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Rhinoceros Hornbill

Buceros rhinoceros

Status: Vulnerable. Hornbills are hunted for pets, and for their feathers, and endangered by deforestation.

Hornbills can be found soaring through the treetops. Because they are large creatures, a pack of ten of them can be enough to blot out the sun, a majestic and chilling sight.

Their dark and graceful wings make a sweeping sound as they glide, accompanied by their loud barking calls that sometimes sound like laughter or anger ringing through the jungles. Their faces also have a human-like quality about them, with long and expressive eyelashes. These traits make it easy to anthropomorphize them, and thus many indigenous groups in Asia and Africa view them as sacred creatures.

The Dayak people of Borneo have a tradition of carving lavish Rhinoceros Hornbills, which are central to the sacred rite of Gawai Kenyalang. In the earlier times of Sarawak's history, Gawai Kenyalang would immediately precede headhunting raids, and hornbills were associated with war and the human world. Nowadays, Gawai Kenyalang is a festival in which ancestors are honored guests of the celebration, who help to maintain luck, prosperity, and health for the community. During the ceremony, a hornbill effigy would be raised atop a pole to preside over the rites.

 

References:
Davenport, W. H. (2000). Hornbill carvings of the Iban of Sarawak, Malaysia. RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics, 37, 127-146. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20167497

"Hornbill Figure", Iban People, Late 19th-early 20th century. The Met, The Michael c. Rockefeller Wing. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/319968