IDNO

DG.101960.PAO

Description

Paka anak Otor, wearing a striped shirt and headscarf with a fern leaf stuck into it, opens a small cardboard Kodak box, possibly containing photographic film or filters. A twin-lens reflex (TLR) camera is slung around his shoulder on the right; he holds a single-lens reflex (SLR) camera in his right hand.
Behind him is another man wearing a headscarf, stagan (circular necklace), shirt and trousers. They stand on a path surrounded by trees, possibly on the outskirts of the village.

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 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: Paka anak Otor was first given a camera in around the 1960s by ?European visitors to Kampung Benuk. He quickly became an avid photographer, amassing a collection of people and scenes from the village. Eventually, he also became the unofficial village photographer, taking passport photographs for people for various purposes, and developing them on his periodic trips to Kuching, the capital of Sarawak. This photograph may have been taken during an adat gawai (pre-Christian rituals) ceremony, or when Paka was taking some visitors around the jungle or farming area. [Liana Chua 28/8/2007]

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Liana Chua 28/8/2007]