Citation

Schiller A. Am. Ethnol. 2001; 28(1): 32-55.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1525/ae.2001.28.1.32

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In 1996, an elite group of Ngaju Dayak religious activists invited National Geographic Television to film their rites of secondary treatment of the dead in the village ofPetak Putih, Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. In this article; I explore activists' efforts to engage the National Geographic Society and their attempts to exert a high degree of control over the manner in which local traditions were portrayed to the filmmakers. I focus in particular on how representations of specific local practices figure in the recasting of a contemporary Dayak face, and on questions concerning religious authenticity and authority. I argue that the activists' interest in making a film, and their decisions during its shooting were part of their larger organizational strategies, with potentially far-reaching political and economic consequences. [Indonesia, Dayaks, religion, identity, tourism, filmmaking]