Toms note: The omen birds are a group of birds that figure prominently in the Kenyah culture.
Traditional Kenyah Farming Year
When the spider hunter bird (Isit) is seen flying to the right, the omen is favourable and when it is seen flying to the left they had to avoid clearing the land that day and wait for the next. When the omen bird was favourable they could only work for two hours for three days. This was to avoid other omen birds from interfering with the work.
On the third day, they carved three wooden figures about the size of a man’s finger. These could be made from twigs and roughly fashioned. The face was just a slit with a small hole representing the mouth and two small holes to represent the eyes. Each was supposed to represent three sacred birds the isit (spiderhunter), Ki-ing (the violet back starling) and the ukang (Rufus piclet). The figures were then stuck into the ground. A small branch was shaved with the shavings still attached acting like feathers. Each figure was offered a grain of rice and some rice wine. There were other omens. For example, if a civet or python was encountered they had to find a new piece of land.
When the land was finally cleared, they waited for a dry spell before burning to clear the land. After burning and before sowing, the isit was asked to change the land from a heated one to a cool one. This was called “Mui Tutong” literally to wash the burning. Before the actual sowing began, a man had to walk the farm alone while the women stayed home. One of the women would slaughter a chicken and wave it over the basket containing the rice seeds to be sown and utter:
Today we are going to sow/on this propitious day/since the moon is correct/We are going to sow/ and we ask for good rice/for all of us here/We ask for a good life/a happy life from you/ Birds of good omen/which we have honoured from time immemorial/as we make this padi field/we ask the help of Jalong Paelong/and Bungan Malan/ a good life/a happy life/so that in the future we may eat the fruits of our labour.
They chewed some ginger and lemongrass and this was spat towards the field. They took the basket and eight grains of rice to the padi field and few grains of rice and placed them in eight holes surrounding the basket. They then took their share of the seed. On the first round of sowing, they had to take care not to talk to each other.
When the sowing was complete they bathed in the field. The owner of the field went to the river and brought back a coconut shell filled with water. All those who took part in the sowing were expected to sprinkle water over the land to cleanse themselves of any fault they may have committed by breaking taboos, such as handling the needles, eating smoked fish or meat during sowing time.
When the sowing was over, they watched for a flight of hawks. Sitting beneath a roughly shaped lean-to, each observer burned a lump of pig fat over a small fire. On the appearance of the hawk, they held a wooden figure towards it and said these words:
If they wanted the hawk to fly to right they said “I am burning this pork fat/to ask your favour/ renowned in mouth and tongue, come instruct and speak to us/come and take pity on us/come oh hawk, come to the left/take away all the evil that disturbs us./
or depending which way the hawk flew
Come oh hawk, come to the right/make our rice healthy, make it yieldy/strong in leaf strong in root/strong in the stem, strong in fruit/
On the wooden figures that they had made, they said:
Give this to us and take this decoration/accept this nose and face/we ask you to advise us /to drive away filth/destroy sickness and misfortune/and help us to have a good harvest/
The figure was then manually manipulated to represent an eagle. It was implored to change some water in bamboo as purification to their newly planted rice. It was then sprinkled over the eight seedlings which had previously been sown around the basket in the rice field.
During a favourable month, they cooked some of the newly grown rice with the rice of the previous year. At night, the occupants of the house had to keep quiet. The men sat waiting on the verandah. All doors were bolted. When the rice was ready, the men were called to dinner and the chicken was killed. Cooked rice and a morsel of fish was then served on the blade of a sword. Before each individual ate, he smeared his hands with chicken blood. When this ritual was over, the feasting and merriment began.
During the harvest of the rice, there were no taboos. After the harvest, the young men went to make some huts upriver. The young women met them upon their return splashing them with water. On coming back they brought some fresh heads with them and took them to the longhouse of the headman. In case there was an absence of fresh heads, the few available heads were available broken into pieces and the fragments that were left were shared among them on leaves.
Planted beforehand, a ring of plants set in pots before the room of the head of the longhouse. The men went and offered prayers to the guardian spirits. While walking to the longhouse, the women smeared them with chickens blood. They then ate their dinner. Then they strapped a live chicken to each arm and their necks were broken by violent blows. This ceremony offered food for the hawks thanking them for their guidance. The human skulls were then hung and a piece of chicken liver offered. As the offering was made, a song called a siap was sung followed by a mering ceremony to drive the evil spirits away from the longhouse.
From: The Kenyah Farming Year by Rt. Reverend A.D. Galvin in the Sarawak Museum Journal December 1971
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