SARAWAK STATE MUSEUM

Founded in 1891 by rajah Charles Brooke and renowned as one of the finest exhibitions in Southeast Asia, this museum boasts an exceptional ethnographic collection. At the rajah's invitation, anthropologist Alfred Wallace, a contemporary of Charles Darwin, worked for two years to open the museum. Following Sarawak's independence in 1963, naturalist and archaeologist Tom Harrison, then on secondment to the museum, contributed to its renown when he discovered a 39,000-year-old skull in the Niah cave in the center of the region.

On the second floor, photographs dating from the late ^19th and early ^20th centuries show the various Dayak tribes in traditional dress. Primitive arts and crafts from the longhouses are also represented: trophy skulls from the days of the headhunters, masks worn for harvest festivals, fertility rites, spiritual dances and funeral ceremonies. Those with a sinister appearance, revolting eyes and oversized ears are reserved for macabre dances.

A gallery features kramen, precious wooden totems carved and erected by the Orang Ulu at the entrance to their homes to protect them from evil spirits. Some of these traditions still survive today, such as basket-making and certain animist beliefs. So, before staying in a longhouse with a tribe, a visit to the Sarawak Museum is essential for a better understanding of these precious cultures.