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BUSANA TRADISIONAL SUKU KELABIT, ETNIK ORANG ULU
Tingkat 5, Bangunan Sultan Iskandar, Jalan Simpang Tiga, 93000 Kuching Sarawak
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Introduction and history
The Kelabit tribe is a group of original people that settle on Sarawak’s highland and North Kalimantan, Indonesia. This tribe has close link with the Lun Bawang tribe as both originated from the mountain areas in Sarawak. Kelabit is one of the Malay Language terminologies that existed since Rajah James Brooke’s reign in Sarawak.
According to tradition, this tribe has long ear lobes and this is a symbol of beauty of their women practiced from generation to generation. Kelabit men also own long ear lobes.
Male Costume:
The Kelabit male costume is simple, adorned with various types of beautiful beads and have their own patterns. They wear loincloth known as ‘paar. There are also shirts made from tree bark. They wear hat and jacket made from beads for celebrations.
Female Costume:
In order to hasten the ear lobes stretching and lengthening, the Kelabit women wear accessory of golden yellow and pale red copper in their ear lobes since babies. The length of the ear lobes needs to be 20 centimetres or up to the base of the chest. Era evolution resulted in lesser ownership of long ear lobes as it is said that this kind of tradition is out of date.
The female costume is adorned with various shapes of beads with nature’s pattern on black cloth. Their costume consists of:Black cloth: As symbol or power emblem to the costume.
Bao Rawir: Opaque bead hat and orange coloured 15-25 centimetres long.
Bao Alai: Made of Venetian glass, oval shaped and yellow in colour.
Bao Bata Madi and Bata Agan: Belt.
Reference Source
Blanchet-Cohen, N., & Urud, M. (2017). Tana’ Bawang (homeland): Cultural Safety and the Kelabit Land Struggle in Borneo. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 13(3), 170–178. https://doi.org/10.1177/1177180117714409
Collin Duncan (2015, May 19). Anak Dayak Sebuyau Lundu: Etnik Kelabit. Anak Dayak Sebuyau Lundu. http://anakdayaksebuyau.blogspot.com/2015/05/etnik-kelabit.html?m=1
JKKN Pemetaan Budaya | ADAT RESAM DAN BUDAYA KAUM ORANG ULU: SUKU KELABIT: ADAT MENYAMBUT TETAMU ATAU PAHLAWAN. (n.d.). Pemetaanbudaya.my. Retrieved October 26, 2021, from https://pemetaanbudaya.my/culture/dis/321
jplmadmin. (n.d.). Jurnal Linguistik Vol. 24 (1) Jun 2020 | Jurnal Linguistik. Retrieved October 26, 2021, from https://jurnal.plm.org.my/?p=324
Mujib, A. (2009). HUBUNGAN BAHASA DAN KEBUDAYAAN (Perspektif Sosiolinguistik) Adabiyyāt: Jurnal Bahasa Dan Sastra, 8(1), 141. https://doi.org/10.14421/ajbs.2009.08107
Shze Hwa Lee. (2016, July 8). Hubungan Etnik-Final. https://www.slideshare.net/shzehwa/hubungan-etnikfinal
Asmah Hj. Omar. (1983). The Malay Peoples of Malaysia and Their Languages. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
Amster, Matthew H. (1999). “Tradition”, Ethnicity and Change: Kelabit Practices of Name Changing. Jurnal Muzium Sarawak, 75 (12), 183-200.
Poline Bala. (2016). Masyarakat Kelabit: Tradisi dan Perubahan Sosial. Institut Terjemahan & Buku Malaysia Berhad, Ampang, Selangor.
Location
State JKKN Contact Information
Encik Boniface Anak Babai
Cultural Officer
Jabatan Kebudayaan dan Kesenian Negara, Sarawak
Tingkat 5 Bangunan Sultan Iskandar,
Jalan Simpang Tiga,
93000, Kuching,
SARAWAK
019-2399682/082-422006
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