Knives and spears

Knives and spears are popularweapons in Borneo. They are used both for fighting and for hunting.

The most common knife is the long knife called a “parang”. The parang was first introduced to Borneo by Chinese traders who called at the ports along the coast. The traders gave the tribesmen parangs in exchange for wild pigs and birds. These same traders may have taught the Dayaks to make parangs later on.

Parangs are made of iron. The iron is beaten into the cor­rect shape, and the finished parang blade is usually three to four feet long. The “tang” (or end) of this blade fits into a handle made of wood or horn. The handle is then carved into the shape of a snake or bird. Asheath is made to hold the parang so the hunter will not hurt himself accidentally. The sheath is also decorated with carvings and is bound with rattan strips.

Other knives used in Borneo include the small, curved “keris” of the Malays, the short, richly carved “dunggulok” of the Muruts in Sabah, and the “barongs” of the Bajau and Suluk tribes. Another long knife is the “gayang”, used by the Kadazans. The gayang is a sacred knife and is always used in religious ceremonies.

The Kadazan tribes were probably the first in Borneo to make spears. They used their spears for hunting animals and against their enemies. The first spears were made of hard wood. The spearheads were sharpened over slow-burning open fires.

When metal was introduced, the tribesmen began making their spearheads of metal. The metal spearheads were attached to long bamboo or wooden poles withstrips of rattan. Spears with metal heads were double-edged and very sharp. Some­times the tribesmen would put poison on the tip of the spear to kill an animal or an enemy more quickly.

There were many ideas about the magic of spears, and hunters were careful not to walk over their spears. If a hunter stepped over his spear by mistake, he had to kill a chicken to satisfy the spirit of the spear. The Dayaks believed that if this was not done, the spear would lose its power. Before a hunting trip,the hunters would gather special leaves from the jungle and burn them. They would place their spears over the fire hoping that this would give the spears magical powers.

It is easy to see why knives and spears are important in Borneo. Many of the tribesmen must hunt food for themselves and their families, and they must be able to protect themselves from wild animals and other enemies.

Akmal Hakim

Once there was an Arab boy called Akmal Hakim. He lived with his parents in a village by the river.

Akmal Hakim was not like other boys in the village. In­stead of playing games after school he spent most of his time inthe forest gathering herbs and roots. When he came home, he would boil these and make medicines. Whenever anyone in the village was sick, Akmal Hakim gave the person one of his medi­cines, and the person immediately felt better.

Of course, some of the villagers did not think Akmal Hakim could cure their sicknesses. These villagers whispered evil things about him.

But Akmal Hakim's parents told him not to mind. “Some people are jealous,” they said. “But if these people are ever sick, they too will come to see you.”

Years passed, and Akmal Hakim grew into a young man. He spent a good deal of time writing about his herbs and roots in notebooks, and he carried these notebooks with him every­where. As he grew older, his powers became even stronger, and people from all over the countryside came to see him. But many of the villagers still whispered about Akmal Hakim's evil power, and he behaved rudely towards them.

One day Akmal Hakim told his parents that he was leaving home. “These people in our village are ungrateful,” he said. “Iwill go across the sea to find people who want my medicine.”

He wrapped his notebooks in a parcel, climbed into a boat at the riverside, and waved goodbye to his parents.

As soon as the boat reached the sea, it sank, carrying Akmal Hakim and his precious herbs with it. Unfortunately, Akmal Hakim could not swim.

But that is not the end of the story. Akmal Hakim's note­books floated across the sea. They floated across the oceans of the world and landed here and there in distant countries. They were found by holy men who studied Akmal Hakim's books. These holy men made medicines by following Akmal Hakim's instructions, and they became the world's first doctors.

Terjemahan.....

Apai Gumok and the Witch

Once there was a man named Apai Gumok, which means “'fat man”. Apai Gumok and his wife (who was also fat) lived in a small village near a river.

Unfortunately, Apai Gumok's wife was a scold, but she had some reason to be. Her husband was not a very good hunter. He often came home after hunting all day with only a small bird. And he was not a very good fisherman either be­cause he usually caught only a few small fish. All the villagers laughed at Apai Gumok, and his wife always shouted at him because he never brought home enough to eat.

One day, when he was out hunting in the jungle, Apai Gumok met a witch. He tried to escape, running this way and that, but, alas, wherever he turned, he saw the witch again.

And a very frightening witch she was, too. She had long dirty hair, and long dirty fingernails, and broken teeth.

When at last Apai Gumok was tired of running, he spoke to the witch. “Why are you following me?” he asked.

The witch laughed. “I want to help you, Apai Gumok. Iwant to make you a rich and powerful man. I want you to have the respect of the villagers so they won't laugh at you anymore.”

Apai Gumok couldscarcely believe his ears. “But surely you won't help me just out of the kindness of your heart,” he said. “What do you want?”

Again the witch laughed. It was not a nice laugh. “Simple,” she said. “When you are rich, powerful and respected, I want you to marry me.”

“But I'm already married,” said Apai Gumok.

“No problem,” said the witch, “I'll change your wife into alittle pink pig with black spots on its head. Then you can be­come a famous hunter and marry me.”

Apai Gumok wanted to be rich and respected. He also wanted to be a famous hunter. And his wife wasn't very kind to him. Still, the witch frightened him, and he did not want to marry such a dirty woman. He ran back to the village.

“Where are you, Wife?” he cried when he reached the house.

“Oink.”

“Wife?” he called again.

“Oink.”

There, in the house was a little pink pig with black spotson its head!

From that day onwards, nobody saw Apai Gumok's wife.He said she had gone to another village to visit an aunt. They all noticed his new friend, though, because the little pig fol­lowed him everywhere.

Soon strange things began to happen to Apai Gumok. He became a fine hunter, and a very good fisherman. Before long, he was famous as the best hunter in the village. Then, one day he found gold beneath his house, and Apai Gumok was a rich man.

Once a month or so, Apai Gumok would come across the witch in the jungle. “We must be married soon,” she would say. But Apai Gumok always made some excuse.

Finally the witch insisted. “I've been waiting a long time, Apai Gumok,” she said. “You have what you want, and now you must give me what I want. I want a husband.”

Apai Gumok looked at the ugly old witch. He looked down at the pig. “One wife is enough,” he said. “I don't want another wife.”

At this the pig squealed and the witch shouted. They were both very angry. Apai Gumok did not know what to do. All he could think of was a nice cool swim in the river. “Look,” he said, “why don't we go swimming in the river? We can talk about the wedding later.”

This idea seemed to please the witch and the pig, so off they all went. When they had swum into the deepest part of the river, Apai Gumok took hold of the witch's ears and held her head under the water. In a few minutes she was drowned and he swam back to shore, thinking that his troubles were over.

“So, Husband, here you are at last,” said a familiar voice. Apai Gumok's wife was standing in the shallow water. The little pink pig was nowhere to be seen.

Apai Gumok sighed. He looked at his fat wife and thought how pretty and clean she was. Together they walked back to the village where they then lived happily ever after.

The legend of coconut tree

Long ago a fairy called Batu Sumang Buyung was bathing in a river. Along came a magician called Bayang. Bayang was a clever and wicked magician who could make himself disappear. He wanted to marry the fairy because he thought it would in­crease his magical powers.

'Good morning, Lovely One,' he called to the fairy.

Batu Sumang Buyung was so startled that she hid behind a tree. The clever magician ran to the river bank and stole her magic sarong.

'Oh,' she cried, 'please give it back. Otherwise I cannot go home to the sky.'

The magician laughed. 'So, Lovely One, you will have to stay with me.' He took the fairy back to his house, and forced her to marry him.

Some time later a son was born to the fairy and the magi­cian. The fairy asked Bayang to give her sarong back, for she wanted to take their son to visit his grandmother in the sky. But the cruel magician knew that if he did that, she would never come back to him. So he refused to let her go.

Batu Sumang Buyung and her son stayed in the village with the magician. Although the villagers hated her husband, they knew that the fairy was kind and gentle. She did many things to help whenever she could.

Now, the villagers had good reason to hate Bayang. Once he had made a clay figure and stuck pins into it. The next morning one of the village leaders died.

The villagers went to see another, good, magician in the forest. They asked the good magician to put a curse on Bayang,and a few weeks later Bayang died. They cut off his fingers be­fore he was buried, so that he could not do any more mischief.

At last Batu Sumang Buyung was alone with her son. She wanted to visit her family in the sky, so she put on her magic sarong and flew there.

Her mother, the queen of the fairies, was not pleased with Batu Sumang Buyung. 'You have stayed away for a long, long time,' the queen said, 'and now you bring with you a child of the Earth. You must go back to where you came from, and take him with you.'

And so, Batu Sumang Buyung and her small son returned to Earth. She was very sad, and soon after that she gave her sarong to the headman for safekeeping and disappeared. Before long, the villagers learned that the fairy had died. They cared for her son, and he soon grew tall and strong.

When Batu Sumang Buyung's son was grown up, the headman came to see him. He carried the sarong left with him by the fairy. 'This was your mother's,' he said. 'If you wear it, you will fly to the sky. Your mother thought you might like to visit your grandmother.'

Batu Sumang Buyung's son took the sarong. He put it on and immediately flew to the sky. His grandmother was no hap­pier to see him this time than she had been when he was a young child. Still, she gave him a gift in memory of his mother. The gift was a round brown seed.

The fairy's son thanked his grandmother and returned to his village. He planted the seed in the ground, and soon it grew into a tall tree.

When the tree bore fruit, he gave some to the villagers. They were very pleased. 'The outside of the fruit is hard and coarse, like your father,' they said. The flesh inside is soft and white, like your mother. And the milk is sweet and reminds us that you are Batu Sumang Buyung's son.'

Before long, people from all over came to buy the fruit. Batu Sumang Buyung's son became a rich man. Those who bought his fruit also took the seeds back to their own countries. And that is how the coconut came to grow all over theworld.