Bead Necklace 1598 in the Sarawak Museum Collection: An Itemised Checklist of 15 Common Sarawak Beads, Based on a Necklace in the Sarawak Museum’s Bidayuh Section
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THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL |
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Title :
Bead Necklace 1598 in the Sarawak Museum Collection: An Itemised Checklist of 15 Common Sarawak Beads, Based on a Necklace in the Sarawak Museum’s Bidayuh Section. |
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Author :
Adelheid Munan-Oettli |
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Abstract:
Necklace 1598 “Necklace worn bymen on festive occasions” is how it is labelled in the display case, while the old catalogue entry reads as follows: “String of teeth (rhinoceros, bear) and of antique beads, formerly in the possession of a Land Dayak, The beads appear to be valuable. Presented by H.H. the Rajah, Jan. 07” The necklace consists of 1 bronze bell, 4 teeth/claws, and 41 beads. The late T.G.O to from Kpg. Benuk confirmed that the necklace is indeed of the kind used by the Bidayuh people, but it is a “semban”,worn by women or girls. The kind worn by men, “taia bubut”, is usually made of several strands, strungon or wound with thin rotan canes to make it as much of a collar as a necklace, heavier, with more animal teeth and claws in its composition. The distinction is important. A woman could not wear a taia bubut, nor a man a semban. Theyare needed for important festivals, when a person wears such beads as are owned by the family. They do not count as personal property but as “pesaka”, heirloom property; they are not buried with the dead. Beads pass on to sons and daughters after the owner’s death.
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| DOI: XXXX |
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How to cite:
Munan-Oettli, Adelheid. (1981). Bead Necklace 1598 in the Sarawak Museum Collection: An Itemised Checklist of 15 Common Sarawak Beads, Based on a Necklace in the Sarawak Museum’s Bidayuh Section. The Sarawak Museum Journal, XXIX (50): 17-26 |
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References
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