The indigenous people of Borneo have treasured beads since time immemorial. Perforated teeth, bones, shells and stones have been recovered from a number of pre-historic cave burial sites, such as Niah Cave near Miri. Boar tusks and bear claws are still used as talismans.

Beads were and are trade items; the bead culture is essentially one of constant flux. In the early days of Indian and Chinese contacts, maybe 1200 to 1000 years ago, glass beads were not only imported but also manufactured in the region. The products of Venice reached Borneo by the 14th century.

Typical Borneo beads

Beads were put to two uses in Borneo: they featured in traditional rituals, and they served as value/status objects. In many societies, the use of 'powerful' beads was restricted to the shaman or healer, or the aristocratic class. The rites surrounding childbirth, infancy, adolescence, marriage and death required beads, usually of a specific kind.

Bead use and bead preferences differ among the various ethnic groups. The cultures of this island have their own divisions, which transcend colonial and national partitions. The Bidayuh in west Sarawak and Kalimantan share a common bead culture, as do the ‘Orang Ulu’ of Central Borneo. The boundaries which divided Borneo into 'Dutch' or 'English' segments in the 19th century are simply lines on a map.

Borneo people like to borrow fashions, styles and ideas from each other! In this age of improved transport, people -- and beads! -- are mobile

One aspect of beads is getting more popular: beadwork. It was originally the preserve of Orang Ulu ladies, but today everybody is doing it, both for home use and to supply the souvenir market. Some of the most prestigious designs – the human face and figure, the tiger, the hornbill – used to be reserved for the aristocratic class, but such restrictions no longer apply. Besides the traditional baby carriers, hat tops, headbands and garment additions, the market can offer a wide variety of modern items decorated with splendid time-honoured beadwork designs: purses, spectacle and handphone cases, handbags…

Beads are sometimes seen as 'antique' or ‘outdated’, but they continue to be manufactured. The bead-makers to the world, Venice and Gablonz, have been joined by India, Korea, Japan and Indonesia. Conservative societies embrace new styles and products, while still treasuring their heirlooms. A few Borneo people have started to make their own beads out of a variety of materials, including plastic toothbrush handles, while the clay bead industry of Lawas is a new venture by the Lun Bawang people, whose preference tends towards masses of opaque glass beads, easily simulated in painted or glazed ceramic.

Modern beadwork includes beadwork-covered
ceramic vessels
(Sarawak Crafts Council, photo Heidi Munan)