Tag: Culture

Early records of inoculation and smallpox vaccination in Sarawak

by Patricia Hului -

If you are not familiar with inoculation or variolation (deliberately introducing the pathogen into an uninfected person), it is the method first used to immunize an individual against smallpox with material taken from a patient or a recently variolated individual, in the hopes that a mild, but protective infection would

How did the name of Sarawak’s capital get changed to Kuching?

by Patricia Hului -

In the olden days, Sarawak's capital was also known as 'Sarawak'. Kuching view. Credits: Pixabay. Why did the second White Rajah, Charles Brooke decide to change Sarawak's capital name to Kuching on Aug 12, 1872? Abang Othman Datu Haji Moasili wrote in The Sarawak Gazette on Aug 31, 1964 that explained the

Tungu Rubi, a Bidayuh reconciliation ceremony

by Patricia Hului -

Tungu Rubi is a traditional ceremony organised to reconcile two parties who are in dispute. Here is an example of how a Tungu Rubi took place in 1953 at Kampung Tapuh in Serian as recorded by R. Nyandoh: The story went that some women of Tapuh village considered they had been

Sarawak’s forgotten source of entertainment, Band Day

by Patricia Hului -

The current generation should be grateful that entertainment is so easily available nowadays. Imagine living in Sarawak in the late 19th century with no smartphone, internet or TV... how did people entertain themselves? Like most parts of the world in those days, people turned to music. For the-then Kingdom