IDNO

DG.102043.PAO

Description

A male uniformed visitor, probably from the British Navy, kneels on the floor by a hearth with Otor anak Sunjam and two young women, Mijo (left) and Minuau (right), watching them prepare food for cooking. A small group of children look on in the background to the left.
Both the visitor and Otor wear white navy caps with “H.M.S. PICTON” on them; Otor appears to be encouraging the visitor to try using the implements. The young women both wear long-sleeved blouses and patterned sarongs. Mijo holds a bamboo tube, probably filled with glutinous rice to be cooked, and Minuau touches the lid of a metal cooking pot. In front of them is a gas flame on a metal tripod.
Behind them is the hearth, consisting of an upper level of stacks of firewood, and a lower cooking section covered in embers.

Place

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

Cultural Affliation

Bidayuh [historically Land Dayak]

Named Person

Mijo; Otor anak Sunjam; Minuau

Photographer

None

Collector / Expedition

Paka anak Otor

Date

circa 1966

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. It was common for such visitors to take part in large village-wide feasts and ceremonies, which often involved music and dancing. Otor’s family often hosted these affairs, entertaining the visitors with dances, food and drink.
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 10/9/2007]

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program Two. [Liana Chua 10/9/2007]