IDNO

DG.101947.PAO

Description

A group photograph of seventeen men, probably mostly male ritual heads (tua gawai) in Kampung Benuk, in front of Otor anak Sunjam’s shop. The men standing at the back mostly wear shirts and trousers; the men seated in front, probably the tua gawai, also wear stagan (round leopard teeth necklaces), headscarves and some short sarongs and sashes.
Front row (left to right): Babai Derong (Sedom), Babai Nasia (Tojek), Babai Tugat, Otor anak Paka, unknown, Sageng, Babai Nindun (Satep), Babai Rimau (S'ot), Babai Durun (Skai). Back row (left to right): Sinui (from the Bau area), unknown, unknown, unknown, ?Sama Bondi (Ngon), Deba.
Behind them is Otor and his family’s detached wooden house. His shop sign, reading “CHOP*OTOR*JAM*”, can be seen hanging over the doorway in the background.

Place

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

Cultural Affliation

Bidayuh [historically Land Dayak]

Named Person

Babai Derong (Sedom); Babai Nasia (Tojek); Babai Tugat; Otor anak Paka; Sageng; Babai Nindun (Satep); Babai Rimau (S'ot); Babai Durun (Skai); Sinui; ?Sama Bondi (Ngon); Deba

Photographer

?Paka anak Otor

Collector / Expedition

Paka anak Otor

Date

circa 1960 - 1970

Collection Name

Paka anak Otor Collection

Source

Paka anak OtorChua, Liana

Format

Print Black & White

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. 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]

Context: This photograph was taken at a time when the vast majority of Kampung Benuk inhabitants practised adat gawai. Adat gawai is a generic term for the complex of indigenous rituals practised in Bidayuh villages prior to widespread Christian conversion from the 1970s and 1980s. Today (2007) it is still observed by rapidly diminishing handfuls of elderly people in various villages. Most rituals revolved around the cultivation of rice, taking place throughout the year at major stages of the rice cycle. Other rituals were held, for example, to mark various life stages, such as adolescence, marriage and death, and to cure illnesses. Adat gawai is premised on the existence of a rather remote ‘Supreme Being’, Tapa, and more importantly, a variety of different spirits – the most important of which is the rice spirit – to whom offerings are made and invocations chanted. Such rituals entangle adat gawai practitioners and spirits alike in webs of obligations and strict protocols, including lengthy ‘taboo’ periods (pantang) which impose restrictions or demands on people’s movement and dietary habits. The key aim of adat gawai is to maintain a state of modud (‘coolness’) in the world: of stability, safety and wellness.
In Kampung Benuk, Otor anak Sunjam was, until 1978, acknowledged as the head tua gawai, who coordinated all the adat gawai activities across the village. Each section of the longhouse and other parts of the village, however, had its own tua gawai, who would be responsible to Otor; they are probably the men in this photograph. [Liana Chua 24/8/2007]

Biographical Information: Otor anak Sunjam (d. 1978) was the father of Paka anak Otor, who owned the mini-museum in Kampung Benuk. He was also the village’s tua gawai (ritual chief), and often played host to visitors from the British, Australian and American navies, dignitaries, tourists and government officials. [Liana Chua 2/8/2007]

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Liana Chua 24/8/2007]