LAND OF FEAR

Evening Star, Issue 19775, 27 January 1928, Page 10

LAND OF FEAR

WORK IN SARAWAK TERRORS OF THE TROPICAL FOREST. “The tropical forest is shrouded with a gloom that is not of this world. It is at once a marvel and a terror.” The speaker was sitting in a chair at the Royal Colonial Institute, a man of commanding presence and over six feet in height. He is Dr. Charles Hose, who has returned to England after twenty-five years spent in Sarawak, the strange part of Borneo, which is an independent State within the British Empire and has an area of 60,000 square miles. The story of Sarawak is hound up with the names of three White Rajahs, Rajah Sir. James Brooke, and Ins successors. James Brooke arrived in Sarawak in 1839. He was appealed to by the chiefs of the north-west coast of Borneo for protection against the nobles of the Sultan of Brunei, who originally owned the whole of the territory. Brooke lent his aid to such purpose that he was begged by the population to take over the work of government. In September, 1841, he was proclaimed Governor and Rajah of Sarawak, and his title as an independent sovereign was confirmed by the Sultan of Brunei in 1842. r lho second Rajah of Sarawak Sir Charles Brooke, was given the G.C.M.G. in 1888, ’and his position was recognised by the British Government as Rajah of Sarawak. To a- representative of the . Sunday Times Dr Hose said the natives of Sarawak comprised sonic _ half-dozen tribes, and one ol: Ids duties was to keep the peace and inculcate a respect for law and order. “The. primitive Bornean can be forgiven for his fear of some evil lurking

in the dense jungle,” lie said. “The tropical forest must he visited to bo realised. With its dense mass of trees and undergrowth and foliage and its wealth of wild life, both beneficent and fearsome, it lias always .struck me as nearer to the early state of the world than anything surviving on the face of the globe. It is a land of gorgeous beauty and of primeval terror.

“What effects of fear cannot the weird sounds and unseen dwellers of the creeper-clad forest exercise on the simple but sensitive minds of the jungle dweller? Among people living in isolated villages, with only jungle paths and rivers as their means of contact with the Government and its officers, it is easy to understand how rumors, especially where fear, superstition, or malice are aroused, spread and grow as they spread. One of the most remarkable phenomena in native life is the rapidity with which rumor travels.

“Very often in cases of panics, actual or anticipated, Government interference has been necessary to avert a catastrophe. A case in point was the occasion of the total eclipse of the sun. We started our plan of preventing a scare two months before by sending information to every chief whom it was possible to reach. Each one was given a strip of rattan, knotted according to the custom prevalent among all natives of the interior, so as to mark the exact number of days that would elapse before the eclipse; those stripes they were instructed to carry about with them, removing one each night, and were told to spread the information as widely as possible.

INCANTATIONS AND DRAGONS. “ On the actual date of the eclipse crowds of boats from all parts capic down the river, and I arranged that a gun should bo fired exactly an hour before the eclipse began. When this order became known the various peoples wore affected in various ways. Some of the older people brought kerosene oil in largo quantities; they bad seen a previous eclipse, but were afraid that on this occasion the sun might go out permanently as it had nearly done so before.

“Cithers thought that the moon was about to lie devoured by a dragon, and devised various charms, spells, and incantations to scare the monster away. When the eclipse began there was terrific excitement, men yelling, women becoming hysterical, gongs being beaten, and incantations being shouted to drive away the dragon. However, everything passed off without trouble. When daylight..was once more restored all was well; but what disasters might have ocenren had not these precautions been taken it is hard to say. “In Borneo human sacrifice is the survival of a very old custom. The idea was that if Mother earth was disturbed by the works of man, she could be best appeased by the sacrifice of human lives by those who disturbed her. In time these sacrifices became less real in their importance. Old men and slaves sufficed until in +.Ke course of time domestic animals

and chickens, or heads taken in battle, to ensure the fertility of the soil and the prosperity of "the community, becoming the symbols of sacrifice. “ In 1894 there was a widespread and devastating panic in Sarawak. Its origin seems to have been connected with the building of a largo reservoir. It was rumored that the Government required a number of human heads as a form of sacrifice, and that men were sent out at night to procure these heads. The inhabitants wore seized with terror. People did not dare to venture out at night.

“ In the outlying districts flic occupants of solatcd bouses moved into the bouse of one family for safety. What made things worse was that some ill-disposed persons took advantage of the panic in commit murder. It was some time before people became' convinced that the rumor was untrue.

“ It is interesting to nolo among recent honoris! that the present Rn.iali, Charles V.yncr Brooke, was given the G.0.M.G.” One of the enterprises associated with Dr. Hose’s work in Sarawak was the development of flic oil resources of the State. Thanks In bis initiative, Sarawak is now recognised as a potential oil-bacring field of great importance.