Bambarayon
Bambarayon, in the coastal Kadazan dialect Bambaazon, is the indwelling spirit or soul of the rice in Kadazan-Dusun belief and one of the most important powers of the living tradition. It is conceived as present in every grain of paddy and as directly responsible for the abundance or failure of the harvest, so that a dense web of ceremonies, charms and taboos surrounds the planting, reaping and storing of rice in order to keep it content. The spirit is mythologically identified as the enduring presence of the sacrificed maiden Huminodun, whose soul abides in the grain that grew from her body; for this reason seven stalks of paddy are preserved at harvest as its emblem. At Kaamatan the bobohizan or bobolian priestess performs the Magavau rite, chanting the rinait to seek out, recall and guide Bambarayon from the harvested fields back to the rice barn and the household so that its life-giving power is not lost. It is honoured as a spirit-essence of the rice rather than as an anthropomorphic high god.
Domains
- paddy soul and harvest
- agricultural fertility
Powers
- to grant or withhold an abundant rice harvest
Epithets
- BambaazonLow Kok On & Lee Yok Fee (2012). 'Belief in Bambarayon (Paddy Spirits) among the Kadazandusun of North Borneo.' Borneo Research Journal 6: 75-101. (secondary)
Relations
- subordinate to: HuminodunBambarayon is understood as the rice-dwelling continuation of the sacrificed maiden Huminodun, her soul abiding in the grain.Low Kok On & Lee Yok Fee (2012). 'Belief in Bambarayon (Paddy Spirits) among the Kadazandusun of North Borneo.' Borneo Research Journal 6: 75-101. (secondary)
Sources
- Bambarayon (Bambaazon) is the in-dwelling paddy-spirit of the Kadazan-Dusun, born of Huminodun's sacrifice, present in every grain of rice and the central object of the Kaamatan and Magavau harvest rites.: Low Kok On & Lee Yok Fee (2012). 'Belief in Bambarayon (Paddy Spirits) among the Kadazandusun of North Borneo.' Borneo Research Journal 6: 75-101. (secondary); Evans, I. H. N. (1953). The Religion of the Tempasuk Dusuns of North Borneo. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (secondary)