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What happens during a Melanau berayun ritual

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Do you know what is the difference between Melanau berayun and berbayoh rituals?

While both rituals were meant as healing ceremonies, berbayoh is performed for minor ailments and berayun is reserved for more serious cases.

At the same time, both rituals are aimed to get rid of the spirit which caused the body to be sick.

Former Mukah district officer W.G. Morison had never witnessed a berayun ceremony during his tenure as even during the 1940s, this type of ceremony was not widely and publicly performed.

However, he did interview the elders of an unnamed kampung in Mukah.

Here is how the berayun ceremony was carried out in Mukah, according to Morison:

The day before the ceremony is due to take place, green shoots and leaves of all kinds are collected; some of these are made into shapes resembling birds and animals and are used to decorate the place where the ceremony is to be held.

At the same time as the decorations are being made, a bamboo and pinang construction is erected within the house of the sick person.

Between the bamboo and pinang posts the ‘swing’, made of rattan sega, is slung. ( The rattan, which was actually shown to Morison, was about five feet long and an inch in diameter).

Also at this time a rabong and nabun are made. A rabong is a model boat made of sago wood or sago fronds and sometimes covered-in, sometimes not; it is in the rabong that the evil spirit of sickness is carried to the sea after exorcising has taken place.

A nabun is a small model hut made of sago palm bark and constructed under the patient’s house.

Preparing for the ritual

The rabong is placed near the house, and a tangga, or ladder, of nipah palm is made from the rabong to the sick person. Another tangga, made of the same material connects the house with the nabun.

The bamboo posts around the swing are linked up by strands of rattan on which are hung the leaf decorations already referred to, and the mayang pinang. Tied to the top of the bamboo posts around the ‘swing’ is a ceiling or langit, consisting generally of white or blue cloth.

The ceremony itself begins at about 7pm. Before that, however, crowds collect at the patient’s house which is brightly lit for the occasion, and those who have taken part in the decorating partake of a meal.

Off and on throughout the ceremony the bayoh is accompanied by a gong orchestra which consists of two drums and a set of small gongs (chanang and tetawak).

The orchestra arrives some time before the start of the ceremony but does not play until the arrival of the bayoh.

At about 7pm, as the bayoh approaches the patient’s house, the music starts; meanwhile the patient is placed close by the swing in readiness.

The Melanau berayun begins

On arrival, the bayoh starts the ceremony by sitting on the swing himself, at the same time wrapping his head up in a sarong but leaving his face uncovered. He then starts to swing himself gently backwards and forwards, at the same time chanting.

As the ceremony proceeds the orchestra plays louder and quicker; the swinging becomes more violent and the chanting wilder.

Finally the bayoh passes or appears to pass into a state of a semi-trance, and while in this state, he often continues singing in languages foreign to his native Melanau.

During this time the bayoh keeps himself balanced on the thin rattan swing; then he gradually recovers from his trance and stepping down the swing, he dances around his patient, accompanied the while by the gong orchestra.

On completing his dance, the bayoh massages the patient’s body with leaves and the mayang pinang.

Swinging the patient

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Berayun which means to swing. Credits: Pixabay.

After this the bayoh will request assistance from his helpers in the crowd of onlookers. If the patient is able to walk, these helpers then support him to the swing and place him thereon.

At a sign of the bayoh the patient has been swung backwards and forwards several times.

On the last nights of the ceremony, after the patient has been swung, many of the onlookers will join; the orchestra will work up to a crescendo and the swingers will work themselves into a frenzy, encouraged the while by the continuous chanting of the bayoh. When this chanting ends, the ceremony is brought to a close.

The last part of the ritual

The berayun ceremony is divided into a three periods of five, seven and nine consecutive nights. One of Morison’s informants said that his father had been successfully through the three periods nine times during his lifetimes and that he had, in consequence, lived to a great age.

If, after any one of these periods, the patient is deemed to have been cured, he is taken down by boat to the mouth of the Mukah River.

This would be done early in the morning and the now cured person, the bayoh and as many of the former’s relatives as possible get into one boat which is gaily decorated.

Two or three other boats, one of which is reserced for the orchestra, join in the journey down river where the final ceremonies take place.

Also in the bayoh boat is the rabong in which the evil spirit is now incarcerated. Also in the rabong is an offering consisting of eggs, sometimes a chicken and a little sago.

At the mouth of the river the bayoh sets the rabong afloat; he wishes the spirit ‘bon voyage’ but also requests it not to trouble the patient again.

The practice of actually setting the rabong afloat is not usual, being done generally only on the case of insane people.

In most other places it is the custom to set the rabong on a trestle on a bank of the river below the kampong.

I was informed that this used to be done at Mukah also but owing to the excessive stealing of the rabong and their contents in former times, it was decided that they should be set afloat in the river mouth.

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Mukah river

Have you witnessed a Melanau berayun ceremony before? Share us your experience in the comment box.

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A writer from the 1930s answers, “Why Widow is Preferred”

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There are so many amusing stories published on the Sarawak Gazette during its years of publication.

However, one article written by an anonymous writer with the pseudonym ‘A Professional Singler’ from Miri left us bewildered both about its content and the questionable grammar.

Published on May 1, 1931, the writer attempts to answer the question, “Why Widow is Preferred?”. This is what he wrote.

“Knowing that we are one of the same modernists nature living on this earthly tragedy world; each one has its own supposition to marry an extractive and fashionable young beautiful girl is really no means for a poor creature to attainment.

Needless to say, young girls often wonder why they are so often left and widows are taken. They need not a wonder.

A widow makes a better wife than a young girl for many important reasons.

The widow takes a man at his face value-having had one husband, she knows more or less what to expect from the next. The widow also usually has a ‘marriage technique’- and who does not require considerable technique?

The inexperienced young wife, in only too many cases, chooses the wrong way is publicly to ‘boss’ one’s husband.

The wrong way again is to remind husbands of things they said before they were married; to give them bad news as soon as they get home from the fieldwork or office, to point sins of omission or commission before breakfast or supper; and to ignore their prejudices, thereby threading on their pet corn; and above all, to order them about.

The right way is invariably the widow’s way. The widow carefully takes note of her second adventure’s peculiar little tastes and habits and idiosyncrasies.

She chooses the right moment – his right moment, not hers – for the denouement – that is when he is well fed, rested and comfortable -and then she makes him feel kind and good and noble when, in answer to her appeal to his want.

A man who has married a widow knows that, although he cannot be certain that he has got gilt-edged security, he is at any rate not gambling on an outside chance – as is often the case with an inexperienced young wife.

He knows that a widow is easier to get on with, is usually more considerate and helpful. No man wants to have to live up to the standard of a super-being indefinitely. It is as much as he can do to be human – before breakfast.

But probably the most important reason of all why a man, although possibly preferring blondes, nevertheless marries a widow – whatever her colour – is that he knows his wife will have to learned how to cook a decent meal, how to get full value for money, and how to buy the best in the cheapest market.

Socially, a young beautiful wife is an excellent partnership-making-equipment for furnishing the social halls, and generally goes out at all costs, when the pleasure seeking satisfies her return home late in the evenings, especially in the nights.

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Thankfully, the article was written during the 1930s. If it was published in the age of social media, we wonder what kind of feedback the writer would receive. One of thing for sure, there would have been a lot of memes inspired by his article.

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Rev Aloysius Hopfgartner, founder of Sacred Heart School Sibu

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Sacred Heart School Sibu is perhaps one of the oldest schools in the state.

It was founded in 1902 by Reverend Aloysius Hopfgartner.

Who was Rev Hopfgartner and how much time did he spend here in Sarawak?

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Rev Aloysius Hopfgartner in an undated photo.

Here are 10 things you should know about Rev Aloysius Hopfgartner in remembrance of the founder of Sacred Heart School, Sibu:

1.Rev Aloysius Hopfgartner’s missionary life in Borneo

Born in Muhlwald, Taufers, in the South Tyrol, Italy on Jan, 1874, he was ordained as a priest at the Saint Joseph’s Missionary Society for Foreign Mission or better known as the Mill Hill Missionaries in 1901.

He came to Sarawak in August of the same year and was posted to Sarikei immediately.

A year later, he was posted to Sibu where he founded the Sacred Heart School.

For the next few years, he worked closely with the Ibans in Sibu division.

In 1911, Hopfgartner was transferred to Sandakan until his return to Kuching in 1916. Since then, he remained most of the time in Kuching. He was also the principal of St. Joseph School from 1931 till 1934.

In November 1935, Hopfgartner succeeded Monsignor Edmondo Dunn as the Apostolic Prefects of Sarawak following Dunn’s death.

2.The history of Sacred Heart School, Sibu

According to the school’s website, Hopfgartner built a small ‘atap’ shed as an English school on the present Government Concrete Wharf located.

Three years later, the school moved to Lanang Road. Instead of an attap hut, the building consisted of two storeys.

The ground floor worked as the class while the first floor served as a dormitory for the boarders.

During the early days of the school, there were no school uniforms. Most of the students reportedly wore clogs to school back then.

The teachers taught the students English comprising Grammar, Composition and Dictation along with arithmetic, Malay and Religious Knowledge. Meanwhile, students who wanted to learn Chinese needed to attend extra afternoon classes.

The school session lasted from morning to evening. The morning classes started from 8am till 11am while the afternoon classes were from 1.30pm to 4pm.

As for recreational activities, the students only had the luxury to play football. They also needed to go through a session of manual labour where they collected firewood and cut grass.

By 1907, the school was relocated to Mission Road. Built over marshy land alongside the Rajang river, the water usually seeped through the school’s floorboards during floods or high tides.

3.He was the first known European to be fluent in Hakka in Sarawak

During his service in Sarawak, Hopfgartner learned how to speak the local languages including Hakka.

Reportedly, he was so fluent in Hakka, a Chinese dialect that he could give his homilies in that language.

4.Rev Aloysius Hopfgartner helped in the foundation of Sisters of St Francis of Sarawak.

Dunne was inspired to start a localised women’s religious order in the Catholic Church of Sarawak.

He wanted them to follow the rule of the Third Order of St Francis of Assisi. Dunne then asked Hopfgartner to compose a book of rules for the nuns.

He first studied the statutes of St Ann’s native nuns of Madras Archdiocese which also belonged to the Third Order of St Francis. He made the rules as closely as possible to theirs but with minor modifications.

Finally on July 26, 1928, Dunne formally issued the decree of establishment of what is now known as the Little Sisters of St Francis of Sarawak.

The nuns are vowed to live in simplicity and humility after the example of St Francis of Assisi. They work mostly serving the poor and the youths.

5.Rev Aloysius Hopfgartner set the stone of the St. Peter Padungan church, Kuching.

In 1937, Hopfgartner bought seven acres of swampland at the Padungan area. He also rented a house near it to start a school and a new parish.

Then in 1940, a new school and a convent were built next to new parish. During World War II, the Japanese took over the school and convent to be used as a centre for war casualties and internment of European civilians.

Hopfgartner planned and started to build the church in 1949. St. Peter Padungan church was finally completed on Dec 18, 1949.

However, Hopfgartner was not alive to see its completion.

6.Life during Japanese Occupation

During the Japanese occupation, he was confined with one other priest to his own house.

They were always under the watchful eyes of the Japanese, at any moment likely to be singled out for their particular attention.

While Hopfgartner survived the ordeal under Japanese rule, his health declined tremendously after the war.

7.He was one of the last recipients of Order of the Star of Sarawak

The third White Rajah Vyner Brooke established The Most Excellent Order of the Star of Sarawak on Sept 26, 1928.

It is the highest order of chivalry within the Kingdom of Sarawak.

The motto of the order was “Haraplah Sa-lagi Bernafas”, which was also the kingdom’s motto. It is the translation of the Latin phrase Dum Spiro Spero which literally means “As long as I breathe, I hope.”

The award was to recognise exceptional service by the Sarawak subjects and foreigners alike to the state of Sarawak.

It was last rewarded in 1946 making Hopfgartner, who received it on June 20, 1946, among the last recipients of the award.

8. Rev Aloysius Hopfgartner collapsed at the current site of St Peter Church Padungan and never woke up again.

According to the unnamed writer of his obituary, he met the priest in February 1949 and commented on his ‘frail appearance’.

Known as Hoppy to those who were close to him, the writer wrote, “Hoppy’s only comment was that he was weakening and the end was approaching. He had no regrets or fears, and he accepted the inevitable in that true priestly spirit in which he lived his life.”

Toward the end of April that year, he made his routine trip to Bau, walking for miles on foot during his visit.

He then returned to Kuching feeling ill. Yet, Fr Hopfgartner went out again to inspect the church building in Padungan.

Unfortunately, he suffered a stroke during his visit and reportedly remained in semi-consciousness for the next 19 days.

Fr Hopfgartner passed away peacefully on May 15, 1949. He was 75.

In Sacred Heart School, there is a clock tower and bronze plaque erected in Hopfgartner’s memory.

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Frank Marryat, the man who gave us the early drawings of Borneo

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There were many adventurers who came to Borneo during the 19th century.

While most of them jotted down their experiences in writing, only a few talented ones managed to capture it in drawings.

One of them was Frank Marryat (1826-1855), an English sailor, author and artist. His father, Captain Frederick Marryat was a Royal Navy officer and a novelist.

Captain Marryat is widely known today as an early pioneer of the sea story.

Life of Frank Marryat

Following in his father’s footsteps, Marryat joined the Royal Navy at the young age of 14.

During Marryat’s service on board of HMS Samarang, he drew the places he visited and the people he met.

At first, he planned to publish his drawings without any writing. Eventually, he added some text of his own and from his colleagues’ journals, publishing his first book in 1848.

The book was entitled Borneo and the Indian Archipelago. In the book, Marryat described his life as a sailor from witnessing a piece of history such as the Treaty of Labuan and collecting turtle’s eggs at Talang-talang islands.

Here are some of his notable drawings of Borneo and Marryatt’s description of it:

Kuching
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“The town of Kuchin is built on the left-hand side of the river Sarawak going up; and, from the windings of the river, you have to pull twenty-five miles up the river to arrive at it, whereas it is only five miles from the coast as the crow flies. It consists of about 800 houses, built on piles driven into the ground, the sides and roofs being enclosed with dried palm leaves. Strips of bamboo are laid across, which serve as a floor.” (Frank Marryat, 1848)
James Brooke’s house
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“The residence of Mr. Brooke is on the side of the river opposite to the town, as, for the most part, are all the houses of the Europeans. In structure it somewhat resembles a Swiss cottage, and is erected upon a green mound, which slopes down to the river’s bank, where there is a landing-place for boats. At the back of the house is a garden, containing almost every tree peculiar to the climate; and it was a novelty to us to see collected together the cotton-tree, the areca, sago, palm, &c., with every variety of the Camellia japonica in a state of most luxurious wildness.” (Frank Marryat,1848)
Mount Kinabalu
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Borneo has but small elevation for so large an island; in the immediate vicinity of Keeney Ballu the country is hilly, but by far the greatest portion of Borneo is but a few feet above the level of the sea. Keeney Ballu is the highest mountain in the island,—its height is estimated at 14,000 feet or more,—and it can be seen at 150 miles distant on a very clear day. It is very singular that there should be a mountain of so great a height rising from an island of otherwise low land. (Frank Marryat, 1848)

Frank Marryat’s Life After Borneo

He returned to England after his adventure in Borneo then proceeded to California in 1850.

Then in 1853, Marryat returned to England and got married. In the same year, he wanted to return to California with his new wife.

Unfortunately, he had contracted yellow fever on board ship.

This forced him to cut the trip short and return to England.

He died shortly before his book Mountains and Molehills or Memoirs of a Burnt Journal (1855). Marryat was just 29 years old.

The notice of Frank Marryat’s death

An unnamed writer wrote Marryat’s obituary and it was published in Life and Letters of Captain Marryatt (1872), a book about his father. The notice summarised his life perfectly.

“It is with the most sincere regret that we announce of the decease Mr Marryat, author of ‘Borneo and the Eastern Archipelago’ and of ‘Mountains and Molehills’, the latter of a work published at the commencement of this year, which has been most favourably received by the reading public.

Mr Marryat died at his residence, Mercer Lodge, Kensington on Thursday, the 12th instant, at noon, after a severe illness of more than six months’ duration.

He was the fourth son of the late Captain Marryat, the eminent novelist, and was born on the 3rd of April, 1826.

Like his elder brother he early displayed an invincible longing for the sea, and was consequently entered a midshipman at the age of fourteen.

Previously to this, he had received as large education as possible- first at Paris, afterwards in a school at Wimbledon.

Happily, in these days, the young midshipman’s education is still carried on, even in matters not strictly professional, and this was the case with young Marryat on board the Vanguard, Captain Sir David Dunn.

In the Vanguard he cruised principally in the Mediterranean, and was afterwards entered in the Samarang, Captain Sir Edward Belcher, ordered on a surveying expedition in the Indian Archipelago.

In his work on Borneo, Mr Marryat has given a very agreeable and instructive account of his four years’ cruise in the Samarang, 1843-1847.

On his return home, he resided for some time at Langham, in Norfolk, with his father, who lost his eldest son in the Avenger.

Captain Marryatt himself died in August, 1848 and his son, by no means tried of a roving life, now resolved to seek fresh adventures.

The field he chose was California, with reference to which he penned his work ‘Mountains and Molehills’, to our mind one of the most delightful books of travel ever written.

He was described as “his manners were most agreeable, and his conversation showed that delicate kind of humour as well as keen observation of mankind.”

Thanks to Marryat’s observation, we roughly have a glimpse of how Borneo looked like in the 1840s.

You can read Borneo and the Indian Archipelago online for free thanks to The Project Gutenberg.

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Looking back to a Melanau berbayoh ceremony at Balingian in 1947

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The berbayoh ceremony is a type of traditional healing ritual practiced by Melanau pagans.

Since many Melanau have embraced Christianity and Islam, such ritual is rarely in practice.

According to the former Mukah district officer W.G. Morison, the berbayoh ceremony is performed for minor ailments while the berayun is reserved for more serious cases.

The purpose behind these rituals is to cure the sickness by exorcising the spirit which is supposed to have entered the body of the patient.

Even those days, only few Europeans had witnessed a berbayoh ceremony, Morison was one of the few who managed to observe one.

Here is the account of the berbayoh ceremony in which the former district officer witnessed in Balingian:

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A candle is one of the tools needed in a berbayoh ceremony on top of a gendang (drum) and parang. Credit: Pixabay.

A group of relatives of the patient were seated at one end of the room; one of these, a woman, was the drum (gendang) beater who beat her drum in quick time on and off throughout the performance.

At the other end of the room by herself, except for the bayoh and the bayoh’s assistant, lay the patient.

In this case both the bayoh and her assistant were women, as also was the patient.

First of all a candle was lighted and at the same time the bayoh and her assistant knelt down by the side of the patient and moved the lighted candle backwards and forwards over her body searching for the cause of the sickness.

The light was then put down on the floor and the bayoh and her assistant knelt down and sat back on their heels.

Up to the present the drummer had been silent but she now started playing her drum; quickly and softly at first, but getting louder as the movements of the bayoh became wilder.

As the drum commenced, both the bayoh and her assistant started to sway from side to side, at the same time emitting a “hissing” sound through their teeth; this was barely audible at first but increased in volume as the swaying grew more pronounced.

Finally the bayoh, withe her eyes closed, rose to her feet and began to dance round the room, slowly at first but rapidly increasing in vigour and speed.

At the height of the dance the bayoh burst into snatches of wild singing, then suddenly the drums stopped and the bayoh, equally suddenly brought her dance to an end.

Drawing the poisons out of the body

The bayoh opened her eyes and walked slowly over to her patient. Having reached her, both the bayoh and her assistant sank to their knees and began to chant, invoking the spirits to help her exorcise the evil spirit inhabiting the body of the patient. After awhile the chant was brought to an end and the massaging was taken over by the bayoh herself.

The bayoh had apparently now found the root of the sickness for, placing her lips over the supposedly affected part, she started to draw out the poison of the spirit inhabiting the body.

Every few movements she would cease this operation and crawl away to spit out the poison and then return for further efforts.

The whole process from the swaying and hissing, the dancing, chanting and massaging was repeated two or three times.

The use of parang in the berbayoh ceremony

Finally, after one period of dancing, a chopper or parang was produced, the bayoh first held it by both hands above her head (one hand held the blade and the other the handle), then in this manner, she approached her patient.

The parang was then held in the bayoh’s right hand and passes over the patient were made, from the head down to the feet, the handle of the parang being an inch above the patient’s body; at the same time that this was going on the bayoh’s assistant was massaging the patient.

Having done this once or twice the bayoh took up the candle and swathed her head in a skirt or sarong; then, holding the light close to her head, she pulled the sarong down over her face.

This was done twice and then she extinguished the light by putting the flame into her mouth. This ended the ceremony.

The berbayoh ceremony in Mukah

In Mukah the performer is also known as a bayoh. Here the patient may be at a distance from the other people in the house or may actually be surrounded by them.

In Mukah, apparently the bayoh is generally the sole performer- without an assistant and without a drum beater other than himself.

He, or she, starts off by beating the drum in the same quick time as mentioned above in the description of the ceremony witnessed at Balingian.

As the bayoh beats the drum he or she also begins to sing, invoking other spirits to help come and cure the patient.

The bayoh then stops the drum beating and a candle is lighted.

A search is then made of the body of the patient, first with the aid of a candle and then by massaging the body with the hands.

At the same time the spirit causing the sickness is asked which part of the body it is inhabiting.

Having located the source of the trouble the bayoh will then begin to remove the poison from the infected spot by drawing the flesh between his two hands.

As he does this he will make a loud ‘sucking noise’ with his mouth. This operation will continue for a few minutes, after which the bayoh may get to his feet and walk round his patient, sometimes singing but without the accompaniment of the drum.

In Mukah this part of the ceremony does not appear to be essential and is, I understand, frequently left out.

Its inclusion would appear to be entirely a matter for the bayoh to decide.

The next stage of the ceremony is always included and consists of another bout of massaging and smoothing the body over with leaves of tuba, tebwawa and flowering stem (mayang) of the pinang palm.

After this the bayoh may again start his drum to call up further if considered necessary. The whole process may be repeated several times before the ceremony is brought to a close.

Have you observed the berbayoh ceremony before? Share us your experience in the comment box.

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Legend of Melanau hero Tugau against the first sultan of Brunei

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According to Melanau folklore, Tugau is a demigod chief whose cough could be heard 60km away.

There are several accounts written about this legendary hero. In the Oya Melanau by Stephen Morris, Tugau was said to be the son of Rajah Kiangan, the ruler of the sky. Meanwhile, Tugau’s grandmother was the daughter of the Rajah Yang, ruler of the world below.

He emerged from an egg along with a white fighting cock with one black feather at its tail and a cobra.

A human couple found him by accident and raised him as their own child.

He grew up to be a warrior and the chief of his people in Rutus river, the tributary of Igan.

Here is an article about Tugau by A.E. Lawrence who was the Bintulu resident in the early 20th century.

In this version of the legend, it tells the story of how Tugau went against Alak Betatar. Also known as Muhammad Shah, he was the first sultan of the Brunei Sultanate possibly from 1363 to 1402.

This legend of Tugau was first published in the Sarawak Museum Journal in January 1911 and republished again in the Sarawak Gazette on Sept 1, 1948:

Tugau Batang Igan 1
Batang Igan.

Tugau lived in the Rutus, a large tributary of the Igan. To this day many stories and legends about Tugau and his relations are told by the Melanaus from Matu to Bintulu, especially in those families which are descended from or any other chiefs famous in his day – of his miraculous birth, his size and strength- of his death at the hands of his own people, etc.

Remains of the belian post of Tugau’s house are still to be seen on the banks of the Rutus, and below them, if any man is brave enough to dig there, is hidden an enormous treasure of gold, besides the bones of the slaves sacrificed according to custom when the posts of a new house are erected.

Besiong, a near connection of Tugau, was also a famous person, and had many adventures, miraculous and otherwise.

Besides ruling over his own people at Rutus, Tugau had great influence in many other districts along the coast.

Kedahat, Chief of Oya, was related to him and acknowledged his supremacy. The Mukah chief, Busi whose burial post is still to be seen in the Tillian river, although the run at the pot containing his bones has long since been lost, was married to a near relation Tugau, who could count on the Mukah people following him to war if he required them.

Tutong (currently one of the four districts in Brunei), under its chief Beniban, and Belait (the largest district in Brunei) then ruled by a man named Jam, were also friendly to Tugau, so that he really had a quite a large and powerful, if somewhat scattered, following.

Tugau against Alak Betatar

Thinking that he was strong enough to overcome the rising Brunei power, Tugau sent a message to Alak Betatar demanding tribute and submission from him.

This was refused, and Alak Betatar in return made the same demands from Tugau, with the alternative of war if he did not yield to them.

The answer was prompt enough, as, without waiting for Brunei to take the aggressive, Tugau’s brother-in-law, Besiong, raised Tutong and Belait, and made a raid into the territory.

Here they met a Brunei force under Pateh Berbi and Semaun, also said to be a brother of Alak Betatar, and were repulsed, falling back again on Tutong and Belait.

There the Bruneis attacked and beat them; but Besiong, with a few followers, made his escape by boat, and sailed down coast as fast as he could to get back to his brother-in-law at Rutus, report his failure, and raise the country.

Besiong reached the Rutus safely, but before he and Tugau could collect all their followers or send word to the neighbouring districts, Pateh Berbi and Semaun, who had followed by sea from Tutong with all their people, were upon them.

Thus taken by surprise Tugau was beaten and made full submission to Alak Betatar through his brothers, promising to pay the tribute demanded.

Alak Betatar’s men conquer Mukah and Oya

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Mukah river

Having got Tugau into their power, Pateh Berbi and Semaun did not give time for any possible combination of the neighbouring Melanau chiefs, but went straight for Mukah, the most populous Melanau settlement remaining.

There, they were again successful, beating the chief, Busui and receiving his submission also.

These two decisive victorious countries, as Kedahat Oya and several other chiefs submitted without attempting resistance.

Alak Betatar therefore was now ruler, at least nominally, over all the coast districts from Brunei to the Igan, with the exception of Bintulu, the story of whose submission is somewhat different.

It appears that none of the Bintulu villages were very near the sea and it so happened that when Pateh Berbi and Semaun returned to Brunei from their conquering expedition, no Bintulu people were about in their boats off the mouth of the river, so that the Brunei fleet, although on the lookout for other settlements to conquer, did not guess that the place was inhabited.

Alak Betatar conquers Bintulu

Later on Alak Betatar sent an expedition along the coast by sea with express orders to find and subdue any settlement they might come across.

Even then they would have sailed past the mouth of Bintulu river, thinking it uninhabited, but for an accident.

As they passed by, someone saw fresh banana leaves and stems floating out to sea, and called attention to them.

The leaders decided to go upriver and find out who had planted those bananas, and paddling inland for some time, came across on a large Melanau village, finding several more later on.

The Bintulu people would seem to have been shyer and wilder than other coast Melanaus, for whenever the Bruneis came near a village to land, all the inmates took to the jungle.

However, the Brunei people gradually coaxed them back and gained their friendship by presents and other means finally making them subjects of Alak Betatar, and appointing a man to rule over the district, which before had been divided up among several petty chiefs, each holding his own village.

The aftermath

Under the Brunei rule, Tugau, Busui, Kedahat and other chiefs were allowed to go on ruling their own people. However, there were some conditions. Above all, they had to acknowledge Alak Betatar as their supreme ruler and pay him a yearly tribute.

Some time later, Alak Betatar and his country converted to become an Islamic state. Then, the native Melanau chiefs were slowly replaced by the Pangerans (princes) from Brunei who married into the families by the men they superseded.

If it weren’t for Tugau challenging Alak Betatar in the first place, would these areas of Igan and Oya rivers fall under Brunei rule? Or even without Tugau being so ambitious, had Alak Betatar always aimed to conquer the northern coastline of Borneo? Is there really gold buried under the remains of Tugau’s house? We may never know.

Regardless, the areas which Tugau once had influence over continued to be under the Sultanate of Brunei until James Brooke took over in 1860.

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The haunted Miri ferry that allegedly led to killing sprees in the 1940s

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The haunted Miri ferry that allegedly leads to killing sprees in the 1940s

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If you are not familiar with the trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, it is the first known court case in the United States where the defense sought to prove innocence based upon the defendant’s claim of demonic possession.

Apparently, Johnson was possessed by a demon that had initially resided in an 11-year-old David Glatzel. The family had even enlisted the aid of Ed and Lorraine Warren (yes, the couple featured in Annabelle, The Conjuring etc.) and priests to perform a formal exorcism on David, after which it was believed that it fled and took up house in Johnson’s body, which later was claimed to have driven Johnson to stab his landlord, Alan Bono.

Johnson was eventually charged with a reduced first-degree charge of manslaughter for the killing of his landlord, serving five years of a 10-20 year sentence.

Meanwhile here in Malaysia, there was an urban legend back in the 1940s that a haunted ferry was the trigger behind a handful of murders.

The murder cases

In 1947, a Chinese Muslim man named Mat Aseng went amok. He killed eight persons and wounded four others.

The method of assault was not mentioned in the Sarawak Gazette report.

Nobody really thought much into it until the night of New Year in 1948 when a man named Abdul Hamid stabbed and killed a 19-year-old Malay girl living at Sungai Merbau.

He escaped but eventually captured on Jan 3, 1948.

His defence was that he did it while suffering from a nightmare. The Miri Resident’s Court rejected his defence and eventually sentenced him to death.

Abdul Hamid later appealed to the Supreme Court but his appeal was dismissed.

The allegedly haunted Miri ferry

So what did these two cases have in common? Both men had the exact same job. They were both drivers working on the same ferry owned by Shell Limited Oil (S.O.L).

The gazette reported, “The Abdul Hamid killing immediately gave rise to a feeling, among the Malays, that the Company ferry was possessed of some evil spirits, and it was decided, that in order to prevent further troubles descending on the ferry crews, action should be taken.”

Hence, a “cleansing ceremony” took place under the permission of S.O.L.

The report further stated, “The ferry was stopped for about half-an-hour in mid-stream and all the ferry crew shifts partook of a makan selamat, “buru bala,” on the ferry and various prayers were recited.”

Was the ferry really haunted? Or was it mere coincidence that the drivers of the ferry committed murders in less than two years? Let us know in the comment box.

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Iban childbirth customs recorded by Rev William Howell

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Every culture has its own customs and taboos during childbirth.

These customs and tradition mainly have one sole purpose; to protect the mother and her newborn baby from harm.

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Here are Iban childbirth customs as per recorded by Rev William Howell:

When the time of delivery is come and while she is in travail, two or three midwives are called to her assistance to accelerate the birth of the child.

As soon as the child make its appearance into the world, a signal is given by beating a bamboo receptacle with a stick, or a brass gong is struck or maybe a gun is fired to announce that a child is born in the house.

Immediately follows a religious ceremony, a fowl being waved over the heads of all present, including the infant and its mother. The fowl is then killed and the blood is smeared on the foreheads of those present.

After the mother and the child are washed and dressed, the afterbirth is deposited in a plaited bag and hung on a tree either in their cemetery or in their tembawai (the site of their former house). The infant is sprinkled with a compound of pinang (betelnut) and lawang, is bandaged and made to lie on the spathe of an areca palm, a cloth is put round it and a Dayak sheet hung over it.

The husband or whoever takes away the afterbirth to bury or hang on tree is solemnly warned by the mother not to look to the right or to the left as he leaves the room, or the child might squint.

One of the women who assisted at the birth washes the child and cuts the umbilical cord.

She is afterwards with a parang, an entadu plate, and a long piece of the black tina (black split rattan worn around the waist).

The mother is seated with her back against the blazing fire; she drinks freely ginger tea to facilitate her discharge.

The bathing of the newborn

As soon as the umbilical cord has dropped off, the infant, for the first time, is taken to the bathing place.

The man who carries the child takes a fowl with him. As soon as they come to the bathing place the fowl is killed and a wing is cut off.

If it be a male child this wing is tied on with a piece of red thread to a spear, and if the child be the other sex this wing is tied on to an implement used by Dayak women in weaving (lelatan). On the fourth day the spear or the lelatan, as the case may be, is taken to the house.

As the mother sits with her back to the fire in the room holding in her hands the handle of a native adze (bliong) she presses it to her stomach to assist the course of nature.

For twenty-four hours she is not allowed to drink water, but if she does, it must be very little and first warmed lest fever should set in.

Her first food is light and simple. The husband goes out to get certain kinds of fish which is first smoked before it is eaten.

The mother is not allowed to sleep for twenty-four hours after giving birth to a child, not is she even allowed to lie down. One would think that after such a fatiguing time, a rest was most essential and to be deprived of it would be detrimental to health. Strange to say it is not so.

Can you imagine for the woman not being able to lie down or sleep for twenty-hours after giving birth?

Let us know what other Iban childbirth customs that you know more about in the comment box.

Read more about Iban pregnancy taboos here.

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What you didn’t know you needed to know about Sarawak’s first ice machine

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An ice machine, ice maker or ice generator is an appliance to make ice. Today, you can find a refrigerator in every household in Sarawak to store food and make ice cubes.

However in the olden days, an ice machine was even rarer than an endangered animal.

Have you ever thought who bought the first ice machine in Sarawak?

Here are five things you need to know about Sarawak’s first ice machine according to archivist Loh Chee Yin:

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1.The second White Rajah of Sarawak, Charles Brooke was the first one to make an enquiry of an ice machine.

Charles wrote to the Borneo Company Limited London asking them to make an enquiry about an ice machine while he was in Singapore.

Here is the content of the letter which dated on May 27, 1897:

Dear Sirs,
I should be much obliged if you would make inquiry about an ice making machine for Sarawak capable of making from half a tonne to one tonne a day. Should Mr Ellis the Civil Engineer not have left, he might give you an opinion about such a machine and examine and see one in action, and have explanations how to work it from the makers.

I have long contemplated setting up such a machine to supply ice to the community at as cheap a rate as possible, and as the government have control over water, land, and also have competent engineers, we can do it more reasonably than any other party.

Three days later after writing this letter, Charles wrote another letter to his London agent, The Woodhead & Co.

He wrote, “Would you find out what kind of ice machine would us in Kuching to supply from half to one ton of ice a day. Mr Ellis, if he meets our terms could look out for the best kind and could information about working it, and also could information about working it, also could see it worked. If the Sarawak Government purchase, it would be under his superintendence. Please send a telegraph price etc.”

2.The Brooke government even announced the purchase of ice machine in The Sarawak Gazette.

Apparently, buying an ice machine in the 19th century was such a big deal that it had to be announced in the paper.

This was what was written in the announcement which was published in October 1897:

“The Government have ordered an ice machine from England, which will produce a ton of crystal ice per diem. This machine, which will be a great boon to the community, should be in working order by the end of this year.”

3.Sarawak’s first ice machine finally arrived about A YEAR after it was ordered.

Again, the Sarawak Gazette reported in September 1898 the arrival of the ice machine.

“The long expected Ice Machine arrived on the 26th June and the first tonne of ice was turned out on the 18th August.

The temperature of the brine was 30o at 9.30am on the 18th and 1½ tonnes of ice were made by the same time on the 19th. The machine was running for 28 hours to obtain this result, which must be considered very satisfactory in view of the fact that it was the first run and that, in consequence, several stoppages had to be made for adjusting the machinery. The lowest temperature reached on this occasion 19o or 13o of frost, but, we understand, that later observations show that a temperature of 11o or 21o of frost, was obtained.

Everyone in the country is to be congratulated upon this acquisition, not only for the comfort of having always iced drinks but far more for its invaluable aid in sickness and accident.

This came home to all when its value was seen in the most unfortunate accident which occurred to Mr Gibson, when ice was at once applied to the fractured part and the inflammation and pain of a broken limb very much reduced.”

4.Who maintained the ice machine?

In the beginning, the Public Works and Survey Department was in-charge of the ice machine’s maintenance.

As years passed, there was an increase in demand for ice in Sarawak.

Then, a new four-tonne ice machine was ordered in 1926 and started operations in 1927.

On the Jan 1, 1937, Sarawak Electricity Supply bought the ice plant for $30,000 and took over the ice production.

5.How much did the ice cost?

Ice was sold to the contractor at $1.00 per 100 lbs. In 1933, the figure was increased to $1.05 and again to $1.10 in 1934.

In 1935, the price was $1.13 and $1.19 in 1936. In the meantime, the sale price to the public remained at $1.25 per 100 lbs.

The selling of ice provided for a decent amount for the Brooke government in those days. For example from 1929 to 1933, the government earned $24,296.76 in profit for selling ice.

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Refrigerators for home domestic use were first invented in 1913. However, the world only saw the mass production of refrigerators after World War II. As technology had become more advanced and Sarawakians, including services such as eateries and hospitals, began to afford their own refrigerators, there was no need to have a government-operated ice machine anymore.

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The Bidayuh Jagoi legend of Gunung Kapor where people turned to stone

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When A.J.N Richards was serving as an administrative officer and magistrate in Sarawak from 1938 to 1964, there was no formal training.

He learned on the job from seniors and local officers as well as leaders.

While doing his job, Richards learned a lot about local cultures and histories.

Here is a petrification legend that he picked up from the Bidayuh Jagoi which was published in the Sarawak Gazette on June 7, 1949:

After the great flood, when there were only a few people living on the land, there was a prosperous village on the bank of the Sarawak river.

In this village lived a man and his wife who had two children, a boy and a girl, and their mother was a healer acquainted with the spirits.

Although life was easy and food plentiful in those days, the time came when the man and his wife grew old and died.

The bodies were burned as the custom is and the pyre was large and dry enough to leave nothing for the pigs, which was not always the case in those days.

A funeral feast was made and because the woman who had died was a great priestess the feasting was prolonged and uproarious.

The people forgot the death of their companions and even laughed and jested at the boy and girl who were left.

The retaliation of the daughter

The girl had learned much from her mother and would not be mocked. She took bamboos and split them at the end; she splayed the split ends and bound them to make a pair of cone-shaped baskets such as are used for nesting chickens.

She gave one to her brother and they wore them as hats. Then she took a cat and went with her brother to the place of the feast.

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The daughter throws a cat in the middle of the celebration and they continue to laugh. Credits: Pixaby.

She cast the cat into the midst of the crowd and uttered a fearful curse against them all. They laughed again.

And the laughter was drowned in the noise of a great storm. The wind blew the rain in sweeping curtains across the land and as the storm passed and died away, there was dead silence in that place.

All the village and the people had become stone, except the boy and the girl who escaped through wearing the bamboo hats.

The village may still be seen. It is called Gunung Kapur by the Dayaks and Boring San by the Chinese, but some of the stone figures have been spoiled by weather and some inquisitive visitors.

Read more about other legends where people turned to stone:

Legends and nature of Fairy Cave Bau

The legend of Batu Puyang in Batang Ai Your Probably Never Heard

Five Sarawak legends about people turning into stones

More legends from Semabang about people turning into stone

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