Tumpik-making taboos of the Melanau

The ‘tumpik’ made by Rose at SCV on June 30, 2024.

By Marlynda Meraw

KUCHING, June 30: Many taboos surround the diverse native communities of Sarawak, including taboos for the Melanau native when it comes to making the ‘tumpik’ (sago pancake).

Rose Antony, the lady who prepares ‘tumpik’ at the Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV), said that one of the taboos is that the person who cooks the ‘tumpik’ should not talk because it prevents the current task from reaching completion.

Although she did not elaborate on the logic behind the taboo, most natives in Sarawak believe that talking while cooking causes distraction, leading to incomplete tasks.

Rose when interviewed by DayakDaily reporters.

Curious about the process, DayakDaily asked Rose to take off the lid to take a closer look, but she denied the request.

“If you take off the lid, the ‘tumpik’ will be ‘malu’ (shy) to cook,” said the 61-year-old when asked why she refused to take off the lid.

Rose, who hails from Tellian, Mukah said that the Melanau natives in the olden days eat ‘tumpik’ as opposed to the rest of the natives whose staple is rice.

“We (Melanau) would go into the forest and chop off the sago tree twice a year so we could make our ‘tumpik’,” said Rose.

According to her, the Melanau natives used to live near the sea and did not have the right resources when it came to paddy plantations.

“Back when there was the Japanese war, we (Melanau) had no means to plant the paddy in such a way that we cannot protect our fields, unlike the Ibans,” added Rose.

To her, because of the Iban’s headhunting reputation, others were afraid of disturbing their paddy plantation, whereas the Melanau did not have the strength nor the ferocity.

Visitors can come to visit Rose’s sago processing hut at the SCV as it is not limited to during the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) 2024.

Although Rose drizzles the ‘tumpik’ with palm sugar, she said that the sago pancake is usually eaten with salt or fish.

“I add the palm sugar because tourists usually like it sweet,” she said. —DayakDaily