Jungle Fruits(Bua' Ba-i)

Bua' Wai

Bua' Basut(Lumok)

Kado' Bua' de ilu taan buka le tai masat ke dalau ba'-i. Bua' de un dalem gaban kine un de du mola ke kebun. Nta uko' baan sena-a' ilu tai mita dalau ba-i te. Masa' un de nta pernah taan bua' di bane'. Harap ilu sokat tego' macem-macem naan bua' ba-i de ca laa ngan un dalem gaban le apan ilu sokat kongsi penisen ji.

Ja' penting lan jane ilu kelo' ke ten(oman) kumin teka' rasa bua' ba-i di. Memang nta kua' rasa e. Un pe de mesem,may ngan pait pe un.Ayen sala' oman oban un pe bua'de ilu nta sokat oman.

Kenyah Faces

Kenyah Asap, Sarawak

Traditional Wedding Ceremonies- Dayak Kenyah Mahakam

Dayak Kenyah Tribe

Just like in Dayak Benuaq Tribe and Kutai Tribe wedding customs, in Dayak Kenyah traditional wedding custom, the parents would start to think of the way to look for a spouse for their son/daughter when he/she is considered mature enough.

Usually parents of both the man and the woman are beginning to search for the future son/daughter in law. If they feel that they have found the suitable one, the parents of the man/woman would send a messenger to make inquiries about the man/woman, whether he/she is still single or not. The messenger is someone who has the closest relationship with the father of the man's side such as the uncle from the father's side or perhaps even the man's father himself who is meeting and conversing with the woman's parents. Later on, if the man wants to conduct a direct approach, he can meet the girl directly. However, the man should take with him a woman who has the same age as the intended woman.
If the agreement is settled between both sides, then as the token of engagement, the woman will be given beads for bracelet, "beluko jangin" (an object in the form of small plate made of brass), "Uleng Safeu" (a necklace made of beads), clothes and "taah" (sarong). By the time the tokens are presented, they would also discuss the time when they would held the wedding.

After the set time of marriage has arrived, the wedding ceremony is held.
The couple, traditionally dressed, sit on a "Tawek" (a kind of gong). Later, there is "Menua/Nebara" ceremony led by an elder from the tribe by giving words such as "Udip sae' udip keline, udip dema, udip tiga, tiga urei anak lakei, tiga ia anak leto, tiga urai tiga padai le na muwe o" which means "hopefully the couple will have sons and daughters, good harvests and then later on live happily ever after.

The wedding ceremony mentioned above is a ceremony held in a certain kampoong. If the wedding involves people between kampongs, or even involves the royal family (Paren), the celebration will be very great. The wedding procession is for carrying the groom heading to the bride's house. While entering the house of the bride, the groom is obligated to walk on the row of gongs (tawek) arranged at the front yard of the house up to the front door. Gong (tawek) is ranged from the smallest to the biggest.

Those are brief descriptions about the traditional wedding ceremony of Dayak Kenyah Tribe, living in the inner part of Mahakam.