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Nabau Dragon: The Guardian of the Bornean Forest
Jun
Anciently, a dragon was brought down from heaven to protect the Dayak Benuaq tribe’s land, rivers, and forests on the island of Borneo (Kalimantan). The Nabau Dragon once engaged in battle with a monstrous demon that sought to seize Borneo and turn it into the land of the demon kingdom. Surprisingly, the Nabau Dragon triumphed and successfully defended Borneo from the devils. Thereby the Dayak people and wildlife of Borneo can coexist harmoniously with the surrounding forests and streams.
The seven heads of the Nabau Dragon are crowned with gold. The dragon’s scales are formed of gold. As the dragon flick its bodies, the scales fall into the rivers and soil, causing the area to contain gold grains. Naga Nabau’s body size exceeds the length and width of the Kahayan River, a river in Central Kalimantan. A bluish-green sphere ball is always carried by this dragon, which has four claws—two in the front that resemble hands and two in the back that resemble feet. The dragon’s tail resembles the long pointed tail of an arowana fish.
This Nabau dragon is extraordinarily powerful. He is capable of flying through the air, diving into rivers, tunneling beneath the surface, and rapidly producing a thick fog to hide its presence. Black clouds, very powerful tornado winds, lightning strikes, and a fast whirlpool in the center of a river are all signs of the Nabau dragon’s presence nearby. The Nabau dragon may transform into a male human as one of its powers. So that he might marry the princesses of Dayak ancestors in various Dayak tribes on the island of Borneo while in his human shape. The “Dayak Iban” tribe in East and West Kalimantan, the “Dayak Meratus” tribe in South Kalimantan, the “Dayak Manyan” and “Dayak Ngaju” tribes in Central Kalimantan, as well as numerous other dayak tribes. Therefore, Borneo island is home to both dragons and people who are descended from the Nabau Dragon.
The descendants of Nabau dragon did not realize that they were in fact related to the dragon until after they passed away because the tale had been lost since the collapse of the Tarumanagara kingdom in Borneo. However, their spirits will continue to exist as “Nabau Snakes.” Since these snakes are much smaller than their ancestors, they are not referred to as dragons. The aim of these Nabau dragon descendants is to protect the land against demons and their offspring, who wish to harm and dominate the area, as well as other bad spiritual entities.
The tale of the Nabau Snakes is still extensively repeated in Dayak societies today, including those in Engkilli, Serawak, Malaysia; Tenggarong; Kutai, East Kalimantan; as well as other areas in Kalimantan. Releasing the Erau Dragon into the Mahakam River, one of the Erau traditional ceremonies series run by the Kutai Kartanegara sultanate, as a sign of trust for the folks who live in the city of Tenggarong. This is annually transformed into an international festival.
Additionally, members of the Dayak tribe have customary tattoos on their bodies that depict the Nabau Dragon. It can be a carved ironwood door or the head of a Mandau weapon handle, among other types of wood carving crafts. TAKALA curated one of the wooden door masterpieces with the 196 cm tall, 79 cm long, and 8 cm thick iron wood, carved an incredible Nabau dragon with a shimmer detail of shells in some spots to bring up a nice small accent. This remarkable one-piece wooden door came from an East Kalimantan house and is expected to have been around for decades.
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