A DAYAK, DUZUN OR KADAZAN IRONWOOD TOMB STELE

Description:

Borneo Northwest, Malaysia, Sabah or Sarawak, early 20th c.
H, 198 cm (o.S)/ H. 207 cm
This rare and very well-preserved stele made of heavy and hard ironwood(belian wood, Eusideroxylon zwageri) is carved in shallow relief on both sides. It consists of one piece. Stylised Islamic characters and auspicious symbols were carved into the wood in the central main area and on the edge. The top of the stele is decorated with openwork, symmetrical leaf tendrils and orchid motifs (?); at the base there are also stylised ornamental plant motifs in a symmetrical arrangement. This probably refers to the tree of life pohon budi. The motif of the tree of life plays an important role in Borneo's cosmology, as the tree of life extends through all three planes of the world and connects the spheres of the dead, the living and the gods. The vegetal dissolution of the motifs is related to Muslim standards. The stele originates from the Malay-Kutai region and comes from a Malay subgroup living in the Muslim Sultanate of Kutai on the Mahakam River in Borneo. The cultural area is known as the Dusun region, but is also populated by (non-Muslim) Dayak. Dusun is an umbrella term for various indigenous groups within the Malay state of Sabah on Borneo. The members of these groups usually do not refer to themselves as Dusun, which means "forest farmers", but prefer the respective group names, such as Kadazan, Rungus, Ranau and Tambunan. Because of the similarities in culture and language with the Kadazan, the common ethnicity of the Kadazan-Dusun was formed, which represents the largest ethnic group of the peoples of Sabah with around 570,000 members. The stele is very large compared to other examples, which, in combination with the high quality, indicates a high rank of the deceased. These stelae were inserted and fixed at each end of the wooden coffin, so that the lower, undecorated third was not visible.
From an old German private collection, assembled since the 1950s - Partly minor damages due to age