Elongating Earlobe Tradition of Dayak Tribes
The art of Tattoo and Piercings has been known by Dayak Tribes thousand years ago, this art has been inherited from generation to generation. There are unique piercing tradition in dayak tribes that call “Telingaan Aruu” is a tradition of elongating the ear. The tradition of elongating the ears among the Dayak tribe has long been passed down through generations. Elongation of the earlobe usually uses a ballast-shaped metal ballast from a copper that is a full-length language called "Belaong". With this ballast the earlobes will continue to extend up to a few centimeters.
But not all Dayak sub tribes on Borneo Island have this tradition.Only a few groups are familiar with the culture of the long ears, and even then the inhabitants of the interior. Like Dayak Kenyah, Dayak Bahau, Dayak Penan, Dayak Kelabit, Dayak Sa'ban, Dayak Kayaan , Dayak Taman and Dayak Punan .
Aruu's tradition of Telingaan begins when someone is a baby. Initially the process of piercing the ear of the baby, after the former piercings dry, then in pairs of threads that will be replaced with wood, so the ear hole increasingly larger.The procession of ear piercing is known as '' Mucuk Penikng '' . Earrings will be added one by one into the ear, which over time will make the hole grow larger and longer.
The lengthening of the ears performed by both women and men actually has a purpose. For example, among Dayak Kayan, they make an extension of the ears as their noble identity. For women, ear elongation is used to show the identity of the nobility, as well as being used as a differentiator.Whereas in villages upstream of the Mahakam River extend their ears with different aims, they perform an ear lengthening to indicate a person's age. Newborns will be given beads that are considered quite heavy. Furthermore, the beads are attached to the ear will continue to be added every year.
The Iban Dayak tribe did not give any weight to his ears. The pierced ears are left to look like large zero-like holes by joining the tip of the index finger with the tip of the thumb. For this Dayak tribe, long ears have another purpose is to train patience through the weight due to beads attached to the ear and should be used every day. With a heavy load on the ears, patience and suffering are increasingly trained. In addition, long ears also become a symbol of the social status of Dayak women.They believe that the longer a woman's ears, the more beautiful the woman will become.
There are several types of earrings that are known in the tradition of Telingaan Aruu. Among them, '' Hisang Kavaat '' and '' Hisang Semhaa '' . Hisang kavaat are earrings mounted in earplugs and the ends of the circles are at loggerheads.As for Hisang semhaa, mounted around the earplug hole. Besides the existence of the rules in Telingaan Aru is, for the men should not lengthen his ears beyond his shoulder, while women may extend it to the extent of the chest.
