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Odoardo Beccari, the man who discovered the corpse flower

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Odoardo Beccari (1843-1920) might be an unfamiliar name among Sarawakians today but more than 100 years ago he was here in Sarawak documenting our plants.

Originally from Florence, Italy, he went to school in Pisa and Bologna.

After his graduation, Beccari spent his time at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Odoardo Beccari
Odoardo Beccari (Credits: Public Domain).

It was there he met with fellow naturalist Charles Darwin and the first white Rajah of Sarawak James Brooke.

Thanks to his friendship with Brooke, he was able to his spend 3 years in Borneo from 1865 and 1868 .

Odoardo Beccari and Kubah National Park

Odoardo Beccari, the man who discovered the corpse flower
A view of Kubah waterfall. Did Odoardo Beccari came across this waterfall? We never know.

Together with another Italian naturalist Giacomo Doria, they travelled extensively throughout Sarawak up to Brunei.

He set up a research hut at the slopes of Mount Matang. Beccari named it Vallombrosa after a Benedictine abbey near his hometown of Florence.

Beccari recorded his experience in his book Wanderings in the great forests of Borneo, travels and researches of a naturalist in Sarawak (1904).

After his stay in Sarawak, Beccari called for preservation of species and conservation of biodiversity in the region.

The Rajah then established a water catchment preserve in Mount Matang which is now part of Kubah National Park.

Apart from Mount Matang, Beccari also visited Peninjau Hill and described many of the plant species there.

Odoardo Beccari and the corpse flower

The world of environmental biologists and naturalists mostly recognised Beccari as the man who discovered the corpse flower.

He was the first one who scientifically described the plant in 1878 during his stay in Sumatra.

The corpse flower or its scientific name Amorphophallus titanium is considered the world’s largest unbranched inflorescence.

The plant is called bunga bangkai in Malay which means “corpse flower” due to its rotting smell.

A rediscovery after 150 years

In 2017, Beccari made headlines in scientific magazines after more than 100 years of his death.

The story went that in 1866, he discovered Thismia neptunis in the mountains of Matang.

Endemic to Malaysia, the plant is a myco-heterotroph, meaning it obtains nutrients through a parasitic relationship with fungi.

Odoardo Beccari, the man who discovered the corpse flower
A screenshot of Beccari’s Wanderings in the great forests of Borneo, travels and researches of a naturalist in Sarawak (1904) describing Thismia neptunis.

Beccari then formally described the plant a few years later in 1878. Since nobody had ever seen it, it was thought that the plant had become extinct.

That was the case until January 2017, a group of researchers from the Czech Republic took a photograph of it in the same region where Beccari found it more than a century ago.

Perhaps the reason why this plant is difficult to spot is the fact that it doesn’t bloom every year.

And when it finally does, the flower appears above the soil only for a few weeks.

On top of that, Thismia neptunis actually lives underground.

In 2013, Sarawak Forestry Corporation organised a “Vallombrosa Walk” taking visitors to Beccari’s field station Vallombrosa or at least what was left of it.

The walk also took visitors to the remnants of two temples and a chapel built during Beccari’s time in the area.

Reportedly, a Dayak hunter named Abi Bengali stumbled upon the ruin of one of the temples in 1960.

For now, there were no information on how to visit Vallombrosa published or no news of any efforts to preserve the area.

Nonetheless, interested visitors can view his botanical collection at Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze and University of Florence as well as his travel notes at Museo Galileo in Italy.

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Balan-balan and 6 other similar eerie floating head ghosts throughout Asia

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Balan-balan is a ghost of Sabahan folk mythology, also known as Penanggalan or Hantu Penanggal in West Malaysia.

Famous in Kota Belud, it is also called ‘B kuasa dua’ which means B to the power of 2, because you’re saying the b-word twice.

You’re not supposed to say its name aloud as legend says you summon it closer to you every time you say “balan-balan.”

However, some believe this entity is not a ghost, but a woman who practices black magic.

According to legend, the balan-balan is able to detach its head with lungs, stomach and intestines attached, leaving its body behind to hunt. It usually hunts at night but can leave its body any time it wants. It has a preference for the blood of pregnant women, women who recently gave birth and newborns.

A balan-balan is said to be able to pass through walls and ooze up through the cracks of the floorboards in the house.

To return it to its human form, simply soak its entrails in vinegar and—voilà!—it will reconstitute itself and become a normal person again.

One of the widely known ways in local folklore to destroy a balan-balan is to pour broken glass into its empty neck cavity – assuming you have found its headless body.

Some say that the balan-balan traits are inherited, passing down from one generation to another from mother to daughter.

There are other related myths in Asia  of supernatural entities with similar modus operandi and appearances.

Perhaps there are no immigration boundaries for those in the mystical world.

balan-balan
Balan-balan is famous in Sabah but it is similar to a ghost called Leyak among the Balinese, Kuyang by the Dayak people of Kalimantan, the Krasue in Thailand and Phi Kasu in Laos. Credit: Pixabay

1. Manananggal, the Philippines

Imagine a vampire that detaches itself from its lower body to hunt and uses huge bat-like wings to fly. Swap out the typical Hollywood fangs for a long, piercing tongue and there you have it: a manananggal.

A manananggal feeds on sleeping, pregnant women, sucking on the blood or hearts of fetuses with its tongue.

To kill it, just sprinkle some salt, crushed garlic or ash on the lower part of the body.

Then it would not be able to rejoin itself and would be killed by sunrise.

2. Kuyang in Kalimantan, Indonesia

Kuyang are believed to be women practicing black magic in search of immortality.

To increase their power, they have to feed on babies and women who just recently gave birth.

Some who claimed to have seen a Kuyang said it is just a flying head.

According to an article in Banjarmasin Post, if you are able to catch it, it will grant any wish in exchange for you to keep its secret.

Apparently the best advice is to ask for ‘Minyak Kuyang’ or kuyang oil which has the power to return objects to you even after you have given them away.

Ideally, you would be able to rub kuyang oil on your money and watch it magically return to you after making your purchase.

3. Leyak in Bali, Indonesia

Similar to Kuyang, leyak are humans practicing black magic.

Interestingly, they have a mistress or a queen, a witch named Rangda.

They say leyak haunt graveyards, feed on corpses, and have the power to change themselves into animals.

In daylight, they are like ordinary humans but at night their heads break loose from their bodies.

Unlike balan-balan which is known to be only females, it is believed that three leyak – typically composed of two females and one male – float around together terrifying people.

4. Krasue in Thailand

Krasue is believed to be an entity consisting of a floating head and a will-o’-the-wisp.

However, the origin story for Krasue is more romantic than might be expected.

According to one version of the legends, a certain Khmer princess had a forbidden love affair with a younger man of lower status.

As with all forbidden love stories, she was caught with her lover and condemned to death by burning by the Siamese aristocrats.

The princess managed to implore the help of a sorceress before her sentence, asking her body to be unharmed by the fire.

But the spell came too late and the only parts that remained untouched by the fire were her head and some of her internal organs. She was then cursed to live as a Krasue ghost.

The 2019 Thai film Inhuman Kiss is inspired by Krasue. It follows the story of a Krasue in 1940s Thailand who lives a normal life as a woman during the day but whose head detaches from her body at night to seek out fresh blood.

Watch the film trailer here.

5. Phi Kasu in Laos

A Phi Kasu is a woman who separates her head from her body, taking her inner organs and flying around to look for victims.

She uses her long tongue to suck out her victim’s organs.

Although it is possible to harm a Phi Kasu, traditional beliefs hold that she is ultimately invincible and cannot be killed.

6. Nukekubi, Japan

In the land of the rising sun, rokurokubi is a type of Japanese apparition.

There are two types of rokurokubi; one with a long, stretchable neck,  while another is like the balan-balan whose head comes off and flies around called nukekubi.

How do you kill a nukekubi? According to traditional tales, the simplest method is to move its headless body to another location. When the head returns and cannot find the body to reattach itself to, the creature is destroyed.

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5 interesting facts about ‘mengayau’, the headhunting culture of Sabah

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Now famous as an adventure destination, Sabah shares a history similar to Sarawak in that it once practiced mengayau or headhunting. This tradition involved not only taking the head but also preserving it as part of cultural rituals and beliefs.

Once practiced mainly by the Murut and Kadazandusun communities, the artifacts and legacy of headhunting can today be seen in the Sabah Museum.

Here are five interesting facts you need to know about mengayau or headhunting culture:

Here are five interesting facts you need to know about mengayau or headhunting culture of Sabah:

mengayau
A small gallery dedicated to the ‘mengayau’ practice in Sabah museum.

1. There were three types of mengayau or headhunting practices back then.

The ownership of the trophies brought back from their mengayau trips would depend on how the head was taken. If a mengayau was carried out by a larger group (usually the result of a tribal war between different communities) the community would keep the heads.

Meanwhile, if the mengayau happened as the result of a feud between a small group of people, the family would keep the head.

On top of that, some men were also known to go headhunting as a proof of bravery. This was in order for the man seeking to win a bride.

2. One of the tools used  in mengayau is called ilang sakuit.

5 interesting facts about 'mengayau', the headhunting culture of Sabah
An ilang sakuit.

Ilang sakuit is often used to cut off the enemy’s head as a symbol of a warrior’s bravery.

It is believed to have originated from Kalimantan and widely used by the Muruts.

Murut headhunters also wore ‘bilong’ on their mengayau journey, a wooden armlet used as an arm guard. In addition, they are know to have worn ‘papakol’, an accessory and talisman worn on the calf.

5 interesting facts about 'mengayau', the headhunting culture of Sabah
The bilong (right) was used as an arm guard while the papakol (left and centre) were worn as accessories on the calf.

3. How and where the skulls are kept were important.

Once the headhunters returned from their raids, the heads had to be kept outside the village for the meantime. The heads were hung from trees or bamboo in what the Kadazandusun from Tambunan and Tamparuli areas called ‘sogindai’. Other headhunters kept them in a temporary hut called ‘sulap’.

After a few days or even weeks, the Kadazandusun ‘bobohizan’ or traditional priest would perform an appeasement ritual before the heads could be safely allowed into the village.

5 interesting facts about 'mengayau', the headhunting culture of Sabah
A bobohizan’s traditional attire.

4. The skulls were then passed down from generation to generation.

In the past, skulls were considered as heirlooms and it was believed that the skulls kept by a family would bring protection to the household. When kept by the community, the skulls were believed to protect the village from harm and sickness.

5. The Murut were known to be the last of Sabah’s ethnic groups to renounce ‘mengayau’.

Collecting the heads of their enemies played an important role in the Murut spiritual belief system. As such, the Murut were reportedly the last of Sabah’s ethnic groups to renounce headhunting.

Apart from Sabah, the Murut communities can also be found living in Lawas and Limbang of Sarawak as well as in North Kalimantan, Indonesia.

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Baroness Angela Burdett-Coutts and James Brooke: Was there something more it seems?

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Baroness Angela Burdett-Coutts might be an unfamiliar name today, but about a hundred years ago she was the “richest heiress in England”.

King Edward VII even reportedly described her as “the most remarkable woman in the kingdom”, only second to his mother, Queen Victoria.

Born on April 21, 1814, Burdett-Coutts became one of the wealthiest women in England in 1837 when she inherited her grandfather’s fortune of around £1.8 million (approximately £196 mln in 2018).

Burdett-Coutts was in love with James Brooke

Burdett-Coutts (left) allegedly was in love with James Brooke (right). Credits: CCO.
Burdett-Coutts (left) allegedly was in love with James Brooke (right). Credits: CCO.

Many historians believe Burdett-Coutts was in love with the first White Rajah of Sarawak.

When James Brooke first established the Kingdom of Sarawak, he needed money to develop it. He considered many options, including selling the country to Belgium.

At the same time, Brooke also wanted his kingdom to be protected. Even when he was in England, the White Rajah constantly worked on making connections with powerful people in the country.

His networking efforts landed him in a levee at the palace as a guest of Queen Victoria.

According to writer Robert Payne in The White Rajahs of Sarawak, this was when Brooke caught the attention of Burdett-Coutts. He wrote:

“Born to great wealth, she was determined to use her money as a weapon to advance her humanitarian ideas, and when the Rajah spoke to her about the Dyaks and Malays plagued by their feudal Sultans and by Ilanun pirates, still living in the Middle Ages, her heart went out to them.”

According to Payne, Brooke skipped out the fact that the Dayaks were headhunters back then.

It seemed to work. In 1859, Burdett-Coutts and Brooke exchanged many letters. These letters were later published in a book in 1935.

In Brooke’s letter to Burdett-Coutts, he asked about her health and how she took care of herself. As he knew the baroness loved riddles, he made riddles for her in his letters.

Their correspondence lasted almost nine years till Brooke died.

Burdett-Coutts and Sarawak

Thanks to Burdett-Coutts, Sarawak had money to spend. One of the kingdom’s expenditures included a ship which Brooke named ‘Rainbow’ after the baroness.

This was, according to Payne, to “honour the beauty of Miss Burdett-Coutts, the goddess of the Dayaks, and the calm following a storm”.

Brooke trusted her so much that he willed Sarawak to Burdett-Coutts at one point. He wrote in his will:

“I do hereby nominate and appoint her to be my true and lawful successor in the dignity and office of the Rajah of Sarawak now vested in me, to be held by her, the said Angela Burdett-Coutts, as a public trust for the good of the people.”

But Brooke long lived long enough to change his will.

Nevertheless, there is a fort in Mukah called Fort Burdett, which was named after her.

What happened to Burdett-Coutts and James Brooke

With all those letters and evenings spent together, why didn’t they get married?

According to British historian Owen Rutter this was because Brooke was sexually incapacitated.

British journalist Henry Nevinson pointed it out in an article published in The Spectator on April 5, 1935.

“He (Rutter) tells us that in storming Burmese stockade in 1825 James Brooke received a wound that rendered him incapable of marriage in the physical sense, and so he carefully avoided any approach to the subject.”

Of course, many claimed that this was not true.

Nonetheless she did everything she possibly could to help Brooke and his Sarawak, a country she herself never set foot on.

As Nevinson wrote:

“She forwarded all his schemes; she advanced vast loans for his people, she presented him with ships to cruise among the islands and stamp out rebellion among the Dayak headhunters and other savages.

“Whatever the mese, she did not marry till late in life, many years after her Rajah had died. She is to be regarded, I think, as a final sacrifice to the idol of Victorian prudery, and it was the Rajah who sacrificed her.”

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Melanau tall house: 3 things you need to know about this important architectural history

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Unlike other traditional houses in Sarawak, the Melanau tall house was built distinctively higher.

However similar to longhouses of other ethnic groups such as Iban and Kayan, this Melanau traditional house can accommodate up to 50 families.

The Melanau tall house at Sarawak Cultural Village is one of the few traditional houses left as the rest have been abandoned or demolished.
The Melanau tall house at Sarawak Cultural Village is one of the few traditional houses left as the rest have been abandoned or demolished.

Besides the one in Sarawak Cultural Village, it is difficult to find a traditional Melanau tall house in the state. Most of the houses in Melanau villages now are built individually on stilts, and the designs are believed to be inspired by houses in the Malay community.

Here are 3 things to know about the architectural heritage of a Melanau tall house:

1.They are built very tall for a lot of reasons.

Traditionally, a Melanau tall house is built about 10 to 40 feet above the ground. For this, the Melanau have to thank the Filipinos for inspiring the need for this design.

As the Melanau people lived mostly along the coastal region, particularly near the mouth of the Rajang river, they were often attacked by pirates from the Southern Philippines in the olden days. To protect themselves, the Melanau built tall houses and even fortified them with cannons.

Besides the pirates, the tall houses also protect the Melanau people during tribal wars against the Ibans.
The Brooke authority also had some scuffles with the Melanau on one point when the former accused the latter for harbouring pirates.

Furthermore according to author Peter Metcalf in The Life of the Longhouse: An Archaeology of Ethnicity, a house raised on stilts serves many advantages.

“It escapes the mud below; it allows disposal of kitchen waste, soon cleaned up by free-roaming chickens and pigs; and it greatly improves ventilation.”

Particularly in Borneo, an elevated building like a Melanau tall house and a Bidayuh baruk would reduce the number of insects in your home.

2. The floor of a Melanau tall house was designed for defensive and offensive purposes.

Besides the height advantage, the floor of a Melanau tall house also serves to defend the community.
The flooring of the main level of the tall house are arranged in a crisscross pattern with small gaps in between.

When there was an attack, the flooring made it hard for the enemies to pierce their sharp weapons through the floor. As for the Melanau, they would pour hot, boiling water on their enemies.

The columns, which are the main structure of the building, are typically made from belian while the wall and flooring structures are made from nibong.

Meanwhile for the roof, they used sago leaves, which also happen to be the main economical source for the Melanau people.

The rungs on every staircase in a Melanau tall house were built in odd numbers. This is because they believed that by doing so it could bring wealth and good health to the household members.

Melanau tall house: 3 things you need to know about this important architectural history
The rung of a ladder in a Melanau tall house has odd numbers because they believed it would bring them luck.

3.The living arrangement in a Melanau tall house.

Melanau tall house: 3 things you need to know about this important architectural history
A traditional Melanau house comprises of few levels.

According to research done by Universiti Sains Malaysia, gender and marital status affected the organisation of the space in a Melanau tall house.

Every tall house was built with a few levels and each level had multiple bedrooms.

Only unmarried men occupied bedrooms located aon the first floor while married couples and unmarried women had their bedrooms on the upper level.

The upper level also houses the family’s ceremonial items and assets.

Curious visitors still can see some of Melanau artifacts at Sarawak Cultural Village’s tall house.

Melanau tall house: 3 things you need to know about this important architectural history
Some of the ceremonial items displayed at Sarawak Cultural Village’s tall house.

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White Rajahs of Sarawak: 10 interesting books to read about them

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The history of the White Rajahs of Sarawak seems like a boy’s adventure book come to life. Basically, an Englishman with his topsail schooner receives a kingdom to rule as a reward for helping the local king fight off pirates.

Of course, history is more complicated than that, but that is roughly how James Brooke and his family came to found and rule the Kingdom of Sarawak from 1841 to 1946.

He was succeeded by his nephew Charles and grandnephew Vyner before the latter ceded the throne to the United Kingdom after World War II.

Plenty of books based on the Brooke dynasty have been written over the years analysing and giving different accounts on Brooke reign.

White Rajahs

Here are 10 books to read to know more about the White Rajahs of Sarawak:

1.The White Rajahs of Sarawak by Robert Payne

Robert Payne was a well-known author for his biographies of prominent historical figures such as Hitler, Mao Zedong, Stalin and Gandhi.

For his book on the White Rajahs, he based it on Vyner’s and his father’s letters, the Ranee Margaret’s letters as well as other documents.

2.The Name of Brooke by R.H.W. Reece

Dr. Bob Reece first came to Sarawak as a correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review in 1969. He then wrote his doctorate on the cession of Sarawak.

His book The Name of Brooke is considered the only detailed scholarly study of the end of Brooke rule in Sarawak.

3.Power and Prowess: The Origins of Brooke Kingship in Sarawak by John Walker

This book explores Brooke’s power among the local Malay, Iban and Bidayuh as well as Sarawak’s network of power and economy.

4.The White Rajahs: A History of Sarawak from 1841 to 1946 by Steven Runciman

The Sarawak government was said to have sponsored the publication of this book. It is also worth mentioning that Runciman, an English historian best known for his A History of the Crusades was already fascinated with the Brooke family.

5.The White Rajahs of Sarawak: A Borneo Dynasty by Bob Reece

Another book by Reece, he also specialises in Australian aboriginal and colonial history and the Irish in Australia.

6.My Life in Sarawak by Margaret Brooke
White Rajahs of Sarawak: 10 interesting books to read about them
A visitors looking at Ranee Margaret’s painting at The Brooke Gallery.

The first Ranee of Sarawak, Margaret Brooke recorded her accounts on living in Sarawak in this book.

My Life in Sarawak, the Ranee tells stories about her friends in Kuching, her expeditions to different parts of Sarawak with her husband Charles and how she copeD living in the Astana.

7.Queen of the Headhunters by Sylvia Brett

Unlike Margaret’s autobiography, Sylvia Brett wrote in a more candid tone on her life as the last Ranee of Sarawak.

Brett told the stories about her considerably open marriage to Vyner and what she thought how and why the Brooke dynasty ended. She also published another book on the Brooke family entitled The Three White Rajahs.

8.Bishops and Brookes by Graham Saunders

While most books listed here are about the Brookes,  this book is mainly about the Anglican mission in Sarawak.
It explores the up and down relationship between the mission with the Brooke family from 1848-1941. Another book about the Anglican mission during the White Rajah dynasty is Twenty Years in Sarawak by Max Saint. This book is more about James’ friend and first Anglican Bishop of Labuan and Sarawak Francis McDougall.

9.White Rajah: A Dynastic Intrigue by Cassandra Pybus

Pybus, an Australian historian and writer published this book in 1996. She is the professor of history a the University of Sydney.

10.The End of the Brooke Raj in Sarawak by Colin Crisswell

Crisswell wrote about how the White Rajahs’ rule came to an end in Sarawak and the events leading up to it.

Apart from The End of the Brooke Raj in Sarawak, Crisswell also published Rajah Charles Brooke: Monarch of All He Survived.

Besides these books, other books worth mentioning are Rajahs & Rebels: The Iban of Sarawak under the Brooke Rule by Robert Pringle, Ten Years in Sarawak by Charles Brooke and The Life of Sir James Brooke by Spenser St. John.

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How approved ‘Nine Cardinal Principles’ was preparing Sarawak for self-governance amicably

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‘Nine Cardinal Principles of the rule of the English Rajah’ is a mouthful but it is important for Sarawakians to wrap our minds around it.

The third White Rajah of Sarawak, Charles Vyner Brooke announced the document on Sept 24, 1941 in the hopes that it would end absolute Brooke rule and propel Sarawak to self-govern.

Nine Cardinal Principles
In 1867, Kingdom of Sarawak’s first General Council meeting was held in Bintulu, making it the earliest legislative system in Malaysia. Today, a clock tower and a centenary stone remain as a reminder of where the meeting took place. When Vyner unveiled the Nine Cardinal Principles of the rule of the White Rajah in 1941, the General Council meeting was held in Kuching.

Here are five things you need to know about Nine Cardinal Principles of the rule of the English Rajah:

1. It was the preamble for the oldest constitution in Sarawak.

The 1941 Constitution of Sarawak is the first known written constitution in the Kingdom of Sarawak.

The objective of this constitution was to approve and fulfil the promise by the third Rajah, Vyner to end total Brooke rule and enable Sarawak to govern itself.

But ‘thanks’ to Japanese occupation from 1941-1945, the constitution was not implemented.

After the end of World War II, the kingdom was facing financial struggle.

Hence when Vyner decided to submit Sarawak to the British, many saw it as a betrayal by the Rajah as the people were preparing to govern themselves before the war.

2. There were nine points in the document. Obviously.

The nine points are:

  • That Sarawak is the heritage of our subjects and is held in trust by ourselves for them.
  • That social and education services shall be developed and improved and the standard of living of the people of Sarawak shall steadily be raised.
  • That never shall any person or persons be granted rights inconsistent with those of the people of this country or be in any way permitted to exploit our subjects or those who have sought our protection and care.
  • That justice shall be freely obtainable and that the Rajah and every public servant shall be easily accessible to the public.
  • That freedom of expression both in speech and in writing shall be permitted and encouraged and that everyone shall be entitled to worship as he pleases.
  • That public servants shall ever remember that they are but the servants of the people on whose goodwill and cooperation they are entirely dependent.
  • That so far as may be our subjects of whatever race or creed shall be freely and impartially admitted to offices in our services, the duties of which they may be qualified by their education, ability and integrity duly to discharge.
  • That the goal of self-government shall always be kept in mind, that the people of Sarawak shall be entrusted in due course with the governance of themselves, and that continuous efforts shall be made to hasten the reaching of this goal by educating them in the obligations, the responsibilities, and the privileges of citizenship.

That the general policy of our predecessors and ourselves whereby the various races of the state have been enabled to live in happiness and harmony together shall be adhered to our successors and our servants and all who may follow them hereafter.

3. It was part of Sarawak United People’s Party’s memorandum against the formation of Malaysia

When the idea of forming a federation with North Borneo, Singapore and Malayan states was still in the air, many in Sarawak voiced out their disagreement.

Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), which was vocally against the formation of Malaysia also submitted a memorandum.

The first point of the memorandum was that Sarawak should be granted independence in accordance with the Nine Cardinal Principles set out by the Brookes and Britain should honour its pledge of giving independence should it decide to withdraw from the territory.

Other points raised by SUPP were that economically and financially, Sarawak was more stable and had better prospects as an independent rather than through any merger.

4. The 18-Point Agreement was based on it.

The Nine Cardinal Principles of the rule of the English Rajah did play a role in forming the Malaysian federation.

Sarawak current Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg  once pointed out that the 18-Point Agreement was based on Nine Cardinal Principles of the rule of the English Rajah.

These agreements stated the conditions and rights meant to safeguard the autonomy and special interest of Sarawak.

5. The Nine Cardinal Principles was mentioned by Sarawak’s first Chief Minister Stephen Kalong Ningkan on the proclamation of Malaysia Day.

During his proclamation on the independence of Sarawak on Sept 16, 1963, the day Malaysia was officially formed, Sarawak’s first chief minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Stephen Kalong Ningkan made a reference to it

He stated, “Whereas (taking into account the consideration that) one of the Nine Cardinal Principles of the Rule of the English Rajahs was that self-government shall always be kept in mind and that the people of Sarawak shall be entrusted in due course with the Governance of the themselves.

And Whereas this principle accords with the policy which Her Majesty’s Government of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland have always pursued in the Governance of those territories of the Commonwealth for whose affairs Her Majesty’s Government have been responsible:

And Whereas in pursuance of this principle Her Majesty’s Government by an agreement entered into on the 9th day of July 1963, with the Government of Federation Of Malaya,The Government State of Singapore and the Governments of the Colonies of Sarawak and North Borneo it was agreed that the State of Singapore and the Colonies of Sarawak and North Borneo shall be federated with the Federation of Malaya,and than the said Federation shall be known as Malaysia:

And Whereas Constitutions for Malaysia and for the States of Sarawak,Sabah and Singapore have been promulgated:

And Whereas by a Proclamation made under section 2 of Malaysia Act,the 16th day of September,1963 has been proclaimed as Malaysia Day:

Now Therefore I, STEPHEN KALONG NINGKAN,the Chief Minister of Sarawak, DO HEREBY PROCLAIM that Sarawak has this day attained independence as a State of Malaysia.”

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4 Sarawakian fascinating jungle taboos you need to observe seriously

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The jungle is sacred for Sarawak’s indigenous people. Apart from their farms, the jungle provides an extra source of food.

While there are many superstitions or dos and donts surrounding farming, there are jungle taboos as well.

4 Sarawakian fascinating jungle taboos you need to observe seriously
Keep the fire burning throughout the night while camping.

 

1. Jungle Taboos: Watch what you say

If you smell something nice, do not say anything. And if you smell something rotten, do not say anything. Let’s say you hear a sudden noise, what should you do? Do not say anything.

In any horror movie, there has to be one character who always asks the ridiculous question, “Hello, anyone there?” Do not do that in the jungle even if you think you saw something. Instead of ‘someone’, a ‘something else’ might be there.

It is a jungle taboo to ask about something, especially if you are just trying to make conversation. For example, if you haven’t seen a hornbill, do not say, “How come I haven’t seen a hornbill flying around here these days?”

The belief is that some other spirit might suddenly present themselves to you as a hornbill.

There is a story of a man who went hunting with a group of friends. He commented on how he hadn’t seen an old man who lived alone at the edge of jungle for awhile.

He kept on asking his hunting party what happened to the old man. Yet, nobody answered him. After awhile, they saw a shadow which appeared to be a deer and the hunting began. The group kept chasing after the deer to get a good shot of it.
The chase led them to an abandoned house at the edge of the jungle before the deer disappeared. The house belonged to the old man.

Apparently, the old man had died a few months earlier, leaving his house abandoned. The man finally got his answer.

4 Sarawakian fascinating jungle taboos you need to observe seriously
Watch out you say while in the jungle.

2. Jungle Taboos: Watch what you call out

If you are going into the jungle with a group of people, some people believe in the practice of using nicknames. This is to avoid calling out your real names in the jungles. Some jungle spirits might be pretending to be your friend if you call out their names.

This practice of giving nicknames when it comes to jungle trekking is being practiced even in local scout clubs. Every scout club member in a school in Bintulu, for instance, is given a nickname which starts with ‘mambang’ or ‘haunter’ in Malay, inspired by a P. Ramlee movie.

In the classic movie Pendekar Bujang Lapok (1959), P. Ramlee and the gang have to recite a chant where they call out all the mambangs including Mambang Tanah (land), Air (water), Api (fire) and Angin (wind).

Assuming you have agreed on nicknames with your trekking party, if you hear somebody call out your real name in the jungle, do not respond. It might be one the jungle spirits calling out for you.

While it is a known superstition not to whistle at night, the same rule applies in the jungle as well, no matter what time of day it is.

3. Jungle taboos: Watch what you do

Sometimes in the jungle you need to clear out new paths to hike. However before you do that, ask permission from the jungle first.

Here in Sarawak where jungle cover is still considerably large, there is a small chance you might stumble upon ancestral burial sites.

Be respectful if you are lucky enough to find one and do not take anything that doesn’t belong to you.

Another situation requires you to ask for permission when you are about to relieve yourself. This is supposedly to show respect to the spirits who call the jungle home.

4. Jungle taboos: Watch out at night

4 Sarawakian fascinating jungle taboos you need to observe seriously
Watch out when camping in the jungle at night.

If you had to spend a night in the jungle, it is a taboo to set up camp next to the river. There is a logical explanation for it, as you might get washed away if there is flash flood during heavy rain.

Apart from the river, do not set up camp underneath bamboo trees. It is believed that spirits live there… unless you do not mind sleeping with them.

While spending the night at the jungle, do not simply flash your torchlight wherever you want. You might shine the light in the eyes of a spirit.

Back in the olden days, it was taboo for women who are menstruating to go into the jungle. The logical explanation for this was that women back then used cloths instead of sanitary pads, making it inconvenient for women to clean up after themselves just in case there was no ready water source.

4 Sarawakian fascinating jungle taboos you need to observe seriously
Some jungle taboos – like not setting up camp by the river – exist to protect you from mishaps.
Be respectful in the jungle

Many cultures apart from Sarawak believe that the jungle is home to different kinds of spirits.

Just as we should mind our manners as a guest when house visiting, the same rule can be applied when we are in the jungle.

Do you know  about other jungle taboos? Leave your comments!

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That 1 time when ambitious King Leopold II wanted to buy Sarawak

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King Leopold II, who ruled Belgium from 1865 to 1909, is known for many things.

Thanks to his huge number of construction projects, from buildings to public works in Belgium, he is remembered as the ‘Builder King’.

He remains the longest reigning monarch of Belgium, with 44 years under his belt.

Most infamously, perhaps, was that he was the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State (1885-1908).

At one point, he was also very close to buying Sarawak.

Leopold II and Sarawak

King Leopold II of Belgium. Photo Credit: Public Domain.
King Leopold II of Belgium. Photo Credit: Public Domain.

When he was trying to expand his power outside Belgium, Leopold II was still the Duke of Brabant, the heir apparent to the throne.

He was looking for a place to colonise. As what he once said to his brother Prince Philippe, “The country must be strong, prosperous, therefore have a colonies of her own, beautiful and calm.”

Hence in February 1861, he asked one of his ambassadors to list down all the potential sites.

The island of Borneo stood out from the list.

Then he heard about James Brooke, and that the first White Rajah of Sarawak was financially struggling to rule the country.

With its rich natural resources from tropical timber to gold, Sarawak seemed to make an interesting and potentially profitable future colony for the Belgian king.

At that time Brooke was already in talks with financiers in Amsterdam looking how to set a company similar to Dutch East India Company.

Somehow, Leopold II managed to get in touch with Brooke, offering £130,000, an estimated £9.86 million at today’s rate.

What happened to the deal?

Brooke was supposed to have a meeting with Leopold II in Brussels…but he didn’t show up.

Not a gracious thing to do especially to someone who paid your ticket from Borneo to Europe.

According to the book Rogue Empires: Contracts and Conmen in Europe’s Scramble for Africa by Stephen Press, Brooke had several reservations.

First of all, Leopold II reportedly wanted to treat everyone in Sarawak as cheap labour. To him, there was no such thing as ‘native rights’.

In his words, “Submitting the lazy and corrupted peoples of the Far-East to forced labour is the only possible way to civilise and moralise them.”

Brooke however, wanted guarantees that there would be respect for the culture and customs of Sarawakians.

And of course, the White Rajah wanted economic development for Sarawak.

Thankfully, Brooke’s decision not to show up to the meeting effectively crossed Sarawak from King Leopold II’s list of potential colonies.

Nonetheless, Leopold II was inspired by Brooke. Looking at how the Brooke family ruled over Sarawak, the idea of buying, owning and ruling a country on his own became possible to him.

Besides Sarawak, he was also in the middle of other negotiations with the Dutch over Kalimantan and with Spain over the Philippines.

A narrow escape for Sarawak

After several attempts to buy his own colony, he finally managed to claim an area 76 times larger than Belgium in Central Africa.

He called it the Congo Free State, an area which Leopold II claimed to the international community he would extend philanthropic and humanitarian work under an NGO called International African Association.

The opposite was true.

In what would be known as the “Congo Horrors”, about 50% of the native population died due to being forced into labour (those who didn’t want to work had their houses and villages razed to the ground), disease and famine.

Rubber became the money-maker for Leopold, and so the enslaved population had to meet their quota or suffer the consequences, which included dismemberment, death and beatings.

The international community would finally hear of these atrocities and Leopold’s chokehold on the region would end in 1908. He died a year later, but not before he destroyed evidence of his activities there

Thankfully Brooke was far-sighted enough not to give Sarawak up to Leopold.

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Baruk: 10 things to know about the charming traditional Bidayuh building

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A baruk or pangah is the main section of a traditional Bidayuh village in Sarawak.

It is also known as baluh, balui, balu, or pangarah according to the different dialects of the Bidayuh.

In the olden days, every Bidayuh village used to have one as the centre for various purposes, much like our modern day multipurpose halls.

Baruk: 10 things to know about the charming traditional Bidayuh building
A pangah at Sarawak Cultural Village.

Here are 10 things you need to know about the baruk:

1. A place for Bidayuh warriors to come together

The commonly known purpose of it is as a place of congregation for Bidayuh warriors. When headhunting was still the norm, this was where the headhunters gathered to meet up.

2. Baruk designs can vary

This cultural house has been built in octagonal or circular shapes. It is usually built on stilts about three to five meters above the ground. Some come with a door in the side while some of the earliest designs can only be accessed through a trap door through the floor.

3.The earliest written records of the baruk dates back to the 1840s

Speaking of earliest designs, Sir Hugh Low (1824-1905) a British colonial administrator and naturalist wrote an early account of baruks in Sarawak, its Inhabitants and Productions (1848).

He referred to it as a pangah, describing it as an octagonal structure built on stilts. There was a large fire place in the middle of the building and platforms encircling it.

4. A trophy room for headhunters

Another early account of the baruk is written by English journalist Frederick Boyle (1841-1914) but he called it a pangaran house.

In his book Adventure among the Dyaks of Borneo (1865), Boyle described his experience visiting a baruk in a dilapidated state at Kampung (village) Krokong, Bau.

He wrote, “In it were hung nine human heads, among which an immense specimen belonging formerly, as we were told, to a Dyak from Serike.”

This is why some Western scholars refer it as the ‘head-house’. Apart from the skulls of their enemies, it also houses relics such as gongs and weapons.

Baruk: 10 things to know about the charming traditional Bidayuh building
Skulls on display inside the baruk at Sarawak Cultural Village.
5. The olden day meeting room

When government officers came to a visit at a Bidayuh village, the baruk would serve as the discussion venue for the meeting.

It also served as a meeting room for the villagers to discuss farm work and other affairs.

6. A place for religious purposes

Before Christianity came, the baruk played a major role as a ceremonial place for the Adat Lama (old practices) of the Bidayuh.

Ritual and religious ceremonies were held in the baruk for all villagers to attend.

Baruk: 10 things to know about the charming traditional Bidayuh building
A traditional ritual such as Nentang Jule (a post-harvest thanksgiving ceremony) held in Kampung Pichin Longhouse Homestay, Serian. This kind of ceremony would have been held in a baruk back in the olden days.
7. It also served as shelter

When there was a sudden attack on the village, the villagers would gather at the baruk for protection. Since it was built on high stilts, this gave the Bidayuh warriors a upper hand against their enemies.

New Zealand anthropologist Dr. William Robert Geddess spent two years at Kampung Mentu Tapuh Serian after the end of World War II. He described that the baruk stood higher off the ground than other buildings in the village, giving an advantageous a viewing point for the warriors to keep watch for incoming attacks.

It also offered shelter for visiting travellers seeking accommodation.

8.The house is a some sort of ‘detention room’

According to local historian Chang Pat Foh in The Land of Freedom Fighters, the building is a some sort like a detention room in the olden days.
He wrote, “All unmarried men and young boys were compelled to sleep in the baruk to keep them out of mischief.”

9. Only a few authentic ones remain

Perhaps because of the spread of Christianity and headhunting no longer in practice, most Bidayuh villages do not have a baruk.

With change in lifestyle and modern conveniences, the baruk has fallen out of use.

Nonetheless, those who are interested can still find authentic ones at Kampung Opar (Bau), Kampung Benu (Padawan) and Sarawak Cultural Village.

10. It’s design has inspired many modern buildings in and around Kuching

Despite falling out of use in modern living, the baruk remains an iconic structure for the Bidayuh people. The octagonal or circular shape of the building has inspired a few modern buildings including Bau Civic Centre, Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA) hall and Kampung Taee community hall.

You can also stay in a baruk-inspired hotel room at Damai Beach Resort, Santubong which comes complete with a view of South China Sea.

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