Open AccessAntu Language in the Sangin Oral Narrative of the Sihans in Sarawak
Author(s) -
Noriah Mohamed,
Jamilah Bebe Mohamad,
Mohd Tarmizi Hasrah
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
jurnal ilmu kemanusiaan/kemanusiaan the asian journal of humanities
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2180-4257
pISSN - 1394-9330
DOI - 10.21315/kajh2021.28.1.8
Subject(s) - storytelling , entertainment , indigenous , narrative , ethnic group , folklore , oral tradition , oral literature , indigenous language , style (visual arts) , history , life style , sociology , ethnology , anthropology , linguistics , literature , visual arts , art , demography , ecology , archaeology , biology , philosophy
This article discusses the Sihan community and one of their traditional oral narratives, known as sangin. Sihan is an indigenous ethnic group residing in Belaga, Sarawak, Malaysia, and sangin is an activity that can be considered a folklore, narrative in manner, and performed for entertainment and native remedy. Data on the community in this study was obtained through interviews with 71 Sihan informants in Belaga, Sarawak, Malaysia. The sangin by one of its practitioners was recorded during the community’s leisure activities. The recorded sangin song, delivered in the style of storytelling, narrated for entertainment, not for remedy purposes. The description of the sangin indicates that the language in the oral tradition, called antu language (language of the spirit) is very different from the modern, every day Sihan language used by its speakers. In terms of usage, sangin can be considered extinct because of the reduced number of Sihan speakers (only 218 left) and lessening number of sangin practitioners (only three remain). Sangin as a native remedy no longer has a place in the community with the availability of modern medical treatment, the mass migration of the Sihans from their original area, and the change in the Sihans’ life style, from nomadic to community life.