In 2014, ISITI-UNIMAS, NUST and Long Lamai community with the support of Information Society Innovation Fund Asia (ISIF), initiated a project to digitalise and preserve the Oroo’ the sign language of the nomadic Penans in the rainforests of Borneo. Oroo’ is a living cultural heritage of the Penan which, from […]
2014 • Borneo • culture | preservation • Long Lamai • Oroo' • Penan • sign language • UNIMASThe extinction of indigenous languages, which convey cultural worldviews, remains a continued threat to cultural heritage preservation. The nomadic Penans in the rainforests of Malaysian Borneo, have developed Oroo’, their own forest sign language, to communicate with each other. Yet with recent developments the younger generations are drawn more to […]
2015 • Borneo • gaming • language | preservation • Long Lamai • Malaysia • Oroo' • Penan • sign languageThe Penan people of Malaysian Borneo were traditionally nomads of the rainforest. They would leave messages in the jungle for each other by shaping natural objects into language tokens and arranging these symbols in specific ways – much like words in a sentence. With settlement, the language is being lost […]
Borneo • knowledge sharing / exchange • language | preservation • Malaysia • object writing • Penan • symbols • tangible systemProjects focusing on preserving cultural heritage are most usually instigated by a researcher. Yet, the question arises ‘whether such projects are beneficial for the studied communities?’ This paper describes the first part of a co-reflective, design research case study exploring through design the dynamics of the disappearance of culture heritage. […]
2013 • cultural heritage • culture | preservation • design • indigenous communities • indigenous design • Malaysia • Penan • SarawakThis article introduces a case study undertaken in the indigenous Penan community of Long Lamai, Upper Baram, Sarawak, Malaysia. In this community, there is concern about the negative image other cultural groups hold of the Penan. This case study explores co-design as a means to invite community members, together with […]
2014 • design • identity • indigenous design • Malaysia • material culture • participatory • Penan • Sarawak