Kepercayaan Awal dan Transformasi Agama dalam Kalangan Masyarakat Rungus [Early Belief Systems and Religious Transformation among the Rungus Community]

Abstract

Kajian ini meneliti kepercayaan awal serta proses transformasi agama dalam kalangan masyarakat Rungus di Sabah Utara, khususnya di kawasan Kudat dan sekitarnya. Sebelum kedatangan agama samawi, masyarakat Rungus mengamalkan sistem kepercayaan tradisional yang dikenali sebagai Bbiruhui. Sistem ini membentuk kosmologi hidup yang merangkumi hubungan manusia dengan alam ghaib, institusi bbobbolizan, serta konsep jiwa dan kematian. Kepercayaan tersebut berfungsi sebagai asas pembentukan identiti spiritual dan mekanisme kawalan sosial komuniti. Kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif berasaskan analisis dokumen dan kajian sejarah. Kaedah deskriptif-analitik diaplikasikan bagi menghuraikan secara tematik kepercayaan tradisional, proses Kristianisasi dan perkembangan Islamisasi. Dapatan menunjukkan bahawa Kristian berkembang secara institusional melalui jaringan mubaligh, pendidikan, kebajikan serta sokongan struktur kolonial dan politik, sekali gus menjadikannya agama dominan dalam kalangan masyarakat Rungus. Sebaliknya, Islam berkembang secara lebih perlahan dan bersifat akar umbi melalui perkahwinan campur, hubungan sosial serta dakwah individu tanpa sokongan institusi yang tersusun pada peringkat awal. Walaupun Islam kekal sebagai agama minoriti dari segi kuantitatif, penerimaannya membawa transformasi nilai yang mendalam terhadap individu mualaf khususnya dari sudut akidah, amalan ibadah dan pembentukan identiti baharu. Kajian ini menyimpulkan bahawa transformasi agama masyarakat Rungus merupakan proses sosio-spiritual yang kompleks dan berlapis melibatkan rundingan antara tradisi, agama baharu dan realiti sosial moden. Dapatan kajian ini menyumbang kepada pemahaman yang lebih seimbang tentang perubahan agama dan pembentukan identiti dalam kalangan komuniti pribumi Sabah.

This study examines early belief systems and the process of religious transformation among the Rungus community in northern Sabah, particularly in the Kudat area and its surroundings. Prior to the arrival of Abrahamic religions, the Rungus practiced a traditional belief system known as Bbiruhui, which shaped their lived cosmology encompassing human relationships with the spiritual realm, the institution of bbobbolizan, as well as concepts of the soul and death. This belief system functioned as the foundation of spiritual identity formation and as a mechanism of social regulation within the community. This study adopts a qualitative approach based on document analysis and historical inquiry, employing a descriptive-analytic method to thematically examine traditional beliefs, the process of Christianization, and the development of Islamization. The findings indicate that Christianity expanded institutionally through missionary networks, education, welfare services, and the support of colonial and political structures, thereby becoming the dominant religion among the Rungus community. In contrast, Islam developed more slowly and at the grassroots level through intermarriage, social interaction, and individual da‘wah efforts, without organized institutional support in its early stages. Although Islam remains a quantitative minority, its acceptance has brought profound value transformation among converts, particularly in terms of faith (aqidah), religious practice, and the formation of new identities. This study concludes that religious transformation among the Rungus represents a complex and layered socio-spiritual process involving negotiation between tradition, new religious frameworks, and modern social realities. The findings contribute to a more balanced understanding of religious change and identity formation among indigenous communities in Sabah.