Through Central Borneo; an Account of Two Years' Travel in the Land of Head-Hunters Between the Years 1913 and 1917Lumholtz, Carl
History
Through Central Borneo; an Account of Two Years' Travel in the Land of Head-Hunters Between the Years 1913 and 1917
Lumholtz, Carl
Borneo -- Description and travel; Ethnology -- Borneo; Natural history -- Borneo
"The weird experience of those two nights and one day in the huge caves of
Kong Beng can never be forgotten. The caves were so high that my lanterns
failed to reveal the roof. There were hordes of bats, some of them with
wings that spread four feet. The noise of their countless wings, upon our
intrusion, was like the roar of surf. Spiders of sinister aspect that have
never seen the light of day, and formidable in size, were observed, and
centipedes eight or nine inches long. In places we waded through damp bat
guano up to our knees, the strong fumes of ammonia from which were quite
overpowering.
"Far back in one of the caverns were those marvellous Hindu idols,
beautifully carved in bas-relief on panels of stone, each with a
projection at the bottom for mounting on a supporting pedestal. They
represent the Hindu pantheon, and are classic in style and excellent in
execution. They are arranged in a half-circle, and high above is an
opening to the sky which allows a long, slanting shaft of light to strike
upon their faces. The perfect silence, the clear-cut shaft of light--a
beam a hundred feet long--drifting down at an angle through the intense
darkness upon this group of mysterious and half-forgotten idols, stamps a
lasting picture upon one's memory.
"It is the most majestic and strangely beautiful sight I have ever seen.
Coming upon the noble group of gods gazing at the light, after a long dark
walk through the cave, gives one a shock of conflicting emotions quite
indescribable. One hardly dares to breathe for fear of dispelling this
marvellous waking dream. Fear and awe, admiration and a sense of supreme
happiness at having a wild fancy turn to reality, all come over one at
once. A single glance at this scene was ample reward for all the long days
and nights of effort put forth to reach it. I never again expect to make a
pilgrimage of this sort, for only one such experience can be had in a
lifetime."
It is rather surprising that Hindu remains in Borneo should be found at
such an out-of-the-way place, but Doctor Nieuwenhuis found stone carvings
from the same period on a tributary to the Mahakam. Remains of Hindu
red-brick buildings embedded in the mud were reported to me as existing at
Margasari, southwest of Negara. Similar remains are said to be at Tapen
Bini in the Kotawaringin district.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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