In Focus

Exotic jewelry has always received a great deal of attention in first-contact situations (between foreign cultures). Tanimbar was no different in this respect.

The term megalith, from the Greek words for "large" and "stone," refers to rock-cut tombs, stones seats, terraces, cairns, stone-built platforms, crudely shaped statues of men and animals, cylinders, stone urns, rectangular sarcophagi, and stone slabs with cup holes.

Until recently, those who traveled through Maluku Tenggara and were fortunate enough to witness the opening of a so-called pusaka basket (a basket filled with family heirlooms) would have been astounded.

Traditionally, Sumbanese men's ikat cloths, called hinggi, could be woven only by upper-class women. Women planted and harvested the cotton, carded and spun it, prepared the dyes, applied the motifs, wove, and completed the fabrication of these remarkable textiles.

Of all weaponry in Tanimbarese culture, the krai silai, or "great sword" is without a doubt the most impressive.[1] Its extra-long blade and often splendidly carved hilt would inspire awe in the enemy.

The peoples of Indonesia traditionally made shields in a wide variety of shapes, usually elongated, and quite different from European examples. Shields of the more remote cultures of the Indonesian islands were popular items of collection by Europeans during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The following essay is from the 1989 publication American Furniture in the Bybee Collection, by Charles L. Venable.

While they vary greatly in size and architecture, the most impressive traditional Dayak houses consisted of a long row of contiguous apartments. Each family unit was connected to an unimpeded veranda that stretched the entire length of the longhouse. In precolonial times, these structures were sometimes raised on tall pylons and, in times of strife, sometimes surrounded by stout stockades.

Masking traditions were once found in many parts of Borneo.