ASAL-USUL DAN PERUBAHAN IDENTITI KAUM MELANAU DI SARAWAK: SUATU HIPOTESIS (The Homeland of Melanau in Sarawak and their Identity Shifting: A Hypothetical Review)
Abstract
Abstrak
Makalah ini membincangkan asal usul dan identiti suku Melanau di Sarawak. Daripada segi geografi, menurut Chong and Collins (2015), suku Melanau yang berjumlah kira-kira 119 897, kebanyakannya tersebar di kawasan paya di pesisir pantai Sarawak, dari Delta Rejang hinggalah ke Bintulu dan terdapat sebilangan kecil juga tersebar di hulu Sungai Rejang, seperti di Kanowit dan Kapit. Secara linguistik dan etnografi, afiliasi etnik mereka bukan tergolong sebagai suku Dayak ataupun Melayu. Justeru kerana tiada keempunyaan etnisiti yang jelas dan spesifik, wujud perdebatan tentang asal usulnya dalam kalangan sarjana, malah oleh suku Melanau sendiri. Kebanyakan sarjana sepakat bahawa tanah asal Melanau adalah di pedalaman Sarawak dan berhubungan tradisi, adat dan bahasa dengan “Orang Ulu†iaitu suku Kayan, Kenyah dan Kajang. Morrison (1957) misalnya mengatakan bahawa suku Melanau ada kaitan dengan suku Kayan atau Kenyah; Morris (1991) pula mendakwa mereka mempunyai hubungan linguistik dan sosial dengan suku Kajang. Daripada kosa ilmu ini, dapat dirumuskan bahawa suku Melanau adalah dari kawasan hulu, tinggal berjiran dengan suku Kayan, Kenyah, Kajang dan kesemua bahasa ini adalah berkerabat. Selepas berpindah dari kawasan hulu, hubungannya semakin menipis. Makalah ini menelusuri hubungan Melanau dengan “Orang Ulu†daripada perspektif linguistik dan kebudayaan. Hasil perbincangan menemukan bahawa Batang Mukah dan Oya adalah jalur migrasi purba untuk suku Melanau ke kawasan hilir. Selepas gelombang migrasi berhenti, komuniti ini menghadapi dua kali perubahan identiti. Pertukaran pada kali pertama membabitkan identiti kebudayaan dan berlaku selepas mereka berpindah ke pesisir pantai. Mereka telah meninggalkan identiti lama tersebut agar bersesuaian dengan persekitaran baru di kawasan pantai. Setelah beberapa generasi di kawasan baru, golongan ini kelihatan berdepan dengan perubahan identiti buat kali kedua. Oleh kerana faktor Islamisasi, sebahagian daripada mereka telah menukar amalan hidup mengikut agama Islam. Untuk suku Melanau yang tinggal di kawasan bandar, mereka malah menukar identiti ke “Melayu†dan berbahasa Melayu Sarawak sebagai bahasa pertama.
Kata kunci: Melanau, Tanah asal, Identiti, Budaya, Agama
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Abstract
This paper discusses the descendant and ethnic identity of the Melanau in Sarawak. Geographically, according to Chong and Collins (2015), the Melanau numbering 119 897, is largely found in the low-lying swampy plain of the coastal of Sarawak, stretch from Rejang Delta eastward to Bintulu, while much small number reside in the upriver area of the Rejang basin near Kanowit and Kapit. Linguistically as well as ethnographically, the Melanau’s ethnic affiliation is neither belongs to the “Dayak†(Iban, Bidayuh and others) nor the Malays. Hence, this unclear and unspecific background has yielded debates among scholars, even by the Melanau itself. In general, most of the scholars agreed that the “Orang Ulu†(literary means Interior People) in interior Borneo (for example Kayan, Kenyah and Kajang) were the descendant of the Melanau due to they are sharing several similarities in traditional customs and languages. Morrison (1957), for example stated that the Melanau is related to Kayan or Kenyah; meanwhile Morris (1991) claimed that they had linguistic and social relations with the Kajang people. Based on these statements, we can hypothetically pointed out that the homeland of Melanau once was at the interior/upriver area of Sarawak. In pre-migration era, they were believed settled in the neighborhood of the Kayan, Kenyah and Kajang and their languages had brotherhood relationship. After migrated out of the homeland, these relationships had gradually immersed in new environment. This paper aims to explore the linguistic and cultural relationship between the Melanau and the Orang Ulu. Based on evaluation, this paper argued that Batang Mukah and Batang Oya (which headwaters located nearby the Orang Ulu region) served as the ancient migration route for the Melanau to downriver area. After the migration wave ended, the identity of the Melanau community had changed twice. At the initial phase, they had put away their “interior identityâ€, for example lifestyles, customs, cultures etc. in order to accommodate with the coastal environment. After few generations in the coastal area, the Melanau seems facing another phase of identity shifting. Due to Islamization, part of them have become Moslem and adapted the way of life of Islam. The Melanau, particularly in the urban area even identified themselves as “Malay†and shifted their mother tongue from Melanau to Sarawak Malay dialect.
Keywords: Melanau, Homeland, Identity, Cultural, ReligionReferences
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