The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido / For the Suppression of Piracy

by Sir Henry Keppel; Rajah of Sarawak James

With respect to the dialects, though the difference is considerable, they are evidently derived from a common source; but it is remarkable that some words in the Millanow and Kayan are similar to the Bugis and Badjow language. This intermixture of dialects, which can be linked together, appears to be more conclusive of the common origin of the wild tribes and civilized nations of the Archipelago than most other arguments; and if Marsdenʼs position be correct (which there can be little or no reason to doubt), that the Polynesian is an original race with an original language,[5] it must likewise be conceded that the wild tribes represent the primitive state of society in these islands.

We know little of the wild tribes of Celebes beyond their general resemblance to the Kayans of the east coast of Borneo; and it is probable that the Kayans are the people of Celebes, who crossing the Strait of Makassar, have in time by their superior prowess possessed themselves of the country of the Dyaks. Mr. Brooke (from whom I am copying this sketch) is led to entertain this opinion from a slight resemblance in their dialects with those used in Celebes, from the difference in so many of their customs from those of the Dyaks, and from the Kayans of the northwest coast of Borneo having one custom in common with the wild tribe of Minkoka in the Bay of Boni. Both the Kayans and Minkokas on the death of a relative seek for a head; and on the death of their chief many human heads must be procured: which practice is unknown to the Dyak. It may further be remarked, that their probable immigration from Celebes is supported by the statement of the Millanows, that the Murut and Dyak give place to the Kayan whenever they come in contact, and that the latter people have depopulated large tracts in the interior, which were once occupied by the former.

Having thus briefly noticed the different wild people of the island, I proceed with the more particular task of describing the Dyak Darrats.

The locality of these Dyaks may be marked as follows:—The Pontiana river, from its mouth, is traced into the interior toward the northward and westward, until it approaches at the farthest within 100 miles of the northwest coast; a line drawn in latitude 3° N. till it intersects the course of the Pontiana river will point out the limit of the country inhabited by the Dyak. Within this inconsiderable portion of the island, which includes Sambas, Landak, Pontiana, Sangow, Sarāwak, &c., are numerous tribes, all of which agree in their leading customs, and make use of nearly the same dialect. Personally (writes our sole authority for any intelligence respecting them), I am acquainted only with the tribes of Sarāwak and some tribes further in the interior beyond the government of the Malays, who inhabit the country between Sarāwak and Landak; and the description of one tribe will serve as a description of all, so little do they vary.

Before, however, I say anything of the character of the Dyaks, or their temper, it will be necessary to describe briefly the government under which they live, and the influence it has upon them; and if afterward in the recital there appear some unamiable points in their character, an allowance will be made for their failings, which those who rule them would not deserve.

The Dyaks have from time immemorial been looked upon as the bondsmen of the Malays, and the rajahs consider them much in the same light as they would a drove of oxen—i. e. as personal and disposable property. They were governed in Sarāwak by three local officers, called the Patingi, the Bandar, and the Tumangong. To the Patingi they paid a small yearly revenue of rice, but this deficiency of revenue was made up by sending them a quantity of goods—chiefly salt, Dyak cloths, and iron—and demanding a price for them six or eight times more than their value. The produce collected by the Dyaks was also monopolized, and the edible birdsʼ-nests, bees-wax, &c. &c. were taken at a price fixed by the Patingi, who moreover claimed mats, fowls, fruits, and every other necessary at his pleasure, and could likewise make the Dyaks work for him for merely a nominal remuneration. This system, not badly devised, had it been limited within the bounds of moderation, would have left the Dyaks plenty for all their wants; or had the local officers known their own interest, they would have protected those upon whom they depended for revenue, and under the worst oppression of one man the Dyaks would have deemed themselves happy. Such unfortunately was not the case; for the love of immediate gain overcame every other consideration, and by degrees old-established customs were thrown aside, and new ones substituted in their place. When the Patingi had received all he thought proper to extort, his relatives first claimed the right of arbitrary trade, and gradually it was extended as the privilege of every respectable person in the country to serra[6] the Dyaks. The poor Dyak, thus at the mercy of half the Malay population, was never allowed to refuse compliance with these demands; he could plead neither poverty, inability, nor even hunger, as an excuse, for the answer was ever ready: “Give me your wife or one of your children;” and in case he could not supply what was required, the wife or the child was taken, and became a slave. Many modes of extortion were resorted to; a favorite one was convicting the Dyak of a fault and imposing a fine upon him. Some ingenuity and much trickery were shown in this game, and new offences were invented as soon as the old pleas would serve no longer; for instance, if a Malay met a Dyak in a boat which pleased him, he notched it, as a token that it was his property; in one day, if the boat was a new one, perhaps three or more would place their marks on it; and as only one could get it, the Dyak to whom the boat really belonged had to pay the others for his fault. This, however, was only “a fault;” whereas, for a Dyak to injure a Malay, directly or indirectly, purposely or otherwise, was a high offence, and punished by a proportionate fine. If a Dyakʼs house was in bad repair, and a Malay fell in consequence and was hurt, or pretended to be hurt, a fine was imposed; if a Malay in the jungle was wounded by the springs set for a wild boar, or by the wooden spikes which the Dyaks for protection put about their village, or scratched himself and said he was injured, the penalty was heavy; if the Malay was really hurt, ever so accidentally, it was the ruin of the Dyak. And these numerous and uninvited guests came and went at pleasure, lived in free quarters, made their requisitions, and then forced the Dyak to carry away for them the very property of which he had been robbed.

This is a fair picture of the governments under which the Dyaks live; and although they were often roused to resistance, it was always fruitless, and only involved them in deeper troubles; for the Malays could quickly gather a large force of sea Dyaks from Sakarran, who were readily attracted by hope of plunder, and who, supported by the fire-arms of their allies, were certain to overcome any single tribe that held out. The misfortunes of the Dyaks of Sarāwak did not stop here. Antimony ore was discovered; the cupidity of the Borneons was roused; then Pangerans struggled for the prize; intrigues and dissensions ensued; and the inhabitants of Sarāwak in turn felt the very evil they had inflicted on the Dyaks; while the Dyaks were compelled, amid their other wrongs, to labor at the ore without any recompense, and to the neglect of their rice-cultivation. Many died in consequence of this compulsory labor, so contrary to their habits and inclinations; and more would doubtless have fallen victims, had not civil war rescued them from this evil, to inflict upon them others a thousand times worse.

Extortion had before been carried on by individuals, but now it was systematized; and Pangerans of rank, for the sake of plunder, sent bodies of Malays and Sakarran Dyaks to attack the different tribes. The men were slaughtered, the women and children carried off into slavery, the villages burned, the fruit-trees cut down,[7] and all their property destroyed or seized.

The Dyaks could no longer live in tribes, but sought refuge in the mountains or the jungle, a few together; and as one of them pathetically described it—“We do not live,” he said, “like men; we are like monkeys; we are hunted from place to place; we have no houses; and when we light a fire, we fear the smoke will draw our enemies upon us.”

In the course of ten years, under the circumstances detailed—from enforced labor, from famine, from slavery, from sickness, from the sword—one half of the Dyak population[8] disappeared; and the work of extirpation would have gone on at an accelerated pace, had the remnant been left to the tender mercies of the Pangerans; but chance (we may much more truly say Providence) led our countryman Mr. Brooke to this scene of misery, and enabled him, by circumstances far removed beyond the grounds of calculation, to put a stop to the sufferings of an amiable people.