PENENTANGAN  PERLOMBONGAN  EMAS  DARI  BAU  TERHADAP  JAMES   BROOKE

PENENTANGAN terhadap penjajah di Sarawak tidak saja dipelopori penduduk tempatan dan Bumiputera tetapi sekumpulan pelombong emas Cina di Bau iaitu sebuah daerah yang terletak kira-kira 35 kilometer dari bandar Kuching.

Cerita penentangan itu bermula pada 18 Februari 1857 iaitu 24 hari selepas perayaan Tahun Baru Cina:

Liu Shan Bang berdiri memandang kira-kira 600 pelombong Cina yang berjaya dikumpulnya di hadapan kuil lama ‘Tian Sze Lung Kiung’ di Mau San (Bau) Mereka semua lengkap bersenjata dan sedang menunggu arahan daripadanya.

Hari itu, mereka akan melakukan satu tindakan besar bagi membela kaum mereka daripada terus ditekan dan dianiaya bangsa asing pimpinan James Brooke.

Mereka masih bersabar apabila cukai kepala dikenakan terhadap mereka walaupun hakikatnya mereka terlebih dulu mendiami dan melombong di kawasan itu, sebelum James Brooke tiba dan menjajah Sarawak pada 1841.

Akan tetapi selepas warisan cara hidup dan hak mereka mula diperkotak-katikkan, mereka sudah tidak dapat bersabar lagi. Larangan mengimport candu, arak selain mengeksport emas ke luar negara oleh bangsa asing itu dianggap sudah melampau. Mereka perlu bangkit membela hak mereka.

Selepas mendapati semua kelengkapan cukup dan pengikutnya bersiap sedia, Liu Shan Bang yang juga pemimpin kongsi Cina di kalangan puak Hakka di Bau mula memberikan arahan.

Seterusnya ratusan angkatan pelombong bersenjata berarak ke Pangkalan Bau yang terletak kira-kira satu kilometer dari lokasi terbabit. Di pangkalan itu, mereka menaiki 30 perahu besar dan mula menyusuri sungai sarawak kiri menuju Tondong yang terletak dua jam perjalanan dari situ.

Matahari sudah terik di atas kepala apabila kumpulan pelombong terbabit merapati tebing sungai di Tondong. Seterusnya dari situ, mereka mula bergerak ke Kuching dengan penuh keazaman untuk menentang penjajah asing itu. tengah hari mula berganti petang tetapi kumpulan pelombong Cina itu terus bergerak dengan penuh waspada. Menjelang tengah malam, mereka tiba di Kuching.

Di satu kawasan rahsia di Kuching, Liu Shan Bang kembali mengatur strategi - sebahagian daripada 600 pelombong itu akan bergerak di bawah pimpinannya menuju kediaman James Brooke manakala satu kumpulan lagi akan bergerak memasuki Kuching untuk menyerang dan menawan bandar itu.

Tidak lama selepas itu, bumi Kuching mula bergolak. Jeritan dan pekikan serangan bergema membelah langit malam. Pegawai dan tentera British yang tidak menyedari serangan berkenaan panik melihat amukkan pelombong Cina.

Bangunan British musnah dibakar manakala lima penduduk berbangsa Eropah termasuk seorang pegawai iaitu Harry Nicholetts - disangka pelombong terbabit sebagai James Brooke - dibunuh. Orang Eropah lain berlari ketakutan dan berlindung di sebuah gereja.

Satu pasukan lain pimpinan Liu Shan Bang mula menyerbu ke kediaman James Brooke dengan ganas. Dalam ketakutan, lelaki asing itu berlari keluar dan terjun ke sungai berhampiran rumahnya. Dia menyembunyikan diri dengan berenang di bawah beberapa jong Cina yang terdapat di sungai berkenaan.James Brooke bersembunyi selama 5 hari.

Di kediaman lelaki berbangsa asing itu, Liu Shan Bang memimpin pasukannya mengamuk dan memusnahkan apa saja yang dijumpai mereka. Kemudian mereka mula menyalakan api dan membakar rumah kediaman pemimpin bangsa asing itu.

Kekacauan itu hanya reda apabila mentari pagi menjelma. Tarikh 19 Februari 1857, orang Cina dari Bau menawan bandar Kuching dan mula mengatur pentadbiran baru.

Bangunan British musnah dibakar, lima penduduk Eropah termasuk seorang pegawai disangka Brooke dibunuh.

Kemenangan menawan Kuching bagaimanapun menyedarkan Liu Shan Bang mengenai satu perkara. Charles Brooke iaitu anak saudara James Brooke mungkin akan menyerang mereka tidak lama lagi bagi membalas dendam terhadap ‘kematian’ bapa saudaranya itu.

Menyedari hakikat itu, Liu Shan Bang dan pengikutnya berundur kembali ke Bau. Bagaimanapun, perjalanan pulang kumpulan terbabit pada pada 21 Februari 1857, diserang  hendap di Jugan Siniawan, Liew Shan Bang terbunuh pada 24 februari 1887 pada umur 57 sebagai hero.

Pelombong Cina itu kemudian mengumpul lebih ramai anggotanya di Bau dan membatalkan hasrat untuk berundur sebaliknya kembali ke Kuching.

James Brooke yang disangka sudah terbunuh oleh kumpulan pelombong terbabit kemudian muncul selepas bersembunyi selama 5 hari dan mula memimpin pasukan nya untuk menawan kembali Kuching. Bagaimanapun sebaik sampai di bandar itu, mereka mendapati angkatan pelombong Cina yang lebih ramai sedang berkubu dan ‘menunggu mereka’ di situ.

Bangsa asing itu nekad menyerang tetapi mereka akhirnya kalah dan terpaksa melarikan diri.
 

                                                      James Brooke


James Brooke guna tipu helah tumpaskan kumpulan Liu Shan Bang di Kuching
PADA Februari 1857, pasukan bantuan pimpinan Charles Brooke tiba dari Skrang. Mereka bergabung dengan pasukan James Brooke dan mula membedil bandar Kuching.

Serangan itu berjaya menenggelamkan beberapa perahu pelombong Cina terbabit menyebabkan ada antara mereka melarikan diri ke dalam hutan manakala sebahagian lain berundur dan membina kubu pertahanan di Lidah Tanah.

Bagaimanapun, kubu berkenaan gagal menahan serangan balas dan sekali lagi kumpulan pelombong terbabit berundur ke Jugan Siniawan dan membina kubu di situ pula.

Pasukan James Brooke terus memburu dan peperangan sengit berlaku di kubu berkenaan. Tentangan hebat diberikan pelombong Cina menyebabkan pasukan James Brooke gagal menembusi kubu berkenaan.

Akhirnya James Brooke memasang helah. Beliau mula menghentikan serangan dan menghantar seorang utusan bersama beberapa tong arak kepada Liu Shanbang kononnya sebagai tanda perdamaian.

Pelombong Cina yang menyangka tentera berbangsa asing itu sudah menyerah kalah kemudian merayakan kemenangan mereka pada sebelah malam. Ketika itulah pasukan James Brooke mula bertindak.

Kelekaan pelombong Cina terbabit menyebabkan pasukan James Brooke kembali melancarkan serangan terhadap kubu berkenaan sehingga menyebabkan Liu Shanbang bersama kira-kira 100 pengikutnya terbunuh.

Kekalahan pasukan Liu Shan Bang menyebabkan angkatan perang James Brooke mara ke Bau dan membunuh semua penduduk Cina yang mereka temui. Sebahagian penduduk Cina yang tidak sempat melarikan diri ke Sambas, Indonesia, menyembunyikan diri di dalam gua berhampiran.

Bagaimanapun, sebaik mengetahui lokasi persembunyian berkenaan, pasukan James Brooke dengan kejamnya bertindak menyalakan api di hadapan pintu gua mengakibatkan ratusan penduduk Cina itu mati terbakar dan lemas.

Kekejaman pasukan James Brooke tidak terhenti di situ. Hampir 2,000 penduduk Cina di Mau San (Bau)turut dibunuh dengan kejam bagi membalas dendam terhadap penentangan yang lancarkan pelombong terbabit.
FAKTA: Penentangan pelombong Cina terhadap Brooke

 Sebelum penjajahan James Brooke terhadap Sarawak pada 1841, kumpulan kongsi Cina dari puak Hakka pimpinan Liu Shan Bang terlebih dulu menetap dan menjalankan perlombongan emas di beberapa kawasan di Bau antaranya Mau San, Bidi, Tondong dan Paku.
 Sehingga penghujung 1850-an, semakin ramai pelombong Cina yang berhijrah secara besar-besaran dari Sambas, Indonesia ke Bau untuk menyertai perlombongan sehingga jumlah mereka dianggarkan kira-kira 4,000 orang.

 Kewujudan ramai penduduk Cina itu menbuat James Brooke merasa genter, ada antara mereka yang bertindak agresif termasuk melakukan jenayah dan mewujudkan beberapa kumpulan kongsi gelap yang dikhuatiri menggugat kerajaan pimpinannya.

 Kerajaan Brooke mengenakan ‘cukai kepala’ kepada setiap penduduk dan sesiapa yang enggan menuruti arahan berkenaan akan dibunuh atau dihalau keluar dari bumi Sarawak. Bagaimanapun, Kongsi Hakka tidak melaporkan jumlah sebenar anggota mereka bagi mengelak dikenakan cukai tinggi

 Pada 1850, seorang ejen kongsi gelap dari Singapura datang ke Sarawak untuk menubuhkan kongsi gelap ‘Hueh’ tetapi dia ditahan dan dihukum bunuh.

 Pertelingkahan yang agak rumit berlaku pada 1852 apabila Liu Shan Bang enggan menyerahkan seorang anggota Hueh yang melakukan jenayah kepada Kerajaan Brooke. Akibatnya, Charles Brooke menghantar sepasukan tenteranya untuk menangkap penduduk Cina terbabit manakala pelombong Cina di Bau dihukum membina kubu Belidah berhampiran Siniawan.

 Konflik semakin tercetus apabila Syarikat Borneo ditubuhkan pada 1856 apabila pelombong Cina terbabit mula bimbang yang syarikat itu akan mengambil alih usaha mereka melombong emas di Bau.

 Pada Januari 1857, kongsi Hakka didenda 150 pound akibat menyeludup candu. Kerajaan Brooke kemudian mengenakan beberapa peraturan yang menjadi pencetus penentangan iaitu, pihak kongsi perlu membayar cukai mengikut bilangan penduduk sebenar; dilarang mengimport atau berdagang candu, arah dan lain-lain keperluan serta dilarang mengeksport atau berdagang emas atau lain-lain barang.

Bermula dari ketidak puas hati pelombong emas di Bau ketika itu, maka terjadi lah penentangan terhadap James Brooke pada 17 februari 1857.

SBPA DIBATALKAN DAN KEMBALI KEPADA SSM.

SBPA DIBATALKAN, KEMBALI KEPADA SSM DAN DIBERI PENAMBAHBAIKAN

Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, hari ini mengumumkan pelaksanaan skim Saraan Baru Perkhidmatan Awam (SBPA) dibatalkan dan kembali kepada Skim Saraan Malaysia (SSM) yang akan ditambah baik.

Pengumuman itu dibuat pada perjumpaan beliau dengan penjawat awam di Pusat Konvensyen Antarabangsa di sini.
Sistem Saraan Baru Perkhidmatan Awam (SBPA) yang diperkenalkan pada 1 Januari lalu akan dimansuhkan.
Sehubungan itu, 1.4 kakitangan awam akan tertakluk kepada Sistem Saraan Malaysia (SSM).
Najib, turut mengumumkan penubuhan sebuah suruhanjaya khas yang dianggotai oleh semua pihak berkepentingan bagi mengkaji secara komprehensif dan holistik perkhidmatan awam Malaysia.

Antara ucapan Perdana Menteri :

• Pelarasan gaji sebanyak 13 peratus bagi Kumpulan Pengurusan dan Professional dan Kumpulan Pelaksana dari Gred 1 hingga Gred 54
• Bagi Kumpulan Gred Utama C,B,A (sembilan peratus)
• Gred Turus 3 dan 2 (lapan peratus) dan
• Gred Turus Satu dan Ketua Setiausaha Negara (tujuh peratus)
• Jadual gaji matriks yang dilaksanakan sekarang diubahsuai kepada gaji minimum-maksimum dengan kadar kenaikan RM80-RM320 bagi Gred 1-54 manakala gred bagi Jusa kekal mengikut kenaikan tahunan SSM.
• Kenaikan Elaun Bantuan Sara Hidup (COLA) kepada RM250 sebulan dari RM200 bagi kawasan B manakala bagi kawasan C dinaikkan kepada RM150 daripada RM100.

Pelarasan dibuat berdasarkan Jadual Gaji Matriks Sistem Saraan Malaysia (SSM) berikutan pembatalan sistem Saraan Baru Perkhidmatan Awam hari ini.

Najib juga mengumumkan jadual gaji matriks yang dilaksanakan sekarang diubahsuai kepada gaji minimum-maksimum dengan kadar kenaikan RM80-RM320 bagi Gred 1-54 manakala gred bagi Jusa kekal mengikut kenaikan tahunan SSM.

Bagi Elaun Bantuan Sara Hidup (COLA), Najib mengumumkan kenaikan kepada RM250 sebulan dari RM200 bagi kawasan B manakala bagi kawasan C dinaikkan kepada RM150 daripada RM100.

Perdana Menteri membuat pengumuman itu pada perhimpunan khas bersama penjawat awam di Dewan Perdana Pusat Konvensyen Antarabangsa Putrajaya pagi ini.

Ekoran bantahan sebahagian besar kakitangan awam dan Cuepacs sendiri, kerajaan memutuskan untuk menangguhkan pelaksanaan SBPA awal Januari lalu.

Susulan penangguhan itu, kerajaan menubuhkan sebuah pasukan petugas bagi melaksanakan semakan semula SBPA dan diberi tempoh tiga bulan untuk membuat kajian dan penambahbaikan terhadap skim baru

SSM.

BAU AND HOW IT GOT ITS NAME

INTRODUCTION OF BAU AND HOW ITS GOT ITS NAME

Maybe it is not a well known fact, that, if it wasn't because of Bau, James Brooke, the first White Rajah, would never have come to rule Sarawak.

The name 'Bau', only came into being in the early 1857, after the abortive Bau Chinese Rebellion of 1857.

In the early 1800's, the old name of Bau District was 'Upper Sarawak'. There was no such place called Bau. The old name of Bau Town was 'Mau San' or 'Bukit Mau'. This Settlement was established in between 1820 - 1830 by Chinese Miners from Sambas, Indonesia, after the discovery of Gold and Antimony in the district.

History has shown that Bau is one of the oldest and richest (in term of mineral resources) districts in Sarawak. In the olden days, Bau was not only a well known mining district but also one of great historical importance.

Bau Native Rebellion of 1836.

(Installation of James Brooke as the first White Rajah of Sarawak.)

The discovery of gold and Antimony in Bau district in 1823, was the turning point in the history of Sarawak. Sarawak at this time was under the rule of Brunei.

Sarawak (present day Kuching/Samarahan Division) at that time was under a tyrannical Governor named Pengiran Mahkota.

In 1826, Pengiran Mahkota, forced the Land Dayaks (Bidayuhs) and Malays in the District to work in the Antimony Mines, with hardly any wages. To add salt to injury, he took away their padi and boats. He even took away and sold Land Dayak women and children as slaves.

After suffering for 10 years, the Land Dayaks and Malays rebelled against Pengiran Mahkota in 1836. The rebells headquarters was in Sinawan. The rebellion dragged on for some years because neither could defeat each other.

It was in 1839, at the height of the Civil War, that James Brooke, an English Adventurer, made his first visit to Sarawak. James Brooke became enchanted with the place and revisited Kuching in August 1840.

The Civil war was still going on. Pengiran Muda Hassim (an envoy of Brunei Sultan - send to quell the rebellion), promised Brooke, that, if he could assist him to settle the Civil War, the country of Upper Sarawak (Bau District) and Sarawak proper (Kuching) would be given to him and he would be granted the title of Rajah.

By this time, the Land Dayaks had been defeated due to starvation. Thus by the end of 1840, without much effort and a little intervention by Brooke, the war ended.

Peace was finally restored. James Brooke took control of the administration of Sarawak.

On 24th September 1841, James Brooke was installed as the first White Rajah of Sarawak. (Kuching/Samarahan Division only)

How Bau got its name.

The Chinese miners in ‘Mau San’ (Old Bau) was already well established since 1820. They were well contented in their free way of life due to loose control and poor administration by Brunei.

But after James Brooke was installed as Rajah of Sarawak in 1841, he imposed taxes, prohibited direct trading of opium and wine with foreign countries, prohibited direct export of gold and antimony. In 1856, the Rajah allowed the formation of the Borneo Company to mine gold in Bau.

The above factors caused the Chinese Miners to rebelled against the Rajah. Obeying the new rules of a White Devil was too much.

The rebellion started on 18th February 1857. 600 men paddled down Sarawak river from Pangkalan Bau to Kuching. They attacked Kuching and the Astana in the early morning of 19th February. Somehow, James Brooke manage to escape by swimming across the Sarawak river. The Chinese Miners burnt down the Astana, killed and beheaded 5 Europeans.

The rebellion was doomed to fail from the beginning. There was no proper planning, the Miners lacked weapons and proper military training. There was no support from the local community, especially the natives.

Thus when news came that, the Tuan Muda (Charles Brooke) with the aid of Iban warriors from second Division (Skrang) was coming to avenge the death of the Europeans, the Chinese Miners decided to retreat from Kuching to Bau.

On 22th February 1857, they retreated upriver. But at Jugan Sinawan they were attacked and defeated by the combined forces of Ibans and Malays loyal to Brooke. More then a hundred Miners were killed, including their leader. Dead and decomposed bodies were found everywhere. The place where this happened is now called ‘Buso’ (in malay, it means rotten/stink/decomposed).

The remaining 100 miners retreated to Bau, collected their families and belongings and escaped to Sambas, Indonesia. Most of them perished on the way.

The families that have lost their men and were unable to escape to Indonesia, hid in the Ghost Cave or fled into the jungle. There were no mercy for them. Each and everyone were hunted down and killed by the Rajah forces. Those who hid in the Ghost cave were burnt or suffocated to death.(a few hundred women and children). ‘Mau San’ Chinese Mining Settlement was set on fire on 25th February 1857. Total number of Chinese killed was about 2000.

The burnt bodies in Ghost caves and decomposed bodies around ‘Mau San’ produced bad smell for weeks. Because of the bad smell, it was believed that ‘Bau’ (it means bad smell/smelly in Malay) got its name.

Bidayuh Version of How Bau got its name.

The Chinese from Sambas, estabished their settlement in Mau San (now called Bau Lama), in the 1820′s, near to the present Bau Town. It was centered around the goldmine. The Sarawak Kanan river (sungei Pedie) flow close by. The river was their source of water supply and transport. As the settlement grew, the Bidayuh living in the area started to barter trade with the Chinese and some even found employment in the mines. The Bidayuh started to call the settlement ‘Kupuo Baauh’ or New Village. To a non-Bidayuh it is hard to pronoun ‘baauh’ and the name was ccorrupted to 'Bau'. This is a more plausible origin to the name Bau. Nothing to do with bad smell.

'Shak Lo Moun'.

The Hakka Chinese name for Bau is 'Shak Lo Moun' meaning 'rock entrance' or 'cave door'. This is in reference to the many limestone caves found in the district.




Source:

THE ROLE AND RIGHTS IN A DEMOCRACY

THE ROLE OF THE CITIZEN IN A DEMOCRACY. 

1. The key role of citizens in a democracy is to participate in public life.

2. Citizens have an obligation to become informed about public issues, to watch carefully how their political leaders and representatives use their powers, and to express their own opinions and interests.

3. Voting in elections is another important civic duty of all citizens.

4. But to vote wisely, each citizen should listen to the views of the different parties and candidates, and then make his or her own decision on whom to support.

5. Participation can also involve campaigning for a political party or candidate, standing as a candidate for political office, debating public issues, attending community meetings, petitioning the government, and even protesting.

6. A vital form of participation comes through active membership in independent, non-governmental organizations, what we call “civil society.”

7. These organizations represent a variety of interests and beliefs: farmers, workers, doctors, teachers, business owners, religious believers, women, students, human rights activists.
8. It is important that women participate fully both in politics and in civil society.
9. This requires efforts by civil society organizations to educate women about their democratic rights and responsibilities, improve their political skills, represent their common interests, and involve them in political life.
10. In a democracy, participation in civic groups should be voluntary. No one should be forced to join an organization against their will.
11. Political parties are vital organizations in a democracy, and democracy is stronger when citizens become active members of political parties.
12. However, no one should support a political party because he is pressured or threatened by others. In a democracy, citizens are free to choose which party to support.
13. Democracy depends on citizen participation in all these ways. But participation must be peaceful, respectful of the law, and tolerant of the different views of other groups and individuals.

The Rights of Citizens in a Democracy
1. In a democracy, every citizen has certain basic rights that the state cannot take away from them.
2. These rights are guaranteed under international law.
3. You have the right to have your own beliefs, and to say and write what you think.
4. No one can tell you what you must think, believe, and say or not say.
5. There is freedom of religion. Everyone is free to choose their own religion and to worship and practice their religion as they see fit.
6. Every individual has the right to enjoy their own culture, along with other members of their group, even if their group is a minority.
7. There is freedom and pluralism in the mass media.
8. You can choose between different sources of news and opinion to read in the newspapers, to hear on the radio, and to watch on television.
9. You have the right to associate with other people, and to form and join organizations of your own choice, including trade unions.
10. You are free to move about the country, and if you wish, to leave the country.
11. You have the right to assemble freely, and to protest government actions.
12. However, everyone has an obligation to exercise these rights peacefully, with respect for the law and for the rights of others.

BUNG BRATAK

• BUNG BRATAK
  
  
  On top of Bung Bratak (Bratak Peak), was where a settlement was located. The settlement was mentioned by both Sarawak's White Rajahs in their writings in the 1800s and the Dutch in Sambas in Kalimantan, Indonesia. The Jagoi-Bratak Bidayuhs were said to have settled at Bung Bratak from Gunung Sungkong in Kalimantan in the year 1000. It was often attacked by hostile predators from other areas before it finally fell to the Skrang Ibans. The settlement, strategically located at a hill shoulder and plateau, was considered prosperous with large stock of padi and was well-known throughout Borneo. It was the envy of the people from other areas. After days of intense attack, the settlement collapsed in the early hours of May 1, leaving the survivors to flee into the jungle. All the longhouses and the baruk were set ablaze by the attackers.
  On May 1, 1837, the Skrang Ibans invaded the Jagoi-Bratak Bidayuh settlement on top of Bratak Peak, killing over 2,000 Jagoi-Bratak Bidayuh men and taking 1,000 women captive. Panglima Kulow, head of Jagoi-Bratak Bidayuh community, and a handful of his followers survived the massacre. In 1841 Sir James Brooke, who was then the newly-installed White Rajah of Sarawak, was able to rescue some of the women taken captives
  
  
  
  
  
                  Panglima Kulow
  
  
      By 1841, when Sarawak experienced greater peace and order, the people of Bung Bratak under Panglima Kulow moved down to the surrounding lowlands. Today, from Kampung Selampit in Lundu District to Kampung Sirikin and Kampung Staas in Bau District, as well as those in the Jagoi Babang area in kalimantan Barat and Kampung Bowang in Penrissen area of Kuching District, the villagers trace their original ancestry to and at Bung Bratak. Over 40 Bidayuh villages recognise Bung Bratak as their "original home".
      The last group of Bidayuhs who left Bung Bratak are those now at Kampung Tembawang Sauh and Kampung Jugan in Bau District, who become the nearest guardians/custodians of the ancient settlement.
  Each year on May 1, descendants of the survivors of the 1837 massacre hold Jagoi-Bratak Day on top of Bratak Peak in Bau in memory of their ancestors. A memorial stone was erected on May 1, 1988, to mark the day.
  There is a belief that the water from a spring at Bung Bratak has healing powers. Bidayuhs and also non Bidayuh going there will take them home in bottles to bathed and treat their children of cold and flu.
  
  

SARAWAK PEOPLE AND HISTORY

SARAWAK - PEOPLE AND HISTORY.

Little is known about the first inhabitants of Borneo. Human bones some 50,000 years old have been found in Sarawak, but these almost certainly did not belong to the ancestors of the present inhabitants. The indigenous peoples of Borneo speak languages belonging to the Austronesian family. The original Austronesians, perhaps originating in mainland Asia, became a maritime people who, several thousand years ago, began to expand across the Pacific and Indian oceans. Over time they founded hundreds of nations, and today their descendants can be found on Taiwan and in Malaysia, in the Phillipines and New Zealand, on Madagascar and Hawaii, and on countless islands in between.

Some three hundred years ago the territory that is now Sarawak came under the dominion of the Sultan of Brunei. Brunei was one of several Malay sultanates that had been established on the coast of Borneo in the preceding centuries. Although these small states contolled maritime trade and much of the coast, effective authority did not extend far inland.

When James Brooke, an English trader and adventurer, arrived in Brunei in the 1840's, the state was in decline. Rebellion had broken out against the Sultanate. Brooke allied himself with the Sultan, using his gunboat to suppress the revolt. In exchange, the Sultan ceded to him a portion of his territory. Brooke become king, or "Rajah", of Sarawak, and over the following decades, as Brunei continued to decline, Sarawak annexed most of the Sultanate's remaining territory. Brooke founded a dynasty that lasted until 1941. During this time, Sarawak was an independent country ruled by a white monarchy. Although the Rajahs were British citizens, Sarawak did not formally become a British colonial possession until after World War II.

When Britain granted independence to Malaysia in 1963, Sarawak (along with Sabah) were included in the new nation. With an area of 124,000 square kilometres, Sarawak constitutes 38% of the national territory. But while Malaysia has a population of 18 million, Sarawak is home to only 1.5 million people.

The people of Sarawak fall into 26 distinct ethnic groups or nations, each with its own language. Most of these peoples are collectively referred to as "Dayaks". Among these are the Iban, Bidayuh, Kenyah, Kayan, Kedayan, Murut, Punan, Bisayah, Kelabit, Berawan and Penan. Most of these Dayak peoples came to Borneo thousands of years ago. Malays and Chinese, who arrived more recently, constitute a large percentage of the coastal and urban population.

 

Most of the people of Sarawak are sedentary farmers who live in communal longhouses and practice swidden rice agriculture (shifting cultivation). Of the thousands of people who still led a nomadic existence at the end of the nineteenth century, fewer than two hundred Eastern Penan continue to live as wanderers. They are one of the world's few surviving societies of nomads

DAYAK THE NATIVE

OF
BORNEO

The Dayak or Dyak  are the native people of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups, located principally in the interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily identifiable. Dayak languages are categorised as part of the Austronesian languages in Asia. The Dayak were animist in belief; however many converted to Christianity, and some embraced Islam more recently. Estimates for the Dayak population range from 2 to 4 million.

 History of the Dayak people

The consensus interpretation in modern anthropology is that nearly all indigenous peoples of South East Asia, including the Dayaks, are descendants of a larger Austronesian migration from Asia, thought to have settled in the South East Asian Archipelago some 3,000 years ago. The first populations spoke closely related Austronesian languages, from which Dayak languages are traced. About 2,450 years ago, metallurgy was introduced; it later became widespread.

The main ethnic groups of Dayaks are the Bakumpai and Dayak Bukit of South Kalimantan, The Ngajus, Baritos, Benuaqs of East Kalimantan, the Kayan and Kenyah groups and their subtribes in Central Borneo and the Ibans, Embaloh (Maloh), Kayan, Kenyah, Penan, Kelabit, Lun Bawang and Taman populations in the Kapuas and Sarawak regions. Other populations include the Ahe, Jagoi, Selakau, Bidayuh, and Kutai.

The Dayak people of Borneo possess an indigenous account of their history, partly in writing and partly in common cultural customary practices. In addition, colonial accounts and reports of Dayak activity in Borneo detail carefully cultivated economic and political relationships with other communities as well as an ample body of research and study considering historical Dayak migrations. In particular, the Iban or the Sea Dayak exploits in the South China Seas are documented, owing to their ferocity and aggressive culture of war against sea dwelling groups and emerging Western trade interests in the 19th and 20th centuries.

During World War II, the Japanese occupied Borneo and treated all of the indigenous peoples poorly - massacres of the Malay and Dayak peoples were common, especially among the Dayaks of the Kapit Division.  Following this treatment, the Dayaks formed a special force to assist the Allied forces. Eleven United States airmen and a few dozen Australian special operatives trained a thousand Dayaks from the Kapit Division to battle the Japanese with guerilla warfare. This army of tribesmen killed or captured some 1,500 Japanese soldiers and were able to provide the Allies with intelligence vital in securing Japanese-held oil fields.

Coastal populations in Borneo are largely Muslim in belief, however these groups (Melanau, Kadayan, Bakumpai, Bisayah) are generally considered to be Islamized Dayaks, native to Borneo, and heavily influenced by the Javanese Majapahit Kingdoms and Islamic Malay Sultanates.

Other groups in coastal areas of Sabah, Sarawak and northern Kalimantan; namely the Illanun, Tausug, Sama and Bajau, although inhabiting and (in the case of the Tausug group) ruling, the northern tip of Borneo for centuries, have their origins from the southern Philippines. These groups are not Dayak, but instead are grouped under the separate umbrella term of Moro.

 Traditional headhunter culture

In the past the Dayak were feared for their ancient tradition of headhunting practices. After conversion to Christianity or Islam and anti-headhunting legislation by the colonial powers the practice was banned and disappeared, only to resurface in the late 90s, when Dayak started to attack Madurese emigrants in an explosion of ethnic violence.

Agricultural

Traditionally, Dayak agriculture was based on swidden rice cultivation. Agricultural Land in this sense was used and defined primarily in terms of hill rice farming, ladang (garden), and hutan (forest). Dayaks organised their labour in terms of traditionally based land holding groups which determined who owned rights to land and how it was to be used. The "green revolution" in the 1950s, spurred on the planting of new varieties of wetland rice amongst Dayak tribes.

The main dependence on subsistence and mid-scale agriculture by the Dayak has made this group active in this industry. The modern day rise in large scale monocrop plantations such as palm oil and bananas, proposed for vast swathes of Dayak land held under customary rights, titles and claims in Indonesia, threaten the local political landscape in various regions in Borneo. Further problems continue to arise in part due to the shaping of the modern Malaysian and Indonesian nation-states on post-colonial political systems and laws on land tenure. The conflict between the state and the Dayak natives on land laws and native customary rights will continue as long as the colonial model on land tenure is used against local customary law. The main precept of land use, in local customary law, is that cultivated land is owned and held in right by the native owners, and the concept of land ownership flows out of this central belief. This understanding of adat is based on the idea that land is used and held under native domain. Invariably, when colonial rule was first felt in the Kalimantan Kingdoms, conflict over the subjugation of territory erupted several times between the Dayaks and the respective authorities.

Religion
The Dayak indigenous religion has been given the name Kaharingan, and may be said to be a form of animism. For official purposes, it is categorized as a form of Hinduism in Indonesia. Nevertheless, these generalizations fail to convey the distinctiveness, meaningfulness, richness and depth of Dayak religion, myth and teachings. Underlying the world-view is an account of the creation and re-creation of this middle-earth where the Dayak dwell, arising out of a cosmic battle in the beginning of time between a primal couple, a male and female bird/dragon (serpent). Representations of this primal couple are amongst the most pervasivel motifs of Dayak art. The primal mythic conflict ended in a mutual, procreative murder, from the body parts of which the present universe arose stage by stage. This primal sacrificial creation of the universe in all its levels is the paradigm for, and is re-experienced and ultimately harmoniously brought together (according to Dayak beliefs) in the seasons of the year, the interdependence of river (up-stream and down-stream) and land, the tilling of the earth and fall of the rain, the union of male and female, the distinctions between and cooperation of social classes, the wars and trade with foreigners, indeed in all aspects of life, even including tattoos on the body, the lay-out of dwellings and the annual cycle of renewal ceremonies, funeral rites, etc. The practice of Kaharingan differs from group to group, but shamans, specialists in ecstatic flight to other spheres, are central to Dayak religion, and serve to bring together the various realms of Heaven (Upper-world) and earth, and even Under-world, for example healing the sick by retrieving their souls which are journeying on their way to the Upper-world land of the dead, accompanying and protecting the soul of a dead person on the way to their proper place in the Upper-world, presiding over annual renewal and agricultural regeneration festivals, etc. Death rituals are most elaborate when a noble (kamang) dies. On particular religious occasions, the spirit is believed to descend to partake in celebration, a mark of honour and respect to past ancestors and blessings for a prosperous future.

Over the last two centuries, some Dayaks converted to Islam, abandoning certain cultural rites and practices. Christianity was introduced by European missionaries in Borneo. Religious differences between Muslim and Christian natives of Borneo has led, at various times, to communal tensions. Relations, however between all religious groups are generally good.

Muslim Dayaks have however retained their original identity and kept various customary practices consistent with their religion.

An example of common identity, over and above religious belief, is the Melanau group. Despite the small population, to the casual observer, the coastal dwelling Melanau of Sarawak, generally do not identify with one religion, as a number of them have Islamized and Christianised over a period of time. A few practise a distinct Dayak form of Kaharingan, known as Liko. Liko is the earliest surviving form of religious belief for the Melanau, predating the arrival of Islam and Christianity to Sarawak. The somewhat patchy religious divisions remain, however the common identity of the Melanau is held politically and socially. Social cohesion amongst the Melanau, despite religious differences, is markedly tight.

Despite the destruction of pagan religions in Europe by Christians, most of the people who try to conserve the Dayak's religion are missionaries. For example Reverend William Howell contributed to the Sarawak Gazette. His contributions were also compiled in the book The Sea Dayaks and Other Races of Sarawak