The pagan tribes of Borneo - Get a Free Blog Here

HISTORY OF BORNEO 19
stopped the annual payment to Majapahit of one
jar of pinang juice, a useless commodity though
troublesome to collect. During his reign the
Muruts were brought under Bruni rule by peaceful
measures,^ and the Chinese colony was kept in
good humour by the marriage of the Bruni king's
brother and successor to the daughter of one of
the principal Chinamen.
Alak ber Tata is said to have gone to Johore,^
where he was converted^ to Islam, given ^ the
daughter of Sultan Bakhei and the title of Sultan,
and was confirmed in his claim to rule over Sarawak
and his other conquests.^
Sultan Mohammed was succeeded by his brother
Akhmad, son-in-law of the Chinese chief, and he was
in turn succeeded by an Arab from Taif who had
^ This is said to have been accomplished by Alak ber Tata's brother,
Awang Jerambok, the story of whose dealings with the Muruts is well known
both to Brunis and Muruts. He set out one day for the head of the river
Manjilin, but lost his way after crossing the mountains. After wandering for
three days he came upon a Murut village, whose inhabitants wished to kill
him. He naturally told them not to do so, and they desisted. After some
time, which he spent with these rude folk, then not so far advanced into the
interior, he so far won their affections that they followed him to Bruni, where
they were entertained by the sovereign and generously treated. These Muruts
then induced their friends to submit.
^ Founded after the capture of Malacca by the Portuguese, 1 5 12 A.D.
(Crawfurd, Descriptive Dictionary). Sultan Abdul Krahar, great-great-grandson
of Sultan Mohammed's younger brother, died about 1575 A.D. From this
fact and the statement that Mohammed stopped the Majapahit tribute, we may
infer that the latter sat on the throne of Bruni in the middle of the fifteenth
century ; if this inference is correct, the story of his visit to Johore must be
unfounded.
^ Some say he was never converted, others that he was summoned to Johore
expressly to be initiated into Islam.
* He is also alleged to have seized the lady in a drunken freak. It is stated
that the Sultan was so much enraged at this that he proposed to make war
on Bruni. His minister, however, suggested that enquiries should be made
into the strength of that kingdom before commencing operations. He was
accordingly sent to Bruni, where he was so well received that he married and
remained there, with a number of followers. Word was sent to Johore that
the princess was treated as queen and was quite happy with her husband.
This appeased the Sultan's wrath. An old friend of ours belonging to the
Burong Pingai section of Bruni, that is to say, the old commercial class, says
that his people are all descended from this Pengiran Bandahara of Johore, and
that the name Burong Pingai is derived from the circumstance that their
ancestor had a pigeon of remarkable tameness.
^ Cf. with Dalrymple's account of the origin of the Sulu Sultanate, /