Borneans curse tomb raiders

By Jonathan Kent BBC correspondent in Kuala Lumpur

More than 200 people from the ethnic Iban community in Malaysian Borneo gathered on Sunday to perform a ritual curse.

The target of their anger is a group of grave robbers who have desecrated more than 40 tombs in recent weeks belonging to relatives of local tribes people.

The attacks on graveyards near the town of Sibu in the East Malaysian state of Sarawak have provoked outrage amongst local Iban people.

Last month, families visiting a remote burial ground for a funeral found that more than a dozen graves had been attacked - days later a raid on a second graveyard wrecked more than 30 tombs.

Angry relatives responded by organising a ritual cursing.

After the leaders of a dozen tribes sacrificed a boar as an offering to the gods, the people sprinkled yellow rice around and called for divine punishment for those responsible.

Most of the graves looted belonged to women - it is thought the robbers hoped to find "baya" - treasure in the form of gold ornaments often buried with the dead.

But not only were tombs smashed but the bones of the dead were scattered around the graveyard and relatives had no way of knowing if they were re-burying their own loved ones.

Local people say they have now stopped putting valuable items in the tombs to try to deter more such incidents.