TENOM: Ethnic Muruts here hold the Urung ritual after a death or to receive a special guest especially in a wedding is aimed at chasing away evil spirits from disturbing the newlywed, says Atun Patu, Tenom community head.
Atun, 63, said the ritual is very important for the Murut community as it is part of the tradition of the tribe which has been inherited for generations.
He said Muruts believed in the presence of evil spirits and therefore the Urung ritual was held to ensure evil spirits did not disturb the community when various activities are taking place.
“The Urung ritual for wedding is called Ansaluang or the ritual of entering a home to ward off evil spirits from joining or disrupting the guest when the ceremony was being carried out,” he told Bernama here.
Atun said preparations for the Urung ritual involved building a 25 feet tall tower to place a figurine made of soft wood carved with a human face at the top.
The figurine is called Tiningkoulun and it is decorated with two hanging pieces of sarung cloth, he said.
“At the tower, there are six pieces of hanging sarung cloths and two pieces of red and blue colours are placed around the Tiningkoulun (figurine).
Apart from that, Murut women’s bead handicrafts were hung in the middle of the tower while fish traps such as bubuh, net and hat were placed at the bottom of the tower,” he said.
Atun said a leader from the Murut ethnic community called Ansaál would be chosen to head the ritual using a gun to shoot and drop the hanging cloths at the tower.
Ansa’al will commence with a prayer so that evil spirits do not disturb the family, guests and the community, he said.
“If the shot by the Ansa’al succeeded in bring down the cloths it will mean the ceremony can proceed but if he failed even after running out of ammunition, to bring down the hanging sarung cloths, another ceremony called Amparawak should be held to ward off bad luck,” he said.
Belief in the Urung ritual among the younger generations of Muruts is fading due to the different religions adopted by them, mixed marriages and the wave of modern lifestyle, he said. – Bernama
