Tambok..

Are there really spirits inside the SACRED TAMBOKS?

It doesn't take a very observant person to notice that during any gawai ceremonies, a few brightly coloured tamboks (baskets) with the covers securely closed with handkerchiefs or pieces of cloth.

To the Bidayuh, these tamboks are highly sacred. They call them "jumuo simongi" which literally means "tamboks of the spirits". Being sacred and special, these small items are usually made from the best species of rattan.

But what are actually inside? Spirits, of course - at least that was what the tukang gawai told our fathers, and what our father re-told us when we were kids. So as what my sumuk @grandma told me...Too bad my babai @ grandpa wasnt here to tell me more bout it...Miss U so mucchh dearest babai!!

And, what or whose spirits are these?

It depends on the gawai ceremonies. There are two categories of gawai. One category consists of the gawai connected with padi cultivation. Under this category, there are many different gawai.

Every season - starting before the clearing of forest till harvesting - has a gawai of their own. To name a few, they are gawai lakang, gawai nuluk, gawai tumu padi, and gawai pori puun. During all these gawai, the tamboks of the spirits are placed at the centre of the house or hut where the gawai are carried out.

They are not allowed to be disturbed or even touched except by the tukang gawai themselves. Even then, they touch or lift them only when it is necessary. Otherwise, the sacred tamboks are left alone. They don't have the slightest intention to annoy the rice spirit(s) inside for fear that the latter won't give them a good harvest.

The farmers strongly believe that the rice spirits are inside. But of course no one, not even the tukang gawais themselves, could tell us for sure how the rice spirits look like. Nobody has ever seen them.

What-ever the look, those spirits must be small. Otherwise they will surely face great difficulties finding enough room in such small tamboks.

NO man could ever see the rice spirit in-side. All that can be seen are a few paddy grains, pogang (lemang), sukuoi (rice wrapped in leaves) and sikapur (crushed bettelnut) for the spirit. I was told that the grains would be sown together with the rest of the seedlings during the coming season.

During the Gawai Sowa, that is the biggest rice gawai, one in every family will proceed to a stream with the tamboks. This is an occasion called ngiraga, which is an occasion for them to fetch the rice spirits and good grains given to them by the spirits form a stream.

On a bamboo platform above the stream, the tukang gawai will enchant traditional prayers, asking the rice spirits to give them quality seedlings for them to plant the next season. The place an empty white piece of cloth in the stream below the platform. True enough, when the cloth is lifted after they have finished the prayers, there are paddy grains. Where do the grains come from. The tukang gawai claim that they are given by the rice spirits.

The rice spirits together with the grains are then placed inside each of the tambok. The grains will later be planted with the others as representatives from the rice spirits and as encouragement for the rest of the seedlings to grow healthy. They are kept in the tamboks till the pantang ends. During this period, the mouth of the tamboks are always securely sealed, perhaps to prevent the rice spirits from escaping.

The other category of the gawai is gawai for curing the sick. There are again many different gawai under this category but each has the same purpose - to bring back wandering souls of the sick person.

When a person is sick, it is believed that his or her soul leaves the living body and wanders in the wild. The soul must be saved and brought back so that the patient could recover. The task of the tukang gawai is to carry out "search and rescue" by carrying out the correct type and procedure of the gawais. Once the soul is rescued, it is then carefully placed inside the tamboks till the last day of the pantang period which could range from a mere half day to eight days.

When the pantang is over, it is the time to again unite the soul with the patient. This reunion is done by carefully bringing the tambok close to the patient. The tukang gawai put his hand in-side the tambok through the now slightly open mouth, take the soul in-side, then blow it towards the ears of the patient. The soul enters the body through the ears.

Again, the human soul must be very tiny, otherwise how could it enters the body through the ears?

Perhaps because of its tiny size, the tukang gawai sometimes find difficulties locating it during the search and rescue task.

* Article courtesy of Bidayuh.com*

Gosh, this is interesting...I never know bout the miracle the tambok can do....I tot its just something u can put stuff in it....This is UNBELIEVABLE!!!