Kalimantaan
Encyclopedia
Kalimantaan is the title of a novel
by C. S. Godshalk offering a fictionalized account of the exploits of James Brooke
in Sarawak
in Borneo
.
entries, letters, and straight narrative
to tell its story. The author intentionally makes it difficult to determine what "really" happens in the story from dreams and fantasies of the characters.
, commissioned to deliver a letter of gratitude to the Sultan of Brunei for having safely returned the crew of a British merchantman
, lost on his coast. It was a region full of headhunter
s, pirate tribes, and slave traders. Most Europe
ans with the temerity to enter the region had never been heard from again. This particular adventurer, however, seems to know how to play one power against another and manages to keep his balance in the midst of chaos. After performing a service for the Sultan (resolving a local tribal conflict through the use of his schooner's guns and leading an organized assault on a small native river fort), he is named governor of Sarawak, subject to the Sultan of Brunei. Within a few years, he has become the Rajah of Sarawak, an independent state, and established a dynasty that will last one hundred years.
Godshalk has changed names and details while evoking a sense of the time, place, and atmosphere of the real events. The real adventurer was James Brooke
; Ms. Godshalk's is named Gideon Barr. James Brooke's schooner was named the Royalist; Gideon Barr's is the Carolina (named after his mother). James Brooke was succeeded by his nephew, Charles Johnson
, who took the last name Brooke. Gideon Barr is succeeded by his nephew Richard Hogg (Ms. Godshalk does not deal with the change of last name since her story focuses on Gideon's life and ends with his death).
Although many of the events described actually took place, one cannot simply change the names and read the novel as history. James Brooke's mother died in 1844, two years after he became Rajah. Gideon's mother dies in Borneo much earlier while he is in grade school in England, providing him an emotional link to Borneo James Brooke did not have. James Brooke never married a European, although there is evidence that he was married to a Malay woman. Gideon Barr marries an Englishwoman to provide himself an "air of permanence" as Rajah and we see much of the later portion of the story through Amelia Barr's eyes. Gideon also maintains a Malayan mistress who provides a note of tragedy in the way her presence poisons Gideon and Amelia's relationship.
On the other hand, the 30,000 pounds that Brooke/Barr inherited at his father's death which enabled him to acquire his schooner, the massacre of the sons of the Sultan of Brunei, the Chinese insurrection of 1857, and the commission of inquiry in Singapore all took place as described. The inquiry in Singapore was concerned with the battle of Labuan in which Brooke/Barr led British warships in a pre-emptive strike against a pirate fleet, breaking the power of the Bugis for the next twenty years. Brooke/Barr's enemies attempted to use this against him by claiming he had used British naval power to slaughter innocent natives.
Godshalk uses Malay
words extensively in the book. While she provides a brief Malay glossary as an appendix, it does not cover all the words she uses. Enjoyment of Kalimantaan will be enhanced if one knows the following Malay words which are not in the glossary provided by the author:
Kampilan, actually a Filipino word, designates a long native sword.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by C. S. Godshalk offering a fictionalized account of the exploits of James Brooke
James Brooke
James, Rajah of Sarawak, KCB was the first White Rajah of Sarawak. His father, Thomas Brooke, was an English Judge Court of Appeal at Bareilly, British India; his mother, Anna Maria, born in Hertfordshire, was the illegitimate daughter of Scottish peer Colonel William Stuart, 9th Lord Blantyre,...
in Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
in Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
.
Plot introduction
The novel uses of a variety of writing forms, including diaryDiary
A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...
entries, letters, and straight narrative
Literary technique
A literary technique is any element or the entirety of elements a writer intentionally uses in the structure of their work...
to tell its story. The author intentionally makes it difficult to determine what "really" happens in the story from dreams and fantasies of the characters.
Plot summary
In 1839, an English adventurer arrived on the northwest coast of BorneoBorneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
, commissioned to deliver a letter of gratitude to the Sultan of Brunei for having safely returned the crew of a British merchantman
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
, lost on his coast. It was a region full of headhunter
Headhunting
Headhunting is the practice of taking a person's head after killing them. Headhunting was practised in historic times in parts of China, India, Nigeria, Nuristan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Borneo, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, Micronesia, Melanesia, New Zealand, and the Amazon Basin, as...
s, pirate tribes, and slave traders. Most Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
ans with the temerity to enter the region had never been heard from again. This particular adventurer, however, seems to know how to play one power against another and manages to keep his balance in the midst of chaos. After performing a service for the Sultan (resolving a local tribal conflict through the use of his schooner's guns and leading an organized assault on a small native river fort), he is named governor of Sarawak, subject to the Sultan of Brunei. Within a few years, he has become the Rajah of Sarawak, an independent state, and established a dynasty that will last one hundred years.
Godshalk has changed names and details while evoking a sense of the time, place, and atmosphere of the real events. The real adventurer was James Brooke
James Brooke
James, Rajah of Sarawak, KCB was the first White Rajah of Sarawak. His father, Thomas Brooke, was an English Judge Court of Appeal at Bareilly, British India; his mother, Anna Maria, born in Hertfordshire, was the illegitimate daughter of Scottish peer Colonel William Stuart, 9th Lord Blantyre,...
; Ms. Godshalk's is named Gideon Barr. James Brooke's schooner was named the Royalist; Gideon Barr's is the Carolina (named after his mother). James Brooke was succeeded by his nephew, Charles Johnson
Charles Anthoni Johnson Brooke
Charles, Rajah of Sarawak, GCMG , born Charles Anthony Johnson, ruled as the head of state of Sarawak from 3 August 1868 until his death...
, who took the last name Brooke. Gideon Barr is succeeded by his nephew Richard Hogg (Ms. Godshalk does not deal with the change of last name since her story focuses on Gideon's life and ends with his death).
Although many of the events described actually took place, one cannot simply change the names and read the novel as history. James Brooke's mother died in 1844, two years after he became Rajah. Gideon's mother dies in Borneo much earlier while he is in grade school in England, providing him an emotional link to Borneo James Brooke did not have. James Brooke never married a European, although there is evidence that he was married to a Malay woman. Gideon Barr marries an Englishwoman to provide himself an "air of permanence" as Rajah and we see much of the later portion of the story through Amelia Barr's eyes. Gideon also maintains a Malayan mistress who provides a note of tragedy in the way her presence poisons Gideon and Amelia's relationship.
On the other hand, the 30,000 pounds that Brooke/Barr inherited at his father's death which enabled him to acquire his schooner, the massacre of the sons of the Sultan of Brunei, the Chinese insurrection of 1857, and the commission of inquiry in Singapore all took place as described. The inquiry in Singapore was concerned with the battle of Labuan in which Brooke/Barr led British warships in a pre-emptive strike against a pirate fleet, breaking the power of the Bugis for the next twenty years. Brooke/Barr's enemies attempted to use this against him by claiming he had used British naval power to slaughter innocent natives.
Godshalk uses Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
words extensively in the book. While she provides a brief Malay glossary as an appendix, it does not cover all the words she uses. Enjoyment of Kalimantaan will be enhanced if one knows the following Malay words which are not in the glossary provided by the author:
| Malay Malay language Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore... |
English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... |
|---|---|
| abang | elder brother |
| adat | tradition, custom |
| ajar | to teach |
| berani, brani | brave, bold |
| besar | big, great |
| bulan | moon, month |
| bujang | bachelor |
| buaya | crocodile |
| bulbul | nightingale |
| datin | wife of a datu |
| datu | minister in traditional Malay government |
| dayang | woman of high rank |
| hantu, antu | ghost, spirit |
| hati | liver (as the seat of emotion, typically translated "heart") |
| ikan | fish |
| ikat | tie, knot |
| jaga | guard |
| jalan | street, road |
| kain | cloth (in the story, it describes a cloth belt) |
| kaya | wealthy, rich |
| kongsi | association, partnership |
| kris | stabbing dagger with flaming, or wavy, blade |
| kuli | unskilled laborer |
| lalang | a variety of long-bladed grass |
| lida | tongue |
| kecelakaan | misfortune, accident |
| merah | red |
| mudah | young, junior |
| orang | person |
| padang | field |
| padi | ricefield |
| pagi | morning |
| parang | cutlass, machete |
| payung (payong) | umbrella, parasol |
| pikul (picul) | 1) a unit of weight of 133 lb (60 kg); 2) to carry on one's shoulder |
| puasa | fast, to abstain from eating |
| rajput | princeling, diminutive of rajah |
| sakit | sick |
| selamat hari | literally, "good day". Typically, the expression selamat siang (good mid-day) is used |
| selamat pagi | good morning |
| seluar | trousers, pants |
| si | generic honorific, e.g. Si Tundo |
| stengah | half |
| sudah | already, denotes past tense |
| tahun | year |
| tanah | earth, soil |
| tiba | to arrive |
| tuah | old, elder, senior |
| tuak | toddy, palm-wine |
| tuan | lord, used as an honorific, as in Tuan Barr |
| tunku | overlord, governor |
Kampilan, actually a Filipino word, designates a long native sword.
Release details
- 1998, USA ?, Henry HoltHenry Holt and CompanyHenry Holt and Company is an American book publishing company. One of the oldest publishers in the United States, it was founded in 1866 by Henry Holt and Frederick Leypoldt...
ISBN 0-8050-5533-9, Pub date ? April 1998, hardback - 1999, Canada, Doubleday of Canada ISBN 0-385-25769-4, Pub date ? May 1999, paperback