The historical information was gleaned from a lecture by Martin Barier, date unknown. Much of the information about German missionaries ie names and places in Germany etc was omitted to focus on the Ngaju people.
The Ngaju People
South Borneo contains the settlement area of the Ngaju People. The first European descriptions date back to the 1690s. Father Bartolomeo Ferro refers to the “Porto Beaguis” evidently a Biaju-Ngaju location. The Portugese Captain Cotingo pushed forward to the area Pulopetak where he enjoyed Ngaju hospitality. Direct trade with non-Muslim Nagaju was possible at that time.
The Ngaju wanted to align themselves with the King of Portugal and obtain Portuguese help in erecting an armed Fortezza. Unfortunately, Captain Cotingo’s reports were not taken seriously in the Portuguese enclave of Macau where the decisions of Portuguese overseas colonies lay. The forging of direct Portuguese-Ngaju Dyak commercial trade failed. At the same time, in 1800 Ngaju converted to Catholicism and 3,000-4000 converted over the next three years.
In 1691, the Ngaju controlled the delta areas of the Kapuas and Kahyan Rivers and an area west of the lower Barito River. Before then, they were also quite dominant west of Banjarmasin.
Politically and culturally the Ngaju competed with the Banjar people.
During that time they attacked trading ships along the coast and, later, traded with Singapore, which they named Salat. The balance of commercial and political power shifted to favour the Banjar people after the Dutch intervention in the middle of the 19th century. In 1826, trade with Singapore declined and stopped altogether. The sea power of the Ngaju declined markedly.
The first protestant missionaries arrived from Germany in 1835 and their interest centred on the Ngaju people. The first Christian schools opened a year later. A Bible, dictionary and grammar book became available in the 1850’s.
Ngaju believed in many gods with headhunting and human sacrifice. In moving from animism to Kaharingan the Ngaju never drank rice wine out of human skulls, as was made popular in the Western press. However, the people of the upper Samba were drinking Tuak from the skulls while another traveller reported drinking blood from the skulls.
The Ngaju people developed the Kaharingan religion which came from a combination of Hinduism and Christianity. The beliefs are reflected in the Tree of Life where there is a spear in the centre with three branches on either side, some facing up and some facing down. At the bottom are two receptacles while at the top are the sun and hornbill. The concept is life on earth is temporary and human life is designed for the hereafter.
In practice, the Ngaju people reflect on the ancestral world of spirits. A secondary funeral is held several months or years after the first burial. The bones are dug up, cleaned and placed in a mausoleum. The spirit of the deceased watches over the village. An ornate ship of the dead made of rubber is placed next to the deceased depicting his travels to paradise. It is believed the religion came from the Hindu influences.
The wealth and status of Ngaju native chiefs were dependent on the number of slaves they held. During the mid 19th century 800 slaves were imported from the Sulu area. Strong slaves were used for heavy work like building forts while the weaker ones were reserved for sacrifice. During the burial ritual for Chief Tundan on the upper Kahayan River as many as 60 slaves were reported killed.
The use of slavery often involved cruelty. The capture of slaves often involved warfare among the tribes. Headhunting and political coercion often involve population decreases. One such area lay north of Menkatip where traditional hostilities between Ngaju and the Dusun-Lawngan were maintained. Another area was the Upper Kapuas of west Kalimatan which became entirely depopulated. Pijnappel described where hundreds of warriors attacked fortified longhouses plundered and then burned them. The people were killed. Prisoners were taken and sold into slavery.
Headhunting raids were also responsible for the depopulation of the once densely populated Sangkuliran area of east Borneo.
During the late 20th century, Dutch colonialism and European missionaries came under intense criticism. Early reports of their source material became neglected. However, after the 1960’s their reports re-emerged.
from: Martin Barier Contributions to Ngaju History guest lecturer STT-GKE Institute Banjarmasin Indonesia
Many thanks to Veronica Chang Schmidt for this article.
BorneoHistory.Net
