Ethnic Arts and Society - An Orang Ulu Study.
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THE SARAWAK MUSEUM JOURNAL |
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Title :
Ethnic Arts and Society - An Orang Ulu Study. |
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Author :
Valerie Mashman |
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Abstract:
In traditional Orang Ulu communities the arts were rooted in the community. Design, mural painting and wood sculpture were integrally part of the religion, social structure and value system. For example, impressive funeral monuments such as the kelirieng and the salong (burial huts) were part of elaborate funerary ceremonies to commemorate great leaders, and vivid wall paintings illustrated myths which explained the social order or depicted motifs which were associated with the aristocracy. Elaborate carvings of spirits were used for the healing of sickness,a further indication of the relationship between religion and the arts. The first part of this paper will illustrate how the visual arts developed out of certain social and historical context; which will be referred to, for the purposes of discussion as ‘traditional society’. This is a rather limited and fixed notion that does not account for the dynamic process of change. The second part of this paper will discuss current trends and examine the potential role of the artist in contemporary society. This study is an introduction to the subject, and is in no way exhaustive. Further indepth study with fieldwork is urgently needed to get an accurate overview of the situation as it is now in remote up river areas. There is a certain regional emphasis in this paper on the Belaga area, and any oversights are unintentional.
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| DOI: XXXX |
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How to cite:
Mashman, V. (1989). Ethnic Arts and Society - An Orang Ulu Study. The Sarawak Museum Journal, XL (61): 215-230 |
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References
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