The inter-tribal warfare amongst the Dayak people of Borneo in the old days was pretty brutal. But once the tribes made peace they welcomed their former enemies in a ceremony called ‘tampung tawar’.
Now the Dayak use the ceremony to welcome visitors.
My colleague, Beri, and I came to the village of Tumbang Samui in Indonesia’s Central Kalimantan to visit a community seedbank. With the assistance of the Borneo Institute and the Crop Trust the villagers are preparing their seed to conserve forever in the icy shelves of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault north of the Arctic Circle in Norway.
Our Dayak hosts sat me down on a woven mat and positioned my foot on a smooth stone. I saw some rice and an egg but I focussed more on a large knife and a machete. I was pretty sure the Dayaks stopped their headhunting tradition generations ago. Missionaries penetrated the depths of Borneo and converted the Dayaks of this region to Christianity primarily in the 1800s. Tumbang Samui is a tiny village yet still has three large churches. Tampung tawar is now used as a form of religious moderation. The religious tolerance of the Dayak can be seen in the tampung tawar tradition which respects all beliefs without blaming or antagonizing them. I saw the ceremony as more of a Dayak cultural welcome and an expression of their concern for my welfare than a religious ceremony.
A woman speaking Ngaju, the language of their sub-tribe of the Dayaks, commenced the ceremony. She dipped a coin in egg and dabbed it on various parts of my body. Then she poured rice and some perfume in my hair. Next came baby powder which she rubbed on my face. She then tied a bracelet with a replica of the precious lilis lamiang stone around my wrist which would protect me as I travelled amongst the Dayaks. I got a bit concerned when she pulled out a rusty machete. She held it in front of my mouth and instructed me to bite it.
I was honoured to be welcomed in such a fashion and honored to be invited into their homes and fields and learn of the Dayak way of life. The lilis lamiang bracelet around my wrist may not always protect me in my travels but it will be a daily reminder of the humble, kind and gentle Dayak people.
(Thanks to Trendie from the Borneo Institute who grabbed my camera and shot these pics.)
