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Historically, the Iban were known for their warrior culture, particularly the practice of headhunting, which was a central element of their societal structure and spiritual beliefs until the early 20th century. The Iban’s traditional social units are based around longhouses, which serve as communal living spaces for extended families.
Ritual textiles woven by Iban women are used in the Bird Festival and in the past used to receive trophy heads. The ritual textiles have specific engkeramba (anthropomorphic) motifs that represent igi balang (trophy head), tiang ranyai (shrine pole), cultural heroes of Panggau and Gelong, deities, and antu gerasi (demon figure).
It is during this time of year that many Dayak hold authentic ritual festivals and weddings (Melah Pinang [10] or Gawai Lelabi) take place. Most Iban will hold minor rites called bedara which can be bedara mata (an unripe offering) inside the family bilek room or bedara mansau (a ripe offering) at the family ruai gallery.
The Iban conducted sacred ritual ceremonies with special and complex incantations to invoke god's blessings, which were associated with headhunting. An example was the Bird Festival in the Saribas/Skrang region and Proper Festival in the Baleh region, both required for men of the tribes to become effective warriors.
Iban's are considered proto-Malays, however their culture has been unaffected by Islamic culture. [2] While many communities have converted to Christianity, some continue to follow indigenous beliefs. [3] Customary practices, including jural rules, rituals, and social customs, are collectively known as adat and remain
Textile from the Iban. Pua Kumbu is a traditional patterned multicolored ceremonial cotton cloth used by the Iban people in Sarawak, Malaysia. [1] [2] [3] In 2012, Pua Kumbu was declared as a Malaysian Fine Art National Heritage by the National Heritage Department of Malaysia. [4]
English: Pua (ritual cloth), Borneo, Malaysia, Iban people, late 19th - early 20th century, cotton, vegetable dyes, plain weave, warp ikat, embroidery, Honolulu Museum of Art, accession 14445.1 Date Taken in 2014
[38] [39] Papan turai was used to record ritual poems such as pengap and sabak. [40] As the Iban language had no extant writing system of its own, Christian missionaries adopted the Latin alphabet in an attempt to codify the language. [6] A Sea Dyak Dictionary, published in 1900, was important in the early development of the Iban as a written ...