IDNO

DG.102006.PAO

Description

Otor anak Sunjam, wearing a shirt, sits at a wooden table in his son Paka’s mini-museum, surrounded by a group of tourists, probably mainly Chinese from Malaysia or Singapore. At one end of the table, on the right, one of the men writes in a small book, probably his guestbook.
Behind them can be seen the displays in the mini-museum, including framed photographs of the family and visitors, naval plaques, pennants, a pair of antlers, various ritual objects and gifts from guests.

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

24 February 1971

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: Kampung Benuk has been a small-scale tourist attraction since the 1960s, being particularly famous for its longhouse. Its first visitors were often members of the British, Australian and American armed forces stationed nearby during the Confrontation years between Indonesia and Malaysia (1963-1966); later visitors included civilian tourists, foreign dignitaries, UNESCO representatives, film crews, and government officials. Otor anak Sunjam, the village’s tua gawai (ritual chief) and his family were central to this nascent industry, often playing host to the visitors and performing adat gawai-based dances for their entertainment.
Benuk’s visitor numbers appear to have peaked around the 1970s and 1980s, especially with increasing domestic and Asian tourism and the state government’s tourist promotion efforts. Today it remains a fairly popular attraction despite its much diminished longhouse. [Liana Chua 30/8/2007]

Place: Otor and Paka’s family were among the first to move out of the longhouse at Kampung Benuk, shifting in 1954 to a detached wooden house on a hill at one end of the village. Otor cemented the ground floor of the house and ran it as a provision shop - one of the first in the village - until the mid-1970s. After this, the space became occupied by what is now the mini-museum.
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 Otor - 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 30/8/2007]

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Liana Chua 30/8/2007]