A History of Sarawak under Its Two White Rajahs 1839-1908Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
History
A History of Sarawak under Its Two White Rajahs 1839-1908
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Charles, Rajah of Sarawak, 1829-1917; James, Rajah of Sarawak, 1803-1868; Sarawak (Malaysia) -- History
_Muka_ is the Malay for face. The word has been carried into the
English language as mug, contemptuously "an ugly mug," from the
Sanskrit word _muhka_, the face.
Footnote 26:
Mr. E. A. W. Cox, formerly Resident of the Trusan, and latterly of the
Bintulu, says the Kadayan tradition is that many generations back they
were brought from Deli in Sumatra by a former Sultan of Bruni. They
have always been the immediate followers of the sultans, forming their
main bodyguard. They have no distinctive language of their own, and
talk a low Bruni patois; their dress is peculiar; and their system of
rice cultivation is far in advance of all other Borneans.
Footnote 27:
The Hindu sacred bull.
Footnote 28:
Writing of the _Rafflesia_, "those extraordinary parasitical plants,
whose huge and startling conspicuous flowers spring from the ground
like gigantic mushrooms," Beccari (_op. cit._ p. 102) says, "The
Land-Dayaks called the variety he found at Poi (and which he named R.
Tuan-Mudæ, in honour of the present Rajah) 'Bua pakma'; evidently a
corruption of 'patma' or 'padma,' the sacred lotus (_Nelumbian
speciosum_) of the Hindus, which is not a native of Borneo. This is,
no doubt, one of the many traces of the ancient faith once professed
by the Dayaks, who have preserved the memory of the emblematical
flower, transferring its name to that of another plant conspicuous for
its size and singular appearance. In Java, as well as in Sumatra, the
_Rafflesia_ is known as 'Patma'; but there the fact is not surprising,
for the prevalence of Hinduism in those islands is a matter of not
very remote history." Pakma or patma is the Malay name for the lotus.
The late Sir Hugh Low notes that the Land-Dayaks, who (in common with
most of the inland tribes) regulate their farming seasons by the
motions of the Pleiades, call that constellation _Sakara_, probably
from the _Batara Sakra_ of the Hindu-Javan mythology, to whose
particular care the earth was confided.—_Sarawak._
Hindu gold ornaments and a Persian coin, bearing a date corresponding
with the year 960 A.D., have been discovered up the Sarawak river, and
some in the centre of the Land-Dayak country, which shows that the
people of the ancient Hindu-Javan settlement at Santubong must have
spread into the interior, and have mixed with the natives.
Footnote 29:
Afterwards Admiral of the Fleet.
Footnote 30:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account