An occasional paper related to current research aligned to Borneo
Melanu and Numbers
The way a society thinks is important in development. When one combines numbers into that thinking the results can be astounding. Suffina Long and Yahutazi in the November issue of the Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities have related how numbers and the Melanau way of thinking has been explored. Like most societies, the Melanau rank each other according to a number system. Number 15 are the people who are married to a Brunei person. They acquire the title of Awang, Dayang or Pengiran. Number 9 are the highest rank in Melanau society. They have a flag and a cannon. Number 7 is the middle class while number 5 are the people associated with the middle class. The Dipen are the slaves and are not assigned any number. It is interesting to note the Melanaus only use odd numbers because, according to a personal e-mail from the authors, odd numbers are considered lucky. These numbers influence engagement, wedding and funeral ceremonies.
The Melanau calendar begins in March as the month of spirits and goes twelve months until the month of gills where the strong winds blow the fronds off the sago palms. This mental calculation helps them to organize their world which employs mathematics.
Architecture, food preparation, silver and gold measurement and the cultivation of sago all require numbers and are inculcated into the developing minds of the Melanau. These include volume, area, and perimeter. Unfortunately, these traits are being lost because of the western educational system and modernity.
Durian and Pollinators Four species of durian were studied in Sarawak. The differences in flowers of the four durian specie were noted. The four major pollinators were the honey bees, stingless bees, bats and pollen beetles. The honey bees visited between 6 a.m.-11a.m., the stingless bees between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m., bats between 9:30 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. and pollen beetles between to 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Biodiversitas December, 2020, Ng Win Seng lead researcher, University of Malaysia Sarawak.
Where did the word orangutan come from?
The author argues that word orangutan is from the original Malay and cites Javanese texts from between the ninth and fifteenth centuries to prove her point. The word was uranutan came from the Old Malay and was not a concoction of the Europeans. The author, Wayan Jarrah Sastrawan, teaches at the University of Sydney. Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 176 (2020) 532–541
Sex and Teenagers in Sarawak
Risky sexual behaviour is defined as that which results in disease or pregnancy. The study revealed the more religious a person was the less inclined they were to engage risky sexual behaviour. The reasons for the behaviour include lack of knowledge about sex, influence by peers, parental conflict, lack of religious education and the Internet. Interestingly, urban youth scored higher on the religion scale than did those living in rural areas. The study was published by the Global Journal of Health Science vol. 12, no. 13 2020. Research was conducted by Albeny Joslyn Panting and Teresa Young Sui Mien of the Open University of Malaysia and the National Institute of Health Malaysia.
Use of Foochow Declining
The use of Foochow language speakers is declining in relation to Mandarin usage in young Foochow students this study shows. More children of Foochow parents spoke Mandarin than Foochow. The Mandarin was learned in school while the parents spoke to the children in the Foochow language at home. Although Foochow proficiency was good, it was not up to the level of their parents, the author, Su-Li Ting of the University of Malaysia at Sarawak, stated. “The younger Foochow is more detached from his Foochow identity and this generational change is engendered by the rise of Mandarin” he explained. The Internet Journal of Language, Culture and Society URL: http://aaref.com.au/en/publications/journal/
