The Last of Traditions

How do you define beauty? Who decides what is beautiful and what is not?

In the 60's, a woman is defined as beautiful when she has the proper curves in her figure. Corsets were worn to get that hourglass shape.
During the 'Twiggy' period, beauty is considered being the xs size (extra slim, extra slender, boyishly look). Diets become a fad..women eating with birdlike appetite, trying to stay thin.



For the Kelabit tribe (an ethnic group in Sarawak), beauty used to consist of having elongated earlobes or having the arms and body tattooed. What remains of this practice is only seen with the grandmothers and when these old women pass on, the practice will also die with them.



In the past, Kelabit women who sported elongated ears and had their body tattooed were considered to be high class people. The tattoos were not just of any design. They were special creations that reflected the cultural aspects and status of the women. The copper earrings are called 'Abir' and is different for men and women. The men's Abir is made from bronx, while the women's are made from black steel.



The process of elongating the earlobes starts at a young age. The earlobes were pierced using a sharpened bamboo and a small copper ball were put tied to the holes as weight. These 'earrings' would be replaced with heavier ones from time to time as the girl grew up. There were even cases when 2 to 5 copper earrings were attached to each of the earlobes.



The 21st century came to the Kelabits during the Second World War when British and Australian soldiers arrived by parachute to organize resistance behind Japanese lines. Since then Christianity has replaced tribal pagan beliefs.



Well, it is rather an inconvenience to have elongated earlobes or to have tattoos all over your body while you are in school. Do you know that even some of the elders have resorted to go to Miri hospital to cut the long part of their ears? The reason is to make them move easier when they go out for hunting or farming.

My point is..that it would be interesting to know that someone has compiled all those info, photos, stories and traditional clothes for others to appreciate them.
 I also would not have known of the Kelabit's tradition if cat did not go to the Melaka's Beauty Museum. There are lots of wonderful info and facts just waiting to be discovered and made known.

Take the time, and go visit the museums..it's not there just for visitors only. Sometimes, it's exasperating to know that locals are the ones who has never even put a foot in their own museum and doesn't have a clue of what's in there.. Time for a change, don't you agree? Before museums also become extinct..and only exists in Google search..