The Rejang Residency--Wild Tribes of the Interior--Start
for Rejang--Timber Ships--Sibu--Attack by Katibus--A
Dinner Party--The Fireship--Kanowit--"Jok"--Kanowits'
Dwellings--Human Heads--"Bones" and "Massa Johnson."
Sarawak is divided into six districts or Residencies, each of which is
under the supervision and control of a European Government officer.
The latter, who is stationed at the fort established at the principal
town of the district, is styled the Resident, and settles law cases,
receives revenue, &c.; the entire Residency being under his control.
These districts are as follows:--(1) Sarawak proper (comprising
Kuching); (2) Rejang; (3) Batang Lupar; (4) Muka; (5) Bintulu; (6)
Lundu.
The Rejang Residency, whither we were now about to make an expedition,
contains the largest and most important river in Sarawak, having a
draught of five fathoms for a distance of over 130 miles from the
mouth. The exports of Rejang are many, the principal ones being
gutta-percha, rattans, and bilian wood. A curious article of export,
which is found only in this river, is the _Galega_, or Bezoar stone.
This is a perfectly hard light green substance, very much the size and
shape of a thrush's egg, which is found in the interior of a peculiar
species of monkey inhabiting Rejang. The Bezoar stone, which is
supposed to be caused by disease in the animal, takes a beautiful
polish, and is used as a charm by the Malays, but the majority are
sent to China, where they fetch their weight in gold, being held in
great esteem by the Chinese, who use them as a drug.
The races dwelling on the banks of this great river are very numerous,
varying from the totally wild and wandering Ukits at its head to the
Malay and Milano races inhabiting its shores from Sibu to the mouth.
The population of Rejang is roughly estimated at 103,000, but the
difficulties of obtaining anything like an accurate census are
obvious. The number I have given comprises 40,000 Dyaks (including the
Katibus and Kanowit tribes), 30,000 Milanos, 30,000 Kayans, and 3,000
Malays--the latter do not live above Sibu. There are also other tribes
of totally different language and customs to the above, whose number
it has been found impossible to ascertain. Of these I shall give an
account anon.
The Dyaks (who are the principal indigenous race in this part of
Borneo) may be classed as follows:--(1) the Sea Dyak; (2) the Land
Dyak.
The sea Dyaks are so called from their inhabiting the sea-coast east
of the Sadong district, as far as the Rejang river, though some are to
be occasionally met with far inland. These, who are the most numerous
of any Dyaks, are at the same time the bravest and most warlike, and
in former days were greatly addicted to piracy and head hunting. They
are of a dark copper colour, and although not tall men are wonderfully
strong and well-built, and will endure a great amount of fatigue. They
are also endowed with great courage, and are very skilful in the use
of weapons, especially the Parang ilang[9] and spear. This tribe has
been found by missionaries to possess some small amount of religion,
inasmuch as they believe in the existence of a Supreme Being,
_Batara_, who made this earth and now governs it. They believe, also,
in good and evil spirits, who dwell in the jungles and mountains.
Sickness, death, and every kind of misfortune, are attributed to the
latter, while _Batara_ is the accredited author of every blessing.
The land Dyaks are inferior, both morally and physically, to the sea
Dyaks. These occupy a portion of the Landu district, with Sarawak
proper, Samarahau, and Sadong, and in colour only are similar to the
sea Dyaks. The land Dyak is much shorter and weaker in frame, and is
also far less skilled in the use of arms. Cowardly, weak, and
decimated by sickness, this race had up to the accession of Sir James
Brooke in 1840, led a life of slavery and oppression. Since the
establishment of the Raja's government, however, their state has
greatly improved, although they are even yet a wretched set of people,
having none of the nobler instincts or courage characterising their
brethren of the sea. The years they have passed in oppression may
account for this, as also the continual state of poverty and sickness
in which they exist, their villages being seldom entirely free from
dysentery or small-pox, while nearly all are more or less afflicted
with _korrip_, a loathsome skin disease peculiar to the Dyak. The
religion of the land Dyaks consists solely in superstitious
observances, and they are given up to the fear of ghosts. Physical
evils, such as poverty, sickness, &c., they try to avert by
sacrifices, such as the killing of goats, pigs, &c., which they offer
to these spirits. Their belief in a future state is that when a man
dies he becomes an _autu_, or ghost, and lives in the forests.
Of the other races inhabiting Sarawak, and especially the Rejang
district, may be mentioned the Kayans, a powerful tribe living at the
head of the Rejang river, and occupying the vast tract of land
between it and the territory of the Sultan of Brunei in North Borneo;
the Kanowits, who take their name from the stream of that name, which
rises in the Batang Lupar Residency, and runs into the Rejang; and the
Poonans, Pakatans, Sians, and Ukits, the latter of whom are
acknowledged to be the wildest of the human race yet met with in
Borneo. Of these tribes, all with the exception of the Ukits are
tattooed, unlike the Dyaks, who look upon the practice with contempt,
and say that they have no need to disfigure their faces to frighten
their enemies. A curious mixture of the Dyak and Malay races are the
Milanoes. These occupy the sea-coast and Oya, Muka, and Bintulu
rivers. The custom (similar to that of the Indians on the Mosquito
shore) of flattening their children's heads is prevalent among them.
We were fortunate enough to choose the right time for our expedition
to the Rejang. The gunboat _Aline_ was leaving Kuching for Sibu, the
residence of the officer in charge of Rejang, in a week's time after
our return from Matang, with instructions to him to proceed to Kapit,
200 miles up river in the interior, without delay, as a small wooden
fort was being erected at that place, and required supervision. Such
an opportunity was not to be lost, and we gladly availed ourselves of
the Raja's offer to accompany the expedition.
Such a journey undertaken at our own cost and responsibility would
have been next to impossible, for, apart from the danger of travelling
among unknown tribes without a guide, we should have lost all the
valuable information we were able to obtain from the Resident. Of the
Dyak language I had a slight knowledge, but this is practically
useless at Kapit and in the interior, the natives around being, both
in language and customs, totally unlike Dyaks.
Daybreak on the 16th of June saw us on board the _Aline_, _en route_
for Sibu. Arrived at the latter place, we were to leave the _Aline_
and proceed in the little launch _Ghita_; for although, as I have
said, the Rejang is navigable for large vessels for a distance of over
150 miles, the stream above Kanowit (our first halting-place after
Sibu) being very swift, renders it dangerous for ships of any size.
We arrived off the mouth after a pleasant run of seven hours along the
coast, and entered the river Rejang, which is here four miles broad.
On the right bank stands the little village of Rejang, and lying off
it was a large Portuguese sailing vessel, loading "bilian" or iron
wood. This is a tedious business. The wood is cut a considerable
distance up river and floated down in rafts, an operation which
sometimes detains a ship here for three or four months. Deaths are
frequent on board these timber ships, as the country for miles round
is one dismal mangrove swamp, and very productive of fever. A great
quantity of this timber is exported yearly to China direct from
Rejang, and it must be a lucrative speculation for the shippers, as
the cost is merely a nominal charge of 1 dol. per ton to Government,
and it fetches a considerable price in the Chinese market.
We anchored at sundown off Sarikei, a lonely-looking place, twenty
miles from the mouth, consisting of four or five tumble-down Malay
houses on a mud bank, and starting next day at daybreak reached our
destination at ten o'clock a.m.
Sibu is a clean-looking Malay town of some 30,000 inhabitants. All
Malays living here are exempt from taxation on condition that they are
liable to be called out by Government in the event of any disturbance
among the up-river tribes. The Fort and Bazaar stand on an island in
the centre of the river, which is here about one and a half miles
broad, and are connected with the town on the right bank by a wooden
bridge. "Fort Brooke," as it is styled, is built in a pentagon of
solid bilian planks, about 12 feet high; a sloping wooden roof
reaching down to within 2½ feet of the plank wall. This interval is
guarded by a strong trellis-work, so that when the fort door is shut
the building is rendered perfectly secure against any _native_ attack.
The Resident's and fortmen's quarters are reached by a ladder inside
the fort about eight feet high, while the ground floor is used as a
kitchen, rice-store, &c. Fort Brooke is garrisoned by sixteen Malays,
and armed with six nine-pounders. All forts in Sarawak are built of
the same materials and on the same model as the above, excepting that
at Kuching, which is of stone, and much larger.
A daring attempt was made by the Katibus tribe eight years since to
capture Fort Brooke, but although taken by surprise, the Resident and
his handful of men drove them back with great ease, killing eight of
their number, and shooting their chief with his own hand. The fort was
attacked (as is the invariable Dyak custom) just before daylight, and
the enemy were estimated to number about 150.
The Resident, who was not starting for Kapit until seven the following
morning, asked us to dine, the evening of our arrival, at his
quarters; where we found that, although in the wilds of Borneo, he (an
old Garibaldian) managed to make himself uncommonly comfortable. An
excellent dinner, washed down by some champagne well cooled in
saltpetre, is no mean fare for the jungle, and it was late ere we
returned on board the _Aline_, which was lying in mid-stream.
A slight headache the next morning (which warned us that Irish whiskey
on the top of champagne is _not_ the most wholesome thing to drink in
the tropics) was soon dispelled by a cup of hot coffee, and we were on
board the _Ghita_ by seven o'clock. The Resident was even at that
early hour aboard and awaiting us, and the little launch was soon
steaming merrily away up river. Kanowit was to be our halt for that
night, as the Resident had some business of importance to transact
there, and travelling on the Rejang at night is unsafe.
The scenery up the river for some hours after leaving Sibu presents
the same flat uninteresting appearance as we had passed from the mouth
to Sibu, the landscape being unbroken by hill or habitation of any
kind, and newspapers and books that we had brought with us from
Kuching, proved in great demand as the journey for the first few hours
was sadly monotonous. Towards four o'clock in the afternoon, however,
the scenery entirely changed, and books were discarded to look at the
really beautiful country we were passing through, the narrowing of the
stream to about 500 yards broad, and the swiftness of the stream
indicating that we were approaching Kanowit. The powerful current
rushed by so rapidly, that the little _Ghita_ had hard work to make
any headway, and the "snags," or huge pieces of timber, that whirled
past us, gave the steersman plenty of work in keeping the launch clear
of them. The dense jungle here gave place to green park-like plains,
broken by a succession of undulating hills, not unlike Rhine scenery.
Several Dyak habitations were now passed, which gave evidence of
Kanowits being near, their inmates thronging to the water's edge for a
look at the _fire-ship_, a rare and novel sight to them.
At five o'clock we rounded the bend that hid it from our view, and
came in sight of the little white fort and village of Kanowit, about a
mile distant at the end of the reach we were entering. No sooner had
we entered the latter than we were observed by the natives, and could
distinguish them, through our glasses, shoving off from the bank in
four or five large canoes, and paddling towards us. Their boats are
all built flat-bottomed for greater facility in shooting rapids, and
were each manned by a crew of ten or twelve men, who presented a
curious spectacle--their faces and bodies completely covered with
tattooing, their long black locks streaming in the wind, and bright
brass ornaments flashing in the sun. As they came alongside us they
brandished their paddles and yelled--this being meant as a welcome to
the Resident--and, although the _Ghita_ was going at full speed, they
laid hold of her bulwarks and commenced clambering on board in such
numbers that the little launch's deck was soon so crowded as to offer
scarcely standing room, and we should have shortly had to beat a
retreat to the cabin had not their chief "Jok" arrived, and sent the
majority back into their canoes with more force than ceremony.
The Kanowits are a small tribe, numbering about 500, and are quite
distinct and totally unlike any other race in Borneo. They have not
unpleasant features, are of lighter complexion than the Dyaks, and,
though not so warlike, are fine, strongly-built men. Nearly all were
tattooed from head to foot with most intricate patterns, and others
representing birds, beasts, fishes, &c., while round the face and
throat the marks were made in imitation of a beard, an ornament which
none of the tribes yet met with in Borneo possess.
Their chief "Jok," who is a well-known character in Sarawak, may be
taken as an example of the way in which the rest of the tribe were
clothed: a cloth turban of gaudy colours constituted Jok's head-dress,
from under which, and down to his waist, streamed his long black
hair. Through his ears were thrust, points outwards, a pair of wild
boar's tusks, and from the top to the lobe of the ears about a dozen
small brass ear-rings were secured. A linen waist-cloth was Jok's only
garment, while around his waist was slung the deadly "Parang ilang,"
its sheath ornamented with tufts of human hair, trophies of the
wearer's prowess on the war-path, for Jok's bravery is renowned
throughout the Rejang district. Jok was tattooed from head to foot so
thickly as to cause his body to look at a distance of a light blue
colour, but a very small portion of his face, around the nose and
eyes, being left _au naturel_. The remainder of the tribe were
unarmed, as it is made a strict rule in Sarawak that on entering a
fort or Government gunboat all arms, excepting in the case of a chief,
shall be left behind.
Arrived off the village, we cast anchor for the night off the fort,
and at the mouth of the Kanowit stream. Kanowit village consists of
three long houses, built on wooden posts about 40 feet high. They are
so built for the purposes of defence, and it is no uncommon thing in
Bornean travel to come across a whole village living under one roof.
The longest of these dwellings that I have ever seen was when
travelling up the Baram River (North Borneo), in 1873, about 170
miles in the interior. This was a house, 103 yards long, which
contained the whole village, consisting of about sixty families.
Fort Emma stands on the opposite side of the river to the village, and
is in charge of a sepoy and four Malays. It is on a good position,
armed with three small guns, and commands the village and entrance to
the Kanowit stream. It was on this spot that Messrs. Fox and Steele
(then in charge of the station) were brutally murdered by the Kanowits
in 1859; but ever since the terrible vengeance that followed, on the
part of the Government, the tribe have always been among the firmest
allies of the Raja.
We visited Jok's dwelling in the cool of the evening. As all houses
belonging to the more civilised indigenous races in Borneo are built
on the same principle as Jok's, a description of this will suffice for
all.
The houses (as I have said) are built on wooden posts driven firmly
into the ground, and ranging from thirty to forty feet high, according
to the size of the dwelling. They are entered by a wooden pole, placed
in a slanting position, at one end of the building, having notches cut
into it to afford firmer foothold. This pole can be drawn into the
house on occasion, thus cutting off all communication with the
outside. The interior of the house (which in this case was over
seventy yards long, by about thirty yards broad) was divided by a thin
wooden partition running its entire length and dividing it into two
equal portions. On the one side of this partition is the "ruai," or
large hall, which is the common dwelling-place of the tribe, and on
the other a series of small boxes (for one can call them nothing else)
about twelve feet square, which are sacred to the married people. Each
of these compartments has a door of its own leading into the "ruai,"
and these are taxed by Government at 1 dol. a door. Overhead, again,
is the "sadow," an upper storey which runs the length of the building,
the residence of the unmarried girls, and wherein the valuables of the
tribe are kept.
The floorings of these houses are made of split bamboo, which offers
but a precarious footing to the unsuspecting traveller, as holes are
numerous, and a slip through would precipitate one forty feet below.
In front of the house runs a bamboo verandah about twenty feet broad,
where domestic operations, such as cooking, padi grinding, &c., are
carried on. The roof of dried palm-leaves is a high sloping one, and
comes down to within about foot and a half of the floor, throwing the
interior of the building into almost total darkness, even in broad
daylight.
The Resident's entry was hardly a dignified one, as he had to clamber
up the pole and into the building on all fours, drawing his body
through the small aperture hardly three feet square, which formed the
entry of the house. Once in the "ruai," however, great preparations
were made by the inmates for his welcome. Some beautifully-worked mats
(in the manufacture of which the Kanowits are very clever) were spread
out on the floor, and siri and betel-nut produced; and while the
Resident was holding his "Bechara" (or Court business), surrounded by
a ring of admiring natives squatted around him, L. and I slipped away
with a young Kanowit warrior, who offered to show us round the
building.
[Illustration: DYAK WOMEN.]
Our guide first pointed with evident pride to the bunch of smoke-dried
human heads (thirty in number) that were hanging from a post in the
ruai, but hastened to assure us, on our examining them rather closely,
that they were all _old_ ones, the Kanowits having a great dread of
being suspected of head-hunting. Proceeding along the ruai, we
followed our cicerone into one of the little doors at the end, leading
into one of the small compartments of the married people, but a pair
of bare legs escaping through the side door into the adjoining "box,"
warned us that the fair occupant was evidently not at home to _us_!
Bidding us sit down, however, and await his return, our guide gave
chase, and presently came back to us, dragging two females of the
tribe with him, notwithstanding their cries and protestations to the
contrary.
These women were fair specimens, as we were afterwards informed, of
the tribe, and were, like the men, tattooed from head to foot. But for
the disgusting habit (which I shall mention anon) of blackening their
teeth and disfiguring the lobes of their ears, they would not have
been bad-looking. They wore a light brown petticoat of cloth woven by
themselves, and reaching from the waist to just above the knee. Their
hair was not left to fall loose, but tied tightly into a knot at the
back of their heads, very much as it is worn in Europe at the present
time. A few brass rings round their waists and arms completed their
attire. Strangely enough, the Kanowit women are, as a rule, darker
than the men.
They lost their sense of shyness after a time, and at length produced
the inevitable siri and penang. At the close of the interview we
begged their acceptance of a piece of Bristol bird's-eye each, which
they at once put in their mouths and commenced chewing, and we then
parted with mutual expressions of goodwill.
We now returned to the Resident and his party. The shouts of laughter
proceeding from their corner of the house announced that business was
over, and that chaff and fun, so dear to the heart of every Kanowit,
was being carried on with great gusto. As we arrived and stood by the
group, one of their number (evidently a privileged buffoon) begged to
be allowed to speak to the Resident. "You remember that gun,
Resident," said he, "you gave me?" (This was an old muzzle-loader for
which Mr. H. had had no further use.) "Oh yes," was the reply; "what
luck have you had with it?" "Oh, wonderful," said the Kanowit, "I
killed fourteen deer with one bullet out of that gun!" "What!"
rejoined Mr. H., "fourteen deer with one bullet!--but that is
impossible!" "Oh no," replied our friend, "for I cut the bullet out
each time!"
Roars of laughter greeted this sally, which had evidently been some
time preparing for H.'s benefit; and as we took our departure and
crawled down the pole, the scene so forcibly reminded me of "Bones"
and "Massa Johnson" at the St. James's Hall that I nearly fell off it
from laughing.
As we sat on deck that evening, smoking a cigar in the bright
moonlight, we could still hear in the distance the gongs and laughter
of the jovial Kanowits celebrating the arrival of the "fire-ship," no
common occurrence in these waters.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 9: A sword (convex and concave) about 2½ feet long, which
is made by the Dyaks. The hilt is of ivory or bone, and ornamented
with human hair.]