A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE ETHNOGRAPHY O 

 SARAWAK. 



5v T. Hewitt, B.A. 



The country of Sarawak, the north-western division of the 

 large island of Borneo, is a free and independent State under 

 the rule of Sir Charles Brooke, who is absolute Rajah. Con- 

 cerning this patriarchal form of government I shall say nothing- 

 more than that time has shewn it to be able, wise and benefi- 

 cent. The population is comparatively small, probably not 

 exceeding half a million at the most. The natives of Sarawak 

 belong to many tribes which, whilst shewing a general resemb- 

 lance to each other, are nevertheless very distinct : the typical 

 native is short of stature, his skin is light brown, the eyes are 

 straight or slightly oblique, the cheek bones are prominent, the 

 chin is small, the lips are regular and full but not greatly so, 

 and the hair is black and smooth. Xo trace of a negroid or 

 negrito type is to be found in Borneo. 



The following is a list of the more important Sarawak tribes : 

 IMalays, Sea Dayaks, Land Dayaks, ]^Iilanos, Kayans, Kenyahs, 

 Punans, Kadayans, Muruts and Dusuns. Of these tribes, with 

 the exception of the three last mentioned which are northern 

 tribes, the Dusuns and Muruts really belonging to British 

 Xorth Borneo. I will briefly mention what appear to me to be 

 the most interesting ethnographical facts. 



Malays. — These people are dwellers on the coast and thus 

 have had intercourse with traders from China and from various 

 parts of the East; consequently they are more civilised than 

 the peoples of the interior. Their religion. Mohammedanism, 

 has contributed to the same end; on the whole, however, the 

 lower classes do not appear to have a very firm grasp of the 

 principles of Islamism, and their religion is a curious mixture 

 of Islamism and the " heathenism " of Sea Dayaks. If a 

 Malay falls sick, for example, he will hrst try his mother's 

 herbal concoctions, then he may try the Chinaman's drastic 

 potions, or even the white man's doctor, but as often as not in 

 defiance of the teachings of their spiritual leaders, he will sneak 

 off to some old hag famous for her skill in sorcery and she will 

 attempt to charm away the spirit causing the sickness. It is a 

 matter for congratulation, I think, that the Malay is rarely a 

 religious fanatic. 



Racially considered, the Malays are a complicated mixture. 

 In Sarawak they have a decided Arab strain in the upper classes, 

 the descendants of the early missionaries of Islamism; also the 

 Malays have married with Chinese and other foreigners who 

 have been willing to accept Islamism; and thirdly, casting aside 

 religious scruples, they have in former years made marauding- 

 expeditions into the interior with no other object than the 

 capture of Land Dayak girls. 



Malays live near the sea on the banks of a river — or in the 

 river if it is not too deep — in small houses made of wood and 

 thatched with palm leaves; the houses are invariablv raised on 

 piles. 



