Rentap

Who was Rentap?

Once ago, there was an Iban Dayak whose real name was Libau but well known by his short praise-name Rentap. He was a Dayak rebel leader in Sarawak, Malaysia during the Brooke White Rajah era. This made him the hero for the Iban Dayak in the State of Sarawak, Malaysia, located at the western part of the Borneo Island. "Rentap" in Iban means the "World-shaker". He was proclaimed by his followers as "Raja Darat" or "Raja Ulu" at the height of his power at his Sadok Hill fort. Rentap became well-known when he was selected to be one of the leading fighting men for a great war leader, Orang Kaya Pemancha Dana "Bayang" who led war expeditions to the areas around the mouth of Kapuas River in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. This by chance prepared the young warrior Rentap with war experience in fighting James Brooke later on in his life especially at Sadok Hill until his death in hiding in 1870.