All Creatures Great and Small #11 Plants from South America and onto Southeast Asia Dissochaeteae Melastomataceae is a large group of plants that includes plants that grow on another plant such as orchids. There are 375 species of these plants. Results from the molecular dating analysis suggest that the diversity
Tom’s Note: This piece was written in 1978 about the Gawai Mpijog Rantau Festival for the first clearing of the padi (rice) fields. It was supposed to be filmed by Professor Geddes who made a contribution of pigs, fish, eggs etc. worth RM1000 but the camera broke down. The article
Panay in the Philippines: A Sarawak Connection The island of Panay is the fourth largest island in the Philippine archipelago. The prehistory of the island, before the Spaniards is related in a document called the Maragatas. The Maragatas, written in 1221, states the Datuks from Borneo purchased the island from the Negritoes. The negritoes then
Tom’s note: I own several pua kumbu, (cloth woven by Iban weavers) and have always wondered how the Iban ladies managed to turn out such beautiful and wonderful items. The Ladies One is not born into Iban society with a position. Rather he or she must earn it during their
Toms Note: I continue with the history of the mission schools in Sarawak St. Mary’s In 1882, only one girl was being educated in St. Thomas, the Anglican school at Kuching. At the efforts of Mrs Hose, a day school was started in 1883. However, it was the efforts of
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A collection of recent research from Borneo New Species of Jumping Spider A new species of jumping spider from the canopies of Borneo has been made known to science. It distinguished from other jumping spiders by the colour variation, the mouthparts and the sex organs. Arthropoda Selecta 30(1): 105–112 Two
The Anglican Mission Schools The mission schools were used by the missionaries as a source of converts to Christianity. The Rajah James Brooke used the schools as a source of English language graduates to work in the civil service and local European commercial houses. The Chinese viewed them as a
Tom’s Note: The writer of this essay concentrated on the two white men, Rajah James and Frances McDougall. He relegated the Sarawakians to mere mentions in this conflict. For example, “they attempted to organize a force to attack the Chinese failed because the Malay women refused to let the menfolk
Borneo Dance Editors note: Many of us from the West have sat through a dance performed by natives without having a clue of what they mean. They look interesting but the symbols of the movements escape us. Here, we attempt to explain those movements. Most of the literature asserts the
The Loincloth of Borneo The loincloth was worn by the male Dyaks living in Borneo. It was used to cover and hold the genitals while the man is engaged in activities such as hunting, fishing or sitting around the campfire. The loincloth allowed the Dyak to feel the cloth against
he Penan Aput The Penan Aput name comes from the right-hand tributary of the upper Baluy river where they used to live. They formed four separate bands where they kept close ties and migrated together. When the land became depleted, three of the four groups migrated into what is now