These authors claim that the names for ethnic groups – Kelabit and Melanau – were unexpected results from misspellings.
The Melanau people
The Melanau people are an ethnic group indigenous to Sarawak. During the 19th century, they settled dominantly along the main tributaries of the Rajang River in central part of Sarawak.
John Beville Archer, the former chief secretary of Sarawak claimed in his autobiography Glimpses of Sarawak between 1912 and 1946 that the word ‘Melanau’ was a result of misspelling.
“I see that I have been rather dictatorial about the spelling of the world Melanau. As a matter of fact the correct word should be ‘Lemanau’. It is said the spelling of the word ‘Melanau’ is a hundred year old mistake. Apparently an old writer had such an illegible hand that the mistake occurred and has never been put right. In any case, the name as applying to the whole race is merely a modern idea. It is not used by the people themselves except when dealing with Government Officials and Chinese.”
The Kelabit people
Meanwhile, Sagau Batu Bala in his book Kelabits’ Story the Great Transition (2012) claimed that British zoologist and ethnologist Charles Hose was responsible for the misspelling.
The Kelabit people are the indigenous people of Borneo highlands. They have close ties to the Lun Bawang people.
According to Sagau, the mistake could be traced back to the early 20th century.
“In 1901, a group of Pa’ Labid people went down to Marudi on business. This was one of the first groups of people from the Highlands who went to Marudi after Baram became part of Sarawak. This group of Kelabits wanted to show that they were responsible subjects of the Rajah of Sarawak. They went to identify themselves and, at the same time, pay courtesy call on the newly appointed resident in his office in Fort Hose. The building of Fort Hose had just been completed in 1901 on the bank of Baram River at Marudi. When they met Charles Hose in his office, he wanted to know what race they were, as he had been instructed by the Raja of Sarawak earlier.
“He asked them, ‘Kamu dari mana?’ It means, ‘Where are you from?’ Because they were from their village called Pa’ Labid, the leader of the group answered and said, ‘Pa’ Labid.’ Charles Hose asked them again, ‘Apa bangsa kamu?’ It means, ‘What is your race?’ The leader answered and said, ‘Orang Pa’ Labid’ because they were Lun Pa’ Labid or the people of Pa’ Labid. He was right in saying that because there was no single race name for all the people who lived in the Highlands at the source of Baram River. It was Charles Hose who misheard the word Pa’ Labid, when he wrote the first letter ‘P’ became ‘K’ and the last letter ‘d’ became ‘t’, and he wrote down in his record book ‘Kalabit’.
“He accepted it to mean a race for all the people who lived in the Highlands south of all the people who lived in the Highlands south of Mount Murud. From that time onwards, Kalabit became officially the race of the people who occupied the Highlands at the source of Baram River the border of Forth and Fifth Divisions and right along the border of Sarawak and Kalimantan until today.”
What do you think of these misspellings KajoReaders?
