Riska: Memories of a Dayak Girlhood - Softcover

Orpa Sari, Riska; Sari, Riska Orpa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0820322709 ISBN 13: 9780820322704

Publisher: Univ of Georgia Pr, 2000

Synopsis

Books by Western specialists have compiled many observations and facts about the ?headhunters of Borneo,” but the culture has never before been described from the inside, by an indigenous person born and reared in the rain forest listening to the stories and legends of her tribe. In this vivid memoir, Riska Orpa Sari tells us about the remote village of her birth, where rice is cultivated by cutting and burning the rain forest, where hunting and gathering take place under its dark canopy. She describes courtship and marriage, funeral rites, the sound headhunters make before they strike, the impact of the logging industry on the Dayak way of life, and the centrality of the river to all aspects of daily living. As Riska's marvelous story unfolds, a witty, intelligent personality is revealed, endearing, resilient, and dedicated to the preservation of her people.

About this title

About the Author

Riska Orpa Sari was born in 1969 in the Dayak village of Kudangan, on the banks of a remote river in Kalimantan, Borneo. She speaks two Dayak dialects, Indonesian, and English, and has trained and worked as a forest guide. Linda Spalding, a novelist and editor of Brick, lives in Canada. She met Riska in Borneo while doing research for her acclaimed work of nonfiction, A Dark Place in the Jungle. Carol J. Pierce Colfer is an anthropologist with a particular interest in forest cultures. She lives in Indonesia, where she works for the Center for International Forestry Research.

Edition details

• Publisher: Univ of Georgia Pr
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0820322709
• ISBN 13: 9780820322704
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 302
• Editor: Spalding Linda