MING DYNASTY BOWLS FOUND

EKSKLUSIVE

JUBIN KINSIL

 By ROSANNA EDEZA

TENOM (Sabah Malaysia): Two pieces of ceramic bowls which appears to be kitchen utensils from the Ming Dynasty, was found here in the Kg. Makaniton jungle by a married couple, Jubin Kinsil, 52, and his wife Jalina Gunsi, 50 last Saturday.

   According to the couple both bowls were found facing downward and on being checked the face and sides of the bowls were found chipped off and cracked while the rest of the pieces were still intact. They both have a measurement of four inches in circumference.

   “We found the articfacts while looking for our land’s boundary stones at the Lilison hill,” Jubin said.

   Jubin, who is a puboic servant here told Borneo Digest that all his life they have never seen such unique bowls – white and patterned with blue ink in ancient Chinese writings. Opne of the bowls is drawn with blue flower blooms, which are similar to bowls used during era of the Ming Dynasty.

JALINA GUNSI

   Borneo Digest made an attempt to confirm the period of the bowls’ origin through various channels and the first confirmation by a news stringer in China who gave his observation, saying “The utensils were probably brought to Borneo in one of the many Chinese junks who sailed to Borneo or those under military expeditions.” A Borneo Digest stringer in Nepal also gave the same opinion.

   The Lilison hill area is about two km. from Melalap town which during the British rule in North Borneo was a Chinese settlement whose settlers were of unknown origin.

   A Taiwanese stringer with close knowledge of the Taiwanese people told that those Chinese who migrated to Borneo or were in military expeditions came from various backgrounds.

   And according to Dong Xi Yang Kao who made a study of eastern and western seas, which was published by Zhang Xie (1574-1640) during the Ming Dynasty, it was often the case that many workers ship hands, among which were cooks or regular sailors, refused to join the return trip homes when they reached many places in the Malay Archipelago or other locations worldwide.

   Based on this historical fact, it is easy to believe the assumption of  Makaniton couple that the artefact they chanced upon in the Lilison hill are indeed from the Ming dynasty.