The Brooke Attack on Lawas
If you look at a map of the very northern part of Sarawak, you will notice two fingers dividing Brunei. This essay discusses the second finger, which borders Brunei on the western side and Sabah to the east.
The threat to the Brooke regime began as a disagreement over customs and taxes. The Lun Bawang tribe in the southern part of the area maintained the old way of taking heads, slaves and continuing blood feuds. Travellers heading south were forced to pay taxes. They brought jungle goods north to the Trusan market. Here, the goods were then dispersed all over Southeast Asia and beyond.
A leader of the Long Bawang was arrested and told not to collect taxes on the traders. Dayung Kelupan was seized and sternly told to quit collecting taxes. He was eventually released but continued his rage against the forces of the Rajah. The district officers pleaded with Dayang, his brother and another longhouse chief, Dawat Tubu, to stop the tax collecting. They refused. Dawat Tubu supposedly sent the District Officer a tube of bamboo, which was stuffed with sand. (Dawat Tubu denies he sent it)This message stated that even though Brooke had the numbers of troops as the bamboo had grains of sand, the brothers and Tubu would still win. Notwithstanding, the message also inferred their skulls would be used as drinking cups, and their bones would be fashioned into ladder steps. The message did not please the Rajah.
The staging area for the invasion was in Brookerton (now Muara) in Brunei, located on the northern tip of a peninsula. 850 Ibans, Malays, “Dyaks” from Rejang and Sarawak Rangers were amassed. Vyner Brooke was the expedition leader.
On 2 May 1900, the group began the attack. The Trusan river soon became too shallow for the boats and barges to continue the journey. The force had to carry them overland. The army had to trudge through the unfamiliar jungle, rain, buzzing mosquitoes and bites from leeches. They slept under lean-tos with a small dinner. After ten days, they finally reached Dayungs longhouse. They rushed the house but were stopped with sharpened bamboo spikes concealed in the ground. Twelve were severely injured, and one died. Three “enemies ” who were probably scouting were also killed. After scouring around, they found six stray buffalo and some pigs, which were immediately slaughtered to provide the first good meal they had since the march began ten days ago. They also found antique jars and three piculs of gutta-percha which became part of their bounty. They also killed 22 more enemies and suffered a loss of four injured on their side. Three more water buffalo ended up in the cooking pot. Three longhouses that belonged to Dayungs followers were burned to the ground.
They then decided to hit the abandoned longhouses of Ukong and his supporters They burned six longhouses and killed twelve defenders. The force withdrew and decided to return along a pathway north. The marauders did not want to repeat the arduous journey through the jungles. After having reached the longhouse halfway north, Vyner Brook left the safety of the staging area and met the troops at Trusan market. The two brothers and Dawat Tubu were not killed, which had been one of the massive incursion objectives. What happened to them?
Dawat Tubu was one of the persons Vyner Brooke was after. He was a slave(one must not confuse the slaves of America with those of Sarawak. They were treated much much better) captured from a raid in north Indonesia. He was a fierce head-hunter and earned the respect of those around him. During the Brooke incursion, he used guerrilla tactics to harass the invading troops. When his gun was ruined, he grabbed several of his wife’s beads and purchased another one to continue the fight. When the fighting ceased, he constructed a giant 33 meter long effigy of a crocodile or dragon during a celebration.
Ukong and Dayang Kelupan
The brothers were born in North Kalimantan(Indonesian Borneo) and migrated to north Sarawak in 1870. They consolidated their power by headhunting and taking slaves from the local longhouses. When Brookes troops arrived, they hid their women and children deep in the jungle and fought guerrilla-style Brooke troops. The locals viewed them as defenders of their customs and fought alongside their former enemies. During their celebration of having survived the attack, they built a 33-meter long crocodile which the Sarawak Museum finally recognized
Vyner Brooke
In 1891 at the age of 17, Vyner Brooke was posted to Fort Alice under the command of Mr Baily. In 1900 he was to lead the incursion into Lawas. He stayed on a hilltop at the staging area using his telescope to spot possible enemies and sending his troops down the hill when he spotted smoke or movement. This site became known as Natad Tuan, or the resting place of the white leader. Vyner Brooke became the heir apparent (Tuan Muda) and became Rajah in 1917.
The Murut or Lun Bawang People
Following the incursion, the Lun Bawang people were hit by a plague of smallpox. Their number dwindled from 17,000 to 10,000. Longhouses were abandoned, and they could not bury their dead. Murut settlements were deserted for good. Further misery came when other diseases such as chickenpox, diarrhoea and cholera took their toll. The conditions were reported to Vyner Brooke, but no action was taken. Rajah Vyner Brooke visited the area in 1935 and was requested to allow missionaries, education and health workers among Lun Bawang. Permission was grudgingly given.
From: Ipoi Datan The Trusan Ulu Expedition of 1900 in the Sarawak Museum Journal December 2015
