KUCHING – Never ever insult the traditional costumes or other cultural paraphernalia and practices of any race or ethnic group – let alone the customary attire of Iban women.
“Iban men will not take kindly if the Ngepan, the special attire of the Iban lady folk is insulted or made the butt of ridiculous jokes,” says Peter Minos, chairman of Sarawak’s Bung Bratak Heritage Association.
Speaking to The Vibes, he said: “Making fun of these things is not right as they could be auspicious in certain cultures. It is only common sense and comes from proper family upbringing.”
Peter Minos said this in response to a recent video posted by a social media influencer who poked fun at the Ngepan, triggering a digital melee among piqued netizens from all over the country with some irate Sarawakians lodging police reports in Sibu and in Puchong, Selangor dressed in full Iban regalia.
In the Instagram stories clip, the influencer Ryzal – whose actual name is Muhammad Ryzal Nik Ibrahim – uploaded footage of his Korean wife Maryam You Narae dressed in the Ngepan, while he takes liberty to poke fun at the various “components” of the colourful traditional dress, richly adorned with the usual “fragile and fanciful” ornaments.
He started by saying that the fabric of the dress is similar to tablecloth and curtain material and the waistband is similar to that worn by Boy Scouts. Holding the metallic ornaments he likened them to shillings saying: “Usually people keep their coins in their pockets but here, they wear it on their dress.”
Ryzal has since removed the offending video, and has already apologised profusely, but the Dayak community, especially the Iban are still fuming mad.
‘We Dayaks are cultured’
Rights activist Peter Jaban, clearly vexed by Ryzal’s lack of prudence and sagacity, sent this Whatsapp message to The Vibes: "Hello ‘durian’, if you are just joking with your wife, why upload it on social media then? By doing so, it shows you have deliberate intention to ridicule the Iban community.
“How would you like it, if I likewise criticise your ‘Baju Melayu’ or ‘Kain Pelikat' and then apologise and say I was just joking?
“But let me tell you, Brother, we Dayaks are cultured people and will never stoop so low in order to retaliate. Yes, we were the fiercest headhunters once but that is no longer our way. The Dayaks are mild, respectable culture-vulture Christians today.
“In Sarawak, we Dayaks co-exist peacefully with all groups including our very cultured Malay community and respect every bit of traditions, rituals and dress-forms of different ethnic races. Indeed, during state, national and other occasions, Dayaks too wear Baju Melayu and our ladies look dainty in baju kebaya while Dayak schoolgirls in their baju kurung look so modestly decent."
According to Peter, the fabric to make the Ngepan is called Pua Kumbu and it can cost as much as RM30,000, whereas Ryzal’s tablecloth and TV cover may just cost RM30 only.
No ‘diplomatic spat’, leave Maryam alone
Speaking to The Vibes, 29-year-old Kimberly Michelle Rose Ong (Kim) – a Bidayuh-Chinese – is upset that in this age of globalisation where many cultures come together and co-exist so beautifully, that there are still those who stand to be “indifferent and ignorant”.
“Firstly Ryzal’s wife must not be targeted as it is not her fault. Please leave her alone. It is also an insult to her as it is she who is wearing the Ngepan which was ‘discredited’ by her husband. Perhaps Maryam may have genuinely wished to share and appreciate the merging of world cultures in a globalised world through the Sarawak dress-form.
“Some would say Ryzal used a foreigner living in our country to insult our culture. There is no such thing. This is not a big time or small time diplomatic spat. This has everything to do with Ryzal’s irresponsibility and in his lacking in maturity of thought.
“And rightly so, it should be her husband who should appreciate his wife’s willingness to be a part of the world culture and wanting to live in the ever-small global village of oneness and unity,” said Kim.
Kim, who works for an aviation company, says our nation is made up of people from three major Asian regions – India, China and the Malay Archipelago.
“How more blessed can we be? Has Ryzal not heard of the signature tagline, ‘Malaysia Truly Asia?’" she asked.
Kim’s younger sister, 21-year-old Melanie Melissa Rose Ong, a professional cultural dancer who often wears the various traditional costumes of the various Dayak ethnic groups says she is saddened by Ryzal’s insulting video footage.
“There is no point apologising after causing so much hurt to not only the Dayak community, but I am sure other Malaysian communities too will be hurt the same way, as it is a common practice of Malaysians to don the traditional costumes of one another.
“We do this sometimes for official functions or for thematic events and parties. And we do it all with gleeful fun and at the same time to appreciate and extend our own sense of bonding with one another."
To Ryzal, she has this to say: “Kalau nak gurau pun, berhati hati lah.”
‘Ryzal, Maryam come celebrate Gawai with us’
However Melanie concedes: “We are a proud race and there is always forgiveness in our hearts. If not for the current pandemic travel restrictions we will be happy to invite Ryzal and Maryam to Sarawak to celebrate Gawai next week with our family.
“This will give us, Dayaks, an opportunity to showcase our simple nature and most of all our respect for people, their cultures and way of life. There is always a place in our heart for reconciliation and to move on. This is our way of life too,” she added.
Adding on, Peter Minos says every racial group in the country greatly value their own and other people’s culture, customs and the many traits of tradition. And most of all we respect one another’s religion.
“We put these time-honoured values on the pedestal. You can see, we have no official religion gazetted in our state. We are known to have the most placid inter-faith, inter-cultural interactions among one another in the whole of Malaysia and this comes without official policing. It comes from within the soul of our primeval nature.”
He further said, as there are many indigenous ethnic groups in Sarawak, each group is known and recognised by their traditional costumes and the headgear they wear. It reflects their identity.
“So I can understand why the Ibans are angry. Those making fun of their ladies' attire are totally insensitive. The Ibans have every right to demand open apologies.
“But they also have big hearts to forgive and reconcile, so let us move on in the spirit of Gawai,” he added. – The Vibes, May 29, 2021
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This writer was first alerted about Ryzal’s clip by his Bidayuh wife Marilyn Madrod, who mildly mentioned it in passing with a smile, being the typical placid Dayak. It was later mentioned to him again by the Culture & Lifestyle Editor and only then he realised the seriousness of the issue. For the last seven years, he has been living in the Bidayuh village of Kampung Quop in Kuching out of preference and personal choice. A culture-vulture and proponent of inter-faith dynamics himself, he has grown to love the way of life of the Dayaks, the colourful and primordial traits of their culture, and most of all the even-temperedness of their personhood. S’ramat Andu Gawai to all Dayaks in the state and to all my Dayak relatives as well.
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