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Article: Pantang Iban. .(Book Review)
- Article from:
- Borneo Research Bulletin
- Article date:
- January 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Borneo Research Council, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Pantang Iban, by Jeroen Franken and Sven Torfinn (1998) Rotterdam: Typography & Other Serious Matters, 160 pages.
The Dutch have been arriving in Borneo for several centuries on various missions ranging from extracting mineral wealth to obtaining scientific knowledge. We shouldn't be too surprised to learn that some have come in the late twentieth century in search of tattoos, as were the authors of this appropriately titled book. (One meaning of pantang in the Iban language is tattoo.) But they were not simply out to document what they saw as Iban "fading tattoo values"--they also had their own bodies tattooed in older designs and tattooed Iban men in exchange. ...