Sundait- Kadazandusun’s way of berbalas pantun

Let me just say that today, somehow, somewhere, i read this article about malaysia’s aboriginal people in Sabah, and felt that I should pay heed onto this orang asli. I have to shamely declare that I don’t know anything about this tribe.

Sundait is basically their way of berbalas pantun, combined from the words sunudai (requiring for a riddle) and karait (response with an answer). The person who asks for a riddle is called the buyer (pembeli) and the person who gives the riddle is called the seller (penjual).

Sundait can only be performed during certain time of the year, to pay respect to the pantang-larang of their tradition. This occasion is forbidden before the harvesting season and after the harvesting season when the paddy fields need some spring-cleaning to allow a better soil treatment for the next planting. So, obviously the only time sundait is played is during the harvesting paddy season, when it is believed that the yield/crop would be done faster with more and better product.

Now, let’s look more closely at the sundait. If a buyer does not know the answer to the question, he must beg for a clue with this verse:

Sudawon ku bakilong

Awo owit-owit

Limuntuai poh doho

Awitku nagindo

(Kayu apiku bengkok

Tiada dapat ku mengangkat

Tolong pendekkan batangnya

Baru dapat ku angkat)

My firewood is crooked

I can’t carry it

Do shorten the wood

So that I can carry it.

Well, clearly the person is asking for help to be given a clue or even an answer to the riddle.

Legend also says about the famous sundait between a mysterious voice and three men at a hut near a jungle. Apparently, the mysterious voice (could the penjaga of the jungle) proposed a riddle and demanded an answer from them, or else their lives would be taken away, one after the other.

Kayo baiso koyo kokoso

Awo koh nopo koroit

Akokoson ot liow

So, what on earth did the voice say? I don’t know. But I do know the correct answer was: sugarcane. No doubt the 3 men escaped death, and hence, it’s now their turn to give a riddle to the voice.

Kayo balitok-totoko

Awo napo karait

Totokon koh liow

And what is the answer for this one? I don’t know and neither does the voice, which ran away in awe deep into the jungle.

These are a couple of sundait that I know (better understood in malay)

Wangkangonku gakod nu posuangan’ku watangku osonong oporimanan

Kukangkangkan kakimu kumasukkan batangku oh sedapnya.

I open your legs, and put in my hard one, oh what a feeling!

Answer: Spectacles.

Kayu-kayu ih nga mongua do balatung

Pohon kayu berbuahkan kacang panjang

A tree that grows very long peas.

Answer: Petai plant.

What have I learnt after reading this article?

Human’s creativity is sheer legacy of nature;

Obscenity is an ancient art

And civilized is just a word.