Pig Stick (Tun-tun-babi)
Iban Dayak, Second Divison, Sarawk, North Borneo
19th / 20th century
Wood
H: 21"
A charming variant of a tun-tun-babi or “pig stick” that was technically used as a trigger for a sophisticated trap by the Iban Dayak of Sarawak, North Borneo. On a magical level, the hunkered figure would “call” or lure prey. On a practical level, a cloth imbued with the scent of foods (no longer intact) was tucked into the figure’s body in order to lure the animal. Such traps were outlawed as being too dangerous by Raja Charles Brooke, the ruler of Sarawak in the 1880’s, and with the further adoption of firearms, became obsolete.
Inventory # 102610
SOLD