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Saturday, March 10, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Slavery and Piracy in North Borneo
By : Justin Sunam Wong
I was reading A Decade in Borneo,
written by Ada Pryer or Ada Blanche Locke. She is the wife of the first
Resident of the British North Borneo Chartered Company (BNBCC) in
Sandakan and in North Borneo, Mr William Burges Pryer. It was published
in 1893; fourteen years after the founding of Elopura or Sandakan and
about six year prior to the demise of William B. Pryer on 11 Januay 1899
at age 54 *1. Sandakan was founded by Mr Pryer on 21 June 1879 *2.
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| Pryer's monument in Sandakan. Souce : http://www.aboutsabah.com.my/?p=2549 |
Thursday, January 19, 2012
How places got their names
The following is collected from the collective memories of NBHE members. It's not much but I thought it would be a waste not to share it.
Api Api was what Kota Kinabalu used to be known before the name was changed to Jesselton and later to Kota Kinabalu. Some Hakka still refer KK as Ya Pi. There are at least 2 accounts on how the settlement came to be known as Api Api. 1) Named after a big fire caused by rebels in 1897 which razed down the Pulau Gaya settlement. 2) named after some kind of plants which were plentiful in KK.
Karamunsing in Kota Kinabalu was named after a type of plant/tree used to be abundant in the area, which in local dialect was known as Karamunceng or Karamunsheng tree.
Keningau used to be known as Kaningau. Oscar Cook in 'Borneo the Stealer of Hearts' mentioned it as such. The town got its name from a type of cinnamon tree known as Kaningau in local dialect which grow/grew abundantly there.
Kota Belud was derived from Sama words, which directly translates to Hill Fort, or rather, Fort on the Hills. It was one of Mat Salleh's strongholds during the 1897-1900 uprising against the (British) Chartered North Borneo Company.
Labuan got it's name from the "Malay" word for anchorage i.e. Labu-an. In Sama language labu' means drop and labu-an is to drop, in this case dropping achor. A Bruneian would have pronounced it as Labu-han. A small village in Kota Belud shares both the name and the role as an achorage, albeit on a small river for small sampans.
Lok Kawi is named after Cowie. Lok is bay in Bajau language and Kawi is the Malaynised Cowie
Manggatal is the correct name not Menggatal, some overzelous outsider coined this Menggatal. The name was derived from a mango tree which found abound near the present river, the type of mango "kambasang" which is quite coarse and it irritates your throat hence gatal in Malay. The place has a lot of these species of mango, hence Manggatal was born.
Sandakan was said to have acquired its name from the word Sanda-kan, where Sanda means pawn off/sell off. This word is common among the peoples living in the area and Southern Philippines, as well as the Iranun people in Kota Belud. Obviously this refers to the British North Borneo Company (later chartered) acquisition/lease of the area from the Sulu Sultanate in the early 1870's.
Tenghilan named after a large Manggilan tree where people used to do their daily sustenance activities
Taun Gusi, a major village in Kota Belud got it's name after a major flood decades ago accidentally unearthed many ancient Chinese jars, similar to the ones that are very popular among many tribes in Sabah. The words Taun Gusi literally translates to Jungle of Jars in Sama language.
Api Api was what Kota Kinabalu used to be known before the name was changed to Jesselton and later to Kota Kinabalu. Some Hakka still refer KK as Ya Pi. There are at least 2 accounts on how the settlement came to be known as Api Api. 1) Named after a big fire caused by rebels in 1897 which razed down the Pulau Gaya settlement. 2) named after some kind of plants which were plentiful in KK.
Karamunsing in Kota Kinabalu was named after a type of plant/tree used to be abundant in the area, which in local dialect was known as Karamunceng or Karamunsheng tree.
Keningau used to be known as Kaningau. Oscar Cook in 'Borneo the Stealer of Hearts' mentioned it as such. The town got its name from a type of cinnamon tree known as Kaningau in local dialect which grow/grew abundantly there.
Kota Belud was derived from Sama words, which directly translates to Hill Fort, or rather, Fort on the Hills. It was one of Mat Salleh's strongholds during the 1897-1900 uprising against the (British) Chartered North Borneo Company.
Labuan got it's name from the "Malay" word for anchorage i.e. Labu-an. In Sama language labu' means drop and labu-an is to drop, in this case dropping achor. A Bruneian would have pronounced it as Labu-han. A small village in Kota Belud shares both the name and the role as an achorage, albeit on a small river for small sampans.
Lok Kawi is named after Cowie. Lok is bay in Bajau language and Kawi is the Malaynised Cowie
Manggatal is the correct name not Menggatal, some overzelous outsider coined this Menggatal. The name was derived from a mango tree which found abound near the present river, the type of mango "kambasang" which is quite coarse and it irritates your throat hence gatal in Malay. The place has a lot of these species of mango, hence Manggatal was born.
Sandakan was said to have acquired its name from the word Sanda-kan, where Sanda means pawn off/sell off. This word is common among the peoples living in the area and Southern Philippines, as well as the Iranun people in Kota Belud. Obviously this refers to the British North Borneo Company (later chartered) acquisition/lease of the area from the Sulu Sultanate in the early 1870's.
Tenghilan named after a large Manggilan tree where people used to do their daily sustenance activities
Taun Gusi, a major village in Kota Belud got it's name after a major flood decades ago accidentally unearthed many ancient Chinese jars, similar to the ones that are very popular among many tribes in Sabah. The words Taun Gusi literally translates to Jungle of Jars in Sama language.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Drop Off Box
By Justin Sunam Wong
Bonding with Gaya Street (BGS) is a modest and yet unique exhibition in that where the conventional exhibition format, you have a designated venue and all the exhibition subjects are located in that one place. With BGS however, our Creative Director, Ms Yee I-Lann, opted for a more organic and personal touch, personal in a sense that it is the community that is telling its own stories.
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| I-Lann interviewing her subject. Photo courtesy of ProArt |
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Bonding with Gaya Street
By : Justin Sunam Wong, NBHE Founder
The cat is out of the bag! New Sabah Times has published our press release. In a way, this is kind of a soft launch of the event itself. It all started with a walk in Gaya Street in October 2011. A few of us enthusiasts decided to meet up and explore Gaya Street.
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| Some of our members in Gaya Street |
Most of us take Gaya Street for granted. I personally, only think about Gaya Street when I have a craving for Bak Kut Teh in the evening. Incidentally, my West Malaysian friend was amused when I revealed to him that we have Bak Kut Teh in the evening. He told me with great authority that Bak Kut Teh should be taken in the morning as breakfast. Well, he might be right, Bak Kut Teh was a concoction conjured up by the coolies of old days, to give them nourishment and energy within their limited resources; Necessity is the mother of invention they say. Before long, they perfected their recipe and Bak Kut Teh evolved into the mouth watering fare of present day but I have digress.
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