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| Br. Paulus Gabriel Rambang Ngawan, OP |
INTRODUCTION
The Dayak worldview, the indigenous people of
Borneo/Kalimantan Island, can be likened to the worldview of the ancient Greeks
before the coming of philosophers which was greatly mythological in its nature.
As the ancient Greeks believed in the gods and goddesses who lived in Mount
Olyimpus so it is with the Dayaks who believe in the existence of supernatural
beings. As the ancient Greeks believed so much in the truth found in myths, so
do with the Dayaks. However, since philosophy was able to take a strong grip in
the curious souls of the early Greek thinkers, the Greeks most probably had set
aside all the mythological aspects of their society.
And for the Dayaks, on the other hand, myths and
traditions are still well preserved because of the consciousness of the cosmic balance, the harmony between the
world that we live in and the world where supernatural beings are. But the
dividing line between these two worlds is almost tenuous. For the Dayaks, the
world that we live in is also a home for the supernatural beings. That is why
the ancient Dayaks were animists because they believed that different spirits
lived in rocks, trees, rivers, etc. These spirits, both good and evil, always
intervene in the lives of the Dayaks. The Dayaks must never provoke the wrath
of these spirits by their misconducts. The good and the bad things that happen
in the lives of the Dayaks are consciously or unconsciously dependent on the
interventions of these spirits. Thus, the idea of cosmic balance is in the every mind of the Dayaks and it has become
a social structure for them.
KEMPUNAN: CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING OF
MISFORTUNE
To be particular, let us take an example how the Dayak people strive to
sustain this idea of “cosmic balance.”
There is one belief that may have become a social structure of all the sub-ethnics
of the Dayaks. This belief is kempunan
(this word may not be similarly outspoken by all the ethnics of the Dayaks but
these ethnics of the Dayaks may share the same idea of this so-called kempunan). Kempunan is loosely translated as the bad luck that happens to
somebody due to the food or drinks that he or she consciously or unconsciously
ignores to taste. The Dayaks believe the kempunan
that a person experiences is accordingly caused by the unwanted intervention of
bad spirits. Let us give an instance to make the matter better grasped. One
time, a person plans to go hunting in the nearby forest. Before hunting, he asks for a cup of coffee to
be served to him. While the coffee is being prepared, immediately he leaves for
hunting before even tasting the coffee. And when he is already in the forest
hunting a deer, suddenly a snake bites him. For the Dayaks, this incident is
believed to be kempunan because this
particular person fails to taste the requested coffee. There are many other
instances of kempunan like being lost
in the jungle, falling from a tree, or even worse.
DEMYTHOLOGIZATION: COGNIZING THE
PHENOMENON OF KEMPUNAN
Our philosophical mind might ask:
has there been a scientific proof to this phenomenon called kempunan or is there a direct correlation between the food or the
drinks that one consumes and the misfortune that he experiences? We, who claim
to belong to generation of science, will automatically say, “No. This is impossible!”
I, as a modern Dayak, can also say that the effect of this phenomenon called kempunan might exist and might not. Going
further, we can just say that the kempunan
that happens to people are mere coincidence. But let us see the ethical value
behind this phenomenon called kempunan, setting
aside the dilemma whether this thing really exists or not. First, we are reminded that food and drinks,
how simple they may be, are always essential to human life. It speaks also of
the preservation of food so that no food may be wasted. Second, we are reminded
that to where ever we may go, we must always take care of our welfare
especially to a place when we are exposed to danger.
In
the Dayak communities, hospitality to the guests is very important. The
visiting guests are usually served with drinks or even meal. And if a guest however
has already taken his meal, it is good that the guest only eats a little to
avoid kempunan. This practice is
called posek, to counter the kempunan. Posek is also valid if we only touch the containers of the food or
drinks then place the hand to our lips. So, the third moral lesson that we can
get from the practice of kempunan is
the attitude of high respect towards the host who has prepared food and drinks
for us.
CONCLUSION
This phenomenon called kempunan has been a kind of social
structure among the Dayak communities and has also become a living system in
the minds of the Dayaks. The fear that misfortune will fall upon the people if
they violate the traditional practice of kempunan
then replicates this social structure. This belief towards kempunan is also embraced by the non-Dayaks who live among Dayak
societies as a manifestation of their sincere respect towards the Dayak
traditional belief. We are all then reminded to always be wise in assessing
every single part that exists in our culture.
Then, the more I am convinced that there
is no perfect culture but every culture
is sacred. (rmbng)
Key
term:
Social structure
·
set of rules and
resources that individual actors draw upon in the practices that reproduce
social systems. This social structure can take its concrete forms in
traditions, institutions, moral codes, established way of doing things.
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