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
Borneo was known to the Arabs many centuries ago, and Sinbad the Sailor
was fabled to have visited the island. It was then imagined that a ship
might be freighted there with pearls, gold, camphor, gums, perfumed
oils, spices, and gems, and this was not far from the truth.
When Genghis Khan conquered China, and founded his mighty Mogul Empire
(1206-27), it is possible that he extended his rule over Borneo, where
Chinese had already settled. Kublai Khan is said to have invaded Borneo
with a large force in 1292; and that a Chinese province was subsequently
established in northern Borneo, in which the Sulu islands were included,
is evidenced by Bruni and Sulu traditions. The Celestials have left
their traces in the name of Kina Balu (the Chinese Widow) given to the
noble peak in the north of the island,[44] and of the rivers
Kina-batangan (the Chinese river) and Kina-bangun on the east coast of
Borneo, and certain jars, mentioned in chapter I. p. 26, ornamented with
the royal dragon of China, are treasured as heirlooms by the Dayaks. At
Santubong, at the mouth of the Sarawak river, Chinese coins dating back
to B.C. 600 and 112, and from A.D. 588 and onwards, have been found,
with many fragments of Chinese pottery. The name Santubong is itself
Chinese, San-tu-bong, meaning the "King of the Jungle" in the Kheh
dialect, and the "Mountain of wild pig" in the Hokien dialect.
Besides the antique jars, the art of making which appears to have been
lost, further evidence of an ancient Chinese trade may be found in the
old and peculiar beads so treasured by the Kayans and Kenyahs. These are
generally supposed to be Venetian, and to have been introduced by the
Portuguese. Beccari (_op. cit._ p. 263) mentions that he had heard or
read that the Malay word for a bead, _manit_ (pronounced _maneet_), was
a corruption of the Italian word _moneta_ (money), which was used for
glass beads at the time when the Venetians were the foremost traders in
the world. But he points out "that the Venetians made their beads in
imitation of the Chinese, who it appears had used them from the remotest
times in their commercial transactions with the less civilized tribes of
Southern Asia and the Malay islands." And it was by the Chinese these
beads were probably introduced into Borneo; _manit_ is but the Sanskrit
word _mani_, meaning a bead.[45]
From the Kina-batangan river came the Chinese wife of Akhmed, the second
Sultan of Bruni. She was the daughter of Ong Sum Ping, a Chinese envoy,
and from her and Sultan Akhmed the Bruni sultans down to the present
day, and for over twenty generations, trace their descent on the distaff
side, for their daughter married the Arab Sherip Ali, who became Sultan
in succession to his father-in-law, and they were the founders of the
present dynasty.[46] Sulu chronicles contain the same legend; and
according to these Ong Sum Ping, or Ong Ti Ping, settled in the
Kina-batangan A.D. 1375. He was probably a governor in succession to
others.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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