Two religious ceremonies in vogue among the Milanos of Sarawak
Fr. Bernard Mulder and John Hewitt published this ethnographic account in 1911, drawing on Mulder’s personal attendance at “scores of Payuns” to document two Milano spiritual ceremonies—the Payun (a healing rite centred on a rattan swing) and the Plato (a post-mortem communication with a departed spirit)—and to argue that both traditions share a deep ancestral root with Sea Dayak manangism. The article appeared in the Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 57, and represents one of the few complete European descriptions of these rites at the time.
Summary
The Payun, known to Malays as Berayun, is undertaken as a last resort for severe illness and is repeated as a thanksgiving when the patient recovers. The authors note that the Milanos possessed no indigenous medical practice and that, by 1911, the ceremony was increasingly a luxury affordable only to the well-to-do, while poorer Milanos resorted to European medicine or resignation. The ceremony lasts eight days, is timed to the full moon, and is presided over by one or more Bayoh—spiritual practitioners of either sex who claim special power in the spirit world. The essential apparatus includes a rattan swing (the only element considered sacred), a Rabu (boat) containing a crew of dakan images, a To Jien (a wooden figure serving as a chair), and two naga (dragon) figures. The Bayoh lubricates the swing with coconut oil, throws yellow-dyed rice toward the four walls while chanting with an areca-palm wand, and then mounts the swing, accelerating into a frenzied state while the patient and other sick persons take turns. The Bayoh sweeps the wand over the patient to expel the spirit of sickness, and the rattan bells are read as signs of spirit presence; if the rattan snaps, the patient is doomed.
The Plato, performed days or weeks after a death, is prompted by a dream in which an aged friend learns the departed spirit lacks necessities. Two Bayoh, heads shrouded in cloth, sit on a mat and mime paddling a boat down the river of death, narrating their journey aloud—commenting on the current, warning of rocks, and enacting a capsize with splashing water. Upon reaching the nether world they accost recognised deceased souls, perform conjuring tricks (producing tobacco or sirih from the air), and finally “catch” the lost spirit, clapping it onto the head of the nearest relative and binding it with cloth. The Bayoh then interrogates the spirit, which reveals what it needs—typically a sarong, cooking pot, or money to be placed at the grave.
The authors close by comparing both ceremonies with the Sea Dayak manang rites described by Archdeacon Perham, noting striking parallels in swinging, soul-catching, and spirit combat. They observe that Milanos and Sea Dayaks had no recent contact, spoke distinct languages, and that the Milanos were considered aboriginal while the Sea Dayaks were comparatively recent arrivals in the region.
Key Findings
- The Payun lasts eight days, is timed to the full moon, and is presided over by one or more Bayoh who remain as guests in the patient’s house for the full duration (pp. 171–172).
- The essential and only sacred element of the Payun is the rattan swing; the Rabu, To Jien, and naga figures are merely furniture, and their inclusion depends on the wealth of the host (p. 174).
- The musical ensemble comprises five players: two large Tawak, two drums, and a set of Gelinang (Malay kromong), playing continuously throughout the swinging (p. 176).
- If the rattan snaps during the ceremony, it is interpreted as the presence of an angry spirit and the patient invariably dies within a short time (p. 176).
- In the Plato, the Bayoh’s journey on the mat lasts approximately half an hour before the spirit is “caught” and placed on the relative’s head (p. 180).
- The authors identify the Milano Bayoh and the Sea Dayak manang as functionally equivalent figures whose shared ceremonial repertoire (swinging, soul-catching, spirit combat, fire-display) likely descends from a common ancestral religion in Eastern Asia (pp. 177–178).
Conclusion
Mulder and Hewitt’s definitive historical takeaway is that the Milano and Sea Dayak spiritual traditions, despite linguistic distinctness and the absence of recent inter-ethnic contact, preserve a shared ceremonial core—swinging, soul-catching, and spirit combat—that points to a common ancestral religion originating in some other part of Eastern Asia in deep antiquity. The Milano tradition is distinguished by its specialisation in Dakanism (the use of spirit-figures), a feature scarcely known among the Sea Dayaks.
Context
- The article is a colonial-era ethnographic record: Mulder was a Catholic missionary in Sarawak and Hewitt a British administrative officer, both writing from positions of colonial authority over the Milano population.
- The authors rely on Archdeacon Perham’s earlier account of Sea Dayak manangism as their comparative baseline and on their own direct observation (Mulder’s attendance at numerous Payuns) as primary evidence; no formal archival collection is cited.