‘Magic is believing in yourself, if you can do that, you can make anything happen.’ — Johann Wolfgang Bon Goethe
Our Iban community is known for many unique items. These cover our hospitability, cultural traits, augury, literary and chanting skills plus many more.
In my humble world I did come across a few specially gifted women and men with acquired abilities and skills that many were not aware of, namely only privy to some close friends, relatives, family members and those needing their assistance or attention.
Some weeks ago I shared with readers about my mom’s deity-given skill to massage and cure limbs due to severe muscular and joints pain. In the same article I also came out with two other relatives who possessed special curing skills.
For the start of this week’s sharing I need not go far as my maternal grandma Kejuang Meling (1891-1988) was one of such individuals.
The sole daughter of two offspring, when she was about 25 years old, grandma met in her dream Indai Abang, the folklore elder of Gelung (the original longhouse of Keling’s spouse Kumang) known for her weaving skill.
Grandma shared with us in her dream she was bestowed by Indai Abang with pua kumbu and mat weaving skills as well as making traditional baskets and gadgets.
She weaved no fewer than 30 pua kumbu in her earlier days but all the woven blankets became ashes when their longhouse — headed by her husband and my grandpa Narang (who died of snakebite in 1949) — was destroyed in a blaze circa 1925.
As such I never got to appreciate grandma’s intricately woven blanket. She told me some of her motifs included crocodiles and deity-like figures that could only be woven by female descendants of aristocrats, war leaders and warriors.
I did learn to make mats and functional baskets from her in my younger days but she did not share her skill in making special Gawai Antu gadgets such as ‘ketupi tunjang tujuh’ (hat with seven cones) and the hat’s highest order of nine cones (‘tunjang Sembilan’) out of bamboo or bemban fibre. These are meant to honour highly decorated deceased.
She said this skill was only meant for her for being the eldest granddaughter of Penghulu Bungin Anya, whose father Anya nicknamed ‘Lebur Menua’( Land conqueror) pioneered the clearing of Kedap and Burui basins.
Others without such background and spirit would not endure well, she pointed out.
I recall she was invited to make both categories of hats for the festivals held in 1964, 1965 and 1966 by Melupa basin’s longhouses of Sungai Belung, Lubuk Bundung and Munggu Embawang (dad’s birthplace).
Prior to Gawai Antu main event, the Iban community in Krian and Saribas basins in the past used to hold a ceremony called ‘Nganyam’ about two weeks earlier — meant for basket-making and gadget-weaving.
Another peerless individual whom I came to know and befriended since 1971 was Langi Enjup (1908-1998).
He was actually the fatherin-law of my elder brother Jon @ Chandi. In fact he was like a father to me too, sharing the love of Iban martial art, folklore and poker (ala longhouse) plus learning some other items pertaining to Iban customs and tradition. But one item that he could not share with anyone else, including his own children, was his specially acquired skills.
These included abilities to ‘unite’ or ‘disunite’ — meaning he had special prowess ‘to unite’ by making two persons (a man and woman) to fall in love with each other and thus becoming husband and wife.
This is therefore a skill to ‘unite’ whereas as opposed to this Uncle Langi was also capable of ‘disuniting’ a married couple, a deed that he would perform with much reluctance.
He was once invited by a lady in Miri circa 1986 to ‘break’ her marriage, offering a fee of RM2,000.
He brought my dad to join him and got a small share of the fee. The couple split immediately, it was noted then.
Uncle Langi’s prowess included making himself ‘rainproof’ — this was tested by one of his son-in-laws (not Jon) who said it was raining while they were riding a motorbike but not a raindrop fell on them during their ten-minute ride.
He had other skills, including ‘kuntau’ martial art. He also tried his ‘puchau panggil’ (returning spell) to recall a husband who had left his wife for another woman.
It was noted that the guy came back in a car at night but didn’t dare to enter the wife’s residence.
Some days after Langi’s death, those who went to burn candles over his grave noticed and heard the bubbling of the drink they offered using a bottle (without lid).
They remained calm. His eldest grandson Muling later dreamt that his granddad told him he really enjoyed the drink they offered.
