Meeting the last group of Bidayuh's Ring Ladies in Sarawak

It was an honour to meet the "Ring Ladies" of Kampung Semban in Padawan this morning and it was an inspiring experience to chat with them in person at the official launching ceremony of the mural art project on them which was supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Sarawak, Padawan Municipal Council, NG Picture and Dian Kiara Sdn Bhd.

The mural on the these wonderful ladies itself is astounding because it measures 13.7m x 36.5m making itself the largest painting on a wall in Kuching. The painting started on June 30 and was completed on Sept 30 this year.

I have nothing but praises for the ring ladies namely Peluk Abeh, Tawud Luhan, Nyukan Genyai, Nyadi Dolah and Singai Nekan who are also members of the Kampung Semban cultural troupe. Previously they were often invited to perform at state and national events. Therefore, this group have definitely brought Sarawak's name to the global stage thanks to their performances at international festivals which include in Milan, Italy and Berlin, Germany.

Back in 2016, the group had performed at the Lo Spirito Del Pianeta, an international festival of indigenous people and tribal groups held in Milan, Italy while in 2019, they were invited to participate in ITB (Internationale Tourismus-Borse) held in Berlin, Germany which is the largest International Tourism Mart in the world.

These wonderful ladies aged from 69 to 94 years in age and back in 2010, there were eight of them but  in 2015 there only six of them left after two had demised. Presently, there are only five of them. The idea for us to have the mural art was inspired following the premiere of the Sarawakian-made documentary “The Last Ring Ladies” on international broadcasting channels NHK (Japan), KBS (Korea), and PTS (Taiwan) since August 2019. On the same note, we take the opportunity to thank our Right Honourable Chief Minister of Sarawak, Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Abang Openg for being kind in attending the launching ceremony this morning in conjunction with the Padawan Municipal Council (MPP)’s 24th Anniversary.