Mysticism in Borneo

The recent mysterious deaths of two brothers in Lawas has spawned tales of angry spirits and withcraft

KUCHING: Mysticism and superstitions are deeply entrenched in Borneo. Here there is a binding  belief that spirits jealously guard their natural verdant world and that any uninvited breach would perceivably bring grave perils.

The death of two brothers in Lawas earlier this month reportedly involving a Indonesian shaman has stoked local intrigue.

The deaths were suspected to be due to gas poisoning but the stories spilling out of the area speak of supernatural activities.

It was reported that the two brothers,  Raut Singa and Gelawat Gali, together with three others who survived, had dug the 16-metre deep tunnel into a hill in Lawas, believing that there was hidden treasure.

According to the stories,  one of the brothers was told about the treasure in a dream and hired  a shaman from Kalimantan to guide them in their search.

Although the local police have tried to clamp these tales warning people against spreading such rumours, the stories haven’t stopped.

A local shaman, better known here as ‘dukun’ believes it was a spell gone wrong and that the ‘spirit guarding the Lawas hills was too strong”.

“The brothers did get the services of the shaman. They must have known a strong spirit was staying at the hill. Perhaps it was the spirit itself who had told one of the men in his dream,” said traditional Bidayuh healer Lujar Rimpos.

Rimpos, 60, said the tragedy could have happened because the guardian spirit was a very strong one, and there could have been a mistake in ‘communicating’ with it.

“We can only assume what really happened there.

“The Indonesian shaman might have not been good enough to handle the spirit, or the men had broken some taboos or something. We will never know,” he said.

Spiritual guardians

Borneo – comprising Sarawak, Sabah, Brunei  and Kalimantan –  with their deep forests and rivers are considered high ‘energy points’ and home to “guardians from a parallel world”.

“We know many hills, mountains, caves, big trees and even old houses have spirits dwelling and guarding them.

“We humans should know how to communicate with these spirits, and ask for their permission to enter or work in these places,” said Rimpos, form Kampung Panchor Dayak in Serian.

Rimpos, who claimed he had been healing people for more than 20 years, said special offerings and particular rituals must be performed before work can proceed in the places.

“For instance, people who wished to collect birds’ nests in a cave must ask for the cave’s spirit permission before setting up scaffolding in the cave’s walls.

“If they don’t, there will almost certain to be a bad thing would happen to them.

“The same too with people who want to ‘nyumpon’ (collecting honey from tall trees).

“They need to ask consent from the tree spirits by singing special tunes. Otherwise, it’s either they will experience accidents, or they will not get any honey at all,” said Rimpos, who is one of the last ‘nyumpon’ practitioners in the Bukar Serian Bidayuh area.

Asked where shamans learnt their art, Rimpos said “in Kalimantan” and other parts of  Indonesia.

“Most of the spells, rituals and healing utensils had Indonesian origins. Some of the shamans went to Indonesia to learn to become what they are now,” he said.

Chosen to heal

He claimed his skills however “came to him” 20 years ago and that he was not taught by anyone.

“I am an ordinary farmer but one day 20 years ago I suddenly fainted. I was unconscious and almost died, but  my wife discovered a stone which magically came out from my mouth, and I regained consciousness after that.

“I got to know from a dream, that an old man from Darud Sadung (Mount Sadung, the sacred mountain for the Bukar Bidayuh) had given the stone to me, so that I can help people.

“Since then, somehow, many people came to see me. I don’t know how they knew about me. But with the stone, I can easily know what is wrong with people, and proceed to heal them,” said Rimpos.

The stone, Rimpos said, had become his most valuable healing tool which he used to diagnose his patients.

Another tool he has is a vial with never-ending supply of supposedly miraculous water and a ‘polong’ (spiritual projectile).

“I found the ‘polong’ in Mount Sibahai, near Kakeng, while I received the vial from an old shaman from Gunung Rawan, Indonesia.

“Now the vial contains water from the river in Kuala Sambas, Kalimantan, and it cannot dry up. In fact, it can replenish itself. I simply need to put it under burning incense, and it will be full again,” claimed Rimpos.

Although now living in Serian, Rimpos actually hailed from Kakeng, a very old Bukar village once notorious as a place where witchcraft was practised during the pre-Christian years.

The Bukar Bidayuh, just like other Serian Bidayuh groups, and the Bau and Kuching Bidayuh, as well as many other Sarawak native communities, had their origins in Southern Borneo, with the Bukar first coming from Bugau, Kalimantan  almost 800 years ago.

Rimpos said despite the modern age, education and technological advancement, people still believed in the spiritual world.

“Many people would say all this is only rubbish and merely superstitions, but let me ask you, if this is nonsense, how come there are still a lot of people who look for shamans nowadays?
“The truth is  people  are afraid to go and be in certain places, knowing that there are spirits living there.

“They want protection, to be healed and come searching for us,” said Rimpos adding that this job had ‘found’ him and that when he dies it will “find a replacement healer among the younger generation”.