The study of folklore is largely the study of particular folklore genres: myth, folktale, legend, ballad, proverb, riddle, superstition, etc.
– Alan Dundes, American interpreter
A remote tribe sharing the Sarawak-Kalimantan border claims that a “giant” from the central highlands of Borneo founded the Kingdom of Brunei 700 years ago.
I was able to trace the journey that the giant named ‘Upai Semaring’ took from the highland complex to the west coast of Borneo.
Armed with historical records and a book by Sarawak Museum Curator Tom Harrisson entitled ‘Peoples of Sarawak’ (1959) who described Upai Semaring as a ‘Goliath of a man’, I was anxious to find the roots of this king.
In my travels to Bario, Ulu Lawas and the Kerayan, I discovered the famous ancestor of the highlanders was an intergalactic traveller who came from outer space.
As the story goes, in ancient times, Semaring roamed the universe but wanted to find a permanent place to settle in the centre of Earth and he chose the island of Borneo.
Quoting the ancient legend, Yakob Melai said: “He went to four galaxies and from each of them threw a large boulder in empty space.
“After that he followed the trail of the rocks and found that they had landed on the planet Earth at a mountainous region in the Kerayan called ‘Batu Pipet’ – now renamed Bukit Semaring.
Yakob, who lived with his family just below a hill Batu Pipet, said Semaring was a friendly ‘Manusia Ghaib’ or ‘Raksasa’ – a super human.
The Lun Dayak believed that in ancient times giants roamed the highlands and used their forefinger to carve their image or animals such as the mythical ‘Balang’ tiger on large rocks or boulders scattered in the jungle.
Semaring lived in the Long Bawan watershed for several hundred years when he had an altercation with a bigger giant.
But he decided to leave because he did not believe in confrontation and left for the coast.
Before leaving Kerayan, Upai Semaring told the inhabitants spread out over the region, to seek their fortunes elsewhere.
However, they should never forget their homeland because this is where their ancestors originated.
“One of Semaring’s descendants united the people of the central highlands when he married 14 princesses from 14 different tribes,” Yakob said.
Indeed, over the decades the Lun Dayeh have inter-married with their Kelabit and Saban neighbours (population 12,000) and the Lun Bawang of Lawas (16,000) and Muruts of Southern Sabah (7,000).
During his journey to the coast, the giant trudged through upper Sarawak leaving a trail of destruction by slashing the top of 30-foot bamboo clumps among the fertile wet padi fields of Lawas.
Kelabits say that Upai Semaring also visited Bario and bathed at Pa Depur River in Pa Trap and left a large seat-print and massive pair of footprints on a large boulder.
Cultural expert and businessman Alex Balang chipped in saying: “After seeking his fortunes in Lawas, Semaring made his way on foot down the Trusan river (which is next to neighbouring Brunei).
“Along the way at Long Semadoh, Semaring sliced off a large piece of stone from a massive boulder with his parang (sword) as it was in his way. This is a well-known feature in the village.
“The inhabitants of Upper Lawas even found a large stone cauldron, which they believe belonged to the giant.”
Semaring eventually ended up in Brunei where he participated in a diving competition called ‘Sayam Bara’ organised by the Pagan king who had offered the hand of his daughter in a contest against a dragon.
Apparently, a large water dragon (the Iban believe in the legend of the 200ft-long Nabau) which kept a precious pearl in its mouth.
“All the contestants were killed by the dragon, but after an epic battle Semaring slew the monster and after his marriage to the princess, became king. We are the king’s descendants,” said Alex.
Until today the Kelabit, Lun Dayeh and Lun Bawang go by Brunei names such as ‘Raja’, ‘Pengiran’, ‘Dayang’, ’Sultan’ and ‘Agung’.
The Bisaya also agree with the claim that their ancestor Upai Semaring was in fact Awang Alak Betatar, a pagan who was the first Muslim sultan of Brunei when he married a princess from Johore.
Yakob said that over the years, the Brunei authorities had sent their own researchers to Long Bawan to trace the descendants of their first Islamic king of Brunei – Sultan Mohamed.
On one of my half-a-dozen or so trips to Kerayan, I scaled Bukit Semaring together with others, including University of Melbourne School of Social and Political Sciences professor Dr Bart Klem.
What confronted us was a badly maintained footpath, which would have discouraged any visitor seeking to walk along the path of the giant king.
So profound was the belief in this legend that several years ago, the Indonesian army or Tentera Nasional Indonesia (TNI) planted a flag at the top of Bukit Semaring .
A special ceremony is held each year at the mountain to celebrate the home of their giant king Upai Semaring – their hero.
Next week: Part 3 – Miracle of the blind pastor
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
