Cultural History In Focus | “Kelirieng: The Vanishing Monumental Heritage of Sarawak” by Antonio J. Guerreiro

Totemic Punan Pole © Steven G. Alpert — Totemic Punan Pole
© Steven G. Alpert

Kelirieng

The Vanishing Monumental Heritage of Sarawak

by Antonio J. Guerreiro

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This article was generously provided by Antonio J. Guerreiro.

Detail of the upper section of a kelirieng standing near the clinic at Lo’o Ba. The carved anthropomorphic figure seems to be holding a trophy human head on his shoulder, a very rare occurrence of kelirieng decoration

Detail of the characteristic spirit face of a Sekapan kelirieng, now on the grounds of the Muzium Negara in Kuala Lumpur

A Punan Ba kelirieng being literally ‘eaten up’ by the forest on banks of the Rejang, Belaga District

A combined kelirieng salong for Sawieng at Levu Ado on the Kakus River of the Punan Ba – Tetau people.

Punan Ba – Sama Klirieng at Long Beleti’ during the 1981 Sarawak Museum’s survey of burial posts in Belaga District. It shows the ancient designs such as the ‘net’(mata jalo’).The man is the middle is the Museum’s team survey leader Encik Joseph Ing… — Punan Ba – Sama Klirieng at Long Beleti’ during the 1981 Sarawak Museum’s survey of burial posts in Belaga District. It shows the ancient designs such as the ‘net’(mata jalo’).The man is the middle is the Museum’s team survey leader Encik Joseph Ingai Gasing with his Punan Ba assistants Sagit Sapua’ (Ake Nyuan) on his left and Encik Anye’ Mibau (Ake Leduang) and his right.

Antonio J. Guerreiro

Dr. Antonio J. Guerreiro received his Ph.D at EHESS in Paris (1985). After initially focusing on architectural, social and cultural anthropology studies, he later gained insight and expertise in museography. Dr. Guerreiro has researched Hindu-Buddhist iconography and architecture in Southeast Asia, and has since the 1980’s extensively published on Malay-Indonesian ethnic cultures with a special focus on Sumatra and Borneo. While lecturing in the field of material culture studies,- i.e. vernacular architecture and sculpture - Dr. Guerreiro has worked as a consultant for various museographical projects in France and abroad besides curating/co-curating diverse exhibitions. During the 1990s, he was a visiting scholar at the Department of Anthropology, University of Tokyo.

He is currently a Senior Research associate at the Institut de Recherches sur l’Asie (IrASIA, CNRS/Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France) and a member of ICOM-France (Unesco-Paris). He is also Secretary-General of the Society of Euroasiatic Studies at the Musée du Quai Branly, Paris. In 2017-2018 he was a Research Fellow at the Sarawak Museum Campus Project (SMCP) and Heritage Trail project in Kuching (Sarawak, Malaysia). Dr. Guerreiro is still doing consultancy for the Museum while conducting research on woodcarving traditions, museum collections and the conservation of monumental structures of the Orang Ulu peoples of Sarawak. He is also actively engaged in researching colonial photography in Borneo (Sarawak, Sabah, Brunei, Kalimantan).

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Cultural History In Focus | “Kelirieng: The Vanishing Monumental Heritage of Sarawak” by Antonio J. Guerreiro

Kelirieng

The Vanishing Monumental Heritage of Sarawak

by Antonio J. Guerreiro

Antonio J. Guerreiro

Art of the Ancestors