KUCHING: Borneo Cultures Museum will host the Museum Talks Sarawak Snapshot, focusing on ‘The Chinese Dragon (Lung)’ by speaker Dr. Monica Janowski this coming Sunday (Mar 10) starting at 2pm.
In her talk, Janowski will delve into the connection between the Chinese lung and the landscape, focusing on watercourses. She’ll also discuss how Chinese beliefs about the lung intersect with local beliefs about water beings.
“Drawing on over 30 years of research in Sarawak, Janowski will share insights from her recent study within the Chinese community, shedding light on the significance of the Chinese lung and its relation to dragon tales and beliefs among other Borneo peoples.
“She has been researching on beliefs about water beings that can be called ‘dragons’ among different ethnic groups in Sarawak since 2017 when she was a research fellow at the Sarawak Museum, as part of the preparation for the new Borneo Cultures Museum.
“She has so far published articles about highland dragons and Iban dragons in the Sarawak Museum Journal; and four articles in the Dayak Daily in the first half of 2023, in a series called ‘The Naga Moves’,” it said in a press release issued today by Borneo Cultures Museum.
Janowski, a seasoned social anthropologist with a research tenure in Sarawak since 1986, has primarily focused on the Kelabit people’s relationship with their environment, both practically and cosmologically.
Since 2017, her investigations have delved into the water dragon phenomenon, extending beyond the Kelabit to encompass various other Sarawakian communities such as the Kayan, Kenyah, Berawan, Penan, Bidayuh, Chinese, and Malays.
“Notable among her works are ‘The Forest, Source of Life: The Kelabit of Sarawak’ (British Museum and Sarawak Museum, 2003) and ‘Tuked Rini, Cosmic Traveller: Life and Legend in the Heart of Borneo’ (NIAS Press and Sarawak Museum, 2014),” it said.
