MUKIM KUALA BALAI: GOLDEN AGE .1HISTORY

3.2 MUKIM KUALA BALAI: GOLDEN AGE 3.2.1HISTORY

Kuala Balai located in the Kuala Belait district was once a busy lively community and as well as the centre of administration in Kuala Belait, it was once the largest community in the west of the country and its river system was their main travel system of transferring goods and people from upstream Mukim Labi. “Strategically situated on the confluence of two rivers it was a flourishing trading post were Damar resin and other jungle produce were traded for Chinese pottery and various condiments” (Dols, 2015). The area comprises of a 142-sq km

with 15 km distance from the current Belait jetty today (Mahidin, 1992), the name itself was said to believe to have derived from two elements from the village; first ‘Balai’ meant

gathering as the village was known for its frequent gathering of people from those passing by to more import ant gatherings to discuss village issues, while ‘Kuala’ was given as the strategic location of the area between two rives hence the name ‘Kuala Balai’ (Mahidin, 1992).

There were about 500 people living in Kuala Balai in the 1970s with about 30 families working together producing sago, there was once enough people to support a school system. The river was important to them as it provided a two way travel system from Kuala Balai to Labi, and people commute every day to bring in goods to sell or to go to work.

3.2.2 ECONOMY

The main economy of what was once a bustling community was mainly agricultural work, they were padi farmers, fishermen and they were known for their ambulong or Sago. They The main economy of what was once a bustling community was mainly agricultural work, they were padi farmers, fishermen and they were known for their ambulong or Sago. They

Their Sago or ambulong comes from a tree called rumbia or its scientific name the Metroxylon sagu, this tree produces a powder called ambulong which they could use to substitute rice. For them to get the sago, thee trees are cut down and are cut into lengths of four to six feet long, these branches are then transported through the river to be sent to the villages and to extract them involves two processes; First is to scrape the pieces of rumbia and the second process is the stomping of the sago powder (Mahidin, 1992).

Much of these have changed since the discovery of oil and the reallocation of the administration centre for Belait, people have left the agricultural work to do service based work in towns and have also migrated out from their dwellings to be closer to their schools and jobs. Modernization has also affected the way that they produced the sago, there exist a number of sago processing factories but this type of work has declined in favour for a more rewarding and less labour intensive jobs in the offices and towns. Now none of these sago factories are in operational and are left abandoned (Dols, 2015).

3.2.3 PEOPLE, CULTURE AND SOCIETY

As a place that was once home to a busy area of economic and cultural activity Kuala Balai was not only home to the Belait ethnic but it was also home to other indigenous groups such as; the Meting , Dali, Dusun, Murut, Bong and the Belait. These ethnic groups now have long migrated out or has been assimilated into the wider society of other groups, there are however still a number of settlers from the Belait and Dusun ethnic groups living in Kuala Balai. While these groups are said to live in groups of their own and only come together when there are business to discuss according to (Mahidin, 1992). The Belait ethnic group was estimated to be about around 800 people living in the Kuala Balai area however these numbers have decreased and as well as those who can communicate with the Belait language. The Belait As a place that was once home to a busy area of economic and cultural activity Kuala Balai was not only home to the Belait ethnic but it was also home to other indigenous groups such as; the Meting , Dali, Dusun, Murut, Bong and the Belait. These ethnic groups now have long migrated out or has been assimilated into the wider society of other groups, there are however still a number of settlers from the Belait and Dusun ethnic groups living in Kuala Balai. While these groups are said to live in groups of their own and only come together when there are business to discuss according to (Mahidin, 1992). The Belait ethnic group was estimated to be about around 800 people living in the Kuala Balai area however these numbers have decreased and as well as those who can communicate with the Belait language. The Belait

It is important that I explain the differences of what constitute as a tradition and what is considered a ritual in the practices of the Belait ethnic group. The practice of ‘Beras Rujut’ is considered as a tradition that has been passed down through generations of ethnic Belaits and holds no elements of animism or religious rites while the practices of; ‘Mengalai padi’, ‘Mengalai’ during the wedding and calling the spirit of the ill are categorised as rituals in the sense that these involve specific rites and sequence that involves supernatural beings.

Before the conversion to Islam the Belaits practiced animisms, this can be seen from their culture of ‘mengalai padi’, mengalai padi is considered a ritual that takes place after the harvesting of padi and before it is to be consumed. This ritual is widely practiced by the Belait ethnic only, family members would gather and bring their harvest to those who possess the knowledge to mengalai . The process of mengalai usually involves elderly women chanting and dancing in circles to bless the harvested rice, music is also played during the ritual with specific songs and tunes while they make offerings to the animistic gods. There are also those who mengalai to cure illnesses and those with this knowledge usually can also tell fortunes is newly married couples. However this has all been left behind since the arrival of Islam and its rising influence in Brunei, where King (1994) mentioned that the Beliats of 1000 individu als were ‘predominantly Islamic’.

The culture that was practiced in Kuala Balai is predominantly of the Belait ethnic, and these cultural practices as mentioned above have been left behind since the conversion to Islam and modernization. Some of the cultural practices that was once part the Belait ethnic group are; the hunting of animals, the rituals and customs before, during and after marriage, the ritual and customs during and after pregnancy, the ritual of calling of the spirit of the ill and the harvest ritual as discussed earlier.

When agriculture was their main source economy the Belaits were hunters in the forests, they would use dogs as an aid in hunting down preys and they c ould be equipped with ‘ Cangkuk ’ or ‘ Tebuliang ’ which are similar to spears and functions as one as well. This practice of hunting and gathering then slowly dispersed as they shift to the selling and buying of goods in the market (Ramle, 2014)

There are a number of customs and rituals that are involved in a Belait marriage ceremony, before the actual day the couple are not allowed to leave their respective houses for a week, where for the bride to be her body will be covered in ceremonial powder that believed to prevent any unwanted tragedies like death while both groom and bride will be treated like kings and queens in their homes during the seven day confinement (Ramle, 2014).

There are similarities when it comes to wedding practices that the Belaits have with other groups like the Malays, for example the before Islam the gr oom’s family must send gifts to the bride’s family such as; ‘Aluk berujut’ which will be carried by a female of middle aged and possess good manners and is married, then clothes and jewellery to be placed on a bronze like holder which will be carried by any of the family members who possess good manners and is not handicapped and the third item is the ‘saput ikap’ which is a blow-dart like device that has pine leaves tied to it and is only allowed to be brought by a male member who also possess good manners and is not handicapped ( Jeludin ).

During the wedding day the groom’s family brings upon ‘Beras Rujut’ which is uncooked rice placed into a big bronze chalice to be presented to the bride’s family, family members

from both sides are then required to take turns in scooping the rice and putting it back in without dropping a single grain of rice. This process requires four men and four women from either side of the family with the condition that these individuals possess good manners, middle aged, woman who is not widowed, married and is not handicapped and the whole process is repeated for a total of 16 times. After the activity of ‘Beras rujut’ is done, the rice is then given to the bride’s family and is to be eaten the next day ( Jeludin ). This particular

tradition however is still practiced today because they believed that it does not go against the teachings of Islam and probably the only element of their culture that they can still hold on to.

On the same day of the wedding, the couple are required to sit on a ‘tawak’ an object similar to a gong that is used in traditional music, where the bride will be required to be dressed only in cloth and the groom half naked. Then approaching from behind is the person whom has

knowledge of ‘ mengalai ’ this person carries with her a live chicken which she then slit the throat and pours the blood form the chicken onto the couple while chanting unknown words ( Jeludin ) (Ramle, 2014).

After the wedding ceremony there are taboos that needed to be avoided, the newlyweds are then required to be confined in their home for another one week in fear of being disturbed by supernatural beings, as these beings are capable of human emotions and has to ability to capture humans into their supernatural world (Ramle, 2014). According to Jeludin Bakir approximately at six in the morning three days after the wedding ceremony the newlyweds are then accompanied by four to five people either for a walk or row by boat towards the rising sun at about two hundred feet distance they return and this is called ‘pali’ then the newlyweds are brought back to the groom’s house along with ‘beras rujut’ and ‘saput ikap’. Upon reaching the house, they are greeted by an old lady who prepares items such as a chalice made of bronze filled with water, an axe, a grindstone, one ‘liang jiwang’ and one ‘sari membangun’ as they enter the bride’s right toe is then sprayed with water. They return to the bride’s house the following day with kitchen tools such as pots and plates ( Jeludin ).

Another ritual that was practiced by the Kuala Balai residents primarily the Belait ethnic is the superstition during pregnancy; according to Ramle (2014) as soon as the woman knows that she is pregnant she has to hammer a nail onto the door of her house, this process is done three times. It is believed that it is to ward off any unwanted incidents and to ensure the safe delivery of the baby the health of the mother, on the day of labour the husband is required to pull out the nail and if is not done properly, the mother and baby might be in danger of death.

After the safe delivery of the baby, the mother is then under a forty day strict diet and confinement from activities. Such activities according to Ramle (2014) involves sewing, or threading needle, trim their finger nails, to clean or wash their hair and to pluck their hair for

a period of forty days. In terms of food they are not allowed to eat shrimp paste, prawns, food a period of forty days. In terms of food they are not allowed to eat shrimp paste, prawns, food

Lastly, the ritual of calling of the spirit of the ill is similar to the harvest festival ‘ mengalai ’ we can consider them as witch doctors or shamans because they heal illnesses and require no payment of some sort (Ramle, 2014).

While these traditions and rituals were part of the Belait ethnic natives, none but one is still in practice today that is the tradition of ‘Beras rujut’. It can be argued that the rituals and wedding practices are in fact boundary makers as they are significant to the Belait culture however it is no longer true since the majority of them have converted into Islam.

Other cultural practices that the Belaits are known for are music and their unique law and how items are symbolized or given meaning as something of value and wealth to them. Part of the culture of the settlers of Kuala Balai primarily the Belait ethnic is music, it is in the form of traditional instruments that are similar to other ethnic group in Brunei and elsewhere the difference is in the type of songs that they play and the occasions that they play them in. According to (Ahmad, 1999) there exists 15 types of music or tunes that the Belait ethnic play; ibang-ibang, Gendang parang, Gendang Lambat, Seri Alam, Gendang Belait, Pengalaian, Tiga-tiga, Labik, Gendang Bangkar, Gendang Pancak, GendangDombak, Gendang Belait (kedua), Langkas nakud Dalai, Perakung and Dua -dua . However just like their traditional practices some of these music no longer practiced since their conversion to Islam for example gendang perakong is said to be animistic in nature where they play tribute to spirits and use the skulls of human remains as part of their performance (Ahmad, 1999).

Before the use of currency in the country the Belaits used gongs as symbols of property and wealth, these gongs played an important part of their lives as these gongs can be used as payment for punishable acts and as well as wedding gifts. The Belaits have their own unwritten law that they practice for example (Shariffuddin, 1980) in his article if a man and a woman is found guilty of adultery the man will be fined two cannons or four pieces of gongs Before the use of currency in the country the Belaits used gongs as symbols of property and wealth, these gongs played an important part of their lives as these gongs can be used as payment for punishable acts and as well as wedding gifts. The Belaits have their own unwritten law that they practice for example (Shariffuddin, 1980) in his article if a man and a woman is found guilty of adultery the man will be fined two cannons or four pieces of gongs

The cultural practices of the Belaits as I have mentioned above have are merely folktales today partly because of its animistic nature that was once practiced by the native Belaits before they converted into Islam, meant they had to abandon such practices. However even if ‘Beras rujut’ is acceptable today it is becoming less significant in the lives of modern Belait ethnics, I will explain further in the following chapters.

In this chapter I have presented a profile of Brunei Darussalam as a gateway to understand the background of the country, this is important as it will provide a clear picture of reference for the macro level argument in chapter four. A past account of Kuala Balai follows after to narrow down the scope of this research thesis, this will provide a better understanding of the origins of the Belait ethnic and help to better visualize the narratives that will be presented in chapters four and five.