Title
Baby carrier (Ba')
Year/Period
First half of 20th century
Region
Central Kalimantan, Borneo
Object Type
Material
Technique
Dimension
Object size: 32.5 x 28.3 x 17.4 cm
Accession No.
2020-00584
Collection of
Dayak mothers carried their babies using elaborately decorated carriers known variously as hawat, benning or in Kayanic communities as ba’. These were often intricately decorated with beaded panels depicting powerful protective symbols and festooned with magically charged objects. Such decorations were believed to frighten away evil and encourage protective forces. The primary protection offered by the baby carrier is in the beaded panel, known as the aban, which faced outwards from the rear of the carrier.
