Lun Bawang Beaded Headgear

Lun Bawang ladies in their traditional costumes

It is not uncommon to find Lun Bawang (also known as Murut) ladies adorned themselves with beaded headgear when attendimg official functions or during communal festivals.  

In this picture the ladies were attending function in conjunction with the launching of the promotion of Adan Rice or also popularly known as Bario Rice held in Kuching recently. Those headgear are made from certain beads with yellow as the base colour.   

Beaded Shawl ("Selampai")

Beaded shawl with native design or motif is very much part of Orang Ulu traditional costumes. Colourful beads are strung on the  threads to make beautiful designs. 

Beaded shawl: a masterpiece of my aunt

A young maiden adorned herself with beaded shawl

Swaroski Pearl and Crystal

My new collection of bracelets and earrings, which I completed yesterday. They are made of swaroski  pearl & Crystal. 

Beaded purses

Strolling through the popular weekend Malaysia-Indonesia border shopping stalls at Serikin, I noticed many purses made from beads were offered for sale. Some have attractive colours while others were just plain. Those purses can be used on ordinary days or even when attending informal functions.

Beaded purses offered for sale at Serikin

Native decorative begs

A small decorative beg with native's motif is good to place in a car or home. The colourful beads used to design the native's motif enhances their beauty or shall I say giving added value to the items.

Ankle Bells @ gerunong

Many young native women like to wear ankle bells. In the Iban language these ankle bells are called "gerunong". Tied around their ankles these instruments produce warm and rich chime sound when shaken or as the legs of the person who wears them move. Iban women wear these gerunong as part of the accessories to enhance their beauty. I have noticed Indian cultural dancers like to put a lot of these bells around their ankles. However, I also found that these ankle bells were also used to decorate darts container by some blowpipe shooting competition participants. The picture here speaks it all. 

A ''temilah'' (dart container) decorated with brass ankle bells

The Borneo natives' headgears

Headgears come in different forms, shapes and sizes and are designed for certain specific purpose(s). While most are used for physical protection against falling objects or rain or heat, there are others specifically made for religious, decorative or ceremonial purposes. The Malay songkok for instant are both for physical protection as well as for religious purposes. The materials used for making headgears are also coming from various sources, places and nature. Some are made of cotton cloth whilst others made from animal skins or even plastics.  

In the picture here we have the native headgear designed basically for ceremonial purposes and cultural performances. What I am particularly interested in sharing here is the material used for decorating the headgear, namely, the beads.

The Sarawak Natives' or Orang Ulu headgear