GANTUNGAN/RAWE of SALAKO SUMANGAT PADI (The Paddy Spirit Hangar)

The picture as shown above is a type of Gantungan/Rawe which I snap at my mother home. My mother, although she is a Christian herself is still keeping this Gantungan/Rawe for the purpose of having pride to our ancestor culture. There are no more skulls on this Gantungan/Rawe. This Gantungan/Rawe has been in our house for almost 50 years already. It is use by my mother to hang “bontokng”, a type of rice cake wrap in a special leaves we call “daukng minyak”, and a stalk of rice, especially during the “Gawe Padi”, a festival that we celebrate during the harvesting paddy seasons in the early month of June every year.

Gantungan or Rawe is one important element in Salako religare (Adat ). Long ago, Gantungan or Rawe is a very sacred thing. Gantungan/Rawe refers to a hanger. During the era of head hunting is still prevailing in Borneo, Gantungan/ Rawe is used to hang the human skull. Salako tribes do practice head hunting activities, but nowadays it’s become a taboo to talk about this practice.

To the Salako tribes in Borneo, head hunting is not an ordinary act, as Dr. Susan Russell,( Department of Anthropology, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University) said, “Their cosmology consisted of a basic three-layered world: the skyworld (the abode of spirits, culture heroes, and gods), this world (the realm of their village settlements and of true humans), and the underworld (the realm of spirits and deities responsible for, among other things, agricultural and human fertility). Gods, goddesses, culture heroes and spirits of various sorts moved between these realms.” Take note that the “skyworld” in Salako refer to “Kayangan” and the “underworld” refer to “Subayatn”.

Today, Gantungan/Rawe is seldom seen in the Salako homes because most of the Salako people practice a more Christianized life. This leads to the diminishing of our culture, and most of the young generation have lost their fore father knowledge. What I’m trying to say here is not for us to practice this old culture back into our life, but to preserved it for the pride of Salako and to add colors to our Malaysian culture. It is sad to know that nowadays the unwanted culture values are mostly forgotten.

Reference:
1. Professor Susan Russell, Department of Anthropology, http://www.seasite.niu.edu/