BIDAYUH TRADITIONAL COSTUME
 
By
 
Jonas Noeb, Henry Langgie and Gerald Gilbert Oscar Sindon*
 
 
Warrior Costume
 
In some areas, for instance, in Singai, Bau the dresses of young warriors consist mainly of the loin-cloths, scarlet jackets ornamented with shells and the headgears called burang oyung .  The headgear is made from the inner bark of tabak trees, which are dyed bright yellow.  The headgear is decked with a feather as in the case in Bau or a few feathers as in other areas or flowers or twigs of leaves.  They wear a few ornaments such as armlets, amulets and occasionally necklaces called sikarung.
 
Footnotes
Burang oyung refers to the headgear made of the inner bark of a tabak tree.  The bark is cut, slit open and peeled off.  It is white.  The bark is then dyed by rubbing a mixture of lime bunyuh and miet (Curcuma domestica) over the white surface.  The dyed bark is left to dry.  It will turn bright yellow. [Back]

Sikarung or sikarung bubut or sirambu is a necklace made of coloured beads interspersed with leopard cats? or bears? fangs and claws. [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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