Tribal ritual to seek answers from spirits
THE world is too dirty and polluted - the recent earthquake in Sabah cannot be blamed on anyone but ourselves, said a group of Bolians from the Tombonuo tribe, a Kadazan Dusun sub-ethnic.
Bolian is the native name of the Tombonuo priests.
A half day ritual called ‘Momokan Lumaag om Goronai’ was held recently at Kampung Tambilidon, a Tombonuo village in the district of Pitas which is located in northern Sabah. The ritual was performed by 13 Bolians from various villages in the district for the purpose of talking to the Lumaag (spirits of their ancestors) and also Goronai (the existing pure spirit that is look after the world).
The Bolians, escorted by a group of men called Toluwod wanted to know the cause of the recent earthquake, and were also seeking forgiveness if the living humans had broken any of the taboos. A Bolian plays the role of a mediator between the spirits and the Tombonuo people.
“We were given many answers by the Goronai. When I spoke to the spirits, I was told that the disasters like flood, earthquake and drought were caused by the living humans.
“We polluted the environment with our own actions until it is too dirty now. We cut trees and open the forest without asking permission from the jungle spirits. We dig the earth without asking permission from the pure spirits. To them it was rude and disrespectful,” said Saimah Bangun, one of the Bolians.
When asked if there were any further quakes in the future, Saimah said she was not given a clue what would happen in the future, but the Goronai will continue their duties to protect the living humans and the Lumaag.
During the half day ritual, three wild boars and 49 (seven times seven) chickens were slaughtered as offerings to the spirits before the 13 Bolians performed the ‘Monubayon’ - in which they will stand next to the Ranggar, shaking their bodies with their eyes closed, calling for the spirit. Once they arrive in the ‘other world’, called Sumindaran - people nearby will clearly hear the Bolian talking to someone.
Ranggar is a small tower on which other offerings can be placed such as white, yellow and brown rice covered with Pinjaram (traditional cake) and an egg, Batol (rice wine) and cooked food.
During the Monubayon ritual, a fistful of white, yellow and brown rice together with the blood of a wild boar and chicken are thrown to the ground to feed the spirits.
The Bolians used Gonding - pieces of metal tied together, to make sounds while whispering ancient chants.
Saimah said Momokan Lumaag om Goronai is a ritual for the Tombonuo people to talk to the spirit not only to find out the cause of disasters, but also as a pagan method to heal sickness.
“It is not common to do this ritual now since many Tombonuos have now converted to Islam and Christian. But the remaining pagans are still doing it to heal the sick and pray for the soul of a dead person.
“When the earthquake hit Sabah recently, the Bolians, some called Bobohizan from all over Sabah were given the chance to conduct a ritual near Mount Kinabalu, because we believe the spirit of our ancestors lived there after death. Shocked by the incident, we wanted to know what caused it.
“Since time was limited, some of us did not manage to talk to the spirits. That is why we requested for another ritual to be done here. We don’t have to be near the mountain because when we do the Monubayon, we travel to the other world and speak to them. We begged the spirits to forgive any wrongdoings by the living humans that have offended them,” she said.
Other Bolians who participated in the ritual facilitated by the Sabah Pitas Tombonuo People’s Association (PBTPS) were Nurma Polanuk, Sima Inting, Seambon Sumedon, Mariam Takudan, Tirambun Ibah, Tiai Kamsah, Dikmat Goruba, Asida Langiu, Ongalung Ulu, Ainah Miadal and Molono Rusin.
They are the only Bolians from the Tombonuo community of Pitas. Villages involved were Kampung Sumbilingon, Kampung Andap, Kampung Mengkapon, Kampung Bangkau-Bangkau, Kampung Manggis, Kampung Rukom and Kampung Sungai Eloi.
Many villagers attended and witnessed the ceremony, including two young Bolians, Maily Puhin and Ayumah Garatang.
Maily, a 34-year-old mother from Kampung Bangkau-Bangkau said there are only three Bolians in her village at the moment, and all of them were getting old.
Worried that there will be no Bolians left in the future to heal their children’s sickness and talk to the spirits, Maily and four other women from the village decided to learn and continue the tradition.
“I just started early this year, learning the basics. It is not easy learning the ancient chants because if you pronounce it wrongly it will not heal the sick.
“I started learning the basic mantra to heal stomachaches, vomiting and headaches. I have not learned the chants to call and talk to the spirits but it is something I am looking forward to,” she said.
As for Ayumah who has been learning to be a Bolian for almost two years, she can do the basic healing by smearing chalk, charcoal and rice to the sick area.
“There are different Tawar (mantra) for different sickness. For those who are experiencing stomachache after eating, we often use the left over rice to smear the stomach and say a simple mantra. Chalk is also used to smear the baby’s head if they keep crying. It depends on what type of sickness.
“I am still learning the chants to go to the other world, talk to the spirits, and the experience today looking at the Bolians was very interesting to me. I might need a few more years to learn Monubayon, but I am not sure how long before I can reach the Sumindaran level since it will need a tough spirit to go to the other world, otherwise your spirit will not return to your body,” she added.
Ayumah admits that the younger generation are not keen to become Bolians anymore because most of them have converted to Muslim or Christian. Both religions prohibit such rituals.
“There are some sickness that cannot be treated in the hospital, and when they go to their religion they cannot find a answer but when we do this ritual, the sickness is gone. It is something that has opened the eyes of some people around us.
“We encourage any beliefs chosen by our children and relatives as long as they respect ours. We never force people to believe what we believe, but this is us. This is our lives, and this is the belief that we choose. We are proud of it,” said Ayumah.
Understanding the need to preserve the Tombonuo culture, president of (PBTPS) Akian Ahkiew said the association, which was planned in 2000 and officially formed in 2003, aimed to empower the Tombonuo people in Sabah.
Apart from promoting its culture in the eyes of the world, Akian said it is important for the association to support any activities related to preserving the rich culture of the Tombonuo.
“There are so many things that we need to do if we want to promote the beauty of the Tombonuo culture. With modern life currently taking over the culture of the younger generation, we need to do something. It is important for us to adapt to modern life but it must be balanced with the effort to preserve our culture.
“Our culture is too beautiful to be forgotten, and we want it to be documented, so that the younger generation will get the chance to learn about their heritage.
“Documenting about the Tombonuo culture is important to make sure our culture can be passed to our children,” said Akian. Kampung Tambilidon village head, KK Suana Kabora, who is also the founding member of the association echoed Akian.
“We hope the government will help us in making our dream come true. Sabah is rich and diverse with culture, but many other ethnics are not highlighted because they do not know how to promote themselves.
“Same goes to us, having little knowledge in promotion and not educated to properly document our culture will be among the crucial challenges for us to be known as the other well-known ethnics,” said Suana.
Suana, the choreographer of the Sumanggak dance said Momokan Lumaag om Goronai ritual is something new to the tourists. He is hoping the ritual will be included in the annual Sabah Fest in the future. In 2001, for the first time in the history of the Tombonuo people, they made it to the national level in their cultural activity by getting the Sumanggak dance into the Malaysia Book of Records.
With the achievement, Suana said with proper guidance and assistance from professionals to coordinate and promote, the Momokan Lumaag om Goronai ritual will be another product that can be introduced to the world as a tourism attraction.