From London to Lundu

MEMBERS of the Anglican Church in Borneo started their own gawai this month, marking the 170th anniversary of the founding of the Mission in this part of Borneo.

The organisers have planned a series of events for the parishioners to participate in, marking the anniversary until next year.

A forum attended by some 1,000 parishioners was held on June 9, during which were related the history of the Mission, its present state, and its plans with which to meet the challenges of the future.

James Brooke’s role in the church

The history of the Anglican Church (1848 to 1962) is well documented.

What many parishioners may not know, however, was the role of James Brooke, before he became Rajah of Sarawak, in paving the way for the propagation of the Gospel to this part of the Borneo.

Indeed, apart from one lone German evangelist named Hupe, I’m of the opinion that it was James Brooke who first brought Christianity to Sarawak on behalf of the Church of England.

How?

James Brooke first came to this part of Borneo in 1839. On Aug 30 of that year, he went to Lundu, by boat from Sarawak (Kuching) down the same river on which he sailed a fortnight previously, crossing the bay westwards in the ‘Skimalong’ and reaching a Dayak village on the Lundu River (now Batang Kayan) in the evening.

Thanks to his fondness for writing, we have an account of this trip to an outlying place – source: ‘The Expedition to Borneo of HMS Dido’ by Henry Keppel, OUP Singapore 1991.

Of relevance to our discussion today are the following entries in James Brooke’s journal as recorded and published in Keppel’s book. You can read the rest of the passages for yourself – how Brooke describes the longhouse, the people living there, etc.

In an entry on Sept 1, 1839, he describes how the Stunggang Dayaks buried their dead, “Like these neighbours, too, the Sibnowans (‘Sebuyau’ wrongly spelt) seem to have little or no idea of a God. They offer prayers to Beidum, the great Dayak chief of former days. Priests and ceremonies they have none; the thickest mist of darkness is over them: but how much easier is it to dispel darkness with light, than to overcome the false blaze with the rays of truth! …”

After describing the behaviour and the demeanour of the longhouse inhabitants, including measuring the heights and sizes of the heads of some of the inhabitants, Brooke’s dairy entry reads, “That these Dyaks are in a low condition there’s no doubt; but comparatively theirs is an innocent state, and I consider them capable of being easily raised in the scale of society. The absence of all prejudice regarding diet, the simplicity of their characters, the purity of their morals, and their present ignorance of all forms of worship and all idea of future responsibility, render them open to conviction of truth and religious impression.

“Yet, when I say this, I mean, of course, only when their minds shall have been raised by education; without previous culture, I reckon the labours of the missionary as useless as endeavouring to read off a blank paper. I doubt not but the Sibnowan Dyak would readily receive missionary families among them, provided the consent of Rajah Muda Hassim was previously obtained. That the Rajah would consent, I much doubt; but if any person chose to reside at Tungong (Stunggang) for the charitable purpose of leading the tribe gradually, by means of education, to the threshold of Christianity, it would be worth the asking, and I would exert what influence I possess with him on the occasion. I feel sure a missionary would be safe amongst them as long as he strictly confined himself to the gentle precepts and practice of his faith; he would live abundantly and cheaply, and be exposed to no danger except from the incursion of hostile tribes, which must always be looked for by a sojourn amid a Dyak community.”

The next entry of his diary is not relevant to present discussion – it’s about shooting partridges for specimens.

What else did he talk about with the priests in London?

After his trip to Lundu in 1839, Brooke went back to England to see his mother. During conversations with his friends in London he could have related what he had seen in Jugah’s longhouse at Stunggang, “Nice mats were spread on the occasion of our visit, whilst over our heads dangled about 30 ugly skulls …”

That could have sparked an interest among some Christians in London. Funds were raised to finance a mission to Borneo; three priests were selected to evangelise there. That was the beginning of the Anglican Church – the seed from London sowed in Lundu.

The rest of this part of the history of the Mission was beautifully narrated by Bishop Aeries Sumping Jingan at the forum. You should have heard how he described the trials and tribulations of the early Christian missionaries and how those obstacles were overcome; the Church’s survival to this day.

As we know, James Brooke was not a missionary but as a tourist and an adventurer with an eye for politics and business, like many of his contemporaries of the Victorian era.

But he paved the way for the professional missionaries before his second coming in 1840 and his subsequent appointment as the Ruler of Sarawak the following year.

The Christian Church – I mean the Anglican Church – is 170 years old calculating from the time of the arrival of the team consisting of two priests – McDougall and Wright – at Kuching on St Peter’s Day, June 29, 1848. I say, the mission is 179 years old, if you accept James Brooke’s role as a pioneer in the propagation of the Gospel in 1839. I do.

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