Moyang Tok Naning

During a ceremony to welcome the paddy spirits, a moyang saw villagers performing a dance ceremony called sewang. So, he wanted to join in the fun. When a villager saw him, he informed the shaman. The shaman decided to invite the moyang to join and asked for his name.

“I am Tok Naning. Can’t you see? I have sunken eyes and my head is spinning.”

So, he was then named after his looks. Tok is a title of reverence and naning means eyebrows.

The sewang dancing troup then created a song about the moyang that goes like this,

“Tok naning mato kelehor, kol pening met koho,”

Tok Naning was respected by the villagers. Whenever there was a sewang ceremony, they will ask the moyang to prevent any dizziness when they perform the dance. This is because the dance routine involves many repetitions of circling movements.

UM.80.386