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Category: Culture

Why So Many Ibans ?

Why so many Ibans? The author of this article attempts to explain why there are so many Ibans compared to other groups. He says the Ibans, relative newcomers to Sarawak, predominate in the State. Increase in children does not explain the phenomena. The Iban are below average in natural fertility.

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February 3, 2021 No Comments

Births among the Selako

The Selako are one of the dyak groups living in Lundu between Malaysia and Indonesia on the border. Batang Saka ‘ampat is a cluster of about 20 houses. (1978) After the birth of the child, the umbilical cord is cut off off by the midwife (bidan) with a bamboo splint.

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January 20, 2021 No Comments

Sarawak River Fishing

Each evening, my wife and sit out on our balcony on the 20th floor of the Riverine Condo. We often light a candle, have dinner and discuss the days’ passing. This is our time. After sunset, we see a boat and a man circling the above buoy. He usually has

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January 20, 2021 No Comments

The Missionaries

Probably one of the most hilarious stories I have read in the Sarawak Museum Journal, if that publication can ever be called hilarious, is an article by Barbra Harrison entitled “Near to Ngadju”.Here she relates the tales from the Rhinish Mission of Barmen Germany. The Rhinish missionaries were in search

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January 20, 2021 66 Comments

Sarawak River Fishing

Each evening, my wife and sit out on our balcony on the 20th floor of the Riverine Condo. We often light a candle, have dinner and discuss the days’ passing. This is our time. After sunset, we see a boat and a man circling the above buoy. He usually has

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January 20, 2021 No Comments

Bamboo Beliefs

Planted in a pot on my front balcony is a clump of bamboo. I don’t recall where we got it but we moved it from our home in River Bank Suites to Riverrine Emerald at least five years ago. We watered it when we remembered and a bird built a

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January 20, 2021 No Comments

Melanau Healing

For many generations now, the healings of various dukuns, bohmohs, Chinese medicine men and others have been relegated to the antique shops and their cures to historians like myself. Modern doctors and nurses have taken their place as most everyone is within reasonable traveling distance to modern medical care. There

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January 20, 2021 No Comments

The Santubong Buddha

Probably the crown the jewel in the Sarawak Museum Collection is the Santubong Buddha found in the Bukit Maras part of Santubong area 1955. The 26 cm figure belongs to the Late Gupta (Sarnath School) classification of Buddhas where the robe is open, the right hand is down and the

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January 20, 2021 No Comments

Iban Whetstone Feast

This summary condenses twenty printed pages from the Sarawak Museum Journal July-December 1962 written by Benedict Sandin. My sincere apologies if things were left out or written in error. Probably one of the most unusual of Iban gawai rights is the whetstone feast. A whetstone is used for sharpening knives

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January 20, 2021 No Comments

A European Jug in Mukah

There are many, many Chinese made jars found here in Sarawak. One can find them in any antique shop or curio store. Sorting them out and trying to tell which kiln they were from in China is a daunting task, which we will try and pursue at a later date.

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January 20, 2021 No Comments
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