Dayak Headman — Borneo Longhouse Portrait
142.60 £
A Dayak headman in the Iban community longhouse in Sarawak — traditional hornbill feather headdress, brass earring weights elongating the lobes, tattoos visible on his forearms, the longhouse interior darkening behind him.
Description
The Iban Dayak longhouse communities of Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo maintain cultural traditions of tattoo, jewellery, and dress that communicate social and spiritual information within the community. The headman’s hornbill feather headdress — worn for ceremonial occasions — is made from the flight feathers of the helmeted hornbill, a species now protected under CITES; the headdresses visible in longhouse communities are inherited family objects from before the protection came into force. This portrait was made at the Nanga Sumpa longhouse on the Lemanak River with the headman’s agreement through the longhouse’s community tourism programme, the subject in full ceremonial dress for a community reception. Shot on a 50mm prime at f/2.8 with available longhouse interior light — the single fluorescent strip providing fill while the doorway daylight provides the key light.
