Iber carries on tradition of Dayak sculpture

By Erma S. Ranik

PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan (JP): It was sunset and some small children were running around in Sami, a public hall. Soon, the rumah panjang -- the traditional long-house of the Dayaks, a local ethnic group -- in Sahapm village, Sengah Temila subdistrict, Landak regency, was busy.

From afar, some women were seen coming from the farm and climbing up the stairs carrying vegetables. They were accompanied by men carrying firewood on their shoulders.

In one corner, a young man seemed to ignore everything around him as his hands busily chiseled a piece of belian wood (called ulin, a kind of hard wood). He even ignored the coming of night and diligently proceeded with his work. The belian, which earlier had no recognizable shape, gradually became a pantak -- a typical Dayak statue with spiritual value.

Albertus is a professional sculptor, and one of the few remaining Dayak sculptors in West Kalimantan.

The 30-year-old Iber, as Albertus is better known, is a true product of the Dayak community in the rumah panjang, where he spends most of his time.

Like other Dayak children, Iber, the ninth of 10 children, studied the Dayak's customs and traditions. "I like to ask the older people questions about Dayak customs and traditions."

His knowledge of the customs and traditions increased his interest in learning more about the Dayak's arts and cultures, especially the fine arts.

After finishing high school, Iber was determined to make sculpting his profession. He admitted that it was a difficult decision to make. Being an artist, he said, is often associated with poverty. "Let alone being a Dayak artist," he smiled.

Although he has never received any formal training in the field of fine arts, his work is good. And it was his talent that piqued the interest of the members of Immaculate Maria congregation. Thanks to their help, Iber was able to study fine arts at Sasana Hasta Karya in Bali for three years, from 1993 to 1995.

After returning from Bali, Iben's sculpting has appreciably improved. Apart from creating pantak, he can also produce reliefs as well as sculptures with a definite Catholic influence.

"Still, the most difficult thing is to create pantak," Iber said. The difficulty lies in the statue's spiritual values. "As a Dayak man myself, I know very well how important pantak is."

Whenever he wants to create one of these statues, Iber goes to great lengths to produce a quality piece of work. Sometimes, he goes so far as to dive into the river searching for a good piece of belian wood.

"Belian wood from the river will be blacker in color and more natural," Iber explained.

In terms of time, it takes longer for him to craft a pantak. He can complete an ordinary sculpture in three days, but it can take Iber from three months to one year to create a pantak.

Iber does not shower his finished works with any special treatment. Usually, he places the works in the room in the rumah panjang that he shares with his mother.

Selling his works poses no difficultly, thanks to the foreign tourists who come to look at the traditional house, the only rumah panjang belonging to the Dayak Kanayatn people found in West Kalimantan. For the tourists, buying Iber's works is a must.

Iber never sets fixed prices for his works. Usually, he only tells his guests the production process for each sculpture, including how long it took him to make it.

"It's up to the buyers how much they will pay," Iber said. Normally, the buyers pay from between Rp 200,000 to millions of rupiah for his work.

Despite his now well-known talent, Iber has refused many offers to move to a big city. For him, rumah panjang is his home.

"It's hard for me to leave it," he said.

For Iber, the most important thing is to educate younger Dayaks to love their own arts and culture, and to this end he does not hesitate to share his knowledge. But it is not an easy job. Iber once tried teaching a class, but the results were poor. "None of my 15 students succeeded," he said.

However, he is determined to keep trying. "Otherwise Dayak arts and culture will disappear."