Balian

BPS used the name Buket Tribe for this ethnic group in the 2000 population census. The ancestors of the Pitap Dayak people originally lived in the Tanah Hidup area, which is the border area between the Balangan and Kotabaru districts. Tanah Hidup is a sacred land area believed to be the area of ​​origin of their ancestors.

Furthermore, based on the 1993 sub-district decree, Ajung village was merged into Iyam. The mythology of the Meratus Dayak tribe / Bukit Dayak tribe states that the Banjar & Bukit tribes are descendants of 2 brothers, namely Si Ayuh alias Datung Ayuh alias Dayuhan alias Sandayuhan who gave birth to the Bukit tribe and Bambang Siwara alias Bambang Basiwara who gave birth to the Banjar tribe. In the folk prose story in the Meratus Dayak language, it is intended to be revealed that the ancestor of the Banjar people named Bambang Basiwara was the younger brother of the ancestor of the Meratus Dayak people named Sandayuhan.

In accordance with his status as the ancestor/forefather of the Meratus Dayak people, the name Sandayuhan is very popular among them. Meanwhile, the Banjar Dayak inhabit the village of Hampang. In the history of the origin of the Banjar Dayak tribe, there is known to be Kembatang 5, namely an area of power that includes five rivers: Muara Barito, Kusan, Gegayan / Cantung, Kapui, and Sampanahan.

Religion was born because of human belief in powers outside of themselves and the existence of ancestral spirits that are believed to have good & bad influences. EB Tylor said that the origin of religion began with the theory of animism, namely believing in spiritual forms such as human souls that continue to live even though they have died, and spirits/souls that rise to the level of the Gods. A belief system contains human beliefs and imaginations about the nature of God / Gods, spirits, the supernatural, and the nature of life & death.

The view of prehistoric humans towards death is that the spirit of a person who has died will not just disappear but will continue to live in its realm & influence humans who are still alive. Some of them still adhere to ancestral beliefs, and some have embraced new religions. There is a continuity between the concept of Dayak Meratus belief and the concept of prehistoric belief, namely the worship of ancestral spirits and the use of grave goods in death ceremonies.

Because of this view, prehistoric humans carried out ritual activities related to death ceremonies to send spirits to their realm and avoid their bad influences. For those who are able, on the hundredth day, a mambatur ceremony is also carried out by making a wooden burial house in the shape of a rectangle called batur. This activity is carried out by the family of the deceased while reciting prayers as many as the number of steps, namely 7 steps which symbolize the 7 levels of the spirit's journey.

The purpose of providing a ladder above the grave is to provide a means for the spirit to travel to the place of the spirit in the 7th level of heaven. After the burial, family members abstain for 12 days and are not allowed to farm or hunt. As a sign of abstinence and taboo to receive guests, a fire is lit in front of the house for 9 days without going out.

The opportunity that is usually used to visit the grave is after Eid al-Fitr, which is the second day. They believe that the spirit has reached heaven located on Mount Halo which is the highest mountain in the Meratus mountains. Pilgrims also usually bring food/cakes as offerings to the spirit.

They are adherents of the Kaharingan belief, and although currently most of them have converted to Buddhism, Christianity & Catholicism, they still carry out traditional death ceremonies, farming, and healing. This death ceremony also applies to the Dayak Dusun community in the Durian River area, namely in the villages of Rantau Budha & Gendang Timburu. From Barabai, the district capital, the journey to the village is about 31 km.

As witnessed by Radar Banjarmasin Friday afternoon, last week. At the beginning of his term of office, in the 1980s, the village was still in the form of a wilderness. Husnul Yakin, told us about his experience when he arrived in the village of Patikalaian a month ago.

He also explained that religious harmony in HST district has basically been rooted since ancient times. The majority still adhere to the Balian / animism religion, namely the belief in spirits that inhabit all objects that are glorified, such as trees, rocks, rivers/mountains. As Ruay recalls, the residents of Patikalain village have adhered to Balian / animism since ancient times.

Before embracing Islam, both Andi and Harni were also adherents of animism. From Harni's story, it is known that her father, Abdul Latif, was an animist figure in the Papagaran hamlet who then chose Islam as his belief. This was proven in 1994 when an Islamic organization brought in preachers from Aceh.

The Dayak community in Kelumpang Hulu is a group of Dayak Meratus who have hereditary beliefs / called ancestral religion. When opening a field, they hold a big ceremony but if the land is old land, then a baharin ceremony is sufficient which only lasts 1 night, just slaughtering a chicken. Meanwhile, those in Gadang, especially the Pak Ubiansyah Umbun group, in traditional ceremonies use the Balian Dewa custom.

The Bangkalaan people believe in the incarnation of the spirits of the deceased in 2 types of spirits, namely pidara & sang hyang. Pidara is the spirit of the dead who is evil, while sang hyang is the dead who is good & becomes the protector of humans, for example, the Sang Hyang Pangeran Agung and Ratu Intan. In general, the spirits of the dead who are evil or good are called kumbawa.

The spirits of the dead who are good will be drawn to the Balai Bangrai, while the spirits of the evil will undergo tests & live in trees. After the King of Bangkalaan converted to Islam, the Temuluang cave was handed over to the Dayak tribe in Bangkalaan Dayak who still embraced ancestral beliefs. According to the traditional head of Salat hamlet, Dakoi, the religious ceremony / aruh adat in Salat hamlet, Paramasan Duakalisanga village uses a type of land balian which is the earliest balian custom before there was balian.

The Balian who lives in the Hamenak traditional hall said that the bawanang ceremony in the Hamenak hall is usually attended by 32. After the bawanang ceremony, regardless of the number of bawanang days, all members of the umbun carry out pamali for 3 days and 3 nights.