Raja Manggeng
Revd. Peter Howes published this brief ethnographic note in 1955, presenting the Padawan Land Dayak oral tradition of Manggeng—a hero who, according to the people of the Sarawak River (Simpang Kiri) region, single-handedly won a kingdom in Java. The article records the fullest known version of the narrative, traces the claimed genealogical descent, and describes the surviving material heirlooms (pesaka) that the Padawan people still possess.
Summary
Howes situates the Manggeng tradition within the broader Land Dayak cultural landscape of the Sarawak River and its surrounding highlands, noting that while every village in the region holds some version of the story, only the men of Padawan—at the foot of Mt. Penrissen—can substantiate a direct claim through living descendants and physical heirlooms. The narrative itself follows a classic heroic structure: Manggeng departs after a domestic quarrel, is tested by Javanese elders through a series of escalating trials (tiger-hunting, a strength test, a balance test, and a spear-throwing contest), and ultimately wins the throne and the Rajah’s wife. His son Si-Jawih later travels to Java, is recognised by a distinctive forehead scar, and returns home with ships of treasure but without his father, who remains bound to his Javanese subjects.
The article’s principal value lies in its documentation of the genealogical and material evidence that anchors the tradition. Howes records a lineage of some thirty-five generations from Manggeng back to an ancestor named Truud, and provides a detailed physical description of the surviving pesaka—two gold ear clasps, the remnants of a gold necklace, and an unglazed earthenware jar now in his own possession. The jar’s characteristics (hand-formed rather than wheel-turned, friable clay, hearth-blackened base) suggest considerable antiquity, though Howes does not attempt a firm dating.
Key Findings
- The Padawan genealogy traces thirty-five generations from Manggeng to an ancestor named Truud; the most recent named descendant at the time of writing was a boy of sixteen called Made (p. 147).
- The full genealogical sequence recorded is: Si-Jawih, Si-Mutai, Si-Tamun, Sair, Sadi, Sidi, Sutum, Siraen, Sikud, Dire, Singaus, Awak, Ginyot, Jangok, Nyang, Made (p. 147).
- Surviving pesaka include two ear clasps “almost certainly of gold,” a few metal beads (remains of a gold necklace and locket), and one earthenware jar (p. 147).
- The jar is unglazed, hand-formed (not wheel-turned), with a light buff body darkening to reddish-brown, a hearth-blackened base, and a very friable material; it is described as having stood on a hearth rather than in the fire (p. 147).
- The Padawan site is identified as being at the foot of Mt. Penrissen, recorded on government maps as “Senah Negri” (p. 144).
- Howes cross-references a companion paper on page 157 of the same issue, suggesting the jar was the subject of further technical analysis (p. 147, n. 1).
Conclusion
Howes presents the Manggeng tradition as a culturally coherent and internally consistent body of oral history, supported by a continuous genealogical line and a small corpus of material culture. His definitive takeaway is that the Padawan claim to descent from Manggeng is the only one that can be “substantiated in any convincing way” (p. 144), making their village the singular locus for the tradition’s empirical verification. The article functions less as an argument for or against the historicity of a Dayak presence in Java than as a careful field record of a living tradition at a moment when its material anchors were still intact.
Context
- Howes was an Anglican missionary working in the Sarawak highlands; the article was received by the MBRAS in November 1954 and reflects the ethnographic practice of missionary-scholars in mid-century Borneo, combining narrative transcription with material description.
- The jar described here is the subject of a companion technical paper in the same issue (p. 157), indicating that Howes sought independent physical analysis to complement his ethnographic account.