Why Some Men

Amok

(From “North Borneo News”) ABDURAIA, a boatman, was the son of a Suluk father and a Bugis mother.

On a certain day, some thirty years ago, he obtained from his master the loan of $5 for the expenses of his marriage to Yasmani, who lived with her sister Lasmina, which does not seem an ex cessive amount.

On his way to their house, he lost $4 gambling. Before entering their house, he stopped to listen to a conversation going on inside it, and heard Lasmina tell Yasmani that she was a fool to marry a worthless fellow who had no money.

These two women, one regrets to add, were “of notorious character.”

Abduraia did not pursue his matrimonial plan. He returned to his house in a very bitter mood and commenced the sullen brooding, which usually proceeds an amok, and decided that life withouc Yasmani was not worth living. During the following forenoon he had his head shaved by a Chinese barber, and thus parted with a remarkable head of long wavy black hair, of which he was in ordinately proud. A dangerous sign!

He then walked a considerable distance to collect a debt of 25 cents, paid a bill at a coffee shop, bought a packet of cigarettes and went home to cook a meal.

After that he proceeded to the river to bathe.

On the way he saw Lasmina, who mocked him. That was the last straw!

He went home and sharpened his parang to the keenness of a razor. This he took sheathed and, in his other hand, he carried an iron bar with a cross bar, which resembled a sword hilt. Round his head he tied a length of new white cloth, the last act of a man who intends to amok.

He then set forth with the intention of killing Lasmina, and would have done so, had she not, the artful hussey, on seeing him approaching, immediately compre hended what was coming to her, and skipped off into an adjacent mangrove swamp, and so escaped.

Abduraia was no doubt acquainted with mangrove swamps and was of the opinion that they are no place to chase anybody.

He proceeded to kill three people, and severely wound four others, including a small Chinese girl. A policeman then shot him through the back. As to whether he recovered, and in that case, what the sentence was, we do not know.