By Ling Hui
KUCHING, July 16: The 5,400 square feet “Dayung Hmuai Semban” mural painting on the walls of Mile 10 Bazaar will become a tourist attraction in Kuching.
Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) chairman Lo Khere Chiang said this when he visited the mural painting in progress of “The Last Ringed Ladies” today, adding that it would be one of the largest mural paintings in the whole of Sarawak once completed.
The mural painting depicts five Bidayuh ringed ladies who are the only ones left with the copper coiled rings worn on their forearms (Ruyank’ng) and calves (Rasunk’ng).
It is undertaken by local muralist Leonard Siaw in cooperation with “Dayung Hmuai Semban” project manager Evangeline Thian and is expected to be completed in Sept this year.
Lo said the mural painting was vital in preserving the Bidayuh culture for the people of Sarawak and also the rest of the world.
“Tourists can come to this place to know about the Semban ladies and also take picture with them.
“After that, the tourists can even visit them at the Bengoh Resettlement Scheme,” said Lo, adding that these last surviving ringed ladies have since 2014 moved to Bengoh Resettlement Scheme, Semadang following the impoundment of the Bengoh Dam which submerged Semban.
The largest street art in Kuching is made in conjunction with the premiere of “The Last Ring Ladies”, a documentary film by Sarawakian director, Nova Goh (NG Production) on international broadcast channels, NHK (Japan), KBS (Korea) and PTS (Taiwan) since August 2019. —DayakDaily
