DAYAK: MANDAU HEAD HUNTING SWORD #1 CARVED BONE HANDLE, WOOD, FIBER, METAL, HAIR Authentic Antique Dayak Head Hunting Warrior’s Mandau Sword; Borneo Indonesia, circa 1890! This extraordinary piece has a deep dark brown patina and a hand carved, hair decorated, antler handle in the form of several Dayak “Aso” deity gods that’s sheathed in a hand carved pointed wood scabbard. Rattan woven waste strap and a hand carved horn haft on a metal pointed sharpening second knife; a weapon that’s sheathed in a banana leaf second sheath on the rear. Superior hand woven rattan decorates the hand caved scabbard with additional hand carved “Aso” figures. This is an above average Dayak Mandau example. It measurements an impressive 31 inches long, when sheathed. The sword alone measures 25 inches long and it shows signs of tribal use! The life actions and decision-making processes of Iban Dayaks depend on divination, augury and omens. They have several methods to receive omens where omens can be obtained by deliberate seeking or chance encounters. The first method is via dream to receive charms, amulets (pengaroh, empelias, engkerabun) or medicine (obat) and curse (sumpah) from any gods, people of Panggau Libau and Gelong and any spirits or ghosts. The second method is via animal omens (burong laba) which have long-lasting effects such as from deer barking which is quite random in nature. The third method is via bird omens (burong bisa) which have short term effects that are commonly limited to a certain farming year or a certain activity at hands. The fourth method is via pig liver divination after festival celebration] At the end of critical festivals, the divination of the pig liver will be interpreted to forecast the outcome of the future or the luck of the individual who holds the festival.] The fifth but not the least method is via nampok or betapa (self-imposed isolation) to receive amulet, curse, medicine or healing. The Dayak people represent a group of Proto-Malayans inhabiting the inner part of Borneo (the largest Indonesian island). They are related to the Batak of northern Sumatra, Filipino Ifugao, and various tribes from Timor, Celebes, Sumatra and Moluccas. The Dayaks experienced many external influences, especially practice. Dayaks are highly conservative, and each village is organized in clans composed of various families who accept the authority of a single chief. Dayaks worship a superhuman power; "Semangat," that rules the lives of humans, animals and plants. This invisible life force is omnipresent: in all human body parts, shadows, names, the water in which a human or animal bathed, traces imprinted in mud... Semangat can enter any body. It's a "soul" that can be destroyed by more powerful entities. The Dayak believe; each persons soul is inherited from a forebearer. Dayak wooden carvings host the souls of the dead. All Dayak souls submit to two divine powers: the sky; imaged as a hornbill bird, with land and water, symbolized by a snake. The Dayak practice "Kaharingan," which is a form of animism. The name was coined by Tjilik Riwut in 1944 during his tenure as a Dutch colonial Resident in Sampit, Dutch East Indies. In 1945, during the Japanese Occupation, the Japanese referred to Kaharingan as being the religion of the Dayak people. During the New Order in the Suharto regime in 1980, Kaharingan is registered as a form of Hinduism in Indonesia, while the Indonesian state only recognizes 6 forms of religion; Islam, Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism respectively. The integration of Kaharingan with Hinduism is not due to the similarities in the theological system, but due to the fact that Kaharingan is the oldest belief in Kalimantan, Borneo. Unlike the development in Indonesian Kalimantan, the Kaharingan is not recognized as a religion both in Malaysian Borneo and Brunei, thus the traditional Dayak belief system is known as a form of folk animism or pagan belief on the other side of the Indonesian border on Borneo Island. The practice of Kaharingan differs from group to group, but shamans, specialists in ecstatic flight to other spheres, are central to Dayak religion, and serve to bring together the various realms of Heaven (Upper-world) and earth, and even Under-world, for example healing the sick by retrieving their souls which are journeying on their way to the Upper-world land of the dead, accompanying and protecting the soul of a dead person on the way to their proper place in the Upper-world, presiding over annual renewal and agricultural regeneration festivals, etc. Death rituals are most elaborate when a noble (kamang) dies. On particular religious occasions, the spirit is believed to descend to partake in celebration, a mark of honor and respect to past ancestors and blessings for a prosperous future. The Dayak are feared for their ancient tradition of headhunting practices (the ritual is also known as Ngayau by the Dayaks). Among the Iban Dayaks, the origin of headhunting was believed to be meeting one of the mourning rules given by a spirit. Subsequently, the headhunting began to surface again in the mid-1940s, when the Allied Powers encouraged the practice against the Japanese Occupation of Borneo. It also slightly surged in the late 1960s when the Indonesian government encouraged Dayaks to purge Chinese from interior Kalimantan who were suspected of supporting communism in mainland China and also in the late 1990s when the Dayak started to attack Madurese emigrants in an explosion of ethnic violence. Hand carved hard wood figures are used by the Dayak to protect growing rice plants. "Agom" divinity figures; represented in their conventional stylized squatting positions, with their mouths open, signal potency and aggression. Such figures are positioned individually along the path to a rice plot, or in groups, usually in the four corners of the main rice field. The pointed stick is inserted in the ground and is left outdoors for the whole season until harvest time. In order to catch a pig, the Ibans Dayak devised a spring trap using the "tun tun" to measure the height of the impaling spike. The top of a tun tun depicts an ancestor figure whose function is to lure prey. Such traps were outlawed as too dangerous by Raja Charles Brooke, the ruler of Sarawak in the 1880’s, and with the further adoption of firearms, became obsolete.

Asian tribal art, artifacts, ifugao, kalinga, bontoc, asmat, dayak, philippines, asia, head hunters, human trophy skull, skulls, african, antiques, naga, necklace, headdress, head hunting trophy skull, Indonesia, Indonesian, SOUTHEAST ASIA, Borneo, Sarawak, ANTIQUES, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, ART, Sumatra, Timor, ARTIFACTS, Bali, Java, INDIA, Flores, Sumba, NEPAL, Savu, Roti, BABAS, Lombok, Malaysia. HOLY MEN, Nusa Tengara, New Guinea, SHAMAN, Irian Jaya, Moluccas, CONTEMPORARY ART, Tanimbar, Leti, OLD, Lembata, Alor, MINILA, Philippines, Luzon, PALAWAN, Mindanao, Sulu, BLOW GUN, Southeast Asia, Asia, NOSE RING, Asian, Burma, HAT, Myanmar, India, SWORD, Nagaland, Nepal, KNIFE, Tibet, Himalaya, MOUNTAIN, Himalayan, Assam, TRIBES, Thailand, Vietnam, YAO, Yunnan, Hainan, HMONG, China, Central Asia, ZAO, Dayak, Batak, BAG, Toraja, Naga, POLE, Chin, Li, QUIVER, Miao, Bahau, MASK, Punan, Penan, MODELED SKULL, Modang, Kayan, BRASS COIL, Kenyah, Ngaju, COILS, Kontu, Kantu, TEXTILE, Iban, Maloh, PRIEST, Tunjung, Busang, RITUAL, Aoheng, Dong Son, MYSTICAL Konyak, Tangkhul, MYSTIC, Ao, Angami, PRIMITIVE, Sema, Wancho, HAND MADE, Bontoc, B'laan, ARTIST, Bagabo, Gaddang, BULUL, Ifugao. Sculpture, BULULS, statue, mask, BOX, beadwork, bead, AUTHENTIC, textile, weaving, TRIBAL, costume, hat, WOODEN, shield, spear, WOOD, helmet, sword, BOAR, charm, fetish, FEATHERS, drum, basket, FEATHER, basketry, jewelry, SILVER, ornament, weapon, ASMAT Canoe, amulet, decoration, SCULPTURAL, architecture, architectural, SCULPTURE, longhouse, headhunter, SKULL, headhunting, shaman, TRIBAL, festival, ceremony, ceremonial, SHAMAN ritual, tattoo, HEAD HUNTER Skull, dragon, hornbill, HEADDRES, art, tribal, VIETNAM, tribe, culture, TRIBES, cultural, myth, TRIBAL, artifact, artefact, REAL, wood, stone, HAND WOVEN, cotton, metal, CAST bronze, brass, cloth, ISLAND, tropics, tropical, EQUATOR, ethnographic, EQUATORIAL, Tribal Art, Primitive Art, Ethnographic Art, Oceanic Art, Folk Art, Ethnic Cultures, AUTHENTIC Artifacts, Textiles, ANCIENT, Costumes, Sculpture, SCULPTURES, Masks, Beadwork, BEADS, Fetishes, Charms, GOLD Jewelry, Baskets, BAMBOO, Weapons, Shields, ORNATE, Indonesia, Borneo, PUPPETS, Sumatra, Sulawese, SHADOW PUPPET, Java, Bali, CAVE, Timor, Flores, ISLAND, Sumba. Lombok, VILLAGE, Molucca, Philippines, RICE TERRACE, Luzon, Mindanao, DAVID HOWARD PHOTOGRAPHY, Nepal, Burma, SACRED JOURNEY: THE GANGES TO THE HIMALAYAS, Thailand, THE LAST FILIPINO HEAD HUNTERS, Laos, Vietnam, TEN SOUTHEAST ASIAN TRIBES FROM FIVE COUNTRIES, India, Central Asia, NECKLACES, Southeast Asia, Dayak, STATUE, lban, Kayan, INK STAMP, Kenyah, Modang, FEATHERED, Bahau, Ngaju, HORSE, Batak, Toraja, NAGALAND, Naga, Dong Song. TRIBAL ART, AUTHENTIC PRIMITIVE ART, OLD ETHNOGRAPHIC ART, RARE OCEANIC ART, BEAUTIFUL FOLK ART, ETHNIC CULTURES, TRIBAL  ARTIFACTS, TEXTILES, ASIAN, COSTUMES, SCULPTURE, WOOD MASKS, BEADWORK, CHARMS, FETISHES, SIVER JEWELRY BOXES, BASKETS, WEAPONS, FILIPINO SHIELDS, INDONESIA, BORNEO, ETHNOGRAPHIC, SUMATRA, SULAWESE, TRIBAL, JAVA, BALI, TRIBES, TIMOR, FLORES, ASIAN, SUMBA. LOMBOK, TRIBES, MOLUCCA, PHILIPPINES, TRIBAL, LUZON, ASIAN, MINDANAO, NEPAL, ASIA, BURMA, THAILAND, TRIBAL, LAOS, VIETNAM, TRIBES, INDIA, CENTRAL TRIBAL ASIA, ARTIFACTS, SOUTHEAST ASIA, HEAD HUNTER, DAYAK, ASIAN, IBAN, KAYAN, TRIBE, KENYAH, MODANG, TRIBAL, BAHAU, NGAJU, ASIAN, BATAK, TORAJA, TRIBE, NAGA, tribal art, ASIAN, primitive art, ASIA, ethnographic art, TRIBAL, oceanic art, ASIAN folk art, SOUTHEAST ASIA ethnic cultures, artifacts, ASIAN, textiles, costumes, VILLAGE sculpture, masks, TRIBAL beadwork, fetishes, TRIBES charms. jewelry, TRIBE, baskets, weapons, TRIBAL, shields, indonesia, ASIAN, borneo. sumatra, TRIBAL ART sulawese, java, HILL TRIBE, bali, timor, ASIAN, flores, sumba, TRIBES, lombok, molucca, BULUL STATUES philippines, luzon, ISLAND ART, mindanao, nepal, ASIA, burma, thailand, JOURNEY laos, vietnam, TRIBAL, india, central asia, TRIBE, southeast asia, OLD ART, dayak. lban, TRIBES, kayan, kenyah, ASIAN, modang, bahau, AUTHENTIC TRIBAL ART, ngaju, batak, HEADDRESS, toraja, naga, MOUNTAIN PROVINCE, dong song, KALINGA, Indonesia, Indonesian, IFUGAO, Borneo, Sarawak, BONTOC, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, TRIBAL, Sumatra, Timor, ASIAN, Bali, Java, OLD TRIBAL ART

David Howard, art, artist, photography, photographic, photographs, print, prints, director, producer, exhibitions, exhibits, exhibit, painting, paint, studio, studios, etching, silkscreens, silkscreen, contemporary art, Pop Art, artist's story, journal, video, videos, documentary, documentaries, books, book, asian, asia, Filipino, Philippines, Sacred Journey, author, The Last Filipino Head Hunters, collections, collectables, collectable, archives, archive, art, fine, contemporary, video, dvd, documentary, Keith Haring, Nam June Paik, Christo, Lowell Nesbitt, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Charles Arnoldi, artists, studio visit, artist, program, sculpture, painting, photography, prints, print, photo, paintings, sculptures, keith haring, christo, david howard, nam june paik, artseen, videos tape, programs, documentaries, arts, world, san francisco, new york, los angeles

ANDY WARHOL, JOSEPH ALBERS, ELLSWORTH KELLY, CLAES OLDENBURG, ROBERT MOTHERWELL, FRANK STELLA, JAMES ROSENQUIST, ROBERT RAUSCHENBURG, KEITH HARING, CHRISTO, ROBERT INDIANA, ROY LICHTENSTEIN, ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE, ALICE NEAL, ARTISTS, ART, ARTIST, PAINTING, SCULPTURE, PHOTOGRAPHY, SITE SPECIFIC, NAM JUNE PAIK, KENNY SCHARF, LOWELL NESBITT, LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI, ARMAN ARMAN, CHARLES ARNOLDI, CHRIS BURDEN, ART STUDIOS, VIRTUAL REALITY, ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM, PRINT MAKING, ETCHING, PAINTING, HOLOGRAPHY, AFRICAN ART, WOODCARVING, MURAL. MURALS, COMPUTER ART, FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONISM, IMPRESSIONISM, MULTI-MEDIA, MULTI MEDIA