Thursday, April 30, 2009

Mysteries of Borneo: Nature from National Geographic

Tattooed from head to toe
Each carry a story of it's own
Iban carry each with pride
Some representing ancestors that have died
Painful as they may be
Iban would never let us see
Each tattoo brings a sense of glee
To the men of Iban society

exam

I have the bigger version of The Patriarch and Prof. has indicated that we can view chp. 7 for one of our exam questions, however my version does not match up the smaller version. Does anyone know which pages I can find the info. on?

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Borneo Poems

Borneo Farewell

We have come and we have seen
what never should have been
we have said our prayer
and left them there
heard them sigh
goodbye

- John Lewis

WILD MAN OUT BORNEO

by Thunderchief

I wanna blow up sticks of dynamite
burn all my bridges ... start a fight
with both guns drawn ... I'm on till dawn
my rocket ship is taking flight !
That's right !
I am
The wild man baby --- out Borneo
I said the wild man baby --- just watch me go
oh yea the wild man baby --- and don't cha know
Upon a vine -- I'm swinging low
above the law -- won't be controlled
I kick and claw -- I think it shows
There goes the wild man baby --- out Borneo
yes I the wild man baby --- just watch me flow
again the wild man baby --- and don't cha know
B-52 -- I drop the bombs
along my flight -- I write the songs
I need a hit -- get out the bong
cause I'm the wild one baby --- out Borneo

[ jungle noise .. ape sounds etc. w drums , heavy bass line
and organ music ]

I wanna show up late with loaded dice
provoke the crowd ... ta going twice
when odds are long ... my time has come
I want it all ... my only vice !
That's right !
I am
The wild man baby --- out Borneo
yes I the wild man baby --- just watch me go
oh yea the wild man baby --- and don't cha know
It's like my bones -- have gone insane
when they jump out -- my covered frame
my ass is gone -- my soul remains
There goes the wild man baby --- out Borneo
yes I the wild man baby -- just watch me flow
again the wild man baby -- and don't cha know
I'm kicking ass -- and taking names
a big black car -- and white cocaine
I've got an act -- and I remain
To be the wild thang baby --- out Borneo

I found a video that may be helpful regarding the exam. It is a 17 minute video on Confusionism, Buddhism, and Taoism. If we have time in class, maybe we can check it out together. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2173173691246135944

The Chinese myth of the ten crows tells how each day a crow would carry the sun from east to west across the sky.

Here is the link to that fascinating video that Adam showed in our afternoon class.

Joshua Klein on the Intelligence of Crows:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/joshua_klein_on_the_intelligence_of_crows.html

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

WWF: The Heart of Borneo

http://www.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/borneo_forests/

Monday, April 27, 2009

Visions of Borneo

By Diana Cruz

I picture men with tattoos, Headhunters as if life was a zoo.
Humans aren't so so different from animals; they become prey to see who is more powerful.
Ibans grow rice but it is the spirit they believe in; this is the strength that makes everything possible for them to succeed on. they don't have much and don't rely on many, but at the end of the day this is a beelik daily.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

FINAL EXAM

FINAL EXAM
You final exam is take-home. You are to answer the following questions. Answers should be at LEAST 3-5 paragraphs for each section. The answers must be in complete sentences, but you may use bullet points if you wish. Please take the time to outline your answers, and check spelling and grammar. You may use sources other than class materials, such as the internet, but ONLY .edu or .org.
Much of what you have been reading throughout the semester, both in books and in the various articles, concerns that powerful abstraction we call religion. For your final exam essays I would like you to consider the various religions that co-exist in Malaysian Borneo and the relationship of the belief system and culture. The American anthropologist Clifford Geertz offers the following definition of religion. Religion is:
(1) a system of symbols which acts to (2) establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men [and women] by (3) formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and (4) clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that (5) the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic.
(In your email message I have attached a document from the U of Chicago website that explains this in more detail.)

Keeping this definition in mind, please answer the following questions.

DUE DATE: NO LATER than 10 am May 5. NO EXCEPTIONS!!!
(I mean it)
1.
“KSE was first and foremost a Chinese. His religion was a mix of Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. He embraced the doctrines in total and was concerned that prosperity followed in his footsteps with the same intensity” (Chpt. 7., The Patriarch)

Briefly explain these three systems of belief. What unites or divides these three systems of thought?

Describe some of the ways in which the influence of these are observable in the life of KSE and his family.

2.
“Nothing happens without a cause’, commented an Iban shaman, and in Iban lore, jars moan for lack of attention, trees talk, crotons walk, macaques become incubi, and the sex of the human fetus is determined by a cricket, the metamorphized form of the god Selampandai.” (pg. 91, The Iban)

The animistic beliefs of the Iban permeate every aspect of their culture. Describe some of the ways that these beliefs aid in maintaining social order among the Iban.

3.
The Malays hold to the five essentials of Islam- the profession of faith, the Five Daily Prayers, the necessity of fasting, the obligation to make the pilgrimage to Mecca , and the obligation to give alms. As practiced by the Malays, however, has absorbed some local practices based both in animism and Hinduism. Drawing from the book you read earlier in the semester as well as Ryan’s article “The Malays” , describe some of the ways that Muslim beliefs shape Malay culture and ways in which the religions permeates the larger multi-ethnic society of Malaysian Borneo. Can you detect ways in which Islam among the Malays is unique to their history and geography?

P.S. You may bring in Judeo-Christian traditions when relevant, ie among the Iban, but I do NOT want a point by point comparison of beliefs!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Iban Adat and auguries

I think that you will find the site below very interesting and useful as you write your final questions. It is quite long, but it includes details of some rather complex aspects of Iban worldview.

http://gnmawar.wordpress.com/adat-iban/

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Kung Fu in Malaysian Borneo

Thursday, April 16, 2009

New Mammal!

What is it???

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4501152.stm

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Borneo Ecosystem

After watching that video in class on Thursday, I remembered seeing this link online.

http://news.mongabay.com/2006/0328-borneo.html

It really amazed me that they discovered over 361 species of animals from 1996-2006 and just how much land that oil plantation would have taken up had Indonesia allowed it (~ 18 billion sq. meters).