IDNO

DG.101962.PAO

Description

Portrait of Otor anak Sunjam, dressed in his tua gawai (ritual chief) garb, standing in front of a display of adat gawai (pre-Christian rituals) objects, framed photographs and a pendulum wall-clock, probably at home.
Otor wears a vest over a tee-shirt with two stars woven into it, signifying his status, trousers, and a stagan (leopard teeth necklace).
Leaning against the wall on the floor behind him are (from left to right): three elaborately carved long wooden planks; a miniature leaf-shaped nengin, or shield, with swirling motifs painted on its central band and sides; three ?spike fiddles. Suspended from the wall beneath the clock on the right are two gubak, or cylindrical rattan hats adorned with coloured strips of cloth, worn by senior adat gawai practitioners.
Resting on a shelf or niche in the wall behind Otor is a row of framed black and white photographs, mostly of himself and his son Paka anak Otor. Above it is a row of small objects, probably polished dishes or containers.

Place

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

Cultural Affliation

Bidayuh [historically Land Dayak]

Named Person

Otor anak Sunjam

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]

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]

Context: 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. [Liana Chua 28/8/2007]

Objects: Many of the objects and photographs behind Otor eventually became part of his son Paka’s mini-museum, which consisted of heirlooms, ritual objects, locally-made artefacts, and numerous gifts and photographs left by visitors to Kampung Benuk. 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 28/8/2007]

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