Posted by YB Golong on August 11, 2003 at 09:13:04:
Evolution and Development of Bidayuh Culture: Its Contribution to the National Culture and Socio-Economic Development of the Community
By
Ahi A. Sarok
sahi@fss.unimas.my
&
James Dawos Mamit
dawos_mamit@hotmail.com
ABSTRACTS
Culture is dynamic and it changed over time because of the factors that influenced it. So is the culture of the Bidayuh. According to some early observers, the Bidayuh were the principal inhabitants of Sarawak. There are many factors which influence the evolution and the development of the Bidayuh culture. The factors can be seen because of the historical background of the community such as the influence of Christianity to the Bidayuh villages as well as the changing demographic pattern and the affirmative actions initiated by the Government. Over a period of time “politics of development” has changed the lifestyles and quality and way of life of the Bidayuh. Bidayuh culture, values have contributed enormously to the socio-development of the Bidayuh from a predominantly shifting cultivators and gathers in the past to a more dynamic community. However there are still some negative aspects of the Bidayuh culture that can impede the Bidayuh progress in the free market economies. The paper also discussed five pertinent socio-cultural issues which is hope to trigger some intellectual discourse amongst the symposium participants.
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this letter is four folds. Firstly it discusses the emergence of this glorious State, Sarawak and define what is the meaning of culture. Secondly it discussed Bidayuh culture in the factors influencing the evolution of the Bidayuh culture, and how these cultural values have evolved as a result of modernization. Thirdly, it dwells on the contributions of the Bidayuh culture and its relevance on the national culture. Fourthly this paper also discusses what are the pertinent issues currently confronting the Bidayuh culture. However, before any attempt to discuss the above in depth it is worthwhile first to trace back the history of the Bidayuh existence in Sarawak and also imperative to know what is the meaning of culture.
The Bidayuh were the people believed to be among the earliest inhabitants of Borneo and the principal inhabitants of the original territory acquired by James Brooke (Roth, 1896). Beccari (1904) observed that the Bidayuh most probably settled in Sarawak before any other tribes now found among them. Chang (2002) contended that the Bidayuh were not wholly immigrants from West Kalimantan and argued that in the olden days, there was no boundary between Sarawak and Kalimantan as indicated in the map printed in London in 1870. Thus, the territorial domain of the Bidayuh long before the Dutch rule in Indonesia and the British rule in Sarawak had been the diffuse region of West Kalimantan and the now Kuching and Samarahan Divisions of Sarawak.
Gould and Bampfylde (1909) described the Bidayuh as a numerous and prosperous group, but were reduced to a small number due to attacks by the Iban and harassed and bullied by the Malay rulers from Brunei. Morrison (1933) thus noted that there was some danger of our extinction before James Brooke became the White Rajah of Sarawak. For this reason, our ancestors retreated upriver and fled to higher and more defensible ground.
Today, the Bidayuh constitute 8% of the total population of Sarawak, numbering about 169,000 people . Although the great majority of us reside in the Kuching and Samarahan Divisions, the Bidayuh are also found in many major towns of Sarawak. Miri has the largest Bidayuh population outside of Kuching, numbering about 4,000 people.
Chang (2002) claimed that there are 29 Bidayuh groups in Sarawak today and these groups are named based on the localities they are residing in. Our ancestors mostly used mountains or hill systems to name their groups. For example in Bau Distict, therein are found five groups, namely, Bisingai, Bijagoi, Birois (Serumbu), Bigumbang and Bitringus, so named after the localities they are found in. But other observers contended that there are six only main groups, namely, Bisadong, Bibukar, Biatah, Bijagoi, Bisingai and Selako-Lara (Wallace, 1854; Dension, 1876; Gould & Bampfylde, 1909; Brockman, 1959). Whether there are six or 29 groups, the Bidayuh are still a diverse lot, especially in dialects. Thus, different groups speak different dialects.
Chang (2002) claimed that the Bidayuh of West Kalimantan spoke only one dialect in the olden days and this dialect was known as the Peroh dialect. They called themselves Dayak Biparoh. However, as time passed, they migrated from areas around Sungkung in West Kalimantan to Rabak Mikabuh in what is now Kampung Semadang near Kuching. Later, some moved away from Rabak Mikabuh to various places on hilltops and mountains, identifying themselves with their new settlements and their new leaders. As our ancestors adapted themselves in their new surrounding, they invented new words when they found difficulties in naming certain things. They also changed their pronunciations to some extent to suit their living environment. The changes in dialectical intonation came into being after a long process, thus causing differences among Bidayuh dialects. According to popular belief of our ancestors, the water from different rivers in different localities that they drank adjusted their tongues resulting in different pronunciations; hence, the diversity of dialects among the Bidayuh groups.
DEFINITIONS OF CULTURE
Culture means different things to different people. Culture has been defined in a variety of ways by different scholars. Kiong (2003) when deciding to find out the real meaning of culture read five books that tried to give a clear-cut meaning of culture. One of the earliest definitions he found was from Mead’s (1951) who defines culture as “a body of learned behaviour, a collection of beliefs, habits and traditions, shared by a group of people and successively learned by people who enter the society.” Another definition of culture which he found was by Child and Kieser (1977), who describe culture as patterns of thought and manners which are widely shared. The other definition he coined was from Ajiferuke and Boddewyn (1970), in their survey of comparative management studies, say this about culture: “Culture is one of those terms that defy a single all-purpose definition, and there are almost as many meanings of ‘culture’ as people using the term. Therefore, we find among the studies using a cultural explanation for managerial differences, a varied and widely divergent array of conceptions.”
Hofstede (1984) identifies culture as the shared characteristics, such as religion, heritage, language and values, that distinguish one group of people from another. In his more recent study on cultural constraints in management theories, Hofstede (1993; 1989; 1980) defines culture as “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes one group or category of people from another.” He also pointed out that it is a construct, meaning that it is “not directly accessible to observation but inferable from verbal statements and other behaviours and useful in predicting still other observable and measurable verbal and non-verbal behaviour.”
Tung (1996) interprets culture as “an evolving set of shared beliefs, values, attitudes and logical processes which provide cognitive maps for people within a given societal group to perceive, think, reason, act, react and interact.” According to Tung, this definition implies that culture is not static; rather, it evolves over time. Abdullah (1996) also points out that the word “culture” has many meanings. She states that it is most commonly used to describe a way of life of members of a society. She also states that for a culture to exist, its members need to have shared meanings, shared understanding and shared sense-making. The same author concludes by saying that “culture is therefore a collection of behaviour patterns relating to thoughts, manners and actions which members of a society have shared, learned and passed on to succeeding generations.”
From the above definitions, it can be seen that “culture” cannot be defined precisely nor is there a common definition accepted by all researchers, as highlighted by the 164 definitions of culture documented by Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1985). It might be argued that although an all-embracing definition of culture may not be possible, for the purpose of this paper I may consider the definition by Tung (1996) that sates culture as “an evolving set of shared beliefs, values, attitudes and logical processes which provide cognitive maps for people within a given societal group to perceive, think, reason, act, react and interact.”
But to a Bidayuh social activist and politician, Dato’ Peter Minos, culture means different thing. Minos (2000: 128) succinctly described the Bidayuh culture as “their value attitudes, as well as their customs, traditions and their perception of life.” He claimed that this cultural attributes have a direct and very strong influence on the socio-economic progress of the Bidayuh community. He further argued that the Bidayuh culture determines the rate of our economic progress and our ability to face the challenges of ahead. On the other hand Dawos (2003) stressed that a culture of cohesive unity is vital for the Bidayuh to march together toward prosperity in this millennium.
EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF BIDAYUH CULTURE
Culture is dynamic and it changed over time because of the factors influencing it. So is the culture of the Bidayuh. The evolution of the Bidayuh culture can be seen in some of the earlier writings of the Bidayuh. Low (1848: 294) in his writing when he first met with the hill tribe (Bidayuh) in the Serumbu area described the Bidayuh as a peaceable and contented tribe. During his first meeting with them he made this observation:
“…when I first visited them (the village), they were uniformly hospitable, but great beggars; they ask for everything they see, but are as scrupulously honest as other Land tribes (Bidayuh), never thinking of helping themselves to anything. The penkallan, or landing-place, of this tribe is about twenty-eight miles, by the river, above the Malay town of Sarawak, the residence of the Rajah, and capital of the province. ….About eight miles lower down the stream, and half a mile inland from the right-hand bank, is situated the pretty mountain of Serumbu, on which three friendly tribe have long settled…” (Low, 1848: 294).
From the above writing on the Bidayuh we have seen the good cultural traits of the Bidayuh since the time in memorial. The White Rajah, the colonial master described the Bidayuh as hospitable, honest, and friendly people. Since culture is dynamic, it evolves over time because of some external and internal factors. There are many factors that influence the evolution and development of the Bidayuh culture. These factors are colonization and the mass Christianization of the Bidayuhs, changing pattern of the Bidayuh demography and environment, education and government intervention through its various affirmative actions and public policies inputs and also through inter and intra ethnic relations.
In the past the Bidayuh culture was said to have evolved around the their traditional ways of life such as shifting cultivation, hunting and gathering, subsistent farmer. The culture of pingiris and bisamah were common among the amongst these traditional farmers. There were many taboos associated shifting cultivation and hunting. But as shifting cultivators, hunters and gatherers the Bidayuh believed in these taboos/pantang larangs, and omens (Kiong, 2003). The Bidayuh believed in a number of omens, both good and bad and these beliefs still persist even until today (Nuek, 2002). According to the same author, there were far more bad omens than good ones. Omens were largely related to the sounds and movements of certain birds, animals, and insects (Nuek, 2002).
However when Sarawak was colonized, the colonial masters brought about with them new values. Basically the colonial masters came for three important main “G - Gold, Glory and Gospel.” Though some historian believed that the Brooke Rajah practiced the divide-and rule regime, where the Bidayuh were only confined to their farms and only allowed to plant rubber. But to the Bidayuh community colonization actually shape the present culture of the Bidayuh. The White Rajah and consequently the colonial brought along with them Christian missionaries and started to spread Christianity in the Bidayuh villages. It was through this that the Bidayuh began to get exposed to and the Christian cultures and values.
In the areas where the Bidayuhs community have embraced Christianity, the Christian missions opened up schools, and at these schools Bidayuhs children were exposed to education in which the medium of instruction was English. In the early 1900s the Anglican mission established St. James Chapel at Kampong Kuap in Kuching. With the establishment of St. James, the mission consequently built four class rooms block where the earliest primary school with English as a medium of instruction was being conducted by the Anglican mission. Subsequently, the mission set up St. Michael Primary School at Tiang Bukap in the Padawan area. and St. Paul Primary School at Segu Bunuk in the Penrissen area respectively, to meet the need for the growing population from these two areas.
In the Bau district, the Roman Catholic Mission was instrumental in the development educational facilities in the rural areas. The spread of Catholicism to Bau district in the early 1940s was primarily responsible for the setting up of a mission center (St. Stephen Mission) at Bau bazaar, which was then only known as a small gold mining settlement. The first school in the district was set up at the mission center itself, and was named St. Stephenís Primary School. By the 1950s, the mission had outreached further into the more remote areas of the district.
One of the strategies for Christianizing of the local tribal communities, in particular the Jagoi, Singghai and Krokong Bidayuhs, was set up basic educational facilities in these communities. As a result, St. Patrick Primary School was built at Krokong to cater for about five nearby villages (at that time) in the area while in St. John Primary School was built in the Singghai area. Similarly in the Jagoi area St. Leo Primary School was built at Kampong Serasot and St. Mark at Kampong Staas. These schools were only a few of the numerous schools set up by the mission.
For the Serian District, the three missions vis-a-vis the Roman Catholic, Anglican and the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA), started primary school education at three different localities. The Catholic mission focused their activities much further in the rural areas of Bunan Gega in the Tebakang Sub-District to serve Bidayuh villages within the area and the out skirt of Mongkos sub-district. The Anglican mission, on the other hand, established the first school in the Serian District at Kampong Taie (Sarok, 1998). Where as the SDAmission, having their head quarters at Sunny Hill Kuching set up a sister school at Ayer Manis along the Kuching Serian Road, and a primary school at Kampong Rabak Simboh to serve the Petag-Tuku area. ith the opening up of schools by the missions, Bidayuh culture began to evolve and Bidayuh parents began to realize the importance of education. Hence instead of asking their children to help them in their farms, school going children were sent to school and the culture to quest for knowledge began. Christianity changed the Bidayuh from being pagan in the olden day and leading a Christian way of life.
Another important factor which help change the evolution of the Bidayuh culture from the traditional belief in paganism to a new set of cultural values is the changing demographic pattern and environment that we lived in. In the past Bidayuh parent did not have to compete as there were abundant resources as long as they practice the culture of working hard to sustain their livelihood as farmers but were still able to feed their family because there plenty of fish and games available. There was ample land to farm, there were enough resources in the jungle which they could exploit to build their homes and these made these rural farmers became complacent with what they have. But the changing pattern of demography with the advent of technology and the changing environmental factor had forced a new set of cultural values being cultivated. Instead of concentrating on the traditional practices of shifting cultivation, they began to grow cash crops such as pepper and rubber, and when cocoa and palm oil schemes were introduced by the government, these traditional farmers took the opportunities to participate in these cash-generating activities. Thus in the process discard some of the cultural practices associated with shifting cultivation. Wage workers in the plantation have a steady source of income which they can utilized to by better food, sending their children to schools, to build brick housed as well as to furnish their home with modern facilities, thus changing their way of life and ways of doing thing.
The most significant factor that helps shape the evolution of the Bidayuh culture is of course is through education and government interventions through the various affirmative actions and new public policy inputs. With various government interventions as spelt out under the New Economic Policy (NEP), the National Development Policy (NDP) and the Third Outline Perspective Plan (OPP3) and at the State level “the Politics of Development,” as espoused by the Right Honourable Chief Minister of Sarawak, various programmes, projects and activities were implemented. The building of infrastructures such as roads linking Kuching and the sub-urban Bidayuh kampong enable the Bidayuh to travel to the capital city with ease compared to the long hours they have to walk reach the nearest bus station. This scenario is slowly diminishing and has changed for the better . Thus this has change the way of life and culture of the Bidayuh people as they enjoyed a better quality of life as compared to their ancestors or the earlier generation during the colonial rule or in the early years of Independence. The promise of Independence has given ample opportunities for the Bidayuh to embark in a myriad of activities in business, educations and all sectors of employment if they have the right attitudes and are willing to venture and if they are risk takers
The last factor which influence the evolution and the development of Bidayuh culture is of course the inter and intra ethnic relations between the Bidayuh and members of the other ethnic groups not only amongst ethnic groups in Sarawak, but also in Malaysia and other parts of the world. In their work place the Bidayuh mixed with the other ethnic groups such as the Chinese, Iban, Malay, Melanau and the Orang Ulu. While as students or as professionals working in Peninsular Malaysia, they mixed with people of different origin and race. Hence they began to develop the culture of being tolerance of the other race and began to appreciate the culture of the other ethnic groups and in the process enrich their own culture. In addition to this mixed marriage also another factor which influence the evolution culture of the Bidayuh. Through mixed marriage, their next generation may not be able to speak the mother tongue of the father or the father, but instead would speak English or Bahasa Melayu. Thus making English or Bahasa Melayu as their mother tongue.
Having discussed the factors that have helped shaped the evolution and development of the Bidayuh culture, the next paragraph will be devoted to discuss the finer aspects of Bidayuh cultural values and practices which can impede the Bidayuh progress.
In spite abundance opportunities available to improve the quality of live and standard of livings of the Bidayuh, there are many inherent Bidayuh cultural values that can impede the community progress. Minos (2000: 129) opined that the Bidayuh culture have affected and will continue to affect the Bidayuh in the following fields:
• In education - whether or not they will become a highly educated race in future will depend on how the community value as see the importance of education. If they community believe that education is important, a paradigm shift is needed and change of value towards education is crucial where the community should not only stress in life-long learning as a culture but also must stressed in the importance of quality in education and support the call of the government of the day in promoting the use of English in education. The culture of complacency should be changed, but some parent just do not bother about their children’s education;
• In business and the corporate sector - with the right attitude the Bidayuhs will have a chance to be successful in the business and with the wrong and negative attitude they will fail; the culture as not risk taker should be change to a culture of a risk taker;
• The attitude towards other races and people around them - the Bidayuh are able to adapt themselves well with the other races and this is the positive traits that the Bidayuh have. But there are some negative culture such as menguh and as such will prefer to keep quiet. In some cases, a Bidayuh student will fill shy to ask his or her teacher to how to solve a simple Mathematic problem in class. While a Bidayuh business man would on the other hand too shy to loan money form the Bank for fear of disclosing his assets or liabilities to the bank;
• Attitudes towards the Government and its economics policies, strategies and programmes – very often the Bidayuh will have a wait and see attitude toward any programmes. The culture of apprehension and distrust still persist among the Bidayuh community on development projects which the government intends to implement to improve their socio-economic standard and because of that they might not be a willing partner in development.
• Attitude toward concept such as the culture of excellence, dedication, sense of commitment, perseverance and being assertive is absence, but the attitude such as mediocrity prevails. As such they do not want to work extra mile in order to succeed.
• Attitude towards new concepts ideas and new application or approaches – the unwillingness of the Bidayuh to adapt and adopt new ideas and application or tools will cause them to lag behind in the vacation or in their work. For example if a Bidayuh farmer after having farmed their land refused to induce new agriculture inputs will not yield a good harvest because the land become over utilized and gradually become infertile.
Apart from Minos, many Bidayuh leaders have also outlined the negative culture of the Bidayuh which impede their progress. Datuk Michael Manyin ak Jawong in his welcoming message at the official opening of the fourth Bidayuh Cultural Symposium outlined some of the negative culture of the Bidayuh which he succinctly said:
“… the Bidayu as a community has a zero history of civilization. Therefore we have been touched by the so-called feeling of civilization. All this while our community have never experiences that our existence necessitated a struggle. The Bidayuh take time in hunting and fishing. They take time in planting for their daily meal. They always seek self-sufficiency. There is no need for competition where one tramples upon one another for better life or for more. We are not used to compete but co-operate. We used to share whatever we have. The Bidayuh practiced not only cooperation but also communalism. For this reason the Bidayuh normally don’t like to see their friends or neighbours better off than themselves. Thus often arising a very strong feeling of envy and jealousy if one member of a community is better off than the rest or more successful than the rest”.
In another serious vein he explained the culture of the Bidayuh:
“But all these values probably will become disadvantageous to the community if we are to survive and strive in the very competitive environment in the 21st century. Thus for this reason it is imperative to turn our communal and cooperative values into competitive and perhaps individualistic values; values that will urge us to compete with one another and be prepared to trample upon one another; values that will tell us that wanting is not enough but wanting more and more is good. The Bidayuh must be prepared to cooperate ideals which are directed towards efficiency, persistence, determination and strenuous efforts and risk taking with their customary ideals. If in the past the Bidayuh were not determined and persistent, and let the new generation of Bidayuh who will face the brunt of challenges of the 21st century; be persistent and determined; if in the past the Bidayuh we were not risk takers, the new generation Bidayuh must be risk-takers (probably gamblers)”.
In spite of what had been said about the negative aspects of Bidayuh culture, there are aspects of cultural beliefs and cultural practices which were practiced by the Bidayuh forefathers are still relevant to day vis-à-vis the pengiris, bidepu, bisamah and etc. These aspects of the Bidayuh culture will be discussed in the next heading the “contribution of Bidayuh culture to the socio-economic development of the community”.
CONTRIBUTIONS OF BIDAYUH CULTURE TO THE NATIONAL CULTURE
Having discussed the evolution and development of the Bidayuh culture and its impediments to the Bidayuh progress, this section is devoted to discuss how the Bidayuh culture can contribute to the national culture. The national culture comprise the culture of the different ethnic groups in Malaysia, namely the Malay, Chinese, Indians and the other ethnic minorities of Sabah and Sarawak. The diverse culture and traditions of Bidayuh though, being the minority ethnic group of Sarawak, have contributed much towards the national culture. Their contributions can be discussed in the context of the cultural identity of the nation. There are parts of the Bidayuh cultural practices such as the Bidayuh traditional dances, costumes, Bidayuh traditional architecture in the form or skull-house and the institution of Gawai are deeply embedded as part and parcel of the national culture.
Bidayuh traditional costumes which are being worn and adorn by Bidayuh maiden and men add colour to the existing national culture. The same also applies to the Bidayuh traditional dances, such as the belangi, the nyigar and rejang beuh. According to YB Tan Sri Datuk Amar Alfred Jabu ak Numpang , these traditional cultures constitutes part of the Bidayuh civilization and also part and parcel of the national cultural heritage. The Bidayuh cultural dances are also being performed overseas when the Ministry of Toursim and the Tourism Board are promoting the tourism industry oversea and woo tourists to visit our country. In addition, Bidayuh traditional costumes are also worn during the major celebrations such as when Sarawak send their contingent to participate in the annual Merdeka parade and also when welcoming important dignitaries to the State. In Sarawak in particular, the Bidayuh traditional dances are important means attract tourists to Sarawak as a major tourist destination based on the CAN concept.
Another important aspects of the Bidayuh culture which has been institutionalized as the national culture is the incorporation of the Bidayuh architecture-the Baruk. The colonial masters called this, the Bidayuh skull-house, while the Bidayuh themselves called it in different names which will be discussed in the next section. There are several buildings around the city which resemble that of the Bidayuh baruk namely, the circular-shaped tower of Dewan Suarah Kuching, Beijing Restaurant, Santubong Damai Resort. Out side Kuching, the design of Dewan Suarah, Bau and the shades at Wind Cave Bau resembles that of the Bidayuh baruk. This reminds that the Bidayuh rich cultural heritage form part and parcel of the heritage in multi-cultural society, Malaysia.
Gawai is also another form of Bidayuh culture which has featured explicitly in the national culture. Since 2000, Gawai Dayak which falls on 1st of June is now a national celebration in which Malaysian from all walk of life will visit their Dayak friends’ open house and also become guest to the national level open house organized by the Dayak community of which the Bidayuh community is part of it. Gawai as a culture is a uniting factor for Bidayuh and enhance better ethnic relation and mutual understanding among races because they come and visit and share gawai joys together with the Bidayu.
CONTRIBUTION OF BIDAYUH CULTURE TO THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
There are some aspects of the Bidayuh culture which have contribute to the socio-economic development of the society. The cultural practices which were practiced by the Bidayuh forefathers such as the pengiris , bidepu, bisamah are actually indigenous practices of the Bidayuh. Some of this cultural practices such as the pengiris which the Government incorporate in the gotong-royong concept. Bidepu is an old concept of networking among friend whom one have known for a long period of time, it is a form of friendship, but was done between friends from different racial background. During fruit or harvesting season, a Bidayuh would give fruit and beras bauh to their depu. Another finer culture of the Bidayuh is the concept of bisamah, in which literally means to share. In the olden days if a hunter shoot a deer or wild boar, he would share the meat not only with his relatives but also with the whole community.
Apart from the three cultural practices mentioned above. The Bidayuh are also peace- loving people and low abiding people. Early writers such as Low (1848), Wallace (1854), Roth (1896), and Gould and Bamfylde (1909) all acknowledged this fact. The Bidayuh are hard working people who would work about 14 hours a day, walking to their farm as early as 5.00 a.m. in the morning and only to come back late in the evening. Being obedient, hard-working and a meticulous worker the Bidayuh are able to withstand adverse working conditions and this made them able to fit in any sector of employment, either as farmers, labourers, blue collar workers, white collar worker, professionals or dishwashers and waiters at the coffee shops. The Bidayuhs are good workers are always an obedient and good followers.
Low (1848), Wallace (1854), Roth (1896) also observed that the Bidayuh, in spite of their grouping, practiced similar culture, within a group or longhouse, the important factors which unite the Bidayuh ancestors together were:
• Common possession;
• Common work;
• Common fear; and
• Common means of protection.
Properties held in common use were land and the skull-house (where skulls of enemies were kept), known as baruk in Bau District, pangah in Kuching District and baluh in Serian District. The common work was through the cultivation of land which our ancestors preferred to work in groups. The common fear was the headhunters (penyamun), and the common means of protection was through the belief in Tampa Raiuyuh by Serian District Bidayuh, ancestral spirits or a religion (Chang, 2002).
Even today, commonality of possession is cohesively binding us together as in the case of baruk architecture which is donning many places in the Kuching and Samarahan Divisions. When in the past unmarried men and boys were compelled to sleep in the baruk to keep them out of mischief (Chang, 2002), today, the sight of baruk brings pride into our hearts as Bidayuh. The baruk thus unite us as an ethnic group. It is recognized that the baruk is an integral element of the Bidayuh way of life; an institution where our rich culture is preserved and thus, more should be restored.
Among the components of the Bidayuh culture that had nurtured cordial relationship among them in the olden days and prevailed for decades is the gawai (festival). Gawai sowa (annual festival after padi-harvest) had been the most outstanding, during which Bidayuh from nearby and distant localities converged in a village to celebrate together. This had created a strong bond among the Bidayuh (Chang, 2002). However, after the Government had directed Dayak communities to celebrate gawai on 1st June, the gawai culture and atmosphere of togetherness have somewhat diminished.
RELEVANT PERTINENT ISSUES OF THE BIDAYUH CULTURE
Having discussed the basic tenets of the evolution of the Bidayuh culture its relevance in the context the national culture and the Bidayuh socio-economic development, there are still some pertinent socio-cultural issues worth discussing. These five issues are meant to generate some intellectual discourse among the participant of this symposium and we hope would provide some cues for future affirmative actions form the relevant authorities concern. They five issues are: life-long learning culture, popularize the Indigenous Bidayuh culture for tourist attraction monetize the Bidayuh the culture to monetize the Bidayuh assets; encourage the Bidayuh to pay to themselves and lastly embrace the culture that is keen to learn and acquire knowledge in Science and Mathematics.
(a) Life-long Learning Culture
Life-long learning culture have been practiced by many people from the more developed nation, whereby even those in their career plateau or on the verge of their retirement would seek to relearn and unlearn additional knowledge. There are ample avenues readily available for those keen to pursue life-long learning. In some cases the avenues are provided by the government at the very minimal charge. Life-long learning or continuous learning will be the norm in a K-economy as knowledge is not static but rather a volatile and fragile ‘commodity’ that necessitate continuous ‘maintenance’. Continuous or lifelong learning – efforts must be made to learn some of the new skills and techniques. Learning should be an integral part of our culture of excellence; it is part and parcel of our daily activities. Develop and inculcate the life-long learning culture to generate a rising wall of awareness among the community of the importance of knowledge in the new economy. Lifelong learning will become increasingly vital in the K-economy where knowledge and skills need to be continuously updated and upgraded. Thus it is crucial that the workforce possesses the ability to adapt and adjust to the changing demands of technological advances. A more concerted efforts must be undertaken to retrain and reskill the workforce through the various vocation and other groups.
(b) Popularize the Indigenous Bidayuh Culture for Tourist Attraction
Apart from Gawai, the Bidayuh traditional dances and the Bidayuh longhouses, there are other aspects of culture indigenous to the Bidayuh which could be promoted as a form of tourist attraction. The life of a Bidayuh as a farmer can be packaged nicely to lure tourists to visit the Bidayuh villages. As a lecturer who was formerly the Head of the International Relation Programme, Faculty Science Social, UNIMAS, I have had some opportunities to supervise a number of students from overseas such as from Australia, Denmark, New Zealand and the United States. All these students were fascinated with culture, and the hospitality shown by this Bidayuh farmers. Similarly life as a pepper planter, or the indigenous culture of nyetu bewa dien too could be packaged as a tourism product based on the CAN concept. Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) together with the travel agents and the Bidayuh entrepreneurs could think seriously of this new venture. This as a new business venture full of risk and uncertainty.”
(c) Culture to Monetize the Bidayuh Assets
Monetizing the immovable assets is a very phenomenal culture and very serious dilemma confronting the Bidayuh community. They have good detached houses at the Kampongs, but the land where they built their house are not given title, so are their other forms of immovable assets such as their NCR land. Culturally most Dayaks and Bidayuh for that matter regard their NCR land as their heirlooms and would not part with it making this can become a very emotive issue to discuss.
(d) Encourage Bidayuh to Pay to Themselves
Another culture which is lacking amongst the Bidayuh or for that matter is to save part of their income as savings. They Bidayuh just like any other Dayak community are over indulging themselves in the three worse vices such as gambling, drinking and also cockfighting to the extend that they do not save part of their income for their children education.
(e) Acquire Knowledge in Science and Mathematics in English
As the nation is moving toward an industrial nation by the year 2020, and the impact brought about the cruel wave of globalization, the national educational policy were incrementally changed to suit the vision of the nation in creating knowledge workers. As a direct respond to this, teaching of subjects such as Science and Mathematics in English in the education system was institutionalized at the beginning of 2003. Its is imperative for the Bidayuh to embrace the culture of wanting to acquire knowledge not only in Science and Mathematics subjects in Enclish, but in all realms of knowledge in their quest for culture of excellence. Thus as a community we fully endorse the government’s affirmative action on this issue as this will prepare the community and turn them to be more resilience workforce to brace the wave of globalization.
CONCLUSION
This paper has given some insight into the evolution and the development of the Bidayuh culture. In addition it has outlined the major factors that have some bearings on the evolution and development of the Bidayuh culture. It has also discussed the impediments on the Bidayuh culture and how the the Bidayuh rich cultural heritage contribute towards albeit to the national culture and the Bidayuh socio-economic development at large. This paper has also discussed five pertinent issues concerning Bidayuh culture vis; life-long learning culture, popularize the Indigenous Bidayuh culture for tourist attraction monetize the Bidayuh the culture to monetize the Bidayuh assets; encourage the Bidayuh to pay to themselves and the culture eager to knowledge in Science and Mathematics.
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: Evolution and Development of Bidayuh Culture: Its Contribution to the National Culture and Socio-Economic Development of the Community
: By
: Ahi A. Sarok
: sahi@fss.unimas.my
: &
: James Dawos Mamit
: dawos_mamit@hotmail.com
:
: ABSTRACTS
: Culture is dynamic and it changed over time because of the factors that influenced it. So is the culture of the Bidayuh. According to some early observers, the Bidayuh were the principal inhabitants of Sarawak. There are many factors which influence the evolution and the development of the Bidayuh culture. The factors can be seen because of the historical background of the community such as the influence of Christianity to the Bidayuh villages as well as the changing demographic pattern and the affirmative actions initiated by the Government. Over a period of time “politics of development” has changed the lifestyles and quality and way of life of the Bidayuh. Bidayuh culture, values have contributed enormously to the socio-development of the Bidayuh from a predominantly shifting cultivators and gathers in the past to a more dynamic community. However there are still some negative aspects of the Bidayuh culture that can impede the Bidayuh progress in the free market economies. The paper also discussed five pertinent socio-cultural issues which is hope to trigger some intellectual discourse amongst the symposium participants.
:
: INTRODUCTION
: The purpose of this letter is four folds. Firstly it discusses the emergence of this glorious State, Sarawak and define what is the meaning of culture. Secondly it discussed Bidayuh culture in the factors influencing the evolution of the Bidayuh culture, and how these cultural values have evolved as a result of modernization. Thirdly, it dwells on the contributions of the Bidayuh culture and its relevance on the national culture. Fourthly this paper also discusses what are the pertinent issues currently confronting the Bidayuh culture. However, before any attempt to discuss the above in depth it is worthwhile first to trace back the history of the Bidayuh existence in Sarawak and also imperative to know what is the meaning of culture.
: The Bidayuh were the people believed to be among the earliest inhabitants of Borneo and the principal inhabitants of the original territory acquired by James Brooke (Roth, 1896). Beccari (1904) observed that the Bidayuh most probably settled in Sarawak before any other tribes now found among them. Chang (2002) contended that the Bidayuh were not wholly immigrants from West Kalimantan and argued that in the olden days, there was no boundary between Sarawak and Kalimantan as indicated in the map printed in London in 1870. Thus, the territorial domain of the Bidayuh long before the Dutch rule in Indonesia and the British rule in Sarawak had been the diffuse region of West Kalimantan and the now Kuching and Samarahan Divisions of Sarawak.
: Gould and Bampfylde (1909) described the Bidayuh as a numerous and prosperous group, but were reduced to a small number due to attacks by the Iban and harassed and bullied by the Malay rulers from Brunei. Morrison (1933) thus noted that there was some danger of our extinction before James Brooke became the White Rajah of Sarawak. For this reason, our ancestors retreated upriver and fled to higher and more defensible ground.
: Today, the Bidayuh constitute 8% of the total population of Sarawak, numbering about 169,000 people . Although the great majority of us reside in the Kuching and Samarahan Divisions, the Bidayuh are also found in many major towns of Sarawak. Miri has the largest Bidayuh population outside of Kuching, numbering about 4,000 people.
: Chang (2002) claimed that there are 29 Bidayuh groups in Sarawak today and these groups are named based on the localities they are residing in. Our ancestors mostly used mountains or hill systems to name their groups. For example in Bau Distict, therein are found five groups, namely, Bisingai, Bijagoi, Birois (Serumbu), Bigumbang and Bitringus, so named after the localities they are found in. But other observers contended that there are six only main groups, namely, Bisadong, Bibukar, Biatah, Bijagoi, Bisingai and Selako-Lara (Wallace, 1854; Dension, 1876; Gould & Bampfylde, 1909; Brockman, 1959). Whether there are six or 29 groups, the Bidayuh are still a diverse lot, especially in dialects. Thus, different groups speak different dialects.
: Chang (2002) claimed that the Bidayuh of West Kalimantan spoke only one dialect in the olden days and this dialect was known as the Peroh dialect. They called themselves Dayak Biparoh. However, as time passed, they migrated from areas around Sungkung in West Kalimantan to Rabak Mikabuh in what is now Kampung Semadang near Kuching. Later, some moved away from Rabak Mikabuh to various places on hilltops and mountains, identifying themselves with their new settlements and their new leaders. As our ancestors adapted themselves in their new surrounding, they invented new words when they found difficulties in naming certain things. They also changed their pronunciations to some extent to suit their living environment. The changes in dialectical intonation came into being after a long process, thus causing differences among Bidayuh dialects. According to popular belief of our ancestors, the water from different rivers in different localities that they drank adjusted their tongues resulting in different pronunciations; hence, the diversity of dialects among the Bidayuh groups.
: DEFINITIONS OF CULTURE
: Culture means different things to different people. Culture has been defined in a variety of ways by different scholars. Kiong (2003) when deciding to find out the real meaning of culture read five books that tried to give a clear-cut meaning of culture. One of the earliest definitions he found was from Mead’s (1951) who defines culture as “a body of learned behaviour, a collection of beliefs, habits and traditions, shared by a group of people and successively learned by people who enter the society.” Another definition of culture which he found was by Child and Kieser (1977), who describe culture as patterns of thought and manners which are widely shared. The other definition he coined was from Ajiferuke and Boddewyn (1970), in their survey of comparative management studies, say this about culture: “Culture is one of those terms that defy a single all-purpose definition, and there are almost as many meanings of ‘culture’ as people using the term. Therefore, we find among the studies using a cultural explanation for managerial differences, a varied and widely divergent array of conceptions.”
: Hofstede (1984) identifies culture as the shared characteristics, such as religion, heritage, language and values, that distinguish one group of people from another. In his more recent study on cultural constraints in management theories, Hofstede (1993; 1989; 1980) defines culture as “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes one group or category of people from another.” He also pointed out that it is a construct, meaning that it is “not directly accessible to observation but inferable from verbal statements and other behaviours and useful in predicting still other observable and measurable verbal and non-verbal behaviour.”
: Tung (1996) interprets culture as “an evolving set of shared beliefs, values, attitudes and logical processes which provide cognitive maps for people within a given societal group to perceive, think, reason, act, react and interact.” According to Tung, this definition implies that culture is not static; rather, it evolves over time. Abdullah (1996) also points out that the word “culture” has many meanings. She states that it is most commonly used to describe a way of life of members of a society. She also states that for a culture to exist, its members need to have shared meanings, shared understanding and shared sense-making. The same author concludes by saying that “culture is therefore a collection of behaviour patterns relating to thoughts, manners and actions which members of a society have shared, learned and passed on to succeeding generations.”
: From the above definitions, it can be seen that “culture” cannot be defined precisely nor is there a common definition accepted by all researchers, as highlighted by the 164 definitions of culture documented by Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1985). It might be argued that although an all-embracing definition of culture may not be possible, for the purpose of this paper I may consider the definition by Tung (1996) that sates culture as “an evolving set of shared beliefs, values, attitudes and logical processes which provide cognitive maps for people within a given societal group to perceive, think, reason, act, react and interact.”
: But to a Bidayuh social activist and politician, Dato’ Peter Minos, culture means different thing. Minos (2000: 128) succinctly described the Bidayuh culture as “their value attitudes, as well as their customs, traditions and their perception of life.” He claimed that this cultural attributes have a direct and very strong influence on the socio-economic progress of the Bidayuh community. He further argued that the Bidayuh culture determines the rate of our economic progress and our ability to face the challenges of ahead. On the other hand Dawos (2003) stressed that a culture of cohesive unity is vital for the Bidayuh to march together toward prosperity in this millennium.
:
: EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF BIDAYUH CULTURE
: Culture is dynamic and it changed over time because of the factors influencing it. So is the culture of the Bidayuh. The evolution of the Bidayuh culture can be seen in some of the earlier writings of the Bidayuh. Low (1848: 294) in his writing when he first met with the hill tribe (Bidayuh) in the Serumbu area described the Bidayuh as a peaceable and contented tribe. During his first meeting with them he made this observation:
: “…when I first visited them (the village), they were uniformly hospitable, but great beggars; they ask for everything they see, but are as scrupulously honest as other Land tribes (Bidayuh), never thinking of helping themselves to anything. The penkallan, or landing-place, of this tribe is about twenty-eight miles, by the river, above the Malay town of Sarawak, the residence of the Rajah, and capital of the province. ….About eight miles lower down the stream, and half a mile inland from the right-hand bank, is situated the pretty mountain of Serumbu, on which three friendly tribe have long settled…” (Low, 1848: 294).
: From the above writing on the Bidayuh we have seen the good cultural traits of the Bidayuh since the time in memorial. The White Rajah, the colonial master described the Bidayuh as hospitable, honest, and friendly people. Since culture is dynamic, it evolves over time because of some external and internal factors. There are many factors that influence the evolution and development of the Bidayuh culture. These factors are colonization and the mass Christianization of the Bidayuhs, changing pattern of the Bidayuh demography and environment, education and government intervention through its various affirmative actions and public policies inputs and also through inter and intra ethnic relations.
: In the past the Bidayuh culture was said to have evolved around the their traditional ways of life such as shifting cultivation, hunting and gathering, subsistent farmer. The culture of pingiris and bisamah were common among the amongst these traditional farmers. There were many taboos associated shifting cultivation and hunting. But as shifting cultivators, hunters and gatherers the Bidayuh believed in these taboos/pantang larangs, and omens (Kiong, 2003). The Bidayuh believed in a number of omens, both good and bad and these beliefs still persist even until today (Nuek, 2002). According to the same author, there were far more bad omens than good ones. Omens were largely related to the sounds and movements of certain birds, animals, and insects (Nuek, 2002).
: However when Sarawak was colonized, the colonial masters brought about with them new values. Basically the colonial masters came for three important main “G - Gold, Glory and Gospel.” Though some historian believed that the Brooke Rajah practiced the divide-and rule regime, where the Bidayuh were only confined to their farms and only allowed to plant rubber. But to the Bidayuh community colonization actually shape the present culture of the Bidayuh. The White Rajah and consequently the colonial brought along with them Christian missionaries and started to spread Christianity in the Bidayuh villages. It was through this that the Bidayuh began to get exposed to and the Christian cultures and values.
: In the areas where the Bidayuhs community have embraced Christianity, the Christian missions opened up schools, and at these schools Bidayuhs children were exposed to education in which the medium of instruction was English. In the early 1900s the Anglican mission established St. James Chapel at Kampong Kuap in Kuching. With the establishment of St. James, the mission consequently built four class rooms block where the earliest primary school with English as a medium of instruction was being conducted by the Anglican mission. Subsequently, the mission set up St. Michael Primary School at Tiang Bukap in the Padawan area. and St. Paul Primary School at Segu Bunuk in the Penrissen area respectively, to meet the need for the growing population from these two areas.
: In the Bau district, the Roman Catholic Mission was instrumental in the development educational facilities in the rural areas. The spread of Catholicism to Bau district in the early 1940s was primarily responsible for the setting up of a mission center (St. Stephen Mission) at Bau bazaar, which was then only known as a small gold mining settlement. The first school in the district was set up at the mission center itself, and was named St. Stephenís Primary School. By the 1950s, the mission had outreached further into the more remote areas of the district.
: One of the strategies for Christianizing of the local tribal communities, in particular the Jagoi, Singghai and Krokong Bidayuhs, was set up basic educational facilities in these communities. As a result, St. Patrick Primary School was built at Krokong to cater for about five nearby villages (at that time) in the area while in St. John Primary School was built in the Singghai area. Similarly in the Jagoi area St. Leo Primary School was built at Kampong Serasot and St. Mark at Kampong Staas. These schools were only a few of the numerous schools set up by the mission.
: For the Serian District, the three missions vis-a-vis the Roman Catholic, Anglican and the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA), started primary school education at three different localities. The Catholic mission focused their activities much further in the rural areas of Bunan Gega in the Tebakang Sub-District to serve Bidayuh villages within the area and the out skirt of Mongkos sub-district. The Anglican mission, on the other hand, established the first school in the Serian District at Kampong Taie (Sarok, 1998). Where as the SDAmission, having their head quarters at Sunny Hill Kuching set up a sister school at Ayer Manis along the Kuching Serian Road, and a primary school at Kampong Rabak Simboh to serve the Petag-Tuku area. ith the opening up of schools by the missions, Bidayuh culture began to evolve and Bidayuh parents began to realize the importance of education. Hence instead of asking their children to help them in their farms, school going children were sent to school and the culture to quest for knowledge began. Christianity changed the Bidayuh from being pagan in the olden day and leading a Christian way of life.
: Another important factor which help change the evolution of the Bidayuh culture from the traditional belief in paganism to a new set of cultural values is the changing demographic pattern and environment that we lived in. In the past Bidayuh parent did not have to compete as there were abundant resources as long as they practice the culture of working hard to sustain their livelihood as farmers but were still able to feed their family because there plenty of fish and games available. There was ample land to farm, there were enough resources in the jungle which they could exploit to build their homes and these made these rural farmers became complacent with what they have. But the changing pattern of demography with the advent of technology and the changing environmental factor had forced a new set of cultural values being cultivated. Instead of concentrating on the traditional practices of shifting cultivation, they began to grow cash crops such as pepper and rubber, and when cocoa and palm oil schemes were introduced by the government, these traditional farmers took the opportunities to participate in these cash-generating activities. Thus in the process discard some of the cultural practices associated with shifting cultivation. Wage workers in the plantation have a steady source of income which they can utilized to by better food, sending their children to schools, to build brick housed as well as to furnish their home with modern facilities, thus changing their way of life and ways of doing thing.
: The most significant factor that helps shape the evolution of the Bidayuh culture is of course is through education and government interventions through the various affirmative actions and new public policy inputs. With various government interventions as spelt out under the New Economic Policy (NEP), the National Development Policy (NDP) and the Third Outline Perspective Plan (OPP3) and at the State level “the Politics of Development,” as espoused by the Right Honourable Chief Minister of Sarawak, various programmes, projects and activities were implemented. The building of infrastructures such as roads linking Kuching and the sub-urban Bidayuh kampong enable the Bidayuh to travel to the capital city with ease compared to the long hours they have to walk reach the nearest bus station. This scenario is slowly diminishing and has changed for the better . Thus this has change the way of life and culture of the Bidayuh people as they enjoyed a better quality of life as compared to their ancestors or the earlier generation during the colonial rule or in the early years of Independence. The promise of Independence has given ample opportunities for the Bidayuh to embark in a myriad of activities in business, educations and all sectors of employment if they have the right attitudes and are willing to venture and if they are risk takers
: The last factor which influence the evolution and the development of Bidayuh culture is of course the inter and intra ethnic relations between the Bidayuh and members of the other ethnic groups not only amongst ethnic groups in Sarawak, but also in Malaysia and other parts of the world. In their work place the Bidayuh mixed with the other ethnic groups such as the Chinese, Iban, Malay, Melanau and the Orang Ulu. While as students or as professionals working in Peninsular Malaysia, they mixed with people of different origin and race. Hence they began to develop the culture of being tolerance of the other race and began to appreciate the culture of the other ethnic groups and in the process enrich their own culture. In addition to this mixed marriage also another factor which influence the evolution culture of the Bidayuh. Through mixed marriage, their next generation may not be able to speak the mother tongue of the father or the father, but instead would speak English or Bahasa Melayu. Thus making English or Bahasa Melayu as their mother tongue.
: Having discussed the factors that have helped shaped the evolution and development of the Bidayuh culture, the next paragraph will be devoted to discuss the finer aspects of Bidayuh cultural values and practices which can impede the Bidayuh progress.
: In spite abundance opportunities available to improve the quality of live and standard of livings of the Bidayuh, there are many inherent Bidayuh cultural values that can impede the community progress. Minos (2000: 129) opined that the Bidayuh culture have affected and will continue to affect the Bidayuh in the following fields:
: • In education - whether or not they will become a highly educated race in future will depend on how the community value as see the importance of education. If they community believe that education is important, a paradigm shift is needed and change of value towards education is crucial where the community should not only stress in life-long learning as a culture but also must stressed in the importance of quality in education and support the call of the government of the day in promoting the use of English in education. The culture of complacency should be changed, but some parent just do not bother about their children’s education;
: • In business and the corporate sector - with the right attitude the Bidayuhs will have a chance to be successful in the business and with the wrong and negative attitude they will fail; the culture as not risk taker should be change to a culture of a risk taker;
: • The attitude towards other races and people around them - the Bidayuh are able to adapt themselves well with the other races and this is the positive traits that the Bidayuh have. But there are some negative culture such as menguh and as such will prefer to keep quiet. In some cases, a Bidayuh student will fill shy to ask his or her teacher to how to solve a simple Mathematic problem in class. While a Bidayuh business man would on the other hand too shy to loan money form the Bank for fear of disclosing his assets or liabilities to the bank;
: • Attitudes towards the Government and its economics policies, strategies and programmes – very often the Bidayuh will have a wait and see attitude toward any programmes. The culture of apprehension and distrust still persist among the Bidayuh community on development projects which the government intends to implement to improve their socio-economic standard and because of that they might not be a willing partner in development.
: • Attitude toward concept such as the culture of excellence, dedication, sense of commitment, perseverance and being assertive is absence, but the attitude such as mediocrity prevails. As such they do not want to work extra mile in order to succeed.
: • Attitude towards new concepts ideas and new application or approaches – the unwillingness of the Bidayuh to adapt and adopt new ideas and application or tools will cause them to lag behind in the vacation or in their work. For example if a Bidayuh farmer after having farmed their land refused to induce new agriculture inputs will not yield a good harvest because the land become over utilized and gradually become infertile.
: Apart from Minos, many Bidayuh leaders have also outlined the negative culture of the Bidayuh which impede their progress. Datuk Michael Manyin ak Jawong in his welcoming message at the official opening of the fourth Bidayuh Cultural Symposium outlined some of the negative culture of the Bidayuh which he succinctly said:
: “… the Bidayu as a community has a zero history of civilization. Therefore we have been touched by the so-called feeling of civilization. All this while our community have never experiences that our existence necessitated a struggle. The Bidayuh take time in hunting and fishing. They take time in planting for their daily meal. They always seek self-sufficiency. There is no need for competition where one tramples upon one another for better life or for more. We are not used to compete but co-operate. We used to share whatever we have. The Bidayuh practiced not only cooperation but also communalism. For this reason the Bidayuh normally don’t like to see their friends or neighbours better off than themselves. Thus often arising a very strong feeling of envy and jealousy if one member of a community is better off than the rest or more successful than the rest”.
: In another serious vein he explained the culture of the Bidayuh:
: “But all these values probably will become disadvantageous to the community if we are to survive and strive in the very competitive environment in the 21st century. Thus for this reason it is imperative to turn our communal and cooperative values into competitive and perhaps individualistic values; values that will urge us to compete with one another and be prepared to trample upon one another; values that will tell us that wanting is not enough but wanting more and more is good. The Bidayuh must be prepared to cooperate ideals which are directed towards efficiency, persistence, determination and strenuous efforts and risk taking with their customary ideals. If in the past the Bidayuh were not determined and persistent, and let the new generation of Bidayuh who will face the brunt of challenges of the 21st century; be persistent and determined; if in the past the Bidayuh we were not risk takers, the new generation Bidayuh must be risk-takers (probably gamblers)”.
: In spite of what had been said about the negative aspects of Bidayuh culture, there are aspects of cultural beliefs and cultural practices which were practiced by the Bidayuh forefathers are still relevant to day vis-à-vis the pengiris, bidepu, bisamah and etc. These aspects of the Bidayuh culture will be discussed in the next heading the “contribution of Bidayuh culture to the socio-economic development of the community”.
:
: CONTRIBUTIONS OF BIDAYUH CULTURE TO THE NATIONAL CULTURE
: Having discussed the evolution and development of the Bidayuh culture and its impediments to the Bidayuh progress, this section is devoted to discuss how the Bidayuh culture can contribute to the national culture. The national culture comprise the culture of the different ethnic groups in Malaysia, namely the Malay, Chinese, Indians and the other ethnic minorities of Sabah and Sarawak. The diverse culture and traditions of Bidayuh though, being the minority ethnic group of Sarawak, have contributed much towards the national culture. Their contributions can be discussed in the context of the cultural identity of the nation. There are parts of the Bidayuh cultural practices such as the Bidayuh traditional dances, costumes, Bidayuh traditional architecture in the form or skull-house and the institution of Gawai are deeply embedded as part and parcel of the national culture.
: Bidayuh traditional costumes which are being worn and adorn by Bidayuh maiden and men add colour to the existing national culture. The same also applies to the Bidayuh traditional dances, such as the belangi, the nyigar and rejang beuh. According to YB Tan Sri Datuk Amar Alfred Jabu ak Numpang , these traditional cultures constitutes part of the Bidayuh civilization and also part and parcel of the national cultural heritage. The Bidayuh cultural dances are also being performed overseas when the Ministry of Toursim and the Tourism Board are promoting the tourism industry oversea and woo tourists to visit our country. In addition, Bidayuh traditional costumes are also worn during the major celebrations such as when Sarawak send their contingent to participate in the annual Merdeka parade and also when welcoming important dignitaries to the State. In Sarawak in particular, the Bidayuh traditional dances are important means attract tourists to Sarawak as a major tourist destination based on the CAN concept.
: Another important aspects of the Bidayuh culture which has been institutionalized as the national culture is the incorporation of the Bidayuh architecture-the Baruk. The colonial masters called this, the Bidayuh skull-house, while the Bidayuh themselves called it in different names which will be discussed in the next section. There are several buildings around the city which resemble that of the Bidayuh baruk namely, the circular-shaped tower of Dewan Suarah Kuching, Beijing Restaurant, Santubong Damai Resort. Out side Kuching, the design of Dewan Suarah, Bau and the shades at Wind Cave Bau resembles that of the Bidayuh baruk. This reminds that the Bidayuh rich cultural heritage form part and parcel of the heritage in multi-cultural society, Malaysia.
: Gawai is also another form of Bidayuh culture which has featured explicitly in the national culture. Since 2000, Gawai Dayak which falls on 1st of June is now a national celebration in which Malaysian from all walk of life will visit their Dayak friends’ open house and also become guest to the national level open house organized by the Dayak community of which the Bidayuh community is part of it. Gawai as a culture is a uniting factor for Bidayuh and enhance better ethnic relation and mutual understanding among races because they come and visit and share gawai joys together with the Bidayu.
:
: CONTRIBUTION OF BIDAYUH CULTURE TO THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
: There are some aspects of the Bidayuh culture which have contribute to the socio-economic development of the society. The cultural practices which were practiced by the Bidayuh forefathers such as the pengiris , bidepu, bisamah are actually indigenous practices of the Bidayuh. Some of this cultural practices such as the pengiris which the Government incorporate in the gotong-royong concept. Bidepu is an old concept of networking among friend whom one have known for a long period of time, it is a form of friendship, but was done between friends from different racial background. During fruit or harvesting season, a Bidayuh would give fruit and beras bauh to their depu. Another finer culture of the Bidayuh is the concept of bisamah, in which literally means to share. In the olden days if a hunter shoot a deer or wild boar, he would share the meat not only with his relatives but also with the whole community.
: Apart from the three cultural practices mentioned above. The Bidayuh are also peace- loving people and low abiding people. Early writers such as Low (1848), Wallace (1854), Roth (1896), and Gould and Bamfylde (1909) all acknowledged this fact. The Bidayuh are hard working people who would work about 14 hours a day, walking to their farm as early as 5.00 a.m. in the morning and only to come back late in the evening. Being obedient, hard-working and a meticulous worker the Bidayuh are able to withstand adverse working conditions and this made them able to fit in any sector of employment, either as farmers, labourers, blue collar workers, white collar worker, professionals or dishwashers and waiters at the coffee shops. The Bidayuhs are good workers are always an obedient and good followers.
: Low (1848), Wallace (1854), Roth (1896) also observed that the Bidayuh, in spite of their grouping, practiced similar culture, within a group or longhouse, the important factors which unite the Bidayuh ancestors together were:
: • Common possession;
: • Common work;
: • Common fear; and
: • Common means of protection.
: Properties held in common use were land and the skull-house (where skulls of enemies were kept), known as baruk in Bau District, pangah in Kuching District and baluh in Serian District. The common work was through the cultivation of land which our ancestors preferred to work in groups. The common fear was the headhunters (penyamun), and the common means of protection was through the belief in Tampa Raiuyuh by Serian District Bidayuh, ancestral spirits or a religion (Chang, 2002).
: Even today, commonality of possession is cohesively binding us together as in the case of baruk architecture which is donning many places in the Kuching and Samarahan Divisions. When in the past unmarried men and boys were compelled to sleep in the baruk to keep them out of mischief (Chang, 2002), today, the sight of baruk brings pride into our hearts as Bidayuh. The baruk thus unite us as an ethnic group. It is recognized that the baruk is an integral element of the Bidayuh way of life; an institution where our rich culture is preserved and thus, more should be restored.
: Among the components of the Bidayuh culture that had nurtured cordial relationship among them in the olden days and prevailed for decades is the gawai (festival). Gawai sowa (annual festival after padi-harvest) had been the most outstanding, during which Bidayuh from nearby and distant localities converged in a village to celebrate together. This had created a strong bond among the Bidayuh (Chang, 2002). However, after the Government had directed Dayak communities to celebrate gawai on 1st June, the gawai culture and atmosphere of togetherness have somewhat diminished.
:
: RELEVANT PERTINENT ISSUES OF THE BIDAYUH CULTURE
: Having discussed the basic tenets of the evolution of the Bidayuh culture its relevance in the context the national culture and the Bidayuh socio-economic development, there are still some pertinent socio-cultural issues worth discussing. These five issues are meant to generate some intellectual discourse among the participant of this symposium and we hope would provide some cues for future affirmative actions form the relevant authorities concern. They five issues are: life-long learning culture, popularize the Indigenous Bidayuh culture for tourist attraction monetize the Bidayuh the culture to monetize the Bidayuh assets; encourage the Bidayuh to pay to themselves and lastly embrace the culture that is keen to learn and acquire knowledge in Science and Mathematics.
: (a) Life-long Learning Culture
: Life-long learning culture have been practiced by many people from the more developed nation, whereby even those in their career plateau or on the verge of their retirement would seek to relearn and unlearn additional knowledge. There are ample avenues readily available for those keen to pursue life-long learning. In some cases the avenues are provided by the government at the very minimal charge. Life-long learning or continuous learning will be the norm in a K-economy as knowledge is not static but rather a volatile and fragile ‘commodity’ that necessitate continuous ‘maintenance’. Continuous or lifelong learning – efforts must be made to learn some of the new skills and techniques. Learning should be an integral part of our culture of excellence; it is part and parcel of our daily activities. Develop and inculcate the life-long learning culture to generate a rising wall of awareness among the community of the importance of knowledge in the new economy. Lifelong learning will become increasingly vital in the K-economy where knowledge and skills need to be continuously updated and upgraded. Thus it is crucial that the workforce possesses the ability to adapt and adjust to the changing demands of technological advances. A more concerted efforts must be undertaken to retrain and reskill the workforce through the various vocation and other groups.
: (b) Popularize the Indigenous Bidayuh Culture for Tourist Attraction
: Apart from Gawai, the Bidayuh traditional dances and the Bidayuh longhouses, there are other aspects of culture indigenous to the Bidayuh which could be promoted as a form of tourist attraction. The life of a Bidayuh as a farmer can be packaged nicely to lure tourists to visit the Bidayuh villages. As a lecturer who was formerly the Head of the International Relation Programme, Faculty Science Social, UNIMAS, I have had some opportunities to supervise a number of students from overseas such as from Australia, Denmark, New Zealand and the United States. All these students were fascinated with culture, and the hospitality shown by this Bidayuh farmers. Similarly life as a pepper planter, or the indigenous culture of nyetu bewa dien too could be packaged as a tourism product based on the CAN concept. Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) together with the travel agents and the Bidayuh entrepreneurs could think seriously of this new venture. This as a new business venture full of risk and uncertainty.”
: (c) Culture to Monetize the Bidayuh Assets
: Monetizing the immovable assets is a very phenomenal culture and very serious dilemma confronting the Bidayuh community. They have good detached houses at the Kampongs, but the land where they built their house are not given title, so are their other forms of immovable assets such as their NCR land. Culturally most Dayaks and Bidayuh for that matter regard their NCR land as their heirlooms and would not part with it making this can become a very emotive issue to discuss.
: (d) Encourage Bidayuh to Pay to Themselves
: Another culture which is lacking amongst the Bidayuh or for that matter is to save part of their income as savings. They Bidayuh just like any other Dayak community are over indulging themselves in the three worse vices such as gambling, drinking and also cockfighting to the extend that they do not save part of their income for their children education.
: (e) Acquire Knowledge in Science and Mathematics in English
: As the nation is moving toward an industrial nation by the year 2020, and the impact brought about the cruel wave of globalization, the national educational policy were incrementally changed to suit the vision of the nation in creating knowledge workers. As a direct respond to this, teaching of subjects such as Science and Mathematics in English in the education system was institutionalized at the beginning of 2003. Its is imperative for the Bidayuh to embrace the culture of wanting to acquire knowledge not only in Science and Mathematics subjects in Enclish, but in all realms of knowledge in their quest for culture of excellence. Thus as a community we fully endorse the government’s affirmative action on this issue as this will prepare the community and turn them to be more resilience workforce to brace the wave of globalization.
: CONCLUSION
: This paper has given some insight into the evolution and the development of the Bidayuh culture. In addition it has outlined the major factors that have some bearings on the evolution and development of the Bidayuh culture. It has also discussed the impediments on the Bidayuh culture and how the the Bidayuh rich cultural heritage contribute towards albeit to the national culture and the Bidayuh socio-economic development at large. This paper has also discussed five pertinent issues concerning Bidayuh culture vis; life-long learning culture, popularize the Indigenous Bidayuh culture for tourist attraction monetize the Bidayuh the culture to monetize the Bidayuh assets; encourage the Bidayuh to pay to themselves and the culture eager to knowledge in Science and Mathematics.
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