Hampatongs in the daily life of the Ngaju Dayaks.

Maiullari, Paolo

Introduction

The word Dayak means "dwellers of the hinterland." It generally refers to the indigenous (non-Malay, non-Chinese) peoples of Indonesian Borneo who live along the banks of the Barito, Kahayan, Katingan, Kapuas, Mentaya, and other rivers and tributaries as well as in the surrounding uplands.

The Dayaks of south-central Kalimantan practice a form of religion known today as kaharingan and are divided into a number of different groups. Their daily lives, and the accomplishment of their tasks, which largely unfold within relatively isolated communities, favor the development of distinctive characteristics that are peculiar to the various regions and villages in which they live. Thus, to describe their customs one needs to penetrate into a context marked by particular details, one in which Hindu, Islamic and Christian influences have also, at different times, played a part, contributing to the development of distinctive cultures.

Because of these great cultural variations, we chose to concentrate our attention on a particular subject, and to circumscribe it geographically, so as to delve deeper into the details in a specific environment while steering clear of risky generalizations.

We are speaking of the hampatong, i.e., of sculptures that have a commemorative and protective function, which we have studied among the Ngaju Dayak of Desa Telangkah, on the Katingan River in Central Kalimantan, where the kaharingan religion is particularly strong (see Photos 1, 14, 15).

[ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED]

As we communicated with the Dayak people, we were confronted with a different structure of speech and pattern of communication. Information was not given systematically; interaction did not follow any specific methodology, but rather developed by something akin to patterns of association. The Dayaks saw us, with all of our questions, as difficult to deal with and at times, impossible to understand; but in the end, the circle of words passing from mouth to mouth warmed up, as would a writer's hand, and came to describe customs, sketched memories, and thus created a typical environment filled with voices and sounds that allowed us to get to know a part of their lives.

This research was self-financed and was made possible thanks to the help of Arneld and Linawatie, who not only contributed a considerable wealth of information but were always at our side to handle the essential task of interpreting between the Ngaju and Indonesian languages.

The Hampatongs in the Daily Life of the Ngaju Dayaks

Hampatongs are Dayak sculptures representing souls of the departed, or spirits. Depending on their purpose--commemorative or protective--they distinguish themselves by their shape or by their location within the village in which they are placed. Depending on the context, such sculptures are accompanied by additional elements that interact with them in order to achieve their functions.

At the entrance to a village there may be hampatong patahu, small statues whose facial features are as elusive as the entities they represent. These are territorial spirits which have since time immemorial been present in the area where the village is located; their function is to protect the community from evils that may beset it, such as illnesses, deaths, or enemy aggression.

They are invariably arranged in odd numbers--seven, five or three--at the foot of a miniature shelter which lends them their name--balai patahu (Photo 2). The literal meaning of balai is "house which belongs to the village community," or "gathering place, and hence, by extension, "home." In this particular context, it stands for "home of the patahu spirits." Inside the shelter, or at its base, depending on the shelter's size--peculiar rocks known as patahu are arranged which harbor the homonymous territorial spirits, sought by the village community for its own protection. Here, the village shaman --the pisort--is called upon to identify the place in which to locate the first patahu for the home of the spirits by meditative contact with the spirit of the eagle, Antang. Once the first rock has been found and placed in the balai, the other rocks that are added will receive their properties from the first one. After that, the role of the patahu consists of bringing to the hampatong other territorial spirits which are then, once inside these figures, asked to deploy the protective function for which they are intended.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The number of hampatong varies depending on the number of patahu rocks; these follow the ancestral line of the villages (Photo 3). Seven small statues denote the mothervillage where the first patahu rock is selected by the pisort. New villages, on the other hand, i.e., those founded by a family that has moved elsewhere, will use as their first patahu rock, a patahu rock from their original village. The first descendant village features a spirit home with five rocks and as many hampatong; the second descendant village has a spirit home with three rocks and as many small statues. If the community takes leave from this village, it will be necessary to go back to the mother-village and take a rock from its balai patahu, so that the community may then build a new village with--again--five rocks and as many hampatong. Customarily, in times past a family was permitted to leave only when in the balaipatahu a sort of reproduction of the patahu rocks had occurred, adding one to those already existing. The new patahu rock was then intended for the new village. Nowadays, and more recently, a patahu rock is taken from the balai patahu and subsequently replaced with a new one. This practice shows that the balai patahu's importance is given not only by its protective function but also by its role as an identity symbol denoting the root of an ancestral line.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

In the daily life of the Dayak Ngaju, the protection extended by the balai patahu is manifested in two ways. The first is through signs that warn of some impending danger, such as, for example, the din of the patahu rocks slamming against each other within the balai patahu, or a knocking on the door of the village chief's abode. The second is by providing help in critical situations. In the latter case, in addition to placing offerings of flowers and incense in the "home of the spirits," sacrifices are offered there, first to propitiate and then to give thanks for the granting of requests.

The balai patahu, combining home and hampatong, shows very clearly the role this structure plays for the community, since it symbolically represents a village protected by soldiers.

At some distance from the village dwellings, and set apart from them, the balai tajahan stands as a courthouse. Inside the tajahan, a rock harbors the territorial spirit entrusted with organizing a trial, while at its base the hampatong tajahan represents executive power. This form of justice is used only when the village chief chooses it. At his own expense, he calls on the pisort to bring a matter before the balai tajahan when he finds it impossible to work out a solution to a dispute among his followers.

In the presence of the community, the two parties to the dispute, and the village chief, the pisort first turns to the spirit-entity Tajahan to request its permission to proceed with the matter and asks it to organize the trial by calling up the spirits that are to bear witness to the oaths proffered by the parties as well as the executioner-spirits that are to be entrusted with the execution of the sentence. He then turns to Antang, asking him to consult the creator, Ranying Hatalla, in order that he may discover and report the truth in the matter.

Once the preparatory phase has been completed, the two litigating parties receive from the pisort a rattan thread for each of them to hold at opposite ends, while the thread itself runs over the hampatong tajahan's head. The pisort then asks the defendant whether he is indeed guilty; if the defendant enters a triple denial, the pisort will cut the thread in the place where its rests on the head of the hampatong harboring the executioner-spirits, thus initiating the trial and symbolically inflicting the penalty.

Once Ranying Hatalla has been consulted, Antang will carry the verdict to the witness-spirits, who will order the executioner-spirits to proceed. Within the following three days, the party which has been determined guilty will suffer the outcome of the penalty, which can range from a long illness to death, depending on how the punishment was negotiated.

Very often fear of the possible consequences will resolve the matter with an admission of guilt just before the thread is cut. For the same reason, this form of justice is avoided whenever possible and is therefore seldom resorted to. The place where the balai tajahan stands is feared because of the constant presence of evil spirits.

In the immediate vicinity of the village, near mausoleums known as pambak and sandung, where the bones of the departed are kept, as well as in front of some dwellings, there are commemorative hampatongs.

A pambak is a mausoleum in which the bones are arranged so as to reproduce the shape of the deceased's body. The mausoleum is built as a rumah ('house') if it is raised above the ground like a dwelling, or as a sekurup if the walls are sunk into the ground and the sarcophagus rests on the earth. They are intended for one or several families in the village or for certain persons (Photos 5 and 6).

[ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED]

A sandung generally stands on one stilt (but sometimes on four) known as a sali. This type of mausoleum, smaller than a pambak, is intended almost solely for the village. Another difference between a sandung and a pambak is in the arrangement of the bones, which, in the former case, are bundled together, wrapped in a red cloth, and placed inside a small sarcophagus.

Both of these types of mausoleums--pambak and sandung--are only for departed ones who have received a tiwah, a long and complex burial feast in which animals are sacrificed (or slaves in the past) so that the victims' souls might serve the soul of the departed during its journey to the afterworld. In front of these mausoleums, the hampatongs are reminders of the departed in various aspects of their existence, aided also by two objects which by their shapes will bear witness to the deceased through the ages and serve as reminders of what the deceased did during his or her lifetime. The two objects flanking the hampatong are the sapundu and the sengkaran.

Sapundu is the post to which animals are tied when sacrificed. It is always present in a tiwah and in the vicinity of the mausoleum and is no more than four meters high, just like a hampatong. It comes in three shapes: the first--for one or several deceased persons simultaneously--is in the simple shape of a post with perhaps a small sculpted image on top; the second--for people of noble ancestry--is a much more complex form of totem on the flanks of which a story is told; and the third kind is directly associated with a representation of the deceased, since it lends to him the appearance of a hampatong and thus turns the latter into a commemorative figure (Photos 7, 8 and 9).

[ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED]

The sengkaran pertains to an optional ritual of the tiwah. It is a much taller post--reaching at least five meters--at the upper end of which one or more jars surrounded by spears are arranged (Photo 10, 11, 12 and 13) It symbolizes a ladder which during the funeral feast acts as yet another aid in the soul's ascent from earth to paradise, to further honor the deceased. At the foot of the sengkaran the remains of the sacrifice made to the sapundu are interred, whereas at the upper end there is one jar for each buried body.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

In addition to the one near the mausoleum, a hampatong to commemorate a deceased person may be set up by the family in front of its own dwelling, and there may in fact be yet another alongside the first one. These trappings, which are possible only if the family is wealthy, are actually rather seldom seen.

Themes present in hampatong encompass the soul's metaphysical dimensions as well as more tangible aspects of economics. Celebrating a tiwah involves a considerable economic expense, varying with its content, procedures, and duration. The size of a hampatong, the type of sculpture, the number of sacrifices and the making of the other objects with which it is associated depend on the role played by the deceased during his lifetime and by the family's financial resources, rather than only on the family's wishes.

If--despite the fact that the deceased may ritually be entitled not only to paradise but to a hampatong as well--his or her family uses up all of its wealth for the tiwah, there may not be enough left for a commemorative figure. Because to the followers of the kaharingan religion a tiwah represents both liberation to paradise and an obligation, it is in any event important that a funeral feast be held for everyone.

A funeral feast frees the soul from the burden of wandering through this world and allows it to enter paradise. Although it carries a price tag not easily within the means of every family, a funeral feast is a good thing for all, since everyone benefits from it: the deceased because he or she has reached the place of eternal well-being; the family because its pride is served, since it has been able to show respect for its own dead, while at the same time displaying its status and wealth within the village community.

The balai patahu and the balai tajahan, on the other hand, depend less on economic considerations since their cost is borne by the entire village.

The hampatong, in its representation of the dead and of spirits, is a sculpture whose form follows well-defined practical rules while leaving a great deal of margin in terms of design. Whether large or small, detailed or sketchy, unique, dual or ambiguous, it is a complex product which turns out differently depending on the artistic and cultural context in which it is designed, the place where it is set up, the use made of it and the actual financial means of whoever commissions it to be made (Photos 14, 15 and 16).

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Some Specific Examples: The Man and the Animal." Bapak Nadjir (about 1920-1979)

Bapak Nadjir was the village chief of Telangkah. In the family cemetery there is a pambak sekurup which harbors him and his wife, Ibu Suyah, i.e., Arneld's parents and Junita's grandparents (Photo 17).

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The hampatong shows Bapak Nadjir as he liked to dress: with a hat, shirt, a pair of trousers and shoes, which at the same time contextually denote an intellectual person. The fact that he attended the Dutch school in Kasungan--a privilege open to only a very few people--made it possible for him to delve deeper into some areas of knowledge. Accordingly, his style is meant to set him apart from the common people.

Below, to the right, there is a carving of a crocodile which embraces him and looks at him in admiration, in memory and honor of his friendship with Jata, the crocodile spirit and ruler of the waters, which came into being at a certain point in his life (Photo 18). This happened when, at the end of a day of fishing, Bapak Nadjir found a baby crocodile in his nets and decided to take it home. The next night a woman appeared to him in a dream, told him that she had lost her baby, and asked him whether he might have seen it in the surroundings. When he awoke, Bapak Nadjir understood that the woman in the dream was the baby crocodile's mother, and he decided to release it back into the water. After reaching the river's edge with Arneld, who was then a youngster, he put the animal into the water: and just when the animal took off swimming it lashed out with its tail, injuring his arm. Arneld saw this as symbolizing lack of respect; but in the eyes of the father--and indeed of the entire village community--it was the token of a friendship that grew out of a great sense of recognition, since it was sealed with a blood covenant.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

From then on, Bapak Nadjir forbade his family to disturb, injure, or kill crocodiles, since, from that time onward, crocodiles would protect them (Photos 17 and 18).

Man in the Evil Spirit: Bahutai

Bahutai is a character familiar to the Dayak of the Kasungan area in Central Kalimantan. The name also applies to a territorial spirit that takes the form of a big dog with wolf-like features and to people who can change their appearance and turn into wolf-dogs.

The natural predisposition of some to make contact with Bahutai is translated into a ritual in which the recitation of a mantra in conjunction with offerings and the burning of incense make the metamorphosis possible. The ritual is performed in order to acquire the strength and qualities of the wolf-dog at a time when the person needs to face an enemy.

The hampatong Bahutai (Photo 19) is the recollective posthumous representation of a person meant to evoke a facet of the individual's character, tied to a particular capacity of his, an attribute of strength but also of meanness, because in order to take on the appearance that is clearly visible in the hampatong--i.e., that of a person with a human body and the head of a wolf-dog--it is necessary to resort to black magic (Photo 19).

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Paolo Maiullari

Photographs: Junita Arneld Maiullari

Directors, Borneo Indonesian Art Gallery

Switzerland

contact@borneogallery.ch