A photograph of an Ukit woman busy weaving basket.
LEARN about the Ukit of Sarawak, a minority nomadic tribe that lives in the rainforest of Borneo, through a photography exhibition.
The exhibition will be held from Dec 27 to Jan 2 at University of Technology of Sarawak in Sibu.
Sibu Photography Association (SPA) president Edwin Ong Wee Kee said the Ukit were the eighth ethnic group recorded in his project called “Sarawak Human Geography”.
He said members of the association have been capturing the lives of various ethnic groups in Kapit over the last eight years.
“It becomes harder and harder to encounter people from the Ukit tribe in the rural areas,” he said during a press conference.
Ong said the Ukit’s population was small due to ethnicity assimilation.
“I named them ‘Ukit Blue’ after their unique traditional costume, which is blue in colour and rare.”
Ong added that the project’s slogan, which reads “We Shoot Before They’re Gone”, emphasises how such minority ethnic groups are hardly seen nowadays, making the history of their culture and traditions priceless.
He thanked the state government for its support in enabling the team to capture the beauty of the Ukit tribe and documenting their discovery for future generations.
“Our next plan is to do a documentary on the Melanau in Mukah and Berawan and on the Seban in Miri,” he said.
Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Art Ministry’s Arts, Culture and Heritage Section head Dr Elena Chai congratulated SPA for the Ukit project.
She said documenting the culture and traditions of the tribe through photographs was a good way to introduce them to people in and outside of Sarawak.
The beauty of Sarawak, she added, was yet to be fully discovered.
“All culture and traditions of Sarawak’s 34 ethnic groups must be recorded through photos and videos so that it can be a source of reference for generations to come,” Chai added. — By ANDY CHUA
