Summary Specifically Shinto ethics are not based on a set of commandments or laws that tell the faithful how

to behave, but on following the will of the kami. So a follower of Shinto will try to live in accordance with the way of the kami, and in such a way as to keep the relationship with the kami on a proper footing. But it's important to remember that the kami are not perfect - Shinto texts have many examples of kami making mistakes and doing the wrong thing. This clear difference with faiths whose God is perfect is probably why Shinto ethics avoids absolute moral rules. The overall aims of Shinto ethics are to promote harmony and purity in all spheres of life. Purity is not just spiritual purity but moral purity: having a pure and sincere heart. No moral absolutes Shinto has no moral absolutes and assesses the good or bad of an action or thought in the context in which it occurs: circumstances, intention, purpose, time, location, are all relevant in assessing whether an action is bad. Good is the default condition Shinto ethics start from the basic idea that human beings are good, and that the world is good. Evil enters the world from outside, brought by evil spirits. These affect human beings in a similar way to disease, and reduce their ability to resist temptation. When human beings act wrongly, they bring pollution and sin upon themselves, which obstructs the flow of life and blessing from the kami. Things which are bad Things which are usually regarded as bad in Shinto are: things which disturb kami things which disturb the worship of kami things which disrupt the harmony of the world things which disrupt the natural world things which disrupt the social order things which disrupt the group of which one is a member

Iban
Intro The Ibans are a branch of the Dayak peoples of Borneo. In Malaysia, most Ibans are located in Sarawak, a small portion in Sabah and some in west Malaysia. They were formerly known during the colonial period by the British as Sea Dayaks. Ibans were renowned for practising headhunting and tribal/territorial expansion and had a fearsome reputation as a strong and successful warring tribe in ancient times. Since the arrival of Europeans and the subsequent colonisation of the area, headhunting gradually faded out of practice although many tribal customs, practices and language continue. The Iban population is concentrated in Sarawak, Brunei, and in the West Kalimantanregion of Indonesia. They live in longhouses called rumah panjai[1]. Nowadays, most of the Iban longhouses are equipped with modern facilities such as electricity and water supply and other facilities such as (tar sealed) roads, telephone lines and the internet. Younger Ibans are mostly found in urban areas and visit their hometowns during the holidays. The Ibans today are becoming increasingly urbanised while retaining most of their traditional heritage and culture.

History The origin of the name is a mystery, although many theories exist. During the British colonial era, the Ibans were called Sea Dayaks. Some believe that the word Iban was an ancient original Iban word for people or man. The modern-day Iban word for people or man ismensia, a totally modified Malay loan word of the same meaning (manusia) of Sanskrit Root. The Ibans were the original inhabitants of Borneo Island. Like the other Dayak tribes, they were originally farmers, hunters, and gatherers. Not much is known about Iban people before the arrival of the Western expeditions to Asia. Nothing was ever recorded by any voyagers about them. The History of the migration of Iban people trace back to China where historians believe that the original Iban people migrated from Yunnan, a province in rural China. The Ibans were unfortunately branded for being pioneers of headhunting. Headhunting among the Ibans is believed to have started when the lands occupied by the Ibans became over-populated. In those days, before the arrival of western civilization, intruding on lands belonging to other tribes resulted in death. Confrontation was the only way of survival. In those days, the way of war was the only way that any Dayak tribe could achieve prosperity and fortune. Dayak warfare was brutal and bloody, to the point of ethnic cleansing. Many extinct tribes, such as the Seru and Bliun, are believed to have been assimilated or wiped out by the Ibans. Tribes like the Bukitan, who were the original inhabitants of Saribas, are believed to have been assimilated or forced northwards as far as Bintulu by the Ibans. The Ukits were also believed to have been nearly wiped out by the Ibans. The Ibans started moving to areas in what is today's Sarawak around the 15th century. After an initial phase of colonising and settling the river valleys, displacing or absorbing the local tribes, a phase of internecine warfare began. Local leaders were forced to resist the tax collectors of the sultans of Brunei. At the same time, Malay influence was felt, and Iban leaders began to be known by Malay titles such as Datu (Datuk), Orang Kaya, Nakhoda and "Panglima". The other titles of Dayaks are Tuai Rumah, Tuai

Menoa, Tuai Burong, Tuai Bumai, Manang, Lemambang and more modern titles include Pengulu, Pengarah and Temenggung. In later years, the Iban encountered the Bajau and Illanun, coming in galleys from the Philippines. These were seafaring tribes who came plundering throughout Borneo. However, the Ibans feared no tribe, and fought the Bajaus and Illanuns. One famous Iban legendary figure is known as Unggang Lebor Menoa from Entanak, near modern-day Betong, fought and defeated the Bajaus and Illanuns. It is likely that the Ibans learned seafaring skills from the Bajau and the Illanun, using these skills to plunder other tribes living in coastal areas, such as the Melanaus and the Selakos. This is evident with the existence of the seldom-used Iban boat with sail, called the bandung. This may also be one of the reasonsJames Brooke, who arrived in Sarawak around 1838, called the Ibans Sea Dayaks. For more than a century, the Ibans were known as Sea Dayaks to Westerners. After the death of Unggang "Lebor Menoa", the Iban overall leadership transferred to Orang Kaya Pemancha (OKP) Dana "Bayang" of Padeh who led the Saribas and Skrang Ibans in raid (ngayau) expeditions to areas around the the mouth of Kapuas River in Kalimantan, Indonesia now. Following the death of OKP Dana "Bayang", the Ibans of Saribas and Skrang were defeated by the Brooke force with the surrender of some of their Iban leaders, the death of Aji Apai Limba and the defeat of Mujah "Buah Raya" of Kanowit and Libau "Rentap" at Mount Sadok. The Malay shariffs of Patusin in Batang Lupar and the Malay chiefs of Buling in Batang Saribas were also defeated by the Brooke force. Later, it appears that the Iban's paramount leadership is provided by the Ibans from Hulu Batang Rajang i.e. whenn an Iban chief Koh was appointed a Temenggung by the Brooke government, who was replaced by Temenggung Jugah after his death. Despite having no western education at all, Temenggung Jugah went on to sign the agreement to form Malaysia together with Sabah (then North Borneo) and Singapore which was expelled later on by Malaya. Among the main sections of customary adat of the Iban Dayaks are as follows: Adat berumah (House building rule) Adat melah pinang, butang ngau sarak (Marriage, adultery and divorce rule) Adat beranak, bekindu, meri anak mit mandi, ngetum garam dan nengkadah langit (Birth, Warming, child first bathing, Salt first tasting and sky first seeing rule) Adat bumai and beguna tanah (Agricultural and land use rule) Adat ngayau (Headhunting rule) Adat ngayap (Courting rule) Adat ngasu, berikan, ngembuah and napang (Hunting, fishing, fruit and honey collection rule) Adat parai, beserarak bungai, ngetas ulit ngau tebalu (Death, Soul separation, mourning and widow/widower fee rule) Adat begawai umai ngau gawai bukai (Agricultural festival and other festival rule) Adat idup di rumah panjai (Order of life in the longhouse rule) Adat betenun, main maya lepa, kajat ngau taboh (Weaving, past times, dance and music rule) Adat beburong, bemimpi ngau becenaga ati babi (Bird and animal omen, dream and pig liver rule) Adat belelang (Journey or sojourn rule)

Religion

Religious beliefs and behavior pervade every part of Iban life. In their interpretations of their world, nature, and society, they refer to remote creator gods, who brought the elements and a structured order into existence; the bird-god Sengalang Burong, who directs their lives through messages borne by his seven sons-in-law; and the popular gods, who provide models for living. Iban religion is a product of a holistic approach to life, in which attention is paid to all events in the waking and sleeping states. The religion involves an all-embracing causality, born of the Iban conviction that "nothing happens without cause." The pervasiveness of their religion has sensitized them to every part of their world and created an elaborate otherworld (Sebayan), in which everything is vested with the potential for sensate thought and action. In Iban beliefs and narratives trees talk, crotons walk, macaques become incubi, jars moan for lack of attention, and the sex of the human fetus is determined by a cricket, the metamorphized form of a god. Though the gods live in Panggau Libau, a remote and godly realm, they are unseen, ubiquitous presences. In contrast to the exclusive categories of Judaism and Christianity, "supernaturals" and "mortals" interact in all activities of importance. In contrast to the gods who are more benevolently inclined towards mortals, Iban believe in and fear a host of malevolent spirits. These spirits are patent projections onto a cosmic screen of anxieties and stresses suffered by Iban: the menacing father figure, the vengeful mother, the freeloader, and becoming lost in the forest. Iban strive to maintain good life and health by adherence to customary laws, avoidance of taboos, and the presentation of offerings and animal sacrifices. Religious Practitioners. There are three religious practitioners: the bard ( lemambang ), the augur ( tuai burong ), and the shaman ( manang ). Individually or in teams, bards are invited to chant at all major rituals. They are highly respected men, capable of recalling and adapting, as appropriate, chants that go on for hours. The augur is employed for critical activities such as farming or traveling. The shaman is a psychotherapist who is consulted for unusual or persistent ailments. Ceremonies. Iban rituals ( gawa, gawai ) may be grouped into four major categories: (1) one dozen major and three dozen minor agricultural festivals; (2) healing rituals,

performed by the shaman, commencing in the bilik and progressing to the outer veranda; (3) ceremonies for the courageous, commemorating warfare and headhunting; and (4) rituals for the dead. Iban of all divisions perform rituals of the first two categories. Ceremonies to honor warriors have assumed greater importance in the upper Rejang, and rituals for the dead have been much more elaborated in the First and Second divisions of Sarawak.

Arts. The Iban have created one of the most extensive bodies of folklore in human history, including more than one dozen types of epic, myth, and chant. Women weave intricate fabrics and men produce a variety of wood-carvings. Iban Costume
Iban Man Costume comprises: - Sirat (loincloth) - baju burong (bird shirt) - baju buri (bead shirt) - baju gagong (animal skin cloth) - Engkerimok - Unus Lebus - Simpai Rangki - Tumpa Bala (five on both sides) - Labong Pakau or lelanjang (headgear) Iban Lady Costume includes: - Kain Batating (Petticoat with decorated bells at the bottom end) - Rawai Tinggi (High Corset with Rattan Coils inserted with small Brass Rings ) - Sugu Tinggi (High headgear) Marik Empang (Beaded Chain) - Selampai (Long Scalp) - Lampit (Silver Belt) - Tumpak (Armlet) - Gelang kaki (Anklet) - Antin pirak (Silver stud earrings) - Buah pauh purse
[9]

Reference

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/shinto/
iban http://www.everyculture.com/East-Southeast-Asia/Iban-Religion-and-Expressive-Culture.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iban_people