The Muruts; Kadayans 'Big Brother'

Written by Arimi Sidek

The Lun Bawangs / Lun Dayehs are from Vietnam. In Borneo, their culture had then adopted by the LONG KIPUTS, the BATU BLAHS, the TRINGS, and the ADANGS in the head of the Limbang River; to the same group belong the KADAYANS in the neighbourhood of Bruni, who, from contact with their Malay neighbours, have become in large part Mohammedans of Malay culture. The Muruts, Kadayan 'Big Brother' Kadayans of Bruni 4, 1912 (KOB4) When Dr Hose mentioned the Muruts in 'The Pagan Tribes of Borneo', he actually refers to Lun Bawang or Lun Dayeh people, not to the people that known as Sabahan 'Muruts' at present. For those people, he reserved another name, 'Tagal'. Dr Hose was wrong, as 'Tagal' or 'Tagol' actually just a sub-entity of several other sub entities within the 'Muruts' stock. But who cares, Rule #1 - Western researchers always right. Rule #2 - If, they had committed any mistakes, see Rule #1. Hose noticed the peculiarity about the Muruts in compare to Kayan, another tribe under 'Klemantan' category, along with kadayans and a few more. They build long houses; but these are comparatively flimsy structures, and they are often situated at adistance from any navigable stream. Even those Muruts who live on the river−banks make much less use of boats than the other tribes, and all of them are great walkers. They have very little skill in boat−making. Their most distinctive peculiarity is their system of agriculture (see vol. i. p. 97), which involves irrigation, the use of buffalo, the raising of two crops a year, and the repeated use in successive years of the same land. Other distinctive features are their peculiar long sword and short spear; the absence of any axe and blow−pipe; the custom according to which the women propose marriage to the men (Kalabits). Hose somewhat think that Muruts were descent from Annam, the present day Vietnam. “The descendants of the immigrants who introduced this type of culture are, we think, the Muruts proper, who claim that name and dwell chiefly in the Trusan, the Padas, the Sembakong, the Kerayan rivers, and in the head of the Kinabatangan; also the Kalabits in the northern part of the upper basin of the Baram. It is these which display most decidedly the physical peculiarities noted above. As examples of Klemantan tribes that have partially adopted the Murut culture we would mention the LONG KIPUTS, the BATU BLAHS, the TRINGS, and the ADANGS in the head of the Limbang River; to the same group belong the KADAYANS in the neighbourhood of Bruni, who, from contact with their Malay neighbours, have become in large part Mohammedans1 of Malay culture.” End note: 1Just in case that you may not aware of, whenever you came across with the term 'Mohammedan' anywhere in this website - and also in most of western materials - it should be read as 'Islam'. Western researchers were too stupid to differentiate between prophet Muhammad (pbuh) own ideas, and the saying of almighty God. Source: Hose, Charles & McDougall, 1912. The Pagan Tribes of Borneo. Borneo at the end of 19th Century, by Dr Charles Hose (1863-1929) and McDougall, William (1871-1938). The book is no longer copyrighted in the USA and now obtainable under Project Gutenberg