Aportes de la Psicología de la Salud Ocupacional Positiva (PSOP)

On the contrary, such photographs (i.e. full-body shots) constitute the majority of pre-World War 2 images of the Iban people, albeit not for anthropometrical purposes. I suggest that while there was interest in the establishment of racial typologies of the Dayak in Sarawak through photography, this concern appears to be overridden by a more pressing concern; one of photographing the tangible cultural aspects, material culture in particular, of the Dayak. Speaking generally about the situation in Africa (see Pieterse 1995: 81), the prevailing image that Europe had of the cultures in the colonies with regard to material culture was that the latter were technologically backward. Such an outlook fitted into the hegemonic notion that non-European cultures, including their objects, were lower on the evolutionary ladder. To better understand how the study of material culture influenced the early photographs featuring the Iban people, I will discuss two authors in particular: Henry Ling Roth and Charles Hose.

Roth‟s The natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo, originally published in 1896, is a heavyweight in more ways than one. First, this publication is available in two richly illustrated volumes adding up to a total of almost 1000 pages. Second, perhaps there are more details about the Dayak in these two volumes than any other publication of this period. Rather than being the „author‟, Roth (1968:xi-xii), in his own words, was more the

98 editor, since the book was written from the notes gathered by Hugh Low, an officer who worked for the Brooke administration for about 18 years, starting in the early 1870s. Scattered throughout the two volumes are aspects of Iban culture with generous line- illustrations and some photographs. In particular, the chapters on Dayak architecture, weaving and weapons are where Iban material culture features prominently. However, it appears that it was the relatively more „technologically complex‟ objects – such as

impressive architectural elements that required not only skill but manpower to build – that received more attention, while other „technologically simpler‟ objects – such as

woodcarvings that could have been made by an individual – were described or illustrated simply.

99 Figure 3.4.2.2 Sakarang Dyaks (Roth 1896: vol. 1, 5)

100 Figure 3.4.2.3 A Rejang river Dyak house (Roth 1896: vol. 2, v)

Roth‟s occupation as a curator58

shows clearly through his selection of photographs used in his book. Curators are, first and foremost, concerned with material culture, and this bias is apparent in the 11 photos in Roth‟s book that feature the Iban. The three examples here, Figures 3.4.2.1 to 3.4.2.3, show clearly Roth‟s intentions of using the chosen photographs of the Iban not so much for the display of racial characteristics but that of material culture. In Figure 3.4.2.1, the seven women featured are all wearing the rawai, which is a circular rattan accessory for the upper torso popular with Iban women. The title of the photograph indicates clearly Roth‟s intention of including this photograph. Perhaps Roth was trying to draw attention to the similarities between the rawai and the Victorian corset, which was very popular at the time of the publication? In Figure 3.4.2.2, the three Iban men are shown standing in classic poses associated with typical anthropometrical photographs. However, anthropometrical photographs show the different sides of the same subject, which leads me

58

101 to speculate that Figure 3.4.2.2 was posed to showoff their loincloths more than anything else; in this aspect, Roth‟s subtitle indeed specifically draws our attention to the rightmost man‟s leopard-skin mat. I venture to guess that Roth included this photograph to highlight the unique animal or rattan skin that was attached to a man‟s waist that served as a mat whenever he sat. With Figure 3.4.2.3, which was posed as if to show an entire family‟s material possessions displayed in front of their home complete with subtitles describing the objects, I think that there is little doubt that Roth‟s intention with his publication, at least regarding the photographs, was to highlight the material culture of the Dayak of Borneo. At what was likely to be a costly two volumes for the buyer, the book, which had gone through a few reprints, indicates the fascination of the English-reading world with material culture of the colonies which were so distinct from their own. Such photographs, I argue, do more than just satisfy curiosities, as they do show clearly the technological gap between those who were „civilised‟ and those who were not. Such curiosity is no better demonstrated than by Roth himself, who had never visited Borneo prior to his book being published (King and Wilder 2005: 46)!

Charles Hose was an Englishman who came to Sarawak in 1884 to work for Charles Brookes, the second Rajah. Together with William McDougall – another Englishman, and anthropologist, who was only „nominally‟ co-author of the book – Hose‟s book The pagan

tribes of Borneo is today credited to be “unrivalled in Bornean studies” (Durrans 1993: vii).

Typical of many Englishmen in Sarawak at that time, Hose was well-exposed to the „New Imperialism‟ they experienced back home in Victorian England (Hoberman 2003: 467).59

Amongst other things, Hoberman (2003) noted that there were only 12 public museums in Britain in 1800 but this number had grown astronomically to more than 500 by 1928. It was this appetite for exotic objects – both of natural and human origins – that Iban material

59 _{This was brought about in relation to the continual expansion of the British Empire. For parallels from the}

102 culture were first observed, recorded, studied, collected and eventually published to feed the corresponding hunger in England for information on exotic cultures.60

Durrans‟ (1993: xxvi) assertion that Hose‟s The pagan tribes of Borneo was “a product of an anthropological milieu sandwiched between waning evolutionist and waxing functionalist paradigms” is a shrewd observation that can be applied to publications of dating to the late 1800s and early 1900s – most coming out of Victorian England – that have Iban material culture as part of its contents. Briefly, the Eurocentric evolutionists of that time were typically interested in using „primitive‟ cultures in emphasising the superiority of their own61. On the other hand, the functionalist paradigm was one where details of a culture were important as all elements of a culture are deemed functional and necessary to fulfill the needs of the people in that culture. In was in this setting that the early writings on Iban material culture were made: The authors were usually fascinated by the bizarre elements in exotic cultures due to their own inherent Eurocentrism, but they were also interested to apply scientific rigor to their observations so as to better understand these cultures.62

Material culture had an interesting place in the situation discussed above. Victorian England and other industrialising European countries (and to an extent America) deemed themselves to be on the top of the cultural evolutionary ladder as they were technically and socially more advanced than any other country in the world (Buchli 2002:5). Therefore, by studying the material culture of other cultures – in particular, looking for differences in technological advancements between the observer and the observed – it was possible for Europeans to judge how far advanced they themselves were vis-à-vis lesser developed or even „primitive‟ cultures. This view that all cultures around the globe were on the same unilineal scale of development posited European supremacy and naturally gave legitimacy to European imperial dominance around the world.

60

See Buchli 2002 for discussion on material culture in Victorian England, and see Hoberman 2003 for discussion on exotic cultures in Victorian literature.

61 _{For a summary of evolutionism in Southeast Asia, see King and Wilder (2003:49-52).}

62 _{For an interesting parallel, see Corbey (2000) for a discussion on European museums, collectors, dealers etc}

103 Figure 3.4.2.4 Youthful Sea Dayaks in gala dress

104 Figure 3.4.2.5 Sea-Dayak woman wearing coat and petticoat

105 Figure 3.4.2.6 Iban woman weaving

(Hose and McDougall 1912: vol.1, 222)

Hose and McDougalls‟ book The pagan tribes of Borneo (1912) contains several chapters that discuss several aspects of the lives of the Dayak, including the Iban “Social system”, “Agriculture”, “Ideas of spiritual existences and the practices arising from them”. While objects of material culture are featured in these chapters in the course of describing different types of activities, three chapters – “Material conditions of the pagan tribes of Borneo”, “Handicrafts” and “Decorative arts” are devoted to material culture.

Accordingly, the photographs selected for publication also show clearly the bias towards material culture based on the subject matter and captions of the photographs. The captions of Figures 3.4.2.4 and 3.4.2.5 both specifically draw attention to the clothing of the Iban photographed. Both these photographs were posed as if to best show off the said clothing. Figure 3.4.2.6‟s caption points specifically to an activity (i.e. weaving) but the composition of the photograph was most likely done to allow the viewer to comprehend the simplicity of the backstrap loom. The women was also likely to have worn the rawai

106 ornament around her torso on request, as the Iban women I interviewed told me that it was seldom worn (except only during festivals) and most unlikely to have been worn while weaving as it would have been uncomfortable.

All things considered, some of the early photographs featuring the Iban, as shown through Roth, and Hose and McDougalls‟ selections, do appear to be concerned with allowing the viewers to see easily (and thus compare) the material culture of the Iban. As mentioned, the Victorian perception that „non-civilised‟ peoples were subhuman also led to the emphasis on their technologically simple material culture as proof.