Terabai

Terabai
Terabai (early 20th century) on display at the Glenbow Museum, Canada
Type	Shield
Place of origin	Borneo
Service history
Used by	Iban people

Terabai (or trabai) is a traditional wooden shield historically used during engagements by the Iban Dayak tribe of Borneo.

Form and structure

Terabai was traditionally made with highly-durable wood such as ironwood and teras. ^[1] The patterns carved onto the terabai are inspired by deities of Dayak mythology, and is believed to give warriors spiritual strength during engagements, in addition to scare off enemies. The motives were not randomly designated; it can historically only be carved based on divine (petara) inspiration. ^[2] One example motive is the leech (lemetak), which was believed to incite fear due to its disgusting nature and difficult to be eliminated based on its small size. ^[3]

Usage

Terabai was historically used by tribal warriors for personal protection in engagements, especially during headhunting (ngayau). ^[4] In modern times, as such clashes are no longer practiced, the usage of terabai is now limited to cultural expressions, including ngajat and welcoming ceremonies. ^[5]

References

1. Kiyai, Gregory (2021). "Inspirasi alam dalam artifak budaya masyarakat Iban di Sarawak". Sains Insani (in Malay). 6 (3).
2. Kiyai, Gregory; Tugang, Noria (2023). "Artifak sakral dalam budaya Iban di Sarawak". Kajian Malaysia (in Malay). 41 (1): 311–335.
3. Asri, Adilawati; Tugang, Noria (2022). "Parang ilang sebagai interpretasi falsafah alam takambang jadi guru dalam budaya masyarakat Iban". Asian People Journal (in Malay). 3 (1): 1–18.
4. "Terabai". Muzium Negara (in Malay). Retrieved 5 August 2025.
5. "Pakaian Tradisional Iban" (PDF). bukuteks.dbp.gov.my (in Malay).