Sebatik Island is located off the eastern coast of Sabah. The border between Indonesia and Malaysia runs through the middle of the island, with the northern part belonging to Malaysia. There are several outlying islands called the “Outlying Islands of Indonesia”. These include Tarakan, Bunyu, Mandul and Nunukan islands.

The Tidung people of Sebatik Island occupy three villages close to the Indo-Malaysian border. The Tidung are natives of Sebatik island who arrived in the 1800’s. The island has a large population of newcomers but the Tidung have maintained their traditional way of life.

The history of the Tidung people has been difficult to unravel. The origin of the Tidung has three viewpoints: the Tidung people themselves, the Dutch colonial version and the Republic of Indonesia account.

 In the Tidung version, the people came from Asia and immigrated to islands in 5-1 B.C. They landed in the Sabah area and then moved south with part of them eventually becoming the Dayak Kayan ethnic group.

The Dutch believe the Tidung came from Dayak Kayan. This version is thought to be politically motivated. Apparently, the original areas were the Sesayap and Melanau.

The Indonesian government version states the Tidung were coastal Dayak people who came from the mountain in Menjelutang. The Tidung of Sebatik Island inhabited the coastal sections of Nunukan and west Sebatik Island. They moved from one river bank to another. They now call themselves the ulupagun (people of the village).

Today, the Tidung people feel they came from various villages in mainland Borneo. The Tidung people formed seven subgroups on the island including the Subuku, Tanah Merah, Tarakan and Bulungan.  

There are four versions as believed by the Tidong people. From mythology, we have the Tidung coming from the Dyak who came from an egg in a bamboo tree. In the past, there were two Dayak kingdoms. They tied the knot with two of their children. They became husband and wife. One day, the wife while being with child craved to eat meat. The husband told several of his soldiers to hunt swine. However, the men did not find any meat. While returning home, the dogs began barking at a clump of bamboo. The men began searching in the bamboo and found a huge egg.

The men brought back the egg to the husband and wife who had become king and queen. The King wanted to keep the egg to see what would hatch. A human came from the egg and was named Tidung. Tidung married and had a large family. He made his village cluster and inhabited the mountains. All the descendants of Tidong spread north to Kalimantan Island.

A second myth relates the Tindung people came from the Sumbal River. They then spread to northeast Kalimatan and the islands.

In the third myth, the Tidung people came from Sembakung in Sebatik Island. Aki Suruga had a height of seven feet. There were two brothers. The older brother met a Muslim saint in the forest and told him about Islam. He wanted to tell his brother but he preferred to follow his ancestors’ teaching. Each defended their own beliefs and separated into two groups. The older brother’s territory was downstream while the little brother’s was upstream. One group became the Dayaks while the other became the Tidung people.

The Malaysian version of this myth states the Tidung people were integrated into two ethnic groups: the ethnic Dayak Murut and the ethnic Suluk. The ethnic Suluk went to Sabah and intermarried with the local Dayak Murut. The Suluk married a lady who came from heaven. The ethnic Dayak Murut who embraced Islam changed their names to the Tidong people. Both Tidong Malaysia and Tidong Indonesia still have a tie of kinship.

The migration from the mainland to Sebatik Island occurred in three stages. The first occurred in 1700. There are old graves displaying the spread of the Islamic religion. During the first stage which was known as the migration of the Tidung people, the Tidung people on the mainland moved from river settlement to river settlement.

During the second stage of settlement, there was a migration from the Kingdom of Tidung to the island. An old grave was found at Lapeo village. The grave was believed to be a Tidung because the name was written in Malay Arabic (Jawai). The date, however, was written in the Latin script of 1832. 

Archaeological evidence in the form of old graves surrounded by bamboo indicated dates of 1836.

This occurred during the reign of the Kingdom of Tindung. There were five islands under his sovereignty including Tarakan, Bunyu, Mandul, Nunukan and Sebatik islands. Datuk Adil was ordered to open up a cluster of settlements on Sebatik Island in 1813. The building of Tidung village now known as Setabu was the first and oldest on the island. The village was officially opened by the king but it should have been opened by the community in the form of the village midwife. (fardhukifayah)

In 1911, the Bulungan people invaded the Tidure empire on the mainland. The Tidure people escaped to the islands off the coast.

The Rituals

There are several rituals to which the Tidure people adhered. The first was Mengayou. This was the ritual decapitation. The removal of the head was to show the lady his power. The young man went around to find a strong opponent to fight. When the fight ended, the loser would be decapitated and the head shown to the lady as evidence of his courage. However, this was stopped when Islam came along and the tradition was abandoned.

The second was dimanae tana biyamo denginokuanansinantuk. This meant that whenever a new group of people landed on the island they had to adopt the ways of the group already living there.

The third was tourotus. The Tidung people have a deep empathy for people and will help others in need. They will never start a conflict but will engage in fighting if provoked.

The fourth is modest living. Ascolsinojadinyogino is their word for house and suangbagasbagambus which translates if there is enough rice to eat and we have shelter from the rain then that is enough.

Belimpun is the fifth and it encourages people to socialize with each other.

Berinut is the sixth and encourages people not to work very hard.

Kutika is the guide which gives luck to fishing and hunting and is the seventh ritual.

Kepunan is the eighth and it states to always show respect to the landlord during a visit. Called ngambilkodulu kepunankonanti, food must be offered and eaten by both the landlord and the tenants to show mutual respect.

Religious Life

Religious life seemed to come to the Tidung people from the ethnic Dayak people. They believed in one high god who created heaven and earth. Their religion was called kaharingan. The belief includes an acknowledgement of supernatural creatures and spirits. Amulets were used to protect the people from their wrath.

As Islam entered the people, kaharingan slowly subsided as Islamic beliefs took hold. However, there were lingering residuals in the form of adat and teachings. They are not contrary to Islamic beliefs.

It is believed that Islam entered the people through an Islamic Saint sent by Allah. Those who introduced Islam came in the form of Arab traders. The elders acquired the knowledge of Islam and adat and became a group within the society.

The Youth became a second group. They have an Islamic education from boarding schools. They 

practice Islam without the adat. As the elders die off and the youth grow up, the adat of the past will be lost.

The Tidung people of Seabati Island have not become part of the economic expansion on the island. They prefer to live in the past and continue to live according to the adat they remember. Both groups profess Islam and worship according to the tenets.

From: The Tidung People of Sebatik Island by Muhammed Yamin Sani et al in International Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Research published by The European Center for Research Training and Development, vol 4 # 3, June 2018

with special thanks to Veronica Chang Schmidt

BorneoHistory.net