Communing with the Dark Side: Borneo’s Masks and Masquerades

by Michael Heppell

Communing With the Dark Side is the first book dedicated to discussing and illustrating the hitherto under-reported mask cultures of the indigenous peoples of Borneo. Illustrations include early photographs of masquerades taken as far back as the late 19th century to set a historical scene and of modern performances as well as a diverse variety of masks from museum and private collections. Museum collections demonstrate the aesthetic value of this Borne art form. Included in the book are masks from the British Museum, the National Museum of World Cultures in the Netherlands, the Sarawak Museum, the Australian Museum in Sydney, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Yale University Art Gallery.

Borneo masquerades addressed a gamut of different situations including mortuary, fertility, headhunting and cleansing rituals. Their purpose was to prevent evil spirits lurking in the forest and the peripheries of settlements from threatening the lives of the living. Additionally, some groups used masks to manage young children. Another dressed up in masks and ambushed would-be young warriors to stiffen their fibre should they be attacked by their enemies.

In all Borneo masquerades there was an audience. Whatever their underlying purpose, masquerades entertained. Once in a mask, the social persona of a person disappeared and he behaved in any way he chose. Improvisation was the norm and the best performers would entrance an audience as it dissolved into uncontrollable laughter and, for a brief moment, forgot the drudgery of normal life.

198 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015