IDNO

DG.102011.PAO

Description

Otor anak Sunjam, wearing a feathered headband, his tua gawai (ritual chief) vest with stars sewn onto it, trousers, a stagan (leopard teeth necklace), and large dark glasses, poses with three visitors in his home.
On his left is a tall man wearing a patterned shirt and trousers and a feathered headband, and carrying a miniature nengin (decorated shield) and parang (working blade). They are flanked by men in uniform, probably from the army or police, who carry a staff and nengin respectively.
Behind them is the wooden wall of the house and a curtain partition to another room. A row of ?brass bracelets hangs on the wall behind them to the left; a framed photograph is mounted on the wall to the right.

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

21 August 1968

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. According to his family (2005), Otor was wearing dark glasses at the time because he had recently undergone an eye operation. [Liana Chua 30/8/2007]

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. Visitors were frequently photographed wearing or handling adat gawai items; this was said to have no spiritual repercussions as they were not being used within a ritual context.
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]

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