Antu language in the Sangin oral narrative of the Sihans in Sarawak

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 n...

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Main Authors: Noriah, Mohamed, Jamilah Bebe, Mohamad, Mohd Tarmizi, Hasrah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/32832/
http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/32832/1/Antu%20language%20in%20the%20sangin%20oral%20narrative%20of%20the%20sihans%20in%20sarawak.pdf
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author Noriah, Mohamed
Jamilah Bebe, Mohamad
Mohd Tarmizi, Hasrah
author_facet Noriah, Mohamed
Jamilah Bebe, Mohamad
Mohd Tarmizi, Hasrah
author_sort Noriah, Mohamed
building UMP Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description 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.
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spelling ump-328322022-04-08T03:18:16Z http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/32832/ Antu language in the Sangin oral narrative of the Sihans in Sarawak Noriah, Mohamed Jamilah Bebe, Mohamad Mohd Tarmizi, Hasrah PL Languages and literatures of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania 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. Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia 2021-05-31 Article PeerReviewed pdf en cc_by_4 http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/32832/1/Antu%20language%20in%20the%20sangin%20oral%20narrative%20of%20the%20sihans%20in%20sarawak.pdf Noriah, Mohamed and Jamilah Bebe, Mohamad and Mohd Tarmizi, Hasrah (2021) Antu language in the Sangin oral narrative of the Sihans in Sarawak. Kemanusiaan, 28 (1). pp. 171-192. ISSN 1394-9330. (Published) https://doi.org/10.21315/KAJH2021.28.1.8 https://doi.org/10.21315/KAJH2021.28.1.8
spellingShingle PL Languages and literatures of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania
Noriah, Mohamed
Jamilah Bebe, Mohamad
Mohd Tarmizi, Hasrah
Antu language in the Sangin oral narrative of the Sihans in Sarawak
title Antu language in the Sangin oral narrative of the Sihans in Sarawak
title_full Antu language in the Sangin oral narrative of the Sihans in Sarawak
title_fullStr Antu language in the Sangin oral narrative of the Sihans in Sarawak
title_full_unstemmed Antu language in the Sangin oral narrative of the Sihans in Sarawak
title_short Antu language in the Sangin oral narrative of the Sihans in Sarawak
title_sort antu language in the sangin oral narrative of the sihans in sarawak
topic PL Languages and literatures of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania
url http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/32832/
http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/32832/
http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/32832/
http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/32832/1/Antu%20language%20in%20the%20sangin%20oral%20narrative%20of%20the%20sihans%20in%20sarawak.pdf