The Death Ceremony of the Berawan People of Sarawak
The Berawan people live in longhouses along the Tinjar and Tutoh Rivers both tributaries of the Baram River in Sarawak. They are part of the orang ulu people or up river people.
There are two ceremonies which occur. Just after death, the corpse is displayed on a specially built seat for a day or two. When all of the kin have seen it, the body is inserted in a coffin or a large jar. At the end of four to ten days, depending on the status of the individual, it is removed for temporary storage. This may be in the longhouse or on a platform in the graveyard.
For the second ceremony, guests are summoned far and wide. The coffin or jar is brought to a small shed on the longhouse veranda. The ceremony lasts four to ten days and every evening there is a boisterous party. Then the bones are transferred to their final resting place. This may be in a single massive post often richly carved with a niche near its head into which a small jar may be inserted. Alternatively, the remains may be stored in a large decorated mausoleum raised on one or several supporting posts.
Why do the Berawan people take so long to bury their dead? The Berawan people say its takes a time for the death songs to be sung at the ceremony which escorts the spirit to the land of the dead.
The Berawan people believe the living human has two parts, a body and a soul. The soul can change form. For example, during the healing process it could appear small and particle like so it the shaman can catch it on a sword blade. Secondly, the soul is not considered to be eternal and at death it changes into something else.
The spirits of the dead inhabit a world called “place of the dead.” Berawan people refuse to speculate where this may be however they do know it is a beautiful place full of radiant spirits.
Minor skin diseases and upset stomachs are attributed to environmental causes. Some more serious illnesses are caused by the violation of a taboo. The most serious are caused by what they call “soul loss”. The soul can wander from the body during sleep but usually returns after a short absences. However, if the soul is gone for a long period or ensnared by some malevolent spirit then sickness will result. If the soul wanders into the land of the dead then the person is dies.
One example is a Berawan person became unconcioncious. He dreamed he was paddling up river when he turned off onto another stream that led to the land of the dead. He beached his canoe at the foot of a hill and climbed up. On top of the hill were beautiful people dressed in fine clothes harvesting rice that shone like gold. These people were the spirits of the dead. These people invited him to go with them and together they descended the hill where they came to another stream. The spirits crossed the stream but the person realized if he joined them he would enter the land of the dead. He decided not to go and reversed himself t the way he came. Later he regained conciousness.
The first of the death songs to be sung is for the recovery of any souls that may be tempted to wander off with the dead soul. The song is sung in a light hearted matter and a verse is sung for every member of the community. The soul of a person of the opposite sex is playfully called upon to pull the wandering soul home.
The next song is serious. The lead singer faces up river and takes a large bamboo bucket, one used to bring water from the river to bathe the body, and strikes the coffin. Simultaneously, he calls upon the soul to prepare to enter the land of the dead. The song instructs the soul to go to the river to wash. The soul is next instructed by the song to dress in fine attire appropriate to their sex. It is then told to leave the longhouse and to descend into a canoe at the river’s edge without looking back.
There is then a question answer session, in song, where by the soul may ask what place is this and the people answer the place of the longhouse, dead one. The soul, in song, is told to paddle upstream. After a short paddle it asks where he is now and is told he is at the place where the Marude stream meets the main river. The song proceeds upriver naming the longhouses it passes. Sometimes it is hurried along and urged to paddle vigorously throwing spray behind the canoe.This singing goes on for ten nights trying to guide the soul to the land of the dead and not going wayward to some other spirit world.
There are several side ceremonies which go on during this ten day period. Women mourners drop to their knees before the corpse and throw their long hair over the crown of their heads so it hides their faces. The produce a dramatic dirge which where the jist is “why have you abandoned those that love you?” and other intense questions.
The second is providing food and tobacco for the corpse. In one ritual, the spouse and children lie down next to the corpse and puff on a cigarette of native manufacture. Then they offer it to the corpse. In another rite, the corpse is carried into the kitchen and its hand is laid out on the hearth. Simultaneously, a little cooked rice is shoved into its mouth. The feeding is repeated several times.
No one is supposed to sleep during at night while guarding the corpse. Games are played and songs are sung. They are supposed to be entertaining the soul of the dead person. The other stated aim is to keep the other evil spirits from intruding on the corpse. There is an intense demon who tries to gain control of the corpse and if it should then ” a monster results of superhuman strength and nightmarish mein that it is invulnerable to human weapons. “
In one case, there was a rapping on the lid of the coffin possibly caused by the contraction of the wood from the afternoon heat. However the women saw it differently. They fled carrying their children. Men returned waving weapons above the coffin. Extra bands of rattan(like ropes) were secured around the coffin to keep the spirits inside. Calm was restored when the old shaman came and told everyone that nothing was amiss inside the coffin.
Mats are often hung along the open side of the veranda of the longhouse. These mats are lowered an hour before sunset and raised just before sun rise. Sunset is a dangerous time when many evil spirits are around. Berawans fear sunset is bad because of the dangerous red hues around.
The widow is kept confined to a small cell for as long as eleven days near the corpse. Her ordeal is considerable. She must wear filthy clothes, defecate through a hole in the floor and eat only the poorest of foods. She can sleep with only her legs in a cramped position. She is told to suffer not because of the corpse but because of the vengeful soul of the deceased. Only through suffering can she keep the vengeful soul of the deceased in check .However, not everybody gets such an elaborate ceremony. Most of the people are given the funeral rrites which included the songs and the corpse is stored in the massaoleum.
After the body is removed from the longhouse and is entombed in the soul still continues to wander. At the first full moon, the widow addresses a dirge to the soul of the dead man.
Even after the corpse is removed and entombed, his spirit is still talked to and fed. This usually occurs during the first full moon after the rice harvest. An structure is erected in front of the longhouse. It consists of a 15 foot tall pole with the ears of the rice arranged at the top. This rice is shared with the “dead” person. At the time of the full moon where he is assured of meeting the dead persons ghost. If the deceased was a male, the widow will also make a dirge.
From
Huntington, Richard Celebrations of Death Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979, p.68-80
Tom McLaughlin for BorneoHistory.net