Rantako boom, The Spirit of Successful Planting Season

Helloindonesia.id – This small cannon functions as the start of the growing season in the Bagak Sahwa Village, East Singkawang District, Singkawang District, West Kalimantan. This small cannon is called the rantako which is said to be a British heritage and is used as a tool for the inheritance of the Dayak Salako Binua Garantuk tribe.

The growing season or in the Dayak Salako people call it Ngabayont is held every June 1 every year. The Ngabayont ritual also marks the end of the harvest and the resumption of planting. Usually this celebration is held at the Parauman Indigenous house, Bagak Sahwa Village.

Dayaks are known for having a love of nature. Loving nature can be done in various forms such as, preserving nature, because according to the elders of the Dayak tribe the preservation of nature is like a mandate from Jubata Nek Panitah (the Creator). The Dayak Salako Binua Garantuk tribe, for example, has a sacred ritual after the harvest, as well as a sign of the beginning of the planting period. This ritual has the aim of restoring the spirit of rice that has been stored in a rice barn, so that it can be reunited to families who will plant rice seeds. In addition, the Ngabayotn ritual also aims to honor the spirits of deceased ancestors.

When the Ngabayotn ritual began, a priest, known as Panarokng, led the prayer. In this ritual, a sacrifice or sacrificial pig animal is provided along with other devices in the living room of the Indigenous Parauman. During the prayer process, an explosion that is not so big. The sound comes from the chain deliberately turned on.

“The explosion of the chain was a sign that the prayer had been made,” said Polinus who was the owner of the chain of inheritance from his grandmother. The Rantako shot seemed to signify the traditional ritual had been completed and continued with the dance. With this event, the Salako Dayak community is optimistic about the upcoming planting season. Prayers are offered with great hope, to the God of the Dayak Salako tribe, Jubata Nek Panitah, to bless planting rice seeds.

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