- Collection type
- Object
- Description
- Carved wooden figure, the antu of ophthalmia [SM (Verve) 21/11/2013]
- Long description
- Wooden figure, the antu of ophthalmia carved from a single piece of wood. Unpainted crouched figure in female human form with hands held in front of the belly. The figure is shown wearing a five-sided conical head-dress decorated with incised horizontal lines. The head has prominent ears with a concave carved scoop for each ear hole, eyes that go up towards the sides, a long nose, shallow jaw, a horizontal line for the lips, and cheeks which overlap at the base of the nose. The body has concentric semi-circular incised lines on the chest and incised lines in a chevron pattern on the back. The arms are bent at the elbows and are slashed to give triangular notches along the edges. There are carved fingers on the hands. The legs are smooth and the feet have toes. [SM (Verve) 21/11/2013]
- Cultural groups
- Melanau
- Date / Period
- Date made: Before 1912
- Date collected
- By 1912
- Acquisition information
- Donated: 1934
- Materials and processes
- Material Wood Plant, Process Carved, Process Perforated, Process Notched, Process Incised
- Dimensions
- Height: max 505 mm, Width: max 122 mm, Depth: max 120 mm
- Object numbers
- Accession number: 1934.25.38
- Associated publications
- Description by Julia Nicholson and Beatrice Clayre for article in the Journal of the Sarawak Museum, forthcoming (1997):Unpainted crouched figure in female human form with hands held in front of the belly. The figure is shown wearing a five-sided conical head-dress decorated with incised horizontal lines (according to Morris 1997:p. ***, Kulum have conical heads). The head has prominent ears with a scoop for each ear hole, flat eyes, a long nose, shallow jaw, a horizontal line for the lips, and cheeks carved rather like shields which overlap at the base of the nose. The body has concentric semi-circular incised lines on the chest and incised lines in a chevron pattern on the back. The arms are bent at the elbows and are slashed. There are carved fingers on the hands. The legs are smooth and the feet have toes. Habitat and place of deposit: Not stated. According to Lawrence and Hewitt, Pulum inhabit muslim graveyards, and the dakan is deposited there. Illness: No name was attached to this dakan, but it was said to be the spirit which causes ophthalmia. Lawrence and Hewitt refer to two such spirits: pulum and jakaw guum (Lawrence and Hewitt: 401, 403). Pulum is considered the more likely identification because of the conical head-dress. Lawrence and Hewitt recorded that the spirit has a dart stuck in one eye. When the spirit blows the dart at a human being, the result is ophthalmia or other eye disease. Classification and comparable pieces: See Morris, 1997: category 15.98; Lawrence and Hewitt, 1908: p.401; Morris, 1997: p. *** check what page inventory no. 55 is on [JN]
1934.25.38
Carved wooden figure, the antu of ophthalmia [SM (Verve) 21/11/2013]
On display
1934.25.38
Digital asset copyright: Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford
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