On the guliga of Borneo
A short note by A. Hart Everett describing the collection, trade, and supposed medicinal properties of bezoar stones (guliga) obtained from monkeys and porcupines in Borneo.
Summary
Everett documents the export of guliga from the Rejang and Bintulu rivers in Sarawak, noting that the common variety is obtained from a red monkey (Semnopithecus) while the rarer and more valuable “Guliga Landak” comes from the porcupine. He describes the lime test for authenticity, the frauds perpetrated by Bakatans who moulded clay into bezoar shape, and the various prices paid at Rejang, ranging from $1.50 to $4 per amas for common stones and up to $100 for an exceptional porcupine specimen. He also records the diverse shapes, colours, and internal structures of specimens he had personally examined, including one formed around a broken sumpitan dart.
The note concludes with a native account, corroborated by several independent sources, that the upper waters of the Balungar (Batang Kayan) are the principal source of these stones. According to this account, the Kayan people of that district, lacking salt, drink from saline mineral springs (“Sungan”) which are also frequented by the red monkeys; the hunters then shoot the animals at the springs, identifying likely bezoar-bearers by external signs. Everett closes by suggesting that the widespread medicinal reputation of the concretions may indicate some genuine therapeutic basis.