Batang Sblak : Iban vs Seru.

Batang Sblak : Iban enggau Seru

Sama betunda udi enggau Enchana Letan mungkal menua Awik, tuai iban Paku nama Manggang, Unggang, Tengkuang, Mudit enggau Luna Panggau sida diri menyadi angkat ari Nanga Anyut dalam Paku deka berumpang Batang Sblak. Tang apin sida kin ka, sida dulu deka diau di Gerenjang pati Batang Krian, lebuh sida datai din, menua Sblak agi kachau laban bansa Seru agi mayuh di menua nya.

Batang Sblak siga bendar, bekau Seru kena kayau sida Linggir sida Aji enggau Ugat anak Libau Buban ke suah kayau beiipa ba menua nya. Endur Seru ke balat bendar dikayau sida nya di Sesang, Roban.

Laban pengachau tu nya alai tuai-tuai bukai apin ngasuh sida lalu pindah enggaika bulih penusah. Ninga tagang tuai-tuai bukai sida mulaika diri ka Paku baru. Enda bangat lama udah sida diau di Paku, sida angkat pindah baru bedarat meraka Rimbas ngilika Melupa. Lebuh tu Seru nyau enda berapa siga agi.

Nyadi bala sida Luna Panggau diri menyadi lebuh sida datai di Sblak berumah di Nanga Beratong  tebing kanan mudik Sblak. Seru apin tentu deka meda sida laban agi takut ka ati Iban enda manah. Meda Seru liar bakanya, nya alai sida berunding deka bebaik enggau Seru. Sida lalu nyuaka benda palit mata sigi alas berejang ke lalu diterima Seru enggau ati lantang. Udah bekau bebaik tu Seru lalu deka betemu sereta bejaku manah enggau sida.

Di Nanga Beratong sida bisi nanam buah ka tanda datai di menua baru. Ari semua buah ka ditanam sida dia semina ka dua kayu embawang agi idup dia datai ka diatu (1961).

Lebuh sida agi diau di Nanga Beratong Seru di Tanjung Pilin suah regau kena kayau bala Iban ari Rimbas enggau ari Layar. Kayau tu diulu ka Aji apai Limpa enggau anak Orang Kaya Gun Mangku Bumi enggau Orang Kaya Antau Linggang ari Rimbas. Nyadi Penusah tu balat bendar ngachau sida Panggau, laban Seru nyangka sida bisi aum juak enggau orang ari Saribas (Layar-Rimbas).  Ari Nanga Beratong sida Panggau pindah ka Tembawai Tinting di Supok. Lebuh sida muai rumah tu Manggang seduai Tengkuang nyerara diri ari Panggau lalu berumah di Tembawai Pituh, alai Tengkuang dichiri jadi pengulu, lalu Luna Panggau ka agi berumah di Supok mega digelar jadi tuai.

Beketan, Seru and Iban in The Krian.

At about 1854, Linggir Mali Lebu  of Paku led a highly successful raid against the Bukitans of Sungai Sugai, a branch of the Julau tributary of the Rejang. Linggir led his war party from the Paku to the house of Apai Siba, who was the leader of the Sugai Bukitan.

The Sugai Bukitans have been friendly to the Paku Ibans in the past. However, it was Linggir’s intention to attack another Bukitan house located further up the Sugai stream. However, when the Iban warriors arrived at this place after visiting Apai Siba, they found out that their intended victims had fled leaving only an empty house. The Ibans concluded that Apai Siba must have warned them and they returned down river and attacked his house instead. Apai Siba himself was killed together with many other Bukitans and that their heads covered one of the variety of Iban mats (sedaun idas).

Many captives were also taken and those retained by Linggir alone numbered thirty. As war leader, he was entitled to half the captives and plunders taken by any of his warriors according to the Iban custom.

Soon after these captives had been taken back to Paku, some of them tried to escape but all of them were recaptured. The place where one woman named Indai Jungki tried to escape is framed by a steep slope on one bank is still known as Tebiang Indai Jungki. It was after this that the Ibans sold many of these Bukitans to Laksamana Amir, chief of the Paku Malays.

All these Bukitans then converted to Islam.  Not long after this a Paku and a Rimbas man named Sa and Entri respectively went to explore the Awik, a right hand tributary of the Krian.

They reported it to be very fertile but soon after their return both men died and the intended migration had to be postponed until the period of mourning was over. Finally three years later, one of Sa’s sons named Enchana (Letan) led the migration overland. The migration took place in 1854.

Upon arriving at Krian River, the migrants built a number of boats in order to proceed up the Awik tributary. Just as they were about to enter the Awik, they heard an omen bird (jaloh kanan) striking from their right hand side. It indicates as believed that they would be successful in farming as well as in war.

The future men of their people would always be lucky in their various undertakings but their lives would be shorter than those of their women would. The place where these people first settled was at Lubok Gamba.  Minggat, the brother of Enchana and later a well-known ally of the Rajah in the Krian, followed his brother to the Awik. Two years after the migration, Manggang with his brothers, Tengkuang, Unggang Luna (Panggau) and Mudit of Nanga Anyut in Paku decided to migrate to the Seblak which is another right tributary of the Krian which meet the Krian River near the sea. They first went to Gerenjang in Ulu Krian to make preparation for this migration.

While they were at Gerenjang, the remaining Seru of Sebetan and Seblak became very violent with the Saribas Sea Dayaks under the leadership of Linggir and Aji who had been in the habit of raiding them in company with Chulo (Tarang) then living in the Rimbas.

Because of this trouble, the Paku migrants were forbidden by the Saribas chief to risk the move to Seblak. They returned to their old village in the Paku. After the Serus had been quiet, they once again began to move to Seblak and this time they succeeded. Many people followed them from the Bangkit and Lower Paku.

On their arrival in Seblak, they first built a temporary longhouse (dampa) at Nanga Beratong. Here they made a sacrifice known as babi kena ngenselan menua. It was also mentioned that there was some quarrel amongst these pioneers. One man named Dullah (Gila) did not agreed with the rest and went to live for some years on the main Krian River at Sanjangay.

After some years he returned and joins the rest. Another man named Ngadi Apai Iding, formerly of Samu never reached the Seblak with the main party. He stopped on his way there and lived with his cousin Enchana in the Awik.

Three years later he moved up to the Seblak but his descendants retained their claim on the three pieces of land; one for each year of his stay while at Awik.

Iban Skrang and Lemanak Migration to the Sblak.

According to tradition in the Saribas, the first migration of Ibans into the Rejang drainage (what is today the Third Division of Sarawak) took place before the migrations to Krian. The migration to the Rejang took placed at the time of the arrival of James Brooke in 1839. Igoh Apai Lamban came from Ulu Layar to the Sarikei River in search of new land. He had been a leading warrior together with Unal (Bulan) the slayer of the Balau chief named Ijau (Lang).

There was no quarrel in the Layar, which force him to migrate. He wanted to be a pioneer and to seek new lands. During the same time, Mujah  Buah Raya  led the first migration into Ulu Julau, a branch of the Kanowit tributary of the Rejang. Mujah was a brave war leader who had originally migrated from the Skrang and had lived temporarily in the Upper Penom and Anyut rivers of Ulu Paku. Since these areas were already well settled, Mujah kept on looking for new land and thus came to Julau.

Upon his arrival, he and his followers fought against the Rejang’s Tanjongs, Kanowits, Ukits and Lugats in many parts of the Rejang. Due to his success in driving these aborigines from the lower rivers, Sharif Manshor of Sarikei gave him the title Panglima.

In later years when the people of Upper Sarikei were at war with the Brooke Government, Mujah  Buah Raya helped them. As a result the Government sent  expeditions against him into the Julau in 1856 and 1858. After Mujah had migrated into the Julau many Ibans from the Lemanak migrated into the Sarikei, Bintangor, Poi and Ngemah tributaries of the Rejang.  Megong Apai Bansa, Pelima and Saka led these movements.

The Lemanaks came by way of Kelampu and Bunu in the Skrang. From these places, they crossed Bukit Ringka between the Skrang and Kanowit and reached Penebak in Ulu Layar. But as in the case of Mujah, they discovered that these lands were already completely occupied and the Layar Ibans would not accept them.

From Penebak, Pelima went down the Kanowit and finally settled in the Machan River, a left tributary of the Rejang. Megong Apai Bansa went on from Penebak down the Sarikei and lived at Pakan. Gradually almost all parts of the lower Sarikei and Bintangor rivers were populated by the Lemanak Ibans as were the Poi and Ngemah tributaries further upstream.

Much later, another quite different group of Lemanaks settled in the Roban, branch of the Seblak tributary of the Krian.

When the second Rajah erected Fort Charles at Kabong in lower Krian, he engaged these men under their leaders Angki Degom and Ambak to guard the fort. They served as fort official (known as the Sarawak Rangers after 1862).  After they had retired, they requested and received permission to settle in Roban.