Material Culture in Sarawak: The Sago Connexion.
|
THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL |
|
Title :
Material Culture in Sarawak: The Sago Connexion. |
|
Author :
Hang Tuah Merawin |
|
Abstract:
Sago was the staple food of the indigenous people of Sarawak long before the arrival of the rice culture. Banks,a former Curator of the Sarawak Museum, was often quoted as saying that the sago-eating tribes migrated to Sarawak before the rice eaters (Ong 1977: 113). Legends abound as to the origin of sago. The Bidayuhs believed sago was brought to the Bidayuh country from a distant land called Mukah bya band of Bidayuh travellers returning from a sojourn there. Thus before a Bidayuh felled a sago tree he would sing incantations praising and thanking the benevolent spirits of yore for having interceded with these men to bring this life giving tree to the Bidayuh land. The Melanaus, reputed for having mastered the art of domesticating sago, attributed the cultivation of this tree crop to their legendary giant-king Tugau who brought it from the land in the east called Likou Ambun (Morris 1991: 213). Wijandi (1980: 39) confirmed that most information on sago originated from Maluku (Moluccas), particularly Ambon (Amboyna) and processed sago known as 'sagu ambun' and 'sagu lempeng' are still widely traded and consumed in the island provinces of Maluku, Sulawesi and Nusatenggara.
|
| DOI: XXXX |
|
How to cite:
Hang Tuah Merawin. (1994). Material Culture in Sarawak: The Sago Connexion. The Sarawak Museum Journal, XLVII (68): 17-36 |
|
References
|
