectation on him to be a
breadwinner when he get older and become an adult, same as my father.In our
early years as child, my parents putting a high expectation to my elder
brother, especially my father. He keep on pushing my brother in his study. As a
girl, I wasn’t get the pressure in my study. In fact, my parents was surprise
when I said, I wanted to continue my study to Bachelor Degree after my STPM. In
their ideal thinking, I will get my certificate, work as clerk or normal
teacher in order to help my future husband. My resource of income expected more
lower and my career suppose to be more humble compared to my future husband.
There is a belief saying among our society such as “no matter how high a girl
in her education, she still needs to go to kitchen”. That mean in their eyes,
our place always in kitchen. Although such believe a practice in our society,
but women never been stop to pursue their advancement in lives.
Originally, Ibans were
animist in religion, however many converted to Christian, and recently some of
them converted to Muslim. In general, other ethnic in Sarawak such as Malays
and Melanau are mostly Muslim. The rest of ethnic such as Bidayuh, Kayan,
Kenyah, Orang Ulu, etc are Christian, and some other still Animist or no
religion at all. In my family, my father used to claim himself as a Christian,
while my mother no religion but practicing animist. Even my father animist
beliefs were stronger than his Christian beliefs. We celebrate Gawai (Harvest
Festival) every year and very seldom celebrating Christmas. My eldest brother
who always travels across the country converted to Muslim at his young age and
my sister who married to Sarawak’s Malays converted to Muslim about two years ago.
My mother, my younger brother and my little sister confirming themselves as
Christian about four years ago. Me, myself still stuck in the between and
pretty much confuse that I practice free thinker until recently when I decided
to converted myself to Christian.
When I back to Kuching town
area we mix a lot with other ethnic. I speak Bahasa Melayu with my other
friends in school, while outside of school we using Sarawakian Malay dialect
with each other. My own mother tongue at home mix a lot with Malays and English
words. When I back to my hometown at longhouse, they said we spoke ‘broken
Iban’ and they laugh at how we talk. My
family also adapted a lot to other ethnic culture, especially Malays and Chinese
culture. We watch only Malay, Chinese and Indian movies and sing only Malay
songs. I was ashamed of my own race in terms of entertainment industry because
we do not have one good movie or songs to sing or to be proud of.
Since I was young, I
have little Ibans friends. My close friends usually coming from other ethnics. When
I came to Peninsular Malaysia, I met with other Ibans, mostly from village.
They will laugh at my language and love to make fun of my Chinese appearance. At
the same time, I started to understand the reason I avoid Ibans people. Ibans
are very direct and bold people when they talking, sometime can be rough in
their joke. Their direct talking and joke sometime hurting my self esteem and
pride that I rather avoid them at all. As an Ibans, I always associate with the
negatives impression such as Iban people love to drink ‘tuak’ (alcoholic
beverage made of fermented rice). I was asked frequently about the culture of
‘ngayap’ (traditional dating method in Ibans society) and they will make joke
out of it. Ibans also always associate with poverty, dirty and simple minded.
However, as I grow up I become more aware of my own identity as an Iban and I started to become defensive when others stereotyping Ibans people with negative perception. I started to learn and understand my own culture and proud to say that we Ibans have a unique culture attract a lot of outsider try to understand our culture. In fact, we are consider strong community that still maintain our culture even until now. As I am coming from mix marriage family and exposed to many other races and ethnics since young, my mind are open and adaptable easily. I understand and respect other race as how they are respecting ours and based on that understanding it much easier for me to blend in with any other races or ethnic wherever I go. Now happily, I started to accept of who I am and where I came from and what is my root.
Conclusion
It was a struggle for me at first to understand this topic. But once I started, it become clearer to me of who and where am coming from. The topic force me to see my own background that try to forget all these time. I wasn’t so sure who I am because am coming from mix race family. By looking at my appearance, people or outsider will judge me quickly as a Chinese. Sometime ago, I was happy to disguise myself in this natural Chinese looking of me. One of the reason is I do not want to resemble as Iban (my own root culture). For me Iban people are primitive, stupid and unattractive.
But as time goes by, I saw a lot of educated Iban who looking stunning in Iban custom, they proudly stand up defend their own culture from any negative perception of other races. They make me proud. Iban not stupid, they are just not enough education and exposure to open their mind. One of the reason is our education system that do not fully reach remote areas and not all people out there has the same privileges.
I used to think that Iban are volatile people, they easily assimilate themselves to other race and religion. But again, when I look back, a lot of teacher governments sent to remote area are Malays and other races. Who does not fully understand Iban culture, language or adat and their religion. As a result many Ibans people gave up and drop off from school, and these teachers does not care much about these youngsters. All they know their existent to that school is just to teach and that all they do. However, I know my good fellow friends who are teaching at remote areas and what are challenges they facing. I know it's not an easy task.
As the awareness come to Ibans people, now a lot of them educated, and I myself start to understand why they behave or become of who they are right now. As I learn and getting more understanding about my own culture I become more fascinating with my own roots. No wonder a lot of western and outsider are attracted to our culture. It makes me frustrated and angry to certain parties that have the power to change my people for a better one but instead let them drown in the middle of other races development instead and try to change the way they live and thinking. I am a multi-diverse person who coming from multi-cultural family background, but as long there is Iban blood in my vein, I know that I also inherited some of their characteristic and I proud of it!
