Rev. Felix Westerwouldt Mission in Singai
Compiled by Edward Mansel, Tour Guide
(i) History of the Christian Church in Sarawak
James Brooke, the first white Rajah, felt that there was a need for spiritual welfare among his European officers and school for the local population. At the invitation of James Brooke,theRev.Francis Thomas MacDougall and his wife Harriette arrived in Sarawak in 1848. A doctor by profession, MacDougall, apart from establishing the first Church, St.Thomas’s also set up the first school and clinic. The school for boys was named St. Thomas’s and for the girls St. Mary’s. The Rev. MacDougall later became the first AnglicanBishop of Borneo.
The first ever Catholic priest to come to Borneo was the Italian Fr.Ventimiglia, who arrived in Banjarmasin, Indonesian Borneo (now Kalimantan) in 1690.The first Catholic missionary to begin work in North Borneo (now Sabah) was Fr. Cuarteron, a Spaniard who was once a pirate.Whenhe was shipwrecked off Labuan, he made a vow that if he was saved from drowning, he would become a missionary priest. Fr.Cuarteron fulfilled that vow and was ordained priest in 1854.Fr. Cuarteron was posted to Labuan in 1857.It was Fr. Cuarteron who had earlier asked the Church authorities in Rome to send Catholic priests to Borneo.
In the Catholic Church, there are many organizations which trained and sent priests throughout the world. Priests destined for the English-speaking world were trained at Mill Hill near London. Hence, priests who were trained at Mill Hill were known as Mill Hill Fathers. The proper name of the college is St. Joseph’s Society for Foreign Missions. It was founded by CardinVaughn in 1866. Among the first group of Mill Hill Fathers who arrived in Sarawak in 1881 were Rev. Edmund Dunn,Rev. Daniel Kilty, Rev.Aloysius Goosens and Rev. Thomas Jackson.
The second Rajah, Charles Brooke, believed that religion would go a long way in ‘taming’ what was very much a ‘wild’ territory in the interior of Sarawak. When the Mill Hill Fathers arrived in 1881,Charles Brooke was most pleased. He assigned the Catholic missionaries to areas where the Anglicans had not been so as to prevent clashes.The Catholics soon established themselves in Central Sarawak along the RejangRiver populated by the Ibans. Nearer to Kuching, mission stations were established among the Bidayuhs in Singai by Rev. Felix Westerwoudt, who arrived in Kuching in 1885.
(ii) Early years
Felix John Mary Westerwoudt was born in Amsterdam on 14th March 1861. He was the third of eight children, the youngest of whom became a nun. As a boy he was interested in outdoor life and carpentry. He was hot-tempered. From age 7 to 13 years Felix entered a private school for Catholic boys. He was elected by his school mates to present a token of homage to King William 11 on the occasion of the King’s Silver Jubilee in 1847.
Felix discovered a vocation to be a priest even at an early age of eleven and his motherwas thrilled upon hearing it. In 1876, Felix entered the Diocesan Preparatory Seminary near Leiden (Holland). His fellow students always found him friendly and jovial. In 1883 at the age of 22 years, Felix entered St. Joseph’s College, Mill Hill. He became a Sub-deacon in 1884. Felix was ordained Deacon in 1885 and Priest a day later.
(iii) Arrival in Sarawak
Rev. Felix Westerwoudt and his fellow seminarian Rev. Albert Reyffert sailed from Trieste on October 1st, 1885. They arrived in Kuching on November 15th of the same year. As it was Sunday,there were no priests to welcome them because of Church services. The newly arrivals remained in Kuching until after Christmas. After meeting with their Superior Rev. Thomas Jackson, Fr. Westerwoudt departed for Singai and Fr. Reyffert sailed for Kanowit.
(iv) The Singai Bidayuh
Singai hill (536 m or 1770 ft) lies 30 km west of Kuching along the upper reaches of the SarawakRiver. The village, consisting of 9 longhouses built along the slopes of the hill some 300 m high were populated by between four to five thousand inhabitants The longhouses were raised on stilts and were built closely together. The roofs were made of palm leaves. The floor consisted of tree trunks arranged to leave a large gaps through which refuse could be thrown beneath the hut. At the back of each family room was located a simple toilet with a hole on the floor. Human wastes were discharged directly below. Due to frequent rainfall, the paths between the huts were constantly muddy, filthy and smelly. The inhabitants walked about barefooted. Disease infections, especially skin disease and stomach aches were common.
In the village was a separate round hut (Baruk) where older boys and male visitors were housed. Enemy skulls were hung on top of the roof with a fire place below. Effigies of the various gods were also kept here. Young females were not allowed to enter the Baruk. The Singais have some idea of a Higher Being whose friendship they must cultivate.They believed in numerous evil spirits and considered their friendship more important, otherwise the latter would send sickness and sufferings. Their religion was inseparable from their material wants. Everything was related to abundant rice crops. For protection against sickness they were charms such as shells and teeth of crocodiles. An immoral life and long custom of close inter-marriages brought much abuse in the community. Polygamy was not the custom but divorces were frequent.
The dead were not buried. Corpses were burnt and the Singais believed that the dead after cremation will changed into rain.Corpses with faces uncovered were laid on a mat together with everything that had been of use to him during his life, especially the skulls of his enemies. The cremation sites were not far from the village. When the cremator left his work half finished resulting in half burnt parts of the body, the stench produced was revolting. Babies were not burnt but hung on a tree or placed in the undergrowth to be eaten by wild beasts.
Rice was the staple food of the Singais and they could not get enough of it because of limited land available around their hill slopes. The Singais were not aggressive people and were afraid to farm on land far away from their village. Insufficient food led to unbalanced diet which contributed to their ill health. To supplement their meager diet, the Singais also hunted wild animals in the jungle for their meat. Due to tropical heat, animal meat could not be kept for a long time. Meat not consumed immediately were kept in a jar with a large amount of salt to preserve it. The half-decomposed meat produced unpleasant smell but the Singais treated it as a delicacy. Similarly, durian flesh could also be preserved and eaten months later.
After settling in a new place, Fr.Reyffert, apart from giving his boys school and scripture lessons was also active in farming. He experimented in the planting of Coffee, vegetables and Rubber crops. During those time, Rubber was the sole monopoly of the Borneo Company. Each farmer was only allowed to plant 105 trees so as to protect the Company’s interest. Gradually, the new village prospered and slowly more and more of the once-hostile Singais came down from their hill villages to settle in the plain.
The seeds that Fr. Westerwoudt sowed more than a century ago, although slow to germinate, have become a very large and productive plant bearing abundant fruits. Today, the Christian population under St, Stephen’s Prish in Bau numbered about 30,000. The villages surrounding Singai hill owed their success to Fr. Felix Westerwoudt, a great Catholic missionary priest who endured untold sufferings so that others may live a richer and fuller life in the Christian faith.
The Catholic Memorial and Pilgrimage Centre (CMPC)
Singai hill was declared the above-mentioned Centre as well as the Bidayuh Heritage Site by the villagers in 1980. Development of the Centre was initiated by an Austrian priest Fr. Sepp Schmolzer who has a liking of hill and mountains. The enormous tasks of collecting funds from well wishers and construction of steps and buildings were carried by villages on a self-help basis. Materials had to be hand carried. Every villager participated in this project. Although, contribution of RM 35,000 from the State Government were most welcomed for thebuilding of wooden steps, more funds are required for extension and improvement.
The Centre is located at the exact spot where Fr. Felix Westerwoudt first settled in 1885. Maintenance of the Centre depended on donations from visitors. The CMPC Complex took almost 7 years to complete.
The CMPC is managed by Mr. Vincent Eddy of Kampong Sagah who single-handed planned and designed the layout and buildings.
References;
1. Felix Westerwoudt Missioner in Borneo by E.v.R.WW (sister)
2. 100 Years in Sarawak Celebration of Archdiocease of Kuching 1981.
3 Mr. Vincent Eddy ak Sireng, Manager CMPC – for his valuable informations not recorded in literature
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