Mount Santubong

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Mount Santubong
Mount Santubong from Santubong Bridge.jpg
Mt. Santubong from Santubong Bridge
Highest point
Elevation 810.2 m (2,658 ft)
Prominence 810 m (2,660 ft)
Coordinates 01°44′N110°20′E / 1.733°N 110.333°E / 1.733; 110.333
Geography
Malaysia relief location map.jpg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Mount Santubong
Location in Malaysia
Location Kuching District, Kuching Division, Sarawak, Malaysia
Geology
Mountain type Inselberg
Climbing
First ascent Unknown
Easiest route Hike

Mount Santubong (Malay : Gunung Santubong) is a mountain in the Malaysian state of Sarawak and highest point of the city of Kuching. It is located on the Damai Peninsular, about 30 km north of the city center. [1]

Contents

Biological importance

In 1855 a British naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace who was staying at Santubong while collecting specimens in Sarawak, wrote a paper while called "Sarawak Law" which can be considered as a precursor to the biological theory of evolution.

Ascent

Mount Santubong lies within the Santubong National Park. [2] Entry to the park is now via the temporary Sarawak Forestry Corporation park headquarter entrance. The issue of custodian of park entry has now been put to rest by the relevant authorities [3]

Part of the arduous ascent Ropes and ladders on santubong.jpg
Part of the arduous ascent

History

Mount Santubong in the 1850s by Harriette McDougall SANTUBONG Mission's seaside resort (1850s), watercolour by Harriette McDougall.png
Mount Santubong in the 1850s by Harriette McDougall
View from the mountain top View from Mt. Santubong sumit.JPG
View from the mountain top
Mount Santubong, viewed from Cove 55 resort Cove 55 surroundings, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.jpg
Mount Santubong, viewed from Cove 55 resort

Mount Santubong's name may have been derived from the Iban word for coffin, but various Chinese derivations have also been suggested (San approximating the word for mountain in many dialects), as well Bidayuh, in whose lands the names of many hills start with S.[ citation needed ]

According to a legend of the Iban people, about eight generations ago (about 200 to 240 years), from 1964, an Iban warrior named Unggang went from the mouth of Saribas River to Mount Santubong. While he was halfway up the mountain, he met two beautiful goddesses from the summit named Kumang and Lulong. One of the goddesses handed him Batu Perunsut, a stone used for bathing herself, as his charm. She told Unggang that his influence extended from the Saribas river to Mount Santubong only, and the goddesses would not be responsible if Unggang decided to expand his influence southeast beyond Santubong. [4]

There was another legend from the Malay people which stated that two beautiful daughters of God, named Princess Santubong (Puteri Santubong) and Princess Sejenjang (Puteri Sejenjang) came down from heaven to guard their respective mountains here in Sarawak, namely Mount Santubong and Mount Sejenjang. The job of Princess Santubong was to weave clothes for the whole day, while Princess Sejenjang was to pound rice for the entire day. Each of them praised their own beauty every day and claimed to be the most beautiful woman in the world. They started to quarrel, and Princess Sejenjang hit the cheek of Princess Santubong using a rice pestle, thus causing the Mount Santubong to be broken on one side. Meanwhile, Princess Santubong retaliated by striking and penetrating the head of Princess Sejenjang with a bamboo stick. Thus, Mount Sejenjang was broken into many surrounding small islands near Mount Santubong, including the Kera island. [5]

It was also the home of the early Sarawak Malays until they were driven up to Kuching in about the 1850s owing to continual attacks from the powerful Saribas Dayaks.[ citation needed ]

Investigators have made ascents of the steep mountain to find places of archaeological interest. Around its foot are signs of Hindu occupation, which are hundreds of years old and have been investigated by the Sarawak Museum. [6]

The mountain is made of sandstone, although it has been confused by many with limestone tower karst, or a volcanic plug: smaller versions of both appear not far inland. For a long time it interested those in search of gold but without success. There used to be an old theory that all the gold in the First Division of Sarawak lies in a straight line between Bau and Santubong which has some support in that there is a certain amount of gold in the mountain since fishermen in the past used to depend for their livelihood during the landas season, when the sea was too rough for fishing, by panning gold in the small mountain streams from which they could expect to gain an average of twenty dollars a month. [7]

References

  1. ↑ Nais, Nancy (2021-09-24). "Grueling tale to the peak of bewitching Mt Santubong". DayakDaily. Retrieved 2025-01-13.
  2. ↑ "SARAWAK FORESTRY :: Sarawak National Park - National Parks and Reserves ::". Archived from the original on 2009-07-20.
  3. ↑ "Dept demolishes business premises, facilities built illegally on govt land". 4 December 2014.
  4. ↑ Sandin, Benedict (31 July 1964). "The Beginning of Saribas privacy on Santubong Mountain" (PDF). Vol. XC, no. 1277. Sarawak Gazette. p. 167. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  5. ↑ Amran, Abdullah; Yusman, Ayob (1993). Salasilah nama tempat Sabah Sarawak (Genealogy of place names in Sabah and Sarawak) (in Malay). Petaling Jaya, Selangor: Penerbit Prisma Sdn Bhd. pp. 76–78. ISBN   9839665782 . Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  6. ↑ Margaret, Mary (20 October 2013). "Santubong over time". The Borneo Post. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  7. ↑ Chater, W. J. (1969). Sarawak Long Ago. ISBN   983-62-3981-2.
  8. ↑ "40 years after it was composed, "Puteri Santubong' continues to be popular". BERNAMA. 11 January 2019.

Further reading

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