Festival highlights waning popularity of Dayak blowguns

Festival highlights waning popularity of Dayak blowguns

By Indra D. Himrat

JAKARTA (JP): Mention Dayak and some people think about
traditional weapons, such as the sumpit (blowgun). A sumpit,
made of hard wood, is cylindrical and long, like a rifle barrel.

Today, it is used especially for hunting in the forest, but in
the past it was used in wars between Dayak groups. However, the
sumpit is becoming increasingly separated from the Dayak
community, at least those living in the Greater Jakarta area, as
seen in the recent Dance and Sumpit Festival in the Center
Kalimantan pavilion at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah.

The sumpit contest attracted 25 participants, both Dayaks and
non-Dayaks. The winner was Popi Baeng, a Dayak who now lives in
Jakarta, but the second and third place finishers, guards at the
Central and East Kalimantan pavilions at Taman Mini, are
Javanese.

"They were both trained to use the sumpit because they work at
the pavilion," said Yos Budiono, an executive of Yayasan Burung
Enggang, a foundation for the preservation of Dayak arts and
culture.

A number of women also participated in the competition. Their
presence gave a certain prestige to the festival, because the
weapon is not traditionally used by women.

The use of the sumpit requires strong breathing, so that the
sumpit dart can reach the target, however far it may be.
Traditionally the Dayaks in Kalimantan's inland areas are trained
to use the blowgun.

One has to train continuously to use the weapon in order to
perfect one's aim, even in difficult situations.

It could be seen in this festival that many participants were
not skillful in handling the sumpit. Most of the darts leaving
the weapon missed the target, a black circle 10 meters away from
the participants.

"It is hoped that this sumpit festival will make the younger
(Dayak) generation get acquainted again with the weapon, that in
the past was used by their ancestors when they were hunting in
the forest," said Budiono, a Javanese who is married to a Dayak.

Budiono also plans periodically to hold a sumpit festival.

The festival at Taman Mini attracted an audience of about 300
people, mostly Dayaks.

Budiono also said that the low number of participants in the
festival was due to the short preparation time, only two weeks.
Another limiting factor is that the number of people from the
Dayak community in Greater Jakarta who own a sumpit is very
small. All four of the blowguns used in the festival belonged to
Budiono.

More people may own sumpits, but perhaps only as collector
items. It is clear that there is no place to use them in Jakarta,
and even if there was somebody to make sumpits, the materials
are very difficult to get.

"The hard wood is difficult to obtain here. A substitute for
the wood is possible, but the gabus (cork) attached to the dart
can only be found on riversides," said Yos Budiono.

The gabus is made of a kind of reed that grows on riversides.
It cannot be replaced by other material. Therefore, it makes
sense that not many people own a sumpit, and that the weapon is a
rarity. Besides, Dayaks in Greater Jakarta have no use for the
sumpit, so the weapon of their ancestors is no longer considered
important.

Even in Kalimantan, where the raw materials for the weapon are
easily obtained, the sumpit eventually could become less popular.
The traditional weapon has lost the competition with air rifles.
"Now people can use air rifles for hunting. The rifles are more
accurate and have a longer reach," a Dayak recently told The
Jakarta Post.