Borneo Arts: The Lumholtz Collection at Kulturhistorisk Museum Universitetet i Oslo | Part II
Borneo Arts: The Lumholtz Collection at Kulturhistorisk Museum Universitetet i Oslo
Part II
Curated by Steven G. Alpert
Back in November of 2021, Art of the Ancestors introduced our readers to a selection of choice items from the seldomly seen collection of Borneo artifacts housed in the University of Oslo's Museum of Cultural History (Kulturhistorisk Museum Universitetet i Oslo). The collection records some 1,893 individual items online under the general heading of 'Borneo.' Most of these items, including those illustrated here, were collected by the Norwegian theologian, scientist, adventurer, ethnographer, and early filmmaker Carl Lumholtz. (See: https://www.artoftheancestors.com/blog/borneo-arts-lumholtz-collection-oslo)
Lumholtz's life of exploration, from 1880 to 1917, led him on challenging journeys to what were then little-known or remote areas in North Queensland, Mexico, India, and Indonesia. He is probably best remembered for his experiences in Borneo that resulted in a classic two-volume book, Through Central Borneo; an account of two years travel’ in the land of the head-hunters between the years 1913 and 1917. Lumholtz was a founding member of the Explorer's Club (1905). Among his prodigious credits, he cataloged many unknown plants and animals, including new species of snakes and flying foxes from Borneo. His forty-nine-minute documentary film (1916) of his trip through this region is arguably the first motion picture of any real length ever made there.
Lumholtz visited areas in Central Borneo, traversing from the coastal port of Tanjung Selor to the upper reaches of the lower Kayan River, ending at its impassable waterfalls. His diverse journeys also took him to the Busang and across the Mahakam rivers as well as to central and southern regions of the island before returning to Banjarmasin. Lumholtz's subsequent collections were primarily sourced from Kayan, Kenyah, Punan, Nagju, and Ot Danum (Dohoi) peoples. With their verve and subtle details, the most visually rewarding of these items inform us about what some older items or forms once looked like from times before there was much direct contact with the outside world. Older aggregations of material are fascinating as they show us which items have been discarded and which are still used by their communities.
Among this month's featured items is a warrior's woven rattan cap (lavong) whose frontlet is an ivory-colored casque from a Rhinoceros hornbill. This hat is also enriched by two hornbill feathers, which were once worn by "any man who has the distinction by taking part in successful (war) expeditions" (Hose: 1912: 162). Several finely carved earrings worn by accomplished men are handsomely crafted. Both are sinuously carved and fashioned from the same keratin beak or hornbill 'ivory' as the cap's frontlet. Throughout Borneo and in the realm of the warrior, the hornbill signifies a transference or infusion of divine strength and courage. In the spirit of pairing, there is also a rice-harvesting razor-like knife with a finely carved wooden grip from the Kayan River area and a beautiful large round ceremonial sun hat (sa-ong) that was donned in the rice fields, especially during the planting and harvesting seasons. Rice growing areas (padi) produce more than food as the padi has a soul and vitality of its own that must be well-attended to and propitiated. For this pleasing hat, three types of what was then highly desired trade cloth were sewn onto a plaited or leaf-framed structure, while the cutouts of a fourth fabric depict vibrant red double-tailed 'multiplying' mythological aso or dragon-dogs. Here, we can say that something well made, beautiful by any standards, assists in announcing its wearer's identity to its surroundings. These designs were also intended to ward off any form of malevolence while one performs a concentrated task or labor. In this instance, the simple elegance of utilizing an up to a meter-wide protective sun hat makes sense as it allowed a woman carrying a child strapped on her back to effectively use both hands while maximizing her productivity.
Decorated Dayak shields, which are well-documented on our site, are illustrated below by two finely painted Kayan shields. One projects a central protective hudoq or monstrous visage, a creature that the Aoheng people call a "lightning face" and whose body is composed of additional creatures sporting tendrilled limbs. The other shield depicts a central splayed figure of a type that is associated with the 19th century. Both are of typical oblong form with triangulating pointed ends. A third shield is engraved and stained with designs that include a central rosette surrounded by vine-like tendrils. It is a rare 19th-century variant of a shield style that only survives in a few European museum collections.
From Sarawak to central Borneo (East Kalimantan), masks known as Hudoq neng (Kayan) and Hudoq silung (Kenyah) were once used in various ritual practices, including healing ceremonies, the maintenance of the rice fields, or simply donned for entertainment as a tension releasing event during celebratory cycles. Two simple but starkly effective Kayan masks utilizing only black and white pigments are illustrated. 'Hudoq' is actually a generic word among the Kayan and Kenyah referring to carvings or masks used for ceremonial or ritual purposes. Perhaps, this appellation is most widely known to outsiders via the masked dancers that dramatically appear during the harvest cycles of the Bahau, Modang, Busang, Aoheng, and Peniheng peoples. Dancer's outfits and these masks are often phantasmagorically impressive as they rid the land of vermin, pestilence, and ill fortune. (See: https://www.artoftheancestors.com/blog/out-of-the-forest-hudoq)
Other wooden items include a high chieftain's stool in the form of the cosmic turtle. The turtle reflects an aristocrat's rank and his connection to the earth and the order of all things — as it is a giant turtle who keeps the earth afloat and balanced on the back of his carapace. A fine work board, simple but old and pure in form that, like the sun hat, identified the aristocratic background of its owner while conveying added protection upon her. There is also a rounded lid with a splayed human figure that once neatly sealed a large heirloom ceramic jar of Chinese or Southeast Asian origin. While highly revered as possessing their own 'soul,' a treasured jar generally reflected a family's wealth and martial exploits. Jars were also used to store valuables, seal foodstuffs, and for the production of rice wine.
Of the carved items, a delicately rendered Kayanic-styled dragon on wheels is quite an intriguing find. In Borneo, there are numerous terms for dragons as they function in many guises and are represented on funerary items, war canoes, architectural embellishments, and many diverse utilitarian items. The Borneo dragons' deepest association was not originally as celestial beings (as is in, say, China) but as the serpentine quaker of the earth, a protective guardian of fertility, the keeper of the primeval fluids or the earth's waters. As the goddesses of the underworld, dragons also guard the journey of the dead. In some areas, 'soul ships' on wheels represent a transitional conveyance for the deceased person's spirit until their final burial is completed. It is unclear whether this is a model, something made to be traded or sold, or whether it may have been intended or come from a tradition of crafting vessels to ensure that the dead safely arrive at "the land of departed souls" on their journey.
Two outstanding Ngaju mats are also reproduced. Both have an unusual organic red ground color set against undyed thin strips of finely split rattan to showcase their design content. The first mat is dominated by a 'soul ship' reminiscent of those seen painted on spirit boards with their grandly decorated bows and sterns, flags, and superstructure(s) filled with valuables and manned by mythical creatures. This is where the spirit of the deceased again temporarily resided in a sort of protective halfway house until finally released during the fabled tiwah ceremonies. The second mat is centered by the tree of life (batara utar tartei), which is in turn flanked by two stately stilted houses and four seated figures sporting umbrellas and holding the Dutch flag (symbols of the contemporary ruling class).
Early European commentators on Borneo — a who's who of familiar names: Charles Hose, Ling Roth, Hugh Low, as well as later visitors such as Klausen, Hein, and before them, Lumholtz, admired and documented the remarkably diverse patterns in basketry and plaited floor mats. Appreciation and respect for this area of material culture were then carried on by others, like Susi Dunsmore, in the 50s and 60s, and continues to the present era, especially as exemplified in Bernard Sellato's comprehensive work, Plaited Arts From The Borneo Rainforest. The elaborate mats of the Ot Datum and Ngaju, those with large figurative tableaux, often reflect their complex cosmologies, social hierarchies, and ceremonial cycles. These could be sat upon or hung during significant events. Mats can serve many purposes, from simple floor coverings to being arrayed and displayed as a measure of a family's or house's hospitality and largesse when welcoming dignitaries and guests. In Borneo, a humble mat can be a transcendent creation.
— Steven G. Alpert, founder of Art of the Ancestors
1
Warrior’s Cap | Lavong
Rhinoceros hornbill beak, hornbill feathers, bamboo, rattan
UEM22460
2
Carved Earring
Rhinoceros hornbill beak
UEM22562
3
Carved Earring
Rhinoceros hornbill beak
UEM27333
4
Knife
Wood, iron, bone
UEM22373
5
Awl
Bone, wood, iron
UEM27319
6
Ceremonial Sun Hat | Sa-Ong
Palm leaf, plant fiber, cotton, pigments
UEM22584
7
Warrior’s Shield
Wood, pigments
UEM27356
8
Warrior’s Shield
Wood, human hair, pigments
UEM12
9
Warrior’s Shield
Wood, pigments, hair
UEM24
10
Female Mask
Wood, pigment, vegetable fiber
UEM22447
11
Mask
Wood, plant fiber, pigments
UEM22591
12
Hudoq Mask
Wood, steel, pigments
UEM31270
13
High Chieftain’s Stool in the form of the Cosmic Turtle
Wood
UEM30979
14
Figurative Jar Lid
Wood
UEM31099
15
Figurative Charm
Bamboo, plant fiber, snail shell
UEM31600
16
Carved Work Board
Wood, plant fiber, shell
UEM27353
17
Dragon Carving on Wheels
Wood, pigments
UEM27367
18
Ngaju Mat
Rattan, plant fiber, pigments
UEM30907
19
Ngaju Mat
Rattan, plant fiber, pigments
UEM30908
All artworks and images presented in this feature are the property of Kulturhistorisk Museum Universitetet i Oslo.
© Kulturhistorisk Museum Universitetet i Oslo