Folklore of Sadong Dyaks
Fr. J. Staal, a Catholic missionary stationed in the Sadong district of Sarawak, published this ethnographic account of Bidayoh (Sadong Dayak) oral traditions in 1940, drawing on first-hand material collected from headmen in the 1930s. The article presents origin myths, migration narratives, and two complete ritual prayers, arguing that the Sadong Dayaks are the oldest inhabitants of western Borneo and that their folklore preserves a coherent cosmology centred on the supreme spirit Tampa.
Summary
Staal opens with a characterisation of the Sadong Dayaks as a timid, non-headhunting people who have been subjugated by Malays for generations, a condition he argues explains their present-day passivity and reluctance to share their traditions. He then addresses the question of origin: a crow (‘nkak’) flew from Java carrying gravel that became the island of Mt. Sungkung, the “navel of Borneo” (Pasid Binua), from which the Bidayoh dispersed. The name “Bidayoh” is etymologised as “from the highlands” (bi = from; dayoh = high ground), and Staal argues against the “Darat” (land) derivation and the spelling “Dyak,” insisting on “Dayah” or “Dajak” (p. 56–57).
The migration narrative centres on a common ancestor, Padat, who led a band of Bidayoh from the Netherlands India Territory into Sarawak. His two wives, Tunduni and Ramui, are claimed as ancestresses by the Taup and Semabang sub-tribes respectively, though both claim the first wife. Padat’s siblings dispersed to found other groups: Simingang to the Sibuyau, Radi’inpu to the Kalaka, Sibaka to the Semadang (Sennah Dayaks), Sijau to the Samarahan (Sirin Dayaks), and Temaga to the Bukar (p. 58). Genealogical counts to Padat vary widely—19 generations from a Taup at Pichin, 23 from Lobang Batoh, and 37 from Gahat—yielding an average of roughly 650 years, which Staal considers a minimum (p. 58).
The most substantial narrative is the fire-and-deluge myth of Tirigu and Traoud, two orphaned children who survive a conflagration by hiding in a hole they had dug. A crow (or cockatoo) searches for survivors, crying “nkak, nkak, awang, nyap awang” (“caw, caw, soul, not a single soul”), then flies repeatedly to Java to bring back seeds that become the region’s fruit trees. An old woman (a midwife from Tampa) provides fire, food, and padi, which emerges from her body as she swings. The children later deduce human procreation by observing two lice together in their hair (pp. 59–60). A second legend describes a village turned to stone as punishment for mocking a dog, with the rock formations in the Sengking area still bearing the names of the petrified houses (p. 60).
The article’s second half is devoted to two complete ritual prayers with Staal’s interlinear translation and extensive glossary. The first, recited during the swinging of a fowl at a guest-honouring ceremony (begawai), addresses Tampa as creator and preserver, enumerates seventeen ancient Dayak names, and invokes protection from omens—unlucky birds, twisted roots, fallen trees, and nocturnal animal calls. The second, the “Tabur” prayer, is longer and more elaborate, performed on occasions such as the new year (Mari Sawa), illness (Nuri), or new house (Ramin Bau). It catalogues the material offerings (bamboo-cooked rice, pickled meat, sirih quids, tuak, coins, fowl’s blood) and their distribution among Tampa, evil spirits, and animals, before a long genealogical roll-call of ancestors from twenty-five kampongs (pp. 61–75).
Key Findings
- The Sadong Dayaks count between 19 and 37 generations to their common ancestor Padat, yielding an estimated minimum settlement period of approximately 650 years in Sarawak (p. 58).
- The two main Sadong sub-tribes, Taup and Semabang, claim a single patrilineal ancestor (Padat) but diverge on the identity of the “true” first wife (Tunduni vs. Ramui); no village now has a pure population of either (p. 57).
- The fire-survival myth of Tirigu and Traoud is unique among the Kelamantan groups Staal surveyed; the crow as a seed-bringer from Java appears only in Sadong tradition (p. 59).
- The Tabur prayer contains a genealogical list spanning twenty-five kampongs, of which only one (Mpang, on the Kedup) no longer existed at the time of writing (p. 81).
- The Dayak system of “pantang” (ritual prohibition) imposes rest periods of 1 to 7 days following death, bad dreams of a headman, or other spiritual disturbances, with the persons of the room where a death occurred always observing four nights (pp. 64, 79–80).
- The 1883 eruption of Krakatau is remembered in Dayak oral tradition as “lampopichah,” a term still used as a chronological reference point by the oldest informants (p. 61).
Conclusion
Staal’s definitive takeaway is that the Sadong Dayaks possess a coherent, internally consistent body of folklore that preserves genuine historical memory—particularly the Javanese origin and the dispersal from Mt. Sungkung—while also encoding a sophisticated animist cosmology in which the supreme spirit Tampa mediates between the human world and a dense network of omens, prohibitions, and ancestral obligations. He presents the material as a record of a tradition in decline, known to only a few elderly headmen and unappreciated by the younger generation.
Context
- Staal was a Catholic missionary (Society of the Divine Word) working in the Sadong district; his access to Dayak informants was facilitated by his long residence among them, and he explicitly notes that his material was obtained “straight from Dayaks themselves without Malay mediums” (p. 56).
- The article draws on no archival collections; its evidential basis is entirely oral, collected from three named headmen (O. K. Nadee of Tebekang, O. K. Baret of Pichin, O. K. Trai of Gahat), all deceased by the time of publication. Its historiographical contribution lies in being one of the earliest complete transcriptions of Bidayoh ritual prayers and origin narratives from the Sadong specifically.