IDNO

DG.101869.PAO

Description

Paka anak Otor sits on a sofa in his mini-museum located on the ground floor of his house, posing for the camera. In front of him is a wooden coffee table with a text panel featuring his family history and a photograph of himself, mounted on a wooden stand.
On the wooden slat wall behind him are mounted various black and white photographs, military and institutional plaques and pennants given to him by European and American visitors, and set of antlers.
To the right is a wooden display cabinet in which various objects, including trinkets, gifts from visitors, currency, and a blue and red porcelain plate, are kept. Behind it, next to a barred wooden window, is a wooden writing desk and shelves stacked with paper and other objects. [Liana Chua 2/8/2007]

Place

SE Asia Borneo; Malaysia; Sarawak; Penrissen; Kampung Benuk [Kampung Segu Bunuk]

Cultural Affliation

Bidayuh [historically Land Dayak]

Named Person

Paka anak Otor

Photographer

None

Collector / Expedition

Paka anak Otor

Date

circa 1989

Collection Name

Paka anak Otor Collection

Source

Paka anak OtorChua, Liana

Format

Print Colour

Primary Documentation

Other Information

Source: A selection of 185 prints from Paka anak Otor’s larger collection of approximately 500 prints was made by Liana Chua during fieldwork in Kampung Benuk, Sarawak, Malaysia, in 2005. These photographs were taken, sent to and collected by Paka over about fifty years (circa 1950-2000). The purchase of non-exclusive reproduction rights [RM 1845, £250] by the Museum to the family of Paka anak Otor [82 Kampung Benuk, Jalan Puncak Borneo, Kuching 93250, Sarawak, Malaysia], and digital copy photographs of the collection [RM 869, £125] were paid for by the Museum Acquisition Fund [£250] and part of a Crowther-Beynon grant [£125] for the collecting of Sarawak objects. The digital scans were made by Fung Huang Colour Photo Centre [153 Padungan Road, Kuching, Sarawak] in 2005. [Liana Chua 2/8/2007]

Biographical and Contextual Information: Paka anak Otor (1927-2004), was a former tua gawai (ritual chief) and owner of Paka’s Mini-Muzium in Kampung Benuk, a Bidayuh village in Penrissen, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. The mini-museum began as Paka’s small personal collection of family heirlooms (including gongs and Chinese trade porcelain) and other objects which he “liked to look at”. During the ‘Confrontation’ years between Malaysia and Indonesia (1963-1966) Kampung Benuk became a popular recreational destination for British, Australian and American servicemen stationed nearby at the Malaysian-Indonesian border. Paka’s household - then run by his charismatic tua gawai father Otor anak Sunjam (d. 1978) - was one of their main ports of call, and often the recipient of their gifts and souvenirs, including military plaques, film reels, cameras and sweets. These items were incorporated into Paka’s collection, which also came to include locally made artefacts such as baskets, tools and water carriers, and various natural objects like snakeskins, branches and stones. From the 1970s, Kampung Benuk became a popular tourist destination famous for its longhouse. Paka’s family remained central to this nascent industry, playing host to civilian tourists, visiting dignitaries and officials. As Paka’s collection grew, visitors began calling it a ‘mini-museum’; the name has since stuck. Paka passed away in 2004, but his widow and family continue to run the mini-museum, which is visited mainly by tourists. For more information on Paka’s mini-museum, see Chua, Liana. 2006. Antiques and Adat: the changing face of Paka’s mini-museum, Kampung Benuk, Penrissen, Kuching. Institute of East Asian Studies Working Paper No. 11. Kota Samarahan: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. [Liana Chua 2/8/2007]

Object: The text panel on the table contains a typed genealogical narrative, in English, of Paka’s family entitled “A Brief History of Kampung Benuk People and their Tua Gawai (ritual chief)”. This was probably created for him by a visiting official from the Sarawak Museum in Kuching, or some other well-wisher, in about 1989. It remains on display in the mini-museum today. [Liana Chua 2/8/2007]

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Liana Chua 2/8/2007]