Tuked Rini, Cosmic Traveller: Life and Legend in the Heart of Borneo (Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, 125)

This innovative and visually engaging study presents a legend from Borneo in which the Kelabit hero Tuked Rini ventures out into the cosmos to do battle in remote spirit-laden places, returning to his wife with the heads of his enemies. Accompanied by audio material and additional resources that will be developed on a companion website, the work uses the legend to explore Kelabit ideas about life and cosmology―ideas of power or life force, the world of women centred on rice-growing and the relationship of men with the wild. Especially innovative is the way it brings together an orally told legend and a highly visually-oriented exploration of the way of life of the people who tell it. The book will be of interest to academics studying the culture, language and stories of Borneo but will also―with its striking illustrations―appeal to a wider audience.