Past Posts

All Creatures #86 Stick Insects​ ​​ Two new associations between the eggs of stick insects and tiny wasps have been noted in Sarawak. This report of new egg–parasitoid associations provides insights into the ecological relationships between stick insects and wasps. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2026.2683085 Ferns​ ​​ The identification of the fern Oreogrammitis yoderi on Mount Sinsing marks the… Read more: All Creatures Great and Small #86

Geology Sundaland, the landmass that included Sumatra, Malaya, Java, and Borneo, existed 50,000 years before the melting began. The land area had risen 135 meters, with most of the water tied up in ice sheets. As the ice sheets pressed down on the land to the north and south, the land on the edges bulged… Read more: Melting Ice, Negroids, Niah People

A summary of the 13th-century lives of the Ten Datus from Borneo to Panay The Ten Datus of Borneo by Pedro Alcantara Monteclaro, translated by Father Tomas Santaren, 1854 The Margatas The Story or the Life experienced by the datus of Borneo namely Puti, Lumbay, Bankaya,Paiburong,Sumakuel,Dumangsil, Dalugdog,Padohinog and Kalengsusu,Dumocsol and their purchase of an island… Read more: Ten Datus Borneo to Panay

The Sebuyau The Sebuyau originated in the Kapuas Basin of what is now Indonesian Borneo. Perhaps as early as the 16th century, Ibanic people who were to become the Sebuyau migrated up the Kapuas River. They crossed into the Lupar Basin in what is now Sarawak and moved north. However, the people who would become… Read more: Sebuyau Tribe and Lundu Town

Sago What is sago? Sago is a flour from a palm tree used to make desserts, noodles, cakes and dumplings. It is widely used in Chinese cooking. Much is owed to Steve Morris, who wrote The Oya Melanau in 1991, a 414-page book which focuses on the Melanau. No one seems to know where the… Read more: Sago and Melananu

Sambas and Sarawak The origins of the Sambas begin with the movement of Austronesian peoples who settled along the Sambas River from the Sulu coast in the Philippines in small waves from 2000- 500 BC. They probably formed a type of riverine culture. The coast from Sabah to south Sarawak was blocked by mangrove swamps,… Read more: Sambas and Sarawak