logo

Category: Story

Second Sultan Part two

Here is the second part of the second Sultan Tengah of Borneo. The essay explains the origin of gula Melaka, the formation of different silats and the organization of the Malay and Iban armies.

Read More »
May 6, 2024 No Comments

The Bhuket People of Sarawak

Menu Home Posts Gallery Keris Wood Art Sarawak River Valley About Us The Bhuket People of Sarawak The Bhuket People of Sarawak Within the people of Austronesian descent were the Bhuket people of Sarawak. They were studied by Shanthi Thambiah for her doctorate at the University of Hull in 1995. 

Read More »
April 7, 2024 No Comments

Sagenda Sarik and Sagenda LeLang

Menu Home Posts Gallery Keris (Gallery) Sarawak River Valley About Us Sagenda Sarik and Sagenda LeLang Kundor These are numbers four and five of the rulers of Santubong as related to us by the dukun. The story, according to him, is connected to Sagenda Lelang Saganda Sarik (Indra Sarik )

Read More »
December 24, 2023 No Comments

Love on the Mountain Santubong and Se Jinjang

Menu Home Posts Gallery Keris (Gallery) Sarawak River Valley About Us Love on the Mountain Santubong and Se Jinjang My favourite piece of oral history about Sarawak. Kuching, Sarawak, is dominated by a mountain called Santubong. This article is attributed to the reign of Sagenta Galam by the Dukun who

Read More »
December 17, 2023 No Comments

An Iban Tale

Menu Home Posts Gallery Keris (Gallery) Sarawak River Valley About Us An Iban Tale A Bizarre Iban Tale. This story was found in the Sarawak Gazette and included a mixture of Iban and English. I have edited and organized the tale, so it makes sense to the reader.  In the

Read More »
September 6, 2023 No Comments

Wooden Figures of the Katangan River

Wooden Figures of the Katingan River The Dayaks of south-central Kalimatan practice a religion called kaharingan. It is practised by the people on the Katingan River.This essay deals with the sculptures called hamptaong.   The hampatongs are statutes that represent the souls of the departed. They distinguish themselves by their

Read More »
June 21, 2023 No Comments

Spirits of the Kampongs

The following was told to me by the helper who participated in the sessions. The names have been omitted to protect the identities of the dukun and his helper. The kampongs had their mystic encounters as late as the 1980’s and 1990’s. Trying to change the future in such avenues

Read More »
January 29, 2023 No Comments

“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

Bidayuh

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

Read More »
September 4, 2022 No Comments

Rail Roads Coal and Infrastructure in Kuching

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

Read More »
August 31, 2022 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!