ANN APPLEToN

William D. Wilder Borneo Research Council Monograph Series, No 7. l,hillips:Borneo Research Council, pp. 121-174.

Rappiport, R.A. 1999. Ritual and ReLigion in thc lvteking oJ Lh rrrnill. Car)rl)ridge:

Cambridge University Press.

Sather, C. 2000. The Shaman as an Undoer of Life: lban Eschatology and the Role

ofthe Shamin in Saribas tban Death Riturls.ln Borneo 2000 (Proceedings oftheSixth Biehnial Borneo Research ConJercnce). Etllnicitl, Culture .k l,Socl?l/. llcl. M.Lei8h. Malaysia: Universiti Malaysia Sxrawak, pp. 229-329-

Sather, C. 2003. 'fransformations of Self and Community in Saril>ns lbarr lle.rthRituals. In lourneys oJ the SouL. Anthtopological Studies oJ Dcath, Burial, antlRcbLriol Pra.tices in Bor eo. Ed. William D. Wilder. Phillips, USA: llorneoResearch Council, pp, t75 247.

Shepard, G.H. 2002. Three Days for Weeping: Dreams, Emotions, and Death in thePeruvian Amazon. Medica! Anthropology Quarleriy 16 (N.S.) (2)r 200-229.

Sillander, K. 2004. Actihg Authoritatively: How Authotity Is ExprcsscLl through Sociul

Actiofi amongthe Bentian of Indonesian Borneo. Ph.D. dissertation, UniversityofHelsinki. Swedish School ofSocial Science Publications No 17. Helsinki: University ofHelsinki Press.

Trawick, M. 1992. Notes on Lot e in a Tamil Fatlily. Betkeley: University of Califor-nia Press.

Tnrner, V 1974. Dramas, Fields, and Metaphors: syfibolic action in human society.

Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Turner, V 1985. On fre E.lge of the B]ash.'n|cson: University ofArizona Press.

Yearbook ofStatistics Sarcwak.2005. Dep^rtment ofStatistics Malaysia, Srrawak.

CHeprEn 5

lban Petara as Transformed Ancestors

Vdronique Bdguet

Hrs clrApltiR pRoposEs rHAT THE Ibanpet4r4, known in the litera-ture mostly as "gods" (see, e.9., Jensen 1974), are in fact ancestors.

Furthermore, it argues that lhe petara are transformed ancestors

taking animal and bird form, thus pointing to a connection between the hu-mu and animal realms. The chapter adopts an approach to lban ancestor-

ship inspired by recent theory of animism (e.g., Bird-David 1999, Clammer,

Poirier, and Schwimmer 2004a, Descola 2005, Ingold 2000). This approach

to animism was already developed in my dissertation (Bdguet 2006), whichpresents a more extensive analysis ofthe s,rbject.

The Iban, like most Borneo peoples (see Sellato 2002;1), have noterm for "ancestor" and refer to deceased forebears collectively as 4ki'irri'(grandparents) or orangdulu (people ofthe past). The overwhelmingmojority of the deceased go to Sebayan ("the land of the dead") and are

separated from the living through various funeral rites (Uchibori 1978).

After a period of time, the deceased eventually disappear and become dewthat nourishes plants, thus "transubstantiating" into rice (Sather 1980a,

Uclribori 1978) ar.d pua', the sacred blankets, the production of whichinvolves the absorption of dew (Drake l99r). Among the Iban, funeralritcs hold a central place, and the literature insists on their function ofseparating the living from the dead, as stressed by Hertz (1960). A smallminority, however, remains near the living and will, in some cases, be

propitiated through special rites in exchange for their support in humanundertakings. The dead who support humans are said "to b ecome petara"(nyadi petara).'Ihere is thus a clear link between the minority of dead

who becorle ancestors and the pera,"a.

viRcNreuE BEcuEr

In the Iban ethnography, the terms Petara and antu usually mean'

respectively, "gods" or "divinities of the pantheon," and "malevolent, ag-

gressive beings." Both terms, however, also have a more general meaning in

their daily usage by villagers. The universe is inhabited by invisible entities

of various origins - antu in the generic sense, including benevolent and

malevolent beings. When they are malevolent, they may be referred to as

anta in a narrow sense. Among the malevolent beings (ant4 in this narrow

sense), there are several subgroups, including the succubi, the incubi, the

"forest spiritsj' and the most terrifying of all, the antu Serasi, in short, all

beings that are more or less dangerous and live near humans.

When the antu (in the generic sense) are benevolent, it is more Polite to

callthem petara.Yillagers use the exPression jako'siru' for such usage (7ato'

means "word, language" and sira' "attentive, sensitive"). Out of resPect, the

term petera is applied to any entity that seems kindly disposed to humans.

I will use the expression'the great Petara" to distinguish those that the

literature calls lgodd' from other benevolent entities. The Sreat Petart, the

mythical heroes, the dead, and any other beings of human or non-human

origin that "support" humans constitute sub-groups within the larg€r

category ofbenevolent beings, which itselfis,a category ofinvisible entities.

Perara is thus a term of address that encomPasses speci{ic categories

of benevolent invisible entities. The petara have earned this name mainly

by supporting human undertakings in Prestige'generating spheres of lile

including: rice cultivation and acquisition of prestige obiects, tlre most

valuable ofwhich are Chinese jars; manufacture ofpaa'blankets (woven by

women); warfare and headhunting; mastery of ritual chants; administration

ol customary law and oratory; and, more recently, success at school and

subsequent well-paid employment iil the civil service and business sectors

(see Figure 5.1).

Through this support, it is said that the petara "sustain the life of us

humans" (ngidup kitai mensia). Ngidap is the verbal form of the root idup,

which is translated by "life, alive, living, give life, support" by Richards

(1988: 112). This support is absolutely necessary for any human to succeed.

|ust as often, the villagers say that the'human forebears" (aki'ini) 'sustain

us humansl thus highlighting the close bond that unites the two grouPs.

T'here are, however, differences among the gte^t petara, the mythical

heroes, the dead who have become petara, and other benevolent art, of

human or non-human origin. The difference is one in degree rather than in

kind, especia\ in degrees of power. The greal Petera have the most Power.

IBAN PETARA As TRANSFoRMED ANcEsroRs

tiSurc 5.1. Chinese jar and pua blanket Two forms Dfprestige objects which can beacquircd through support hy rhe grear pera/a, '"ho in.lrd" ;&;;;;;il,,::: ..'

Virorreue B6cuer

Next come the m1'thical heroes, and last the dead and the anrri of livingbeings. This hierarchy is largely a function of how remote the pcktru

^refrom the supplicant, ofhow rarely they provide assistance, and ofhow much

impact they can have. It is much more cornmon to be :rssisted by a deceased

individual than by a mythical hero or by one of the great pcrara.

On the other hand, exceptional individuals are normally supported by

powerful entities such as a mythical hero or the greal nobou. Suclr pcople,

holever, are so rare that one must explore an entire region to find a lrandful

of thern. In one village which l visited, only one person still alive coLrlcl boitst

ofsuch assistance and this person was an important, albeit not exceplional,

lernamboq who rvas known region-wide. Other lcmanfuang, whosc firtnc

was more local, were supported by less farnous beings.'Ihis hierirrchy is also

visible in the rituals. The community invokes the grcirl pctard collcctively

whereas individuals summon their personal pelarrr in<liviclually cithcr insmall rituals of their own or during great rituals (for instancc, by adding

the name oftheir personal petara in a prayer)- Under these conditions, it isdimcult to discrilninate between different categories of benevolent bcings,

fbr example to tell 'divinities" apart from ancestors. I suggest that this lack

of clear distinction is crcated by the metamorphosis of the dead, which is a

still ongoing process.

This line of argument is opened up by Sather and Wadley who prcfer

to speak of the petar4 as cosmic ancestors, instead of as gods, or divinities.Sather states that the petala are not primeval creators.

Like the ancestors, the principal gods are not prinrordial beings, but

rather historical figures with remembered pedigrees. Thus, the gods

appear together, as ancestors, with human beings ir lban genealogics

(Sather 1994b:4).

Continuing this line ofargument, I argue that the process that creates such

ancestorship is, par exccllence, the metamorphosis of invisible entitics ald,particularly, their transfornation into animals. ln this, I differ fronr Sellato(2002:14) who suggests that ancestorship is created through ritual tneaus.

The Iban actually perform a propitiatory rite to ancestors, but only as a

required resporsc to a proven transformation that has rlready occLrrred.

Do the relrtionships with the benevolent dcad fornt xn instance of"ancestor rvorship'? Waclley states so, and dorvnplays the role ofatrituisman.long the lban on that basis, referring to the fact that, rt the core ol thcirreligion, they

IBAN PETARA As TRANSFoRMED ANcDsroRs

. . . worslrip their ancestors (aki' ini'). For ex:'mple, through prayers

(so'rpi) people invoke the distant ancestors (6efcra) trom the graves and

tombs. People give oferings to thei! ancestors and call upon them to help

thenr produce abundant rice crops and become wealthy (see Richards

1988: 321 ibr x t)?icrl prayer) (Wadley 1999: 598-599).

'Ihese practices do not, il.I my view, represent a 'tult of the ancestors" butrather, the core of Iban animism, which involves the capacity to establish

proper relationsllips with immanent invisible beings of human and non-human origins. The drearns and augury, as much as the rituals, are all means

ofcre.rting and maintaining such relationships, personally or collectively.I agree with Sather and Wadley that the Iban pefara have the attributes

ol "rnccstors" in the sense of representing "historical figures with remem-

bered pecligreesi' Going further, I suggest that the p etara are ttar,sforll:.ed.

ancestors and that the transformation conn€cts humans with the animaland bird worlds. In addition, they are ancestors in the sense, given bylngold(2000: 140-142), of representing various entities who nurture humans. The

term iucludes all of the dead who, at least temporarily, have escaped thecycle ofseparation arld Western linear time in order to help humans. All are

pct(trd, io the broad sense of benevolent entities, a term that encompasses

tlre so-called gods of the pantheon, the mythical heroes (Orang Panggau),

and the dead who support the living. All of them "support humankind"(ngidup me sia) by errsuring the success of human undertakings and theyare propitiated accordingly through rituals and prayers.

My views on this subject fall within a number of new approaches to theanimism concept, all of which stress the key importance of metamorphosisand lhe Iinks among the human, animal, plant, and mineral worlds (see, e.g.,

Clammer et al. 2004a, Howell 1996, Ingold 2000). In these approaches, the

boundaries ofthese worlds are dissolving, as is the fundamental nature/culturedichetorny. These new approaches also diverge from religious anthropologyand its |udeo Christian heritage, which presumes the transcendence and su-

periority of a creator God over nature (Callicott and Ames 1989: 3-6). Instead,

they emphasize the immanence of invisible entities that inhabit the same worldas hunrans and frequently interact with them. The way these entities relate to

Iiumans is a cenlral issue in their analysis. Among these approaches, I favorIngoldls dwelling perspective and his reconceptualization of ancestrality as a

set of relationships with multiple beings who act within a sphere of nurture(lngold 2000). I shall present briefly the conceptual tools on animism, the

248 VfRoNIQUE Bf,GUET

crucial notion of metamorphosis' and my argument' which uses the literature

on p"**on the one hand, and my own data' on the other' I collected the

i"ta in rOfe aoring my t€n-month doctoral fieldwork in a rnid-Layar village

of the Saribas area, in the Second Division of Sarawak' following a previous

five-month stayl As the Layar is next to the river Paku' I refer the reader to the

presentation ofthe region made by Cliford Sather in this volume'

Conceptual Tools on Animism

A Cosmocentric Approach to Animism

Since the 1990s, what has been called ontological anthropology (Clamrner

et al. 2004b) has revisited the animism concept through cosmocentt ic aP-

proaches, that is, by using the cosmos - including invisiblc entities - as the

principal unit of analysis, instead of the human individual (homocentric

appro""h) or rociety (sociocentric aPProach) Beyond its different factions'

,hO .orr"rrt of thought emphasizes the following basic principles of ani'

mism: the crucial importance ofmetamorphosis; the conaturality (i e ' cot]r-

rnon nature) ofhumans' animals, plants, and minerals; and the extension of

sociality and personhood to sendent entities ofdifferent origins (human and

non-human) who are immanent in this world Some ofthese characteristics

are present in non-animist religions, too' but there is a sPecial connection

between them in animism reflecting the logic of"anirnic ontologies" (Clam

mer et al.2O04a, Descola 2005, Ingold 2000, Viveiros de Castro 1998)

The metamorphosis of a being (living or dead' human or non-humatr)

into a different one (from an invisible entiry into an animal' for instance'

or from a living being into a spiritual being) is attested il hunter-gatherer

societies in diffJrent parts ofthe world (Descola 2005) Among the Australian

Aborigines, it is made possible bya permeability and flexibility of forms that

er,obG hrlman, and ancestors to Partake of a common substance (Poirier

20041 66,2005: 1f). In Amazonia, it is at the heart of what Viveiros de

Castro (1998: 469) labeled perspectivism' i e , "the concePtion ' according

to which the world is inhabited by different sorts of subjects or persons'

humans and non-human, which apprehend reality from different points of

viewJ' Such points ofview are related to the perceptions and abilities of the

bodies (human, animal, etc.) acquired through metamorphoses Among

the Ojibwa, metamorphosis is the basis for relations between humans ard

other-than-human people (Hallowell 1960: 39).

IBAN PETARA As TRANsFoRMED ANcEsroRs

Different authors haye taken various approaches to ernphasize differentaspects of this common nature of living things, tfrt .ra_"" ,,ir,"n.ashared with iniisible entities, and this Jxtensi"on ";;.;;;;;; .""hunrans., For some, the sharing of commo" .f,"r*i*.i.ffii..,,y

"body and an inner viral part, unites all species fH.ff"rai ieiolai, i"g.la2004). Others stress attributes like intentionality ".."ff"*rr. ."-"*,**ness (Descola 1996 64-65, Fausto 2004, Howell 1996: flO_fiaj. a.."rarrgto Poirier (2004:62-65), ancestors metamorphosed and thereby came toimpregnate the eDtire Australian laldscape with th.t. ;;;;;.;; p_*of the landscape play an active role in th. p.o".r, of.or,".iui",

" ,"* .nUO,thus linking humans and ancestors with a common substancel

All authors recognize the key role, in animism, of rn.iuil,y o.orrg t u_man beings and also between htuu..a on i..ip.o.,ty;; ;.;;;;;#Hl l*i:H,];ff :.,T,'.Ti;1h,li;view that beings are constituted in.relation ," ,f,",, *"i.""_.r, ill*1.:i:d ?avld

(1999) appties Strathernt term ,dtvtdual,,, wh;;.;;;;., ".individual composed of relationshi

ity irro the conception "i;;;;;"rA

j: fi'ff J:,li';illi1,,":T.l"_ii;social relarions is part of personhood (poiri", zi'oe, es).';;ngif-r" a"r.".,Subarctic Canada, reciprocity between hrr."nr, u, ou"ti u, iri;".;;l;-"",Li1^":."j],"..."r: predominares (Scott 200<, Tanner ;;;;:';;;.' ;".-ro(1992: 116l views the Amazonian world as a huge h"_*"r.O a *fj,r,man relationships are analogous to those that frevail betwee. nr-"r, unoanimals based on reciprocity or predation.

A Relational Approach to AncestralityInspired by ecology researchers who reject neo_Darwinism, the ecologicalpsychology of hmes Gibson, and the phenomenoloev

"f ,;r;;; ;";;:l

and Maurice Merleau-ponry, T,'" r;g;t; i,;;;;;"j, ffi ;;ffi:T:::spective of rhe 'dwelling in the world; specific"lly *ith ,.;;:;;";;.,",Satherers, by contrasting it with the constructivist perspective,

Apprehending the world is not a r

ment, not of bu'din, 0,,., o*"u,Tij"il*?:l,T;:li.::fl:'j::;but o f taking u! 6. vie.N in it (\$gq\d. \996r \z\ .

According to Ingold, the organism-person (both biological and cultural)is.constituted through its engagement with its environrnent, a processcalled "progeneration." In animist ontologies, the world _ the environment

Vinotrque B6cur.r

- is composed of humans and non-humans with whont indivirluuls haverelationships.

This vast web of relationships includes relations with ancestors. Ingold(2000: 132-l5l) offers a relational definition ofancestrality that contrasts witlrthe genealogical definition. The latter is exemplified by the image ofa fiunilytree and focuscs on the sllccession of generations in which personhood is"handed down" as an endowment from predecessors. The relational modelresembles a "rhizome":

This is to be envisaged as a derse and tangled cluster ofinterlacerl thrcrclsor filaments, any point in rvhich can be connected to any other. _ . . [1herhizorne] is a progeneration, a contiltuall), ravelling uncl unrirvcllingrelational nanifold (Ingold 2000: 140).

Ingold gives examples of ancestors who can be humans who live<l in thepast; spirit inhabitants of the landscapc; mytltic other_thon_htLman characters; or original creator beings. people are grown through sLrch multiplerelationships in the process oflife itsclf, Ingold contrasts prt)generation withprocreation and the concoI)1itant process ofthe successiort ofgeneratiotrs.

By progeneration, in contnst, I refbr to the continual unfolding of anentire field of relationships within which different beings cnrerge withthcir particular forms, capacities and dispositiotrs (lngold 2000: t42).

Persons should be understood not as procreated entities, connectcd toone another along lines of genealogical connection or rclaferlness, butrather as centres ofprogenerative activity variously positioned tvithin n11

all-encompassing 6eld, of relationships (lngold 2000: 144).

Ancestors, as defirred above, are meaningful by their presence and activities,rather than by the passing down of the rudiments of being per sc. Insteadof acting out inborn characteristics, people develop and grow throLrghmultiple relationships with these beings during their lifetimes. As a whole,these relationships form "a sphere ofnurture" in which humans .bre

g,rown,,(Ingold 2000: 144). Such a sphere of nurture also exists among the Iban.Before going any further, it is important to note that this web ofrelationshipsis a central component of animism.

Animism as a Field of Relationships with lnvisible Entities'Ihe current revisiting of animism entails a redefinition of the term, whichdiverges from the old one associated with nineteenth centrlry evolutiolrism

IB,\N PETARA As TRANS!oRMED ANcEsroRs

(Clamrner 2004: 85-86, Descola 1996: 66). New definitions, howeve5 varytrom one author to the next. Descola (1996: 66) and Viveiros de Castro(1998: 473) maintain a distinction between society and nature and argue thatanimism is the proiection of social relations onto nature or a socializationof the natural environment. As with Shint6, it refers to a "complex ofbeliefs and, more importantly, practices encapsulating an understanding oflruman-cosmos relationships" (Clammer 2004: 89).

The term pengarap introduces us to Iban animism. It is the substantiveiornr of the root azp, which is translated as "faith, confidence" by l{ichard(1983) and as "faith, trust" by Sutlive and Sutlive (1994). With a touch ofhumor, an Iban woman contrasted the pengqrap with the attitude to thegods of other religions. The Christians look for their "God' and find him intheir Bible. 'Ihe God of Islam is far away and must be summoned by loud-speakers. But the Iban antz are close, semalc ('tlose, adjacent"). They see(lredrr) ancl hear (nginga) humans. They can punish inappropriate behavioror grant requests for charms or help. They express their own wishes, notablyre<luests for tbod, and issue warnings. [n return, humans must watch fortheir manifestations (dreams and omens mainly), drive away aggressiveeutities, and foster close bonds with the benevolent entities through ritu-lls trnd offerings, all of this being defined by customary law. A close bondtrarlsliltes concretely into an abundance of charms, bountiful harvests, andmany manifestations of good omens. Those qualifications of the Iban pez-g,lr.? entail a defrnition of it as being about the creation and maintenanceof appropriate relations with the many invisible entities of varying originsthat inhabit the universe. Among these relationships, I wish to call specialattention to those that "sustain human lifel'that translate into help withinprestige-generating spheres,

Animism, as delined above, does not imply that everlthing in natureis irnimated. This point is a subject of some controversy. For instance, thefact that not all natural species have a "spirit" leads Metcalf (1982: 47) toconclude that the Berawan of Borneo are not animists. However, this alsoholds true for societies recognized as animist by the above-mentionedautllors throughout Amazonia, North America, and Southeast Asia. TheAchuar recognize that some animals and plants have human atttibut€s,and Descola (1996: 63-64) distinguishes them from entities that do not"communicate with anyone, for want of having their own soul" - what wecall nature - entities such as fish, mosses, grasses and ferns, and rivers. Mostauthors do not think in terms of such a distinction and simply state that

VEnoNtque Bfcuer

cerrain beings have personhood onrv whenr::HJ1il:T:lljiil jii),although all have the Potential t:.,::;;H.il:;a

,r'"y . .',. nor anin,isrsHowell tg96: t3S-t36) The key test

; ;.;;;;y dogmatically attrhute their living souls to inaninliltc

obiects such as stones" (Ha[owe[ fS60: 24-25)' On this point' the lban do

:3ffi#o;;; ;eople" dis""'"d bv these authors Anv livingbeing mcv

il"i".. "" tt"ttrbtt tniiry' ulthoogt' tome seem more so inclined'

This potential is' in p'intipte' aii'iUutea to any living thing Neverthelcss'

each people seems to favor certarn categories' be it the ioresl lt^:]:u""t'for the Nayaka of southern tnotul'-ot lhu'utttristics of lh€ desert in the

case ofAustralian Abo'igin"'' o' *i-ut' in orher cases The lrutnln-animll

relationships are central to many e-t-hnographies' especially those about lhe

ftlr.Jil;i;; or c"nuau'' i"i"'Ztt' region or Amazonia' Descola

iiiliffi;;";"'"':':i"?,';:'*.1,;.H:'.'Ji::l:}!,ffi;lillit as thc core of animism' that is' a

ffi;;;;;;;n relationshiPs with plants (rice) and.precio'rs jars are

also fundamental Animats too are imPortant' not so much as lrunted prcy'

ffi;;;;;t "n"t"o" *ho suiport prestigious human activities in

return for ofierings'

The Relationship between Humanity and Animality

Revisitins animism *'n:':'"T:f;'Jl,*,::: f ':l'':'l'::::tff T#:T:

and animals' This Point is imP

of the dead transform tn"-t"futt i*o animals' ln some hunter-gatherer

societies, animals "" "nt"*o" Jii'-ost therefore be "despiritualized" or

"desubiectivated" by cooking or bv shamanistic treatment (Fausto 2004'

;;;;;:;;;"" ioo+' v*'i'o' j' castro 1ee8) As we'will see' there are

some difierences in the treatment of animals among the lban '

Wazir-Jahan Begum r"'i--iisgrl ai"usses the relationships of humans

to animals and plants u-oog tt'" -Ju;

Betisek of Peninsular Malaysia The

Hl#;;;;;d to diFerent ritual Practices and contexts that are

exoressed through dif""nt *ytttoioglt"l corpu"' Humans rre allorved to

:ffi;:;;;il;J p"*' o'1""" t'* Iatter have beer cursed'(tur'fi ) bv tlre

Ma'Betis€k's ancesto"' orr tht;;;;';;d' humans are forbidden (kartali)

to destroy or kill animals o' ot*t'' these being reincarnaiions of human

ancestors who may' i" "p'i'i'-nitr itlne'sts und natural catastrophes ln

;ff;,,l';1 "'li 1'J,l'*:,:'5'fr ::::::.i,'l j::il:"""'"i.ili;::

and rituals' so there is no con'

IBAN PrirARA,\s TRANSFoRMED ANcEsroRs 253

to plants atrd animals in trlla, situations and hierarchically inferior in ftefral''situations. Karim concludes that animals and plants symbolize nature infalrtlr situations :rnd culture in kerflali' situations. Referring to Ldvi-Strauss'.s

dichotonry, she alirms that plants and animals lie within the domain of rarv

food, i,e., nature. Humans transform this food and eat it, thus performinga cultur|l act. Her argument is interesting in that it puts the focus on twodistinct dimensions ofrealiry But, in tny opinion, it is not so much a matterof culture and oature, but of animals and plants as living beings or as

invisible entities, each being linked to the other through tnetamorphosis.The attention paid to metamorphosis/transformation opens a way to go

beyoud l-dvi-Strausss dichotonry on nature and culture,

Metamorphosis as a Transition between TwoBasic Dimensions of Reality among the Iban

The power to metarnorphose is associated with the ax,'l, the invisible beings,

who as among the Ojibwa (Hallowell 1960) master this ability to a greater

degree than do humans.2 The artu can transform themselves or provoke themet'rnrorphosis of living beings. Thus:

One of the rrrost fundamental notions of the Iban is expressed in thephrase bali' nyodi, Bali'means: to change in form, and. nyad, to become.'lbgether, thesc words re[er to the capacity of all things, substantial and

insubstantial, animate and inanimate to change in form and become

something elsc: to metamorphose; so that a stone may become a spirit as

rcadily as a spirit may becorne a stone (Freenan 1975:286-287).

The nuance betweeD the two terms lies in how temporary or lasting themeta[rorphosis/transfbrmation is. Becoming something else supposes

a quite enduring state as changes in form can be temporary. I shall argue

th.rt such processes of metamorphosis constitute passageways between twoditnensions of reality

Tlre lban universe is inhabited by two broad groups of beings. The firstare livilg belngs who share conaturality, i.e., cotrlmon characteristics, "a

conrrnon naturc." All Iiving things (utai idup) - humans, plants, animals,and, I would add, certain objects such as jars - share some features, such as

alife force (semengal) and a "body" (faboli) (Freeman 1992: 35, Sather 1993:

285). Thcse fcatules are the basis for their conmon nature. The Jerreflgdf

car detach itsclf fron lhe tuboh.'Ihis forns the basis of local theories on

ViRoNreuE BfcuEl

clreams, illness, and death. Dreams are the wanderings of the semengat

in the universe; a 5€mdlt3.4f captured by sol]re mirlevolent eotity rcsults inillness; the separation is delinite with death.

The second kind of beings, invisible entities (antu) are ontologicallydifferent: they lrave no semengat or tuboli; in short they are not living treings.

Saying that they do not have a fabol does not meaD that they are imnraterial.They do have what we would call a bodily appearance, but this is ncver

referred as tuboh - at least I never heard such a qualification - which is, likesemengat, a characteristic of living beings. Despite those diflcrcnces, dflttshare a common sLrbstance with living beings because ofan infinite numberof metamorphoses in both directions: living beings become invisibleentities as readily as arf, transform into living beings. rrvlore than this,invisible entities and living beings are not mutually exclusive categorics: any

living being can at the same time be qntu ar'd vice versa. In empltasizingthis, I anl suggesting a way to solve the anrbiguity in the litclilture on lhcrespective statuses oI lhe semengat and antu.

One such arnbiguity is underscored by Metcalf's comnlent on llose's

description of the Kayan ghost-soul (a kind of invisible entity) and vilalprinciple. Accorcling to Hose, the Kayan vaguely distinguish bclween twosouls:

On the one hnnd, the ghosrsoul, which in a live man wnndcrs illnr, indreams and abstractions; and, on the other, the vital principle, whichpossesses the'conatus in suo esse perseverandi] which is Life, As long as

the latter remains in the body, the ghost-soul may return to it; but, whcn

death is complete, the vital principle departs ard the ghost-soul with it.

This interpretation is borne out by the use of thc word urip, rvhich illcommon speech means'to be alive] but nray also be applied to a person

recently dead, as ifto mark the speakert sense ofthe continuance ofthepersonaliry in spite of the death of the body (Hose 19261 206, quoted inMetcalf 1982r 55).

Metcalf considers that Hose's statement is incoherent: if the vital force

persists after death and if the 'ghost-soul" is just wandering, then cleath is

not clearly differentiated from dreaming. Indeed, among the Iban, dreams

and death are very close as far as the semengaf is concerned: in botlr cases, itis detached from the "body." However, death is signalled through the fate ofother components of the person, that is, through the end of breath (seprf)

and of another principle of existence (n7awa).3

IBAN PETAnA As TRANSFoRMED ANcEsToRs

'llre ambiguity between the semengat and the artu culminates in thelitera(ure on non-human living beings. The similarities between human andnon-human semeng1t are clearly attested (Freeman 1992; 153-154). Some

authors insist on the equivalence b€tween the semengat and the anlr ofrice(Freenran 1992: 153, 188, Jensen 1974: 153, Uchibori 1978: 42-43, fn. 5), whileothers distinguish them as meaning respectively the rice's vital force and an"unseen guardian presence that looks after the padi and avenges its iniury orabuse" (Sather 1977b:158, fn.8).

Irron mI perspective too, semengat atd antu are very different onto-logically as, respectively, vital force and invisible entity, but they are linkedtogether by metamorphosis. In my thesis (B€guet 2006), I argue that, whileseparated, lhe semengat has the potential to metamorphose i^to al antu(invisible entity). This occurs at death when the living bcing becomcs aninvisible entity (through the transformation of the vital force) and a corpse(through the concomitant transformation of the body). The literatrrlc onlJorneo tends to consider death as fle passageway between the two worlds(of the living and the invisible entities). In my view, death is just one occur-rence, allhough a particulariy dramatic, permanent and radical instance, ofa nrore globirl process: the transformation ofa living being into an anfl, Thisview is supported by the fact that the same process can also occur duringlilc. lloth (1980, I: 232) quotes Grant, whom a man asked for refuge because

he was threatened by a neighbor who had dreamt he had stabbed his father-in-law. Uchibori mentions similar case involving a living shaman:

Sha[ran ]imbat's serrcrgat was thought to have become an evil spirit of dre

kind called arrr gerasi, and to hunt the re nengat of othet people while he

was sleeping. The cleath of an irrfant several years ago in a neighbouringlonghouse rvas actually thought to have been a result of this huntingof his seme gat. After jimbat's death, two women in his longhouse haddreams in which they encountered him. One ofthe dreams, which was

dreanrt olr thc night before the ritual of the 'separatiori (serara' bungai). . ., was particularly ominous. In this dream the dreamer was in a forest,rot firr from the longhouse, where she came across the shaman whocarne down from the opposite direction, The shaman was accompanied

by nvo dogs and had a spear in his lefi hand. She was afraid at his sudden

appearunce and asked what he was doing there. fimbat answered he was

hunting. Having heard this, the dreamer was rerlly scared and shouted,'Dont, Uncle, dorit attack mcl We are all kinl

256 ViRoNreuE B6cuEr

This dream was taken by many as demonstrating that the deceased

shamais semergat was haunting the area to hunt the living's se&engof(Uchibori 1978: 36-37).

Sather (1978; 321, 2001: 40, 73-74) also notes that sone 4rfn that hunt young

children are often helped in this activity by other people who live in these

children's apartments. Their allies are typically old women, who, "in virtuallyall instances, no longer fulfill a woman's normal sexual and reproductiverole due to old age" (Sather 1978:321). The author adds that

Hunran beings cannot directly know the state of a person's soul, its

'goodness' or 'badnessl It can only be surmised through an individual'.s

outrvard actions or by the consequences ofhis behaviour in thc world ofexperience. With regard to the human bayu, the woman whose soul acts

as a malevolent ally of the buyu rumah spitit is believed to be unaware

ofits action because the attacks that give evidence of its malignant state

occut not in the directly perceivable physical world, but in the realm

of the souls ordinarily imperceptible to herself and others. Only the

ultimate consequences ofits actions - miscarriage and infant death - are

directly seen. Thus the woman who acts as a human buyu is thought to

be unconscious ofthe innerbetrayal ofher soul that unknowingly causes

her to harm others (Sather 1978a: 322).

Iban villagers do not link abad semengat with the owners personality,

which is seen to derive from the liver (ati). However, as Sather (1978: 322)

righdy notes, "The notion ofa bad soul carries with it a taint. In this case, lhe

elderly woman suspecled ofbeing a buy4 is often thought to harbour enry,

or her ill-fate may additionally be attributed to an inherited defect, a neglect

of omens or omission ofritual observance."

The owner of lhe semengat, however, is held responsible for keeping itfirrrily attached to the "bodyl' A bad semengat is

^ ward.et\Dg semengat.

lnd€ed, some semengat are said to develop a habit ofconstant wandering(selalu mindah or segau-segca), For the Iban, such souls are said to have

'turned bad Qadi jai) (ct. Sather 1978: 321-322). A person with a 'bad

sotl' (semengat jai) is considered unlucky and, during the soul's frequent

absences, is likely to suffer long, recurrent bouts of illness, loss of appetite,

or experience mental confusion, weakness oflimbs, and lassitude. Worse

still, if the soul continues to wander, it is likely to become losl (tesat\, or,

laAN PETARA As TRANSFoRMED ANcEs.l.oRs

worse yct, be captured (tangkap) by the dntu. lt) addltion, it may, of itsorvn accord, become ,wild' (liar), assuming not only the appearance, butalso the behaviour of an,untamed animal; gri, l;rr;. tn tii..t"t",..l.alepns, the soul is said to become tinlid, bolting away at tfr.

"pp."o.i ofother human souls (Sather 2001: 6g).

In my view all these statenents indicate the crucial importance of meta-morphosis. A wandering semer,g4, can potentially met;oryhose into ananla (malevolent or benevolent). In such cases, ii i, no lor.g", refer.ed toas setnengat' bvt as petara if it is benevorent or cztu otheiwise. In suchsituations, although the owner might not have done everything i; keepthe semengat attached, he is not held responsible ror tn. i,1"ir-iul .irtitytactions. Crucial here is the d,istinction jinaklliar, which is translated asdomesticatedlwikl (Richard 1988, Sutlive and Sutlive 1994). But ti.r. t..*,Lft.

,: ,h" state of the semengati attached, or wandering. ell rituals forrvrng Derngs (e g.' tor peopre, rice, orjars) serve to ensure thatthe semengatis stror:gly associated with the body (see Figure S.Zl. for ti" prrp"*

"fthis chapter. I will concentrate on the other si-de of th..o,n, ,t.'r,i",iinn,semengat.

. Althougl the literature reports only occurrences Ieading to aggres_siye antu, the same phenomenon may give rise to benevoleit onirr, r.".,petara- I know at least one instance of a living human who "pf""*a *a pelarc to someone in a dream and acted as a benevolent entity, givinghint support.ro become a wealthy man, This nran, whom I will call Aki,(grandtather), is knowledgeable in oral history and customary law. He

j,ook n.l.1i1 ,waltior

raids in his youth and, in particular, t * ,i.ri...a"arrlrcnalty by h.rving plentiful rice harvcsts and acquiring a precious jarand other valuable goods. He attributes this success a afr, irrr'irrOible entity) of a mirn still alive, whom l will call Apai Bujang, *f.o_ f,.met in a dream long ago. In the dream, many people wer" gathur.d o.,

"longhouse veranda. Apai Bujang singled out aii,and tola Ir'i_, lV... '"iffoe.i.y(r t rrch and powerful); you will be seated in the upper part of the

gallery (dudok ke atas nuan: i.e., in the section ofth" i,o"r" ,"r..u.a ru,important lnen)."

. This.dream contains a very typical encounter with an 4,.1/a who .,blesses,,

\sumpah) the dretmer. Sumpah refers to an utterance that creates what issaid, whether favorable or not, forexample, an oath, blessing, o.

"u.r.. ill.n

favorable, a sumpah antu is the greatest help an individuil ."n ,.."iu". ,n

258 VERoNreu[ B6cuEr

the example above, the striking element is that the arfa is associatecl with aliving human who, at least temporarily and independently of his consciouswill, is metanorphosed (bebali). 'lhe dream carries mauy implicatiols, butonly one matters here: a living being may metamorphose into an invisiblebeing while still alive. The ethnographic literature does mention cases ofaggressive aflrrl associated with living humans, although the authors do notin these cases refer to the principle of metamorphosis/transformation. lnaddition to the example of Uchibori presented above, Roth (19g0, t: 232)cites Grant who recounts how a Melanau asked for refuge after havingstabbed a man in a dream and becoming threatened with reprisals by theman's son-in-law should the man die of his wounds.

There are thus, in my view, two dimensions of the same reality (livingbeings versus invisible entities), ontologically distinct as much as inti-mately associated, Iban villagers never confuse those two dimensions.They reserve very different practices for them. For any signilicant livingbeing (hunrans, rice, precious jars), these practices are guidec.l by tl.rreeconcerns: to secure the life force to the,,body,'to ensure the living be-ing's vitality and health; to protect the semengat from attack by invisibleentities; and to shield the living being against human sorcery. Whenconfronted with an invisible entity, the primary concern is to act ilppro_priately with this social being: drive it away if it is aggressive or establisha social relationship by giving food to it when it is benevolent. The lbanaddress both dimensions at the same time, in rice rituals for instancewhen they secure the rice as a living being and propitiate it as an invis-ible entity. The two dimensions of existence differ, yet they co-exist {ndpeople are constantly on the lookout for such transitions betweelt thern.There are continuous passages in the form ofvarieties ofmctanorpho$isand transformation.

Thus, multiple metamorphoses interlink the two basic dirtrensionsofbeing in the Iban universe: living beings and invisible entities. In aprevious work (Beguet 2006), I have investigated lban animism in termsof different types of metamorphosis/transfonnation, each type involvingpassageways in either direction between living beings and invisible entities.One of these passageways is the metamorphosis, more or less temporaryor permanent, of the semengat into an 4nf, as mentioned above. [n thischapter, I will confine myself to a single passageway, in the reverse sense:the transformation of the dead into animals and birds (see also B€guet2OO7).

IBAN PETiRA As TRANSFoRMED ANcEsroRs 259

Figure 5r. Mnchaagpadl. Layar woman binding a clump of ripened paddy during ahdrvest ritual in order to secure the rjce semedgat to it.

260 VfRoNIQUE BiGUET

Animal and Bird Ancestrality through Transformation

Here, I will discuss a principal form of lban ancestrality, one which results

from the transformation of the dead into animals and birds. We shouldremember, however, that other forms exist, such as that which results fromthe Iban dead turning into dew that nourishes rice, which allows the lban to

say that 'rice is our ancestor" (padi aki'izi'kami) (Sather 1980a: 93).

The dead that I am concerned with here are not these dead who go to the

Sebayan afterworld to ultimately turn into dew, however, but a minorily ofthe dead who remain close to the living as aggressive or benevolent entities.

As helpers, they will be called tua', a term translated in the literature as

"familiar spirits." When the spirits are helping shamans or bards, they are

called yang. The most famous tua' or yang are the mythical hero Keling orKumang (Masing 1997,\ 22), the mythical dragon-snake (nabau), and thewild.cat (remaung) (Harrisson and Sandin 196& 76-77, Richards 19721 79,

81, Sandin 1977: 189, fn. 10, Sather 1988: 178). Thus, the benevolent dead are

subsumed within the group ofbeings who are in a helping relationship withhumans.

Any invisible entity in this type ofrelationship is regarded a s a petara.lhebenevolent dead are said to "become petara" (nyadi petara) or the petura ofthe people whom th ey help (petara kitai, petara diri'empu).In some respects,

they are not treated like the ordinary dead. Uchibori (1984, 1978: Chapter8) reports on the "enshrinement" ofthe dead, a process which is concernecl

with the special status afforded to some individual deceased persons. He

notes three types of enshrinement, which have fallen into disuse: perchingthe casket on a platform reserved for renowned warriors; burial in a Iocation

outside the cemetery at a man's request before his death; and rearrangernent

a posteriori of a normal burial place after the appearance of an aninalassociated with the deceased. Although the Iban distinguish between these

thrcc t)?es, Uchibori (1984:17) notes that they tend to stress the similarities

amoug them. AII three differ from ordinary practice and signifi that the dead

have "become pefara" (nyadi petara).-lheir special treatment is mainly due to

their presence in the world of the living and their more frequent interactions

with the living. Uchibori (i984: 17) reports that they are considered to be

"still aliv€' (agi idup), as may be seen in the practice of cancelling the period

ofmourning if an event confirms that the deceased has become a 'divinityi'These deceased are also not celebratcd during the gawni artl, the rite that

finally installs the other dead in the land of Sebayan.

IBAN PETARA As TR,A.NsFotrMED ANc[s t.oRs

My interest is in the dead rvho have becone pel4ra, especially those rvhocorrespond to Uchibori! third type, which, in my opinion, ao., ,,ot inuot,r"tne irppexri'lltce of an animal associated with the deceased,,,but indeed thctrinstbrmction ofthe deceased into an animal. Belore addressing thrs porrrt,

I necd to show llrat th(,pel4/4 can clelrly be considered rn...,lir.- -'

The petara as Ancestors

In this section, I will briefly reyiew the ethnographic literature with reference to three characteristics of the Iban prto-ro, thry hou. be.om. inulr_tble following separations; tl.rey do not live in another *orta (i...,'it. tfr.Christian heaven) even though they occupy separate territorics; and theyare listecl in Iban genealogies.

. 1le ethnographic riterature systematicalry differentiates the di'initiesrnro dr erent cxtegories, begiunjng with the rlost powerful ones of all, thegreat pctarc - the seven children of Raja jembu and Enclu Kurnang BakuPelimplng (Sandin 1994, Sather t994b:37). The tlvo most imf"ri",r, ii,la*rrare Singalang Burong, who is associated with war and omens,

""a i^ir",f,""

l]::llj,":,1::':: l"ho has c.Lrsrody of rhe rand and ,vhose fau_ ir.u,.i"a r,yrirn)ers. A ol ihese ..gods.,

live in the sky (/nrrgif) or unclerground, unlikeliving beings and irvisible beings wbo int uUt tt. .ortt fii,rrrr r,ri.'

"Just as benevolent to humans are the mythical he.oe. whu i,,habit

the.Panggau or Gelong rivers. It is sti ulclear where these rivers are,the locnrion bejng thought to be of "this world,, bur ",

,n. "lg" "iri" .f.y(Masing 19q7, I: 22, S.ttlrer 1994b: jll. The rnosr f.rmous he.oes "ie

Kellne a,rdnrs cnlnp.urions _ or. depending on rhe versjon, his brother Laia. ftei are

i::T:::1",1 :llll"n r. Kun,un .,no

Lulons, rwo sisters. rh" n,,r on"i",nsrne rovctrest.ln(l most.lccomplished ofall womeu (Sather l994br 34 ff.),.I1re

llnl:.1 ]1"-"r tra-ce their,lrneage back ro Nabau, a Irry,f,i."t ar"gon_rnoL"

wno,wns lhelrindlorher ofKeling and Kumang (Richrrds 1988r 2Jq).'Ilrc world is also houre to the deatl (men oa Slebayan).They ar.."lf..,r",ca.lled orang Scbayatr ("people ofsebaya ri,) or antu Seb,ayani..,"",r,li. .",,ryof Sebayan"). They reach this land of ihe a"oa by .rostng ti. ;;;;;; ;;"""which is a rnl4hical place and a real location as well (see S-ather, this volume)_

In Iban myths, humans and invisible entities originally lived i, ,fr. r.,".world, intermarrying and relating to each other as eq,rils. The hr_"rr._arg*yictorious in a conflict with the nnta. Wishing to avenge thei. a"f",r,, J" iu".invited everyone to a feast, during which tt.y got it . l"_"", irr"i'r"a

VaRoNreuE BicuEr

rubbed their eyes with coirl, thus making themselves completely invisible to

them (Barrett 1993: 243, Roth 1980, I:225-226). Ever since, a thin transparentfiln has separated one group from the other, similar to the translucent skinof a fruit, either an eggplant or tb,e lemayorg palm, depentling on tbe ycrsion

(Masing 1997, I: 21, Sather 2001: lll-tI5, Uchibori 1978: 298-299, my orvn data).

This rnyth clearly establishes visibility/invisibility as thc rnajor axis of humanarf, relationships, as noted by Sather (1993a, 199lb) and Barrctt (t993).

In the myths, a similar process o[separation involvcs hunrans, the greatpetara, and the myLhical heroes.

At the very beginning of genealogical time, thc frr.st hunran aucestor.s

lived together, as one, with the gods (perara) and mlthic spirit,heroes(Orung Panggau). Later the gods and heroes dc parted fr orr this .our ntotlorigin-pluce, which is identilied ill n]ost lban traditions with the Kapuas

region ofwestern Kalinantan. Each migrated to a separate region of thecosmos, leaving humankind (nrensia), the spirits (arari), nnd the naiuralspecies of plants and aninrais in possession o['this worlcl' Qlunya nr),that is to say, of the visible world of everyday waking experience. . . .

Finally, although they are now separated, and live apart in diftirentregiotts o[ the cosmos, the gods and spirit-heroes continlle to tirke i1n

active interest in the living Iban (Sather 1994b: 4-5).

Thus, humans and invisible entities dwell not in different utliverses, butin different r€gions or territories (menoa)t of lhe same universe- Indeed,before leaving, the invisible entities told tlte huntans ltolv to get to thcir trewterritories so that they could visit anci ask for assistrnce. lhe iounleys tothese territories forn the core of the long ritual invocations recited by thebards (Masing 1997, I: 114).

AlthoLrgh occupying different territories, pet4r'c and hulnaus lead sintilarlives. The great petara, the my'thical heroes, the dead, and even sorte r/rltllive in longhouses, grow rice, abide by customary law (.tdat), prirctice tugrrry,and have genealogies. They all use charnrs and benefit fionr the assistilnceof t'amiliar spirits (Sandin 1967: 251, Sather 1994b: 73). In fact, say the Iban,some ofthe invisitrle entities, the great pefard, taught humarls this way of lifethrough the intermediary ofculture heroes.5

Besides this relationship, there are additional conDections bctwecninvisible entities and hurnirlrs,lvhich suggest that tl]ey are indccd iulcestors,at least the ones wha are great petara. and mythical heroes. Antong them rrethe many genealogical ties that link different invisible entities to humans (see

IDAN PETARA As TRANsFoRMED ANcEsrcRs

also Sather, this volume). AIr examPlc may be found in a genealogy collected

lru Sandin ( tgg4, J15, Cenealogy XIX) that be8ins with a man' Betir who. en-

;:;;;-"r;,' ;ntu s"'"'i'b"v"n Bulu This antu had two sons' Telichu

and'i'elichai. During a hunting exPedition' Telichu transformed himselfbe-

fbre his brother's eye s into ^r.untu

gerasi' the giant hunter who eagerly s€eks

u,,, ,f't" ,r'rlr,rgu, of those humans who ignore dreams and omens' He.then

,"fa no t rt,f*, that he would become i;visible' while remaining available

f.J.l- "n.oun*rs,

and that he would teach him how to protect himself

;;;;;;'';;" of aggressor (Sather 1ee4b: 35' Sandin 1ee4: 8e)' He therebv

foun.ledthelineageoitheantugerasiwho,thoughgenerallydangeroustotruntnnr, o"."rio,l-olly give charms to shamans or balds and become their

:i,-lf i", ,plritC' (Gornes lglL 199' Sandin 1994:147' fn' 27)' SimPurai' one

oi',tr. -y,tti"ut tt"ro es (orang Panggau) and Kelings comPa"i"":: i::t"ltti.r...a.a frcrIt the antugerasi Telichu; hence his volatile temPerament'

;l;;jt^;;"Jt .".flict beiveen humans and mlthical heroes' thus forcing

thc two groups to part company (Sathe t I994b:32-34)'

Telicf,ai, Telichu's brothcr, is considered to be an ancestor ofhumans too'

n.*-J,tg ,o Saribas genealogies' he had many children as a result of his

"ri^ *,in tt.*t *ariba, inciuding Si Gundi who wasthe father.of Keling'

,t " -o* f"rnn,r, of all m1'thical heroes (Sather 1994b: 35) Telichai was

a-lso the grandfather of a human' Serapoh' who learned the.rules of pefara

,rr"tr^irr"g "tta

fr,*"ral rites and taught them to humans Clltur,a]1;estors

il";;";"; played a preponderani role in receiving and teaching knowl-

;;i;" ""; *"; hu-"ns wi'o are Part of the genealogies Flowever' they do

""i "Opr", ao.".,"mPorary iba; and no specific rituals are.held for them'

th"yl.long to o long-gone past' unlike the benevolent invisible entities'

Sandin (1994) and Sather (1994a)' in Particular' Provide many examples of

tiris intertwi ing ofhuman and invisible entitylineages and its-consequences

f", J* tU"" *i"f universe and lban ritual Here' I primarily wish to call

,rttention to the lact that kinshiP ties are said to ioin the two groups Kinship

tiesalsoextendtawhatWesternerscallnaturalphenomena.Fireengendereda htlman, SinPang lmpang A star of the Pleiades married a human' The

;;;;';;;;":,"; heliedieach rlce-growins Practices to sera Guntins'6

Benevolent Invisible Entities as Transformed Ancestors

Antong all of the antuwho illhabit the Iban universe' I will next discuss

those iho help (nolong) humans ln othe! words' I have selected a group

264 VfRoNIQUE BiGUET

of beings of the Iban cultural environment who are collectively referred

;;;-p;rrt in the general sense of benevolent entities' when the petara

sive assistance in any Prestige-generating activiry' they ar:.*td l".:"llll:l

itr" ftf"" ftgtarpl of'humuns' Similar\' the Iban repeatedly,,stale ,that our

-r"^it"t.itt fi.l., the dead ones) provide us with suPPort" 1rki' ini' kitdi

irili'iiii"rti"ed, the dead *io h"lp the livins are said.to "become

netafi" hyqdi petara). Some transform themselves into animals' Out of all

ii. a"," ir",fr.*a I haue extracted a few examples, mostly recent ones,

;;;#;;; deceased indMduals who remained near the living' 'These

;;;:;;;; pt"t" to be either harmful or benevolent' Here' I will not

;;;;;;;;;;"*ples of aggression bv such individuals' although such

"**p1aa "r" ua tt rmerous as are those of support'

1. When termites (sampok) pile up earth over a burial place':lt d*:"::1

is believed to be watching over his or her descendants and actrng as i La

i:a.ii* roitn"l. until lg;78, the villace of Rumah Manah shared a cemetery

*;;;;;;;;..;, "illages' It then oplned its own cemeterv' in which there

ure two termite mounds (for a picture of such mounds' see Figure 2 5 on

Fisure5.3.Nsinluburons.P_,opi,l":l?;:.3iJilili"';liilil::kil1liil""i,lsnake reoresenting an auspiclous omen'

;.ilL.t|;;';ifr" tpirit of a dead relatiue ihe ritual served to initiate a relalionship

wirlr the deceased as a helping spirit'

IBAN PETARA As TRANSFoRMED ANcEsroRs 265

p. 140). One ofthen, has been growing for some years on a woman's grave.Her son and daughter-in-law would not say much on this subject, but theirsucccss had been considerable and the villagers attribute it to the dead

woman. Another termite mound started to emerge in 1993 but on a mantgrave this time. As with the other mound, the deceased's heirs have seen

a marked inprovement (ensar) in their conditions of life. The husband's

salary has considerably increased over a few years.

2. In Rumah Manah, a couple and one oftheir parents were buried outsidethe cemetery, The first to be buried was the husband, a man whose powers

were so exceptional that he could foretell the day of his death. He asked

that he be buried near his pepper garden rather than in the cemetery (fora reason unknown to me). The villagers complied. His family followed hisexample.

3. Some dead benefactors may turn into animals, especially into a snake,

whicl, will make one or more appearances. In these cases, the animal acts as

an omen (burorg) in the same way as would an augural bird. For example,

a couple living in town found a python curled up in a cauldron. Afterconsultation with an omen specialist, the snake was declared a good omen,

The couple then performed a propitiatory rite, to which they invited th€irrelatives and importalrt figures from the bazaar (see Figure 5.3). During theritual, one question bothered the audience: did anyone in the householdhave a dream? 'lhe negative answer was responded to with perplexity. Afew days later, a small group of villagers again debated the question aDd

categorically denied that such an omen could occur without a dream thatreveals the identity of thc invisible entity (erda' potut nadai mimpi).If thaimnredirte family did not have such a dream, the search for one shouldcontinuc among the extendecl lamily. Subsequently, it was found out that the

wil'e's brother had dreamed about his great-grandmother. A precedent did,in fact, exist in the wifet lineage. The grandfather of her grandmother hadbecome a snake. Thus, it became piausible to attribute this metamorphosisto her great-grandmother, although an additional unambiguous drearn was

needed b confirm the hypothesis.

4. A few years ago, a snake appeared in the bilik of an old widow. Her son-

in-law carried the animal to thejungle because it is forbidden in such cases

to kill it. A rite was organized to propitiate this good omen, which led to

the woman acquiring a gong that year A neighbor's dream identifled t]re

snake as the woman's dead husband. This metamorphosis seemed perfectly

266 V6RoNleuE BfcuET

plausible to the villagers, who insisted that all members ofthe mant lineagehad turned into snakes, albeit different species (pct,rru, sido xyaLli ularmagang). In fact, only some members had become snakes, but ilpparentlyenough to be called a Iineage, a succession ofgenerations (p"turun1i,

5. A womln dreamed that both her parents haci turncci into pytl)ons upontheir deaths. A plthon did often visit her horne, thus enabling h", ,o

".qu,r.valuable goods: ajar, gold iewels, and tableware. Harvests also became mo.eabundant thereafter. In addition, the dead parents wcre srid to hivc irssistedin increasing the rice crops ofirnother oftheir children.6. As a child, a man now living in town disliked school and decidcd to dropout in the sixth grade. His narnesake ancestor visited him in a rJreallr, gavehim a clrarrn (tandok pclandok, the tusk of a mouse dcer), and encouragedhim to stay at school. The child obeyed. Later, he also acquired a charm toimprove ofatorical skills (ubat berandau), in the form ofa turtle (kura). Oneday while carrying it in a bag, he was followed by a mous e deer (pclandok),which kept pace and fled only when chased away with stones but r.cpeatedlyreturned. A dream clarified that his narnesake ancestor hitd metanlorphosedinto a mouse deer 'lhe informant added that the mouse deer is a goodfriend ofkara'turtles (cf. stories ofsuch friendship presentecl by Roth ilaO,lr 311,342 ff ard Sutlive 1992: 108-109). Thanks to this support, the child istoday a right .hand man of the Deputy prime M in ister of SJrrwak,7. Long ago, a man named Ungging dreamed that some pieces of choppedfirewood represented a python into which his grandfather had been trans_formed, and that his grandfather was going to support him during ir rvarriorraid.7 Ungging died young and single but renowned fbr his bravery. Manyvillagers remember the metamorphosis of Ungging,s grandfather and itseems that he was not satisfied with jLrst helping his grandson. One villagerclaims that the entire village used to hold propitiatory rites for this al]ta whocould lreal sickness, but who reportedly later became malevolent (nyadibuyu') and is now gone. The villager attributes this about face to lack ofritualistic consideration by the villagers, on the one hand, and to ilrtensiveIogging of the jungle, which reduces the snake's habitat, on the other.

The aboye ethnographic examples in varying ways exhibit two of the threetypes of enshrinement mentioned by Uchibori that I referred to above.For instance, example 2 illustrates the possibility that a man, who hasreceived a special burial, can become a petara. An ilnportant man .rsl(ed to

IBAN PETARA As TRANSFoRMED ANcEsroRs

be buried outside the cemetery and his descendants clearly expected himto become a per4la (although he does not seem to have become one yet).

This phenomenon thus inversely mirrors the case of people dying early

oi through ill-fated deaths (i.e., in accidents, in giving birth) (see Salher,

this volurne). ILrst as such people are likelier to turn into predatory entitics,

so are exceptionally successful living beings likelier to t'Jtn inlo petara.

Nevertheless, this view is not otherwise supported by my data as the dead

rvho helped their descendants did not necessarily accomplish great feats

during their lifetimes.The second form of enshrinement that my ethnographic examples

illustrtte is the metamorphosis of some individuals into animals. Althoughnot all deceased who become petara turn into animals, these examples are

very intcresting because it is especially through them that humankind is

Iinked to the perara of the pantheon and to the mythical heroes who are

bircis or other animals.

Before discussing these examples, I want to stress that, in Rumah Manah at

least, the dead who b ecome petara are not regarded to be alive and their funeralrites ale fully carried out, in contrast with Uchibori's data on this point. In fact,

the rites are even accentuated. Thus, a deceased individual may be honoredsevcral times at thegdwai antu,thehn lrite ofinstalling the dead in the landofSebayan. The deceased nay be thanked either for precious iars or for othervaluable goods bequeathed to the living or for posthumous assistance. This

can happen in two ways, For example, a man had been especially prosperous

and had given his children a jar each, which is quite rare. After his death, he

was lrorrored sevcral times in differentSawai antuby each ofhis children, whowere scflttered in dillerent villages. In a different case, a deceased individualwas honored by successive descendants in his apartment in successive gawaidnlri. As custon had it, his son honored him at the frrst gawai antu after hisdeath, ir 1956. In 1988, his grandson reiterated the rite, thus expressing his

gratitude to his grandfather who was also supporting him in his activities andthus had become a, petarc for him as well. Once started, such a cycle mustrepeat itself an odd number of times, i.e., at least three times. Thus, the nextgenerrtion will have to honor this ancestor al the next gawai antu.

Transformation of the Dead into an Animal

Contemporary transformation of the dead into animals is attested in oralhistory, thus linking the past and the current times. An episode of oral

viRoNtQUE BiGUET

history exemPlines.:i: :*-:,t::'t;: :i:'J:':i lil::i:L::il:'il:::i:murder oflban bY Kantu warnors'

;il:t;;;;"onto the longhouse roof where she cries and calls for

il;;;G;;sks that the first brother metamorPhose i\to a nabau

snake, the second into a gibbon' and the third into a crocodile (Sandin

r994:96).Birds are omens,S as are, to a lesser extent' other animals (Freeman

,s{o,^ii-it,Jensen 1974:89' Perham in Roth 1980' I:191-201' sandin

it i, r-n,rs5, Sutt'"' 1980b: xxxii' 1985: 6) Their most eminent reP;e-

;;.,'G"i;"; Burong' is the Brahminv kite lli' 56115-in-|n1v' who

;;;;; ;;;*."1' are blrds' other Iiving things mov also actas o','''ens'

il;ii; ;;; ;;;" ."*".:"u Y::JJJt'#ffi Tff i:J"::;:::( redons)' PYthons kawa')' coral

ffi;':"'ili;;i,i,,s j tt"t'* 1e8s: 6-7) some animals and insects

;ir;;:,;. "-."' andire believed to be servants of the 'ilivinitv" of

,i" *i ""a t"t crops' Simpulang Gana e These creilur;s.1nc|1fe tne

"* "i'iJ""snt,"t,caterpillais (ula"t balu)' the tarsier (ingkct)' slow Ioris

i;;;;*-;:;d orrizard(menarat)' barking deer (kljarg)' mouse deer

( otlrmdok\'porcuPine (landak) ' bear (beriang)' wild pig Qani)' and

:il;;.;.i;;i (sather te85: 7) ro There are Iimits to such cirtegorizd

,ar, ",

J"rln", irrrr) notes, as the same animal may represent nore than

.i" *ri .r "-.r. According to my findings, Iban villagers seem more

,"ir""i1.i".f. "r

what lies Lehind the appearance of an animal than to

giYe it a Pre-set identity'

How do Iban specialists interPret these creatures? For :rther'

(t'::.:]'

Lhey"ir. .orportul'[orms that divinities of lhe same nalne lrave Dorroweu'

oranimalorbirdsconcealinganctttu.ForFreeman(1960176,78),tlreyare

;il;;.;il"ted into biids or representations of divinities"For Perham

(in Roth 1980, l: 200), they u" u"itut forms possessed by the spirits of

invisible beings' The Prevailing interPretation is ihus to associate them with

invisible entities'

WhatdolbanvillagerssaywhenadeceasedindividualaPPearsasaorthon or a deer? They say that he or she has "become" (n1'adi) a python or a

::#ffi;;;;; - 'ti" t'ut ot'n on its aPPearance or is associated with

i. rn.r. U","g"ote into existence as a result of transformations - lasting

transformations in the case of some people They arc the animals This

assertionisalsomadeinam}th.Afatherpursueshisdaughter'sabductorsini frnd, u tot"t tttat leads him to their longhouses'

ItAN PETARA As TRANS!oRMED ANcEs'aoRs

As he observcd the longhouses he realized that although the people there

behaved in a humal manner, they werc actually tigers in the shape ofmcn (Sandin 1994:81).

Similarly, when Simpang Impang, a culture hero, Iooks after the childrenof his ldoptivc mothcr, they turn out to be rats (Sather 1994a: 145). 'Ihe

true n ture ol ontu is not so much anthropomorphic as transfornlative. Itis becsuse of thjs fundamental characteristic that such animals will not be

eaten: because Ihey are antu, and potentially beneyolent ones. In my vrew,

this testilies to the very real link with the animal too, Sather (this volume)notes righ y thirt an aiternative Iban expression to "beconing an animal"is "conceirling an antu" (karLtng anta). I have recorded a similar use of theexpression ksrong antu, but applied to humans. The villagers from Runrah

Manah say that the trtole spectacular successes of particular people are theresult of these people concealing an alla. Their body is like an envelope tothat invisible entity Some examples given also suggest a kind oftransforma-tion ol the body; in one case, the palms or feet ofa man became like a stone

charm afier he had been blessed by an arlu.ll'flre lirk to the animal world is perceived as a real one created by nreta-

morphosis. The transformatioD ofdeceased iudividuals into snakes notablyplaces thcm right next fo the m)'thical heroes who cre snakes, suggesting

tlrat thc sarne pherlomenon may explrrin the origin of the Orang Panggau,

the mythical heroes. The analogy may be developed further. The mltbicalheroes lre descendar.rts of the mythical dragon nabau, but they may owe thisliliation as much to a successiye series of transformations as to genealogi-

cal ties. This, iu .rny case, is suggested by sone recent examples of "snake

lineages." 'lhese lineages are the result ofseveral bilaterally related deceased

individuals being transformed into the same kind of animal. Belonging toa snake lineage increases the likelihood of transfbrmation into a snake, butsuch a person does not come into this world as a snake. He or she becomes

a snake through later metamorphosis. lf several individuals undergo thistrarrsfbrnratlon, tlre villagers will conceive of tlrem as a "lircagd' (peturun).

ln this sense, the lineages consist, not of a series of generations of animals,

but rather of a series of transformed individuals who together produce a

same-species lineaplc.

When a transformation of contemporary deceased individuals occurs,

this represeDts the very sarne process that brought forth the mythical heroes

and the great pelrlrd. In my vie\t thc most sigrificant betevolent entities are

VfRoNIQUE B6GUET

transformed ancestorsl2 who, through their transformation, cr€ated an ancestrallink between humans and the bird and animal worlds. Their tronJ..udondiffers from others in degree but not in kind. The relatively recentty tr.nrfo...adead are les powerful. They help only a few people, usualiy their irn_.ai"r"descendants, over the span of one generation. In the cases of tnnsfornation tnave gathered, a deceased individual will seldom help someone and contirueto give assistance to others after that person,s deuth. The support networksof today's helping ancestors are personalized and must be recreatetl in eachgeneration. By comparison, the m',thical heroes and the great pe,lrd assista much broader range of people over both time ,nd ,p"."iln so far as theirsupport is personalized, it is also much more powerfrrl in terms of thc successthey permit. When someone achieves region_wide renown in a prestigious walkoflife, the success is always due to assistance from an important entit'y.

Finally, among the lban in contrast to some hunter-gatherer societies, ahunted animal is by default an ordinary living being thai may be consumedwithout any process of "despiritualizationl' ihe atitucle r.o.fl.ultf .ioug"",however, should an animal behavtra'sformed ancesto,, tr,i. u"uoriyi"l'u;tt:|il1:;t":ll:LtgJ,'.:,':,i,"?the ancestor's descendants must obey a dietary taboo on the irnimrl.,lhus,two thirds of llumah Manah villagers refuse to eirt python, being re;ted inone way or another to an ancestor who becanre one,,Ihe remainirig third are

l:l:.:: *,.Pnn.". This. snake species, as such, has not become iacred. By

detault. animals - and plants are thus living beings that may be cousumed.But should an animal prove to be u deceused indi,idual, u il.,"ry irfron i,irnposed on his or her descendants and an appropriate social relutionsh,p r"required. A livin€ being may always become an invisible entity, and vice versa.

, The Iban differ from hunter-gatherers also in another majo, *uy. n_ongthe latter, the "divinities" are animals that offer themselves to Irunro.r. onaare hunted and consumed with proper rituals. This is not generally the caseamong the lban although the dead may someti'res tranJform themselvesinto deer which are hunted. The main characteristic of the pefrtra, thebenevolent entities, is not so much to support humans by being huntcd andproviding them with meat, as to help them in their prestigiou, uia"aot ingr.

Conclusion

Are there ancestors and a cult ofancestors among the Iban? The minority ofthe dead who stay around the living as benevolent antu might be considered

IBAN PETARA As TRANSFoRMED ANcEsroRs

ancestors. They are said to have become petara and, are trcated accordinglywith offerings and requests for support. This minority of the dead is thusmerged with the larger group ofbenevolent entities (p€fara), which includes

the gteat petara and the mythical heroes. As petara, they are propitiatedin rituals as someones specifi,c petara, In this respect, these ancestorsindeed represent a "selected few among the multitude ofordinary deceased

forebearsl' although they have not obtained their position as a result of a"special rite. . . held to install these selected few as ancestors" (Sellato 2002:

l4). In this regard, Iban ancestors are not like the rypical ancestors usuallyencountered in the ethnography of ancestor worship for whom Sellatoattempts to restrict use ofthe word.

Ingold's (2000) conception of ancestrality helps us to grasp the keysignificance of these "selected few" among the Iban. His definition ofancestrality encompasses multiple relationships with beings of variousorigins: humans of the past, spirits ofthe landscape, original creators, etc. Inhis understanding, the relationships with all these beings are crucial aspects

of ancestrality which express the importance of animisrn. This is the case

also for the Iban, among whom animism covers the ability to relate properlyto a multitude of invisible beings ofvarious origins (human, animal, plant,or mineral), some benevolent, some malevolent,

This vast web of relationships represents a "sphere of nurture" in whichhumans are grown (lngold 2000: 144). The notion ofsuch a sphere of nurtureis echoed in the Iban expression lhat the petara or cfti' ini' sustain the life ofhumans. By this, they mean that the petara (including the deceased who have

become pctata) help support humans in their activities, especially in prestige-

generating activities: dce-growing, acquisition ofvaluable goods, headhunting,

weaving, mastering customary law, public speaking or ritual chants, and,

r€cently, getting well-paid jobs in the civil service or business sectors. No one

can succeed in any of these fields without the help of an invisible entify. Support

is generally accorded to one individual, usually by a close kin of him, and

ceases at his death. Relationships are constandy being created and recreated

by everybody, thus providing each person with a unique web of relationships.

Some of the dead who have become petara transform themselves intoanimals and are treated as omens. This transformation establishes a connec-tion between the ancestors, on the one hand, and augural birds, snakes, andanimals, on the other. This conclusion pertains also to the greal petqrq,whoare birds or animals, anci the mythical heroes, who are snakes. I propose thatthese beings are actually transformed ancestors. This form of ancestralit)'

272 V6aonrque Bicuer

differs significantly from the one reported for hunter-gatherers in many

parts ofthe world. Indeed, among the Iban, it is based mainly on suPPort in

prestige-generating activities instead of in hunting.

Metamorphosis is thus the main process by which ancestorshiP is created.

The same process is at work in the creation ofthe malevolent 4fi11,/ too 'l.he

antu gerasi, for example, resulted from Telichut transformation. lt is also

well known in the literature that women who died during childbirth turnccl

into such malevolent spirits. This avenue of research merits further worl<

Transformation can occur before death (as with Telichu or in the example

of the living villager who was transformed into a Per4ra for someone else),

even though today transformation most often involves deceased individuals.

There are other significant metamorphoses, such as the transformation of

deceased individuals into dew and from dew into rice and pua'blankets

The transformation ofprecious jars into deer is yet another example ofsuch

metamorphoses not dealt with here.

These are some examples of metamorphosis that involve a passage be-

tween trvo dimensions ofreality: the dimension ofhuman and living beings

and that of invisible entities. Both dimensions and the frultiple forms of

passages from one to another through metamorphosis are central features

of the Iban animist universe, and much more imPortant as such than the

Christian Western dichotomies between the living and the dead, this world

and the afterworld. Metamorphosis is a grand opening to the Iban world.

Acknowledgments

I wish to express my gratitude to the editors of this book' to Dr Cliflord

Sather, and to two anonymous reviewers for very relevant and helpful

commelts on Previous versions of this PaPer. My thanks also go to Peter

Frost for th€ translation ofthis chapter and to Dr. Kenneth Sillander fbr the

tedious task of editing the English writing. My lieldwork was funclecl by a

scholarship from the Canada ASEAN Center and sponsored by the Sarawak

Museum. I also beuefitted trom the assistance ofthe Mailis Adat Isti Adat, in

particular from |ayl Langub, and from the Tun fugah Foundation, inclLrdirg

from Clifiord Sather who was working there at the time. I wish to thank all

ofthese people, as well as the Iban villagers who received me a secnntl time

after a five-month stint of fieldwork for my master'\ degree in 1991, during

which I was initiated into village life and the lban language. My doctoral

studies were made possible by a scholarship from the Social Sciences tnd

I!,rN PETARA As TRANSFoRMED ANcEsroRs 273

Hum:ruities Research Council ofCanada and a scholarship for study abroadfronr thc F-olds pour la Formation de Chercheurs et dAide i la Recherchc.

Notes

I llis lieldwork followed a 6ve nronth previous st.y in l99l for rny rnastert degreein a Yillirgc on the nrirl-l,iryar, nenr Belong ir) the Sccoxd Division ofsara*,ak. I havcrenamed tlris vilhge Runah Manah.lior more details on the ficldwork, sec B6guct(2006: ch pter 3).

2 Metantorphosis ofhurnans is a conrmoD phenomenon among the Iban (Biguct2006: (lhaptcr 4), but it is iDvoluntary and uDcontrolled. Only sorcerers can metil,morplrose deliberately. The antu also have this power and it is one of their maincharacteristics. In addition, they can cause living beings to be transformed (Bdguct2006r Ohapter 6), a point that is seldom addressed i|l the ethnographic literatureexcept for examples of petrilication.

3 'Ihe samc closeness with dreams is attested in a dilferent coDtext, as in shaman-ism for instance, except that the movement of the shaman'.s semergaf is controlledby the rvords he is uttering (Freeman 1967: 317, Sather 2001: 29, Uchibori I978: 15).

4 The term me oo, n\etni\B place of origin, is relative. It is the longhouse fromwhich one comes, the river basin of one's village and other villages, or even one,scountry when liviDg abroad. It is the territory that one is Dative to and/or inhabits.

5 Cultrrre heroes are born from the union of a hunran with an invisible being ora "natural element" (6rc, wind, a star, etc.), but they are human ancestors and notinvisiblc eDtities

6 Othcr diverse combinations include the marriage ofa culture hero with a porcu-pine's daughter and that ofa wonlan with an antu gcrasi.

7 'llrc.ssociation betwecn a log and a python comes up in the Iiterature (Ling Rothre80).

8 '[hc tcrm lr ro,]g ("bird") is the root ofthe word uscd to designatc thc practice ofaugrrry: 1rr'brrrorg.

9 Sinlpulang Gana is married to a porcupine's daughter

l0 Sinrpulang Gana also has minor attendants who occasionally appear. All ofthenr a.c snrallxninrals or insects (Sathcr 1985:7).

ll It links this process to another form of transfornration, the petriicatioo ofany livingbcing into stonc (lr.rlll) by an r'rrl!. That process is at the bnsis ofthe crcatioll ofcharms:the particular use is suggested by the a,lrI,J in a dream (lliguct 2006: clupter 6).

12 This conclusion may apply to all significant cnla, be they benevolent or rna-ievolent. the anfir 3crasi, for example, resulted from 'lelichu! transforrrtation. Tjlis

274 VtRoNreur BtcuEr

avenue of research, howevet was not ilvestigated and merits further work. h thepast, such transformations cr_ruld occur befbre death (as with .l,elichu),

even thoughtoday they always involve deceased individuals.

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