ANN APPLEToN

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Borneo Research Council, pp. 121-174.
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Cambridge University Press.
Sather, C. 2000. The Shaman as an Undoer of Life: lban Eschatology and the Role
ofthe Shamin in Saribas tban Death Riturls.ln Borneo 2000 (Proceedings ofthe
Sixth Biehnial Borneo Research ConJercnce). Etllnicitl, Culture .k l,Socl?l/. llcl. M.
Lei8h. Malaysia: Universiti Malaysia Sxrawak, pp. 229-329-
Sather, C. 2003.
'fransformations
of Self and Community in Saril>ns lbarr lle.rth
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Shepard, G.H. 2002. Three Days for Weeping: Dreams, Emotions, and Death in the
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Quarleriy
16 (N.S.) (2)r 200-229.
Sillander, K. 2004. Actihg Authoritatively: How Authotity Is ExprcsscLl through Sociul
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Trawick, M. 1992. Notes on Lot e in a Tamil Fatlily. Betkeley: University of Califor-
nia Press.
Tnrner, V 1974. Dramas, Fields, and Metaphors: syfibolic action in human society.
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Turner, V 1985. On fre E.lge of the B]ash.'n|cson: University ofArizona Press.
Yearbook ofStatistics Sarcwak.2005. Dep^rtment ofStatistics Malaysia, Srrawak.
CHeprEn 5
lban Petara as Transformed Ancestors
Vdronique Bdguet
Hrs clrApltiR
pRoposEs
rHAT THE Ibanpet4r4, known in the litera-
ture mostly as
"gods" (see, e.9.,
Jensen
1974), are in fact ancestors.
Furthermore, it argues that lhe petara are transformed ancestors
taking animal and bird form, thus pointing to a connection between the hu-
mu and animal realms. The chapter adopts an approach to lban ancestor-
ship inspired by recent theory of animism (e.g., Bird-David 1999, Clammer,
Poirier, and Schwimmer 2004a, Descola 2005, Ingold 2000). This approach
to animism was already developed in my dissertation (Bdguet 2006), which
presents a more extensive analysis ofthe s,rbject.
The Iban, like most Borneo peoples (see Sellato 2002;1), have no
term for "ancestor" and refer to deceased forebears collectively as 4ki'
irri'(grandparents) or orangdulu (people ofthe past). The overwhelming
mojority of the deceased go to Sebayan
("the land of the dead") and are
separated from the living through various funeral rites (Uchibori 1978).
After a period of time, the deceased eventually disappear and become dew
that nourishes plants, thus "transubstantiating" into rice (Sather 1980a,
Uclribori 1978) ar.d pua', the sacred blankets, the production of which
involves the absorption of dew (Drake l99r). Among the Iban, funeral
ritcs hold a central place, and the literature insists on their function of
separating the living from the dead, as stressed by Hertz (1960). A small
minority, however, remains near the living and will, in some cases, be
propitiated through special rites in exchange for their support in human
undertakings. The dead who support humans are said "to b ecome petara"
(nyadi petara).'Ihere is thus a clear link between the minority of dead
who becorle ancestors and the pera,"a.
viRcNreuE BEcuEr
In the Iban ethnography, the terms
Petara
and antu usually mean'
respectively, "gods" or "divinities of the pantheon," and
"malevolent,
ag-
gressive beings." Both terms, however, also have a more general meaning in
their daily usage by villagers. The universe is inhabited by invisible entities
of various origins
-
antu in the generic sense, including benevolent and
malevolent beings. When they are malevolent, they may be referred to as
anta in a narrow sense. Among the malevolent beings (ant4 in this narrow
sense), there are several subgroups, including the succubi, the incubi, the
"forest spiritsj' and the most terrifying of all, the antu
Serasi,
in short, all
beings that are more or less dangerous and live near humans.
When the antu (in the generic sense) are benevolent, it is more
Polite
to
callthem petara.Yillagers use the exPression jako'siru' for such usage (7ato'
means "word, language" and sira' "attentive, sensitive"). Out of resPect, the
term petera is applied to any entity that seems kindly disposed to humans.
I will use the expression'the great
Petara"
to distinguish those that the
literature calls lgodd'
from other benevolent entities. The
Sreat Petart,
the
mythical heroes, the dead, and any other beings of human or non-human
origin that "support" humans constitute sub-groups within the largr
category ofbenevolent beings, which itselfis,a category ofinvisible entities.
Perara is thus a term of address that encomPasses speci{ic categories
of benevolent invisible entities. The petara have earned this name mainly
by supporting human undertakings in
Prestige'generating
spheres of lile
including: rice cultivation and acquisition of prestige obiects, tlre most
valuable ofwhich are Chinese jars; manufacture ofpaa'blankets (woven by
women); warfare and headhunting; mastery of ritual chants; administration
ol customary law and oratory; and, more recently, success at school and
subsequent well-paid employment iil the civil service and business sectors
(see Figure 5.1).
Through this support, it is said that the petara "sustain the life of us
humans" (ngidup kitai mensia). Ngidap is the verbal form of the root idup,
which is translated by "life, alive, living, give life, support" by Richards
(1988: 112). This support is absolutely necessary for any human to succeed.
|ust
as often, the villagers say that the'human forebears"
(aki'ini) 'sustain
us humansl thus highlighting the close bond that unites the two grouPs.
T'here are, however, differences among the gte^t petara, the mythical
heroes, the dead who have become petara, and other benevolent art, of
human or non-human origin. The difference is one in degree rather than in
kind, especia\ in degrees of power. The greal
Petera
have the most
Power.
IBAN PETARA As TRANSFoRMED
ANcEsroRs
tiSurc 5.1. Chinese jar
and pua
blanket Two forms Dfprestige
objects which can be acquircd
through support hy rhe grear pera/a,
'"ho
in.lrd"
;&;;;;;il,,:::
..'
Virorreue B6cuer
Next come the m1'thical heroes, and last the dead and the anrri of living
beings. This hierarchy is largely a function of how remote the pcktru
^re
from the supplicant, ofhow rarely they provide assistance, and ofhow much
impact they can have. It is much more cornmon to be :rssisted by a deceased
individual than by a mythical hero or by one of the great pcrara.
On the other hand, exceptional individuals are normally supported by
powerful entities such as a mythical hero or the greal nobou. Suclr pcople,
holever, are so rare that one must explore an entire region to find a lrandful
of thern. In one village which l visited, only one person still alive coLrlcl boitst
ofsuch assistance and this person was an important, albeit not exceplional,
lernamboq who rvas known region-wide. Other lcmanfuang, whosc firtnc
was more local, were supported by less farnous beings.'Ihis hierirrchy is also
visible in the rituals. The community invokes the grcirl pctard collcctively
whereas individuals summon their personal pelarrr in<liviclually cithcr in
small rituals of their own or during great rituals (for instancc, by adding
the name oftheir personal petara in a prayer)- Under these conditions, it is
dimcult to discrilninate between different categories of benevolent bcings,
fbr example to tell
'divinities"
apart from ancestors. I suggest that this lack
of clear distinction is crcated by the metamorphosis of the dead, which is a
still ongoing process.
This line of argument is opened up by Sather and Wadley who prcfer
to speak of the petar4 as cosmic ancestors, instead of as gods, or divinities.
Sather states that the petala are not primeval creators.
Like the ancestors, the principal gods are not prinrordial beings, but
rather historical figures with remembered pedigrees. Thus, the gods
appear together, as ancestors, with human beings ir lban genealogics
(Sather 1994b:4).
Continuing this line ofargument, I argue that the process that creates such
ancestorship is, par exccllence, the metamorphosis of invisible entitics ald,
particularly, their transfornation into animals. ln this, I differ fronr Sellato
(2002:14) who suggests that ancestorship is created through ritual tneaus.
The Iban actually perform a propitiatory rite to ancestors, but only as a
required resporsc to a proven transformation that has rlready occLrrred.
Do the relrtionships with the benevolent dcad fornt xn instance of
"ancestor
rvorship'? Waclley states so, and dorvnplays the role ofatrituism
an.long the lban on that basis, referring to the fact that, rt the core ol thcir
religion, they
IBAN PETARA As TRANSFoRMED ANcDsroRs
. . . worslrip their ancestors (aki' ini'). For ex:'mple, through prayers
(so'rpi) people invoke the distant ancestors (6efcra) trom the graves and
tombs. People give oferings to thei! ancestors and call upon them to help
thenr produce abundant rice crops and become wealthy (see Richards
1988: 321 ibr x t)?icrl prayer) (Wadley 1999: 598-599).
'Ihese
practices do not, il.I my view, represent a
'tult
of the ancestors" but
rather, the core of Iban animism, which involves the capacity to establish
proper relationsllips with immanent invisible beings of human and non-
human origins. The drearns and augury, as much as the rituals, are all means
ofcre.rting and maintaining such relationships, personally or collectively.
I agree with Sather and Wadley that the Iban pefara have the attributes
ol "rnccstors" in the sense of representing "historical figures with remem-
bered pecligreesi' Going further, I suggest that the p etara are ttar,sforll:.ed.
ancestors and that the transformation conncts humans with the animal
and bird worlds. In addition, they are ancestors in the sense, given bylngold
(2000: 140-142), of representing various entities who nurture humans. The
term iucludes all of the dead who, at least temporarily, have escaped the
cycle ofseparation arld Western linear time in order to help humans. All are
pct(trd, io the broad sense of benevolent entities, a term that encompasses
tlre so-called gods of the pantheon, the mythical heroes (Orang Panggau),
and the dead who support the living. All of them "support humankind"
(ngidup me sia) by errsuring the success of human undertakings and they
are propitiated accordingly through rituals and prayers.
My views on this subject fall within a number of new approaches to the
animism concept, all of which stress the key importance of metamorphosis
and lhe Iinks among the human, animal, plant, and mineral worlds (see, e.g.,
Clammer et al. 2004a, Howell 1996, Ingold 2000). In these approaches, the
boundaries ofthese worlds are dissolving, as is the fundamental nature/culture
dichetorny. These new approaches also diverge from religious anthropology
and its
|udeo
Christian heritage, which presumes the transcendence and su-
periority of a creator God over nature (Callicott and Ames 1989: 3-6). Instead,
they emphasize the immanence of invisible entities that inhabit the same world
as hunrans and frequently interact with them. The way these entities relate to
Iiumans is a cenlral issue in their analysis. Among these approaches, I favor
Ingoldls dwelling perspective and his reconceptualization of ancestrality as a
set of relationships with multiple beings who act within a sphere of nurture
(lngold 2000). I shall present briefly the conceptual tools on animism, the
248
VfRoNIQUE Bf,GUET
crucial notion of metamorphosis'
and my argument' which uses the literature
on p"**on the one hand, and my own data' on the other' I collected the
i"ta in rOfe aoring my tn-month doctoral fieldwork in a rnid-Layar village
of the Saribas area, in the Second Division of Sarawak' following a previous
five-month stayl As the Layar is next to the river Paku' I refer the reader to the
presentation ofthe region made by Cliford Sather in this volume'
Conceptual
Tools on Animism
A Cosmocentric
Approach to Animism
Since the 1990s, what has been called ontological anthropology
(Clamrner
et al. 2004b) has revisited the animism concept through cosmocentt ic aP-
proaches, that is, by using the cosmos -
including invisiblc entities -
as the
principal unit of analysis, instead of the human individual
(homocentric
appro""h) or rociety
(sociocentric aPProach) Beyond its different factions'
,hO .orr"rrt of thought emphasizes the following basic principles of ani'
mism: the crucial importance ofmetamorphosis;
the conaturality
(i e
'
cot]r-
rnon nature) ofhumans' animals, plants, and minerals; and the extension of
sociality and personhood to sendent entities ofdifferent origins
(human and
non-human) who are immanent in this world Some ofthese characteristics
are present in non-animist religions, too' but there is a sPecial connection
between them in animism reflecting the logic of"anirnic ontologies"
(Clam
mer et al.2O04a, Descola 2005, Ingold 2000, Viveiros de Castro 1998)
The metamorphosis
of a being
(living or dead' human or non-humatr)
into a different one
(from an invisible entiry into an animal' for instance'
or from a living being into a spiritual being) is attested il hunter-gatherer
societies in diffJrent parts ofthe world
(Descola 2005) Among the Australian
Aborigines, it is made possible bya permeability and flexibility of forms that
er,obG hrlman, and ancestors to
Partake
of a common substance
(Poirier
20041 66,2005: 1f). In Amazonia, it is at the heart of what Viveiros de
Castro
(1998: 469) labeled perspectivism' i e ,
"the concePtion '
according
to which the world is inhabited by different sorts of subjects or persons'
humans and non-human, which apprehend reality from different points of
viewJ' Such points ofview are related to the perceptions and abilities of the
bodies
(human, animal, etc.) acquired through metamorphoses Among
the Ojibwa, metamorphosis is the basis for relations between humans ard
other-than-human
people (Hallowell 1960: 39).
IBAN PETARA As TRANsFoRMED
ANcEsroRs
Different
authors haye taken various
approaches
to ernphasize
different
aspects of this common
nature of living things, tfrt .ra_""
,,ir,"n.a
shared with iniisible entities, and this Jxtensi"on
";;.;;;;;;
.""
hunrans., For some, the sharing of commo"
.f,"r*i*.i.ffii..,,y
"
body and an inner viral part, unites all species
fH.ff"rai ieiolai,
i"g.la
2004). Others stress attributes
like intentionality
".."ff"*rr.
."-"*,**
ness (Descola
1996 64-65, Fausto 2004, Howell 1996: flO_fiaj.
a.."rarrg
to Poirier (2004:62-65),
ancestors
metamorphosed
and thereby came to
impregnate
the eDtire Australian
laldscape
with th.t. ;;;;;.;;
p_*
of the landscape play an active role in th. p.o".r,
of.or,".iui",
"
,"* .nUO,
thus linking humans and ancestors with a common
substancel
All authors recognize
the key role, in animism,
of rn.iuil,y o.orrg t u_
man beings and also between ht
uu..a on i..ip.o.,ty;;
;.;;;;;#Hl l*i:H,];ff
:.,T,'.Ti;1h,li;
view that beings are constituted in.relation
," ,f,",, *"i.""_.r,
ill*1.
:i:d ?avld
(1999)
appties Strathernt
term
,dtvtdual,,,
wh;;.;;;;.,
".
individual
composed
of relationshi
ity irro the conception
"i;;;;;"rA
j:
fi'ff
J:,li';illi1,,":T.l"_ii;
social relarions
is part of personhood (poiri",
zi'oe, es).';;ngif-r"
a"r.".,
Subarctic
Canada, reciprocity
between hrr."nr,
u, ou"ti u, iri;".;;l;-"",
Li1^":."j],"..."r:
predominares
(Scott
200<, Tanner ;;;;:';;;.'
;".-ro
(1992:
116l views the Amazonian
world as a huge h"_*"r.O
a *fj,r,
man relationships
are analogous
to those that
frevail
betwee.
nr-"r, uno
animals based on reciprocity
or predation.
A Relational
Approach
to Ancestrality
Inspired
by ecology researchers
who reject neo_Darwinism,
the ecological
psychology
of hmes Gibson, and the phenomenoloev
"f
,;r;;; ;";;:l
and Maurice Merleau-ponry,
T,'" r;g;t;
i,;;;;;"j, ffi ;;ffi:T:::
spective of rhe 'dwelling
in the world; specific"lly
*ith ,.;;:;;";;.,",
Satherers, by contrasting
it with the constructivist
perspective,
Apprehending
the world is not a r
ment, not of bu'din, 0,,., o*"u,Tij"il*?:l,T;:li.::fl:'j::;
but o f taking u! 6. vie.N in it (\$gq\d.
\996r \z\ .
According to Ingold, the organism-person (both
biological and cultural)
is.constituted
through its engagement with its environrnent,
a process
called "progeneration."
In animist ontologies, the world
_
the environment
Vinotrque B6cur.r
-
is composed of humans and non-humans with whont indivirluuls have
relationships.
This vast web of relationships includes relations with ancestors. Ingold
(2000:
132-l5l) offers a relational definition ofancestrality that contrasts witlr
the genealogical definition. The latter is exemplified by the image ofa fiunily
tree and focuscs on the sllccession of generations in which personhood is
"handed
down" as an endowment from predecessors. The relational model
resembles a "rhizome":
This is to be envisaged as a derse and tangled cluster ofinterlacerl thrcrcls
or filaments, any point in rvhich can be connected to any other. _ . . [1he
rhizorne] is a progeneration, a contiltuall), ravelling uncl unrirvclling
relational nanifold (Ingold 2000: 140).
Ingold gives examples of ancestors who can be humans who live<l in the
past; spirit inhabitants of the landscapc; mytltic other_thon_htLman char
acters; or original creator beings.
people
are grown through sLrch multiple
relationships in the process oflife itsclf, Ingold contrasts prt)generation with
procreation and the concoI)1itant process ofthe successiort ofgeneratiotrs.
By progeneration, in contnst, I refbr to the continual unfolding of an
entire field of relationships within which different beings cnrerge with
thcir particular forms, capacities and dispositiotrs (lngold 2000: t42).
Persons should be understood not as procreated entities, connectcd to
one another along lines of genealogical connection or rclaferlness, but
rather as centres ofprogenerative activity variously positioned tvithin n11
all-encompassing 6eld, of relationships (lngold 2000: 144).
Ancestors, as defirred above, are meaningful by their presence and activities,
rather than by the passing down of the rudiments of being per sc. Instead
of acting out inborn characteristics, people develop and grow throLrgh
multiple relationships with these beings during their lifetimes. As a whole,
these relationships form "a
sphere ofnurture" in which humans
.bre
g,rown,,
(Ingold
2000: 144). Such a sphere of nurture also exists among the Iban.
Before going any further, it is important to note that this web ofrelationships
is a central component of animism.
Animism as a Field of Relationships with lnvisible Entities
'Ihe
current revisiting of animism entails a redefinition of the term, which
diverges from the old one associated with nineteenth centrlry evolutiolrism
IB,\N PETARA As TRANS!oRMED ANcEsroRs
(Clamrner 2004: 85-86, Descola 1996: 66). New definitions, howeve5 vary
trom one author to the next. Descola (1996: 66) and Viveiros de Castro
(1998:
473) maintain a distinction between society and nature and argue that
animism is the proiection of social relations onto nature or a socialization
of the natural environment. As with Shint6, it refers to a "complex of
beliefs and, more importantly, practices encapsulating an understanding of
lruman-cosmos relationships" (Clammer
2004: 89).
The term pengarap introduces us to Iban animism. It is the substantive
iornr of the root azp, which is translated as "faith, confidence" by l{ichard
(1983) and as
"faith,
trust" by Sutlive and Sutlive (1994). With a touch of
humor, an Iban woman contrasted the pengqrap with the attitude to the
gods of other religions. The Christians look for their "God' and find him in
their Bible.
'Ihe
God of Islam is far away and must be summoned by loud-
speakers. But the Iban antz are close, semalc ('tlose, adjacent"). They see
(lredrr)
ancl hear (nginga) humans. They can punish inappropriate behavior
or grant requests for charms or help. They express their own wishes, notably
re<luests for tbod, and issue warnings. [n return, humans must watch for
their manifestations (dreams
and omens mainly), drive away aggressive
eutities, and foster close bonds with the benevolent entities through ritu-
lls trnd offerings, all of this being defined by customary law. A close bond
trarlsliltes concretely into an abundance of charms, bountiful harvests, and
many manifestations of good omens. Those qualifications of the Iban pez-
g,lr.? entail a defrnition of it as being about the creation and maintenance
of appropriate relations with the many invisible entities of varying origins
that inhabit the universe. Among these relationships, I wish to call special
attention to those that "sustain human lifel'that translate into help within
prestige-generating spheres,
Animism, as delined above, does not imply that everlthing in nature
is irnimated. This point is a subject of some controversy. For instance, the
fact that not all natural species have a "spirit" leads Metcalf (1982: 47) to
conclude that the Berawan of Borneo are not animists. However, this also
holds true for societies recognized as animist by the above-mentioned
autllors throughout Amazonia, North America, and Southeast Asia. The
Achuar recognize that some animals and plants have human atttibuts,
and Descola (1996: 63-64) distinguishes them from entities that do not
"communicate with anyone, for want of having their own soul"
-
what we
call nature
- entities such as fish, mosses, grasses and ferns, and rivers. Most
authors do not think in terms of such a distinction and simply state that
VEnoNtque
Bfcuer
cerrain
beings have
personhood
onrv whenr::HJ1il:T:lljiil
jii),
although
all have the
Potential
t:.,::;;H.il:;a
,r'"y
.
.',. nor anin,isrs
Howell tg96: t3S-t36)
The key test
; ;.;;;;y
dogmatically
attrhute
their living souls to inaninliltc
obiects such as stones"
(Ha[owe[ fS60: 24-25)'
On this point' the lban do
:3ffi#o;;; ;eople"
dis""'"d
bv these authors
Anv livingbeing
mcv
il"i"..
""
tt"ttrbtt
tniiry' ulthoogt'
tome seem more so inclined'
This potential
is' in p'intipte'
aii'iUutea
to any living thing Neverthelcss'
each
people seems to favor certarn categories'
be it the ioresl
lt^:]:u""t'
for the Nayaka
of southern
tnotul'-ot
lhu'utttristics
of lh desert
in the
case ofAustralian
Abo'igin"''
o' *i-ut'
in orher cases
The lrutnln-animll
relationships
are central
to many e-t-hnographies'
especially
those about
lhe
ftlr.Jil;i;;
or c"nuau''
i"i"'Ztt'
region
or Amazonia'
Descola
iiiliffi;;";"'"':':i"?,';:'*.1,;.H:'.'Ji::l:}!,ffi;lill
it as thc core of animism'
that is' a
ffi;;;;;;;n
relationshiPs
with plants
(rice) and.precio'rs
jars are
also fundamental
Animats
too are imPortant'
not so much
as lrunted
prcy'
ffi;;;;;t
"n"t"o"
*ho suiport
prestigious
human activities
in
return for ofierings'
The Relationship
between
Humanity
and Animality
Revisitins
animism
*'n:':'"T:f;'Jl,*,:::
f
':l'':'l'::::tff T#:T:
and animals'
This
Point
is imP
of the dead transform
tn"-t"futt
i*o animals'
ln some hunter-gatherer
societies,
animals
"" "nt"*o"
Jii'-ost
therefore
be "despiritualized"
or
"desubiectivated"
by cooking
or bv shamanistic
treatment
(Fausto 2004'
;;;;;:;;;""
ioo+' v*'i'o'
j'
castro 1ee8) As we'will see' there are
some difierences
in the treatment
of animals
among
the lban
'
Wazir-Jahan
Begum
r"'i--iisgrl
ai"usses
the relationships
of humans
to animals
and plants u-oog
tt'"
-Ju;
Betisek
of Peninsular
Malaysia
The
Hl#;;;;;d
to diFerent
ritual Practices
and contexts
that are
exoressed
through
dif""nt
*ytttoioglt"l
corpu"'
Humans
rre allorved
to
:ffi;:;;;il;J
p"*' o'1"""
t'* Iatter have beer cursed'(tur'fi )
bv tlre
Ma'Betisk's
ancesto"'
orr tht;;;;';;d'
humans
are forbidden
(kartali)
to destroy
or kill animals
o' ot*t''
these being
reincarnaiions
of human
ancestors
who may' i"
"p'i'i'-nitr
itlne'sts
und natural
catastrophes
ln
;ff;,,l';1
"'li
1'J,l'*:,:'5'fr ::::::.i,'l
j::il:"""'"i.ili;::
and rituals' so there is no con'
IBAN PrirARA,\s TRANSFoRMED ANcEsroRs 253
to plants atrd animals in trlla, situations and hierarchically inferior in ftefral''
situations. Karim concludes that animals and plants symbolize nature in
falrtlr situations :rnd culture in kerflali' situations. Referring to Ldvi-Strauss'.s
dichotonry, she alirms that plants and animals lie within the domain of rarv
food, i,e., nature. Humans transform this food and eat it, thus performing
a cultur|l act. Her argument is interesting in that it puts the focus on two
distinct dimensions ofrealiry But, in tny opinion, it is not so much a matter
of culture and oature, but of animals and plants as living beings or as
invisible entities, each being linked to the other through tnetamorphosis.
The attention paid to metamorphosis/transformation opens a way to go
beyoud l-dvi-Strausss dichotonry on nature and culture,
Metamorphosis as a Transition between Two
Basic Dimensions of Reality among the Iban
The power to metarnorphose is associated with the ax,'l, the invisible beings,
who as among the Ojibwa (Hallowell 1960) master this ability to a greater
degree than do humans.2 The artu can transform themselves or provoke the
met'rnrorphosis of living beings. Thus:
One of the rrrost fundamental notions of the Iban is expressed in the
phrase bali' nyodi, Bali'means: to change in form, and. nyad, to become.
'lbgether,
thesc words re[er to the capacity of all things, substantial and
insubstantial, animate and inanimate to change in form and become
something elsc: to metamorphose; so that a stone may become a spirit as
rcadily as a spirit may becorne a stone (Freenan 1975:286-287).
The nuance betweeD the two terms lies in how temporary or lasting the
meta[rorphosis/transfbrmation is. Becoming something else supposes
a quite enduring state as changes in form can be temporary. I shall argue
th.rt such processes of metamorphosis constitute passageways between two
ditnensions of reality
Tlre lban universe is inhabited by two broad groups of beings. The first
are livilg belngs who share conaturality, i.e., cotrlmon characteristics,
"a
conrrnon naturc." All Iiving things (utai idup)
-
humans, plants, animals,
and, I would add, certain objects such as jars
-
share some features, such as
alife force (semengal) and a "body" (faboli) (Freeman 1992: 35, Sather 1993:
285). Thcse fcatules are the basis for their conmon nature. The Jerreflgdf
car detach itsclf fron lhe tuboh.'Ihis forns the basis of local theories on
ViRoNreuE BfcuEl
clreams, illness, and death. Dreams are the wanderings of the semengat
in the universe; a 5mdlt3.4f captured by sol]re mirlevolent eotity rcsults in
illness; the separation is delinite with death.
The second kind of beings, invisible entities (antu) are ontologically
different: they lrave no semengat or tuboli; in short they are not living treings.
Saying that they do not have a fabol does not meaD that they are imnraterial.
They do have what we would call a bodily appearance, but this is ncver
referred as tuboh
- at least I never heard such a qualification
- which is, like
semengat, a characteristic of living beings. Despite those diflcrcnces, dfltt
share a common sLrbstance with living beings because ofan infinite number
of metamorphoses in both directions: living beings become invisible
entities as readily as arf, transform into living beings. rrvlore than this,
invisible entities and living beings are not mutually exclusive categorics: any
living being can at the same time be
qntu
ar'd vice versa. In empltasizing
this, I anl suggesting a way to solve the anrbiguity in the litclilture on lhc
respective statuses oI lhe semengat and antu.
One such arnbiguity is underscored by Metcalf's comnlent on llose's
description of the Kayan ghost-soul (a kind of invisible entity) and vilal
principle. Accorcling to Hose, the Kayan vaguely distinguish bclween two
souls:
On the one hnnd, the ghosrsoul, which in a live man wnndcrs illnr, in
dreams and abstractions; and, on the other, the vital principle, which
possesses the'conatus in suo esse perseverandi] which is Life, As long as
the latter remains in the body, the ghost-soul may return to it; but, whcn
death is complete, the vital principle departs ard the ghost-soul with it.
This interpretation is borne out by the use of thc word urip, rvhich ill
common speech means'to be alive] but nray also be applied to a person
recently dead, as ifto mark the speakert sense ofthe continuance ofthe
personaliry in spite of the death of the body (Hose 19261 206, quoted in
Metcalf 1982r 55).
Metcalf considers that Hose's statement is incoherent: if the vital force
persists after death and if the
'ghost-soul"
is just wandering, then cleath is
not clearly differentiated from dreaming. Indeed, among the Iban, dreams
and death are very close as far as the semengaf is concerned: in botlr cases, it
is detached from the "body." However, death is signalled through the fate of
other components of the person, that is, through the end of breath (seprf)
and of another principle of existence (n7awa).3
IBAN PETAnA As TRANSFoRMED ANcEsToRs
'llre
ambiguity between the semengat and the artu culminates in the
litera(ure on non-human living beings. The similarities between human and
non-human semeng1t are clearly attested (Freeman
1992; 153-154). Some
authors insist on the equivalence btween the semengat and the anlr ofrice
(Freenran 1992: 153, 188,
Jensen
1974: 153, Uchibori 1978: 42-43, fn. 5), while
others distinguish them as meaning respectively the rice's vital force and an
"unseen guardian presence that looks after the padi and avenges its iniury or
abuse" (Sather 1977b:158, fn.8).
Irron mI perspective too, semengat atd antu are very different onto-
logically as, respectively, vital force and invisible entity, but they are linked
together by metamorphosis. In my thesis (Bguet 2006), I argue that, while
separated, lhe semengat has the potential to metamorphose i^to al antu
(invisible entity). This occurs at death when the living bcing becomcs an
invisible entity (through the transformation of the vital force) and a corpse
(through the concomitant transformation of the body). The literatrrlc on
lJorneo tends to consider death as fle passageway between the two worlds
(of the living and the invisible entities). In my view, death is just one occur-
rence, allhough a particulariy dramatic, permanent and radical instance, of
a nrore globirl process: the transformation ofa living being into an anfl, This
view is supported by the fact that the same process can also occur during
lilc. lloth (1980, I: 232) quotes Grant, whom a man asked for refuge because
he was threatened by a neighbor who had dreamt he had stabbed his father-
in-law. Uchibori mentions similar case involving a living shaman:
Sha[ran
]imbat's serrcrgat was thought to have become an evil spirit of dre
kind called arrr gerasi, and to hunt the re nengat of othet people while he
was sleeping. The cleath of an irrfant several years ago in a neighbouring
longhouse rvas actually thought to have been a result of this hunting
of his seme gat. After
jimbat's
death, two women in his longhouse had
dreams in which they encountered him. One ofthe dreams, which was
dreanrt olr thc night before the ritual of the 'separatiori (serara' bungai)
. . ., was particularly ominous. In this dream the dreamer was in a forest
,rot firr from the longhouse, where she came across the shaman who
carne down from the opposite direction, The shaman was accompanied
by nvo dogs and had a spear in his lefi hand. She was afraid at his sudden
appearunce and asked what he was doing there.
fimbat answered he was
hunting. Having heard this, the dreamer was rerlly scared and shouted,
'Dont, Uncle, dorit attack mcl We are all kinl
256 ViRoNreuE B6cuEr
This dream was taken by many as demonstrating that the deceased
shamais semergat was haunting the area to hunt the living's se&engof
(Uchibori 1978: 36-37).
Sather (1978; 321, 2001: 40, 73-74) also notes that sone 4rfn that hunt young
children are often helped in this activity by other people who live in these
children's apartments. Their allies are typically old women, who, "in virtually
all instances, no longer fulfill a woman's normal sexual and reproductive
role due to old age" (Sather 1978:321). The author adds that
Hunran beings cannot directly know the state of a person's soul, its
'goodness' or 'badnessl It can only be surmised through an individual'.s
outrvard actions or by the consequences ofhis behaviour in thc world of
experience. With regard to the human bayu, the woman whose soul acts
as a malevolent ally of the buyu rumah spitit is believed to be unaware
ofits action because the attacks that give evidence of its malignant state
occut not in the directly perceivable physical world, but in the realm
of the souls ordinarily imperceptible to herself and others. Only the
ultimate consequences ofits actions
-
miscarriage and infant death - are
directly seen. Thus the woman who acts as a human buyu is thought to
be unconscious ofthe innerbetrayal ofher soul that unknowingly causes
her to harm others (Sather 1978a: 322).
Iban villagers do not link abad semengat with the owners personality,
which is seen to derive from the liver (ati). However, as Sather (1978: 322)
righdy notes, "The notion ofa bad soul carries with it a taint. In this case, lhe
elderly woman suspecled ofbeing a buy4 is often thought to harbour enry,
or her ill-fate may additionally be attributed to an inherited defect, a neglect
of omens or omission ofritual observance."
The owner of lhe semengat, however, is held responsible for keeping it
firrrily attached to the "bodyl' A bad semengat is
^
ward.et\Dg semengat.
lnded, some semengat are said to develop a habit ofconstant wandering
(selalu
mindah or segau-segca), For the Iban, such souls are said to have
'turned bad
Qadi
jai) (ct. Sather 1978: 321-322). A person with a 'bad
sotl' (semengat jai) is considered unlucky and, during the soul's frequent
absences, is likely to suffer long, recurrent bouts of illness, loss of appetite,
or experience mental confusion, weakness oflimbs, and lassitude. Worse
still, if the soul continues to wander, it is likely to become losl (tesat\, or,
laAN PETARA As TRANSFoRMED
ANcEs.l.oRs
worse yct, be captured (tangkap)
by the dntu. lt) addltion, it may, of its
orvn accord, become
,wild'
(liar),
assuming not only the appearance, but
also the behaviour of an,untamed animal; gri, l;rr;. tn tii..t"t",..l.a
lepns, the soul is said to become tinlid, bolting away at tfr.
"pp."o.i
of
other human souls (Sather
2001: 6g).
In my view all these statenents indicate the crucial importance
of meta-
morphosis. A wandering semer,g4, can potentially
met;oryhose
into an
anla (malevolent
or benevolent).
In such cases, ii i, no lor.g", refer.ed to
as setnengat' bvt as petara
if it is benevorent
or cztu otheiwise.
In such
situations, although the owner might not have done everything
i; keep
the semengat attached, he is not held responsible ror tn. i,1"ir-iul .irtityt
actions. Crucial here is the d,istinction jinaklliar,
which is translated
as
domesticatedlwikl (Richard
1988, Sutlive and Sutlive 1994). But ti.r. t..*,
Lft.
,: ,h" state of the semengati
attached, or wandering.
ell rituals for
rvrng Derngs (e
g.' tor peopre, rice, orjars) serve to ensure thatthe semengat
is stror:gly associated
with the body (see Figure S.Zl. for ti" prrp"*
"f
this chapter. I will concentrate on the other si-de of th..o,n, ,t.'r,i",iinn,
semengat.
.
Althougl
the literature
reports only occurrences
Ieading to aggres_
siye antu, the same phenomenon
may give rise to benevoleit onirr, r.".,
petara- I know at least one instance of a living human who
"pf""*a
*
a pelarc
to someone in a dream and acted as a benevolent entity, giving
hint support.ro
become a wealthy man, This nran, whom I will call Aki,
(grandtather),
is knowledgeable
in oral history and customary law. He
j,ook n.l.1i1
,waltior
raids in his youth and, in particular,
t * ,i.ri...a"a
rrlrcnalty by h.rving plentiful
rice harvcsts and acquiring a precious jar
and other valuable goods. He attributes this success a afr, irrr'irrO
ible entity) of a mirn still alive, whom l will call Apai Bujang, *f.o_ f,.
met in a dream long ago. In the dream, many people wer" gathur.d o.,
"
longhouse veranda.
Apai Bujang singled out aii,and tola Ir'i_,
lV...
'"iff
oe.i.y(r
t rrch and powerful);
you will be seated in the upper part of the
gallery (dudok
ke atas nuan: i.e., in the section ofth" i,o"r" ,"r..u.a ru,
important lnen)."
.
This.dream
contains a very typical encounter with an 4,.1/a who
.,blesses,,
\sumpah) the dretmer. Sumpah refers to an utterance that creates what is
said, whether favorable or not, forexample, an oath, blessing, o.
"u.r..
ill.n
favorable,
a sumpah antu is the greatest help an individuil
."n ,.."iu". ,n
258
VERoNreu[ B6cuEr
the example above, the striking element is that the arfa is associatecl with a
living human who, at least temporarily and independently of his conscious
will, is metanorphosed (bebali).
'lhe
dream carries mauy implicatiols, but
only one matters here: a living being may metamorphose into an invisible
being while still alive. The ethnographic literature does mention cases of
aggressive aflrrl associated with living humans, although the authors do not
in these cases refer to the principle of metamorphosis/transformation.
ln
addition to the example of Uchibori presented above, Roth (19g0,
t: 232)
cites Grant who recounts how a Melanau asked for refuge after having
stabbed a man in a dream and becoming threatened with reprisals by the
man's son-in-law should the man die of his wounds.
There are thus, in my view, two dimensions of the same reality (living
beings versus invisible entities), ontologically distinct as much as inti-
mately associated, Iban villagers never confuse those two dimensions.
They reserve very different practices for them. For any signilicant living
being (hunrans,
rice, precious jars), these practices are guidec.l by tl.rree
concerns: to secure the life force to the,,body,'to ensure the living be-
ing's vitality and health; to protect the semengat from attack by invisible
entities; and to shield the living being against human sorcery. When
confronted with an invisible entity, the primary concern is to act ilppro_
priately with this social being: drive it away if it is aggressive or establish
a social relationship by giving food to it when it is benevolent. The lban
address both dimensions at the same time, in rice rituals for instance
when they secure the rice as a living being and propitiate it as an invis-
ible entity. The two dimensions of existence differ, yet they co-exist {nd
people are constantly on the lookout for such transitions betweelt thern.
There are continuous passages in the form ofvarieties ofmctanorpho$is
and transformation.
Thus, multiple metamorphoses interlink the two basic dirtrensions
ofbeing in the Iban universe: living beings and invisible entities. In a
previous work (Beguet
2006), I have investigated lban animism in terms
of different types of metamorphosis/transfonnation,
each type involving
passageways in either direction between living beings and invisible entities.
One of these passageways is the metamorphosis, more or less temporary
or permanent, of the semengat into an 4nf, as mentioned above. [n this
chapter, I will confine myself to a single passageway, in the reverse sense:
the transformation of the dead into animals and birds (see
also Bguet
2OO7).
IBAN PETiRA As TRANSFoRMED ANcEsroRs
259
Figure 5r. Mnchaagpadl. Layar woman binding a clump of ripened paddy during a
hdrvest ritual in order to secure the rjce semedgat to it.
260 VfRoNIQUE BiGUET
Animal and Bird Ancestrality through Transformation
Here, I will discuss a principal form of lban ancestrality, one which results
from the transformation of the dead into animals and birds. We should
remember, however, that other forms exist, such as that which results from
the Iban dead turning into dew that nourishes rice, which allows the lban to
say that 'rice is our ancestor" (padi aki'izi'kami) (Sather 1980a: 93).
The dead that I am concerned with here are not these dead who go to the
Sebayan afterworld to ultimately turn into dew, however, but a minorily of
the dead who remain close to the living as aggressive or benevolent entities.
As helpers, they will be called tua', a term translated in the literature as
"familiar spirits." When the spirits are helping shamans or bards, they are
called yang. The most famous tua' or yang are the mythical hero Keling or
Kumang (Masing 1997,\ 22), the mythical dragon-snake (nabau), and the
wild.cat (remaung) (Harrisson and Sandin 196& 76-77, Richards 19721 79,
81, Sandin 1977: 189, fn. 10, Sather 1988: 178). Thus, the benevolent dead are
subsumed within the group ofbeings who are in a helping relationship with
humans.
Any invisible entity in this type ofrelationship is regarded a s a petara.lhe
benevolent dead are said to
"become petara" (nyadi petara) or the petura of
the people whom th ey help (petara kitai, petara diri'empu).In some respects,
they are not treated like the ordinary dead. Uchibori (1984, 1978: Chapter
8) reports on the "enshrinement" ofthe dead, a process which is concernecl
with the special status afforded to some individual deceased persons. He
notes three types of enshrinement, which have fallen into disuse: perching
the casket on a platform reserved for renowned warriors; burial in a Iocation
outside the cemetery at a man's request before his death; and rearrangernent
a posteriori of a normal burial place after the appearance of an aninal
associated with the deceased. Although the Iban distinguish between these
thrcc t)?es, Uchibori (1984:17) notes that they tend to stress the similarities
amoug them. AII three differ from ordinary practice and signifi that the dead
have "become pefara" (nyadi petara).-lheir special treatment is mainly due to
their presence in the world of the living and their more frequent interactions
with the living. Uchibori (i984: 17) reports that they are considered to be
"still aliv' (agi idup), as may be seen in the practice of cancelling the period
ofmourning if an event confirms that the deceased has become a 'divinityi'
These deceased are also not celebratcd during the gawni artl, the rite that
finally installs the other dead in the land of Sebayan.
IBAN PETARA As TR,A.NsFotrMED
ANc[s t.oRs
My interest is in the dead rvho have becone pel4ra,
especially those rvho
correspond to Uchibori! third type, which, in my opinion, ao., ,,ot inuot,r"
tne irppexri'lltce
of an animal associated with the deceased,,,but
indeed thc
trinstbrmction
ofthe deceased into an animal. Belore addressing
thrs porrrt,
I necd to show llrat th(,pel4/4
can clelrly be considered
rn...,lir.-
-'
The
petara
as Ancestors
In this section, I will briefly reyiew the ethnographic
literature with refer
ence to three characteristics
of the Iban prto-ro, thry hou. be.om. inulr_
tble following separations;
tl.rey do not live in another *orta (i...,'it.
tfr.
Christian heaven) even though they occupy separate territorics; and they
are listecl in Iban genealogies.
.
1le ethnographic
riterature
systematicalry
differentiates
the di'inities
rnro dr erent cxtegories, begiunjng
with the rlost powerful ones of all, the
great pctarc
-
the seven children of Raja
jembu
and Enclu Kurnang Baku
Pelimplng (Sandin
1994, Sather t994b:37). The tlvo most imf"ri",r,
ii,la*rr
are Singalang
Burong, who is associated
with war and omens,
""a
i^ir",f,""
l]::llj,":,1::':: l"ho
has c.Lrsrody of rhe rand and ,vhose fau_ ir.u,.i"a r,y
rirn)ers. A ol ihese
..gods.,
live in the sky (/nrrgif)
or unclerground,
unlike
living beings and irvisible beings wbo int uUt tt. .ortt
fii,rrrr r,ri.'
"
Just as benevolent
to humans are the mythical he.oe. whu i,,habit
the.Panggau
or Gelong rivers. It is sti ulclear where these rivers are,
the locnrion bejng thought to be of "this
world,, bur
",
,n.
"lg" "iri"
.f.y
(Masing
19q7, I: 22, S.ttlrer 1994b:
jll.
The rnosr f.rmous he.oes
"ie
Kellne a,rd
nrs cnlnp.urions _
or. depending
on rhe versjon,
his brother Laia. ftei are
i::T:::1",1 :llll"n
r. Kun,un
.,no
Lulons, rwo sisters. rh" n,,r on"i",ns
rne rovctrest.ln(l
most.lccomplished
ofall womeu (Sather
l994br 34 ff.),.I1re
llnl:.1 ]1"-"r
tra-ce their,lrneage
back ro Nabau, a Irry,f,i."t ar"gon_rnoL"
wno,wns lhelrindlorher
ofKeling and Kumang (Richrrds
1988r 2Jq).
'Ilrc
world is also houre to the deatl (men
oa Slebayan).They
ar.."lf..,r",
ca.lled orang Scbayatr ("people
ofsebaya ri,) or antu Seb,ayani..,"",r,li.
.",,ry
of Sebayan"). They reach this land of ihe a"oa by .rostng ti. ;;;;;; ;;"""
which is a rnl4hical place and a real location as well (see
S-ather, this volume)_
In Iban myths, humans and invisible entities originally lived i, ,fr. r.,".
world, intermarrying
and relating to each other as eq,rils. The hr_"rr._arg*
yictorious
in a conflict with the nnta. Wishing to avenge thei. a"f",r,, J" iu".
invited everyone to a feast, during which tt.y got it . l"_"", irr"i'r"a
VaRoNreuE BicuEr
rubbed their eyes with coirl, thus making themselves completely invisible to
them (Barrett
1993: 243, Roth 1980, I:225-226). Ever since, a thin transparent
filn has separated one group from the other, similar to the translucent skin
of a fruit, either an eggplant or tb,e lemayorg palm, depentling on tbe
ycrsion
(Masing 1997, I: 21, Sather 2001: lll-tI5, Uchibori 1978: 298-299, my orvn data).
This rnyth clearly establishes visibility/invisibility as thc rnajor axis of human
arf, relationships, as noted by Sather (1993a,
199lb) and Barrctt (t993).
In the myths, a similar process o[separation involvcs hunrans, the great
petara, and the myLhical heroes.
At the very beginning of genealogical time, thc frr.st hunran aucestor.s
lived together, as one, with the gods (perara) and mlthic spirit,heroes
(Orung Panggau). Later the gods and heroes dc parted fr orr this .our ntotl
origin-pluce, which is identilied ill n]ost lban traditions with the Kapuas
region ofwestern Kalinantan. Each migrated to a separate region of the
cosmos, leaving humankind (nrensia), the spirits (arari), nnd the naiural
species of plants and aninrais in possession o['this worlcl'
Qlunya
nr),
that is to say, of the visible world of everyday waking experience. . . .
Finally, although they are now separated, and live apart in diftirent
regiotts o[ the cosmos, the gods and spirit-heroes continlle to tirke i1n
active interest in the living Iban (Sather 1994b: 4-5).
Thus, humans and invisible entities dwell not in different utliverses, but
in different rgions or territories (menoa)t of lhe same universe- Indeed,
before leaving, the invisible entities told tlte huntans ltolv to get to thcir trew
territories so that they could visit anci ask for assistrnce. lhe
iounleys
to
these territories forn the core of the long ritual invocations recited by the
bards (Masing 1997, I: 114).
AlthoLrgh occupying different territories, pet4r'c and hulnaus lead sintilar
lives. The great petara, the my'thical heroes, the dead, and even sorte r/rltl
live in longhouses, grow rice, abide by customary law (.tdat), prirctice tugrrry,
and have genealogies. They all use charnrs and benefit fionr the assistilnce
of t'amiliar spirits (Sandin
1967: 251, Sather 1994b: 73). In fact, say the Iban,
some ofthe invisitrle entities, the great pefard, taught humarls this way of life
through the intermediary ofculture heroes.5
Besides this relationship, there are additional conDections bctwecn
invisible entities and hurnirlrs,lvhich suggest that tl]ey are indccd iulcestors,
at least the ones wha are great petara. and mythical heroes. Antong them rre
the many genealogical ties that link different invisible entities to humans (see
IDAN PETARA As TRANsFoRMED
ANcEsrcRs
also Sather, this volume). AIr examPlc may be found in a genealogy collected
lru Sandin
(
tgg4, J15, Cenealogy
XIX) that be8ins with a man' Betir who. en-
;:;;;-"r;,'
;ntu s"'"'i'b"v"n
Bulu This antu had two sons' Telichu
and'i'elichai.
During a hunting exPedition'
Telichu transformed
himselfbe-
fbre his brother's
eye s into
^r.untu
gerasi' the giant hunter who eagerly seks
u,,, ,f't" ,r'rlr,rgu, of those humans who ignore dreams and omens' He.then
,"fa no t rt,f*, that he would become i;visible' while remaining
available
f.J.l-
"n.oun*rs,
and that he would teach him how to protect himself
;;;;;;'';;"
of aggressor
(Sather 1ee4b: 35' Sandin 1ee4: 8e)' He therebv
foun.ledthelineageoitheantugerasiwho,thoughgenerallydangerousto
truntnnr, o"."rio,l-olly
give charms to shamans or balds and become
their
:i,-lf
i", ,plritC'
(Gornes lglL 199' Sandin 1994:147'
fn' 27)' SimPurai'
one
oi',tr.
-y,tti"ut
tt"ro es (orang Panggau) and Kelings comPa"i""::
i::t"ltt
i.r...a.a
frcrIt the antugerasi
Telichu; hence his volatile temPerament'
;l;;jt^;;"Jt
.".flict beiveen humans and mlthical heroes' thus forcing
thc two groups to part company
(Sathe t I994b:32-34)'
Telicf,ai, Telichu's brothcr, is considered
to be an ancestor ofhumans
too'
n.*-J,tg
,o Saribas genealogies' he had many children as a result
of his
"ri^
*,in tt.*t *ariba, inciuding Si Gundi
who wasthe father.of Keling'
,t
"
-o*
f"rnn,r, of all m1'thical heroes
(Sather 1994b: 35) Telichai
was
a-lso the grandfather
of a human' Serapoh'
who learned the.rules of pefara
,rr"tr^irr"g
"tta
fr,*"ral rites and taught them to humans Clltur,a]1;estors
il";;";";
played a preponderani
role in receiving and teaching knowl-
;;i;"
"";
*"; hu-"ns wi'o are
Part
of the genealogies
Flowever'
they do
""i "Opr",
ao.".,"mPorary
iba; and no specific rituals are.held for them'
th"yl.long
to o long-gone
past' unlike the benevolent invisible
entities'
Sandin
(1994) and Sather
(1994a)' in
Particular'
Provide
many examples
of
tiris intertwi ing ofhuman and invisible entitylineages
and its-consequences
f", J* tU"" *i"f universe and lban ritual Here' I primarily wish to call
,rttention to the lact that kinshiP ties are said to
ioin
the two groups Kinship
tiesalsoextendtawhatWesternerscallnaturalphenomena.Fireengendered
a htlman, SinPang
lmpang A star of the Pleiades married
a human' The
;;;;';;;;":,";
heliedieach
rlce-growins Practices
to sera Guntins'6
Benevolent
Invisible
Entities
as Transformed
Ancestors
Antong all of the antuwho
illhabit the Iban universe' I will next discuss
those iho help
(nolong) humans ln othe! words' I have selected a group
264
VfRoNIQUE
BiGUET
of beings of the Iban cultural
environment
who are collectively
referred
;;;-p;rrt
in the general sense of benevolent
entities'
when the petara
sive assistance
in any
Prestige-generating
activiry'
they ar:.*td
l".:"llll:l
itr" ftf"" ftgtarpl
of'humuns'
Similar\'
the Iban repeatedly,,stale
,that
our
-r"^it"t.itt fi.l.,
the dead ones)
provide us with suPPort"
1rki' ini' kitdi
irili'iiii"rti"ed,
the dead *io h"lp the livins are said.to
"become
netafi" hyqdi
petara). Some transform
themselves
into animals' Out of all
ii. a"," ir",fr.*a
I haue extracted
a few examples,
mostly recent ones,
;;;#;;;
deceased
indMduals
who remained
near the living'
'These
;;;:;;;;
pt"t" to be either harmful or benevolent'
Here' I will not
;;;;;;;;;;"*ples
of aggression
bv such individuals'
although
such
"**p1aa
"r"
ua tt rmerous as are those of support'
1. When termites
(sampok) pile up earth over a burial place':lt
d*:"::1
is believed
to be watching
over his or her descendants
and actrng as i La
i:a.ii*
roitn"l.
until lg;78, the villace of Rumah Manah shared a cemetery
*;;;;;;;;..;,
"illages'
It then oplned its own cemeterv'
in which there
ure two termite mounds
(for a picture of such mounds' see Figure
2 5 on
Fisure5.3.Nsinluburons.P_,opi,l":l?;:.3iJilili"';liilil::kil1liil""i,l
snake reoresenting
an auspiclous omen'
;.ilL.t|;;';ifr"
tpirit of a dead relatiue ihe ritual served to initiate a relalionship
wirlr the deceased as a helping spirit'
IBAN PETARA As TRANSFoRMED ANcEsroRs 265
p. 140). One ofthen, has been growing for some years on a woman's grave.
Her son and daughter-in-law would not say much on this subject, but their
succcss had been considerable and the villagers attribute it to the dead
woman. Another termite mound started to emerge in 1993 but on a mant
grave this time. As with the other mound, the deceased's heirs have seen
a marked inprovement (ensar) in their conditions of life. The husband's
salary has considerably increased over a few years.
2. In Rumah Manah, a couple and one oftheir parents were buried outside
the cemetery, The first to be buried was the husband, a man whose powers
were so exceptional that he could foretell the day of his death. He asked
that he be buried near his pepper garden rather than in the cemetery (for
a reason unknown to me). The villagers complied. His family followed his
example.
3. Some dead benefactors may turn into animals, especially into a snake,
whicl, will make one or more appearances. In these cases, the animal acts as
an omen
(burorg)
in the same way as would an augural bird. For example,
a couple living in town found a python curled up in a cauldron. After
consultation with an omen specialist, the snake was declared a good omen,
The couple then performed a propitiatory rite, to which they invited thir
relatives and importalrt figures from the bazaar (see Figure 5.3). During the
ritual, one question bothered the audience: did anyone in the household
have a dream?
'lhe
negative answer was responded to with perplexity. A
few days later, a small group of villagers again debated the question aDd
categorically denied that such an omen could occur without a dream that
reveals the identity of thc invisible entity (erda' potut nadai mimpi).If tha
imnredirte family did not have such a dream, the search for one should
continuc among the extendecl lamily. Subsequently, it was found out that the
wil'e's brother had dreamed about his great-grandmother. A precedent did,
in fact, exist in the wifet lineage. The grandfather of her grandmother had
become a snake. Thus, it became piausible to attribute this metamorphosis
to her great-grandmother, although an additional unambiguous drearn was
needed b confirm the hypothesis.
4. A few years ago, a snake appeared in the bilik of an old widow. Her son-
in-law carried the animal to thejungle because it is forbidden in such cases
to kill it. A rite was organized to propitiate this good omen, which led to
the woman acquiring a gong that year A neighbor's dream identifled t]re
snake as the woman's dead husband. This metamorphosis seemed perfectly
266
V6RoNleuE BfcuET
plausible to the villagers, who insisted that all members ofthe mant lineage
had turned into snakes, albeit different species (pct,rru,
sido xyaLli ular
magang). In fact, only some members had become snakes, but ilpparently
enough to be called a Iineage, a succession ofgenerations (p"turun1i,
5. A womln dreamed that both her parents haci turncci into pytl)ons upon
their deaths. A plthon did often visit her horne, thus enabling h", ,o
".qu,r. valuable goods: ajar, gold
iewels,
and tableware. Harvests also became mo.e
abundant thereafter. In addition, the dead parents wcre srid to hivc irssisted
in increasing the rice crops ofirnother oftheir children.
6. As a child, a man now living in town disliked school and decidcd to drop
out in the sixth grade. His narnesake ancestor visited him in a rJreallr, gave
him a clrarrn (tandok
pclandok, the tusk of a mouse dcer), and encouraged
him to stay at school. The child obeyed. Later, he also acquired a charm to
improve ofatorical skills (ubat berandau), in the form ofa turtle (kura).
One
day while carrying it in a bag, he was followed by a mous e deer (pclandok),
which kept pace and fled only when chased away with stones but r.cpeatedly
returned. A dream clarified that his narnesake ancestor hitd metanlorphosed
into a mouse deer
'lhe
informant added that the mouse deer is a good
friend ofkara'turtles (cf.
stories ofsuch friendship presentecl by Roth ilaO,
lr 311,342 ff ard Sutlive 1992: 108-109). Thanks to this support, the child is
today a right
.hand
man of the Deputy
prime
M in ister of SJrrwak,
7. Long ago, a man named Ungging dreamed that some pieces of chopped
firewood represented a python into which his grandfather had been trans_
formed, and that his grandfather was going to support him during ir rvarrior
raid.7 Ungging died young and single but renowned fbr his bravery. Many
villagers remember the metamorphosis of Ungging,s grandfather
and it
seems that he was not satisfied with jLrst helping his grandson. One villager
claims that the entire village used to hold propitiatory rites for this al]ta who
could lreal sickness, but who reportedly later became malevolent (nyadi
buyu') and is now gone. The villager attributes this about face to lack of
ritualistic consideration by the villagers, on the one hand, and to ilrtensive
Iogging of the jungle,
which reduces the snake's habitat, on the other.
The aboye ethnographic examples in varying ways exhibit two of the three
types of enshrinement mentioned by Uchibori that I referred to above.
For instance, example 2 illustrates the possibility that a man, who has
received a special burial, can become a petara. An ilnportant man .rsl(ed to
IBAN PETARA As TRANSFoRMED ANcEsroRs
be buried outside the cemetery and his descendants clearly expected him
to become a per4la (although he does not seem to have become one yet).
This phenomenon thus inversely mirrors the case of people dying early
oi through ill-fated deaths (i.e., in accidents, in giving birth) (see Salher,
this volurne).
ILrst
as such people are likelier to turn into predatory entitics,
so are exceptionally successful living beings likelier to t'Jtn inlo petara.
Nevertheless, this view is not otherwise supported by my data as the dead
rvho helped their descendants did not necessarily accomplish great feats
during their lifetimes.
The second form of enshrinement that my ethnographic examples
illustrtte is the metamorphosis of some individuals into animals. Although
not all deceased who become petara turn into animals, these examples are
very intcresting because it is especially through them that humankind is
Iinked to the perara of the pantheon and to the mythical heroes who are
bircis or other animals.
Before discussing these examples, I want to stress that, in Rumah Manah at
least, the dead who b ecome petara are not regarded to be alive and their funeral
rites ale fully carried out, in contrast with Uchibori's data on this point. In fact,
the rites are even accentuated. Thus, a deceased individual may be honored
sevcral times at thegdwai antu,thehn lrite ofinstalling the dead in the land
ofSebayan. The deceased nay be thanked either for precious
iars
or for other
valuable goods bequeathed to the living or for posthumous assistance. This
can happen in two ways, For example, a man had been especially prosperous
and had given his children a jar each, which is quite rare. After his death, he
was lrorrored sevcral times in differentSawai antuby each ofhis children, who
were scflttered in dillerent villages. In a different case, a deceased individual
was honored by successive descendants in his apartment in successive gawai
dnlri. As custon had it, his son honored him at the frrst gawai antu after his
death, ir 1956. In 1988, his grandson reiterated the rite, thus expressing his
gratitude to his grandfather who was also supporting him in his activities and
thus had become a, petarc for him as well. Once started, such a cycle must
repeat itself an odd number of times, i.e., at least three times. Thus, the next
generrtion will have to honor this ancestor al the next gawai antu.
Transformation of the Dead into an Animal
Contemporary transformation of the dead into animals is attested in oral
history, thus linking the past and the current times. An episode of oral
viRoNtQUE
BiGUET
history exemPlines.:i:
:*-:,t::'t;:
:i:'J:':i
lil::i:L::il:'il:::i:
murder oflban bY Kantu warnors'
;il:t;;;;"onto
the longhouse
roof where she cries and calls for
il;;;G;;sks
that the first brother metamorPhose
i\to a nabau
snake, the second
into a gibbon' and the third into a crocodile
(Sandin
r994:96).
Birds are omens,S as are, to a lesser extent' other animals
(Freeman
,s{o,^ii-it,Jensen
1974:89'
Perham in Roth 1980' I:191-201'
sandin
it i, r-n,rs5,
Sutt'"'
1980b: xxxii' 1985: 6) Their most eminent
reP;e-
;;.,'G"i;";
Burong'
is the Brahminv
kite lli' 56115-in-|n1v'
who
;;;;; ;;;*."1'
are blrds' other Iiving things mov also actas o','''ens'
il;ii;
;;; ;;;"
."*".:"u Y::JJJt'#ffi Tff i:J"::;:::
(
redons)' PYthons
kawa')'
coral
ffi;':"'ili;;i,i,,s
j
tt"t'*
1e8s: 6-7) some animals and insects
;ir;;:,;.
"-."'
andire believed
to be servants
of the
'ilivinitv" of
,i" *i
""a
t"t crops' Simpulang
Gana
e
These creilur;s.1nc|1fe
tne
"* "i'iJ""snt,"t,caterpillais
(ula"t balu)' the tarsier
(ingkct)' slow Ioris
i;;;;*-;:;d
orrizard(menarat)'
barking
deer
(kljarg)' mouse deer
(
otlrmdok\'porcuPine
(landak)
'
bear
(beriang)' wild pig
Qani)'
and
:il;;.;.i;;i
(sather te85: 7)
ro
There are Iimits to such cirtegorizd
,ar,
",
J"rln", irrrr)
notes, as the same animal
may represent
nore than
.i" *ri .r
"-.r.
According
to my findings,
Iban villagers seem more
,"ir""i1.i".f.
"r
what lies Lehind
the appearance
of an animal
than to
giYe it a
Pre-set
identity'
How do Iban specialists
interPret
these creatures?
For
:rther'
(t'::.:]'
Lhey"ir. .orportul'[orms
that divinities
of lhe same nalne lrave Dorroweu'
oranimalorbirdsconcealinganctttu.ForFreeman(1960176,78),tlreyare
;il;;.;il"ted
into biids or representations
of divinities"For
Perham
(in Roth 1980, l: 200), they u" u"itut forms possessed
by the spirits of
invisible
beings' The
Prevailing
interPretation
is ihus to associate
them with
invisible entities'
WhatdolbanvillagerssaywhenadeceasedindividualaPPearsasa
orthon or a deer? They say that he or she has
"become" (n1'adi) a python or a
::#ffi;;;;; -
'ti"
t'ut ot'n on its aPPearance
or is associated
with
i. rn.r. U","g"ote
into existence
as a result of transformations
-
lasting
transformations
in the case of some people
They arc the animals
This
assertionisalsomadeinam}th.Afatherpursueshisdaughter'sabductors
ini frnd, u tot"t tttat leads him to their longhouses'
ItAN PETARA As TRANS!oRMED ANcEs'aoRs
As he observcd the longhouses he realized that although the people there
behaved in a humal manner, they werc actually tigers in the shape of
mcn (Sandin 1994:81).
Similarly, when Simpang Impang, a culture hero, Iooks after the children
of his ldoptivc mothcr, they turn out to be rats (Sather 1994a: 145).
'Ihe
true n ture ol ontu is not so much anthropomorphic as transfornlative. It
is becsuse of thjs fundamental characteristic that such animals will not be
eaten: because Ihey are antu, and potentially beneyolent ones. In my vrew,
this testilies to the very real link with the animal too, Sather (this volume)
notes righ y thirt an aiternative Iban expression to
"beconing
an animal"
is "conceirling an antu" (karLtng anta). I have recorded a similar use of the
expression ksrong antu, but applied to humans. The villagers from Runrah
Manah say that the trtole spectacular successes of particular people are the
result of these people concealing an alla. Their body is like an envelope to
that invisible entity Some examples given also suggest a kind oftransforma-
tion ol the body; in one case, the palms or feet ofa man became like a stone
charm afier he had been blessed by an arlu.ll
'flre
lirk to the animal world is perceived as a real one created by nreta-
morphosis. The transformatioD ofdeceased iudividuals into snakes notably
places thcm right next fo the m)'thical heroes who cre snakes, suggesting
tlrat thc sarne pherlomenon may explrrin the origin of the Orang Panggau,
the mythical heroes. The analogy may be developed further. The mltbical
heroes lre descendar.rts of the mythical dragon nabau, but they may owe this
liliation as much to a successiye series of transformations as to genealogi-
cal ties. This, iu .rny case, is suggested by sone recent examples of
"snake
lineages."
'lhese
lineages are the result ofseveral bilaterally related deceased
individuals being transformed into the same kind of animal. Belonging to
a snake lineage increases the likelihood of transfbrmation into a snake, but
such a person does not come into this world as a snake. He or she becomes
a snake through later metamorphosis. lf several individuals undergo this
trarrsfbrnratlon, tlre villagers will conceive of tlrem as a "lircagd' (peturun).
ln this sense, the lineages consist, not of a series of generations of animals,
but rather of a series of transformed individuals who together produce a
same-species lineaplc.
When a transformation of contemporary deceased individuals occurs,
this represeDts the very sarne process that brought forth the mythical heroes
and the great pelrlrd. In my vie\t thc most sigrificant betevolent entities are
VfRoNIQUE B6GUET
transformed
ancestorsl2 who, through their transformation,
crated an ancestral
link between humans and the bird and animal worlds. Their tronJ..udon
differs from others in degree but not in kind. The relatively recentty tr.nrfo...a
dead are les powerful.
They help only a few people, usualiy their irn_.ai"r"
descendants,
over the span of one generation. In the cases of tnnsfornation
t
nave gathered, a deceased individual will seldom help someone and contirue
to give assistance to others after that person,s deuth. The support networks
of today's helping ancestors are personalized and must be recreatetl in each
generation.
By comparison, the m',thical heroes and the great pe,lrd assist
a much broader range of people over both time ,nd ,p"."iln so far as their
support is personalized,
it is also much more powerfrrl in terms of thc success
they permit. When someone achieves region_wide renown in a prestigious walk
oflife, the success is always due to assistance from an important entit'y.
Finally, among the lban in contrast to some hunter-gatherer
societies, a
hunted animal is by default an ordinary living being thai may be consumed
without any process of
"despiritualizationl'
ihe atitucle r.o.fl.ultf .ioug"",
however, should an animal behav
tra'sformed ancesto,, tr,i. u"uoriyi"l'u;tt:|il1:;t":ll:LtgJ,'.:,':,i,"?
the ancestor's descendants
must obey a dietary taboo on the irnimrl.,lhus,
two thirds of llumah Manah villagers refuse to eirt python, being re;ted in
one way or another to an ancestor who becanre one,,Ihe remainirig third are
l:l:.::
*,.Pnn.". This. snake species, as such, has not become iacred. By
detault. animals
- and plants are thus living beings that may be cousumed.
But should an animal prove to be u deceused indi,idual, u il.,"ry irfron i,
irnposed on his or her descendants
and an appropriate social relutionsh,p r"
required. A livin being may always become an invisible entity, and vice versa.
,
The Iban differ from hunter-gatherers
also in another majo, *uy. n_ong
the latter, the "divinities"
are animals that offer themselves
to Irunro.r. ona
are hunted and consumed with proper rituals. This is not generally the case
among the lban although the dead may someti'res tranJform themselves
into deer which are hunted. The main characteristic
of the pefrtra, the
benevolent entities, is not so much to support humans by being huntcd and
providing
them with meat, as to help them in their prestigiou, uia"aot ingr.
Conclusion
Are there ancestors and a cult ofancestors among the Iban? The minority of
the dead who stay around the living as benevolent antu might be considered
IBAN PETARA As TRANSFoRMED ANcEsroRs
ancestors. They are said to have become petara and, are trcated accordingly
with offerings and requests for support. This minority of the dead is thus
merged with the larger group ofbenevolent entities (pfara), which includes
the gteat petara and the mythical heroes. As petara, they are propitiated
in rituals as someones specifi,c petara, In this respect, these ancestors
indeed represent a "selected few among the multitude ofordinary deceased
forebearsl' although they have not obtained their position as a result of a
"special rite. . . held to install these selected few as ancestors" (Sellato 2002:
l4). In this regard, Iban ancestors are not like the
rypical
ancestors usually
encountered in the ethnography of ancestor worship for whom Sellato
attempts to restrict use ofthe word.
Ingold's (2000) conception of ancestrality helps us to grasp the key
significance of these
"selected
few" among the Iban. His definition of
ancestrality encompasses multiple relationships with beings of various
origins: humans of the past, spirits ofthe landscape, original creators, etc. In
his understanding, the relationships with all these beings are crucial aspects
of ancestrality which express the importance of animisrn. This is the case
also for the Iban, among whom animism covers the ability to relate properly
to a multitude of invisible beings ofvarious origins (human, animal, plant,
or mineral), some benevolent, some malevolent,
This vast web of relationships represents a "sphere of nurture" in which
humans are grown (lngold 2000: 144). The notion ofsuch a sphere of nurture
is echoed in the Iban expression lhat the petara or cfti' ini' sustain the life of
humans. By this, they mean that the petara (including the deceased who have
become pctata) help support humans in their activities, especially in prestige-
generating activities: dce-growing, acquisition ofvaluable goods, headhunting,
weaving, mastering customary law, public speaking or ritual chants, and,
rcently, getting well-paid
jobs
in the civil service or business sectors. No one
can succeed in any of these fields without the help of an invisible entify. Support
is generally accorded to one individual, usually by a close kin of him, and
ceases at his death. Relationships are constandy being created and recreated
by everybody, thus providing each person with a unique web of relationships.
Some of the dead who have become petara transform themselves into
animals and are treated as omens. This transformation establishes a connec-
tion between the ancestors, on the one hand, and augural birds, snakes, and
animals, on the other. This conclusion pertains also to the greal petqrq,who
are birds or animals, anci the mythical heroes, who are snakes. I propose that
these beings are actually transformed ancestors. This form of ancestralit)'
272 V6aonrque Bicuer
differs significantly from the one reported for hunter-gatherers in many
parts ofthe world. Indeed, among the Iban, it is based mainly on suPPort in
prestige-generating activities instead of in hunting.
Metamorphosis is thus the main process by which ancestorshiP is created.
The same process is at work in the creation ofthe malevolent 4fi11,/ too
'l.he
antu gerasi, for example, resulted from Telichut transformation. lt is also
well known in the literature that women who died during childbirth turnccl
into such malevolent spirits. This avenue of research merits further worl<
Transformation can occur before death (as with Telichu or in the example
of the living villager who was transformed into a
Per4ra
for someone else),
even though today transformation most often involves deceased individuals.
There are other significant metamorphoses, such as the transformation of
deceased individuals into dew and from dew into rice and pua'blankets
The transformation ofprecious
jars into deer is yet another example ofsuch
metamorphoses not dealt with here.
These are some examples of metamorphosis that involve a passage be-
tween trvo dimensions ofreality: the dimension ofhuman and living beings
and that of invisible entities. Both dimensions and the frultiple forms of
passages from one to another through metamorphosis are central features
of the Iban animist universe, and much more imPortant as such than the
Christian Western dichotomies between the living and the dead, this world
and the afterworld. Metamorphosis is a grand opening to the Iban world.
Acknowledgments
I wish to express my gratitude to the editors of this book' to Dr Cliflord
Sather, and to two anonymous reviewers for very relevant and helpful
commelts on
Previous
versions of this
PaPer.
My thanks also go to Peter
Frost for th translation ofthis chapter and to Dr. Kenneth Sillander fbr the
tedious task of editing the English writing. My lieldwork was funclecl by a
scholarship from the Canada ASEAN Center and sponsored by the Sarawak
Museum. I also beuefitted trom the assistance ofthe Mailis Adat Isti Adat, in
particular from |ayl
Langub, and from the Tun fugah
Foundation, inclLrdirg
from Clifiord Sather who was working there at the time. I wish to thank all
ofthese people, as well as the Iban villagers who received me a secnntl time
after a five-month stint of fieldwork for my master'\ degree in 1991, during
which I was initiated into village life and the lban language. My doctoral
studies were made possible by a scholarship from the Social Sciences tnd
I!,rN PETARA As TRANSFoRMED ANcEsroRs 273
Hum:ruities Research Council ofCanada and a scholarship for study abroad
fronr thc F-olds pour la Formation de Chercheurs et dAide i la Recherchc.
Notes
I llis lieldwork followed a 6ve nronth previous st.y in l99l for rny rnastert degree
in a Yillirgc on the nrirl-l,iryar, nenr Belong ir) the Sccoxd Division ofsara*,ak. I havc
renamed tlris vilhge Runah Manah.lior more details on the ficldwork, sec B6guct
(2006:
ch pter 3).
2 Metantorphosis ofhurnans is a conrmoD phenomenon among the Iban (Biguct
2006:
(lhaptcr
4), but it is iDvoluntary and uDcontrolled. Only sorcerers can metil,
morplrose deliberately. The antu also have this power and it is one of their main
characteristics. In addition, they can cause living beings to be transformed (Bdguct
2006r Ohapter 6), a point that is seldom addressed i|l the ethnographic literature
except for examples of petrilication.
3
'Ihe
samc closeness with dreams is attested in a dilferent coDtext, as in shaman-
ism for instance, except that the movement of the shaman'.s semergaf is controlled
by the rvords he is uttering (Freeman 1967: 317, Sather 2001: 29, Uchibori I978: 15).
4 The term me oo, n\etni\B place of origin, is relative. It is the longhouse from
which one comes, the river basin of one's village and other villages, or even one,s
country when liviDg abroad. It is the territory that one is Dative to and/or inhabits.
5 Cultrrre heroes are born from the union of a hunran with an invisible being or
a "natural element" (6rc, wind, a star, etc.), but they are human ancestors and not
invisiblc eDtities
6 Othcr diverse combinations include the marriage ofa culture hero with a porcu-
pine's daughter and that ofa wonlan with an antu gcrasi.
7
'llrc.ssociation
betwecn a log and a python comes up in the Iiterature (Ling
Roth
re80).
8
'[hc
tcrm lr ro,]g ("bird") is the root ofthe word uscd to designatc thc practice of
augrrry: 1rr'brrrorg.
9 Sinlpulang Gana is married to a porcupine's daughter
l0 Sinrpulang Gana also has minor attendants who occasionally appear. All of
thenr a.c snrallxninrals or insects (Sathcr
1985:7).
ll It links this process to another form of transfornration, the petriicatioo ofany living
bcing into stonc (lr.rlll) by an r'rrl!. That process is at the bnsis ofthe crcatioll ofcharms:
the particular use is suggested by the a,lrI,J in a dream (lliguct 2006: clupter 6).
12 This conclusion may apply to all significant cnla, be they benevolent or rna-
ievolent. the anfir
3crasi,
for example, resulted from
'lelichu!
transforrrtation. Tjlis
274
VtRoNreur
BtcuEr
avenue of research, howevet was not ilvestigated
and merits further work. h the
past, such transformations cr_ruld occur befbre death (as
with
.l,elichu),
even though
today they always involve deceased individuals.
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