For a change of pace, I present poetry from the kampongs along the Sarawak River. They are usually recited at gatherings of Malay people, where the men and women are seated separately. The ending of the first and third verse and the second and fourth verse must rhyme. The first
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
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
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
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).
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