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An old Bidayuh punishment for murder before the death penalty

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If you are found guilty of murder today, the punishment is usually a life sentence in prison or the death penalty.

But how did Sarawakians in the olden days punish criminals who committed murder?

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What was the olden day Bidayuh punishment for committing a crime of murder?
Here is an example of Bidayuh punishment recounted by R. Nyandoh in The Sarawak Gazette on Sept 30, 1964:

Sharing the background of the murder case, Nyandoh wrote, “Mungang from Kampung Mayang in the Serian district married a woman from Kampung Engkaroh and they went to live at Mawang Mungang on the Krang river.”

After some time, the couple moved to Simpoh Rawih on the Jimun river. Mungang was a skilled craftsman, known for his talents for carving, boat-building and painting.

Additionally, he could make all kinds of knives and parangs. Even in the olden days haters were gonna hate, and Mungang was disliked by many of his relatives out of jealousy for his skills.

One day, two of his wife’s relatives, Bulo and his grandmother, came all the way from Kampung Engkaroh to visit the couple.

They asked Mungang to sharpen all their old knives, which he kindly did.

Before Bulo headed home, Mungang asked him to tell his two brother-in-laws not to visit him till the new paddy harvest. Due to the poor crop during the previous year, Mungang had no food to offer them if they came to visit.

Misinformation which led to a murder

However when Bulo returned to Kampung Engkaroh, he did not tell his brother-in-laws, Dibong and Bungan, the correct information.

In fact, he told the brothers that Mungang was getting his knives ready to fight them. Enraged, the brothers set to work to get their own weapons ready to defend themselves.

Several months later, Dibong and Bungan changed their plan. Instead of being on the defensive, they went on the offensive and decided to kill Mungang.

They went to their sister’s house, fixed on their intent to kill Mungang. When they arrived there, Dibong and Bungan found Mungang asleep in the bedroom.

Pushing past their own sister, the brothers stabbed Mungang to death.

The old Bidayuh punishment for murder

Mungang’s wife went back to her own village to report the crime to the headman of Kampung Engkaroh.

The headman then announced that the brothers Dibong and Bungan had to give her a list of items.

In the olden days, the headman of a village also served as a judge to settle any disputes among the villagers.

The fees and punishments for committing crimes might differ as they were according to the headman’s discretion.

As for the murder of Mungang, the headman of Kampung Engkaroh decided that these were the items needed to pay his wife as a punishment:

1.One large brass vessel to replace the head of her husband
2.One string of 30 small bells to replace his eyes
3.Four ounces of gold pieces for the teeth
4.Seven coils of different coloured silk thread to replace his hair
5.Two large silver plates for the ears
6.One large brass tray to replace the hat that belonged to her mother-in-law
7.One whole string of Bidayuh beads to replace her mother-in-law’s beads
8.Two large gongs to replace her husbands’ breasts
9.Two large cannons to replace his legs
10.One Iban loin cloth to replace the mother in-law’s nursing clothes
11.One large jar (Payan Rangkang) to replace his stomach
12.One large jar (Payan Eron) to replace the basket in which her husband had kept his soul

One top of these items, the two brothers also had to pay the woman two large round gongs called katawak and two small gongs called chanang.

They needed to pay her five kinds of jars namely payan botuh, payan lajur, payan jering, payan mandoh and tandok.

The woman, reportedly after receiving all these items from her brothers, left Kampung Engkaroh for good.

She went to live with her relatives in Kampung Ramun which now lies in Kalimantan, never to be heard from again.

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“Tuan’s Lament”, a war song written by Semut operatives during WWII

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A war song is any musical composition that relates to war or a society’s attitudes towards war.

Sometimes a war song can be pro-war or antiwar while some are just description of lives during war time.

Do you know when Operation Semut took place in 1945 during War World II (WWII), the operatives composed a song about their lives in Sarawak?

The operation was a series of reconnaissance operations carried out by Australia’s Z Special Unit.

About Operation Semut

Launched in mid-1945 by the Australian Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD), the operation had two main missions.

First was to gather intelligence and to train the indigenous people in launching guerrilla warfare against the Japanese.

Overall, the operation was considered a remarkable success. It was estimated there were about 1,500 Japanese casualties with 240 captured under Operation Semut. These were inflicted by a force of around 82 Allied soldies and 200 local guerrillas.

While there were no casualties amongst the Z Special Unit members, about 30 local heroes were killed during combat.

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Photograph of Major G. S. Carter (centre) with Semut 2 operatives. Credits: From Australian War Memorial website, Public Domain.
About “Tuan’s Lament”

“Tuan’s Lament” written during Operation Semut is sung in the tune of “The Mountains of Morne” by Irish musician Percy French.

The lyrics were published in The Sarawak Gazette on Jan 31, 1965 under the article “From an old War Chest”.

Going through the lyrics now, readers could at least catch a glimpse what the operatives went through 75 years ago.

“Tuan’s Lament” chorus mentions ‘Charlie the Raj’ which most probably refers to Charles Vyner Brooke, the third White Rajah of Sarawak.

See the war in the eyes of Semut operatives through the lyrics of “Tuan’s Lament”:

Verse 1
Away in the east far out o’er the sea
There’s a place named Sarawak, a great mystery
They said you will go and fight the foe there
We answered ‘For Charlie we’d fight anywhere’.

Chorus
Charlie the Raj
Charlie the Raj
Its all in the service of Charlie the Raj

Verse 2
Our ideals were high and our hearts very large
We left home and comforts to fight for the Raj
To relieve the oppressed was our guiding aim
But we found ourselves players in a far different game

Verse 3
We arrived in Sarawak so strange and so dark
Where collecting of skulls is the lads favourite lark
Each house has its quota, smoked to a turn
At the first glimpse of this for the homeland you yearn

Verse 4
The first thing they told us was ‘here you must stay’
And work for dear Charlie on a dollar a day
The rate they arrived at was decided by Fish*
They dare not pay less ‘cos the coolies get this.

Verse 5
We chased round the country- the Japs on the run
The natives decided to join in the fun
With sumpits and parangs they did rather well
The ‘heathen’ decided Sarawak was hell.

Verse 6
The Japs soon discovered that no man can spare
Lebeh satu kapala and a handful of hair
To join honoured ancestors Jap not lose face
If stop in this country just not in the race

Verse 7
The ‘heathen’ surrendered and now he has gone
But for Charlie the Rajah we still carry on
But now we are tired we don’t want to roam
So Charlie, dear Charlie, oh please send us home.

*Fish here may be a nickname for J.C.B. Fisher

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What went down in Bekenu during the Brunei Revolt 1962

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Bekenu is a small fishing town near Miri at the northeastern part of Sarawak. It is a humble town with many of the shophouses dating from the 1930s.

Many might not remember that this small town witnessed an important historical event during the Brunei Revolt 1962.

The Brunei Revolt was an insurrection to oppose Brunei inclusion in the Federation of Malaysia.

The insurgents were members of the North Kalimantan National Army (TNKU), a militia linked to the Brunei People’s Party (BPP) and supplied by Indonesia.

At that time, the town was briefly taken over by the rebels.

Brunei Revolt in Niah

The rebellion first broke out at 2am on Dec 8, 1962. The rebels attacked police stations throughout Brunei, the fifth division of Sarawak along the the western edge of Sabah.

Then came the news that Bekenu was in rebel hands and there was also uncertainty as to the situation in Niah.

C Company from 99th Gurkha Infantry Brigade under Major Mark Pennell was sent to deal with the situation in Niah.

During the Brunei Revolt, hundreds of Dayaks were immediately called to help fight and contain the rebels.

The Ibans decorated their longboats with bright red feathers and set off by river to Niah.

By the time that C Company arrived in Niah by river, there was no sign of rebel forces.

Reportedly, after hearing the Iban party was about to arrive, the rebels made their escape to the jungle.

Brunei Revolt
This photograph was taken at the height of the Brunei Revolt on December 10th 1962. It shows soldiers of the 1st Queen’s Own Highlanders unloading stores from a 34 Squadron Beverley shortly after the British had seized the airport. Credit: British Empire.
Brunei Revolt in Bekenu

Meanwhile, the mission to liberate Bekenu fell under B Company.

Under the command of Major David Mostyn, the company approached on foot, arriving in Bekenu early morning of Dec 13, 1962.

It took them 16 hours of hiking along the coast through mangrove swamp from Tanjung Batu in Bintulu to the west of Bekenu.

The moment they arrived in Bekenu, the soldiers engaged in a brief firefight with the rebels who then fled downriver. There, they were ambushed by another platoon.

During the operation, six rebels were killed, six captured and about 10 escaped into the jungle.

For the next three to four days, patrols went up and down the river searching for escaped rebels.

Overall the operation to secure Bekenu during the Brunei Revolt was considered an immediate success.

Lesson to learn from the Brunei Revolt, especially in Bekenu, according to Tom Harrisson

One of the lessons from the Brunei Revolt taught Sarawak was that greater attention should be paid to the small racial groups.

Sarawak’s then museum curator Tom Harrisson was in charge of all irregular forces in the Sibuti, Baram, Upper Limbang and Trusan headwaters to prevent rebels from escaping into the interior during the Brunei Revolt.

According to Harrisson, looking at what happened in Bekenu where the rebellion gained support from the local Kedayans, in the modern world one small group can break up the whole of pattern of a nation.

“Some people have asked me if there are any lessons Sarawak can learn from this revolt. Well, of course, there are all sort of lessons for the administration and intelligence and so on which are right above my head. But in my mild capacity as government ethnologist and curator of the Sarawak museum, there is an ethnological problem that comes of this- that is you cannot afford to ignore small racial groups,” Harrisson wrote in an article published in 1963.

He continued, “The Kedayans have played a major role in this. There are only about less than 10,000 of them in Sarawak but they have not been taken into account. There are practically no responsible Kedayans in any positions. They are not represented adequately in government and this applies equally to many other group in the north.”

He then gave an example of how large groups of Sarawak back then were given attention not only in administration but over the radio where only they had programs.

“Although the population of people like the Kedayans, the Kayans, the Kenyahs, Kelabits and Muruts are relatively small, they occupy enormous area of this country,” Harrisson wrote.

“In my view, what happened at Bekenu, among the Kedayans there, who I know quite well and who are extremely industrious farmers, is that they did get completely confused and misled. They are guilty all the same, no one is denying that, but there is a lesson that the same sort of thing can happen widely and I do not think the argument is sufficient that this group is small one, therefore we can ignore it.”

By Dec 17, some 40 rebels were dead and 3,400 were captured, putting an end to the rebellion. Though the rebellion was cut short, it is seen as one of the first stages of the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation.

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The migration of Indonesian romusha to Malaysian Borneo during WWII

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‘Romusha’ is actually a Japanese word for labourer. However during World War II (WWII), it specifically referred to forced labourers during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia.

According to the US Library of Congress, it was estimated in Java between 4 to 10 million romusha were forced to work by the Japanese military.

Indonesia during Japanese occupation

The experience in Indonesia during World War II varied depending on where one lived and one’s social status.

Those who lived in areas considered important to the war effort such as Balikpapan or Tarakan (for their oilfields) experienced torture, sex slavery, execution and war crimes.

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Pantai Amal, where the Japanese landed at Tarakan in North Kalimantan.

The romusha’s services were supposed to be voluntary but in reality many were recruited against their will.

Some were taken from their homes while others were even seized in the middle of a movie in theaters.

Most of them were put to work through threats and violence.

If they were lucky, they were put to work on Java island itself. The unfortunate ones were those who werw sent to work outside Java.

These locations included New Guinea, Malaya, Singapore, Thailand, Burma, British Borneo (current day Sabah and Sarawak), Indochina and Hong Kong.

Regardless of the locations, these romusha were forced to work under harsh conditions with insufficient food, shelter or medical care.

They were often treated worse than Prisoners of War (POWs) from Allied countries.

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Japanese invastion of Java. Credits: Creative commons.
Romusha in British Borneo

There is no exact number on how many romusha were sent to Borneo island during WWII. It is understood that they came here to work on oilfields and build facilities such as airstrips.

Richard Wallace Braithwaite in his book Fighting Monsters: An Intimate History of the Sandakan Tragedy gave one rough number.

“One estimate is that 31,700 Javanese were sent to North Borneo and another 48,700 to South Borneo. This occurred mainly in 1944. They constructed airfields in British Borneo, worked in the oilfields at Miri, and were used elsewhere in Borneo hacking tunnels and storage facilities out of rock.”

It was also reported there were about 3,000 Javanese romusha working in Sandakan airstrip alone during WWII.

Braithwaite further noted,

“Many romusha died in the transport ships before they reached their destination. While the Japanese kept good records, most records were destroyed after capitulation. The mortality rate for those who were sent outside was 74.3 per cent. However, only 5,000 survived of those who went to British Borneo, a much higher mortality rate of 85 per cent.”

Shigeru Sato in War, Nationalism and Peasants: Java Under the Japanese Occupation, 1942-1945 gave a different estimate number for North Borneo.

He wrote,

“Sending of Javanese labourers overseas was done mostly within the 1944 fiscal year. Like other commodities, the supply of labourers from Java fell below the levels set in the initial plan due to shipping difficulties. In the case of North Borneo, for which 17,000 men were approved for the year 1944, the total number of romusha who arrived from Java during the entire occupation period was 9,000 according to one estimate between 12,000 and 13,000 according to another.”

So did the romusha in Borneo return to Java after WWII?

After the end of WWII in September 1945, the Dutch Indies government established the Nederlandsh Bureau voor Documentatie en Repatrieering van Indonesiers (Netherlands Bureau for Documentation and Repatriation of Indonesians, or NEBUDORI).

This was to register, care for, and repatriate displaced Indonesians, most of whom were Javanese romusha.

The Japanese on the other hand did not make much effort to repatriate Indonesian romusha.

According to Shigeru, the repatriation of romusha by the Dutch began in May 1946, and by April 1947, a total of 52,117 Javanese romusha had been repatriated from Singapore, Malaya, Thailand, Indochina, Borneo, Celebes, New Guinea, the Moluccas and the Lesser Sunda Islands.

However, the repatriation of Indonesian romusha was not an easy job.

According to Braithwaite, when it came to repatriation back to Java, the romusha were the lowest priorities of the Allies.

“Some refused to go on Dutch ships as the Indonesian revolution was well underway and they did not trust the Dutch. Some presumably thought that going into a revolutionary zone in Java was likely to be worse than their situation in Borneo. In the end, only about a thousand returned from British Borneo. It was 1947 before authorities made ships available to them. By then, most had found employment and many were married to local women and had children.”

A thousand reportedly only managed to return home to Java out of the estimated number of 5,000 to 13,000 that were sent here.

This meant many had either decided to call Sabah and Sarawak home after the war or died working as romushas.

Nobody knows the fate of every romusha

There is no way to confirm these. The Japanese did not keep proper records of the romusha system and those who died were often buried in unmarked graves.

Historians believed the brutality of the romusha is one of the main reasons for the mass death rates among Indonesians under the Japanese occupation.

With no proper records documenting their arrivals or departures and no tombstones to mark their graves, the lives and sufferings of romusha outside of Indonesia, particularly in Malaysian Borneo, can be easily lost amongst the current and future generations.

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5 things you need to know about dragons in Iban folklore

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Despite being a mythical creature, the dragon appears in various folklore of many cultures around the world.

In Western culture, it is typically depicted as winged, horned, four-legged and capable of breathing fire.

Meanwhile, dragons in Eastern culture are usually wingless (but capable of flight) short-legged, serpentine creatures.

Would it be interesting to know that the dragon in Iban folklore is a bit of both worlds?

Here are at least five things you should know about dragons in Iban folklore:
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A dragon in Iban folklore has a luminous stone in the centre of its brow that works like a flashlight. Credits: Pixabay.
1.The physical appearance of a dragon in Iban folklore

According to an Iban legend, the dragon or naga is a huge snake with a horn protruding from its forehead.

Unlike its fellow dragons from other folklore, an Iban dragon has a luminous bezoar or gombala stone in the centre of its brow. It works like a flashlight for the dragon to lights its way at night.

It also has several pairs of wings, legs, arms, eyes and sharp claws and teeth.

2.There are two species of dragons.

According to Iban ethnologist Benedict Sandin, there are two species of dragons in Iban folklore. One species loves the water so it lives in the sea, pool or in the river. Meanwhile, another species prefer the mountain top.

The one which lives on the mountain top kills with its crested tail. It can also spit venom and breathe fire .

3.It is believed that a dragon protected the Ibans during the infamous Cholera expedition

Benedict wrote in The Sarawak Gazette on Nov 30, 1964, “It was said by the Ulu Ai Ibans during the Cholera Expedition against Penghulu Bantin of Delok in 1902, before the arrival of the Government forces at the mouth for Delok river in the upper Batang Ai, that they saw a huge dragon track going down from the hill to the river. During the following night Bantin had a dream. He dreamt that he met a huge dragon which told him not to worry about the enemy as he (the dragon) would fight for him.”

Eventually, one fifth of the 10,000 men recruited to fight the alleged rebels died of Cholera hence the name ‘Cholera Expedition’.

4.A dragon also helped fight the Japanese during World War II

When an Iban leader, the late Temenggong Koh fought against the Japanese during World War II, he gave offerings to the dragon god seeking its protection.

Benedict shared, “It was due to this that whenever the late Temenggong Koh was worried by the enemy he would throw an offering into the river to appeal for immediate help from his dragon god. He did this during the fighting against the Japanese soldiers at the own of Song during liberation days in 1945.”

5.There is a guardian dragon cited in a mourning song

In the olden days, according to Benedict, the Iban believed that whenever a person died in this world, thousands of their relatives who died before them will come from the other world to fetch their soul to live with them in Mandai Mati.

“On their way to Mandai Mati, on reaching the Pintu Tanah (Door to Earth) which separates this world from the next, a guardian dragon is mentioned in the following mourning song,” he added.

Here is the English translation of the song:

Then spoke the maiden Simba
Who, when she died was transformed into a hawk
“Where are you maiden Jawai
Who wears a single red pelaga stone,
And you maiden Iyak,
Who is lively and gay?
Please open the door of the dragon snake;
The door of red soil;
So that we can have a way to return to our country,
In the forest full of small mango trees;
With flowers all upside down.

We have no time!
Replied the dragon snake,
Because we are doing most important work,
Having been asked by Pungga and Laja,
To weave for them coloured petticoats,
Which they will wear on a short expedition,
To the mouth of the Kantu river
If they return from thence,
They will bring for us two lumps
Of precious (gombala) stones,
As big as areca nuts.

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How a Chinese magician brought crocodiles to Sarawak and other tales

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When it comes to legends related to crocodiles in Sarawak, most people will remember the story of Bujang Senang.

It was a 20-foot long saltwater crocodile that once roamed the river of Batang Lupar in Sri Aman.

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The narrower part of Batang Lupar river near Engkilili town.

Bujang Senang was believed to have swum in that river as early as 1942. (Saltwater crocodiles can have long lifespans, averaging 70 years and even up to 100.)

There is no exact number of how many had fallen into its prey, but after killing a woman in Sungai Pelaban, a tributary of Batang Lupar on May 20, 1992, it was shot to death after two more deaths later.

Some legends have it that Bujang Senang was an incarnation of an Iban warrior named Simalungun who was killed and cursed to turn into a crocodile. Seeking vengeance, he vowed to kill the descendants of those responsible for his death.

The legend of how crocodiles came to be in Sarawak

Among his accounts of how to go crocodile fishing or hunting them by torch light, J.Leong Ipoi, a Kenyah from Baram, relates a legend in the Sarawak Gazette on Aug 31, 1965 of how crocodiles first came to Sarawak.

Apparently, many years ago, there were no crocodiles found in this country.

Then came a Chinese magician named Sam Pa Kong, who brought one crocodile with him “because he did not find any fierce and wild animals here.”

He had packed the animal inside a mosquito net, which made it furious as it could not see anything.

“On arrival Sam Pa Kong set free the animal. That is why until the present time, people dare not wash their mosquito nets in the river. If they do, a crocodile will attack them,” Leong wrote.

He continued, “During many years, the Chinese said crocodiles in the Baram never attacked the Chinese because the Chinese had set the animal free.”

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The saltwater crocodile is one of the crocodile species found in Sarawak.
Before there were crocodiles, there were water ghosts

Leong also shared a story of how water ghosts and other wild animals existed before there were crocodiles in Sarawak waters.

These water ghosts were more dangerous than crocodiles.

He wrote, “They used to take children or adults into the water while they were swimming. They did not take people for food. Instead, they only wanted to kill, most of the dead bodies recovered were still in proper condition.”

Then came a man who gave the villagers an idea of how to get rid of these dangerous ghosts.

He asked the villagers to plant chillies, ginger, tuba and other plants which could sting and give off a biting heat.

After harvesting these plants, he told them to pound them together.

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Signage to warn visitor about crocodiles at Engkilili.

Under the man’s instruction, the villagers loaded the pounded vegetables onto the boats. At the right place, everyone capsized the boats, dumping their loads.

“This caused the fish to come out of the water including the water ghosts because their eyes could not stand it. Many of the ghosts escaped to the river bank. Some of them looked like human beings, with long finger nails, some had animal bodies but human heads; others with long hair around their bodies and also long teeth,” Leong stated.

Here comes the gruesome part of this legend; the villagers started to run after them, chopping off their heads.

Since then, only a few water ghosts are said to have survived the skirmish, but are no longer a danger to human beings.

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Saltwater crocodile. Credits: Pixabay

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Book your home away from home at the Riverside Majestic Astana Wing

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What type of traveler are you? Are you the type to hit the ground running, or the kind that just wants to relax, kick off your shoes and absorb your surroundings first? At Riverside Majestic’s Astana Wing, you can have it both ways (or more).  

Situated in the middle of Kuching City’s golden triangle made up of a unique balance between the city’s architectural and cultural heritage sites, and its business district; you can explore, enjoy the local cuisine as well as its nightlife, all on foot from the ease of your hotel.

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Riverside Majestic Astana Wing itself provides a luxurious hotel stay for casual travellers, while also providing fully-equipped facilities for digital nomads. It’s perfect for local event planners as well as incoming business travellers looking for an event venue and hotel stay with a killer view, and that is of one of Kuching’s most iconic heritage locations, the Kuching Waterfront.

No matter what floor you are on, the Kuching Waterfront remains the mainstage of your view. Thanks to constant upgrading and recent additions to the waterfront like the Darul Hana Bridge and most notably the Darul Hana Musical Fountain, you can never take a bad photo of the waterfront, morning, noon or night. 

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The view of Kuching’s historical waterfront from the Riverside Majestic’s events and meetings floor which features the spacious Alamanda Room, Orchid Room and Rafflesia Room.

For digital nomads and business travellers

Riverside Majestic Astana Wing enables digital nomads to plug and play here. Besides free wifi throughout the hotel, facilities such as the Surf & Chat business centre at the Mezzanine allows you to work while on holiday. 

It’s neatly placed just above the buzz of families and fellow travellers checking in at the reception counter, and private enough for business professionals to work or hold discussions and meetups with clients and partners. Their choice of punchy colours and comfortable sofa arrangements definitely provide inspiring backdrops for serious business discussions.

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Besides their business facilities, you can also enjoy a coffee or a meal as you take in the view.

Meanwhile, the Sape Restaurant provides a diverse and comprehensive breakfast buffet spread offering Western and Asian breakfast favorites. 

The Deli Cafe below the Surf & Chat is perfect for a quick munch or a sugar hit with your coffee or tea. 

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    The Sape Restaurant gives you the chance to enjoy the fresh air with an outdoor terrace.
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For a fine dining experience at the top where you can enjoy the skyline over the Kuching Waterfront, you can spend the evening with a business partner or a loved one at Suasana on 18 Fine Dining.

Meanwhile, for those who don’t want to skip leg day or want to take advantage of the sun, the gym and swimming pool facilities are in the main Riverside Majestic Puteri Wing, and navigable through a scenic corridor connecting the two buildings.

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A look at the Insiders Club

This is the handy app you didn’t know you needed. Free to download, membership is also free. Once you’ve logged in, you are automatically an Insiders Club member and can enjoy great deals and prices on their rooms and restaurants. 

For frequent travelers to Kuching’s Cat City who enjoy the luxury, convenience and reliability of this hotel chain made up of Riverside Majestic Astana Wing, Puteri Wing and Grand Margherita Hotel, you can keep updated with their deals, book your rooms under member prices or collect and redeem Insiders Club points.

You can even book Room Promo Packages which will include sightseeing packages along with your hotel stay, making this app a perfect tool for business travellers and families looking for a fuss-free, memorable holiday.

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Kuching may not be the biggest tourist draw when it comes up against tour destinations like the Maldives or Phuket, but Sarawak’s capital city has a lot of heart made up of its living and historic heritage, all of which can be experienced from the comfort of Riverside Majestic Astana Wing.

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BIBCo 2019: Bead-azzling Night of Fashion and Glamour

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Every fashion lover would know that accessories such as a statement necklace or earrings would elevate their overall look.

In Sarawak, we have an affinity for our Borneo beads as the choice of fashion accessories.

The Borneo International Beads Conference 2019 (BIBCo 2019) promised everything any bead and fashion lovers would adore; fashion, glamour, opulent looks and of course, extravagant beads.

Held for the sixth time, BIBCo 2019 took place from 4th to 6th October in Kuching.

It featured Kuala Lumpur designer Bill Keith and Sarawak contemporary bead designers Lucille Awen Jon and Juliana Ambrose.

Also making an appearance on the runway was Livan Gallery.

The 6th edition of BIBCO also featured international bead and costumes designers; Chris Lim Zamora (Philippines), Floor Kaspers (Netherlands), Elaine Robnett Moore (USA) and Florence Wee (Australia).

The Gala Nite also showcased traditional Laos weaving in Luang Prabang by The Weaving Sisters from Laos.

BIBCo 2019 Gala Nite was officiated by Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Sarawak, YB Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.

Here are some of the memorable looks showcased during BIBCo 2019:

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A model wearing ‘marik empang’, a traditional Iban outer garment worn around the shoulder made out of beads and cotton strings
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    An elaborate rainbow vest made out of beads
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    A back view of the colourful beaded vest
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A cardigan with beautiful patterns by the Weaving Sisters from Laos
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    Another beautiful creation by the Weaving Sisters; a sapphire blue scarf
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How did Bintulu get its name?

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Located in the central region of Sarawak, Bintulu was just a small village when James Brooke acquired it from the Brunei Sultanate in 1861.

Like most settlements ceded to Brooke, the first thing he did was build a fort in the area. In Bintulu, the Brooke government built a wooden fort name Fort Keppel named after the White Rajah’s friend Sir Henry Keppel.

In 1867, the first Sarawak Council Negri or General Council meeting was convened in Bintulu.

One of the earliest descriptions about Bintulu was written by Italian botanist Odoardo Beccari.

He arrived in Kemena River on Aug 13, 1867 using a gunboat named ‘Heartsease’.

After arriving in Bintulu, this was what he had to say about the town.

The fort of Bintulu which was built entirely of wood, was in somewhat ruinous condition. It stood nearly on the sea-shore, and just behind it, at a distance of few paces, the primeval forests commence.

Some chinamen had settled at the vicinity of the fort and had built a small bazaar; but the village is chiefly formed by the houses of the Melanau beyond the Chinese kampong (village).

These Melanaus used to live further up the river, but since the construction of the fort, and the installation of an officer of the Rajah near the mouth of the river, they came to settle near the sea – a thing they would never have dared to do in former days for fear of the attacks of the Lanun pirates and Dayak pirates.

Even during the 19th century, the area was known as Bintulu but how did the name come about?

Here are four legends on how Bintulu got her name:

Sarawak Legislative Assembly
In 1867, Kingdom of Sarawak’s first General Council meeting was held in Bintulu, making it the earliest legislative system in Malaysia. Today, a clock tower and a centenary stone remain as a reminder of where the meeting took place. 
1.Bintulu people had elongated heads?

One legend has it that in the olden days, Bintulu people had elongated heads. According to Chang Pat Foh in Legends and History of Sarawak, ‘bat’ means long and ‘ulau’ means head. Hence the name ‘bat ulau’ before the name Bintulu came about.

2.It was a place for drying skulls after headhunting

Additionally, Chang related another legend about Bintulu when headhunting was still a common practice.

The locals referred to headhunting as ‘milai’ while the process of drying and smoking the skull was called ‘betak’ in the local Melanau language.

There used to be site known as a place for drying the skulls in Bintulu where the locals called it ‘betak ulau’ or head drying place.

As time passed, the place’s name ‘betak ulau’ slowly evolved to Bintulu today.

3.A place to pick up skulls after headhunting

The third legend centered around headhunting. The act of picking up heads after headhunting was called ‘mentu ulau’. Sooner or later, people started to call the area ‘Mentulau’.

When the Brooke officials came, they allegedly interpreted the word ‘mentulau’ into ‘Bintulu’.

4.A place where sea and water mixed

“The fast running water from Sungai Jelalong and Sungai Tubau which flows into South China Sea mixes with the river water from Batang Kemana at the mouth of the river.

“Long ago, the people who stayed at Muara Batang Kemena gave the name ‘Ba Tulau’ to the place where they stayed. ‘Ba’ in Melanau Bintulu dialect means water whereas ‘tula’ means mixing. Hence, ‘Ba Tulau’ mean ‘mixing water,” Chang wrote.

Pasar Malam Bintulu
Bintulu Night Market

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How Dayak climbers helped in foreign expeditions

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We have often heard of Sherpas and Nepalese mountain climbers, but did you know that Dayak climbers from Borneo were often recruited by westerners during scientific expeditions?

These adventures took these Dayak climbers out of Borneo way back in the early part of the 20th century.

Hendrikus Albertus Lorents and his Dayak climbers/porters

Hendrikus Albertus Lorentz (1871-1944) was the first recorded explorer to hire Dayak climbers to accompany him in his expedition.

The Dutch explorer participated in three expeditions to New Guinea; the first was the North New Guinea Expedition in 1903, led by Arthur Wichmann. Lorentz himself led expeditions in 1907 and 1909-1910.

According to Tom Harrisson in an article “Kenyah above the Snow Line” published on The Sarawak Gazette (April 30, 1965), Lorentz recruited Dayak climbers to climb Puncak Jaya in 1909.

Known as Carstensz Peak back then, it is the highest mountain in Indonesia standing tall at 4,884 metres.

“The 1909 expedition was a Dutch race against a British group, sponsored by the British Ornithologists Union. Dutch leader Lorentz recruited 61 Dutch-Indonesian troops and 82 Bornean Dayaks, who were allowed to bring blowpipes and poison darts but not beheading swords,” Harrisson wrote.

More than a month after leaving their base, Lorentz and his party reached the snowfield of Puncak Jaya at 14,786 feet on Nov 8, 1909.

The first Kayan and Kenyah climbers to reach a snow capped mountain

Most records stated that Kenyah porters from Apo Kayan who helped Lorentz in his conquests.

According to Tom Harrisson, the six Dayak porters were actually Kenyahs and Kayans from the Batang Kayan and Mahakam, Indonesia.

Lorentz once wrote, “It is still incredible, as it was then, to think of us and our five Dayaks standing on that high white island.”

Though it is impossible to find out their identities today, it is right to say they might be the first Kayan and Kenyah climbers to reach a snow peaked mountain.

There is a photo of them on top of the mountain. It was published in “New Guinea: The Last Unknown” by Gavin Souter with one of the Dayak climbers covering his face with snow.

On the way down, Lorentz fell and got himself seriously injured. Thankfully, his Dayak climbers saved the day by bringing him down safely.

How Dayak climbers helped in other expeditions

Meanwhile, the British expedition got into serious difficulties and failed to reach to the top. Their expedition had 96 servants from Maluku, Indonesia and ten Gurkhas.

In 1912, the British Ornithologists Union tried again. Learning from the Dutch, the British also hired Dayak climbers to aid in their expedition.

Along with 74 Iban climbers partly from Sarawak, they reached the then record height of 14,866 feet of Puncak Jaya.

Later in 1938, American zoologist Richard Archbold dispatched two exploration teams into the Baliem Valley of New Guinea. Each team consisted of Dutch soldiers, convicts and Dayak porters from Kalimantan.

According to Harrisson, a large number of them were Kenyahs and Kayans from Apo Kayan “who among other things planted garden of beans and lettuce above 10,000 feet” during the expedition.

With their jungle survival skills and high-enduring stamina, it is understandable why foreign adventurers recruited Dayak climbers during such expeditions.

COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Een Ibu Dajak krijger uit Long Nawan Z. en O. afdeling Borneo. TMnr 60034031
Dayak warriors. Credit: Creative commons

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