Tsoluiksi

Tsoluiksi is a term that has appeared in several ethnographic reports from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, referring to a small, semi‑nomadic group said to reside in the remote highlands of central Borneo. The name is believed to derive from the local Tsoluiki language, a dialect of the Dusun branch, with the suffix “‑ksi” used to form ethnonyms. The Tsoluiksi people have traditionally lived in terraced villages on the forested slopes above 1,200 meters, relying on slash‑and‑burn agriculture, hunting, and gathering of forest products.

Anthropological accounts describe a kinship system based on patrilineal descent clans, each headed by an elder known as a “paneka.” Ritual life centers around the harvest of paddy and the cultivation of tuber crops such as yam and taro. According to early ethnographers, the Tsoluiksi practiced a form of animism, venerating ancestral spirits believed to inhabit rock formations and river mouths, and performing seasonal rites that included communal dance and flutes made from bamboo.

Historical records indicate that the first European description of the Tsoluiksi was recorded by Dutch explorer Willem H. L. van der Roos in 1894 during a missionary expedition. Subsequent accounts, however, were sparse, largely because the region remained difficult to access and the Tsoluiksi were said to avoid contact with outsiders. In the 1960s, a brief field study by a team from the University of Hong Kong collected oral histories, but the limited number of informants raised questions about the reliability of the data.

Today, the Tsoluiksi are considered to be an uncontacted or minimally contacted group, and their exact location remains uncertain. Conservation organizations emphasize the importance of protecting their habitat from logging and mining, while anthropologists continue to seek ethically responsible ways to document the cultural heritage of the people who have long inhabited the dense Borneo highlands.