Kelingkang

by Douglas Jaga

Latarbelakang masyarakat Dayak Iban Sarawak. Pengisian cerita tentang seorang abang sanggup mengubati adiknya yang dikatakan gila. Dia menggunakan pendekatan moden semnetara ayahnya gunakan tradisi lama. Dalam pertembungan budaya ini, akhirnya anak percaya bahawa tradisi lama juga masih berharga dan bapa pula sedar bahawa dunia moden kita perlu berubah cara pemikiran dalam kehidupan kita. Tapi upacara Gawai itu lebih tebal dala jiwa kita membaca novel ini. penuh ciri-ciri masyarakat Dayak. Sada seorang tidak siuman, Lang seorang pegawai pemerintah dan bapanya seorang yang kuat dengan tradisi lama.

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Fadillah · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Father, the view that the hospital is only for the Chinese, Malays and town people is wrong. It's for everybody who needs it. It does not matter if they are Chinese, Malay or anybody else. In fact, it's us who live in the rural areas who need it most. They have all the best treatments and experts of all illnesses including the illness of insanity that Sada has. Those who work there have undergone special training. They were also tested before they could be allowed to treat people. Every illness is dealt with in a different way, unlike the shamans and the lemambang that we've seen. We treat all illnesses the same way. We call Slempetoh. We call Sempandai. We call the Shaman King. Shamans and lemambang .. Lang's words were unfinished when he heard his father say something. It was short. But it was disappointing. "Enough. You don't have to say anything anymore. I'm going to get Lemambang Garai from Kantu Bunut. He could still hear those words in his mind while he lay down scanning through the Superman comic book”.
- Kelingkang by Douglas Jaga
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Thematically, the story revolves around the lives of villagers versus the lives of city folks, tradition versus modernisation, modern medicine versus ancient remedies, and what’s practical versus what’s been inherited from ancestors. While i appreciate cultural references and explanation from the book, i felt it was a tad too long for me. The story did not get anywhere until we passed page 200. Page 1 until 200 put us in the loop of ‘Sada shouldn’t be treated in Hospital as his disease is different’ and Sada’s brother, Lang insisted that it would be the best course of action, seeing all traditional methods (incantation and other unconventional remedies) did not work. Both Sada’s brother, Lang and Father, Apai Lang represented 2 different generations and how they see their cultural practices and customs. Apai Lang would rather meet all the ‘lemambang’ or shaman in the area to find a cure for his son. He would be ready to prepare ‘Kelingkang’ or an offering basket just in case it is needed to appease the spirits. He truly believes that Sada disease was caused by the spirits. As for Lang, if one ‘Lemambang’ has failed to cure his brother , maybe its time to try the conventional method and go to the hospital. Both has a good intention and wanted to be right but in doing so, Sada was being sidelined and kept on being pushed through to do many things in the attempt to cure him. Things change a little bit when Lang tried to understand his father’s thought on why he insisted to only use incantation and started to be interested with the method but at the same time, Apai Lang started to lose trust in the traditional healing process. We saw this when he was diagnosed with High Blood Pressure and refused to meet any shaman in the area. I really think that this will be an excellent read on the Iban’s custom if this is to turn into non fiction book. There are so many information and facts that was shared by the author about the practices that presumably many Malaysians did not know about. Overall, as much as i wanted to love this book, i couldn’t. Its not the fault of translator or the author, i just lose focus after 100 pages. The fact that it was about Sada but not much Sada’s POV on the story until we reached near the end of the book really bothered me as well. If you have this book in your bookshelf, read at your own risk.

[Ismim Putera · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the English version of Kelingkang by ITBM. The story starts slow and steady with lengthy discussion on the setting & cultural practices. The novel then progresses to Sada's illness followed by disputes amongst the family members. The narration was dull and insipid at certain areas; possibly due to huge chunks of unnecessary & irrelevant details. The characters seemed very lifeless and distant. I was hoping more emphasis to be given on Sada's illnesses, Lang's personality and his family's efforts & struggles to heal him via the traditional ways.

[Poul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tidak semestinya yang lama itu adalah tidak berguna atau ketinggalan zaman. tetapi yang lama danb tradisi itu juga mempunyai keistimewaan dalam budaya kita. Pengorbanan seorang ayaha, abang dan ciri kemanusiaan. Menyatakan ilmu pendidikan moden penting untuk kita maju di dunia sedang membangun ini. `
Sudut pemikiran Douglas cukup emikat walaupun di saat-saat akhir ini dikatakan bahawa novel ini ada mirip novelm "Upacara" karya Korrie Layn Lampan dari Indonesia. tetapi bagi saya, masih memuji tahap penulisan Douglas. Ceritanya tetap menarik dan unsur tema sama dengan upacara tetapi jalan cerita adalah lain arahnya dan lengang-lengguknya.