logo

Category: Iban

“Ngayap!” Iban Courting

Courtship among the Ibans”Ngayap”  Toms Note: To western observers, the term “Ngayap” often had a sexual connotation. This is not true and is an insult to the Iban people. The Ngayap is an Iban custom which they inherited from many different peoples several centuries ago. As the Ibans moved up

Read More »
November 20, 2022 No Comments

Dayak Ghost Story

Kumang Kidundung by Sunga Tom’s Note: This tale comes from the Bidayuh in the Serian district. Kumang, in the Dayak world, are spirits among the people. This story tells an interaction between one of those spirits, Antu Puah, and a Dayak named Kidungdung. Kumang Kidundung One day Kaleng went out

Read More »
August 6, 2022 No Comments

Kanowit Punitive Expedition

The Expedition of 1934 The Kanowit Punitive Expedition  One fine morning in June 1934, we left Sibu by way of the Chamois. A few hours later, we stayed at Kanowit to make arrangements for our forces. We changed into a small launch, took the Kanowit River, and stopped at a location a

Read More »
June 19, 2022 No Comments

An Iban Story

Comic Tales of Api Salui by Benedict Sandin Sarawak Museum Journal July-December 1960 Tom’s Note: The below story has been passed from generation to generation among the Ibans. It tells a tale of a wise wife with her stupid husband. The Malays in the kampongs across the river also have

Read More »
May 11, 2022 No Comments

Pleiades Creation Story by the Iban

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

Read More »
April 16, 2022 No Comments

Iban origins, floods and rules for sex, war and kitchens

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,

Read More »
January 7, 2022 No Comments

Iban Tattoos

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

Read More »
October 31, 2021 No Comments

Iban and Batang Ai

The Batang Ai resettlement scheme moved 26 longhouses of Ibans to another area because of flooding due to the hydroelectric dam across the Batang Ai Wong Irup. The Iban received cash compensation and were given 11 acres of land consisting of five acres of rubber, three acres of cocoa, two

Read More »
July 11, 2021 No Comments

Wild and wonderful Iban Women

Tom’s note: I own several pua kumbu, (cloth woven by Iban weavers) and have always wondered how the Iban ladies managed to turn out such beautiful and wonderful items.  The Ladies One is not born into Iban society with a position. Rather he or she must earn it during their

Read More »
May 3, 2021 No Comments

Mission Schools in Sarawak

Toms Note: I continue with the history of the mission schools in Sarawak St. Mary’s In 1882, only one girl was being educated in St. Thomas, the Anglican school at Kuching. At the efforts of Mrs Hose, a day school was started in 1883. However, it was the efforts of

Read More »
April 29, 2021 No Comments
Don't miss a single post

Discover New stories with Us

Stay in the loop with all the latest posts from Borneo History. Get notified on my blogs and contact us now! 

Subscribe!