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Author: Tom02

Islam in China

Islam in China  The first mention of the Arabs in China is found in the Annals of the T’ang Dynasty (618-907). The Arabs were called Tazi and Tashi in Chinese. In 713, a Tazi ambassador arrived in China. In 924, another Tazi visited A-Po-Ki, chief of the K’tan and camped

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October 17, 2022 No Comments

All Creatures Great and Small #31

All Creatures Great and Small #31 Great Argus There are currently two subspecies of the Great Argus. One species is in Sumatra and Malaya, while the other is in Borneo. The differences between the two include the Borneo Argus has a lighter orange on the chest, darker upper backs and

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October 12, 2022 No Comments

1450 Map Of Borneo

The Fra Mauro Map ad 1459 in The Mediaeval Cartography of Borneo  by Robert Nicholl in the Brunei Museum Journal 1980 The Fra Mauro map, made in 1450, is located in the Venice Museum and is huge, 2.4 meters by 2.4 meters. Astonishingly, the area showing Santubong area in amazing

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October 8, 2022 No Comments

Human Bone Storage among the Melanau

Jerunei:  The Coffins and Slaves of a Tribal People. A jerunei is a large pole or monument used by the Melanau (a people living on the coast of Sarawak).  Jeruni poles are almost always hollowed out to receive the bones of the deceased. It may or may not be carved,

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September 25, 2022 No Comments

All Creatures Great and Small #30

All Creatures Great and Small #30 Butterflies Borneo is the home of 1000+ known species of butterflies of which 81 species are known to live on Borneo alone. Libiki Bamboo Resort (LBR) is located in Bau, Sarawak, a newly developed resort area. 183 species of butterflies were found in this

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September 20, 2022 No Comments

Tribute from Sarawak to Brunei

Tom’s Note: These codified taxes were written in 1736. The names of the Sultans of Brunei and their reigns do not follow the spellings or the order of Sultans given elsewhere. In the former days, when Brunei ruled the greater part of Sarawak, a special department was set up to

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September 12, 2022 No Comments

Bisaya Fables

Some Bisaya Folk Lore The scene of this story is the Klias Peninsula situated on the west coast of North Borneo opposite Labuan Island. After crossing the beautiful beach with its palm trees there is a huge swamp with a tangled mass of impenetrable mangrove, nipah and sago. It is

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September 8, 2022 No Comments

Bidayuh

Land Dayaks of the Sadong District Sarawak 1936 Tom’s note: This is a long one, so grab a cup of tea and enjoy!  The Sadong Dayaks say they came over from Dutch Borneo about 18-20 generations(according to Western observers, a generation is a time from birth to reproductive age, 20

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September 4, 2022 No Comments

Rail Roads Coal and Infrastructure in Kuching

Tom’s note: This account about the infrastructure of Sarawak is probably one of the most unintentionally hilarious histories of the times of the Second Rajah Brooke.  Coal Outcrops of coal existed at Silantek and along the Sadong river. Mr St John was dispatched to explore the coal findings. However, he

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August 31, 2022 No Comments
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