elderly Iban man (and former head hunter) playing gamelan music
This elderly gentleman was still very active in his community, for instance here, playing gamelan music for the warrior dance and the maiden dances ; in the end, everyone had a chance to dance, girls and women of all ages and all the men from the "longhouse".
To learn more about him and see other photos of his tattoos etc, look below this photo - part of this set : old photos from Malaysia.
Gamelan instruments are much more sophisticated in Java and Bali, but here there were superb and old, ancient gongs, very impressive to look at and to listen to. Some of the ones hanging, huge !
Locally made alcohols (toddy and arak) were passed around (the 2nd sort, much more stronger than the first ; in each case, before serving everyone, a little bit was poured on the floor = an offering to the spirits who had to be appeased by all possible means.
(A new photo - with my Lumix G1 - of an old print of a slide - Sarawak, Borneo - Malaysia, 1990)
elderly Iban man (and former head hunter) playing gamelan music
This elderly gentleman was still very active in his community, for instance here, playing gamelan music for the warrior dance and the maiden dances ; in the end, everyone had a chance to dance, girls and women of all ages and all the men from the "longhouse".
To learn more about him and see other photos of his tattoos etc, look below this photo - part of this set : old photos from Malaysia.
Gamelan instruments are much more sophisticated in Java and Bali, but here there were superb and old, ancient gongs, very impressive to look at and to listen to. Some of the ones hanging, huge !
Locally made alcohols (toddy and arak) were passed around (the 2nd sort, much more stronger than the first ; in each case, before serving everyone, a little bit was poured on the floor = an offering to the spirits who had to be appeased by all possible means.
(A new photo - with my Lumix G1 - of an old print of a slide - Sarawak, Borneo - Malaysia, 1990)