Pengurusan Warisan dan Budaya Masyarakat Iban-Miring

• Main Author: Bibiana Motey, Bilon@Senang
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English; English
• Published: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) 2019
• Subjects: NX Arts in general
• Online Access: http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/30891/1/Pengurusan%20Warisan%20dan%20Budaya%20Masyarakat%20Iban-Miring%20%2824%20pgs%29.pdf; http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/30891/6/Bibiana%20Motey%20ft.pdf; http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/30891/
• Institution: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

This research is about miring rite practiced by Than community in Saratok, Betong, Sarawak. Than community way of life is based on custom law, taboos and tolerance among themselves. Miring rite is one of the custom and culture in Than community. In Than community, miring rite is one of the ways for them to give their offerings and prayers to God or Petara. Miring rite is performed when they are wishing for something good to happen, asking for forgiveness, or praying to Petara or other supernatural powers. In order to perform miring ritual, there are several materials needed and specific procedure to be followed based on the categories of the ritual. It is very important to perform the ritual according to specific procedure in order to avoid bad things to happen especially to the performer. Petara is using birds as a way to communicate with human beings. Than community believes in signs sent by Petara through birds, animal movements, weird happenings and dreams as warnings or signs from Petara. Those signs can be used to determine the fate of a person who heard or saw the birds or the signs. Those signs could be related to their daily life in terms of marriage, war, farming, building a new longhouse and the making of Pua Kumbu. This is where miring rite is needed, to take care of the signs given by Petara through those birds in order to avoid bad happenings to occur. However, as time goes by, the changes in culture are affecting miring ritual. The changes include category ofpiring, materials and locations ofmiring. Than community has their own perception regarding the changes that have occurred in the miring ritual. Even though there are changes in miring ritual, Than community nowadays still believe in the miring ritual.