Mount Singai once a Bisingai settlement steeped in rituals

KUCHING: Mount Singai, a go-to place for tourists and locals due to its beautiful scenery, was once a Bisingai tribe settlement.

According to Datuk John Tenewi Nuek who is an elder from Mount Singai, the tribe’s villages are located in the middle of the mountain.

In his talk ‘Singai: Glimpses from the Past’, he dwelled on the location of the Bisingai kampung (romin) on the mountain, its land, the longhouses and other sites besides the daily activities and chores at the romin.

Aside from that, he also covered the eight types of gawia rituals, various types of spirits and omens and how the Bisingai dealt with threats and attacks from them through a number of rituals.

The title of Datuk John Tenewi’s talk.

“The Bisingai had a high standard of morality, strict adherence to protocol and their capable and honest leaders contributed to the peaceful and stable life in the kampung and the romin.

“The Bisingai were not rich, in cash terms, but they never experienced serious economic hardships such as famine, though their tools and methods of farming were very basic,” he said.

As for the advent of Christianity among the tribe, he said in 1885, Father Felix Westerwoudt, a Catholic missionary, had come to the village to introduce the faith.

However, as Christianity was strongly opposed to by the Bisingai, the conversion progress among the people was slow.

“After 13 years of unrelenting efforts by Fr Felix, seven families converted to Catholicism and by 1905, he managed to convert another 10 families.

“Thereafter, the church established schools where the Bisingai began to accept Christianity.

“Today the Adat Oma (the old religion) has virtually disappeared and there are now nine Catholic churches in Singai,” he said.

The talk which was held at Borneo Cultures Museum here was attended by over 120 locals and foreigners.