Menu Home Posts Gallery Keris (Gallery) Sarawak River Valley About Us Bidayuh Headhunting Gosh, this was a hard one. A 50-page paper, the names in parentheses in the body of the paper are the sources of the material and not related to the author. A bibliography of the mentioned sources follows. Bidayuh Headhunting The Bidayuh […]
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Bau and the Bidayuh Kampong Gumbang Kampong Gumbang is located in the rural Bau district of Sarawak. At the time (1986) the village was only available on foot, where the trail goes up and down through the secondary forest, with a long final climb to the village. Of special interest is one of the few
Who are You? Tom McLaughlin I have been researching the origins of the people of Sarawak for about ten years now. It has been fun but frustrating. These are my opinions from the research: The Malays came from Taiwan. These people were the indigenous residents and not the current Chinese who now run the island.
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Dayak Kings Among Malay Sultans The Kingdom of Ulu Are appears to have been the only non-Islam kingdom in West Kalimatan. Although the Sultan of the kingdom lacked taxing authority, his rule was recognized by many groups in the area. According to several elders, the King of Ulu Are was the symbolic leader as he
Non Moslem Kingdoms Read More »
“Panggah” is a Bidayuh (a tribe of people who live in Sarawak) term which refers to the house where heads are usually kept. They range between 1.5 meters to about nine meters from the ground. The posts are from belian, (a type of very heavy hardwood tree) whereas the floors and walls are from wood
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 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
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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 to the jungle to shoot
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Tom’s Note: The fable is from the Bidayuh living around Bau. It tells who owns the caves in the area and why. Enjoy! A Land Dayak Girl Explorer Many years ago, there lived two land dayak children. They were brother and sister, and the boy was the elder. They were orphans; their father and mother
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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 few stretches after Julau. We
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