Sa'ban Customs
Pun Winnie describes Sa'ban customs relating to farming, marriage, clothes and death in the Sa'ban language. The recording was made in Long Banga on 7th March 2019.
nah amai nok pu'uen lún amai Saban ai ma'oen
we Saban in the past
aroo' mah lún amai
we farmed
mah deh, mraal-mraal mah dei pah
their farms were big
pi tau kai nasip wei'
and if they were lucky
am pantang tau peh
if there were no bad omens
panai deh
they would harvest
pi tau, kai naan anok ko' tel'au deh dei kah
if there is something like a barking deer
tu'jangaan nah amai
we call it "tu'jangaan"
binpah nah
that's a snake
binpah lé' deh malaan lem aliin kah
if they see a snake on the road
ta'ang anok lé' deh kah
if they hear some sounds
bréeu deh lem mah deh nah deh rai
they just leave the farm
am deh panai nah ndeh pah
they don't harvest
pi tau
after that
naan deh nok mai-mai...
some of them went...
méroop-méroop lún ma'oen kan
people used to drink in the past
lai-lai ssaam réek an deh nah pelbut lem maa' deh nceh
there were jars of rice wine all the way around the house, you know
méroop dalau
they drank
alau sieu deh nah méroop
for 8 days they drank
pi tau
after that
méroop deh tau pah
they drank
nah ndeh mai aroo' lueng wan sataat
then they put up a ceremonial pole in the yard
dei naan deh ngkai rak
and put a pig on top of it
rak mraal-mraal
a big pig
an deh ngkai
they lift it up
an deh mabet kuet rak
and tie the feet of the pig
nah deh nnet nah deh sanah
then they climb up
mai nséeng yeh si' oet yaai
and hang it from a hook
dei ma' to'oh ai tau
whoever is strong enough
sieng yeh si' oet ai pah
will get to the hook
nah deh sarau
then they scream
ndup, ngkét ndeh rai ma'oen
they used to scream and shout in the past
pi nnoi ko' am lún aroo' nok nanoh pah
today people don't do that any more
amai ma' nnoi, am amai aroo' nah
us today, we don't do it
aroo' tah lun lueng abei
some people do put up poles actually
pati a' lún tau
when people have parties
dei tah lún aroo' lueng nnoi
people put up poles today
pati kawin anak amai kah
wedding parties for our children
sempuen amai kah
or for our grandchildren
aroo' nah amai aroo' lueng nah
that's when we put up poles
nnoi ko', am amai ko' ddúet adat ma'oen dei pah
nowadays, we don't follow the old customs
deh nok mai mo'on an éek ina dei
those who plant rice, as I mentioned before
naan deh mai nnop
some go and dive
mai yeu' deh abei
and bathe in the river
sambil maan pei' deh pah, ta'oen deh
and they drink the water, poor things
prang deh pah
they were thirsty, you know
prang deh sambil maan pei' deh pah
they are thirsty so they drink the water
maan a' deh si' pei' lem pei'
if they drink water from the river
pi koen waan rran amai pah
and there is a bad omen
et deh hnah ndeh pah
something bad will happen to them
kai ceh am mat rran dei roo'
if you don't follow the omen
nonoh ddúet adat amai Saban ai ma'oen
that was our Saban custom in the past
ndeh pah
they say
la' waan awaan amai ma'oen
if we wanted to get married in the past
ndeh pah, lún mraal ma' ma'oen
they say, our elders
arai ko', am arai sieng lem lún deh
as for me, I wasn't around then
waan awaan deh nah ma'oen
if they got married in the past
nnoi la' waan awaan lún
now, when people get married
kawin lún
they get married
sembayang lún nceh
and people pray for you
kawin gereja deh
they get married in a church
kawin hotel deh pah
or they get married in a hotel
lún ma' nnoi
people these days
amai ma' ma'oen dei ndeh pah
but for us in the past
wiit réek nah naan deh kawin
they used a ladle of rice wine to get married
apan deh wiit réek ai tau
they get the rice wine ladle
an deh pelsiel daweh la' lem maa' nah lem maa' tau
and they sit the couple side by side in the house
an deh..
then they...
rien deh si' réek en
they give them the rice wine
an deh séwa deh maan maep pei' réek nah
and they take it in turns to drink the rice wine
nah mpi deh kawin
and that makes them married
ndeh pah
they say
nonoh adat amai Sa'ban nai alam
that was our Sa'ban custom in the past
pi sieng lem sieu hnai
and now
mat si' Tuhan ai nah lún
people believe in God
pi si' ngkan tah budaya lún pah
and now the culture is different
pakai amai nai tah ma'oen
our clothes in the past
am amai nai waan-waan seluwan
we didn't have trousers
naan kkép setéeng dei pah
we had plain skirts
ma'-ma' nai kkép setéeng deh nah lah
these skirts came down to here
dodoi búel deh
this is how their shirt was
pakai búel taloon ayeu lún alam, nceh
they wore tree bark shirts in the past, you know
an deh ntook taloon ayeu
they hit the tree bark
an deh nruet
then they sewed it
nah an deh búel
and used it to make clothes
mai-mai hmah, am deh waan kasut
going to the farm, they didn't have shoes
kkam al nonoi ndeh, ta'oen
like chicken feet, poor things
mai hmah
when they went to the farm
dei tah lún ma'oen, alaak aka lún
and people would catch wild boar
an ceh alaak noon, payau, fwung
if you caught something, deer, animals
an deh maraal nah waan araan ngaai
they would smoke them on the shelf
aroon-aroon a' wang araal deh waan araan ai
the meat is nicely browned on the shelf
mai deh hmah tau
when they go to the farm
an deh ntak a' nah
then they cut it
an deh sup nan deh
and make it into a soup
maan pei' lang juga deh
they drank plain water as well
am deh maan pei' loo'
they didn't have cofee/tea
am amai maan pei' gula
we didn't have sugary drinks
koen nnoi nai lún maan pei' gula nah
now people drink sugary drinks
ma'oen maan pei' lang deh, ta'oen lún
in the past they drank plain water, poor things
lem adat Sa'ban alam
in our Sa'ban custom
nah adat Sa'ban ma' amai Sa'ban, lún mraal amai alam pah
that was our Sa'ban custom in the past
iiii mataai amai nai ma'oen dei pah
when we died in the past
lún ma' wei' ai tau
the upper classes
mataai deh tau
when they died
mai deh mpang ayeu
they would cut down trees
aroo' nguen deh nah ndeh rai
to make coffins for them
an deh marét nah
and they carved designs on it
lún ma' et ko' ddúet arai ai
for the lower classes like me
am tah dah aroo' yeh nonoh
they didn't do that
an deh matép a' ngaal naan deh nah
they built something using spare planks of wood
ndeh pah
they say
nonoi adat amai Sa'ban nai alam
that was our Sa'ban custom
pi lem sieu hnai, wei' nluen
now, life is good
pahaa' luen pah
life has changed
mlei-mlei ayeu
we buy wood
wét nguen éraat sa'oot lún naan lún nceh
they bring coffins from the town, you know
dei lún wei' nnoi
the upper classes now
ta'oen amai
poor us
am lún amai nai wei' ma'oen
we weren't well off before
ta'oen deh
poor things
waan buel taloon ayeu
we had tree bark shirts
waan seluwan taloon ayeu
we had tree bark trousers
waan kkép taloon ayeu nah lún mai hmah ma'oen
we had tree bark skirts that we wore to the farm
naan hrap dei an lún
there was a "hrap" tree
naan taloon ayeu
there was tree bark
an deh ntook, an deh hnaau dei nah
they hit it and shaped it
pi tau, nah an deh kkép
then afterwards they made it into skirts
an deh búel
and made shirts
naan deh mai hmah, ta'oen deh
to go to the farm in, poor things
nciet eu luen amai Sa'ban nah alam
our lives were very difficult back then
mai leu' tueng nai
and the "tueng" bamboo
an deh tabéeng
they make it into a water carrier
an deh weh-weh awa' yeh pah
they used two sections of bamboo
mai raap lem pei' yaai amai
and we went to fetch water from the river
mai yeu' lem pei' yaai amai
we went to bathe in the river
mai mpuu' ngaai tah lún
and people washed their clothes there
ta'oen deh
poor things
mwal deh
they cooked
aroo'-aroo' bii' mak nah deh
they made wrapped rice
pukul lau tau to'oi ndeh mwal
they got up at 3am to cook
pi tau, pi deh maan tau
and after they had eaten
dei deh mai la'oot
then they went to work
ta'oen deh pah
poor things
nonoh adat amai Sa'ban nai alam
so that was our Sa'ban custom