ELSEVIER PII: S0006-3207(97)00012-8 Biological Conservation 82 (1997) 4146 © 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd All rights reserved. Printed in Great Britain 0006-3207/97 $17.00 + 0.00 HORNBILLS Buceros SPP. AND CULTURE IN NORTHERN BORNEO: CAN THEY CONTINUE TO CO-EXIST? Elizabeth L. Bennett, Adrian J. Nyaoi & Jephte Sompud Wildlife Conservation Society, 7 Jalan Ridgeway, 93200 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia (Received 4 April 1996; accepted 15 September 1996) Abstract Helmeted Buceros vigil and rhinoceros B. rhinoceros hornbills are large, conspicuous birds in the forests of northern Borneo. Both are of enormous importance in local culture, being the subject of legends, ceremonies and beliefs. Tail feathers of both species are used in tra- ditional costumes and dancing. Both are also hunted for their meat. Changes in access, technology and rural life- styles mean that hunting is causing populations to decline or become locally extinct. The birds breed slowly and occur at low natural densities. Thus, hunting levels must be extremely low to be sustainable. A single team of traditional dancers uses about 400 rhinoceros hornbill feathers, which involves killing 40 birds. To hunt these sustainably, and to re-supply new feathers every five years, about 205 km 2 of forest is needed. Hunting levels currently exceed this in almost allforests in northern Borneo. A series of measures is needed to ensure that these birds survive in Borneo's forests, and not just in legend and in the form of a few decaying artefacts. © 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Lid Keywords." Hornbills, Borneo, culture, sustainable use. INTRODUCTION Eight species of hornbill occur in Borneo. The two largest are the helmeted hornbill Buceros vigil and the rhinoceros hornbill B. rhinoceros, both of which are noisy, conspicuous birds of tall forests (MacKinnon & Phillipps, 1993; Kemp, 1995). Both are important in the culture of many of the different native peoples in Borneo. The rhinoceros hornbill is the state bird of the Malaysian state of Sarawak, and the helmeted hornbill is the emblem of the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan. Both species are the subject of legends, ceremonies and beliefs, and the trophies of both are used in traditional costumes and dancing (Hose, 1926, Hose, 1929; Banks, 1935; Smythies, 1960; Kemp, 1995). The traditional belief of the Punan, for example, is that a large helmeted hornbill sits by the river between life and death. With its loud calls, it tries to terrify the passing ghosts. If a person has successfully taken a 41 human head in life, the hornbill will allow the ghost to pass, but if the person has not, the hornbill so terrifies the ghost that it falls into the abyss below and is devoured by a giant fish (Hose, 1926, Hose, 1929). Other groups of Orang Ulu (upriver) people also tra- ditionally linked helmeted hornbills to beliefs about headhunting; only somebody who had taken a human head could wear the ivory or feathers of the hornbill (Hose, 1929). Even today, wooden carvings of rhinoceros hornbills are central to spiritual ceremonies of many different races. For most Orang Ulu groups, elaborate hornbill carvings form the centrepieces of rituals, and adorn the graves of aristocrats. For ceremonies of the living, the carved hornbill faces upriver, towards the source of life, and on graves, the bird faces downriver towards the sea (J. Langub, pers. comm.). Amongst the Iban, the rhinoceros hornbill is of paramount importance in their principal ceremony, the Gawai Kenyalang or hornbill festival, which centres on large, brightly coloured and extremely elaborate effigies of the bird. Held by any one community only about once every 10 years, the festival can only occur after somebody has had a dream. The carving follows the dreams and inspiration of the carver, and preparation for the ceremony can take at least a year. During that time, frequent offerings of rice wine, food, cigarettes and money are given to the horn- bill effigy and, during the festival itself, many pigs and chickens are sacrificed to its spirit (Freeman in Smythies, 1960; personal observations). Trophies of helmeted and rhinoceros hornbills are widely used in personal decoration and dancing. Tail feathers of both species have long been collected by various groups (Banks, 1935), with the two long, central tail feathers of helmeted hornbills being especially valued. Iban and Orang Ulu men use feathers of both species on head-dresses, and rhinoceros hornbill feathers adorn their clouded leopard skin capes and ceremonial machetes. In addition, Orang Ulu women use a brace of feathers on each hand for their elegant traditional dancing. By far the most favoured species for this is the rhinoceros hornbill although, if they are not available, tail feathers of helmeted hornbills or Asian