CHAPTER XVI

DYAK FEASTS

Four classes of feasts—Preparations—Feasts connected with: 1, Head-taking; 2, Farming; 3, The dead; 4, Dreams, etc.—House-warming—Social feasts.

The Dyak religious feasts may be divided into the four following classes:

Those connected with—

1. Head-taking. 2. Farming. 3. The dead. 4. Dreams, etc.

Though the Dyak feasts differ in their aims, there is a great deal which seems to be common to them all. The social character of all these feasts seems to be of more importance than the religious aspect, and the feasting of the guests has more consideration than the making of offerings to the spirits or gods. In none of these feasts does there seem to be any real, reverential, religious worship. It is true food is offered to the spirits, but this is done as the mere observance of an ancient custom, without any approach to religious reverence. There are also long incantations made to the higher powers by men selected for that purpose, who have good memories and can recite in a monotonous chant the special hymns of great length connected with each feast. But the guests do not share in it as an act of religious worship. They are generally sitting round, talking and laughing and eating. While these incantations are sung, topics of common interest are discussed and plans formed, and in all these feasts sociability, friendship, and the partaking of food and drink seem to take a more prominent place than any religious worship.

The preparations for all these feasts are much alike. They extend over a length of time, and consist for the most part in the procuring of food for the guests. The young men go to their friends, far and near, and obtain from them presents of pigs or fowls for the feast, and as cock-fighting is loved by the Dyaks, they at the same time procure as many fighting-cocks as possible. The women busy themselves with pounding out an extra amount of rice, both for the consumption of the guests and also for the making of _tuak_, or native spirit.

A little before the date fixed for the feast a great _tuba_ fishing takes place, by which means a great amount of fish is generally obtained, salted, and kept for consumption at the feast. The men go out into the jungle to hunt for pig and deer.

The special characteristics and religious aspect of the different feasts must now be noticed.

1. FEASTS CONNECTED WITH HEAD-TAKING.—All these are given in honour of Singalang Burong. He is supposed to be the ruler of the spirit-world and the god of war. These feasts are not held so frequently as those connected with farming, but when any of them take place a great deal is made of the event.

1. _Gawai Burong_ (the “Bird Feast”), or _Gawai Tenyalang_ (the “Hornbill Feast”), or _Gawai Pala_ (the “Head Feast”). This feast, which is known by different names, is the most important of Dyak feasts, and lasts three days, whereas other feasts last only one day. In this feast food is given to the human heads taken in war. In the old days, it was only held on the return from a successful war expedition, when the heads of the enemy were brought home in triumph. But in the present day, this feast is organized when the people of the Dyak house get a good harvest and wish to have it.

Among the preparations for this feast is the making of the _tenyalang_, a carved wooden figure of the rhinoceros hornbill. Some men carrying offerings, and others beating drums and playing musical instruments, go to the jungle and select a suitable tree. At the foot of it the offerings are placed, and some fowls are killed and the blood sprinkled on the ground to propitiate the spirits. The tree is felled, and a portion of it, which is to be carved, is taken to the Dyak house, where it is received with much rejoicing.

This wood is given to the men who are to carve it into the desired shape, and each man has the necessary tools given him. When he has finished his work, he keeps these tools, and, in addition, receives some other payment. The number of carved birds differs according to the number of the people in the house who are of importance, and have taken heads in warfare.

The _tenyalang_ are not an exact copy of the hornbill, but are elaborately and fantastically carved and gorgeously painted in many bright colours.

Some men go into the jungle and cut down _belian_ trees to make poles on which the figures of the rhinoceros hornbill are to be set up. These are of different lengths, according to the rank of the person who intends to use it, the man of greatest importance having the longest pole.

The first day of the feast is spent in completing the carving and the colouring of these _tenyalang_ and making other final preparations. The guests are entertained with food and drink. As Dyak hosts are considered niggardly if there is no drunkenness at a feast, the young men are encouraged to drink as much as possible. The Dyak girls, who do not drink themselves, serve out the _tuak_, or native spirit. They hand a cup of liquor to a man and shout, “_Weh! Weh!_” as he drinks it. When he has finished it, he puts the cup down by his side to take home with him when the feast is over. Another full cup is handed to him in the same manner, and he goes on drinking until he is unable to do so any longer. A group of young men seated in the public hall of the Dyak house surrounded by gaily-dressed girls serving them with drink is not a pleasant sight. The noise and confusion are great, as many are drunk. Plates containing cakes and other delicacies, as well as rice cooked in bamboos, are handed round to the men, women, and children at short intervals.

A rather pretty ceremony takes place on the first day of the feast. A number of women dressed in their best garments and wearing all the jewellery and ornaments they possess, walk in single file, holding in their hands plates of yellow rice and paddy. They are led by a Dyak dancer in full war-dress, armed with sword and shield, and dancing to the accompaniment of musical instruments. The women sprinkle the paddy and yellow rice on the assembled guests as they walk slowly the length of the whole house.

On the second day of the feast the painted figures of the rhinoceros hornbill are first of all _timanged_, or sung to in a monotonous manner. This is looked upon as a kind of consecration of them. They are now ready to be fixed on the top of the poles which are planted in a row. Sacrifices are made to Singalang Burong, whom these figures are supposed to represent. Balls of rice are thrown up to these carved _tenyalang_, and the blood of pigs and fowls is shed in honour of the great Singalang Burong, the god of war and the inspirer of bravery. When seen, this god takes, as I have said, the form of the white and brown hawk so common in Borneo. Why the figure made to represent him is that of the rhinoceros hornbill, and not that of the hawk, is an inconsistency for which the Dyaks have no explanation.

Some human heads are placed in large brass dishes in the public hall of the Dyak house, and to these offerings of food and drink are made. Some of this food is stuffed into the mouths of these heads, and the rest is placed before them.

There are also certain erections called _pandong_ put up at regular intervals in the long public veranda, and to these are hung war charms and swords and spears, etc. The men who are to make the incantations walk up and down, going round the _pandong_ and the heads in the brass dishes, singing the particular _pengap_, or incantation, which is used at this feast. There are generally two principal singers, each of whom is followed by five or six others. The leaders sing in turn a few lines, and the rest join in the chorus at the end of each verse. The leaders are dressed gaily, and have, in addition to their Dyak dress, a long coat reaching to the ground. They all hold long walking-sticks in their hands and stamp their feet as they walk along.

This song of the head feast takes the form of a story setting forth how the mythical hero Klieng held a head feast on his return from the warpath, and invited the god of war, Singalang Burong, to attend it. It describes at great length all that happened on that occasion. The singing of this song takes up the whole night. It begins before 8 p.m., and lasts till next morning. Except for a short interval for rest in the middle of the night, the performers are marching and singing all the time.

On the third day the people go out on the _tanju_, or open-air platform, in front of the Dyak house. They take with them offerings of food and drink and a live pig. The mats are spread out, and the guests sit down, and food is handed round to them. The men of rank and those who have distinguished themselves in battle sit together, and the oldest of these is asked to make the offering to Singalang Burong. The drums are struck in a particular manner called _pepat_; the pig is killed as a sacrifice, and the liver examined to find out whether good or bad fortune is in store for them. The people shout together (_manjong_) at short intervals until a hawk is seen flying in the heavens. That hawk is Singalang Burong, who has taken that form to manifest himself to them. He has accepted their offerings and has heard their cry. The ceremony is over, and the crowd return into the house. The guests go back to their homes after feasting and drinking liberally for three days and nights.

(2) _Gawai Ijok_ (the “_Ijok_ Feast”): The _ijok_ is the gamuti palm from which the native drink _tuak_ is obtained. When a man has held the hornbill feast several times, and has been successful against the enemy, this feast sometimes takes place. The special characteristic of this feast is that a long pole is set up, and at the top of it a jar of native spirit (_tuak_) is placed. Incantations and offerings are made to Singalang Burong as in the former feast.

(3) _Gawai Gajah_ (the “Elephant Feast”): This feast can only be held by a war leader who has been particularly successful against the enemy, and has succeeded in obtaining a large number of heads. It is of so great importance that the Dyaks say that, after this feast has been held, no other need be held in honour of any new heads that may be brought into the house. It is very rarely observed in modern times. The last was held some fifteen years ago by Kinching, a Skrang Dyak living in the Undup. Offerings and incantations are made to Singalang Burong as in the _Tenyalang_ feast. The wooden figure of an elephant is placed on the top of a long pole planted in the ground, and to this figure offerings are made.

2. The three principal FEASTS CONNECTED WITH FARMING are the _Gawai Batu_, the _Gawai Benih_, and the _Gawai Nyimpan Padi_.

(1) _Gawai Batu_ (the “Stone Feast”): This feast takes place before the farming operations begin, and is in honour of Pulang Gana, the god of the land, who lives in the bowels of the earth, and has power to make the land fruitful or unfruitful. In this feast invocations are made to this god, and he is asked to give them a good harvest. The whetstones and farming implements are placed in a heap in the veranda of the Dyak house, and offerings are made to the whetstones with a request that they may sharpen their tools and thus lighten their labours. After the feast is over the whetstones are taken to the different farms, and the work of cutting down the jungle for planting begins.

(2) _Gawai Benih_ (the “Seed Feast”): This feast is held just before sowing. The seed is placed in baskets in the public part of the Dyak house, and Pulang Gana is asked to bless it and make it fruitful.

(3) _Gawai Nyimpan Padi_ (the “Feast of Storing the Paddy”): This is held after the reaping and winnowing are over and the paddy is ready to be stored in the paddy-bins in the loft of the Dyak house. It is only held when the harvest is a particularly good one. A blessing is asked upon the paddy, that it may last a long time, and may not decrease in any mysterious way. Friends who are invited to the feast help to carry and store away the paddy.

3. The great FEAST CONNECTED WITH THE DEAD is the _Gawai Antu_ (the “Spirit Feast”): No definite period is fixed for the celebration of it, and it may be held one or more years after the death of the person. All those that have died since the last time the feast was held, and have not yet been honoured by this festival for the dead, are remembered at the same time, so that the number of departed spirits commemorated by this feast is great, especially if it is many years since the last time the feast was held.

The preparation is carried on for many weeks. Food and drink and other things are procured. Distant friends are visited and asked to help the feast with gifts of food or money. When all is ready, the whole neighbourhood for miles around is invited to it. It is an opportunity for a friendly social gathering, and it is a formal laying aside of mourning, but in addition, it is a religious ceremony, and means the doing of certain things necessary for the final wellbeing of the dead in the other world.

The dead are invoked and invited to be present at this feast. But how are they to come from Hades? Send a boat for them, says the Dyak, and so he sends what he calls a _lumpang_. A piece of bamboo in which rice has been cooked is make into a tiny boat and sent to Hades. Actually it is thrown away beneath the house, but spiritually, through the incantation of the wailer, it is carried to the unseen realm to fetch their dead relatives and friends. Great is the joy of the spirits when they see this boat, which by the time of its arrival has grown into a large war-boat. They are ready to start as soon as the final summons comes.

The preparations for the feast go on. The hard wood memorial monuments for the graves are got ready by the men. The day before the feast, the women weave, with finely-split bamboo, small imitations of various articles of personal and domestic use, and these are hung over the graves—that is to say, given to the dead for their use in the other world. If it be a man for whom the feast is made, a bamboo gun, a shield, a war-cap, and such things are woven; if a woman, a loom, a fish-basket, a winnowing fan, etc.; if a child, toys of various kinds.

An offering of food is put outside the house for the dead visitors who may be too hungry to wait for the food in the house.

The living guests arrive during the day, but the feasting does not begin till the evening. Before the feasting comes the formal putting off of mourning. The nearest male relative of the dead person in whose honour the feast is held comes dressed in an old waist-cloth or trousers. These are slit through by some Chief, and the man assumes a better garment. In the case of female relatives the _rotan_ rings round the waist are cut through and set aside, and they resume the use of their personal ornaments and jewellery. The bundles containing the finery, that were put away at the death of their relative, are brought forth, and the string tying them cut through. As the feast is in honour of several who have died since the feast was last held, this kind of thing goes on in several of the rooms at the same time.

The professional wailer sings her song of mourning (see p. 228), beginning in the evening. The journey from Hades is so long that the dead do not arrive till early dawn. And then occurs an action in which the dead and living are supposed to join. A portion of _tuak_ (rice spirit) has been reserved in a bamboo as the peculiar portion of the dead. It is now drunk by some old man renowned for bravery, who is not afraid of so near a contact with the spirits of the dead. This “drinking of the bamboo,” as it is called, is an important part of the festival, and is greeted with shouts of joy.

The morning after the feast, the last duty to the dead is performed. The ironwood monuments, the bamboo imitation articles, and food of all kinds are arranged upon the different graves. Having received these gifts, the dead relinquish all claim upon the living, and depend on their own resources. But before the _Gawai Antu_ they are supposed to come to the house and take their share of the food and drink.

According to ancient custom, this feast could not be held until a new human head had been procured, but this ghastly ornament to the festival has now generally to be dispensed with.

4. A superstitious people like the Dyaks, living in constant dread of unseen powers, naturally hold a feast whenever anything unusual takes place. As the gods and spirits are supposed to communicate their wishes to human beings by means of dreams, it naturally follows that if a man dreams that some spirit is hungry and asks for food, at once a feast is held, and offerings made to that spirit. As the omens of birds are observed and obeyed by the Dyaks, and the special omen birds are looked upon as sons-in-law and messengers of the great god Singalang Burong, when a bird of ill omen comes into a Dyak house, the Dyaks hold a feast and make offerings to the gods and spirits. When a man has recovered from a long and dangerous illness, very often a feast is held to thank the spirit of disease for leaving them, and to beg him to stay away a long time. Also when a valuable jar (_tajau_) is brought into a house a feast is often made in its honour.

In addition to all these feasts, there is the _Gawai Mandi Rumah_. This is a kind of house-warming, and is held when the Dyaks go into a new house. Offerings are made to the gods and spirits, and a blessing is asked upon the new house, so that those who live in it may have good crops, good health, and live happily together.

The Dyaks also sometimes hold feasts which are social gatherings for eating and drinking, and have no connection with any religious idea. These are called _Makai di ruai_ (“eating in the hall”), or _Makai rami_ (“eating joyfully in large numbers”).