IDNO

DG.102033.PAO

Description

Three ?European tourists wearing adat gawai items belonging to Otor anak Sunjam’s family pose for a photograph with their hosts in Otor’s house.
Standing (left to right): Paka anak Otor, wearing a shirt, trousers and headband; Babai Punjo, wearing a shirt with stars sewn onto it, sawat (embellished loincloth) and headscarf, male tourist wearing a feathered headband and stagan (leopard teeth necklace), and carrying a nengin (decorated leaf-shaped shield) and pendat (blade with a V-shaped incision at the tip) in a decorative sheath; Otor anak Sunjam, wearing a headscarf, vest with stars sewn onto it, stagan and trousers; Babai Nasia, wearing a headscarf, shirt and sawat; male tourist wearing a feathered headband and stagan.
Sitting (left to right): Serayang; ?Kena anak Paka; female tourist wearing a sepiya (round cloth cap with a back flap), stagi (elliptical bead necklace) and sembun (string of beads with canine teeth); Sob; Minuau. The seated young women all wear sepiya, stagi and sembun over their blouses and Iban bidang (warp-ikat skirt).
On the wall behind them is a display of miscellaneous ritual items and other mementos from previous visitors. These include a tua gawai (ritual chief) vest with a star sewn onto it, various bead necklaces, ?brass coils, plaques and pennants, mostly from British naval colleges, a “Royal Navy” sign, trophies, and a boomerang from Australia.

Place

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

Cultural Affliation

Bidayuh [historically Land Dayak]

Named Person

Paka anak Otor; Babai Punjo; Otor anak Paka; Babai Nasia; Serayang; ?Kena anak Paka; Sob; Minuau

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: 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]

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. Many of the objects on the wall would have been acquired as gifts and souvenirs from these visitors. [Liana Chua 30/8/2007]

Biographical and Contextual Information: Paka anak Otor (1927-2004), was a former tua gawai (ritual chief) and owner of Paka’s Mini-Muzium in Kampung Benuk, a Bidayuh village in Penrissen, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. 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 his charismatic tua gawai father Otor anak Sunjam (d. 1978) - 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 2/8/2007]

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