Straits Times : Tribal group talks turkey to save hornbill

JUL 15, 2002

Tribal group talks turkey to save hornbill

Sarawak's ethnic groups are urged to switch feathers

KUCHING - Ethnic groups in Sarawak are being encouraged to use turkey feathers to decorate their traditional costumes in a bid to save the hornbill, the emblem of the state, from extinction.

A youth group from the Kelabit tribe, known as Ana'k Adik Rurum Kelabit, is spearheading a campaign to protect the state's wildlife, especially the hornbill whose feathers have long been used in traditional costumes. At the Rainforest World Music Festival on Sunday, the group demonstrated the use of turkey feathers to decorate their costumes.


	Using turkey feathers painted to resemble those of endangered hornbill, members if the tribal youth group Ana'k Adik Rurum Kelabit perform at the Rainforest World Music Festival. --AFP

The feathers were painted to resemble those of hornbills.

Participating in the festival for the first time, Ana'k Adik Rurum Kelabit showcased what it was doing to save the near-extinct hornbill, whose feathers are used extensively by various ethnic groups.

It says that by substituting turkey feathers for those of the hornbill, ethnic groups can still practise their traditions and save the bird.

Coordinator Ruran Ngimat said Ana'k Adik Rurum Kelabit had been formed two years ago to keep young Kelabit interested in their traditional dances and folk songs.

While the youngsters were keen to learn the dances and songs, he said, the group found it difficult to get hornbill feathers for the costumes.

The feathers, bound together, are attached to the middle fingers of dancers.

Another coordinator, Nikki Lugun, said each dancer needed 50 feathers and four hornbills would have to be killed for that purpose.

Ana'k Adik Rurum Kelabit has the support of the Sarawak State Agriculture Department, which is actively involved in the group's conservation programme and provides it with turkey feathers.

--New Straits Times