The first dictionary of the Iban language
A Sea Dyak Dictionary, in Alphabetical Parts, with Examples and Quotations Shewing the Use and Meaning of Words.
4to. Parts I-IV in one volume: XII, 37, (1) pp.; (2), (39)-83, (3) pp. (with errata); (2), (85)-133c pp.; (2), (134)-186, (1) pp.; (4), 24 pp. (appendix). Including separate title-pages. Near-contemporary half calf over marbled boards. All edges sprinkled red.
€ 2.800,00
First edition. The first substantial Sea Dyak (Iban) dictionary ever published. An important work at the time, it also reflects social forces then at play in Sarawak. With dedication to Charles Brooke, second Rajah of Sarawak. Includes an appendix comprising information about money, fines, units of measurements, and a vocabulary specific to the home, together with a selection of sayings, stories and laws.
The Iban language is spoken by the Iban, one of the Dayak ethnic groups who live in Brunei, the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan and in the Malaysian state of Sarawak.
William Howell (born 1856) was an Anglican priest, raised in Kuching and educated in England, who spent most of his life in the Batang Lupar area (Sarawak, Borneo). Bailey was a Brooke administrative officer. The Anglican mission actively promoted literacy in Iban, which was enthusiastically embraced by many local Iban, particularly in the Saribas and Kalaka districts. This dictionary was of great importance in creating a written language for Iban.
Bookplate of the Royal Empire Society. This copy was presented to the Society by Miss G. Hose, possibly a relation of Charles Hose (1863-1929), British colonial administrator in the service of the second Rajah, Sir Charles Brooke.
Expertly rebound to style with modern spine. In excellent condition.
Cf. Clifford Sather, Review of A Comprehensive Iban-English Dictionary, by Janang Ensiring, Joanne Veydt Sutlive, Robert Menua Saleh, and Vinson H. Sutlive, Borneo Research Bulletin 47 (2016), pp. 256-261, at p. 256.
