Toggle SlidingBar Area

S M ALL AND POT E NT ­ FISHING CHAR M S AND TH E M E LANAU OF B ORN E O – TAASA Review June 2010

UNLOCK THIS ARTICLE

This article was originally found in the June 2010 edition of TAASA Review (Volume 19, Issue 2, Page 13).

The full article is available for free to TAASA Members.

Register

or Login

Charlotte Galloway T he traditional art of the Melanau, like the other ethnic groups of Borneo, was driven by spiritual practices that included shamanism, ritual sacrifice and superstition.

The name Melanau (also spelled Malanau and Milanau) was given to people living in the region of north and northeast Borneo around 1862 when the Rajah of Sarawak annexed the region from the Sultan of Brunei.

The area became part of the Third Division of Sarawak and his officials used the name Melanau to describe the people who lived in the Rejang delta and coastal area as far as Bintulu' (Morris 1991: 4)...