DAYAK KENYAH ELDER

Purei, an Elder from Dayak Kenyah Tribe, East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

I took the photograph of Purei in September 2006. She was already 96 years old at that time. The tattoos that Purei had used to be common for women, and men, and were seen as a sign of beauty; but were also closely connected to the community’s traditional spiritual beliefs and practices.

Wearing heavy earrings to lengthen the earlobes was traditionally done as a means of beautification. As it took a lot of effort and discomfort to achieve the effect, it was highly prized. The practice began to die out as the Dayak Kenyah people had greater contact with other communities outside, and I did not see anyone in the modern community whose ears had been lengthened in that way.