Post 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8ChMxCFx1Q
I had to include this short video of Ernesto (the Iban tattoo artist), and his friend and assistant Robin, I found. There is an interesting narrative going on. The setting shows the bamboo paneling in the style of a traditional longhouse, with bottles of water lining the foreground. Ernesto plays the traditional instrument called a Sape, with Robin plucking the baseline behind him on a badly tuned acoustic guitar. As they jam together, Ernesto hears the tone waver off-key and grimaces. A white guy gets up and tunes Robin’s guitar for him as he plays; Robin thanks him and they continue playing. In contrast to documentary style anthropology, this is an unedited slice of life in Borneo, which received over 18,000 views on You Tube because Ernesto is famous in certain circles.
When the foreigner gets up to tune Robin’s guitar, I feel abruptly ashamed for both of them and realize that I have never before seen a musical performance interrupted by an audience member interfering with the performer’s instruments. He got up and tuned the guitar for him. The nerve of this guy, and the grace with which Robin reacts. Would the interaction have been the same if both men were from the same culture? Is my suspicion of racism attributed to an acknowledgement of condescending treatment of indigenous people attributed to “our (as white people)” ancestors, or a justified irritation over an isolated incident? When viewing such a slice of life, how can we analyse it in isolation?
Post 2-3
http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/stable/pdfplus/29790572.pdf
Linda Chalmers details the custom of textile weaving in Iban female society, as a community act and individual accomplishment. The nature of soft natural fiber is imbued with impermanence, subsequently embraced by the weavers, and apparent conceptually as the imagery appears different in shadowed light, an effect produced by very subtle variations of the dying process. The effects of economic development, commercialization of indigenous craft and the pressure to produce weaving for market and not for ceremony has caused changes to the community process and actual weaving product. The article continues with a detailed account of the intricate Pua Kumbu weaving process, one that may be difficult to follow without diagrams or experience. I was lucky enough to have had an Iban woman show me the different steps involved in the year long process, so I can visualize the arrangement, folding tying dying, rearrangement, securing to the loom, and the long weaving process that follows.
http://www.reocities.com/heartland/3409/PUAKUMBU.HTM
I came across this rather confusing website, with an incredible article describing the cultural and mystical background of Iban women’s weaving. I was unable to identify the author, but the text seems to have the kind of insight that only one deeply involved with a culture would have, such as technical, historical and natural terms transcribed from the Iban tongue. I also assume the author is female as the subject pertains to women’s weaving skills as a socially revered value in the tribe, and she appears to include herself in this culture. This mystery writer gives a fascinating account of the oral history behind the Pua Kumbu, which was ordained by a god to be wrapped around the skulls of warriors from other tribes, integral to the spiritual practice of headhunting. She also describes the process of processing cotton into thread used before commercial thread was available, as well as recipes for dye made from rainforest resources.
What is rare and unique about this article is the description of how the Pua plays into female society and rank. Immersion of a female member into the Pua Kumbu is a methodical and process which begins in simple technique and progresses to patterns which because of their spiritual danger should only be attempted by master weavers, who are visited in dreams by the spirits themselves. Thus technical mastery of the materials and weaving are intertwined with social status and mysticism. Only a truly inspired master weaver can produce the items used for worship and communication with the supernatural world.
Though much speaks for itself, a comparison between Chalmer’s article and Anonymous’ shows a difference in paradigm; one prioritizes economy and the other social status and mysticism. Both give great detailed accounts of the technical skills required to master the Pua Kumbu. The latter touches the surface of how and why women’s weaving, this “handicraft”, is integral to the traditions of the Iban, and the former points out the effects of commercializing indigenous women’s craft.
Post 4
Alison Griffiths’ “The Untrammelled Camera” is a review and critique of the 1920’s anthropological film, Through Central Borneo: An Account of Two Years‘ Travel in the Land of the Head–Hunters between the Years 1913 and 1917 by Carl Lumholtz. This film had a brief viewing history and is not available on the internet, but I have included a link to the ebook,
http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc2.ark%3A%2F13960%2Ft4th8nf1q;page=root;view=image;size=100;seq=342
where the photographs of the people and forest of Borneo might stand in for the theme of the film. In the book version, Lumhotlz provides a detailed account of his own journey through the rainforest and his encounters with different tribes. The photos included are evident of some issues Griffiths discusses about the film; in particular the staging and manipulating of the photographed subjects as specimens for entertainment. She discusses in particular the “returned gaze” of the subject, a phenomenon in film reserved for anthropology. She notes how the indigenous subjects of Lumholtz’s expedition had pre-existing experience with technology like the cameras, which had already aroused superstition and foreboding in the culture. Griffiths concludes her critique with an assertion that such expedition films risk a deception of lived experience and adventure when treated as a documentary of information.
Post 5
This article discusses current political issues in Borneo related to a recent election, and the impact of the liberal party’s corruption and stronghold on the democratic elections. At the forefront of political tension in Borneo is the illegal clear cutting of rainforest for palm plantations; this stimulates the economy, but results in a desecration of the life and land so essential to indigenous culture. Short wave radio has been used by Radio Free Sarawak http://radiofreesarawak.org/how-to-listen/, featuring native villagers to share personal accounts of “landgrabs” and provide means of solidarity between members of different tribes affected by the actions of the ruling party. The effectiveness of short wave radio as a subversive and community building tool, a simple circuit to build and implement, is evident in the overwhelming opposition by the current government. The radio shows great potential for community building and strengthening cultural ties for rural communities less endowed with technology and connectivity.