The Uses of Balau Among the Melanau Community Especially in The Traditional Healing Rituals
Abstract
Indigenous Knowledge is defined by UNESCO as the understandings, skills and philosophies that is formed by communities through a continuous interaction between the natural surroundings with its people. The traditions and customs of indigenous knowledge particularly traditional healing rituals within the Melanau community are being forgotten as they are less practice nowadays. Balau or scientifically known as mextroxylon sagu is a plant that is closely related to the traditional healing practice and the way of life of the Melanau community. The objectives of the paper are: to identify the uses of balau among the Melanau community and to analyse the types and practices of Melanau traditional healing rituals. This paper uses a qualitative approach which includes in-depth interview and observation to gather all the data. The findings of this paper are: there are many functions of balau in the daily use of the Melanau community as a source of food, income and healing; and there are several types of traditional healing rituals that already not practice by the Melanau community due to the availability of modern medicine and religious conversion. To preserve the practices of indigenous knowledge mainly traditional healing rituals are challenging due to the rapid modernization.
Downloads
References
Amir, J. (1998). Adat resam kaum Melanau. In A. Wing (Ed.), Sejarah, Budaya dan Realiti Baru Kaum Melanau (Pp. 32-50). Kuching: Lembaga Amanah Kebajikan Kaum Melanau Sarawak.
Amir, J. (2015). Masyarakat Melanau di Sarawak. Kuala Lumpur: Institut Terjemahan & Buku Malaysia Berhad.
Amir, J., Sandal, R., & Khalik, R. A. (2007). The Sarawakiana Series Culture & Heritage. Dakan:The Diminishing Medium of Melanau Tradisional Healing. Kuching:Pustaka Negeri Sarawak.
Benzie, I. F. F., & Galor, S. W. (2011). Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects. 2nd edition. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press/Taylor & Francis
Bruchac, M. (2014). Indigenous Knowledge and Traditional Knowledge. In Smith, C. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. New York: Springer
Department of Statistic Malaysia. (2020). Sarawak Population. Retrieved from https://sarawak.gov.my/web/home/article_view/240/175/
Flach, M. (1977). Sago palm (Metroxylon sagu Rottb.) promoting the conservation and use of underutilized and neglected crops. 13. Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Rome
Grenier. L. (1998). Working with indigenous knowledge: a guide for researchers. The International Development Research Centre: Canada
Haque, M. I., Chowdhury, A. B. M. A., Shahjahan, M., & Harun, M. G. D. (2018). Traditional healing practices in rural Bangladesh: a qualitative investigation. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 18(62), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s1 2906-018-2129-5
Ishak, S. Z. A., Yaakub, A. N., Daud, A, I., Hussin, S. H., & Yusuf, A. (2021). Constraints Affecting the Increase of Sago Production: A Case of Melanau Rural Youth’s Participation in Sago Industry in Sarawak, Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(14), 51-70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v11-i14/8529
Ishak, S. Z. A., Taibi, M. & Yaakub, A. N. (2017). The impact of sago crop commercialization programs on gender roles of Melanau communities in Sarawak, Malaysia. Asian Social Science, 12(13), 35-44. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v13n12p35
Jawol, E., Mersat, N. I., Salleh, M. S., Sanggin, S. E., Sarok, A., Kiong, W. S., & Jamain, M. A. H. B. (2018). Indigenous Knowledge among Iban Kua’ in Samarahan District, Sarawak: Some Observations. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(14), 117–126. http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v8-i14/5033
Jeffrey, H. S. C., Yoke, K.W., & Andiappan, V. (2018). Synthesis of Sustainable Sago Based Value Chain via Fuzzy Optimization Approach. MATEC Web of Conferences 152(01004), 1-19
Konuma, H. (2014). Studies on the characteristic of Sago Starch in Relation to Growth Environment of Sago Palm (Metroxylon sagu Rottb.) and its Value Addition to Wheat Flour as a Food Starch Ingredient. [Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Agricultural Science], University of Tsukuba.
Klanalong, S. (1999). Properties and Utilization of Sago Palm in Thailand. The first Regional Round Table Meeting on Sustainable Small Scale Sago Starch Extraction and Utilization. FAO and KAPI.
Metaragakusuma, A. P., Katsuya, o., & Bai, H. (2015). An Overview of The Traditional Use of Sago for Sago-based Food Industry in Indonesia. ICoA Conference Proceedings, 3(2016), 119-124.
Mugok, R. B. (2015). The Life of Christian Melanau in Sarawak: A Case Study of Kampung Bungan Besar, Matu. Degree thesis, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.
Mundy, P., & Compton. J. L. (1991). Indigenous Communication and Indigenous Knowledge. Development Communication Report 74, 1991/3. Clearinghouse on Development Communication, Arlington, VA
Naim, H. M., Yaakub, A. N., & Hamdan, D. A. A. (2016). Commercialization of Sago through Estate Plantation Scheme in Sarawak: The Way Forward. International Journal of Agronomy, 1-6
Puji, I. Z., Ibrahim, M., Nordin, Z. S., Abdullah, I., Salleh, N., Husain, M., & Ghani, M. A. (2014).Analisa Terhadap Adat dan Keistimewaan Masyarakat Melanau di Sarawak. Seminar Antarabangsa Dakwah & Etnik 2014: Da'wah & Ethnicity: Multidisciplinary Perspective. Retrieved from https://www.ukm.my/rsde/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/09-adat-Malanau.pdf
Rafee, Y. M., Arshad, A. H. A., Siri, H., Dim, A. R., & Samaroon, M. J. (2017). Bilum: A Cultural Object of the Pagan Melanau. Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences 12 (5), 6968-6973
Senanayake, S. G. J. N. (2006). Indigenous knowledge as a key to sustainable development. Journal of Agricultural Sciences- Sri Lanka, 2(1).
Zakaria, M., & Mohd. M. A. (2010). Traditional Malay Medicinal Plants. Subang Jaya, Selangor: Institut Terjemahan Negara Malaysia Berhad.
Zarina, I., Ibrahim, M., Nordin, A., Abdullah, I., Salleh, N., & Ghani, M. (2014). Kepercayaan Etnik Melanau Dari Sudut Pandang Islam: Suatu Analisa. e-Proceeding of the World Conference on Integration of Knowledge (WCIK2014).https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275529137_KEPERCAYAAN_ET NIK_MELANAU_DARI_SUDUT_PANDANG_ISLAM_SUATU_ANALISA
