174 ACCOUNT OF EXPEDITIONS TO MT. KINABALU. 
live among these people of Kiau, get to know them really 
well, gain their confidence, and, if possible, learn their 
language. From some such person we should be able to 
get a definite account of the Dusun idea of the lake of 
Kinabalu. 
In the account of my expedition to the mountain in 
1918 * I have suggested another solution to the problem, 
which had the merit of finding approval (rather a non¬ 
committal approval, I confess !) with Sumpot, the chief of 
Kiau. I have suggested that in the Minitindok gorge lies 
the key to the mystery. “ This gorge is about 200 ft. high 
and barely 50 ft. wide ; the sides even now are gradually 
falling in. Now if this narrow gorge were filled up—and 
its appearance suggests that the Kadamaian has only 
broken through at no great distant date—-a fine lake would 
be formed, enclosed by the two southern spurs of Kinabalu 
which divide above the Pakka camp.” 
A geologist should have no difficulty in finding evidence 
to support or refute my suggestion. 
IY. Meaning of the Name Kinabalu. 
The following derivations of the name Kinabalu have 
been suggested from time to time:— 
(i) That the word is Kina Balu, meaning Chinese Widow, 
owing to the white appearance of the mountain, 
and to the fact that a long time ago a large 
number of Chinese visited the mountain or lived 
near it. Another story is that the Chinese tried 
to obtain the treasure from the summit, but the 
dragon on guard killed so many that the mountain 
was called Chinese Widow on account of the 
number of Chinese ladies who lost their husbands 
on that occasion. 
(ii) That the word is a corruption of Kina Bahru , mean¬ 
ing New China, in allusion to a former Chinese 
colony in that region. As is well known, Chinese 
have difficulty in pronouncing the letter “ r,” so 
the corruption of Kina Bahru to Kina Balu is not 
unnatural. 
(iii) That the word is Nabalu, which in the Dusun lan¬ 
guage means Resting-place of the Dead . The 
Dusuns believe that after death their souls go to 
the top of this mountain, which they speak of by 
* Sarawak Gazette , November 17th, 1913. 
