The powerful works of the collective Pangrok Sulap, and their effectiveness in sharing knowledge and experiences of local communities in Sabah to a wider audience, have inspired a growing interest in woodcut printing among other art practitioners in Malaysia and beyond.

Cynthia Anak Jose’ adapts the technique and immediacy of the woodcut medium, introducing colour and an exaggerated distortion of scale to create a Sarawak-based narrative. We recognise the setting from Mount Santubong on the horizon, and the hornbill flying across the sky. Like the hornbill, we look down on a broad landscape, at the centre of which some figures seem to be performing a kind of ritual ceremony.

Cynthia describes this in detail:

“The Miring ceremony is a ritual ceremony signifying gratitude, blessing and respect for the spirits. There are steps that need to be performed correctly, as mistakes will provoke the wrath of the spirits. Usually, it is officiated by a lemambang/manang (shaman) who recites a specific mantra and smears a rooster's blood on the offering.

Ingredients for the offering include asi (cooked rice), pulut (glutinous rice), letup (popped rice), ketupat (packets of cooked glutinous rice), garam (salt), semakau (tobacco), kapu (lime), buah pinang (areca nuts), daun ruku (cigarette wrapper), telu (eggs), tuak (rice wine), sirih (gambier leaves), sagun and penganan. These materials are placed in plates and incantations are read.

Usually, Miring will be held before an important activity such as Gawai Dayak or after an unfortunate catastrophe. In the old days, this ceremony would be carried out for activities such as ngayau (warring), opening up new areas for agriculture, moving to new settlements and while bejalai (travelling). Today, the Iban perform this ceremony to gain wealth, protection and happiness in life."