Buceros Rhinoceros

Buceros Rhinoceros, present in peninsular Malaysia.

In Sarawak, various indigenous tribes associate hornbills with powerful omens. The Ibans, the native people of Sarawak, create the stunning kenyalang — an elaborate wood sculpture of the Rhinoceros Hornbill for sacred rituals. In Iban cosmology, Hornbills are linked to the upper world and were once connected to warfare and headhunting. They are revered as intermediaries between the mighty deity Singalang Burong and the human world.