Baby carrier "hawat" ("havat"/ "avaat")

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Description

wood, rattan, glass beads,

As well as displaying the prestige and wealth of the family, the Dayak beaded baby carrier was created to give cosmological protection to a baby when it left the safety of the communal compound with its mother.

The beaded panel (“aban”) acted as a barrier against potentially dangerous spirits who might approach from the rear. Popular motifs for the “aban” included protective dragons (“aso”), and the figures and faces of ancestor spirits.

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Comparing literature

de Grunne, Bernard, Dayak from Borneo, Brussels 2015, p. 82 ff.

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