Kenyan Tops and Top Playing, An Integral Part of the Agricultural Cycle.
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THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL |
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Title :
Kenyan Tops and Top Playing, An Integral Part of the Agricultural Cycle. |
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Author :
S.C. Chin |
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Abstract:
The largest population of Kenyahs in Sarawak is in the Baram valley (Metcalf, 1974). They are, like a vast majority of rural Sarawakians, subsistence farmers growing rice by shifting cultivation methods. By the end of 1978, I was fortunate enough to have made three visits to the Baram (map A); the first was from November 1976 until August 1977, the second from March to April 1978 and the third from August to September 1978. On all three occasions 1 stayed at Long Selatong (Lepo Ga’) continuously, except for two short visits upriver and another downriver during my first stay. I have visited all the kamin* (doors) and move in and out freely in most, however not until the third visit did I see a topor saw that tops were played by the people. I then discovered that top playing (pasing) is very closely associated with and is part of the agricultural cycle. It is carried out for a short period immediately after the beginning of the planting season (usually August). This was the period of the agricultural cycle I missed during my first two visits. During the first visit, I left just at the beginning of the planting and was probably too distracted to have noticed the possible appearance of the ‘early’ tops,or my departure could have just preceded their appearance.
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| DOI: XXXX |
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How to cite:
Chin, S. C. (1984). Kenyan Tops and Top Playing, An Integral Part of the Agricultural Cycle. The Sarawak Museum Journal, XXXIII (54): 33-54 |
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References
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