(From right) Ling Huong Yian with John Ting and Wong Meng Lei at the opening ceremony.
IN a society where written history is fairly limited or even absent, many historians tod ay have depended on oral history for their findings.
As such, oral history should continue to play an important research role, particularly in Sarawak, as it will open up a large resource of historical information.
This point was borne out by Jayl Langub, one of the speakers at the recent International Conference on Borneo Chinese Studies, organised by Sarawak Chinese Cultural Association and Academy of Overseas Chinese Studies, Jinan University in Sibu.
The Lun Bawang anthropologist from Long Semado has worked mainly on oral traditions among the indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities and issues on adaptation to change and development.
Based on his and local historian Daniel Chew’s works (via oral history), he delivered an insightful paper titled — His Story, Her story: Chinese Iban inter-marriages in Engkelili and Lubok Antu – at the conference.
He said the Brookes had fixed views on ethnicity which ignored the interests of preferences of the offspring of marriages between Chinese men and indigenous women — and such children were required to follow patrilineal descent by taking on the ethnicity of their father.
“The Brooke’s definition of ethnicity went hand in hand with prescriptions on where Chinese should live and conduct trade — namely bazaars. However, these edicts on where Chinese could live and trade were not necessarily adhered to,” noted Jayl who had his secondary education at Tanjung Lobang College, Miri, and worked as an SAO before going for tertiary education in Canada in 1978.
Jayl and Chew’s case study of a local shopkeeper, Tay Kit Min, revealed that Tay opened a shop in a longhouse, thereby ignoring the Brooke edict.
Jayl who holds a BA (Anthropology) degree from McGill University and an MA (Community Development) from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, brought a significant ray of wisdom to the Conference with a very little studied area of social and cultural history of Sarawak – inter-marriage.
He noted in his paper that it was not (and has not been) possible for Chinese to become Dayak as Iban women after marriage remained Iban and their children were considered mixed or campur — Chinese-Iban.
“Case studies indicate inter-marriages recognise an important feature – the flexibility of religion. Iban women who married Chinese men (in cases mentioned in his paper) followed their husbands’ religion while maintaining their own and with due respect, their Chinese husbands also followed practices of Iban miring and other customs.
“All case studies reveal the children of the inter-marriages result in the offspring entering more easily into marriages with other races.
“For instance, out of five couples, two — Lee and Serai — had six daughters with the eldest marrying a Kadazan from Sabah. Of the three children from another couple — Liew and Uyun — two have inter-married while all three sons of yet another couple — Tan Ah Kin and Ulau anak Unchul — are married to Iban women.”
Recording the oral stories of their case studies, Jayl and Chew were “surprised that Tan Ah Kin, one of the interviewers, remembered his grandfather had worked as a clerk at Fort Arundell under Gilbert R Arundell, the Lubok Antu DO from 1937 to 1942.
The collection of personal narratives relating to Chinese-Iban inter-marriage in Engkelili and Lubok Antu makes insightful anthropological reading.
According to Jayl and Chew, inter-marriage between Chinese and Ibans have been an on-going phenomenon in this part of Sarawak ever since the Chinese first began to settle there.
Jayl Langub (centre) with some of the organising committee members.
Tamu trading system
In his paper, Jayl, described by Ryoji Soda of Kyoto University as an anthropologist with “intimate knowledge” of indigenous peoples in Sarawak, also talked about the relationships between nomadic hunter-gatherers and longhouse residents through a traditional trading system.
This system of trade involved three parties — the Penan, their longhouse neighbours and the government acting as a mediator to ensure fair dealings, according to Langub who has written a book called Tamu: Trading at the Edge, describing Sarawak at the turn of the 20th Century when the Brooke government instituted a system of government-supervised trade meetings known as tamu between the nomadic Penan and longhouse-dwelling swidden agriculturalists.
“The institution is significant in that it reveals much about the Brookes’ philosophy and governance towards small and isolated groups such as the Penan
“The system is no longer practised but still remembered with nostalgia by the Penan primarily for being respectful and fair to all parties. In fact, many people today do not know how the term Tamu came into common usage and how it was carried out during the Brooke Rule,” he said.
Chinese migration to Sarawak in most cases was a male affair save for the Sibu Foochow Settlement of 1901.
However, Jayl and Chew noted that in the case of Lubok Antu and Engkelili, women from the indigenous communities were the source of social companionship and marital unions, a trend which continues to this day.
Jayl also authored another book — Rural Development in Ba Kelalan, Sarawak, Malaysia Interaction between Government and Community – which was well received by scholars and Sarawakians.
He collaborated with James Chin as co-editor of the book – Reminiscences, a Recollection of Sarawak Administrative Service Officers — which provides deep insights into work of civil servants, especially in the Ulu of Sarawak.
Jayl, a retired civil servant, had served as Sarawak Administrative Officer in several districts and sub-districts, the principal assistant secretary in the State Planning Unit and secretary of the Majlis Adat Istiadat.
From 2004 to 2014, he was a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of East Asian Studies (IEAS) Unimas.
One of his most notable awards — the Medal of Excellence — came from the Borneo Research Council at the opening of the Council’s 11th Biennial Conference.
He is now one of the Trustees of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Malaysia).
The deco for the opening ceremony. Synergy created by filling up the rice jar to the full with the Chinese word Mang meaning ‘Full’ and bringing prosperity to the society.
Good response
The International Conference on Borneo Chinese Studies drew more than 200 teachers, students, university lecturers and undergraduates, and members of Chinese associations, clans, and citizens.
Eleven papers were delivered by academicians from China, Taiwan, and Malaysia on topics related to Borneo Chinese studies.
Research papers on Brunei Chinese history, Sabah Moral Uplifting Society of Kota Kinabalu, China-Malaysia Relations, Chinese Organisations in Indonesia and Singakawan Chinese were also presented.
Ling Huong Yian, a permanent resident of Australia, said: “I had to redirect my flight from Kuala Lumpur to spend a few days here just to attend this significant conference.
“I’m so happy to be able to attend at the last moment. As a former teacher of Chinese studies and a PhD student myself, this exposure is very important. I also had the opportunity to buy books during the conference.”
A large group of Sacred Heart School students came to support their Chinese Language teacher Mr Yuen who delivered a paper.
A local Malaysian Chinese graduate, Yuen had furthered his language studies in Beijing and is a historian in the making.
A bystander commented: “Two papers presented were of special interest to me. One by the only native of Borneo Jayl Langub, a Lun Bawang, and the other by the only female presenter, Ling Ching Ching, now teaching in Kuala Lumpur.
“It’s also good that the foreign presenters had shown so much interest in Borneo and in research on local historical and ethnic issues. This conference gave us an opportunity to know that research is being done on Borneo Chinese. We must have more such conferences to encourage more studies to bring about greater understanding among the ethnic groups.”
Sibu-born Ling Ching Ching has translated several books on Sarawak history and written many well-acclaimed articles on current Sarawak Chinese topics. She holds a BA (Hons) degree in history from Taiwan Normal University, and an MA from Nanyang University, Singapore.
She is now teaching Chinese at an International Secondary school in Kuala Lumpur. Her paper touched on the identity, perceptions and general views of ethnicity and changes of ideology among the Chinese in Sarawak in the last 150 years.
She was the only woman presenter and her paper was very well-received. Many of the participants applauded her analysis of some issues. They felt her paper offered plenty of scope for further discussion.
JM Ting, one of the participants, commented: “Her paper was very well delivered and easily understood by most of the students. I am happy at least one woman speaker was present at this International Conference.”
The conference on July 18 was much anticipated and well attended. It was definitely a worthwhile effort.
Sale of books, published by Sarawak Chinese Cultural Association.