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his refers to an article, '€œThe hidden glory of Dharmasraya Kingdom'€ (the Post, Jan. 4) by Syofiardi Bachyul.

Little is known about the offspring of the Dharmasraya Kingdom, which spanned from the head of the Dalang River to its tributary in the Schwaner Mountains of Central Kalimantan, bordering West Kalimantan province.

They claim they arrived from Pagarruyung 23 generations ago. This was the time of King Adityawarman, who established West Sumatra'€™s Pagarruyung court in the second half of the 14th century.

There, he tried to impose an aristocratic system akin to the Majapahit Kingdom in Java where he had lived at the royal court many years before.

However, he had an adversary in conservative leader Parpatiah Nan Sabatang, who defended the population against the despotic king. But Parpati did not succeed.

Therefore, a group of his followers left the area, sailed down the Batang Hari River and crossed over to Kalimantan to their current settlements, where they continued washing gold from the rivers.

They appealed to Parpatiah as their former leader and they believed he had come with them, which historically cannot be confirmed. And most of them still adhere to their ancient animistic belief system.

Today, the group is called the Tumon Dayak, though they still speak an ancient Minang language, wear sarong and turban-like headgear during rituals, possess antique kris and eat rending (spicy meat dish).

Interested readers can look at two recent research articles from the Borneo Research Bulletin: Ethnohistory of the Tumon Dayak in the Schwaner Mountains of Central Kalimantan in vol. 43/2012, pages 245-254, and A Tumon Dayak Burial Ritual '€” Description and Interpretation of the Masks, Disguises, and Ritual Practices in vol. 32/2001, pages 84-102.

Herwig Zahorka
Bogor, West Java