Animal Motif Totem Poles of Penampang
Written by H. Joplin Mosiun
April 5, 2023
Dear reader, please acknowledge or cite the blog and author of the article if you wish to use any information on this site. Cheers!
I discovered this intriguing report in the 1935 edition of the British North Borneo Herald at the Sabah Archives.
"The Sininganak, a tall maypole like post, is an object of veneration among the Dusuns of Penampang. The Sininganak we have seen belongs to Kuati, and is 'tanda dia orang ber-bangsa.' It is the heart of a Tamassuk log about fourteen feet long, fluted, and carved with various animal forms, among which biawak (iguanas) figure prominently. The carvings themselves are not unlike the carvings we have seen on the old coffins which are to be found in certain caves in the Kinabatangan District.
On the rare occasions when a maginakan is held, the top of the sininganak is decorated with hisad grass and with the kain blachu streamers. Pigs are slaughtered at the post of the post, and their blood smeared thereon.
A sininganak is the residence of at least one potent spirit, and the Dusuns at night will not willingly approach close to one. Nobody has ever heard the desecration of a sininganak post, e.g. there never has been a case of a Dusun in a convivial moment (and the Penampang Dusuns have many such moments), testing his parang sharpness by taking a hack at the post, etc. In fact the sininganak is a very strong pantang. It has also a practical value, for it serves to mark its owners's land boundary."1
 |
| Carvings on coffins at Batu Tulug in Kinabatangan. |
Tom Harrison and Peter Phelan conducted comprehensive studies on stone and wooden monuments, but they did not come across any reference to wooden poles with animal carvings in Penampang. Based on the majority of accounts, the Sininggazanak was a means of commemorating an individual who passed away without an heir.2 The conditions of these wooden artefacts in the 1930s had either completely deteriorated and destroyed or had been removed from their original site before any study could be done on them.
The purpose of these wooden posts is comparable to the totem poles constructed by the native peoples of Canada and America. The article suggests that these posts served as symbols of a person's social status (tanda dia orang ber-bangsa), as well as demarcated land boundaries. I learned that some families in Penampang possess fragments of wooden posts with carvings of crocodiles, which were presumably passed down by their predecessors. Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to see them in person myself.
It is possible that poles decorated with animal motifs gradually fell out of fashion, leading to the decline of wooden pole production in Penampang. Lajoman who comes from Kg. Maang, was perhaps one of the few remaining craftsmen skilled in this art. He was commissioned to produce a wooden female statue in Kinarut to honour Zijanzi, a childless widow in the 1920s.3
The Sininggazanak once prevalent in Penampang and Kinarut, echoes the culture and customs of the Tombonuo and Idahan communities in Kinabatangan, Lahad Datu, and Kunak. Wooden monuments found in Penampang and Kinarut share similarities with those at Baturong Caves in Kunak. However, while the tradition of crafting wooden figures might have persisted from the east coast, local customs and geographical factors may have altered its significance over time. Alternatively, the tradition and customary practice of crafting wooden monuments largely centred on rites related to death.
 |
| A compilation of photos from The Prehistory of Sabah and Traditional Stone & Wood Monuments of Sabah |
 |
| Photo excerpt from The Prehistory of Sabah by Tom and Barbara Harrison |
Notes
1 British North Borneo Herald, “Penampang Sininganak”, April 16, 1935, pg:76↩
2 Peter R. Phelan, 1997, Traditional Stone and Wood Monuments of Sabah, Kota Kinabalu: Pusat Kajian Borneo, pg:105.↩
3 Tom and Barbara Harrison, 1971, The Prehistory of Sabah, Sabah Society Journal Volume IV, 1969-1970, Monograph, Cathay Press Limited, pg:148.↩
Comments
Post a Comment