A Review of Ngayau: A Tapestry of Dayak Culture, Myth, and History
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| Ngayau: A tapestry of Dayak Culture, Myth, and History. Photo credit: thre Publisher. |
Title: Ngayau
Authors: R. Masri Sareb Putra & M.S. Gumelar
Publication Year: 2014
Publisher: Essence
Length: vii + 377 pages
ISBN: 978-1-312-05206-2
Reviewer: Rani Handajani
🌍 DAYAK TODAY | YOGYAKARTA: To weave a compelling narrative that encapsulates the essence of a people's identity— its myths, its history, its philosophy of existence— is no simple feat. It demands a storyteller with an intimate knowledge of the culture and an acute sensitivity to historical nuance.
The storyteller must possess the ability to craft prose that resonates with both the scholarly and the imaginative mind, bridging the gap between academic rigor and creative expression.
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Ngayau, co-authored by R. Masri Sareb Putra and M.S. Gumelar, achieves this with an almost hypnotic grace. It is a novel that refuses to be confined within a single genre, standing at the crossroads of folklore, historical epic, and science fiction, all while being deeply rooted in the Dayak worldview.
Ngayau: Beyond the Hunt for Heads
For the uninitiated, Ngayau may seem an unsettling title. The word itself refers to the ancient Dayak practice of headhunting—a tradition widely misunderstood by outsiders as a barbaric relic of the past. However, within the intricate philosophy of the Dayak, ngayau was never about mindless bloodlust. It was a sacred rite, a defense mechanism, a means of ensuring survival in a world that often sought to erase them.
Through the lens of this novel, the authors peel back the layers of sensationalism and misunderstanding that have long shrouded this practice. They transport the reader into the very soul of the Dayak people, illuminating their ancestral wisdom, their fierce resilience, and their unique way of perceiving the universe. This is not merely a book about headhunting; it is a book about survival, about identity, about the unyielding force of cultural continuity in the face of historical upheaval.
A Story Spanning Millennia
The narrative begins not in a jungle clearing, nor in a colonial-era courtroom, but in the cold void of space. An interstellar ship descends upon Earth, carrying beings from the planet Dyak. These extraterrestrial progenitors seed life on Borneo, and over the course of thousands of years, their descendants evolve into what we now recognize as the indigenous Dayak peoples.
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This premise —one that blends mythology with speculative fiction— sets the tone for the entire novel. The story does not merely trace the history of the Dayak; it challenges the reader to reconsider the very notion of origins. Are we bound solely by the constraints of recorded history, or do our myths contain truths deeper than facts?
From this cosmic genesis, the novel unfolds across the centuries. The reader is guided through the emergence of Dayak civilization, the early encounters with outsiders, and the tectonic shifts brought about by colonial powers.
The narrative then plunges into one of the darkest chapters in modern Borneo’s history— the massacre of ethnic Chinese communities in 1967, an event that was as much a result of political manipulation as it was of interethnic tensions. Here, the authors paint a scene of profound tragedy, yet never succumb to reductionist binaries of good versus evil. Instead, they lay bare the raw complexities of history, illustrating how peace can so easily be fractured by forces beyond the people's control.
The Evolution of Ngayau
In its early incarnations, ngayau was a practice tied to survival—an act of protection, expansion, and spiritual affirmation. As the novel progresses, so too does the meaning of ngayau.
The book charts its transformation from a physical act to a metaphorical struggle. By the late 19th century, the practice had ceased in its traditional form, following a landmark agreement at Tumbang Anoi in 1894, where Dayak leaders collectively decided to abandon headhunting as a cultural rite.
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Yet, the spirit of ngayau never truly vanished. In the modern era, it resurfaces in new and unexpected ways: in the fight to preserve Dayak lands from exploitation, in the battle for indigenous rights, in the intellectual and creative endeavors of the people.
In this sense, ngayau becomes a symbol not of violence, but of perseverance, of the undying will to assert one’s identity in an ever-changing world.
A Masterpiece of Cross-Genre Storytelling
What makes Ngayau truly remarkable is its ability to defy categorization. It is at once an anthropological study, a historical novel, and a work of speculative fiction. It delves into the metaphysical, suggesting that ancestral spirits may still walk among us, shaping our fate in ways unseen. It explores the political, revealing how colonialism and globalization have reshaped Dayak existence. And it embraces the philosophical, posing questions about identity, belonging, and what it means to be human.
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Even as the novel reaches its climax—with a university professor, infused with the spirit of Panglima Burung, leading a movement toward a new dawn—the reader is left with a lingering question: Is this a work of history or prophecy?
Final Thoughts
To read Ngayau is to embark on a journey that spans time and space, myth and reality, past and future. It is a novel that refuses to be merely read—it must be absorbed, contemplated, and, ultimately, felt.
Masri Sareb Putra and M.S. Gumelar have gifted us not just a book, but a bridge—one that connects the Dayak past to its present, and perhaps, to a future still waiting to be written. *)