The sound of gajeuma penetrates the night, every bus reaches four beats with a tempo of 140 beats per minute. A typical tool made of piton snake skin and biawak is played by three players in a Uma, the traditional stage house of Mentawai, while others hit empty bottles with a spoon to create harmony.
Stop the foot from four Sikerei people on the wood floor fills the emptiness of the beat, they dance the stake, occasionally tilting the eyes and develop his hands similar wings. The banana leafy tobacco cigarette still depends on the lips.
In their hands slip the foliage, so also on the headband and necklace, while in the waist bound the sabok fabric cover the cabit. One of Sikerei holds a Simagrek Umat, a bamboo scorpion that ends there is a long foliage of climbing, used to call a roh surrounded.
A Sikerei is looking for a foliage for the implementation of the rituals of the rituals of the rituals of the rituals of the rituals of Punen Eeruk
The Sikerei brought the leaves in ritual ritual rituals of Punen Eeruk
In each ritual, they will use the foliage around the residence. They believe that these leaves can be an intermediary to the Creator with the Ulau Manua’s name.
The night was held Turuk Laggai, traditional dance in the series of ceremony commemorates death. The dance resembles the movement of animals in the environment they place and they serve as an appreciation, but in other cases they continue to keep their growth.
The series of rituals in the framework of Punen Eeruk, a large custom or ritual party held by the Mentawai community, especially in the interior of Siberut, to respect and end the time of the family members who died the world.
The color brought a pig to be slaughtered when the ceremony of the adat Punen Eeruk
The number of Sikerei running rituals in the front of a pig that will be slaughtered in the ceremony of Punen Eeruk
Punen Eeruk is also part of the trust of the Sabulungan Arat, which is the traditional belief of the Mentawai society who believes that spirit and arwah inhabited all nature, including plants, animals, soils, and objects.
In the belief of the traditional people of Mentawai, death or kamateijat is a redirect event of the final stage of life in the real nature becomes a new stage of life in the nature of the prayer.
In accordance with their beliefs, although a person’s yeast has nothing when the death of the world but his spirit will remain alive even though only in the nature of it. This transition should be accompanied by a custom ceremony conducted by the family and all members of the uma (Mentawai house) of a person who has died the world.
The People of Punikerei merias his face is a cer of the cersqueezers who have died in the series of the paradise
Punen Eeruk begins by fixing Uma, such as updated floors and roofs. The family who joined choose to replace the roof with new sago leaves at their home in Dusun Onga, Matotonan Village, South Siberut, Mentawai Islands Regency, West Sumatra.
Preparation then proceed with capturing pigs in the cage to be slaughtered. There are six pigtails offered above Uma.
The day of Pasibelekek ritual was run, namely the rituals of roh and continued with Pasibitbit or ritual cleaning at night ended with Turuk Laggai.
The next day will be held a large ceremony. Four people Sikerei or traditional ambasador Mentawai, namely Teu Legei, Aman Letuk, Safe Fold, and Hariyadi unpacked his bag out their accessories and lacquer face with red and black ink. They are preparing to run large ceremonies including paeruk, rituals and pig and chicken slaughters.
Despite the time of mourning, but Paul Sabbagalet can not hide his sadness when Sikerei is innate and smears special in the ceremony. He is still reminded of his father during life.
During the time of joining, the abandoned family will do some symbolic traditions, such as removing beads jewelry that they usually use everyday and do not wear good clothes.
It is done as a sign that they feel deeply lost to the family who have died.
By ending the sense of mourning, the family can reuse the beads and everyday jewels, they are free and no longer load considering the past.
For three days three nights, Uma belongs to Paul it is always crowded, especially during the night where Sikerei’s hood sounds up to the Sarereiket river hulu. The fourth night, the house is quiet and the people in it back to the routine although the samer-samar still sounds the rest of the sound of the gajeuma.
Photo & Text : Iggoy el Fitra