Bisaya Fables

Headhunting Among these spectacles, I was arrested by the ghastly appearance of a once human head. In mere derision it had been boiled, stripped of the skin and hair, and put on a post with a raw kumara [sweet potato] placed in the mouth. (John Alexander, nineteenth century New Zealand missionary, cited in Vayda, 1960:95) […]

Astronomy of the Ma’anyan of central Borneo When I was about 10, a youngster, I learned about constellations. An assistant scoutmaster used a light pointer to show us the various stars and constellations. He tried to show me the constellation of Cassiopeia but I did not see a chair, I saw something else.  He sighed and

Bats The microbes which live in the stomachs of bats depend on what they eat. Bats that eat fruit have microbes that are different from those that eat insects. The research was carried out in Sarawak. 10.1186/s42523-025-00389-w Punan and Genetics Recent genetic evidence has shown the Punan to be Austronesian people dating to 7,500 years

Most Japanese were repatriated back to Japan after World War II Sarawak was a key locale for Japanese settlers operating under the encouragement of the Brooke government (1841-1946). The Japanese in Sarawak arrived parallel to the Japanese migration into British Malaya shortly after the onset of the Meiji Restoration (1868). A small but economically and

The Japanese Occupation of Sabah The earliest colonial intrusion into Sabah was in 1665 when Captain Cowley explored the region. In 1763, British Admiral Sir William Dampier seized Manila from the Spanish and released the Sultan of Sulu in exchange for ceding his territory in Sabah to the East India Company. (EIC) The region was

John Crawfurd John Crawfurd wrote a three-volume text during the 1820s about the Indian Archipelago. Most historians, including myself, are quite familiar and indebted to him and the text. I did not know he had a later life which included being a colonial administrator for the East India Company in Uttar Pradesh, Yogyakarta, Singapore, Siam,

Borneo Fun Factoids The following information is taken from the end notes of “The Unpublished Rennell M.S: A Borneo Philippine Journey 1762-1763.” There are 95 end notes to the Rennell manuscript. I have reduced these to a manageable number according to the topic. They were probably written by Cornell graduate students, Barabra Harrisson and a

The Voyage of James Rennell to Sulu Island and North Borneo in 1762 Although the author is credited to Tom Harrisson, it is doubtful that he worked on the manuscript. Most probably it was written by his wife and/or graduate students from Cornell University. The English units of measure have been changed to metric and

Melanau Lady Abang Manai: a Melanau The history of the Melanau as recorded by Wikipedia does not mention Abang Manai or the island of Bali. His name is not included in the” list of prominent people of Melanau descent” also compiled by Wikipedia. This version could be an early oral history as told in an extract

Agarwood Agarwood is one of the most valuable non-timber forest products due to its gratifying aroma. This has led to the overexploitation of agarwood produced by several species. The aim of this study is to tell the wood anatomy of A. sympetalum and thereby determine the features that distinguish this species from other agarwood species.  https://doi.org/10.1163/22941932-bja10178