Urung, Murut ritual to chase away evil spirits
TENOM: Ethnic Muruts here hold Urung ritual after a death or to receive a special guest especially during a wedding to chase away evil spirits from the newly weds, said Atun Patu, Tenom community head.
Atun, 63, said the ritual is very important for the Murut community as it is part of the inherited tradition of the tribe.
He said Muruts believed in the presence of evil spirits and therefore Urung ritual is held so evil spirits do not disturb the community when various activities taking place.
“Urung ritual for wedding is called ‘Ansaluang’ or the ritual of entering a home to ward off evil spirits from joining or disrupting the guests when the ceremony is being carried out,” he told Bernama here.
Atun said preparations for the Urung ritual involved building a 25 feet tall tower to place a figurine made of soft wood carved with a human face at the top.
The figurine called Tiningkoulun is decorated with two hanging pieces of sarung cloth, he said.
“At the tower, there are six pieces of hanging sarung cloth and two pieces of red and blue colours are placed around the Tiningkoulun (figurine).
Apart from that, Murut womens bead handicrafts are hung in the middle of the tower while fish traps such as bubuh, net and hat are placed at the bottom of the tower,” he said.
Atun said a leader from the Murut ethnic community called Ansaál is chosen to head the ritual with a gun to shoot and bring down the hanging cloth at the tower.
Ansa’al commences with a prayer so that evil spirits do not disturb the family, guests and the community, he said.
“If the shot by Ansa’al succeeded in bring down the cloth it means the ceremony can proceed but if he fails even after running out of ammunition to bring down the hanging sarung cloth, another ceremony called Amparawak would be held to ward off bad luck,” he said.
Belief in Urung ritual among the younger generations of Muruts is fading due to different religions adopted by them, mixed marriages and the wave of modern lifestyle, he said. — Bernama