Monday 10 September 2012

traditional dayak tatto




for many outsiders the name has been synonymous with a forbidding and isolated wilderness, a steamy rain-soaked place, dangerous and forlorn. While it was among the first lands in Asia to be visited by Europeans, it remained among the last to be mapped.

Borneo is the third largest island in the world. Six major, and numerous minor, navigable rivers traverse the interior and function as trade and communication routes for the indigenous peoples who live here, namely the Dayak. Dayak, meaning "interior" or "inland" person, is the term used to describe the variety of indigenous native tribes of Borneo, each of which has its own language and separate culture. Approximately three million Dayak - Ibans, Kayans, Kenyahs and others - live in Borneo. Most groups are settled cultivating rice in shifting or rain-fed fields supplementing their incomes with the sale of cash crops: ginger, pepper, cocoa, palm oil. However several hundred Penan, nomadic hunter-gatherers, continue to follow a traditional lifestyle in the jungle, one that is rapidly vanishing.
Aside from a few scattered reports of missionaries, traders, and a handful of explorers in the mid-19th century, almost nothing was known about the Dayak and their customs. To these outsiders only one thing was for certain: that the island was inhabited by "primitive" peoples who worshipped pagan gods and spirits and whose knowledge and skills made this land their home.
By 1900, however, anthropological interest in Borneo peaked and became the focus of several museum expeditions by the Dutch and British. With the many ethnological accounts that followed, some of the most interesting material that was generated focused upon the traditional tattooing practices of the Dayak. Tattooing was believed to be a sacred activity that was connected to many aspects of traditional Dayak culture, especially spirit worship and headhunting.
The most important symbol marking participation in the headhunt was tattoo (Iban: pantang). Among the Kayan, anthropomorphic figures were tattooed onto the fingers and were known as tegulun. Although they denoted having taken a head, tegulun possibly represented a sacrifice to a helper spirit that in former times was propitiated by killing a slave upon the construction of a new longhouse. Other tattoos covered the entire body. For example, this elder Dayak man photographed in 1896 

 (fig. 1 - click for larger image) 




Possesses a style no longer seen in this era of modernity. The central tattoo motif on his chest represents the trunk of the Garing tree; adjoining it above are the two outstretched wings of the hornbill - a messenger of the Iban war god, Lang Singalang Burong. Garing trees are believed to be immortal and invulnerable while the hornbill, marking rank and prestige, is believed to provide protection against the intrusion of evil spirits living in the jungle. Interestingly, images of the hornbill (Iban: tenyalang) were oftentimes carved and propitiated with sacrifices of pigs and human heads prior to them being mounted on display poles, since the spirit of the tenyalang was believed to leave its wooden body, fly to the longhouse of an enemy, and weaken the spirit of the headhunters living there. The tattooing that appears down the arms and over the shoulders represents the leaves of the areca palm, considered as another effective weapon against malevolent spirits. In a sense, then, Dayak men of this time were covered with a visual canopy of the creatures and plants that lived within their jungle domain. However, and when combined together, tattoos performed as an indelible form of camouflage acting upon the malevolent forces encountered in the jungle - headhunters and evil spirits. In the past, it seems that tattoo was one of the primary devices for completion - holding the body and its constituent parts together in a dangerous world - and maybe this is why the Ngaju Dayak say, "the tattooed man is the perfect and sacred man, and only such may receive the perfect tattooing."
Just as a great warrior was tattooed to mark his achievements in the human hunt, women were tattooed as proof of their accomplishments in weaving, dancing or singing - as well as for protective purposes. Following ritual precautions, weavers communicated with their spirit helpers before initiating a design. It was thought that this action would prevent irritating other spirits represented in a new weaving. Textile work, a hazardous undertaking recognized by the Iban as "women's war" (kayau indu'), was both socially and ritually marked by tattoo. Among the Kayan, tattoo (tedek) was handtapped onto the fingers of women in various patterns 

(fig. 2), 

  
 










although black spikes running from the knuckles to mid-digits was a fairly common design

For Borneo's Dayak peoples, spirits embody everything: animals, plants, and humans, Krutak explained. Many groups have drawn on this power by using images from nature in their tattoos, creating a composite of floral motifs using plants with curative or protective powers and powerful animal images. 

 
Tattoos are created by artists who consult spirit guides to reveal a design. Among Borneo's Kayan people, women are the artists, a hereditary position passed from mother to daughter. Among the Iban, the largest and most feared indigenous group in Borneo, men apply the tattoos.
These tattoos are blue-black, made of soot or powdered charcoal, substances thought to ward off malevolent spirits. Some groups spike their pigment with charms—a ground-up piece of a meteorite or shard of animal bone—to make their tattoos even more powerful.
For the outline, the artist attaches up to five bamboo splinters or European needles to a stick. After dipping them in pigment, he or she taps them into the skin with a mallet. Solid areas are filled in with a circular configuration of 15 to 20 needles.

A Spiritual Artform

Dayak tattoo is a spiritual artform that merges images of humans, animals, and plants into one unit, expressing the proliferation of life and the integration of living and spiritual beings in the cosmos. Death and fertility were the primary axes around which tattoo creativity spiraled. Tattooing offered visual testimony to the refusal of Dayak individuals to accept the finality of death and assert the indestructibility of their being. By emulating the life of the gods in everyday ritual, the Dayak procured their own form of divine power that ensured the perpetuation of human life in a continuum of eternity. Therefore, tattoos were articulating symbols inscribing implicit Dayak ideologies of existence upon the living canvas of human flesh.


Ritual Tattooing
Traditionally, Dayak tattooing was performed in a sacred ritual among gathered tribe members. Among the Ngaju Dayak, Krutak said, the tattoo artist began with a sacrifice to ancestor spirits, killing a chicken or other fowl and spilling its blood.
After a period of chanting, the artist started an extremely painful tattooing process that often lasted six or eight hours. Some tattoos were applied over many weeks.
For coming-of-age tattoo rituals, the village men dressed in bark-cloth. This cloth, made from the paper mulberry tree, also draped corpses and was worn by widows.
Tattooing, like other initiation rites, symbolized both a passing away and a new beginning, a death and a life. 

Head-hunting Tattoos
One Dayak group, the Iban, believe that the soul inhabits the head. Therefore, taking the head of one's enemy gives you their soul. Taking the head also conferred your victim's status, skill and power, which helped ensure farming success and fertility among the tribe.
Upon return from a successful head-hunting raid, participants were promptly recognized with tattoos inked on their fingers, usually images of anthropomorphic animals.
Head-hunting was made illegal over a century ago—but even today, an occasional head is still taken.
Tattooed Women


In past times, just as Iban men were tattooed to recognize their prowess in hunting or warfare, Iban women were adorned for accomplishments in weaving, dancing, or singing. Adolescent Kayan girls were tattooed at puberty to render status as an adult, to attract men, and to provide protection against evil spirits.
As they grew older, women were often covered by a weave of inked images spreading around their legs, across the tops of their feet, forearms, and fingers.
But only very wealthy Kayan women sported these intricate tattoos, Krutak said—"only aristocracy who could pay with a sword, a gong, pigs, or old trading beads." Only aristocratic women were allowed to use particular designs, because only these women were powerful enough to resist any negative magic associated with the designs themselves, he said. Slaves were forbidden to tattoo.



Marking Perfection
Tattooing was done in stages over many years and was governed by various taboos. Once a Ngaju man had acquired some wealth and reputation, his shoulders were adorned with a star and his arms decorated with rooster wings and plant patterns.
"But later in life, perhaps at the age of 40, only 'perfect' men would be allowed to receive the complete form of Ngaju tattoo," Krutak said. These were men who had distinguished themselves by living their lives according to ceremonial law, participating in head-hunting expeditions and the offering of a human sacrifice—and who had acquired wealth.
This "complete" tattoo was applied over many days. The man's arms were covered with images of areca palm fronds that were said to protect him from malevolent jungle spirits. Then his torso was tattooed with a design of the Tree of Life, an everlasting symbol of strength and divinity that protected him from his flesh-and-blood enemies. He was then considered godlike, perfect and sacred, and it was believed that in the next world he would receive a golden body. 


Among the Iban, the chests and backs of older, venerated warriors were completely decorated with a collage of powerful images. The hornbill was a favored motif because the bird was seen as a messenger of the war god Lang and also marked rank and prestige. Other favorites were the scorpion and the water serpent, which protected the wearer from evil spirits lurking in the jungle.




Thursday 6 September 2012

mount anak krakatau show vulcanic activities




 Mount Anak Krakatau in the Sunda Strait continued to show volcanic activities on Tuesday (4 september 2012) scaring people in nearby coastal areas.

"Tremors have not stopped rocking this area since yesterday," Hamdani, an officer in charge of the volcano monitoring post in the village of Hargopancuran, South Lampung, said here Tuesday.

The peak was not visible as it was blanketed with black clouds on Tuesday morning, Hamdani said.

The tremors, however, were less intense than yesterday when the volcano spewed hot lava and other volcanic materials as high as 600 meters from its peak. 



"But it is difficult to predict Anak Krakatau," Hamdani said.

The meteorology and geophysics office warned fishermen to stay away from the volcano although it said the tremor would not cause tsunami.

Krakatau`s explosion in the 18th century caused one of the most devastating tsunamis in history in the world.

The sound of the explosion was heard as far away as Australia 3500 km away, and the island of Rodrigues near Mauritius 4800 km away. It is the loudest-ever sound in recorded history. 

source : antara , nasa


Tuesday 4 September 2012

KRAKATAU



KRAKATAU
 Indonesia contains over 130 active volcanoes, more than any other country on earth. They comprise the axis of the Indonesian island arc system, which is generated by northeastward subduction of the Indo-Australian plate. The great majority of these volcanoes lie along the topographic crest of the arc's two largest islands - Java and Sumatra. The islands are separated by the Sunda Straits, which is located at a distinct bend in axis of the island arc volcanoes, from a nearly east-west orientation in Java to a northwest-southeast orientation in Sumatra. Krakatau is one of a several volcanic islands in the Sunda Straits located above an active north-northeast trending fault zone, an orientation quite distinct from the main island-arc trend. Although relatively small when compared to the largest volcanoes along the island arc, Krakatau and its associated volcanoes have shown the capacity to generate highly explosive eruptions.

ENORMOUS SEA WAVES
The cataclysmic blasts of August 27 generated mountainous tsunamis, up to 40 m tall, that ravaged coastlines across the Sunda Straits. Many of the closest islands were completely submerged. After first being overwhelmed by massive pyroclastic flows (see below), Sebesi Island northeast of Krakatau, was innudated by mammoth sea waves. These tsunami stripped away all vegetation, washed ~3000 people out to sea, and destroyed all signs of human occupation. Although located at seemingly safe distance, 80 km east of the Sunda Straits, the low-lying Thousand Islands were buried by at least 2 m of seawater and their inhabitants had to save themselves by climbing trees.
Eyewitness accounts of the massive waves came from passengers of the Loudon, who survived the barrage only through the heroic efforts of its Captain Lindemann. The ship was anchored in Lampong Bay, near the village of Telok Betong when the first of several waves arrived on Monday morning:
Tsunamis were clearly responsible for most of the fatalities at Krakatau. However, ~4,500 deaths (over 10% of the total) have been attributed to falling tephra and hot pyroclastic flows. The amount of tephra generated is thought to be about 20 cubic kilometers, or twenty times that of the destructive Mt. St. Helens eruption in 1980. Near Sumatra, the Sunda Straits were clogged with so much debris that it looked like solid ground. Relief ships were unable to reach coastal communities like Telok Betong for weeks. Over the ensuing months, storms and high-tides would disperse thick banks of floating pumice beyond the Straits, into the Java Sea and Indian Ocean. Ships thousands of kilometers from Krakatau would report huge fields of this floating debris for months after the eruption. One such accumulation floated 8,170 km, until it reached Durban, South Aftica in September, 1884.
About 2000 of the corpses in southern Sumatra had severe burns, indicating that they had been scorched to death, peresumably from pyroclastic flows. Although the behavior of pyroclastic flows and surges over water is poorly contrained by direct observations, the evidence suggests that they can travel great distances over open water. One compeling feature of the Krakatau eruption is that the pyroclastic flows appear to have travelled an incredible 40 km across the Sunda Straits, where they remained hot enough to cause the burn-related fatalities on Sumatra. These same flows, however, were also recorded by several ships located at greater distances. On August 27, the Louden (see above) was located ~65 km north-northeast of Krakatau when it was struck by severe winds and tephra, and the W.H. Besse was located at ~80 km east-northeast of Krakatau when it was hit by hurricane-force winds, heavy tephra, and the strong smell of sulfur. At these greater distances, the pyroclastic flows were at lower temperatures so that the ships and crew survived.
How is it possible for pyroclastic flows to travel such great distances? Pyroclastic flows are hot mixtures of solid particles and expanding volcanic gases. While advancing over water, the base of the flow will conert the water to steam. The rapid expansion of water to vapor greatly enhances flow fluidization and inhibits the deposition of particles, particularly the low-density pumiceous particles, thus allowing the flow to travel tens of kilometers over flat oceanic waters. This mobility was first recognized during the 1902 eruption of a pyroclastic flow from Mt. Pelée, which destroyed the coastal city of St. Pierre, only to continue across open waters to overturn and burn ships anchored several kilometers offshore.
After travelling 40 km over the Sunda Straits, pyroclastic flows struck southern Sumatra with a vengence, remaining hot enough to incinerate entire villages and burn all vegetation before loosing impetus on the highly forested mountainsides. The wife of Controller Beyerinck from the Sumatra village of Ketimbang described her expereince on the morning of August 27, when the outermost edges of a pyroclastic flow enveloped her family and their acquantainces, killing some and sparing others.

 ATMOSPHERIC EFFECTS
Tephra from the eruption fell as far as 2,500 km downwind in the days following the eruption. However, the finest fragments were propelled high into the stratosphere, spreading outward as a broad cloud across the entire equatorial belt in only two weeks. These particles would remain suspended in the atmosphere for years, propogating farther to the north and south before finally dissipating.
The stratospheric cloud of dust also contained large volumes of sulfur dioxide gas emitted from Krakatau. These gas molecules rapidly combined with water vapor to generate sulfuric acid droplets in the high atmosphere. The resulting veil of acidic areosols and volcanic dust provided an atmospheric shield capable of reflected enough sunlight to cause global temperatures to drop by several degrees. This aerosol-rich veil also generated spectacular optical effects over 70% of the earth's surface. For several years after the 1883 eruption, the earth experienced exotic colors in the sky, halos around the sun and moon, and a spectacular array of anomalous sunsets and sunrises. Artists were fascinated by these aerial displays and captured them on canvas. The painting shown here is one such sunset captured by the artitst William Ascroft on the banks of the River Thames in London, on November 26, 1883 (Courtesy of Peter Francis).

KRAKATAU CHILDREN
Starting in 1927 or about 40 years after the eruption of Mount Krakatau, the volcano emerged known as the volcano's caldera of the ancient region that is still active and still growing in height. High growth rate of about 20 inches per month. Every year it becomes more about 20 feet tall and over 40 feet wide. Another note to mention the addition of a height of about 4 cm per year and if calculated, then within 25 years the addition of high-achieving children Rakata 7500 inches or 500 feet higher than 25 years earlier. The cause of the high mountain was caused by material that came out of the belly of the mountain new. Currently the volcano reaches a height of around 230 meters above sea level, while Mount Krakatau previously had high 813 meters above sea level.

According to Simon Winchester, despite what happens in the life of Krakatau which used to be very scary realities of geological, seismic and tectonic in Java and Sumatra, the strange will ensure that what used to happen at some point will happen again. No one knows exactly when the volcano will erupt. Some geologists predict eruptions will occur between 2015-2083. However, the effect of the earthquake on the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004 also can not be ignored
previous eruptions.
According to Professor Ueda Nakayama vulcanologist one Japanese national, Anak Krakatau is still an active and relatively safe although there is often a small explosion, there are only certain times when the tourists are prohibited from approaching the area because of the danger that spewed lava volcano. Other experts said there was no plausible theory of Anak Krakatau will be re-erupted. Even if there are at least 3 or more centuries after 2325 AD But clearly, the number of victims affected more powerful than the previous eruptions. Anak Krakatau is now by the general public better known as "Krakatoa" also, though the mountain is actually growing new post previous eruptions