certain values which tended to inhibit withdrawal in certain situations.
The values were those of being brave (berani), strong (kering) and bold
(kempang) , attributes which were beneficial to a group in times of external attack, but were potentially disastrous when the hostilities were internal. Women, on the other hand, were not affected by this value, and they were
expected to withdraw when frightened. The difference in how male and
female values affect behaviour is strikingly illustrated in an incident in 1970:
Case C 2 The B a kong1s Last Fight
Two sets of brothers, the Bakong and the Kalong brothers, had had a long acrimonious quarrel about some land.^ At various
times the Bakongs challenged the Kalongs to resolve their
differences by fighting. Early one morning, the Bakongs were
woken by the Kalongs and found the latter standing some 100
feet from their house with shotguns aimed at them. They were
challenged to come down and fight if they were brave enough. Hearing this challenge, the two women in the Bakong's house, the mother and a wife, leapt out of the back and fled, as they
later related, with no specific destination in mind. The men,
on the other hand, put on their swords and rushed out of the
house at the Kalongs. They were both killed.
Although the natural behaviour of the child to withdraw from certain fear provoking situations has been ritualized by the Iban, in the
male, it has also been inhibited. Values such as bravery tend to be
generalized and do not refer only to specific situations. Though they are
beneficial in certain situations, they tend to inhibit beneficial behaviour
in other situations. The values can also be used, as they were in the
above example, to goad a man into violent action. A man who withdraws, as the women did in the above example, though still alive, would risk being
called a coward and becoming an object of ridicule. These male values,
now that the Iban are not threatened by external attack have outlived their purpose, and now, because they are still stressed, tend to be detrimental to the group.
Submission to Threat Behaviour
Submission differs from withdrawal in one important respect. It enables the relationship between the adversaries to continue, though only after a temporary dominance/submission relationship has been established.
Submission behaviour is in evidence in the child, though at a later age than withdrawal behaviour» A good example of submission behaviour occurred in 1972, during the period in the farming cycle when the jungle is cut:
Case 0 37 Submission of Sulang
Jala (aged 5) and Sulang (aged 4) had quarrelled. Both were
naked. Jala grabbed a bundle of straw tied up in a sheaf and
with it raised over his head, slowly and menacingly advanced on Sulang who backed away. At this moment, Sulang's grand
mother Anong came out of their b i l e k ♦ Sulang ran over to her,
and then accompanied her up the ruai. Jala dropped the sheaf
and returned to his own ruai where he picked up a sword, took it out onto the tanju and began to slash at a block of wood. A short while later, after Sulang had returned to his own ruai,
Jala picked up a large rubber pillow which he draped over his right shoulder and swaggered down the ruai in the direction of Sulang. As he slowly marched by, Sulang, who was standing beside Anong, took a desultory overhead swipe at the pillow without hitting it.
Shortly after this, Anong disappeared, and Jala picked up a
sword and made his way past Sulang's ru a i . At the end of the
house, with sword over his right shoulder, he turned. Sulang
came out onto the passageway, and knelt down, posterior towards
the advancing Jala. He pressed his head to the floor and
stretched his arms out in front of him. Jala passed by on his
right and did not glance at the prostrate boy, but made a slight downwards gesture towards him with his left hand without touch
ing him. He continued on to his ruai.
A few minutes later, Sulang picked up a sword and walked over
to Jala's ruai. The latter was on his feet and had relinquished
his swordo The two boys paced around each other without once
looking at the other. Twice Jala climbed onto a log close to
Sulang and towered over him, but still took no notice of him.
Suddenly Sulang said, 'Let's go farming?' (bumai, w a i ?) . Jala
turned, picked up his sword, put an arm over Sulang's shoulder and the two former adversaries headed for the door leading out of the house.
In this .example, a sequence similar to that in many animal groups
is followed (see e.g. Goodall 1971:112). During an unsettled quarrel Jala
to support Sulang. Later, the threats continued with Jala provocatively walking close to Sulang first with a pillow and then with a sword over
his shoulder. This was followed by Sulang's submissive act of 'presenting'
himself which still brought no obvious sign of reconciliation. There was
further ritualized play after this, with, significantly, Jala adopting a
dominant position by standing on a log. Sulang, the submissive boy, then
made a contact seeking approach which was immediately accepted by Jala
and the relationship between the two boys was repaired. An important
difference between submission and withdrawal is well illustrated in this
example. When withdrawal occurs there is no immediate rapprochement in a
relationship so that when the two adversaries subsequently meet, there is likely to be some ambiguity in the relationship. After submission has been accepted and a contact seeking approach made by the weaker, the
ambiguity is removed and the relationship can continue. This only happens
in a natural situation. It does not necessarily happen in a ritualized
situation.