Baraa' Hudo' Kawit: From Folklore to Collective Belief

Abstract

Dayak Bahau people are inherited various rituals and folklores. One of them is the Ritual of Hudo’ Kawit/Ngawit. Held every year marking the beginning of yearly planting cycle, Hudo’ Kawit is one of the biggest annual events for Dayak Bahau in several regions of East Kalimantan, especially Samarinda. Delivered mostly in Dayak Bahau vernacular, the meaning and purpose of this ritual are not easy to understand by the outsiders. However, this ritual is essentially based on a long live folklore existing in the folk group. So, this study aims to convey how Baraa’ Hudo’ Kawit (the main prayer in the ritual) represents perception of God in Dayak Bahau Commnuitiy and how motifs of good and evil is transferred from the ritual. To answer these questions, theories related to Folklore & Rituals (Joseph Campbell, Stith Thompson), and Collective Unconsciousness & Archetypal Motifs (Carl Gustav Jung) are applied to the texts of Baraa’ Hudo’ Kawit. Structuralist approach is used to examine the elements of the text to relate them to the wider cultural context of Dayak Bahau community. The findings are that Baraa’ Hudo’ Kawit has given a validation to the ritual as the expression of their experience on nature and divinity. Meanwhile, the folklore recited in the prayer delivers a set of values which show the significances of Hudo’ Kawit for wider society. Those values are 1. that evil deed should not be fought back with violence, 2. that there is power in the universe that support goodwill, 3. that arrogance counts as evil deed, 4. that human depends to the others, and 5. that forgiveness reconciliation is the key to live in harmony. Such values are the key for the survival of the culture and the bond among the believers as one cultural identity. Thus, Indonesians in general are able to get the picture of the way Dayak Bahau people perceive their belief in God and how they portray the belief in day to day manners because there is universal meaning which is applicable to other collective importance.