As for following in Barclay’s river journey, the expedition missed out on only half of middle Baram, but possibly the most exciting part of the river expedition. In the end, canoeing the Baram turned into an almost 590km journey by longboat, express boats and 4WD!
In the early 19th century, warring tribes occupied the Baram region and headhunting was rife. As the British Resident of Baram, Charles Hose was sent to broker peace. He invited all the feuding tribes to compete in a paddle boat race or regatta on the Baram River with festivities that would last six days.
In 1899, about 6,000 natives arrived at Marudi (then Claude town) in 16 war boats, each boat carrying between 60 to 70 men, and raced in the regatta. Before the great warriors returned to their respective longhouses, Hose held a successful peace-making ceremony.
Today, the historic Baram Regatta is still celebrated in Marudi but only once every three years. In the three-day event this year, 100 boats from Kuching, Saratok, Brunei, Sibuti and Baram participated in a total of 40 races.
For the first time in the history of the regatta, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei was invited to be the guest-of-honour.
The Brunei Sultanate and Baram are historically linked. Baram once belonged to the Brunei Sultanate, before it ceded to Charles Brooke, the second Rajah of Sarawak on June 13, 1883.
On the final day of the Regatta, the Sultan piloted a Black Hawk helicopter, and touched down at Marudi airport.
He flagged off a race in which the prize was the prestigious HRH Sultan of Brunei Champion Trophy. Jayong 9 Belaga, through its Unlimited Men B team emerged as the winner.
When it was time to leave, the Sultan waved to the crowd who patiently waited outside the airport to see him off.
Published in The Star and The Star Online.