Culture - Page 6

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

If you’ve never heard of Igan, it is a small district located near the Batang Igan river in the central region of Sarawak.

The population is mostly made up of Melanau people, who are famous for their umai, a kind of ceviche, and sago paste called linut.

It may be a small and unassuming town, but it is the centre of one inspiring piece of World War II (WWII) history.

The story of MV Nam Hoi and its volunteer crew

In December 1941, the Sarawak government chartered the M.V Nam Hoi to transport paddy and food rations from Sibu to Mukah.

Unfortunately, this was during the beginning of WWII. So when the vessel passed Igan, it happened during the Japanese bombing.

According to a story published on Jan 2, 1948 in The Sarawak Gazette, the crew decided to abandon ship and go ashore, refusing to continue with the voyage.

The story stated, “As the cargo was urgently needed in Mukah and it was dangerous for the vessel to remain at Igan which was on the daily route flown over by Japanese aircraft, the then District Officer, Mukah, telegraphed to the Resident asking for permission to take a volunteer crew head quarters to obtain possession of the vessel and complete the voyage.”

The resident agreed with the proposal but instructed the district officer to remain at his station.

So the district officer promptly put together a crew. They were Abang Mostapha (Captain), Haji Zahawi (First Mate), Tuto bin Tajudin (Second Mate), Albert Galli (Chief Engineer from Sarawak Electricity Supply Company), Taha bin Haji Mohamad (Second Engineer) and Jaya bin Haji Talip (Engineer).

Meanwhile the rest of the crew were ex-constable Salleh bin Abang Kut, ex-constable Bujang, Salim bin Mohamad and Beki bin Haji Talip.

Heading to Igan from Mukah

Within half an hour after being summoned, the volunteer crew set out on bicycles from Mukah to Igan.

The report pointed out, “They travelled all night which was in itself a praiseworthy effort considering the age of some of the members.”

Here comes the frustrating part of the story; when they arrived at Igan, the original crew refused to board the vessel to show the volunteers how the engine worked, out of fear of the possibility of being targetted during the Japanese bombings.

So the volunteer crew took things into their own hands. There was no other way than pushing random buttons as long as the engine started and the vessel got moving.

“Not one of the volunteers had any experience of a marine diesel but by pulling and twisting every knob she was eventually started.

“The hook was pulled up, Captain Mostapha rang down slow ahead and the Nam Hoi went full astern. Chief Engineer Galli could not remember which knob he had twiddled to get the ship moving and for two long tanjungs (capes) the Nam Hoi careered astern with the skipper playing a fanfare on the telegraph,” the report stated.

In the middle of the journey, the vessel was stopped and the engineers stepped in to check on the engines.

The chief engineer reportedly had the help of a bottle of whiskey to refresh himself while doing his job.

After awhile looking at how the ship was seemingly going in the right direction, the crew continued with their journey to Mukah.

Meanwhile, the first mate, Haji Zahawi who was also an imam, prayed loudly and unceasingly along the journey.

Nam Hoi arrives in Mukah

The vessel arrived and was anchored safely in Mukah in the evening on the same day they started their journey from Igan.

Its arrival was in the nick of time because this was just about the time the Japanese planes few over Mukah.

Whether it was the whiskey or the imam’s prayers, one thing is for sure: MV Nam Hoi’s journey from Igan to Mukah would not have been possible without the courage and the willingness of its volunteer crew to carry their jobs.

Even when the original crew refused to board the vessel again simply to show them how to run it, they refused to give up.

In 1948, the then governor His Excellency Charles Arden Clarke sent a letter to every member of the volunteer crew in 1948 to show his appreciation and to acknowledge their bravery.

“One of the most difficult things in this world is to find out from a Dyak the distance between one place and another.”

This was what Charles Grant wrote in A Tour amongst the Dyaks of Sarawak Borneo in 1858 (1864).

According to Grant, most Dayaks would answer “Takut kabula” which means “I’m afraid of speaking untruly.”

He described their answers sometimes either “jau (far), ja-u(very far) or jau-u-u (awfully far) from the place”.

Without any knowledge of feet, meters or kilometers, how did they tell how far is a place?

Here are five ways Sarawakians used to measure distance in the olden days:

1.How many tobacco cigarettes away?

For some communities in Sarawak, one of the most common answers when asking the distance between two places was based on how many tobacco cigarettes one would smoke along the way.

Traditional tobacco cigarettes (made dried tobacco wrapped with dried banana leaves) were commonly smoked when travelling to the farm or another longhouse.

Besides to kill time, smoking these tobacco cigarettes also worked as natural insect repellent.

The only problem with this measurement was everybody smoked cigarettes at different rates. Furthermore, their cigarettes were never in the same size.

2.How many cooking pots of rice away?

According to Grant, another traditional way to tell a distance by the amount of pots to cook rice.

He wrote, “If the road is far, you will be told it is very far; if short, very short and so on. Their wars of reckoning, too are original. You are told you have gone one, or so many divisions, and have so many more to go; or that you will have to eat rice so many times between such and such a place.

“You are occasionally told you are so many cooking (or boiling) of rice from your destination (a cooking of rice maybe reckoned thirty or forty minutes).”

3.The sun position in the sky

Anglican bishop William Chalmers in 1859 pointed out as the Dayaks had no notion of dividing time into hours, their methods of reckoning distances were rather original.

One of the ways was, “To point to certain place in the heavens and say they can reach their destination when the sun is there.”

4.Is your hair dry yet?

Henry Ling Roth recorded in The Native of Sarawak and British North Borneo (1896) that the Sea Dayaks had a unique way to tell the distance.

“Short distances are described by arriving at such a place before the hair has had time to dry,” he stated.

5.Half a day or a day?

Here was and still is a common way to measure distance. It was either you would arrive at that place in a half a day or a day’s journey.

Besides these, do you know other ways Sarawakians used to measure distance back in the days? Leave them in the comment box.