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
One of them fetched a light, and to their great surprise they saw their
prisoner was Pulang-Gana!
“So it is you, Pulang-Gana!” said his brother in anger. “You are up to
your old tricks again. You were too lazy to work before, and would not
keep watch over our garden, and you left us without telling us where you
were going. And now, after several years’ absence, you come back and
disturb us in our work, and by some means or other set up the trees we
have had the trouble of cutting down. Though I am your brother, I have
no pity for you. As long as you are alive you will give us trouble, so we
intend to kill you and be well rid of you.”
He expected Pulang-Gana to be afraid of him, and to plead for his life.
But things were very much changed from the old days, when Pulang-Gana was
the despised youngest brother, beaten and scolded by the others. Now he
was the son-in-law of the gods, and had Rajah Shua and Seregendah to help
him, and he was not at all afraid of his brothers, because he knew well
they could do him no harm.
He shook off those that held him, and told them to listen to what he had
to say. His manner and bearing were very different from that of one who
feared them. They stood around him in awe, for they instinctively felt
that Pulang-Gana was not to be trifled with, and from what had already
taken place they knew that he was aided by powerful spirits.
Then Pulang-Gana spoke:—
“I have good reason for doing what I did. You have no right to cut down
this jungle or to plant on this land. You have not asked my leave to
do so, and have not paid me the price of the land. Not long ago, you,
Bui-Nasi, gave me a clod of earth as my share of the property of our
father, and so I have now the right of preventing any from planting on
the earth. It is no use you attempting to kill me. Though you are many in
numbers, it is impossible for you to kill me, because I am now the god of
the earth, and am assisted by Rajah Shua and Seregendah, whose power you
know.”
There was silence for a short time, and then Bui-Nasi said:—
“No doubt what you say is true, for no one without supernatural aid
could have made the trees that were cut down stand upright and grow. What
do you wish us to do, and how are we to obtain your leave to plant on the
land?”
Pulang-Gana told them to gather all the people together the next day, and
he would tell them what they must do in order to insure their getting
good crops of paddy.
That same night messengers were sent in all directions to tell the people
in the neighbouring villages to come together the next day, in order that
they might learn from Pulang-Gana what they were to do before cutting
down the jungle and planting paddy.
The next morning a very large crowd gathered together, and Pulang-Gana
said to them:
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