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The life of Sibu historical figure Wong Nai Siong in Sarawak

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Wong Nai Siong is perhaps one of the most famous Chinese pioneers to arrive in Sibu.

Born on July 25, 1849 in Fuzhou, Fujian Province of China, Wong was the eldest of four sons. His father was Wong King Po who worked as a farmer (although some records stated that he was a carpenter).

The life of Sibu historical figure Wong Nai Siong in Sarawak
Young Wong Nai Siong in an undated photo, but most probably in the late 19th century. Credits: Public Domain.
Wong Nai Siong was one of the first to convert into Christianity in his village in Fuzhou

Looking back on his life, Wong was an educated man. He first studied at a traditional Chinese village school. Then he took the Imperial examinations and was awarded the rank of Xiu Cai.

Back in old Chinese dynasties, Xiu Cai was the name for intellectuals who participated in the Imperial Examination. Later, Wong took his County Exam or Autumn Exam in which he passed and became a Ju Ren. As a Ju Ren, Wong was an official reputable member of the literati.

In 1866, missionaries from the Methodist Episcopal came to China. Wong was then baptised in November that year, becoming one of the few to become a Christian.

A year later, a priest named Xu Yang Mei took him in. It was during this time that Wong started to learn English and became exposed to Western culture.

Wong Nai Siong started the first Christian newspaper promoting political reform in China

Wong started to be interested in reforming Chinese politics after his third brother was killed in the First Sino-Japanese War.

Another report by author Lee Khoon Choy in Golden Dragon and Purple Phoenix, stated that Wong was frustrated with the decadent Qing dynasty and wanted a change.

“He was very much influenced by Kang You Wei’s reformist ideas. China, under the rules of Empress Dowager, was signing away unequal treaties to the Western Power. He went to Beijing and got in touch with the reformist leader Kang You Wei, who was advocating a reform movement similar to the Japanese Meiji Reform,” Lee wrote.

Kang was a Chinese scholar and political thinker of the late Qing dynasty.

Wong even started the first Christian newspaper promoting political reform.

Unfortunately for both Wong and Kang, their political reform movement failed. The failure forced Wong to flee back to Fujian and eventually to Nanyang (Southeast Asia).

Wong Nai Siong was responsible for bringing Chinese immigrants to Sibu in 1900

In September 1899, Wong arrived in Singapore to work as an editor for a local newspaper.

According to David W. Scott in Mission as Globalization, this was the year when Wong stopped by Sarawak while on his tour of Southeast Asia as part of visiting his daughter and son-in-law, prominent Singaporean Chinese leader Lim Boon Keng.

This visit led to a contract between Wong and the second White Rajah, Charles Brooke.

Reportedly, the Rajah gave him a loan of $30,000. This was to cover the cost of transporting the settlers from China to Sibu.

“This agreement stipulated that Nai Siong would bring 1,000 settlers to immigrate to Sarawak for the sake of developing an agricultural colony. To select these labour migrants, Nai Siong recruited heavily among his Methodist compatriots, especially his home county and two neighbouring counties in Foochow (Fuzhow),” Scott stated in his book.

Meanwhile, the loan was to be repaid over a period of five years. Wong undertook to recover the loan from the settlers by making them pay two-third of their annual produce as tax until the debt was fully repaid.

The Sarawak government once arrested Wong Nai Siong

On Feb 20, 1901, Wong brought in 72 Foochows from China to Sungai Merah and another 535 arrived on Mar 16.

That same year, Wong received a second loan of $10,000 from the Sarawak government to bring more settlers to Sibu.

Unfortunately for Wong, he gave the money to a man named Lik Chiang for safe-keeping, but the latter ran away with it to Taiwan.

Somehow, Wong still managed to bring another group of 511 settlers on June 7, 1902.

He then set up a custom office at Lower Rajang to collect tolls from farmers and traders.

Historian Chang Pat Foh in Legends and History of Sarawak pointed out that this landed Wong in trouble because he was accused of collecting taxes without the Rajah’s authority.

Chang wrote, “He was arrested but was released not long afterwards. Upon his release, he promised to pay the debts incurred but he failed due to poor harvests by the Fuzhow community. In the end, the White Rajah gave up hope to collect the repayment of loan.”

In June 1904, Wong decided to return to Fujian, China after passing his managing duties to American priest James Hoover. His departure was surrounded by different rumours including poor health, his reluctance to deal opium and his $40,000 debt to the Rajah.

Wong Nai Siong’s legacy in Sarawak
The life of Sibu historical figure Wong Nai Siong in Sarawak
YMCA Board of Directors, Fuzhou, Fujian, China in 1920. Wong Nai Siong, front row, seventh from right. Credits: Public Domain.

Wong died on Sept 22, 1924 after suffering from liver illness. Although he only spent less than four years in Sarawak, his legacy continues to linger, especially in Sibu.

There you can find few sites built in commemoration of Wong including the Wong Nai Siong Memorial Garden at Sungei Merah, SM Wong Nai Siong and Wong Nai Siong Road.

The life of Sibu historical figure Wong Nai Siong in Sarawak
Fukien Cabinet – Fuzhou Protestants and the Making of a Modern China in 1911. Wong Nai Siong, first row, fourth from left. Credit: Public Domain.

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How salt was obtained in the olden days of Borneo

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Salt plays an important role in not just Sarawakian cuisine, but in Borneo overall.

Besides seasoning, every community, whether they were Iban, Bidayuh or Kadazandusun, used salt as a means to preserve their food.

How salt was obtained in the olden days of Borneo
Here are just five ways how salt was obtained in Borneo back when there were no supermarkets:

Salt is such an available commodity for us today; we can simply buy it from any grocery store or supermarket. Have you ever wondered how the olden communities of Borneo used to get it back in those days?

1.Nipah palm

Nipah salt or garam attap is salt processed from the mature leaves of the nipah palm, Nypa fruticans.

Here in Borneo, nipah palm grows wild and abundantly along coastal areas, especially in Borneo.

The palms are constantly washed by saltwater daily and this salt can be processed from the leaves.

Unlike conventional salt, it has a smoky flavour as well as the aroma of dried nipah leaves.  

Here is how Reverend Andrew Horsburgh in Sketches in Borneo described nipah salt processing:

”The chief condiment of the Dyaks is salt, which they procure from the nipah palm, and which they much prefer to that obtained by evaporation from seawater. The boughs of the nipa are cut, dried, and burnt, and their ashes washed in water, so as to dissolve the salt contained in them. This water being then allowed to run off clear is evaporated in pans, the salt remaining at the bottom of the vessel. It is a dirty grey and often black-looking substance, processing a slightly bitter taste, which is grateful to the palate of the Dyaks; and it is generally produced in a masses of considerable size and as hard as a stone, it has much the appearance of a mineral that has been dug out of the earth.”

2.Seaweed

According to Captain Thomas Forrest in A Voyage to New Guinea and the Moluccas from Balambangan (1780), the Bajau would gather seaweed, burn them, make a lye of the ashes, filter it and finally form a bitter kind of salt.

How salt was obtained in the olden days of Borneo
Salted fish, a common delicacy found in Sabah and Sarawak.
3.Mangrove roots and nipah palm

Meanwhile, Spenser St John recorded how salt was processed at the foot of Mount Kinabalu.

“They burnt the roots of the mangrove with those of the nipah palms as well as wood collected on the sea-beach and therefore impregnated with salt.

In one place, I noticed a heal, perhaps fifteen feet in height, sheltered by a rough covering of palm leaves, and several men were about checking all attempts of the flames to burst though by throwing saltwater over the pile. This doubtless, renders the process much more productive. In one very large shed, they had a kind of rough furnace, where they burnt the wood; and suspended around were many baskets in which the rough remains of the fire are placed, and the whole then soaked in water and stirred about till the salt is supposed to have been extracted from the charcoal and ashes. The liquid is the boiled, in large iron pans purchased from the Chinese.”

4.Seawater and ashes of driftwood

In The Gardens of the Sun, British explorer and tropical plant collector Frederick William Burbidge detailed how the Kedayans used a combination of seawater and ash to obtain their salts.

“The ashes of driftwood are placed in a tub and seawater poured over them. To evaporate the water, receptacles are neatly made from the sheaths of the Nibong palm, fastened into shape by slender wooden skewers. Two logs are then laid parallel to each other, and a foot or fifteen inches apart, and over these the pans are placed close together, so as to form a rude kind of flue, in the which a fire of light brushwood is lighted, and very soon afterwards the salt maybe observed falling to the bottom of the evaporators.”

5.Salt springs
How salt was obtained in the olden days of Borneo
Salt spring in the Krayan Highlands.

Even to this day, the people of Bario and Ba Kelalan Highlands (Malaysia) as well as Krayan Highlands in (Indonesia) still use salt springs to make salt.

The water from these natural springs is boiled and evaporated for an extended period of time before it is dried to form salt.

How salt was obtained in the olden days of Borneo
An example of how saltwater is processed traditionally these days.

Read how salt springs are processed in Long Midang, Krayan in Kalimantan, Indonesia.

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10 Sarawak funeral customs of the 19th century you need to know

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Just like any other cultures in the world, Sarawak has its own sets of funeral customs varying with the different races found here.

While some funeral customs are still being practiced to this day, others are completely forgotten.

So here are 10 Sarawak funeral customs of the 19th century you probably never heard:
1.If more than two or three people die in the same house, they will most likely abandon it and move to another area.

Charles Grant in his book A Tour Amongst the Dyaks of Sarawak, Borneo in 1858 shared that it was a taboo to continue to stay in the same area if there were too many people in their village.

He wrote, “It appeared that many of the people of their village of Kuap had died, and Dyaks do not much like to live on at a place where they think themselves likely to be haunted by the ghosts of the dead.”

Similarly, Reverend William Crossland also wrote in his diary in 1867, “The Land Dyaks are spoken of as being very fickle as to their abode, one year here, another there, for if two or three die the house is forsaken and another built.”

2.The house in which a death occurred must be closed for certain amount of times.

If someone died back in those days, the house must be closed to strangers and in some communities even to its own occupants.

Bishop William Chalmers wrote in Some Account of the Land Dyaks of Upper Sarawak that this taboo must be practiced or else ghost of deceased will haunt it.

Meanwhile, another bishop Francis McDougall recorded almost the same thing.

In a paper entitled On the Wild Tribes of the N.W. Coast of Borneo, he stated, “The hill tribes have the custom of pamoli, or taboo, which on certain occasions they enforce with great strictness; they close their houses to all strangers, and no one can go inside under the penalty of death.”

3.When a Land Dayak died, his/her family must give a feast on that exact same day.

This funeral taboo was recorded by Spenser St. John. “On the day of a Land Dyak’s death, a feast is given by the family to their relations; if the deceased be rich, a pig and a fowl are killed, but if poor, a fowl is considered sufficient,” he wrote.

Another example St. John gave was of the Sea Dayak in which he stated, “If a Dayak lose his wife, he gives a feast, which is really an offering to the departed spirit.”

4.The family and those who carried the dead must trace back their steps when returning from the funeral.

Speaking of the Sea Dayak, here is another funeral tradition that is no longer practiced after returning from burying the dead.

St. John stated, “Amongst the Sea Dyaks, the relatives and bearers of the corpse must return direct to the house from which they started before entering another, as it is unlawful or unlucky to stop, whatever may be the distance to be traversed.”

5.Some communities would go for a headhunting trip as a sign of mourning.

This is one of those funeral customs that is definitely never practiced now. According to St John, the Sea Dayaks sometimes would go for headhunting trip after the death of their loved ones.

“After the death of relatives, they seek for the heads of enemies, and until one is brought in they consider themselves to be in mourning, wearing no fine clothes, striking no gongs, nor is laughing or merry-making in the house allowed; but they have a steady desire to grieve for the one lost to them, and to seek a head of an enemy, as a means of consoling themselves for the death of the departed. At the launching of a new boat, preparatory to the headhunting, the spirits presiding over it are appeased and fed, and the women collect in and about it, and chant monotonous tunes; invoking the heavenly spirits to grant their lovers and husbands success in finding heads, by which they may remove their mourning and obtain a plentiful supply of the luxuries and necessaries of life.”

10 Sarawak funeral customs of the 19th century you need to know
Punan’s heads taken by Sea Dayaks Pagan Tribes of British North Borneo Hose & MacDougall Published: – Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
6.As for the olden Melanau communities, the friends of the dead would gather for a cock-fighting session.

Meanwhile, chief resident of Sarawak William Crocker shared an interesting funeral custom practiced among the Melanaus.

“A few months after the death of a Milanow the friends assemble for a monster cock-fighting and feasting which lasts three or four days; sometimes as many as three or four hundred cocks are killed, the sacrifice being for the benefit of the departed spirit.”

7.If someone died in a room, the whole flooring is changed.

Will you renovate your house after your loved ones die in your home?

This is one of funeral customs that most probably too expensive to practise in this modern time.

According to Brooke Low, when a Sea Dayak dies back in those days, the floor of the room in which he died is changed.

8.Some objects or names which related to a dead person are taboo to touch or say.

Low also recorded another funeral custom which was practiced by the Kenyah communities in Lepo Anan and Long Sebatu.

“The camphor tree abounds in the forests of Balui Pe, but the Lepu Anans (Lepo Anan) and other may not touch it for a couple of years, out of reverence for the memory of Ana Lian Avit, the powerful Kinah (Kenyah) chief, who died a few months ago. Similarly Dian’s name may not be uttered in Long Sbatu (Long Sebatu), a Kinah village, it having been the name borne by a former chief here.”

9.A river can be taboo to fish or enter into during the mourning period.

During a journey to Lingga, the second White Rajah of Sarawak Charles Brooke witnessed another funeral custom.

He wrote in Ten Years in Sarawak (1882), “On the Lingga we passed one small rivulet tabooed in consequence of a rich chief having lately died, there were some spears stuck into the bank, and poles fixed across. No one could break through these impediments without incurring a severe fine; but when the time of mourning (ulit) is expired, the relatives of the deceased poison the fish in the stream, and of the population can be present to spear them after which the taboo is opened.”

10.A widow must not leave her room for seven days and she cannot marry again until Gawai Antu.

This funeral custom was practiced by those who lived in Undup back in those days. Crossland recorded, “If the deceased be a married man the widow many not leave her room for seven days; so everything here requires is brought to her; she wails for her dead husband mourning and evening; she may not marry again until after the Gawai Antu.”

If she did get married, she is fined for adultery as if her husband were alive. According to custom, she still belongs to the husband until the performance of the last rites of the Gawai Antu.

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First plane sightings over Sarawak; where planes were (nearly) as rare as unicorns

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Sarawak’s first experiences with aviation can be dated back as early as 1922 when a Dutch flying boat was spotted flying over Belaga, about 20 years after the Wright brothers made their successful flights at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Fast forward to 1924, another plane flew over the skies of Sarawak, and this time over Kuching.

Here comes an interesting fact about those particular planes; their flight paths were not planned.

The first plane to be spotted in Sarawak’s skies

The first flight to fly into Sarawak airspace was a Dutch flying boat from Dutch Borneo (current day Kalimantan) which strayed over into Belaga.

The event was first reported on The Sarawak Gazette in Sept 2, 1922 issue. However, the gazette at that time was not able to verify the incident.

“On the authority of a native officer we are informed that an aeroplane or some other flying vessel, came over Belaga fort about 8.30pm on the 14th August.

“We are told that she turned a search-light on to the fort and was flying quite low; the noise of her engines could be distinctly heard and our informant is quite certain about the matter.

“If this story is true we imagine that this is the first time any flying vessel has come over Sarawak.”

The gazette then confirmed the incident of the strayed flight and its identity in its October issue that year.

According to the report, the then third division resident verified the event stating, “Java Post confirms flying boat visited Borneo going north near Pemangkat then east inland to Kapuas 500 kilometres plainly seen close Belaga Fort fired Verey light over Belaga 8pm returning east.”

(A Verey, now spelled as Very, is a flare gun used to create illumination for improved vision or as a distress signal.)

Furthermore, the aviation company which owned the plane is now the oldest airline in the world still operating under its original name.

The plane which was a flying boat, was actually on a test flight for a feeder service in connection with the proposed Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij (today more familiarly known simply as KLM) London-Singapore route.

Response to the first plane

The Sarawak Gazette report writer then commented on how surprised the locals could be looking at an airplane for the first time in their lives.

“People at home are so used to seeing airships and aeroplanes flying overhead that Europeans in this country may find it difficult at first to realise what a novelty it must be for natives.

“Not long ago the people of Kuching were given an opportunity of seeing submarines, vessels that go under the water, and now the Belaga natives have seen a vessel which flies over land and water.

“It is true that many of the more intelligent natives have read of flying vessels, and probably some have seen them depicted on the films, but to those who were at all sceptical, and we believe there were many so, it is now proved without a doubt that the urang puteh can build ships that fly through the air.”

The spirit of the old rajah?

Meanwhile in October 1924, it was Kuching residents’ turn to see an airplane for the first time.

HMS Pegasus was an aircraft carrier/seaplane carrier bought by the Royal Navy in 1917 during the First World War.

During the last year of the war, Pegasus was stationed in the North Sea but saw no combat.

Then most of 1919 and 1920, she spent her days as a carrier supporting British intervention in North Russia and the Black Sea.

From 1924-1925, Pegasus was stationed briefly in Singapore. When she was on her way from Singapore to Miri, Pegasus sent one of her seaplanes to fly over Kuching.

It landed along the stretch of Sarawak river in front of Main Bazaar. However, the reason for its landing was not reported.

The interesting part was its arrival coincided with the unveiling ceremony of the Rajah Charles Brooke Memorial in front of the old courthouse.

According to Vincent Foo and Chai Foh Chin in Story of the Sarawak Steamship Company, some members of the large crowd even thought it was the spirit of the old rajah returning.

While other countries had planned flights to mark their firsts in aviation history, the first two planes to ever fly over Sarawak were accidental.

First plane sightings over Sarawak; where planes were (nearly) as rare as unicorns
The first aeroplane to have landed in Sarawak. Credits: Ho Ah Chon [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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What you need to know about the Battle of Long Jawai

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The Battle of Long Jawai was one of the earliest battles in the history of the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation (1963-1966).

The confrontation was an undeclared war which started from Indonesia’s opposition to the creation of Malaysia.

Indonesia’s then President Sukarno opposed the new nation arguing it was a British puppet state and a new-colonial experiment.

Additionally, they claimed if there was any expansion of Malaysia, it would increase British control over the region while possibly implicating Indonesia’s national security.

Meanwhile, the Philippines opposed the federation as they made a claim on eastern North Borneo for its historical links with the Sulu archipelago.

Initially, the Malayan government had set Aug 31, 1963 as the date on which Malaysia would come into existence.

This was to coincide with Malaya’s independence day celebration.

However, due to fierce opposition from the Indonesian and Philippine governments, the date was postponed.

Both countries later agreed they would accept the formation of Malaysia if a majority in North Borneo and Sarawak voted for it in a referendum organised by the United Nations.

But amidst these peace talks and the referendum, Indonesia had already started their infiltration into Sarawak through Kalimantan.

On Aug 15, 1963, there was an incursion into the Third Division (what is Sibu Division today). Then Gurkha soldiers were deployed to the border there to patrol and ambush incursions.

After a month of operations, 15 of the enemy forces had been killed and three were captured.

This was not the last of the incursion by the Indonesian army.

The Battle of Long Jawai

Less than two weeks after the Malaysian federation was declared on Sept 16, another incursion happened in a small outpost in Long Jawai of Third Division, about 30 miles from the Sarawak border.

Long Jawai back then was a small settlement with a population of 500 and the outpost was also used by the Japanese troops during World War II.

On the morning of Sept 28, about 150 (some records state 200) Indonesian soldiers attacked the outpost.

The outpost was garrisoned by six Gurkha soldiers led by Corporal Tejbahadur Gurung, three policemen and 21 Sarawak border scouts.

In Britain’s Brigade of Gurkhas by E.D. Smith, the men at the outpost were reported still sleeping when they were first attacked.

“At about half-past five the Gurkha rifleman on sentry duty heard movement near his post. Every man stood to. Shortly afterwards, three or four shots were fired nearby,” Smith wrote.

Another account pointed out that a border scout left his position to visit his sick wife in the village.

There in the village, he spotted some Indonesian soldiers and raced back to warn his comrades.

Regardless, Corporal Gurung quickly alerted the radio operators in their signal hut to establish communication with their headquarters.

Soon enough, the Indonesians launched their attacks.

They blasted the outpost with mortar bombs, machine guns and heavy small-arms fire.

Meanwhile, a small party of the enemy charged into the signal hut where the radio operators were still trying to contact their headquarters.

Unaware that their enemies were approaching since they were wearing earphones, the operators were killed before any communication was established.

The retreat to Belaga

In the meantime, the two sides of the battle continued to exchange fire until the fighting lasted for a few hours.

By 8am, only three men were left and able to continue to fight while the rest were wounded. This was when Corporal Gurung decided to call a retreat.

Unfortunately for the local scouts, all but one were captured by the Indonesian armies. Ten (some accounts stated eight) of the scouts were later executed.

The only scout who managed to escape went along with Corporal Gurung and the remaining Gurkha soldiers searching for safety.

Smith described their journey in his book, “Without food or medical supplies the small party spent the night in pouring rain, keeping the wounded men as warm as they could. Then, having made them as comfortable as possible, the corporal and his companions left for the nearest village, many miles away. Living off roots, they had a long and hazardous journey as it was four days before they reached the outpost of Belaga, weak and exhausted but with weapons spotlessly clean and able to give first-hand account of the battle.”

The aftermath of Battle of Long Jawai

At this time the Malaysian federation had come into existence. So by attacking Long Jawai, Indonesia had broken off its diplomatic relations with Malaysia.

In response, other Gurkha units were deployed into the air using helicopters. They began attacking any stragglers and small units broken off from the main force.

Eventually, they also found the tortured bodies of the local scouts.

On Oct 1, the Gurkha units caught two longboats carrying the Indonesian armies in an ambush eventually killing 26 of them.

The Indonesian survivors of this attack were later then killed in another ambush on Oct 10.

Overall, the Battle of Long Jawai had cost the lives of many from both sides. Thirty three Indonesians were killed while 13 British and Malaysian soldiers died during the battle.

What you need to know about the Battle of Long Jawai
While operating in Borneo during the Indonesian Confrontation, a soldier is winched up to a Westland Wessex HAS3 of 845 Naval Air Squadron, during operations in the jungle. A soldier is kneeling on the edge of the extraction zone. Credit: Public Domain.
Long Jawai or Long Jawe or Long Jawi or Long Jawe’?

If you can’t find Long Jawai in a Sarawak map, that is because it is spelt differently in different records.

Most non-Malaysian books and records spelt it as Long Jawai. Other records spell it as Long Jawe, Long Jawi or Long Jawe’.

All of these names refer to a large but isolated Kenyah longhouse far up the Balui tributary of the Rejang.

After the confrontation, former Sarawak Information Services Director Alastair Morrison visited Long Jawai with Temenggong Jugah Barieng when the latter was holding the post of Minister for Sarawak Affairs.

According to Morrison, the visit was to make relief payments to the relatives of those killed during the Battle of Long Jawai.

He wrote in his book Fair Land Sarawak, “The people of Long Jawi had only moved into Sarawak during the war and they had been much upset by the attack made on them. Their assailants had suffered severely because troops had been flown in behind them and they were ambushed on their return journey, but this did not save the border scouts who had been captured. They were taken a little way upriver and there slaughtered- apparently a return to an old and blood thirsty ritual.”

The residents of Long Jawai were very welcoming of Morrison and Jugah during their visit.

Morrison described his experience, “My special recollections of Long Jawi were Jugah addressing the people of the longhouse later, when we were entertained in the traditional manner, dancing the ngajat of seeing the wall behind him festooned with pictures of the British Royal Family. And, of course, the young 6th Gurkhas then garrisoning the area. Several off-duty soldiers attended the presentation and subsequent party. They were called on to dance and replied that as good soldiers they could not possibly do anything like that. They gave demonstration of arms drill instead. But as the evening wore on it became apparent that not only had they been dancing in Long Jawi, but that they had been teaching the Kenyah girls Nepalese dances too.”

A historical site wiped out in the name of development

Although Long Jawai played an important historical site for Sarawak and Commonwealth countries overall, there is no remnant of it today.

This is because the area became submerged underwater when the Bakun dam impoundment began in 2010.

What you need to know about the Battle of Long Jawai
Bakun reservoir

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An amusing story of papayas during WWII in Kuching

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During World War II (WWII), Batu Lintang camp housed both Allied prisoners of war (POWs) and civilian internees.

The living conditions within the compounds were cramped. The occupants were separated into different compounds and groups, namely British officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs), Australian officers and NCOs, Dutch officers and NCOs, British other ranks, British Indian Army, Indonesian soldiers, Roman Catholic priests and religious men, male civilian internees and female civilian internees.

There were altogether 110 priests and religious Catholics, including 44 Capuchin friars, five Mountfort missionaries, 22 Brothers of Huijbergen and 38 Mill Hill missionaries.

These priests and religious men who were mostly Dutch and Irish, had a large plot of land to grow vegetables and fruits in their compound.

Meanwhile, other compounds such as those that belonged to the Australian, Dutch and British officers had not enough land for cultivation.

Besides vegetables and fruits, the priests happened to be successful in growing papayas.

According to The Sarawak Gazette report (Apr 1, 1947), it was not a surprise to see a Japanese soldier came to their compound asking for papayas.

He said that his chief needed three papayas immediately and they must be large and fully ripe.

The priests then obeyed, giving the soldier the papayas that he demanded.

Lieutenant-Colonel Tatsuji Suga and ‘his papayas’
An amusing story of papayas during WWII in Kuching

Then Lieutenant-Colonel Tatsuji Suga came into the picture. He was the commander of all Prisoner-of-War (POW) and civilian internment camps in Borneo .

Suga was believed to be a Christian. There were accounts of him attending church services at the internment camps during the war.

Within an hour after the three priests reluctantly surrendered their papayas to the Japanese, a messenger arrived from the camp commandment office.

He said that the Lieutenant-Colonel would like to see the three priests, whom he learned were all over 70 years of age.

So the priests quickly wore their best robes and proceeded to the office where they met with Suga.

Suga told the priests that while he treated all his prisoners sympathetically, he was particularly considerate of the aged.

“That being so he trusts his visitors will accept as a token of his respect and appreciation, a small gift.”

And guess what? He handed to each priest, one very succulent papaya.

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Tom Harrisson’s own account of The Airmen and the Headhunters incident

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The Airmen and the Headhunters: A True Story of Lost Soldiers, Heroic Tribesmen and the Unlikeliest Rescue of World War II is a book written by Judith M. Heimann.

It tells the story of how a group of American airmen was rescued by the locals during the Japanese occupation of Borneo.

The event was also made into an episode of the PBS television series “Secrets of the Dead”.

One of the key players of the rescue was Major Tom Harrisson, a British polymath who later served as Sarawak museum curator after WWII.

During the war, he was attached to Z Special Unit, as part of the Service Reconnaissance Department (SRD).

On March 25, 1945, Harrisson parachuted with seven Z Force operatives into the Kelabit Highlands.

That was when he and his unit became credited for helping the stranded American airmen.

Tom Harrisson’s own account of The Airmen and the Headhunters incident
Airmen and the Headhunters was featured in PBS’s Secret of the Dead. Credits: Youtube
The Airmen and the Headhunters, according to Australian-British Reward Mission

After the war, Major R. K. Dyce who represented the British government in the Australian-British Reward Mission wrote an article “Heroism in the Limbang” for The Sarawak Gazette (June 2, 1947).

“About the end of January or in early February 1945, a US Liberator made a crash belly landing about a mile from Kampung Telahak on the Sungai Limbang in Sarawak. Nine of the crew survived the crash. One was dead.”

From there, the story continues on how these nine American airmen were harboured and escorted by different groups of different races in Sarawak, British North Borneo (now Sabah) and Dutch Borneo (now Kalimantan).

The first group of locals who rescued them was the residents of Kampung Telahak led by their village head (ketua kampung) Mohamed Dolamit.

“The kampung people led the Americans out of the sodden paddy field on which they had landed into the village; washed them, fed them, helped them bury their dead comrade, equipped them with parangs, and planned their escape.”

Tom Harrisson’s own account of The Airmen and the Headhunters incident
Today’s Limbang river.
The escape plan for the nine Americans

Then, Mohamed started to draft an escape plan for the nine Americans. His plan was to guide the Americans by paths which avoided Japanese-occupied localities to a wise and influential old Penghulu Masing to the southeast on the Pandaruan river.

“The practice is, in an operation of this kind, to hand on the “passengers” from longhouse to longhouse and kampung to kampung,” Major Dyce reported.

After being handed over from one community to another community, the nine airmen finally arrived in Ulu Matang, somewhere near Long Pa’ Sia, Sabah.

This was where they separated with the first party proceeded to Dutch Borneo where they met up with Harrisson’s SRD party. Meanwhile, the other four who headed north were killed by the locals.

Dyce reported in 1947, “The story of the episode and its aftermath is still alive in the kampungs and longhouses, but most of the helpers concerned looked for no material reward.”

Local administrations knew how much these heroic natives had helped the Americans.

However, Dyce explained that the shortage of staff and overwork by the then local administration back then delayed in giving them proper recognition.

Tom Harrisson’s article on The Airmen and the Headhunters incident

According to Harrisson, Major Dyce’s Heroism in Limbang did not quite “give a complete picture of the amazing Borneo careers of those American airmen and of other who were cared for and protected with the same extraordinary loyalty and self-sacrifice by the peoples of the Limbang, Trusan, Padas and Mentarang rivers.”

Harrisson clarified the exact date when the plane was shot down, stating that it was on Jan 12, 1945.

The crashed crew proceeded from Limbang to Padas where they split up just as Dyce reported. The pilot Lieutenant-Commander Smith heard that there were American guerrillas in Kudat, the northern side of Sabah.

He decided to head there and three of the crew agreed to follow him.

Unfortunately, the moment they reached Tomani near Tenom, the group was betrayed by the locals.

A Japanese unit which came from Beaufort via Tenom surprised them in a village at night.

One of them was speared by the locals while another one was shot by a British North Borneo constable officer.

Their bodies were decapitated and distributed among the locals. Meanwhile, Smith surrendered and the fourth man escaped into the jungle. They spent a week hunting him down, but in the end, he too was captured and taken to Beaufort together with Smith.

According to Harrisson, his unit was about to make a rescue mission and kidnap General Masao Baba when the war ended.

At the same time, the Japanese quietly executed the two American soldiers as they were dangerous witnesses.

What happened to the other five crew member?
Tom Harrisson’s own account of The Airmen and the Headhunters incident
A view of Padas river today.

The other five men, “not Kudat-Krazy” men as Harrisson described in his article, went up the Padas river.

From there, they then came over into Kemaloh river in Dutch Borneo. Here, they were looked after by the Pa Putuk people of the Krayan Highlands.

Harrisson stated, “They were also fortunate in meeting a remarkably fine native missionary, William Mohgan of Makassar who could speak some English (and a little American). The Japs, of course, knew these men were somewhere in the interior, but as in the Limbang the people did not betray them, often at grave risk or cost to themselves.”

Nevertheless, they were forced to hide in jungle shelters and suffered great impoverishment through lack of medical supplies, mosquito nets and footwear.

By that time, the five had reunited with six other Americans who were survivors from an American 13th Army Liberator shot down on the Dutch side.

The former museum curator pointed out, “One of this crew wandered alone through the jungle for fourteen days before reaching a lonely mountain village, where he was nursed back to life and became, in a few weeks, quite fluent at Potok (a Lundayeh dialect)- the others never even got beyond the bagus stage of Malay.”

Tom Harrisson’s own account of The Airmen and the Headhunters incident
Today’s Krayan HIghlands from on top of Yuvai Semaring hill.
Harrisson and his unit to the rescue

Harrisson added that he first heard of these airmen in March 1945, who were then about ten days’ walk eastward from Bario.

“Our only medical man at that time, Sergeant F. Sanderson, made a forced march to them, carrying all the stores we could possibly spare and all our comforts (at that time all supplies had to be dropped from Moratai, thirteen hours flying; so the lifeline was slender, with three out of six planes lost in the first weeks).”

Finally, the American airmen had the help they needed from the British soldiers. Harrisson continued: “When they were fit to walk by easy stages over the mountains -harder going in Dutch Borneo than in Sarawak – we brought them into better country, where we prepared an airfield. Some RAAF pilots came in without maps or radio signals to pick the Americans out.”

Harrisson stressed that the behaviour of the native people (except those who betrayed them in Tomani) is a lasting symbol of native morale in these lands.

“And I hope that if it comes to a question of rewards (of which the helpers had no thought at the time) the British North Borneo and Dutch helpers will not be forgotten. For it is sad to admit, but true, that from that day to this no one of any race has had a word of thank you (let alone a tin of peanuts) from those boys to whom they gave back life, liberty and Nashville, Tennessee.”

Sadly, KajoMag’s own digging so far has found no official recognition of the locals’ efforts and contributions (particularly in Pa Putuk and Kampung Telahak) to helping the American airmen evade capture.

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How did the rumours of Kayans practising cannibalism spread?

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One of the biggest misconceptions of Borneo in the 19th century was that it was a place where cannibalism was common practice.

Plenty of tribes in Borneo were depicted as cannibals in European writing, including the Kayans in Sarawak and Dutch Borneo (Kalimantan).

One account of alleged cannibalism practised among the Kayans was recorded by Sir Henry Keppel.

He received his information from three men named Kusu, Gajah and Rinong from Kapuas.

“I examined them myself, and entertain no doubt of the correctness of these statements, as far as their personal knowledge is concerned. The witnesses themselves stated over and over again, with the utmost clearness, how much they had seen, and how much heard. There was such perfect good faith and simplicity in their stories as to carry conviction of their truth,” Keppel wrote.

How did the rumours of Kayans practising cannibalism spread?
Was cannibalism really being practised in Borneo?
So here is the full testimony of the three men on how they encountered the “cannibalistic Kayans”:

We are of the tribe of Sibaru; which is likewise the name of a branch of the Kapuas river. The tribe of Sibaru contains 2,000 fighting men and is under the government of Pangeran Kuning, who resides at Santang, a Malay town on the Kapuas. We have none of us who resides at Santang, a Malay town on the Kapuas, where the Kayans live, but they often come down to Santang where we meet them. The Kayans are quite independent, very numerous and powerful: they are governed by their own Rajahs, whom they call Takuan. Some of these Kayan tribes are cannibals (makan manusia); it is generally reported, and we know it to be true.

Pangeran Kuning of Santang was at war a few years ago with Pangeran Mahomed of Sewite, a Malay town situated on the Kapuas between Santang and Salimbaw. A large force was collected to attack Suwite. There were Malays (laut) of Santang and Sakadow, and the Dyaks of Sibaru, Samaruang, Dassar and of other tribes; and besides all these, was a party of about fifty Kayans.

We never heard the particular name of this Kayan tribe, for we did not mix with them, not did we understand their language. Suwite was not taken, but a few detached houses were captured, and one man of the enemy was killed in the assault.

Kusu saw these Kayans run small spits of iron, from eight inches to a foot long, into the fleshy parts of the dead men’s legs and arms, from the elbow to the shoulder, and from above the ankle beneath the calf to the knee-joint: and they sliced off the flesh with their swords, and put it into baskets.

They carry these spits, as we all saw, in a case under the scabbard of their swords. They prize heads in the same way as the Dyaks. They took all the fresh off the body, leaving only the big bones, and carried it to their boats, and we all saw them broil and afterward eat it. They ate it with great relish, and it smelt, while cooking, like hog’s flesh. It was not we alone that saw them eat this, but the whole force (bala) saw it.

Men say that many of these interior tribes of Kayans eat human flesh- that of their enemies; most, however, do not, and all of them are represented to be good people and very hospitable; and we never heard that they ate other than the flesh of their enemies. It made us sick to see them, and we were afraid, horrified.

Spencer St John’s records of Kayans practising cannibalism

Just like Keppel, St John did not witness any Kayans practising cannibalism during his time in Sarawak.

However, according to St John, a Malay nobleman named Usup told him that he actually witnessed it.

In 1855, men from Mukah had been executed in Bintulu. A few of the Kayans who helped in their capture took portions of the bodies of the criminals, roasted and ate them.

St John wrote, “This was witnessed by himself and many others who were then present. The Kayans had not, as a body, joined in this disgusting feast; but, perhaps some of the more ferocious may practice it to strike terror into their enemies.”

How did the rumours of Kayans practising cannibalism spread?
Records that the Kayans did not practice cannibalism

Not everybody believed that Kayans practised cannibalism.

Sir Hugh Low wrote that the Kayans were hastily stigmatised as cannibals and added: “nor does any race practicing the horrid custom of feeding on the bodies of their own species, exist on the island.”

The Kayans might not have been the second Rajah of Sarawak Charles Brooke’s favourite tribe, but he never believed that they were capable of cannibalism.

How did the rumours of Kayans practising cannibalism spread?
Here is what he wrote about the Kayans and cannibalism in Borneo:

“This tribe are cowardly, untruthful, and treacherous, and are capable of committing many horrors, but the gravest attached to the Kayans, I feel confident, is without foundation, namely, that of cannibalism. For, during the expedition of 1863, there was no sign of it, and I had abundant opportunities of making strict enquiry in the very heart of the country.

“Many reports of this description are spread by the enemies of a people to degrade them in the estimation of Europeans. Such reports are purely fabulous, and I do not believe any tribes are cannibals in this part of Borneo, although stories go far to lead one to a contrary belief.”

However, a group of Malays told the Rajah that they did see pieces of human flesh in bamboo during a visit to Kapuas region and that they were used as provision.

“I regret that I am unable positively, to contradict such statements; but it is my firm conviction cannibalism is not practiced on any part of the island of Borneo,” Brooke wrote.

Do bear in mind that all written reports of alleged cannibalism among Kayans were written by the Europeans after listening to secondary sources. Thus, some information might have gotten lost in translation. None of these 19th century writers had actually seen any Kayans eating human flesh.

Another theory was that this rumour was spread by the local guides to discourage the Europeans from travelling further inland of Borneo.

Imagine refusing to bring your client to a place by telling them it is full of cannibals.

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Preparing for war expeditions in Sarawak during the 19th century

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Be it a punitive excursion or a tribal feud, war expeditions way back in the 19th century Sarawak took a lot of time and resources to prepare.

Taking the infamous cholera expedition in 1902, the second White Rajah Charles Brooke brought 10,000 men to fight against the alleged rebels up Batang Lupar.

Imagine 10,000 men moving up one river and setting up camps at one large landing site.

And can you imagine the impact of these war expeditions on the environment and natural resources back then?

At the same time, preparing to feed up to thousands of men during these expeditions must have been a lot of work.

Preparing for war expeditions in Sarawak during the 19th century
Panau, one of the Iban warriors who joined Charles Brooke on his punitive expedition to Batang Lupar.
Here at KajoMag, we look at different accounts on how war expeditions were prepared in Sarawak during the 19th century.
1.Charles Brooke in Ten Years in Sarawak (1866)

It is customary to announce a coming war expedition for such and such a season at one of the great feasts, when the village is thronged with guests from the country far and near, and when there is sure to be an unusual gathering of powerful chiefs.

The speaker, who must be a great chief, gives his reason, that his people wish to put off mourning, or that his people have been slain and he must have some revenge, and he ends by inviting all present to accompany him on an incursion upon an ancient enemy.

If he be a chief of any real influence he is sure to secure an ample following, in reality more than enough for his purposes, but his ambition expands as his numbers increase and his warpath assumes grander proportions.

The women lend their assistance to induce their husbands and lovers to join this warpath.

The details are then discussed, the amount of bekals (supply) necessary, the route, the character and number of enemy, etc.

Choosing the date

The period usually selected for any expeditions on a large scale is that immediately after the seed planting or after the harvest; the former time better, and have three months clear before they are required to gather in the harvest. In the latter case they would probably have no farms at all for that year, as they would have no dry the clearings, which, therefore, would not burn well.

The Dyaks are never in a hurry in setting off. They cook and feed at leisure, and commence walking about half-past seven, and the morning meal keeps them going until late in the afternoon; they certainly get over more ground by following this plan.

2.Brooke Low in Catalogue of the Brooke-Low Collection in Borneo

Occasionally, however, the delay is so great that the force becomes for the purpose for which it was called together.

The women are everywhere busy preparing the bekals, and the produce of the gardens are taken to the nearest market to exchange for tobacco, gambir etc. The men on their part have been busy in getting the war boats ready, launching them into the river, lashing on the planks and fitting them up with palm leaf awnings and bamboo floorings.

Those who are able to purchase the material, plane the bottom of their canoes to make them smooth and tar them to preserve them, make figure heads for the bows, and paint the side planks in various patterns. They take nets with them to fish by the way, and dogs to hunt with if the distance is so great that they are likely to run short of food, but their chief support on an expedition of this kind is what they find on the banks and in the forest-especially the wild sago. The men are very busy furbishing up their arms and sharpening their weapons and decorating their helmets and war jackets.

The chief is always the first to leave the village, and as the first and chief part of the journey is by the water, he pulls away in a his canoe, and at some convenient distance from the village, he bivouacs for the night to beburong- to consult the omen birds. If the omens by birds are favourable, he proceeds to the tryst and there awaits the force as it dribbles in one by one or few by few.

Preparing for war expeditions in Sarawak during the 19th century
An Illustration of Iban war boat published in The Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo (1896). Credits: Creative Common.
3.Spenser St. John in Life in the Forest Far East (1862)

They start with, perhaps, two days’ provisions, and trust to hunting for food. If they find a spot where game is plentiful, they stay there till it is exhausted; if the jungle produce no sport, they live on the cabbages taken from the palms, on the edible fern, on snakes, or anything, in fact that they can find.

If they come across bees’ nests, they stop to secure the wax and honey. If they come across bees’ nest, they stop to secure the wax and honey. Time is no value to them, as they generally start after the harvest, and many parties are said to have taken six months.

Preparing for war expeditions in Sarawak during the 19th century
M0005506 Punan’s heads taken by Sea Dayaks Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images images@wellcome.ac.uk http://wellcomeimages.org Punan’s heads taken by Sea Dayaks Pagan Tribes of British North Borneo Hose & MacDougall Published: – Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
So what happened to the women when men left for war expeditions?

After helping the men to prepare for their war expeditions, the women then were left defenseless at their villages.

So what did they do? According to Henry Ling Roth in The Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo, the women would continue their daily activities like usual. “As long the men are away their fires are lighted on the stones or small just as if they were at home.”

Additionally, the women carried out a couple of tasks symbolically to protect their men from afar. They spread mats and kept the fires up till late in the evening and lighted again before dawn. This was to ensure men during the war expeditions would not get cold.

He added, “The roofing of the house is opened before dawn, so that the men may not lie too long and fall into the enemies’ hands.”

Whether this symbolic gestures actually work for their men, we will never know. However, it is interesting to know how the women contributed without physically being there during war expeditions.

Preparing for war expeditions in Sarawak during the 19th century
Every year or two the Iban Dayaks hold a feast called Gawai Antu in honour of the departed spirits which they believe surround the heads which hang in their houses. In this manner they hope to keep in favour with the spirits and so have good fortune. Photo by Charles Hose. Credits: Creative Commons.

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Surprising facts about a Bleeding Corpse: Science and Cultural Beliefs Explained

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Do you know what happens to your body after your heart stops beating — and why a bleeding corpse can appear in certain stages of decomposition?

Within seconds of death, the oxygen in your body is depleted. Soon after, blood settles in the lowest parts of the body (livor mortis), followed by the stiffening of muscles known as rigor mortis.

As time passes, the body begins to cool, entering a stage known as algor mortis.

Once the heart stops pumping, blood circulation ceases entirely. Without movement, the blood begins to coagulate, forming clots and becoming thicker in texture.

However, this does not mean the body completely stops releasing fluids after death.

Under normal conditions, the bacteria in the intestines continue their activity after death, breaking down internal tissues and producing gases that expand into the body’s cavities and surrounding tissues.

These gases cause noticeable bloating, particularly around the abdomen and face. As internal pressure builds, fluids or gases may escape through natural openings such as the mouth, nose, or rectum, and swelling can sometimes make the eyes or tongue appear slightly more prominent. These are normal physical changes associated with the natural process of putrefaction.

This stage of decomposition can also cause small amounts of blood-stained fluid to seep from the nose and mouth. Although this is a scientifically recognised part of the body’s breakdown, different cultures throughout time may have interpreted a “bleeding corpse” in various symbolic or spiritual ways.

A bleeding corpse and cruentation in medieval Europe

“Cruentation” was one of the medieval methods once used to determine guilt in suspected murder cases. It was based on the belief that a victim’s body would spontaneously bleed in the presence of the murderer.

This practice appeared in various regions, including Germany, Poland, Bohemia, Scotland, and even some European colonies in North America.

When murder was suspected, the accused would be brought before the corpse and instructed to place their hands on it. If the wounds were seen to bleed, the accused was considered guilty.

Before modern forensic science, it is easy to see how people could be wrongly suspected, as decomposition was not well understood and a corpse’s natural release of blood-stained fluids could be misinterpreted as a supernatural sign of guilt.

Surprising facts about a Bleeding Corpse: Science and Cultural Beliefs Explained
A body in its coffin starts to bleed in the presence of the murderer in an illustration of the laws of Hamburg in 1497. Credits: Public Domain.
In old Chinese superstition, a bleeding corpse meant a relative recognised the dead person.

Among some Chinese communities in the past, including Sarawakian Chinese in the 1940s, there was an ancient superstition that a corpse would begin to bleed – usually from the nose – when recognised by a family member.

In November 1947, a body was found floating in the Sarawak River. According to a report in the Sarawak Gazette, the corpse was brought to the steps of Pangkalan Batu, where a European police officer “of impeccable observation and indubitable integrity” took charge of the case.

A Chinese man soon arrived, believing the deceased might be his missing brother. To confirm, he brought his sister, who immediately identified the body.

At that moment, a small amount of blood began to trickle from the corpse’s nose.

A dresser present at the scene informed the officer that, according to local superstition, this meant the deceased had been recognised by a relative.

Do you know any more superstitions behind a bleeding corpse? Share with us in the comment box.

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