UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA Certification of Examination of Th~si~ ,. .. ·'- ~ We, the following members of the Thesis Examination Panel appointed by the Senate to examine the thesis entitled:- "Traditional Melanau Woodcarving (Bilum) in Dalat, Sarawak" submitted by Encik Chong Chin Seng in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts hereby confirm that:- (i) We met on Friday, 15 January 1982 and submitted the candidate, Encik Chong Chin Seng to an Oral Examination in accordance with the Provisions of Part (A) Clause 8(3) of the Higher Degree Programme Requirements:- "Unless exempted by Senate, a candidate will have to appear for an Oral Examination" and (ii) that we make the following individual recommendations:- Thesis Examination Panel The Candidate be not passed 1. Profesor Kamal Salih (Chairman) 2. Y.B. Datuk Profesor Madya Haji Shahnon Ahmad · Dean, School of Humanities 3. Encik T.K. Sabapathy Internal Examiner/Co-supervisor 4. Encik Lim Eng Hooi Additional Internal Examiner I, Noel Alfred Ogle, in my capacity as Secretary to the said Thesis Examination Panel, do hereby confirm that the Panel after full consideration of the recommendations of the External and Internal Examiners and of the individual recommendations of its members, has agreed to recommend to the Board of Po'stgraduate Studies and thereon to Senate that the candidate, Encik Chong Chin Seng be awarded the degree of Master of Arts. Date: TRADITIONAL MELANAU WOODCARVING (BILUM) IN DALAT, SARAWAK by CHONG CHIN SENG Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Ma~ter of Arts v ·university Sains Malaysia 1982 To the Melanau of Dalat, Sarawak A collection of traditional bilum, originating from Dalat, displayed in the Sarawak Museum Explanatory note See Chapter II (a) (i) Bilum (underlined) denotes traditional Melanau woodcarving in Dalat, Sarawak. (ii) 'bilum' (within inverted commas) denotes evil spirits.as understood by the Melanau in Dalat, Sarawak o • ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This thesis would not have been possible without the hospitality, warmth and co-operation of the people of Dalat District, especially the villagers of Kampong Sungai Ud, Kampong Medong, Kampong Kakan, Kampong Tanam and Kam~ong Baru Dalat. I truly hope I have lived up to their faith and trust in attempting to draw a better understanding of their traditional craft and their way of life which is fast changing and fadingo I shall not forget the delightful boat-journeys back and forth from Sibu to Dalat and the boat-trips to visit and interview the woodcarvers in the kampongs. My thanks go to Mro Thomas Tudin, the Education Officer in Dalat and Mro Hamdan bin Baijuri, headmaster of a local government primary schoolo They served as interpreters and information officers during my visit to Dalat. I would like to thank Tuan Ismail bin Tuan Muhammad,, the Chief Education Officer in Sarawak and Mro Matnor bin Daim, the Divisional Education Officer in the Third Division for their assistance in arranging transportation facilities from Kuching to Sibu and from Sibu to Dalat. Many thanks go to Mro Peter Nyaed Juses, iii the District Officer and Mr. Peter Ding Hing Sung, the Assistant District Officer. They were most generous with their time and assistance during my stay in Dalat. I thank .Mr. Lucas Chin, Curator of the Sarawak Museum, for the personal interest he took in my work and the freedom he allowed me in the use of his library. In Penang, I owe my sincere gratitude to Mr. T.K. Sabapathy and Mr. Zakaria Ali, my supervisors, for their assistance, guidance, encouragement and patience in the preparation of my thesis. I am most grateful to Mr. V.P. Mohan and Mr. Tan Lye Hoe who spent time in editing the manuscript. This thesis was written between December, 1978 and December, 1981. This under­ taking has not only given me a deeper insight into and understanding of tbe culture of the Melanau people in Sarawak but also sharpened my knowledge of the tradi­ tional Melanau woodcarving (bilum). Finally, I thank all those good people, too numerous to mention, who have helped me in one way or another with the typing and the completion of this thesis. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgement ii List of Maps vi List of Tables vii List of P.lates viii Ringkasan tesis xi Abstract xiv Chapter I Introduction 1 Chapter II Dalat as a Resource Centre 21 for Studying the Traditional Melanau Bilum (a) The Definition of Bilum 25 Chapter III Sickness Healing 27 (a) Simple Healing 30 (b) Bayoh 34 (c) Anyin 39 (d) Rabong 43 Chapter IV Method of Carving the Tradi­ 50 tional Melanau Bilum Chapter V Bilum Woodcarvers and Weavers 61 in Dalat Chapter VI Classification and Identifica- 72 tion of the Traditional Melanau Bilum in Dalat '(a) Identification of the Bilum according to the Place of Dwelling .. v (b) Identification of the 78 Bilum according to its Generic Origins (c) Identification of the 83 Bilum by Sex Chapter VII Conclusion 84 (a) Is the Traditional 84 Melanau Woodcarving (bilum) a work of art? (b) The Possible Origin of 90 Melanau Bilum (c) The Traditional Melanau 10 1 Art Form - Bilum (d) Bilum and Melanau Society 148 Notes 159 Bibliography 165 vi LIST OF MAPS 1 • Map of Borneo xvii 2o Map of Sa!'awak xviii 3. Map of Dalat District 23 vii LIST OF TABLES 1 • Li. st of Woodcarvers/Weavers inter- 70 viewed in Dalat District, 1978 2. List of known Woodcarvers and 71 W~avers in Dalat, 1978 3. List of the known Traditional 153 Melanau Bilum in Dalat, 1978 viii LIST OF PLATES 1. The sago processing plant in Dalat. 9 2. The Melanau house in Dalat. 9 3. The Chinese bazaar in Kampong Dalat. 13 4. The sararang pole planted at the 13 boundary between Kampong Medong and Kampong Dalat. 5. The Blisieng pole erected at Kampong 15 Dalat. 6. The Jerunai (totem pole) erected at 19 Kampong Dalat. 7. Bilum Abun Langit - showing the stains 31 of betul-nut juice on its wings and tail. 8. Bilum Abu~ Langit - showing the tail 31 coiling up over its back. 9 0 Rabong Langit Spara. 49 10. Various steps in carving the tradi­ 53 tional Melanau Bilum. 11. Woodcarver, Bul b. Resa shaping the 54 sago pitch. 12. Woodcarver, Bul b. Resa makes an 54 incision on the sago pitch. 13. Carving the bilum from the legs upwards. 55 14. The basic.shape of the legs is 55 completed. 15. parving the headgear. 56 16. The headgear of the bilum is completed. 56 17. Woodcarver, Bul b. Resa and his 57 completed bilum -' 'Jin Sparangin Langit' ix 18. Woodcarver, Ada b. Terunyok - 66 Kampong Sungai Ud. 19 0 Woodcarver, Udol b. Terunyok - 67 Kampong Sungai Ud. 20. Woodcarver, Bul b. Resa - 67 Kampong Medong. 21. Woodcarver, Tudin b. Pidan - 68 Kampong Baru Dalat. 22. Woodcarver, Sawi b. Pidan - 68 Sungai Ud. 23. Woodcarver, Sawi b. Pidan at work. 69 24. Woodcarver, Ada b. Terunyok at work. 69 25. Wooden figure - head with post­ 92 Neolithic burial at Magala Cave, Nial. 26. Bone carving. 93 27. Wooden Karwar. 103 28. Blangan Guun - Sarawak Museum (64/284) 104 29. Sebulang Langit A, 1978 121 30. Sebulang Langit B - Sarawak Museum 122 (64/164) 31. Sayag Semalaryang A - Sarawak Museum 123 (64/170) 32. Sayag Semalaryang B- Penang Museum(1978) 101 33. Dalong Sian A - Sarawak Museum (64/260) 125 34. Dalong Sian B- Penang Museum (1978) 126 35. Dalong Tugan A - Sarawak Museum (64/168) 127 36. , Dalong Tugan B - Sarawak Museum (64/289) 128 37. Dalong Sekalih- Penang Museum (1978) 129 X Prenakan - Sarawak Museum (64/282) 130 Durig Buau Tau A - Sarawak Museum 131 (64/263) 40. Durig Buau Tau B - Sarawak Museum 132 {64/277) 41. Kulum Pengamo A- Sarawak Museum (64/285) 133 42. Kulum Pengamo B- Penang Museum (1978) 134 43. Jin Sparangin Langit Spara A - Sarawak 135 Museum (64/268) 44. Jin Sparangin Langit Spara B - Penang 136 Museum (1978) 45. Jin Sparangin Langit Spara C 137 46. Jin Buta Paie A - Sarawak Museum (64/276) 138 47. Jin Buta Paie B (Indigenous.Woodcarving 139 or Malaysia Exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, 1976) 48. Jin Buta Paie C 140 49. Nag a Sabalun - Sarawak Museum (64/166) 141 50 0 Abun Langit 142 51. Badi - Sarawak Museum ( 64 I 287) 143 52. Nag a Penganan - Sarawak Museum (65/381) 144 xi Ringkasan Tesis Maksud tesis ini ialah menganalisa, menyusun dan mentafsirkan ukiran-ukiran kayu (bilum) .tradisional suku Melanau di Dalat dalam konteks budayanya dengan menggunakan teknik ilmu bentukkata (morfologi)~ kegayaan (style) .serta penganalisaan analitikal, dan di mana yang boleh, digunakan pentafsiran ikonografi. Dalam men­ jalankannya, saya telah sertakan fakta-fakta anthropo­ logi dan sejarah. WaJaupun tradisi membuat bilum telahpun diketahui oleh para penyelidik sejak keakhiran kurun kesembilanbelas, namun belum lagi wujud satu usaha sistematis yang menggabungkan sumber bahan-bahan sejarah, bahan-bahan muzium, dokumentasi yang ada serta 'field-work', bagi menjadikannya satu-satu kajian yang komprehensif. Pada tesis ini, saya adalah ber­ pandukan pandangan ini. Tesis ini terdiri daripada 7 bab, termasuk 52 keping gambar, 3 rajah serta 3 peta. Bab pertama melibatkan kajian latarbelakang budaya suku-suku kaum di Sarawak; gunanya untuk mendapat pengertian tentang kemungkinan terdapatnya difusi atau penyebaran budaya di antara masyarakat pribumi serta asal-usul mereka xii dan penekanan khas diberi ke atas Melanau di Dalat dalam konteksnya sendiri terhadap susunan ekonomi, politik dan sosial mereka. Bab kedua menerangkan kenapa Dalat telah terpilih menjadi sumber dalam mengkaji bilum Melanau; dalam hal ini lima buah kampong: Kampong Sungai Ud, Kampong Medong, Kampong Tanam, Kampong Kakan dan Kampong Baru Dalat menjadi rujukan.