The Death Ceremony of Orang Talang Mamak (Riau - Indonesia)

1. Origin

Talang Mamak is one of tribes in Indonesia living in the district of Indragiri Hulu, the Province of Riau. They spread in several sub-districts such as Batang Gansal, Batang Cenaku, Kelayang and West Rengat. This tribe is also called Suku Langkah Lama, Suku Anak Dalam or Suku Talang Mamak.

Talang Mamak clearly consists of two words, “Talang” and “Mamak”. “Talang” means place or field, while “Mamak” means honorable mother‘s relatives. Thus, Talang Mamak here means an honorable place.

According to the local folklore, Orang Talang Mamak (Talang Mamak community) were originally the residents of the volcanic slope in the West Sumatera. The coming of Islam pushed them to migrate to Batang Kuantan led by Datuk Perpatih Nan Sebatang. When the caravan arrived in a certain place, the leader married a local maiden and had a daughter named Puteri Bertampuk Emas. And later they migrated again and settled in the forest that is now included in the district of Indragiri Hulu. But this first opinion has no more explanation about the story of Orang Talang Mamak. The second opinion explains that they were originally the members of Nan Enam tribe who lived in the area of Tiga Balai, the place strongly estimated as the original place where Orang Talang Mamak came from. But the provided data that supported that opinion are very limited.

The last opinion tells that Orang Talang Mamak were the descendant of the king of Indragiri. This opinion is supported with an annual tradition upheld by Orang Talang Mamak; every Eid el Fitry (Islamic Festival on 1 Syawal after a month of fasting) they visit the ruination of Indragiri Palace that is now located in Rengat. According to the local history, they refused to embrace Islam, the very religion of the king of Indragiri, and therefore they did not live together with the kingdom family. They preferred to isolated themselves in hinterland as farmers, sailors or makers of traditional medicines. They moved from place to place continuously, from teratak (trace of rice field where rubber trees and others were planted) to another place called talang. One teratak usually contained of several families tied by marriage relation. When teratak was ready to be planted with rice, they moved to talang. In that place, they built high panggung houses (the pillars that propped the houses‘ floors were about 3-4 meters) to keep them from the wild animals‘ attack. They lived there for many years, and therefore they were called Orang Talang Mamak.

2. Man and Death

For Orang Talang Mamak, man is contained of body and spirit. The body can be seen and touched, while the spirit can not. The existence of the spirit is merely felt by its owner. Man will be able to live if the spirit still stays in his body. On the contrary, when it leaves the body, the man dies. Therefore, death occurs only when the spirit leaves its body. The death is just experienced by the body.

Orang Talang Mamak stipulated two ways of interpreting the death as explained below:

• Death is as a bad luck that was related to all that the man have ever done during his lifetime. If the dead person, during his lifetime, practiced so many crimes such as killing or harming other people, his death is as a bad luck. By contrast, if he/she, during his/her lifetime, practiced many good deeds, the death is not as a bad luck. In conjunction with the coming of the first type of death, the families who live in one house with the dead, as Orang Talang Mamak believe, face calamities. They face an alternating death among them in a short time. They should move to another place and build a new house within to keep them from such frightening tragedy. But the left house is still owned by them and should not be taken over by other people. This moving is always guided by a shaman. Such belief pushes them to be a mobile community, move from place to place that avoid them from a threat of the death of bad luck.
• Death is as a moving of spirit from the real world to another world, the world that could not be seen by human‘s eyes. The spirit departs the real world to move to the eternal world. But it must be noted that not all spirits are able to reach it safely, because evil spirits may disturb it. The disturbed spirit will go astray. Orang Talang Mamak named such spirit as an evil spirit that settles at big leafy trees, hilled lands, hills, cross roads, valleys, capes and rivers. Orang Talang Mamak consider such places as the sacred places where they regularly come with sesajens (offering for spirit) in order to give an honor to the spirits that settle within. It is believed that the worshiped spirits will help the people, and vice versa.

Such belief leads Orang Talang Mamak to believe in the power of spirit, and to connect all kinds of illness with the angry of the evil spirits. A shaman is the only man who simultaneously diagnoses the sick people and heals them. Therefore, he plays a central role in the life-cycle of Orang Talang Mamak.

3. Treating the Dead Body

Each member of Talang Mamak community does not want his spirit goes astray after his death. All of them wish their spirits could reach the eternal world safely. Therefore, the family should make some preparations of death ceremony divided into several phases in order to accompany the spirit to depart to the eternal world. The death ceremony is arranged as following phases: taking care of the body, taking it down from the house, and burying it perfectly. This portal systematically explains the details of these phases.

a. Taking Care of the Dead Body

In this first phase, on the passing away of the dead, one represents the family telling in front of the guests about the good sides of all that the dead had ever done during his/her lifetime. This phase also aims to wait for the coming of distant relatives. Such speech is held in the deceased‘s house as soon as he died. But for those who occupied an important position within the community such as batin, penghulu and datuk, such a speech will be held in three days and nights.

Several people who involve in the ceremony are husband/wife, his/her kids, relatives of husband/wife, neighbors and a shaman.

As for the perfection of this first phase, the family prepares some equipments such as kemenyan (type of aromatic resin of tree), gaharu wood, earthenware, perasopan (earthenware filled with embers), pandanus plaited mat, a pillow and a long cloth.                                     

The procession of the ceremony:

On the passing away of the dead, a shaman is then invited. As soon as the shaman comes, the body is lain in the middle of the house, and covered by a long cloth, but the head is not directed to the main door of the house. The shaman then asks for perasopan and other equipments needed during the ceremony. Afterward, he begins to spread over kemenyan and gaharu into perasopan.  

In waiting for the distant relatives, all the deceased‘s families sit around wailing and crying on the passing away of their lovely person. One of them tells the good side of all that the dead ever done, while all guests listen it with a sorrow and a touched emotion. This phase will end when the body is taken out from the house.

There are some taboos and prohibitions during this phase, such as one should not cook rice in the deceased‘s house; should not eat when the dead is still lain in the house; and should not cut a tree down because it will disturb the evil spirits.

b. Taking out the Dead

This second phase is held to say goodbye to the dead person and to accompany him/her sincerely to the burial. Such ceremony is believed will make the spirit not too sad to leave his/her family, and simultaneously make the family stronger in facing the life after his/her passing away.

This ceremony is conducted in the courtyard of the house. All families are involved within, especially the close relatives such as father, mother, brother and sister. As for the perfection of the ceremony, the family provides some requirements as following: bier, rice, turmeric, cloth and perfumery.

The procession of the ceremony

Before the ceremony is begun, the family initially prepares whether wooden, bamboo or rattan bier. The underside of the bier must be made from pieces of wood. The bier is put on the ground when the dead is not ready to be placed within. Several people decorate the dead with a new cloth as if he/she will go for a far distance. The dead is then lain on a bed at the middle of the house, and the shaman begins to read chant verses. Afterward, the shaman gives a sign that the bier may be brought into the house, and the dead is carefully placed in the bier which is completed with a pillow and a long cloth. During this ceremony, the crying of all relatives breaks out to show how deep their love to the dead that will go soon to the eternal world. The guests just keep quiet hearing the wailing and the crying of the deceased‘s family.

The bier is slowly carried by four persons to the courtyard and accompanied by all relatives. The shaman then asks the relatives to bow down under the bier; such honor is repeated for three times as a symbol that the relatives sincerely let the dead goes forever with full of hope that his spirit will not go back to them as an evil spirit.

After giving their last honor, one of the families tells a biography of the dead accompanied with the wailing and the crying of all relatives. In this opportunity, the speaker also tells the amount of wealth inherited by the dead to his/her kids and family.            During the ceremony all guests are expected to be quiet. In the end of this phase, before the bier is carried to the burial, one of the relatives spreads out the turmeric, flowers, perfumeries and rice on the bier.

On the way to the burial place, rice is spread out on the road as an offering dedicated to the spirits that live alongside of the road. There are some taboos and prohibitions during the ceremony such as, one should not speak aloud; and should not cut a tree down. If one stands against such prohibitions, the spirit of the dead might go astray.

c. Funeral Ceremony

This is the third phase that will keep the dead from the attack of wild animals. This last ceremony is held in afternoon in a selected place. All relatives, prominent figures of the community, and shamans are expected to involve themselves in the ceremony. On the day of the funeral ceremony the family should prepare hoe, cleaver, tree bark, pieces of wood used for fence, dress and a yellow cloth (if the dead is a prominent figure).

The procession of the ceremony:

When the bier arrives in the burial place, it is carefully put on a shady ground. Several people dig grave hole by using hoes and cleavers, while the others take a seat in shady places without telling any words loudly, especially the dirty words. When the grave hole is ready, the dead is then taken out slowly from the bier and placed carefully in the grave hole in a seated position lying on the wall of the grave hole. All of his /her lovely wealths are put on his/her thigh. Afterward, the grave hole is covered by the tree bark and then by the sand. The rice is spread on the grave as a symbol of saying goodbye to the dead. The shaman then reads the chant verses followed by all people. In conjunction with the end of the reading of the chant verses, the funeral ceremony ends.

The funeral ceremony is an overwhelming task, so that the deceased‘s family is grateful to all people who involve during the procession of the ceremony, especially during the funeral ceremony, by inviting them to eat and drink together in the house. They receive the invitation pleasurably. This ceremony of thankfulness is the last death ceremony held by Orang Talang Mamak.

Source:

1. http://id.wikipedia.org
2. Kompas.co.id
3. http://ciptakarya.pu.go.id
4. Depdikbud, Proyek Inventarisasi dan Dokumentasi Kebudayaan Daerah, Upacara Tradisional (Upacara Kematian) Daerah Riau, Jakarta, 1985.         

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