Texts & pictures: Wooden sculptures


	East Kalimantan

Samarinda | Food | Cities built on piles | Life along the river | Fish | Tanjung Isuy | Crafts | Mancong village | Wooden sculptures | Sunset | Muara Muntai | Transports | Nature | The Dayak dances of Bigung | Eheng | Community life in Eheng | The craftsmen of Eheng | Balikpapan on wooden piles | Children

Wooden sculptures

In the front: wooden statues of men and women with animals.

Statue in front of the lamin

In the back: various kinds of animals, such as this butterfly

on statues in Mancong, or also this bee on a pillar in Mencimai
and this crocodile

The first thing one notices upon approaching the long houses of the Dayak people, are the tall wooden sculptures, equivalent to the totems of the Native Americans. That is the case in the village of Tanjung Isuy, where these impressive carved pillars are put at the entrance of the courtyard located in front of the lamin.
It is in Tanjung Isuy that I also noticed that they were used to symbolically mark an entrance gate, skillfully carved. So it was not surprising to find them upon arriving in the village of Mancong, which has been restored by the government as a showcase of the typical Dayak housing. We went through it after crossing a bridge, on our way up to the two-floor high house built atop a hill.
The most remarkable sculptures are in fact those that are set all along the main façade where the entrances are. Located on each side of an entrance, there is often one feminine figure and one masculine one. They have typical attributes of the Dayak people, such as the ears elongated by the weight of golden earrings, and some clothes to show the social status. Others have weapons, or other objects such as their mandau to show who they are. They sometimes have a symbolical animal on top of their head, and other signs are also carved at the bottom of the pillar. Furthermore, there are animals in their back as well.
In the case of the houses built on stilts, which concerns most of the lamin, there are also sculptures at the top of the ladders used to enter the house, and which can be removed in case of danger or at night. A small figurine is represented, with an object to illustrate an activity. The more modern staircases which have been added are unfortunately not decorated.
Finally, one can not fail to notice the finesse of the balustrades, sculpted with beautiful geometric motifs. They elegantly complete the very simple and stylized housing of the Dayak people of East Kalimantan.