Past Posts

Santang Island After hearing an oral history about a massive meteor shower over Santang Island, and that people loaded boats to take the metal to Santubong for processing, I decided to go out to the island and see for myself whether the story could be true. This occurred possibly around 800-1200 A.D., but I felt… Read more: Satang Island

Tulin River During the Brunei Sultans’ rule, they owned the rivers the Bajau people lived along. They maintained a feudal-like control in which the Sultan delegated authority to others. When the British took over, they dismantled this system and paid the “owners” for their control of the rivers. A Tulin is a hereditary title for… Read more: River Control in North Borneo-Tulin

Smallpox and Borneo The earliest description of smallpox was in China in the 4th century. By the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Chinese physicians practised variolation by drying smallpox scabs, grinding them into powder, and blowing them into the nostrils of healthy children. This method probably began around 1000 and was not very common until the 1500’s,… Read more: Smallpox,Brunei,Borneo James Brooke

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