Carl Bock (1) (1849–1932)

The one Kalimantan travel account I have on the shelf is Carl Bock’s “Headhunters of Borneo” ( 1880, my copy 1985). At the request of the Dutch colonial regime, which was eager to learn more about this up-to-then rather unknown part of its empire, Bock traveled through Borneo, from Samarinda up the Mahakam River and then across to the Barito River and down to Banjarmasin, in 1878-1879. His account of this journey, and his notes on Dayak culture, resulted in a very entertaining travel book with lots of observations that could equally well have been made today, although Mr Bock is somewhat dismissive of the locals.… (more)