History of Iban

The Ibans are a branch of the Dayak peoples of Borneo.In Malaysia,most Ibans
are located in Sarawak,a small portion in Sabah and some in west Malaysia. They
were formerly known during the colonial period by the British as Sea Dayaks. Ibans
were renowned for practising headhunting and tribal/territorial expansion. A long time
ago, being a very strong and successful warring tribe, the Ibans were a very feared
tribe in Borneo. They speak the Ibanlanguage.
Today, the days of headhunting and piracy are long gone and in has come the
modern era of globalization and technology for the Ibans. The Iban population is
concentrated in Sarawak, Brunei, and in the West Kalimantan region of Indonesia.
They live in longhouses called rumah panjai. Most of the Iban longhouses are
equipped with modern facilities such as electricity and water supply and other
facilities such as (tar sealed) roads, telephone lines and the internet. Younger Ibans are
mostly found in urban areas and visit their hometowns during the holidays. The Ibans
today are becoming increasingly urbanised while (surprisingly) retaining most of their
traditional heritage and culture.
The origin of the name Iban is a mystery, although many theories exist. During
the British colonial era, the Ibans were called Sea Dayaks. Some believe that the
word Ibanwas an ancient original Iban word for people or man. The modern-day Iban
word forpeople or man is mensia, a slightly modified Malay loan word of the same
meaning (manusia).
The Ibans were the original inhabitants of Borneo Island. Like the other Dayak
tribes, they were originally farmers, hunters, and gatherers. Not much is known about
Iban people before the arrival of the Western expeditions to Asia. Nothing was ever
recorded by any voyagers about them.
The Ibans were unfortunately branded for being pioneers of headhunting.
Headhunting among the Ibans is believed to have started when the lands occupied by
the Ibans became over-populated. In those days, before the arrival of western
civilization, intruding on lands belonging to other tribes resulted in death.
Confrontation was the only way of survival.
History and Purpose of Ngajat Dance among Iban
The Ibans perform a unique dance called the ngajat. It serves many purposes
depending on the occasion. Ngajat is a warrior dance of the Iban tribe in Sarawak. It is
said that ngajat is performed by the warriors upon their successful return, to celebrate
their victory in battle. Today, the dance is performed as part of the Gawai
Dayak celebrations.When performing the dance, the male dancers wear a headgear
made from the tail feathers of the hornbill (though nowadays most likely artificial
feather may be used, to save the birds). He holds a long sword in one hand and an
ornately decorated shield in the other. Around his chest are necklaces made of beads
and cowrie shells, and he wore a ceremonial cawat, or loincloth.The dancer make
slow movements, as though stalking the enemy. This is interspersed with dramatic
prances as though he is leaping forward to attack. The dance is performed
accompanied by the music from tribal musical instruments, usually percussions,
including the enkeromong, bendai, canang and dumbak or ketebong. During Gawais,
it is used to entertain the people who in the olden days enjoy graceful ngajats as a
form of entertainment. The Gawai Dayak festival is celebrated every year on the 1st
of June, at the end of the harvest season, to worship the Lord Sempulang Gana. On
this day, the Ibans get together to celebrate, often visiting each other. The Iban
traditional dance, thengajat, is performed accompanied by the taboh and gendang, the
Ibans traditional music. Iban men and women have different styles of ngajat. The
ngajat involves a lot of precise body-turning movements. The ngajat for men is more
aggressive and depicts a man going to war, or a bird flying (as a respect to the Iban
god of war, Singalang Burong). The womens form of ngajat consists of soft, graceful
movements with very precise body turns. Each ngajat is accompanied by the taboh or
the body.
Moreover, it symbolize the happy ending of another cycle of padi planting
season, welcoming the God of Farming to the feast and giving thanks for the bountiful
and successful harvest. In the past, Ngajat Semain was performed by young Iban
boys and girls who have just complete their Ngajat lessons taught to them after the
heavy work of clearing the forest and burning season is over. The tempo of this Ngajat
performed by the girls is slow and graceful displaying the beautiful design pattern of
the newly completed Pua Kumbu woven by the girls during the farming cycle.
As for the young boys, the tempo is also slow displaying their martial artistic and
balancing skills in preparation to enter their adulthood life. This means that they will
take more adult responsibility in the next farming season. This is also an opportunity
for them to display their beautiful costumes, headgears, amulets such as Engkerimok,
Simpai, Tumpa Bala and of course their new fully decorated swords and its design.
At the present day, the Ngajat music and dance are perform to preserve the Iban
Culture and for the younger generation to value the unique of it.
There are several types of Ngajat but the star attraction is the Ngajat Lesong,
which showcases the strength of the male dancer. Ngajat Lesong is performed using a
mortar that weighs as much as 20 kilograms and is held by the warrior dancer using
his teeth.




Reference links :
http://sunburst88.blogspot.com/2010/11/ngajat.html
http://ibancustoms.wordpress.com/iban-history-in-brief/
http://www.thetravelword.com/2012/10/14/the-headhunters-of-borneo/