Annual report on Sarawak.

Date:: [1952]

Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report on Sarawak. Source: Wellcome Collection.

165/198 (page 133)

were marked and measured with metal tags. Much information was obtained from them during and after the period of the preliminary survey. Certain deficiencies of the test method were brought to light, and a modified technique was decided upon, to be put into operation in 1953. Investigation of predation and parasitism has clarified the amount of damage done to young turtles by shore crabs and fish, and has given information on the importance of shark predation and parasitism by barnacles in reducing the numbers of adult turtles. Experiments in the rearing of young turtles until they are large and strong enough to escape from most of their common predators have gone ahead with some success. Techniques for rearing are now fairly well established and interest is directed mainly toward reducing the cost per turtle so that large scale rearing will be feasible. Native Arts During the year, attention continued to be paid to the problem of the decline in native arts. Efforts have been made to encourage craftsmen, such as the man who makes the beautiful bamboo pipes in the Land Dayak country and the wonderful wood carvers of the Tinjar River. As well as the purchase of good specimens for the Museum, special items were purchased and displayed at the Colombo Exhibition during the year. The Curator also represented the Government at an ECAFE conference on Small Cottage Industries at Bangkok. He stressed the needs of the small, old-style artist which tend to be overlooked in lands like Siam and Indo-China where mass weaving, silver and ‘‘ cottage ” industries are the main concerns. There is a small but growing outside demand for Sarawak products, and an evident need for some sort of shop, with government aid and authentication, in Kuching, Sibu and other places. There is no doubt that Sarawak has some of the finest of arts aad crafts, particularly in the fields of wood carving (Kenyah), weaving (Iban and Land Dayak), basketry (Melanau, Land Dayak, Kedayan), bamboo decorating (Kelabit, and Land Dayak), beadwork (Kenyah- Kayan), swords (Kenyah and latterly Punan) and the ever fascinating blowpipe (Punan). Unfortunately, these crafts are steadily declining, especially the finer types of workmanship. The blowpipe is likely with the great increase in the number of shotguns to become extinct. Ceramic Arts Many visitors are impressed by the number and quality of ceramic objects to be found in longhouses even far in the interior. The Museum is concerned with its collection in this section, which was enlarged during 1951. This china and pottery is nearly all of Chinese or Siamese origin and was traded into Borneo as early as the Tang Dynasty.