Pusau Anak: Photographs & Objects
An Exhibition
A rare glimpse into one of the Kenyah community's
most significant traditions.
Date: 1 - 30 June 2026
Venue: alter/space Gallery & Studio, Miri
A Name, An Ancestry,
A Community
This Gawai season, alter/space Gallery & Studio presents Pusau Anak: Photographs & Objects, an exhibition of archival photographs and cultural objects that opens an intimate window into a tradition seldom witnessed today.
Pusau Anak is a Kenyah naming ceremony — a child's formal entry into their name, ancestry, and community. So resource-intensive that it takes place only once or twice in a generation, children of all ages receive their names together in a single, deeply ritualised gathering.
Captured in Long San, a village along the Upper Baram River, these photographs document a ceremony that shaped generations and continues to hold meaning for the Kenyah community today.
A Journey to
Upper Baram
Photographs & Objects
In April 1968, American Peace Corps volunteer Howard Koons travelled into Sarawak during a school holiday, journeying up the Upper Baram River. He jumped aboard the vessel Rajah Brooke from Singapore to Kuching - and started his Sarawak adventure.
When he finally made it to the Baram after weeks of traveling, he was invited to stay, witness gatherings and ceremonies that few outsiders had the opportunity to experience. Through his camera, he documented moments of daily life, celebration, and cultural continuity.
Nearly six decades later, these photographs return to Sarawak, offering visitors a rare opportunity to encounter this remarkable visual record.
The exhibition brings together Howard Koons' archival photographs alongside cultural objects seen within the images themselves.
Musical instruments, ceremonial items, and everyday objects are displayed alongside the photographs, allowing visitors to move beyond the frame and engage more deeply with the people, traditions, and stories captured in 1968.
Together, the photographs and objects create a dialogue between image and memory, past and present.
A Story That Comes Home
What makes this exhibition especially meaningful is that one of our own was there!
John Wan Usang, co-founder of The Tuyang Initiative and originally from Long San, was among the children named during the very Pusau Anak ceremony photographed by Koons.
For John, this exhibition is both a personal homecoming and a collective act of remembrance — bringing these images back to the community and landscape from which they emerged.
“It was sheer luck that this ceremony was photographed by Howard. I am grateful that this aspect of our tradition and culture was captured so beautifully.
My wish is that this exhibition serves as an invitation to all of us, Dayak or not, to reflect on what our traditions hold, and what they continue to say about our place within our community and the larger story of who we are in the world.”
— John Wan Usang
Plan Your Visit
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Community Gathering
6–7 June 2026
Join us during the school holiday weekend for a special community gathering featuring:
Sharing session by John Wan Usang, traditional food and rice wine, family-friendly craft activities & informal conversations around culture, memory, and heritage.
Further details will be announced on The Tuyang Initiative's social media channels.
Families are warmly encouraged to visit during the school holidays!
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Exhibition
Dates: 1–30 June 2026
Admission: By Donation
Opening Hours:Opening Week (1–7 June)
9:00am – 5:00pmTuesday – Friday
11:00am – 7:00pmSaturday – Sunday
9:00am – 5:00pmMonday
Closed