The Chinese Revolt by Rev. Brian Taylor SMJ 1969 The first woman, other than women with their husbands, ever sent abroad by the Society for the Propagation of the Bible was Sarah Coomes. Miss Coomes was left behind in the first evacuation of the town after the Bau Chinese had arrived to pillage and sack […]
A Ladies Perspective of the 1859 Revolt Read More »
The Mother of the Pleiades A Mythological Story of the Iban Almighty God made a golden stone in the eastern corner of the sky known as Tangkulas Batu Mas. Many years afterwards this stone changed into a very beautiful girl whose eyes and skin shone and glittered like a lump of gold. Her name was
Pleiades Creation Story by the Iban Read More »
While travelling in Surabya, Indonesia, I acquired a fold-out book of about 20 leaves. I never knew what the book depicted, so I placed it on the shelf, hoping to find out. After showing it to many people over the years who said they did not know, the puzzle concluded yesterday when historian John Tan
“Mona Lisa” of China Read More »
Historian John Tan, of Kuching and Australia, wrote the following essay about early Chinese immigration. He translated and used information from the Chinese language publication Hainan Temple 天后宫 published by Dr Lin YT and his own sources. The Han Chinese The Han Chinese migrated to the south of China from the central part over about
The Chinese Come to Sarawak Read More »
Gold in Sarawak The first gold was discovered in the Montrado and Sambas areas of Kalimatan. The Chinese were brought in to work the goldfields in ~1760. Panning of gold in river deposits of Bau began in about ~1828, and this type of activity continued until 1898. The Malays noted a small amount of gold
Notes from Benedict Sandin Sources of Iban Traditional History published by the Sarawak Museum Journal 1994 Sumatra Suriani and I have maintained the Iban came from Sumatra. On page 140 n.2 “The question of where the Iban originated is largely unanswerable. On linguistic grounds, it has been frequently argued, that, as Malayic speaking people, the
Iban origins, floods and rules for sex, war and kitchens Read More »
The Discovery of Brunei Oil A Borneohistory.net Production In 1906, Brunei was ruled by the British under the residency system. In dire need of some form of income, oil was considered an answer to the problem. Any company that wished to explore for oil had to obtain a prospecting license from the British Resident. In
A History of Brunei Oil 1906-1932 Read More »
Tales from the Countryside by Luke Pihee JohengReview by Tom McLaughlin Borneohistory.net A Bidayuh Journey Tales from the Countryside is a beautiful book about the origins and coming of age of a Bidayuh resident in Kampung Stass and the history of the Malaysian Indonesian Confrontation. Chapter one tells of the oral history of the origins
Bidayuh Kampong Life Read More »
According to Iban informants, the practice of tattooing was inherited from the Panngau, a group of superhumans who reside in Kalimatan (Indonesian Borneo). From these Panngau came a series of stories and legends featuring Keling and his wife, Kumang. They taught the Iban how to tattoo and find charms for successful hunting and warfare. The Ibans
+ The Penan Gang The Penan Gang occupy seven communities in the northern part of Belaga district. They trace their origins to the Apat river, a tributary of the Jek river, and, as a single band, they were known as the Penan Apat. They moved out of the Plieran watershed and into the Gang River,
