| VOLUME 6 |
NOVEMBER 2000 |
PERMIT NO. PPK 231/4/2001 |
Bidayuh Folkways
By JONAS NOEB
The Bidayuh is a closely-knit society. Relationship within the family is
close and warm. Kinship network, social status, age and sex are some
of the elements that regulate how the Bidayuh relate to one another.
Terms of Address
Young siblings may address each other by their personal names but a more
affectionate term of address is "kie" (elder brother/sister) when a younger sibling
addresses an older sibling. Older siblings may also addres their younger brothers
and sisters by their lovey-dovey names such as "nuoi" for a boy and "Mbieng" for
a girl.
Grown up siblings may also address each other by their social status such
as "Somba oh", (senior uncle of my child) "Tuwa oh" (junior uncle or aunt of my
child) and "Noyung oh". (Senior auntie of my child).
A child addresses his or her father "Ma" (Father) and his or her mother
"Ndo" (mother). Parents address their children personal names or by the more
affectionate terms, if they are still young, such as "Nuoi" if the child is a boy and
"Mbieng", if she is a girl. Parents may also address their children as "Nak" (my
child). Grown up people are addressed by their social status such as "Pi" so and
so and "Ndo" so and so, i.e father of so and so and mother of so and so.
Parents are addressed by other people as father of so and so and mother of
so and so. However, once they have their first grandchild they are addressed as
"Babai" so and so (grandfather of so and so) and "Sumuk" so and so (grandmother
of so and so).
A child addresses his or her grandfather as "Bai". Grandmother is addressed
as "Muk" for example:
"Bai, got to samah man".
"Grandpa, come let us eat together."
Grandparents address their grandchildren whether male or female by their
personal names or by the more affectionate term "Nak" or by the lovey-dovey
terms, if they are still young boys and girls, "Nuoi" or "Mbieng".
A nephew on niece may address his or her uncle as "Mba" if that particular uncle
is the older brother of either his or her father or mother. "Yung" is a term of
address for an aunt who is the older sister of either one's father or mother.
An uncle or an aunt may address his or her nephew or niece (a son or
daughter of his or her older brother/sister) by his or her personal name or by the
more affectionate term "Dah". "Nak" is used if the nephew or niece is the son or
daughter of one's younger brother or sister.
A son-in-law or a daughter-in-law addresses his or her father-in-law by the
term "Mba" (uncle) and "Yung" (auntie) for mother-in-law. A son-in-law or a
daughter-law may also address his or her parents-in-law as "Wa" (younger uncle
+ untie). However, once he or she has a child, the father in law is addressed as
"Babai oh" (grandfather of my child) and the mother-in-law is addressed as "sumuk
oh" i.e the grandmother of my child.
Parents-in-law may address a son-in-law on a daughter-in-law as "Nak" (son/
daughter) or by his or her sobriquet (tajang). However, once a son-in-law or a
daughter-in-law has a child, he or she has to he addressed by his or her social
status i.e. He is adressed as "Pi" so and so (Father or so and so) and "Ndo" so
and so (mother of so and so).
Non-relatives who are of the same age group may address each other as
"gai" (friend) on by their respective personal name or by their social status.
A younger person, however, is strictly forbidden to address an older person as
"gai" or by his or her personal name. If he or she does not adhere to the rule, he
or she will be branded as, "kurang ajar, doii obuoh ngasuom nomu!"
Situbieng
A situbieng is a Jew's harp or a mouth harp.
Sometimes, it is described as a lamellaphone but
actually it is a free aerophone.
A situbieng is usually made of "jagang" of about five
centimetres long. Half of it is the handle and the other
half is flattened into a thin narrow frame with a lamella
in the middle.
To play the instrument, the thin narrow frame is
held across one's open mouth. One hand holds the
handle while the other hand strums the frame to
activate the lamella. The sound energy generated as
the lamella vibrates between the arms of its frame is
ceshaped by the performer's oral cavity to produce
melodies among the upper partials.
Glossary:
Situbieng/Jingon/Sirurai is a Jew's harp or a mouth harp.
Jagang/Sarim/Ruyang is either brass armlets or leglets.
Semah
SEMAH (cleansing ritual) was an important ritual
performed by the Selako Bidayuh at Pulau Talang-
Talang. Held once a year, the ritual was performed to
appease the spirits of the sea and 'cool' the
environment so that nature would regenerate to
provide abundant food resources. Of great significance
is the effectiveness of the ritual in getting the 'white'
turtle to land, which is believed to bring luck and
richness to sea and land resources. The last traditional
semah was performed at Pulau Talang-Talang by the
late T.K. Nimbun ak Rade in 1973.
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