Agi Idup, Agi Ngelaban (I will fight as long I will live).
– Rentap
Most Sarawakians have heard about Rentap — a Brooke-era revolutionary, but, honestly, what do we know about him?
Maybe glimpses of Sarawak’s cultural hero have been featured in films such as ‘Edge of the World’ or Farewell to the King.
But do you know that Rentap — our native ‘Braveheart’ who fought the White Rajahs — is a symbol of Sarawak!
Described by James Brooke’s biographer Spenser St John as the “most notorious and truculent of Dayak chiefs”, he has always been my hero.
As author of scores of articles of Sarawak’s cultural heroes for the past 40 years, I have been fascinated by his story best portrayed in Charles Brooke’s two volumes in ‘Ten Years in Sarawak’ (1866).
After 20 years of delay, I finally decided to trace Rentap’s journey and write his book.
After perusing through at least 30 books by academics Rutter, Payne, Pringle and Pybus and three classics — Sir Henry Keppel’s ‘Expedition to Borneo of HMS Dido’, Spenser St John’s ‘Life in the Forests of the Far East’ and a host of dozens of journals, bulletins and reports, I was ready to take the plunge.
Rentap became notorious after the killing of Alan Lee at Fort Skrang, Simanggang on April 26, 1853.
Lee was one of James Brooke’s half dozen young English relatives who were sent to the rural outback as administrators in the early 1850s.
Alan Lee and four others, William Brereton, catechist-teachers Henry Steel and Charles Fox and Charles Johnson (Charles Brooke) were among the first to arrive.
Ultimately, all except Charles were killed by Brooke’s enemies.
Rentap was unhappy with the establishment of Fort Skrang which was a hindrance to his people’s movement over ‘menoa’ (territory) as they could not carry out raids as they had done in the past.
In 1852, another fort was established at Lingga and Alan Lee was put in charge of the station — a strategic outpost to protect the river from marauding Saribas Sea Dayaks.
In the spring of 1853, Lee was asked to bring his pro-Brooke ‘Balau’ soldiers up to Fort Skrang as Rentap was planning an attack.
In the battle at Skrang, Rentap lured Lee’s vessel manned by a few Malays into a trap where he was overpowered by Layang, the son-in-law of the old chief, and beheaded.
The slaying of Alan Lee was to have a profound effect on Charles who swore revenge.
To commemorate the killing of Lee, Libau, whose praise name was Rentap, composed a set of verses to go ballad:
Rentap Tanah, Rentap Menoa
Tuan Lee ke mati enda berega,
Tuan Brereton tau masok ka kain,
Enda tanjong ka bala Raja,
Rita Layang tampak terang,
Mandang ka Airupa
Abang Aing badu agi ka pending bala
Undup abis tepelut leka mata
Balau nadai agi kerangan sebelak kerapa.
(Earth Tremor, Land Tremor,
Tuan Lee is easily killed
Tuan Brereton is reduced to wearing a dress
No longer dares to lead the Rajah’s forces
News of Layang’s exploits flashes to Europe
Abang Aing is no longer the ears of the Rajah
Undup Dayaks can now open their eyes in amazement
The Balau warriors voice can no longer be heard.)
A year after the killing of Lee, Charles joined the Sungei Lang expedition to hunt down Rentap who had fled to upper Skrang in Betong district.
In August 1854, ‘Tuan Muda’ Charles joined the Rajah, his uncle, in the Battle of Sungei Lang.
Together with led 7,000 ‘Balau’ warriors from Batang Lupar, their mission was to capture Rentap’s stockade on a steep hill surrounded by high stakes.
Sandra Pybus in ‘White Rajah’ — a Dynastic Intrigue (1996) said: “Itching to get after the troublesome Rentap, Charlie joined an expedition, led by his brother Brooke, against Rentap’s fortified headquarters at Sungei Lang.
“Attached to the mainly Malay force were Spenser St John, Charles Grant and Arthur Crookshank (Charles’ uncle) and Brereton of Skrang. Everything went wrong.”
Despite being wounded, Rentap and 50 to 60 bodyguards, who used their shields to protect him, escaped and built his fortress at Bukit Sadok.
Midway during the expedition, Rajah James fell ill and soon after, Brereton contracted cholera and died.
On November 13, 2001, I decided to try what no journalist — western or local — had so far done.
I was going to trek up the jungle part to seek out Rentap’s renowned stockade at the peak of the 3,000-ft high Bukit Sadok.
After a night at the longhouse of a friend I wrote:
“I rose at 5am on a chilly day. The mist was dense and the wind began to howl. The sun rose as we entered the dewy forests while the clouds swept past us as Kanyan and Linggi, both pint-sized descendants of Rentap, led the way.”
“Ribut (a gust of wind),” Linggi whispered indicating that deities who protected this holy mountain been awakened.
I noticed that thick undergrowth camouflaged the 150-year-old track which was used by Charles Brooke and his army to capture Sadok in October 1861.
Rentap’s stockade lay high up in the steep hills about four hours away.
As we continued upwards towards the skyline, Kanyan jokingly gave me some friendly advice: “Try not to make too much noise lest we upset the sprits.”
After an hour we reached Bukit Sanggau — the first of four hills we had to overcome.
On reaching Bukit Tugong, we were now on sacred ground. Linggi reminded me to observe the adat (law).
Not wanting to upset the jungle spirits, I customarily placed a twig on a pile of branches, and meekly doing as I was told.
Charles Brooke in ‘Ten Years in Sarawak’ wrote, “It was now fiery hot. One of our Europeans was completely exhausted; he had only lately arrived from England and was not yet inured to our broiling climate.
“On a good road in the old country, he would doubtless have passed us, but now, was so thoroughly ikak (exhausted) as to be obliged to be carried on the back of a Dyak.
“He was a man over six feet in height, and heavy in proportion. The Dyak who carried him up hill after hill, as if he was an infant, was only five feet two inches without shoes.”
At 9.30am, Kanyan, Linggi and I finally reached the outer ring of Rentap’s fortress leading to the summit of Bukit Sadok.
On both sides of the site was a steep declivity of at least 1,000 feet.
Before we reached the summit I had a strange sensation that we were being watched.
But there was also a sense of exhilaration, having made it to the top.
Was this how Charles felt when he conquered the mountain which led to the defeat of grandfather ‘Aki Rentap’ — first of the great Iban chiefs?
Standing at the site of Aki Rentap’s stockade, I was exhilarated as what lay before me was the vast Iban hinterland — the Skrang-Saribas plains and beyond, the South China Sea.
At last, I had fulfilled a promise to scale the mythical mother of all mountains, Sarawak’s ‘Bastion of Pride’.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
