Seventeen Years Among the Sea Dyaks of Borneo: A Record of Intimate Association with the Natives of the Bornean JunglesGomes, Edwin Herbert
History
Seventeen Years Among the Sea Dyaks of Borneo: A Record of Intimate Association with the Natives of the Bornean Jungles
Gomes, Edwin Herbert
Iban (Bornean people); Sarawak (Malaysia) -- Description and travel
The Missionary has a very large district in his charge, and travelling
is so difficult that he cannot very often visit the different houses
where there are Christians; and the native teacher has also a large
ground to cover, and cannot very often hold services at the different
prayer-houses. So if we can find some man in the house who is a
good Christian, and has been to school and can read, we ask him, in
the absence of the Missionary and of the native teacher, to conduct
services. On the Sunday morning in many Dyak houses, when neither the
Missionary nor the native teacher is there, one of themselves—some young
man—will collect the Christians together, and they will go to the little
prayer-house, and he will read the prayers, and they will offer up
their petitions and thanksgivings to God. In many Dyak houses, however,
though there are Christians, there is no one whom we can ask to read
the prayers. They have to go without their services, sometimes for long
intervals, until such time as the native teacher or the Missionary can
visit them.
Visiting the houses where there are Christians, and holding services in
the little prayer-houses built by themselves, is pleasant and interesting
work. The Dyaks are told beforehand when the Missionary is coming, and
they look forward to his visit, and as many as are able leave their
farm-huts where they may be staying so as to be at the house to welcome
him. The Dyaks are civil, natural in manner, kindly disposed, and
cheerful. They are also very intelligent, and I have had many interesting
conversations on my Missionary visits. Questions are often asked by the
Dyaks showing that they have thought over something that has been said
on a former visit; and in the Saribas district, where so many Dyaks had
learnt to read, it was no unusual thing to be asked to explain some
particular passage in the Gospels, the Dyak translation of which many of
them had.
Travelling by river is safe enough except where there are sandbanks,
and there a little extra care is necessary. But during the north-east
monsoon—October to March—the sea is generally very rough, and travelling
by sea in the kind of boat the Missionary uses is sometimes dangerous. He
has to use a boat that draws very little water, because of the sand banks
in the rivers, and such a boat is not suitable for the sea. I am thankful
to say that during all the years I was in Borneo my boat was only swamped
once. We have had many narrow escapes—the boat full of water over and
over again, and two men baling out the water as fast as possible while
the others were rowing. The boat I used in my travels was made of light
wood, and the only part of it that was made of harder wood was the keel.
Even if it were full of water, it would still float, and we could often
row through the waves without anything worse than a thorough wetting.
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account