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 correct detail compared to other […]
1450 Map Of Borneo Read More »
Dockyard, Brooke’s Malay Child, Camphor and Chinese life during Occupation Case Study of the Brooke Dockyard Kuching A. Ghafar Ahmed The Sarawak Museum Journal December 2021 aghafar7788@yahoo.com Built in 1912, the Brooke Dockyard consists of a dry dock, a side launching ramp, a workshop, a slipway, a wharf and a training school. The facility served
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, since the erection of the
Human Bone Storage among the Melanau Read More »
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 control the collection of taxes
Tribute from Sarawak to Brunei Read More »
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 a poor country with the
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 years. For many others, it
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 suffered from malaria and also
Rail Roads Coal and Infrastructure in Kuching Read More »
What? No Sri Vijaya Toms Note: This is a condensation of a 53-page essay written by Liam Kelley and published in China and Asia in 2022. I requested Dr Kelley to review the manuscript, and he added minor corrections. Contact me if you want the whole essay. George Coed’es, a famous french scholar in 1918,
What ? No Sri Vijaya ? Read More »
The Hiang Thian Siang Ti Temple in Kuching Many thanks to John Tan for his kind assistance in helping me understand the Chinese temples. The Hiang Thian Ti temple, on Carpenter Street, was first built in 1863 by the Teochew immigrants as a house of worship for the Deity of the North. It is located
Teochew Temple in Kuching Centre Read More »
Tom’s Note: This old custom has a much deeper meaning. The Malay, whom the Land Dyaks honour, is half Royal Blood and half land Dayak. I am not sure if the author means Bidayuh or another Land Dayak. Black flags are seen on some fishing boats on the river outside my flat. Malay adat also
Bidayuh Old Custom Read More »
