For the 3rd time running, the exotic city of Singkawang in West Kalimantan will come alive with the swooshing sounds of Sumpit-the traditional Dayak blowpipe weapon, as the 3rd Internatinal Borneo Sumpit Tournament (IBoST) gets underway from 5th to 7th July 2013.
After being held in Pontianak
last year, this year the tournament returns to Singkawang where the
tournament was first held in 2011. As in previous years, the tournament
will be joined by participants from all over the island of Borneo
including from neighbouring Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia, and also from other parts of Indonesia such as from Yogyakarta.
Sumpit is a traditional blowpipe weapon
of the different Dayak ethnic groups who inhabit the major parts of the
island of Borneo, including in all of the Indonesian provinces in
Kalimantan as well as in neighbouring countries of Malaysia and Brunei
Darussalam.
The Sumpit is made from light
wood, having a minimum length of approximately 1.50 meters with the
maximum measuring to 2.25 meters. Sumpit was originally used by Dayak
tribes as weapon to hunt animals in the jungles, but subsequently it
became a weapon of self-defense and used in tribal wars. As bullets, the
Sumpit uses what is known as tamiang or lamiang – short bamboo sticks, which have been previously dipped in poison.
As the second largest city in West Kalimantan, the town of Singkawang is a melting point of indigenous Borneo Dayak ethnic groups and Chinese descendants. The city is famed for the extraordinary Cap Go Meh (Chinese New Year Pinnacle Celebration) which features the exotic Tatung
attraction. Bordering the State of Sarawak, in Malaysia, Singkawang has
a distinct oriental atmosphere with hundreds of Chinese temples found
around almost every corner of town.
Photo Courtesy : http://pontianak.tribunnews.com/
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