Benedict Sandin

Benedict Sandin (1918-1982) was a Malaysian ethnologist and historian of Iban heritage. He served as the Curator of the Sarawak Museum in Kuching from 1966 to 1974 and also held the position of Government Ethnologist for Sarawak. Sandin dedicated his career to documenting and preserving the history and culture of the Iban people, particularly their traditions before the era of the White Rajahs.

Born into a prominent Iban family in Sarawak, Sandin entered civil service in 1941. Following World War II, he worked in the Education Department and the Information Office, where he edited the first Iban language news publication. His writing talents led to an invitation to join the Sarawak Museum staff in 1952. After further training, he focused on studying Iban culture and Sarawak's native history. Sandin's significant contributions include collecting oral histories and genealogies, and his monograph "The Sea Dayaks of Borneo: Before White Rajah Rule" is a key work in understanding this history. His research also shed light on unique Iban customs, such as their use of writing boards.

Benedict Sandin's career was deeply intertwined with the Sarawak Museum, where he served as Curator from December 1966 to March 1974. Before this, he was the Government Ethnologist for Sarawak. His tenure saw a significant focus on documenting the rich cultural heritage of the indigenous peoples, particularly the Iban. Sandin was instrumental in collecting and preserving oral histories and genealogies, providing invaluable insights into the Iban way of life, especially their traditions predating the rule of the White Rajahs. His work aimed to create a comprehensive understanding of the native history of Sarawak, both before and after the Brooke administration.

As an Iban himself, Sandin possessed a unique perspective on his people's culture. He extensively documented their oral traditions, genealogies, and historical narratives, often twenty years prior to other notable anthropological studies. His research culminated in significant publications, most notably the 1967 monograph "The Sea Dayaks of Borneo: Before White Rajah Rule." Another important work, "Sources of Iban Traditional History," was published posthumously in the Sarawak Museum Journal. Sandin also collaborated with Tom Harrisson on an article detailing the Iban custom of "writing boards" (papan turai), a system of memory aids using distinct symbols rather than a conventional script.