Remembering the ‘Lemambang’

KUCHING: Not many young Ibans of today would know what ‘lemambang’ is – let alone explain his key roles in the traditional celebration of Gawai Dayak.

According to Steven Beti Anom – author of the book ‘Iban Culture and Tradition: The Pillars of the Community’s Strength’ – Gawai in the past was more than just a festival to mark the end of the harvesting season; it was also a time to seek forgiveness and protection from the ‘Petara’ (God in Iban).

“In view of the celebration’s close link to godliness back in the old days, the rituals associated with it would centre on the ‘lemambang’ – or the priest,” he told The Borneo Post recently.

Beti – whose grandfather Chambai Kadadap was a ‘lemambang’ – said according to ancient Iban belief, the ‘Patara’ would send signs through the stars or constellations to remind the people when to begin and end the farming season, especially for padi.

To them, the constellations of Pleiades, Orion and and Sirius were known as ‘Bintang Banyak’, ‘Bintang Tiga’ and ‘Bintang Buyu’.

The ancient Ibans saw their God as the ‘Ruler of the Skies’ and His angels – the ‘Orang Pangau Libau’ – were members of the Divine Council that controlled those signs and the timing of their appearance in the sky.

“The most powerful angels revered by the Ibans are Keling and his wife Kumang – the ‘King and Queen of the Sky People’. However, not everybody could read those signals.

“To understand these messages, God would appoint only a special few among the folk. These were the ‘Lemambang’ and they would receive their calling through dreams. These chosen people were more than bards; they’re priests. Decades ago, the service of the Lemambang would be in extremely high demand beginning from May till end of June. They had to perform the rituals from one longhouse to the next throughout that period,” he explained.

However, the service of a Lemambang was not limited to Gawai, said Beti.

“They’re also required in certain circumstances. If the newly planted padi was ‘sick’, the farm owner would invite the Lemambang to perform a ritual called ‘Pengap Ngubat Umai’ – meant to treat ‘sick farms’ as well as to appease the spirits and prevent them from harming the farms.”

In the olden days, the Iban were extremely superstitious – Gawai must be strictly done according to proper rites and that each offering must be blessed by the Lemambang.

Such rite must be performed through a process called ‘miring’ and an offering was called ‘piring’. On Gawai’s eve, the Lemambang would perform the ritual called ‘mengap’ where they chanted the prayers – known as ‘pengap’ – for two consecutive nights.

According to Beti, the ‘mengap’ represented a ‘Lemambang’s arduous spiritual journey to the sky to invite God and His angels to come down and join the thanksgiving celebration. Along the way to the heavens, the ‘Lemambang’ would pass obstacles and face dangerous encounters with many deities – some were friendly, others were aggressive.

“As a representative of God on Earth, the Lemambang had no fear of the deities because in that the priest posed no harm to them; he only wished to go through their domains on their way to send the message to ‘Petara’. Back then, a shrine known as ‘pandong’ would be erected at the village chief’s ‘ruai’ (longhouse veranda) prior to the celebration. The ‘pandong’ is a sacred structure covered in ‘pua kumbu’ (traditional Iban tapestry) to protect it from being step upon. Inside it would be sacred items – ‘paung burong’ (omen-rod), ‘batu panggol’ (farm stone), some farm equipment, ‘benih padi’ (padi seedling) and ‘piring’ – ready to be blessed by the ‘Lemambang’ before they were brought to the new farm site, to symbolise the beginning of the new farming season.

“On ‘Malam Mantar Gawai’ (eve of the festival), the Lemambang arrived at the hosting longhouse to perform the ‘mengap’ before other guests. ‘Mengap’ would normally be conducted by four persons led by ‘Lemambang Matak Jalai” (chief priest) in the prayers.

The ‘Deputy Lemambang’ would take over should the chief take a short break, while the other two – the ‘penyagu’ or ‘penyaut’ – were singers who recited the ‘ramban’ (chorus) in between the verses before the priest continued the next chant.

“They would perform the ‘mengap’ along the ‘ruai’ – from one end to the next, back and forth. It’s very tedious task; the ritual would usually conclude the next morning. Moreover, the prayers contained in the ‘pengap’ were voluminous – enough to allow the four take breaks in between of the stanzas.

“To memorise these lengthy chants, they relied on ‘Papan Turai’ – a wooden board with the holy scriptures of the ‘Lemambang’ inscribed on it. The glyphs on ‘Papan Turai’ depicted various meanings that only a ‘Lemambang’ could understand.”

Beti also said traditionally, the Lemambang would wear special attire.

“They would wear long pants paired with ‘kain belachu’ – a robe usually in white, but could also be in other colour except black. They also wore a type of turban during ‘mengap’. Most noticeably would be their ‘tongkat lemambang’ (ceremonial staff).  The ‘penyaut’ or ‘penyagu’ would also have their own staffs, but their garments were more casual,” he said.

Beti, 60, said today, there are still individuals who serve as the ‘Lemambang’ during Gawai – only now there is no more ‘penyap’ involved.

“If it were just a ‘bebiau’ (appeasing the spirits) or ‘miring’, they would not wear the Lemambang garb. Most likely, they would just wear the regular priest’s clothing,” he said.

Beti, whose next book ‘Lemambang’s Code: The Precursor of Iban Alphabet’ is underway, said he learned a lot about Lemambang by watching his grandfather.

“I was fortunate because as a child, I had the opportunity to listen to his stories and even witnessed how a Lemambang performed the rituals during the Gawai Batu – literally ‘Stone Festival’ that originated from the term ‘Batu Panggol’.

“According to my grandfather, some farmers might had unintentionally hurt the ‘semangat padi’ (rice spirit), causing the spirit to wander and leave the crop unprotected. To avoid unwanted consequences, a special ‘miring’ would be performed.

“The ancient Ibans strongly believed that appeasing God was important, and every ritual must be strictly observed,” he said.

Chambai passed away in 1973 before Beti completed his secondary school education.

Nevertheless, Beti still remembers many wise words spoken by his grandfather.

“When I was a small boy, I used to help my grandfather move bits and pieces of his tools here and there. At one time – out of curiosity – I asked him about the role of the Lemambang. I was astounded when he answered: ‘Lemambang is God’s servant on Earth, whose role is to teach the Ibans how and when to plant padi properly!

“Young man, life is never easy, but if you know how to plant padi, you won’t go hungry. Just don’t be lazy because the lazy ones never reap any fruit – remember that!’

“It was only after years later that I realised what he really meant. He actually taught me good values – generosity, sincerity, kindness and humility,” Beti reminisced.

Another advice that his grandfather always said was: “Always keep your feet on the ground no matter how high life takes you – there is nothing wrong in helping others, even when you know that they cannot help you back.

“The important thing in life is to remember that there’s always a reason for everything – rivers don’t drink their own water; trees don’t eat their own fruits.

“Why all these happen? It is because God creates them, so that other plants and creatures could survive.”