BIDAYUH TRADITIONAL COSTUME
 
By
 
Jonas Noeb, Henry Langgie and Gerald Gilbert Oscar Sindon*
 
 
The Advent of Malay and Chinese Traders
 
The Bidayuh exchanged their jungle products for the jomuh binua from the Malay traders.  Thus, the jomuh binua slowly replaced jomuh kenwa.

With the advent of the Chinese traders, the Bidayuh barter traded their jungle products to obtain gongs and brass cannons, ancient jars and gold and silver ornaments.  Such items constituted their wealth.  They were also able to purchase cloths of foreign manufacture.  Thus in additional to jomuh binua, the Bidayuh women also had jomuh piroras, and jomuh birudu.  The long loin attire of Bidayuh men too was made of cloth.  It was called tawuop bobat.

 
Footnotes
Jungle products collected by the early Bidayuh were birds? nests, wild honey, bees wax, areca nuts, damar and dried skins of langgir fruits and other products from the jungle and exchanged them to obtain gongs, brass cannons, ancient jars and silver wares from the Chinese traders.  According to Harrison (1956) during the Sung Dynasty (A.D. 900-1300), the Land Dayaks near Bau were among the earliest Borneans to get supply of iron and other metals from the Chinese traders. [Back]
 
 
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# Paper presented at the Bidayuh Traditional Music, Songs, Dance and Costume Workshop held at Museum Tun Razak, Kuching on 16 - 17 May 1998.

* Mr. Jonas Noeb is a Headmaster of SRB St. Teresa, Serian.  Mr. Henry Langgie (BBS) is an Agency Manager of Arab-Malaysian Insurance, Kuching.  Mr. Gerald Gilber Oscar Sindon is a schoolteacher.

Received on November 16, 1999.
Published on the Internet by courtesy of Mr. Ahi Sarok (January 05, 2000)
Re-Published for bidayuh dotcom by courtesy of  Mr. Ahi Sarok (May 03, 2000)

Citation:
Noeb, J., H. Langgie and G. G. O. Sindon. 1998. Bidayuh Traditional Costume. Paper presented at the Bidayuh Traditional Music, Songs, Dance and Costume Workshop held at Museum Tun Razak, Kuching on 16 - 17 May 1998. 10p. (http://www.geocities.com/dayung_biatah/bidcostum.html)

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