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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.12.12.00*END* + + + + + +This Etext Created by Jeroen Hellingman <jehe@kabelfoon.nl> + + + + + +The Pagan Tribes of Borneo + +A Description of Their Physical Moral and Intellectual Condition +With Some Discussion of their Ethnic Relations + + +by Charles Hose and William McDougall + + +With an Appendix on the Physical Characters of the Races of Borneo + +by A. C. Haddon + + + + +In Two Volumes + + + + +Preface + +In writing this book we have aimed at presenting a clear picture of the +pagan tribes of Borneo as they existed at the close of the nineteenth +century. We have not attempted to embody in it the observations +recorded by other writers, although we have profited by them and have +been guided and aided by them in making our own observations. We have +rather been content to put on record as much information as we have +been able to obtain at first hand, both by direct observation of the +people and of their possessions, customs, and manners, and by means +of innumerable conversations with men and women of many tribes. + +The reader has a right to be informed as to the nature of the +opportunities we have enjoyed for collecting our material, and we +therefore make the following personal statement. One of us (C. H.) has +spent twenty-four years as a Civil Officer in the service of the Rajah +of Sarawak; and of this time twenty-one years were spent actually in +Sarawak, while periods of some months were spent from time to time +in visiting neighbouring lands -- Celebes, Sulu Islands, Ternate, +Malay Peninsula, British North Borneo, and Dutch Borneo. Of the +twenty-one years spent in Sarawak, about eighteen were passed in the +Baram district, and the remainder mostly in the Rejang district. In +both these districts, but especially in the Baram, settlements and +representatives of nearly all the principal peoples are to be found; +and the nature of his duties as Resident Magistrate necessitated a +constant and intimate intercourse with all the tribes of the districts, +and many long and leisurely journeys into the far interior, often +into regions which had not previously been explored. Such journeys, +during which the tribesmen are the magistrate's only companions +for many weeks or months, and during which his nights and many of +his days are spent in the houses of the people, afford unequalled +opportunities for obtaining intimate knowledge of them and their +ways. These opportunities have not been neglected; notes have been +written, special questions followed up, photographs taken, and sketches +made, throughout all this period. + +In the years 1898 -- 9 the second collaborator (W. McD.) spent the +greater part of a year in the Baram district as a member of the +Cambridge Anthropological Expedition, which, under the leadership +of Dr. A. C. Haddon, went out to the Torres Straits in the year +1897. During this visit we co-operated in collecting material for a +joint paper on the animal cults of Sarawak;[1] and this co-operation, +having proved itself profitable, suggested to us an extension of +our joint program to the form of a book embodying all the information +already to hand and whatever additional information might be obtainable +during the years that one of us was still to spend in Borneo. The +book therefore may be said to have been begun in the year 1898 and +to have been in progress since that time; but it has been put into +shape only during the last few years, when we have been able to come +together for the actual writing of it. + +During the year 1899 Dr. A. C. Haddon spent some months in the Baram +district, together with other members of the Cambridge Expedition +(Drs. C. G. Seligmann, C. S. Myers, and Mr. S. Ray); and we wish to +express our obligation to him for the friendly encouragement in, and +stimulating example of, anthropological field work which he afforded +us during that time, as well as for later encouragement and help +which he has given us, especially in reading the proofs of the book +and in making many helpful suggestions. We are indebted to him also +for the Appendix to this book, in which he has stated and discussed +the results of the extensive series of physical measurements of the +natives that he made, with our assistance, during his visit to Sarawak. + +We have pleasure in expressing here our thanks to several other +gentlemen to whom we are indebted for help of various kinds -- for +permission to reproduce several photographs, to Dr. A. W. Nieuwenhuis, +the intrepid explorer of the interior of Dutch Borneo, who in his +two fine volumes (QUER DURCH BORNEO) has embodied the observations +recorded during two long journeys in the interior; to Mr. H. Ling Roth +for the gift of the blocks used in the preparation of his well-known +work, THE NATIVES OF SARAWAK AND BRITISH NORTH BORNEO, many of which +we have made use of; to Dr. W. H. Furness, author of THE HOME LIFE +OF BORNEO HEAD-HUNTERS (1902), for several photographic plates made +by him during his visits to the Baram in the years 1897 and 1898; +to Drs. C. G. Seligmann and C. S. Myers for permission to reproduce +several photographs; to Mr. R. Shelford, formerly Curator of the +Sarawak Museum, for his permission to incorporate a large part of +a paper published jointly with one of us (C. H.) on tatu in Borneo, +and for measurements of Land Dayaks made by him; to Mr. R. S. Douglas, +formerly Assistant Officer in the Baram district and now Resident of +the Fourth Division of Sarawak, for practical help genially afforded +on many occasions. + +Finally, it is our agreeable duty to acknowledge our obligation to +H.H. the Rajah of Sarawak, who welcomed to his country the members of +the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition, and without whose enlightened +encouragement of scientific work on the part of his officers this +book would never have been written. + +C. H. + +W. McD. + +JULY 1912. + + +Supplementary Preface by one of the Authors + +I feel that it is necessary to supplement our joint-preface with some +few words of apology for, and explanation of, the appearance of my +name on the title-page of this book. For the book is essentially an +attempt to set forth in condensed form the mass of knowledge of the +tribes of Borneo acquired by Dr. Hose in the course of a quarter of +a century's intimate study of, and sympathetic companionship with, +the people of the interior. My own part in its production has been +merely that of a midwife, though I may perhaps claim to have helped +in the washing and dressing of the infant as well as in its delivery, +and even to have offered some useful advice during the long years of +pregnancy. And, since it is more difficult to present a brief and +popular account of any complex subject the more intimate is one's +knowledge of it, I may fairly hope that my superficial acquaintance +with the pagan tribes of Borneo has been a useful ally to Dr. Hose's +profound and extensive knowledge of them; I have therefore gladly +accepted my friend's generous invitation to place my name beside his +as joint-author of this work. + +W. McD. + + + +Contents + + + + + + +Chapter I +Geography of Borneo +1 + +Chapter II +History of Borneo +8 + +Chapter III +General Sketch of the Peoples of Borneo +28 + +Chapter IV +Material Conditions of the Pagan Tribes of Borneo +43 + +Chapter V +The Social System +63 + +Chapter VI +Agriculture +97 + +Chapter VII +The Daily Life of a Kayan Long House +116 + + +Chapter VIII +Life on the Rivers +131 + +Chapter IX +Life in the Jungle +143 + +Chapter X +War +158 + +Chapter XI +Handicrafts +193 + +Chapter XII +Decorative Art +224 + + + +Chapter XIII +Ideas of Spiritual Existences and the Practices Arising from Them +1 + +Chapter XIV +Ideas of the Soul Illustrated by Burial Customs, Soul-Catching, +and Exorcism +28 + +Chapter XV +Animistic Beliefs Connected with Animals and Plants +51 + +Chapter XVI +Magic, Spells, and Charms +115 + +Chapter XVII +Myths, Legends, and Stories +136 + +Chapter XVIII +Childhood and Youth of a Kayan +153 + + +Chapter XIX +The Nomad Hunters +177 + +Chapter XX +Moral and Intellectual Peculiarities +194 + +Chapter XXI +Ethnology of Borneo +223 + +Chapter XXII +Government +257 + +Appendix +The Physical Characters of the Races of Borneo. By A. C. Haddon +311 + +Index + +343 + + + + +List of Plates + + +1. Young Kayan Chief with middle-class Companion (in Colour). +FRONTISPIECE +2. Bruni, the pile-built Capital of the Sultans of Bruni 2 +3. A Jungle Path near Marudi, Baram District 4 +4. A Limestone Hill at Panga in Upper Sarawak 6 +5. Mount Dulit from the Tinjar River 8 +6. (A) Keltie Falls, Mount Dulit, Sarawak. (B) Kenyahs stopping +to camp for the Night on the Baram River 10 +7. The Rejang River emerging from the central mountain Region +12 +8. Gorge in the Rejang River above the entrance of Baloi +Peh 14 +9. The Rejang River winding through the Hill Country 16 +10. The Rejang River about 300 Miles above its Mouth 16 +11. Jungle enveloped in thick Moss on Summit of Mount Dulit 18 +12. Head of the Rejang River 20 +13. In the Headwaters of the Baram River 22 +14. Lioh Matu (the Place of a Hundred Islands), at the Head of +the Baram River 24 +15. Fanny Rapid in the Pata River, Baram District 26 +16. A Sea Dayak or Iban 28 +17. Profile of Sea Dayak of Plate 16 28 +18. A Sea Dayak Woman 30 +19. Kayan Family of the Upper Rejang 32 +20. An Uma Pliau (Kayan) Girl of the Baram District 32 +21. Buling, the Son of a Kenyah Chief of the Baram District 34 +22. (A) A curly-haired Kayan of the Baram. (B) Aban Tingan, +a famous Kenyah Warrior, younger Brother of Tama Bulan 36 +23. Klemantans of the Tinjar District, and one old Kayan Chief +of Baloi, Laki Bo, wearing black Head-dress (back row, second figure, +left) 38 +24. Long Pokuns (Klemantans) of Tinjar River 38 +25. Kalabit (Murut) Chief (in centre) with Followers, from the +Source of the Baram River 40 +26. Punans of Tinjar River 40 + +27. Tama Bulan Wang, the Kenyah Penghulu of the Baram District +42 +28. Kayan Girl from the Upper Kotei District 44 +29. Youthful Sea Dayaks in gala Dress 44 +30. Sea Dayak Woman wearing Coat and Petticoat ornamented with +Shells 46 +31. Sulau, the Wife of a Kayan Chief, displaying her Collection +of valuable old Beads 46 +32. A Barawan Woman (Klemantan) of the Tinjar 48 +33. Malanau Infant wearing Apparatus for moulding of the +Head 48 +34. A Long House in the Baram District 50 +35. Murik Village of Long Tamala, Baram District 50 +36. Gallery of a Kayan House at Long Lama, Baram District 52 +37. Interior of a Kayan Dwelling-room 52 +38. Heads hanging in the Gallery of a Kayan House 54 +39. Beneath a Kayan House. To the left the Altar-posts for +Offerings can be seen 54 +40. Large Barn in which PADI is stored 56 +41. Iban House 56 +42. Gallery of Iban House 56 +43. Iban Seat-mats. Iban Seed-baskets 58 +44. (B) Tobacco-boxes; (C) Wooden Plate for rolling Cigarettes; +(G) Gourd for Pith-heads of Darts; (P) Tobacco-pipes; (FP) Fire-piston; +(F) Nose-flute 58 +45. Kenyah Woman's Hat. Kayan Tawak and Gongs 60 +46. Ningka, a valuable old Sea Dayak Jar 60 +47. Old earthenware Vessels much prized by all the Tribes 62 +48. Ibans bargaining over old Jars 62 +49. Tama Usong, leading Kayan Chief of the Baram District 64 +50. Aban Deng, the Chief of the Long Wats (Klemantan) of the +Baram District 66 +51. Sebop (Klemantan) Chief haranguing his Followers 70 +52. Kenyahs of the Pata River. The Men wearing Caps and the one +squatting on the left are of the upper Class the others are of the +middle Class 74 +53. A Kayan making Fire by Friction with a PUSA 78 +54. A Corpse in a Barawan (Klemantan) House. Party in the +unfinished House of Jangan, Chief of the Sebops, on the occasion of +the naming of his Child 82 +55. Ibans felling a Tree 98 +56. A Lirong Farm in the Tinjar River 100 +57. Kayans of Baloi in the PADI-field. The Tatu on the Thighs is +perceptible 102 + +58. Kenyah Women resting from Weeding in the PADI-field 104 +59. Kenyah Women at their Farm 106 +60. Kenyahs measuring the Length of the Shadow of the ASO DO at +Noon to determine the Time for sowing PADI 108 +61. Klemantan Women dressed as Men at the harvest Festival 114 +62. The Garden of a Kayan House, I.E. the Area between the House +and the River, with Fruit-trees and PADI Barns 116 +63. Elderly Kayan Woman ascending the House-ladder with Basketful +of Water-vessels 118 +64. The Gallery of a Klemantan (Sebop) House, Tinjar District +120 +65. Jungle Fruits 122 +66. A Klemantan Village, showing the Balawing Pole 124 +67. Kayans splitting Rattans for Mat-making 126 +68. A Kayan Party sitting in the Gallery of a Long House 126 +69. Entertaining Guests in the Gallery of a Klemantan (Barawan) +House 128 +70. Lepu Pohuns (Klemantans) of the Tinjar River 130 +71. (A) Ibans preparing a Boat for a long Journey. (B) Kayan +War-boat on the Lower Baram 132 +72. A Halt at Batu Pita on the Baram 132 +73. Cooking the mid-day Meal on a gravel Bed, Baram River 134 +74. Boat proceeding up the Rejang River below the Palagus +Falls 134 +75. Poling up the Palagus Falls, Rejang River 136 +76. (A) Kenyahs hauling a Boat over Rapids. (B) Hut built on +River-bank for a night's Shelter 136 +77. A Boat about to descend the Falls at Long Bukau, Rejang +River 138 +78. Boat roofed with Leaf-mats on the Dapoi River, Baram +District 138 +79. Kayans fishing with Cast-net in the Upper Baram River 140 +80. Fishing with Rod and Line at the Tipang Falls of the Baram +140 +81. Typical Scene in the uppermost Reaches of a River 142 +82. Kenyah Hunters at Work with the Blow-pipe 144 +83. Kenyah Hunter returning Home with young Pig 146 +84. Kayan Hunting-party camping for the Night 146 +85. Ibans setting Traps for Pheasants and small Mammals. Punans +at Home 148 +86. Kayans working Gutta-percha 150 +87. (A) Gathering the IPOH Dart-poison. (B) Usong, a Kayan Youth +of upper Class, Son of Tama Usong (Plate 49) 152 + +88. Kenyah collecting IPOH Poison 152 +89. Klemantans making Fire in the Jungle by sawing one Piece of +Bamboo across another 154 +90. Instructing Kayan Youths in the jungle 156 +91. Kenyah and Kayan Swords and Sheaths 158 +92. Spears and Paddles (Kayan and Klemantan) 160 +93. Kayan and Kenyah War-caps 162 +94. Coat and Cap, Sword, Knife, and Shield of Kenyah Warrior +(in Colour) 164 +95. A Murik (Klemantan) Youth in War-dress 166 +96. Klemantan War-boat ascending a Reach of the Baram near +Marudi 168 +97. Pole set up in River by Kayans to mark the Spot where a +favourable Omen was observed 170 +98. Scouts watching a Boat in Trouble at the Mouth of the Akar +River, Baram District 172 +99. Iban War-party in the Jungle 174 +100. Kayan House fenced in for Protection against Enemies 176 +101. Kenyah Mode of Attack 178 +102. Kayan Woman dancing, and carrying in right Hand a Head dressed +in Leaves 180 +103. Iban War-boats on the Rejang River 182 +104. Iban Scouts on the alert 184 +105. Punan Heads taken by Ibans 186 +106. Iban Women dancing with human Heads 188 +107. Kalabit Smiths using stone Hammers. The Bellows are simpler +than those described in text 194 +108. Iban making Fire-pistons 196 +109. Iban House in course of Construction 198 +110. Kanowit (Klemantan) Baskets and Beadwork 200 +111. Kayan Knife and Axes 202 +112. Kenyah hewing out Shaft of Blow-pipe before boring it 204 +113. Kenyahs drilling a Blow-pipe 206 +114. Kenyah lashing Spear-blade to Blow-pipe 208 +115. Kenyah making Dart for Blow-pipe 210 +116. Kenyah making Dart-poison 212 +117. Kenyahs making Bark-cloth 214 +118. Iban Woman extracting Cotton-seeds 216 +119. Iban Woman with Spinning-wheel 218 +120. Iban Woman preparing the Web for dyeing 220 +121. Iban Woman weaving 222 +122. Carved Door to the Room of Aban Jau, a Chief of the Sebops +(Klemantans), Tinjar River 226 +123. Door of Room in Sebop (Klemantan) House. The two Figures near +the Top probably represent Gibbons 228 +124. Carvings on the Wall of the Gallery in a Long Ulai (Klemantan) +House, Baram District 230 + +125. Prow of Klemantan War-boat (the Man is an Iban) 232 +126. A Kenyah Pattern carved on a bamboo Tobacco-box 234 +127. Annular Design worked on bamboo Tobacco-box (Kenyah) 236 +128. Charcoal Drawings. The first depicts Women at Work on PADI +Mortars; the second the feeding of Pigs and Fowls; the third the +laying of a Corpse in the Tomb 238 +129. Kenyah Sword-handle carved from a Deer's Horn 242 +130. Old Beads worn by Kayans (in Colour) 244 +131. Blanket (Pua) woven by Iban Woman 246 +132. Blanket (Pua) woven by Iban Woman 248 +133. Tatu Patterns on Thighs of Kayan Women 250 +134. Tatu Patterns on a Kalabit Woman 252 +135. Kalabit Tatu (Woman) 254 +136. Tatu designs 258 +137. ,, 260 +138. ,, 262 +139. ,, 264 +140. ,, 266 +141. ,, 268 +142. ,, 270 +143. ,, 274 + Kenyah Women husking PADI (in Colour) FRONTISPIECE +144. Kenyah Altar showing large round Stones known as BATU +TULOI. Eggs offered to the Omen-birds in the Jungle 2 +145. A Klemantan (Barawan) making Offerings of Eggs to the +Gods 4 +146. Balawing Pole on the left; Altar-post of Bali Penyalong on the +right and in the middle a Post to which Pieces of the Flesh of slain +Enemies have been skewered as Thank-offerings after successful War, +set up before House of Long Pokuns (Klemantan) 8 +147. Wooden Images set up before a Kenyah House at the Approach +of an Epidemic of Cholera 12 +148. Wooden Image of Bali Atap, a Kenyah God 16 +149. Altar-posts set up before Klemantan House on return from +War 20 +150. (A) Temporary Shelter for Heads. (B) Gallery of a Kayan Long +House 24 +151. Kenyah Dayongs wearing Masks 30 +152. Tomb of the Wife of a Chief of the Long Patas (Klemantan). The +white Discs were formerly made of Shell, but nowadays European Crockery +is used, and a German Firm supplies Dinner-plates provided with two +Perforations which facilitate the attachment of the Plates 34 +153. Tomb of a Sekapan (Klemantan) Chief 36 +154. The Grave of Kuling, Daughter of Boi Jalong, the principal +Kenyah Chief of the Batang Kayan River 40 +155. Malanau Graves near Rejang Village 44 +156. Peng Coffins deposited on Ledges of overhanging Cliff on the +Mahakam. River 46 +157. (A) Tama Bulan sacrificing a Pig to Bali Penyalong. (B) +Balari, a Kenyah, sacrificing a Fowl to Bali Penyalong 58 +158. A Kayan charging a Pig with a Message to the Gods 68 +159. Kayans discussing the Liver of a Pig 80 + +160. Image of a Hornbill made by Ibans for use at Ceremonies 94 +161. Group of Kenyahs. On the Top of the Pole can be seen an Image +of the Hawk, Bali Flaki 106 +162. An Enemy's Head decorated by Kayans with various Charms 120 +163. Image of Crocodile, and House provided for the Spirit whose +Aid is invoked by Malanaus at the Bayoh Ceremony 126 +164. A wooden Figure of Crocodile, and Decorations used at the +Bayoh Ceremony by Malanaus 132 +165. Mixed Group of Kenyah and Klemantan Boys 154 +166. A Sekapan (Klemantan) Woman carrying Child in a Cradle 156 +167. Iban Boys bathing. The Fence is for Protection against +Crocodiles 158 +168. (1) Fire-piston. (2) PUSA, used to make Fire at the naming +of a Kayan Child. The Figure represents Laki Pesong 160 +169. Kayans wrestling 164 +170. A Dance which nearly resembles some recent European +Developments of the Art 166 +171. A Kayan dancing 168 +172. A Lesson in Wood-carving (Kenyahs) 172 +173. An Iban Wedding 174 +174. Punans of the Baram 178 +175. Elderly Punan Headman 180 +176. A Punan Headman of the Tinjar 180 +177. Punans of Bok (Baram) 182 +178. Tatued Ukit of Rejang District 184 +179. A Punan Camp in the Dapoi River 186 +180. Punans working wild Sago 188 +181. Punans working Camphor 190 +182. Punan Mother and Child 192 +183. Creeper hung across Mouth of tributary Stream to prohibit +All-comers from ascending the Stream. 206 +184. Brass Hooks and Sword-handles sent by Tama Kuling to the +Resident of the Baram as Symbols of Peace 220 +185. A Kayan of the Mahakam River +186. A Kayan Woman of the Mahakam River, East Borneo 226 +187. An Orang Bukit (Klemantan) Woman, Baram District 228 +188. Profile of Woman in Plate 187 230 +189. Long Pokuns (Klemantans) of Dapoi River, Baram District 234 +190. Lirong (Klemantan) Youths of Tinjar River 238 +191. A Lirong Woman (Klemantan) of the Tinjar River 240 +192. A Kajaman (Klemantan) Woman of the Upper Class 244 + +193. Land Dayak Men (Klemantans) from Upper Sarawak 250 +194. (A) Land Dayak Girls of the Sadong District. (B) Land Dayaks +of Upper Sarawak 252 +195. Iban Women, Rejang District 254 +196. A small Fort at Kanowit, Rejang District 260 +197. The Fort at Claudetown (Marudi), with Squad of Rangers who +form the Garrison 264 +198. Entrance of the new Fort at Marudi, Baram District 268 +199. Court-room in Baram Fort 272 +200. The Silat River descending from Usun Apo to join the Baram, +the High Road between East and West Borneo. 276 +201. Kenyah masked Men going to meet former Enemies with Overtures +of Peace 280 +202. Klemantan Mask 284 +203. Tama Kuling (ALIAS Boi Jalong), principal Kenyah Chief of +the Batang Kayan District 288 +204. Tama Kuling's (Kenyah) Village at Tana Puti, Batang Kayan +District 292 +205. Madangs (Kenyahs) at the Peace-making at Marudi (1899) 296 +206. The great Peace-making at Marudi (1899), Baram District, +between the Kayan, Kenyah, and Klemantan Tribes of East and West +Borneo 298 +207. Racing of War-boats at Marudi during the Peace-meeting +(1899) 300 +208. Party of Kenyah Chiefs from the Batang Kayan on the Way to +visit the Rajah of Sarawak at Kuching, before the Peace-making in +the Baram in 1901 302 +209. Final Instructions from the Resident of the Third Division +of Sarawak to a Kayan Party about to attack Stronghold of Iban +Rebels 304 +210. Peace-making with Kana and the Iban Rebels at Kanowit 306 +211. Madangs of Pliran with two Children newly restored to their +Parents by the Government from Captivity with Ibans 308 + + +N.B. -- The following names are those of the gentlemen to whom we +are indebted for permission to reproduce their photographs. After +each name stands a list of the plates thus reproduced. + +Dr. W. H. Furness. (Nos. 11, 32, 33, 40, 42, 44, 45, 48, 51, 52, 55, +62, 63, 82, 85, 87 (B), 93, 96, 99, 104, 147, 149, 152, 162, 165, +175, 179, 180, 181, 182.) + +Dr. A. W. Nieuwenhuis. (Nos. 28, 37, 61, 67, 81, 151, 154, 165, 172, +183, 185, 186, 201, 204.) + + +Dr. A. C. Haddon. (Nos. 6, 22 (A), 43, 54, 76, 144, 150.) + +Dr. C. S. Myers. (No. 157.) + +Dr. C. G. Seligmann. (Nos. 87 (A), 207.) + +Dr. Harrison W. Smith. (No. 194 (A).) + +Mr. A. Moor. (No. 208.) + +Mr. R. Shelford. (Nos. 193, 194 (B).) + +The rest of the plates are from photographs taken by C. H. + + +Maps + + +The Eastern Archipelago. +Borneo. +Sketch Map of the Baram District, Sarawak. +Sketch Map of Sarawak. + + + + + +CHAPTER 1 + +Geography of Borneo + +Borneo is one of the largest islands of the world. Its area is +roughly 290,000 square miles, or about five times that of England +and Wales. Its greatest length from north-east to south-west is 830 +miles, and its greatest breadth is about 600 miles. It is crossed +by the equator a little below its centre, so that about two-thirds +of its area lie in the northern and one-third lies in the southern +hemisphere. Although surrounded on all sides by islands of volcanic +origin, Borneo differs from them in presenting but small traces of +volcanic activity, and in consisting of ancient masses of igneous +rock and of sedimentary strata. + +The highest mountain is Kinabalu, an isolated mass of granite in the +extreme north, nearly 14,000 feet in height. With this exception the +principal mountains are grouped in several massive chains, which +rise here and there to peaks about 10,000 feet above the sea. The +principal of these chains, the Tibang-Iran range, runs south-westward +through the midst of the northern half of the island and is prolonged +south of the equator by the Schwaner chain. This median south-westerly +trending range forms the backbone of the island. A second much-broken +chain runs across the island from east to west about 1[degree] +north of the equator. Besides these two principal mountain chains +which determine the main features of the river-system, there are +several isolated peaks of considerable height, and a minor ridge of +hills runs from the centre towards the south-cast corner. With the +exception of the northern extremity, which geographically as well +as politically stands apart from the rest of the island, the whole +of Borneo may be described as divided by the two principal mountain +chains into four large watersheds. Of these, the north-western basin, +the territory of Sarawak, is drained by the Rejang and Baram, as well +as by numerous smaller rivers. Of the other three, which constitute +Dutch Borneo, the north-eastern is drained by the Batang Kayan or +Balungan river; the south-eastern by the Kotei and Banjermasin rivers; +and the south-western by the Kapuas, the largest of all the rivers, +whose course from the centre of the island to its south-west corner +is estimated at 700 miles. Although the point of intersection of the +two principal mountain chains lies almost exactly midway between the +northern and southern and the eastern and western extremities of the +island, the greater width of the southern half of the island gives a +longer course to the rivers of that part, in spite of the fact that +all the six principal rivers mentioned above have their sources not +far from this central point. The principal rivers thus radiate from +a common centre, the Batang Kayan flowing east-north-east, the Kotei +south-east by east, the Banjermasin south, the Kapuas a little south +of west, the Rejang west, and the Baram north-west. This radiation of +the rivers from a common centre is a fact of great importance for the +understanding of the ethnography of the island, since the rivers are +the great highways which movements of the population chiefly follow. + +In almost all parts of the island, the land adjoining the coast is +a low-lying swampy belt consisting of the alluvium brought down by +the many rivers from the central highlands. This belt of alluvium +extends inland in many parts for fifty miles or more, and is especially +extensive in the south and south-east of the island. + +Between the swampy coast belt and the mountains intervenes a zone of +very irregular hill country, of which the average height above the +sea-level is about one thousand feet, with occasional peaks rising +to five or six thousand feet or more. + +There seems good reason to believe that at a comparatively recent +date Borneo was continuous with the mainland of Asia, forming its +south-eastern extremity. Together with Sumatra and Java it stands +upon a submarine bank, which is nowhere more than one hundred fathoms +below the surface, but which plunges down to a much greater depth +along a line a little east of Borneo (Wallace's line). The abundance +of volcanic activity in the archipelago marks it as a part of the +earth's crust liable to changes of elevation, and the accumulation of +volcanic matter would tend to make it an area of subsidence; while +the north-east monsoon, which blows with considerable violence down +the China Sea for about four months of each year, may have hastened +the separation of Borneo from the mainland. That this separation was +effected in a very recent geological period is shown by the presence in +Borneo of many species of Asiatic mammals both large and small, notably +the rhinoceros (R. BORNIENSIS, closely allied to R. SUMATRANUS); +the elephant (E. INDICUS, which, however, may have been imported by +man); the wild cattle (BOS SONDIACUS, which occurs also in Sumatra); +several species of deer and pig (some of which are found in Sumatra +and the mainland); several species of the cat tribe, of which the +tiger-cat (FELIS NEBULOSA) is the largest; the civet-cat (VIVERRA) +and its congeners HEMIGALE, PARADOXURUS, and ARCTOGALE; the small +black bear (URSUS MALAYANUS); the clawless otter (LUTRA CINEREA); the +bear-cat (ARCTICTIS BINTURONG); the scaly ant-eater (MANIS JAVANICUS); +the lemurs (TARSIUS SPECTRUM and NYCTICEBUS TARDIGRADUS); the flying +lemur (GALEOPITHECUS VOLANS); the porcupine (HYSTRIX CRASSISPINIS); +numerous bats, squirrels, rats and mice; the big shrew (GYMNURA); +several species of monkeys, and two of the anthropoid apes. The last +are of peculiar significance, since they are incapable of crossing +even narrow channels of water, and must be regarded as products of +a very late stage of biological evolution. Of these two anthropoid +species, the gibbon (HYLOBATES MULLERI) is closely allied to species +found in the mainland and in Sumatra, while the MAIAS or orang-utan +(SIMIA SALYRUS) is found also in Sumatra and, though not now surviving +on the continent, must be regarded as related to anthropoids whose +fossil remains have been discovered there.[2] + +The zoological evidence thus indicates a recent separation of Borneo +and Sumatra from the continent, and a still more recent separation +between the two islands. + +The climate of the whole island is warm and moist and very equable. The +rainfall is copious at all times of the year, but is rather heavier +during the prevalence of the north-east monsoon in the months from +October to February, and least during the months of April and May. At +Kuching, during the last thirty years, the average yearly rainfall +has been 160 inches, the maximum 225, and the minimum 102 inches; +the maximum monthly fall recorded was 69 inches, and the minimum +.66, and the greatest rainfall recorded +in one day was 15 inches. The temperature hardly, if ever, reaches +100[degree] F.; it ranges normally between 70[degree] and 90[degree] +F.; the highest reading of one year (1906) at Kuching was 94[degree], +the lowest 69[degree]. Snow and frost are unknown, except occasionally +on the summits of the highest mountains. Thunder-storms are frequent +and severe, but wind-storms are not commonly of any great violence. + +The abundant rainfall maintains a copious flow of water down the many +rivers at all times of the year; but the rivers are liable to rise +rapidly many feet above their normal level during days of exceptionally +heavy rain. In their lower reaches, where they traverse the alluvial +plains and swamps, the rivers wind slowly to the sea with many great +bends, and all the larger ones are navigable by small steamers for +many miles above their mouths: thus a large steam launch can ascend the +Rejang for 160 miles, the Baram for 120, and some of the rivers on the +Dutch side for still greater distances. The limit of such navigation +is set by beds of rock over which the rivers run shallow, and which +mark the beginnings of the middle reaches. In these middle reaches, +where the rivers wind between the feet of the hills, long stretches of +deep smooth water alternate with others in which the water runs with +greater violence between confining walls of rock, or spreads out in +wide rapids over stony bottoms. The upper reaches of the rivers, where +they descend rapidly from the slopes of the mountains, are composed +of long series of shallow rapids and low waterfalls, alternating at +short intervals with still pools and calm shallows, bounded by rock +walls and great beds of waterworn stones, which during the frequent +freshets are submerged by a boiling flood. The whole river in these +upper reaches is for the most part roofed in by the overarching forest. + +Practically the whole of Borneo, from the seacoast to the summits of +the highest mountains, is covered with a dense forest. On the summits +this consists of comparatively stunted trees, of which every part is +thickly coated with moss. In all other parts the forest consists of +great trees rising to a height of 150 feet, and even 200 feet, and of a +dense undergrowth of younger and smaller trees, and of a great variety +of creepers, palms, and ferns. Trees of many species (nearly 500) +yield excellent timber, ranging from the hardest ironwood or BILIAN, +and other hard woods (many of them so close-grained that they will not +float in water), to soft, easily worked kinds. A considerable number +bear edible fruits, notably the mango (from which the island derives +its Malay name, PULU KLEMANTAN), the durian, mangosteen, rambutan, +jack fruit, trap, lansat, banana of many varieties, both wild and +cultivated, and numerous sour less nutritious kinds. Wild sago is +abundant in some localities. Various palms supply in their unfolding +leaves a cabbage-like edible. Among edible roots the caladium +is the chief. Rubber is obtained as the sap of a wild creeper; +gutta-percha from trees of several varieties; camphor from pockets +in the stem of the camphor tree (DRYOBALANOPS AROMATICA). But of all +the jungle plants those which play the most important parts in the +life of the people are the many species of the rattan and the bamboo; +without them more than half the crafts and most of the more important +material possessions of the natives would be impossible, and their +lives would perhaps nearly conform to the conventional notion of +savage existence as something 'nasty, dull, and brutish.' The jungle +of Borneo is, of course, famous for its wealth of orchids, and can +claim the distinction of producing the largest flower of the world +(RAFFLESIA), and many beautiful varieties of the pitcher plant. + +The forests of Borneo harbour more than 450 species of birds, many +of them being of gorgeous colouring or strange and beautiful forms; +especially noteworthy are many hawks, owls, and eagles, fly-catchers, +spider-hunters, sun-birds, broad-bills, nightjars, orioles, miners, +pigeons, kingfishers, hornbills, trojans, magpies, jays, crows, +partridges, pheasants, herons, bitterns, snipes, plovers, Curlews, +and sandpipers. Amongst these are many species peculiar to Borneo; +while on the mountains above the 4000-feet level are found several +species which outside Borneo are known only in the Himalayas. + +Besides the mammals mentioned above, Borneo claims several species +of mammal peculiar to itself, notably the long-nosed monkey (NASALIS +LARVATUS); two species of ape (SEMNOPITHECUS HOSEI and S. CRUCIGER); +many shrews and squirrels, including several flying species; a +civet-cat (HEMIGALE HOSEI); a deer (CERVUS BROOKII); the bearded pig +(SUS HARBATUS); the curious feather-tailed shrew (PTYLOCERCUS LOWII). + +Reptiles are well represented by the crocodile, which abounds in all +the rivers, a long-snouted gavial, numerous tortoises and lizards +with several flying species, and more than seventy species of snakes, +of which some are poisonous, while the biggest, the python, attains +a length of thirty feet. The rivers abound in edible fish of many +species; insects are of course numerous and varied, and, aided by the +multitude of frogs, they fill the island each evening at sunset with +one vast chorus of sound. + + + +CHAPTER 2 + +History of Borneo + +The Pagan tribes of Borneo have no written records of their history +and only very vague traditions concerning events in the lives of their +ancestors of more than five or six generations ago. But the written +records of more cultured peoples of the Far East contain references to +Borneo which throw some small rays of light upon the past history and +present condition of its population. It has seemed to us worth while +to bring together in these pages these few historical notes. The later +history of Borneo, which is in the main the story of its occupation +by and division between the Dutch and English, and especially the +romantic history of the acquisition of the raj of Sarawak by its +first English rajah, Sir James Brooke, has often been told,[3] and +for this reason may be dismissed by us in a very few words. + +The coasts of Borneo have long been occupied by a Mohammedan population +of Malay culture; this population is partly descended from Malay +and Arab immigrants, and partly from indigenous individuals and +communities that have adopted the Malay faith and culture in recent +centuries. When Europeans first visited the island, this population, +dwelling for the most part, as it still does, in villages and small +towns upon the coast and in or near the mouths of the rivers, owed +allegiance to several Malay sultans and a number of subordinate rulers, +the local rajahs and pangirans. The principal sultans had as their +capitals, from which they took their titles, Bruni on the north-west, +Sambas in the west, Pontianak at the mouth of the Kapuas river, +Banjermasin in the south at the mouth of the river of the same name, +Pasir at the south-east corner, Kotei and Balungan on the east at the +mouths of the rivers of those names; while the Sultan of Jolo, the +capital of the Sulu islands, which lie off the north coast, claimed +sovereignty over the northern end of Borneo. But these Malay sultans +were not the first representatives in the island of culture and of +civilised or semi-civilised rule; for history preserves some faint +records of still earlier times, of which some slight confirmation is +afforded by surviving traces of the culture then introduced. + +In spite of all the work done on the history of the East Indies, +most of what occurred before and much that followed the arrival of +Europeans remains obscure. There are several Asiatic nations whose +records might be expected to contain valuable information, but all +are disappointing. The Klings, still the principal Hindu traders +in the Far East, visited the Malay Archipelago in the first or at +any rate the second century after Christ,[4] and introduced their +writing[5] and chronology. But their early histories are meagre +and unsatisfactory in the extreme. The Arab culture of the Malays, +which took root in Sumatra in the twelfth century, is of course of +no assistance in regard to events of earlier date, and does not give +trustworthy and detailed accounts until the fifteenth century. The +Chinese, on the other hand, always a literary people, carefully +preserved in their archives all that could be gathered with regard +to the "southern seas." But China was far away, and many local events +would possess no interest for her subjects. Under the circumstances, +the official historians deserve our gratitude for their geographical +descriptions and for the particulars of tribute-bearing missions to +the Son of Heaven, though they have little else to tell. + +The first account we have been able to find referring to Borneo is +a description of the kingdom of Poli from the Chinese annals of the +sixth century. Poli was said to be on an island in the sea south-east +of Camboja, and two months south-east of Canton. The journey thither +was made by way of the Malay Peninsula, a devious route still followed +by Chinese junks. Envoys were sent to the Imperial court in A.D. 518, +523, and 616. "The people of this country," our authority says, +"are skilled in throwing a discus-knife, and the edge is like a saw; +when they throw it at a man, they never fail to hit him. Their other +arms are about the same as in China. Their customs resemble those +of Camboja, and the productions of the country are the same as of +Siam. When one commits a murder or theft they cut off his hands,[6] +and when adultery has been committed, the culprit has his legs chained +for the period of a year. For their sacrifice they choose the time when +there is no moon; they fill a bowl with wine and eatables and let it +float away on the surface of the water; in the eleventh month they have +a great sacrifice. They get corals from the sea, and they have a bird +called s'ari, which can talk." A later reference to the same place +says: "They carry the teeth of wild beasts in their ears, and wrap +a piece of cotton round their loins; cotton is a plant of which they +collect the flowers to make cloth of them; the coarser kind is called +KUPA, and the finer cloth T'IEH. They hold their markets at night, +and cover their faces.... At the east of this country is situated +the land of the Rakshas, which has the same customs as Poli."[7] + +This is an interesting account in many ways, and tallies very +closely with what other evidence would lead one to suspect. For +there is reason to think that Bruni, before it became Mohammedan, +was a Bisaya kingdom under Buddhist sovereigns and Hindu influence; +and nearly all the particulars given with regard to the people of +Borneo are true of one or other of the races allied to Bisayas and +living near Bruni to-day. The discus-knife, a wooden weapon, is +not now in use, but is known to have been used formerly. The wild +Kadayans sacrifice after every new moon, and are forbidden to eat +a number of things until they have done so. The Malanaus set laden +rafts afloat on the rivers to propitiate the spirits of the sea. The +very names of the two kinds of cotton, then evidently a novelty to +the Chinese, are found in Borneo: KAPOK is a well-known Malay word; +but TAYA is the common name for cotton among the Sea Dayaks, though it +is doubtful whether it is found in Sumatra at all, and is not given +in Marsden's great Dictionary. The use of teeth as ear-ornaments +may refer to Kenyahs. If these identities are sufficient to show +that Poli was old Bruni, we have an almost unique illustration here +of the antiquity of savage customs. That an experience of fourteen +hundred years should have failed to convince people of the futility +of feeding salt waves is a striking demonstration of the widespread +fallacy, that what is old must needs be good. + +Poli had already attained a certain measure of civilisation, and +even of luxury. The kingly dignity was hereditary, and the Buddhist +monarch was served with much ceremony. He was clad in flowered silk +or cotton, adorned with pearls, and sat on a golden throne attended +by servants with white dusters and fans of peacock feathers. When +he went out of his palace, his chariot, canopied with feathers and +embroidered curtains, was drawn by elephants, whilst gongs, drums, +and conches made inspiriting music. As Hindu ornaments have been found +at Santubong together with Chinese coins of great antiquity, as the +names of many offices of state in Bruni are derived from Sanskrit, +and the people of Sarawak have only lately ceased to speak of "the +days of the Hindus,"[8] there is nothing startling in the statement +that the kings of Poli were Buddhist. + +Whatever Poli may or may not have been, there is little question +that Puni, 45 days from Java, 40 from Palembang, 30 from Champa, +in each case taking the wind to be fair, was Bruni. The Chinese, who +have neither B nor double consonants in their impoverished language, +still call the Bornean capital Puni. Groeneveldt says that the Chinese +consider Puni to have been on the west coast of Borneo. This state +is mentioned several times in the annals of the Sung dynasty, which, +though only ruling over Southern China, had a complete monopoly[9] +of the ocean trade for three centuries (960 to 1279 A.D.). Puni +was at that time a town of some 10,000 inhabitants, protected by +a stockade of timber. The king's palace, like the houses of modern +Bruni, was thatched with palm leaves, the cottages of the people with +grass. Warriors carried spears and protected themselves with copper +armour. When any native died, his corpse was exposed in the jungle, +and once a year for seven years sacrifices were made to the departed +spirit. Bamboos and palm leaves, thrown away after every meal, sufficed +for crockery. The products of the country, or at least such as were +sent as tribute, were camphor, tortoiseshell, and ivory.[10] + +In the year 977, we are told, Hianzta, king of Puni, sent envoys +to China, who presented tribute with the following words: "May the +emperor live thousands and tens of thousands of years, and may he not +disapprove of the poor civilities of my little country." The envoys +presented a letter from the king. This was written on' what looked like +the very thin bark of a tree; it was glossy, slightly green, several +feet long, and somewhat broader than one inch; the characters in which +it was written were small, and had to be read horizontally. In all +these particulars the letter resembled the books of magic which are +still written by the Battas of inland Sumatra.[11] The message ran: +"The king of Puni, called Hianzta, prostrates himself before the most +august emperor, and hopes that the emperor may live ten thousands of +years. I have now sent envoys to carry tribute; I knew before that +there was an emperor, but I had no means of communication. Recently +there was a merchant called Pu Lu, whose ship arrived at the mouth +of my river; I sent a man to invite him to my place, and he told me +that he came from China. The people of my country were much delighted +at this, and preparing a ship, asked this stranger to guide them to +the court. The envoys I have sent only wish to see Your Majesty in +peace, and I intend to send people with tribute every year. But when +I do so I fear that my ships may occasionally be blown to Champa, +and I therefore hope Your Majesty will send an edict to that country +with orders that, if a ship of Hianzta arrives there, it must not +be detained. My country has no other articles,[12] and I pray Your +Majesty not to be angry with me." The envoys were entertained and +sent home with presents. In 1082 A.D., a hundred years later, Sri +Maja, king of Puni, sent tribute again, but the promise of yearly +homage was not kept. Gradually the Sung dynasty declined in power, +and East Indian potentates became less humble. + +In the thirteenth and the early part of the fourteenth centuries +Bruni owed allegiance alternately to two powers much younger than +herself, Majapahit in Java, and Malacca on the west coast of the +Malay Peninsula. Both these states were founded in the thirteenth +century.[13] Majapahit, originally only one of several Javan kingdoms, +rapidly acquired strength and subjugated her neighbours and the nearest +portions of the islands around. Malacca, formed when the Malay colony +of Singapore was overwhelmed by Javanese, became the great commercial +depot of the Straits and the chief centre of Mohammedanism in the +Archipelago. The two powers therefore stood for two faiths and two +cultures: Majapahit for Brahminism and Hindu influence, Malacca for +Islam and the more practical civilisation of Arabia. + +In the earliest years of the fourteenth century Bruni was a dependency +of Majapahit, but seems to have recovered its independence during the +minority of the Javan king. It is to this time that the tradition of +the Kapuas Malays ascribes the arrival of the Kayans in Borneo.[14] +Then Angka Wijaya extended the power of Majapahit over Palembang +in Sumatra, Timor, Ternate, Luzon, and the coasts of Borneo. Over +Banjermasin he set his natural son. In 1368 Javanese soldiers drove +from Bruni the Sulu marauders who had sacked the town. A few years +later the ungrateful king transferred his allegiance to China, and +not long afterwards, with calculating humility, paid tribute[15] +to Mansur Shah, who had succeeded to the throne of Malacca in 1374 A.D. + +An extraordinary incident occurred at the beginning of the fifteenth +century, which again -- and for the last time -- draws our attention +to the Chinese court. The great Mongol conquerors, Genghis and Kublai +Khan, had little to do with the Malay Archipelago, though the latter +sent an unsuccessful expedition against Java in 1292. But the Ming +emperors, who were of Chinese blood, came to power in 1368 and soon +developed the maritime influence of the empire. For a few years there +was a continual stream of East Indian embassies. During the last +twenty years of the century, however, these became more rare, and in +1405 the Chinese emperor found it necessary to send a trusted eunuch, +by name Cheng Ho, to visit the vassal states in the south. This man +made several journeys, travelling as far as the shores of Africa, +and his mission bore immediate fruit. Among others, Maraja Kali, +king of Puni, although Cheng Ho does not appear to have called on +him in person, sent tribute in 1405; and so pleased was he with +the embroidered silk presented to him and his wife in return, that +he visited the Son of Heaven three years later. Landing in Fukien, +he was escorted by a eunuch to the Chinese capital amid scenes of +great rejoicing. The emperor received him in audience, allowing +him the honours of a noble of the first rank, and loaded him with +gifts. The same year, having accomplished his one great ambition of +"seeing the face of the Son of Heaven," this humbled monarch died in +the imperial city, leaving his son Hiawang to succeed to the throne of +Puni. Having induced the emperor to stop the yearly tribute of forty +katties of camphor paid by Puni to Java, and having agreed to send +tribute to China every three years, Hiawang returned home to take up +the reins of government. Between 1410 and 1425 he paid tribute six +times, besides revisiting the Chinese Court; but afterwards little +Puni seems to have again ignored her powerful suzerain. + +It is probable that the Chinese colony in North Borneo which gave +its name to the lofty mountain Kina Balu (Chinese widow) and to +the Kina Batangan, the chief river which flows from it, was founded +about this time. Several old writers seem to refer to this event, +and local traditions of the settlement still survive. The Brunis and +Idaans (a people in the north not unlike the Bisayas) have legends +differing in detail to the effect that the Chinese came to seize the +great jewel of the Kina Balu dragon, but afterwards quarrelled about +the booty and separated, some remaining behind. The Idaans consider +themselves the descendants of these settlers, but that can only +be true in a very limited sense. Both country and people, however, +show traces of Chinese influence. + +There is good evidence that the Chinese influence and immigration +were not confined to Bruni and the northern end of the island. In +south-west Borneo there are traces of very extensive washings of +alluvial gravels for gold and diamonds. These operations were being +conducted by Chinese when Europeans first came to the country; and +the extent of the old workings implies that they had been continued +through many centuries. Hindu-Javan influence also was not confined +to the court of Bruni, for in many parts of the southern half of +Borneo traces of it survive in the custom of burning the dead, in low +relief carvings of bulls on stone, and in various gold ornaments of +Hindu character. + +The faith of Islam and the arrival of Europeans have profoundly +affected the manners and politics of the East Indies, and now it is +difficult to picture the state of affairs when King Hiawang revisited +China to pay homage to the Emperor. In 1521, within a hundred years +of that event, Pigafetta, the chronicler of Magellan's great exploit, +was calling on the "Moorish" king of Bruni, in the course of the +first voyage round the world. The change had come. Of the two new +influences, so potent for good and evil, Mohammedanism made its +appearance first. The struggle for religious supremacy ended in the +complete victory of the Prophet's followers in 1478, when Majapahit +was utterly destroyed, thirty years before the capture of Malacca by +the Portuguese. + +How early the Arab doctrines were taught in Bruni is impossible +to state with any precision. Local tradition ascribes their +introduction to the renowned Alak ber Tata, afterwards known as Sultan +Mohammed. Like most of his subjects this warrior was a Bisaya, and in +early life he was not a Mohammedan, not indeed a civilised potentate +at all, to judge by conventional standards; for the chief mark of +his royal dignity was an immense chawat, or loin-cloth, carried as +he walked by eighty men, forty in front and forty behind. He is the +earliest monarch of whom the present Brunis have any knowledge, a fact +to be accounted for partly by the brilliance of his exploits, partly +by the introduction about that time of Arabic writing. After much +fighting he subdued the people of Igan,[16] Kalaka, Seribas, Sadong, +Semarahan, and Sarawak,[17] and compelled them to pay tribute. He +stopped the annual payment to Majapahit of one jar of pinang juice, +a useless commodity though troublesome to collect. During his reign +the Muruts were brought under Bruni rule by peaceful measures,[18] +and the Chinese colony was kept in good humour by the marriage of +the Bruni king's brother and successor to the daughter of one of the +principal Chinamen. + +Alak ber Tata is said to have gone to Johore,[19] where he was +converted[20] to Islam, given[21] the daughter of Sultan Bakhei and +the title of Sultan, and was confirmed in his claim to rule over +Sarawak and his other conquests.[22] + +Sultan Mohammed was succeeded by his brother Akhmad, son-in-law of +the Chinese chief, and he was in turn succeeded by an Arab from Taif +who had married his daughter. Thus the present royal house of Bruni is +derived from three sources -- Arab, Bisaya, and Chinese. The coronation +ceremony as still maintained affords an interesting confirmation of +this account. On that occasion the principal minister wears a turban +and Haji outfit, the two next in rank are dressed in Chinese and Hindu +fashion, while the fourth wears a chawat over his trousers to represent +the Bisayas; and each of these ministers declares the Sultan to be +divinely appointed. Then after the demonstration of loyalty the two +gongs -- one from Menangkabau, the other from Johore -- are beaten, +and the Moslem high priest proclaims the Sultan and preaches a sermon, +declaring him to be a descendant of Sri Turi Buana, the Palembang +chief who founded the early kingdom of Singapore in 1160 A.D., who +reigned in that island for forty-eight years, and whose descendants +became the royal family of Malacca. + +The Arab Sultan who succeeded Akhmed assumed the name Berkat and ruled +the country with vigour. He built a mosque and converted many of his +subjects, so that from his reign Bruni may be considered a Mohammedan +town. To defend the capital he sank forty junks filled with stone +in the river, and thus formed the breakwater which still bars the +entrance to large ships. This work rose above the water level, and +in former times bristled with cannon. Sultan Berkat was succeeded by +his son Suleiman, whose reign was of little consequence. + +Neglecting Suleiman, we come now to the most heroic figure in Bruni +history, Sultan Bulkiah, better known by his earlier name, Nakoda +Ragam. The prowess of this prince has been celebrated in prose and +verse. He journeyed to distant lands, and conquered the Sulu islands +and eastern Borneo. Over the throne of Sambas he set a weak-minded +brother of his own. He even sent an expedition to Manila, and on the +second attempt seized that place. Tribute poured into his coffers from +all sides. His wife was a Javanese princess, who brought many people +to Bruni. These intermarried with the Bisayas, and from them it is +said are sprung the Kadayans, a quiet agricultural folk, skilled +in various arts, but rendered timid by continual oppression. Some +have settled recently in the British colony of Labuan, and others in +Sarawak round the river Sibuti, where they have become loyal subjects +of the Rajah of Sarawak. + +Nakoda Ragam's capital at Buang Tawa was on dry land, but when he died, +killed accidentally by his wife's bodkin, the nobles quarrelled among +themselves, and some of them founded the present pile-built town of +Bruni. It was to this Malay capital and court that Pigafetta paid +his visit in 1521 with the surviving companions of Magellan. His is +the first good account from European sources of the place which he +called Bornei, and whose latitude he estimated with an error of less +than ten miles.[23] + +It is easy to see from Pigafetta's narrative[24] that at the +date of his visit the effects of Nakoda Ragam's exploits had not +evaporated. The splendour of the Court and the large population the +city is said to have contained were presumably the result of the +conquests he had made in neighbouring islands. The king, like the +princes of Malacca before the conquest, had his elephants, and he and +his courtiers were clothed in Chinese satins and Indian brocades. He +was in possession of artillery, and the appearance and ceremonial of +his court was imposing. + +From this time onwards the power of Bruni has continuously +declined. Recurrent civil wars invited the occasional interventions +of the Portuguese and of the Spanish governors of the Philippines, +which, although they did not result in the subjugation of the Malay +power, nevertheless sapped its strength. + +The interest of the later history of Borneo lies in the successive +attempts,[25] many of them fruitless, made by Dutch and English to +gain a footing on the island. The Dutch arrived off Bruni in the year +1600, and ten days afterwards were glad to leave with what pepper +they had obtained in the interval, the commander judging the place +nothing better than a nest of rogues. The Dutch did not press the +acquaintance, but started factories at Sambas, where they monopolised +the trade. In 1685 an English captain named Cowley arrived in Bruni; +but the English showed as little inclination as the Dutch to take up +the commerce which the Portuguese had abandoned. + +At Banjermasin, on the southern coast, more progress was made. The +Dutch arrived there before their English rivals, but were soon +compelled by intrigues to withdraw. In 1704[26] the English factors +on the Chinese island of Chusan, expelled by the imperial authorities +and subsequently driven from Pulo Condar off the Cochin China coast +by a mutiny, arrived at Banjermasin. They had every reason to be +gratified with the prospects at that port; for they could sell the +native pepper to the Chinese at three times the cost price. But their +bitter experiences in the China seas had not taught them wisdom; they +soon fell out with the Javanese Sultan, whose hospitality they were +enjoying, and after some bloody struggles were obliged to withdraw +from this part of the island. + +In 1747 the Dutch East India Company, which in 1705 had obtained a firm +footing in Java, and in 1745 had established its authority over all +the north-eastern coast of that island, extorted a monopoly of trade +at Banjermasin and set up a factory. Nearly forty years later[27] +(1785), the reigning prince having rendered himself odious to his +subjects, the country was invaded by 3000 natives of Celebes. These +were expelled by the Dutch, who dethroned the Sultan, placing his +younger brother on the throne; and he, in reward for their services, +ceded to them his entire dominions, consenting to hold them as a +vassal. This is the treaty under which the Dutch claim the sovereignty +of Banjermasin and whatever was once dependent on it. In this way +the Dutch got a hold on the country which they have never relaxed; +and, after the interval during which their possessions in the East +Indies were administered by England,[28] they strengthened that hold +gradually, year by year, till now two-thirds or more of the island +is under their flag and feels the benefits of their rule. If there +are still any districts of this large area where Dutch influence has +even now barely made itself felt, they will not long remain in their +isolation; for the Controleurs are extending their influence even +into the most remote corners of the territory. + +To turn again to the north-western coast and the doings of Englishmen, +in 1763 the Sultan of Sulu ceded to the East India Company the +territory in Borneo which had been given him when he killed the usurper +Abdul Mubin in Bruni. In 1773 a small settlement was formed on the +island of Balambangan, north of Bruni; and in the following year +the Sultan of Bruni agreed to give this settlement a monopoly of the +pepper trade in return for protection from piracy. In the next year, +however, Balambangan was surprised and captured by the Sulus. It was +reoccupied for a few months in 1803, and then finally forsaken. + +Towards the end of the eighteenth century the Malays of Bruni, +Sulu, and Mindanao, with native followers and allies, inspired +we may suppose by the example of their European visitors, took to +piracy -- not that they had not engaged in such business before, but +that they now prosecuted an old trade with renewed vigour. English +traders still tried to pay occasional visits, but after the loss +of the MAY in 1788, the SUSANNA in 1803, and the COMMERCE in 1806, +with the murder of the crews, the Admiralty warned merchants that it +was CERTAIN DESTRUCTION to go up river to Bruni. For forty years this +intimation was left on British charts, and British seamen followed the +humiliating counsel. Not until the early forties was peace restored, +after an event of the most romantic and improbable kind, the accession +of an English gentleman to the throne of Sarawak. + +Of this incident, so fateful for the future of the western side +of Borneo, it must suffice to say here that James Brooke, a young +Englishman, having resigned his commission in the army of the British +East India Company, invested his fortune in a yacht of 140 tons, +with which he set sail in 1838 for the eastern Archipelago. His +bold but vague design was to establish peace, prosperity, and just +government in some part of that troubled area, whose beauties he had +admired and whose misfortunes he had deplored on the occasion of an +earlier voyage to the China seas. When at Singapore, he heard that +the Malays of Sarawak, a district forming the southern extremity +of the Sultanate of Bruni, had rebelled against the Bruni nobles, +and had in vain appealed to the Dutch Governor-general at Batavia for +deliverance from their oppressors. Under the nominal authority of the +Sultan, these Bruni nobles, many of whom were of Arab descent, had +brought all the north-western part of Borneo to a state of chronic +rebellion. They had taught the Sea Dayaks of the Batang Lupar and +neighbouring rivers to join them in their piratical excursions, and, +being to some extent dependent upon their aid, were compelled to +treat them with some consideration; but all other communities were +treated by them with a rapacity and cruelty which was causing a rapid +depopulation and the return to jungle of much cultivated land. + +Brooke sailed for Sarawak in August 1839, and found the country torn +by internal conflicts. The Sultan had recently sent Muda Hasim, his +uncle and heir-presumptive to the throne of Bruni, to restore order; +but this weak though amiable noble had found himself quite incapable +of coping with the situation. Brooke spent some time surveying the +coast and studying the people and country, and gained the confidence of +Muda Hasim. After an excursion to Celebes, Brooke sailed for a second +visit to Sarawak just a year after the first, and found the state of +the country going from bad to worse. Muda Hasim besought him to take +command of his forces and to suppress the rebellion. Brooke consented, +and soon secured the submission of the rebel leaders on the condition +that he (Brooke), and not any Bruni noble, should be the governor and +Rajah of Sarawak. Muda Hasim had offered to secure his appointment +to this office as an inducement to him to undertake the operations +against the rebels; Brooke therefore felt himself justified in granting +these terms. And when later Muda Hasim, no longer threatened with +disgrace and failure, showed himself disinclined to carry out this +arrangement, Brooke, feeling himself bound by his agreement with +the rebel leaders, whose lives he had with difficulty preserved from +the vengeance of the Bruni nobles, insisted upon it with some show +of force; and on September 24, 1841, he was proclaimed Rajah and +governor of Sarawak amid the rejoicings of the populace. Muda Hasim, +as representative of the Sultan, signed the document which conferred +this title and authority; but since he was not in any proper sense +Rajah of Sarawak, which in fact was not a raj, but a district hitherto +ruled or misruled by Bruni governors not bearing the title of Rajah, +this transaction cannot properly be described as an abdication by +Muda Hasim in favour of Brooke. Brooke accordingly felt that it was +desirable to secure from the Sultan himself a formal recognition of +his authority and title. To this end he visited the Sultan in the year +1842, and obtained from him the desired confirmation of the action of +his agent Muda Hasim. The way in which the raj of Sarawak has since +been extended, until it now comprises a territory of nearly 60,000 +square miles (approximately equal to the area of England and Wales), +will be briefly described in a later chapter (XXII.). + +The northern end of Borneo had long been a hunting-ground for slaves +for the nobles of Bruni and Sulu, whose Sultans claimed but did +not exercise the right to rule over it. In 1877 Mr. Alfred Dent, +a Shanghai merchant, induced the two Sultans to resign to him their +sovereign rights over this territory in return for a money payment. The +British North Borneo Company, which was formed for the commercial +development of it, necessarily undertook the task of pacification +and administration. In 1881 the company was granted a royal charter +by the British Government; and it now administers with success and a +fair prospect of continued commercial profit a territory which, with +the exception of a small area about the town of Bruni, includes all +of the island that had not been brought under the Dutch or Sarawak +flag. In 1888 Sarawak and British North Borneo were formally brought +under the protection of the British Government; but the territories +remained under the rule of the Rajah and of the company respectively, +except in regard to their foreign relations. In the year 1906 the +Sultan of Bruni placed himself and his capital, together with the +small territory over which he still retained undivided authority, +under the protection of the British Government; and thus was completed +the passing of the island of Borneo under European control. + + + +CHAPTER 3 + +General Sketch of the Peoples of Borneo + +It is not improbable that at one time Borneo was inhabited by people +of the negrito race, small remnants of which race are still to be +found in islands adjacent to all the coasts of Borneo as well as in +the Malay Peninsula. No communities of this race exist in the island +at the present time; but among the people of the northern districts +individuals may be occasionally met with whose hair and facial +characters strongly suggest an infusion of negrito or negroid blood. + +It is probable that the mixed race of Hindu-Javanese invaders, who +occupied the southern coasts of Borneo some centuries ago, became +blended with the indigenous population, and that a considerable +proportion of their blood still runs in the veins of some of the +tribes of the southern districts (E.G. the Land Dayaks and Malohs). + +There can be no doubt that of the Chinese traders who have been +attracted to Borneo by its camphor, edible birds' nests, and spices, +some have settled in the island and have become blended with and +absorbed by the tribes of the north-west (E.G. the Dusuns); and +it seems probable that some of the elements of their culture have +spread widely and been adopted throughout a large part of Borneo. For +several centuries also Chinese settlers have been attracted to the +south-western district by the gold which they found in the river +gravel and alluvium. These also have intermarried with the people of +the country; but they have retained their national characteristics, +and have been continually recruited by considerable numbers of their +fellow countrymen. Since the establishment of peace and order and +security for life and property by the European administrations, and +with the consequent development of trade during the last half-century, +the influx of Chinese has been very rapid; until at the present time +they form large communities in and about all the chief centres of +trade. A certain number of Chinese traders continue to penetrate far +into the interior, and some of these take wives of the people of the +country; in many cases their children become members of their mothers' +tribes and so are blended with the native stocks. + +Among the Mohammedans, who are found in all the coast regions of +Borneo, there is a considerable number of persons who claim Arab +forefathers; and there can be no doubt that the introduction of the +Mohammedan religion was largely due to Arab traders, and that many +Arabs and their half-bred descendants have held official positions +under the Sultans of Bruni. + +During the last half-century, natives of India, most of whom are Klings +from Madras, have established themselves in the small trades of the +towns; and of others who came as coolies, some have settled in the +towns with their wives and families. These people do not penetrate +into the interior or intermarry with the natives. + +With the exception of the above-mentioned immigrants and their +descendants, the population of Borneo may be described as falling +naturally into two great classes; namely, on the one hand those +who have accepted, nominally at least, the Mohammedan religion and +civilisation, and on the other hand the pagan peoples. In Bruni and in +all the coast regions the majority of the people are Mohammedan, have +no tribal organisation, and call themselves Malays (Orang Malayu). This +name has usually been accorded them by European authors; but when +so used the name denotes a social, political, and religious status +rather than membership in an ethnic group. With the exception of these +partially civilised "Malays" of the coast regions and the imported +elements mentioned above, all the natives of Borneo live under tribal +organisation, their cultures ranging from the extreme simplicity of the +nomadic Punans to a moderately developed barbarism. All these pagan +tribes have often been classed together indiscriminately under the +name Dyaks or Dayaks, though many groups may be clearly distinguished +from one another by differences of culture, belief, and custom, +and peculiarities of their physical and mental constitutions. + +The Mohammedan population, being of very heterogeneous ethnic +composition, and having adopted a culture of foreign origin, which +may be better studied in other regions of the earth where the Malay +type and culture is more truly indigenous, seems to us to be of +secondary interest to the anthropologist as compared with the less +cultured pagan tribes. We shall therefore confine our attention to +the less known pagan tribes of the interior; and when we speak of +the people of Borneo in general terms it is to the latter only that +we refer (except where the "Malays" are specifically mentioned). Of +these we distinguish six principal groups: (1) Sea Dayaks or Ibans, +(2) the Kayans, (3) Kenyahs, (4) Klemantans, (5) Muruts, (6) Punans. + +A census of the population has been made in most of the principal +districts of Sarawak and of Dutch Borneo; but as no census of the +whole country has hitherto been made, it is impossible to state +with any pretence to accuracy the number of the inhabitants of the +island. Basing our estimate on such partial and local enumerations +as have been made, we believe the total population to be about +3,000,000. Of these the Chinese immigrants and their descendants, who +are rapidly increasing in number, probably exceed 100,000. The Malays +and the native converts to Islam, who constitute with the Chinese the +population of the towns and settled villages of the coast districts, +probably number between three and four hundred thousand; the Indian +immigrants are probably not more than 10,000; the Europeans number +perhaps 3000; the rest of the population is made up of the six groups +of barbarians named in the foregoing paragraph. + +Any estimate of the numbers of the people of each of these six +divisions is necessarily a very rough one, but it is perhaps worth +while to state our opinion on this question as follows: Klemantans, +rather more than 1,000,000; Kenyahs, about 300,000; Muruts, 250,000; +Sea Dayaks, 200,000; Kayans, 150,000; Punans and other peoples of +similar nomadic habits, 100,000 -- I.E. a total of 2,000,000. + +(1) Of all these six peoples the Sea Dayaks have become best known +to Europeans, largely owing to their restless truculent disposition, +and to the fact that they are more numerous in Sarawak than any of +the others. They have spread northwards over Sarawak during the latter +half of the last century, chiefly from the region of the Batang Lupar, +where they are still numerous. They are still spreading northward, +encroaching upon the more peaceful Klemantan tribes. They are +most densely distributed in the lower reaches of the main rivers +of Sarawak, especially the Batang Lupar and Saribas rivers, which +are now exclusively occupied by them; but they are found also in +scattered communities throughout almost all parts of Sarawak, and +even in British North Borneo, and they extend from their centre in +Sarawak into the adjacent regions of Dutch Borneo, which are drained +by the northern tributaries of the Great Kapuas River. + +The Sea Dayak is of a well-marked and fairly uniform physical +type. His skin is distinctly darker than that of the other peoples +of the interior, though not quite so dark as that of most of the +true Malays. The hair of his head is more abundant and longer than +that of other peoples. His figure is well proportioned, neat, and +generally somewhat boyish. His expression is bright and mobile, his +lips and teeth are generally distorted and discoloured by the constant +chewing of betel nut. They are a vain, dressy, boastful, excitable, +not to say frivolous people -- cheerful, talkative, sociable, fond +of fun and jokes and lively stories; though given to exaggeration, +their statements can generally be accepted as founded on fact; they +are industrious and energetic, and are great wanderers; to the last +peculiarity they owe the name of Iban, which has been given them by +the Kayans, and which has now been generally adopted even by the Sea +Dayaks themselves. + +The good qualities enumerated above render the Iban an agreeable +companion and a useful servant. But there is another side to the +picture: they have little respect for their chiefs, a peculiarity which +renders their social organisation very defective and chaotic; they +are quarrelsome, treacherous, and litigious, and the most inveterate +head-hunters of the country; unlike most of the other peoples, they +will take heads for the sake of the glory the act brings them and for +the enjoyment of the killing; in the pursuit of human victims they +become possessed by a furious excitement that drives them on to acts +of the most heartless treachery and the most brutal ferocity. + +All the Sea Dayaks speak one language, with but slight local +diversities of dialect. It is extremely simple, being almost devoid +of inflections, and of very simple grammatical structure, relying +largely on intonation. It is closely allied to Malay. + +(2) The Kayans are widely distributed throughout central Borneo, and +are to be found in large villages situated on the middle reaches of +all the principal rivers with the exception of those that run to the +north coast. They occupy in the main a zone dividing the districts +of the lower reaches of the rivers from the central highlands from +which all the rivers flow. + +They are a warlike people, but less truculent than the Sea Dayaks, +more staid and conservative and religious, and less sociable. They +do not wantonly enter into quarrels; they respect and obey their +chiefs. They are equally industrious with the Sea Dayaks, and though +somewhat slow and heavy in both mind and body, they are more skilled +in the handicrafts than any of the other peoples. They also speak +one language, which presents even less local diversity than the Sea +Dayak language. + +(3) The Kenyahs predominate greatly in the highlands a little north of +the centre of Borneo where all the large rivers have their sources; +but they are found also in widely scattered villages throughout the +Kayan areas. In all respects they show closer affinities with the +Kayans than with the Sea Dayaks; as regards custom and mode of life +they closely resemble the Kayans, with whom they are generally on +friendly terms; but they are easily distinguished from the Kayans by +well-marked differences of bodily and mental characters, as well as +by language. Physically they are without question the finest people +of the country. Their skin-colour is decidedly fairer than that of +Sea Dayaks or Kayans. They are of medium stature, with long backs +and short, muscular, well-rounded limbs; a little stumpy in build, +but of graceful and vigorous bearing. They are perhaps the most +courageous and intelligent of the peoples; pugnacious, but less +quarrelsome than the Sea Dayak; more energetic and excitable than the +Kayan; hospitable and somewhat improvident, sociable and of pleasant +manners; less reserved and of more buoyant temperament than the Kayan; +very loyal and obedient to their chiefs; more truthful and more to be +depended upon under all circumstances than any of the other peoples, +except possibly the Kayans. + +The Kenyahs speak a number of dialects of the same language, and +these differ so widely that Kenyahs of widely separated districts +cannot converse freely with one another; but, as with all the peoples, +except the Sea Dayaks, nearly every man has the command of several +dialects as well as of the Kayan language. + +(4) The Klemantans. Under this name we group together a number +of tribes which, though in our opinion closely allied, are widely +scattered in all parts of Borneo, and present considerable diversities +of language and custom. In physical and mental characters they show +affinities to the Kenyahs on the one hand and to the Muruts on the +other. They are less bellicose than the peoples mentioned above, +and have suffered much at their hands. They are careful, intelligent, +and sociable, though somewhat timid, people; skilful in handicrafts, +but less energetic than the Kayans and Kenyahs, and inferior to them +in metal work and the making of swords and spears and boats. The +blow-pipe is their characteristic weapon, and they are more devoted +to hunting than any others, except the Punans. + +Klemantans are to be found in every part of the island, but most of +their villages are situated on the lower reaches of the rivers. They +are most abundant in the south, constituting the greater part of the +population of Dutch Borneo; in the north they are few, their place +being filled by their near relatives, the Muruts. The latter constitute +the principal part of the population of the northern end of the island, +predominating over all the other peoples in British North Borneo, +and in the northern extremities of Sarawak and of Dutch Borneo. + +(5) The Muruts are confined to the northern part of Borneo. They +resemble the Klemantans more closely than the other peoples. They +are comparatively tall and slender, have less regular and pleasing +features than the Klemantans, and their skin is generally darker +and more ruddy in colour. Their agriculture is superior to that +of the other peoples, but they are addicted to much drinking of +rice-spirit. Their social organisation is very loose, their chiefs +having but little authority. Besides those who call themselves Muruts, +we class under the same general name several tribes which we regard as +closely allied to them; namely, the Adangs in the head of the Limbang; +the Kalabits about the head of the Baram; the Sabans and Kerayans at +the head of the Kerayan river; the Libuns; the Lepu Asings at the +head of the Bahau; Tagals and Dusuns in the most northerly part; +the Trings of the Barau and Balungan rivers on the east. + +(6) The Punans, among whom we include, beside the Punans proper, the +Ukits and a few other closely allied but widely scattered small groups, +are the only people who do not dwell in villages established on the +banks of the rivers. They live in small groups of twenty or thirty +persons, which wander in the jungle. Each such group is generally +made up of a chief and his descendants. The group will spend a few +weeks or months at a time in one spot (to which generally they are +attracted by the presence of wild sago), dwelling in rude shelters of +sticks and leaves, and then moving on, but generally remaining within +some one area, such as the basin of one of the upper tributaries +of a large river. They are found throughout the interior of Borneo, +but are difficult to meet with, as they remain hidden in the depths +of the forests. Unlike all the other peoples, they cultivate no PADI +(rice), and they do not make boats or travel on the rivers. They +support themselves by hunting with the blow-pipe, by gathering +the wild jungle fruits, and by collecting the jungle products and +bartering them with the more settled peoples. In physical characters +they closely resemble the Kenyahs, being well-built and vigorous; +their skin is of very light yellow colour, and their features are +regular and well shaped. Mentally they are characterised by extreme +shyness and timidity and reserve. They are quite inoffensive and never +engage in open warfare; though they will avenge injuries by stealthy +attacks on individuals with the blow-pipe and poisoned darts. Their +only handicrafts are the making of baskets, mats, blow-pipes, and the +implements used for working the wild sago; but in these and in the use +of the blow-pipe they are very expert. All other manufactured articles +used by them -- cloths, swords, spears -- are obtained by barter from +the other peoples. Unlike all the other peoples, they have no form of +sepulture, but simply leave the corpse of a comrade in the rude shelter +in which he died. They sing and declaim rude melancholy songs or dirges +with peculiar skill and striking effect. Their language is distinctive, +but is apparently allied to the Kenyah and Klemantan tongues. + +We propose to deal with the topics of each of our descriptive chapters +by giving as full as possible an account of the Kayans, and adding to +this some observations as to the principal diversities of custom and +culture presented by the other peoples. For, if we should attempt +to describe in detail each of these peoples with all their local +diversities, this book would attain an inordinate length. The Kayans +are in most respects the most homogeneous of these peoples, the +most conservative and distinctive, and present perhaps the richest +and most interesting body of belief and custom and art; while many +of their customs and arts have been adopted by their neighbours, +or are indigenous with them. + +We may conclude this chapter by describing briefly in general terms +the physical characters, and the habits and customs that are common +to all or most of these pagan tribes. + +These peoples present no very great differences of physical +character. All are of medium height; their skin-colour ranges from +a rich medium brown to a very pale CAFE-AU-LAIT, hardly deeper than +the colour of cream. Their hair is nearly black or very dark brown, +and generally quite lank, but in some cases wavy or even almost +curly. Their faces show in nearly all cases, though in very diverse +degrees, some of the well-known mongoloid characters, the wide +cheek-bones, the small oblique eyes, the peculiar fold of the upper +eyelid at its nasal end, and the scanty beard. In some individuals +these traces are very slight and in fact not certainly perceptible. The +nose varies greatly in shape, but is usually rather wide at the +nostrils, and in very many cases the plane of the nostrils is tilted +a little upwards and forwards. On the other hand some individuals, +especially among the Kenyahs, have distinctly aquiline and well-formed +noses. Amongst all these peoples, especially the Kenyahs, Punans, +and Klemantans, there are to be seen a few individuals of very regular +well-shaped features of European type. + +Although as regards physical characters all these peoples have much in +common, yet each of them presents peculiarities which are obvious to +the eye of an experienced observer, and enable him without hesitation +to assign to their proper groups the majority of individuals; and +such recognition on mere inspection is of course rendered easier by +the relatively slight peculiarities of dress and ornament proper to +each group. + +The pure-bred Kenyah presents, perhaps, the most clearly marked as +well as the finest physical type. His skin, is the colour of rich +cream with a very small dash of coffee. The hair of his head varies +from slightly wavy to curly, and is never very abundant or long in the +men. The rest of his body is almost free from hair, and what little +grows upon the face is carefully plucked out (not, leaving even the +eyebrows and eyelashes). This practice is common to all the peoples of +the interior except the Sea Dayaks. His stature is about 1600 mm.; his +weight about 136 pounds. His limbs are distinctly short in proportion +to his body; his trunk is well developed and square, and both limbs +and trunk are well covered with rounded muscles. His movements are +quick and vigorous, and he is hardy and capable of sustaining prolonged +toil and hardship. His head is moderately round (Index 79), his face +broad but well shaped. The expression of his face is bold and open. + +The Kayan has a rather darker skin of a redder tone. His legs are not +so disproportionately short, but in all other respects his body is less +well proportioned, graceful, and active than the Kenyah's. His features +are less regular and rather coarser and heavier; his expression is +serious, reserved, and cautious. + +The Murut is nearly as fair skinned as the Kenyah, perhaps a little +ruddier in tone. His most characteristic feature is the length of his +leg and lack of calf, in both of which respects he contrasts strongly +with the Kenyah. The length of his leg raises his stature above the +average. His intonation is characteristic, namely, somewhat whining; +whereas the Kenyah's speech is crisp and staccato. + +The Klemantans present a greater variety of physical types, being +a less homogeneous group. Roughly they may be said to present all +transitions from the Kenyah to the Murut type. In the main they are +less muscular and active than the Kenyah. It is amongst them that +the upward and forward direction of the plane of the nostrils is +most marked. + +The Punan presents, again, a well-marked type. His skin is even fairer +than the Kenyah's, and is distinguished by a distinctly greenish +tinge. He is well proportioned, graceful, and muscular, and his +features are in many cases very regular and pleasing. His expression +is habitually melancholy and strikingly wary and timid. In spite of +his homeless nomadic life he generally appears well nourished and +clean, and he seems less subject to sores and to the skin diseases +which so often disfigure the other peoples, especially the Muruts, +Kayans, and Sea Dayaks.[29] + +All these peoples, with the exception of the Punans and similar nomads, +live in village communities situated with few exceptions on the banks +of the rivers. The populations of these villages vary from 20 or 30 +persons only in the smallest, to 1500 or even more in a few of the +largest; while the average village comprises about 30 families which, +with a few slaves and dependants, make a community of some 200 to 300 +persons. Each such community is presided over by a chief. A number of +villages of one people are commonly grouped within easy reach of one +another on the banks of a river. But no people exclusively occupies +or claims exclusive possession of any one territory or waterway. With +the exception of the Sea Dayaks, all these different peoples may here +and there be found in closely adjoining villages; and in some rivers +the villages of the different peoples are freely intermingled over +considerable areas. The segregation of the Sea Dayak villages seems +to be due to the truculent treacherous nature of the Sea Dayak, +which renders him obnoxious as a neighbour to the other peoples, +and leads him to feel the need of the support of his own people in +large numbers. All find their principal support and occupation in the +cultivation of PADI (rice), and all supplement this with the breeding +of a few pigs and fowls and, in the north of the island, buffalo, +with hunting and fishing, and with the collection of jungle produce +-- gutta-percha, rubber, rattan canes, camphor, sago. These jungle +products they barter or sell for cash to the Malay and Chinese traders. + +They have no written records, and but vague traditions of their +past history and migrations. There is no political organisation +beyond a loose coherence and alliance for defence and offence of the +village communities of any one people in neighbouring parts of the +country -- a coherence which at times is greatly strengthened by the +personal ascendency of the chief of some one village over neighbouring +chiefs. One of the most notable examples of such personal ascendency +exercised in recent times was that of Tama Bulan (Pl. 27), a Kenyah +chief whose village was situated on one of the tributaries of the +Baram river, and who by his loyal co-operation with the government +of the Rajah of Sarawak greatly facilitated the rapid establishment +of law and order in this district. + +Except for these informal alliances obtaining between neighbouring +villages of the people of any one stock, each village forms an +independent community, ruled by its chief, making war and peace +and alliances, and selecting patches of land for cultivation at its +own pleasure. No village community remains on the same spot for any +long period; but after fifteen, ten, or even fewer years, a new site +is sought, often at a considerable distance, and a new village is +built. The principal reasons for this habit of frequent migration, +which has produced the intimate mingling throughout large areas of the +peoples of different stocks, are two: first, the necessity of finding +virgin soil for cultivation; secondly, the occurrence of epidemics +or other calamities; these lead them to believe that the place of +their abode supplies in insufficient degree the favouring spiritual +influences which they regard as essential to their welfare. For among +all these peoples animistic beliefs abound; they hold themselves to be +surrounded on every hand by spiritual forces both good and bad, some +of which are embodied in the wild creatures, especially the birds, +while some are manifested in such natural processes as the growth of +the corn, the rising of the river in flood, the rolling of thunder, +the incidence of disease. And they are constantly concerned to keep +at a distance, by the observance of many rigidly prescribed customs, +the evil influences, and, to a less degree, to secure by propitiatory +acts the protection and the friendly warnings of the beneficent powers. + +One of the most peculiar features of the people of Borneo is the great +diversity of language obtaining among them. The migratory habits of +the people and the consequent mingling of communities of different +stocks within the same areas, far from having resulted in the genesis +by fusion of a common language, have resulted in the formation of +a great number of very distinct dialects; so that in following the +course of a river, one may sometimes find in a day's journey of a +score of miles half a dozen or more villages, the people of each of +which speak a dialect almost, or in some cases quite, unintelligible +to their neighbours. A necessary consequence of this state of affairs +is that, with the exception of the Sea Dayaks, almost all adults +speak or at least understand two or more dialects or languages, +while most of the chiefs and leading men speak several dialects +fluently and partially understand a larger number. The language most +widely understood by those to whom it is not native is the Kayan; +but since the recent spread of trade through large areas under the +protection of the European governments, a simplified form of the Malay +language has been rapidly establishing itself as the LINGUA FRANCA of +the whole country. In Sarawak, where, during the last fifty years, +the Sea Dayaks have spread from the Batang Lupar district and have +established villages on all the principal rivers, their language, +which seems to be a bastard and very simple branch of the Malay tongue, +is very widely understood and is largely used as a common medium. + +Note on the use of the term KLEMANTAN. The Malay name for Borneo is +Pulu Klemantan, and we have adopted this name to denote the large +group of allied tribes which in our opinion have the best claim to +be regarded as representing the indigenous population of the island. + + + +CHAPTER 4 + +Material Conditions of the Pagan Tribes of Borneo + +With few exceptions, the main features of the dress, adornment, +and weapons of all the peoples are similar, showing only minor +differences from tribe to tribe and from place to place. The essential +and universal article of male attire is the waist-cloth, a strip of +cloth about one yard wide and four to eight yards in length (see +Frontispiece). Formerly this was made of bark-cloth; but now the +cotton-cloth obtained from the Chinese and Malay traders has largely +superseded the native bark-cloth, except in the remoter regions; and +here and there a well-to-do man may be seen wearing a cloth of more +expensive stuff, sometimes even of silk. One end of such a cloth is +passed between the legs from behind forwards, about eighteen inches +being left dependent; the rest of it is then passed several times round +the waist, over the end brought up on to the belly, and the other end +is tucked in at the back. The man wears in addition when out of doors +a coat of bark-cloth or white cotton stuff,[30] and a wide sun-hat +of palm leaves, in shape like a mushroom-top or an inverted and very +shallow basin, which shelters him from both sun and rain; many wear +also a small oblong mat plaited of rattan-strips hanging behind from +a cord passed round the waist, and serving as a seat when the wearer +sits down. At home the man wears nothing more than the waist-cloth, +save some narrow plaited bands of palm fibre below the knee, and, in +most cases, some adornment in the ears or about the neck and on the +arms.[31] The man's hair is allowed to grow long on the crown of the +scalp, and to hang freely over the back of the neck, in some cases +reaching as far as the middle of the back. This long hair is never +plaited, but is sometimes screwed up in a knot on the top of the head +and fastened with a skewer. The latter mode of wearing the hair is +the rule among the Muruts, who use elaborately carved and decorated +hairpins of bone (the shin bone of the deer, Fig. 1). That part of +the hair of the crown which naturally falls forwards is cut to form +a straight fringe across the forehead. All the rest of the head is +kept shaven, except at times of mourning for the death of relatives. + +When in the house the man commonly wears on his head a band of plaited +rattan, which varies from a mere band around the brows to a completed +skull-cap. The free ends of the rattan strips are generally allowed to +project, forming a dependent tassel or fringe (Pl. 21). A well-to-do +Kayan man usually wears a necklace consisting of a single string of +beads, which in many cases are old and of considerable value (Pls. 19 +and 28). Every Kayan has the shell of the ear perforated, and when +fully dressed wears, thrust forward through the hole in each shell, +the big upper canine tooth of the tiger-cat; but he is not entitled +to wear these until he has been on the warpath. Those who have taken +a head or otherwise distinguished themselves in war may wear, instead +of the teeth, pieces of similar shape carved from the solid beak of +the helmeted hornbill. The youths who have not qualified themselves +for these adornments, and warriors during mourning, usually wear a +disc of wood or wax in their places (Pls. 19 and 21). + +The lobe of the ear is perforated and distended to a loop some two +inches in length, in which a brass ring is worn. Just above this loop +a small hole through the shell is usually made, and from this a small +skein of beads depends. Similar ear ornaments are worn by Kenyahs and +some of the Klemantans, but not by Muruts, and by few individuals +only among Punans and Sea Dayaks. Many of the latter wear a row of +small brass rings inserted round the margin of the shell of each ear +(Fig. 2). + +Many of the men wear also bracelets of shell or hard wood. + +Although the dress of the men is so uniform in essentials throughout +the country, it gives considerable scope for the display of personal +tastes, and the Sea Dayak especially delights in winding many yards +of brilliantly coloured cloth about his waist, in brilliant coats +and gorgeous turbans[32] and feathers, and other ornaments; by means +of these he manages to make himself appear as a very dressy person +in comparison with the sober Kayan and with most of the people of +the remoter inland regions, who have little but scanty strips of +bark-cloth about the loins. + +The universal weapons of the country are sword and spear, and +no man travels far from home without these and his oblong wooden +shield. Some of the peoples are expert in the use of the blowpipe +and poisoned dart. The blow-pipe and the recently introduced firearms +are the only missile weapons; the bow is unknown save as a plaything +for children,[33] and possibly in a few localities in the extreme +north.[34] + +The dress of the women is less uniform than that of the men. The Sea +Dayak woman (Pls. 29 and 30) wears a short skirt of cotton thread +woven in curious patterns of several colours, reaching from the waist +almost to the knee; a long-sleeved jacket of the same material, and a +corset consisting of many rings of rattan built up one above another +to enclose the body from breast to thigh. Each rattan ring is sheathed +in small rings of beaten brass. The corset is made to open partially +or completely down the front, but is often worn continuously for long +periods. She wears her hair tied in a knot at the back of her head. + +The principal garment of the women of all the other peoples is a +skirt of bark or cotton cloth, which is tied by a string a little +below the level of the crest of the hip bone; it reaches almost to +the ankle, but is open at the left side along its whole depth. It is +thus a large apron rather than a skirt. When the woman is at work in +the house or elsewhere, she tucks up the apron by drawing the front +flap backwards between her legs, and tucking it tightly into the band +behind, thus reducing it to the proportions and appearance of a small +pair of bathing-drawers. Each woman possesses also a long-sleeved, +long-bodied jacket of white cotton similar to that worn by the men; +this coat is generally worn by both sexes when working in the fields +or travelling in boats, chiefly as a protection against the rays of +the sun. The women wear also a large mushroom-shaped hat similar to +that worn by the men. With few exceptions all the women allow the hair +to grow uncut and to fall naturally from the ridge of the cranium, +confined only by a circular band of rattan or beadwork passing over +the occiput and just above the eyebrows. + +The principal ornaments of the women are necklaces and girdles of +beads, earrings, and bracelets. A well-to-do Kayan woman may wear a +large number of valuable beads (see Pls. 28 and 31). The bracelets +are of ivory, and both forearms are sometimes completely sheathed +in series of such bracelets. The ear-rings are the most distinctive +feature of the Kayan woman's adornment. The perforated lobes of the +ears are gradually drawn down during childhood and youth, until +each lobe forms a slender loop which reaches to the collar-bone, +or lower. Each loop bears several massive rings of copper (Pl. 20), +whose combined weight is in some cases as much as two pounds.[35] Most +of the Kenyah women also wear similar earrings, but these are usually +lighter and more numerous, and the lobe is not so much distended. The +women of many of the Klemantan tribes wear a large wooden disc in the +distended lobe of each ear, and those of other Klemantan tribes wear +a smaller wooden plug with a boss (Pl. 32). The children run naked +up to the age of six or seven years, when they are dressed in the +fashion of their parents. + +On festive occasions both men and women put on as many of their +ornaments as can be conveniently worn. + + +Deformation of the Head + +Some of the Malanaus, a partially Mohammedan tribe of Klemantans, +seated about the mouths of the Muka, Oya, and Bintulu rivers of +Sarawak, have the curious custom of flattening the heads of the +infants, chiefly the females. The flattening is effected at an +early age, the process beginning generally within the first month +after birth. It consists in applying pressure to the head by means +of a simple apparatus for some fifteen minutes, more or less, on +successive days, or at rather longer intervals. The application of +the pressure for this brief space of time, on some ten to twenty +occasions, seems to suffice to bring about the desired effect. The +pressure is applied while the child sleeps, and is at once relaxed if +the child wakes or cries. The apparatus, known as TADAL (see Fig. 3), +consists of a stout flat bar of wood, some nine inches in length +and three wide in its middle part. This wider middle part bears on +one surface a soft pad for application to the infant's forehead. A +[inverted T] strap of soft cloth is attached by its upper +extremity to the middle of the upper edge of the wooden bar; and each +end of its horizontal strip is continued by a pair of strings which +pass through holes in the ends of the bar. The strings are brought +together on the front of the bar at its middle and passed through the +centre of a copper coin[36] or other hard disc. The bar is applied +transversely to the forehead of the infant; the vertical strap runs +back over the sagittal suture; the transverse strap is drawn tightly +across the occiput, and the required degree of pressure is gradually +applied by twisting the coin round and round on the front of the bar, +and so pulling upon the strings which connect the ends of the bar on +the forehead with the ends of the strap across the occiput (Pl. 33). + +The effect produced is of course a flattening of brow and occiput and +a broadening of the whole head. The motive seems to be the desire to +enhance the beauty of the child by ensuring to it a moon-like face, +which is the most admired form. The Malanaus seem to be by nature +peculiarly round-headed; the question whether this is due to the +effects of head-flattening practised for many generations, must be +left to the investigations of the Neo-Lamarckians. They are also a +peculiarly handsome people, and it seems more likely that, taking a +pride in their good looks, they have, like so many other peoples, +sought to enhance the beauty of their children by accentuating a +racial peculiarity. + + +Houses + +All the tribes except the Punans build houses of one type; but the size +and proportions, the strength of the materials used, and the skill and +care displayed in the work of construction, show wide differences. The +houses of the Kayans are perhaps better and more solidly built than any +others and may be taken as the type. Each house is built to accommodate +many families; an average house may contain some forty to fifty, +making up with children and slaves some two or three hundred persons; +while some of the larger houses are built for as many as a hundred +and twenty families, or some five to six hundred persons. The house +is always close to a river, and it usually stands on the bank at a +distance of 20 to 50 yards from the water, its length lying parallel +to the course of the river. The plan of the house is a rectangle, +of which the length generally much exceeds the width (Pl. 34). + +Its roof is always a simple ridge extending the whole length of the +house, and is made of shingles of BILIAN (ironwood) or other hard +and durable kind of wood. The framework of the roof is supported at +a height of some 25 to 30 feet from the ground on massive piles of +ironwood, and the floor is supported by the same piles at a level some +7 or 8 feet below the cross-beams of the roof. The floor consists +of cross-beams morticed to the piles, and of very large planks of +hard wood laid upon them parallel to the length of the house. The +projecting eaves of the roof come down to a level midway between +that of the roof-beams and that of the floor, and the interval of +some 4 to 5 feet between the eaves and the floor remains open along +the whole length of the front of the house (I.E. the side facing the +river), save for a low parapet which bounds the floor along its outer +edge. This space serves to admit both light and air, and affords an +easy view over the river to those sitting in the house. The length +of the house is in some cases as much as 400 yards, but the average +length is probably about 200 yards. The width of the floor varies +from about 30 to 60 feet; the whole space between roof and floor is +divided into two parts by a longitudinal wall of vertical planks, +which runs the whole length of the house. This wall lies not quite +in the middle line, but a little to the river side of it. Of the two +longitudinal divisions of the house, that which adjoins the river +is thus somewhat narrower than the other; it remains undivided in +its whole length. The other and wider part is divided by transverse +walls at intervals of some 25 or 30 feet, so as to form a single row +of spacious chambers of approximately equal size. Each such chamber is +the private apartment of one family; in it father, mother, daughters, +young sons and female slaves, sleep and eat (Pl. 37). Within each +chamber are usually several sleeping-places or alcoves more or less +completely screened or walled off from the central space. The chamber +contains a fireplace, generally merely a slab of clay in a wooden +framework placed near the centre. The outside wall of this side of +the house is carried up to meet the roof. The entrance of light and +air and the egress of smoke are provided for by the elevation on a +prop of one corner of a square section of the roof, marked out by a +right-angled cut, of which one limb runs parallel to the outer wall, +the other upwards from one extremity of the former. This aperture +can be easily closed, E.G. during heavy rain, by removing the prop +and allowing the flap to fall into its original position. + +The front part of the house, which remains undivided, forms a single +long gallery serving as a common antechamber to all the private rooms, +each of which opens to it by a wooden door (Pls. 36, 38). It is in +a sense, though roofed and raised some 20 feet above the ground, the +village street, as well as a common living and reception room. Along +the outer border of the floor runs a low platform on which the inmates +sit on mats. One part of this, usually that opposite the chief's +apartment in the middle of the house, is formed of several large +slabs of hardwood (TAPANG or Koompassia), and is specially reserved +for the reception of guests and for formal meetings. The platform +is interrupted here and there by smaller platforms raised some 3 or +4 feet from the floor, which are the sleeping quarters assigned to +the bachelors and male visitors. At intervals of some 30 or 40 feet +throughout the gallery are fireplaces similar to those in the private +chambers; on some of these fire constantly smoulders. + +Over one of these fireplaces, generally one near the middle of +the great gallery, is hung a row of human heads (Pl. 38), trophies +obtained in war, together with a number of charms and objects used +in various rites.[37] + +Alongside the inner wall of the gallery stand the large wooden mortars +used by the women in husking the PADI. Above these hang the winnowing +trays and mats, and on this wall hang also various implements of +common use -- hats, paddles, fish-traps, and so forth. + +The gallery is reached from the ground by several ladders, each +of which consists of a notched beam sloping at an angle of about +45[degree], and furnished with a slender hand-rail. The more carefully +made ladder is fashioned from a single log, but the wood is so cut as +to leave a hand-rail projecting forwards a few inches on either side +of the notched gully or trough in which the feet are placed. From +the foot of each ladder a row of logs, notched and roughly squared, +and laid end to end, forms a foot-way to the water's edge. In wet +weather such a foot-way is a necessity, because pigs, fowls, and dogs, +and in some cases goats, run freely beneath and around the house, and +churn the surface of the ground into a thick layer of slippery mire. + +Here and there along the front of the house are open platforms raised +to the level of the floor, on which the PADI is exposed to the sun +to be dried before being husked. + +Under the house, among the piles on which it is raised, such +boats as are not in daily use are stored. Round about the house, +and especially on the space between it and the brink of the river, +are numerous PADI barns (Pl. 40). Each of these, the storehouse of +the grain harvested by one family, is a large wooden bin about 10 +feet square, raised on piles some 7 feet from the ground. Each pile +carries just below the level of the floor of the bin a large disc of +wood horizontally disposed, and perforated at its centre by the pile; +this serves to prevent rats and mice gaining access to the bin. The +shingle roof of the bin is like that of the house, but the two ends +are filled by sloping surfaces running up under the gables. There +are generally also a few fruit trees and tobacco plants in the space +cleared round about the house; and in the space between it and the +river are usually some rudely carved wooden figures, around which +rites and ceremonies are performed from time to time. + +Kayan villages generally consist of several, in some cases as many +as seven or eight, such houses of various lengths, grouped closely +together. The favourite situation for such a village is a peninsula +formed by a sharp bend of the river. + +Of the houses built by the other peoples, those of the Kenyahs very +closely resemble those of the Kayans. The Kenyah village frequently +consists of a single long house (and with the Sea Dayaks this is +invariably the case), and it is in many cases perched on a high +steep bank immediately above the river. Some of the Klemantans also +build houses little if at all inferior to those of the Kayans, and +very similar to them in general plan. But in this as in all other +respects the Klemantans exhibit great diversities, some of their +houses being built in a comparatively flimsy manner, light timber +and even bamboos being used, and the roof being made of leaves. The +houses of the Muruts are small and low, and of poor construction. + +The Sea Dayak's house differs from that of the Kayan more than any +of the others. The general plan is the same; but the place of the +few massive piles is taken by a much larger number of slender piles, +which pass up to the roof through the gallery and chambers. Of the +gallery only a narrow passageway alongside the main partition-wall +is kept clear of piles and other obstructions. The floor is of split +bamboo covered with coarse mats. An open platform at the level of the +floor runs along the whole length of the open side of the house. There +are no PADI barns about the house, the PADI being kept in bins in the +roofs. The roof itself is low, giving little head space. The gallery +of the house makes an impression of lack of space, very different to +that made by the long wide gallery of a Kayan or Kenyah house. + +Although the more solidly built houses, such as those of the Kayans, +would be habitable for many generations, few of them are inhabited for +more than fifteen or twenty years, and some are used for much shorter +periods only. For one reason or another the village community decides +to build itself a new house on a different and sometimes distant site, +though the new site is usually in the same tributary river, or, if on +the main river, within a few miles of the old one. The most frequent +causes of removal are, first, using up of the soil in the immediate +neighbourhood of the village, for they do not cultivate the same +patch more than three or four times at intervals of several years; +secondly, the occurrence of a fatal epidemic; thirdly, any run of bad +luck or succession of evil omens; fourthly, the burning of the house, +whether accidentally or in the course of an attack by enemies. + +On removing to a new site the planks and the best of the timber of a +well-built house are usually towed along the river to the spot chosen, +and used in the construction of the new house. + +After the houses the most important of the material possessions of the +people are their boats. Each family possesses at least one small boat +capable of carrying seven or eight persons, and used chiefly for going +to and from the PADI fields, but also for fishing and short journeys +of all kinds. In addition to these the community possesses several +larger boats used for longer journeys, and generally at least one long +war-boat, capable of carrying 50 to 100 men. Each boat, even one of +the largest size, is hollowed from a single log, the freeboard being +raised by lashing narrow planks to the edge of the hollowed log. In +the middle of a large boat is a section, the freeboard of which is +raised still higher, and which is covered by an arched roof of palm +leaves. The boat is crossed at intervals of some three feet by seats +formed of short planks, each supported at both ends by projections of +the main timber, to which they are lashed with rattan. In travelling +on the lower reaches of the rivers, the rowers sit two on each bench, +side by side and facing the bow. On the upper reaches, where rapids +abound, a deck is made by laying split bamboos along the length of the +boat upon the benches, and the crew sits upon this deck in paddling, +or stands upon it when poling the boat over rapids. + +In addition to the clothes, houses, and boats, and the domestic +animals mentioned above, and to the personal ornaments and weapons +to be described in later chapters, the material possessions of the +Kayans consist chiefly of baskets and mats. + +The baskets are of various shapes and sizes, adapted to a variety +of uses. The largest size holds about two bushels of PADI, and is +chiefly used for transporting grain from the fields to the house +(Fig. 4). It is almost cylindrical in shape, but rather wider at +the upper end. Four strips of wood running down from near the upper +edge project slightly below, forming short legs on which the basket +stands. The upper end is closed by a detachable cap, which fits inside +the upper lip of the basket. It is provided with a pair of shoulder +straps, and a strap which is passed over the crown of the head. These +straps are made of a single strip of tough beaten bark. One end of it +is attached to the foot of the basket; a second attachment is made +at the middle of the height, forming a loop for the one shoulder; +the strip is then looped over to the corresponding point on the other +side, forming the loop for the head, and then carried down to the foot +of the basket on that side to form the loop for the other shoulder. + +A smaller cylindrical basket, very neatly plaited of thin and very +pliable strips of rattan, is used for carrying the few articles which +a man takes with him in travelling -- a little rice and tobacco, +a spare waist cloth, a sleeping mat, perhaps a second mat of palm +leaves used as a protection against rain, a roll of dried banana +leaves for making cigarettes, perhaps a cap for wear in the house, and, +not infrequently nowadays, a bright coloured handkerchief of Chinese +silk. The lip of the basket is surrounded by a close set row of eyes +through which a cord is passed. To this cord a net is attached, +and is drawn together in the centre of the opening of the basket +by a second cord, in order to confine its contents. This basket is +provided with shoulder straps only. + +In addition to these two principal baskets, each family has a number +of smaller baskets of various shapes for storing their personal +belongings, and for containing food in course of preparation (Fig. 5). + +The mats are of many shapes and sizes. The largest are spread on +the raised part of the floor, both of the gallery and of the private +chambers, when a party sits down to eat or converse. Each individual +has his own sleeping mat, and each family has a number of mats used +for drying, husking, winnowing, and sieving the PADI. + +The bamboo water-vessel consists of a section of the stem of the +bamboo, closed at the lower end by the natural septum, the upper end +having a lip or spout formed at the level of the succeeding septum. A +short length of a branch remains projecting downwards to form a handle, +by means of which the vessel can be conveniently suspended. These +vessels are used also for carrying rice-spirit or BORAK; but this +is stored in large jars of earthenware or china. The native jar of +earthenware is ovoid in shape and holds about one gallon, but these +are now largely superseded by jars made by the Chinese. + +Each family possesses some dishes and platters of hardwood (Figs. 6 +and 7), and generally a few china plates bought from traders; but a +large leaf is the plate most commonly used. + +Rice, the principal food, which forms the bulk of every meal, is +boiled in an iron or brass pot with lip, handle, and lid, not unlike +the old English cauldron; it has no legs, and is placed on a tripod of +stones or suspended over the fire. This metal pot, which is obtained +from the Chinese traders, has superseded the home-made pot of clay +(Fig. 8) and the bamboo vessels in which the rice was cooked in former +times. A larger wide stewpan is also used for cooking pork, vegetables, +and fish. The Kayans smoke tobacco, which they cultivate in small +quantities. It is generally smoked in the form of large cigarettes, +the finely cut leaf being rolled in sheets of dried banana leaf. But +it is also smoked in pipes, which are made in a variety of shapes, the +bowl of hardwood, the stem of slender bamboo (Fig. 9). Sea Dayaks chew +tobacco, but smoke little, being devoted to the chewing of betel nut. + +In every house is a number of large brass gongs (TAWAK), which are +used in various ceremonies and for signalling, and constitute also +one of the best recognised standards of value and the most important +form of currency. Besides these largest gongs, smaller ones of various +shapes and sizes are kept and used on festive occasions (Pl. 45). All +these gongs are obtained through traders from Bruni, China, and Java. + +Beside the gongs a Kayan house generally contains, as the +common property of the whole household, several long narrow drums +(Fig. 10). Each is a hollow cylinder of wood, constricted about its +middle, open at one end, and closed at the other with a sheet of +deer-skin. This is stretched by means of slips of rattan attached to +its edges, and carried back to a stout rattan ring woven about the +constricted middle of the drum; the skin is tightened by inserting +wedges under this ring. + +In most houses two or three small brass swivel guns may be seen +in the gallery, and a small stock of powder for their service is +usually kept by the chief. They are sometimes discharged to salute a +distinguished visitor, and formerly played some small part in repelling +attacks. The domestic animals of the Kayans are fowls, goats, pigs, +and dogs. The latter live in the house, the others run free beneath +and around the house. + +The material possessions of the other peoples differ little from those +of the Kayans. Almost every Sea Dayak possesses, and keeps stored at +the back of his private chamber, one or more large vases. These were +formerly imported from China, but are now made by the Chinese of the +towns in Borneo. The commonest of the highly prized jars are of plain +brown brightly glazed earthenware, standing about three feet in height +on a flat bottom (Pl. 48); each is ornamented with a Chinese dragon +moulded in relief (BENAGA), or some scroll designs which, though very +varied, go by the name of RUSA (=deer) and NINGKA. A Dayak will give +from 200 to 400 dollars for such a jar. Rarer and still more highly +prized is a jar similar to these, but wider, very highly glazed, and +bare of all ornament save some obscure markings. Eight perforated +"ears" project just below the lip, and serve for the attachment of +a wooden or cloth cover. This jar occurs in two varieties, a dark +green and a very dark brown, which are known respectively as GUSI +and BERGIAU, the latter being the more valuable. Other smaller and +less valued jars are the PANTAR and the ALAS. The jars of the kinds +mentioned above are valued largely on account of their age; probably +all of them were imported from China and Siam, some of them no doubt +centuries ago. Besides these old jars there are now to be found in +most of the Sea Dayak houses many jars of modern Chinese manufacture, +some of which are very skilful imitations of the old types; and +though the Dayak is a connoisseur in these matters, and can usually +distinguish the new from the old, he purchases willingly the cheap +modern imitations of the old, because they are readily mistaken by +the casual observer for the more valuable varieties (Pl. 47). + +A few large vases of Chinese porcelain, usually covered with elaborate +designs in colour, are to be found in most of the houses of the other +peoples (Pl. 47). + + + +CHAPTER 5 + +The Social System + +The Kayans constitute a well-defined and homogeneous tribe or +people. Although their villages are scattered over a wide area, +the Kayan people everywhere speak the same language and follow +the same customs, have the same traditions, beliefs, rites, and +ceremonies. Such small differences as they present from place to +place are hardly greater than those obtaining between the villagers +of adjoining English counties. Although communication between the +widely separated branches of the people is very slight and infrequent, +yet all are bound together by a common sentiment for the tribal name, +reputation, tradition, and customs. The chiefs keep in mind and hand +down from generation to generation the history of the migrations of +the principal branches of the tribe, the names and genealogies of the +principal chiefs, and important incidents affecting any one branch. At +least fifteen sub-tribes of Kayans, each bearing a distinctive name, +are recognised.[38] The word UMA, which appears in the names of each +group, means village or settlement, and it seems probable that these +fifteen sub-tribes represent fifteen original Kayan villages which +at some remote period, before the tribe became so widely scattered, +may have contained the whole Kayan population. At the present time +the people of each sub-tribe occupy several villages, which in most +cases, but not in all, are within the basin of one river. + +In spite of the community of tribal sentiment, which leads Kayans +always to take the part of Kayans, and prevents the outbreak of +any serious quarrels between Kayan villages, there exist no formal +bonds between the various sub-tribes and villages. Each village is +absolutely independent of all others, save in so far as custom and +caution prescribe that, before undertaking any important affair (such +as a removal of the village or a warlike expedition), the chief will +seek the advice, and, if necessary, the co-operation of the chiefs +of neighbouring Kayan villages. The people of neighbouring villages, +especially the families of the chiefs, are also bound together by +many ties of kinship; for intermarriage is frequent. + +As was said above, a Kayan village almost invariably consists of +several long houses. Each house is ruled by a chief; but one such +chief is recognised as the head-chief of the village. + +The minor and purely domestic affairs of each house are settled +by the house-chief, but all important matters of general interest +are brought before the village-chief. In the former category fall +disputes as to ownership of domestic animals and plants, questions +of compensation for injury or loss of borrowed boats, nets, or other +articles, of marriage and divorce, and minor personal injuries, moral +or physical. The matters to be settled by the head-chief sitting in +council with the subordinate chiefs are those affecting the whole +village, questions of war and peace and of removal, disputes between +houses, trials for murder or serious personal injuries. + +The degree of authority of the chiefs and the nature and degree of +the penalties imposed by them are prescribed in a general way by +custom, though as regards the former much depends upon the personal +qualities of each chief, and as regards the latter much is left to his +discretion. The punishments imposed are generally fines, so many TAWAKS +(gongs), PARANGS (swords) or spears, or other articles of personal +property. On the whole the chief plays the part of an arbitrator and +mediator, awarding compensation to the injured party, rather than that +of a judge. In the case of offences against the whole house, a fine +is imposed; and the articles of the required value are placed under +the charge of the chief, who holds them on behalf of the community, +and uses them in the making of payments or presents in return for +services rendered to the whole community. + +The chief also is responsible for the proper observation of the omens +and for the regulation of MALAN (tabu) affecting the whole house; and, +as we shall see, he takes the leading part in social ceremonies and in +most of the religious rites collectively performed by the village. He +is regarded by other chiefs as responsible for the behaviour of his +people, and above all, in war he is responsible for both strategy +and tactics and the general conduct of operations. + +For the maintenance of his authority and the enforcement of his +commands the chief relies upon the force of public opinion, which, +so long as he is capable and just, will always support him, and will +bring severe moral pressure to bear upon any member of the household +who hesitates to submit. + +In return for his labours on behalf of the household or village the +Kayan chief gains little or nothing in the shape of material reward. He +may receive a little voluntary assistance in the cultivation of his +field; in travelling by boat he is accorded the place of honour and +ease in the middle of the boat, and he is not expected to help in +its propulsion. His principal rewards are the social precedence and +deference accorded him and the satisfaction found in the exercise +of authority. + +If the people of a house or village are gravely dissatisfied with +the conduct of their chief, they will retire to their PADI-fields, +building temporary houses there. If many take this course, a new +long house will be built and a new chief elected to rule over it, +while the old chief remains in the old house with a reduced following, +sometimes consisting only of his near relatives. + +The office of chief is rather elective than hereditary, but the +operation of the elective principle is affected by a strong bias in +favour of the most capable son of the late chief; so in practice a +chief is generally succeeded by one of his sons. An elderly chief will +sometimes voluntarily abdicate in favour of a son. If a chief dies, +leaving no son of mature age, some elderly man of good standing and +capacity will be elected to the chieftainship, generally by agreement +arrived at by many informal discussions during the weeks following +the death. If thereafter a son of the old chief showed himself a +capable man as he grew up, he would be held to have a strong claim on +the chieftainship at the next vacancy. If the new chief at his death +left also a mature and capable son, there might be two claimants, each +supported by a strong party; the issue of such a state of affairs would +probably be the division of the house or village, by the departure of +one claimant with his party to build a new village. In such a case +the seceding party would carry away with them their share of the +timbers of the old house, together with all their personal property. + +The Kenyahs form a less homogeneous and clearly defined tribe than +the Kayans; yet in the main their social organisation is very similar +to that of the Kayans, although, as regards physical characters and +language as well as some customs, they present closer affinities with +other peoples than with the Kayans, especially with the Klemantans. The +Kenyah tribe also comprises a number of named branches, though these +are less clearly defined than the sub-tribes of the Kayan people. Each +branch is generally named after the river on the banks of which its +villages are situated, or were situated at some comparatively recent +time of which the memory is preserved. In many cases a single village +adopts the name of some tributary stream near the mouth of which it +is situated, and the people speak of themselves by this name. Thus it +seems clear that the named branches of the Kenyah tribe are nothing +more than local groups formed in the course of the periodical +migrations, and named after the localities they have occupied.[39] + +The foregoing description of the relations of a Kayan chief to +his people applies in the main to the Kenyah chief. But among the +Kenyahs the position of the chief is one of greater authority and +consideration than among the Kayans. The people voluntarily work for +their chief both in his private and public capacities, obeying his +commands cheerfully, and accepting his decisions with more deference +than is accorded by the Kayans. The chief in return shows himself +more generous and paternal towards his people, interesting himself +more intimately in their individual affairs. Hence the Kenyah chief +stands out more prominently as leader and representative of his people, +and the cohesion of the whole community is stronger. The chief owes his +great influence over his people in large measure to his training, for, +while still a youth, the son or the nephew of a chief is accustomed +to responsibility by being sent in charge of small bodies of followers +upon missions to distant villages, to gather or convey information, or +to investigate disturbing rumours. He is also frequently called upon to +speak on public occasions, and thus early becomes a practised orator. + +Among Klemantans, Muruts, and Sea Dayaks each house recognises a +headman or chief; but he has little authority (more perhaps among the +first of these peoples than among the other two). He acts as arbitrator +in household disputes, but in too many cases his impartiality is not +above suspicion, save where custom rigidly limits his preference. + +Among both Kayans and Kenyahs three social strata are clearly +distinguishable and are recognised by the people themselves in each +village. The upper class is constituted by the family of the chief +and his near relatives, his aunts and uncles, brothers, sisters, and +cousins, and their children. These upper-class families are generally +in easier circumstances than the others, thanks to the possession +of property such as brass ware, valuable beads, caves in which the +swift builds its edible nest, slaves, and a supply of all the other +material possessions larger in quantity and superior in quality to +those of the middle- and lower-class families. + +The man of the upper class can generally be distinguished at a glance +by his superior bearing and manners, by the neatness and cleanliness +of his person, his more valuable weapons, and personal ornaments, +as well as by greater regularity of features. The woman of the +upper class also exhibits to the eye similar marks of her superior +birth and breeding. The tatuing of her skin is more finely executed, +greater care is taken with the elongation of the lobe of the ear, +so that the social status of the woman is indicated by the length +of the lobe. Her dress and person are cleaner, and generally better +cared for, and her skin is fairer than that of other women, owing no +doubt to her having been less exposed to the sun. + +The men of the upper class work in the PADI-fields and bear their share +of all the labours of the village; but they are able to cultivate +larger areas than others owing to their possession of slaves, who, +although they are expected to grow a supply of PADI for their own +use, assist in the cultivation of their master's fields. For the +upper-class women, also, the labours of the field and the house are +rendered less severe by the assistance of female slaves, although +they bear a part both in the weeding of the fields, in the harvesting, +and in the preparation of food in the house. + +The chief's room, which is usually about twice as long as others, is +usually in the middle of the house; and those of the other upper-class +families, which also may be larger than the other rooms, adjoin it +on either side. + +In all social gatherings, and in the performance of public rites and +ceremonies, the men of the upper class are accorded leading parts, +and they usually group themselves about the chief. Social intercourse +is freer and more intimate among the people of the upper class than +between them and the rest of the household. + +The upper class is relatively more numerous in the Kenyah than in the +Kayan houses, and more clearly distinguishable by address and bearing. + +The middle class comprises the majority of the people of a house in +most cases. They may enjoy all the forms of property, though generally +their possessions are of smaller extent and value, and they seldom +possess slaves. Their voices carry less weight in public affairs; +but among this class are generally a few men of exceptional capacity +or experience whose advice and co-operation are specially valued +by the chief. Among this class, too, are usually a few men in each +house on whom devolve, often hereditarily, special duties implying +special skill or knowledge, E.G. the working of iron at the forge, +the making of boats, the catching of souls, the finding of camphor, +the observation and determination of the seasons. All such special +occupations are sources of profit, though only the last of these +enables a man to dispense with the cultivation of PADI. + +The lower class is made up of slaves captured in war and of their +descendants, and for this reason its members are of very varied +physical type. An unmarried slave of either sex lives with, and is +treated almost as a member of, the family of his or her master, +eating and in some cases sleeping in the family room. Slaves are +allowed to marry, their children becoming the property of their +masters. Some slave-families are allowed to acquire a room in the +house, and they then begin to acquire a less dependent position; and +though they still retain the status of slaves, and are spoken of as +"slaves-outside-the-room," the master generally finds it impossible +to command their services beyond a very limited extent, and in some +cases will voluntarily resign his rights over the family. But in this +case the family continues to belong to the lower class. + +The members of each of these classes marry in nearly all cases within +their own class. The marriages of the young people of the upper +class are carefully regulated. Although they are allowed to choose +their partners according to the inscrutable dictates of personal +affinities, their choice is limited by their elders and the authority +of the chief. Many of them marry members of neighbouring villages, +while the other classes marry within their own village. + +A youth of the upper class, becoming fond of some girl of the +middle class, and not being allowed to marry her (although this is +occasionally permitted), will live with her for a year or two. Then, +when the time for his marriage arrives (it having perhaps been +postponed for some years after being arranged, owing to evil omens, +or to lack of means or of house accommodation), he may separate from +his mistress, leaving in her care any children born of their union, +and perhaps making over to her some property -- as public opinion +demands in such cases. She may and usually will marry subsequently +a man of her own class, but the children born of her irregular +union may claim and may be accorded some of the privileges of their +father's class. In this way there is formed in most villages a class +of persons of ambiguous status, debarred from full membership in the +upper class by the bar-sinister. Such persons tend to become wholly +identified with the upper or middle class according to the degrees +of their personal merits. + +Marriages are sometimes contracted between persons of the middle and +slave classes. In the case of a young man marrying a slave woman, +the owners of the woman will endeavour to persuade him to live with +her in their room, when he becomes a subordinate member of their +household. If they succeed in this they will claim as their property +half the children born to the couple. On the other hand, if the man +insists on establishing himself in possession of a room, he may succeed +in practically emancipating his wife, perhaps making some compensation +to her owners in the shape of personal services or brass ware. In this +case the children of the couple would be regarded as freeborn. It is +generally possible for an energetic slave to buy his freedom. + +Less frequent is the marriage of a slave man with a free woman of the +middle class. In this case the man will generally manage to secure +his emancipation and to establish himself as master of a room, and to +merge himself in the middle class. In the case of marriage between two +slaves, they continue to live in the rooms of their owners, spending +by arrangement periods of two or three years alternately as members +of the two households. The children born of such a slave-couple are +divided as they grow up between the owners of their parents. + +On the whole the slaves are treated with so much kindness and +consideration that they have little to complain of, and most of them +seem to have little desire to be freed. A capable slave may become +the confidant and companion of his master, and in this way may attain +a position of considerable influence in the village. A young slave is +commonly addressed by his master and mistress as "My Child." A slave +is seldom beaten or subjected to any punishment save scolding, and +he bears his part freely in the life of the family, sharing in its +labours and its recreations, its ill or its good fortunes. Nothing +in the dress or appearance of the slave distinguishes him from the +other members of the village. + + + +The Family + +Very few men have more than one wife. Occasionally a chief whose wife +has borne him no children during some years of married life, or has +found the labours of entertaining his guests beyond her strength, +will with her consent, or even at her request, take a second younger +wife. In such a case each wife has her own sleeping apartment within +the chief's large chamber, and the younger wife is expected to defer +to the older one, and to help her in the work of the house and of +the field. The second wife would be chosen of rather lower social +standing than the first wife, who in virtue of this fact maintains +her ascendancy more easily. A third wife is probably unknown; public +opinion does not easily condone a second wife, and would hardly +tolerate a third. In spite of the presence of slave women in the +houses, concubinage is not recognised or tolerated. + +The choice of a wife is not restricted by the existence of any law +or custom prescribing marriage without or within any defined group; +that is to say, exogamous and endogamous groups do not exist. Incest +is regarded very seriously, and the forbidden degrees of kinship are +clearly defined. They are very similar to those recognised among +ourselves. A man may under no circumstances marry or have sexual +relations with his sister, mother, daughter, father's or mother's +sister or half sister, his brother's or sister's daughter; and in +the case of those women who stand to him in any of these relations +in virtue of adoption, the prohibitions and severe penalties are +if possible even more strictly enforced. First cousins may marry, +but such marriages are not regarded with favour, and certain special +ceremonies are necessitated; and it seems to be the general opinion +that such marriages are not likely to prove happy. Many young men of +the upper class marry girls of the same class belonging to neighbouring +villages of their own people, aid in some cases this choice falls +on a girl of a village of some other tribe. A marriage of the latter +kind is often encouraged by the chiefs and elder people, in order to +strengthen or to restore friendly relations between the villages. + +The initiative is taken in nearly all cases by the youth. He begins +by paying attentions somewhat furtively to the girl who attracts his +fancy. He will often be found passing the evening in her company +in her parents' room. There he will display his skill with the +KELURI, or the Jew's harp, or sing the favourite love-song of the +people, varying the words to suit the occasion. If the girl looks +with favour on his advances, she manages to make the fact known to +him. Politeness demands that in any case he shall be supplied by the +women with lighted cigarettes. If the girl wishes him to stay, she +gives him a cigarette tied in a peculiar manner, namely by winding +the strip which confines its sheath of dried banana leaf close to +the narrow mouth-piece; whereas on all other occasions this strip is +wound about the middle of the cigarette. The young man thus encouraged +will repeat his visits. If his suit makes progress, he may hope that +the fair one will draw out with a pair of brass tweezers the hairs +of his eyebrows and lashes, while he reclines on his back with his +head in her lap. If these hairs are very few, the girl will remark +that some one else has been pulling them out, an imputation which +he repudiates. Or he complains of a headache, and she administers +scalp-massage by winding tufts of hair about her knuckles and sharply +tugging them. When the courtship has advanced to this stage, the girl +may attract her suitor to the room by playing on the Jew's harp, +with which she claims to be able to speak to him -- presumably the +language of the heart. The youth thus encouraged may presume to remain +beside his sweetheart till early morning, or to return to her side +when the old people have retired. When the affair has reached this +stage, it becomes necessary to secure the public recognition which +constitutes the relation a formal betrothal. The man charges some +elderly friend of either sex, in many cases his father or mother, +to inform the chief of his desire. The latter expresses a surprise +which is not always genuine; and, if the match is a suitable one, +he contents himself with giving a little friendly advice. But if +he is aware of any objections to the match he will point them out, +and though he will seldom forbid it in direct terms, he will know +how to cause the marriage to be postponed. + +If the chief and parents favour the match, the young man presents +a brass gong or a valuable bead to the girl's family as pledge of +his sincerity. This is returned to him if for any reason beyond his +control the match is broken off. The marriage may take place with +very little delay; but during the interval between betrothal and +marriage the omens are anxiously observed and consulted. All accidents +affecting any members of the village are regarded as of evil omen, +the more so the more nearly the betrothed parties are concerned in +them. The cries of birds and deer are important; those heard about the +house are likely to be bad omens, and it is sought to compensate for +these by sending a man skilled in augury to seek good omens in the +jungle, such as the whistle of the Trogan and of the spider-hunter, +and the flight of the hawk from right to left high up in the sky. If +the omens are persistently and predominantly bad, the marriage is put +off for a year, and after the next harvest fresh omens are sought. The +man is encouraged in the meantime to absent himself from the village, +in the hope that he may form some other attachment. But if he remains +true and favourable omens are obtained, the marriage is celebrated if +possible at the close of the harvest. If the marriage takes place at +any other time, the feast will be postponed to the end of the following +harvest.[40] After the marriage the man lives with his wife in the room +of his father-in-law for one, two, or at most three years. During this +time he works in the fields of his father-in-law and generally helps +in the support of the household, showing great deference towards +his wife's parents. Before the end of the third year of marriage, +the young couple will acquire for themselves a room in the house and +village of the husband, in which they set up housekeeping on their +own account. In addition to these personal services rendered to the +parents of the bride, the man or his father and other relatives give +to the girl's parents at the time of the marriage various articles +which are valuable in proportion to the social standing of the parties, +and which are generally appropriated by the girl's parents.[41] + +Divorce is rare but not unknown among the Kayans. The principal grounds +of divorce are misconduct, desertion, incompatibility of temper and +family quarrels; or a couple may terminate their state of wedlock +by mutual consent on payment of a moderate fine to the chief. Such +separation by mutual consent is occasioned not infrequently by the +sterility of the marriage, especially if the couple fails to obtain a +child for adoption; the parties hope to procure offspring by taking +new partners; for the desire for children and pride and joy in the +possession of them are strongly felt by all. The husband of a sterile +wife may leave the house for a long period, living in the jungle and +visiting other houses, in the hope that his wife may divorce him on +the ground of desertion, or give him ground for divorcing her. On +discovery of misconduct on the woman's part the husband will usually +divorce her; the man then retains all property accumulated since +the marriage, and the children are divided between the parents. The +co-respondent and respondent are fined by the chief, and half the +amount of the fine goes to the injured husband. Misconduct on the +part of the man must be flagrant before it constitutes a sufficient +ground for his divorce by his wife. In this case the same rules are +followed. Among the Kayans the divorce is not infrequently followed +by a reconciliation brought about by the intervention of friends; +the parties then come together again without further ceremony. There +is little formality about the divorce procedure. In the main it takes +the form of separation by mutual consent and the condonation of the +irregularity by the community on the payment of a fine to the chief. + + +Adoption + +Adoption is by no means uncommon. The desire for children, especially +male children, is general and strong; but sterile marriages seem to be +known among all the peoples and are common among the Kenyahs. When a +woman has remained infertile for some years after her marriage, the +couple usually seek to adopt one or more children. They generally +prefer the child of a relative, but may take any child, even a +captive or a slave child, whose parents are willing to resign all +rights in it. A child is often taken over from parents oppressed +by poverty, in many cases some article of value or a supply of PADI +being given in exchange. Not infrequently the parents wish to have +the child returned to them when their affairs take a turn for the +better, owing to a good harvest or some stroke of luck, and this is +a frequent cause of dissensions. Usually the adopted child takes in +every way the position of a child born to the parents. + +Some of the Klemantans (Barawans and Lelaks in the Baram) practise a +curious symbolic ceremony on the adoption of a child. When a couple has +arranged to adopt a child, both man and wife observe for some weeks +before the ceremony all the prohibitions usually observed during +the later months of pregnancy. Many of these prohibitions may be +described in general terms by saying that they imply abstention from +every action that may suggest difficulty or delay in delivery; E.G. the +hand must not be thrust into any narrow hole to pull anything out of +it; no fixing of things with wooden pegs must be done; there must be +no lingering on the threshold on entering or leaving a room. When the +appointed day arrives, the woman sits in her room propped up and with a +cloth round her, in the attitude commonly adopted during delivery. The +child is pushed forward from behind between the woman's legs, and, +if it is a young child, it is put to the breast and encouraged to +suck. Later it receives a new name. + +It is very difficult to obtain admission that a particular child +has been adopted and is not the actual offspring of the parents; +and this seems to be due, not so much to any desire to conceal the +facts as to the completeness of the adoption, the parents coming to +regard the child as so entirely their own that it is difficult to find +words which will express the difference between the adopted child and +the offspring. This is especially the case if the woman has actually +suckled the child. + + +Proper Names + +The child remains nameless during the first few years, and is spoken +of as UKAT if a boy, OWING if a girl, both of which seem to be best +translated as Thingumybob; among the Sea Dayaks ULAT (the little grub) +is the name commonly used. It is felt that to give the child a name +while its hold of life is still feeble is undesirable, because the +name would tend to draw the attention of evil spirits to it. During +its third or fourth year it is given a name at the same time as a +number of other children of the house.[42] The name is chosen with +much deliberation, the eldest son and daughter usually receiving +the names of a grandfather and grandmother respectively. Male and +female names are distinct. The name first given to any person is +rarely carried through life; it is usually changed after any severe +illness or serious accident, in order that the evil influences that +have pursued him may fail to recognise him under the new name; thus +the first or infant name of Tama Bulan was Lujah. After bearing it a +few years he went through a serious illness, on account of which his +name was changed to Wang. Among the Klemantans it is usual under these +circumstances to name the child after some offensive object, E.G. TAI +(dung), in order to render it inconspicuous, and thus withdraw it from +the attention of malign powers. After the naming of a couple's first +child, the parents are always addressed as father and mother of the +child; E.G. if the child's name is OBONG, her father becomes known as +TAMA OBONG, her mother as INAI OBONG, and their original names are +disused and almost forgotten,[43] unless needed to distinguish the +parents from other persons of the same name, when the old names are +appended to the new; thus, Tama Obong Jau, if Jau was the original +name of Tama Obong; and thus Tama Bulan received this name on the +naming of his first child, Bulan (the moon), and when it is wished to +distinguish him in conversation from other fathers of the moon he is +called Tama Bulan Wang. If the eldest child OBONG dies, the father, +Tama Obong Jau, becomes OYONG JAU; if one of his younger children +dies, he becomes AKAM JAU; if his wife dies, he becomes ABAN JAU; +if his brother died, he would be called YAT JAU; and if his sister, +HAWAN JAU; and if two of these relatives are dead, these titles are +used indifferently; but the deaths of wife and children are predominant +over other occasions for the change of name. An elderly man who has +no children receives the title LINGO, and a woman, the title APA +prefixed to his or her former name. A widow is called BALU. The names +of father and mother are never assumed by the children, and their +deaths do not occasion any change of name, except the adoption of +the title OYAU on the loss of the father, and ILUN on the loss of +the mother. These titles would be used only until the man became a +father. When a man becomes a grandfather his title is LAKI (E.G. LAKI +JAU), and this title supersedes all others. A child addresses, and +speaks of, his father as TAMAN, and his mother as INAI or TINAN, +and all four grandparents as POI. The parent commonly addresses the +child, even when adult, as ANAK, or uses his proper name. A father's +brother is addressed as AMAI, but this title is used also as a term +of respect in addressing any older man not related in any degree, +even though he be of a different tribe or race. They use the word +INAI for aunt as well as for mother, and some have adopted the Malay +term MA MANAKAN for aunt proper. The same is true of the words for +nephew and niece -- the Malay term ANAK MANAKAN being used for both. + +The terms used to denote degrees of kinship are few, and are used +in a very elastic manner. The term of widest connotation is PARIN +IGAT, which is equivalent to our cousin used in the wider or Scotch +sense; it is applied to all blood relatives of the same generation, +and is sometimes used in a metaphorical sense much as we use the +term brother. There are no words corresponding to our words son and +daughter, ANAK meaning merely child of either sex. There are no words +corresponding to brother and sister; both are spoken of as PARIN, +but this word is often used as a title of endearment in addressing or +speaking of a friend of either sex of the same social standing and age +as the speaker. The children of the same parents speak of themselves +collectively as PANAK; this term also is sometimes used loosely and +metaphorically. A step-father is TAMAN DONG; father-in-law is TAMAN +DIVAN; forefather is SIPUN, a term used of any male or female ancestor +more remote than the grandparents; but these are merely descriptive +and not terms of address. A man of the upper class not uncommonly +has a favourite companion of the middle class, who accompanies him +everywhere and renders him assistance and service, and shares his +fortunes (FIDUS ACHATES in short); him he addresses as BAKIS, and the +title is used reciprocally. A title reciprocally used by those who are +very dear friends, especially by those who have enjoyed the favours +of the same fair one, is TOYONG (or among the Sea Dayaks -- IMPRIAN). + +This list includes all the important Kayan terms used to denote +personal relations and kinship, so far as we know; and we think it +very improbable that any have escaped us. There seem to be no secret +names, except in so far as names discarded on account of misfortune are +not willingly recalled or communicated; but a child's name is seldom +used, and adults also seem to avoid calling on one another by their +proper names, especially when in the jungle, the title alone, such as +OYONG, or ABAN being commonly used; apparently owing to some vaguely +conceived risk of directing to the individual named the attentions +of malevolent powers.[44] + +The foregoing account of the social organisation of the Kayans applies +equally well to the Kenyahs, except that some of the titles used +are different. The Klemantans and Muruts, too, present few important +differences except that the power of the chiefs is decidedly less, +and the distinction of the social strata less clearly marked, and +slaves are less numerous. The Sea Dayak social organisation is also +similar in most of its features. The most important of the differences +presented by it are the following: -- Polygamy is not allowed, and +occurs only illicitly. Both parties are fined when the facts are +discovered. Divorce is very common and easily obtained; the marriage +relation, being surrounded with much less solemnity, is more easily +entered into and dissolved. Infidelity and mutual agreement are the +common occasions of divorce. Either party can readily secure his or +her freedom by payment of a small fine. There are both men and women +who have married many times; a tenth husband or wife is not unknown; +and a marriage may be dissolved within a week of its consummation. + +The Sea Dayak, like all the other peoples, regards incest very +seriously, and the forbidden degrees of kinship are well understood +and very similar to those of Kayans. + +A Sea Dayak village consists in almost every case of a single house, +but such houses are generally grouped within easy reach of one +another. Very few slaves are to be found in their houses, since the +Ibans usually take the heads of all their conquered enemies rather +than make slaves of them. + + +Inheritance of Property + +At a man's death his property is divided between his widow and +children. But in order to prevent the disputes, which often arise +over the division of inheritance, an old man may divide his property +before his death. The widow becomes the head of the room, though a +married son or daughter or several unmarried children may share it +with her. She inherits all or most of the household utensils. Such +things as gongs and other brass ware, weapons, war-coats, and boats, +are divided equally among the sons, the eldest perhaps getting a +little more than the others. The girls divide the old beads, cloth, +bead-boxes, and various trifles. The male slaves go to the sons, +the female slaves to the daughters. Bird's nest caves and bee trees +might be divided or shared among all the children. + +It happens not infrequently that one son or daughter, remaining +unmarried, continues to live in the household of the parents and to +look after them in their old age. To such a one some valuable article, +such as a string of old beads or costly jar, is usually bequeathed. + +Among the Sea Dayaks the old jars, which constitute the chief part +of a man's wealth, are distributed among both sons and daughters; +if the jars are too few for equal distribution, they are jointly +owned until one can buy out the shares of his co-owners. + +The members of a Kayan household are bound together, not merely by +their material circumstances, such as their shelter under a common +roof and their participation in common labours, and not merely by +the moral bonds such as kinship and their allegiance to one chief and +loyalty to one another, but also by more subtle ties, of which the most +important is their sharing in the protection and warning afforded to +the whole house by the omen-birds or by the higher powers served by +these. For omens are observed for the whole household, and hold good +only for those who live under the one roof, This spiritual unity of +the household is jealously guarded. Occasionally one family may wish +for some reason, such as bad dreams or much sickness, to withdraw +from the house. If the rest of the household is unwilling to remove +to a new house, they will oppose such withdrawal, and, if the man +insists on separating, a fine is imposed on him, and he is compelled to +leave undisturbed the roof and all the main structure of his section +of the house; though the room would be left unoccupied. Conversely +Kayans are very unwilling to admit any family to become members of +the household. They never or seldom add sections to a house which +has once been completed; and young married couples must live in +their parents' rooms, until the whole household removes and builds +a new house. Occasionally a remnant of a household which has been +broken up by the attack of enemies is sheltered by a friendly house; +but the newcomers are lodged in the gallery only until the time comes +for building a new house, when they may be allowed to build rooms for +themselves, and to become incorporated in the household. Another plan +sometimes adopted is to build a small house for the newcomers closely +adjoining the main house, but joined to it only by an open platform. + + +Appendix to Chapter V + +Tables showing Kinship of the Kenyahs of Long Tikan (Tama +Bulan's house) in the Baram District of Sarawak. + +We have made out tables showing the kinship of the inhabitants of +several Kenyah long houses and of one Sea Dayak house, following +the example and method of Dr. W. H. R. Rivers. These tables have +not revealed to us indications of any peculiar system of kinship; +but we think it worth while to reproduce one of them as an appendix +to the foregoing chapter. The table includes all the inhabitants of +the house living in the year 1899, as well as those deceased members +of whom we are able to obtain trustworthy information. The arrangement +is by door or room, but since on marriage some shifting from one room +to another takes place, some individuals appear under two doors. + +In these tables the names of males are printed in ordinary type, +those of females in italics; and the following signs are used: -- + += for married to. + += indicates the children of a married couple. + +implies that the individual below whose name it occurs reached adult +life, but died without issue. + +implies a child dead at early age, sex and name unknown. + +[male] implies male child not yet named. + +[female] implies female child not yet named + +? individual of unknown name. + + + +(1) Sidi Karang's Door. + +Sidi Karang = SIDI PENG (A Long Paku Kenyah). + Baiai Gau = ULAU. + x + +Other Members of the Room. + +Tama Aping Layong = BALU BUON. + Lutang (nephew of Sidi Karang). + SUKUN. + +Mang = BORU TELLUN. + Luat = ? + Lim. + o + Ukang. + o + Lesun = BALU ULAN. + Usun. + Luyok = OYONG TURING. (See Door 6.) + Linjau. + o + ITANG WING = Lara Wan. + +(2) Ajong's Door. + +Mawa Ontong (Long Belukun Kenyah) = ? (Long Belukun Kenyah woman). + BALU LARA. + Anjong = NGINO (Long Tikan). + [male] + [female] + x + x + +(3) Mawa Jungan's Door. + +Mawa Hungan (see Imoh's door) = MAWA UJONG. + x + x + x + x + x + x + x + Weak-minded. + Kading. + [female] + + + +(4) Imoh's Door. + +Jilo = ? + Imoh = TINA APING POYONG, (sister of NGINO, see Door 2) + formerly = Tama Aping Lalo. (see Door 5). + Lirim. + +(5) Pallavo's Door. + +Maga = ? + +PALLAVO (unmarried at 60). + +Tugan (weak-minded slave). + o + +Tama Aping Lalo = (1st wife) TINA APING POYONG (see Door 4) = (2nd +wife) USUN (Likan Kenyah). + +Anie Tapa (weak-minded) = ? + Tigiling (weak-minded). + +(6) Oyong Turing's Door. + +Seling = ? + Sidi Ontong = ? + OYONG LUJOK = Oyong Turing. + x + Maga. + +BALU ATING = ? + Laro Libo (Long Palutan Kenyah) = LARA ULAU. + ASONG. + Sapo. + Lalo. + LUNGA. + USUN. + SINGIM. + x + x + x + x + + + +(7) Balu Kran's Door. + +Lingan (a Likan Kenyah) = ? + Tama Aping Mawa = BALU KRAN (see Door 8). + LAUONG. + Siggau. + Oyu Apa. + [female] weak-minded. + +(8) Balu Uding's Door. + +Sawa Taja = ? + BALU KRAN. + BALU UDING = Mawa Imang. + Oyu Suo. + Luat. + o + +KENING (unmarried sister of Mawa Imang). + +(9) Aban Moun's Door. + +Kamang. + Aban Moun = TELUN. + Tama Sook Bilong = TINA SOOK BUNGAN. + Sook (weak-minded). + x unnamed. + x unnamed. + Tama Aping Salo = ? (Long Belukun Kenyah). + x unnamed. + x unnamed. + TINA APING ODING. + +(10) Aban Magi's Door. + +Aban Magi (see Door 13) = TINA APING KRAN. + Anie Liran. + + + +(11) Lara Wan's Door. + +Mawa Liva = (1st wife) TINA WAN = (2nd wife) UTAN URING + Lara Wan = LARA LANAN (Long Paku). + Jalong. + Katan. + JULUT. + Jawing. + Kuleh. + Balu Mening. + o + +(12) Tama An Lahing's Door. + +Batan = TINA LAHING. + Tama an Lahing = TINA AN PIKA. + ODING = Balari. + x + x + ULAU. + SILALANG. + x + BALU TATAN = Wan Tula (son of Balaban). + Tago. + Ballan. + x + KENING. + Tama Owing Laang = NOWING UBONG (daughter of Aban Imang, + an Uma Poh Kayan). + MENING. + MUJAN. + x + +(13) Oyu Irang's Door. + +Sorang (Long Tikan) = SINJAI (Long Tikan) (sister of Aban Magi, +see Door 10; and Lara Libo, see Door 6). + x + x + Oyu Irang. + Pakat. + Kupit. + +Other members in the Room. + +BALU TUBONG (sister of Sorang) = ? (a Long Tikan man). + +ABING URAI (sister of Balu Tubong) = Aban Madan (Long Paku). + + + +(14) Balu Usan's Door. + +BALU USAN (Long Palutan) = Aban Siliwa (Long Palutan). + x + Oyu Sijau. + +BALU MENO (niece of Balu Usan) = Aban Meggang (Long Peku). + Lirong. + o + ULAN. + [female] + +(15) Balu Buah's Door. + +Tegging = BALU MUJAN. + BALU BUAH = Lara Lalu (Long Belukun Kenyah). + x + x + x + x + UTAN URING. + Abing Liran = LOONG LAKING. + UTAI USUN. + BAYIN. + Apa. + Baja. + [female] + [female] + +(16) Oyong Kalang's Door. + +Oyong Kalang (Long Palutan Kenyah) = OYONG NONG (Long Palutan Kenyah). + x + x + Sago = ? + INO. + Angin. + Ngau. + Uya. + + + +(17) Sidi Jau's Door. + +Tama Owing Lawai (Lepu Tau) = TINA OWING KLING (sister of Tama +Bulan Wang). + Sidi Jau = PAYAH LAH (Uma Poh Kayan). + Kuleh. + Libut. + Balari = UDING. + x + x + +Other People in the Room. + +TINA APING UDING (Long Palutan) = Tama Aping Toloi (Long Tikan). + POYONG. + ULAU. + LOGAN. + +BALA KEYONG = Aban Batu. + Oyu Baung. + +Oyu Lalu = ? + LUJOK. + +Aban Jok (Murut x Kayan). + +KANGIN (sister to Mang, see Door 1). + +Aban Oyu (Murut) = BALU MONG. + + + +(18) Aban Tingan's Door. + +Aban Langat (Punan) = TINA OYU (Punan). + Aban Tingan = BELVIUN (2nd wife). + Kalang. + Paran. + MUJAN. + x + +Brothers. + Tama Lim Balari = ? + Balari. + Livang. + Laki Ludop (see Door 19) = OAN BUNGAN (Long Belukun). + Tama Bulan (see Door 19). + Aban Tingan = PAYA (1st wife, daughter of Paran Libut, + his 1st cousin). + Wan. + LAN = Balan (Long Belukun Kenyah) + Aping. + o + JULAN. + Madang. + Tina Owing Kling (see Door 17). + +Slaves. + +Aban Muda (Murut) = NUING LABAI + Nawam. + URAI. + SUAI. + Nurang. + +Abo = BALU VANG. + Oyu Biti. + +Jipong. + [female] + +Oan Igan, child of Mapit (Long Palutan), brother of Jilo (see Imoh's +room). + +Apoi +Lujah } brothers. + +ULAU (Kalabit). + +Padan. + + + +(19) Tama Bulan's Door. + +Laki Ludop = BUNGAN (see Door 18). + Tama Bulan Wang = (1st wife) PENG = (2nd wife) PAYAH WAN + (Uma Poh Kayan). + BULAN = Luja (Uma Plian Kayan). + Balari and Livang (1st cousins of Tama Bulan, adopted + by him as sons). + OBONG = Wan (son of Aban Tingan her 1st cousin). + LEVAN. + Linjau. + + + + + +CHAPTER 6 + +Agriculture + +For all the peoples of the interior of Borneo, the Punans and +Malanaus excepted, the rice grown by themselves is the principal +food-stuff. Throughout the year, except during the few weeks when the +jungle fruit is most abundant, rice forms the bulk of every meal. In +years of bad harvests, when the supply is deficient, the place of rice +has to be filled as well as may be with wild sago, cultivated maize, +tapioca, and sweet potatoes. All these are used, and the last three, +as well as pumpkins, bananas, cucumbers, millet, pineapples, chilis, +are regularly grown in small quantities by most of the peoples. But +all these together are regarded as making but a poor substitute for +rice. The cultivator has to contend with many difficulties, for in +the moist hot climate weeds grow apace, and the fields, being closely +surrounded by virgin forest, are liable to the attacks of pests of +many kinds. Hence the processes by which the annual crop of PADI is +obtained demand the best efforts and care of all the people of each +village. The plough is unknown save to the Dusuns, a branch of the +Murut people in North Borneo, who have learnt its use from Chinese +immigrants. The Kalabits and some of the coastwise Klemantans who +live in alluvial areas have learnt, probably through intercourse with +the Philippine Islanders or the inhabitants of Indo-China, to prepare +the land for the PADI seed by leading buffaloes to and fro across it +while it lies covered with water. The Kalabits lead the water into +their fields from the streams descending from the hills. + +With these exceptions the preparation of the land is everywhere very +crude, consisting in the felling of the timber and undergrowth, and +in burning it as completely as possible, so that its ashes enrich +the soil. After a single crop has been grown and gathered on land so +cleared, the weeds grow up very thickly, and there is, of course, +in the following year no possibility of repeating the dressing of +wood ashes in the same way. Hence it is the universal practice to +allow the land to lie fallow for at least two years, after a single +crop has been raised, while crops are raised from other lands. During +the fallow period the jungle grows up so rapidly and thickly that by +the third year the weeds have almost died out, choked by the larger +growths. The same land is then prepared again by felling the young +jungle and burning it as before, and a crop is again raised from +it. When a piece of land has been prepared and cropped in this way +some three or four times, at intervals of two, three, or four years, +the crop obtainable from it is so inferior in quantity that the +people usually undertake the severe labour of felling and burning +a patch of virgin forest, rather than continue to make use of the +old areas. In this way a large village uses up in the course of some +twelve or fifteen years all the land suitable for cultivation within +a convenient distance, I.E. within a radius of some three miles. When +this state of affairs results, the, village is moved to a new site, +chosen chiefly with an eye to the abundance of land suitable for the +cultivation of the PADI crop. After ten or more years the villagers +will return, and the house or houses will be reconstructed on the old +site or one adjacent to it, if no circumstances arise to tempt them +to migrate to a more distant country, and if the course of their life +on the old site has run smoothly, without misfortunes such as much +sickness, conflagrations, or serious attacks by other villages. After +this interval the land is regarded as being almost as good as the +virgin forest land, and has the advantage that the jungle on it can +be more easily felled. But since no crop equals that obtainable from +virgin soil, it is customary to include at least a small area of it +in the operations of each year. + +Each family cultivates its own patch of land, selecting it by +arrangement with other families, and works as large an area as the +strength and number of the roomhold permits. A hillside sloping down +to the bank of a river or navigable stream is considered the choicest +area for cultivation, partly because of the efficient drainage, +partly because the felling is easier on the slope, and because the +stream affords easy access to the field. + +When an area has been chosen, the men of the roomhold first cut down +the undergrowth of a V-shaped area, whose apex points up the hill, and +whose base lies on the river bank. This done, they call in the help of +other men of the house, usually relatives who are engaged in preparing +adjacent areas, and all set to work to fell the large trees. In the +clearing of virgin forest, when very large trees, many of which have +at their bases immense buttresses, have to be felled, a platform of +light poles is built around each of these giants to the height of about +15 feet. Two men standing upon this rude platform on opposite sides +of the stem attack it with their small springy-hafted axes (Fig. 11) +above the level of the buttresses (Pl. 55). One man cuts a deep notch +on the side facing up the hill, the other cuts a similar notch about +a foot lower down on the opposite side, each cutting almost to the +centre of the stem. This operation is accomplished in a surprisingly +short time, perhaps thirty minutes in the case of a stem two to three +feet in diameter. When all the large trees within the V-shaped area +have been cut in this way, all the workers and any women, children, +or dogs who may be present are called out of the patch, and one or +two big trees, carefully selected to form the apex of the phalanx, +are then cut so as to fall down the hill.[45] In their fall these +giants throw down the trees standing immediately below them on the +hillside; these, falling in turn against their neighbours, bring +them down. And so, like an avalanche of widening sweep, the huge +disturbance propagates itself with a thunderous roar and increasing +momentum downwards over the whole of the prepared area; while puny +man looks on at the awful work of his hand and brain not unmoved, +but dancing and shouting in wild triumphant delight. + +The fallen timber must now lie some weeks before it can be burnt. This +period is mainly devoted to making and repairing the implements to +be used in cultivating, harvesting, and storing the crop, and also +in sowing at the earliest possible moment small patches of early +or rapidly growing PADI together with a little maize, sugar-cane, +some Sweet potatoes, and tapioca. The patches thus sown generally lie +adjacent to one another. If the weather is fine, the fallen timber +becomes dry enough to burn well after one month. If much rain falls +it is necessary to wait longer in the hope of drier weather. Choosing +a windy day, they set fire to all the adjacent patches after shouting +out warnings to all persons in the fields. While the burning goes on, +the men "whistle for the wind," or rather blow for it, rattling their +tongues in their mouths. Some of the older men make lengthy orations +shouted into the air, adjuring the wind to blow strongly and so fan +the fire. The fire, if successful, burns furiously for a few hours +and then smoulders for some days, after which little of the timber +remains but ashes and the charred stumps of the bigger trees. If the +burning is very incomplete, it is necessary to make stacks of the +lighter timbers that remain, and to fire these again. As soon as the +ashes are cool, sowing begins. Men and women work together; the men go +in front making holes with wooden dibbles about six inches apart; the +women follow, carrying hung round the neck small baskets of PADI seed +(Fig. 12), which they throw into the holes, three or four seeds to +each hole. No care is taken to fill in the holes with earth. By this +time the relatively dry season, which lasts only some two months, +is at an end, and copious rains cause the seed to shoot above the +ground a few days after the sowing. Several varieties of PADI are in +common use, some more suitable for the hillsides, some for the marshy +lands. On any one patch three or four kinds are usually sown according +to the elevation and slope of the part of the area. Since the rates of +growth of the several kinds are different, the sowings are so timed +that the whole area ripens as nearly as possible at the same moment, +in order that the birds and other pests may not have the opportunity +of turning their whole force upon the several parts in turn. The men +now build on each patch a small hut, which is occupied by most of the +able-bodied members of the roomhold until harvest is completed, some +fourteen to twenty weeks after the sowing of the PADI, according to +the variety of grain sown. They erect contrivances for scaring away +the birds; they stick bamboos about eight feet in length upright in +the ground every 20 to 30 yards. Between the upper ends of these, +rattans are tied, connecting together all the bamboos on each area +of about one acre. The field of one roomhold is generally about four +acres in extent; there will thus be four groups of bamboos, each +of which can be agitated by pulling on a single rattan. From each +such group a rattan passes to the hut, and some person, generally a +woman or child, is told off to tug at these rattans in turn at short +intervals. Upon the rattans between the bamboos are hung various +articles calculated to make a noise or to flap to and fro when the +system is set in motion. Sometimes the rattan by which the system of +poles is set in movement is tied to the upper end of a tall sapling, +one end of which is thrust deeply into the mud of the floor of the +river. The current then keeps the sapling and with it the system of +bamboos swaying and jerking to and fro. The Kayans admit that they have +learnt this last "dodge" from the Klemantans. The watcher remains in +the hut all day long, while his companions are at work in the field; +he varies the monotony of his task by shouting and beating with a pair +of mallets on a hollow wooden cylinder. The watcher is relieved from +time to time, but the watch is maintained continuously day and night +from the time that the corn is about two feet above the ground until +it is all gathered in. In this way they strive with partial success +to keep off the wild pigs, monkeys, deer, and, as the corn ripens, +the rice-sparrow (MUNIA). + +When the hut and the pest-scaring system have been erected, the men +proceed to provide further protection against wild pig and deer by +running a rude fence round a number of closely adjacent patches of +growing corn. The fence, some three to four feet high, is made by +lashing to poles thrust vertically into the ground and to convenient +trees and stumps, bamboos or saplings as horizontal bars, five or +six in vertical row. When this is completed the men take no further +part until the harvest, except perhaps to lend a hand occasionally +with the weeding. This is the time generally chosen by them for long +excursions into the jungle in search of rattans, rubber, camphor, +and for warlike expeditions or the paying of distant visits. + +It is the duty of the women to prevent the PADI being choked by +weeds. The women of each room will go over each patch completely +at least twice, at an interval of about one month, hoeing down the +weeds with a short-handled hoe; the hoe consists of a flat blade +projecting at right angles from the iron haft (Fig. 13). The latter +is bent downwards at a right angle just above the blade, in a plane +perpendicular to that of the blade, and its other end is prolonged +by a short wooden handle, into the end of which it is thrust. The +woman stoops to the work, hoeing carefully round each PADI plant, by +holding the hoe in the right hand and striking the blade downwards and +towards her toes with a dragging action. In working over the patch in +this careful fashion some three weeks are consumed. In the intervals +the women gather the small crops of early PADI, pumpkin, cucumbers, +and so forth, spending several weeks together on the farm, sleeping +in the hut. In a good season this is the happiest time of the year; +both men and women take the keenest interest and pleasure in the +growth of the crop. + +During the time when the grain is formed but not yet ripe, the people +live upon the green corn, which they prepare by gathering the heads and +beating them flat. These are not cooked, but merely dried in the sun, +and though they need much mastication they are considered a delicacy. + +During the time of the ripening of the corn a spirit of gaiety and +joyful anticipation prevails. It is a favourite time for courtship, +and many marriages are arranged. + +The harvest is the most important event of the year. Men, women, and +children, all take part. The rice-sparrows congregate in thousands as +the grain begins to ripen, and the noisy efforts of the people fail +to keep them at a distance. Therefore the people walk through the +crop gathering all ripe ears. The operation is performed with a small +rude knife-blade mounted in a wooden handle along its whole length +(Figs. 14, 15). This is held in the hollow of the right hand, the ends +of a short cross bar projecting between the first and second fingers +and between thumb and first finger. The thumb seizes and presses the +head of each blade of corn against the edge of the knife. The cars +thus cropped are thrown into a basket slung round the neck. As soon +as a large basket has been filled by the reapers, its contents are +spread out on mats on a platform before the hut. After an exposure of +two or three days, the grain is separated from the ears by stamping +upon them with bare feet. The separated grain passes through the +meshes of the coarse mat on to a finer mat beneath. The grain is then +further dried by exposure to the sun. When the whole crop has been +gathered, threshed, and dried in this way, it is transported in the +large shoulder baskets amid much rejoicing and merry-making to the +PADI barns adjoining the house, and the harvest festival begins. + +The elaborate operations on the BADI FARM that we have described might +seem to a materialist to be sufficient to secure a good harvest; +but this is not the view taken by the Kayans, or any other of the +cultivators of Borneo. In their opinion all these material labours +would be of little avail if not supplemented at every stage by the +minute observance of a variety of rites. The PADI has life or soul, +or vitality, and is subject to sickness and to many vaguely conceived +influences, both good and bad. + + +Determination of the Seasons + +The determination of the time for sowing the seed is a matter of so +great importance that in each village this duty is entrusted to a man +who makes it his profession to observe the signs of the seasons. This +work is so exacting that he is not expected to cultivate a crop of +PADI for himself and family, but is furnished with all the PADI he +needs by contributions from all the other members of the village. + +It is essential to determine the approach of the short dry season, in +order that in the course of it the timber may be felled and burned. In +Borneo, lying as it does upon the equator, the revolution of the +year is marked by no very striking changes of weather, temperature, +or of vegetation. In fact, the only constant and striking evidences +of the passage of the months are the alternations of the north-east +and the south-west monsoons. The former blows from October to March, +the latter from April to September, the transitions being marked by +variable winds. The relatively dry season sets in with the south-west +monsoon, and lasts about two months; but in some years the rainfall +during this season is hardly less abundant than during the rest of +the year. + +The "clerk of the weather" (he has no official title, though the +great importance of his function secures him general respect) has +no knowledge of the number of days in the year, and does not count +their passage. He is aware that the lunar month has twenty-eight +days, but he knows that the dry season does not recur after any +given number of completed months, and therefore keeps no record of +the lunar months. He relies almost entirely upon observation of the +slight changes of the sun's altitude. His observations are made by +the help of an instrument closely resembling the ancient Greek gnomon, +known as TUKAR DO or ASO DO (Pl. 60). + +A straight cylindrical pole of hardwood is fixed vertically in the +ground; it is carefully adjusted with the aid of plumb lines, and +the possibility of its sinking deeper into the earth is prevented by +passing its lower end through a hole in a board laid horizontally on +the ground, its surface flush with the surface of the ground which +is carefully smoothed. The pole is provided with a shoulder which +rests upon this board. The upper end of the pole is generally carved +in the form of a human figure. The carving may be very elaborate, +or the figure may be indicated only by a few notches. The length of +the pole from the collar to its upper extremity is made equal to +the span from tip to tip of outstretched arms of its maker, plus +the length of his span from tip of the thumb to that of the first +finger. This pole (ASO DO) stands on a cleared space before or behind +the house, and is surrounded by a strong fence; the area within the +fence, some three or four yards in diameter, being made as level and +smooth as possible. The clerk of the weather has a neatly worked flat +stick, on which lengths are marked off by notches; these lengths are +measured by laying the stick along the radial side of the left arm, +the butt end against the anterior fold of the armpit. A notch is +then cut at each of the following positions: one notch about one +inch from the butt end, a second opposite the middle of the upper +arm, one opposite the elbow, one opposite the bend of the wrist, +one at the first interphalangeal joint, one at the finger-tip. The +other side of the rod bears a larger number of notches, of which the +most distal marks the greatest length of the mid-day shadow, the next +one the length of the mid-day shadow three days after it has begun +to shorten, the next the length of the shadow after three more days' +shortening, and so on. The mid-day shadow is, of course, the minimal +length reached in the course of the day, and the marks denoting the +changes in length of the shadow are arrived at, purely empirically, +by marking off the length of the mid-day shadow every three days. + +The clerk of the weather measures the shadow of the pole at mid-day +whenever the sun is unclouded. As the shadow grows shorter after +reaching its maximal length, he observes it with special care, and +announces to the village that the time for preparing the land is near +at hand. When the shadow reaches the notch made opposite the middle +of the arm, the best time for sowing the grain is considered to have +arrived; the land is therefore cleared, and made ready before this time +arrives. Sowing at times when the shadow reaches other notches is held +to involve various disadvantages, such as liability to more than the +usual number of pests -- monkeys, insects, rats, or sparrows. In the +case of each successful harvest, the date of the sowing is recorded +by driving a peg of ironwood into the ground at the point denoting +the length of the mid-day shadow at that date. The weather prophet +has other marks and notches whose meaning is known only to himself; +his procedures are surrounded with mystery and kept something of +a secret, even from the chief as well as from all the rest of the +village, and his advice is always followed. + +The method of observing the sun described above is universal among the +Kenyahs, but some of the Kayans practise a different method. A hole is +made in the roof of the weather-prophet's chamber in the long-house, +and the altitude of the mid-day sun and its direction, north or south +of the meridian, are observed by measuring along a plank fixed on +the floor the distance of the patch of sunlight (falling through the +hole on to the plank) from the point vertically below the hole. The +horizontal position of the plank is secured by placing upon it smooth +spherical stones and noting any inclination to roll. The sunbeam which +enters this hole is called KLEPUT TOH (=the blow-pipe of the spirit). + +Some of the Klemantans practise a third method to determine when +the time for sowing is at hand, using a bamboo some feet in length +which bears a mark at a level which is empirically determined. The +bamboo is filled with water while in the vertical position. It is +then tilted till it points towards a certain star, when of course +some water escapes. After it has been restored to the vertical, the +level of the surface of the remaining water is noted. The coincidence +of this level with the mark mentioned above indicates that the time +for sowing is come. + +The Sea Dayaks are guided by the observation of the position of +the Pleiades. + +The appropriate season having been determined, it is necessary to +secure good omens before the preparation of the land can be begun. A +pig and a fowl having been sacrificed in the usual way, and their +blood sprinkled upon the wooden figures before the house,[46] two +men are sent out in a boat, and where they first see a spider-hunter +they land on the bank and go through the customary procedures. The +calls and appearances of various birds and of the MUNTJAC are of chief +importance. Some of these are good, some bad in various degrees. When +a preponderance of favourable omens has been observed, the men return +to the house to announce their success. They will wait two whole days +if necessary to secure a favourable result. During their absence +a strict MALAN or LALI (tabu) lies upon the house; no stranger may +enter it, and the people sit quietly in the house performing only +the most necessary tasks. The announcement of the nature of the omens +observed is made to the chief in the presence of a deeply interested +throng of both sexes. If the omens observed are considered to be bad, +or of doubtful import, the men go out for a second period; but if they +are favourable, the women of each room perform the private rites over +their stores of seed PADI, which are kept in their rooms. After the +pros and cons have been fully discussed, the chief names the day for +the beginning of the clearing operations. + +At the beginning of the sowing the house is again subject to MALAN for +one day. During the growth of the PADI various charms and superstitious +practices are brought into use to promote its growth and health, +and to keep the pests from it. The PADI charms are a miscellaneous +collection or bundle of small articles, such as curious pebbles and +bits of wood, pigs' tusks of unusual size or shape, beads, feathers, +crystals of quartz. Kayans as a rule object to pebbles and stones +as charms. Such charms are generally acquired in the first instance +through indications afforded by dreams, and are handed down from +mother to daughter. Such charms contained in a basket are usually +kept in a PADI barn, from which they are taken to the field by the +woman and waved over it, usually with a live fowl in the hand, while +she addresses the PADI seed in some such terms as the following: +"May you have a good stem and a good top, let all parts of you grow +in harmony, etc. etc." Then she rapidly repeats a long customary +formula of exhortation to the pests, saying, "O rats, run away down +river, don't trouble us; O sparrows and noxious insects, go feed on +the PADI of the people down river." If the pests are very persistent, +the woman may kill a fowl and scatter its blood over the growing PADI, +while she charges the pests to disappear, and calls upon LAKI IVONG +(the god of harvests) to drive them out. + +Women alone will gather the first ears of the crop. If they encounter +on their way to the fields any one of the following creatures, +they must at once return home, and stay there a day and a night, on +pain of illness or early death: certain snakes, spiders, centipedes, +millipedes, and birds of two species, JERUIT and BUBUT (a cuckoo). Or +again, if the shoulder straps of their large baskets should break +on the way, if a stump should fall against them, or the note of the +spider-hunter be heard, or if a woman strikes her foot by accident +against any object, the party must return as before. + +It will be clear from the foregoing account that the women play the +principal part in the rites and actual operations of the PADI culture; +the men only being called in to clear the ground and to assist in +some of the later stages. The women select and keep the seed grain, +and they are the repositories of most of the lore connected with +it. It seems to be felt that they have a natural affinity to the +fruitful grain, which they speak of as becoming pregnant. Women +sometimes sleep out in the PADI fields while the crop is growing, +probably for the purpose of increasing their own fertility or that +of the PADI; but they are very reticent on this matter. + + +The Harvest Festival + +When the crop is all gathered in, the house is MALAN to all outsiders +for some ten days, during which the grain is transported from the +fields to the village and stored in the PADI barns. When this process +is completed or well advanced, the festival begins with the preparation +of the seed grain for the following season. Some of the best of the +new grain is carefully selected by the women of each room, enough for +the sowing of the next season. This is mixed with a small quantity +of the seed grain of the foregoing seasons which has been carefully +preserved for this purpose in a special basket. The basket contains +grains of PADI from good harvests of many previous years. This is +supposed to have been done from the earliest time of PADI planting, +so that the basket contains some of the original stock of seed, or +at least the virtue of it leavening the whole. This basket is never +emptied, but a pinch of the old PADI is mixed in with the new, and +then a handful of the mixture added to the old stock. The idea here +seems to be that the old grain, preserving continuity generation after +generation with the original seed PADI of mythical origin,[47] ensures +the presence in the grain of the soul or spirit or vital principle of +PADI. While mixing the old with the new seed grain, the woman calls +on the soul of the PADI to cause the seed to be fruitful and to grow +vigorously, and to favour her own fertility. For the whole festival +is a celebration or cult of the principle of fertility and vitality -- +that of the women no less than that of the PADI.[48] + +The women who have been delivered of children during the past year +will make a number of toys, consisting of plaited work, in the shapes +of various animals filled with boiled rice (Fig. 16). These they +throw to the children of the house, who scramble for them in the +gallery. This seems to be of the nature of a thank-offering. + +At this time also another curious custom is observed. Four water +beetles, of the kind that skates on the surface of the still water, are +caught on the river and placed on water in a large gong. Some old man +specially wise in this matter watches the beetles, calling to them to +direct their movements. The people crowd round deeply interested, while +the old man interprets the movements of the beetles as forecasting +good or ill luck with the crops of the following season, and invokes +the good-will of Laki Ivong. Laki Ivong is asked to bring the soul +of the PADI to their homes. Juice from a sugarcane is poured upon the +water, and the women drink the water, while the beetles are carefully +returned to the river. The beetles carry the messages to Laki Ivong. + +When these observances have been duly honoured, there begins a +scene of boisterous fun. The women make pads of the boiled sticky +new rice, and cover it with soot from their cooking vessels. With +these they approach the men and dab the pads upon their faces and +bodies, leaving sooty marks that are not easily removed. The men +thus challenged give chase, and attempt to get possession of the rice +pads and to return the polite attention. For a short space of time a +certain license prevails among the young people; and irregularities, +even on the part of married people, which would be gravely reprobated +at all other times, are looked upon very much less seriously. It is, +in fact, the annual carnival. Each roomhold has prepared a stock of +BURAK from the new rice, and this now circulates freely among both men +and women, and large meals of rice and pork are usually eaten. All +join in dancing, some of the women dressed like men, some carrying +PADI-pestles; at one moment all form a long line marching up and +down the gallery in step to the strains of the KELURI; some young +men dance in realistic imitation of monkeys (DOK), or hornbills, or +other animals, singly or in couples. Others mimic the peculiarities +of their acquaintances. The women also dance together in a long line, +each resting her hands on the shoulders of the one going before her, +and all keeping time to the music of the KELURIES as they dance up +and down the long gallery. All this is kept up with good humour the +whole day long. In the evening more BURAK is drunk and songs are sung, +the women mingling with the men, instead of remaining in their rooms +as on other festive occasions. Before midnight a good many of the men +are more or less intoxicated, some deeply so; but most are able to +find their way to bed about midnight, and few or none become offensive +or quarrelsome, even though the men indulge in wrestling and rough +horseplay with one another. After an exceptionally good harvest the +boisterous merry-making is renewed on a second or even a third day. + +The harvest festival is the time at which dancing is most +practised. The dances fall into two chief classes, namely, solo dances +and those in which many persons take part. Most of the solo dances take +the form of comic imitations of the movements of animals, especially +the big macaque monkey (DOK), the hornbill, and big fish. These dances +.seem to have no connection with magic or religion, but to be purely +aesthetic entertainments. The animals that are regarded with most awe +are never mimicked in this way. There are at least four distinct group +dances popular among the Kayans. Both men and women take part, the +women often dressing themselves as men for the occasion (Pl. 61). The +movements and evolutions are very simple. The LUPA resembles the dance +on return from war described in Chap. X. In the KAYO, a similar dance, +the dancers are led by a woman holding one of the dried heads which is +taken down for the purpose; the women, dressed in war-coats, pretending +to take the head from an enemy. The LAKEKUT Is a musical drill in which +the dancers stamp on the planks of the floor in time to the music. The +LUPAK is a kind of slow polka. In none of these do the dancers fall +into couples. A fifth dance, the dance of the departure of the spirit, +is a dramatic representation by three persons of the death of one of +them, and of his restoration to life by means of the water of life +(this is supposed to be brought from the country which is traversed +on the journey to the land of shades). This dance is sometimes given +with so much dramatic effect as to move the onlookers to tears. + + + +CHAPTER 7 + +The Daily Life of a Kayan Long House + +A little before dawn the cocks roosting beneath the house awaken the +household by their crowing and the flapping of their wings. The pigs +begin to grunt and squeal, and the dogs begin to trot to and fro in +the gallery. Before the first streaks of daylight appear, the women +light the fires in the private rooms or blow up the smouldering embers; +then most of them descend from the house, each carrying in a basket +slung on her back several bamboo water-vessels to be filled from the +river. Many of them bathe at this time in the shallow water beside +the bank, while the toilet of others consists in dashing water over +their faces, washing their mouths with water, and rubbing their teeth +with the forefinger. Returning to the house with their loads of water +(Pl. 63), they boil rice for the household breakfasts and for the +dinner of those who are to spend the day in the PADI field or the +jungle. The boiled rice intended for the latter use is made up in +packets wrapped in green leaves, each containing sufficient for a meal +for one person. About half-past six, when the daylight is fully come, +the pigs expectant of their meal are clamouring loudly for it. The +women descend to them by ladders leading from the private rooms, and +each gives to the pigs of her household the leavings of the meals +of the previous day. About the same time the men begin to bestir +themselves sluggishly; some descend to bathe, while others smoke +the fag ends of the cigarettes that were unfinished when they fell +asleep. Then the men breakfast in their rooms, and not until they are +satisfied do the women and children sit down to their meal. During all +this time the chronically hungry dogs, attracted by the odours of food, +make persistent efforts to get into their owner's rooms. Success in +this manoeuvre is almostly always followed by their sudden and noisy +reappearance in the gallery, caused by a smart blow with a stick. In +the busy farming season parties of men, women, and children will set +off in boats for the PADI fields taking their breakfasts with them. + +After breakfast the men disperse to their various tasks. During some +three or four months of the year all able-bodied persons repair +daily to the PADI fields, but during the rest of the year their +employments are more varied. The old women and invalids remain all +day long in the rooms; the old men lounge all day in the gallery, +smoking many home-made cigarettes, and perhaps doing a bit of carving +or other light work and keeping an eye on the children. The young +children play in and out and about the house, chasing the animals, +and dabbling among the boats moored at the bank. + +A few of the able-bodied men employ themselves in or about the house, +making boats, forging swords, spear-heads, iron hoes, and axes, +repairing weapons or implements. Others go in small parties to the +jungle to hunt deer and pig, or to gather jungle produce -- fruits, +rubber, rattans, or bamboos -- or spend the day in fishing in the +river. During the months of December and January the jungle fruits -- +the durian, rambutan, mangosteen, lansat, mango, and numerous small +sour fruits (Pl. 65) -- are much more abundant than at other times; +and during these months all other work is neglected, while the people +devote themselves to gathering the fruit which forms for a time almost +their only food. + +Except during the busy PADI season the work of the women is wholly +within the house. The heaviest part of their household labour is the +preparation of the rice. After breakfast they proceed to spread out +PADI on mats on the open platforms adjoining the gallery. While the +PADI is being dried by the exposure to sun and wind on these platforms, +it must be protected from the domestic fowls by a guardian who, sitting +in the gallery, drives them away by means of a long bamboo slung by +a cord above the platform. Others fill the time between breakfast and +the noonday dinner by bathing themselves and the children in the river, +making and repairing clothing, mats, and baskets, fetching more water, +cleaning the rooms and preparing dinner. This meal consists of boiled +rice with perhaps a piece of fish, pork, or fowl, and, like breakfast +and supper, is eaten in the private rooms. + +As soon as dinner is over the pounding of the PADI begins +(Frontispiece, Vol. II.). Each mortar usually consists of a massive +log of timber roughly shaped, and having sunk in its upper surface, +which is a little hollowed, a pit about five inches in diameter and +nine inches in depth. Into this pit about a quarter of a bushel of +PADI is put. Two women stand on the mortar facing one another on +either side of the pit, each holding by the middle a large wooden +pestle. This is a solid bar of hardwood about seven feet long, about +two inches in diameter in the middle third, and some three or four +inches in diameter in the rest of its length. The two ends are rounded +and polished by use. Each woman raises her pestle to the full height +of her reach, and brings it smartly down upon the grain in the pit, +the two women striking alternately with a regular rhythm. As each +one lifts her pestle, she deftly sweeps back into the pit with her +foot the grain scattered by her stroke. + +After pounding the PADI for some minutes without interruption, +one woman takes a winnowing pan, a mat made in the shape of an +English housemaid's dustpan, but rather larger than this article, +and receives in it the pounded grain which the other throws out of +the pit with her foot. + +Both women then kneel upon a large mat laid beside the mortar; the +one holding the winnowing pan keeps throwing the grain into the air +with a movement which causes the heavier grain to fall to the back of +the pan, while the chaff and dust is thrown forward on to the mat. Her +companion separates the rice dust from the chaff by sifting it through +a sieve. A considerable quantity of the dust or finely broken rice +is formed by the pounding in the mortar, and this is the principal +food given to the pigs. The winnowed grain is usually returned to the +mortar to be put through the whole process a second time. The clean +rice thus prepared is ready for the cooking-pot. + +The winnowing and sifting is often done by old women, while the +younger women continue the severer task of plying the pestle. In the +Kayan houses the mortars are in many cases double, that is to say, +there are two pits in the one block of timber, and two pairs of women +work simultaneously. In the middle of the afternoon the whole house +resounds with the vigorous blows of the pestles, for throughout the +length of the gallery two or more women are at work beside each room, +husking the day's supply of rice for each family. + +For the women of all the peoples, except the Punans, the husking of +the PADI is a principal feature of the day's work, and is performed +in much the same fashion by all. The Kenyahs alone do their work out +of doors beside the PADI barns, sometimes under rude lean-to shelters. + +When this task is completed the women are covered with dust; they +descend again to the river, and bathe themselves and the children +once more. They may gather some of the scanty vegetables grown in +small enclosures near most of the houses, and then proceed to prepare +supper with their rice and whatever food the men may have brought +home from the jungle. For now, about an hour before sundown, the men +return from expeditions in the jungle, often bringing a wild pig, a +monkey, a porcupine, or some jungle fruit, or young shoots of bamboo, +as their contribution to the supper table; others return from fishing +or from the PADI fields, and during the sunset hour at a large village +a constant stream of boats arrives at the landing-place before the +house. Most of the home-comers bathe in the river before ascending +to the house. This evening bath is taken in more leisurely fashion +than the morning dip. A man will strip off his waist-cloth and rush +into the water, falling flat on his chest with a great splash. Then +standing with the water up to his waist he will souse his head and +face, then perhaps swim a few double overhand strokes, his head going +under at each stroke. After rubbing himself down with a smooth pebble, +he returns to the bank, and having resumed his waist-cloth, he squeezes +the water from his hair, picks up his paddle, spear, hat, and other +belongings, and ascends to the gallery. There he hangs up his spear +by jabbing its point into a roof-beam beside the door of his chamber, +and sits down to smoke a cigarette and to relate the events of his +day while supper is preparing. As darkness falls, he goes to his +room to sup. By the time the women also have supped, the tropical +night has fallen, and the house is lit by the fires and by resin +torches, and nowadays by a few kerosene lamps. The men gather round +the fireplaces in the gallery and discuss politics, the events of the +day, the state of the crops and weather, the news obtained by meetings +with the people of neighbouring houses, and relate myths and legends, +folk-tales and animal stories. The women, having put the children +to bed, visit one another's rooms for friendly gossip; and young +men drop in to join their parties, accept the proffered cigarette, +and discourse the sweet music of the KELURI,[49] the noseflute, +and the Jew's harp (Figs. 17, 18, 19). Or Romeo first strikes up +his plaintive tune outside the room in which Juliet sits with the +women folk. Juliet may respond with a few notes of her guitar[50] +(Fig. 20), thus encouraging Romeo to enter and to take his place in +the group beside her, where he joins in the conversation or renews +his musical efforts. About nine o'clock all retire to bed, save a few +old men who sit smoking over the fires far into the night. The dogs, +after some final skirmishes and yelpings, subside among the warm ashes +of the fireplaces; the pigs emit a final squeal and grunt; and within +the house quietness reigns. Now the rushing of the river makes itself +heard in the house, mingled with the chirping of innumerable insects +and the croaking of a myriad frogs borne in from the surrounding +forest. The villagers sleep soundly till cock-crow; but the European +guest, lying in the place of honour almost beneath the row of human +heads which adorns the gallery, is, if unused to sleeping in a Bornean +long house, apt to be wakened from time to time throughout the night +by an outburst of dreadful yelpings from the dogs squabbling for the +best places among the ashes, by the prolonged fit of coughing of an +old man, by an old crone making up the fire, by the goats squealing +and scampering over the boats beneath the house, or by some weird +cry from the depths of the jungle. + +In the old days the peace of the night was occasionally broken an hour +before the dawn by the yells of an attacking force, and by the flames +roaring up from bundles of shavings thrown beneath the house. But +happily attacks of this kind are no longer made, save in some few +remoter parts of the interior where the European governments have +not yet fully established their authority. + +The even tenor of the life of a village is interrupted from time to +time by certain festivals or other incidents -- the harvest festival; +the marriage or the naming of a chiefs son or daughter; the arrival of +important guests (one or more chiefs with bands of followers coming +to make peace, or nowadays the resident magistrate of the district); +the funeral of a chief; the preparations for war or for a long +journey to the distant bazaar of Chinese traders in the lower part +of the river; the necessity of removing to a new site; an epidemic +of disease; the rites of formally consulting the omens, or otherwise +communicating with and propitiating the gods; the operations of the +soul-catcher. The more important of these incidents will be described +in later chapters. Here we need only give a brief account of the way +in which some of them affect the daily round of life in the long house. + +A visiting chief will remain seated in his boat, while a follower +announces his arrival and ascertains that there is no MALAN (TABU) upon +the house which would make the presence of visitors unwelcome. Such +MALAN affecting the whole house or village obtains during the storing +of the PADI for ten consecutive days, during epidemics of sickness +in neighbouring villages, and at the time when the preparation +of the farm land begins. If a favourable answer is returned, the +visitor remains seated in his boat some few minutes longer, and +then makes his way into the gallery, followed by most of his men, +who leave their spears and shields in the boats. If the visitor is an +intimate friend, the chief of the house will send a son or brother +to welcome him, or will even go himself. Arrived in the gallery, +the visitor advances to the central platform where the chief of the +house awaits him, unstrings his sword from his waist, hangs it upon +any convenient hook, and sits down beside his host; while his men, +following his example, seat themselves with the men of the house in a +semicircle facing the two chiefs. The followers may greet, and even +embrace, or grasp by the forearm, their personal friends; but the +demeanour of the chief's is more formal. Neither one utters a word or +glances at the other for some few minutes; the host remains seated, +fidgeting with a cigarette and gazing upon the floor; the visitor +sitting beside him looks stolidly over the heads of his followers, +and perhaps clears his throat or coughs. Presently a woman thrusts +into the semicircle a tray of freshly made cigarettes. One of the +men of the house pushes it forward towards the principal visitor, who +makes a sign of acceptance by lightly touching the tray; the other, +crouching on his heels, lights a cigarette with an ember from the fire, +blowing it into a glow as he waddles up to present it to the visiting +chief. The latter takes it, but usually allows it to go out. By this +time the chief of the house is ready to open the conversation, and, +after clearing his throat, suddenly throws out a question, usually, +"Where did you start from to-day?" The embarrassing silence thus +broken, question and answer are freely exchanged, the cigarette of +the visitor is again lighted at the fire by a member of the household, +and conversation becomes general. Not infrequently the host, becoming +more and more friendly, throws an arm across his guest's shoulders +or strokes him endearingly with the palm of his hand. + +In the meantime the women are busy preparing a meal, a pig having +been killed and hastily cut up. When it is ready, the visitors, if +old friends, are invited to partake of it in the chief's room. But +if they are not familiar acquaintances, the meal is spread for them +in the gallery on platters placed in a long row, one for each guest; +each platter containing many cubes of hot boiled pork and two packets +of hot boiled rice wrapped in leaves. The space is surrounded with a +slight bamboo fence to keep away the dogs. In either case the visitors +eat alone, their hosts retiring until the meal is finished. As the +chief's wife retires, she says, "Eat slowly, my children, our food is +poor stuff. There is no pork, no fish, nothing that is good." Before +withdrawing, one of the people of the house pours a little water from +a bamboo vessel on the right hand of the visiting chief, who then +passes on the vessel to his followers. With the hand thus cleansed +each guest conveys the food to his mouth, dipping his pieces of pork +in coarse salt placed in a leaf beside his platter; and when he has +finished eating, he drinks water from a bamboo vessel. The chief, +and perhaps also one or more of his upper-class companions, leaves a +little of the pork and a little rice on the platter to show that he +is not greedy or ravenous; and his good breeding prompts him to prove +his satisfaction with the meal by belching up a quantity of wind +with a loud and prolonged noise, which is echoed by his followers +to the best of their ability. After thus publicly expressing his +appreciation of his host's hospitality, he rinses out his mouth, +squirting out the water towards the nearest gap between the floor +boards, rubs his teeth with his forefinger, again rinses his mouth, +and washes his hand. Then relighting his cigarette, which he has kept +behind his ear or thrust through the hole in its shell, he rejoins +his host, who awaits him on the dais. + +On such an occasion, and in fact on any other occasion suggestive +of festivity, the evening is enlivened with oratory, song, and +drink. After supper the men gather together about the chiefs, sitting +in close-set ranks on and before the dais. At a hint from the chief +a jar of BURAK (rice-spirit) is brought into the circle. This may be +the property of the chief or of any one of the principal men, who, by +voluntarily contributing in this way towards the entertainment of the +guests, maintains the honour of the house and of its chief. A little +is poured into a cup and handed to the house-chief, who first makes +a libation to the omen-birds and to all the other friendly spiritual +powers, by pouring a little on to the ground through some crevice of +the floor, or by throwing a few drops out under the eaves, saying, +as he does so, "Ho, all you friendly spirits." Then he drinks a little +and hands back the cup to the young man who has taken charge of the jar +of spirit. The latter, remaining crouched upon his heels, ladles out +another cupful of spirit and offers it in both hands to the principal +guest, who drinks it off, and expresses by a grunt and a smack of the +lips, and perhaps a shiver, his appreciation of its quality. The cup +is handed in similar formal fashion to each of the principal guests +in turn; and then more cups are brought into use, and the circulation +of the drink becomes more rapid and informal. As soon as each man +has had a drink, the house-chief rises to his feet and, addressing +himself to his guest, expatiates upon his admirable qualities, and +expresses eloquently the pleasure felt by himself and his people +at this visit. Then speaking in parables and in indirect fashion, +claiming perhaps indulgence on the ground that he is merely talking +in his sleep, he touches upon local politics at first delicately; +then warming up he speaks more directly and plainly. He may become +much excited and gesticulate freely, even leaping into the air and +twirling round on one foot with outstretched right arm in a fashion +that directs his remarks to each and all of the listening circle; +but, even though he may find occasion to admonish or reproach, or even +hint at a threat, his speech never transgresses the strictest bounds +of courtesy. Having thus unburdened himself of whatever thoughts +and emotions are evoked by the occasion, he takes from the attendant +Ganymede a bumper cup of spirit and breaks into song. Standing before +his guest and swinging the cup repeatedly almost to his (the guest's) +lips, he exhorts him in complimentary and rhyming phrases to accept his +remarks in a friendly spirit, and reminds him of the age and strength +of their family and tribal relations, referring to their ancestral +glories and the proud position in the world of their common race. At +the end of each sentence all the men of both parties break out into +a loud chorus, repeating the last word or two in deep long-drawn-out +musical cadence. Then, with the last words of his extemporised song, +the chief yields up the cup to the expectant guest, who, having sat +rigidly and with fixed gaze throughout the address, takes it in one +long draught, while the chorus swells to a deep, musical roar. At this +moment the circle of auditors, if much excited, will spring to their +feet and swell the noise by stamping and jumping on the resounding +planks. The house-chief smilingly strokes his guest from the shoulder +downwards and resumes his seat. The chorus and commotion die away, +and are followed by a moment of silence, during which the guest +prepares to make his reply in similar fashion. He rises and begins +by naming and lightly touching or pointing to his host and other of +the principal men present. Then he makes acknowledgment of the kind +and flattering reception accorded him, and his pleasure at finding +this opportunity of improving the understanding between himself and +his hosts. "The views so eloquently expressed by my friend (naming +him and using some complimentary title, E.G. brother or father) +are no doubt correct. Indeed, how could it be otherwise? But I have +been told so and so, and perhaps it may be, ..." and so he goes on +to state his own views, taking care to shift the responsibility for +any remaining dissension on to the shoulders of some distant third +party. He congratulates all parties on this free discussion of matters +of common interest, and with free gesticulation exhorts them to turn +a deaf ear to vague rumours and to maintain friendly relations. Then, +dropping down beside his host, he says "Take no notice of what I have +said, I am drunk." Ganymede again approaches him with a bumper cup, and +then rising to his feet and calling on his men, he addresses his host +in complimentary song and chorus, using the gestures and expressions +peculiar to his own people. The song culminates as before in a general +chorus, long drawn out, while the house-chief drains the cup. + +The cups then circulate freely, and the smoking of cigarettes is +general; other shorter speeches may be made, perhaps by the sons or +brothers of the chiefs. As the evening wears away, both guests and +hosts become increasingly boisterous and affectionate; but few or none +on an occasion of this sort become intoxicated or quarrelsome. If a man +becomes a little too boisterous, he is led away to one of the sleeping +platforms in the gallery, and kept there until he falls asleep. + +During an evening of this sort the women congregate in the adjacent +rooms, where they can overhear the proceedings; and if they find these +exceptionally interesting, they will congregate about the doors, but +will strictly abstain from interfering with, them in any way. The flow +of speech and song and conversation goes on uninterruptedly, except +when the occasional intrusion into the circle of some irrepressible +dog necessitates its violent expulsion; until, as midnight approaches, +the men drop away from the circle by twos and threes, the circle +being finally broken up when the visiting chief expresses a desire +to sleep. Each guest spreads his own mat on the platform assigned to +the party, and the men of the house retire to their rooms. + +We will not conclude this chapter without stating that among the +Kayans, Kenyahs, and most of the Klemantans, alcoholic intoxication is +by no means common. At great feasts, such as are made at the close of +the harvest or on the return of a successful war-party, much BORAK +is drunk, the women joining in, and a few of the men will usually +become quite drunk; but most of them will hardly go further than a +state of boisterous jollity. + +Although in a year of good PADI harvest each family constantly renews +its supply of BORAK, yet the spirit is never drunk in private, but +only on festive occasions of the kind described above, or when a man +entertains a small party of friends in his own chamber. + +The account given above of the reception and entertainment of guests +would apply with but little modification to the houses of the Kenyahs +and Klemantans. In the Sea Dayak house the reception and entertainment +of guests is less ceremonious, and is carried out by the unorganised +efforts of individuals, rather than by the household as a whole +with the chief at its head. On the arrival of a party of visitors, +the people of each room clamorously invite the guests to sit down +before their chamber. The guests thus become scattered through the +house. First they are offered betel nut and sirih leaf smeared with +lime to chew, for among the Sea Dayaks this chewing takes the place of +the smoking of cigarettes which is common to all the others; and they +are then fed and entertained individually, or by twos and threes, in +various rooms. No pig is killed or rice-spirit offered, though possibly +a toasted bat or bit of salted wild pig will be served as a relish. + +At great feasts the Sea Dayaks drink more freely than the other +peoples, except the Muruts. Men and women alike drink deeply, and +many become intoxicated. The men take pride in drinking the largest +possible quantity; and when the stomach is filled, will vomit up +large quantities, and then at once drink more, the women pressing it +upon them. The Dayaks and Muruts alone thus sink in the matter of +drink to the level of those highly cultured Europeans among whom a +similar habit obtains: while among all the other tribes strong drink +is seldom or never abused, but rather is put only to its proper use, +the promotion of good fellowship and social gaiety. + + + +CHAPTER 8 + +Life on the Rivers + +With the exception of the Punans and some of the Muruts who inhabit the +few regions devoid of navigable streams, all the peoples of Borneo make +great use of the rivers. The main rivers and their principal branches +are their great highways, and even the smallest tributary streams are +used for gaining access to their PADI fields. It is only when hunting +or gathering jungle produce that they leave the rivers. Occasionally +PADI is cultivated at a distance of a mile or more from the nearest +navigable stream, and a rough pathway is then made between the field +and the nearest point of the river. Here and there also jungle paths +are made connecting points where neighbouring rivers or their navigable +tributaries approach closely to one another. In the flat country near +the coast, where waterways are less abundant than in the interior, +jungle tracks are more used for communication between villages. Where +a route crosses a jungle swamp, large trees are felled in such a way +that their stems lie as nearly as possible end to end. Their ends +are connected if necessary by laying smaller logs from one to the +other. In this way is formed a rude slippery viaduct on which it is +possible for an agile and bare-footed man to walk in safety across +swamps many miles in extent. + +But the jungle paths are only used when it is impossible to reach the +desired point by boat, or if the waterway is very circuitous. On the +lower and deeper reaches of the rivers the paddle is the universal +instrument of propulsion. It is used without any kind of rowlock -- +the one hand, grasping the handle a little above the blade, draws +the blade backwards through the water; the other hand, grasping the +T-shaped upper end, thrusts it forward. The lower hand thus serves +as a fulcrum for the other. + +A small boat may be propelled by a single rower, who, sitting at the +stern, uses the paddle on one side only, and keeps the boat straight +by turning the paddle as he finishes his stroke. In a boat of medium +size one man seated at the stern devotes himself to steering with his +paddle, although here and there among the coast-people a fixed rudder +is used. In a war boat of the largest size, the two men occupying +the bow-bench and the four men on the two stern-most benches are +responsible for the steering; the former pull the bow over, or lever +it in the opposite direction. + +During a day's journey the crew of a boat will from time-to-time +lighten their labour with song, one man singing, the others joining +in the chorus; and if several boats are travelling in company the +crews will from time to time spurt and strive to pass one another in +good-humoured rivalry. At such times each crew may break out into a +deep-pitched and musical roar, the triumphal chorus of a victorious +war party. + +In the upper reaches of the rivers there are numerous rapids, and +here and there actual falls. The boat is usually propelled up a rapid +by poling. Each member of the crew has beside him a stout pole some +eight or nine feet long; and when the boat approaches a rapid, the +crew at a shout from the captain, usually the steersman, spring to +their feet, dropping their paddles and seizing their poles. Thrusting +these against the stony bottom in perfect unison, the crew swings the +boat up through the rushing water with a very pleasant motion. If the +current proves too strong and the boat makes no progress, or if the +water is too shallow, three or four men, or, if necessary, the whole +crew, spring into the water and, seizing the boat by the gunwale, drag +it upstream till quieter water is reached. It is necessary for a man +or boy to bale out the water that constantly enters over the gunwale +while the boat makes the passage of a rapid. All through these exciting +operations the captain directs and admonishes his men unremittingly, +hurling at them expressions of a strength that would astonish a crew +on the waters of the Cam or Isis: "Matei tadjin selin" (may you die +the most awful death) is one of the favourite phrases. These provoke +no resentment, but merely stimulate the crew to greater exertions. + +Sometimes, when much water is coming down after heavy rains, the +current is so swift in deep places that neither paddling, poling, +nor wading is possible. Then three or four men are landed on the bank, +or on the boughs of the trees, and haul on the boat with long rattans, +scrambling over rocks and through the jungle as best they can. + +The passage down stream in the upper reaches of a river is even more +exciting and pleasurable. The crew paddles sufficiently to keep good +steerage way on the boat, as it glides swiftly between the rocks and +shallows; as it shoots over the rapids, the steersman stands up to +choose his path, the water splashes and gurgles and leaps over the +gunwale, and the men break out into song. The smaller waterfalls do +not check its onward rush; as the boat approaches a fall, several +men near the bow stand up to see if there is sufficient water; then, +as they resume their seats, all paddle with might and main until +the boat takes the leap. Occasionally a boat is upset during such +an attempt, and rarely one or two of the crew are lost through being +hurled against rocks and drowned while stunned. + +In making a long journey the nights are passed if possible in friendly +villages. When no such village can be reached, the night is passed +either in the boats moored to the bank or on the river-bank. In +the former case the leaf mats, of which each man carries at least +one in his basket, are used to roof the boat; in the latter case a +rude hut is quickly built, a framework of saplings lashed together, +roofed with the mats, and floored at a level of some feet above the +ground with bamboos or slender saplings. On camping in the evening +and before starting in the morning, rice is cooked and eaten; and +about mid-day the journey is interrupted for about an hour while +the party lands on the bank, or, if possible, on a bed of pebbles, +to rest and to cook and eat the midday meal. + + +Fishing + +Fish are caught in the rivers in several ways, and form an important +part of the diet of most of the peoples. Perhaps the cast net is +most commonly used. This is a net which, when fully extended in +the water, covers a circular patch about six yards in diameter, +while its central part rises in a steep cone, to the peak of which a +strong cord is tied. The main strands run radially from this central +point, increasing in number towards the periphery. They are crossed +by concentric strands. The periphery is weighted with bits of metal +or stone. This net is used both in deep and in shallow water. In the +former case one man steers and paddles a boat, while the other stands +at the prow with the cord of the net wound about the right hand. The +bulk of the net is gathered up on his right arm, the free end is +held in the left hand. Choosing a still pool some two fathoms in +depth, he throws a stone into the water a little ahead of the boat, +in the expectation that the fish will congregate about the spot as +they do when fruit falls from the trees on the banks. Then, as the +boat approaches the spot he deftly flings the net so that it falls +spread out upon the surface; its weighted edge then sinks rapidly +to the bottom, enclosing any fish that may be beneath the net. If +only small fish are enclosed, the net is twisted as it is drawn up, +the fish becoming entangled in its meshes, and in pockets formed about +its lower border. If a large fish is enclosed, the steersman will dive +overboard and seize the lower part of the net so as to secure the fish. + +Or the boat is paddled to the foot of a small rapid; the fisherman +springs out and runs to the head of the rapid, and casts his net in +the still water immediately above it where fish frequently congregate. + +Or a party takes the same net to the mouth of a small tributary, and, +while some hold the net so as to block the mouth almost completely, +others run through the jungle to a point some hundred yards up the +stream, and then drive down the fish by wading down stream splashing +and shouting. As soon as a number of fish come down against the net +its upper border is thrown down so as to enclose them. + +Another net, made quite flat and some fifteen yards long by four feet +wide, is suspended by wooden floats across a small river so that the +fish may become entangled in its meshes. + +Another net is used only by the women. In shape it is like a deep +basin; its wide mouth is attached to a stout circle of rattan, and +a wooden bar is tied across the mouth to serve as handle. With this +the women catch the sucker fish in the shallow rapids, one turning +up stones, the other catching in the net the fish that dart from +beneath them. + +Yet another mode of netting fish is to suspend a square of net +attached by its corners to the ends of two crossed and downward bending +sticks. The net is suspended by cords from its corners to the end of +a long bamboo, which rests upon a post about its middle. The fisherman +lowers the net into the water by raising the landward end of the bamboo +lever, and when he sees fish swimming above it, attracted by a bait, +he suddenly depresses his end of the bamboo, so as to bring the net +quickly above the surface. On the coast drag nets are used. + +The SELAMBO is used in small streams where fish are abundant. A +fence of upright bamboos is built out from either bank, starting at +opposite points and converging down stream to two points near the +middle of the stream and about seven feet apart; where each terminates +a stout pole is driven firmly into the bed of the river. These two +poles are connected by a stout cross-piece lashed to them a little +above the level of the water. The cross-piece forms a fulcrum for a +pair of long poles joined together with cross-pieces, in such a way +that their downstream ends almost meet, while up stream they diverge +widely. They rest upon the fulcrum at a point about one-third of their +length from their downstream ends. Between the widely divergent parts +up stream from the fulcrum a net is loosely stretched. The net lies +submerged until fish coming down stream are directed on to the net by +the convergent fences. The fisherman stands on a rude platform grasping +the handle-end, and, feeling the contacts of the fishes with the net, +throws his weight upon the handle, so bringing the net quickly above +the surface. Beside him he has a large cage of bamboo standing in the +water, into which the fish are allowed to slide from the elevated net. + +A rod and line and baited hook are also in common use. The Kayans +make a hook of stout brass wire, cutting a single barb. The Kenyahs +use a hook made of rattan thorns. A strip is cut from the surface of +a rattan bearing two thorns about an inch apart; this is bent at its +middle so that the cut surfaces of the two halves are brought into +opposition, and the thorns, facing outward opposite one another, +form the barbs. The line is tied to the bend, and the bait is placed +over the tip projecting beyond the thorns. When the fish takes the +hook into his mouth and swallows the bait, the barbs being released +spring outward and secure the fish. + +A rough kind of spoon bait is also used with rod and line. + +Fish are taken also in traps. The most generally used is the BUBU. This +varies in length from eighteen inches to eight feet or even more. The +body of the trap is a conical cage of bamboo. From the wide mouth of +the cone a second smaller flatter cone passes upwards within the outer +one; the slender bamboo strips of which it is made come almost together +in the centre, their inner ends being free and pliable. This is fixed +beside the bank, its mouth turned down stream, and a few stakes are +driven into the bed of the river to guide the fish into the mouth; +or it may be laid in shallow water, two barriers of stones converging +to its mouth. The fish working up stream pass in at the mouth, and, +when they have passed the inner lips, cannot easily pass out again. + +A still simpler trap consists merely of a long slender cone of bamboo +strips. The fish entering the mouth and passing up to the confined +space of the other end become wedged fast in it. + +A Sea Dayak trap found in the south-west of Borneo is a cylindrical +cage of bamboo attached to a pole driven vertically into the bed of the +river. (Fig. 21). At one side of the cage is a circular aperture. Into +this fits a section of bamboo, the end of which within the cage is cut +into longitudinal strips that are made to converge, forming a cone, +through the apex of which the fish can push his way into the cage, +but which prevents his return. It is an application of the same valve +principle as that used in the trap first described above. + +A larger trap is the KILONG, which is used in the lower reaches of the +rivers and also on the coast. It consists of a fence of stakes running +out from the bank or shore into water some two fathoms in depth. The +free end of the fence is wound in a spiral of about two turns. One +or two gates are made between the outer and the inner chambers of +the spiral on the side nearest to the bank or shore, and are left +open when the trap is set. The fish, finding themselves confined by +the fence, make for deeper water, and, entering the central chamber, +do not readily return. The fisherman then closes the gate and takes +out the fish with a landing net. + +A prawn trap consists of a cylinder of heavy bark. One end is closed +with a conical valve of bamboo strips like that of the two traps +described above; the other flattened end is hinged to open for the +extraction of the catch. The trap is baited with decaying cocoanut and +thrown into the river with a long rattan attached to it and tied to +a pole; the trap sinks to the bottom and is examined from time to time. + + +Tuba Fishing + +Fish are caught on the largest scale by poisoning the water with +the juice of the root of the tuba plant. This is usually practised +in the smaller rivers at times of slack water, all the people of a +village co-operating. The TUBA plant is cultivated in patches on the +PADI fields. Pieces of the roots are cut off without destroying the +plants. When a large quantity has been gathered, a fence is built +across the river at the spot chosen, and big BUBU traps are let into +it facing up stream. Then all the available small boats are manned +and brought into the reaches of the river extending about a mile above +the fence. Each boat carries a supply of tuba root, which the people +bruise by pounding it with wooden clubs against stumps and rocks +on the bank or against the side of the boat. Water is thrown into +the bottom of the boat and the pounded root is rinsed in the water, +pounded again, and again rinsed, until all its poisonous juice is +extracted. The water in all the boats, become milky with the juice, +is poured at a given signal into the river, either by baling or by +overturning the boats. After some twenty minutes the fish begin to +rise to the surface and rush wildly to and fro. In the meantime the +boats have been put to rights, and now begin to pursue the fish, +the men armed with fish-spears, the women with landing-nets. The +sport goes on for several hours. Some men armed with clubs stand +upon a platform which slopes up at a low angle out of the water and +rests upon the fence. Big fish come leaping upon this platform and +are clubbed by the men, who have to exert their agility to avoid +the spikes with which some of the fish are armed. Large quantities +of fish are sometimes taken in this way; what cannot be eaten fresh +are dried and smoked over the fires in the house. + +While the TUBA fishing is being arranged and the preparations are +going forward, great care is taken to avoid mentioning the word TUBA, +and all references to the fish are made in oblique phrases, such as +"The leaves (I.E. the fishes) can't float over this fence." This +precaution is observed because it is believed that the birds and the +bats can understand human speech, and may, if they overhear remarks +about the preparations, give warning to their friends the fish, whose +magician[51] (a bony fish called BELIRA), will then make rain, and, by +thus swelling the river, prevent the successful poisoning of the water. + +Tickling is also practised with success, the men standing in the +edge of a lake among the grass and sedges, where the fish seek cooler +water in the heat of the day. + +All the methods of taking fish described above are practised by most +of the peoples, except of course the use of the drag-net in the sea. + +The crocodiles, which are numerous in the lower reaches of the rivers, +are not hunted or attacked, save on provocation, by any of the peoples +of Borneo except the Malays.[52] Occasionally a bather is seized +by one of them while in the water or standing on a log floating in +deep water; and more rarely a person is dragged out of a small boat, +while drifting quietly on deep water at evening. If men and boats +are at hand they turn out promptly to attack the crocodile, if it +rises to the surface; but there is small chance of rescue. If the +victim has sufficient presence of mind and strength to thrust his +thumbs against the eyes of the reptile it may release him, escape +in this way is not unknown. In the case of a fatal issue, the men of +the village turn out to avenge the outrage, and, in the case of the +seizure of an important person, those of neighbouring villages will +join them. All available boats are manned by men armed with spears, +some of which are lashed to the ends of long poles. Congregating in +their boats near the scene of the disaster, the men prod the bed of the +river with their spears, working systematically up and down river and +up the small side streams. In this way they succeed in stabbing some +of the reptiles; and in this case, though they usually do not rise to +the surface, their bodies are found after some days in the creeks, +death having ensued from the inflammation set up in the wounds. The +wound caused by a spear-thrust would seldom be fatal to the crocodile, +but that the wound is liable to the perpetual assaults of smaller +creatures -- fish while he is in the water, flies when he lies on +the bank. These irritate and extend the wound. The stomachs of those +crocodiles that are captured are opened in search of traces of the +person taken, traces which usually remain there for some time in the +shape of hair or ornaments. If no trace is found the people's vengeance +is not satisfied, and they set baited hooks, or pay Malays to do so, +partly because the Malays are experts and claim to have potent charms +to bring the offender to the hook, partly because a Kayan does not +care to take upon himself the individual responsibility of catching +a crocodile, though he does not shrink +from the collective pursuit. The decaying body of a fowl, monkey, or +other animal (Malays sometimes use a living dog) is bound to a strong +bar of hard-wood, sharpened at both ends and some fifteen inches in +length. A number of small rattans are tied to the bar about its middle, +their other ends being made fast to a log. This arrangement is allowed +to float down river; if it does not float freely, the crocodile will +not take the bait. When a crocodile rises to the bait and swallows +it, the bar gets fixed cross-wise in his gullet as he pulls on the +rattans. The hunters, having kept the log in sight, then attach the +ends of the rattans to the boat, tow the reptile to the bank, and +haul him up on dry land. They secure his tail and feet with nooses, +which they lash to a pole laid along his back, and lash his jaws +together. Throughout these operations the crocodile is addressed +deferentially as LAKI (grandfather). He is then left exposed to +the sun, when he soon dies; in this way the people avoid the risks +attaching to slaying the crocodile with their own hands. + + + +CHAPTER 9 + +Life in the Jungle + +All the peoples of Borneo support themselves in part by hunting and +trapping the wild creatures of the jungle, but for the Punans alone +is the chase the principal source of food-supply; the various natural +products of the jungle are, with the exception of cultivated sago in +some few regions, their only marketable commodities. + + +Hunting + +The wild pig (SUS BARBATUS[53]) is the principal object of the chase, +but deer of several species are also hunted and trapped. The largest +of these (CERVUS EQUINUS) is rather bigger than the English fallow +deer; the smallest is plandok, or mouse deer (TRAGULUS NAPU and +T. JAVANICUS), standing only about eight inches at the shoulder; +intermediate in size is the muntjac (CERVULUS MUNTJAC). There are +also small herds of wild cattle (BOS SONDAICUS), a small rhinoceros +(R. SUMATRANUS), large lizards (VARANUS), various apes and monkeys, +and a large porcupine (HESTRIX CRASSISPINUS), and several small +mammals, such as otters (LUTRA), bear-cats (ARCTICTIS), and civet +cats (PARADOAURUS) of various species, all of which are hunted for +their flesh, as well as several birds. The tiger-cat (FELIS NEBULOSA) +and the bear (URSUS MALAYANUS) are hunted for their skins and teeth, +and the dried gall-bladder of the bear is sold for medicine. + +The pig and deer are most commonly hunted on foot by a party of +several men with a pack of four or five dogs. The dogs, having found +the trail, chase the pig until he turns on them. The dogs then surround +the pig, barking and yelping, and keep it at bay till the men run up +and despatch it with their spears. Both men and dogs sometimes get +severely bitten and torn by the tusks. During the fruit season the pigs +migrate in large herds and cross the rivers at certain places well +known to the hunters. The people lie in wait for them in little huts +built on the banks, and kill them from their boats as they swim across. + +Kenyahs and Klemantans sometimes catch deer by driving them into a +JARING. This consists of a strong rope of plaited rattans stretched in +a straight line across the jungle, from tree to tree, some five feet +above the ground. It is generally laid so as to complete the enclosure +of an area that is almost surrounded by the river. Dependent from the +whole length of the rattan rope is a series of running nooses also +of rattan, each of which, overlapping its neighbours on both sides, +forms a loop about two feet in diameter. Men armed with spears are +stationed along the JARING, at short intervals, and the rest of the +party with the dogs beat the jungle driving any deer in the enclosed +space headlong towards the JARING. Some of the deer may escape, but +some will usually run their heads into the nooses and fall victims to +the spears of the watchers. Both pig and deer are sometimes brought +down with the blow-pipe, especially by the Punans, whose favourite +weapon it is. + +The wild cattle are very wary and dangerous to attack. They sometimes +take to the water and are then easily secured. Punans, who hunt +without dogs (which in fact they do not possess) will lie in wait +for the rhinoceros beside the track by which he comes to his daily +mud-bath, and drive a spear into his flank or shoulder; then, after +hastily retiring, they track him through the jungle, until they come +upon him again, and find an opportunity of driving in another spear +or a poisoned dart through some weak spot of his armour. + +Birds and monkeys are chiefly killed with the blow-pipe. + + +Traps + +Traps of many varieties are made. For pig and deer a trap is laid at a +gap in the fence about the PADI field. It consists of a bamboo spear +of which the end is sharpened and hardened in the fire. This is laid +horizontally about two feet from the ground, resting on guides. Its +butt end is lashed to one end of a springy green pole at right angles +to its length; the pole is laid horizontally, one end of it being +firmly fixed to a tree, and the other (that carrying the spear) bent +forcibly backwards and held back by a loop of rattan. This spring is +set by means of an ingenious trigger, in such a way that an animal +passing through the gap must push against a string attached to the +trigger, and so release the spring, which then drives the bamboo +spear across the gap with great force. (The drawing (Fig. 22) Will +make clear the nature of the trigger.) + +In one variety of this trap the spring is set vertically. The trap is +varied in other ways. A curious practice of the Ibans on setting such +a trap is to measure the appropriate height of the spear by means of +a rod surmounted with a carving of a human figure (Fig. 23). + +Of many ingenious traps for small animals the JERAT is the most widely +used (see Fig. 24 and Pl. 85). A rude fence some hundreds of yards, +in some cases as much as a mile, in length, is made by filling up with +sticks and brushwood the spaces between the trees and undergrowth of +the jungle. At intervals of ten or twenty yards narrow gaps are left, +and in each of these a JERAT is set to catch the small creatures that, +in wandering through the jungle and finding their course obstructed +by the fence, seek to pass through the gaps. The gap is floored with +a small platform of light sticks, six to eight inches long, laid +across it parallel to one another in the line of the fence. The ends +of these are supported at one side of the gap, about two inches above +the ground, by a cross-stick lying at right angles to them. This stick +in turn is supported about one inch above the ground in the following +way: the two ends of a green stick are thrust firmly into the ground +forming an arch over the end of the platform, and the extremities +of the cross-stick are in contact with the pillars of the arch, and +kept a little above the ground by being pulled against them by the +spring trigger. This consists of a short stick attached by a cord +to a strong springy pole thrust vertically into the ground. To set +the trigger it is pulled down, bending the pole, and passed under the +arch from the platform side outwards; the upper end of the trigger is +then kept by the pull of the cord against the curve of the arch, and +its lower end is pulled against the middle of the cross-stick. The +pressure being maintained by the tension of the cord, this end of +the platform is supported by the friction between the trigger and the +cross-stick. The cord is prolonged beyond the trigger in a slip noose +which lies open on the platform completely across the gap, so that +any small animal entering the gap, and stepping upon the platform, +necessarily places its feet within the goose. A few leaves are laid +on the platform and cord to disguise them. When, then, a pheasant or +other creature of appropriate size and weight steps on the platform, +its weight causes the cross-stick to slip down from the hold of the +trigger, and this, being released, is violently jerked with the noose +into the air by the elastic reaction of the bent pole; in a large +proportion of cases the noose catches the victim's feet and jerks +him into the air, where he dangles by the feet till the arrival of +the trapper, who visits his traps twice a day. + +Another very curious and strikingly simple plan is employed by the Sea +Dayaks for catching the Argus pheasant, whose beautiful wing feathers +are highly valued. The cock-birds congregate at certain spots in the +jungle, where they display their feathers and fight together. These +spots they clear of all obstacles, pulling and pushing away sticks and +leaves with their heads and necks, as well as scratching with their +feet. The Dayaks, taking advantage of this habit, thrust vertically +into the ground slips of bamboo, the edges of which are hardened in +the fire and rendered very sharp. In the course of their efforts +to remove these obstructions, the birds not infrequently inflict +serious wounds about their necks, and weakened by loss of blood, +are found by the Dayaks at no great distance from the fighting ground. + +Traps of many other kinds are made for animals both large and small, +especially by the. Sea Dayaks, who use traps more frequently than +the other peoples. Our few descriptions will serve to illustrate +the ingenuity displayed, the complexity of the mechanical +principles involved in some of them, and the extreme simplicity of +others. Previous writers have described many of these in detail, +and we content ourselves with referring the curious reader to their +accounts.[54] + +The Klemantans and some of the Kenyahs catch a small ground pigeon +(CHALCOPHAPS INDICA) in large numbers by the aid of a pipe or whistle, +by blowing softly on which the cooing notes of the bird are closely +imitated. The instrument consists of a piece of large bamboo closed at +one end and having a small hole about its middle (Fig. 25). The hunter, +concealed behind a screen of leafy branches, blows across this hole +through a long slender tube of bamboo; and when a bird approaches the +whistle, he slips over its head a fine noose attached to the end of +a light bamboo and, drawing it behind the screen, puts it alive into +a cage. + +Small parrots are sometimes caught with bird-lime, made with the +juice of a rubber-tree. + + +The Gathering of Jungle Produce + +The principal natural products gathered by the people in addition +to the edible fruits are, gutta-percha, rubber, camphor, various +rattans, beeswax and honey, vegetable tallow, wild sago, damar-resin +from various trees, and the edible birds' nests. + +Small parties of men and boys go out into the jungle in search of +these things, sometimes travelling many days up river before striking +into the jungle; for it is only in the drier upland forests that such +expeditions can be undertaken with advantage. The party may remain +several weeks or months from home. They carry with them a supply of +rice, salt, and tobacco, cooking-pots and matches, a change of raiment, +spears, swords, shields, blowpipes, and perhaps two or three dogs. On +striking into the jungle, they drag their boat on to the bank and +leave it hidden in thick undergrowth. While in the jungle they camp +in rude shelters roofed with their leaf mats and with palm leaves, +moving camp from time to time. They vary their labours and supplement +their food-supply by hunting and trapping. Such an expedition is +generally regarded as highly enjoyable as well as profitable. As +in camping-parties in other parts of the world, the cooking is +generally regarded as a nuisance to be shirked if possible. The Sea +Dayaks indulge in these expeditions more frequently than others, +and such parties of them may often be found at great distances +from their homes. In the course of such long excursions they not +infrequently penetrate into the regions inhabited by other tribes, +and many troubles have had their origin in the truculent behaviour of +such parties. Such parties of Sea Dayaks have been known to accept +the hospitality of unsuspecting and inoffensive Klemantans, and to +outrage every law of decency by taking the heads of old men, women, +and children during the absence of their natural defenders. + +Valuable varieties of gutta-percha are obtained from trees of more +than a score of species. The best is known as Kayan gutta, because it +is gathered and sent to the bazaars by the Kayans in a pure form. The +trees are felled and the stem and branches are ringed at intervals +of about eighteen inches, a narrow strip of bark being removed at +each ring. The milky viscid sap drips out into leaf-cups, which are +then emptied into a cylindrical vessel of bark. Water is then boiled +in a large pan beside the tree, a little common salt is added to the +water, and the gutta is poured into the boiling water, when it rapidly +congeals. Then, while still in a semiviscid state, it is kneaded with +the feet and pressed into a shallow wooden frame, which in turn is +compressed between two planks. In this way it is moulded into a slab +about one and a half inches thick, about a foot long, and about six +inches across at one end, two inches across at the other. While it is +still warm a hole is pierced through the narrower end; and the slab +is then thrown into cold water, where it sets hard. In this form it +reaches the market at Singapore, where it is valued at about five +hundred dollars ([pound sterling]50) the hundredweight. + +Gutta of an inferior quality is obtained in large quantities by +tapping a large tree (JELUTONG) which grows abundantly in the +low-lying jungles. + +The best rubber, known as PULUT by the Kayans, is obtained by them from +a creeper, the stem of which grows to a length of fifty to a hundred +feet and a diameter of six inches or more. It bears a brilliant red +luscious fruit which is eaten by the people; its seeds being swallowed +become distributed in this way. The Punans carefully sow the seed +they have swallowed, and transplant the young seedlings to the most +suitable positions. The milky juice of the creeper is gathered and +treated in much the same way as the gutta. It is rolled up while +hot into spherical lumps, each of which is pierced with a hole for +convenient transportation. + +Camphor is formed in the crevices of the sterns of old trees of the +species DRYOBALANOPS AROMATICA, when the heart is decayed leaving +a central hollow. The tree is cut down, the stem split up, and the +crystalline scales of pure camphor are shaken out on to mats. It +is then made up in little bundles wrapped in palm leaves. The +large-flaked camphor fetches as much as [pound sterling]6 a pound +in the Chinese bazaar. Special precautions are observed by men in +search of camphor. A party of Kayans, setting out to seek camphor, +commonly gets the help of Punans, who are acknowledged experts in this +business. Omens are taken before setting out, and the party will not +start until favourable omens have been observed. The party is LALI +from the time of beginning these operations. They will speak to no one +outside the party, and will speak no word of Malay to one another; +and it is considered that they are more likely to be successful if +they confine themselves to the use of a peculiar language which seems +to be a conventional perversion of the Punan speech. + +On entering a small river the party stretches a rattan across its +mouth; and, where they leave the river, they erect on the bank a +pole or frayed stick.[55] Other persons seeing such sticks set up +will understand and respect the party's desire for privacy. They then +march through the jungle to the place where they expect to find a group +of camphor trees, marking their path by bending the ends of twigs at +certain intervals in the direction in which the party is moving. Having +found a likely tree they cut into the stem with a small long-bladed +axe, making a deep small hole. An expert, generally a Punan, then +smells the hole and gives an opinion as to the chances of finding +camphor within it. If he gives a favourable opinion, the tree is cut +down and broken in pieces as described above. On cutting down the tree, +an oil which smells strongly of camphor sometimes pours out and is +collected. The party remains LALI until the collection of the camphor +is completed; no stranger may enter their hut or speak with them. The +practice of collecting camphor in this way is probably a very ancient +one,[56] whereas the collection of gutta and rubber has been undertaken +only in recent years in response to the demands of the European market. + +Many varieties of the rattan palm grow luxuriantly in the forests of +Borneo, some attaining a length of 150 to 200 feet. It is a creeper +which makes its way towards the light, suspending itself to branches +and twigs by means of the curved spines which prolong the midribs of +the leaves. The cane is collected by cutting through the stem near its +root, and hauling on it, several men combining their t'efforts. The +piece cut down is dragged through the jungle to the river-bank. There +it is cut into lengths of fifteen feet, I.E. two and a half spans, and +dried in the sun. If the sap is thoroughly dried out, the cane assumes +a permanent yellow colour; but if any is left, the cane darkens when +soaked in water. When a large number of bundles has been collected, +they are bound together to form a raft. On this a hut is erected, +and two or three men will navigate the raft down river to the Chinese +bazaar, which is to be found in the lower part of every large river. + +The small yellow fruit of the rattan is gathered in large quantities +and subjected to prolonged boiling. The fluid becomes of a bright +crimson colour; this, boiled down till it has the consistency of +beeswax, is known as dragon's blood, and is used by the people as a +colouring matter and also exported for the same purpose. + +Honey and beeswax are found in nests which are suspended by the +wild bee from high branches of the MINGRIS (COOMPASSIA) and TAPANG +(ARBOURIA) trees, sometimes many nests on one tree. To reach the nest +the men climb the tree by the aid of a ladder somewhat in the fashion +of a steeple-jack. A large number of sharpened pegs of ironwood are +driven into the softer outer layers of the stem in a vertical row +about two feet apart, and bamboos are lashed in a single vertical row +to the pegs and to one another and to the lower branches. The ladder +is built up until at some sixty or eighty feet from the ground it +reaches a branch bearing a nest. The taking of the nests is usually +accomplished after nightfall. A man ascends the ladder carrying in +one hand a burning torch of bark, which gives off a pungent smoke, +and on his back a large hollow cone of bark. Straddling out along +the bough, he hangs his cone of bark beneath the nest, smokes out +the bees, and cuts away the nest from the bough with his sword, +so that it falls into the cone of bark. Then, choosing a piece of +comb containing grubs, he munches it with gusto, describing from his +position of advantage to his envious friends the delicious quality of +the grubs. After thus gathering two or three nests he lets down the +cone with a cord to his eagerly expectant comrades, who then feast +upon the remaining grubs and squeeze out the honey into jars. The +tree having been cleared of nests in this way, the wax is melted in +an iron pot and moulded in balls. The honey is eaten in the houses; +the wax is sold to the Chinese traders at about a shilling a pound. + +Vegetable tallow is procured from the seeds of the ENGKABONG tree +(SHOREA). The seeds are crushed and the tallow melted out and gathered +in bamboos. It is used as a food, generally smeared on hot rice. It +is sometimes a principal feature of the Punan's diet for considerable +periods. + +Wild sago is abundant and is much used by Punans, and occasionally +by most of the other peoples when their supply of PADI is short. The +sago tree is cut down and its stem is split into several pieces with +wedges. The pith is knocked out with a bamboo mallet. The sago is +prepared from the pith by the women, who stamp it on coarse mats, +pouring water upon it. The fine grains of sago are carried through on +to a trough below. It is then washed and boiled in water, when it forms +a viscid mass; this is eaten with a spoon or with a strip of bamboo +bent double, the two ends of which are turned round in the sago and +withdrawn with a sticky mass adherent; this is plunged in the gravy OF +pork and carried to the mouth. It is generally considered a delicacy. + +Many varieties of the forest trees exude resins, which are collected +and used for torches and for repairing boats, as well as brought to +the bazaars, where the best kinds fetch very good prices. Sometimes +the resin is found in large masses on the ground where it has dripped +from the trees. + +A curious and valuable natural product is the bezoar stone. These +stones are found in the gall-bladder and intestines of the +long-tailed monkey SEMNOPITHECUS (most frequently of S. HOSEI and +S. RUBICUNDUS). They are formed of concentric layers of a hard, +brittle, olive-green substance, very bitter to the taste. A soft brown +variety is found in the porcupine. Both kinds are highly valued by +the Chinese as medicine. The monkeys and porcupines are hunted for +the sake of these stones. A similar substance, also highly valued as +a medicine by the Chinese, is sometimes found as an accretion formed +about the end of a dart which has been broken off in the flesh of +S. HOSEI and has remained there for some long period. + +The most important of the natural products gathered by the people +are the edible nests of three species of swift: COLLOCALIA FUCIPHAGA, +whose nest is white; C. LOWII, whose nest is blackish; and C. LINCHII, +whose nest contains straw and moss as well as gelatine. All three +kinds are collected, but those of the first kind are much more valuable +than the others. The nest, which is shaped like that of our swallow, +consists wholly of a tough, gelatinous, translucent substance, which +exudes from the bill of the bird as it builds. We do not understand +the physiology of this process. The people generally believe that +the substance of the nest is dried seafoam which the birds bring from +the sea on returning from their annual migration. + +The nests are built always on the roofs and walls of large caves: +the white nests in low-roofed caves, generally in sandstone rock; the +black in the immense lofty caves formed in the limestone rocks. The +latter are reached by means of tall scaffoldings of strong poles +of bamboo, often more than a hundred feet in height. The nests are +swept from the rock with a pole terminating in a small iron spatula, +and carrying near the extremity a wax candle; falling to the ground, +which is floored with guano several feet thick, they are gathered +up in baskets. The white nests are gathered three times in the year +at intervals of about a month, the black nests usually only twice; +as many as three tons of black nests are sometimes taken from one +big cave in the course of the annual gathering. Each cave, or, in +the case of large caves, each natural subdivision of it, is claimed +as the property of some individual, who holds it during his lifetime +and transmits it to his heirs. During the gathering of the nests of +a large cave, the people live in roofless huts built inside it. The +nests are sold to Chinese traders -- the black nests for about a +hundred dollars a hundredweight, and the white nests for as much as +thirty or forty shillings per pound. + + + +CHAPTER 10 + +War + +The Kayans are perhaps less aggressive than any other of the interior +peoples with the exception of the Punans. Nevertheless prowess in +war has made them respected or feared by all the peoples; and during +the last century they established themselves in the middle parts of +the basins of all the great rivers, driving out many of the Klemantan +communities, partly by actual warfare, partly by the equally effective +method of appropriating to their own use the tracts of jungle most +suitable for the cultivation of PADI. + +The fighting quality of the individual Kayan, the loyalty and obedience +of each household to its chief, the custom of congregating several long +houses to form a populous village upon some spot carefully chosen for +its tactical advantages (generally a peninsula formed by a deep bend +of the river), and the strong cohesion between the Kayans of different +and even widely separated villages, -- all these factors combine to +render the Kayans comparatively secure and their villages immune from +attack. But though a Kayan village is seldom attacked, and though +the Kayans do not wantonly engage in bloodshed, yet they will always +stoutly assert their rights, and will not allow any injury done to any +member of the tribe to go unavenged. The avenging of injuries and the +necessity of possessing heads for use in the funeral rites are for them +the principal grounds of warfare; and these are generally combined, +the avenging of injuries being generally postponed, sometimes for +many years, until the need for new heads arises. Though an old dried +head will serve all the purposes of the rites performed to terminate a +period of mourning, yet it is felt that a fresh head (or heads) is more +desirable, especially in the case of mourning for an important chief. + +When an old head is used in these rites, it is customary to borrow +it from another house or village, and it is brought to the house by +a party of warriors in the full panoply of war, who behave both on +setting out and returning as though actually on the war-path. + +It may be said generally that Kayans seldom or never wage war on +Kayans, and seldom attack others merely to secure heads or in sheer +vainglory, as the Ibans not infrequently do. Nor do they attack others +merely in order to sustain their prestige, as is sometimes done by +the Kenyahs, who in this respect carry to an extreme the principle +that attack is the most effective mode of defence. + +War is generally undertaken by the Kayans very deliberately, after much +preparation and in large well-organised parties, ranging in numbers +from fifty to a thousand or more warriors, made up in many cases from +several neighbouring villages, and under the supreme command of one +chief of acknowledged eminence. + +The weapons and war-dress are similar among all the peoples. The +principal weapon is the sword known as PARANG ILANG, or MALAT, a heavy +blade (Pl. 91) of steel mounted in a handle of horn or hardwood. The +blade, about twenty-two inches in length, has the cutting edge slightly +bowed and the blunt back edge slightly hollowed. The edges diverge +slightly from the handle up to a point about five inches from the tip, +where the blade attains its maximum width of nearly two inches. At this +point the back edge bends sharply forward to meet the cutting edge at +the tip. A very peculiar feature of the blade is that it is slightly +hollowed on the inner surface (I.E. the thumb side or left side in the +case of the PARANG, of a right-handed man, the right side in case of +one made for a left-handed man), and is convex in transverse section +to a corresponding degree on the other surface. This peculiar shape +of the blade is said to render the PARANG, more efficient in sinking +into or through either limbs or wood, and is more easily withdrawn +after a successful blow. This weapon is carried in a wooden sheath +suspended by a plaited waist-strap, and is the constant companion +of every man; for it is used not only in warfare, but also for a +variety of purposes, such as the hewing down of jungle undergrowth, +cutting rattans and bamboos, the rough shaping of wooden implements. + +The weapon second in importance is the spear (Pl. 92). It consists of +a flat steel blade, about one foot in length, of which the widest part +(between one and two inches) is about four inches from the tip. The +tip and lateral edges of the blade are sharp, and its haft is lashed +with strips of rattan to the end of a wooden shaft. The extremity +of the haft is bent outwards from the shaft, to prevent its being +dragged off from the latter. The shaft is of tough wood and about +seven feet in length; its butt end is usually shod with iron. The +spear is used not only for thrusting, but also as a javelin and as a +parrying stick for warding off the spears hurled by the foe. It is +always carried in the boat when travelling on the river, or in the +hand during excursions in the jungle. + +The blow-pipe, which projects a poisoned dart, is used by many of +the Kayans in hunting, but is hardly regarded as a weapon for serious +use in warfare. + +Beside the principal spear, two or three short spears or javelins, +sometimes merely pointed bars of hardwood, are usually carried in +the left hand when an attack is being made. + +Beside the sword and the spears the only weapons commonly used are +heavy bars of ironwood, sharpened at both ends and flung so as to +twirl rapidly in the air. They are chiefly used in defending houses +from attack, a store of them being kept in the house. For the defence +of a house against an expected attack, short sharp stakes of split +bamboo are thrust slantingly into the ground, so as to present the +fire-hardened tip towards the feet of the oncoming foe. + +The interior peoples have long possessed a certain number of +European-made muskets (mostly flint-locks) and small Bruni-made brass +cannon, obtained from the Malay and Chinese traders. The latter were +chiefly valued for the defence of the house, but were sometimes mounted +in the bows of the war-boats. The difficulty of obtaining supplies of +gunpowder has always restricted greatly the use of firearms, and in +recent years the European governments have strictly limited the sale +of gunpowder and firearms; and even at the present day any war-party +commissioned by one of the governments to execute any police measure, +such as apprehending, or burning the house of, people who have wantonly +killed others, has to rely in the main on its native weapons. + +The equipment of the fighting-man consists, in addition to his weapons, +of a war-cap and war-coat and shield (Pl. 93 and Fig. 26). The former +is a round closely-fitting cap woven of stout rattans split in halves +longitudinally. It affords good protection to the skull against the +stroke of the sword. It is adorned with two of the long black-and-white +barred feathers of the hornbill's tail in the case of, any man who +has earned this distinction by taking part in successful expeditions. + +The war-coat is made of the skin of the goat, the bear, or (in case +of distinguished chiefs) of the tiger-cat. The whole of the skin in +one piece is used, except that the skin of the belly and of the lower +parts of the forelimbs are cut away. A hole for the warrior's head is +made in the mid-dorsal line a little behind the skin of the head, which +is flattened out and hangs over the chest, descending to the level of +the navel; while the skin of the back, flanks, and hind limbs in one +large flap, covers the back and hind parts of the warrior as far as +the bend of the knees. A large pearly shell usually adorns the lower +end of the anterior flap. The warrior's arms are thus left free, but +unprotected. In the finest coats there is a patch of brightly coloured +beadwork at the nape of the neck, and the back-flap is adorned with +rows of loosely dangling hornbills' feathers; but these again are +considered appropriate only to the coats of warriors of proved valour. + +The Kayan shield is an oblong plate cut from a single piece of soft +wood. Its ends are pointed more or less acutely; the length between +the points is about four feet. The inner surface forms a flat hollow; +the outer is formed by two flat surfaces meeting in a flat obtuse +angle or ridge extending from point to point. The grain of the wood +runs longitudinally, and a downward falling PARANG is liable to split +the wood and become wedged fast in it. In order to prevent the shield +becoming divided in this way, and to hold fast the blade of the sword, +it is bound across with several stout strips of rattan which are laced +closely to the wood with finer strips. The handle, carved out of the +same solid block of wood as the body of the shield, is in the middle of +the concave surface; it is a simple vertical bar for the grasp of the +left hand. The Kayan shield is commonly stained red with iron oxide, +and touched up with black pigment, but not otherwise decorated. + +Wooden shields of this kind are used by almost all the tribes, but +some of them decorate their shields elaborately. The two surfaces +of almost all Kenyah shields (Fig. 27) are covered with elaborate +designs picked out in colours, chiefly red and black. The designs +are sketched out on the wood with the point of a knife, and the +pigment is applied with the finger and a chisel-edged stick. The +principal feature of the designs on the outer surface is in all +cases a large conventionalised outline of a face with large eyes, +indicated by concentric circles in red and black, and a double row +of teeth with two pairs of canines projecting like huge tusks. This +face seems to be human, for, although in some shields there is nothing +to indicate this interpretation, in others the large face surmounts +the highly conventionalised outline of a diminutive human body, the +limbs of which are distorted and woven into a more or less intricate +design. Each extremity of the outer surface is covered by a similarly +conventionalised face-pattern on a smaller scale. On the inner side +each longitudinal half is covered with an elaborate scroll-pattern, +generally symmetrical in the two halves; the centre of this pattern +is generally a human figure more or less easily recognisable; the +two halves sometimes bear male and female figures respectively. + +The shields most prized by the Kenyahs are further decorated with +tufts of human hair taken from the heads of slain enemies. It is put +on in many rows which roughly frame the large face with locks three +or four inches in length on scalp, cheeks, chin, and upper lip; and +the smaller faces at the ends are similarly surrounded with shorter +hair. The hair is attached by forcing the ends of the tufts into +narrow slits in the soft wood and securing it with fresh resin. + +The Klemantan shields are, in the main, variations on the Kenyah +patterns. The Murut shields closely resemble those of the Kayans, +though the Dusuns, who have the domesticated buffalo, use a shield of +buffalo-hide attached to the forearm by a strap -- a feature unknown +in all the other types, which are borne by the handle only. The Sea +Dayaks nowadays make a greater variety of shields, copying those of +the other tribes with variations of their own. The shield originally +used by them before coming into contact with many other tribes, +but now discarded, was made of strips of bamboo plaited together and +stiffened with a longitudinal strip of wood (Fig. 28). It was of two +shapes, both oblong, one with rounded, the other with pointed ends. + +The Land Dayaks still use a shield of tough bark (Fig. 29), and it is +not improbable that these were used by other tribes at no distant date. + +Every Kayan household possesses, beside the many smaller boats, one or +more boats especially designed for use in war. A typical war-boat is +about 100 feet in length, from six to seven feet wide in its middle +part, and tapers to a width of about three and a half feet at bow +and stern. In some cases the length of the war-boat, which is always +made from a single log, is as much as 145 feet in length (Pl. 96), +but so large a boat is unwieldy in use, and its construction costs an +excessive amount of labour. The ordinary war-boat carries from sixty +to seventy men seated two abreast on the cross-benches. It is steered +by the paddles of the two bow-men and the four next the stern. One +of these war-boats, manned by sixty or seventy paddlers, can maintain +a pace about equal to that of our University racing eights.[57] + +War is only undertaken after formal consultation and many discussions +between the chief or chiefs and all the leading men. If the village +primarily concerned does not feel itself strong enough to achieve its +ends, it will seek the help of some neighbouring village, usually, +but not always one of its own tribe. The discussion may be renewed +day after day for some little time, before the decision to fight is +taken and the time for the expedition is fixed. + +The next step is to seek favourable omens, and two men are told off for +this work. They repair to some spot in the jungle, or more commonly +on the bank of the river, where they build a small hut; they adorn +it by fraying the poles of its framework, and so secure themselves +against interruptions by passing acquaintances. The sight or sound +of certain birds and beasts is favourable, of others unfavourable; +but the favourable creatures must be observed in a certain order, +if the omens are to be entirely satisfactory. If very bad omens are +observed, the men return home to report the fact, and will make another +attempt after a few days. If the omens are of mixed character, they +will persist for some time, hoping to get a sufficient number of good +omens to counteract or nullify the bad. When seeking for their place +of observation, their choice is determined by seeing a spider-hunter +(ARACHNOTHERA) flying across the river, chirping as it flies. When this +is seen they stop the boat, calling out to the bird, "O friend ISIT, +protect us and give us success." One of the men lands on the bank, +hews out a pole about eight feet long, cuts upon it bunches of shavings +without detaching (Pl. 97) them from the pole, and thrusts one end of +it into the ground so that it remains sloping towards the abode of the +foe. While this is being done on the bank, fire of some sort (if only +a cigarette) is lighted in the boat, and the position is explained +more fully to the bird, but without any mention of the name of the +enemy. The observers then erect a hut near the omen-pole for their +shelter, and pass the night there before looking out for the omen-bird +next desired. This is the trogan (HARPACTES DUVAUCELII), which has +a peculiar soft trilling note and a brilliant red chest. When this +bird appears, it is addressed in the same way as the spider-hunter; +and this second step of the process is also marked by a feathered stick +thrust into the ground before the hut. Then they spend another night in +the hut hoping for significant dreams. To dream of abundance of fruit +(which symbolises heads) is favourable; any dream of a disagreeable +or fearful situation is unfavourable. After a favourable dream comes +the most important stage of the business, the observation of the +hawks. They look for LAKI NEHO from the door of their hut about nine +o'clock in the morning. As soon as a hawk is seen, they light a fire +and call on him to go to the left, waving a feathered stick in that +direction, and, shouting at the top of his voice, one of them pours +out a torrent of words addressed to the hawk. If he goes out of sight +towards the right, they console themselves by remarking that he is one +of low degree, and they sit down to wait for another. If two hawks are +seen to fight in the air, that foretells much bloodshed. They are not +satisfied until they see a hawk sail far away out of sight towards +the left. Then a break is made; after which they observe the hawks +again, until they see one sail out of sight towards the right. If +all this is accomplished without the intervention of unfavourable +omens, they return home to report progress; but immediately return +to the hut and remain there. Then for one, two, or even three days, +all the men of the house stay at home quietly, busying themselves in +preparing boats and weapons. The chief, or some deputy, then performs +the rites before the altar-post of the war-god that stands before +the house in the way described in Chap. XV. The omens given by the +hawks on this occasion are guarantees for the safety of the house +and those left in it, and against accidents and sickness incidental +to the journey; they have no reference to the actual fighting.[58] +All the men of the war-party then proceed in their war-boats to the +spot where the war-omens have been observed, and camp round about +it in roughly built huts. Here they will remain at least two days, +establishing their connection with the favourable omen-birds. From +this encampment they may not return to the house, and, if they are +expecting a party of allies, they may await them here. By this time +the war-fever is raging among them, and rumours of the preparations +of the enemy are circulating. Spies or scouts may be sent out to +seek information about the enemy; but usually such information is +sought from the liver of a pig with the customary ceremony. A sharp +ridge on the liver dividing their own region from that of the enemy +is unfavourable, a low soft ridge is favourable. + +From the moment of leaving the village the men of the war-party must +observe many tabus until their return home. They may not eat the head +of a fish; they must use only their home-made earthen pots; fire must +be made only by friction (see Pl. 89); they must not smoke; boys may +not lie down, but must sleep sitting. The people who remain at home +are not expected to observe these tabus; they may go to the farms, but +must keep quiet, and undertake nothing outside the ordinary routine. + +If the object of the attack is a village in their own river, the +expedition paddles steadily day after day until it reaches the mouth +of some small stream at a distance of some miles from the enemy's +village. Forcing their boats some two or three miles up this stream +they make a camp. Here two solid platforms are built about twenty feet +apart, and a large beam is laid from one to the other. The chiefs +and principal men take their seats on the platforms, and then every +man of the party in turn approaches this beam, the fighting leader, +who is usually not one of the chiefs, coming first. If he is willing +to go through with the business, I.E. to take part in the attack, he +slashes a chip from the beam with his PARANG and passes under it. On +the far side of the beam stands a chief holding a large frond of fern, +and, as each man passes under, he gives him a bit of the leaf, while +an assistant cuts a notch on a tally-stick for each volunteer. If +for any reason any man is reluctant to go farther, he states his +excuse, perhaps a bad dream or illness, or sore feet, and returns +to the boats, amid the jeers of those who have passed the ordeal, +to form one of a party to be left in charge of the camp and boats. + +Next, all the left-handed men are sorted out to form a party whose +special duty is to ambush the enemy, if possible, at some favourable +spot. These are known as the hornets (SINGAT). If any swampy ground +or other obstruction intervenes between their camp and the enemy's +village, a path is made through or over it to facilitate retreat +to the boats. A password is agreed upon, which serves as a means +of making members of the party known to one another upon any chance +meeting in the dark. + +Scouts are sent out at dusk and, if their reports are favourable, the +attack is made just before dawn. About half the warriors are provided +with large bundles of dry shavings, and some will carry torches. When +the attacking party has quietly surrounded the house or houses, the +bundles of shavings are ignited, and their bearers run in and throw +them under the house among the timbers on which it is supported. Then +ensues a scene of wild confusion. The calm stillness of the tropical +dawn is broken by the deep war-chorus of the attacking party, by the +shouts and screams of the people of the house suddenly roused from +sleep, by the cries and squeals of the frightened animals beneath the +house, and the beating of the alarm signal on the TAWAK. If the house +is ignited, the encircling assailants strive to intercept the fleeing +inhabitants. These, if the flames do not drive them out before they +have time to take any concerted measures, will hurl their javelins +and discharge their firearms (if they have any) at their assailants; +then they will descend, bringing the women and children with them, and +make a desperate attempt to cut their way through and escape to the +jungle or, sometimes, to their boats. Kayans conducting a successful +attack of this kind will make as many prisoners as possible, and will +as a rule kill only those men who make desperate resistance, though +occasionally others, even women and children, may be wantonly killed +in the excitement of the moment. It is not unusual in the case of an +able-bodied man who has surrendered, but shown signs of attempting to +escape or of renewing his resistance, to deal him a heavy blow on the +knee-cap, and so render him lame for some time. It usually happens +that the greater part of the fugitives escape into the jungle; and +they are not pursued far, if the victors have secured a few heads and +a few prisoners. The head is hacked off at once from the body of any +one of the foe who falls in the fight; the trunk is left lying where +it fell. If any of the assailants are killed in the course of the fray, +their heads are not taken by their friends, and their corpses are left +upon the field covered with boughs, or at most, in the case of chiefs, +are dragged into the jungle and covered up with boughs and twigs, in +order to prevent their heads being taken by the enemy. If any of the +enemy remain so badly wounded that they are not likely to recover, +their heads are taken; and if no other heads have been secured, +the head of one of the more seriously wounded captives is taken, +or of one who is deformed or incapacitated in any way. If a captive +dies of his wounds his head is taken; but it is a rare exception for +Kayans to kill any of their captives after the short excitement of +the battle is over. The attacking party, even though it has gained a +decisive victory, usually returns with all speed, but in good order, +to its boats, carrying with it through the jungle all the loot that +is not too cumbersome for rapid portage, especially old beads, gongs, +and brass-ware; for they are always in danger of being cut off by +a party of their enemies, rallied and reinforced by parties from +neighbouring friendly villages. Still more are they liable to be +pursued and cut off, if the attack on the village has failed through +the defenders having been warned; for an attack upon a strong house or +village has little chance of success if the defenders are prepared for +and expecting it. The pursuit of the retreating party may be kept up +throughout one or two days, and, if the pursuers come up with them, +a brisk and bloody battle is the natural outcome; and it is under +these circumstances that the most severe fighting takes place. But +here again it is seldom that any large proportion of either party is +slain; for the dense jungle everywhere offers abundant opportunities +of concealment to those who condescend to seek its shelter, and there +are few, even among the Kayans and Kenyahs, who will fight to the +bitter end, if the alternative of flight is open to them. + +A successful war-party returning home makes no secret of its +success. The boats are decorated with palm leaves (DAUN ISANG), +and a triumphal chorus is raised from time to time, especially on +passing villages. As the villagers come out to gaze on them, those who +have taken heads stand up in the boats. The heads, slightly roasted, +are wrapped up in palm leaves and placed in baskets in the stern of +the boat. If the return home involves a journey of several days, +the victors will, if possible, pass the nights in the houses of +friendly villages, where they are made much of, especially those +who have taken heads; and on these occasions the glamour of victory +is apt to turn the heads of some of the women and to break down the +reserve that modesty normally imposes upon them. + +On approaching their own village, whither the rumour of their +success usually precedes them, the war-party is received with loud +acclamations, the people coming down to the riverside to receive +them. Before they ascend to the house, the heads have to be safely +lodged in a small hut specially built for their reception; and the +young boys are brought down to go through their first initiation in +the arts of war. Each child is made to hold a sword and, with the +assistance of some aged warrior, to strike a blow at one of the newly +captured heads. The older boys, some nine or ten years of age, who +are ripe for their second participation in mock warfare, also strike +at a head in a similar way, but engage also in mimic battles with one +another, using wooden swords and spears, and, curiously enough, small +roughly made bows and arrows.[59] It is customary for the victorious +warriors to spend the first night after their return encamped before +the house. A strip of green DAUN ISANG is tied about the left wrist +of each man who has taken part in the expedition, and also of each of +the young boys. Those who have taken heads adorn also their war-caps +with the same leaf and with feathered sticks. On the following day +a tall post of bamboo (BALAWING) is erected near the figure of the +war-god. It is covered with frayed palm leaves (DAUN ISANG), and from +its tip a single head, also wrapped in leaves, is suspended by a long +cord (Pl. 66). Before the altar-post of the war-god several shorter +thicker posts are erected, and to each of these two or three small +pieces of human flesh, brought home from the corpses of the slain +enemies for this purpose, are fastened with skewers. These pieces of +flesh seem to be thank-offerings to the hawks to whom the success is +largely attributed. These bits of flesh are dried over a fire at the +first opportunity on the return journey, in order to preserve them.[60] + +As soon as the news of the taking of heads reaches the house, the +people go out of mourning, I.E. they shave the parts of the scalp +surrounding the crown and pull out eyebrows and eyelashes (which have +been allowed to grow during mourning); they put off their bark-cloth +garments and resume their cotton-cloths and ornaments. + +If, as is usually the case on the return of a war-party, mourning for +a chief is to be terminated, one of the heads is carried down river +to his tomb, followed by most of the men, while the women wail in +the house. The head is first brought before the house, but not into +it. An old man shoots a dart into the air in the direction of the +enemy, and then, pattering out a long formula in the usual way, he +slaughters a fowl and puts a part of the carcase upon a short stick +thrust into the earth. The men of the party then march past, each +touching the carcase with his knee, and saying as he does so, "Cast +out sickness, make me strong and healthy, exalt me above my enemies, +etc. etc." Beside the tomb a tall pole is set up, and the head dressed +in leaves is suspended by a cord from its upper end. A number of pigs +will already have been slain in preparation for the feast, and their +lower jaws are hung about the tomb on poles. The deep war-chorus is +shouted by the party as it travels to and from the tomb. In returning +the whole party bathes in the river, and while they are in the water +an old man waves over them some of the ISANG leaves with which the +head has been decorated, wishing them health and long life. + +A few days (not less than four) after the return of the war-party, +the heads are brought into the house with much rejoicing and +ceremony. Every family kills a pig and roasts its flesh,[61] brings +out stores of rice-spirit, and prepares cakes of rice-flour. The pigs' +livers are examined, and their blood is smeared upon the altar-post +of the war-god with a sort of brush (PLA) made by fraying the end of +a stick in a more than usually elaborate manner. Each head, adorned +with a large bunch of DAUN ISANG, is carried by an elderly man or +woman into the house, followed by all the people of the house -- men, +women, and children -- in long procession. The procession marches +up and down the whole length of the gallery many times, the people +shouting, singing, stamping, and pounding on the floor with PADI +pestles, or playing the KELURI. This is followed by a general feast +and drinking bout, each family preparing its feast in its own chamber, +and entertaining friends and neighbours who come to take part in the +general rejoicing. In the course of the feasting the women usually +take temporary possession of the heads, and perform with them a wild, +uncouth dance, waving the heads to and fro, and chanting in imitation +of the men's war-song (Pl. 102). The procession may be resumed at +intervals until the heads are finally suspended beside the old ones +over the principal hearth of the gallery. The heads have usually +been prepared by removal of the brain through the great foramen, +by drying over a fire, and by lashing on the lower jaw with strips of +rattan. The suspension of the head is effected by piercing a round hole +in the crown, and passing through it from below, by way of the great +foramen, a rattan knotted at the end. The free end of the rattan is +passed through and tied in a hole in the lower edge of a long beam +suspended parallel to the length of the gallery from the beams of +the roof (Pl. 68). The Kenyahs suspend the heads in the same way as +the Kayans, but most of the Klemantans and Ibans use in place of the +long beam a strong basket-work in the shape of a cone, the apex being +attached to the roof beams, and the heads tied in two or three tiers +in the wall of the cone. In either case the heads hang some five or +six feet above the floor, where they are out of reach of the dogs. + + +Defence + +Since every Bornean long-house is, or until recently was, liable +at almost any time to a night attack of the kind described above, +the situation of the house is chosen with an eye to defence. The site +chosen is in nearly all cases on the bank of a river or stream large +enough for the navigation of small boats; a high and steep river-bank +is commonly preferred; and spits of land between two converging streams +or peninsulas formed by sharp bends of the rivers are favoured spots. + +Beside the natural situation, the prime defence of the house is its +elevation some 10 to 30 feet above the level of the ground, joined +with the difficulty of access to the house by means of narrow ladders +easily drawn up or thrown down. This elevation of the house serves +also to secure its contents against sudden risings of the river, +and also against the invasion of evil odours from the refuse which +accumulates below it; but its primary purpose is undoubtedly defence +against human enemies. The interval between the low outer wall of the +gallery and the lower edge of the roof is the only aperture through +which missiles can be hurled into the house, and this is so narrow +as to render the entry of any missiles well-nigh impossible. + +When a household gets wind of an intended attack, they generally put +the house into a state of defence by erecting a fence of vertical +stakes around it, some three yards outside the posts on which it is +supported and some six to eight feet in height. This fence is rendered +unclimbable by a frieze consisting of a multitude of slips of bamboo; +each of these is sharpened at both ends, bent upon itself, and thrust +between the poles of the palisade so that its sharp points (Pl. 100) +are directed outwards. This dense jungle of loosely attached spikes +constitutes an obstacle not easily overcome by the enemy; for the +loosely fitting bamboo slips can neither be hacked away nor removed +individually without considerable expenditure of time, during which +the attackers are exposed to a shower of missiles from the house. A +double ladder in the form of a stile is placed across the fence +to permit the passage of the people of the house. If there is any +definite pathway leading to the house, a log is sometimes suspended +above it by a rattan passing over a branch of a tree and carried to +the house. This can be allowed to fall upon the approaching enemy by +severing the rattan where it is tied within the house (Klemantan). + +A further precaution is to stick into the ground round about the house +a large number of slips of bamboo. Each slip is some six inches in +length, and its sharp, fire-hardened point projects upwards and a +little outwards. + +If the attacking party is likely to approach by the river, a trap +may be arranged at some point where, by reason of rapids or rocks, +the boats are likely to be delayed. Here a large tree overhanging +the river is chosen for the trap. Stout rattans are made fast to its +branches, brought over the branches of a neighbouring tree, and made +fast in some spot within reach of a hidden watcher. The stem of the +overhanging tree is then cut almost through, so that a few blows of +a sword, severing the supporting rattans, may cause the tree to fall +upon the passing boat. + +When a hostile war-party enters a section of a river in which there +is a number of villages of one tribe or of friendly tribes, its +approach may be signalled throughout the district by the beating +of the TAWAK. The same peculiar rhythm is used for this purpose by +all the tribes, though it probably has been copied from the Kayans +by all the others. It consists in a rapid series of strokes of +increasing rate upon the boss, followed by one long deep note, and +two shorter ones struck upon the body and once repeated. Whenever +this war-alarm is heard in a village, it is repeated, and so passed +on from village to village. The people working in the farms or in the +jungle, or travelling on the river, return at once to their villages on +hearing the alarm, and the houses are prepared for defence. When the +news of the approach of a hostile party has been spread in this way +throughout the river, it has little chance of successfully attacking +a house or village, and it will, unless very numerous, content itself +with attempting to cut off some of the people returning home from +the farms. If the invading party is very strong, it may surround a +house whose defenders have been warned of their coming, and attempt +to starve them into submission. In the old days it was not uncommon +for a strong party of Kayans to descend upon a settlement of the more +peaceable coastwise people, and to extort from them a large payment of +brass-ware as the price of their safety. If the unfortunate household +submitted to this extortion, the Kayans would keep faith with them, +and would ratify a treaty of peace by making the headman of the +village blood-brother of their chief. + +Some features of the tactics adopted by the Kayans are worthy of +more detailed description. If a strong party determines to attack a +house in face of an alert defence, they may attempt to storm it in +broad daylight by forming several compact bodies of about twenty-five +men. Each body protects itself with a roof of shields held closely +together, and the several parties move quickly in upon the house +simultaneously from different points, and attempt to carry it by +assault. The defenders of the house would attempt to repel such an +attack by hurling heavy bars of iron-wood, sharpened at both ends, in +such a way that the bar twirls in the air as it hurtles through it; +and this is one of the few occasions on which the blow-pipe is used +as a weapon of defence. + +A village that has been warned of the approach of the foe may send out +a party to attempt to ambush the attackers at some difficult passage of +the river or the jungle. Scouts are sent out to locate the enemy. Some +climb to the tops of tall trees to look for the smoke of the enemy's +fires. Having located the enemy, the scouts approach so closely as to +be able to count their numbers and observe all their movements; and, +keeping in touch with the party, they send messages to their chief. If +the defenders succeed in ambushing the attackers and in killing +several of them, the latter usually withdraw discouraged, and may for +the time give up the attempt. If the defending party should come upon +the enemy struggling against a rapid, and especially if the enemy is +in difficulties through the upsetting of some of their boats, or in +any other way, they may fall upon them in the open bed of the river, +and then ensues the comparatively rare event, a stand-up fight in the +open. This resolves itself in the main into hand-to-hand duels between +pairs of combatants, as in the heroic age. The warriors select their +opponents and approach warily; they call upon one another by name, +hurling taunts and swaggering boastfully in the heroic style. Each +abuses the other's parents, and threatens to use his opponent's +skin as a war-coat, or his scrotum as a tobacco-pouch, to take +his head and to use his hair as an ornament for a PARANG-handle; +or doubt as to the opponent's sex may be insinuated. While this +exchange of compliments goes on, the warriors are manoeuvring for +favourable positions; each crouches, thrusting forward his left leg, +covering himself as completely as possible with his long shield, +and dodging to and fro continually. The short javelins and spears +are first hurled, and skilfully parried with spear and shield. When +a man has expended his stock of javelins and has hurled his spear, +he closes in with his PARANG. His enemy seeks to receive the blow of +the PARANG on his shield in such a way that the point, entering the +wood, may be held fast by it. Feinting and dodging are practised; +one man thrusts out his left leg to tempt the other to strike at it +and to expose his head in doing so. If one succeeds in catching his +enemy's PARANG in his shield, he throws down the shield and dashes +upon his now weaponless foe, who takes to his heels, throwing away +his shield and relying merely on his swiftness of foot. When one of +a pair of combatants is struck down, the other springs upon him and, +seizing the long hair of the scalp and yelling in triumph, severs the +neck with one or two blows of the PARANG. The warrior who has drawn +first blood of the slain foe claims the credit of having taken his +head. Such a free fight seldom lasts more than a few minutes. Unless +one party quite overwhelms the other in the first few minutes, both +draw off, and the fight is seldom renewed. + +Since the establishment of the European governments in Borneo, +punitive expeditions have been necessary from time to time in order +to put a stop to wanton raiding and killing. In this respect the +Ibans and some of the Klemantans have been the chief offenders; +while the Kayans and Kenyahs have seldom given trouble, after once +placing themselves under the established governments. In the Baram +river, in which the Kayans form probably a larger proportion of the +population than in any other, no such expedition against them has +been necessary since they accepted the government of H.H. the Rajah +of Sarawak nearly twenty-five years ago. + +In organising such an expedition, the European governments, especially +that of Sarawak, have usually relied in the main on the services +of loyal chiefs and their followers, acting under the control of a +European magistrate, and supported usually by a small body of native +police or soldiers armed with rifles. There is usually no difficulty +in securing the co-operation of any desired number of native allies or +volunteers; for in this way alone can the people now find a legitimate +outlet for their innate and traditional pugnacity. Sometimes the +people to be punished desert their village, hiding themselves in +the jungle; and in such cases the burning of their houses is usually +deemed sufficient punishment. In cases of more serious crime, such as +repeated wanton bloodshed and refusal to yield to the demands of the +government, it becomes necessary to apprehend the persons primarily +responsible, and, for this purpose, to pursue the fugitives. These +sometimes establish themselves on a hill-top surrounded by precipices +which can be scaled only by the aid of ladders, and there defy the +government forces until the hill is carried by assault, or by siege, +or the defenders are enticed to descend. One such hill in the basin +of the Rejang (Sarawak), Bukit Batu by name, consists of a mass of +porphyry some 1500 feet in height, and several miles in diameter, +with very precipitous sides. This has been used again and again as a +place of refuge by recalcitrant offenders, being so strong a natural +fortress that it has never been possible to carry it by assault. On +the last occasion on which Bukit Batu was used in this way, two Iban +chiefs established themselves on the hill and defied the government +of Sarawak for a period of four years, during which the hill became a +place of refuge for all evil-doers and outlaws among the Ibans of the +Rejang and neighbouring districts, who built their houses on ledges +of the mountain some four hundred feet above the level of the river. + +The punitive expedition that we briefly describe in Chapter XXII. was +but a small affair compared with some, in which as many as 10,000 +or 12,000 men have mustered under the government flag. So large a +number is seldom necessary or desired by the government; but when +contingents from all the loyal communities of a large district eagerly +offer their services, it is difficult to deny any of them permission +to take part. Kenyahs and Kayans will co-operate harmoniously, and +also Klemantans; but the former distrust the Sea Dayaks and will not +join forces with any large number of them. + +The modes of warfare of the other tribes are similar in most respects +to that of the Kayans described above; but some peculiarities are +worthy of note. + +Kenyah warfare is very similar to Kayan, save in so far as their +more impetuous temper renders their tactics more dashing. While the +Kayans endeavour to make as many captives as possible, the Kenyahs +attach little value to them. While Kayans never attack communities of +their own tribe, such "civil war" is not unknown among the Kenyahs, +whose tribal cohesion is less intimate in many respects. From these +two differences it results that the Kenyah war-parties are generally +smaller than those of the Kayans, more quick-moving, and more prone to +attack groups of the enemy encountered on farms or on the river. Like +the Ibans, the Kenyahs make peace more readily than the Kayans, who +nurse their grievances and seek redress after long intervals of time. + +The Ibans conduct their warfare less systematically, and with far +less discipline than the Kayans and Kenyahs. An attack upon a house +or village by Bans is usually made in very large force; the party +is more of the nature of a rabble than of an army; each man acts +independently. They seek above all things to take heads, to which they +attach an extravagant value, unlike the Kayans and Kenyahs who seek +heads primarily for the service of their funeral rites; and they not +infrequently attack a house and kill a large number of its inmates in +a perfectly wanton manner, and for no other motive that the desire to +obtain heads. This passion for heads leads them sometimes into acts +of gross treachery and brutality. The Ibans being great wanderers, +small parties of them, engaged perhaps in working jungle produce, will +settle for some weeks in a household of Klemantans, and, after being +received hospitably, and sometimes even after contracting marriages +with members of the household, will seize an opportunity, when most +of the men of the house are from home, to take the heads of all the +men, women, and children who remain, and to flee with them to their +own distant homes. + +So strong is this morbid desire of the Ibans to obtain human heads, +that a war-party will sometimes rob the tombs of the villages of +other tribes and, after smoking the stolen heads of the corpses, +will bring them home in triumph with glowing accounts of the stout +resistance offered by the victims. Their attitude in this matter is +well expressed by a saying current among them, namely, "Why should +we eat the hard caked rice from the edge of the pot when there's +plenty of soft rice in the centre?" The Iban women urge on the men +to the taking of heads; they make much of those who bring them home, +and sometimes a girl will taunt her suitor by saying that he has not +been brave enough to take a head; and in some cases of murder by Sea +Dayaks, the murderer has no doubt been egged on in this way. + +Nevertheless, we repeat that there is no ground for the oft-reprinted +assertion that the taking of a head is a necessary prelude to +marriage.[62] Like other tribesmen Ibans do not bring home the heads +of their companions who have fallen in battle; but while men of other +tribes are content to drag the corpses of their fallen friends into +some obscure spot and to cover them with branches, Ibans frequently +cut off the heads and bury them at a distance from the scene of battle, +in order to prevent their being taken by the enemy. + +The Ibans use a rather greater variety of weapons than the Kayans, +in that they have spears whose blades bear barbs which prevent the +withdrawal of the blade from the body of the enemy without great +violence. + +The Klemantan tribes are on the whole far less warlike than Kayans, +Kenyahs, and Ibans. Their offensive warfare is usually on a small +scale, and is undertaken primarily for revenge. Their warlike ambition +is easily satisfied by the taking of a single head, or even by a +mere hostile demonstration against the enemy's house. Nevertheless, +like all the other tribes, except the Punans, the Klemantans need a +human head to terminate a period of mourning. + +We venture to append to this chapter a few speculations on the +origin and history of head-hunting. From what we have said above it +is clear that the Ibans are the only tribe to which one can apply the +epithet head-hunters with the usual connotation of the word, namely, +that head-hunting is pursued as a form of sport. But although the Ibans +are the most inveterate head-hunters, it is probable that they adopted +the practice some few generations ago only (perhaps a century and a +half or even less) in imitation of Kayans or other tribes among whom +it had been established for a longer period. The rapid growth of the +practice among the Ibans was no doubt largely due to the influence +of the Malays, who had been taught by Arabs and others the arts of +piracy, and with whom the Ibans were associated in the piratical +enterprises that gave the waters around Borneo a sinister notoriety +during the eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth centuries. Until +the middle of the nineteenth century, the settlements of Ibans were +practically confined to the rivers of the southern part of Sarawak; +and there the Malays of Bruni and of other coast settlements enlisted +them as crews for their pirate ships. In these piratical expeditions +the Malays assigned the heads of their victims as the booty of their +Iban allies, while they kept for themselves the forms of property of +greater cash value. The Malays were thus interested in encouraging in +the Ibans the passion for head-hunting which, since the suppression of +piracy, has found vent in the irregular warfare and treacherous acts +described above. It was through their association with the Malays in +these piratical expeditions that the Ibans became known to Europeans +as the Sea Dayaks. + +It seems not impossible that the practice of taking the heads of +fallen enemies arose by extension of the custom of taking the hair +for the ornamentation of the shield and sword-hilt. It seems possible +that human hair was first applied to shields in order to complete the +representation of a terrible human face, which, as we have seen, is +commonly painted on the shield, and which is said to be valued as an +aid to confusing and terrifying the foe. It is perhaps a difficulty +in the way of this view that the use of human hair to ornament +the shield is peculiar to the Kenyahs and some of the Klemantans +(the latter probably having imitated the former in this), and does +not occur among the Kayans. The Kenyahs themselves preserve the +tradition of the origin of the taking of heads; and the suggestion +is further borne out by the legend of TOKONG, which is widely known, +but is probably of Kenyah origin (see Chapter XVII.), according to +which the frog admonished a great Kenyah chief that he should cease to +take only the hair of the fallen foe, but should take their heads also. + +A second plausible view of the origin of head-taking is that it arose +out of the custom of slaying slaves on the death of a chief, in order +that they might accompany and serve him on his journey to the other +world. We have pointed out several reasons for believing that this +practice was formerly general, and that it has fallen into desuetude, +but is hardly yet quite extinct. It is obvious that since the soul +of the dead man is regarded as hovering in the neighbourhood of the +body for some little time after its death, it would be felt that the +despatch of a companion soul was not a matter of immediate urgency; +and considerations of economy might well lead the mourners to prefer +capturing and killing members of some hostile community to slaying one +or more of their slaves, highly valued and sometimes affectionately +regarded as they are. It would then be felt that the relatives of +the deceased should continue to display signs of mourning until they +should have discharged this last duty to their departed friend. The +next step would be to supplant the practice of capturing a member of a +hostile community, and bringing him home to be slain, by the simpler, +less troublesome, and more merciful one of slaying the enemy on the +field of combat and bringing home only his head. In this way we may, +with some plausibility, seek to account for the origin of the practice +of taking heads, and of the tradition that the taking of a head is +necessary for the termination of a period of mourning. This second +suggestion is strongly supported by the fact that Kayans, Kenyahs, +and Klemantans occasionally, on returning home from a successful raid, +will carry one of the newly taken heads to the tomb of the chief for +whom they are mourning, and will hang it upon, or deposit it within, +the tomb beside the coffin. The head used for this purpose is thickly +covered with leaves (DAUN ISANG) tied tightly about it. It is possible +that this thick covering was first applied in order to disguise the +fact that the head is that of an enemy, and that the sacrifice of the +life of a domestic slave, originally demanded by custom and piety, +has been avoided by this process of substitution. + +We have suggested above two different origins of the custom of +taking the heads of enemies. These two possibilities are by no means +mutually exclusive, and we are inclined to think that both substitutive +processes may have co-operated in bringing about this custom. + +It seems probable that the taking of heads was introduced to Borneo +by Kayans when they entered the island, probably some few centuries +ago, and that the Klemantans and other tribes, like the Ibans, have +adopted the custom from their example. + +We will conclude this chapter by questioning yet another of the +stories, the frequent repetition of which has given the tribes of the +interior the reputation of being savages of the worst type, namely, +the story that it is the practice of Kayans to torture the captives +taken in battle. This evil repute is, we have no doubt, largely +due to the fact that very few Europeans have acquired any intimate +first-hand acquaintance with the Kayans or Kenyahs; and that too +often the stories told by Sea Dayaks have been uncritically accepted; +for the Sea Dayaks have been bitterly hostile to the Kayans ever since +the tribes have been in contact; and the Iban is a great romancer. It +will be found that many of the alleged instances of torture by Kayans +have been described by Sea Dayaks; and we think there is good reason +for hesitating to accept any of these. But we would point out that, +if some of these accounts have been founded on fact, the Sea Dayak +victims, or their companions, have in all probability provoked the +Kayans to severe, reprisals by their atrocious behaviour, and may be +fairly said to have deserved their fate. + +It is true that Kayans have been guilty of leaving a slave or captive +bound upon a tomb until he has died from exposure to the sun. We know +also of one instance in which a Murut slave, having treacherously +murdered the only son of a great Kayan chief in the Baram, at the +instigation of Bruni Malays, was killed by a multitude of small stabs +by the infuriated Kayan women, on being brought captive to the house. + +But such occurrences as these by no means justify the statement that it +is the practice of Kayans to torture their captives; and we have heard +of no well-attested instances that give any colour to it. As we have +said above, Kayans commonly treat their captives so kindly that they +soon become content to remain in the households of their captors. The +Kayan feeling about torture is well illustrated by the fact that the +Kayan village responsible for the exposure of the slave mentioned +above was looked at askance by other Kayans. The spot was regarded +with horror by them, and they regard as a consequence of this act the +failure of the line of the chief of that village to perpetuate itself. + +We have to admit that some of the Klemantans cannot be so +whole-heartedly defended against the charge of torturing their +captives. But we believe that it is not regularly practised by any +Klemantan tribe, but rather only on occasions which in some way evoke +an exceptional degree of emotional excitement. Thus, in one instance +known to us, the Orang Bukit of the Bruni territory, having lost the +most highly respected of their chiefs, purchased a slave in Bruni to +serve as the funereal victim, and, having shut him in a wicker cage, +killed him with a multitude of stabs, some eight hundred persons +taking part in the act. But even this act was, it must be observed, +of the nature of a pious and religious rite rather than an act of +wanton cruelty. + +We cannot leave this subject without this last word. If we are quite +frank, we shall have to admit that, even though the worst accounts of +Kayan cruelty were substantially true, such behaviour would not in the +least justify the belief that the Kayans are innately more cruel than +ourselves. If we are tempted to take this view, let us remember that, +after our own race had professed Christianity for many generations, +the authority of Church and State publicly decreed and systematically +inflicted in cold blood tortures far more hideous and atrocious than +any the Kayan imagination has ever conceived. + + + +CHAPTER 11 + +Handicrafts + +In any account of the arts and crafts of the Kayans, the working of +iron claims the first place by reason of its high importance to them +and of the skill and knowledge displayed by them in the difficult +operations by which they produce their fine swords. The origin of +their knowledge of iron and of the processes of smelting and forging +remains hidden in mystery; but there can be little doubt that the +Kayans were familiar with these processes before they entered Borneo, +and it is probable that the Kayans were the first ironworkers in +Borneo, and that from them the other tribes have learnt the craft +with various measures of success.[63] However this may be, the Kayans +remain the most skilful ironworkers of the country, rivalled only in +the production of serviceable sword-blades by the Kenyahs. + +At the present day the Kayans, like all the other peoples, obtain +their iron in the form of bars of iron and steel imported from Europe +and distributed by the Chinese and Malay traders. But thirty years ago +nearly all the iron worked by the tribes of the interior was from ore +found in the river-beds, and possibly from masses of meteoric iron; +and even at the present day the native ore is still smelted in the +far interior, and swords made from it by the Kenyahs are still valued +above all others. + +Smelting and forging demand a specialised skill which is attained +by relatively few. But in each Kayan village are to be found two or +three or more skilled smiths, who work up for a small fee the metal +brought them by their friends, the finishing touches being generally +given by the owner of the implement according to his own fancy. + +The smelting is performed by mixing the ore with charcoal in +a clay crucible, which is embedded in a pile of charcoal. The +charcoal being ignited is blown to a white heat by the aid of four +piston-bellows. Each of the bellows consists of a wooden cylinder +(generally made from the stem of a wild sago palm) about four feet in +length and six inches in diameter, fixed vertically in a framework +carrying a platform, on which two men sit to work the pistons (see +Pl. 107). The lower end of each cylinder is embedded in clay, and +into it near its lower end is inserted a tube of bamboo, which, lying +horizontally on the ground, converges upon and joins with a similar +tube of a second cylinder. The common tube formed by this junction in +turn converges with the tube common to the other pair of cylinders, +and with it opens by a clay junction into a final common tube of clay, +which leads to the base of the fire. The piston consists of a stout +stick bearing at its lower end a bunch of feathers large enough to +fill the bore of the cylinder. When the piston is thrust downwards, +it drives the air before it to the furnace; as it is drawn upwards, +the feathers collapsing allow the entrance of air from above. The +upper extremity of each of the piston-rods is attached by a cord to +one end of a stout pliable stick, which is firmly fixed at its other +end in a horizontal position, the cord being of such a length that the +piston-head is supported by it near the upper end of the cylinder. Two +men squat upon the platform and each works one pair of the cylinders, +grasping a piston-rod in each hand, thrusting them down alternately, +and allowing the elastic reaction of the supporting rods above to +draw them up again. The crucible, having been brought to white heat +in the furnace, is allowed to cool, when a mass of metallic iron or +steel is found within it. + +The forging of implements from the metal obtained is effected by the +aid of a charcoal furnace to which a blast is supplied by the bellows +described above, or sometimes by one consisting of two cylinders +only. Stone anvils and hammers were formerly used, and may still +be seen in use in the far interior (Fig. 31); but the Kayans make +iron hammers and an anvil consisting of a short thick bar of iron, +the lower end of which is fixed vertically in a large block of wood. + +The peculiarly shaped and finely tempered sword-blade, MALAT, is +the highest product of the Kayan blacksmith. The smith begins his +operations on a bar of steel some eight inches in length. One end is +either grasped with pincers, or thrust firmly into a block of wood +that serves for a handle. The other end is heated in the furnace and +gradually beaten out until the peculiar shape of the blade is achieved, +with the characteristic hollow on the one side and convexity on the +other. If the blade is to be a simple and unadorned weapon, there +follow only the tempering, grinding, and polishing. But many blades +are ornamented with curled ridges projecting from the back edge. These +are cut and turned up with an iron chisel while the metal is hot and +before tempering. + +Two methods of tempering are in use. One is to heat the blade in +the fire and to plunge it at a dull heat into water. The other is +to lay the cold blade upon a flat bar of red-hot iron. This has the +advantage that the degree of the effect upon the blade can be judged +from the change of its colour as it absorbs the heat. The Kayan smiths +are expert in judging by the colours of the surface the degree and +kind of temper produced. They aim at producing a very tough steel, +for the MALAT has to serve not only in battle, but also for hacking +a path through the jungle, and for many other purposes. + +Many sword-blades are elaborately decorated with scroll designs along +the posterior border and inlaid with brass. The inlaid brass commonly +takes the form of a number of small discs let into the metal near the +thick edge; small holes are punched through the hot metal, and brass +wire is passed through each hole, cut off flush with the surface and +hammered flat. The designs are chased on the cold metal with a chisel +and hammer supplemented by a file. The polishing and sharpening are +done in several stages: the first stage usually by rubbing the blade +upon a block of sandstone; the second stage by the use of a hone of +finer grain; and the highest polish is attained by rubbing with a leaf +whose surface is hard and probably contains silicious particles. At +the present time imported files are much used. + +Other implements fashioned by the smiths are the small knives, +spear-heads, hoes, small adzes, rods for boring the sumpitan, the +anvil, and the various hammers, and chisels, and rough files used by +the smiths. + + +Brass-work + +Although brass-ware is so highly valued by all the peoples of the +interior, the only brazen articles made by them (with one exception +presently to be noticed) are the heavy ear-rings of the women. The +common form is a simple ring of solid metal interrupted at one point +by a gap about an eighth of an inch wide, through which is pulled the +thin band of skin formed by stretching the lobule of the ear. Other +rings form about one and a half turns of a corkscrew spiral. These +rings are cast in moulds of clay, or in some cases in moulds hollowed +in two blocks of stone which are nicely opposed. + +The Malohs, a Klemantan sub-tribe in the upper basin of the Kapuas +river, are well known as brass-workers; their wares are bartered +throughout the country, and a few Maloh brass-workers may be found +temporarily settled in many of the larger villages of all tribes. They +make the brass corsets of the Iban women, tweezers for pulling out the +hair of the face, brass ear-rings, and a variety of small articles, +and they make use of the larger brass-ware of Malay and Chinese origin +as the source of their material. + + +Fire Piston + +This very ingenious instrument for the making of fire is cast in +metal by the Ibans. (See Fig. 36 and Pl. 108.) It consists of a +hollow brass or leaden cylinder about five inches in length and one +inch in diameter, the bore being about one-quarter of an inch in +diameter and closed at one end. A wooden piston, which closely fits +the bore, bears a rounded knob; it is driven down the cylinder by a +sharp blow of the palm upon the knob and is quickly withdrawn. The +heat generated by the compression of the air ignites a bit of tinder +(made by scraping the fibrous surface of the leaf stem of the Arenga +palm) at the bottom of the cylinder. The cylinder is cast by pouring +the molten metal into a section of bamboo, while a polished iron rod +is held vertically in the centre to form the bore. When the cylinder +is cold the iron rod is extracted, and the outer surface is trimmed +and shaped with knife or file. + + +Boat-building + +The Kayans make much use of boats, as described in Chapter VIII., and +are skilful boat-makers. The forest offers them an abundant variety +of timbers suitable for the different types of boat used by them. + +The most ambitious efforts of this kind are devoted to the construction +of the great war-boats, fine specimens of which are as much as +100 feet in length, or even, in exceptional instances, nearly 150 +feet. The foundation of every boat is a single piece of timber shaped +and hollowed by fire and adze. Several kinds of timber are used, +the best being the kinds known as AROH (SHOREA) and NGELAI (AFZELIA +PALAMBANICA). Sometimes a suitable stem is found floating down river +and brought to the bank before the house. But such good fortune is +exceptional, and commonly a tree is selected in the forest as near as +possible to the river bank. The tree is felled in the way described in +Chapter VI. (Pl. 55), its branches are hewed away, and the stem is cut +to the required length and roughly hewn into shape. About one-fourth +of the circumference of the stem is cut away along the whole length, +and from this side the stem is hollowed. When, by chopping out the +centre, the thickness of this shell has been reduced to a thickness of +some five inches, it is brought down to the river. This is effected +by laying through the jungle a track consisting of smooth poles laid +across the direction of progress; the hollowed stem is pulled endwise +over this track with the aid of rattans, perhaps a hundred or more men +combining their strength. If the stem proves too heavy to be moved +at any part of the journey by their direct pull and push, a rough +windlass is constructed by fixing the stem of a small tree across +two standing trees and winding the rattans upon this, the trimmed +branches of the tree serving as the arms of the windlass. The Kayans +are skilled in this kind of transport of heavy timber; for the building +of their houses and of the larger tombs involves similar difficulties, +though the timbers required for these purposes are not so huge as those +used for the war-boats. Arrived at the river bank, the hollowed stem +is launched upon the water and towed down stream to the village at a +time when the water is high. It is made fast to the bank before the +village at as high a point as the water will allow, so that when the +river subsides it is left high and dry. A leaf shelter is then built +over it to protect it and the workers from the sun. The shell is then +further hollowed, partly by firing it with shavings inside and out, +and by scraping away the charred surfaces. The inside is fired first; +then the hollow is filled with water, and the outside is fired. + +When in this way the shell has been reduced to a thickness of a few +inches, it is opened out, while hot from firing and still filled +with water, by wedging stout sticks some six to seven feet in length +between the lateral walls, so that the hollow stem (which hitherto +has had the form of a hollow cylinder some three to four feet in +diameter, lacking along its whole length a strip about the fourth +of its circumference) becomes a shallow trough some six to seven +feet wide in the middle of its length. During the hollowing, small +buttresses are left along each side at intervals of about two feet to +form supports for benches. After the opening, the shell is left lying +covered with branches for some days, while the wood sets in its new +form. The outer surface is then shaved approximately to the required +degree, all irregularities are removed, and holes about half-an-inch +in diameter are bored through all parts of the shell at intervals of +some twenty inches. Wooden pegs are then hammered into these holes, +each peg bearing two marks or grooves at an interval equal to the +thickness of the shell desired at each part; the peg is driven in from +the outside until the outer groove is flush with the outer surface of +the shell, and the projecting part is cut away; the inner surface is +then further chipped and scraped in each area until it becomes level +with the inner groove on the peg. In this way the workers are enabled +to give to each part its appropriate thickness. The outer surface is +then finally smoothed to form about one-third of a cylinder, and the +foundation is complete. It only remains to lash the cross-benches to +their supports, to raise the sides by lashing on a gunwale, and to +fit in wedge-shaped blocks at bow and stern. The gunwale consists of +a tough plank some ten inches wide overlapping the outer edge of the +shell, and lashed firmly to it by rattan strips piercing both shell +and planks at intervals of about six inches. In some cases the gunwale +is further raised in its middle part by lashing on a second smaller +plank to the upper edge of the first. The block fitted in at the +prow presents to the water a flat surface inclined at a low angle; +and a similar block completes the shell at the stern. The prow is +often ornamented with the head of a crocodile or the conventional +dog's head carved in hard wood and painted in red and black. + +The whole operation, like every other important undertaking, is +preceded by the finding of omens, and it is liable to be postponed +by the observation of ill omens, by bad dreams, or by any misfortune +such as a death in the house. In each house are certain men who are +specially skilled in boat-making, and by them the work is directed and +all the finer part of the work executed. In the case of a war-boat +which is to be the property of the household, these special workers +are paid a fee out of the store of valuables accumulated under the +care of the chief by way of fines and confiscations. + +The smaller boats, ranging from a small canoe suitable for one +or two paddlers only, to one capable of carrying a score or more, +are generally private property. These, like the war-boats, are made +from a single stem. The larger ones are made in just the same way +as the war-boats. In the smaller ones the bow is shaped from the +solid block and is not opened out, as is the rest of the boat. The +craftsman who makes a boat for another is helped by his customer, +and is paid by him a fee in brass-ware or dollars, the usual fee +being a TAWAK varying in size according to the size of the boat. + +If Kayans find themselves for any reason in immediate need of a +boat when none is at hand, they sometimes fashion one very rapidly +by stripping the bark from a big tree. The two ends of the sheet of +bark are folded and lashed with rattan to form bow and stern; the +middle part is wedged open with cross-pieces which serve as benches, +and the shell is strengthened with transverse ribs and longitudinal +strips. A serviceable boat capable of carrying several men and their +baggage may be completed in the course of two hours. Such a makeshift +boat is more commonly made by Sea Dayaks. + +Of all the interior tribes the Kayans are probably the best +boat-makers; but most of them make their own boats in the same way as +the Kayans. There are, however, a few of the Klemantan sub-tribes who +never attempt to make anything more than a very rough small canoe +of soft wood, and who buy from others what boats they need. This +is a curious instance of the persistent lack of the tradition of a +specialised craft among communities that might have been expected to +acquire it easily from their neighbours. + +For ordinary work a rough paddle made from iron-wood is generally used; +the blade and shaft are of one piece; the flat blade, nearly two feet +in length, is widest about six inches below its junction with the +shaft, and from this point tapers slightly to its square extremity; +the shaft is about three feet in length and carries, morticed to its +upper end, a cross-piece for the grip of the upper hand. + +A few paddles, especially those made for women, are very finely +shaped and finished, and have their shafts ornamented with carving +of a variety of designs, generally one band of carving immediately +above the blade and a second below the cross-piece. Some of the +Klemantans excel the Kayans in this work, producing very beautiful +women's paddles, sometimes with designs of inlaid lead (Pl. 92). + + +House-building + +A Kayan community seldom continues to inhabit the same spot for more +than about a dozen years; though in exceptional instances houses are +continuously inhabited for thirty or even forty years. House-building +is thus a craft of great importance, and the Kayans are seldom content +to build their houses in the comparatively flimsy style adopted +by the Ibans and some of the Klemantans, and even occasionally by +Kenyahs. The main features of the structure of a Kayan long-house +have been described in Chapter IV. Here it remains only to describe +some of the more peculiar and important processes of construction. + +The great piles that support the house may be floated down river +from the old house to be used in the construction of the new; +[64] they are not dug from the ground, but are felled by cutting +close to the surface of the ground. The great planks of the floor, +the main cross-beams, and the wooden shingles of the roof, are also +commonly carried from the old house to the new. If a house has been +partially destroyed by fire, no part of the materials of the old +house is used in the construction of the new; for it is felt that +in some indefinable way the use of the old material would render the +new house very liable to the same fate, as though the new house would +be infected by the materials with the ill-luck attaching to the old +house.[65] In such cases, or upon migration to a different river, +the whole of the timbers for the house have to be procured from the +jungle, and shaped, and erected; and the process of construction is +extremely laborious. But once the timber has been brought together +upon the chosen site, the building goes on rapidly, and the whole of a +house some hundreds of yards in length may be substantially completed +within a fortnight. The main supports of the structure are four rows +of massive columns of iron-wood. Holes about four feet in depth are +dug for the reception of the butt ends of these. They are disposed +in the manner indicated in the diagrams (Figs. 37, 38, 39), so that +a single row supports the front of the house, another the back, and a +double row the middle.[66] The intervals between the columns of each +row are about twenty feet, or rather more. Each pile is erected by +raising the one end until the other slips into the hole. Rattans are +tied round it a little above its middle and passed over a tall tripod +of stout poles. A number of men haul on these while others shove up +the top end with their shoulders. The pile is thus suspended with its +butt end resting so lightly on the ground that it can easily be guided +into the hole prepared for its reception. Smaller accessory piles, +to serve as additional supports, are put under the main cross beams of +the floor when these have been laid. The columns of the double row in +the middle line are about six feet taller than those of the front and +back rows. For the support of the floor a massive squared transverse +tie is morticed through each set of four columns at a height of some +fifteen to twenty feet from the ground, and secured by a pin through +each extremity. A squared roof-plate, still more massive than the floor +ties, is then laid upon the crowns of the columns of the front row, +along its whole length, and a second one upon the back row. This is +dowelled upon the columns (I.E. the top of the column is cut to form a +pin which is let into the longitudinal beam); and the beams which make +up the roof-plate are spliced, generally in such a way that the top of +a column serves as the pin of the splice. Each of these heavy beams +is generally lifted into its place by tiers of men standing on poles +lashed at different heights across the columns, their efforts being +seconded by others pulling on rattans which run from the beam over +the topmost cross-pole. The framework of the roof is then completed +by laying stout roof-ties across the crowns of the double row of +columns of the middle line, and lashing their extremities to stout +purlins (longitudinal beams for the support of the rafters in the +middle of their length), and by laying the ridge-timber upon a line +of perpendicular struts. The ridge-timber and purlins, though less +heavy than the roof-plates, consist also of stout squared timbers, +spliced to form beams continuous throughout the whole length of the +house. The rafters are laid at an angle of about forty degrees and +at intervals of eighteen inches; they are lashed to the ridge-timber +and to the purlins, and lipped on to the roof-plates, beyond which +they project about four feet to form an cave. Strong flat strips or +laths are laid along the rafters parallel to the length of the house +at intervals of about sixteen inches. On these are laid the shingles +or slats of iron-wood in regular rows, in just the way in which roof +tiles are laid in this country. Each slat is a slab about +1 x 30 x 12 inches, and is +lashed by a strip of rattan, which pierces its upper end, to one +of the laths. The floor is completed by laying longitudinal joists +of stout poles across the main floor-ties; the poles are notched to +grip the ties. Upon these joists, transversely to them, are laid a +number of flat strips which immediately support the floor planks; +these are kept in place by their own weight. + +In a well-built house these planks are between thirty and forty feet +in length, or even more, two to three feet in breadth, and three to +four inches thick. They are made from tough strong timber, but usually +not from the iron-wood trees. They are moved from house to house, +and some of those in use are probably hundreds of years old. A single +tree is generally made to yield two such planks. After being felled +it is split into halves longitudinally in the following way. A deep +groove is cut along one side, and wedges of hard tough wood are driven +in with rough heavy mallets. Deep transverse grooves are then cut in +the rounded surface of each half at intervals of three or four feet; +and the intervening masses of wood are split off. In this way it is +whittled down until it is only some six inche's thick. The plank is +then trimmed down to the desired thickness by blows of the adze struck +across the direction of the grain. The two ends are generally left +untrimmed until the plank has been transported to the site of the +house and has lain there for some time. This prevents its splitting +during the journey to the house and the period of seasoning. + +When the floor has been laid, it only remains to make the main +partition wall which separates the gallery from the rooms along +the whole length of the house, and the walls between the several +rooms. These walls are made only some eight or nine feet in height. The +wall of the gallery is made of vertical planks lashed to horizontal +rails whose extremities are let into the columns of the anterior +set of the double median row. The wall thus divides the house into a +narrower front part, the gallery, and a broader back part; the latter +is subdivided by the transverse walls into the series of rooms each +of which accommodates one family. + +The work of construction is carried on by all the men of the house; +the women and children lend what aid they can in the way of fetching +and carrying, and in preparing rattans. The ownership of each section +is arranged beforehand; the section of the chief being generally in +the middle, and those of his near relatives on either side of it. Each +man pays special attention to the construction of his own section, +and carries out the lighter work of that part, such as laying the +shingles, with the help of his own household. If any widow is the head +of a household, her section is constructed by her male neighbours or +relatives without payment. + +Before beginning the building of a new house favourable omens must +be obtained; and the Kayans would be much troubled if bad omens +were observed during the building, especially during the first few +days. At this time, therefore, children are told off to beat upon +gongs hung about the new site, and so, by scaring away the birds +and obscuring the sound of their cries, to prevent the appearance of +bad omens from their side. Bad omens combined with ill-luck, such as +death, bad dreams, or an attack by enemies during building (even if +this were successfully repelled), would lead to the desertion of a +partially built house and the choice of another site. + +All the interior peoples construct their houses on principles +similar to those described above, but with considerable diversity in +detail. The greatest diversity of plan is exhibited by the houses +of Ibans. An Iban community seldom remains in the same house more +than three or four years; it is, no doubt, partly on this account +that their houses are built in a less solid style than those of most +other tribes. The timbers used are lighter; the house is not raised so +high above the ground, and the floor is usually made of split bamboo +in place of the heavy planks used by Kayans and others. The plan of +construction is less regular. The numerous slight supporting piles +pass through the floor of the gallery in all sorts of odd positions; +the only part that is kept clear of them being a narrow gangway that +runs from end to end of the house; it adjoins the private chambers, +and is about four feet in width; it is called TEMPUAN. + +Some of the Klemantans make houses very inferior to those of the +Kayans in respect to size, solidity, and regularity of construction; +lashed bamboos largely replace the strongly morticed timber-work +of the better houses; but the worst houses of all are made by those +Punans who have recently adopted the agriculture and settled habits +of the other peoples. + + +Other Kinds of Wood-working + +The building of houses and the shaping of boats are by far the +most important kinds of wood-working; but there are many small +articles of wood in the making of which much skill and ingenuity are +displayed. Among these the shields and parang-sheaths deserve special +mention. The former have been described in Chapter X. + +The sword-sheath is made from two slips of hard wood, cut to fit +together exactly, leaving a space accurately shaped for the lodgment +of the sword-blade. The two slips are neatly lashed together with +rattan, and in many cases are elaborately carved with varieties of +a peculiar conventional design in relief (see vol. i., p. 240). + +Dishes of iron-wood, now almost superseded by European earthenware, +were formerly in general use (Figs. 6 and 7). Their shapes are very +good; the dish is generally provided with one or two "ears" or flanges +for the grip of the hands, and these are cunningly decorated with +carved designs or inlaid pieces of shell or pottery. Some have a spout +opposite the single handle. The hollowing and general shaping of such +dishes is done with a small adze, and they are finished with the knife. + + +Basket-work, etc. + +The weaving of baskets, mats, and caps is one of the most important +handicrafts of the Kayans. It is chiefly practised by the women, +though the men help in collecting and preparing the materials. The +material chiefly used is strips of rattan. A rattan about one-third of +an inch in diameter is split into five strips, and the inner surface +of each strip is smoothed with a knife; but the stems of several +other jungle-plants are also used. + +The most important of the baskets (Pl. 43), are the following: +The large one used for carrying PADI from the farms to the house; +the small basket hung on the back by a pair of shoulderstraps, and +always carried by the men on going far from home; the fish-baskets; +large baskets provided with lids and kept in the rooms for storing +clothing and other personal valuables; the winnowing trays, and the +large rough basket used for carrying on the back water-vessels or +any other heavy objects (Fig. 41). + +Of the mats (see Pl. 43), the principal are the mat worn round the +waist for sitting upon; the large mats spread for seating several +persons in the gallery or private chambers; those spread on the +floor for catching the winnowed rice, or on the platforms outside +the gallery for exposing and drying the PADI before pounding it; +the mat which every person spreads to sleep upon. + +Most of these baskets and mats are made from narrow strips of rattan +varying from 1/16 to 1/4 of an inch according to the size and use of +the article; the strips are closely woven with great regularity. The +commonest arrangement is for two sets of strips to cross one another +at right angles, each strip passing over and under two of the opposed +set. The basket-work so made is very pliable, tough, and durable. The +standard shapes are worked out with great precision. The Kayans are +generally content to make strong serviceable basket-ware without +ornamentation; but in a large proportion of basket-ware of this kind +made by the other peoples, strips of rattan dyed black are combined +with those of the natural pale yellow colour, and very effective +patterns are thus worked in. The dyeing of the strips is effected by +soaking them in a dye obtained by beating out in water the soft stem +and leaves of a plant known as TARUM. The dark stain is rendered still +blacker by subsequently burying the strips in the mud of the river for +some ten days, or by washing them in lime. The dyed strips are then +jet black with a fine polished surface, and the dye is quite permanent. + +A form of mat-work deserving special notice is the LAMPIT, the mat +used largely for sleeping and sitting upon. It is made of stout +strips of rattan lying parallel to one another, and held together by +strings threaded through the strips at right angles to their length +at intervals of four or five inches. This mat has an extremely neat +appearance and allows itself to be neatly rolled up. The piercing of +the rattan strips at suitable intervals is facilitated by the use of +a block of wood grooved for the reception of the strip and pierced +with holes opening into the groove at the required intervals. + +The most elaborately decorated and finely plaited basket-ware is made +by some of the Klemantan sub-tribes, especially the Kanowits and the +Tanjongs, and the Kalabits, who use, as well as the black dye, a red +dye (Pl. 110). The last is made by boiling the seeds of the rattan in +water and evaporating the product until it has the consistency of a +thick paste. The Punans also excel in this craft. These adepts barter +much of their handiwork in this kind with the people of communities +less skilled in it. This affords yet another illustration of the +fact that the various specialised handicrafts are traditional in +certain tribes and sub-tribes, and are practised hardly at all or +in an inferior manner only by the other tribes, who seem to find it +impossible to achieve an equal degree of mastery of these crafts. + + +Hat-making + +The large flat circular hat worn by the Kayans for protection against +sun and rain is made by the women from the large leaves of a palm. It +is the only important handicraft practised by the women only. The hard +tough fluted leaves are pressed flat and dried, when the flutes form +ribs diverging from the stem. Triangular pieces of the length of the +radius of the hat (I.E. from twelve to eighteen inches) are cut and +then sewn together in a double layer; those of the upper layer radiate +from the centre; those of the under layer are disposed in the reverse +direction, so that their ribs diverge from the periphery, crossing +those of the upper layer at an acute angle. This arrangement gives +great rigidity to the whole structure. The two layers are stitched +together by threads carried round the hat in concentric circles at +intervals of about one inch. The peripheral edges are sewn to a slender +strip of rattan bent to form a circle, the two ends overlapping. The +centre is generally finished with a disc of metal or strong cloth on +the outer surface (Pl. 45). The hats hung upon the tombs are decorated +on the upper surface with bold designs painted in black and red. + +Most of the other tribes make similar hats, and the Malanaus and +Land Dayaks are especially skilled in this craft. The former make +very large hats of similar shape, the upper surface being of strips +of rattan dyed red and black, and woven to form elaborate patterns. + +Besides these sun-hats, the Kayans and Kenyahs and some of the +Klemantans weave with fine strips of rattan close-fitting skull-caps +and head-bands. The ends of the strips, some three or four inches in +length, are sometimes left projecting from the centre or forming a +fringe round the lower edge. + +The close-fitting hemispherical war-cap is made of rattans about half +an inch thick split in halves. + + +The Making of the Blow-pipe + +The blow-pipe or SUMPITAN is perhaps the finest product of native +Bornean craftmanship. It is made by Kayans, Kenyahs, and Punans, +and rarely by Ibans and Klemantans. + +The best sumpitans are made from the hard straight-grained wood of +the JAGANG tree. Having chosen and felled the tree, often one of +large size, the craftsman splits from it long pieces about eight feet +in length. Such a piece is shaved with the adze until it is roughly +cylindrical and three to four inches in diameter (Pl. 112). The piece +may be carried home to be worked at leisure, or the boring may be +done upon the spot. A platform is erected about seven feet above the +ground; and the prepared rod is fixed vertically with the upper end +projecting through the platform, its lower end resting on the ground +(Pl. 113). Its upper end is lashed to the platform, its lower end to +a pair of stout poles lashed horizontally to trees, and its middle +to another pair of poles similarly fixed. + +The next operation, the boring of the wood, is accomplished by the +aid of a straight rod of iron about nine feet long, of slightly +smaller diameter than the bore desired for the pipe, and having one +end chisel-shaped and sharpened. One man standing on the platform holds +the iron rod vertically above the end of the wood, and brings its sharp +chisel edge down upon the centre of the flat surface. Lifting the rod +with both hands he repeats his blow again and again, slightly turning +the rod at each blow. He is aided in keeping the rod truly vertical by +two or three forked sticks fixed horizontally at different levels above +the platform in such a way that the vertical rod slides up and down in +the forks, which thus serve as guides. The rod soon bites its way into +the wood. An assistant, squatting on the platform with a bark-bucket +of water beside him, ladles water into the hole after every two or +three strokes, and thus causes the chips to float out. This operation +steadily pursued for about six hours completes the boring. In boring +the lower part, the craftsman aims at producing a slight curvature +of the tube by very slightly bending the pole and lashing it in the +bent position; the pole on being released then straightens itself, +and at the same time produces the desired slight curvature of the +bore. This curvature is necessary in order to allow for the bending +of the blow-pipe, when in use, by the weight of the spearblade which +is lashed on bayonet-fashion. If the desired degree of curvature is +not produced in this way, the wooden pipe, still in the rough state +as regards its outer surface, is suspended horizontally on loops, +and weights are hung upon the muzzle end until, on sighting through +the bore, only a half circle of daylight is visible -- this being the +degree of curvature of the bore desired. The wood is then heated with +torches, and on cooling retains the curvature thus impressed on it. + +It only remains to whittle down the rough surface to a smooth cylinder +slightly tapering towards the muzzle (Pl. 114), to polish the pipe +inside and out, to lash on the spear-blade to the muzzle end with +strips of rattan, and to attach a small wooden sight to the muzzle +end opposite the spear-blade. The polishing of the bore is effected by +working to and fro within it a long piece of closely fitting rattan; +that of the outer surface, by rubbing it first with the skin of a +stingray (which, although a marine fish, sometimes ascends to the +upper reaches of the rivers), and afterwards with the leaf (EMPLAS) +which is the local substitute for emery paper. + +The shaft of the poisoned dart is made from the wood of the NIBONG and +wild sago palms. It is about nine inches in length and one-sixteenth +to one-eighth of an inch in diameter (Pl. 115). On to one end of this +is fitted a small tapering cylinder of tough pith, about one inch in +length, its greatest diameter at its butt end being exactly equal to +the bore of the pipe. The pith is shaved to the required diameter by +the aid of a small wooden cylinder of the standard size (Fig. 42); +this is prolonged in a pin of the same diameter as the shaft of the +dart. A piece of pith transfixed by the pin is shaved with a sharp +knife until its surface is flush with that of the wooden gauge. + +The poison is prepared from the sap of the IPOH tree, ANTIARIS +TOXICARIA. The milky sap runs out when the bark is incised, and is +collected in a bamboo cup (Pl. 88). It is then heated slowly over a +fire in a trough made from the leaf stem of a palm, until it becomes +a thick paste of dark purple brown colour (Pl. 116). When the poison +is to be applied to the darts, it is worked into a thinner paste on +a palette with a spatula. A circular groove is cut round the shaft of +the dart about two inches from its tip, and the part so marked off is +rolled in the paste and then dried before a fire. For use against large +game, pig, deer, or human beings, a larger dose of poison is required +than can be carried on the tip of the shaft. A small triangular piece +of metal is affixed by splitting the tip of the shaft, thrusting in +the base of the triangular plate, and securing it with a fine thread +of rattan or fern-stem. The poison is then applied to the surface +of this metal. The metal is obtained nowadays from imported tin or +brass ware, but formerly a slip of hard wood was used, and, possibly, +in some cases stone. + +The quiver for carrying the darts is a section of bamboo about four +inches in diameter and ten inches in length, fitted with a cap of the +same which fits over the shaved lip of the main piece (Fig. 44). A +wooden hook lashed to the quiver enables it to be hung from the +belt. The darts, mostly without piths, are wrapped in a squirrel skin +and thrust tip downwards into the quiver. A small gourd tied to the +quiver carries a supply of piths all ready to be placed on the darts. + + +Pottery + +The importation of earthenware and of cooking pots of brass and +iron has now almost put an end to the native manufacture of pottery; +but in former times simple earthenware vessels for boiling rice were +made by Kayans, Kenyahs, Ibans, and some of the Klemantans. Those who +made no pots boiled their rice and sago in bamboos. The earthenware +cooking pot is a simple egg-shaped vessel, one end of which is open +and surrounded by a low everted lip or collar (Fig. 8, p. 60). + +The clay is kneaded with water on a board until it has the desired +consistency. The vessel is then built up on a hollowed base by +squeezing the clay between a smooth rounded stone held by one hand +within the vessel and a flat piece of wood, with which the clay is +beaten from without. The roughly shaped vessel is allowed to dry in +the sun and baked in the fire. In some cases the surface is smoothed +and glazed by rubbing resin over its surface while hot. + +Pots of this one shape only are made, but of several sizes. The +commonest size holds about a quart; the largest about two gallons. A +pot of this sort is carried in a basket made of fine unsplit rattans +loosely woven in the form of interlacing rings. + + +The Manufacture of Bark-cloth + +The native cloth, which was in universal use among the tribes of the +interior until largely supplanted in recent years by imported cloth, is +made from the bark of trees of several species (principally the KUMUT, +the IPOH, and the wild fig). The material used is the fibrous layer +beneath the outer bark. A large sheet of it is laid on a wooden block +and beaten with a heavy wooden club in order to render it soft and +pliable. A piece of the required size and shape is cut from the sheet, +and sewn across the direction of the fibres with needle and thread at +intervals of about an inch. This prevents the material splitting along +the direction of the fibres. Before European needles were introduced, +the stitching was done by piercing holes with a small awl and pushing +the thread through the hole after withdrawing the awl (>Pl. 117). + + + +Spinning and Weaving and Dyeing of Cloth + +The Kayans, Kenyahs, and most of the Klemantans weave no cloth; but the +Kayans claim, probably with truth, that they formerly wove a coarse +cloth. In recent years the Ibans, Muruts, and a few of the Klemantan +tribes have been the only weavers. It may be said, we think, without +fear of contradiction, that this is the only craft in which the Ibans +excel all the other peoples. Their methods are similar to those of the +Malays, and have probably been learnt from them. The weaving is done +only by the women, though the men make the machinery employed by them. + +The fibre used by the Ibans is cotton, which is obtained from shrubs +planted and cultivated for the purpose. The seed is extracted from +the mass of fibre by squeezing the mass between a pair of rollers +arranged like a rude mangle, while the fibre is pulled away by hand +(Pl. 118). Next the thread is spun from the mass of fibre by the aid +of a simple wheel, turned by the right hand while the left hand twists +the fibres (Pl. 119). The dyeing precedes the weaving if a pattern +is to be produced. The web is stretched on a wooden frame about six +feet long and twenty inches in width, by winding a long thread round +it from end to end. The parts of the web corresponding to the parts +of the cloth that are to remain undyed and of the natural pale brown +colour of the thread are tied round with dried strips of a fibrous leaf +(LEMBA), the upper and lower set of threads being wrapped up together +in the same bundles (Pl. 120). If only one colour is to be applied, +the web is then slipped off the frame. The threads are held in their +relative positions by the wrappings, but are further secured by tying +a string tightly about the whole bundle at each end. The web thus +prepared is soaked in the dye for some two or three days, and then +dried in a shady spot. The wrappings upon the threads are waterproof +and protect the wrapped parts from the dye. When, after the dyeing, +the web is stretched upon the loom, it presents the desired pattern in +colour upon the undyed ground. The undyed weft is then woven across +the web in the usual way. And since the threads of the weft do not +appear on the surface, the dyed parts of the web present a uniformly +coloured surface (Pl. 121). + +In most cloths two colours, as well as the natural colour of the +thread, appear on the surface -- the commonest colour being a warm +brick red (obtained from the bark of the SAMAK tree) and a dark purple +(obtained from the leaves of the TARUM plant). Lime and gypsum are +sometimes mixed with the watery extracts as mordaunts, but these +are probably modern refinements. When two colours are to appear, +those parts of the web which are to be of one colour (say purple) +are wrapped up during the immersion in the red dye together with +the parts that are to appear uncoloured. When this first dyeing is +completed the web is prepared for the purple dye, by uncovering the +undyed parts which are to be purple, and wrapping up in bundles the +threads which have already been dyed red. After being soaked in the +purple dye and dried, all the wrappings are removed from the web, +and the desired pattern in three colours appears upon it when it is +stretched. Perhaps the most noteworthy feature of the operation of +dyeing is that the woman generally wraps up the threads in the way +required to produce the pattern without any guidance, judging the +length and number of the threads to be included in each bundle purely +by memory of the design aimed at. + +The only striking peculiarity of the loom is its extreme +simplicity. The upper ends of the web are looped over a stout bar which +is fixed to a pair of uprights about a yard above the floor. The lower +ends of the web are looped over a stout rod, to the ends of which a +loop of cord is tied. The woman sits on the ground, (see Pl. 121) with +this loop around her waist, and thus stretches the web and maintains +the necessary tension of it. The manipulation of the shuttle and of the +threads of the web is accomplished without other mechanical aids than +the rods to which the one set of webthreads is tied by short threads. + + + +CHAPTER 12 + +Decorative Art + +All the tribes of Borneo practise a number of decorative arts. Some +of the Klemantans, notably the Malanaus, excel all other tribes, +in that they attain a high level of achievement in a great variety +of such arts; but each tribe and sub-tribe preserves the tradition +of some one or two decorative arts in which they are especially +skilled. Thus some of the Klemantan tribes specially excel in the +finer kinds of wood-carving (E.G. the decoration of paddles); the +Kayans in tatuing and in chasing designs on steel; the Kenyahs in the +painting of shields and in the production of large designs carved +in low relief on wood and used for adorning houses and tombs; both +Kayans and Kenyahs excel in the carving of sword-handles in deer's +horn; the Barawans and Sebops in beadwork; the Kalabits and Ibans in +tracing designs on the surface of bamboo; Punans in the decorative +mat-work; Kanowits and Tanjongs in basket-work. + +Wood-carving is the most generally practised and on the whole the +most important of the decorative arts. Much of it is done on very hard +wood; and the principal tools are the sword, the small knife carried +in the sword-sheath, and adzes and axes of various sizes. The blade +of the knife is some three inches in length, resembling in general +shape the blade of the sword; it is wider in proportion, but has the +same peculiar convexity of the one side and concavity of the other +in transverse section. The shaft is sunk into the end of a rod of +hard wood and secured with gutta and fine rattan lashing. The handle +of hard wood is about a foot in length, half an inch in diameter, +and slightly bowed in the plane of the blade, the convexity being +in the direction of the cutting edge of the blade. The butt end of +the handle is cunningly carved in the shape of a crocodile's head, or +prolonged in a piece of carved deer's horn. The blade of the knife is +held between the thumb and finger of the right hand, the cutting edge +directed forwards, and the long handle is gripped between the forearm +and the lower ribs; the weight of the body can thus be brought to the +assistance of the arm in cutting hard material. With this knife most +of the finer carving is done, the adze and sword being used chiefly +for rough shaping. + +The adze consists of a flat blade of steel in the shape of a highly +acute-angled triangle (Pl. 111). The slightly convex base is the +cutting edge. The upper half of the triangle (which may or may not be +marked by a shoulder) is buried in the lashings by which it is attached +to the wooden haft. The haft is a small bough of tough, springy wood, +cut from a tree, together with a small block of the wood of the stem; +the latter is shaved down until it forms an oblong block continuous +with the haft and at an angle to it of 70[degree] -- 80[degree]. The +upper half of the metal blade is laid upon the distal surface of +this block and lashed firmly to it with fine strips of rattan. A +piece of skin is often placed between the metal and the lashings; +this facilitates the removal of the blade, and enables the craftsman +to alter the angle between the cutting edge and the haft. Commonly +the blade is laid in the plane of the haft, and the implement is then +what we should call a small axe; on turning the blade through go', +it is converted to a small adze; and not infrequently the blade is +turned through a smaller angle, so that its plane forms an acute +angle with that of the haft. + +Carved woodwork is commonly painted with black and red paint, prepared +respectively from soot and iron oxide mixed with sugar-cane juice +or with lime; the moist pigment is applied with the finger on larger +surfaces, and the finer lines and edges are marked out with the aid +of a chisel-edged stick of wood. + + +Beadwork + +Old beads are much valued and sought after by all the tribes except +Ibans, especially by the Kayans. There are few families of the upper +class that do not possess a certain number of them. + +Many varieties are well known, and some of the Kayan women are very +expert in recognising the genuine old specimens, and in distinguishing +these varieties from one another and from modern imitations. + +Formerly these old beads were one of the principal forms of currency, +and they still constitute an important part of the wealth of many +families. + +Most of these valuable old beads are of foreign manufacture, though a +few made from shell and agate are of the country. The old foreign-made +beads were probably imported by Arab and Chinese traders at various +dates. Some of them are probably of Chinese manufacture, others +probably came from the near East and even from Venice. Some are of +glass curiously marked and coloured, others of stone inlaid with bits +of different colours, others of some hard substance whose composition +defies description. Certain rare kinds are especially valued and +can hardly be bought at any price; they are reckoned to be worth at +least 100 dollars apiece. The most valuable of all is known as the +LUKUT SEKALA; the ownership of each such bead is as accurately known +throughout a large district as the ownership of the masterpieces of +ancient art in our own country. The wife of a rich chief may possess +old beads to the value of thousands of pounds, and will wear a large +part of them on any occasion of display (Pl. 130). These old beads are +worn threaded together to form necklaces and girdles, being arranged +with some reference to harmony of size and colour and to value, the +most valuable being placed in the middle where they will be shown to +best advantage. A single rare bead is sometimes worn on the wrist. + +A woman who possesses a good stock of such beads will seldom be seen +without some of them on her person. She will occasionally exchange +a few for other varieties, and is generally eager to add to her +collection; she may occasionally make a present of one or two to some +highly esteemed friend or relative, and will generally assign them, +but without handing them over, to various female relatives before +her death. + +Besides these valuable old beads there are in use among all the tribes +many small glass beads of modern European manufacture. These are +threaded to form a variety of designs, generally in two colours, +the combination of black and yellow being the most commonly +preferred. These strips of beadwork are put to many decorative uses: +they are applied to the women's head-bands, to the centre of the +sun-hat, to sword sheaths, to cigarette boxes, to the war-coat at the +nape of the neck, and, by some Klemantans, to the jackets of the women. + +The designs worked in this way are but few, and most of them are +common to all the tribes. The thread used is prepared by rolling on +the thigh fibres drawn from the leaf of the pine-apple; it is very +strong and durable. The design to be reproduced is drawn or carved in +low relief on a board. A thread is fixed across the end of the board +and others are tied to it at short intervals; on these the beads are +threaded, neighbouring threads being tied together at short intervals; +and the colours of the beads are selected according to the demands +of the pattern over which they are worked. + +Besides these designs on the flat, tassels, girdles, necklaces, +ear-rings, and cigarette rings are also made of these beads. The +modern imported beads used for these purposes are sometimes improved +by being ground flat on the two surfaces that adjoin their neighbours; +this is done by fixing a number of them into the cut end of a piece +of sugar-cane and rubbing this against a smooth stone. This treatment +of the beads gives to the articles made of them a very neat and highly +finished appearance. + + +Bamboo Decorations + +The working of designs on the surface of pieces of bamboo is +done very simply, but none the less effectively. Among the bamboo +articles generally decorated in the way to be described are the native +drinking-cup, the tobacco-box, and tubes for carrying flint and steel +and all sorts of odds and ends. + +The pattern to be produced is outlined with the point of the knife +upon the surface of the bamboo, the artist working from memory of the +desired pattern and adapting it to the proportions of the surface to +be covered. The Iban works more freely than others, working out the +pattern and modifying it to meet the exigencies of his material, +section by section, as he goes along. Others plan out the design +for the whole surface before working out any part in detail. It is +probable that in no case does a man sit down and produce a new pattern; +but the freer mode of working of the Iban leads him on to greater +modifications of the traditional designs; and it is probably partly +for this reason that a much larger variety of designs is applied in +this way by them than by the other tribes, among whom they are very +limited in number. But the greater variety of designs worked by the +Ibans is due also to the readiness with which he copies and adopts +as his own the patterns used by other tribes. The Kayans and Kenyahs +use almost exclusively varieties of the dog pattern and of the hook +and circle (see Fig. 47). + +The design outlined by the point of the knife is made to stand out +boldly from the ground by darkening the latter. This is achieved in +two ways: (1) the ground is covered with parallel close-set scratches, +not running continuously throughout the larger areas of the ground, +but grouped in sets of parallel lines some few millimetres in length, +the various sets meeting at angles of all degrees; (2) the hard +surface of the bamboo is wholly scraped away from the ground areas +to a depth of about half a millimetre. In either case the black or +red paint is then smeared over the whole surface with the finger, and +when it has become dried the surface is rubbed with a piece of cloth +(Kayan), or scraped lightly with a knife (Iban). The pigment is thus +removed from the intact parts and remains adherent to the lines and +areas from which the hard surface layer has been removed. The design +is thus left in very low relief, and is of the natural colour of the +bamboo upon a black or dark-red ground, or on a ground merely darkened +by the parallel scratches (Pls. 126, 127). + + +Lashing + +Lashing with strips of rattan and with coarse fibres from the leaf-stem +of some of the palms and ferns is applied to a great variety of +purposes, and largely takes the place of our nailing and screwing +and riveting. It is carried out extremely neatly and commonly has a +decorative effect. This effect is in some cases enhanced by combining +blackened threads with those of the natural pale yellow colour; +and the finer varieties of this work deserve to be classed with the +decorative arts. The finest lashing-work is done by the Kalabits, +who cover small bamboo boxes with a layer of close-set lashing, +producing pleasing geometrical designs by the combination of yellow +and black threads. The surface of the bamboo to which the lashing is +applied is generally scraped away to a depth of about one-sixteenth of +an inch; it is thus rendered less slippery than the natural surface, +and is therefore gripped more firmly by the lashing, and the surface +of the lashing is brought flush with the unlashed natural surface. The +effect is not only a highly ornamental appearance, but also a greatly +increased durability of the box, the natural tendency of the bamboo +to split longitudinally being very effectively counteracted. + +Similar fine decorative lashing is used by all the tribes for binding +together the two halves of the sword sheath, and for binding the haft +of knife or sword where it grips the metal blade, though brass wire +is sometimes used for this purpose. + +Closely allied to this lashing is the production of decorative +knots. A considerable variety of knots are in common use; they are +always well tied and practically effective, but some are elaborated +for decorative purposes to form rosettes, especially by Kayans in +making their sword sheaths. + + +Painting + +We have stated above that the carved woodwork is often painted with +black, red, and white pigments. It must be added that wooden surfaces +are often painted on the flat, especially shields, the outer surfaces +of walls of PADI huts, and tombs, also grave hats and the gunwales of +boats, and decorative planks in the inner walls of the long gallery +of the house. The Kenyahs and some of the Klemantans, especially +the Skapans and Barawans, are most skilled in, and make most use of, +this form of decoration; but it is probably practised in some degree +by all the peoples. + +The three pigments mentioned above -- black, red, and white, made +respectively from soot, iron oxide, and lime -- are, so far as we +know, the only native varieties; but at the present day these are +sometimes supplemented with indigo and yellow pigments obtained from +the bazaars. The pigment is generally laid on free-hand with the +finger-tip, a few guiding points only being put in. + +It may be mentioned here that individuals of all the tribes will +occasionally amuse themselves by making rude drawings with charcoal +on the plank wall of the gallery. The drawings usually depict human +and animal figures, and scenes from the life of the people, and they +generally illustrate the particular form of occupation in which the +household is employed at the time, E.G. scenes from the PADI fields, +a group of people weeding, the return of a war-party, the collection +of honey, the capture of a large fish. These drawings are invariably +very crude; their nature is sufficiently indicated by Pl. 128. There +seem to be no noteworthy differences in this respect between the +different peoples. + +The Punans, having no houses and therefore no walls on which to +draw pictures, have little opportunity to indulge any such tendency; +but we have seen rude hunting scenes depicted by them on the walls +of shallow caves; the technique consisted in scratching away the +soft rotted surface of the limestone rock to produce outlines of the +figures depicted. + +The Malanaus, who live in the large limestone caves during the time +of harvesting the edible nests of the swift, sometimes make rude +drawings with charcoal on the walls of the cave. + +The weaving of decorative designs on cloth is almost confined to the +Sea Dayaks. Some account of the designs will be given below. + + +Shell-work + +Shells (chiefly nassas and the flat bases of cone-shells) are sometimes +applied by the Iban women to decorate their woven coats, by Kalabits +(in concentric circles on their sunhats), and more rarely by other +tribes in the decoration of baskets (Fig. 48). Fig. 49 represents +a garment decorated in this fashion by Iban women, and worn by them +when dancing with the heads of enemies in their hands. + + +The Decorative Designs + +The Kayans make use in their decorative art of a large number of +conventional designs. The principal applications of these designs are +in tatu, beadwork, the production of panels of wood for the adornment +of houses, tombs, boats, and PADI barns, the decoration of bamboo +boxes, and the painting of hats, and the carving of highly ornate doors +to the rooms. All these applications involve the covering of flat or +curved surfaces with patterns either in low relief only or without +relief; and many of the designs are applied in all these different +ways, and all of them together form a natural group. Besides these +surface designs, a considerable variety of designs is used in giving +decorative form to solid objects such as the handles of swords and +paddles, the ends of main roof-beams in the houses, posts used in +various rites and in the construction of tombs, the figure-heads +of war-boats. These, with the exception of those used in carving +the sword handles, which are highly peculiar, form another group of +relatives. The designs chased upon the blades of the swords constitute +a fourth natural group distinct from the other two groups. A fifth +small group of designs is carved in the form of fretwork. We propose +to say a few words about the designs of each of these five groups. + +(1) The designs of the first group are the most numerous and +most widely applied. A large proportion of them obviously are +conventionalised derivatives from animal forms. Of these animal forms +the human figure, the dog, and the prawn have been the originals +of the largest number of patterns; the macaque monkey and the large +lizard (VARANUS) are also traceable. Some designs vaguely suggest a +derivation from some animal form, but cannot confidently be assigned +to any one origin. + +A few seemed to be derived from vegetable forms; while some few, +for example the hookpattern, seem to be derived from no animal or +vegetable form. The hook-pattern seems to be symbolical of conjunction +and acquisition in various spheres. + +Of all the designs the derivatives from or variants of the dog are the +most numerous and the most frequently applied. The name dog-pattern +(KALANG ASU) is given to a very large number; and of these some +obviously reproduce the form of the dog, while the derivation of +the others from the same original can generally be made clear by +the inspection of a number of intermediate forms, although some of +them retain but very slight indications of the form or features of +the dog. The unmistakable dog-patterns are illustrated by one of the +panels shown in Pl. 124; and in Pls. 134 ET SEQ. we reproduce a number +of dog-patterns of more or less conventionalised characters. It will +be noticed that the eye is the most constant feature about which +the rest of the pattern is commonly centred; but that the eye also +disappears from some of the most conventionalised. It seems probable +that, although the name KALANG ASU continues to be commonly used to +denote all this group of allies, many of those who use the term, and +even of those who carve or work the patterns, are not explicitly aware +in doing so that the name and the patterns refer to the dog, or are +in any way connected with it; that is to say, both the words and the +pattern have ceased to suggest to their minds the meaning of the word +dog, and mean to them simply the pattern appropriate to certain uses. + +We have questioned men who have been accustomed to apply the +dog-pattern as to the significance of the parts of the pattern, and +have led them to recognise that the parts of the dog, eye, teeth, +jaws, and so on, are represented; and this recognition has commonly +been accompanied by expressions of enlightenment, as of one making +an interesting discovery.[67] This ignorance of the origin of the +pattern is naturally true only of the more conventionalised examples, +whether of the dog or other natural forms. Probably a few who have +specially interested themselves in the designs have traced out their +connections pretty fully, but this is certainly quite exceptional. Most +of the craftsmen simply copy the current forms, introducing perhaps +now and then an additional scroll, or some other slight modification. + +Some men are well known as experts in the production of designs, +and such a man can produce a wonderful variety, all or most being +well-known conventions. Their mode of working frequently implies +that the artist is working to a pattern, mentally fixed and clearly +visualised, rather than working out any new design. For he will +work first on one part of the surface, then on another, producing +disconnected fragments of the pattern, and uniting them later. Although +the women use these patterns in beadwork and in tatuing, they rely +in the main on the men for the patterns which they copy; these +being drawn on wood or cloth for beadwork, or carved in low relief +for tatuing. A Kayan expert may carry in mind a great variety of +designs. One such expert produced for our benefit, during a ten days' +halt of an expedition, forty-one patterns, drawn with pencil on paper; +most of these are of considerable complexity and elaboration. + +(2) The designs carved in the solid or in high relief are for +the most part conventionalised copies of human and animal forms; +but the conventionalising is not carried so far as in those of the +first class, so that the carving generally constitutes an unmistakable +representation of the original. The posts set up as altars to the gods +are generally carved in the human form, and the degree of elaboration +varies widely from the rudest possible indication of the head and limbs +to a complete representation of all the parts. But in no case (with +the possible exception of some of the figures carved by Malanaus) +is the human form reproduced with any high degree of accuracy or +artistic merit (Figs. 50 -- 53) + +The animal forms are used chiefly as the figureheads of war-boats and +at the ends of the main roof-beams of the houses; and some of these +are executed with a degree of artistry that must win our admiration, +especially when we reflect that the timber used is generally one of +the harder kinds (but not iron-wood) such as the mirabo (AFZELIA +PALEMBANICA), and that the only tools used are the axe, sword, +and knife. The animals most frequently represented are the dog, +crocodile, monkey, hornbill, and bear (Pls. 122, 125, Figs. 45, +46, 54 -- 57). Carved dogs, comparatively little conventionalised, +are sometimes used as the supports of low platforms upon which the +chiefs may sit on ceremonious occasions. + +(3) The handles of the swords, generally of deer's antlers, but +sometimes of wood, exhibit a group of highly peculiar closely allied +designs. All these seem to be derived from the human form, although in +many cases this can only be traced in the light of forms intermediate +between the less and the more highly conventionalised (Pls. 129, +184). In examples in which the human form is most obvious, it has +the following position and character: -- The butt end of the blade +is sunk in a piece (about six inches in length) of the main shaft +of the antler at its distal or upper end. This piece constitutes +the grip of the handle or hilt. The proximal or lowest point of the +antler projecting at an angle of some 70[degree] from the grip is cut +down to a length of some four inches, forming a spur standing in the +plane of the blade and towards its cutting edge. The grip is lashed +with fine strips of rattan. The spur and the thick end in which the +spur and the grip unite are elaborately carved. If the sword is held +horizontally, its point directed forwards and its cutting edge upwards, +the butt end is presented with the spur vertically before the face +of the observer. It will then be seen that the surface turned to +the observer presents the principal features of the human figure, +standing with arms akimbo face to face with the observer. The key +to the puzzle Is the double row of teeth. Above this are the two +eyes. Below the level of the mouth the elbows project laterally, and +a little below these and nearer the middle line are the two hands; +and below these again the two legs stand out, carved not merely in +relief, but in the solid, and bent a little at the knee. The feet +are indicated below and more laterally. From the crown of the head +projects a ring of short hair made up of tufts white, black, and red +in colour. Another short tuft projects from the region of the navel +(? pubis), and a pair of tufts project laterally a little below the +level of the mouth. The extremity of the main shaft of the antler +projects a little beyond the feet of the human figure, and is carved in +a form which is clearly an animal derivative -- probably from the dog +or possibly the crocodile. From its open jaws projects a long tuft of +hair, and a pair of short tufts project laterally from the region of +its ears. The whole of the carved part of the hilt thus represents a +man standing upon the head of a dog (or crocodile). The interpretation +of the whole is much obscured by the fact that the parts of the human +figure named above are separated from one another by areas which are +covered with a continuous scroll design in low relief, and by the +fact that all the lateral parts of the carved area bear, scattered +irregularly in relief, reduplications of the various features of the +human figure, E.G. of the hands, elbows, knees, and even of the teeth, +as well as many pairs of interlocking hooks. These last, which recur +in other decorative designs, and which (as was said above) seem to +symbolise the taking of heads, form an important and constant feature +of the whole scheme of decoration. In the more elaborate examples +they are carved out of the solid; and usually one hole (or more) +about 5 mm. in diameter perforates the thickest part of the hilt, +and contains in the middle plane a pair of these interlocking hooks. + +In the most elaborate examples of these carved sword hilts all obvious +trace of the human figure is lost in a profusion of detail, which, +however, is of the same general character as that of the examples +described above, and seems to consist of the various features of +the human and animal pattern combined in wild profusion with regard +only to decorative effect, and not at all to the reproduction of the +parent forms. + +With the decorative designs of the hilt of the sword must be classed +those of its sheath. The sheath consists of two slips of TAPANG wood +firmly lashed together with finely plaited rattan strips, both strips +being hollowed so that they fit closely to the blade. It is provided +with a plaited cord, which buckles about the waist. The inner piece +of the sheath is smooth inside and out. The outer surface of the +outer piece is often elaborately decorated. The decoration consists +in the main of designs carved in relief; and these are composed of +the same elements as the design upon the sword hilt, namely, hooks, +single and interlocking, elbows, teeth, etc., all woven about with +a scroll design of relieved lines. + +(4) The designs reproduced in fretwork are in the main adaptations +of some of those used in decorating surfaces, especially of the dog +pattern; but they are always conventionalised in a high degree (see +Pl. 130). The hook pattern is frequently introduced to fill up odd +corners. The human form is seldom or never traceable in work of this +kind. Fretwork is chiefly used to adorn the tombs of chiefs. + +(5) The designs chased on the surfaces of the blades of swords and +knives and spear-heads form a distinctive group. They are flowing +scroll patterns containing many spiral and S-shaped curves in which +no animal or plant forms can be certainly traced, though suggestions +of the KALANG ASU may be found. The lack of affinity between these +patterns and those applied to other surfaces suggests that they may +have been taken over from some other people together with the craft +of the smith; but possibly the distinctive character is due only to +the exigencies of the material. Some of the designs painted on hats +and shields exhibit perhaps some affinity with these. This work is +almost confined to the Kayans. + +It is worthy of remark that the art work of the Kayans is in the +main of a public character; for example, the decorative carving about +the house is done by voluntary and co-operative effort in the public +gallery and hardly at all in the private rooms; and ornamented hats +and shields are hung in the gallery rather than in the private rooms; +again, the war-boats, which are the common property of the household, +are decorated more elaborately than those which are private property. + +All these forms of art work are the products of distinctly amateur +effort; that is to say that, although certain individuals attain +special skill and reputation in particular forms of art, they do +not make their living by the practice of them, but rather, like +every one else, rely in the main upon the cultivation of PADI for +the family support; they will exchange services of this kind, and +definite payments are sometimes agreed upon, but a large amount of +such work is done for one another without any material reward. + + +The Kenyahs, Klemantans, and Ibans + +The Kenyahs make use of all, or most, of the patterns found among +the Kayans, and there is little or nothing that distinguishes the +decorative art of the one tribe from that of the other. They use +the patterns based on the monkey rather more than the Kayans; and a +decoration commonly found in their houses is a frieze running along +the top of the main partition wall of the house, bearing in low +relief an animal design, painted in red and black, which is called +BALI SUNGEI (I.E. water-spirit) or Naga. The latter name is known +to all the tribes, and is probably of foreign origin; and it seems +possible that the design and this name are derived from the dragon +forms so commonly used in Chinese decorative art. + +The various Klemantan tribes make use of many decorative designs very +similar to those of the Kayans. Different animal forms predominant +among the different tribes, E.G. among the LONG POKUNS the form of the +gibbon and of the sacred ape (SEMINOPITHECUS HOSEI) are chiefly used +in house decoration. Among the Sebops and Barawans the human figure +predominates; the Malanaus make especially elaborate crocodile images +in solid wood. The tombs of some of the Klemantans are very massive +and elaborately decorated. The Tanjongs and Kanowits and Kalabits, +who excel in basket-work, introduce a variety of patterns in black, +red, and white. The majority of these are simple geometrical designs +which arise naturally out of the nature of the material; of more +elaborate designs specially common are the hook-pattern (Fig. 58), +the pigeon's eye (Fig. 59), and the caterpillar (Fig. 60). + +In wealth of decorative designs the Ibans surpass all the other +tribes. These designs are displayed most abundantly in the decoration +of bamboo surfaces and in the dyeing of cloths. The designs on bamboo +surfaces are largely foliate scrolls, especially the yam-leaf, but +also occasionally animal derivatives. + +The designs dyed upon the cloths (Fig. 61) are largely animal +derivatives; but the artists themselves seldom are aware of the +derivation, even when the pattern bears the name of its animal origin; +and as to the names of all, except the most obvious animal derivatives, +even experts will differ. The frog, the young bird, the human form, +and the lizard are the originals most frequently claimed. Parts of +the animal, such as the head or eye, are commonly repeated in serial +fashion detached from the rest of its form. And in many cases it is, +of course, impossible to identify the parts of the pattern, although +it may show a general affinity with unmistakable animal patterns. One +such pattern very commonly used in dyeing is named after AGI BULAN, +the large shrew (GYMNURA); but we have not been able to trace the +slightest resemblance to the animal in any of the various examples +we have seen (Pls. 131, 132). + +We are inclined to suppose that the Ibans have copied many of their +cloth-patterns from the Malays together with the crafts of dyeing and +weaving. For their technique is similar to that of the Malays all over +the peninsula, and the same is true of some of their designs. Only +in this way, we think, can we account for their possession of these +crafts, which are practised by but very few of the other inland +peoples. The fact that plant derivatives predominate greatly over +animals in their designs, whereas the reverse is true of almost all +other tribes, bears out this supposition, for the Malays are forbidden +by their religion to represent animal forms, and make use largely of +plant forms. + + +Tatu + +Tatuing is extensively practised among the tribes of Borneo. A great +variety of patterns are used, and they are applied to many different +parts of the body. A paper embodying most of the facts hitherto +ascertained has been published by one of us (C. H.) in conjunction +with Mr. R. Shelford, formerly curator of the Sarawak Museum, who has +paid special attention to the subject; we therefore reproduce here +the greater part of the substance of that paper,[68] with some slight +modifications, and we desire to express our thanks to Mr. Shelford[69] +for his kind permission to make use of the paper in this way. + + +The great diversity of tribes in Borneo involves, in a study of their +tatu and tatuing methods, a good deal of research and much travel, +if first-hand information on the subject is to be obtained. Between +us we have covered a considerable area in Borneo and have closely +crossquestioned members of nearly every tribe inhabiting Sarawak +on their tatu, but we cannot claim to have exhausted the subject by +any means; there are tribes in the interior of Dutch Borneo and in +British North Borneo whom we have not visited, and concerning whom +our knowledge is of the scantiest. + +The practice of tatu is so widely spread throughout Borneo that it +seems simpler to give a list of the tribes that do not tatu, than of +those who do. We can divide such a list into two sections: the first +including those tribes that originally did not tatu, though nowadays +many individuals are met with whose bodies are decorated with designs +copied from neighbouring tribes; the second including the tribes +(mostly Klemantan) that have given up the practice of tatu owing to +contact with Mohammedan and other influences. + + +A. + + 1. Punan. + 2. Maloh. + 3. Land Dyak. + + +B. + + 4. Malanau. + 5. Miri. + 6. Dali. + 7. Narom. + 8. Sigalang (down-river tribes of Ukit stock). + 9. Siduan + 10. Tutong. + 11. Balait. + 12. Bekiau (traces of a former practice of tatu occasionally + found). + 13. Bisaya. + 14. Kadayans. + + + +The patterns once employed by the tribes included in the second +section of this list, most of which have adopted Malay dress and to +some extent Malay customs, are lost beyond recall. The Land Dayaks +display absolute ignorance of tatu, and aver that they never indulged +in the practice. Maloh and Punan men ornamented with Kayan tatu designs +we have often encountered; but they have no designs of their own, +and attach no special significance to their borrowed designs.[70] + +We may note here that the ornamentation of the body by means of raised +scars and keloids is not known in Borneo. Both men and women of several +tribes will test their bravery and indifference to pain by setting +fire to a row of small pieces of tinder placed along the forearm, and +the scars caused by these burns are often permanent, but should not be +mistaken for decorative designs. Carl Bock (2, Pl. 16)[71] figures some +Punan women with rows of keloids on the forearms, but states (p. 71) +that these are due to a form of vaccination practised by these people. + +The Kayans are, with one or two exceptions, the most tatued race in +Borneo, and perhaps the best tatued from an artistic point of view; +the designs used in the tatu of the men have been widely imitated, +and much ceremonial is connected with the tatu of the women, an account +of which we give below. Generally speaking, the true Klemantan designs +are quite simple, and it is noteworthy that although the Kenyah tribes +most nearly akin to Kayans have borrowed the Kayan tatu patterns, the +majority of Kenyah and Klemantan tribes employ quite simple designs, +whilst the primitive Kenyahs of the Batang Kayan river hardly tatu at +all. A remarkable exception to the general simplicity of the Klemantan +patterns is furnished by the Ukits, Bakatan, and Biadjau, who tatu very +extensively in the most complex designs; the Long Utan, an extinct +tribe, probably of Klemantan stock, also used highly decorative and +complex designs. Since so many tribes owe much of their knowledge +of tatu and the majority of their designs to the Kayans, it will be +well to commence with an account of the art of tatu as practised by +these people. + + +Kayan Tatu. + +Dr. Nieuwenhuis [9, p. 450] agrees with us in stating that amongst +these people the men tatu chiefly for ornament, and that no special +significance is attached to the majority of designs employed; nor is +there any particular ceremonial or tabu connected with the process +of tatuing the male sex. There is no fixed time of life at which +a man can be tatued, but in most cases the practice is begun early +in boyhood. Nieuwenhuis [9, p. 456] remarks that the chiefs of the +Mendalam Kayans scarcely tatu at all. + +Amongst the Sarawak Kayans, if a man has taken the head of an enemy +he can have the backs of his hands and fingers covered with tatu +(Pl. 141, Fig. 1), but, if he has only had a share in the slaughter, +one finger only, and that generally the thumb, can be tatued. On the +Mendalam river, the Kayan braves are tatued on the left thumb only, +not on the carpals and backs of the fingers, and the thigh pattern +is also reserved for head-taking heroes [9, p. 456]. Of the origin +of tatu the Kayans relate the following story: -- Long ago when the +plumage of birds was dull and sober, the coucal (CENTROPUS SINENSIS) +and the argus pheasant (ARGUSIANUS GRAYI) agreed to tatu each other; +the coucal began on the pheasant first, and succeeded admirably, +as the plumage of the pheasant bears witness at the present day; the +pheasant then tried his hand on the coucal, but being a stupid bird +he was soon in difficulties; fearing that he would fail miserably to +complete the task, he told the coucal to sit in a bowl of SAMAK tan, +and then poured the black dye over him, and flew off, remarking that +the country was full of enemies and he could not stop; that is why +the coucal to this day has a black head and neck with a tan-coloured +body. Nieuwenhuis [9, p. 456] relates substantially the same story, +the crow (CORONE MACRORHYNDYUS), however, being substituted for the +coucal and the incident of the bowl of SAMAK tan omitted. + +Among Kayans isolated designs are found on the following parts of the +bodies of the men: -- The outside of the wrist, the flexor surface of +the forearm, high up on the outside of the thigh, on the breasts and +on the points of the shoulders, and, as already stated, in the case +of warriors on the backs of the hands and fingers. But not all the +men are tatued on all these parts of the body. The design tatued on +the wrist (Pl. 139, Figs. 8 -- 10) is termed LUKUT, the name of an +antique bead much valued by Kayans; the significance of this design +is of some interest. When a man is ill, it is supposed that his +soul has escaped from his body; and when he recovers it is supposed +that his soul has returned to him; to prevent its departure on some +future occasion the man will "tie it in" by fastening round his wrist +a piece of string on which is threaded a LUKUT[72] or antique bead, +some magic apparently being considered to reside in the bead. However, +the string can get broken and the bead lost, wherefore it seems safer +to tatu a representation of the bead on the part of the wrist which +it would cover if actually worn. It is of interest also to note that +the LUKUT, from having been a charm to prevent the second escape of +the soul, has come to be regarded as a charm to ward off all disease; +and the same applies to its tatued representation. + +A design just below the biceps of a Punan tatued in the Kayan manner +is shown on Pl. 142, Fig. 10, and we were informed by the Punan that +this also was a LUKUT, an excellent example of the indifference paid +to the significance of design by people with whom such design is +not indigenous. + +On the forearm and thigh the UDOH ASU or dog pattern is tatued, +and four typical examples are shown on Pl. 136, Figs. 1, 2, 5, +6. Nieuwenhuis has figured a series of these designs [9, Pl. 82][73] +showing a transition from a very elongate animal form to a rosette +form; we have occasionally met with the former amongst Sarawak Kayans, +but it is a common thigh design amongst the Mendalam Kayans; the +forms numbered B and C are unusual in Sarawak. Of the four examples +given in Pl. 136 -- and it may be noted that these met with the high +approval of expert tatu artists -- Figs. 1, 2, and 5 may be considered +as intermediate between Nieuwenhuis' very elongate example F and +the truncated form E which is supposed to represent the head only +of a dog. Fig. 2 is characteristic of the Uma Balubo Kayans, and is +remarkable in that teeth are shown in both jaws; whilst, both in this +example and in Fig. 5, the eye is represented as a disc, in Figs. 1 +and 6 the eye is assuming a rosette-like appearance, which rosette, +as Nieuwenhuis' series shows, is destined in some cases to increase +in size until it swallows up the rest of the design. Fig. 6 may be +compared with Nieuwenhuis, Fig. E, as it evidently represents little +more than the head of a dog. Although a single figure of the dog is +the most usual form of tatu, we have met with an example of a double +figure; it is shown in Fig. 7; it will be observed that one of the +dogs is reversed and the tails of the two figures interlock. Fig. 8 +represents a dog with pups, TUANG NGANAK; A is supposed to be the +young one. + +The dog design figures very prominently in Kayan art, and the fact +that the dog is regarded by these people and also by the Kenyahs +with a certain degree of veneration may account for its general +representation. The design has been copied by a whole host of tribes, +with degradation and change of name (Fig. 62). + +On the deltoid region of the shoulders and on the breast, a rosette or +a star design is found (text, Figs. 63 and 64). As already stated, it +seems in the highest degree probable that the rosette is derived from +the eye in the dog pattern, and it is consequently of some interest +to find that the name now given to the rosette pattern is that of the +fruit of a plant which was introduced into Borneo certainly within the +last fifty or sixty years. The plant is PLUKENETIA CORNICULATA, one of +the Euphorbiaceae, and it is cultivated as a vegetable; its Kayan name +is JALAUT. We have here a good example of the gradual degradation of +a design leading to a loss of its original significance and even of +its name, another name, which originated probably from some fancied +resemblance between pattern and object, being applied at a subsequent +date. IPA OLIM, I.E., open fruit of a species of MANGIFERA, is another +name occasionally applied to the rosette pattern, but JALAUT is in +more general use (cf. Pl. 140, Fig. 4, Pl. 141, Fig. 7, and Pl. 142, +Fig. 9). + +On Pl. 141, Fig. 1, is shown a hand tatued in the Kayan manner; the +figures on the phalanges are known as TEGULUN,[74] representations +of human figures or as SILONG, faces, and they are evidently +anthropomorphic derivatives. The triangles on the carpal knuckles +are termed SONG IRANG, shoots of bamboo, and the zigzag lines are +IKOR, lines. + +Kayan women are tatued in complicated serial[75] designs over the whole +forearm, the backs of the hands, over the whole of the thighs and +to below the knees, and on the metatarsal surfaces of the feet. The +tatuing of a Kayan girl is a serious operation, not only because of +the considerable amount of pain caused, but also on account of the +elaborate ceremonial attached to this form of body ornamentation. The +process is a long one, lasting sometimes as much as four years, +since only a small piece can be done at a sitting, and several long +intervals elapse between the various stages of the work. A girl when +about ten years old will probably have had her fingers and the upper +part of her feet tatued, and about a year later her forearms should +have been completed; the thighs are partially tatued during the +next year, and in the third or fourth year from the commencement, +I.E. about puberty, the whole operation should have been accomplished. + +A woman endeavours to have her tatu finished before she becomes +pregnant, as it is considered immodest to be tatued after she has +become a mother. If a woman has a severe illness after any portion of +her body has been tatued, the work is not continued for some little +time; moreover, according to Nieuwenhuis (9, p. 453), a woman cannot +be tatued during seed time nor if a dead person is lying unburied in +the house, since it is LALI to let blood at such times; bad dreams, +such as a dream of floods, foretelling much blood-letting, will +also interrupt the work. A tatued woman may not eat the flesh of +the monitor lizard (VARANUS) or of the scaly manis (MANIS JAVANICA), +and her husband also is included in the tabu until the pair have a +male and a female child. If they have a daughter only they may not +eat the flesh of the monitor until their child has been tatued; if +they have a son only they cannot eat the monitor until they become +grandparents. Should a girl have brothers, but no sisters, some of +her tatu lines must not be joined together, but if she has brothers +and sisters, or sisters only, all the lines can be joined. + +Tatu amongst Kayan women is universal; they believe that the designs +act as torches in the next world, and that without these to light +them they would remain for ever in total darkness; one woman told +Dr. Nieuwenhuis that after death she would be recognised by the +impregnation of her bones with the tatu pigment. The operation of +tatuing amongst Kayans is performed by women, never by men, and +it is always the women who are the experts on the significance and +quality of tatu designs, though the men actually carve the designs +on the tatu blocks. Nieuwenhuis states (9, p. 452) that the office of +tatuer is to a certain extent hereditary, and that the artists, like +smiths and carvers, are under the protection of a tutelary spirit, +who must be propitiated with sacrifices before each operation. As +long as the children of the artist are of tender age she is debarred +from the practice of her profession. The greater the number of +sacrifices offered, or in other words, the greater the experience of +the artist, the higher is the fee demanded. She is also debarred from +eating certain food. It is supposed that if an artist disregards the +prohibitions imposed upon her profession, the designs that she tatus +will not appear clearly, and she herself may sicken and die. + +The tools used by a tatu artist are simple,[76] consisting of two +or three prickers, ULANG or ULANG BRANG, and an iron striker, TUKUN +or PEPAK, which are kept in a wooden case, BUNGAN. The pricker is a +wooden rod with a short pointed head projecting at right angles at one +end; to the point of the head is attached a lump of resin in which +are embedded three or four short steel needles, their points alone +projecting from the resinous mass (Fig. 68). The striker is merely a +short iron rod, half of which is covered with a string lashing. The +pigment is a mixture of soot, water, and sugar-cane juice, and it is +kept in a double shallow cup of wood, UIT ULANG; it is supposed that +the best soot is obtained from the bottom of a metal cooking-pot, +but that derived from burning resin or dammar is also used. The tatu +designs are carved in high relief on blocks of wood, KELINGE[77] +(Fig. 62), which are smeared with the ink and then pressed on the +part to be tatued, leaving an impression of the designs. As will be +seen later, the designs tatued on women are in longitudinal rows or +transverse bands, and the divisions between the rows or bands are +marked by one or more zigzag lines termed IKOR. + +The subject who is to be tatued lies on the floor, the artist and +an assistant squatting on either side of her; the artist first dips +a piece of fibre from the sugar-palm (ARENGA SACCHARIFERA) into the +pigment and, pressing this on to the limb to be tatued, plots out the +arrangement of the rows or bands of the design; along these straight +lines the artist tatus the IKOR, then taking a tatu block carved with +the required design, she smears it with pigment and presses it on to +the limb between two lines. The tatuer or her assistant stretches with +her feet the skin of the part to be tatued, and, dipping a pricker +into the pigment, taps its handle with the striker, driving the +needle points into the skin at each tap. The operation is painful, +and the subject can rarely restrain her cries of anguish; but the +artist is quite unmoved by such demonstrations of woe, and proceeds +methodically with her task. As no antiseptic precautions are taken, a +newly tatued part often ulcerates, much to the detriment of the tatu; +but taking all things into consideration, it is wonderful how seldom +one meets with a tatu pattern spoilt by scar tissues. + +It is against custom to draw the blood of a friend (PESU DAHA), and +therefore, when first blood is drawn in tatuing, it is customary to +give a small present to the artist. The present takes the form of +four antique beads, or of some other object worth about one dollar; +it is termed LASAT MATA, for it is supposed that if it were omitted +the artist would go blind, and some misfortune would happen to the +parents and relations of the girl undergoing the operation of tatu. + +When the half of one IKOR has been completed the tattier stops and +asks for SELIVIT; this is a present of a few beads, well-to-do people +paying eight yellow beads of the variety known as LAVANG, valued at +one dollar apiece, whilst poor people give two beads. It is supposed +that if SELIVIT was not paid the artist would be worried by the dogs +and fowls that always roam about a Kayan house, so that the work +would not be satisfactorily done; however, to make assurance doubly +sure, a curtain is hung round the operator and her subject to keep +off unwelcome intruders. After SELIVIT has been paid a cigarette is +smoked, and then work recommences in earnest, there being no further +interruptions for the rest of the day except for the purpose of taking +food. The food of the artist must be cooked and brought to her, +as she must not stop to do other work than tatuing, and her tools +are only laid aside for a few minutes while she consumes a hurried +meal. Fowls or a pig are killed for the artist by the parents of +the girl who is being tatued. The fees paid to the artist are more +or less fixed; for the forearms a gong, worth from eight to twenty +dollars, according to the workmanship required; for the thighs a large +TAWAK, worth as much as sixty dollars if the very best workmanship is +demanded, from six to twenty dollars if only inferior workmanship is +required.[78] For tatuing the fingers the operator receives a MALAT +or short sword. Nieuwenhuis (8, p. 236) states that it is supposed +that the artist will die within a year if her charges are excessive; +but we have not met with this belief amongst the Kayans of the Rejang +and Baram rivers. + +The knee-cap is the last part to be tatued, and before this is touched +the artist must be paid; as this part of the design is the keystone, +as it were, of the whole, the required fee is always forthcoming. A +narrow strip down the back of the thigh is always left untatued; +it is supposed that mortification of the legs would ensue if this +strip was not left open. + +The time at which to begin tatuing a girl is about the ninth day after +new moon, this lunar phase being known as BUTIT HALAP, the belly of the +HALAP fish (BARBUS BRAMOIDES); as the skin of the girl being tatued +quickly becomes very tender, it is often necessary to stop work for +a few days, but it is a matter of indifference at what lunar phase +work recommences, so long as it was originally begun at BUTIT HALAP. + +A Kayan chief of the Mendalam river informed Dr. Nieuwenhuis [9, +p. 4551 that in his youth only the wives and daughters of chiefs were +permitted the thigh tatu, women of lower rank had to be content with +tatu of the lower part of the shin and of the ankles and feet. The +designs were in the form of quadrangular blotches divided by narrow +untatued lines, and were known as TEDAK DANAU, lake tatu. The +quadrangles were twelve in number, divided from each other by four +longitudinal and two transverse untatued lines, 6 millimetres broad, +two of the longitudinal lines running down each side of the front of +the leg, and two down each side of the calf, approximately equidistant; +the forearm was tatued in the same style. This manner of tatu is +obsolete now, but Dr. Nieuwenhuis was fortunate in finding one very +old woman so tatued. + +Nowadays the class restrictions as regards tatu are not so closely +observed, but it is always possible to distinguish between the +designs of a chiefs daughter, an ordinary free-woman, and a slave, +by the number of lines composing the figures of the designs, -- the +fewer these lines, the lower being the rank of the woman. Moreover, +the designs of the lower-class women are not nearly so complex as +those of the higher class, and they are generally tatued free-hand. + +A very typical design for the forearm of a woman of high rank is shown +on Pl. 140, Fig. 3; it is taken from a Kayan of the Uma Pliau sub-tribe +dwelling on the Baram river, and may be compared with the somewhat +similar designs of the Mendalam river Kayans figured by Nieuwenhuis +[9, Pl. 85], one of which is a design for a chiefs daughter, the +other for a slave. The zigzag lines bounding the pattern on both +surfaces of the forearm are the IKOR, and these, as already stated, +are marked out with a piece of fibre dipped in the tatu ink before the +rest of the pattern is impressed by a wood-block or KLINGE. Taking +the flexor surface of the forearm first, the units of the designs +are: three bands of concentric circles (AAA) termed BELILING BULAN +or full moons; a triangle (B) each, limb formed by several parallel +lines, DULANG HAROK, the bows of a boat; spirals (CC) ULU TINGGANG, +the head of the hornbill. On the supinator surface BELILING BULAN +and ULU TINGGANG occur again, but instead of DULANG HAROK, there are +two other elements, a bold transverse zigzag known as DAUN WI (D), +rattan leaves, and at the proximal end of the pattern an interlacing +design, TUSHUN TUVA (E), bundles of tuba root (DERRIS ELLIPTICA). The +fingers are very simply tatued with a zigzag on the carpal knuckles +and transverse lines across the joints; the thumb is decorated in +a slightly different way. In Dr. Nieuwenhuis' designs cited above, +we find much the same elements; in one of them the BELILING BULAN are +more numerous and more closely set together, so that the concentric +circles of one set have run into those of the next adjoining; the +TUSHUN TUVA pattern is termed POESOENG, evidently the same as TUSHUN; +the spirals are much degraded in one example and are called KROWIT, +or hooks, whilst in the more elaborate example they are known as MANOK +WAK, or eyes of the SCOPS owl; the PEDJAKO PATTERN is an addition, +but the meaning of the word is not known; the pattern on the fingers +is much more complex than in the Uma Pliau example, and is perhaps +a degraded hornbill design. + +Nieuwenhuis [8, Pl. XXIV.] figures the hand of a low-class woman +tatued with triangular and quadrangular blotches, and with some rude +designs that appear to have been worked in free-hand. + +On Pl. 140, Fig. 1, is shown the design on the forearm of a high-class +woman of the Uma Lekan Kayans of the Batang Kayan river, Dutch Borneo; +in our opinion these elegant designs are quite in the front rank of +the tatu designs of the world. In spite of the elaboration, it is quite +possible to distinguish in these the same elements as in the Uma Pliau +specimen, viz.: BELILING BULAN ULU TINGGANG DAUN WI and TUSHUN TUVA; +but the DULANG HAROK is absent, and the SILONG or face pattern appears. + +Nieuwenhuis [9, Pl. 93, b] figures the arm-tatu (supinator surface +only) of a Kayan woman of the Blu-u river, a tributary of the Upper +Mahakkam; the main design is evidently a hornbill derivative, the +knuckles are tatued with quadrangular and rectangular blotches. The +hornbill plays an important part in the decorative art of the Long +Glat, a Klemantan tribe of the Mahakkam river, and we suspect that, +if these Blu-u Kayans are of true Kayan stock, they have borrowed +the hornbill design from their neighbours. + +With regard to the thigh patterns, it is usual to find the back of +the thigh occupied with two strips of an intersecting line design, +or some modification thereof; the simplest form is shown on Pl. 138, +Fig. 1; it is known as IDA TELO, the three-line pattern, and is used +by slaves; a more elaborate example from the Rejang river is shown in +Fig. 3, and is used both by slaves and free-women. Pl. 138, Fig. 2, +and Pl. 139, Fig. 6, are termed IDA PAT, the four-line pattern, and +are for free-women, not for slaves. The latter figure is a combination +of IDA PAT and IDA TELO. The wives and daughters of chiefs would +employ similar designs with the addition of another line, when they +are termed IDA LIMA, the five-line pattern, or else a design, known +as IDA TUANG, the underside pattern, two examples of which are given +on Pl. 139, Figs. 1 and 2. If these two latter designs are compared +with the hornbill design of the Long Glat, a figure of which, taken +from Nieuwenhuis [9, Pl. 86] is given (Pl. 139, Fig. 3) a certain +similarity in the MOTIF of the designs can be recognised. It must +be remembered that the Long Glat design is tatued in rows down the +front and sides of the thigh, whilst these Kayan designs have been +modified to form more or less of a sinuous line design for the back +of the thigh; or, in other words, the hornbill elements in the Long +Glat design, though they are serially repeated, are quite separate +and distinct one from the other, whilst in the Kayan designs the +hornbill elements are fused and modified to produce the sinuous +line pattern that in one form or another is generally employed for +the decoration of the back of the thigh. In this connection Pl. 139, +Fig. 5, is instructive; it is taken from a tatu block which, together +with those from which Figs. 1 and 2 are taken, was collected many +years ago by Mr. Brooke Low, amongst the Kayans of the Upper Rejang; +it also appears to be a doc, derivative, and no doubt was used for the +tatu of the front of a woman's thigh,[79] being serially repeated in +three or four rows as with the Long Glat. Yet it was unknown as a tatu +design to some Kayans of the Baram river to whom it was shown recently; +they informed us that the name of the design was TUANG BUVONG ASU, +pattern of dog without tail, and they stated that a somewhat similar +design was engraved by them on sword blades. Pl. 139, Fig. 4, is +taken from a tatu-block of uncertain origin, and the same name was +also applied to this by the Baram Kayans, though with some hesitation +and uncertainty; the hornbill MOTIF is here quite obvious. + +We have stated that an interlacing line design is generally employed +for the back of the thigh; we figure, however, a remarkable exception +from the Baloi river (Pl. 140, Fig. 5); this is known as KALONG KOWIT, +hook pattern; A is a representation of an antique bead, BALALAT +LUKUT, B is known as KOWIT, hooks. Between the two strips of line +design at the back of the thigh runs a narrow line of untatued skin, +the supposed object of which has been described above. The front and +sides of the thigh in highclass women will be covered with three or +more strips of pattern such as are shown on Pl. 138, Figs. 4 and 5; +in the latter TUSHUN TUVA, DULANG HAROK, ULU TINGGANG and BELILING +BULAN can again be recognised; the ULU TINGGANG in this example are +less conventionalised than in the spirals of the forearm pattern, +and a spiral form of TUSHUN TUVA IS shown in addition to the angular +form. The other example exhibits IDA LIMA, TUSHUN TUVA JALAUT, KOWIT +(the interlocking spirals) and ULU TINGGANG. All these strips of +pattern are separated by the IKOR. The knee-cap is the last part +of the leg to be tatued, and the design covering it is called the +KALONG NANG, the important pattern, good examples of which are shown +in Figs. 70, 71; Fig. 72 represents the design on the front and sides +of the thigh of an Uma Semuka Kayan of the slave class, which also +is termed TUSHUN TUVA. + +The admirable Uma Lekan patterns (Pl. 140, Fig. 2) represent on the +back of the thigh (AA) BELILING BULAN, on the front and sides (BB) +SILONG, faces or SILONG LEJAU, tigers' faces; the latter is evidently +an anthropomorph; the knee-cap design is particularly worthy of +notice.[80] Nieuwenhuis [9, Pl. 83, and 8, Pl. XXVII.] figures the +thigh tatu of a Mendalam woman of the PANJIN or free-woman class; the +back of the thigh is occupied by two strips of the four line pattern, +here termed KETONG PAT, and a somewhat crude anthropomorphic design, +known as KOHONG KELUNAN, human head, covers the front and sides of +the thigh (text Fig. 69); the centre of the knee-cap is occupied +by a very similar anthropomorph, known however as NANG KLINGE, the +important design, and extending in a semicircle round the upper part +of it is a design made up of intersecting zigzags and known as KALANG +NGIPA, the snake design; below the knee-cap is a transverse band of +hour-glass shaped figures termed PEDJAKO. Nieuwenhuis also figures +[9, Pl. 841 the thigh pattern of a chiefs daughter from the same +river; this only differs from the preceding example in the greater +elaboration of the KOHONG KELUNAN; the back of the thigh is covered +by a form of the IDA PAT pattern not by the IDA LIMA pattern. Some +of the tatu-blocks employed by the Mendalam Kayan women are figured +in the same works [9, Pl. 82, and 8, Pl. XXVIII.]. + +A comparison of the figures here given lends strong support to +the supposition that the tuba-root pattern is merely a degraded +anthropomorph. Fig. 69 is a recognisable anthropomorph such as is +tatued in rows on the thigh, and some such name as TEGULUN, SILONG, +or KOHONG is applied to it. Fig. 70 is a knee-cap design, evidently +anthropomorphic in nature, but termed NANG KLINGE, the important +design, since it is the last part of all to be tatued. Fig.71 is +termed TUSHUN TUVA, but a distinct face is visible in the centre +of the pattern; the general similarity between this last design and +the examples of TUSHUN TUVA shown in the designs on Pl. 138, Figs. 4 +and 5, is quite obvious; the lower of the two TUSHUN TUVA designs in +Fig. 5, Pl. 138, is Cornposed of angular lines, thus reverting to the +angularity of the lines in text, Fig. 69; at E, Fig. 3, Pl. 140, the +lines are partly angular, partly curved, and the bilateral symmetry +is entirely lost; finally, in Fig. 72, the relationship of the TUSHUN +TUVA design to an anthropomorph is entirely lost. + +A typical form of tatu on the foot of a low-class woman is shown on +Pl. 138, Fig. 6; a chiefs daughter would have some modification of +the principal element of the thigh design tatued on this part. + + +Kenyah Tatu. + +The culture of the Sarawak Kenyahs is closely allied to that of the +Kayans, and their tatu may be considered separately from that of the +Kenyah-Klemantan tribes whose tatu is much more original in design. + +The men of such Kenyah tribes as the Lepu Jalan, Lepu Tau, Lepu Apong, +etc., if tatued at all, are tatued in the Kayan manner, that is, with +some form of dog design on the forearms and thighs, and with rosettes +or stars on the shoulders and breasts. The dog design is usually known +as USANG ORANG, the prawn pattern; the teeth of the dog are held to +represent the notched border of the prominent rostrum characteristic +of the prawns of the genus PALAEMAN, that occur so plentifully in +the fresh-water streams of Borneo. An extreme modification of the dog +design to form a prawn is shown in Pl. 137, Fig. 9; Pl. 136, Fig. 4, +is a dog design, and is so termed. Pl. 136, Fig. 10, is known as +TOYU, a crab; A is the mouth, BA; B the claw, KATIP; C the back, +LIKUT; D the tail, IKONG. Pl. 136, Fig. 9, is termed LIPAN KATIP, +jaws of the centipede. All these are tatued on the flexor surface +of the forearm or on the outside of the thigh.[81] An example of a +star design termed USONG DIAN, durian pattern, is shown in Pl. 141, +Fig. 7. The women of these tribes tatu in the same way, and employ +the same designs as the Kayans, except that they never tatu on the +thighs. Amongst the Baram Kenyahs there appears to be very little +ceremonial connected with the process of tatuing. + + +Kenyah-Klemantan[82] Tatu. + +Amongst this rather heterogeneous assemblage of tribes considerable +diversity of tatu design is found. The men are seldom tatued, but +when they are it is in the Kayan manner. The Peng or Pnihing of the +Koti basin have an elaborate system of male tatu, but it seems to be +dying out; the only examples that we have met are shown on Pl. 141, +Figs. 2 and 3. These represent the arms of Peng men; unfortunately we +have no information as to the significance of the designs. The only +other Peng design that we are acquainted with is a large disc tatued +on the calf of the leg. Dr. Nieuwenhuis states that Peng women are +tatued with isolated dog designs on the arms and legs like the men +of Kayan tribes [9, p. 461]. + +The Kenyah women of the Baram district exhibit a very primitive +style of tatu on the arms and hands (Pl. 141, Fig. 4); a broad band +encircles the middle of the forearm, and a narrow band an inch or so +distant of this also surrounds the arm; from this narrow band there run +over the metacarpals to the base of the fingers eight narrow lines, +the outermost on the radial side bifurcating; the design is known as +BETIK ALLE or line tatu. No other part of the body is tatued. + +Nieuwenhuis figures [9, Pl. 95] a somewhat similar design employed +by the Lepu Tau women of the Batang Kayan; but in this case, instead +of eight longitudinal lines stopping short at the knuckles, there +are five broad bands running to the finger nails, interrupted at the +knuckles by a 2 cm.-broad strip of untatued skin. Moreover, with these +people the front and sides of the thigh and the shin are tatued with +primitive-looking designs made up of series of short transverse lines, +curved lines, and broad bands; the names of the designs are not given; +these designs are said to be characteristic of the slave-class, the +higher-class women copying the more elaborate designs of the Uma Lekan. + +Amongst the Batang Kayan Kenyahs tatuing cannot be executed in the +communal house, but only in a hut built for the purpose. The males of +the family, to which the girl undergoing the operation belongs, must +dress in bark-cloth, and are confined to the house until the tatu is +completed; should any of the male members be travelling in other parts +of the island tatu cannot be commenced until they return. Amongst the +Uma Tow (or Lepu Tau) the daughter of a chief must be tatued before +any of the other females of the house; should the chiefs daughter +(or daughters) die before she has been tatued, all the other women +of the house are debarred from this embellishment (Nieuwenhuis [9, +pp. 453, 454]). + +Nieuwenhuis, in his great work on Borneo, which we have cited so +often, gives a good account of the tatu of the Long Glat. According +to this authority, girls when only eight years old have the backs of +the fingers tatued, at the commencement of menstruation the tatu of +the fingers is completed, and in the course of the following year +the tatu is carried over the backs of the hand to the wrist; the +feet are tatued synchronously with the hands. At the age of eighteen +to twenty the front of the thigh is tatued, and later on in life the +back of the thigh; unlike the Kayans it is not necessary that the tatu +of the thighs should be finished before child-bearing. A Long Glat +woman on each day that she is tatued must kill a black fowl as food +for the artist. They believe that after death the completely tatued +women will be allowed to bathe in the mythical river Telang Julan, +and that consequently they will be able to pick up the pearls that +are found in its bed; incompletely tatued women can only stand on +the river bank, whilst the untatued will not be allowed to approach +its shores at all. This belief appears to be universal amongst the +Kenyah-Klemantan of the Upper Mahakam and Batang Kayan. On Pl. 86 of +Nieuwenhuis' book [9] is figured the thigh tatu of a Long Glat woman; +the front of the thigh is occupied with two rows of the hornbill MOTIF +to which reference has already been made. The sides of the thigh are +tatued with a beautiful design of circles and scrolls termed KERIP +KWE, flight feathers of the Argus pheasant, and on the back of the +thigh is a scroll design borrowed from the decoration of a grave +and known as KALANG SONG SEPIT.[83] The knee is left untatued. Some +other examples of the KERIP KWE design are given on Pl. 90, and of +the SONG SEPIT on Pl. 91; some of the SONG SEPIT designs recall the +KALANG KOWIT designs of the Baloi Kayans. Instead of a hornbill MOTIF, +a dog's head MOTIF is sometimes tatued on the thigh, an example of +which is figured on Pl. 87, Fig. A; it appears to be a composition +of four heads, and in appearance is not unlike SILONG LEJAU of the +Uma Lekan, figured by us. In the Long Glat thigh-tatu the bands of +pattern are not separated by lines of IKOR, as with the Kayans. Round +the ankles the Long Glat tatu sixteen lines, 3 mm. broad, known as +TEDAK AKING; the foot is tatued much after the manner shown in our +Fig. 6, Pl. 143. The supinator surface of the forearm and the backs +of the hands are also tatued, but the design does not extend so far up +the arm as with the Kayans [9, Pl. 92]; the forearm design is made up +of a hornbill MOTIF, but that shown in Fig. A of the plate is termed +BETIK KULE, leopard pattern, and is supposed to be a representation +of the spots on the leopard's skin; it is stated to be taken from a +Long Tepai tatu-block; the knuckles are tatued with a double row of +wedges, the finger joints with quadrangles. + +The Uma Luhat seem to have borrowed their tatu and designs very largely +if not entirely from the Long Glat; with them the back of the thigh +is tatued before the front, which is exceptional. Half of the knee +is tatued. Their designs are modifications of the hornbill and dog's +head designs of the Long Glat. Nieuwenhuis figures several examples +[9, Pl. 87, Fig. B, Plate 88, Pl. 89, Pl. 93, Fig. A, Pl. 94], which +should be consulted, as they are of the greatest interest. + +The Long Wai seem to tatu in much the same way as the Uma Luhat [2, +Pl., p. 189 and 7, p. 91]. + + +Tatu of Muruts and Klemantans. + +A number of tribes have adopted more or less the tatu of the +Kayans. Thus the men of the following Sarawak tribes, Sibops, Lirongs, +Tanjongs, Long Kiputs, Barawans, and Kanowits, are often, though not +universally, tatued like Kayans. The shoulder pattern of the Barawans +is distinctive, in that the rosette nearly always bears a scroll +attached to it, a relic of the dog MOTIF, from which the design is +derived (Pl. 138, Fig. 6). E. B. Haddon [4, Fig. 17] figures another +form of the dog MOTIF, which is tatued on the thigh or forearm, and +Ling Roth [7, p. 86] figures three rosette designs for the breast; +we figure two modifications of the dog design on Pl. 137, Figs. 7 and +8. The women of these tribes very rarely tatu; we have seen a Tanjong +woman with a circle of star-shaped figures round her wrist and one +on the thumb. The Tring women of Dutch Borneo are tatued on the hands +and thighs like Kayans; Carl Bock [2, Pl., p. 187] gives some figures +of them. In our opinion all of these tribes owe their tatu entirely +to foreign influences; for we have failed to find a single example +of an original design; the practice is by no means universal, and +great catholicity of taste is shown by those who do tatu. The men, +moreover, do not tatu as a sign of bravery in battle or adventure, +but merely from a desire to copy the more warlike Kayan. + +We shall now treat of those tribes that have a distinctive and original +tatu, but it is well to bear in mind, that amongst many of these people +also the Kayan designs are coming into vogue more and more, ousting the +old designs. No tatu-blocks are employed for the indigenous patterns, +all the work being done free-hand. + +(A) UMA LONG. -- The Uma Long women of the Batang Kayan exhibit +the most primitive form of tatu known in Borneo. It differs from +every other form in that the tatued surface of the skin is not +covered uniformly with the ink, but the design, such as it is, is +merely stippled into the skin, producing an appearance of close-set +irregular dots. Two aspects of the forearm of an Uma Long woman are +shown on Pl. 142, Fig. 5. No other part of the body is tatued, and +the practice is confined to the female sex. + +(B) DUSUN. -- The men only tatu. The design is simple, consisting +of a band, two inches broad, curving from each shoulder and meeting +its fellow on the abdomen, thence each band diverges to the hip and +there ends; from the shoulder each band runs down the upper arm on +its exterior aspect; the flexor surface of the forearm is decorated +with short transverse stripes, and, according to one authority, each +stripe marks an enemy slain [7, p. 90]. This form of tatu is found +chiefly amongst the Idaan group of Dusuns; according to Whitehead +[11, p. 106] the Dusuns living on the slopes of Mount Kina Balu tatu +no more than the parallel transverse stripes on the forearm, but in +this case no reference is made to the significance of the stripes as +a head-tally. The Dusun women apparently do not tatu. + +(C) MURUT. -- The Muruts of the Trusan river, North Sarawak, tatu +very little; the men occasionally have a small scroll design just +above the knee-cap and a simple circle on the breast; the women have +fine lines tatued from the knuckles to the elbows [7, p. 93]. The +Muruts of British North Borneo appear to be more generally tatued; +the men are tatued like Dusuns, though, according to Hatton, they +have three parallel stripes running from the shoulders to the wrists +and no transverse lines on the forearm.[84] Whitehead [11, p. 76] +figures a Murut woman of the Lawas river tatued on the arms from the +biceps to the knuckles with numerous fine longitudinal lines; a band +of zigzag design encircles the arm just above the commencement of the +longitudinal lines. The design on a man of the same tribe is given +on page 73 [11], it resembles "a three-legged dog with a crocodile's +head, one leg being turned over the back as if the animal was going to +scratch its ear." The part of the body on which the design was tatued, +is not specified and the sketch is rather inadequate, so that it is +impossible to tell for certain whether the design was tatued in outline +only or whether the outline was filled in uniformly; our impression is +that the outline only was tatued on this individual, and that it was +employed either as an experiment or from idle amusement. Zoomorphs +are conspicuous by their absence from all forms of decorative art +amongst the Lawas Muruts, and the particular zoomorph noted here +gives every evidence of an unpractised hand. + +St. John states [7, p. 92] that the Muruts of the Adang river, +a tributary of the Limbang, are tatued about the arms and legs, +but he gives no details. + +(D) KALABIT. -- This tribe, dwelling in the watershed of the Limbang +and Baram rivers, is closely akin to Muruts, but its tatu is very +different. The men tatu but rarely, and then with stripes down the +arms. The women, however, are decorated with most striking geometrical +designs, shown on Pl. 142, Figs. 1 -- 4. On the forearm are tatued +eight bold zigzag bands, one-eighth of an inch broad, which do not +completely encircle the arm, but stop short of joining at points +on the ulnar side of the middle line on the flexor surface. The +series of lines is known as BETIK TISU, the hand pattern. In some +cases two short transverse lines, called TIPALANG, cross-lines, +spring from the most distal zigzag at the point where it touches the +back of the wrist on the radial side; in other cases these lines are +tatued across the middle of the back of the wrist and two lozenges +are tatued on the metacarpals; these are known as TEPARAT (Pl. 142, +Fig. 1). The legs are tatued on the back of the thigh, on the shin, +and sometimes on the knee-cap. The designs can best be explained by +a reference to Pl. 142, Figs. 2 -- 4; the part of the design marked +A is termed BETIK BUAH, fruit pattern; B, betik lawa, trunk pattern; +and C, BETIK LULUD, shin pattern. In Fig. 4, A and C are as before; +D is BETIK KARAWIN; E, UJAT BATU, hill-tops; F, BETIK KALANG (Fig. 3). + +Kalabit women are tatued when they are sixteen years old, whether +they are married or unmarried, and the operation does not extend +over a number of years as with the Long Glat and Kayans, nor is any +elaborate ceremonial connected with the process. + +(E) LONG UTAN. -- An extinct Klemantan tribe, once dwelling on the +Tinjar river, an affluent of the Baram. We owe our knowledge of their +tatu to an aged Klemantan, who was well acquainted with the tribe +before their disappearance; at our behest he carved on some wooden +models of arms and legs the tatu designs of these people, but he +was unable to supply any information of the names or significance +of the designs. The men of the tribe apparently were not tatued, +and the designs reproduced on Pl. 141, Figs. 5, 6, are those of the +women. The essential features of the designs are spirals and portions +of intersecting circles; the intersecting circles are frequently to +be met with in the decorative art of Kenyahs, E.G. on the back of +sword-handles, round the top of posts, on carved bamboos, etc., and +in these cases the design is supposed to be a representation of the +open fruit of a species of mango, MANGIFERA SP. It is not improbable +that the design had the same significance amongst the Long Utan, +for we have met with one or two representations of the same fruit +amongst other Klemantan tribes. + +(F) BIAJAU. -- The Dutch author C. den Hamer [5, p. 451] includes under +this heading the tribes living in the districts watered by the rivers +Murung, Kahayan, Katingan, and Mentaja of South-west Borneo. Under this +very elastic heading he would include the Ot-Danum, Siang, and Ulu +Ajar of Nieuwenhuis, but we treat of these in the next section. The +ethnology of the Barito, Kahayan, and Katingan river-basins sadly +needs further investigation; nothing of importance has been published +on this region since the appearance of Schwaner's book on Borneo more +than fifty years ago. We know really very little of the distribution or +constitution of the tribes dwelling in these districts, and Schwaner's +account of their tatu is very meagre. Such as it is, it is given here, +extracted from Ling Roth's TRANSLATION OF SCHWANER'S ETHNOGRAPHICAL +NOTES [7, pp. cxci. cxciv.]: The men of Pulu Petak, the right-hand +lower branch of the Barito or Banjermasin river, tatu the upper part +of the body, the arms and calves of legs, with elegant interlacing +designs and scrolls. The people of the Murung river are said to be most +beautifully tatued, both men and women; this river is really the upper +part of the Barito, and according to Hamer is inhabited by the Biajau +(VIDE POSTEA), who appear to be distinct from the Ngaju of Schwaner, +inhabiting the lower courses of the Barito and Kapuas rivers. The men +of the lower left-hand branch of the Barito and of the midcourse of +that river are often not tatued at all, but such tatu as was extant +in 1850 was highly significant according to Schwaner's account; thus, +a figure composed of two spiral lines interlacing each other and with +stars at the extremities tatued on the shoulder signified that the +man had taken several heads; two lines meeting each other at an acute +angle behind the finger nails signified dexterity in wood-carving; +a star on the temple was a sign of happiness in love. We have no +reason to consider this information inaccurate, but we do consider it +lamentable that more details concerning the most interesting forms +of tatu in Borneo were not obtained, for it is only too probable +that such information cannot be acquired now. The women of this +tribe do not tatu. In the upper Teweh river, an upper tributary of +the Barito the men are tatued a good deal, especially on parts of +the face, such as the forehead, the cheeks, the upper lip. The only +figures that Schwaner gives are reproduced by Ling Roth [7, p. 931, +they represent two Ngajus; the tatu designs are drawn on too small a +scale to be of much interest, and in any case we have no information +concerning them. The two figures of 'Tatued Dyaks' (? Kayans) (after +Professor Veth), on p. 95 of the above-cited work cannot be referred +to any tribe known to us. + +Hamer in his paper [5] gives a detailed account of Biajau tatu, but, +unfortunately, without any illustrations; as abstracts of the paper +have already been given by Ling Roth [7, pp. 93, 94] and by Hein [6, +pp. 143 -- 147], we will pass on to the next section. + +(G) OT-DANUM, ULU AJAR, AND SIANG (Kapuas river, tributaries). -- +Concerning these tribes Nieuwenhuis says but little [9, p. 452], +merely noting that the men are first tatued with discs on the +calf and in the hollow of the knee and later over the arms, torso, +and throat, whilst the women tatu the hands, knees, and shins. Two +colours, red and blue, are used, and the designs are tatued free-hand, +the instrument employed being a piece of copper or brass about four +inches long and half an inch broad, with one end bent down at a right +angle and sharpened to a point. Sometimes thread is wound round the +end of the instrument just above the point, to regulate the depth +of its penetration. Two specimens in the Leyden Museum are figured +by Ling Roth [7, p. 85]. Hamer [5] says that the Ot-Danum women are +tatued down the shin to the tarsus with two parallel lines, joined +by numerous cross-lines, a modification of the Uma Tow design for the +same part of the limb. On the thigh is tatued a design termed SOEWROE, +said to resemble a neck ornament. A disc tatued on the calf of the +leg is termed BOENTOER, and from it to the heel runs a barbed line +called IKOEH BAJAN, tail of the monitor lizard; curiously enough, +though this is the general name of the design, it is on the right leg +also termed BARAREK, on the left DANDOE TJATJAH. Warriors are tatued +on the elbowjoint with a DANDOE TJATJAH and a cross called SARAPANG +MATA ANDAU. + +A Maloh who had lived for many years amongst these people gave us +the following information about their tatu: -- There is with these +people a great difference between the tatu of the high-class and +that of the low-class individuals: amongst the former the designs are +both extensive and complicated, too complicated for our informant to +describe with any degree of accuracy, but they seem to be much the +same as those described by Hamer. The low-class people have to be +content with simpler designs; the men are tatued on the breast and +stomach with two curved lines ending in curls, and on the outside +of each arm with two lines also ending in curls (Pl. 142, Fig. 6); +on the outside of the thigh a rather remarkable design, shown on +Pl. 142, Fig. 7, is tatued; it is termed LINSAT, the flying squirrel, +PTEROMYS NITIDUS, and on the back of the calf is tatued a disc termed +KALANG BABOI, the wild pig pattern. The women are tatued as described +by Hamer down the front of the shin with two parallel lines connected +by transverse cross-bars; according to our informant the design was +supposed to represent a flat fish, such as a sole. (Pl. 142, Fig. 8.) + +Of these people, as of so many others, the melancholy tale of +disappearance of tatu amongst the present generation and replacement +of indigenous by Kayan designs was told, and it seems only too likely +that within the next decade or two none will be left to illustrate +a once flourishing and beautiful art. + +Schwaner can add nothing to the facts that we have collected, except +the statement that "the BILIANS (priestesses) have brought the art +of tatuing to the present degree of perfection through learning the +description of the pretty tatued bodies of the [mythical] Sangsangs." + +(H) KAHAYAN. -- Our figure (Pl. 141, Fig. 3), and Pl. 81 of +Dr. Nieuwenhuis' book [9], is the extent of our knowledge of the tatu +of the inhabitants of the Kahayan river. The latter illustration +shows a man tatued with a characteristic check pattern over the +torso, stomach, and arms, but there is no reference to the plate +in the text. Our figure is copied from a drawing by Dr. H. Hiller, +of Philadelphia. + +(I) BAKATAN AND UKIT. -- As Nieuwenhuis has pointed out [9, p. 451], +the tatu of these tribes is distinctive, inasmuch as most of the +designs are left in the natural colour of the skin against a background +of tatu; that is to say in the phraseology of the photographer, +whilst the tatu designs of Kayans, Kenyahs, etc., are POSITIVES, +those of the Bakatans are NEGATIVES. The men were formerly most +extensively tatued, and we figure the principal designs (Pl. 143), +most of which were drawn from a Bakatan of the Rejang river. The chest +is covered with a bold scroll design known as GEROWIT, hooks (Kayan, +KOWIT) (Figs. 1, 2); across the back and shoulder blades stretches a +double row of circles, KANAK, with small hooks interposed (Fig. 9); +on the side of the shoulder a pattern known as AKIH, the lizard, +PLYCHOZOON HOMALOCEPHALUM (Fam. Geckonidae), is tatued (Figs. 3, 4); +this lizard is used as a haruspex by the Bakatan. Circles are tatued +on the biceps, on the back of the thigh, and on the calf of the leg; +a modification of the scroll design of the chest occurs on the flexor +surface of the forearm. Another form of pattern for the calf of the +leg is shown in Fig. 73, it is termed SELONG BOWANG, the horse-mango, +MANGIFERA SP., the same fruit as that termed by Kayans IPA OLIM, and +of which a representation forms the chief element in the Long Utan +tatu. A series of short lines is tatued on the jaw, and is termed JA, +lines, or KILANG, sword-pattern, and a GEROWIT design occurs under the +jaw; the pattern on the throat is known also as GEROWIT (Fig. 10). On +the forehead is sometimes tatued a star or rosette pattern called +LUKUT, antique bead, and it appears that this is of the nature of +a recognition mark. In jungle warfare, where a stealthy descent +on an unprepared enemy constitutes the main principle of tactics, +it not unfrequently happens that one body of the attacking force +unwittingly stalks another, and the results might be disastrous if +there was not some means of distinguishing friend from foe when at +close quarters.[85] Kenyahs when on the warpath frequently tie a band +of plaited palm fibre round the wrist for the same object. The tatu of +the backs of the hands is avowedly copied from the Kayans, but has a +different name applied to it -- KUKUM. The metatarsus is tatued with +broad bars, IWA, very like the foot tatu of Kayan women of the slave +or of the middle class; lines known as JANGO encircle the ankle. + +Tatuing is forbidden in the house; it can only be performed on the +warpath, and consequently men only are the tatu artists. The covering +of the body with designs is a gradual process, and it is only the +most seasoned and experienced warriors who exhibit on their persons +all the different designs that we have just detailed. The tatu of +the legs and feet is the last to be completed, and the lines round +the ankles are denied to all but the bravest veterans. + +All that has been written above applies equally well to the Ukits, +or at least once did apply, for now the Ukits have to a great extent +adopted the tatu of the Kayan, and it is only occasionally that +an old man tatued in the original, Ukit manner is met. We give a +figure of a design on the back of the thigh of such a relic of better +days. (Pl. 143, Fig. 5). + +The Bakatan and Ukit women tatu very little, only the forearm, on the +metacarpals, and on the back of the wrist; characteristic designs +for these parts are shown in Fig. 74, and Pl. 143, Figs. 7, 8. The +central part of the forearm design is an anthropomorphic derivative, +judging by the name TEGULUN; the lines are termed KILANG, and KANAK +and GEROWIT are also conspicuous; GEROWIT IS also the name of the +design for the metacarpals; the two stars joined by a line on the +wrist are termed LUKUT, and it is possible that their significance is +the same as that of the Kayan LUKUT tatued in the same place by men, +but we have no evidence that this is the case. + +Nieuwenhuis figures [9, Pl. 80] a Bakatan tatued on the chest in the +typical manner. + +The only other designs, apparently of Kalamantan origin, are those +figured by Ling Roth [7, p. 87]. Three of these are after drawings +by Rev. W. Crossland, and are labelled "tatu marks on arm of Kapuas +Kayan captive woman." The designs are certainly not of Kayan origin; +the woman had in all probability been brought captive to Sarawak, where +Mr. Crossland saw her, and it is unfortunate that exact information +concerning the tribe to which she belonged was not obtained. The +designs, if accurately copied, are so extremely unlike all that are +known to us that we are not able to hazard even a guess at their +provenance or meaning. The other design figured on the same page +is copied from Carl Bock; it occurred on the shoulder of a Punan, +and is said by Mr. Crossland to be commonly used by the Sea Dayaks +of the Undup. We met with a similar example of it (Pl. 138, Fig. 7) +on an Ukit tatued in the Kayan manner, but could get no information +concerning it, and suppose that it is not an Ukit design. Hein +[6, Fig. 90] figures the same design, and Nieuwenhuis [8, p. 240] +alludes to a similar. We may note here that the designs figured on +page 89 of Ling Roth's book [7] as tatu designs are in our opinion +very probably not tatu designs. They were collected by Dr. Wienecke in +Dutch Borneo, and appear to be nothing but drawings by a native artist +of such objects in daily use as hats, seat-mats, baby-slings, and so +on. We communicated with Dr. J. D. E. Schmeltz of the Leyden Museum, +where these "tatu" marks are deposited, and learnt from him that they +are indeed actual drawings on paper; there are ninety-two of them, +apparently all are different isolated designs, and they are evidently +the work of one artist.[86] There is not a tribe in Borneo which can +show such a variety of tatu design, and indeed we doubt if ninety-two +distinct isolated tatu designs could be found throughout all the length +and breadth of the island. Moreover, as can be seen by reference to the +cited work, the designs are of a most complicated nature, not figures +with the outlines merely filled in, as in all tatu designs known to +us, but with the details drawn in fine lines and cross-hatching, which +in tatu would be utterly lost unless executed on a very large scale. + + +Sea Dayak Tatu. + +The Sea Dayaks at the present day are, as far as the men are concerned, +the most extensively tatued tribe in Borneo, with the exception +of the Bakatans, Ukits, Kahayans, and Biajau; nevertheless, from +a long-continued and close study of their tatu, we are forced to +the conclusion that the practice and the designs have been entirely +borrowed from other tribes, but chiefly from the Kayans. For some time +we believed that there were two characteristically Sea Dayak designs, +namely, that which is tatued on the throat (Figs. 75 and 76) and that +on the wrist (Pl. 143, Fig. 7), but when later we studied Bakatan tatu +we met with the former in the GEROWIT pattern on the throat of men, and +the latter in the LUKUT design on the wrist of the women. A Sea Dayak +youth will simply plaster himself, so to speak, with numerous isolated +designs; we have counted as many as five of the ASU design on one thigh +alone. The same design appears two or three times on the arms, and even +on the breast, though this part of the body as well as the shoulders +is more usually decorated with several stars and rosettes. The backs +of the hands are tatued, quite irrespective of bravery or experience +in warfare; in fact we have frequently had occasion to note that a man +with tatued hands is a wastrel or a conceited braggart, of no account +with Europeans or with his own people. This wild and irresponsible +system of tatu has been accompanied by an inevitable degradation of +the designs. There is a considerable body of evidence to show that the +Sea Dayaks have borrowed much in their arts and crafts from tribes who +have been longer established in Borneo; but it must be confessed that +in their decorative art they have often improved upon their models; +their bamboo carvings and their woven cloth are indeed "things of +beauty." But their tatu involves, not an intelligent elaboration +of the models, but a simplification and degradation, or at best an +elaboration without significance. Figs. 1 -- 6, Pl. 137, are examples +of the Sea Dayaks TUANG ASU or dog design. The figures show the dog +design run mad, and it is idle to attempt to interpret them, since +in every case the artists have given their individual fancies free +play. When the profession of the tatu-artist is hereditary, and when +the practice has for its object the embellishment of definite parts +of the body for definite reasons, we naturally find a constancy of +design; or, if there are varieties, there is a purpose in them, in +the sense that the variations can be traced to pre-existing forms, +and do not depart from the original so widely that their significance +is altogether lost. With the borrowing of exogenous designs arises such +an alteration in their forms that the original names and significance +are lost. But when the very practice of tatu has no special meaning, +when the tatu-artist may be any member of the tribe, and where no +original tatu design is to be found in the tribe, then the borrowed +practice and the borrowed designs, unbound by any sort of tradition, +run complete riot, and any sort of fanciful name is applied to the +degraded designs. Amongst the Kenyah tribes the modification and +degradation of the dog design has not proceeded so far as amongst +the Sea Dayaks, and this may be explained by their more restrained +practice of tatu and by the constant intercourse between them and +the Kayans, for they always have good models before them. Pl. 137, +Fig. 3, illustrates the extreme limit of degradation of the dog design +amongst Sea Dayaks; it is sometimes termed KALA, scorpion,[87] and +it is noteworthy that the representation of the chelae and anterior +end of the scorpion (A) was originally the posterior end of the dog, +and the hooked ends of the posterior processes of this scorpion design +(B), instead of facing one another as they did when they represented +the open jaws of the dog, now look the same way; the rosette-like eye +of the dog still persists, but of course it has no significance in the +scorpion. A curious modification of this eye is seen in another Sea +Dayak scorpion design figured by E. B. Haddon [4, Fig. 19]. Furness +[3, p. 142] figures a couple of scorpion designs, but neither are +quite as debased as that which we figure here. Furness also figures a +scroll design, not unlike a Bakatan design, tatued on the forearm, and +termed TAIA GASIENG, the thread of the spinning wheel; a similar one +figured by Ling Roth [7, p. 88] is termed TRONG, the egg plant. On the +breast and shoulders some forms of rosette or star design are tatued +in considerable profusion; they are known variously as BUNGA TRONG, +the egg plant flower, TANDAN BUAH, bunches of fruit, LUKUT, an antique +bead, and RINGGIT SALILANG. A four-pointed star, such as that shown in +Fig. 64, is termed BUAH ANDU, fruit of PLUKENETIA CORNICULATA; since +this fruit is quadrate in shape with pointed angles, it is evident that +the name has been applied to the pattern because of its resemblance to +the fruit. Furness figures examples of these designs and also Ling Roth +[7, p. 88]. We figure (Figs. 75, 76, 77) three designs for the throat +known sometimes as KATAK, frogs, sometimes as TALI GASIENG, thread of +the spinning wheel, and no doubt other meaningless names are applied +to them. Two of the figures (Figs. 75, 77) are evidently modifications +of the Bakatan GEROWIT design, but here they are represented with the +tatu pigment, whilst with the Bakatans the design is in the natural +colour of the skin against a background of pigment, I.E. the Dayak +design is the positive of the Bakatan negative. Furness figures two +examples of the throat design, one with a transverse row of stars +cutting across it; the same authority also figures a design for the +ribs known as TALI SABIT, waist chains, consisting of two stars joined +by a double zigzag line. The same design is sometimes tatued on the +wrist, when it is known as LUKUT, antique bead; it is also tatued on +the throat [7, p. 88], and attention has already been drawn to the +probable derivation of this design also from a Bakatan model. + +It is only very seldom that Sea Dayak women tatu, and then only in +small circles on the breasts [7, p. 83] and on the calves of the legs. + + +As a conclusion to the foregoing account of Bornean tatu we add a table +which summarises in the briefest possible manner all our information; +its chief use perhaps will lie in showing in a graphic manner the +blanks in our knowledge that still remain. + +We do not consider that tatu can ever be of much value in clearing up +racial problems, seeing how much evidence there is of interchange of +designs and rejection of indigenous designs in favour of something +newer; consequently we refrain from drawing up another scheme of +classification of tatu in Borneo; at best it would be little more +than a re-enumeration of the forms that we have already described in +more or less detail. + + + +Table showing the Forms of Tatu Practised by the Tribes of Borneo + + + + +Character of Designs. +Part of Body Tatued. +Cermonial. +Object of Tatu. + + +Kayan +[male] +Isolated designs, representing the dog, a bead, rosettes and +stars. Serial designs on hands. +Inside of forearm, outside of thigh, breasts, wrist and points of +shoulders. Back of hand sometimes. +None +Sign of bravery in some forms, to ward off illness in others. + + + +[female] +Serial designs of complex nature, geometrical, anthropo- and +zoomorphic. +The whole forearm, back of hand, the whole thigh, the metatarsal +surface of the foot. +Very elaborate +Chiefly for ornament, for use after death, for cure of illness. + + +Kenyah +[male] +As amongst Kayans, with some degradation of design and alternation +of name. +Same as with Kayans. +None +Sign of bravery in some cases. Chiefly for ornament. + + + +[female] +As amongst Kayans. +The whole forearm, back of hand, metatarsal surface of foot. +None +Ornament. + + +Kenyah-Kalamantan. +Peng +[male] +Geometrical serial designs, discs, ? isolated designs. +Arm from shoulders to wrist; calf of leg. +? +? Ornament. + + + +[female] +Designs employed by Kayan [male] [male] +Forearms and legs. +? +? Ornament. + + +Lepu Lutong +[female] +Simple geometrical design. +Forearm and back of hand. +? +? + + +Uma Tow +[male] +? ? same as Kayan designs. +? +? +? + + + +[female] +Simple geometrical designs (low-class [female] +[female]), anthropomorphic designs, copied +from other tribes (high-class [female] [female]). +Forearm and back of hand, front and sides of the thigh and the shin. +Some. +? + + +Long Glat and Uma Luhat. +[male] +? not at all. + + +? + + + +[female] +Complicated serial designs, chiefly of zoomorphic MOTIF. +As with Kayan [female] [female], but also with lines +round the ankles. Tatu of forearms +not so extensive. + +Chiefly ornament, for use in the next world. + + +Kalamantan. + +Uma Long +[female] +Simple geometrical design ("stippled") +Forearm and back of hand. +? +? + + +Dusun +[male] +Lines +Stomach, breast, arm. +None +Partly as tally of enemies slain. + + + +Murut +[male] +Scroll designs and circles +Above the knee-cap; on the breast (Practice obsolescent). +None. +? + + + +[female] +Parallel lines. +Arm and back of hand. +? None. +? Ornament. + + +Kalabit +[male] +As with Dusuns +As with Dusuns +? +? + + + +[female] +Zigzags and chevrons. +Forearms, the lower part of the leg. +Very little. +? + + +Long Utan +[female] +Complicated serial geometrical designs. +As with Long Glat. +? +? + + +Biajau +[male] +Complicated serial geometrical designs, scrolls, zoomorphs, etc. +Almost the whole body including the face amongst some of the +sub-tribes. +? +With some sub-tribes to signify success in war and love, manual +dexterity, etc. + + + +[female] +? ? +? ? as with Long Glat. +? +? + + +Ot-Danum, Ulu Ajar, etc. +[male] +Curved lines, discs, and simple geometrical designs. +On breast, stomach, outside of arms and thighs, calf of leg. +? None. +In some cases a sign of bravery. + + + +[female] +Simple designs like those of the Uma Tow Kenyahs (low-class +[female] [female]). High-class [female] [female] like Long Glat? +Shin, thigh, and calf of leg. +? +? + + +Kahayan +[male] +Chequer design. +On breast, stomach, throat, arms. +? +? + + +Bakatan and Ukit +[male] +Chiefly scroll and circle designs. Nearly all represented in +"negative." +Jaws, throat, breast, back, shoulders, forearms, thighs, calf of leg, +ankles, feet and backs of hands. +Obsolete. +Sign of bravery and experience in war, symbol of maturity. + + + +[female] +Anthropomorphic, lines, representation of a bead. +Forearms, wrist, metacarpals. +None. +Ornament. + + +Sea-Dayak +[male] +Degraded Kayan and Bakatan designs. +ALmost every part of the body, except the face. +None. +Ornament. + + +[female] +Small circles. +Breasts and calves of legs. +None. +Ornament. + + + + + +Bibliography. + + +1. Beccari, Dr. O., NELLE FORESTE DI BORNEO (1902). +2. Bock, Carl, THE HEAD-HUNTERS OF BORNEO (1882). +3. Furness, W. H., THE HOME LIFE OF BORNEO HEAD-HUNTERS (1902). +4. Haddon, E. B., "The Dog-motive in Bornean Art" (JOURN. ANTH. INST., +1905). +5. Hamer, C. den, IETS OVER HET TATOUEEREN OF TOETANG BIJ DE +BIADJOE-STAMMEN. +6. Hein, A. R., DIE BILDENDEN KUNSTE BEI DEN DAYAKS AUF BORNEO (1890). +7. Ling Roth, H., THE NATIVES OF SARAWAK AND BRITISH NORTH BORNEO +(1896), vol. ii. +8. Nieuwenhuis, Dr. A. W., IN CENTRAL BORNEO (1900). vol. i. +9. Nieuwenhuis, Dr. A. W., QUER DURCH BORNEO (1904), vol. i. +10. Schwaner, Dr. C. A. L. M., BORNEO (1853 -- 54); cf. Ling Roth, +vol. ii. pp. cxci to cxcv. +11. Whitehead, J., EXPLORATION OF MOUNT KINA BALU, NORTH BORNEO (1893). + + +Brief references to tatu will also be found in the writings of Burns, +Brooke Low, MacDougall, De Crespigny, Hatton, St. John, Witti, and +others, but notices of all these will be found in Mr. Ling Roth's +volumes. + + +Explanation of Plates. + + +Plate 136. + +Fig. 1. -- Kayan dog design (UDOH ASU) for thighs of men. From a +tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.104.) + +Fig. 2. -- Uma Balubo Kayan dog design. From a tatu-block in the +Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.90.) + +Fig. 3. -- Sea Dayak scorpion design (KELINGAI KALA) for thigh, arm, or +breast of men. From a tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.99.) + +Fig. 4. -- Kenyah dog design, copied from a Kayan model. From a +tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.108.) + +Fig. 5. -- Kayan dog design. From a tatu-block in the Sarawak +Museum. (No. 1054.106.) + +Fig. 6. -- Kayan dog design. From a tatu-block in the Sarawak +Museum. (No. 1054.88.) + +Fig. 7. -- Kayan double dog design for outside of thigh of man. From +a tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.31.) + +Fig. 8. -- Kayan designs of dog with pups (TUANG NGANAK). A=pup. For +thigh of man. From a tatu-block in Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.57.) + +Fig. 9. -- Kenyah jaws of centipede design (LIPAN KATIP), for +breast or shoulder of man. From a tatu-block in the Sarawak +Museum. (No. 1054.20.) + +Fig. 10. -- Kenyah crab design (TOYU). A=mouth (BA), B=claw (KATIP), +C=back (LIKUT), D=tail (IKONG). From a tatu-block in the Sarawak +Museum. (No. 1054.71.) + + + +Plate 137. + +Fig. 1. -- Sea Dayak modification of the dog design. From a tatu-block +in the Sarawak Museum.(No. 1054.102.) + +Fig. 2. -- (No. 1054.101.) + +Fig. 3. -- (No. 1054.67.) + +Fig. 4. -- (No. 1054.109.) + +Fig. 5. -- (No. 1054.70.) + +Fig. 6. -- But known as "scorpion" (KALA) pattern.From a tatu-block +in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.69.) + +Fig. 7. -- Barawan and Kenyah modification of the dog design, +known as "hook" (KOWIT) pattern. From a tatu-block in the Sarawak +Museum. (No. 1054.63.) + +Fig. 8. -- (No. 1054.75.) + +Fig. 9. -- Kenyah modification of the dog design, but known as the +"prawn" (ORANG) pattern. From +a tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.89.) + + +Plate 138. + +Fig. 1. -- Kayan three-line pattern (IDA TELO) for back of +thigh of woman of slave class. From a tatu-block in the Sarawak +Museum. (No. 166A Brooke Low Coll.) + +Fig. 2. -- Kayan four-line pattern (IDA PAT) for back of thigh of woman +of middle class. From a tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1434.) + +Fig. 3. -- Kayan (Rejang R.) three-line pattern (IDA TELO) for back +of thigh of women of upper and middle classes. From a tatu-block in +the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.2.) + +Fig. 4. -- Kayan (Uma Pliau) design for front and sides of thigh +of high class women. A = TUSHUN TUVA, tuba root; B = JALAUT, fruit +of PLUKENETIA CORNICULATA; D = KOWIT, interlocking hooks. From a +tatu-block in coll. C. Hose. + +Fig. 5. -- Kayan design for front of thigh of woman of high class. A += TUSHUN TUVA; B = DULANG HAROK, bows of a boat; C = ULU TINGGANG, +hornbill's head; D = BELILING BULAN, full moons. From a tatu-block +in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1432.) + +Fig. 6. -- Barawan design for the shoulder or breast of men. From +a drawing. + +Fig. 7. -- Design of uncertain origin, on the calf of the leg of an +Ukit man. + + +Plate 139. + +Fig. 1. -- Kayan (Rejang R.) design known as IDA TUANG or IDA LIMA for +back of thigh of women of high rank. Note the hornbill heads at the +top of the design. From a tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 166D +Brooke Low Coll.) + +Fig. 2. -- Kayan (Rejang R.) design; compare with Figs. 5 and 11. From +a tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 166C Brooke Low Coll.) + +Fig. 3. -- Long Glat hornbill design (after Nieuwenhuis). This is +tatued in rows down the front and sides of the thigh. + +Fig. 4. -- Kayan (?) hornbill design, known, however, as the "dog +without a tail" (TUANG BUVONG ASU). From a tatu-block in the Sarawak +Museum. (No. 1054.8.) + +Fig. 5. -- Kayan (Rejang R.) tatu design known as "dog without a tail" +(TUANG BUVONG ASU) pattern, for front and sides of thigh of women +of high rank. From a tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 166G, +Brooke Low Coll.) + +Fig. 6. -- Kayan three-line and four-line design (IDA TELO and IDA +PAT) for back of thigh of women of low class. From a tatu-block in +the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1435.) + +Fig. 7. -- Uma Lekan Kayan anthropomorphic design (SILONG), tatued +in rows down front and sides of thigh. + +Fig. 8. -- Kayan bead (LUKUT) design, tatued on the wrist of men. + +Fig. 9. -- ,, ,, ,, + +Fig. 10. -- ,, ,, ,, From a tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. +1054.62.) + +Fig. 11. -- Portion of Uma Lekan Kayan design for back of thigh of +women of high rank (after Nieuwenhuis). + + +Plate 140. + +Fig. 1. -- Tatu design on the forearm of an Uma Lekan Kayan woman +of high rank. From a rubbing of a carved wooden model in the Sarawak +Museum. (No. 1398.) + +Fig. 2. -- Tatu design on the thigh of an Uma Lekan Kayan woman of +high rank. From a rubbing of a carved wooden model in the Sarawak +Museum. (No. 1398.) + +Fig. 3. -- Tatu design on the forearm of an Uma Phan Kayan woman +of high rank. A = BELILING BULAN, full moons; B = DULANG HAROK, +bows of a boat; C = KAWIT, hooks; D = DAUN WI, leaves of rattan; E = +TUSHUN TUVA, bundles of tuba root. From a carved wooden model in the +Sarawak Museum. (No. 1431.) + +Fig. 4. -- Kenyah design, representing the open fruit of a species +of mango (IPA OLIM), tatued on breasts or shoulders of men. From a +tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.14.) + +Fig. 5. -- Kayan (Baloi R.) KALANG KOWIT or hook design for back +of thigh of woman of high rank. From a tatu-block in the Sarawak +Museum. (No. 1054.54.) + + +Plate 141. + +Fig. 1. -- Design on the hand of a Skapan chief tatued in the Kayan +manner. From a drawing. + +Fig. 2. -- Design on the arm of a Peng man. From a drawing by +Dr. H. Hiller of Philadelphia. + +Fig. 3. -- Design on the arm of a Kabayan man. From a drawing by +Dr. H. Hiller of Philadelphia. + +Fig. 4. -- Design on the forearm of a Lepu Lutong woman. From +a drawing. + +Fig. 5. -- Design on the forearm of a Long Utan woman. From a rubbing +of a carved model in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1430.) + +Fig. 6. -- Design on the thigh of a Long Utan woman. From a rubbing +of a carved model in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1426.) + +Fig. 7. -- Kenyah design, representing the DURIAN fruit (USONG DIAN), +tatued on the breasts or shoulders of men. From a tatu-block in the +Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.17.) + + +Plate 142. + +Fig. 1. -- Tatu design on the forearm of a Kalabit woman. From +a drawing. + +Fig. 2. -- Tatu design on front of leg of a Kalabit woman. C = BETIK +LULUD, shin pattern. From a photograph. + +Fig. 3. -- Tatu design on back of leg of a Kalabit woman. A = BETIK +BUAH, fruit pattern; B = BETIK LAWA, trunk pattern. From a drawing. + +Fig. 4. -- Tatu design on front of leg of the same Kalabit woman. D = +BETIK KARAWIN; E = UJAT BATU, hill-tops. From a drawing. + +Fig. 5. -- Tatu design on the forearm of an Uma Long woman. From +a drawing. + +Fig. 6. -- Tatu design on arms and torso of a Biajau man of low +class. From a drawing by a Maloh. + +Fig. 7. -- Tatu design on leg of Biajau man of low class. From a +drawing by a Maloh. + +Fig. 8. -- Tatu design on shin of Biajau woman of low class. From a +drawing by a Maloh. + +Fig. 9. -- Kajaman design representing the fruit of PLUKENETIA +CORNICULATA (JALAUT), tatued on the breasts or shoulders of men. From +a tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.21.) + +Fig. 10. -- Tatu design on the biceps of an Ukit man, said to represent +a bead (LUKUT). From a drawing. + + +Plate 143. + +Fig. 1. -- Design (GEROWIT, hooks) tatued on the breast of a Bakatan +man. From a tatu-block in the collection of H.H. the Rajah of Sarawak. + +Fig. 2. -- ,, + +Fig. 3. -- Design (AKIH, tree gecko) tatued on the shoulder of a +Bakatan man. From a drawing. + +Fig. 4. -- ,, + +Fig. 5. -- Design tatued on the calf of the leg of an Ukit. From +a photograph. + +Fig. 6. -- Tatu design on the foot of a Kayan woman of low class. From +a drawing. + +Fig. 7. -- Design representing an antique bead (LUKUT), tatued on +the wrist of a Bakatan girl. From a drawing. + +Fig. 8. -- Design (GEROWIT) tatued on the metacarpals of a Bakatan +girl. From a drawing. + +Fig. 9. -- Design (KANAK, circles) on the back of a Bakatan man. From +a tatu-block. + +Fig. 10. -- Design (GEROWIT) tatued on the throat of a Bakatan +man. From a photograph. + + + + + +CHAPTER 13 + +Ideas of Spiritual Existences and the Practices Arising From Them + +The Kayans believe themselves to be surrounded by many intelligent +powers capable of influencing their welfare for good or ill. Some of +these are embodied in animals or plants, or are closely connected with +other natural objects, such as mountains, rocks, rivers, caves; or +manifest themselves in such processes as thunder, storm, and disease, +the growth of the crops and disasters of various kinds. There can be +no doubt that some of these powers are conceived anthropomorphically; +for some of them are addressed by human titles, are represented by +carvings in human form, and enjoy, in the opinion of the Kayans, +most of the characteristically human attributes. + +Others are conceived more vaguely, the bodily and mental characters +of man are attributed to them less fully and definitely; and it is +probably true to say that these powers, all of which, it would seem, +must be admitted to be spiritual powers (if the word spiritual is +used in a wide sense as denoting whatever power is fashioned in the +likeness of human will and feeling and intelligence), range from the +anthropomorphic being to the power which resides in the seed grain and +manifests itself in its growth and multiplication, and which seems to +be conceived merely as a vital principle, virtue, or energy inherent +in the grain, rather than as an intelligent and separable soul.[88] + +It has been said of some peoples of lowly culture that they have no +conception of merely mechanical causation, and that every material +object is regarded by them as animated in the same sense as among +ourselves common opinion regards the higher animals as animated. On +the difficult question whether such a statement is true of any people +we will not presume to offer an opinion; but we do not think that it +could be truthfully made about any of the peoples of Borneo. It would +be absurd to deny all recognition or knowledge of mechanical causation +to people who show so much ingenuity in the construction of houses, +boats, weapons, and a great variety of mechanical devices, such as +traps, and in other operations involving the intelligent application +of mechanical principles. These operations show that, though they +may be incapable of describing in abstract and general terms the +principles involved, they nevertheless have a nice appreciation of +them. If a trap fails to work owing to its faulty construction, the +trapper treats it purely as a mechanical contrivance and proceeds +to discover and rectify the faulty part. It is true that in this +and numberless similar situations a man's movements may be guided by +his observation of omens; but if, after obtaining good omens, he has +success in trapping, he does not attribute the successful operation of +the trap to any, activity other than its purely mechanical movements; +though it may be, and probably in some such cases is, true that the +Kayan believes the omen bird to have somehow intervened to direct +the animal towards the trap, or to prevent the animal being warned +against it. The Kayan hangs upon the tomb the garments and weapons +and other material possessions of the dead man;[89] and it would seem +that he believes that some shadowy duplicate of each such object is +thereby placed at the service of the ghost of the dead man. This, it +might be argued, shows that he attributes to each such inert material +object a soul, whose relation to the object is analogous to that of the +human soul to the body. But such an inference, we think, would not be +justified. As with the Homeric Greeks, the principle of intelligence +and life is not to be altogether identified with the ghost, or shade, +or shadowy duplicate of the human form that is conceived to travel to +the Kayan Hades. The soul seems to be rather an inextended invisible +principle; for, as the procedure of the soul-catcher[90] shows, it +is regarded as capable of being contained within, or attached to, +almost any small object, living or inert. It would seem, then, that +after death the visible ghost or shade of a man incorporates and is +animated by the soul; and that the visible shade of inert objects is, +like themselves, inert and inanimate. + +There is, then, no good reason to suppose that the Kayans attribute +life, soul, or animation to inert material objects; and they do not +explain the majority of physical events animistically. + +The spiritual powers or spirits may, we think be conveniently regarded +as of three principal classes: -- + +(1) There are the anthropomorphic spirits thought of as dwelling in +remote and vaguely conceived regions and as very powerful to intervene +in human life. Towards these the attitude of the Kayans is one of +supplication and awe, gratitude and hope, an attitude which is properly +called reverential and is the specifically religious attitude. These +spirits must be admitted to be gods in a very full sense of the word, +and the practices, doctrines, and emotions centred about these spirits +must be regarded as constituting a system of religion. + +(2) A second class consists of the spirits of living and deceased +persons, and of other anthropomorphically conceived spirits which, +as regards the nature and extent of their powers, are more nearly on +a level with the human spirits than those of the first class. Such +are those embodied in the omen animals and in the domestic pig, fowl, +dog, in the crocodile, and possibly in the tiger-cat and a few other +animals. + +(3) The third class is more heterogeneous, and comprises all the +spirits or impalpable intelligent powers that do not fall into one or +other of the two preceding classes; such are the spirits very vaguely +conceived as always at hand, some malevolent, some good; such also +are the spirits which somehow are attached to the heads hung up in +the houses. The dominant emotion in the presence of these is fear; +and the attitude is that of avoidance and propitiation. + + + +The Gods + +The Kayans recognise a number of gods that preside over great +departments of their lives and interests. The more important of +these are the god of war, TOH BULU; three gods of life, LAKI JU URIP, +LAKI MAKATAN URIP, and LAKI KALISAI URIP, of whom the first is the +most important; the god of thunder and storms, LAKI BALARI and his +wife OBENG DOH; the god of fire, LAKI PESONG; gods of the harvest, +ANYI LAWANG and LAKI IVONG; a god of the lakes and rivers, URAI UKA; +BALANAN, the god of madness; TOH KIHO, the god of fear; LAKI KATIRA +MUREI and LAKI JUP URIP, who conduct the souls of the dead to Hades. + +Beside or above all these is LAKI TENANGAN, a god more powerful +than all the rest, to whom are assigned no special or departmental +functions. He seems to preside or rule over the company of lesser +gods, much as Zeus and Jupiter ruled over the lesser gods of the +ancient Greeks and Romans. + +The Kayans seem to have no very clear and generally accepted dogmas +about these gods. Some assert that they dwell in the skies, but +others regard them as dwelling below the surface of the earth. The +former opinion is in harmony with the practice of erecting a tree +before the house with its branches buried in the ground and the root +upturned when prayers are made on behalf of the whole house; for the +tree seems to be regarded as in some sense forming a ladder or path of +communication with the superior powers. The same opinion seems to be +expressed in the importance attached to fire and smoke in prayer and +ritual. Fire, if only in the form of a lighted cigarette, is always +made when prayers are offered; it seems to be felt that the ascending +smoke facilitates in some way the communication with the gods. + +While some gods, those of war and life, of harvest and of fire, are +distinctly friendly, others, namely, the gods of madness and fear, +are terrible and malevolent; while the god of thunder and those that +conduct the souls to Hades do not seem to be predominantly beneficent +or malevolent. + +LAKI TENANGAN seems to be the supreme being of the Kayan universe. He +is conceived as beneficent and, as his title LAKI implies, as a +fatherly god who protects mankind. He is not a strictly tribal god, for +the Kayan admits his identity with PA SILONG, and with BALI PENYLONG, +the supreme gods of the Klemantans and Kenyahs respectively. In this, +we think, the Kayan religion shows a catholicity which gives it a +claim to rank very high among all religious systems. + +LAKI TENANGAN has a wife, DOH TENANGAN, who, though of less importance +than himself, is specially addressed by the women. The god is addressed +by name in terms of praise and supplication; the prayers seem to be +transmitted to him by means of the souls of domestic pigs or fowls;[91] +for one of these is always killed and charged to carry the prayer +to the god. At the same time a fire is invariably at hand and plays +some part in the rite; the ascending smoke seems to play some part +in the establishment of communication with the god. As an example +of a prayer we give the following. The supplicant, having killed a +pig and called the messengers of the god, cries, "Make my child live +that I may bring him up with me in my occupations. You are above all +men. Protect us from whatever sickness is abroad. If I put you above +my head, all men look up to me as to a high cliff." + +Similar rites are observed on addressing DOH TENANGAN. The following +was given us as an example, "Oh! DOH TENANGAN, have pity upon me; +I am ill -- make me strong to-morrow and able to find my food." + +The Kayans are not clear whether Laki Tenangan is the creator of the +world. He does not figure in the Kayan creation myth.[92] There seems +to be no doubt about his supremacy over the other gods; these are +sometimes asked by Kayans to intercede with him on their behalf.[93] + +As regards the minor departmental gods, it is difficult to draw the +line between them and the spirits of the third class distinguished +above. All of them are approached at times with prayers and with +rites similar to those used in addressing LAKI TENANGAN. Several +wooden posts, very roughly carved to indicate the head and, limbs +of a human form, stand before every Kayan house. When the gods are +addressed on behalf of the whole household, as before or after an +important expedition, the ceremony usually takes place before one +of these rudely carved posts.[94] But the post cannot be called an +idol. It is more of the nature of an altar. No importance attaches +to the mere posts, which are often allowed to fall away and decay and +are renewed as required. A similar post may be hastily fashioned and +set up on the bank of the river, if a party at a distance from home +has special occasion for supplication. + +An altar of a rather different kind is also used in communicating +with the gods. It seems to be used especially in returning thanks for +recovery of health after severe illness. It consists of a bamboo some +four or five feet in length fixed upright in the ground. The upper +end is split by two cuts at right angles to one another, and a fresh +fowl's egg is inserted between the split ends (Pl. 145). Leaves of +the LONG, (a species of CALADIUM), a plant grown on the PADI field +for this purpose, are hung upon the post. These leaves serve merely +to signalise the fact that some rite is going forward; they are also +hung, together with a large sun hat, upon the door of any room in +which a person lies seriously ill, to make it known as LALI or tabu; +and in general they seem to be used to mark a spot as pervaded by +some spiritual influence, or, in short, as "unclean." The bodies +of fowls and pigs sacrificed in the course of the rites performed +before such an altar-post are generally hung upon sharpened stakes +driven into the ground before it, I.E. between it and the house, +towards which the post, in the case of posts of the former kind, +invariably faces; and the frayed sticks commonly used in such rites +are hung upon the altar-post. Such posts are sometimes fenced in, +but this is by no means always the case (Pl. 144). + +The Kayans seek to read in the behaviour of the omen birds and in the +entrails of the slaughtered pigs and fowls indications of the way in +which the gods responds to their prayers. For they regard the true omen +birds as the trusty messengers of the gods. After slaughtering the pigs +or fowls to whose charge they have committed their petitions, they +examine their entrails in the hope of discovering the answer of the +gods; and at the same time they tell off two or three men to look for +omens from the birds of the jungle.[95] If the omens first obtained are +bad, more fowls and pigs are usually killed and omens again observed; +and in an important matter, E.G. the illness of a beloved child, +the process may be repeated many times until satisfactory omens are +forthcoming. Whatever may have been the origin and history of such +rites, it seems to be quite clear that the slaughtering of these +animals is regarded as an act of sacrifice in the ordinary sense +of the word, I.E. as an offering or gift of some valued possession +to the spiritual powers; for, although on some occasions a pig so +slaughtered is eaten, those stuck upon stakes before the altar-post +are left to rot; and the idea of sacrificing, or depriving oneself of, +a valued piece of property is clearly expressed on such occasions in +other ways; E.G. a woman will break a bead of great value when her +prayers for the restoration to health of a child remain unanswered, +or on such an occasion a woman may cut off her hair.[96] + +The custom of approaching and communicating with the gods through the +medium of the omen birds, seems to be responsible in large measure +for the fact that the gods themselves are but dimly conceived, +and are not felt to be in intimate and sympathetic relations with +their worshippers. The omen birds seem to form not only a medium of +communication, but also, as it were, a screen which obscures for the +people the vision of their gods. As in many analogous instances, +the intercessors and messengers to whose care the messages are +committed assume in the eyes of the people an undue importance; +the god behind the omen bird is apt to be almost lost sight of, +and the bird itself tends to become an object of reverence, and to +be regarded as the recipient of the prayer and the dispenser of the +benefits which properly he only foretells or announces.[97] + +We have little information bearing upon the origin and history of +these Kayan gods. But a few remarks may be ventured. The names of +many of the minor deities are proper personal names in common use +among the Kayans or allied tribes, such as JU, BALARI, ANYI, IVONG, +URAI, UKA; and the title LAKI, by which several of them are addressed, +is the title of respect given to old men who are grandfathers. These +facts suggest that these minor gods may be deified ancestors of great +chiefs, and this suggestion is supported by the following facts: -- + +First, a recently deceased chief of exceptional capacity and influence +becomes not infrequently the object of a certain cult among Klemantans +and Sea Dayaks. Men will go to sleep beside his grave or tomb, hoping +for good dreams and invoking the aid of the dead chief in acquiring +health, or wealth, or whatever a man most desires. Sea Dayaks sometimes +fix a tube of bamboo leading from just above the eyes of the corpse +to the surface of the ground; they will address the dead man with +their lips to the orifice of the tube, and will drop into it food +and drink and silver coins. A hero who is made the object of such a +cult is usually buried in an isolated spot on the crest of a hill; +and such a grave is known as RARONG. + +Secondly, all Kayans, men and women alike, invoke in their prayers the +aid of ODING, LAHANGand his intercession with LAKI TENANGAN. That they +regard the former as having lived as a great chief is clearly proved +by the following facts: firstly, many Kayans of the upper class claim +to, be his lineal descendants; secondly, a well-known myth,[98] of +which several variants are current, describes his miraculous advent +to the world; thirdly, he is regarded by Kayans, Kenyahs, and many +Klemantans as the founder of their race. + +The Kenyahs also invoke in their prayers several spirits who seem, +like ODIN LAHANG, to be regarded as deceased members of their tribe; +such are TOKONG and UTONG, and PA BALAN and PLIBAN. From all these +descent is claimed by various Kenyah and Klemantan sub-tribes; and +that they are regarded as standing higher in the spiritual hierarchy +than recently deceased chiefs, is shown by the prefix BALI,[99] +commonly given to their names, whereas this title or designation is +not given to recently deceased chiefs; to their names the word URIP +is prefixed by both Kayans and Kenyahs. The word URIP, means life or +living; the exact meaning of this prefix in this usage is obscure, +possibly it expresses the recognition that the men spoken of are, +though dead, still in some sense alive. + +A further link in this chain of evidence is afforded by the Kenyah +god of thunder, BALINGO. This spirit, it would seem, must be classed +among the departmental deities, being strictly the Kenyah equivalent +of LAKI BALARI of the Kayans; and all the Kenyahs and many Klemantans +seem to claim some special relation to BALINGO,[100] while one Madang +(Kenyah) chief at least claims direct descent from him.[101] + +The last mentioned instance completes the series of cases forming a +transition from the well remembered dead chief to the departmental +deity, the existence of which series lends colour to the view that +these minor gods have been evolved from deceased chiefs. The weakness +of this evidence consists in the fact that the series of cases +is drawn from a number of tribes, and is not, so far as we know, +completely illustrated by the customs or beliefs of any one tribe. + +There is, then, some small amount of evidence indicating that the minor +gods are deified ancestors, whose kinship with their worshippers has +been forgotten completely in some cases, less completely in others. If +this supposition could be shown to be true, it would afford a strong +presumption in favour of the view that LAKI TENANGAN also has had +a similar history, and that he is but PRIMUS INTER PARES. For among +the Kayans, as we have seen, a large village acknowledges a supreme +chief as well as the chiefs of the several houses of the village; +and in the operations of war on a large scale, a supreme war chief +presides over a council of lesser chiefs. And it is to be expected +that the social system of the superior powers should be modelled upon +that of the people who acknowledge them. + +On the other hand, none of the facts, noted in connection with +the minor gods as indicating their ancestral origin, are found to +be true of LAKI TENANGAN, except only his bearing the title LAKI, +which, as we have seen, is the title by which a man is addressed as +soon as he becomes a grandfather. The name TENANGAN is not a proper +name borne by any Kayans, nor, so far as we know, does it occur +amongst the other peoples. LAKI in Malay means a male. The name is +possibly connected with the Kayan word TENANG which means correct, +or genuine. The termination AN is used in several instances in Malay +(though not in Kayan) to make a substantive of an adjective. The name +then possibly means -- he who is correct or all-knowing; but this is +a very speculative suggestion. + +It is possible that the Kayans owe their conception of a supreme +god to their contact. with the Mohammedans. But this is rendered +very improbable by the facts: firstly, that the Kayans have had +such intercourse during but a short period in Borneo, probably not +more than 300 years, (though they may have had such intercourse at +an earlier period before entering Borneo); secondly, that among the +Sea Dayaks, who have had for at least 150 years much more abundant +intercourse with the Mohammedans of Borneo than the Kayans have had, +the conception has not taken root and has not been assimilated. + +The Kenyah gods and the beliefs and practices centering about them +are very similar to those of the Kayans. This people also recognises +a principal god or Supreme Being, whose name is BALI PENYLONG, and a +number of minor deities presiding over special departments of nature +and human life. The Kenyahs recognise the following minor deities: +BALI ATAP protects the house against sickness and attack, and is +called upon in cases of madness to expel the evil spirit possessing +the patient. A rude wooden image of him stands beside the gangway +leading to the house from the river's brink; it holds a spear in +the right hand, a shield in the left; it carries about its neck a +fringed collar made up of knotted strips of rattan; the head of each +room ties on one such strip, making on it a knot for each member of +his roomhold. Generally a wooden image of a hawk, BALI FLAKI, stands +beside it on the top of a tall pole. + +The Kenyahs carve such images more elaborately than the Kayans, who +are often content merely to indicate the eyes, mouth, and four limbs, +by slashing away with the sword chips of wood from the surface of the +log, leaving gashes at the points roughly corresponding in position +to these organs. The Kenyahs treat these rude images with rather more +care than do the Kayans; and they associate them more strictly with +particular deities. The children of the house are not allowed to +touch such an image, after it has been once used as an altar post; +it is only when it is so used, and blood of fowls or pigs sprinkled +upon it, that it seems to acquire its uncleanness."[102] + +BALI UTONG brings prosperity to the house. BALI URIP is the god of +life; he too has a carved altarpost, generally crowned with a brass +gong. BALINGO is the god of thunder. + +BALI SUNGEI is the name given to a being which perhaps cannot +properly be called a god. He is thought of as embodied in a huge +serpent or dragon living at the bottom of the river; he is supposed +to cause the violent swirls and uprushes of water that appear on the +surface in times of flood. He is regarded with fear; and is held to be +responsible for the upsetting of boats and drownings in the river. It +is not clear that he is the spirit of the river itself; for floods and +the various changes of the river do not seem to be attributed to him. + +BALI PENYALONG, like Laki Tenangen, has a wife BUNGAN. She is not +so distinctly the special deity of the women folk as is DOH TENANGAN +among the Kayans. + +A special position in the Kenyah system is occupied by BALI FLAKI, +the carrion hawk, which is the principal omen bird observed during +the preparation for and conduct of war. Something will be said of +the cult of BALI FLAKI in a later chapter; but we would note here +that this bird is peculiar among the many omen-birds of the Kenyahs, +in that an altar-post before the house is assigned to him, or at +least one of the posts rudely carved to suggest the human figure is +specially associated with BALI FLAKI, and in some cases is surmounted +by a wooden image of the hawk. It seems to us probable that in this +case the Kenyahs have carried further the tendency we noted in the +Kayans to allow the omen birds to figure so prominently in their +rites and prayers as to obscure the gods whose messengers they are; +and that BALI FLAKI has in this way driven into the background, and +more or less completely taken the place of, a god of war whose name +even has been forgotten by many of the Kenyahs, if not by all of them. + +Peculiar adjuncts of the altar-posts of the Kenyahs are the DRACAENA +plant (whose deep red leaves are generally to be seen growing in a +clump not far from them) and a number of large spherical stones, +BATU TULOI. These are perpetual possessions of the house. Their +history is unknown; they are supposed to grow gradually larger and to +move spontaneously when danger threatens the house. When a household +removes and builds for itself a new home, these stones are carried +with some ceremony to the new site (Pl. 144). + +We reproduce here a passage from a paper published by us some ten +years ago[103] in which we ventured to speculate on the development +of the Kenyah belief in a Supreme Being. + + +We cannot conclude without saying something as to, the possible +origin of their conception of a beneficent Being more powerful +than all others, who sends guidance and warnings by the omen birds, +and receives and answers the prayers carried to him by the souls of +the fowls and pigs. It might be thought that this conception of a +beneficent Supreme Being has been borrowed directly or indirectly +from the Malays. But we do not think that this view is tenable +in face of the fact that, while the conception is a living belief +among the Madangs, a Kenyah tribe that inhabits a district in the +remotest interior and has had no intercourse with Malays, the Ibans, +who have had far more intercourse with the Malays than have the Kayans +and Kenyahs, yet show least trace of this conception. As Archdeacon +Perham has written of the Ibans, there are traces of the belief in +one supreme God which suggest that the idea is one that has been +prevalent, but has now almost died out. We are inclined to suppose +that the tribes of the interior, such as the Kenyahs and Kayans, have +evolved the conception for themselves, and that in fact Bali Penyalong +of the Kenyahs is their god of war exalted above all others by the +importance of the department of human activity over which he presides; +for we have seen that they had been led to conceive other gods -- +Balingo, the god of thunder, Bali Sungei, the god of the rivers, +whose anger is shown by the boiling flood, and Bali Atap, who keeps +harm from the house, while the Kayans have gods of life, a god of +harvesting, and other departmental deities. It seems to us that the +only difficult step in such a simple and direct evolution of the idea +of a beneficent Supreme Being is the conception of gods or spirits that +perform definite functions, such as Bali Atap, who guards the house, +and the gods that preside over harvesting and war, as distinct from +such gods or nature-spirits as Balingo and Bali Sungei. But there +seems to be no doubt that this step has been taken by these peoples, +and that these various gods of abstract function have been evolved by +them. And it seems to us that, were a god of war once conceived, it +would be inevitable that, among communities whose chief interest is war +and whose prosperity and very existence depend upon success in battle, +such a god of battles should come to predominate over all others, +and to claim the almost exclusive regard of his worshippers. Such a +predominance would be given the more easily to one god by these people, +because the necessity for strict subordination to their chiefs has +familiarised them with the principles of obedience of subjects to +a single ruler and of subordination of minor chiefs to a principal +chief; while the beneficence of the Supreme Being thus evolved would +inevitably result; for the god of battles must seem beneficent to +the victors, and among these people only the victors survive. Again, +this conception is one that undoubtedly makes for righteousness, +because it reflects the character of the people who, within the +community and the tribe, are decent, humane, and honest folk. + +We are conscious of presumption in venturing to adopt the view that +the conception of a beneficent Supreme Being may possibly be neither +the end nor the beginning of religion, neither the final result of +an evolution, euhemeristic, totemistic, or other, prolonged through +countless ages and generations, nor part of the stock-in-trade of +primitive man mysteriously acquired. Yet we are disposed to regard +this conception as one that, amid the perpetual flux of opinion and +belief which obtains among peoples destitute of written records, +may be comparatively rapidly and easily arrived at under favourable +conditions (such as seem to be afforded by tribes like the Kenyahs +and Kayans, warlike prosperous tribes subordinated to strong chiefs), +and may as rapidly fall into neglect with change of social conditions; +and we suggest that it may then remain as a vestige in the minds of a +few individuals only to be discerned by curious research, as among the +Ibans or the Australian blacks, until another turn of Fortune's wheel, +perhaps the birth of some overmastering personality or a revival of +national or tribal vigour, gives it a new period of life and power. + + +We still regard as highly plausible the view suggested in this +passage. We would add to what we have written only a few words in +explanation of what may seem to be a difficulty in the way of this +view. It was mentioned above that the Kayans recognise a god of war, +TOH BULU. This fact may seem incompatible with the view that the idea +of LAKI TENANGAN has been reached by exalting the god of war above +his fellow-departmental deities; but it is not, we think, a fatal +objection. For TOH BULU seems to be a god of but small account with +the Kayans; his name figures but little in their rites; and the name +itself indicates his subordinate position; for TOH is, as we have +seen, the generic name for spirits of minor importance, and BULU is +the Kayan word for feather; TOH BULU, literally translated, is then +the feather-spirit or spirit of the feathers. It seems possible, +therefore, that TOH BULU was nothing more than the spirit concerned +with the hornbill's feathers, which are the emblems or badges of +acknowledged prowess in battle; and that with the exaltation of the +original god of war above his fellows, this minor spirit concerned +in warfare has acquired a larger sphere and importance. + +With the Kenyahs similar processes, we suggest, have led to +the exaltation of BALI PENYALONG, the original god of war, into +the position of the Supreme Being, and of BALI FLAKI, his special +messenger, into the position, or almost into the position, of the god +of war. This view derives, we think, considerable support from the +fact that the Kenyahs recognise no special god of war; and in view of +their tendency to create deities to preside over each of the great +departments of nature and of human activity, the absence from their +system of a special god of war requires some special explanation such +as we have offered above. + +The Klemantan gods are more numerous and more vaguely conceived, +and the whole system seems more confused than that of the Kayans or +Kenyahs. It is probable that the Klemantan tribes have borrowed freely +from these more powerful neighbours. Many of them are very skilful in +wood-carving, and it is probably largely owing to this circumstance +that they make a larger number of images in human form. Some of these +are kept in the house, while others stand before the house like those +before the Kayan houses. The former are generally more highly regarded, +and it is before them that their rites are generally performed. It +seems not improbable that these stand for the gods proper to these +people, and those outside the house for the borrowed gods. + +The supernatural beliefs and cults of the Sea Dayaks differ so widely +from those described above that we think it best to bring together +in one place (vol. ii., p. 85) what we have to say about them. + + +The Lesser Spirits of Ill-defined Nature + +In the second of the three classes of spiritual beings distinguished +above (vol. ii., p. 4) we put the souls of men and of some of the +animals. Some account of beliefs connected with these will be given +in the following two chapters. We conclude this chapter by describing +the spirits of the third class, spirits or intelligent powers vaguely +conceived, of minor importance, but imperfectly individualised and not +regularly envisaged in any visible forms or embodied in any material +objects. The generic Kayan name for spirits of this class is TOH. All +the spirits of this class seem to be objects of fear, to be malevolent, +or, at least, easily offended and capable of bringing misfortunes of +all kinds upon human beings. + +The most important of these TOH are perhaps those associated with the +dried human heads that hang in every house. It seems that these spirits +are not supposed to be those of the persons from whose shoulders +the heads have been taken. Yet they seem to be resident in or about +the heads, though not inseparable from them. They are said to cause +the teeth of the heads to be ground together if they are offended or +dissatisfied, as by neglect of the attentions customarily paid to the +heads or by other infringement of custom. The heads are thus supposed +to be animated by the TOH; if a head falls, through the breaking of +the rattan by which it is suspended, it is said to have thrown itself +down, being dissatisfied owing to insufficient attention having been +paid to it. This animation of the heads by the TOH is illustrated by +the treatment accorded by the people to the heads from the time they +are brought into the house. Having been dried and smoked in a small +hut made for the purpose, they are brought up to the house with loud +rejoicings and singing of the war chorus. For this ceremony all members +of the village are summoned from the fields and the jungle, and, +when all are assembled in the houses, every one puts off the mourning +garments which have been worn by all since the death of the chief for +whose funeral rites the heads have been sought. Everyone having donned +the ordinary attire, the men carry the heads in procession adorned +with DAUN SILAT, the dried and frayed leaves of a palm, before one +of the altar posts that stand between the house and the river. There +fowls and pigs are sacrificed in the usual way, and their blood is +scattered upon the assembled men with a wisp of shredded palmleaves. + +Then the procession carries the heads into the house and up and down +the gallery. The men dressed in their war coats, carrying shields and +swords, drawn up in a long line, sing the war chorus, and go through +a peculiar evolution, known as SEGA LUPAR. Each man keeps turning to +face his neighbours, first on one side, then on the other, with regular +steps in time with all the rest. This seems to symbolise the alertness +of the warriors on the war-path, looking in every direction. The +heads, which have been carried by old men, are then hung up over +the principal hearth on the beam on which the old heads are hanging; +they are suspended by means of a rattan, of which one end is knotted +and the other passed upward through the FORAMEN MAGNUM and a hole cut +in the top of the skull. After this the men sit down to drink, and +the chief describes the taking of the heads, eulogising the warrior +who drew first blood in each case, and who is credited with the glory +of the taking of the head. Then follows a big feast, in every room a +pig or fowl being killed and eaten; after which more BORAK is drunk, +the war chorus breaking out spontaneously at brief intervals. BORAK is +offered to the heads by pouring it into small bamboo cups suspended +beside them; and a bit of fat pork will be pushed into the mouth of +each. The heads, or rather the TOH associated with them, are supposed +to drink and eat these offerings. The fact that the bits of pork remain +unconsumed does not seem to raise any difficulty in the minds of the +Kayans; they seem to believe that the essence of the food is consumed. + +At all times the heads hanging in the house are treated respectfully +and somewhat fearfully. When it is necessary to handle them, some old +man undertakes the task, and children especially are prevented from +touching them; for it is felt that to touch them involves the risk +of madness, brought on by the offended TOH or spirits of the heads. + +The fire beneath the heads is always kept alight in order that they +shall be warm, and dry, and comfortable. On certain special occasions +they are offered BORAK and pork in the way mentioned above. + +On moving to a new house the heads are temporarily lodged in a small +shelter built for the purpose, and are brought up into the house with +a ceremony like that which celebrates their first installation. The +Kayans do not care to have in the house more than twenty or thirty +heads, and are at some pains occasionally to get rid of some +superfluous heads -- a fact which shows clearly that the heads are +not mere trophies of valour and success in war. The moving to a new +house is the occasion chosen for reducing the number of heads. Those +destined to be left are hung in a hut built at some distance from +the house which is about to be deserted. A good fire is made in it +and kept up during the demolition of the great house, and when the +people depart they make up in the little head-house a fire designed +to last several days. It is supposed that, when the fire goes out, +the TOH of the heads notice the fact, and begin to suspect that they +are deserted by the people; when the rain begins to come in through +the roof their suspicions are confirmed, and the TOH set out to pursue +their deserters, but owing to the lapse of time and weather are unable +to track them. The people believe that in this way they escape the +madness which the anger of the deserted TOH would bring upon them. + +The precautions described in the foregoing paragraph illustrate very +well the power for harm attributed to the TOH of the heads and the +fear with which they are regarded. Nevertheless these beings are not +wholly malevolent. it is held that in some way their presence in the +house brings prosperity to it, especially in the form of good crops; +and so essential to the welfare of the house are the heads held to be +that, if through fire a house has lost its heads and has no occasion +for war, the people will beg a head, or even a fragment of one, +from some friendly house, and will instal it in their own with the +usual ceremonies. + +The TOH of the heads are but a few among many that are conceived +as surrounding the houses and infesting the tombs, the rivers, the +forests, the mountains, the caves, and, by those who live near the +coast, the sea; in fact every locality has its TOH, and, since they +are easily offended and roused to bring harm, the people are careful +to avoid offence and to practise every rite by which it is thought +possible to propitiate them. Death and sickness, especially madness, +accidental bodily injuries, failure of crops, in fact almost any +trouble may be ascribed to the malevolent action of Toh. Examples of +the way conduct is influenced by this belief are the following: -- + +In clearing a patch of jungle in preparation for sowing PADI, it is +usual to leave a few trees standing on some high point of the ground +in order not to offend the TOH of the locality by depriving them +of all the trees, which they are vaguely supposed to make use of as +resting-places. Such trees are sometimes stripped of all their branches +save a few at the top; and sometimes a pole is lashed across the stem +at a height from the ground and bunches of palm leaves hung upon it; +a "bull-roarer," which is used by boys as a toy, is sometimes hung +upon such a cross-piece to dangle and flicker in the breeze.[104] + +Again, young children are held to be peculiarly subject to the +malevolent influence of the TOH. We have already mentioned that no +name is given to a child until it is two or three years of age, in +order to avoid attracting to it the attention of the TOH. For the same +reason the parents dislike any prominent person to touch an infant; +and if for any reason such contact has taken place, it is usual to +give the mother a few beads, which she ties about the wrist or ankle +of the child, "to preserve its homely smell" as they say, and so, it +would seem, avoid the risk of the TOH being attracted by the unusual +odour of the child. Parents who have lost several young children will +give to a child, when the time comes for naming it, some such name as +TAI (dung), or TAI MANOK (birds' dung), or JAAT (bad), in order that +it may have a better chance of escaping the unwelcome attention of +the TOH. If for any reason it is suspected that the attention of some +evil-disposed TOH has been drawn to a child (and the same practice is +sometimes observed by adults under similar circumstances), a sooty mark +is made upon the forehead, consisting of a vertical median line and +a horizontal band just above the eyebrows. This is thought to render +it difficult for the TOH to recognise his victim. Such a black mark is +worn more especially on going away from the house. Sea Dayaks sometimes +go farther under such circumstances. They place the new-born child in +a small boat and allow it to float down river, and standing upon the +bank call upon all the evil spirits to take the child at once, if they +mean to take it, in order that the parents may be spared the greater +bereavement of losing it some years later. If, after floating some +distance down stream, the child is found unhurt, it is carried home, +the parents feeling some confidence that it will be "spared" to grow up + +Again, on going to the territory of people who have recently come to +friendly terms with their village, men will make a black mark across +the forehead with soot in order to disguise themselves from the TOH +of this region. In the main, although all regions are infested with +TOH those of the locality in which a man dwells are regarded by him as +less dangerous than those of other parts; for experience has shown him +that in the neighbourhood of his own village he may behave in certain +ways with impunity, whereas in distant regions all is uncertain. It +is for this reason that, when boys enter any river or branch of the +river for the first time, a special rite is performed. An old man +will take them apart from the company to some spot on the bank of +the river, and, calling all the spirits of the place, will ask them +to favour the boys and to give them vigorous life. An egg (which +on this occasion is spoken of only by the name OVE = sweet potato) +is offered to the spirits on behalf of each boy (or sometimes merely +a fowl's feather) by placing it in the split end of a bamboo stick +thrust into the ground. Not until this rite has been performed are +the boys considered to be safe in the strange region. + +The more remote and inaccessible the region, the more are the TOH +of it feared; rugged hill tops and especially mountain tops are the +abodes of especially dangerous TOH, and it was only with difficulty +that parties of men could be induced to accompany us to the summits +of any of the mountains. + +The influence of the TOH is not always pernicious; certain spots +become credited with the presence of TOH of benign influence. Thus, +tradition relates of a streamlet (Telang Ading) falling over the +rocky bank of the Baram river some little distance below the mouth +of the AKAR, that a wild pig recently killed with spears fell into +it and was allowed to lie there, and that after a little while it +jumped up and made off Through this event the streamlet has acquired a +great reputation, and passing boats generally stop in order that the +crews may splash some of the water on their heads and faces, and so +be cured of any ailments they may happen to have at the time. These +therapeutic effects are attributed to the TOH of the stream. + +The TOH play a considerable part in regulating conduct; for they are +the powers that bring misfortunes upon a whole house or village when +any member of it ignores tabus or otherwise breaks customs, without +performing the propitiatory rites demanded by the occasion. Thus on +them, rather than on the gods, are founded the effective sanctions +of prohibitive rules of conduct. For the propitiation of offended +TOH fowls' eggs and the blood of fowls and of young pigs are used, +the explanations and apologies being offered generally by the chief +or some other influential person, while the blood is sprinkled on +the culprit or other source of offence. + +The beliefs and practices of the Kenyahs and Klemantans in regard to +spirits of this class are very similar to those of the Kayans. They +designate them by the same general name, TOH. + +We are doubtful whether the Sea Dayaks can properly be said to have any +religion. They believe in a number of mythical and legendary heroes in +whose honour they indulge in heavy feasting; but none of these seem +to be credited with the attributes of a god, or to evoke on the part +of the people the specifically religious emotions and attitudes -- +awe, reverence, supplication, trust, gratitude, and hope. Their cult +of the PETARA seems to show traces of Javanese and Hindu influence or +origin. They believe in a multitude of ill-defined spirits which they +speak of as ANTU, and towards which their attitude is very similar +to that of the Kayans towards the TOH. Some further account of Iban +superstitions will be found in Chapter XV. + + + +CHAPTER 14 + +Ideas of the Soul Illustrated by Burial Customs, Soul-Catching, +and Exorcism + +As among ourselves, several very different systems for the cure of +sickness are practised among the Kayans, and these seem to imply +very different theories of the cause of disease. But the Kayans, +less consistent or more open-minded than ourselves, are not divided +into sects, each following one system of therapeutics, but rather the +various systems are held in honour by all the people, and one or the +other is applied according to the indications of each case. Thus, +bodily injuries received accidentally or in battle are treated +surgically by cupping, splints, bandaging, and so forth. Familiar +disorders, such as malarial fever, are treated medically, I.E. by +rest and drugs. Cases of severe pain of unknown origin are generally +attributed to the malign influence of some TOH,[105] and the method +of treatment is usually that of extraction.[106] Madness also is +generally attributed to possession by some TOH. But in cases of severe +illness of mysterious origin that seems to threaten to end mortally, +the theory generally adopted is that the patient's soul has left +his body, and the treatment indicated is therefore an attempt to +persuade the soul to return. The first two modes of treatment are not +considered to demand the skill of a specialist for their application, +but the third and fourth are undertaken only by those who have special +powers and knowledge. + +Among the Kayans the professional soul-catcher, the DAYONG, +is generally a woman who has served a considerable period of +apprenticeship with some older member of the profession, after having +been admonished to take up this calling by some being met with in +dreams -- often a dream experienced during sickness. The DAYONG does +not necessarily confine his or her activities to this one calling; +for in a large village there are usually several DAYONGS, and the +occasions demanding their services recur at considerable intervals of +time. The relatives of the sick man usually prefer to call in a DAYONG +from some other village. The DAYONG is expected to make the diagnosis +and to determine upon the line of treatment to be practised. If +he decides that the soul or BLUA of the patient has left his body, +and has made some part of the journey towards the abode of departed +souls, his task is to fall into a trance and to send his own soul +to overtake that of his patient and to persuade it to return. The +ceremony is usually performed by torch-light in the presence of a +circle of interested relatives and friends, the patient being laid +in the midst in the long public gallery of the house. + +The DAYONG struts to and fro chanting a traditional form of words +well known to the people, who join in the chorus at the close of each +phrase, responding with "BALI-DAYONG," [107] I.E. "Oh powerful DAYONG;" +the meaning and intention of this chorus seem to be that of the "Amen" +with which a Christian congregation associates itself with the prayer +offered by its pastor. For the chant with which the DAYONG begins his +operations is essentially a prayer for help addressed to LAKI TENANGAN, +or, in case of a woman, to DOH TEMANGAN also. + +The DAYONG may or may not fall and lie inert upon the ground in the +course of his trance; but throughout the greater part of the ceremony +he continues to chant with closed eyes, describing with words and +mimic gestures the doings of his own soul as it follows after and +eventually overtakes that of the patient. When this point is reached +his gestures generally express the difficulty and the severity of +the efforts required to induce the soul to return; and the anxious +relatives then usually encourage him by bringing out gongs or other +articles of value, and depositing them as additions to the DAYONG'S +fee. Thus stimulated, he usually succeeds in leading back the soul +towards the patient's body. One feature of the ceremony, not quite +logically consistent with its general scheme, is that the DAYONG takes +in his hand a sword and, glancing at the polished blade with a startled +air, seems to catch in it a glimpse of the wandering soul.[108] The +next step is to restore the soul to the body. The DAYONG comes out +of his trance with the air of one who is suddenly transported from +distant scenes, and usually exhibits in his palm some small living +creature, or it may be merely a grain of rice, a pebble, or bit of +wood, in which the captured soul is in some sense contained. This he +places on the top of the patient's head, and by rubbing causes it to +pass into the head. The soul having been thus restored. to the body, +it is necessary to prevent it escaping again; and this is done by +tying a strip of palm-leaf about the patient's wrist. + +A fowl is then killed, or, in very severe cases of sickness, a pig, +and its blood is sprinkled or wiped by means of the sword or knife +upon this confining bracelet. In mild cases the fowl may be merely +waved over the head of the patient without being killed. The DAYONG +then gives directions as to the MALAN (the tabus) to be observed by +the patient, especially in regard to articles of diet, and retires, +leaving his fee to be sent after him. + +This ceremony clearly involves a curious confusion of symbolical and +descriptive acts, which are not ordered in strict consistency with any +clearly defined theory of the nature of the soul and of its relations +to the body, or of the exact nature of the task of the soul-catcher. + +The catching of souls is practised in very similar fashion among all +the peoples of Borneo, even by the Punans, though the details of the +procedure differ from tribe to tribe. + +Mental derangement is commonly attributed to possession by evil TOH, +and exorcism is practised among some of the tribes, but very little +by the Kayans, who generally content themselves with confining any +troublesome madman in a cage. + +No doubt the catching of the soul does make strongly for the recovery +of the patient, through inspiring him with hope and confidence. But +it cannot always stave off death. If, in spite of the operations +of one soul-catcher, the patient's strength still sinks, some other +practitioner is usually called in for consultation. In the case of a +chief the help of three or even four may be invoked successively or +together; and the ceremony of catching the soul may be repeated again +and again with greater elaboration of detail, and may be prolonged +through many hours and even days with brief interruptions. + +When all these efforts prove unavailing, despairing relatives sometimes +put the end of a blow-pipe to the dying or dead man's ear (or merely +their lips) and shout through it, "Come back, this is your home, here +we have food ready for you." Sometimes the departed soul is believed +to reply, "I am far from home, I am following a TOH and don't know +the way back." + +If, in spite of all these efforts, the patient dies, a drum is loudly +beaten (or in case of a female a TAWAK) in order to announce the +decease to relatives and friends gone before, the number of strokes +depending upon the rank and sex of the departing spirit. The corpse +is kept in the house during a period which varies from one night for +people of the lower class, to three nights for middle class folk, +and ten days for a chief. During this time the dead man lies in +state. The corpse has a bead of some value under each eyelid;[109] +it is dressed in his finest clothes and ornaments, and is enclosed +within a coffin hollowed from a single log, the lid of which is sealed +with resin and lashed round with rattans. + +The coffin is covered with a particular design in red and black and +white, and is placed in the gallery on a low platform, surrounded by +the most valuable personal property of the dead man, whose family will +take pains to make the display of property as imposing as possible. A +fire is kept burning near the coffin, and small packets of cooked +rice and of tobacco are placed upon it for the use of the dead man's +soul. Hundreds of cigarettes are hung in bundles about the platform +by people of the house, sent by them as tokens of kindly remembrance +to their departed friends, who are believed to be able to recognise +by smell the hands that made each bundle. During the whole period the +dead man is attended continuously by at least two or three mourners, +either relatives or, more rarely, hired mourners, who from time to +time throughout both day and night wail loudly, renewing their wailing +at the arrival of each party of friends or relatives. + +These parties come in from neighbouring villages in response to news +of the death sent them by special messengers, and in the case of an +influential chief several thousand men and women sometimes congregate +in this way to do him honour. + +Upon the arrival of any person of importance, gongs and drums are +beaten, and the dead man is informed of the fact by the DAYONG or by +a relative. The visitor is led to a scat near the coffin, where he +will sit silently or join in the wailing, until after a few minutes +he enters into conversation with his hosts. When all the expected +guests have arrived, pigs are slaughtered and a feast is made. + +While the coffin lies in the house all noises other than the wailing +are avoided in its immediate neighbourhood, and the children, dogs, +and fowls are kept away from it. The DAYONG will sit beside the +coffin occasionally brandishing a sword above it in order to keep +in check the TOH who, attracted to the neighbourhood of the corpse, +might grow too bold. + +On the day appointed for the removal of the corpse it is the duty +of the DAYONG to instruct the dead man's soul how to find his way to +the other world; this he does, sitting beside the coffin and chanting +aloud in doleful tones. For (curiously enough in view of the theory +implied by the soul-catching ceremony) the man's soul is regarded as +remaining in, or in the proximity of, the body so long as it remains in +the house. This is one of several indications that the Kayans vaguely +distinguish two souls -- on the one hand the ghost-soul or shade, +which in dreams wanders afar, on the other hand the vital principle. It +would seem that so long as this vital spark remains in the body the +ghost-soul may return to it; but that, when death is complete, this +vital spark also departs, and then the ghost-soul will return no more. + +The use of the word URIP further bears out this interpretation. In +common speech URIP means alive, but it is applied also as a prefix to +the names of those recently deceased, and seems to mark the speaker's +sense of the continuance of the personality as that which has life +in spite of the death of the body. + +Thus BLUA and URIP seem to mark a distinction which in Europe +in different ages has been marked by the words soul and spirit, +ANIMA and ANIMUS, psyche and pneuma, and which was familiar also +to the Hebrews. In this, of course, Kayan thought on this subject +does but follow on the lines of many other peoples of more advanced +civilisation. + +When the DAYONG has completed his instructions, the rattan lashings +about the head of the coffin are loosed. Since this is the moment at +which the soul is believed to take its final departure from the body, +it is probable that this custom of unlashing the coffin is connected +with the idea of facilitating its escape, although we have obtained +no definite statement to this effect. At the same time the fire +that has been kept burning by the coffin is allowed to die out. To +the coffin, which is shaped roughly like a boat, two small wooden +figures are attached -- a figure of a woman at the head, a male +figure at its foot. These figures are not improbably a vestige of a +bygone custom of killing slaves, whose souls would row the boat of +the dead man on his journey to the other world. This interpretation +is borne out by the fact that a live fowl is usually tied to one of +these wooden figures. The coffin is then conveyed out of the house +by lowering it to the ground with rattans, either through the floor, +planks being taken up for the purpose, or under the caves at the +side of the gallery. In this way they avoid carrying it down the +house-ladder; and it seems to be felt that this precaution renders it +more difficult for the ghost to find its way back to the house.[110] +All this is done with great deliberation, the coffin being brought +by easy stages to the river bank. There it is laid in a large boat +gaily decorated with bright-coloured cloths, which is paddled down +river to the graveyard, followed by the boats of the mourning friends, +who refrain from speaking to any persons encountered on the way. The +tombs of the village are on the river bank some quarter of a mile +below the house, generally on the opposite bank. Here the final +resting-place of the coffin has been prepared by erecting a great log +of timber, which is large in proportion to the social standing of the +dead man. In the case of a chief the log is of ironwood, some three +feet or more in diameter and some thirty feet in length. One end of +this is sunk some four or five feet into the ground. The erecting +of such a massive support is a task of some difficulty, achieved +by first digging the pit at the foot of the log and then hauling up +the other end with a rough windlass. The upper end, which is always +the root-end of the log, is cut in the form of a deep cleft, just +wide enough to receive the coffin. Above the cleft a large slab of +hardwood forms a cover for the coffin, and this is often elaborately +carved (see Pls. 152, 153). In some cases two, and in others even +four, smaller poles are used for the support of the coffin, but this +usually only to avoid the labour of erecting one very large one. The +coffin is lifted into this cleft by the aid of a scaffolding which +is built around the large pole, and which afterwards falls away when +the lashings are cut. On landing at the graveyard the mourners carry +the coffin between the two parts of a cleft pole which are fixed in +the ground so as to make a large V (this is called NYRING, the wall), +and all the mourners are expected to pass through this cleft, each, +in doing so, placing his foot upon a fowl which is laid bound upon +the ground. The coffin is then lifted to its cleft, and the weapons, +implements, and war clothes, the large hat, the cooking-pot, and +in fact any articles of personal property that may be of use to the +departing soul, are hung upon the tomb.[111] If a gong is hung up, +it may be cracked or pierced beforehand, but it is not usual among +Kayans to spoil other articles before hanging them on the tomb.[112] +The scaffolding about the tomb is then caused to fall away, and it +only remains for the mourners to purify themselves. This they do +with the help of the lower jaws of the pigs that were consumed at the +funeral feast. The jaws are placed together with water in a gong or +other basin, and the DAYONG, taking a fowl's feather, sprinkles drops +of water from the basin upon all the assembled mourners, pouring out +the while a stream of words, the purport of which is -- may all evil +things, all sickness and such things be kept away from you. Then the +mourners return in a single file through the V formed by the cleft +pole, each one again placing his foot on the fowl (which dies before +the end of the ceremony), spitting as he goes through, and exclaiming, +"Keep off evil" (BALI JAAT, I.E. literally, spiritual or supernatural +evil). When all have passed through, the upper ends of the two parts of +the cleft pole are brought together and lashed round with rattans; and +a small tree, pulled up by the roots, and having its branches cut away, +is laid beside the pole with its roots turned towards the grave (this +is called SELIKANG); and on the other side of the pole is put another +vertical pole with a cross-piece tied at its upper end. Fire is left +burning beside these structures. In this way the Kayans symbolically +prevent any of the uncanny influences of the graveyard following the +party back to the house; though they do not seem to be clear as to +whether it is the ghosts of the dead, or the TOH of the neighbourhood, +or those which may have contributed to his death, against whom these +precautions are taken. This done, the whole party returns as quickly +as possible to the village, halting only to bathe on the way. + +The whole household of which the dead man was a member continues +in mourning for a period which is long in proportion to his social +standing; the mourning rules are observed most strictly by the nearest +relatives. The signs of mourning are the wearing of bark-cloth or of +clothes made yellow with clay, allowing the hair to grow on the parts +of the head and face usually kept shaved,[113] and the putting aside of +ornaments such as ear-rings, necklaces, or the substitution of wooden +ear-rings for the metal ones commonly worn by the women. All music, +feasts, and jollifications are avoided. The period of mourning can +only be properly terminated by a ceremony in which a human head plays +an essential part. Where the influence of the European governments +has not made itself felt, the death of a chief necessitates the +procuring of a fresh head, and a party may be sent out to cut off +in the jungle, on the farms, or on the river, some small party of a +hostile village. The common people must postpone the termination of +their mourning until some such occasion presents itself. Nowadays in +the districts in which head hunting has been suppressed, an old head, +generally one surviving from an earlier period, is borrowed or begged +for the purpose from another village, and is brought home with all +the display properly belonging to a return from successful war (see +Chap. X). As soon as the head is brought into the house the period of +mourning terminates amid general rejoicing. The head, or a fragment +of it, or the bundle of palm leaves (DAUN ISANG) with which it has +been decorated, is hung upon the tomb.[114] + +In case of any dispute regarding the division of the property of a +dead man, his ghost may be called upon by a DAYONG and questioned +as to the dead man's intentions; but this would not be done until +after the harvest following upon the death. The ceremony is known +as DAYONG JANOI. A small model of a house, perhaps a yard in width +and length, is made and placed in the gallery beside the door of the +dead man's chamber. Food and drink of various kinds as prepared for a +feast are placed in this house, together with cigarettes. The DAYONG +chants beside the house, calling upon the soul of the dead man to +enter the soul-house, and mentioning the names of the members of his +family. From time to time he looks in, and after some time announces +that all the food and drink has been consumed. The people accept this +statement as evidence that the ghost has entered the soul-house.[115] +The DAYONG acts as though listening to the whispering of the soul +within the house, starting and clucking from time to time. Then he +announces the will of the ghost in regard to the distribution of the +property, speaking in the first person and reproducing the phraseology +and peculiarities of the dead man.[116] The directions so obtained +are usually followed, and the dispute is thus terminated. But in some +cases the people apply a certain test to verify the alleged presence of +the ghost. A shallow dish (often a gong) of water is placed near the +soul-house, and a ring-shaped armlet of shell is placed vertically in +this basin, the water covering its lower half. A few fine fibres of the +cotton-seed are thrown on to the surface of the water, and by tapping +on the planks the people keep these in movement. If the threads float +through the ring, that is conclusive evidence of the presence of the +ghost; but so long as the threads cannot be got to pass through the +ring, the people are not satisfied that the ghost is present. + + + +Ideas of Life After Death + +The soul of the dead man is supposed to wander on foot through the +jungle until he reaches the crest of a mountain ridge. From this +point he looks down upon the basin of a great river, the LONG MALAN, +in which five districts are assigned as the dwelling-places of souls, +the destination of each being determined by the mode of death. The +ghosts of those who die through old age or disease go to APO LEGGAN, +the largest of these districts, where they live very much as we do +in this life. Those who die a violent death, whether in battle or +or by accident, go to the basin of a tributary river, LONG JULAN, +where is BAWANG DAHA (lake of blood); there they live in comfort, and +become rich though they do no work: they have for wives the ghosts of +women that have died in child-bed. Those that have been drowned find a +home beneath the rivers, and are supposed to become possessed of all +property lost in the water by their surviving friends; this place +(or places) bears the name of LING YANG. The souls of still-born +children dwell in TENYU LALU; they are believed to be very brave, +owing to their having experienced no pain in this world. Finally, +suicides[117] have assigned to them a special district, TAN TEKKAN, +where they live miserably, eating only roots, berries, and other +jungle produce. + +Other districts of this great country are vaguely assigned to the souls +of Malays and other peoples. It is generally said that the left bank +of the river is the place of the tribes of Borneo, while the right bank +is assigned to all other peoples; and the soul is especially warned by +the DAYONG to avoid the right bank lest it should find itself among +foreigners. These beliefs seem to involve some faint rudiment of the +doctrine of POST-MORTEM retribution or, at least, compensation, -- +a rudiment which does not appear in the beliefs of the other peoples. + +The departed soul standing on the mountain ridge surveys these regions; +and it is not until he stops here to rest that he becomes aware that +he is finally separated from his body. This fact is brought home to +him by the arrival of the ghost-souls of the various articles hung +upon his tomb, which hurry after him, but only overtake him at this +his first resting-place; and he bewails his unhappy fate. + +There are current among Kayans several versions of the further +journey of the soul. The ghost descends the mountain to the banks +of LONG MALAN, which river he must cross to reach his appointed +place. The river must be crossed by means of a bridge consisting +of a single large log suspended from bank to bank. This log, BITANG +SEKOPA, is constantly agitated by a guardian, MALIGANG by name. If +the ghost has during the earthly life taken a head, or even merely +taken part in a successful head-hunting raid, a fact indicated by +the tatuing of the hands, he crosses this bridge without difficulty; +but if not, he falls below and is consumed by maggots or, according +to another version, is devoured by a large fish, PATAN, and so is +destroyed. When the ghost reaches the other bank, he is greeted by +those of his friends who have gone before, and they lead him to their +village. Some part of the journey is generally regarded as made by +boat, though it is not possible to make this fit consistently into +the general scheme. Another point on which opinion is very vague is +the part played by LAKI JUP URIP, a deity or spirit whose function +it is to guide the souls to their proper destinations. + +In many Kayan villages stories are told of persons who are believed +to have died and to have come to life again. This belief seems to +have arisen in every case from the person having lain in a trance for +some days, during which he was regarded as dead. The Kayans accept +the cessation of respiration as evidence of death, and they assert +that these persons cease to breathe.[118] + +It seems that such persons usually give some account of their +experiences during the period in which they have deserted their +bodies. They usually allege that they have traversed a part of the +road to the land of shades, and describe it in terms agreeing more +or less closely with the traditional account of it current among +the Kayans. Since in these cases the person is thought to be dead, +no efforts are made by the DAYONG to lead back his departing soul, +and its return has to be explained in some other way. In some cases +the returned soul describes how he was turned back by MALIGANG, +the awful being who guards the bridge across the river of death.[119] + +Mr. R. S. Douglas, Resident of Baram, has recently reported a similar +belief held by the Muriks, a Klemantan tribe, where it is supported +by the following legend. The soul or spirit of a certain man, UKU +PANDAH by name, left his body two years before the time appointed as +the term of its incorporate life, and gained admittance to the land of +shades in the shape of a pig. It was, however, recognised by the ruler +of that land, and ordered by him to return to its mortal body. The +command was obeyed, and UKU PANDAH, having been dead for two days, +came to life again and lived for two years, during which he described +to his friends the country of the dead of which he had thus obtained +a glimpse; and this knowledge has been preserved by the tribe. + +The beliefs and traditions of the various tribes in regard to the other +world seem to have been confused through the intercourse between them, +so that it is not possible to mark off clearly what features properly +belong to each of the tribes. The general features are. similar +with all the peoples. The Kenyah story is very similar to that of +the Kayans, though the names of the various places are different, +and they usually conceive the first part of the soul's journey as +being made by boat on the river. + +TAMA KAJAN ODOH, the MADANG chief whose line of descent from BALINGO +is given on p. 12, vol. ii., made us a rough map of the land of the +shades (Fig. 78) and of the country traversed by the ghost on its +journey thither. This was done in the way maps of their own country +are always made by the Borneans, namely, he laid upon the floor bits of +stick and other small objects to represent the principal topographical +features and relations. We tested the trustworthiness of his account +by asking him to repeat it on a subsequent occasion; when he did so +without any noteworthy departure from the former description. A point +of special interest is the appearance in the land of shades of the +house of BALI PENYALONG and of OKO PERBUNGAN (which seems to be the +MADANG name for the wife of the Supreme Being). This map brings out +clearly what seems to be the essential feature of all these schemes, +namely, that the land of shades is the basin of a river divided by +a mountain ridge from that from which the ghost departs. + +The Punans add some picturesque incidents. According to their version, +a huge helmeted hornbill[120] (RHINOFLAX VIGIL) sits by the far end +of the bridge across the river of death, and with its screams tries +to terrify the ghost, so that it shall fall from the bridge into the +jaws of the great fish which is in league with the bird. On the other +side of the river IS UNGAP, a woman with a cauldron and spear. UNGAP, +if appeased with a gift, aids the ghost to escape from the monstrous +bird and fish. Pebbles or beads are put in the nostrils of the Punan +corpse in order that they may be presented to UNGAP. + +The Punans recite or sing a story in blank verse descriptive of this +passage of the soul. It is sometimes sung in very dramatic fashion, +the performer acting the principal incidents and pitching his voice +in a doleful, though musical, minor key. Such a recitation of the +passage of the soul, delivered by a wild and tragic figure before an +intently listening group of squatting men and women illuminated by +flickering torchlight, is by no means unimpressive to the European +observer. The following lines are a rough literal translation of +a fragment of the story which describes the meeting with UNGAP of +BATANG MIJONG, a departed soul: -- + +UNGAP SPEAKS -- + +BATANG MIJONG stands waving his shield. + +The helmsman SARAMIN with body of brass will carry over BATANG MIJONG. + +BATANG MIJONG seeks the place of the Punans. + +Good journey to you, BATANG MIJONG. + +BATANG MIJONG, O, why are you called? + +BATANG MIJONG SPEAKS: -- + +Why do you question me, why do you stare at me? + +UNGAP ANSWERS -- + +Your limbs are shapely, smooth is your skin and slender your body. + +My eyes are dazzled by your bodily perfections. + +Some of the Malanaus, one of the many branches of the Klemantan +people, hold peculiar views about the soul. Each man is credited +with two souls. After his death one of these goes to some region in +the heavens where it becomes a good spirit that assists at the BAYOH +ceremonies.[121] The other makes a journey to a world of the dead much +like APO LEGGAN of the Kayans; and the journey involves the crossing +of the river on a single log, the passage of which is disputed by a +malign being, who tries to shake the nerve of the ghost by flinging +ashes at him as he traverses the bridge. Other Malanaus (of Muka) +describe this opposing power as a twoheaded dog, MAIWIANG by name, whom +it is necessary to propitiate with the gift of a valuable bead. For +this reason a bead of some value is fastened to the right arm of +the corpse before the coffin is closed. It is said of the Malanaus +that they were formerly in the habit of killing several slaves at +the tomb of a chief; and, since it was believed that, if the victims +died a violent death, their souls would not go to the same place as +the dead chief, and would thus be of no service, they were allowed +to die from exposure to the sun while bound to the tomb. Now that +homicide is prohibited, these people arrange a great cock-fight; and +there can be little doubt that the death of many of the birds is felt +to compensate in some degree for the enforced abstention from homicide. + +The last case on record of the killing of a slave at the entombment +of a chief occurred about fifteen years ago among the Orang Bukits +(Klemantans) in Bruni territory. The son of the dead chief (Datu +Gunong) went to Bruni city, and there bought an aged slave from one +of the principal officers of state. The slave was kept in a bamboo +cage until the day of entombment, when he was killed, each of the +funeral guests inflicting a small wound with a spear. His head was +hung on the tomb. From circumstantial accounts of this incident which +reached one of us, we infer that those who took part in this brutal +act were moved only by a sense of duty and that the co-operation was +repugnant to all of them.[122] + + +Exorcism + +The Kayans, as well as most of the peoples, regard madness as due +to possession by an evil spirit,[123] but the Malanaus extend this +theory to many other forms of disease, and practise an elaborate rite +of exorcism. This will be described in the chapter (XVI.) dealing +with charms and magical practices. + +It will be gathered from what has been said in the foregoing +pages that the life after death is regarded as not in any way very +different from this life, as neither a very superior nor an inferior +condition; although, as we have said, those who die a violent death +are believed to have a rather better lot, and suicides a worse fate, +than others. Social distinction and consideration, especially such +as is achieved by the taking of heads in war, is carried over into +the life after death; and men are anxious that outward marks of +such distinction should go with them. This is undoubtedly one of +the grounds for tatuing the body. Among the Kayans a man's hands are +only fully tatued when he has taken a head; while the social status +of a woman is marked by the degree of fineness of the tatuing.[124] +It follows that death is neither greatly feared nor desired; but an +old man will sometimes affirm that he is quite ready or even desirous +to die, although he may seem cheerful and fairly vigorous. + +The Kayans believe in the reincarnation of the soul, although this +belief is not clearly harmonised with the belief in the life in another +world. It is generally believed that the soul of a grandfather may +pass into one of his grandchildren, and an old man will try to secure +the passage of his soul to a favourite grandchild by holding it above +his head from time to time. The grandfather usually gives up his +name to his eldest grandson, and reassumes the original name of his +childhood with the prefix or title LAKI, and the custom seems to be +connected with this belief or hope. There is no means of discovering +whether the hope is realised. The human soul may also, in the belief +of all the peoples, be reincarnated in the body of almost any animal; +but opinions in regard to this matter are very vague. Thus the Kayans +believe that the objection of the Mohammedan Malays to the eating of +pig is due to reincarnation of their souls in animals of that species, +which belief naturally causes some vexation to the Malay traders. + +Among the Kayans and other peoples sceptics are to be found, and, as +no inquisitorial methods are in vogue among them, such persons will +on occasion give expression to their doubts about the accepted dogmas, +although speech about such topics is generally repressed by some touch +of awe. One man, for example, argued in our hearing that he could +hardly believe that man continues to exist after death, for, said he, +if men and women still lived after death, some of those who have been +very fond of their children would surely return to see them, and would +be in some way perceived by the living. But all such discussions are +usually terminated with the remark, "NUSI JAM?" ("Who knows?") + +The Kenyahs' disposal of their dead is very similar in all respects to +the Kayan practice. But the burial customs of most of the Klemantan +tribes are different. Their usual practice is to keep the coffin +containing the corpse in the gallery of the house until the period +of mourning is terminated. A bamboo tube carried down through the +floor to the ground permits the escape of fluids resulting from +decomposition. The coffin itself is sealed closely with wax, and +elaborately decorated with carved and painted wood-work. After +several months or even years have elapsed a feast is made (the +feast of the bones); the coffin is opened and the bones taken out +and cleaned. They are then packed into a smaller coffin or a large +ovoid jar, which is carried to the village cemetery. There it is +placed either in the hollowed upper end of a massive post, or into +a large wooden chamber containing, or to contain, the remains of +several persons, generally near relatives. These tombs are in many +cases very elaborately decorated with painted woodwork. + +Since the Klemantans who use the jar to contain the bones are not +capable of making such large jars, but procure jars of Indo-Chinese and +Chinese manufacture, it seems probable that the jars are comparatively +modern substitutes for the smaller wooden coffin or bone-box. Only +the richer folk can afford the luxury of a jar. + +A rather different procedure is sometimes adopted by the same +Klemantans who use the wooden coffins, namely, the corpse is placed in +a jar a few days after death. Since the mouth of the jar is generally +too small to admit the corpse the jar is broken horizontally into two +parts by the following ingenious procedure. The jar is sunk in the +water of the river until it is full of water and wholly submerged; +it is held horizontally by two men, one at either end, just beneath +the surface of the water. A third man strikes a sharp downward blow +with an axe upon the widest circumference of the jar; it is then +turned over and he strikes a second blow upon the same circumference +at a spot opposite to the first. At the second stroke the jar falls +in two, sometimes as cleanly and nicely broken as though cut with a +saw.[125] The corpse is then packed in with its knees tied closely +under the chin; the upper part of the jar is replaced and sealed on +with wax. When the time of the feast of the bones arrives, the jar +is reopened, the bones cleaned, and replaced in the jar. + +This mode of jar burial is commonly practised by the Muruts, and is +commoner in the northern parts of the island than elsewhere. It may +be added that the jars used are generally valuable old jars, and that +the cheap modern copies of them find little favour. + +The Klemantans put selected pieces of the property of the deceased +within the tomb, but do not generally hang them on it externally as +the Kayans and Kenyahs do. + +The Sea Dayaks bury their dead in the earth, generally in a village +graveyard on the river banks not far from the house. The body, +together with personal property, is merely wrapped in mats and laid +in a grave some three feet in depth. It is not usual to keep it in +the house for some days as the Kayans do, and the burial is effected +with comparatively little ceremony. The grave of the common man is +not marked with any monument, but that of a chief may be marked by a +SUNGKUP; this consists of two pairs of stout posts, at head and feet +respectively; each pair is erected in the form of an oblique cross; +the upper end of each post is carved in decorative fashion. Two broad +planks laid between the lower parts of these crossed posts form a +roof to the grave. In the case of a man noted for great success in +farming or fighting, a bamboo tube may be sunk through the earth to +the spot just above the root of the nose, and through this they speak +to him and pour rice spirit in order to strengthen their appeal. + +The Land Dayaks of upper Sarawak, as well as some other Klemantan +tribes in South Borneo, are peculiar in that they burn the dead, or +the bones alone after the flesh has dropped away. The burning of the +whole body is in some tribes carried out by the richer families only; +the bodies that are not burned are buried in the earth. + + + +CHAPTER 15 + +Animistic Beliefs Connected with Animals and Plants[126] + +Many of the animals, both wild and domesticated, are held by the +Kenyahs in peculiar regard; those that most influence their conduct +are the omen-birds, and among the omen-birds the common white-headed +carrion-hawk (HALIASTER INTERMEDIUS) is by far the most important. The +Kenyahs always observe the movements of this hawk with keen interest, +for by a well-established code of rules they interpret his movements +in the heavens as signs by which they must be guided in many matters +of moment, especially in the conduct of warlike or any other dangerous +expeditions.[127] The hawk is always spoken of and addressed as BALI +FLAKI, and is formally consulted before any party of Kenyahs sets +out from home for distant parts. + +To illustrate the formalities with which they read the omens we +will transcribe here a passage from a journal kept by one of us. The +occasion of the incidents described was the setting out of a large +body of Kenyahs from the house of Tama Bulan (Pl. 27), a chief who +by his personal merits had attained to a position of great influence +among the other Kenyah chiefs, and who had been confirmed in his +authority by His Highness the Rajah of Sarawak. The object of the +expedition was to visit and make peace with another great fighting +tribe, the Madangs, who live in the remotest interior of Borneo.[128] +Tama Bulan, whose belief in the value of the omens had been slightly +shaken, was willing to start without ceremonies, and to make those +powers which he believed to protect us responsible for himself and +his people also. But the people had begged him not to neglect the +traditional rites, and he had yielded to their wishes. + + +At break of day, before I was up, Tama Bulan was washed by the women +at the river's brink with water and the blood of pigs to purify him +for his journey, and later in the morning the people set to work +to seek omens and a guarantee of their safety on the journey from +the hawks that are so numerous here. A small shelter of sticks and +leaves was made on the river-bank before the house, and the women +having been sent to their rooms, three men of the upper class[129] +sat under this leaf-shelter beside a small fire, and searched the sky +for hawks. After sitting there silently for about an hour the three +men suddenly became animated; one of them took in his right hand a +small chick and a stick frayed by many deep cuts with a knife, and +waved them repeatedly from left to right, at the same time pouring +out a rapid flood of words. They had caught sight of a hawk high +up and far away from them, and they were trying to persuade it to +fly towards the right. Presently the hawk, a tiny speck in the sky, +sailed slowly out of sight behind a hill on the right, and the men +settled themselves to watch for a second hawk which must fly towards +the left, and a third which must circle round and round. In the course +of about half-an-hour two hawks had obligingly put in an appearance, +and behaved just as it was hoped and desired that they should behave; +and so this part of the business was finished, and about a score +of men bustled about preparing for the next act. They brought many +fowls and several young pigs, and a bundle of long poles pointed +at either end. Before the house stand upright two great boles of +timber; the upper end of each of them is carved into a rude face and +crowned with a brass gong (Pl. 157). These are two images of the one +Supreme Being, Bali Penyalong, and they seem to be at the same time +the altars of the god. A tall young tree, stripped of all but its +topmost twigs, stands beside one of them, and is supposed to reach to +heaven or, at least, by its greater proximity to the regions above, +to facilitate intercourse. As to the meaning of this and many other +features of these rites it is impossible to form any exact idea, for +the opinions of these people in such matters are hardly less vague +and diversified than those of more civilized worshippers. Tama Bulan, +in his character of high priest,[130] took his stand before one of +these images, while a nephew, one of the three men who had watched +the hawks, officiated before the other and went through exactly the +same ceremonies as his uncle, at the same time with him. Tama Bulan +held a small bamboo water-vessel in his left hand, and with a frayed +stick in his right hand sprinkled some of the water on the image, +all the time looking up into its face and rapidly repeating a set +form of words. Presently he took a fowl, snipped off its head and +sprinkled its blood upon the image, and so again with another and +another fowl. Then he held a young pig while a follower gashed its +throat, and as the blood leapt out he scattered it on the image, while +the score of men standing round about put their hands, some on him, +some on one another; maintaining in this way physical contact with one +another and with their leader, they joined in the prayer or incantation +which he kept pouring forth in the same rapid mechanical fashion in +which many a curate at home reads the Church service. In the house, +meanwhile, four boys were pounding at two big drums to keep away from +the worshippers all sounds but the words of their own prayers.[131] +Then another fowl and another pig were sacrificed in similar fashion +at each altar, and the second part of the rite was finished by the men +sticking the carcases of the slaughtered beasts each one on the point +of a pole, and fixing the poles upright in the earth before the images. + +Tama Bulan now came up into the house to perform the third and last +act. A pig was brought and laid bound upon the floor, and Tama Bulan, +stooping, with a sword in his right hand, kept punching the pig gently +behind the shoulder as though to keep its attention, and addressed it +with a rapid flow of words, each phrase beginning "O Bali Bouin." The +pig's throat was then cut by an attendant, and Tama Bulan, standing up, +diluted its blood with water and scattered it abroad over all of us +as we stood round about him, while he still kept up the rapid patter +of words. Then he pulled off the head of a fowl and concluded the +rites by once more sprinkling us all with blood and water. Everyone +seemed relieved and well satisfied to have got through this important +business, and to have secured protectors for all the party during +the forthcoming journey. For the three hawks will watch over them, +and are held to have given them explicit guarantees of safety. The +frayed stick that had figured so largely in the rites was stuck +under the rafters of the roof among a row of others previously used, +and there it will remain, a sign and a pledge of the piety of the +people, as long as the house shall stand. And then as Tama Bulan, +pretty well covered with blood, went away to wash himself, I felt as +though I had just lived through a book of the AENEID, and was about +to follow Father Aeneas to the shores of Latium. + + +This elaborate rite, so well fitted to set agoing the speculative +fancy of any one acquainted with the writings of Robertson Smith and +Messrs. Jevons and Frazer, was one of the first that we witnessed +together. After giving all our facts we shall return to discuss some +of the interesting questions raised by it, but it will be seen that +we are far from having discovered satisfactory explanations of all its +features. Obscure features to which we would direct attention are the +use of the fire and the frayed stick, for these figure in almost all +rites in which the omen-birds are consulted or prayers and sacrifices +made. The Kenyahs seem to feel that the purpose of fire is to carry +up the prayers to heaven by means of the ascending flame and smoke, +in somewhat the same way as the tall pole planted by the side of +the image of Bali Penyalong facilitates communion with the spirit; +for they conceive him as dwelling somewhere above the earth. + +Before going out to attack an enemy, omens are always sought in +the way we have described, and if the expedition is successful +the warriors bring home not only the heads of the slain enemy, but +also pieces of their flesh, which they fix upon poles before the +house, one for each family, as a thank-offering to Bali Flaki for +his guidance and protection. It seldom occurs that a hawk actually +takes or eats these pieces of flesh, and that does not seem to be +expected. Without favourable omens from the hawks Kenyahs will not +set out on any expedition, and even when they have secured them, +they still anxiously look out for further guidance, and may be +stopped or turned back at any time by unfavourable omens. Thus, +should a hawk fly over their boat going in the same direction as +themselves, this is a good omen; but if one should fly towards them +as they travel, and especially if it should scream as it does so, +this is a terribly bad omen, and only in case they can obtain other +very favourable omens to counteract the impression made by it will +they continue their journey. If one of a party dies on the journey, +they will stop for one whole day for fear of offending Bali Flaki. If +a hawk should scream just as they are about to deliver an attack, +that means that some of the elder men will be killed in the battle. + +Bali Flaki is also consulted before sowing and harvesting the rice +crop, but besides being appealed to publicly on behalf of the whole +community, his aid may be sought privately by any man who wishes to +injure another. For this purpose a man makes a rough wooden image in +human form, and retires to some quiet spot on the river bank where +he sets up a TEGULUN, a horizontal pole supported about a yard above +the ground by a pair of vertical poles. He lights a small fire beside +the TEGULUN, and, taking a fowl in one hand, he sits on the ground +behind it so as to see through it a square patch of sky,[132] and so +waits until a hawk becomes visible upon this patch. As soon as a hawk +appears he kills the fowl, and with a frayed stick smears its blood on +the wooden image, saying, "Put fat in his mouth" (which means "Let his +head be taken and fed with fat in the usual way"), and he puts a bit +of fat in the mouth of the image. Then he strikes at the breast of the +image with a small wooden spear, and throws it into a pool of water +reddened with red earth, and then takes it out and buries it in the +ground. While the hawk is visible, he waves it towards the left; for +he knows that if it flies to the left he will prevail over his enemy, +but that if it goes to the right his enemy is too strong for him. + +When a new house is built, a wooden image of Bali Flaki with wings +extended is put up before it, and an offering of mixed food is put on a +little shelf before the image, and at times, especially after getting +good omens from the hawks, it is offered bits of flesh and is smeared +with pig's blood. If the people have good luck in their new house, +they renew the image; but if not, they usually allow it to fall into +decay. If, when a man is sitting down to a meal, he espies a hawk in +the heavens, he will throw a morsel of food towards it, exclaiming, +"Bali Flaki!" + +We have seen that during the formal consultation of the hawks the +women are sent to their rooms. Nevertheless many women keep in the +cupboards in which they sleep a wooden image of the hawk with a few +feathers stuck upon it. If the woman falls sick she will take one +of these feathers and, waving it to and fro, will say, "Tell the +bad spirit that is making me sick that I have a feather of Bali +Flaki." When she recovers her health Bali Flaki has the credit of it. + +Although Kenyahs will not kill a hawk, they would-not prevent us from +shooting one if it stole their chickens; for they say that a hawk +who will do that is a low-class fellow, a cad, in fact, for there +are social grades among the hawks just as there are among themselves. + +Although the Kenyahs thus look to Bali Flaki to guide them and help +them in many ways, and express gratitude towards him, we do not think +that they conceive of him as a single great spirit, as some of the +other tribes tend to do; they rather look upon the hawks as messengers +and intermediators between themselves and Bali Penyalong,[133] to +which a certain undefined amount of power is delegated. No doubt it is +a vulgar error with them, as in the case of professors of other forms +of belief, to forget in some degree the Supreme Being, and to direct +their prayers and thanks almost exclusively to the subordinate power, +which, having + +concrete forms, they can more easily keep before their minds. They +regard favourable omens as given for their encouragement, and bad +omens as friendly warnings.[134] We were told by one very intelligent +Kenyah that he supposed that the hawks, having been so frequently +sent by Bali Penyalong to give them warnings, had learnt how to do +this of their own will, and that sometimes they probably do give them +warning or encouragement independently without being sent by him. + +All Kenyahs hold Bali Flaki in the same peculiar regard, and no +individuals or sections of them claim to be especially favoured by +him or claim to be related to him by blood or descent. + + +Other Omen-birds + +Kenyahs obtain omens of less importance from several other birds. When +favourable omens have been given by the hawks, some prominent man is +always sent out to sit on the river-bank beside a small fire and watch +and listen for these other birds. Their movements and cries are the +signs which he interprets as omens, confirming or weakening the import +of those given by the hawks. Of these other omens the most regarded are +those given by the three species of the spider-hunter (ARACHNOTHERA +CHRYSOGENYS, A. MODESTA, and A. LONGIROSTRIS). All three species are +known as "Sit" or "Isit." When travelling on the river, the Kenyahs +hope to see "Isit" fly across from left to right as they sit facing the +bow of the canoe. When this happens they call out loudly, saying, "O, +Isit on the left hand! Give us long life, help us in our undertaking, +help us to find what we are seeking, make our enemies feeble." They +usually stop their canoes, land on the bank, and, after making a +small fire, say to it, "Tell Isit to help us." Each man of the party +will light a cigarette in order that he may have his own small fire, +and will murmur some part at least of the usual formulas. After seeing +"Isit" on their left, they like to see him again on their right side. + +Next in importance to the spider-hunters are the three varieties of +the trogan (HARPACTES DIARDI, H. DUVAUCELII, and H. KASUMBA). They +like to hear the trogan calling quietly while he sits on a tree to +their left; but if he is on their right, the omen is only a little +less favourable.[135] On hearing the trogan's cry, they own it, as +they say, by shouting to it and by stopping to light a fire just as +in the case of "Isit." + +KIENG, the woodpecker (LEPOCESTES PORPHYROMELAS), has two notes, +one of which is of good, the other of had omen. If they have secured +good omens from the birds already mentioned, they will then try to +avoid hearing KIENG, lest he should utter the note of evil omen; so +they sing and talk and rattle their paddles on the sides of the boat. + +Other omen-birds of less importance are ASI (CARCINEUTES MELANOPS), +whose note warns them of difficulties in their path, and UKANG (SASIA +ABNORMIS), whose note means good luck for them. TELAJAN, the crested +rain-bird (PLATYLOPHUS CORONATUS), announces good luck by its call +and warns of serious difficulties also. + +KONG, the hornbill (ANORRHINUS COMATUS), gives omens of minor +importance by his strange deep cry. The handsome feathers of another +species of hornbill (BUCEROS RHINOCEROS), with bold bars of black and +white, are worn on war-coats and stuck in the war-caps by men who are +tried warriors, but may not be worn by mere youths. The substance of +the beak of the helmeted hornbill (RHINOFLAX VIGIL) is sometimes carved +into the form of the canine tooth of the tiger-cat, and a pair of these +is the most valued kind of ear-ornament for men. Only elderly men, +or men who have taken heads with their own hands, may wear them. One +of the popular dances consists in a comical imitation of the movements +of the hornbill, but no special significance attaches to the dance; +it seems to be done purely in a spirit of fun. Young hornbills are +occasionally kept in the house as pets. + +We know of no other bird that plays any part in the religious life +of the Kenyahs or affects them in any peculiar manner. + + +The Pig + +All Kenyahs keep numerous domestic pigs, which roam beneath and +about the house, picking up what garbage they can find to eke out +the scanty meals of rice-dust and chaff given them by the women. It +seems that they seldom or never take to the jungle and become feral, +although they are not confined in any way. + +The domestic pig is not treated with any show of reverence, but rather +with the greatest contumely, and yet it plays a part in almost all +religious ceremonies, and before it is slaughtered explanations are +always offered to it, and it is assured that it is not to be eaten. We +have seen that, in the rites preparatory to an important and dangerous +expedition, the chief was washed with pig's blood and water, and +that young pigs were slain before the altar-post of Bali Penyalong, +and their blood sprinkled on the post and afterwards upon all or most +of the men of the household. It is probably true that Bali Penyalong +is never addressed without the slaughter of one or more pigs, and +also that no domestic pig is ever slaughtered without being charged +beforehand with some message or prayer to Bali Penyalong, which its +spirit may carry up to him. But the most important function of the +pig is the giving of information as to the future course of events +by means of the markings on its liver.[136] + +Whenever it becomes specially interesting or important to ascertain the +future course of events, when, for example, a household proposes to +make war, or when two parties are about to go through a peace-making +ceremony, a pig is caught by the young men from among those beneath +the house, and is brought and laid, with its feet lashed together, +before the chief in the great gallery of the house. And it would seem +that the more important the ceremony the larger and the more numerous +should be the pigs selected as victims. An attendant hands a burning +brand to the chief, and he, stooping over the pig, singes a few of +its hairs, and then, addressing the pig as "Bali Bouin," and gently +punching it behind the shoulder, as we have already depicted him, +he pours out a rapid flood of words. The substance of his address +is a prayer to Bali Penyalong for guidance and knowledge as to the +future course of the business in hand, and an injunction to the soul +of the pig to carry the prayer to Bali Penyalong. + +Sometimes more than one chief will address one pig in this way; and +then, as soon as these prayers are concluded, some follower plunges +a spear into the heart or throat of the pig, and rapidly opens its +belly in the middle line, drags out the liver and lays it on a leaf +or platter with the underside uppermost, and so carries it to the +chief or chiefs. Then all the elderly men crowd round and consult as +to the significance of the appearances presented by the underside of +the liver. The various lobes and lobules are taken to represent the +various districts concerned in the question on which light is desired, +and according to the strength and intimacy of the connections between +these lobes, the people of the districts represented are held to be +bound in more or less lasting friendship. While spots and nodules in +any part betoken future evils for the people of that part, a clean +healthy liver means good fortune and happiness for all concerned. + +The underside of the liver, which alone is significant, varies +considerably from one specimen to another, and this must prevent +any very definite and consistent identification of the parts with +the different districts of the country. The rule generally observed +is to identify the under surface of the right lobe (ARTI TOH) with +the territory of the party that kills the pig and makes the enquiry; +the adjacent part of the left lobe (SUNAN) with the territory of any +party involved in the question which adjoins that of the first party; +and the under surface of the caudal extremity (ARTI ARKAT) with that +of any remoter third party (see Fig. 79). If the ridge that runs up +between the right and left lobes is sharp, it indicates that there +will still be some bad feeling (or, as they say, the swords are still +sharp). A gall-bladder which is long and overlapping indicates more +trouble between the parties to the right and left; but one which +is sunk almost out of sight in the substance of the liver is a sign +that no further trouble is to be expected. The grooves on the under +surface of the right lobe stand for the waterways and, if they are +strongly marked, imply freedom of intercourse. Notches at the free +edges stand for past injuries suffered (the scars of wounds received, +as it were); and if these are equally marked in the several parts they +indicate peace, because it is implied that no balance of old scores +remains to any one of the parties concerned. A sore or abscess in any +part foretells the speedy death of one of the chiefs of the people +of that part. + + +FIGURE 79 + + +It is obvious that this system of interpretation, which is common +to nearly all the peoples, gives much scope for the operation of +prejudice, suggestion, and ingenuity. But the group of interpreting +chiefs and elder men generally achieves unanimity in giving its +verdict. + +The omens thus obtained are held to be the answer vouchsafed by Bali +Penyalong to the prayers which have been carried to him by the spirit +of the pig. + +If the answer obtained in this way from one pig is unsatisfactory, +they will often kill a second, and on important occasions even a +third or fourth, in order to obtain a favourable answer. Unless they +can thus obtain a satisfactory forecast, they will not set out upon +any undertaking of importance. + +After any ceremony of this kind the body of the pig is usually +divided among the people, and by them cooked and eaten without further +ceremony. But we have seen that, after the ceremony in preparation +for an expedition, the bodies of the young pigs whose blood was +scattered on the altarpost of Bali Penyalong were fixed upon tall +poles beside this altar-post and there left; and this seems to be the +rule in ceremonies of this sort, though it is not clear whether the +carcases are left there as offerings to the hawks or to Bali Penyalong, +or because they are in some sense too holy to be used as food after +being used in such rites. + +Probably Kenyahs never give to the spirits in this way the whole body +of a large pig, but only of quite small pigs, and in this they are +probably influenced by considerations of economy. + +It may be said generally that Kenyahs do not kill domestic pigs simply +and solely for the sake of food. The killing of a pig is always the +occasion for, or occasioned by, some religious rite. It is true that +on the arrival of honoured guests a pig is usually killed and given to +them for food; but its spirit is then always charged with some message +to Bali Penyalong. It is said that, when the pig's spirit comes to +Bali Penyalong, he is offended if it brings no message from those +who killed the pig, and he sends it back to carry off their souls. + +On many other occasions also pigs are killed; thus, on returning +from a successful attack on enemies, a pig is usually killed for +each family of the household, and a piece of its flesh is put up on +a pole before the house; and during the severe illness of any person +of high social standing, pigs are usually killed, and friendly chiefs +may come from distant parts, bringing with them pigs and fowls that +they may sacrifice them, and so aid in restoring the sick man to +health. On the death of a chief, too, a great feast is made, and +many pigs are slaughtered, and their jaw-bones are hung up on the +tomb. A pig is sometimes used in the ceremony by which a newly-made +peace is sealed between tribes hitherto at blood-feuds, but a fowl +is more commonly used. + +The wild pig which abounds in the forest is hunted by the Kenyahs, +and when brought to bay by the dogs is killed with spears, and it +is eaten without ceremony or compunction by all classes. The wild +pig is never used as messenger to the gods, and its liver is not +consulted. The lower jaws of all wild pigs that are killed are cleaned +and hung up together in the house, and it is believed that if these +should be lost or in any way destroyed the dogs would cease to hunt. + +The domestic fowls are seldom killed for food, and their eggs too can +hardly be reckoned as a regular article of diet, though the people +have no prejudice against eating them. And it would seem that the +fowls are kept in the main for ceremonial Purposes, and that their +table use is of very secondary importance. + +Fowls are killed on many of the occasions on which pigs are sacrificed, +and, as we have seen in the description of the ceremony at Tama +Bulan's house, their blood may be poured upon the altarposts of +Bali Penyalong. It would seem that fowls and pigs are to some extent +interchangeable equivalents for sacrificial purposes. Perhaps the most +important occasion on which the fowl plays a part is the performance +of the rite by which a blood-feud is finally wiped away. The following +extract from the journal previously quoted describes an incident of +this kind: -- + + +In the evening there was serious business on hand. Two chiefs, who +some years ago were burned out of their homes in the Rejang district +by the government, have settled themselves with their people in the +Baram district. They had made a provisional peace with the Kayans +some years ago, but the final ceremony was to be performed this +evening. The two chiefs of the immigrants, who had remained hitherto +in a remote part of the house, seated themselves at one side, and +the Kayan chiefs at the other, and Tama Bulan and ourselves between +the two parties. First, presents of iron were exchanged. In the old +days costly presents of metal-work used to be given; but, as this led +sometimes to renewed disputes, the government has forbidden the giving, +in such ceremony, of presents of a greater value than two dollars. So +now old sword-blades are given, and the other essential part of the +present has been proportionately reduced from a full-grown fowl to a +tiny chick. After much preliminary talking, two chicks were brought +and a bundle of old sword-blades, which Tama Bulan, in his character +of peace-maker, carries with him whenever he travels abroad. A chief +of either party took a chick and a sword and presented them to the +other. Then one led his men a little apart and began to rattle off +an invocation beginning, "O sacred (Bali) chick," snipped off its +head with the sword, and with the bloody blade smeared the right +arm of his followers as they crowded round him. The old fellow kept +up the stream of words until every man was smeared; and then they +all stamped together on the floor raising a great shout. Then the +other party went through a similar performance; and the peace being +thus formally ratified, we sat down to cement it still further by a +friendly drinking bout. + + +Another ceremony in which the fowl plays a prominent part is that by +which the wandering soul of a sick person is found and led back to +his body by the medicine-man. This is described in Chapter XIV. + +It seems clear that the fowl, like the pig, is used on these occasions +as a messenger sent by man to the Supreme Spirit. In most cases when +a fowl is slaughtered in the course of a ceremony, it is first waved +over the heads of the people taking part in it, and its blood is +afterwards sprinkled upon them. + +In the blood-brotherhood ceremony, when each of the two men drinks +or smokes in a cigarette a drop of the other's blood drawn with a +bambooknife, a fowl is in many cases waved over them and then killed, +and occasionally a pig also is killed. In such a case the man who +has killed the fowl will carry its carcase to the door of the house, +and there he will wave towards the heavens a frayed stick moistened +with its blood, while he announces the facts of the ceremony to Bali +Penyalong. So that here again the fowl seems to play the part of a +messenger. The carcase and the bloody stick are afterwards put up +together on a tall pole before the house. After going through this +ceremony a man is safe from all the members of the household to +which his blood-brother belongs; and in the case of two chiefs all +the members of either household are bound to those of the other by +a sacred tie. + +Fowls' eggs are sometimes put on the cleft poles as sacrifices. In +one instance, when we were engaged in fishing a lake with a large +party in boats, we came upon a row of eight poles stuck upright at +the edge of the lake, each holding a fowl's egg in its cleft upper +end. These had just been put there by the crew of one of the canoes +as an offering to the crocodiles, which were regarded as the most +influential of the powers of the lake and able to ensure us good sport. + +In such cases the eggs are probably economical substitutes for fowls, +as seems to be indicated by the following facts: When Kenyah boys enter +a strange branch of the river for the first time, they go, each one +taking a fowl's egg in his hand, into the jungle with some old man, who +takes the eggs, puts them into the cleft ends of poles fixed upright +in the earth, and thus addresses all the omen-birds collectively, +"Don't let any harm happen to these children who are coming for +the first time to this river; they give you these eggs." Sometimes +instead of eggs the feathers of a fowl are used; and both the eggs +and feathers would seem to be substituted for fowls, as being good +enough in the case of mere children performing a minor rite. + +When the belly of a fowl is opened there are prominent two curved +portions of the gut. The state of these is examined in some cases +before the planting of PADI, and sometimes before attempting to catch +the soul of a sick man. If the parts are much curved, it is a good +omen; if straight or but slightly curved, it is a bad omen. + + +The Crocodile + +Like all other races of Sarawak, the Kenyahs regard the crocodiles +that infest their rivers as more or less friendly creatures. They fear +the crocodile and do not like to mention it by name, especially if +one be in sight, and refer to it as "old grandfather." But the fear +is rather a superstitious fear than the fear of being seized by the +beast. They regard those of their own neighbourhood as more especially +friendly, in spite of the fact that members of their households are +occasionally taken by crocodiles, either while standing incautiously +on the bank of the river or while floating quietly at evening time +in a small canoe. When this happens, it is believed either that the +person taken has in some way offended or injured one or all of the +crocodiles, or that he has been taken by a stranger crocodile that has +come from a distant part of the river, and therefore did not share +in the friendly understanding usually subsisting between the people +and the local crocodiles. But in any case it is considered that the +crocodiles have committed an unjustifiable aggression and have set +up a blood-feud which can only be abolished by the slaying of one +or more of the aggressors. Now it is the habit of the crocodile to +hold the body of his victim for several days before devouring it, +and to drag it for this purpose into some muddy creek opening into +the main river. A party is therefore organised to search all the +neighbouring creeks, and the first measure taken is to prevent the +guilty crocodile escaping to some other part of the river. To achieve +this they take long poles, frayed with many cuts, and set them up on +the river-bank at some distance above and below the scene of the crime +and at the mouths of all the neighbouring creeks and streamlets; and +they kill fowls and pray that the guilty crocodile may be prevented +from passing the spots thus marked. They then search the creeks, +and if they find the criminal with the body of his victim they kill +him, and the feud is at an end. But, if they fail to find him thus, +they go out on the part of the river included between their charmed +poles, and, with their spears tied to long poles, prod all the bed of +this part of the river, and thus generally succeed in killing one or +more crocodiles. They then usually search its entrails for the bones +and hair of the victim so as to make sure that they have caught the +offending beast. But, even if they do not obtain conclusive evidence +of this kind, they seem to feel that justice is satisfied, and that +the beast killed is probably the guilty one. + +Except in the meting out of a just vengeance in this way, no Kenyah +will kill a crocodile, and they will not eat its flesh under any +circumstances. But there is no evidence to show that they regard +themselves as related by blood or descent to the crocodiles or that +their ancestors ever did so. + +When Kenyahs go on a journey into strange rivers or to the lower part +of the main river, they fear the crocodiles of these strange waters, +because they are unknown to them, and any one of them might easily +be mistaken by the crocodiles for some one who has done them an +injury. Some Kenyahs tie the red leaves of the DRACAENA below the +prow of their boat whenever they go far from home, believing that +this protects them from all danger of attack by crocodiles. + + +The Dog + +In all Kenyah houses are large numbers of dogs, which vary a good +deal in size and colour, but roughly resemble large, mongrel-bred, +smooth-haired terriers. Each family owns several, and they are fed with +rice usually in the evening; but they seem to be always hungry. The +best of them are used for hunting; but besides these there is always +a number of quite useless, ill-fed, ill-tempered curs; for no Kenyah +dare kill a dog, however much he may wish to be rid of it. Still less, +of course, will he eat the flesh of a dog. The dogs prowl about, in +and around the house, much as they please, but are not treated with +any particular respect. When a dog intrudes where he is not wanted it +is usual to click with the tongue at him, and this is usually enough +to make him pass on; but blows with a stick follow quickly if the +animal does not obey. They display little affection for their dogs, +and they do not like children to touch or play with the dogs, but of +course cannot altogether prevent them. + +One young Kenyah chief, on being questioned, said that the reason +they will not kill dogs is that they are like children, and eat and +sleep together with men in the same house; and he added that, if a +man should kill a dog, he would go mad. + +If a dog dies in the house, the men push the carcase out of the +house and into the river with long poles, and will on no account +touch it with their hands. The spot on the floor on which the dog +died is fenced round with mats for some few days in order to prevent +the children walking over it. + +It is usual for the Kenyah men to have one or more designs tatued on +their forearms and shoulders. Among the commonest of these designs +are those known as the prawn and the dog (see Chap. XII). They seem +to be conventionalised derivatives from these animal forms. It is +said that the dog's head design was formerly much more in fashion +than it is at the present time. + + +Deer and Cattle + +Very few Kenyahs of the upper class will kill or eat deer and wild +cattle. They believe that if they should eat their flesh they would +vomit violently and spit out blood. They have no domestic cattle, and +the buffalo does not occur in their districts. Lower-class Kenyahs +and slaves, taken as war-captives from other tribes, may eat deer +and horned cattle, but they must take the flesh some little distance +from the house when they cook it. A woman who is pregnant, or for +any other reason is in the hands of a physician, has to observe the +restrictions with regard to deer and cattle more strictly than other +people, and she will not touch or allow to be brought near her any +article of leather or horn. + +The war-coats of the men are often made of the skin of goats or deer, +and any man may wear such a war-coat. But when a man has a young son, +he is particularly careful to avoid contact with any part of a deer, +lest through such contact he should transmit to his son in any degree +the timidity of the deer. On one occasion when we had killed a deer, +a Kenyah chief resolutely refused to allow its skin to be carried in +his boat, alleging the above reason. + +The cry or bark of the deer (CERVULUS MUNTJAC) is a warning of danger, +and the seeing or hearing of the mouse-deer or PLANDOK (TRAGULAS NAPU) +has a like significance. + + +The Tiger-cat + +The only large species of the FELIDAAE that occurs in Borneo is the +tiger-cat (FELIS NEBULOSA). Kenyahs will not eat it, as men of some +tribes do, but will kill it; and they fashion its handsome spotted +skin into war-coats. Such coats are worn only by men who have been +on the war-path. The canine teeth of the tiger-cat are much prized +as ornaments; they are worn thrust through holes in the upper part +of the shell of the ear, but only by full-grown men. KULEH, the name +of this beast, is sometimes given to a boy. + +The true tiger does not now occur in Borneo, and it is doubtful +whether it ever was a native of the island. Nevertheless the Kenyahs +know it by name (LINJAU) and by reputation, and a few skins are in +the possession of chiefs. No ordinary man, but only a distinguished +and elderly chief, will venture to wear such a skin as a war-coat, +or even to touch it. These skins have been brought from other lands +by Malay traders, and it is probable that whatever knowledge of the +tiger the Kenyahs possess has come from the same source. + +A chief will sometimes name his son LINJAU, that is, the Tiger. + + +Other Animals + +A carnivore (ARCTOGALE LEUCOTIS) allied to the civet-cat warns of +danger when seen or heard. + +There is a certain large lizard (VARANUS) that is eaten freely by +other tribes, but Kenyahs may not eat it, though they will kill it. + +They regard the seeing of any snake as an unfavourable omen, and will +not kill any snake gratuitously. + +Kenyahs, like all, or almost all the other natives of Borneo, are more +or less afraid of the Maias (the orang-utan) and of the long-nosed +monkey, and they will not look one in the face or laugh at one. + +In one Kenyah house a fantastic figure of the gibbon is carved on +the ends of all the main crossbeams of the house, and the chief said +that this has been their custom for many generations. He told us +that it is the custom, when these beams are being put up, to kill a +pig and divide its flesh among the men who are working, and no woman +is allowed to come into the house until this has been done. None of +his people will kill a gibbon, though other Kenyahs will kill and +probably eat it. They claim that he helps them as a friend, and the +carvings on the beams seem to symbolize his supporting of the house. + +In other parts of the same house are carvings of the bangat, +SEMNOPITHECUS HOSEI, but the old chief regards these as much less +important and as recent innovations. + +We do not know of any other animals to which especial respect or +attention is paid by the Kenyahs. + + +Animal Cults of the Kayans + +The white-headed hawk (Bali Flaki) of the Kenyahs has its equivalent +among the Kayans in the large dark-brown hawk, which they call Laki +Neho. But as it is not possible to distinguish these two kinds of +hawks when seen flying at some distance, they address and accept all +large hawks seen in the distance as Laki Neho. + +The function and powers of Laki Neho seem to be almost identical +with those of Bali Flaki. He is a giver of omens and a bringer of +messages from Laki Tenangan. The following notes of a conversation +with an intelligent Kayan chief will give some idea of his attitude +towards Laki Neho. It must be remembered that these people have no +priesthood and no dogmatic theologians to define and formulate beliefs, +so that their ideas as to the nature of their gods and their abodes and +powers are, though perhaps more concrete, at least as various in the +minds of different individuals as are the corresponding ideas among +the average adherents of more highly developed forms of religion; +and perhaps no two men will agree exactly on these matters, and any +one man will freely contradict his own statements. + +Laki Tenangan is an old man with long white hair who speaks Kayan +and has a wife, Doh Tenangan. They sometimes see him in dreams, and +if fortunate they may then see his face,[137] but if unlucky they see +his back only. In olden times powerful men sometimes spoke with him, +but now this never occurs. He dwells in a house far away. Laki Neho +also has a house that is covered with palm leaves and frayed sticks. It +is in a tree-top, yet it is beside a river, and has a landing-place +before it like every Kayan house. This house is sometimes seen in +dreams. It is not so far away as the house of Laki Tenangan. At first +our informant said that help is asked directly of Laki Neho; but, +when pressed, he said that Laki Neho may carry the message to Laki +Tenangan. Some things Laki Neho does of his own will and power; for +example, if a branch were likely to fall on a Kayan boat he would +prevent it, for Laki Tenangan long ago taught him how to do such +things. When a man is sick, Kayans appeal to Laki Neho; but if he does +not make the patient well they then appeal to Laki Tenangan directly, +killing a pig, whose spirit goes first to the house of Laki Neho, +and then on to the more distant house of Laki Tenangan. For they +believe that in such a case the patient has somehow offended Laki +Neho by disregarding or misreading his omens. A man suffering from +chronic disease may himself pray to Laki Tenangan. He lights a fire +and kills a fowl, and perhaps a pig also, and calls upon Laki Neho to +be his witness and messenger. He holds an egg in one hand and says, +"This is for you to eat, carry my message direct to Laki Tenangan +that I may get well and live and bring up my children, who shall be +taught my occupations and the true customs." The fire is lighted to +make Laki Neho warm and energetic. + +It will be seen from the above account that the Kayans have formed +a concept of the power of the hawks in general, and have given it a +semi-anthropomorphic character, and we shall see below that the Sea +Dayaks have carried this process still further. + + + +Crocodiles + +The Kayan's attitude towards the crocodile is practically the same as +the Kenyah's. We append the following notes of a conversation with a +young Kayan chief, Usong, and his cousin Wan:There are but very few +Kayans who will kill a crocodile except in revenge. But if one of their +people has been taken by a crocodile they go out together to kill the +criminal, and they begin by saying, "Don't run away, you've got to +be killed, why don't you come to the surface? You won't come out on +the land because you have done wrong and are afraid." After this he +will perhaps come on land; and if he does not, he will at least float +to the surface of the water, and is then killed with spears. In olden +days Kayans used to make a crocodile of clay and ask it to drive away +evil spirits; but now this is not done. A crocodile may become a man +just like themselves. Sometimes a man dreams that a crocodile calls +him to become his blood-brother, and after they have gone through +the regular ceremony and exchanged names (in the dream), the man +is quite safe from crocodiles. Usong's uncle has in this way become +blood-brother to a crocodile, and is now called "Baya" (the generic +name for the crocodile), while some crocodile unknown is called Jok, +and Usong considers himself the nephew of the crocodile Jok. Usong's +father has also become blood-brother to a crocodile, and Usong calls +himself a son of this particular unknown crocodile. Sometimes he +asks these two, his uncle- and his father-crocodiles, to give him +a pig when he is out hunting, and once they did give him one. After +relating this, Usong added, "But who knows if this be true?" + +Wan's great-great-grandfather became blood-brother to a crocodile, +and was called "Klieng Baya." Wan has several times met this crocodile +in dreams. In one dream he fell into the river when there were many +crocodiles about. He climbed on to the head of one, which said to him, +"Don't be afraid," and carried him to the bank. Wan's father had +charms given him by a crocodile and would not on any account kill +one, and Wan clearly regards himself as being intimately related to +crocodiles in general. + + +The Kayans regard the pig and the fowl in much the same way as the +Kenyahs do, and put them to the same uses. The beliefs and customs +with regard to deer, horned cattle, dogs, and the tiger-cat, are +similar to those of the Kenyahs save that they will not kill the +last of these. They are perhaps more strict in the avoidance of +deer and cattle. One old chief, who had been ailing for a long time, +hesitated to enter the Resident's house because he saw a pair of horns +hanging up there. When he entered he asked for a piece of iron, and +on returning home he killed a fowl and a pig, and submitted to the +process of having his soul caught by a DAYONG, lest it should have +incurred some undefined injury in the neighbourhood of the horns. + +The Kayans avoid the skin of the tiger even more strictly than the +Kenyahs or any other tribe; even a great chief will not touch a +tiger-skin, and we have known one refuse to enter a house because he +knew that it contained a tiger-skin war-coat. + +Like the Kenyahs, the Kayans entertain a superstitious dread of the +Maias and the long-nosed monkey, but the DOK (MACACUS NEMESTRINUS), +the coco-nut monkey of the Malay States, has special relations to +them. It is very common in their district, but they will kill it only +when it is stealing their rice-crop; and they will never eat it as +other peoples do. There is a somewhat uncertain belief that it is a +blood-relative, and the following myth is told to account for this. A +Kayan woman of high class was reaping PADI with her daughter. Now it +is against custom to eat any of the rice during reaping; and when the +mother went away for a short time leaving the girl at work, she told +her on no account to eat any of the rice. But no sooner was the mother +gone than the girl began to husk some PADI and nibble at it. Then +at once her body began to itch, and hair began to grow on her arms +like the hair of a DOK. Soon the mother returned and the girl said, +"Why am I itching so?" The mother answered, "You have done some wicked +thing, you have eaten some rice." Then hair grew all over the girl's +body except her head and face, and the mother said, "Ah, this is what +I feared, now you must go into the jungle and eat only what has been +planted by human hands." So the girl went into the jungle and her +head became like a DOK'S, and she ceased to be able to speak. + +The DOK does not help them in any way, but only spoils their crops. A +very popular dance is the DOK dance, in which a man imitates very +cleverly the behaviour of the DOK. It is a very ludicrous performance, +and excites boisterous mirth. They say it is done merely in fun. + +In one Kayan house the ends of all the main crossbeams that support the +roof are ornamented with fretwork designs, which are clearly animal +derivatives and apparently all of the same animal. The form suggests +a crocodile, and some of the men agreed that that was its meaning, +while others asserted that it was a dog. No doubt it was originally +one or other of these, but has now become a conventional design merely, +and its true origin has been forgotten. + +A pattern which seems to be derived from the outline of a dog, +and which goes by the name KALANG ASU ( = dog-pattern), occurs in a +great variety of forms in the decorative art of the Kayans, and also, +though to a less extent, in that of the Kenyahs. It is tatued on arm +and thigh, is reproduced in beadwork, and carved in low relief on +decorative panels.[138] + +Neither Kayans nor Kenyahs make much use of snakes of any kind, +but there is one snake with red head and tail (BATANG LIMA) which, +when they see it in the course of a journey, they must kill, else +harm will befall them. Again, if they see a certain snake just as +they are about to enter a strange river or a strange village, they +will stop and light a fire on the bank in order to communicate with +Laki Neho. Kayans will not eat any species of turtle or tortoise. + + +Klemantans + +The following notes of a conversation with the Orang Kaya Tumonggong, +the influential chief of the Long Pata people (one of the many groups +of Klemantans), show that these people regard the hawk in much the +same way as the Kenyahs do: The hawk, BALI FLAKI, is the messenger +of "Bali Utong," the Supreme Being. When a party is about to set +out on any expedition they explain their intentions to BALI FLAKI, +and then observe the movements of the hawks. If a hawk circles round +over their heads, some of the party will fall sick on the journey and +probably will die. If the hawk flies to the right when near at hand, +it is a good omen; but if it flies to the right when at a distance, or +to the left, whether near or far, that is a bad omen. The people then +light a fire and entreat the hawk to give a more favourable sign, and +if it persists in going to the left they give up the expedition. If, +while the omens are being read, the hawk flaps his wings, or screams, +or swoops down and settles on a tree, the omen is bad. But if it +swoops down and up again, that is good. If two or three hawks are +visible at the same time, and especially if they all fly to the right, +that is very good; but if many are visible, and especially if they fly +off in different directions, that is very bad, for it means that the +enemy will scatter the attacking force. If the hawk should capture a +small bird while it is under observation, that means that they will +be made captives if they persist in their undertaking. The hawk is +not claimed as a relative by Klemantans. They take omens from various +other birds in matters of minor importance. + +Klemantans use the domestic pig and fowl as sacrificial animals just +as the Kenyahs and Kayans do, and they have the same superstitious +dread of killing a dog. One group of them, Malanaus, use a dog in +taking a very solemn oath, and sometimes the dog is killed in the +course of this ceremony. Or instead of the dog being killed, its tail +may be cut off, and the man taking the oath licks the blood from the +stump; this is considered a most binding and solemn form of oath. The +ceremony is spoken of as KOMAN ASU, I.E. "the eating of the dog." + +Most Klemantans will kill and eat both deer and cattle freely. But +there are exceptions to this rule. Thus Damong, the chief of a +Malanau household, together with all his people, will not kill or +eat the deer CERVULUS MUNTJAC, alleging that an ancestor had become +a deer of this kind, and that, since they cannot distinguish this +incarnation of his ancestor from other deer, they must abstain from +killing all deer of this species. We know of one instance in which +one of these people refused to use again his cooking-pot, because +a Malay who had borrowed it had used it for cooking the flesh of +deer of this species. This superstition is still rigidly adhered to, +although these people have been converted to Islam of recent years. + +On one occasion another chief resolutely refused to proceed on a +journey through the jungle when a mouse-deer, PLANDOK, crossed his +path; he will not eat this deer at any time.[139] + +The people of Miri, who also are Mohammedan Malanaus, claim to be +related to the large deer, CERVUS EQUINUS, and some of them to the +muntjac deer also. Now, these people live in a country in which deer +of all kinds abound, and they always make a clearing in the jungle +around a tomb. On such a clearing grass grows up rapidly, and so the +spot becomes attractive to deer as a grazing ground; and it seems not +improbable that it is through frequently seeing deer about the tombs +that the people have come to entertain the belief that their dead +relatives become deer, or that they are in some other way closely +related to the deer. + +The Bakongs, another group of Malanaus, hold a similar belief +with regard to the bear-cat (ARTICTIS) and the various species of +PARADOXURUS; in this case the origin of the belief is admitted by +them to be the fact that, on going to their graveyards, they often +see one of these beasts coming out of a tomb. These tombs are roughly +constructed wooden coffins raised a few feet only from the ground, +and it is probable that these carnivores make their way into them, +in the first place, to devour the corpse, and that they make use of +them as lairs. + +The relations of the Klemantans to the crocodiles seem to be more +intimate than those of other tribes. One group, the Long Patas, claim +the crocodile as a relative. The story goes that a certain man named +Silau became a crocodile. First he became covered with itch, and he +scratched himself till he bled and became rough all over. Then his +feet began to look like a crocodile's tail; as the change crept up +from his feet to his body, he called out to his relatives that he was +becoming a crocodile, and made them swear that they would never kill +any crocodile. Many of the people in olden days knew that Silau became +a crocodile; they saw him at times and spoke to him, and his teeth +and tongue were always like those of a man. Many stories are told of +his meeting with people by the river-side. On one occasion a man sat +roasting a pig on the river-bank, and, when he left it for a moment, +Silau took it and divided it among the other crocodiles, who greatly +enjoyed it. Silau then arranged with them that he would give a sign +to his human relatives by which the crocodiles might always be able +to recognise them when travelling on the river. He told his human +friends that they must tie leaves of the DRACAENA below the bows of +their boats; this they always do when they go far from home, so that +the crocodiles may recognise them and so abstain from attacking them. + +If a man of the Long Patas is taken by a crocodile, they attribute +this to the fact that they have intermarried to some extent with +Kayans. When they come upon a crocodile lying on the river-bank, they +say, "Be easy, grandfather, don't mind us, your are one of us." Some +of the Klemantans will not even eat anything that has been cooked in a +vessel previously used for cooking crocodile's flesh, and it is said +that if a man should do so unwittingly his body would become covered +with sores. + +If a crocodile is seen on their left hand by Long Patas on a war +expedition, that is a bad omen; but if on their right hand, that is +the best possible omen. + +The Orang Kaya Tumonggong tells us that in the olden times the +crocodiles used to speak to his people, warning them of danger, but +that now they never speak, and he supposes that their silence is due +to the fact that his people have intermarried with other tribes. The +Long Patas frequently carve a crocodile's head as the figurehead for +a war-canoe. + +The Batu Blah people (Klemantans) on returning from the war-path make +a huge effigy of a crocodile with cooked rice, and they put fowl's +eggs in its head for eyes and bananas for teeth, and cover it with +scales made from the stem of the banana plant. When all is ready it +is transfixed with a wooden spear, and the chief cuts off its head +with a wooden sword. Then pigs and fowls are slaughtered and cooked, +and eaten with the rice from the rice-crocodile, the chiefs eating +the head and the common people the body. The chief of these people +could give us no explanation of the meaning of this ceremony; he +merely says they do it because it is custom. + +One community of Klemantans, the Lelak people, lived recently on the +banks of a lake much infested with crocodiles. Their chief had the +reputation of being able to induce them to leave the lake. To achieve +this he would stand in his boat waving a bundle of charms, which +included among other things teeth of the real tiger and boars' tusks, +and then address the crocodiles politely in their own language. He +would then allow his boat to float out of the lake into the river, +and the crocodiles would follow him and pass on down the river. + +Many, probably all, Klemantans put up wooden images of the crocodile +before their houses, and many of them carve the prow of their +war-canoes into the form of a crocodile's head with gaping jaw. + +Some of the Muruts make an effigy of the crocodile from clay for use +on the celebration of a successful expedition. + + +The Punans + +The Punans make use of all the omen-birds that are used by the Kenyahs, +and they regard them as in some degree sacred, and not to be killed or +eaten. They seem to read the omens in much the same way as the Kenyahs +do; but they are not so constant in their cult of the omen-birds, and +Punans of different districts differ a good deal from one another in +this respect. In fact, it is doubtful whether those that have mixed +least with the other peoples pay any attention to the omen-birds; +and it seems not unlikely that the cult of the omen-birds is in +process of being adopted by them. + +With the exception of these birds there is probably no wild animal of +the jungle that the Punans do not kill and eat. They refuse to eat +the domestic pig, but this, they say, is because they know nothing +of it, it is strange to them. Having no domestic pigs and fowls, +they of course do not sacrifice them to their gods, nor do they seem +to practise the rite of sacrifice in any form. + +They give the names of various animals to their children, and they +use these names in the ordinary way. + +The crocodile seems to be regarded as a god by the Punans -- they speak +of it as Bali Penyalong. (This, as we have already said, is the name +of the Supreme Spirit of the Kenyahs.) They sometimes make a wooden +image of it, and hang it before the leaf shelter or hut in which they +may be living at any time; and if one of their party should fall ill, +they hang the blossom of the betel-nut tree on the figure, and the +medicine-man addresses it when he seeks to call back the wandering +soul of his patient. + +Punans certainly ascribe significance to the behaviour of a few animals +other than those observed by the other peoples. Thus, if they see +a lizard of any kind upon a branch before the shelter in which they +are encamped, and especially if it utters its note, they regard this +as a sign that enemies are near. + + +The Sea Dayaks or Ibans + +The Ibans do not seem to have any conception that corresponds closely +to the Supreme Spirit of the races with which we have already +dealt. Archdeacon Perham[140] has given an account of the Petara +of these people, showing how it is a conception of one god having +very many manifestations and functions, each special function being +conceived vaguely as an anthropomorphic deity. He has described also +the mythical warrior-hero and demi-god Klieng, and the god of war, +Singalang Burong. As Archdeacon Perham has said, this last deity has +a material animal form, namely, the white-headed hawk, which is the +Bali Flaki of the Kenyahs, and plays a somewhat similar part in their +lives. But Singalong Burong is decidedly more anthropomorphic than Bali +Flaki; he is probably generally conceived as a single being of human +form living in a house such as the Ibans themselves inhabit; whereas +Bali Flaki, even if sometimes conceived in the singular as the great +Bali Flaki, is very bird-like. We have seen that the Kayans describe +their hawk-god, Laki Neho, as dwelling in a house, which, though in +the top of a tree, has a landing-stage before it on the river-bank. + +In the case of the Kayans, the conception is only half-way on the road +to a full anthropomorph; whereas with the Ibans the change has been +completed and the hawk-god is completely anthropomorphic. Corresponding +with this increased importance and definition of the anthropomorphic +hawk-god, we find that for the Mans the virtue has departed out of the +individual hawks, and that they are no longer consulted for omens; +for the Ibans say that Singalang Burong never leaves his house, +and that for this reason they do not take omens from the hawks when +going on the war-path. Nevertheless, he is the chief or ruler over all +the other omen birds, who are merely his messengers. He thus seems +to have come to occupy almost the supreme position accorded to Bali +Penyalong by the Kenyahs. The following notes are the statements made +upon this subject by a very intelligent Iban of the Undup district: +Once a year they make a big feast for Singalang Burong and sing for +about twelve hours, calling him and Klieng and all the Petara to the +feast. (This is the ceremony known as BURONG GAWAI. It is a most +tedious and monotonous performance after the first few hours.) In +olden days Singalang Burong used to come to these feasts in person +as a man just like an Iban in appearance and behaviour. At the end of +the feast he would go out, take off his coat, and fly away in the form +of a white-headed hawk. Now they are not sure that he comes to their +feast, because they never see him, Singalang Burong is greater than +Klieng, although, it is Klieng that gives them heads in war. Singalang +Burong married an Iban woman, Kachindai Lanai Pantak Girak, and he +gave all his daughters in marriage to the omen-birds. Dara Inchin +Tembaga Monghok Chelabok married Katupong (SASIA ABNORMIS); Dara +Selaka Utih Nujut married Mambuas (CARCURENTIS); Pingai Tuai Nadai +Mertas Indu Moa Puchang Penabas married Bragai (HARPACTES); Indu +Langgu Katungsong Ngumbai Dayang Katupang Bunga Nketai married Papau +(HARPACTES DIARDI); and, lastly, Indu Bantok Tinchin Mas Ndu Pungai +Lelatan Pulas married Kotok (LEPOCESTES). He had also one son, Agi +Melieng etc., who married the daughter of Pulang Gana, the god of +agriculture, her name being Indu Kachanggut Rumput Melieng Kapian. + +It was amusing and instructive to hear this Iban rattle off these +enormous names without any hesitation, while another Iban sitting +beside him guaranteed their accuracy. + +In the olden days, it is said, there were only thirty-three individuals +of each kind of omen-bird (including Singalang Burong). But although +these thirty-three of each kind still exist, there are many others +which cannot be certainly distinguished from them, and these do not +give true omens. It would be quite impossible to kill any one of +these thirty-three true representatives of each kind, however much +a man might try. + +Nevertheless, if an Iban kills an omen-bird by mistake, he wraps it +in a piece of cloth and buries it carefully in the earth, and with +it he buries rice and flesh and money, entreating it not to be vexed +and to forgive him, because it was all an accident. He then goes home +and will speak to no one on the way, and stays in the house for the +rest of that day at least. + +The Ibans read omens not only from the birds mentioned above as the +son-in-law of Singalang Burong, but also from some other animals. And +it is interesting to note that they have made a verb from the +substantive BURONG (a bird), namely, BEBURONG (to bird), I.E. to take +omens of any kind, whether from bird or beast. An excellent account +of the part played by omens in the life of the Ibans has been given +by Archdeacon Perham in the paper referred to above, and we have +nothing further to add to that account. + +The hornbill must be included among the sacred birds of the Iban, +although it does not give omens. On the occasion of making peace +between hostile tribes, the Ibans sometimes make a large wooden +image of the hornbill and hang great numbers of cigarettes upon it; +and these are taken from it during the ceremony and smoked by all the +men taking part in it. On the occasion of the great peace-making at +Baram in March 1899, at which thousands of Kenyahs, Kayans, Klemantans, +and Ibans were present,[141] the Ibans made an elaborate image of the +hornbill some nine feet in height, and hung upon it many thousands of +cigarettes, and these were smoked by the men of the different tribes, +all apparently with full understanding of the value of the act. + +A special deity or spirit, Pulang Gana, presides over the rice-culture +of the Ibans, but the crocodile also is intimately concerned with +it. The following account was given us by an intelligent Iban from +the Batang Lupar: -- + +Klieng first advised the Ibans to make friends with Pulang Gana, who is +a PETARA and the grandfather ("AKI") of PADI. Pulang Gana first taught +them to plant PADI and instructed them in the following rites: -- + +On going to a new district Ibans always make a life-size image of a +crocodile in clay on the land chosen for the PADI-farm. The image is +made chiefly by some elderly man of good repute and noted for skilful +farming. Then for seven days .the house is MALI, I.E. under special +restrictions -- no one may enter the house or do anything in it except +eat and sleep. At the end of the seven days they go to see the clay +crocodile and give it cloth and food and rice-spirit, and kill a fowl +and a pig before it. The ground round about the image is kept carefully +cleared and is held sacred for the next three years, and if this is not +done there will be poor crops on the other farms. When the rites have +been duly performed this clay crocodile destroys all the pests which +eat the rice. If, in a district where Ibans have been long settled, +the farm-pests become very noxious, the people pass three days MALI and +then make a tiny boat of bark, which they call UTAP. They then catch +one specimen of each kind of pest -- one sparrow, one grasshopper, +etc. -- and put them into the small boat, together with all they need +for food, and set the boat free to float away down the river. If this +does not drive away the pests, they resort to the more thorough and +certainly effectual process of making the clay crocodile. + +Many Ibans claim the live crocodile as a relative, and, like almost +all the other peoples, will not eat the flesh of crocodiles, and will +not kill them, save in revenge when a crocodile has taken one of their +household. They say that the spirit of the crocodile sometimes becomes +a man just like an Iban, but better and more powerful in every way, +and sometimes he is met and spoken with in this form. + +Another reason given for their fear of killing crocodiles is that +Ribai, the river-god, sometimes becomes a crocodile; and he may become +also a tiger or a bear. Klieng, too, may become any one of five beasts, +namely, the python, the maias, the crocodile, the bear, or the tiger, +and it is for this reason that Ibans seldom kill these animals. For +if a man should kill one which was really either Ribai or Klieng, +he would go mad. + +The Ibans are by nature a less serious-minded and less religious +people than the Kenyahs and Kayans, and they have a greater variety of +myths and extravagant superstitions; nevertheless, they use the fowl +and the pig as sacrificial animals in much the same way as the other +tribes. They eat the fowl and both the wild and domestic pig freely, +except in so far as they are restrained by somewhat rigid notions of +economy in such matters. The fowl plays a larger part than the pig in +their religious practices, and its entrails are sometimes consulted +for omens. + +Ibans will kill and eat all kinds of deer, but there are exceptions +to this rule. The deer are of some slight value to them as +omen-givers. Horned cattle they will kill and eat, but they are not +accustomed to their flesh, and few of them relish it. + +Ibans have numerous animal fables that remind one strongly of AEsop's +fables and the Brer Rabbit stories of the Africans. In these KORA, +the land-tortoise, and PLANDOK, the tiny mouse-deer, figure largely +as cunning and unprincipled thieves and vagabonds that turn the laugh +always against the bigger animals and man.[142] + + +The NGARONG or Secret Helper + +An important institution among some of the Ibans, which occurs but +in rare instances among the other peoples, is the NGARONG[143] +or secret helper. The NGARONG IS one of the very few topics in +regard to which the Ibans display any reluctance to speak freely. So +great is their reserve in this connection that one of us lived for +fourteen years on friendly terms with Ibans of various districts +without ascertaining the meaning of the word NGARONG, or suspecting +the great importance of the part played by the notion in the lives +of some of these people. The NGARONG seems to be usually the spirit +of some ancestor or dead relative, but not always so, and it is not +clear that it is always conceived as the spirit of a deceased human +being. This spirit becomes the special protector of some individual +Iban, to whom in a dream he manifests himself, in the first place +in human form, and announces that he will be his secret helper; and +he may or may not inform the dreamer in what form he will appear in +future. On the day after such a dream the Iban wanders through the +jungle looking for signs by which he may recognise his secret helper; +and if an animal behaves in a manner at all unusual, if a startled +deer stops a moment to gaze at him before bounding away, if a gibbon +gambols about persistently in the trees near him, if he comes upon a +bright quartzcrystal or a strangely. contorted root or creeper,[144] +that animal or object is for him full of a mysterious significance +and is the abode of his NGARONG. Sometimes the NGARONG, then assumes +the form of an Iban and speaks with him, promising all kinds of help +and good fortune. If this occurs the seer usually faints away, and +when he comes to himself again the NGARONG will have disappeared. Or, +again, a man may be told in his dream that if he will go into the +jungle he will meet his NGARONG in the form of a wild boar. He will +then, of course, go to seek it, and if by chance other men of his +house should kill a wild boar that day, he will go to them and beg +for its head or buy it at a good price if need be, carry it home +to his bed-place, offer it cooked rice and kill a fowl before it, +smearing the blood on the head and on himself, and humbly begging +for pardon. Or he may leave the corpse in the jungle and sacrifice a +fowl before it there. On the following night he hopes to dream of the +NGARONG again, and perhaps he is told in his dream to take the tusks +from the dead boar and that they will bring him good luck. Unless he +dreams something of this sort, he feels that he has been mistaken, +and that the boar was not really his secret helper. + +Perhaps only one in a hundred men is fortunate enough to have a secret +helper, though it is ardently desired by many of them. Many a young man +goes to sleep on the grave of some distinguished person, or in some +wild and lonely spot, and lives for some days on a very restricted +diet, hoping that a secret helper will come to him in his dreams. + +When, as is most commonly the case, the secret helper takes on the +form of some animal, all individuals of that species become objects +of especial regard to the fortunate Iban; he will not kill or eat +any such animal, and he will as far as possible restrain others from +doing so. A NGARONG may after a time manifest itself in some new form, +but even then the Iban will continue to respect the animal-form in +which it first appeared. + +In some cases the cult of a secret helper will spread through +a whole family or household. The children and grandchildren will +usually respect the species of animal to which a man's secret helper +belongs, and will perhaps sacrifice fowls or pigs to it occasionally, +although they expect no help from it; but it is asserted that if +the great-grandchildren of a man behave well to his secret helper, +it will often befriend them just as much as its original protege. + +The above general account of the secret helper is founded on the +descriptions of many different Ibans, and we will now supplement it +by describing several particular instances. + +Anggus (an Ulu Ai Iban of the Batang Lupar) says that every Iban who +has no NGARONG hopes to get some bird or beast as his helper at the +BEGAWAI, the feast given to the PETARA. He himself has none, but he +will not kill the gibbon because the NGARONG of his grandfather, +who died twenty years ago, was a gibbon. Once a man came to his +grandfather in a dream and said to him, "Don't you kill the gibbon," +and then turned into a grey gibbon. This gibbon helped him to become +rich and to take heads, and in all possible ways. On one occasion, +when he was about to go on the war-path, his NGARONG came to him in +a dream and said, "Go on, I will help you," and the next day he saw +in the jungle a grey gibbon which was undoubtedly his NGARONG. When +he died he said to his sons, "Don't you kill the gibbon," and his +sons and grandsons have obeyed him in this ever since. Anggus adds +that when a man dreams of a NGARONG. for the first time he does not +accept it, and will still kill animals of that kind; nor is a second +dream enough; but when he dreams the same dream a third time, then +his scepticism is overcome and he can no longer doubt his good fortune. + +Anggus himself once shot a gibbon when told to do so by one of us. He +first said to it, "I don't want to kill you, but the TUAN who is +giving me wages expects me to, and the blame is his. But if you are +really the NGARONG of my grandfather, make the shot miss you." He +then shot and missed three times, and on shooting a fourth time he +killed a gibbon, but not the one he had spoken to. Anggus does not +think the gibbon helps either his father or himself. + +Payang, an old Katibas Iban, tells us that he has been helped by +a python ever since he was a youth, when a man came to him in a +dream and said, "Sometimes I become a python and sometimes a cobra, +and I will always help you." It has certainly helped him very much, +but he does not know whether it has helped his children; nevertheless +he has forbidden them to kill it. He does not like to speak of it, +but he does so at our request. Payang concluded by saying that he +had no doubt that we white men have secret helpers, very much more +powerful than the Iban's, and that to them we owe our ability to do +so many wonderful things. + +Imban, an Iban who had recently moved to the Baram river from the +Rejang, had once when sick seen in a dream the LABI-LABI, the large +river-turtle (TRIONYX SUBPLANUS), and had made a promise that if he +should recover he would never kill it. So when he settled on the Baram +river as head of a household, he attempted to impose a fine on his +people for killing the LABI-LABI, insisting that it was MALI to kill it +or bring its carcase into his river. They appealed to one of us as the +resident magistrate, and it was decided that if Imban wished to insist +on this observance he must remove to a small tributary stream. This +he has done, and a few of his people have followed him; and on them +he enforces a strict observance of his cult of the river-turtle. + +A still more interesting case is the following one: -- A community of +Ibans were building a new house on the Dabai river some years ago, +and one day, while they were at work, a porcupine ran out of a hole +in the ground near by. During the following night one of the party +was told by the porcupine in a dream to join their new house with +his (the porcupine's). So they completed their house; and ever since +that time they have made yearly feasts in honour of the porcupines +that live beneath the house, and no one in the house dare injure one +of them, though they will still kill and eat other porcupines in the +jungle. They have had no death in the house during the seven years that +it has been built, and this they attribute to the protecting power of +the porcupines; and when any one is sick, they offer food to them, and +regard their good offices as far more important than the ministrations +of the MANANG (the medicine-man). Last year some relatives of these +Ibans moved to this village, and for three months the knowledge of +the part played by the porcupines was hidden from them as a mysterious +secret. At the end of that time this precious mystery was disclosed to +the new-comers, and the porcupines were feasted with every variety of +cooked rice, some of it being made into a rude image of a porcupine, +and with rice-spirit and cakes of sugar and rice-flour, salt and +dried fish, oil, betel-nut, and tobacco. Several fowls were slain, +and their blood was daubed on the chin of each person in the house, +a ceremony known as ENSELAN. The liver of one fowl was carefully taken +out and put with the food offered to the porcupines, that they might +read the omens from it; and they were then informed of the arrival of +the new-comers. The fowls were waved over the heads of the people by +the old men, while they prayed the porcupines to give them long life +and health, and a token of their goodwill in the form of a smooth +rounded pebble. On an occasion of this sort it is highly probable +that the required token will be found; for the secret helper would no +doubt be surreptitiously helped by some member of the household who, +being deficient in faith, prefers to make a certainty of so important +a matter rather than leave it entirely to the NGARONG. + +Inquiries made since the publication of the facts reported in the +foregoing paragraphs have shown us that the cult of the NGARONG +or secret helper is probably not common to all branches of the Sea +Dayaks people. We have heard of its occurrence amongst the Ulu Ai +Dayaks both of the Batang Lupar and Rejang districts, but we have no +positive knowledge of its occurrence among other branches unless the +custom known as NAMPOK has some connection with it. + + +Conclusion + +We have now to discuss some problems suggested by a review of the +facts set forth above, and to bring forward a few additional facts +that seem to throw light on these questions. + +The question that we will first discuss is this: Are all or any of the +instances of peculiar regard paid to animals, or of animals sacrificed +to gods or spirits, or of the ceremonial use of their blood, to be +regarded as institutions surviving from a fully developed system of +totemism now fallen into decay? It will have been noticed that many of +the features of totemism, as it occurs in its best developed forms, +occur among the people of one or other of the tribes of Sarawak. We +have, in the first place, numerous cases in which a whole community +refuses to kill or eat an animal which is believed to protect and +aid them by omens and warnings and in other ways, and in which the +animal is worshipped with prayer and sacrifice (E.G. the hawk among +various tribes); we have at least one instance of a community claiming +to be related to a friendly species (Long Patas and the crocodile), +and having as usual an extravagant myth to account for the belief; we +have the domestic animal that is sacrificially slain, its blood being +sprinkled on the worshippers and its flesh eaten by them, and that is +never slain without religious rites (pig of the Kenyahs and Kayans); we +have the animal that must not be killed tatued on the skin of the men +(the dog), or its skin worn by fully grown men only (the tiger-cat), or +images of it made of clay or carved in wood and set up before the house +(the hawk and crocodile); we have also the animal that is claimed as +a relative imitated in popular dances (the Dok-monkey of the Kayans); +the belief that the souls of men assume the form of some animal that +must not be killed or eaten (deer and the ARCTOGALE among Klemantans); +the observance by invalids of a very strict avoidance of contact with +any part of an animal that must not be killed or eaten in any case +(horned cattle among many Kenyahs and Kayans). + +Not only do we see these various customs, which in several parts of +the world have been observed as living elements of totem-cults, and +which in other parts have been accepted as evidence of totem-worship in +the past, but in the agricultural habits of the people we may see an +efficient cause of the decay of totemism, if at some time in the past +it has flourished among them. For it has been pointed out, especially +by Mr. Jevons in his INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF RELIGION, that +totemism seems to flourish most naturally among tribes of hunters, and +that the introduction of agriculture must tend towards its decay. Now +there is some reason to suppose that the introduction to Borneo of +rice and of the art of cultivating it is of comparatively recent +date. Crawford reckoned that the cultivation of PADI was introduced +to the southern parts of Borneo from Java some 300 years ago, and +into the northern parts from the Philippine Islands about 150 years +ago. But whatever the date of the occurrence may have been, it seems +to be certain that, by the introduction of PADI cultivation from some +other country, most of the tribes of Sarawak were converted, probably +very rapidly, from hunting to agriculture. This conversion must have +caused great changes in their social conditions and in their customs +and superstitions; and, if totemism flourished among them while they +were still simple hunters, its decay may well have been one of the +chief of these changes. + +A second factor that would have tended to bring about this change is +the prevalence of a belief in a god or beneficent spirit more powerful +than all others, and more directly concerned with the welfare of +his worshippers, however this belief may have come into being. And a +third factor that may have tended in the same direction is the custom +of head-hunting, and the important part played by the heads in the +religious life of the people. For there is some reason to think that +head-hunting is a comparatively young institution among the tribes +of Sarawak. + +But in spite of all this, and although we do not think it is possible +completely to disprove the truth of the hypothesis that some or all +of these animal cults are vestiges of a once fully developed totemic +system, we are inclined to reject it. We are led to do so by four +considerations. In the first place, if by totemism we mean a social +organisation consisting in the division of a people into groups or +clans, each of which worships or holds in superstitious regard one +or more kinds of animal or plant, or other natural objects to which +the members of the group claim to be related by blood or by descent, +then it seems to us sufficiently wonderful that this system should +have existed among peoples so remote from one another in all things, +save certain of the external conditions of life, as the Indians +of North America and the natives of Australia. And it seems to us +that to invoke the aid of the hypothesis of totemism in the past to +explain the existence of a set of animal or plant superstitions in +any particular case is but to increase the mystery that shrouds their +origin; for unless it can be shown that the adoption or development +of totemism by any people brings with it immense advantages for them +in the struggle for existence, every fresh case in which the evidence +compels us to admit its occurrence, whether in the past or as a still +flourishing institution, can but increase the wonder with which we +have to regard its wide distribution. + +Secondly, we have in the total absence of totemism among the Punans +very strong ground for rejecting the suggestion of its previous +existence among the Kenyahs. For in physical characters, in language, +and, as far as the difference in the mode of life permits, in customs +and beliefs, the Punans resemble the Kenyahs so closely that we must +assume them to be closely allied by blood; and it seems probable +that the Punans have merely persisted in the cultural condition from +which the Kenyahs and other tribes have been raised by the adoption +of agriculture and the practice of building substantial houses. Yet, +as we have said, the Punans, although in that condition of nomadic +hunters which is probably the most favourable to the development and +persistence of totemism, observe hardly any restrictions in their +hunting, and in fact seem to kill and eat with equal freedom almost +every bird and beast of the jungle, shooting them with the blow-pipe +and poisoned darts with consummate skill. The only exceptions to +this rule are, so far as we know, the omen-birds, a carnivore, and +a lizard, and, as we have said, it seems doubtful whether even these +are excepted in the case of Punans who have not had much intercourse +with other peoples. + +Thirdly, although it may be said that even at the present time many +of the features of the religious side of totemism are present, we +have not been able to discover any traces of a social organisation +based upon totemism. There is no trace of any general division of +the people of any tribe into groups which claim specially intimate +relations with different animals, except in the case of the Klemantans; +and in their case such special relations seem to be the result merely +of the different conditions under which the various scattered groups +now live. There are no restrictions in the choice of a wife that might +indicate a rule of endogamy or exogamy. There are no ceremonies to +initiate youths into tribal mysteries; certain ceremonies in which the +youths take a leading part are directed exclusively to training them +for war and the taking of heads in battle. We know of no instance +of any group of people being named after an animal or plant which +is claimed as a relative; and in the case of the more homogeneous +tribes, such as the Kenyahs and Kayans, all prohibitions with regard to +animals and all benefits conferred by them are shared equally by all +the members of any one community, and, with but very few exceptions, +are the same for all the communities of the tribe. + +Lastly, we think it unnecessary to regard the various animal +superstitions of these tribes as survivals of totemism, because +it seems possible to find a more direct and natural explanation of +almost every case. The numerous cases seem to fall into two groups: +the superstitious practices concerned with the sacrificial animals, +the pig and fowl on the one hand, and all those concerned with the +various other animals on the other hand. These latter may, we think, +be regarded as the expression of the direct and logical reaction of +the mind of the savage to the impression made upon it by the behaviour +of the animals. + +It has been admirably shown by Professor Lloyd Morgan[145] how +we ourselves, and even professed psychologists among us, tend to +overestimate the complexity of the mental processes of animals; +and there can be no doubt that savages generally are subject to +this error in a very much greater degree, that, in fact, they make, +without questioning and in most cases without explicit statement even +to themselves, the practical assumption that the mental processes of +animals -- their passions, desires, motives, and powers of reasoning +-- are of the same order as, and in fact extremely similar to, their +own. That the Kenyahs entertain this belief in a very practical manner +is shown by their conduct when preparing for a hunting or fishing +excursion. If, for example, they are preparing to poison the fish +of a section of the river with the "tuba" root, they always speak +of the matter as little as possible, and use the most indirect and +fanciful modes of expression. Thus they will say, "There are many +leaves floating here," meaning, "There are plenty of fish in this +part of the river." And these elaborate precautions are taken lest +the birds should overhear their remarks and inform the fish of their +intentions -- when, of course, the fish would not stay to be caught, +but would swim away to some other part of the river. + +Since this belief seems to be common to all or almost all savages +and primitive peoples, it would be a strange thing if prohibitions +against killing and eating certain animals and various superstitious +practices in regard to animals were not practically universal among +them. Bearing in mind the reality of this belief in the minds of these +peoples, it is easy to understand why they should shrink from killing +any creature so malignant-looking and powerful for harm as a snake, +and why they should feel uneasy in the presence of, and to some extent +dread, the MAIAS and the longnosed monkey, creatures whose resemblance +to man seems even to us somewhat uncanny. Their objection to killing +their troublesome and superfluous dogs seems to be due to a somewhat +similar feeling -- a recognition of intelligence and emotions not +unlike their own, but mysteriously hidden from them by the dumbness of +the animals. In the same way it is clear that it is but a very simple +and logical inference that the crocodiles are a friendly race, and +but the clearest dictate of prudence to avoid offending creatures so +powerful and agile; for if the crocodiles were possessed of the mental +powers attributed to them by the imagination of the people, they might +easily make it impossible for men to travel upon the rivers or dwell +on their banks. A similar process would lead to the prohibition against +the eating of the tiger-cat, the only large and dangerous carnivore. + +The origin of the prohibitions against killing and eating deer and +horned cattle is perhaps not so clear. But it must be remembered that +until very recently the only horned cattle known to the tribes of the +interior were the wild cattle (the Seladang of the Malay peninsula), +very fierce and powerful creatures. These wild cattle hide themselves +in the remotest recesses of the forests, and, as they are but very +rarely seen, they may well be regarded as somewhat mysterious and +awful. Deer, on the other hand, abound in the forests, and, like most +deer, are very timid; and it is perhaps their timidity that has led in +some cases to the prohibition against their flesh, for we have seen +how a Kenyah chief feared lest his little son, safe at home, should +be infected with the deer's timidity if he himself a hundred miles +away should come in contact with the skin of one. In another case we +have seen that by the people of one community deer are regarded as +relatives, or as containing the souls of their ancestors, and that +this belief probably had its origin in the fact that deer are in +"the habit of frequenting the grassy clearings made about the tombs +by the people. And we saw that a similar belief in respect of certain +carnivores probably had a similar origin. + +We think that even the elaborate cult of the hawk and of the other +omen-birds is to be explained on these lines. If we think of the +hawk's erratic behaviour, how he will come suddenly rushing down out +of the remotest blue of the sky to hover overhead, and then perhaps +to circle hither and thither in an apparently aimless manner, or +will keep flying on before a boat on the river, or come swiftly to +meet it, screaming as he comes, -- if we think of this, it is easy to +understand how a people whose whole world consists of dense forests and +dangerous rivers, a people extremely ignorant of natural causation, +yet intelligent and speculative, and always looking out for signs +that shall guide them among the mystery and dangers that surround +them, may have come to see in the hawk a messenger sent to them by +the beneficent Supreme Being. For this Being is vaguely conceived by +them as dwelling in the skies whence the hawk comes, and whither he so +often returns. And then we may suppose that the messenger himself has +come to be an object of worship in various degrees with the different +tribes, as seems to be the rule in all religious systems in which +servants of a deity mediate between him and man. + +The origin of the various rites in which the fowl and pig are +sacrificed, and their blood smeared or sprinkled on men or on the +altar-posts of gods, or on the image of the hawk, and their souls +charged with messages to the Supreme Being -- the origin of this +group of customs must be sought in a different direction. To any +one acquainted with Robertson Smith's RELIGION OF THE SEMITES, +and with Mr. Jevon's INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF RELIGION, the +idea naturally suggests itself that these animals are or were true +totems, of which the cult has passed into a late stage of decay. It +might be supposed that, being originally totem animals, they thereby +became domesticated by their worshippers; that they were occasionally +slain as a rite for the renewal of the bond between them and their +worshippers, their blood being smeared or sprinkled on the latter, +and their flesh ceremonially eaten by them; and that the eating of +them has become more and more frequent, until now every religious +rite, of however small importance, is made the occasion for the +killing and eating of them. It might also be supposed that, with the +development or the adoption of the conception of a Supreme Being, +the original purpose and character of the rites had become obscure, +so that the slaughtered animals are now regarded in some cases as +sacrifices offered to the deity. + +But we do not think that this tempting hypothesis as to the origin of +the rites can be upheld in this case. In the first place, the wild +pig of the jungle is hunted in sport and killed and eaten freely by +all the various tribes, and is, in fact, treated on the whole with +less respect and ceremony than perhaps any other animal. Secondly, +the domestic pig differs so much from the wild pig that Mr. Oldfield +Thomas has pronounced it to be of a different species, and it seems +possible that it has been introduced to Borneo by the Chinese at +a comparatively recent date. Further, there is reason to suppose +that the custom of sacrificing pigs and fowls arose through the +substitution of them for human beings in certain rites. For there +is a number of rites of which it is admitted by the people that the +slaughter of human beings was formerly a central feature; of these, +the most important and the most widely spread are the funeral rites +of a great chief, the rites at the building of a new house, and those +on returning from a successful war expedition. In all these fowls +or pigs are now substituted as a rule, but we know of instances in +which in recent years human beings were the victims. Thus some years +ago, on the death of the chief of a community of Klemantans (the +Orang Bukit), a slave was bought by his son, and a feast was made, +and the slave was killed through each man of the community giving +him a slight wound. This was said to be the revival of an old and +almost obsolete custom. In another recent case, when a mixed party +of Kayans and Kenyahs returned from a successful war expedition, only +the Kenyahs had secured heads. The Kayans therefore took an old woman, +one of the captives, and killed her by driving a long pole against her +abdomen, as many of them as possible taking part by holding and helping +to thrust the pole. The head was then divided among the parties of +Kayans, and pieces of the flesh were hung on poles beside the river, +just as is done with the flesh of slain enemies and with the flesh of +the pigs that are always slaughtered on such occasions. It was said +that this killing of a human being was equivalent to killing a pig, +only much finer. + +Kayans tell us that they used to kill slaves at the death of a chief, +usually three, but at least one, and that they nailed them to the tomb, +in order that they might accompany the chief on his long journey to +the other world and paddle the canoe in which he must travel. This is +no longer done, but a wooden figure of a man is put up at the head +and another of a woman at the foot of the coffin of a chief as it +lies in state before the funeral. And a small wooden figure of a man +is usually fixed on the top of the tomb, and it is said that this +is to row the canoe for the chief. A live fowl is usually tied to +this figure, and although it is said to be put there merely to eat +the maggots, we think there can be no doubt that we see here going +on the process of substitution of fowl for slave. + +In building a new house it is customary among almost all these tribes +to put a fowl into the hole dug to receive the first of the piles +that are to support the house, and to allow the end of the pile to +fall upon the fowl so as to kill it. The Kenyahs admit that formerly +a girl was usually killed in this way, and there is reason to believe +that in all cases a human victim was formerly the rule, and that the +fowl is a substitute merely.[146] + +In the following cases, too, we see the idea of substitution of fowls +or pigs for men. + +It is customary with the Malanaus of Niah to kill buffalo, and also +to kill fowls, and put them together with eggs on poles in the caves +in which the swifts build the edible nests, in order to secure a good +crop of nests. One year, when the nests were scanty they bought a slave +in Brunei, and killed him in the cave, in the hope of increasing the +number of nests. + +It was formerly the custom to exact a fine of one or more slaves as +punishment for certain offences, E.G. the accidental setting fire to +a house. At the present time, when slaves are scarcer than of yore, +they are rarely given in such cases, but usually brass gongs; and +the gongs are always accompanied by a pig. + +Now, when slaves were killed and nailed to the tomb of a chief, +the purpose was perfectly clear and simple. It Was done in just the +same spirit in which the weapons and shield and clothing are still +always hung on the tomb of a deceased warrior, in order, namely, +that his shade may not be without them on the journey to the other +world. On the introduction of the domestic pig it may well have become +customary for the poorer classes, who could not afford to kill a +slave, or for families which owned no slaves, to kill a pig as in +some degree a compensation for the want of human victims. If such +a custom were once introduced, it may well have spread rapidly from +motives of both economy and humanity; for a slave is as a rule very +kindly treated by his master, and in many cases comes to be regarded +as a member of the family. + +We may suppose, too, that it was formerly the custom to kill a slave +when prayers of public importance were made to the Supreme Being, in +order that the soul of the slave might carry the prayer to him. If this +was the case, the substitution of pig for slave, on the introduction +of the domestic pig, may be the more readily conceived to have become +customary, when we remember that these people regard the souls of +animals as essentially similar to their own.[147] If such a custom of +substitution once gained a footing, it would naturally become usual to +take the opportunity of communicating with the higher powers whenever +a pig was to be slaughtered. + +This view, that in all sacrifices of the pig and fowl these are +but substitutes for human victims, finds very strong support in the +following facts: -- The Kalabits, a tribe inhabiting the north-western +corner of the Baram district, breed the water-buffalo and use it in +cultivating their land. It has probably been introduced to this area +from North Borneo at a recent date. The religious rites of this people +closely resemble those of the tribes with which we have been dealing +above; but in all cases in which pigs are sacrificed by the latter, +buffaloes are used by the Kalabits. + +The rite of sprinkling the blood of pigs and fowls on men and on the +altar-posts and images may, we think, be an extension or adaptation +of the blood-brotherhood ceremony. We have seen that with the Kayans +and Kenyahs the essential feature of this ceremony is the drawing of +a little blood from the arm of the two men, each of whom then drinks +or consumes in a cigarette the blood of the other one. Such a rite +calls for no remote explanation; it seems to have suggested itself +naturally to the minds of primitive people all the world over as a +process for the cementing of friendship. When two hostile communities +wished to make a permanent peace with one another, it would be natural +that they should wish to perform a ceremony similar to the rite of +blood-brotherhood. But the interchange of drops of blood between large +numbers of persons would obviously be inconvenient; and if the idea of +substituting fowls and pigs for human victims had once taken root in +their minds, it would have been but a small step to substitute their +blood for human blood in the peacemaking ceremonies. We have seen +above that in such a ceremony fowls are exchanged by the two parties, +so that the men of either party are smeared with the blood of the fowl +originally belonging to the other party. It may be that here, too, the +blood of slaves was formerly used, but of this we have no evidence. The +custom of smearing the blood of fowls and pigs on the two parties to +a friendly compact having been arrived at in this way, the rite might +readily be extended to the cases in which the hawk, represented by +his wooden image, or the Supreme Being, also represented by an image, +is invoked as one of the parties to the compact. We are inclined to +think that in some such way as we have here suggested, namely, by the +substitution of pigs and fowls for human victims, and of their blood +for human blood, the origin of the customs of sacrificing fowls and +pigs, and of ceremonially sprinkling their blood, may be explained. + +We conclude, then, that the various superstitions entertained by these +tribes in regard to animals are not to be looked upon as survivals +of totemism, but that they may all be explained in a simpler and more +satisfactory manner. + + +Suggested Theory of the Origin of Totemism + +Before bringing this chapter to an end, we would point out that among +the facts we have described there are some which seem to suggest a +possible and, indeed, as it seems to us, a very natural and probable +mode of origin of totem-worship. We refer to the varieties of the +NGARONG of the Ibans and sporadic analogous cases among the other +tribes. We have seen that the NGARONG may assume the form of some +curious natural object, or of some one animal distinguished from its +fellows by some slight peculiarity, which receives the attentions of +some one man only. In such cases the NGARONG is hardly distinguishable +from a fetish. In other cases the man, being unable to distinguish the +particular animal which he believes to be animated by his NGARONG, +extends his regard and gratitude to the whole species. In such a +case it seems difficult to deny the name "individual totem" to the +species, if the term is to be used at all. In other cases, again, +all the members of a man's family and all his descendants, and, if +he be a chief, all the members of the community over which he rules, +may come to share in the benefits conferred by his NGARONG, and in the +feeling of respect for it and in the performance of rites in honour +of the species of animal in one individual of which it is supposed +to reside. In such cases the species approaches very closely the +clan-totem in some of its varieties. (In speaking of the "Kobong" +of certain natives of Western Australia, Sir G. Grey[148] says, +"This arises from the family belief that some one individual of the +species is their nearest friend, to kill whom would be a great crime, +and to be carefully avoided.") + +Of similar cases among other tribes of guardian-animals appearing +to men in dreams and claiming their respect and gratitude, we must +mention the case of Aban Jau, a powerful chief of the Sebops, a +Klemantan sub-tribe. He had hunted and eaten the wild pig freely +like all his fellow-tribesmen, until once in a dream a wild boar +appeared to him, and told him that he had always helped him in his +fighting. Thereafter Aban Jau refused, until the day of his death, +to kill or eat either the wild or the domestic pig, although he would +still consult for omens the livers of pigs killed by others.[149] + +We have described above (vol. ii., p. 76) how a Kayan may become +blood-brother to a crocodile in a dream, and may thereafter be called +Baya (crocodile), and how in this way one Kayan chief had come to +regard himself as both son and nephew to crocodiles, and how he +believed that they brought him success in hunting and carried him +ashore when (in a dream) he had fallen into the river. The cousin +of this chief, too, regarded himself as specially befriended by +crocodiles because his great-grandfather had become blood-brother to +one in a dream. So it is clear that the members of the family to which +these young men belong are likely to continue to regard themselves +as related by blood to the crocodiles, and bound to them by special +ties of gratitude. + +In another case we saw how all the people of one household regard +themselves as related to the crocodiles and specially favoured by them, +explaining the relation as due to one of their ancestors having become +a crocodile. In another case we saw that some ill-defined relation +to the gibbon is claimed by a community of Kenyahs whose house is +decorated with carvings of the form of the gibbon, and whose members +will not kill the gibbon. And in yet another case we saw that a Kayan +house is decorated with conventionalised carvings of some animal +whose species has been forgotten by the community. In each of these +last three cases, it seems highly probable that the special relation +to the animal was established by some such process as we see going +on in the preceding case; so that we seem to have in this series one +case of incipient totemism and others illustrating various stages of +decay of abortive beginnings of totemism. And it is easy to imagine +how in the absence of unfavourable conditions such beginnings might +grow to a fully developed totem-system. For suppose that in any one +community there happened to be at one time two or more prosperous +families, each claiming to be related with and protected by some +species of animal as the result of friendly overtures made by the +animals to members of the families in their dreams. It would then be +highly probable that members of other families, envious of the good +fortune of these, would have similar dream experiences, and so come +to claim a similar protection; until very soon the members of any +family that could claim no such protection would come to be regarded +as unfortunate and even somewhat disreputable beings, while the faith +of one family in its guardian-animal would react upon and strengthen +the faith of others in theirs. So a system of clan-totems would be +established, around which would grow up various myths of origin, +various magical practices, and various religious rites. + +It is well known that such dreams as convince the Iban, the Kayan, +and the Kenyah of the reality of his special relation to some animal, +and lead him to respect all animals of some one species, produce +similar results in other parts of the world. We quote the following +passages from Mr. Frazer's remarks on individual totems in his book +on totemism: -- "An Australian seems usually to get his individual +totem by dreaming that he has been transformed into an animal of that +species." "In America the individual totem is usually the first animal +of which a youth dreams during the long and generally solitary fast +which American Indians observe at puberty." Such dream experiences +are then the VERA CAUSA of the inception of faith in individual +totems among the peoples in which totemism is most highly developed; +and among the tribes of Sarawak we find cases which illustrate how a +similar faith, strengthened by further dreams and by the good fortune +of its possessor, may spread to all the members of his family or +of his household and to his descendants, until in some cases the +guardian animal becomes almost, though not quite, a clan-totem. The +further development of such incipient totems among these tribes is +probably prevented at the present time, not only by their agricultural +habits, but also by their passionate addiction to war and fighting and +head-hunting; for these pursuits necessitate the strict subordination +of each community to its chief, and compel all families to unite +in the cult of the hawk to the detriment of all other animal-cults, +because the hawk is, by its habits, so much better suited than any +other animal to be a guide to them on warlike expeditions.[150] + +The prevalence of the belief in a Supreme Being must also tend to +prevent the development of totemism. + + +Plants + +In Chapter VI. we have described most of the superstitious beliefs +and practices connected with the PADI plant and the rice. + +It is not clear that any other plants are regarded as be-souled; but +we mention here certain customs in connection with some of them that +seem to point in that direction. The SILAT, a common jungle palm, +figures most prominently in rites and beliefs of the Kayans. The +leaves of this palm are used to decorate the heads taken in war; +and on the occasion of any ceremonial use of the heads, fresh leaves +are always hung upon or about them. No other leaves will serve this +purpose, though it is difficult to say in what the special virtue of +this plant consists. The leaves of the same plant are hung about the +doorway of a new house when the people first take up their abode in it; +but it is hung in such a way that passers-by do not brush against it, +and children especially are kept away from it. It is commonly hung +about the altar-posts of the gods; and it is a strip of this leaf +that is tied about the wrist of a sick man to confine his soul to his +body at the close of the soul-catching ceremony. It is tied also about +the wrists of men returning from any warlike expedition. When applied +for any ceremonial purpose it is called ISANG; and it is not until it +has been so used that it becomes an "unclean" object. It is used in +its merely material aspect for roofing leaf shelters in the jungle, +and is put to other similar uses to which the broad tough leaves are +well adapted. Most or all of the peoples use the leaves of this plant +in the same ways as the Kayans. + +LONG, a species of CALADIUM, is commonly hung, both root and leaves, +upon the door of a room to mark that it is LALI (tabu) owing to +sickness, harvesting, or any other circumstance. + +OROBONG, a weed (not unlike the foxglove in appearance) which always +grows freely among the young PADI, is gathered by the female friends +of any woman passing through the ordeal of childbirth. They boil +the leaves and wash her body with the decoction on several days +following the delivery. It is held that, if this is not done, the +woman's abdomen will not regain its normal state. This usage also is +common to the Kayans with many other tribes. + +The leaves of the DRACAENA are sometimes tied beneath the prow of +a boat during journeys to distant parts (as mentioned on p. 70, +vol. ii.); they are also hung upon the tombs and, with the ISANG, +upon altar posts, when the rites are performed. + +The Ibans and some of the Klemantans will not make the first stroke +in cutting down the TAPANG tree (ARBOURIA), alleging that, if they +do so, great troubles will befall them. + + +Supplementary Note on the NGARONG + +Since correcting the proofs of this chapter we have come upon a brief +account of the guardian spirits of the Iban, which corroborates +our account of the Ngarong. It is contained in a series of papers +entitled RELIGIOUS RITES AND CUSTOMS OF THE IBANS OR DYAKS OF SARAWAK, +BORNEO, written by Leo Nyuak (an Iban educated in a mission school), +and translated by the Very Rev. Edm. Dunn (ANTHROPOS, vol. i. p. 182, +1905). In this account the guardian spirit is called TUA, and we are +told that ,The TUA or guardian spirit of an Iban has its external +manifestation in a snake, a leopard, or some other denizen of the +forest. It is supposed to be the spirit of some ancestor renowned +for bravery, or some other virtue, who at death has taken an animal +form ... it is revealed in a dream what animal form the honoured dead +has taken." + + + +CHAPTER 16 + +Magic, Spells, and Charms + +Magic is in a comparatively neglected and backward condition among the +Kayans and Kenyahs, Punans, Ibans, and the more warlike up-country +Klemantans. On the other hand, some of the coastwise tribes of +Klemantans, especially the Malanaus and Kadayans, cultivate magic +with some assiduity. + +The Kayans dislike and discourage all magical practices, with the +exception of those which are publicly practised for beneficent purposes +and have the sanction of custom. + +In the old days they used to kill those suspected of working any evil +by magic. There are no recognised magicians among them other than +the DAYONGS, and these, as we have seen, perform the functions of the +priest and the physician rather than those OF the wizard or sorcerer. + +Some of the DAYONGS make use at certain ceremonies of a rough mask +carved out OF wood, or made from the shell of a gourd. The mask is +merely an oval shell with slits for eyes and mouth, generally blackened +with age and use. It may be worn during the soul-catching ceremony, +but not during attendance on the recently deceased. This use of a +mask is not known to us among any other of the peoples (Pl. 151). + +The medicine man of the Ibans is known as MANANG; the MANANGS are +more numerous than the DAYONGS of the Kayans; they are more strictly +professional in the sense that they do but little other work, depending +chiefly on what they can earn by their treatment of disease and by +other ways of practising upon the superstitions of their fellows. They +generally work in groups of three or four, or more in cases of serious +illness, and, with the imitativeness and disregard for tradition +characteristic of the IBAN, they have developed a great variety of +procedures,[151] into most of which the element of deliberate fraud +enters to a much greater extent than into the practice of the Kayan +DAYONGS. The Sea Dayak MANANG is usually covered with skin disease +(tinea) and shirks all hard work with the other members of the village. + +A peculiar and infrequent variety of Sea Dayak MANANG are the MANANG +BALI. They are men who adopt and continuously wear woman's dress +and behave in all ways like women, except that they avoid as far as +possible taking any part in the domestic labour. They claim to have +been told in dreams to adopt this mode of life; they are employed +for the same purpose as the more ordinary MANANGS, and they practise +similar methods. + +Among the IBANS certain persons get a bad reputation for working harm +by magic. They are said to be cunning in sorcery (TAU TEPANG), and +these persons may properly be said to be sorcerers or witches. They are +believed to work harm in many ill-defined ways, especially to health; +but their procedures are not generally known; they probably include +poisoning, but, like the practices of our European witches in recent +times, they probably have but little existence outside the timorous +imaginations of the people. Such persons are disliked and shunned, +though not killed as they would be among Kayans or Kenyahs. They are +not professional sorcerers, I.E. their help is not called in by other +persons who wish to work evil on their enemies, for others do not dare +to do this. At the present time in Sarawak, if a man accuses another +of practising TEPANG, he is liable to be sued for libel and fined.[152] + + +Black Magic + +The most important of the magical practices is one known and +occasionally resorted to among all the peoples for the purpose of +bringing about the death of a personal enemy. We describe the procedure +as carried out by the Sebops (Klemantans), but in all essentials the +account holds good for all or nearly all the peoples. It is not usual +to invoke the aid of any recognised magician. The man whose heart is +filled with hatred against another will retire secretly to a spot at +the edge of a PADI field, or of some other clearing, where he can see +a large expanse of sky and yet feel sure of being unobserved. Here +he sets up the BATANG PRA, a pole supported horizontally some six or +eight feet above the ground, its ends resting on two vertical poles. A +little figure of a man or woman (according to the sex of the person +aimed at), which has been carved for the purpose out of soft wood, +is fixed upright in the ground beneath the BATANG PRA. This is called +TEGULUN KALINGAI USA, which, literally translated, is "the reflected +image of the body." The operator makes a fire beside the TEGULUN, +digs a small hole in the ground, and fills it with water coloured with +ferruginous earth. This pool is called BAWANG DAAR,[153] the lake of +blood. Sitting before the TEGULUN he scans the space of sky framed by +the BATANG PRA, searching for some hawk upon the wing. As soon as he +sees a hawk within this area, he addresses it, waving in one hand a +small frayed stick, and saying, "Put fat in the mouth of So-and-So," +and he puts a bit of pork fat into the mouth of the TEGULUN. Then +saying, "Send him to BAWANG DAAR," he immerses the TEGULUN in his pool +of reddened water; and taking it out again he thrusts into it a little +wooden spear. After this he buries the TEGULUN in a hole in the ground, +covering it with earth. (Only people who die by violence or of some +much-feared disease are normally buried in this fashion.) This done +he keeps shouting to the hawk to go to the left, at the same time +waving his stick in that direction. If the hawk passes out of the +area of operations towards the right, he knows that his attempt will +not succeed, and he desists for the time being; if it flies out to +the left he knows that his arts will prevail, and he addresses the +hawk as follows: -- + +"BALI FLAKI TUAI MUSIT, OU MATEI IYA KALUNAN ITO TAMA ODOH (the name +of the victim), TUJU KAU, BALI FLAKI, MIEU TUOR BAWANG DAAR AU MULOH +USUK, BALI FLAKI, MIEU NIAK BOIN NA ALAM UJUN, PALA UJA MATEI SAGAM; +MATEI DAAR KAYU SAGAM; MATEI SUAT; MATEI AIOH SAGAM; MATEI MANYAT ALAM +SUNGEI; MATEI PADAM; MATEI NAKAP BAYA; MATEI SAKIT ULUN; MATEI SAKIT +USOK." (Translation runs -- "O Bali Flaki, go your way, let this man +Tama Odoh die; go and put him in the lake of blood, O Bali Flaki; +stab him in the chest, Bali Flaki, put fat of pig in his mouth that +he may die to-morrow (this is equivalent to -- let his head be taken; +for fat is always put in the mouth of the head taken in battle); let +him be killed by a falling tree, to-morrow; let him die from a wound; +let him die by the hand of his enemy, tomorrow; let him be drowned, +to-morrow; let him die of a deadly disease; let him be caught by +a crocodile; let him die of pain in the head; let him die of pain +in the chest.") It will be observed that the formula calls upon the +hawks to give effect to the malevolent wishes, so that the operation +is not one of direct magical or sympathetic action, but rather is +one by which the aid of a higher power is invoked. This feature of +the process renders it one which the strongest minded cannot pooh-pooh. + +With this comprehensive curse the rite is concluded and the vengeful +man returns home and secretly observes his enemy. The latter may +become aware that magic is being worked against him through dreaming +that fat is put into his mouth; and as he is probably more or less +aware of the hatred of his enemy, it is not unlikely that such a dream +will come to him.[154] There can be no doubt that, if in this or any +other way a man learns that he has been made the object of a magical +attempt of this sort, he, in many cases, suffers in health; and it is +probable that in some cases such knowledge has proved fatal. If it is +discovered that any man has attempted to injure another in this way, +he falls into general reprobation, and, if the case can be proved +against him, heavy damages in the form of pigs, gongs, etc., may be +awarded by the house-chief. + +A curse is sometimes imposed without formality, and in the heat of +the moment, in the face of their enemy. Under these circumstances +the curse is usually muttered indistinctly, and seems then to work +upon the victim all the more powerfully. The words used are similar +to those of the curse written out above. + +A characteristic bit of Iban magic is the following: -- A man, angered +by finding that some one has deposited dirt in or about his property +or premises, takes a few burning sticks and, thrusting them into the +dirt, says, "Now let them suffer the pains of dysentery." + + +Therapeutic Magical Procedures + +It was said in Chapter XIV. that the Kayans treat disease by three +distinct methods, namely, by soul-catching, by drugs and regimen, +and by extraction of the supposed cause of the trouble. This last +operation seems to fall under the head of magic and may be described +here. It is usually performed by the DAYONGS, and is applied more +particularly in cases in which localised pain is a prominent feature +of the disorder. The DAYONG comes provided with a short tube, prepared +by pushing out the core of a section of the stem of a certain plant +of the ginger family. After inquiring of the patient the locality of +his pains, he holds up the polished blade of a sword, and, gazing at +it as one seeing visions, he sings a long incantation beginning: -- + + +BALI DAYONG USUN LASAN +URIP ULUN KAM KELUNAN +NINI KETAI NATONG TAWANG LEMAN +BALI DAYONG.[155] + + +The crowd of people, men and women, sitting round the central figure, +join in the BALI DAYONG, which recurs as the refrain at the end of +each verse, intoning in loud deep voices. It seems clear from the use +of the words BALI DAYONG that the whole is addressed to some superior +power; for no human DAYONG, and indeed no human being, is addressed or +spoken of with the title BALI. And it would perhaps be more correct, +therefore, to describe the address as a supplication rather than +an incantation, and the whole operation as a religious rite rather +than a magical procedure. But we are here on the disputed borderland +between magic and religion, and other features incline us to regard +the process as magical rather than religious. + +During the singing of a number of verses in this way, the DAYONG seems +to become more and more distraught and unconscious of his surroundings; +and when the singing ceases he behaves in a strange manner, which +strikes the attendant crowd with awe, starting suddenly and making +strange clucking noises. Then he produces the tube mentioned above, +and pressing one end upon the skin of the part indicated by the +patient as the seat of the pain, he sucks strongly, and, presently +withdrawing it, he blows out of it on to his palm a small black +pellet, which moves mysteriously upon his hand as he exhibits it +to the patient and his friends as the cause of the pain; and if the +patient has complained of more than one seat of pain, the operation +is repeated. It only remains for the DAYONG to return gradually with +some violent gestures and contortions to his normal state, and to +receive his fee, which properly consists of the sword used by him +in the ceremony, and a live fowl. The whole procedure is very well +adapted to secure therapeutic effects by suggestion. The singing and +the atmosphere of awe engendered by the DAYONG'S reputation and his +uncanny behaviour prepare the patient, the suction applied through the +tube gives him the impression that something is being drawn through +his skin, and the skilful production of the mysterious black pellet +completes the suggestive process, under the influence of which, no +doubt, many an ache or pain has suddenly disappeared. On one occasion, +one of us being a little indisposed in a Klemantan house, we made an +opportunity to examine the methods of the DAYONG a little more closely +than is usually possible, by inviting one to undertake the extraction +of his pains. We were then able to realise more vividly the suggestive +force of the procedure, and to see that the black pellets were bits of +dark beeswax which were carried upon the finger-nails of the DAYONG, +and surreptitiously introduced by him into his mouth as they were +required for exhibition after being blown through the tube; we could +see also that the mysterious movements of the pellets upon his palm +were produced by the help of short fine hairs protruding from it. It +seems impossible to deny the presence of a certain element of fraud in +this procedure, but we think that it would be hasty and uncharitable +to assert that the DAYONG'S attitude is wholly one of fraud; we +must remember that our most orthodox medical practitioners accord a +legitimate place in their armamentarium to MISTURA RUBRA (solution of +burnt sugar) and to similar aids whose operation is purely suggestive. + +Most of the coastwise tribes seek to drive away epidemic disease by +the following procedure: -- One or more rough human images are carved +from the pith of the sago palm and placed on a small raft or boat, +or full-rigged Malay ship, together with rice and other food carefully +prepared. The boat is decorated with ribbons of the leaves and with the +blossoms of the areca palm, and allowed to float out to sea with the +ebb-tide in the belief or hope that it will carry the sickness with it. + +Among the Ibans, if a man has deceived people in a serious matter by +means of a malicious lie, and if the untruth is discovered, one of +the deceived party takes a stick and throws it down at some spot by +which people are constantly passing, saying in the presence of others, +"Let any one who does not add to this liar's heap (TUGONG BULA) suffer +from pains in the head." Then others do likewise, and the nature of +the growing heap becoming known, every passer-by throws a stick upon +it lest he should suffer pains. In this way the heap grows until it +attains a large size, in some cases that of a small haystack, and, +being known by the name of the liar, is a cause of great shame to him. + +When any man has his hair cut or shaved, he sees that the hair cut +off is burnt or otherwise carefully disposed of. This is common to all +the Borneans. It would seem that this is not prompted by fear of any +definite harm, nor is there, so far as we know, any recognised way +of using the hair cut off to work injury to its former owner. The +custom seems rather to be due to the fact that shields and swords +are decorated with the hair of enemies by Kenyahs and others; +therefore it is felt that to use a man's hair for this purpose is +almost equivalent to taking his head; and it is well to guard against +this possibility. No doubt also it is vaguely felt that if the hair +of one's head should come into the possession of any other person, +that person would acquire some indefinable power over one. + +Magical practices for the injury of enemies and rivals are more various +and frequent among the coastwise Klemantans, especially the Bisayas, +Kadayans, and Malanaus. It is probable that they have learnt much +of this from the Malays. One variety is to hang up at the edge of +a PADI field a yam or other root covered with projecting spikes of +bamboo cane. This is done openly to spoil the crop. + +Another trick is to tie under a bench in the boat of one's enemy a +pebble, generally of quartz. This is supposed to make the boat so +heavy that it can only travel very slowly. + + +Charms + +These practices involve the application of charms. Charms are +extensively used by all the peoples, least so by Kayans. In every +house is at least one bundle of charms, known as SIAP AIOH by the +Kenyahs, by whom more importance is attached to it than by any of +the other tribes. This bundle, which is the property of the whole +household or village, generally contains hair taken from the heads +that hang in the gallery; a crocodile's tooth; the blades of a few +knives that have been used in special ceremonies; a few crystals or +pebbles of strange shapes; pig's teeth of unusual shape (of both wild +and domestic pig); feathers of a fowl (these seem to be substitutes +for Bali Flaki's feathers, which they would hardly dare to touch); +stone axe-heads called the teeth of Balingo;[156] and ISANG, I.E. palm +leaves that have been put to ceremonial use (Fig. 80). + +The whole bundle, blackened with the smoke and dust of years, hangs +in the gallery over the principal hearth beside the heads, usually +in a widemeshed basket. It constitutes the most precious possession +of the household, being of even greater value than the heads. No one +willingly touches or handles the SIAP, not even the chief. And when +it becomes necessary to touch the bundle, as in transferring it to +a new house, some old man is specially told off for the duty; he who +touches it brings upon himself the risk of death, for it is very PARIT +to touch it, I.E. strongly against custom and therefore dangerous.[157] +Its function seems to be to bring luck or prosperity of all kinds to +the house; without it nothing would prosper, especially in warfare. + +Many individuals keep a small private bunch of SIAP, made up of various +small objects, of unusual forms, generally without any human hair +(Fig. 81). These are generally obtained through dreams. A man dreams +that something of value is to be given him, and then, if on waking +his eye falls upon a crystal of quartz, or any other slightly peculiar +object, he takes it and hangs it above his sleeping-place; when going +to bed he addresses it, saying that he wants a dream favourable to +any business he may have in hand. If such a dream comes to him, the +thing becomes SIAP; but if his dreams are inauspicious, the object +is rejected. Since no one can come in contact with another man's SIAP +without risk of injury, the inconvenience occasioned by multiplication +of SIAP bundles puts a limit to their number. Nevertheless a man who +possesses private SIAP will carry it with him attached to the sheath +of his sword, and special hooks are provided in most houses for the +hanging up of such swords (Fig. 82). + +There are many instances of SIAP of specialised function. A man +specially devoted to hunting with the blowpipe will have a special +blow-pipe SIAP tied to his quiver (this is especially common among +Punans). He will dip this SIAP in the blood of every animal he kills, +so that it becomes thickly encrusted. This is thought to increase or +preserve its virtue. + +Another special kind of SIAP is that which ensures a man against hurt +from firearms, through causing any gun aimed at him to miss fire. + +The Ibans use personal charms which they call PENGAROH; but in +accordance with their more individualistic disposition, they have +no important charm common to the whole household corresponding to +the household SIAP of the other peoples. The objects composing the +PENGAROH are an assortment even more varied and fantastic than the +SIAP of other peoples. In many cases they are carried with small china +pots of oil, which are used to rub on the body as a universal remedy. + +A curious object to be occasionally seen in some Sea Dayak houses +is the empugau. It is a blackened bundle hung in a basket among the +heads above the hearth. It is covered with the smoke and soot of ages, +and though it is generally claimed as the property of some one man who +has inherited it from his forefathers, even he knows nothing of its +history and composition, and is unwilling to examine it closely. It +is regarded by the Ibans as the head of some half-human monster. On +careful examination of several specimens we have found the EMPUGAU +to consist of a large cocoanut in its husk, tricked out with a rude +face mask having part of the fibrous husk combed out to look like +hair. The Ibans regard it with some awe, and it seems probable that +it has formerly played some part in magical procedures. + + +Love Charms + +Love charms are used by most of the peoples, though the Kayans and +Kenyahs are exceptions, since they prefer to rely chiefly upon the +power of music and personal attractions. These charms are in almost all +cases strongly odorous substances. The Iban youth strings together +a necklace of strongly scented seed known as BUAH BALONG. This +he generally carries about with him, and, when his inclination is +directed towards some fair one, he places it under her pillow, or +endeavours to persuade her to wear it about her neck. If she accepts +it, he reckons her half won. + +Klemantans, among whom love charms go by the generic name SANGKIL, +make use of a variety of charms, of which one of the most used is a +scented oil that they contrive to smuggle on to the garments or other +personal property of the woman. + +Those that have had much contact with Malays make use of pieces of +paper on which they scrawl certain conventional patterns. + +Charms are used by Ibans to ensure success in trapping. The trapper +carries a stick one end of which is carved to represent the human +form (Fig. 83). He uses this to measure the appropriate height of +the traps set for animals of different species. + +All the peoples observe a large number of restrictions in regard to +contact with objects, especially articles of food. Some of these are +mentioned in other chapters. Here we notice a few typical instances. In +Chapter XV. we related that each of the peoples avoid certain animals; +in some cases they avoid not only killing or touching these animals, +but also even very remote relations with them: as, for example, +taking food from a vessel in which their flesh has been cooked on some +previous occasion; coming within the range of the odour of the object; +coming into a house in which there is any part of such an animal. + +The evil resulting from breach of any such prohibitions generally takes +the form of wasting sickness with pains in the head, chronic cough, +dysentery, or spitting of blood. When a Kenyah has knowingly for +any reason, or unintentionally, come in contact with any one of the +forbidden objects, or if he finds himself suffering from any of these +things, and therefore suspects that he has unwittingly come under their +influence, he subjects himself to a process of purification. At break +of day he descends, with other members of his family, to the brink of +the river provided with a chicken, a sword-blade, two frayed sticks, +and a length of spiky vine known as ATAT. This latter is bent into +the form of a ring, within which he takes his stand and awaits the +appearance of Isit (the spider hunter -- one of the omen-birds). He +calls it by name, Bali Isit; and as soon as Isit calls in reply, +he pours out a long-winded address, charging him to convey to Bali +Penyalong his prayer for recovery or protection. Then he snips off +the head of the chicken, and wipes some of its blood on the frayed +sticks and on the ring. The ring, with the chicken and the frayed +sticks, are then lifted above his head by his attendants, and water is +poured upon them from a bamboo, so that it drips from them on to his +head. Eight times the ring is lifted up, and each time the pouring out +of the water is repeated. Then, standing on the blade of the sword, +he again addresses the omen-bird as before. This completes the rite, +which is known as LEMAWA. + +A similar rite of purification is practised by most of the other +peoples. In some cases the principal feature of the rite of +purification is being spat upon by the chief. + +It may be broadly said that all these peoples are constantly on the +alert to provide against unknown dangers; that, having no definite +theories of causation, they are apt to accept every hint of danger +or hurtful influence suggested by the attributes and relations of +things, and to seek to avoid these influences or to ward them off +or counteract them by every means that in any way suggests itself to +their minds as possibly efficacious. + +Although the Kayans regard a madman as possessed by an evil spirit, +they seem to have no traditional methods of casting out the spirit; +but some of the Klemantans practise a rite of exorcism; this varies +in detail from tribe to tribe, and attains the greatest elaboration +among the Malanaus. The rite is known as BAYOH, and bears a general +resemblance to the corresponding Malay rite known as BERHANTU. The +Malanaus are Klemantans of the coast regions of Sarawak, most of +whom have recently become converted to Islam, while all of them have +been much influenced by contact with Malays. The following account is +reproduced from a paper published by one of us (C. H.) in the REVIEW +OF THE FAR EAST (Feb. 1907), to the editor of which we are indebted +for permission to make use of the paper: -- + + +The ceremony of casting out evil spirits is of frequent occurrence +among Malanaus, and the noise of gongs and drums throughout the night, +lasting every night for sometimes a whole week, cannot fail to impress +even a casual observer. + +The natives of Niah, who are Malanaus, believe in a multitude of +spirits, good and bad, great and small, important and of little +account. At the head of these is Ula Gemilang, the sea divinity, +a power who works for the good of man.[158] Adum Girang is another +spirit of the sea, as also is Raja Duan, who has power over the sun, +a spirit who is distinguished, when he appears in human form, by his +white head-cloth. Majau is said to be pre-eminently rich. Aiar Urai +Arang is said to be a small child whose mother is Aiar. Besides these +there are other powerful spirits of the sea, the land, the up-river +country, and so forth, and each is attended by innumerable slaves +and attendants of ghostly kind; they have influence of many kinds +over the dwellers in this world, some for good, others very much for +evil. Madness is caused by various evil spirits throwing themselves +into mortals, ghosts with red eyes which flash like lightning. The +"amok" devil which comes from the swamp, differs from those which +drive people to commit suicide -- these again being quite distinct +from those which cause merely harmless lunacy. + +It not infrequently happens that when a woman (or more rarely a man) +is insane or is very ill, she is urged to admit that a devil has +possessed her, and to become a medicine woman. By this means she +becomes well of her complaint, and at the same time acquires the +power of helping others to cast out devils. But she is not able of +her own accord to determine whether she shall become a medicine woman +or not. For three nights she is taken through the ceremony of BAYOH, +afterwards to be described, without a rattan swing, and then for three +nights with the swing. If the indications are favourable, some three +weeks are allowed to elapse before she undergoes the final test of +five nights with the swing. The first BAYOH is to satisfy the people, +the second to appease the demon; and if her malady is cured by the +eleven nights of artificial hysteria, she is considered to have been +accepted both by men and spirits in her new role of exorciser. + +As one woman expressed it, she is now "in with the demons." Even +then, however, it does not follow that she is able to see when an +evil spirit has ceased to possess a person. One old female, who had +worked at BAYOH for fifteen years, admitted that if a devil went into +herself she could turn it out, but only a more powerful woman than +herself could turn devils out of others. + +Two forms of BAYOH are known to the people of Niah, but it is only +with the BAYOH SADONG that there is any need to deal here. The other +form is used by the Punans, or mixed Punans and Malanaus. If it is +supposed that some illness is due to possession by an evil spirit, it +is decided to call the medicine women and get the unwelcome visitant +to depart, though it is not considered possible in all cases to turn +a demon out of his mortal abode. Offerings of eggs and fowls to the +good spirits having proved fruitless, a day is fixed for the BAYOH, +preferably shortly after a good harvest, and the household begins its +preparations for the occasion. As powerful spirits are to be invited +to the house, the room where they are to appear is decked with a +profusion of ornaments suited to such exalted guests. Great tassels +of white shavings are hung upon the walls, a white cloth adorned with +the blossoms of the areca palm hides the rafters, and these graceful +inflorescences are spread out fanwise over the doors and among the +shavings. In one corner a hollow cone of areca blossoms and shavings +spread over a framework of rattan is suspended from a rafter; and +a model of a ship or raft is placed just outside an open window. As +the function takes place at night, candles of beeswax are set about +to give light. At the appointed time brass dishes are put on the +floor with rice of many colours -- yellow, red, and blue -- spread in +patterns of crocodiles; popcorns of rice and maize, water, and washing +utensils, boxes of betel ready for chewing, tobacco, and cigarettes, +to appease the varied appetites of the spirits invoked. just after +sundown the neighbours troop in and settle themselves round the room, +the ill-mannered pushing themselves in front. Certain of the villagers +agree to form the band. Soon the house is full of people, boys and old +men contentedly chewing and smoking, women retiring to darker parts +of the room to gossip. A person of importance will be received with +some show of civility, but without any definite ceremony. Arabian +incense, KAMANYAN, which is used nowadays because the native GARU +has too high a value for export to be consumed at home, disperses +a not unpleasant smell through the gathering. Then the fun begins, +gongs and drums are struck, and the strains of music sound through +the village. With intervals of a quarter of an hour every two hours, +the monotonous melody proceeds until seven the next morning, to be +resumed, in all probability, the next night for another twelve hours, +and perhaps maintained night after night for a whole week. + +The medicine women -- one, two, or three, rarely four in number -- +have collected in the middle of the room. Generally experienced by +years of performing, they are often too old to be attractive, despite +the gorgeous raiment with which they conceal their aged frames and +the hawkbells which jingle as they move. At first they collect round +the earthenware censers to warm their hands. They then begin to step +with the music and wave their arms, hissing loudly through their +teeth the while, and occasionally breaking into a whistle. After a +time they sit down and nod this way and that to the music, as though +engaged in training the muscles of the neck. But the drums and gongs go +faster, till the long hair of the woman flies round with her head. The +whistling is varied by a chant, SADONG, in an ancient language now +barely understood. + +"Why do you speak? Why do you SADONG? Why are you such a long +time? As long as it takes a pinang (areca) to become old? The fruit +of the cocoanut has had time to reach maturity and drop. Come to this +country below the heavens. What do you wish? What is your desire? I +have come to heal the sick one who lies on the floor, feeble and +unable to rise, thin and shrivelled like a floating log. Have pity +from your heart and prevent my soul from parting from my skin and my +bones from failing away. This sickness is very severe and I am unable +to contend against it." + +One of the women goes to the patient, who, clad in black, sits alone +on a mat, and brings her a pinang blossom to hold, covering her head +with a cloth. The unfortunate being is then brought to the hollow cone +of shavings and seated within it; it is then whirled round till the +white shreds rise like a ballet dancer's skirt. Gradually the sick +person is worked up to a frenzy, and, keeping time with the music, +the medicine women sway about and wag their heads. So the proceedings +go on, with weird fantastic dancing, nodding, howling, whistling, +chanting, for all the hours of the tropical night. Then the medicine +women are whirled round in the cone, and one by one they fall into a +faint, to be recovered by fanning with the pinang blossom. They dance +about and brush against the onlookers as though unable to control their +movements, and are only kept at a distance by finding handfuls of rice +flung in their faces. The point of giddiness and hysteria eventually +reached can only be compared with certain stages of drunkenness. + +The outsider will find it difficult to detect much method in the +madness, but on more sober occasions the performers can offer +intelligible explanations of their behaviour. The account given +by an old medicine woman at Niah, and confirmed by the man who +conducts the ceremonies at the same village, shows that the part +taken by the spirits is quite as definite as the performance of the +exorcisers. Attracted by the music, the followers of the chief evil +spirits gather round the house when the BAYOH has begun, and hunt +about. These little demons ask the chief medicine woman, "Why have +you called us?" She replies, "Tell your master that I have called you +because there is a person here sick." They then go back and fetch the +more powerful spirit whom they serve. This demon comes up from the +sea to the JONG, a small ship or raft that stands behind the house +(Fig. 84), and finds his way up the rope ladder. He asks the BAYOH +woman, "Why have you called me, mother?" She answers, "I have called +you because there is a sick person here. You can help him! See whether +you can help him or not." If the demon finds the sickness beyond +his power to cure, he says, "I cannot help you; get some one else"; +and the next night another one is invoked, until the evil spirit is +cast out of the patient. If for seven nights the attempt is made in +vain, the BAYOH is stopped and medicines are tried again, but with +little hope that they will do much good. One of the BAYOHS I saw at +Niah was on behalf of a slightly mad woman, who became very violent +during the performance. She was said to be mad because she had become a +Mohammedan, and it was explained that the Malanau demons had no power +over the evil spirits of Islam. The poor woman was consequently put +into stocks in her own room, and not long afterwards recovered. + +When a big spirit comes into one of the medicine women, as they say, +like a flash she feels its presence, but does not see its form. If +it agrees to help, the woman goes on with the regular BAYOH, and soon +feels confident that she is able to make the patient well. She asks for +rice and other food, and spirit made from fruit, which she eats and +drinks to gratify the demon within her. She calls upon the people to +see that the viands are good, but not from any selfish motive, for it +is said that she is not aware that she is eating at all. The coloured +rice, which has been prepared, is the spirit's share, and eggs are +also given. The demon invoked to help calls out to the evil spirit +in possession of the sick person, "You stay in this craft whilst I +sit here." "If you don't wish to stay here you can go to the woods, +or your former abode." The evil spirit then goes from the patient +into the basket prepared for his reception, and is then induced or +ordered to depart by the demon in the medicine woman. What remains of +the food set apart for the spirit is scattered along the river. The +BAYOH is stopped, and thanksgiving offerings are floated out to sea +that the exertions of the supernatural powers may not have been in +vain, or these gifts may be taken into the jungle, where the hollow +cone and raft are also placed or hung from a tree. + +The medicine women work for a fee, and it is likely enough that +the length of the BAYOH is influenced to some extent by their +pay. Sometimes the ceremony is most gorgeous. A rattan swing, +covered with a beautiful cloth, is provided for the women and the +patient to swing in, with a platform near at hand to receive the evil, +spirit. Sometimes Ula Gemilang himself is invoked. On these occasions +the expenditure is profuse. A box is placed in the middle of the room +with a handsome covering. The walk up the floor is covered with cloth +of gold thread. There are seven candles in seven brass sticks, seven +betel stands, and seven men carrying spears. When the god arrives, +seven people carry the umbrella over his head. If every thing is not +perfectly satisfactory in his judgment, he demands through the medicine +woman whose body he has occupied some expensive gift, and if this is +refused she may fall in a dead faint. Rice is thrown on her and she is +fanned with the pinang blossoms, but the women who attend to her only +share her fate and also become senseless. Eventually they recover, but +there is now but little hope for the patient, for Gemilang is angry. In +a despairing mood the BAYOH women then seek help from lesser powers. + +Needless to say, the women bear out their part of the pantomime with +great skill, becoming "possessed" at the proper time, snatching at +the sick person's head as though to catch the evil spirit, and so +forth. It is probable that in some cases the ceremony works a cure by +suggestion. In any case the villagers have not too many occasions for +social gatherings and feasts, and since those who hold BAYOHS must +offer a good deal of hospitality to their neighbours, such meetings +in a village are exceedingly popular with all except those who wish +to go to sleep. + + + + +CHAPTER 17 + +Myths, Legends, and Stories + +Among all the peoples of Borneo a number of myths are handed on from +generation to generation by word of mouth. These are related again +and again by those who make themselves reputations as story-tellers, +especially the old men and women; and the people are never tired of +hearing them repeated, as they sit in groups about their hearths +between supper and bed-time, and especially when camping in the +jungle. The myths vary considerably in the mouths of different +story-tellers, especially of those that live in widely separated +districts; for the myths commonly have a certain amount of local +colouring. Few or none of the myths are common to all the peoples; +but those of any one people are generally known in more or less +authentic form to their neighbours. + +Although many of the myths deal with such subjects as the creation of +the world, of man, of animals and plants, the discovery of fire and +agriculture, subjects of which the mythology has been incorporated +in the religious teachings of the classical and Christian worlds, the +mythology of these peoples has little relation to their religion. The +gods figure but little in the myths, and the myths are related with +little or no religious feeling, no sense of awe, and very little +sense of obligation to hand them on unchanged. They are related +in much the same spirit and on the same occasions as the animal +stories, of which also the people are fond, and they may be said to +be sustained by the purely aesthetic or literary motive, rather than +the religious or scientific motives. In fact it is not possible to +draw any sharp line between myths and fables. If it is asked, Do the +people believe the myths? no clear answer can be given; for few of +the myths have any direct bearing upon practical life, and therefore +belief in them is not brought to the test of action, the only test +that can reveal the reality of belief, or indeed differentiate belief +from merely unreflective acceptance of a story. Where such practical +bearing is not altogether wanting, we commonly see conduct regulated +in conformity with the myth or story, as in the case of the story +of the bat carrying to the creatures in the river the news of the +intention of the people to poison the water. + +A certain number of the Bornean myths and legends have been published +in Mr. Ling Roth's book and elsewhere, especially those of the +Ibans. We have chosen for reproduction some representative specimens +that have not hitherto appeared in well-known publications. A few +stories that properly belong to this chapter are scattered in other +parts of this book. + +We give first in a condensed form the substance of a long rambling +creation-myth current among all branches of the Kayan people. This +myth is sung in rhymed blank verse, a fact which is partly responsible +for the wealth of names occurring in it. + +In the beginning there was a barren rock. On this the rains fell and +gave rise to moss, and the worms, aided by the dung-beetles, made soil +by their castings. Then a sword handle (HAUP MALAT) came down from +the sun[159] and became a large tree. From the moon came a creeper, +which hanging from the tree became mated with it through the action of +the wind.[160] From this union were born KALUBAN GAI and KALUBI ANGAI, +the first human beings, male and female. These were incomplete, lacking +the legs and lower half of their trunks, so that their entrails hung +loose and exposed. Leaves falling from the tree became the various +species of birds and winged insects, and from the fallen fruits sprang +the fourfooted beasts. Resin, oozing from the trunk of the tree, gave +rise to the domestic pig and fowl, two species which are distinguished +by their understanding of matters that remain hidden from all others, +even from human beings. The first incomplete human beings produced +PENGOK NGAI and KATIRA MUREI; the latter bore a son, BATANG UTA TATAI, +who married AJAI AVAI and begot SIJAU LAHO, ODING LAHANG, PABALAN, +PLIBAN, and TOKONG, who became the progenitors of the various existing +peoples. ODING LAKANG is claimed as their ancestor by the Kayans, +and also by the Kenyahs and some of the Klemantan tribes. + +TOKONG is claimed as ancestor by the Sebops (a tribe of Klemantans) +and by the Punans. The former attribute to him the introduction of +head hunting. The story goes that once upon a time, when TOKONG and +his people were preparing to attack a village, he was addressed by +the frog, who called out, "WONG KA KOK, TETAK BATOK." This fairly +represents the cry of this species of frog (BUFO); and TETAK BATOK +in the Sebop language means "cut through the neck." At first the +people, who hitherto had taken only the hair of their enemies to +adorn their shields, scoffed at this advice; but the frog assured them +that the taking of heads would bring them prosperity of every kind, +and demonstrated the procedure he advised by decapitating a small +frog. TOKONG therefore determined to follow the frog's advice and +carried away the heads of his enemies; this was followed immediately +by increased prosperity. As the party returned home and passed through +their fields the PADI grew very rapidly. As they entered the fields the +PADI was only up to their knees, but before they had passed through +it was full-grown with full ears. As they approached the house their +relatives came to meet them, rejoicing over various pieces of good +fortune that had befallen them. The words of the frog thus came true, +and Tokong and his people continued to follow the new practice, +and from them it was learned by others. + +Although the help of the stars is not needed by the Borneans in +directing their course when travelling, since all but very short +journeys are made on the rivers, most of them are familiar with +the principal constellations, and name them in accordance with the +resemblances they discover to men, animals, and other objects. Some of +the tribes determine the arrival of the season for sowing PADI by the +observation of the stars. Thus the LONG KIPUTS (Klemantans) name the +great square of Pegasus PALAI, the PADI storehouse (these houses are +generally square); the Pleiades they call a well; and the constellation +of which Aldebaran is a member they call a pig's jaw. They measure +the altitude of a star by filling a tall bamboo vessel with water, +inclining it until it points directly to the star, and then setting +it upright again, and measuring the height at which the surface of +the water remaining in the vessel stands above its floor. Orion is +interpreted as the figure of a man, LAFAANG, in much the same way as +by Europeans; but his left arm is thought to be wanting. They tell +the following story about LAFAANG, who of course is regarded as of +their own tribe. + + +The Story of LAFAANG + +The daughter of PALAI (the constellation Pegasus) fell in love with +a Long Kiput youth, LAFAANG by name, and invited him to ascend to +the heavens, warning him at the same time that the customs in her +celestial home were very different from those of earth. The girl +was very beautiful, and LAFAANG was not slow to find his way to her +father's house. PALAI, surprised to see this mortal visitor, enquired +of his daughter, "Who is this man, and why does he come here?" "It +is the man I wish to wed," replied the girl. The kind-hearted father +told her to give her lover food, and consented to the realisation of +her hopes. So LAFAANG took up his abode in the house of PALAI and +was wedded to his daughter. But in spite of repeated instructions, +LAFAANG found it very difficult to conform to the customs of his +adopted country. He put his food into his mouth with his fingers +instead of using a needle for the purpose, and by doing so distressed +his wife, who chid him for his disobedience to her instructions. On +the morrow of his arrival he was invited to clear a patch of jungle +for a PADI field; and his wife told him that, in order to fell a tree, +he was merely to lay the axe she gave him at the foot of the tree, +which would forthwith fall to the ground. But habit was too strong to +be controlled, and, when LAFAANG set his hand to the task, he fell +to chopping at the tree. But though he chopped with might and main +he made no impression, and his gentle spouse was horrified to see +the crudeness of his methods. On the next day he was told to watch +PALAI at work felling the trees. Squatting in the jungle he saw how +the great trees fell when PALAI merely laid the blade of the axe at +the foot of each one. This spectacle filled LAFAANG with terror and he +would have ran away, but that his wife reproached him for cowardice. On +the following day he set to work again; and once more forgetting his +lesson, he began to chop at the stems of the trees. This gross breach +of custom was punished by the fall of a tree from the patch of jungle +hard by that on which PALAI was at work; for the tree in falling cut +off LAFAANG'S left arm. Disgusted by these disagreeable incidents and +by the awkward appearance of his wife, who was now far advanced in +pregnancy, LAFAANG made up his mind to return to his own people. His +wife reproached him for his intention; but, when she could not alter +his determination, she gave him sugar-cane tops and banana roots, +previously unknown to men, and let him down to earth by means of a +long creeper. Before he reached the ground he heard the cry of his +new-born child, and begged to be allowed to go back to see him. But +his entreaties were unavailing, and weeping bitterly, he alighted on +the earth at TIKAN ORUM (a spot in the upper Baram district). Still +his disobedience was not overcome; for, although he had been told to +plant the sugar-cane and banana by merely throwing them on the ground, +he planted them carefully in the soil; and to this day a tall coarse +grass (BRU) grows on the spot. Nevertheless some sugar-cane and banana +plants grew up; but they were of an inferior quality, and such they +have remained wherever they have spread in this world. LAFAANG died +among his own people on earth, but the bright constellation that +bears his name and shape still moves across the heavens, reminding +men of his journey to the world above the sky and of the misfortunes +he suffered there.[161] + + + +The Story of USAI + +The following myth, current under several forms among the Klemantans, +accounts for a number of the geographical features of the Baram +district, in which it was told us. The story was evoked from an +old man of the Long Kiputs by a question as to his views about the +nature of the stars. He explained that the stars are holes in the +sky made by the roots of trees in the world above the sky projecting +through the floor of that world. At one time, he explained, the sky +was close to the earth, but one day USAI, a giant, when working sago +with a wooden mallet accidentally struck his mallet against the sky; +since which time the sky has been far up out of the reach of man. Our +informant, warming up with the excitement of the recital, went on to +give us the following history of USAI: -- + +USAI was the brother of the guardian of the shades of men. His +wife desired to have a large prawn that lived in the Baram river; +so USAI built a dam across the river at LUBOK SUAN (a spot where the +river is about 250 yards in width) and baled out the water below it, +seizing the crocodiles with his fingers and whisking them out on to +the bank. While this operation was in progress, the dam gave way; +and USAI'S wife was drowned in the sudden rush of water. In vain +he sought for his wife, weeping bitterly. Disconsolately he waded +down the river. At the mouth of the PELUTAN he wept anew, throwing +aside the crocodiles as he explored the bed of the river. At LONG +SALAI he found his wife's coat and wept again. At LONG LAMA he found +his wife's waist-cloth and gave up hope, and at TAMALA he clucked +like a hen, so great was his grief. Still he went on wading down +the river. The water, which at LONG PLUSAN was only just above his +ankles, reached his middle at the mouth of the TUTAU, and covered +all his body at the place where the Tinjar (the largest tributary) +flows into the Baram. At the mouth of the ADOI he wailed aloud, +"ADOI, ADOI!" (a sorrowful cry in common use, nearly the equivalent +of our Alas!). He began to shiver with cold, but at the mouth of the +BAKONG he wept again. When he reached LUBOK KAJAMAN he was out of his +depth (this is a part known to be very deep) and colder than ever; +but he kept on, and presently the water reached only to his belly, +and when he reached the sea it came only to his knees. (There is a +shallow bar at the river mouth.) On seeing the boundless ocean, USAI +gave up the search and strode down the coast to Miri, where he lived +on charcoal and ginger. (The belief is widely held that the people of +Miri, formerly ate charcoal in large quantities.) The people of Miri +seemed to him like maggots; and they, taking him to be a great tree, +climbed up on him. When he brushed them off, he killed ten men with +each sweep of his hand. The Miri people set to work to hew down this +great tree, and blood poured from USAI'S foot as they worked. Then +USAI spoke to them, asking them what sort of creatures they might be, +and said, "Listen to my words. I am about to die. My brains are sago, +my liver is tobacco. Where my head falls there the people will have +much knowledge, where my feet lie will be the ignorant ones." Then, +his legs being cut through, he fell with a mighty crash, his head +falling towards the sea, his feet pointing up river. ("This accounts +for the fact that white men and Chinese know so many things, while +the people of Borneo are ignorant" said our informant; but this was +probably his own comment.) The Miris, of whom a thousand were killed +by the fall of USAI, have beautiful hair, because his head fell in +their district; but the other people have only such hair as grew on +USAI'S limbs. The mosquitoes that existed in the time of USAI were +as big as fowls, and their bites were terribly painful. The people +hewed them into small pieces, so that now they are the smallest of +the animals; but their bite is still painful. + + +The Iban Story of Simpang Impang + +The following story, which is an old favourite among the Ibans (Sea +Dayaks) of the Batang Lupar, will serve to illustrate, with its many +heterogeneous features, the myth-making faculty of this imitative +and fun-loving people. It will be noticed that the story combines the +characters of a creation-myth, an animal fable, and a fairy tale: -- + +Once upon a time some people were looking for edible vegetables in +the jungle, when they came upon a huge python, which they took to +be a log. Sitting upon it to cut up their vegetables, they by chance +wounded it, and caused the python's blood to flow out. Recognising then +the nature of their resting-place, the people cut up the python and +began to cook its flesh. Then heavy rain began to fall, and it rained +like anything for days and days, so that all the land was covered with +water, and only the top of TIANG LAJU (the highest peak of the Batang +Lupar district) stood out above the flood. All the people and animals +were drowned except one woman, a dog, a rat, and a few other small +animals, which climbed to the top of this mountain. The woman, seeking +shelter from the rain, noticed that the dog seemed to have found a +warm place beneath a creeper. The creeper was swaying in the wind +and rubbing against a tree, and thus was warmed by the friction. The +woman, taking the hint, rubbed the creeper hard on a piece of wood, +and so for the first time produced fire. Having no husband the woman +took the creeper for her mate, and soon afterwards gave birth to a +son, who was but one-half of a human being, having one arm, one leg, +one eye, and so on. This child, SIMPANG IMPANG, whose only companions +were the animals, often complained bitterly to his mother of his +incompleteness. One day SIMPANG IMPANG discovered some PADI grain +which the rat had hidden in a hole. He spread it out to dry on a leaf, +which he put on top of a stump. On this the rat demanded the PADI back; +and when SIMPANG IMPANG refused it, he grew very angry, and swore that +he and all his race would always retaliate by taking the PADI of men +whenever they could get at it. While they were disputing, SELULAT +ANTU RIBUT, the wind-spirit, came by and scattered the PADI grains +far and wide in the jungle. SIMPANG IMBANG looked round in anger and +astonishment, and could perceive nothing but the noise of the wind. So +he set out with some of his companions to get back his corn from the +wind-spirit, or know the reason why. After wandering for some days he +came to a tree on which were many birds; they picked off its buds as +fast as the tree could push them out. SIMPANG IMPANG asked the tree to +tell him the way to the house of the wind-spirit; and the tree said, +"Oh, yes, he came this way just now, and his house is far away over +there. When you come to it, please tell him I am tired of putting out +my leaves to have them bitten off by these rascal birds, and that I +want him to come and end my miserable life by blowing me down." + +SIMPANG IMPANG went on and came to a lake, which said, "Whither are +you going, friend?" And when he answered that he was going to find +the wind-spirit, the lake complained that its outlet to the river was +blocked with a lump of gold, and told him to get the wind-spirit to +blow away the obstruction. SIMPANG IMPANG promised to put in a word +for the lake, and, passing on, came to a cluster of sugar-canes and +bananas. "Whither are you going, friend?" said they. "I'm going to the +wind-spirit" he answered. "Oh! then, will you please ask him how it is +we have no branches like other trees; we should like to have branches +like them."[162] "Yes, I'll remember it," said SIMPANG IMPANG, and, +passing on, he soon came to the home of the wind-spirit. There he +heard a great noise of wind blowing, and the wind-spirit said, "What +do you want here, SIMPANG IMPANG." He answered angrily that he had +come to demand the PADI that the wind-spirit had carried away. "We'll +settle the dispute by diving" said the wind-spirit,[163] and he dived +into the water; but being only a bubble, he very soon popped up to +the surface. Then SIMPANG IMPANG called on his companion the fish +to dive for him; and when the windspirit saw that he had no chance +of coming out the winner in this ordeal, he said, "No, this is not +fair, we'll settle the matter by jumping," and he leapt right over the +house. SIMPANG IMPANG called on the swift as his substitute, and the +swift, rising from the ground, jumped right out of sight. Still the +wind-spirit would not give in. "We'll have another test; let's see who +can go through this blow-pipe"; and he went whistling through. Then +SIMPANG IMPANG did not know what to do, for none of his companions +seemed able to help him. But he had forgotten the ant, until a little +squeaky voice called out, "I can do it"; and forthwith the ant crawled +through the blow-pipe. Still the wind-spirit would not give in, and +SIMPANG IMPANG was very angry, and seizing his father, the fire-drill, +he set the windspirit's house on fire. Then at last the wind-spirit +called out that he would make compensation for the PADI he had taken +away. "But," said he, "I haven't any gongs or other things to pay +you, so I'll make you a whole man with two arms and two legs and two +eyes." SIMPANG IMPANG accepted the bargain, and was overjoyed to find +himself a whole man. Then he remembered the messages he had brought +from the tree and the lake, and the wind-spirit promised to do as +he was asked. And then SIMPANG IMPANG put to him the question of the +bamboo and of the banana plant; and the wind-spirit said, "They have +no branches because human beings are always offending against custom; +they often utter the names of their father-in-law and mother-in-law, +and sometimes they walk before them in going through the jungle; +that is why the bamboo and the banana have no branches." + + +Kenyah Fable of the Mouse-deer and the Tortoise + +Animal fables are current among all the peoples of Borneo, and +are frequently repeated and listened to with much enjoyment; some +individuals who acquire the reputation of being good story-tellers are +frequently called upon to practise their art. Closely allied with this +enjoyment of fables is the practice of describing incidents of social +or tribal intercourse in fables, parables, or allegories, which are +made to suit the occasions and to point the appropriate moral. + +Once upon a time PLANDOK (the tiny mouse-deer) and KELAP (the +water-tortoise) went out together to find fruit. They found a tree +laden with ripe fruit close by a house. "I can't climb up that tree," +said PLANDOK, "but I'll give you a leg up, and then you can get on to +that branch." So he pushed up KELAP on to the lowermost branch. KELAP +threw down all the fruit, but then didn't know how to get down, +and called to PLANDOK for help. "Oh! get down anyway you like," +said PLANDOK. "But I can't get down forwards and I can't get down +backwards." "Then throw yourself down," said PLANDOK, and KELAP threw +himself down and came to the ground with a great thud. The people in +the house heard the sound and said," There's a durian falling." Then +PLANDOK began to divide the fruit into heaps. "This is for me and +that's for you," he kept calling out; and every time he put some +more fruit to KELAP'S heap, he shouted louder than before. "Hello," +said the people in the house, "there's somebody dividing something," +and they ran out to see what was going on. PLANDOK skipped away with +his share of the fruit, and left KELAP to hide himself as best he +could under the broad leaves of a Caladium plant. The people saw +the tree stripped of its fruit, and KELAP'S tracks on the ground +soon led to the discovery of his hidingplace. "Here's the thief," +said the people, "let's put him in the fire." "Oh yes," said KELAP, +"please put me in the fire; last time they put me in the fire they +only half did the thing, and left one side quite untouched by the +fire."[164] "0h! that won't do," said the people, "let's squeeze him +in the sugar-cane press." "Oh yes, please squeeze me in the press," +said KELAP, "last time they put me in the press they only squeezed one +side of me."[165] "Then that won't do either," they cried, "let's throw +him into the river." "Oh! don't throw me into the river," said KELAP, +and began to weep. So they threw him into the river. KELAP swam out to +the middle of the river and, putting up his head above the surface, +called out, "That's alright, this is my home." At this the people +saw that he had got the better of them, and determined to turn the +tables by poisoning the water with TUBA.[166] The bat overheard +what they were saying, and at once flew off to KELAP, and advised +him to get out of the river. "No, I shall stay here," said KELAP, +"this is the safest place for me," and he went and stood quite still +among the big stones in the shallow water. + +Presently the people began to beat out the TUBA root on the stones, and +one man, taking KELAP'S back for a stone, began to beat his TUBA upon +it. Then KELAP made his back sink lower little by little, so that the +water began to cover it. "Hello!" said the man, "the water's rising, +it's no good trying to poison the river when the water's rising." So +they went home. + + +The Kenyah Story of the BELIRA Fish + +The BELIRA is a fish that has an extraordinary number of bones. The +following story accounts for this exceptional number of bones and, +in conjunction with the foregoing story, explains why Kenyahs, when +proposing to poison the river with TUBA in order to take the fish, +speak of their intentions only in parables. + +The fish began to complain that they were so often caught by men +who poisoned the river. So they decided they must have a DAYONG who +could make rain for them[167] so as to prevent the poisoning of the +water. They asked one fish after another to become a DAYONG; but all +refused until they came to the BELIRA, who said he would do his best +to become a DAYONG and to make rain for them, if each of the other +fishes would give him a bone. They accepted the bargain and each gave +him a bone, and that is why the BELIRA has so many bones. + + +The Story of the Stupid Boy + +The following Klemantan story illustrates the taste of the people +for the comic: -- + +One day SALEH and his father set out in their boat for their +farm. "Look out for logs" (I.E. floating timber), said SALEH'S +father. They had not gone very far when SALEH sings out, "I see some +timber." ,Where?" says his father. "Why, there on the bank," says +SALEH, pointing to the jungle. "Oh! you silly," says his father, "go +on." So they went on and landed, and the father, leaving SALEH to cook +some rice in the large pot, began to cut down some trees. Presently +he came back and found SALEH with the pot upside down over the fire, +and nothing cooked. "What are you at?" cries the father. "Well," +says SALEH, "I put the pot over the fire as you told me to do, but +when I poured the water on it, it all ran into the fire and put it +out." "You stupid boy, you should have put the pot on the other way +up." But you didn't tell me so," says SALEH. + +The father had chipped his axe, so he sends SALEH home to fetch +another. SALEH sets out gaily singing, the blade of the axe lying +in the bow of the boat. Soon the boat strikes a snag and overboard +goes the axe-blade. "Oh, bother!" says SALEH, "but never mind, I'll +mark the place," and he whips out his knife and cuts a notch in the +gunwale of the boat at the spot where the axe fell in. Arriving at +the landing stage before his father's house, he begins to dive into +the water to find the lost axe-head, and continues vainly seeking it +till his mother comes out to ask what he is doing. "I'm looking for +the axe that fell into the water just at this notch, as I was coming +down river," says SALEH. "Oh! you are a stupid," says his mother, and +fetches him a new axe. SALEH goes back to his father, who has found a +fruit tree. He tells SALEH to gather the fruit in his basket while he +goes on felling trees. Presently the father comes back and finds SALEH +fastened with his back to the tree by the shoulder-basket, which he has +put right round its stem, and his legs going up and down. "Hello! what +ARE you up to now?" says the father. "Why, I'm carrying away the whole +tree to save trouble," says SALEH, "and I'm watching the clouds up +there to see how fast I'm walking with this tree on my back." + + +A Story with a Moral + +We conclude this chapter with an example of a fable which points a +moral. It is told by the Barawans of their neighbours, the Sebops +(both are Klemantan tribes), who, they say, put off every task till +the morrow. + +One wet night KRA, the monkey, and RAONG, the toad, sat under a log +complaining of the cold. "KR-R-R-H" went KRA, and "Hoot-toot-toot" +went the toad. They agreed that next day they would cut down a KUMUT +tree and make themselves a coat. of its bark. In the morning the sun +shone bright and warm, and KRA gambolled in the tree-tops, while RAONG +climbed on the log and basked in the sunlight. Presently down comes KRA +and sings out, "Hello, mate! How are you getting on?" "Oh! nicely," +says RAONG. "Well, how about that coat we were going to make?" says +KRA. "Oh! bother the coat," says RAONG, "we'll make it to-morrow; +I'm jolly warm now." So they enjoyed the sunshine all day long. But, +when night fell, it began to rain again, and again they sat under the +log complaining of the cold. "KR-R-R-H," went KRA, and "Hoot-toot-toot" +went RAONG. And again they agreed that they must cut down the KUMUT +tree and make themselves a coat of its bark. But in the morning the +sun was shining again warm and bright; and again KRA gambolled in the +tree-tops and RAONG sat basking in the sunshine; and again RAONG, +said, "Oh! bother the coat, we'll make it tomorrow." And every day +it was the same, and so to this day KRA and RAONG sit out in the rain +complaining of the cold, and crying "KR-R-R-H" and "Hoot-toot-toot." + + + +CHAPTER 18 + +Childhood and Youth of a Kayan + +From the time that the parents of a Kayan become aware of his existence +they faithfully observe, without intermission until his appearance in +the world, certain tabus. Or, in their own language, they are MALAN +and certain things and acts are LALI for them. The belief that the +child will resemble in some degree the things which arrest the glance +of his mother while she carries him (LEMALI) is unquestioningly held +and acted upon; hence the expectant woman seeks to avoid seeing all +disagreeable and uncanny objects, more especially the Maias and the +long-nosed monkey; she observes also the tabus imposed upon sick +women in general, and besides these a number of other tabus peculiar +to her condition, most of which apply to acts or situations which +may symbolise any difficulty in delivery of the child; for example, +she must not tie knots, she must not thrust her hand into any narrow +hole to pull anything out. The tabus of the latter class are observed +by the husband even more strictly, if possible, than by the wife. The +woman must also avoid certain kinds of flesh and fish. It frequently +happens that the woman begins to crave to eat a peculiar soapy earth +(BATU KRAP), and this is generally supplied to her. + +The woman will also take positive measures to ensure the prosperous +course of her pregnancy and delivery. At the quickening she sacrifices +a young pig and charges it to convey her prayer to Doh Tenangan; +and on the occurrence of any untoward incident, such as a fall, the +prayer and sacrifice are repeated. The carcases of the victims are +stuck upon poles before the house near her door, and the inevitable +feathered sticks, smeared with blood, are thrust behind a roof beam +in the gallery opposite her door. + +In every Kayan house are certain elderly women (not the DAYONGS) +who have a reputation for special knowledge and skill in all matters +connected with pregnancy and childbirth. One of these is called in +at an early stage; she makes from time to time a careful examination +of the patient's abdomen and professes to secure the best position +of the child. + +She has also a number of charms, which she hangs in the woman's room, +and various unguents, which she applies externally. But all these +procedures are surrounded by a veil of secrecy which we have failed +to penetrate. And, in fact, all information in regard to the processes +of childbirth is difficult to obtain, for all Kayans are very reticent +on the matter, even among themselves. + +In all other respects the pregnant woman follows her ordinary mode +of life until the pains of labour begin. Then she is attended by the +wise woman and several elderly relatives or friends. She sits in +her room which is LALI to all but her attendants and her husband; +and she is hidden from the latter by a screen of mats. During the +pains she grasps and pulls on a cloth fixed to a rafter above and +before her. The pains seem to be severe, since the woman generally +groans and cries out; but the duration of labour is commonly brief, +perhaps two or three hours only. The attendants' great anxiety is lest +the child should go upward, and to prevent this they tie a cloth very +tightly round the patient about the upper part of her abdomen. During +the pains two of them press down with great force upon the uterus, +one from each side. The wise woman professes to accomplish version +by external manipulation, if she judges that the feet are about to +present. But we do not know whether her claim to so much skill is well +founded. If the after-birth does not follow immediately upon the child, +the attendants become very anxious; two of them lift up the patient, +and, if it does not soon appear, an axe-head is tied to the cord in +order to prevent its return within the body, and possibly that the +weight may hasten its extrusion. We have no reason to suppose that +any internal manipulation is attempted at this or any other stage of +labour or of pregnancy. Immediately after delivery the cord is tied +and cut across with a bamboo knife. If the child does not cry at once, +its nostrils are tickled with a feather. + +The after-birth is usually buried or merely thrown away. But if +the child is born enclosed in the membranes (with a caul), they are +dried and preserved by the mother. It is said that, when dried, it +is pounded to a powder and mixed with medicines administered to the +child in later years. + +If labour is unusually difficult or prolonged, or if accidents happen, +the news spreads quickly through the house; and, if the attendants +begin to fear a fatal issue, the whole household is thrown into +consternation, for death in childbirth is regarded with peculiar +horror. All the men of the house, including the chief and boys, will +flee from the house, or, if it is night, they will clamber up among +the beams of the roof and there hide in terror; and, if the worst +happens, they remain there until the woman's corpse has been taken +out of the house for burial. In such a case the burial is effected +with the utmost despatch. Old men and women, who are indifferent to +death, will undertake the work, and they expect a large fee. + +The body, wrapped in a mat, is buried in a grave dug in the earth +among the tombs, instead of being put in a coffin raised on a tall +post; for the soul of the woman who dies in childbirth goes, with the +souls of those who fall in battle, or die by violence of any kind, +to Bawang Daha (the lake of blood). + +If twins are born, one is chosen, generally the boy, if they are +of different sexes. The other is got rid off by exposure in the +jungle. The avowed motive for this practice (which, of course, is +rapidly passing away under the influence of the European governments) +is the desire to preserve the life of the survivor; for they hold +that his chances of life are diminished not only by the necessity of +dividing the mother's care and milk between the twins, if both survive, +but also by the sympathetic bond which they believe to exist between +twins, and which renders each of them liable to all the ills and +misfortunes that befall the other; and to Kayans the loss of a child +of some years of age is a calamity of the first magnitude, whereas +the sacrifice of one of a pair of new-born twins is hardly felt. + +At the moment the child is completely born, a TAWAK or a drum +(according as it is male or female) is beaten in the gallery with +a peculiar rhythm. All members of the household (I.E. all whose +rooms are under the roof of the one long house, and who, therefore, +are under the same omens and tabus) who are within the house at this +moment have the right to a handful of salt from the parents of the +child; and all members who are not under the roof at the moment are +expected to make a present of some piece of iron to the child. This +is an ancient custom, which is no longer strictly observed, and which +seems to be undergoing a natural decay. + +During the confinement of a woman, Kayans (more especially those +of the upper Rejang) sometimes perform a dance which is supposed to +facilitate delivery. It is commonly performed by a woman, a friend +or relative of the labouring woman, who takes in her arms a bundle +of cloth, which she handles like a baby while she dances, afterwards +putting it into the cradle (HAVAT) in which a child is carried on the +back. An old story relates the origin of this dance as follows. A +widow died in childbirth, and the child was given to a woman who +happened to be dancing at the time of its birth, and who afterwards +became a very influential and prosperous person. + +When the delivery has been normally accomplished and all goes well, +the mother at once nurses the child; and a woman of the lower class +may resume her lighter household duties within twenty-four hours. A +woman of the upper class may remain recumbent for the most part of +several days or even weeks. For seventeen days the mother wears +threads tied round the thumbs and big toes, and during this time +she is expected to avoid heavy labour, such as farm-work and the +pounding of hadi. There seems to be no trace of any such custom as +the COUVADE, though the father observes, like the mother, certain +tabus during the early months and years of the child's life, with +diminishing strictness as the child grows older. The child also is +hedged about with tabus. The general aim of all these tabus seems to +be to establish and maintain about the child a certain atmosphere +(or, as they say, a certain odour)[168] in which alone it can +thrive. Neither father nor mother will eat or touch anything whose +properties are thought to be harmful or undesirable for the child, +E.G. such things as the skin of the timid deer (see vol. ii. p. 72), +or that of the tiger-cat; and the child himself is still more strictly +preserved from such contacts. Further, nothing used by or about the +child -- toys, garments, cradle, or beads -- must be lost, lent, sold, +or otherwise allowed to pass out of the possession of the parents; +though, if one child has thriven, its properties are preferred to all +others for the use of a younger brother or sister. It is important +also that no stranger shall handle or gaze too closely upon the child; +and when it is put down to sleep in the parents' room, the mat or +rude wooden cradle on which it lies is generally surrounded by a +rough screen. The more influential the stranger, the more is his +contact to be feared; for any such contact or notice may attract +to the infant the unwelcome and probably injurious attentions of +the TOH. For the same reason it is forbidden, or PARIT, to a child +to lie down on the spot where a chief has been sitting or where he +usually reposes. And it is a grave offence for a child to, jump over +the legs of a reclining chief; but in this case the disrespect shown +is probably the more important ground of the disapprobation incurred. + +If any such contact has unwittingly occurred, or if, for example, +a Kayan mother has consented to submit an ailing child to inspection +by a European medical man, the danger incurred may be warded off +by the gift from the stranger to the child of some small article +of value. In a similar way the breach of other tabus, such as the +entering of a room which is LALI, may be rendered innocuous. + +The infant is carried by the mother almost continuously during the +waking hours of its first year of life; it is generally suspended in +a sling made of wood or of basket-work, resembling in shape the baby's +swing familiar in our nurseries; the child sits on a semicircular piece +of board, its legs dependent, its knees and belly against the mother's +back, and its own back supported by the two vertical pieces of the +cradle (see Pl. 166). The mother nurses the infant in her arms during +most of her leisure moments, and she hushes it to sleep by crooning +old lullabies as she rocks it in her arms or in a cradle suspended +from a pliable stick.[169] The father hardly handles it during its +first year, but many fathers nurse and dandle the older infants for +hours together in the most affectionate manner; and, if the child's +grandfather is living, he generally becomes its devoted attendant. + +About the end of its first year the infant begins to crawl and toddle +about the room and gallery, to sprawl into the hearth and eat charcoal, +and to get into all sorts of mischief in the usual way. During the +first year he lives chiefly on his mother's milk, but takes also +thick rice-water from an early age. + +Towards the end of the first year the lobes of the ears are perforated, +and a ring (or, in the case of a girl, several small rings) is inserted +in each. Of childish affections of health, the commonest at this age +is yaws (FRAMBOESIA) about the mouth. Kayan mothers believe that every +child must go through this, and that one attack protects against its +recurrence; and the rareness of the disease in adults seems to bear +out this belief. Most of the children are weaned about the end of +their second year. + +During the next years, until the boy is five or six years of age, +he remains always under the care of his mother. He spends the day +running about within and around the house and among the boats at +the landing-place, playing with his fellows, chasing the pigs and +fowls, and bathing in the river. The children are in the main what is +commonly called good, they cry but little, and quarrels and outbreaks +of temper are few. During the boy's third year a hole is punched +in the shell of each ear. A single blow with a bamboo punch takes +out a circular piece; into this a circular plug of wax or wood is +inserted. The girl, on the other hand, has more rings added to the +lobes of her cars, which gradually yield to the weight, and begin to +assume the desired character of slender loops. During these years the +boy normally takes the first step of his initiation as a warrior by +striking a blow at a freshly taken head, or, if need be, at an old one +(see vol. ii. p. 169). + +It is at some time in the course of these years, usually not earlier +than the beginning of the child's third year, that he first receives +a name. The occasion of the rite is a general naming of all the +children of the house of suitable age; and the time is determined by +the conclusion of a successful harvest; for a general feast is made +for which much rice and BURAK are required, and these cannot be spared +in a year of poor harvest. For each child who is to be named a small +human image in soft wood is prepared. This is an effigy of Laki Pesong, +the god whose special function it is to care for the welfare of the +children. A small mat is woven and a few strips of rattan provided +for each child. Each child sits with his (or her) mother in the +gallery beside the door of their room, and the parents announce the +name they propose for the child. Then the father, or some other man, +after killing a chick or young pig, lays the image on the mat before +the child, passes one of the rattan strips beneath it, and, holding +the image firmly with a big toe on each end of it, pulls the strip +rapidly to and fro, until it is made hot by its friction against the +image, and smoke begins to rise. While this goes on, the same man, +or another, pours out a stream of words addressed to Laki Pesong, +the sense of which is a supplication for an answer to the question, +"Is this a suitable name? Will he be prosperous under it? Will he +enjoy a long life?" etc. He continues the sawing movement until the +strip breaks in two. The two pieces are then compared; if they are of +unequal length, this result is regarded as expressing the approval of +the proposed name by Laki Pesong; if they are of approximately equal +length, the god is held to have expressed his disapproval, and another +name is proposed and submitted to the same test. If disapproval is +thus expressed several times, the naming of the child is postponed +to another occasion (Pls. 53, 168). + +If a name has been approved, the image, together with the knife used +in killing the pig or chicken, is wrapped up in the small mat; the +bundle, which, as well as the ceremony, is called PUSA, is thrust +behind the rafters of the gallery opposite the door of the child's +room, to remain there as a memento of the naming. + +When the naming is accomplished a general feast begins, the parents +of the newly named children contributing the chief part of the good +things; and a number of specially invited guests may participate. + +The name so given at this ceremony is borne until the child becomes a +parent; when he resigns it in favour of the name given to his child +with the title Taman (= father) prefixed (or Tinan in the case of +a woman). + +Among the Kayans of the upper Rejang the naming ceremonies differ +widely from those described above, and are even more elaborate. The +following description was given us by Laki Bo, a Kayan PENGHULU.[170] +A child is named sometime between its third month and the end of +its second year, the date depending partly on the father's capacity +to afford the expenses incidental to the ceremony. The father and +his friends obtain specimens of all the edible animals and fish, +and after drying them over the fire, set them up in his room in +attitudes as lifelike as possible. He procures also the leaves of a +species of banana tree which bears very large horn-like fruit, known +as PUTI ORAN; and having procured the services of a female DAYONG, +who has a reputation for skill in naming, he calls all the friends and +relatives of the family to the feast. The DAYONG enters the room where +the child is, bearing a fowl's egg, while gongs and drums are beaten +and guns discharged. She strokes the child from forehead to navel +with the egg, calling out some name at each stroke, until she feels +that she has found a suitable name. The whole company then pretends +to fall asleep; and presently some go out into the gallery. The +DAYONG then calls upon sixteen of the women to enter the room; they +enter led by a woman who, pretending to be a fowl, clucks and crows, +and says, "Why are you all asleep here? It has been daylight for a +long time. Don't you hear me crowing? Wake up, wake up." The child, +which has been kept in its parents' cubicle during this first part +of the ceremony, is then brought into the large room, and a fowl and +small pig are slaughtered and their entrails examined. If these yield +favourable omens, the DAYONG begins to chant, invoking the protection +of good spirits for the child. Then sixteen men and sixteen women, +whose parents are still living, are sent to fetch water for the use +of the child and its mother. The feasting then begins, some person +eating on behalf of the child, if it is too young to partake of the +feast. Eight days later the DAYONG again invokes the protection of +the beneficent spirits, and the child is taken out into the gallery +and shown to all the household. Some near relative makes a cross upon +its right foot with a piece of charcoal, and the child is taken to the +door of each room to receive some small present from each roomhold. The +child must then return to its parents' room and remain there eight +days. After the next harvest a similar feast of pigs' flesh and dried +animals is made, and the name is confirmed. But if in the meantime +the child has been ill, or any other untoward event has happened, +a new name is given to it. In this case it would be usual to choose +the well-tried name of some prosperous uncle or aunt. Again the child +must be confined to its parents' room for eight days following the +feast; and after that time it is free to go where it will, or rather +wherever children are allowed to go. + +From five or six years onwards the boy more and more accompanies +the men in their excursions on the river and in the jungle, and is +taught to make himself useful on these occasions, and also on the PADI +farm, where he helps in scaring pests and in other odd jobs. But he +still has much leisure, which is chiefly devoted to playing with his +fellows. Among the principal boys' games the following deserve mention: +-- Spinning of peg-tops of hard wood, usually thrown overhand, but +sometimes underhand, in a manner very similar to that of English boys, +each boy in turn striving to strike the tops of the others with his +own; this game is played about the time of PADI harvest. Simple kites +are flown. A roughly made bow with unfeathered arrow is a somewhat +rare toy. Most of the out-door games are of the nature of practice +for the chase and war, and of trials of strength and of endurance of +pain. Wrestling is perhaps the most popular sport with the older boys +and with men. Each grips his antagonist's waist-cloth at its lower edge +behind, and strives to lay him on his back (Pl. 169). Throwing mock +spears at the domestic pigs or goats, and thrusting a spear through a +bounding hoop, afford practice for sport and war. Running games like +prisoner's base, and diving and swimming games, are also played. All +these boys' games are but little organised, and the competitive +motive is not very strongly operative; there are few set rules, +and but little scope for, training in leadership and subordination +is afforded by them. + +In the house less active games are played. In one of the most popular +of these a number of children squat in a ring upon the floor; one +takes a glowing ember from a hearth, and passes it on to his neighbour, +who in turn passes it on as quickly as possible. In this way it goes +round and round the ring until the last spark of fire goes out. He or +she who holds it at that moment is then dubbed ABAN LALU or BALU DOH +(=widower Lalu or widow Doh). + +Pets, in the form of birds and the smaller mammals, especially +hornbills, parrokeets, squirrels, porcupines, are kept in wicker cages. + +About the age of ten years the Kayan boy begins to wear a waist-cloth +-- his first garment -- his sister having assumed the apron some two or +three years earlier; we are not aware of any ceremony connected with +this. From this time onward the boy begins to accompany his father on +the longer excursions of the men, especially on the long expeditions +in search of jungle produce; and on these occasions he is expected +to take an active part in the labours of the party. Participation +in such expeditions affords, perhaps, the most important part of his +education. There is little or no attempt made to impart instruction to +the children, whether moral or other, but they fall naturally under the +spell of custom and public opinion; and they absorb the lore, legends, +myths, and traditions of their tribe, while listening to their elders +as they discuss the affairs of the household and of their neighbours +in the long evening talks. They learn also the prohibitions and +tabus by being constantly checked; a sharp word generally suffices to +secure obedience. Punishments are almost unknown, especially physical +punishments; though in extreme cases of disobedience the child's ear +may be tweaked, while it is asked if it is deaf. A sound scolding also +is not infrequent, and an incorrigible offender, especially if his +conduct has been offensive to persons outside his family, may be haled +before the chief, who rates him soundly, and who may, in a more serious +case, award compensation to be paid by the delinquent's father. But in +the main the Spencerian method of training is followed. A parent warns +his child of the ill effects that may be expected from the line of +behaviour he is taking, and when those effects are realised, he says, +"Well, what did I tell you?" and adds a grunt of withering contempt. + +The growth of the children in wisdom and morality is aided also by the +hearing from the lips of their elders wise saws and ancient maxims that +embody the experience of their forefathers, many of which are possibly +of Malay origin. A few of these seem worthy of citation here: -- + +"Never mind a drop or two so long as you don't spill the whole." + +"Better white bones than white eyes" (which means -- that death is +preferable to shame). + +"If you haven't a rattan do the best you can with a creeper." + +It is difficult to say exactly at what age puberty begins with the +youths. The girls mostly begin their courses in the fourteenth or +fifteenth year. By this time the girl of the better class has the lobes +of her ears distended to form loops, which allow her heavy ear-rings +to reach to her collar-bone or even lower, and she is far advanced +towards completion of her tatu on thighs, feet, hands, and forearms +(see Chap. XII.). The process is begun at about the tenth year, and is +continued from time to time, only a small area being covered at each +bout, owing to the pain of the operation and the ensuing inflammation +and discomfort. + +The boys begin at about fifteen years, or rather earlier, to assert +their independence, by clubbing together with those of their own +age, and taking up their sleeping quarters with the bachelors in the +gallery. At an earlier age the children have picked up a number of +songs and spontaneously sing them in groups, but now they begin to +develop their powers of musical. expression by practising with the +KELURI, Jew's harp, drum and TAWAK. + +Of these instruments the first is the most used, especially by the +youths. It is a rude form of the bagpipes. The KELURI consists of +a dried gourd which has the shape of an oval flask with a long neck +(Fig. 85). The closed ends of a bundle of six narrow bamboo pipes are +inserted in the body of the gourd through a hole cut in its wall, +and are fixed hermetically with wax. Their free ends are open, and +each pipe has a small lateral hole or stop at a carefully determined +distance from the open end. The artist blows through the neck of +the gourd, and the air enters the base of each pipe by an oblong +aperture which is filled by a vibrating tongue or reed; this is +formed by shaving away the wall of the bamboo till it is very thin, +and then cutting through it round three sides of the oblong; it is +weighted with a piece of wax. The holes are stopped by the fingers, +3ach pipe emitting its note only when its hole is stopped. The physical +principles involved are obscure to us. Varieties of this instrument +are made by all the tribes of Borneo as well as by many other peoples +of the far East (Pl. 70). + +The bamboo harp is similar to that made and used by the Punans (see +Fig. 86); the SAPEH is a two-stringed instrument of the banjo order; +the strings are thin strips of rattan; the whole stem and body are +carved out of a single block of hard wood (see Pl. 170 and Fig. 20). + +Some of the girls learn to execute a solo dance, which consists largely +in slow graceful movements of the arms and hands (Pl. 170). The bigger +boys are taught to take part in the dance in which the return from +the warpath is dramatically represented. This is a musical march +rather than a dance. A party of young men in full war-dress form up +in single line; the leader, and perhaps two or three others, play the +battle march on the KELURI. The line advances slowly up the gallery, +each man turning half about at every third step, the even numbers +turning to the one hand, the odd to the other hand, alternately, +and all stamping together as they complete the turn at each third +step. The turning to right and left symbolises the alert guarding of +the heads which are supposed to be carried by the victorious warriors. + +A more violent display of warlike feeling is given in the war-dance +which is executed by one or two warriors only. The youth, in full +panoply of war, and brandishing a PARANG and shield, goes through +the movements of a single combat with some fanciful exaggeration +(Pl. 171). He crouches beneath his shield, and springs violently hither +and thither, emitting piercing yells of defiance and rage, cutting and +striking at his imaginary foe or his partner in the dance. But it is +characteristic of the Kayans that neither in this dance nor in actual +practice in fencing do they attempt to strike one another. The boy, +besides watching these martial displays, is instructed in the arts +of striking, parrying, and shielding by the older men, who strike +at him with a stick but arrest the blow before it goes home. And we +have found it impossible to introduce among them a more realistic +mode of playful fencing. The ground of this reluctance actually to +strike one another in fencing is probably their strong feeling for +symbolism and the prevailing tendency to believe that the symbolical +art brings about that which it symbolises. In part also it is due +to the fact that to draw the blood of any member of the household is +LALI and involves the penalty of a fine.[171] + +The youth goes through no elaborate rite of initiation to manhood; +and, to the best of our knowledge, there exists no body of secret +knowledge or of tradition or rites shared in only by the adult men, +to participation in which he might be admitted in the course of such +a rite. The only rite that is required to qualify him for taking +his place as a full-fledged member of the community is the second +occasion on which he strikes at the heads taken in battle. We have +seen that he performs this ceremonial act for the first time when +still of tender age. The age at which he repeats it depends in part +upon the occurrence of an opportunity; it commonly falls between his +eighth and fifteenth year. If in a house there is a number of big +lads who have not performed this rite, owing to no heads having been +taken for some years, a head may be borrowed for the purpose from +a friendly household; and in this case the borrowed head is brought +into the house with all the pomp and ceremony of successful war. + +As the returning war-party approaches the village, the boys who are to +take part in the rite are marshalled before the house by a master of +the ceremonies. He kills a fowl and thrusts a sharpened stake right +through it, so that the point projects from its beak, and slashes +the carcase into three pieces, one for the adults of the house, one +for the boys, and one for the infants. He then takes a short bamboo +knife, and a bunch of ISANG leaves, and, after making a short address +to the boys, ties a band of ISANG round the wrist of each of them, +and, diluting the blood of the fowl with water, smears some of the +mixture on each boy's wrist-band. He puts a handful of rice on a +burning log and gives a grain of it to each of the boys to eat. + +Some old man of the house goes down to the river to meet the returning +war-party and brings up the head (or one of the heads) and holds +it out, while the master of ceremonies, holding the portion of the +fowl's carcase assigned to the boys, leads up each boy in turn to +strike at the head with a sword. The boys then go down to the river; +and, while they bathe, a bunch of ISANG with which the head has been +decorated is waved over them. During the feasting which follows the +boys may eat only twice a day. No youth may join a war-party until he +has taken part in this rite. The boys are with few or no exceptions +keen to go out to war and therefore they like to go through this +ceremony at the earliest permissible opportunity. + +When the youth begins to feel strongly the attraction of the other +sex, he finds opportunities of paying visits, with a few companions, +in friendly houses. It is then said in his own house that he has gone +"to seek tobacco," a phrase which is well understood to mean that he +has gone to seek female companionship.[172] + +We must not pass over without mention a peculiar mutilation which +is practised by most of the Kayan youths as they approach manhood, +namely, the transverse perforation of the GLANS PENIS and the insertion +of a short rod of polished bone or hard wood. + +A youth of average presentability will usually succeed in becoming the +accepted lover of some girl in his own or another house (cp. Chap. V.); +and though he may engage himself in this way with two or three girls +in turn before deciding to "settle down," he is usually not much over +twenty years of age when he becomes accepted as the future husband +of a girl some years his junior. A Kayan youth who has rendered +pregnant a girl with whom he has kept company can be relied upon +to acknowledge his responsibility and to marry her before her time +comes. In general it may be said that the rite of marriage does not +mark so complete a change in the recognised relations of the young +couple as with ourselves, except perhaps in those parts of this country +where "handfasting" is recognised as customary and regular. A time is +appointed for the wedding, generally shortly after the completion of +the padi-harvest; but this date is liable to be repeatedly postponed +to the following year by the occurrence of various events which are +regarded as of evil omen and as foretelling the early death of one of +the couple if they should persist in going through the ceremony. Such +omens are hardly ever disregarded; not even if the girl is far advanced +in pregnancy.[173] In the latter case the girl does not incur the odium +that attaches to the production of bastard offspring (see Chap. XX.); +she is treated as a married woman would be, and her child is regarded +as legitimate. + +We describe in the following paragraphs the wedding of the son of an +influential Kayan chief to the daughter of the chief of another house +of the same village, such as we have had occasion to assist at. The +weddings of couples of less exalted station are correspondingly less +elaborate in all particulars. + +When the appointed time draws near, the bridegroom sends a trusted +friend (his "best man") to open negotiations with the bride's +parents. The emissary carries with him a number of presents whose value +accords with the status and wealth of the bridegroom's parents. For +some time the fiction is maintained that the object of his visit is +not even suspected by the family, who make enquiries into the nature +of his business. After some fencing he comes to the point and asks +on behalf of his friend for a definite date at which he may marry the +daughter. The parents raise objections and difficulties of all sorts, +and perhaps nothing is settled until a second or third visit. If the +parents accept the proposal, the best man hands to them five sets +each of sixteen beads, the beads of each set being of uniform shape +and colour, namely (1) small yellow beads (UTEH); (2) black beads +(MEDAK); (3) a set known as HABARANI which may not be worn by the bride +before the naming of her first child; (4) light blue beads (KRUTANG); +(5) dark blue beads (TOBI). Each of these sets of beads is held to +ensure to the bride the enjoyment of some moral good. The girl also +sends a string of beads to her lover by the hand of his best man, +and at last the date is fixed, due regard being paid to the phases +of the moon; new moon is considered the most favourable time of the +month. The importance ascribed to the phase of the moon seems to arise +from the fact that the shape of the half-moon suggests the state of +pregnancy. Tally is kept by both parties of the date agreed upon. On +two long strips of rattan an equal number of knots is tied. Each party +keeps one of these tallies (often it is carried tied below the knee) +and cuts off one knot each morning; when the last knot alone remains, +the appointed day is at hand. + +The parties on both sides invite the attendance of their friends +and relatives, who crowd the gallery of the bride's house. Early in +the morning the bridegroom arrives with his best man and a party of +young friends in full war-dress; they land from a boat even though +they have come but a few yards by water. They march up to the house, +some of them carrying large brass gongs; ascending the ladder, they +lay the gongs down the gallery from the head of the ladder towards +the door of the bride's room at such intervals that the bride can +step from one to another. It is understood that these gongs become the +property of the bride and her parents. Others of the bridegroom's band +carry other articles of value, and when the party reaches the door +of the bride's room, they parley with her parents and friends who +are gathered in the room, displaying and offering these objects to +the defenders of the room as inducements to admit them. They strive +also to push open the door. Presently the men of the defending party +make a sortie from the room fully armed, and repel the attackers +with much show of violence, but without bloodshed. After this sham +fight has been repeated, perhaps several times, the bridegroom and +his supporters are at last admitted to the room, and they rush in, +only to find, perhaps, that the coy maiden has slipped away through +the small door which generally gives access to a neighbouring room. The +impatient bridegroom cannot obtain information as to her whereabouts, +and so he and his men sit down in the room and accept the proffered +cigarettes. Presently the bride relents and returns to her parents' +room accompanied by a bevy of her girl friends. But the bridegroom +takes no notice of her entry. The inevitable pig meanwhile has been +laid in the gallery, together with a few gifts for the DAYONG who is +to read its liver. Here the final steps of the bargaining are conducted +by the friends of the bridegroom. (It is impossible to say in each case +how far this bargaining is genuine and how far the terms of the bargain +have been arranged beforehand.) More gongs are added to the row upon +the floor, chiefly by the friends invited by the bridegroom, who thus +make their wedding gifts, perhaps until the row extends to the door of +the bride's room. The pig is then killed and its liver examined; and, +if necessary, this is repeated with another and another pig, until one +whose liver permits of favourable interpretation is found. (A series +of bad livers would lead to postponement.) The DAYONG then sprinkles +pig's blood and water from a gong upon all the assembly, invoking the +blessing of the gods upon the young couple, asking for them long life +and many children. Then the bride and bridegroom walk up and down +the row of gongs eight times, stepping only upon the metal. In some +cases the bridegroom descends to his boat at the landing-stage on +each of these eight excursions, thus showing that he is free to come +and go as he pleases and has no entanglements. In this degenerate +age the ceremony terminates with this act, but for the feasting and +speech-making which fill up the evening hours. But in the old days, +as we are credibly informed by those who have been eye-witnesses, +the bride descended with the groom and his party to his boat and was +then carried off at full speed, pursued by several boat-loads of her +friends. The fleeing party would then check the pursuit by throwing +out on to the bank every article of value still remaining among them; +each article in turn would be snapped up by the pursuers, who then, +having thus resisted to the last and extorted the highest possible +price from the bridegroom, would allow the happy pair to console each +other in peace for the many trials they had had to endure. + +It may seem difficult to reconcile the form of the marriage ceremony +(involving as it does a blending of symbolical capture with actual +purchase) with the fact that, in accordance with the custom almost +universally followed among Kayans, the bridegroom becomes a member +of the room of his father-in-law and remains there for some years +before carrying off his wife to his own house. But we think this latter +practice, which in some quarters has been regarded as a survival from a +matriarchal organisation of society, is a recently introduced custom, +which has come rapidly into favour as a means by which the bridegroom +and his friends avoid a part of the expense involved in the older form +of marriage. For the residence for a period of years of the young +couple in the house and room of the wife's parents is made a part +of the marriage contract. If the bride is the only child of a chief, +her husband may remain permanently in her home and succeed her father +as chief. But in most cases the couple migrates to the husband's house +after a few years, generally on the occasion of the building of a new +house or on the death of his father, both of which events afford him +the opportunity of becoming head of a room and thus taking rank as, +and assuming the full responsibilities of, a PATER FAMILIAS. + +The marriage ceremonies of the Kenyahs and Klemantans are similar +but less elaborate. But the Sea Dayak ceremony is different. A feast +is made in the house of the girl's parents. The bridegroom makes no +considerable gifts to the parents of the bride, though he is generally +expected to become a member of their household for the first few years +of his married life. The principal feature of the ceremony is the +splitting open of a PINANG (the seed of the areca palm) during the +feast, in the presence of the young couple and their relatives. The +two halves are examined for signs of decay or imperfection; and if +there are none, the marriage is regarded as approved. A live fowl is +waved over the couple by the chief of the house as he says, "Make +them prosperous, make them happy, give them long life, make them +wealthy, etc. etc." The phrases conform to a conventional pattern, +but each orator modifies and adapts them freely. The words seemed to +be addressed to the fowl, and it seems impossible to discover in the +Iban mind any conception of a higher power behind or beyond the fowl, +though we may suspect that in a vague way the live fowl symbolises +or represents Life in general or the power behind Nature (Pl. 173). + +Few or no Kayans can state their age without going through some +preliminary calculations, and even then their statements are apt to +be vague and uncertain. A Kayan mother can generally work out the +age of each of her children on request. She puts down in a row bits +of leaf or stick, one for each year, working back from the present, +and recalling each year by the name of the place where the PADI crop +of that year was raised. When she reaches back to, the year of the +birth of any one of her children, she says that the child was born +about or before or soon after this particular harvest, and by counting +the pieces of stuff laid down she then arrives at the child's age. + +An elderly man can generally make no more accurate statement regarding +his age than that at the time of the great eclipse he had just +begun to wear a waist-cloth, or that when the great guns were heard +(I.E. the sound of the eruption of Krakatoa) he was just beginning +"to look for tobacco." + +We mention here a statement commonly made by Kayans, which, if true, +is of some interest as reporting a curious exception to a world-wide +custom commonly regarded as directly determined by the difference of +nature between the sexes, the report, namely, that among the Kalabits +the initiative in all love-making is taken by the women. We have +no detailed information in regard to their courtship and marriage +procedures. + + + +CHAPTER 19 + +The Nomad Hunters + +In almost all parts of Borneo there are to be found hidden in +the remotest recesses of the jungles small bands of homeless nomad +hunters. All these closely resemble one another in physical characters +and in mode of life; but differences of language mark them as belonging +to several groups, of which the Punans, the Ukits, the Sians, the +Bukitans, the Lugats, and the Lisums are the best known. Hitherto we +have designated all these groups by the name Punan, which properly +belongs to the largest group only. These groups inhabit different +areas, though there is considerable overlapping; and it seems probable +that they are merely local varieties of one stock, and that their +differences are mainly the results of geographical separation and +of intercourse with, and probably some mingling of blood with, the +settled tribes of the regions inhabited by the several groups. For +their languages seem to be closely allied; but in each region the +nomads seem to have adopted many words from their settled neighbours, +with whom they trade; and instances are known to us in which the +men of the settled tribes have married women of the nomads and have +adopted their mode of life, and others in which children of nomad +women, married into Kenyah, Kayan, or other villages, have gone back +to their mothers' people. + +The Punans proper are found in the central highlands wandering through +the upper parts of the basins of all the large rivers; here and there +they range into the lowlands, and in rare instances they even reach +the coast. The Ukits, on the other hand, confine themselves to the +interior, and are found chiefly in the upper parts of the basins of the +Kotei, the Rejang, the Kapuas, and Banjermasin rivers. The Bukitans +inhabit chiefly the upper basins of the rivers of Sarawak. Although +these nomads wander perpetually in the forests, moving their camp every +few weeks or months, any one group attaches itself to a particular +area, partly because they become familiar with its natural resources, +partly because they establish friendly relations with the villagers +of the region, with whom they barter jungle-produce to the advantage +of both parties. The settled tribesmen of any region find this trade +so profitable that they regard the harmless nomads with friendly +feelings, learn their language, and avoid and reprobate any harsh +treatment of them that might drive them to leave their district. In +fact they look upon them with a certain sense of proprietorship and +are jealous of their intercourse with other tribes; the nomads, in +fact, rank high among the many natural products of the jungle that +render any particular region attractive to the tribesmen. + +Of all these nomad groups the Punans are the most numerous and we have +seen more of them than of any others. We therefore describe their +peculiar mode of life; but it may be understood that what we say of +them holds good in the main of the other groups of nomads with but +little modification. + +From the point of view of physical development the Punans are among +the finest of the peoples of Borneo. They resemble the Kenyahs more +closely than any other tribe; that is to say, they are of very pale +yellow colour, of short stature with long body and short legs, but +otherwise well proportioned and very sturdily built with well-rounded +limbs and large muscular development. Their heads are subbrachycephalic +and inclining to be square; their features are more regular than those +of most other tribes; their most distinctive physical characters are +a relatively well-developed nasal bridge, nostrils directed so much +forward that one seems to look right into their heads through them, +and the slight greenish tinge and fine silky texture of their pale +yellow skins. The greenish tinge may be noticed in all nomad Punans, +and it is possible that the ruddier darker tint of the agricultural +peoples is largely or wholly due to their greater exposure to the sun; +for the Punan fears the broad daylight and rarely or never leaves +the deep shade of the jungle. + +In fineness of texture of the skin they surpass all the other tribes, +and they seldom or never suffer from the disfiguring scaly affections +of the skin so common among the others. + +The Punans are more uniform as regards their physical characters than +the other peoples; there are no distinctions of upper and lower social +strata as among the other tribes, and thus the mixture of blood, +which in the Kayan and Kenyah communities results from the adoption +of war captives into the lower class, does not occur with them; +and they present none of the wide diversities of type such as are +common in the other tribes, especially between the upper and lower +social classes. They correspond, in fact, to the relatively pure bred +upper classes of the other tribes, and present the same high standard +of physical development and vigour. It is not improbable that the +severer conditions of their mode of life contribute to maintain this +high standard. + +The facial expression and the bodily attitudes of the Punans are also +characteristic. When gathered in friendly talk with strangers, even +those whom they have every reason to trust, they prefer to remain +squatting on their heels, rather than to sit down on a mat; and the +tension of their muscles, combined with the still alert watchfulness +of their faces, conveys the impression that they are ready to leap +up and flee away or to struggle for their lives at any moment. It +is doubtless this alertness of facial expression and bodily attitude +that gives the Punan something of the air of an untameable wild animal. + +In spite of his distrustful expression the Punan is a likeable person, +rich in good qualities and innocent of vices. He never slays or attacks +men of other tribes wantonly; he never seeks or takes a head, for his +customs do not demand it; and he never goes upon the warpath, except +when occasionally he joins a war-party of some other tribe in order to +facilitate the avenging of blood. But he will defend himself and his +family pluckily, if he is attacked and has no choice of flight; and, +if any one has killed one of his relatives, he will seek an opportunity +of planting a poisoned dart in his body. In a case of this kind all +the Punans of a large area will aid one another in obtaining certain +information as to the identity of the offender; and any one of them +will avenge the injury to his people, if the opportunity presents +itself. They do not avenge themselves indiscriminately on all or any +member of the offender's village or family, but they will postpone +their vengeance for years, if the actual offender cannot be reached +more promptly. It seems worth while to recount a particular instance +of Punan vengeance. The Punans of the Tinjar basin were claimed by +a Sebop chief; that is to say, the chief, Jangan by name, regarded +them as under his protection and as therefore under an obligation +to trade with him and his people only. But the Pokun people in the +basin of a neighbouring river, the Balaga, a tributary of the Rejang, +also claimed similar rights over the Punans of the district. One of +these Pokuns, a man of the upper class, being angered by the adhesion +of the Punans to the chief Jangan and by their refusal to trade with +him, cut down one of them during an altercation in the jungle, leaving +him dead on the spot. The companions of the murdered man retired, and +all the Punans deserted the neighbourhood of the Pokuns. Some four +years later the Pokun community migrated to the Tinjar; and shortly +afterwards the murderer, thinking the whole matter was forgotten, set +out through the jungle with a small party to seek to trade with another +group of Punans. While on the march he was struck in the cheek (the +favourite spot for the aim of the Punan marksman) by a poisoned dart +from an unseen assailant and died within ten minutes. His companions, +remembering the incident of four years before, suspected the Punans, +but saw no trace of any. + +The Punans confessed the act of vengeance to Jangan, and he +communicated the facts to the Resident of the Baram district (C. H.), +who happened to be in the neighbourhood at the time. The Pokuns +wished to take vengeance on the Punans, and they would undoubtedly +have turned out in force to hunt down and kill all the Punan men +they could find, but that the Resident forbade them to take action, +and enforced his command by threatening to burn down their houses in +their absence. It is only fair to add that the Pokun chief recognised +the justice of this prohibition and showed no resentment. + +That the Punans will not allow the slaying of any one of their number +to go unavenged on the person of the slayer is well known to all +the people of the country, and this knowledge does much to give them +immunity from attack. + +The Punans cultivate no crops and have no domestic animals. They live +entirely upon the wild produce of the jungle, vegetable and animal. Of +the former, sago and a form of vegetable tallow found in the seed +of a tree (SHOREA) are the most important. Animals of all kinds are +eaten, and are secured principally by the aid of the blow-pipe and +poisoned darts, in the use of which the Punans are very expert. The +Punan dwelling is merely a rude low shelter of palm leaves, supported +on sticks to form a sloping roof which keeps off the rain but very +imperfectly, and leaves the interior open on every side.[174] + +A Punan community consists generally of some twenty to thirty adult men +and women, and, about the same number of children. One of the older men +is recognised as the leader or chief. He has little formally defined +authority, but rather the authority only that is naturally accorded to +age and experience and to the fuller knowledge of the tribal history +and traditions that comes with age. His sway is a very mild one; he +dispenses no substantial punishments; public opinion and tradition +seem to be the sole and sufficient sanctions of conduct among these +Arcadian bands of gentle wary wanderers. Decisions as to the movements +of the band are arrived at by open discussion, in which the leader will +exercise an influence proportioned to his reputation for knowledge +and judgment. He is mainly responsible for the reading of the omens, +and has charge of the few and simple household gods -- if that lofty +title may be given to the wooden image of a crocodile and the bundle +of charms attached to it which are always to be seen in a Punan camp. + +If, in case of disagreement, one or more of the members of a band +refuses to accept the judgment of the leader and of the majority, +he, or they, will withdraw from the community together with wife and +children, to form a band which, though in the main independent of +the parent group, will usually remain in its near neighbourhood and +maintain some intercourse. Fighting between Punans, whether of the +same or of different communities, is very rare; the only instances +known to us are a few in which Punans have been incited by men of +other tribes to join in an attack on their fellows. + +The members of the band are for the most part the near relatives +of the leader, brothers and sons and nephews with their wives and +children. Each man has usually one wife. We know of no instances of +polygyny amongst them; though we know of cases in which a Punan woman +has become the second wife of a man of some other tribe. On the other +hand, polyandry occurs, generally in cases in which a woman married +to an elderly man has no children by him. They desire many children, +and large families are the rule; a family with as many as eight or +nine children is no rarity. + +Marriage is for life, though separation by the advice and direction +of the chief, or by desertion of the man to another community, +occurs. Sexual restraint is probably maintained at about the same +level as among the other peoples, the women being more strictly chaste +after than before marriage. The ceremony of marriage is less elaborate +than among the settled tribes. A young man will become the lover of a +girl generally of some other group than his own, and when she becomes +pregnant the marriage is celebrated. There is little or no formal +arrangement of marriages by the elders on behalf of the young people. + +The ceremony of marriage consists merely in a feast in which all, +or most of, the members of the two communities take part. Speeches +are made, and the leaders exhort the young couple to industry and +to obedience to themselves, making specific mention of the principal +duties of either sex, such as collecting camphor and procuring animal +food for the man, the preparing of sago, cooking, and tending the +children for the woman. + +After the ceremony, the husband joins the wife's community and +generally remains a member of it; unlike the Kayans, among whom a +husband, though he may live for some years with his wife's people, +eventually brings her to his father's village. No definite payment +is made to the parents of the bride, but some small gift, perhaps +two or three pounds of tobacco, is usually presented to them by +the bridegroom. + +Adverse omens may cause the postponement of a marriage; but beyond this +there seems to be no regular method of obtaining or seeking divine +sanction for the marriage; an offering of cooked food may be made +to Bali-Penyalong, by placing it on a stake beneath the image of the +crocodile (which seems to serve as an altar) with some dedicatory words +-- for like the other peoples the Punans are voluble in speech, both +in human intercourse and in appealing to the supernatural powers. On +such occasions the words uttered usually take in part the form of a +prayer for protection from danger. + +Those who are accustomed to all the complex comforts and resources of +civilisation, and to whom all these resources hardly suffice to make +tolerable the responsibility and labour of the rearing of a family, +can hardly fail to be filled with wonder at the thought of these gentle +savages bearing and rearing large families of healthy well-mannered +children in the damp jungle, without so much as a permanent shelter +above their heads. The rude shelter of boughs and leaves, which is +their only house, is perhaps made a little more private than usual for +the benefit of the labouring woman. The pregnant woman goes on with +her work up to the moment of labour and resumes it almost immediately +afterwards. She at once becomes responsible for the care of the +infant. The only special treatment after childbirth is to sit with the +back close to a fire, so as to heat it as much as can be borne. The +delivery is sometimes aided by tightly binding the body above the +gravid uterus in order, it would seem, to prevent any retrogression of +the process. While the mother goes about her work in camp, the infant +is usually suspended in a sling of bark-cloth from a bent sapling or +branch, an arrangement which enables the mother to rock and so soothe +the child by means of an occasional push. When travelling or working +in the jungle the mother carries the infant slung upon her back, +either in a bark-cloth or a specially constructed cradle of plaited +rattan such as is used by the Kayans. The infant is suckled from one +to two years, and then takes to the ordinary diet of boiled wild sago, +varied with other animal and vegetable products of the jungle. + +The children begin to help in the family work at a very early age. They +are disciplined largely by frequent warnings against dangers, actual +and suppositious, of which they remain acutely conscious throughout +life. This discipline no doubt contributes largely to induce the air +and the attitude of timid alertness which are so characteristic of the +Punan. Harmony and mutual help are the rule within the family circle, +as well as throughout the larger community; the men generally treat +their wives and children with all kindness, and the women perform +their duties cheerfully and faithfully. + +The religious beliefs and practices of the Punans are similar to +those of the Kayans, but are less elaborated. They observe a simpler +system of omens, of which the behaviour and calls of lizards and +grasshoppers and of the civet cat (ARCTOGALE) are the chief. They +pray to Bali Penyalong, who seems to be the principal object of +their trust. This being is probably conceived anthropomorphically, +but his human qualities are not so clearly marked as in the case of +the gods of the settled tribes. They make no images in human form, +and we do not know that Bali Penyalong is supposed by them to have +a wife. The only image used in rites is the wooden image of the +crocodile, which is carried from place to place with every change of +camp. In communicating with the omen-creatures, fire and the frayed +sticks are used in much the same way as by the Kayans. Their rites +involve no animal sacrifices, and they do not look for guidance or +answer to prayer in the entrails of animals. It seems probable that +the Punans in each region have absorbed some of their religious and +superstitious notions from the settled tribes of the same region; +for in each region the Punan beliefs are different, showing more +or less affinity to those of the settled tribes. It is an obscure +question whether all their religious belief has been thus absorbed +from more cultured neighbours, or whether the Punans represent in this +and other respects the perpetuation (perhaps with some degeneration +or impoverishment) of a more primitive culture once common to the +ancestors of all, or the greater part of, the tribes of Borneo.[175] +The fact that the principal divinity recognised by them bears the same +name (Bali Penyalong) as the chief god of the Kenyahs is compatible +with either view. + +Beside Bali Penyalong the Punans are aware of the existence of other +divinities, which, however, are very obscurely conceived and seldom +approached with prayer or rite. As regards the land of shades and +the journey thither, Punan beliefs are closely similar to those of +Kenyahs and some of the Klemantans. Their account of the journey of +the dead includes the passage of a river guarded by a great fish and a +hornbill (see Chap. XIV.). But they practice no burial and no funeral +rites. As soon as a man dies in any camp, the whole community moves +on to a new camp, leaving his body under one of their rude shelters, +covered only with a few leaves and branches. + +Their view of the life after death seems to involve no system of +retribution and to be wellnigh devoid of moral significance. Their +religious beliefs probably influence their conduct less strongly than +do those of the Kayans; for among the latter such beliefs certainly +make strongly for social conduct, I.E. for obedience to the chiefs +and for observance of custom and public opinion; but in the Punan +community the conditions of life are so simple and so nearly in harmony +with the impulses of the natural man that temptations to wrong-doing +are few and weak; external sanctions of conduct, therefore, are but +little needed and but little operative. + +Danger assails the Punan on every side and at all times, hence +alertness, energy, and courage are the prime virtues; courage +is rated highest, and a woman looks especially for courage in her +husband. But though courageous and active, Punans are not pugnacious; +as was said above, they rarely or never fight against one another, +and the nomadic groups of each region maintain friendly relations +with one another. Within each group harmony and mutual helpfulness +is the rule; each shares with all members of the group whatever +food, whether vegetable or animal, he may procure by skill or good +fortune. On returning to camp with a piece of game, a Punan throws +it down in the midst and it is treated as common property. If he has +slain a large pig or deer, too heavy for him to bring in unaided, he +returns to camp and modestly keeps silence over his achievement until +some question as to his luck is put to him; then he remarks that he +has left some small piece of game in the jungle, a mere trifle. Three +or four men will then set out and, following the path he has marked +by bending down twigs on his way back to camp, will find the game +and bring it in. If a present of tobacco is made to one member of +a group of Punans, the whole mass is divided by one of them into as +many heaps as there are members of the band present; and then each +of them, men and women alike, takes one heap for his or her own use, +the one who divided the mass taking the heap left by the rest. + +In spite of their shyness and timidity, they respond readily to +kind treatment. They are never seen on the rivers, as they have +no boats and cannot easily be persuaded to venture a trip in a +boat. It is possible to make many expeditions through the jungle +without getting any glimpse of them. One of us (C. H.) had lived in +the Baram district six years before succeeding in seeing a single +Punan. The history of his first meeting with Punans may serve to +illustrate their timidity, caution, and good feeling. On making a +long hunting trip on the slopes of Mount Dulit, he took with him a +Sebop who was familiar with Punans and their language. For some days +no trace of them was seen; but one morning freshly made footprints +were observed round about the camp. The following night a cleft stick +was set up at some twenty paces from the camp with a large cake of +tobacco in the cleft, and on the stick a mark was carved which would +be understood by the Punans as implying that they were at liberty to +take the tobacco. This is a method of opening communications and trade +with them well known to the Klemantans. In the morning the tobacco had +disappeared, and fresh foot prints showed that its disappearance was +due to human agency. The following night this procedure was repeated, +and in the course of the day Punan shouts were heard, coming from a +distance of some hundreds of yards. The interpreter was sent out with +instructions to parley and, if possible, to persuade the Punans to come +into camp. Presently he returned with two shy but curious strangers, +who squatted at some distance and were gradually encouraged to come to +close quarters. After staying a few minutes and accepting presents of +tobacco and cloth, they made off. On the following day they returned +with eight male companions, bringing a monkey, a hornbill, and a rare +bird, all killed with their poisoned darts; and they enquired how +much rubber they should bring in return for the tobacco. They were +told that no return was expected, but, understanding that animals of +all sorts were being collected, they attached themselves to the party, +lent their unmatched skill to adding to the collections, and brought +in many rare specimens that now repose safely in the Natural History +Museum at South Kensington. They soon gained confidence and took up +their sleeping quarters under the raised floor of the rough hut; and, +when after some weeks the time for parting came, they voluntarily +took a prominent part in carrying down the collections to the boats, +and went away well satisfied with the simple presents they received. + +Punans never build boats or travel on the water of their own initiative +and agency. In fact they dislike to come out from the shade of the +forest on to a cleared space or the stony bed of the river. They are +very conservative in spite of their intercourse with more advanced +tribes, and they harbour many irrational prejudices. They entertain +a particular aversion to the crocodile, an aversion strongly tinged +with awe. They will not kill it or any one of their omen-beasts. They +are very shy of whatever is unfamiliar. Many of them will not eat +salt or rice when opportunity offers. + +The medicine men or DAYONGS of the Punans are distinguished for +their knowledge and skill, and are in much request among the other +tribes for the catching of souls and the extraction of pains and +disease. They are therefore fairly numerous; but, as among the other +peoples, the calling is a highly specialised one, though not one which +occupies a man's whole time or excuses him from the usual labours of +his community. Their methods do not differ widely from those of the +Kayan and Kenyah DAYONGS. + +The Punan has great faith in charms, especially for bringing good luck +in hunting. He usually carries, tied to his quiver, a bundle of small +objects which have forcibly attracted his attention for any reason, +E.G. a large quartz crystal, a strangely shaped tusk or tooth or +pebble, etc., and this bundle of charms is dipped in the blood of +the animals that fall to his blow-pipe. + +As regards dress and weapons the Punan differs little from his +neighbours. A scanty waist-cloth of home-made bark-cloth, or equally +scanty skirt for the woman, strings of small beads round wrists or +ankles or both, numbers of slender bands of plaited palm-fibre below +the knees and about the wrists, and sometimes a strip of cloth round +the head, make up his costume for all occasions. + +All his belongings are such as can easily be transported. He carries +a sword, a small knife, a blow-pipe with spear-blade attached, and a +small axe with long narrow blade for working camphor out of the heart +of the camphor-tree. Besides these essential tools and weapons, which +he constantly carries, the family possesses sago-mallets and sieves, +dishes and spoons or spatulas of hard wood, and tongs of bamboo for +eating sago,[176] a few iron pots,[177] large baskets for carrying +on the back, a few mats of plaited rattan, and small bamboo boxes. + +These are the sum of the worldly goods of a Punan family, and it would, +we suppose, be difficult to find another people who combine so great +a poverty in material possessions with so high a level of contentment +and decent orderly active living. + +Although his material possessions are so few, the Punan is not capable +of fashioning all of them by his own independent efforts. All his +metal tools he obtains from the Kayans (or other tribes) who are his +patrons. But everything else he makes with his own hands. The long +blow-pipe of polished hard-wood, which is his favourite weapon, he +makes by the same methods and as well as the Kayans. But the iron rod +which he uses in the process of boring the wood he cannot make. This +illustrates his intimate dependence on other tribes, and seems to +imply that the blow-pipe, at least in the highly finished form in +which it is now used, cannot have been an independent achievement +of the Punans. They are especially skilful in the plaiting of rattan +strips to make baskets, mats, and sieves. They do little wood-carving, +but carve some pretty handles for knives and decorative pieces for +the sword-sheaths from the bones of the gibbon and deer. They are +expert also in making bamboo pipes with which to imitate the calls +of the deer and of some of the birds. + +Hunting, tracking, and trapping game are the principal and favourite +pursuits of the men; they display much ingenuity in these pursuits +and attain a wonderful skill in the interpretation of the signs of the +jungle. For example, a Punan is generally able to read from the tracks +left in the jungle by the passage of a party of men, the number of the +party, and much other information about it. They are expert scouts, +and, when their neighbourhood is invaded by any party whose intentions +are not clearly pacific, they will follow them for many days, keeping +them under close observation while remaining completely hidden. + +The Punan has few recreations. His highest artistic achievement +is in song. His principal musical instrument is a simple harp made +from a length of thick bamboo (Fig. 86); from the surface of this +six longitudinal strips are detached throughout the length of a +section of twenty inches or more, but retain at both ends their +natural attachments. Each strip is raised from the surface by a pair +of small wooden bridges, and is tuned by adjusting the interval +between these. The only other musical instrument is a very simple +"harmonica." A series of strips of hard-wood, slightly hollowed and +adjusted in length, are laid across the shins of the operator, who +beats upon them with two sticks. But the finest songs are sung without +accompaniment and are of the nature of dramatic recitals in the manner +of a somewhat monotonous and melancholy recitative. To hear a wild +Punan, standing in the midst of a solemn circle lit only by a few +torches which hardly seem to avail to keep back the vast darkness of +the sleeping jungle, recite with dramatic gesture the adventures of +a departing soul on its way to the land of shades, is an experience +which makes a deep impression, one not devoid of aesthetic quality. + +In dancing, the Punan attains only a very modest level. The men dance +upon a narrow plank (for the good reason that they have nothing else +to dance upon); and the exhibition is one of skilful balancing on this +restricted base while executing a variety of turning movements and +postures. The women dance in groups with very restricted movements +of the feet, and some monotonous swaying movements of the arms and +body. The men also imitate the movements of monkeys and of the hornbill +and the various strange sounds made by the latter. + +The most striking evidence of the low cultural standing of the Punan +is the fact that he cannot count beyond three (the words are JA, +DUA, TELO); all larger numbers are for him merely many (PINA). Yet, +although in culture he stands far below all the settled agricultural +tribes, there is no sufficient reason for assuming him to be innately +inferior to them in any considerable degree, whether morally or +intellectually. Any such assumption is rendered untenable by the fact +that many Punans have quickly assimilated the mode of life and general +culture of the other tribes; and there can be no doubt, we think, that +many of the tribes that we have classed as Klemantan and Kenyah are +very closely related to the Punans, and may properly be regarded as +Punans that have adopted Kayan or Malay culture some generations ago. + + + +CHAPTER 20 + +Moral and Intellectual Peculiarities + +In this chapter we propose to bring together a number of observations +which have found no place in foregoing chapters but which will throw +further light on the moral and intellectual status of the pagan tribes. + +We have seen that among the Kayans the immediate sanction of all +actions and of judgments of approval and disapproval is custom, and +that the sanction of custom is generally supported by the fear of +the TOH and of the harm they may inflict upon the whole house. The +principle of collective or communal responsibility of the household, +which is thus recognised in face of the spiritual powers, as well +as in face of other communities, gives every man an interest in +the good behaviour of his fellows, and at the same time develops +in him the sense of obligation towards his community. The small +size of each community, its separation and clear demarcation by its +residence under a single roof, its subordination to a single chief, +and its perpetual conflict and rivalry with other neighbouring +communities of similar constitution, all these circumstances also +make strongly for the development in each of its members of a strong +collective consciousness, that is to say, of a clear consciousness +of the community and of his place within it and a strong sentiment of +attachment to it. The attachment of each individual to his community is +also greatly strengthened by the fact that it is hardly possible for +him to leave it, even if he would. For he could not hope to maintain +himself alone, or as the head of an isolated family, against the +hostile forces, natural and human, that would threaten him; and +it would be very difficult for him to gain admittance to any other +community. + +It is only when we consider these facts that we can understand how +smoothly the internal life of the community generally runs, how few +serious offences are committed, how few are the quarrels, and how few +the instances of insubordination towards the chief, and how tact and +good sense can rule the house without inflicting any other punishment +than fines and compensatory payments. + +And yet, when all these circumstances have been taken into account, +the orderly behaviour of a Kayan community must be in part regarded as +evidence of the native superiority of character or disposition of the +Kayans. For though the Sea Dayaks, Klemantans, and Muruts, live under +very similar conditions, they do not attain the same high level of +social or moral conduct. Among the Muruts there is much drunkenness +and consequent disorder, and the same is true in a less degree of +the Sea Dayaks; among them and some of the Klemantan tribes quarrels +within the house are of frequent occurrence, generally over disputed +ownership of land, crops, fruit-trees, or other property. And these +quarrels are not easily composed by the chiefs. Such quarrels not +infrequently lead to the splitting of a community, or to the migration +of the whole house with the exception of one troublesome member and +his family, who are left in inglorious isolation in the old house. + +But the higher level of conduct of the Kayans is in most respects +rivalled by that of the Kenyahs, and some importance must therefore be +attributed to the one prominent feature of their social organisation +which is peculiar to these two peoples, namely a clearly marked +stratification into three social strata between which but little +intermarriage takes place. This stratification undoubtedly makes +for a higher level of conduct throughout the communities in which it +obtains; for the members of the higher or chiefly class are brought +up with a keen sense of their responsibility towards the community, +and their example and authority do much to maintain the standards of +conduct of the middle and lower classes. + +We have said that almost all offences are punished by fines only. Of +the few offences which are felt to require a heavier punishment, +the one most seriously regarded is incest. For this offence, which is +held to bring grave peril to the whole house, especially the danger of +starvation through failure of the PADI crop, two punishments have been +customary. If the guilt of the culprits is perfectly clear, they are +taken to some open spot on the river-bank at some distance from the +house. There they are thrown together upon the ground and a sharpened +bamboo stake is driven through their bodies, so that they remain pinned +to the earth. The bamboo, taking root and growing luxuriantly on this +spot, remains as a warning to all who pass by; and, needless to say, +the spot is looked on with horror and shunned by all men. The other +method of punishment is to shut up the offenders in a strong wicker +cage and to throw them into the river. This method is resorted to as +a substitute for the former one, owing to the difficulty of getting +any one to play the part of executioner and to drive in the stake, +for this involves the shedding of the blood of the community. + +The kind of incest most commonly committed is the connection of +a man with an adopted daughter, and (possibly on account of this +frequency) this is the kind which is most strongly reprobated. It +is obvious also that this form of incest requires a specially strong +check in any community in which the adoption of children is a common +practice. For, in the absence of severe penalties for this form of +incest, a man might be tempted to adopt female children in order to +use them as concubines. We find support for this view of the ground of +the especially severe censure on incest of this form in the fact that +intercourse between a youth and his sister-by-adoption (or VICE VERSA) +is not regarded as incest, and the relation is not regarded as any bar +to marriage. We know of at least one instance of marriage between two +young Kenyahs brought up together as adopted brother and sister.[178] +Of other forms of incest the more common (though, it should be said, +incest of any form is very infrequent) are those involving father +and daughter, brother and sister, and brother and half-sister. + +The punishment of the incestuous couple does not suffice to ward off +the danger brought by them upon the community. The household must be +purified with the blood of pigs and fowls; the animals used are the +property of the offenders or of their family; and in this way a fine +is imposed. + +When any calamity threatens or falls upon a house, especially a great +rising of the river which threatens to sweep away the house or the +tombs of the household, the Kayans are led to suspect that incestuous +intercourse in their own or in neighbouring houses has taken place; +and they look round for evidences of it, and sometimes detect a case +which otherwise would have remained hidden. It seems probable that +there is some intimate relation between this belief and the second +of the two modes of punishment described above; but we have no direct +evidence of such connection.[179] + +All the other peoples also, except the Punans, punish incest with +death. Among the Sea Dayaks the most common form of incest is that +between a youth and his aunt, and this is regarded at least as +seriously as any other form. It must be remembered that, owing to +the frequency of divorce and remarriage among the Sea Dayaks, a youth +may find himself in the position of step-son to half a dozen or more +divorced step-mothers, some of them perhaps of his own age, and that +each of them may have several sisters, all of whom are reckoned as +his aunts; therefore he must walk warily in his amorous adventures. + +Sexual perversion of any form is, we think, extremely rare among +the pagan tribes of Borneo. We have never heard of any case of +homosexuality on good authority, and we have never heard any reference +made to it; and that constitutes, to our thinking, strong evidence +that vice of that kind is unknown among most of the tribes. It is +not unknown, though not common, among the Malays and Chinese, and, +if cases occur sporadically among the pagans, they are presumably +due to infection from those quarters. + + +Homicide + +Kayans, as we have seen, have no scruple in shedding the blood +of their enemies, but they very seldom or never go to war with +other Kayans; and the shedding of Kayan blood by Kayans is of rare +occurrence. To shed human blood, even that of an enemy, in the house +is against custom. Nevertheless murder of Kayan by Kayan, even by +members of the same house, is not unknown. In a wanton case, where +two or more men have deliberately attacked another and slain him, +or one has killed another by stealth, the culprit (or culprits) +would usually be made to pay very heavy compensation to relatives, +the amount being greater the higher the social status and the greater +the wealth of the culprit; the amount may equal, in fact, the whole +of his property and more besides; and he might, in order to raise the +amount, have to sell himself into slavery to another, slavery being +their only equivalent to imprisonment. The relatives would probably +desire to kill the murderers; but the chief would generally restrain +them and would find his task rendered easier by the fact that, if +they insist on taking the murderer's life, they would forfeit their +right to compensation.[180] The amount of the compensation to be paid +would not depend upon the social standing of the murdered man, but +the fine paid to the house or chief would be heavier in proportion +to his rank. But we have knowledge of cases in which chiefs have, +with the approval of the house, had a murderer put to the sword. The +murderer who has paid compensation has, however, by no means set +himself right with the household; they continue to look askance +at him. Set fights or duels between men of the same house are very +rare. If a Kayan of one house kills one of another, his chief would +see that he paid a proper compensation to the relatives, as well as +a fine to his own house. If a man killed his own slave, he would be +liable to no punishment unless the act were committed in the house; +but public opinion would strongly disapprove. + +'Running AMOK' is not unknown among Kayans, though it is very rare. If +a man in this condition of blind fury kills any one, he is cut down and +killed, unless he is in the house; in which case he would be knocked +senseless with clubs, carried out of the house into the jungle, +and there slain. + +Drunkenness during an act of criminal violence is regarded as a +mitigating circumstance, and the fines and compensation imposed would +be of smaller amount than in a case of similar crime deliberately +committed. + +Suicide is strongly reprobated, and, as we have seen, the shades of +those who die by their own hands are believed to lead a miserable and +lonely existence in a distressful country, Tan Tekkan, in which they +wander picking up mere scraps of food in the jungle. Nevertheless, +suicides occur among Kayans of both sexes. The commonest occasion +is the enforced separation of lovers, rather than the despair of +rejected lovers. We have known of two instances of Kayan youths who, +having formed attachments during a long stay in a distant house and +who then, finding themselves under the necessity of returning home +with their chief and unable to arrange marriage with their fair ones, +have committed suicide. The method most commonly adopted is to go +off alone into the jungle and there to stab a knife into the carotid +artery. The body of a suicide is generally buried without ceremony +on the spot where it is found. Suicides of women are rarer than those +of men; desertion by a lover is the commonest cause. + +Dishonesty in the form of pilfering or open robbery by violence +are of very rare occurrence. Yet temptations to both are not +lacking. Fruittrees on the river-bank, even at some distance from +any village, are generally private property, and though they offer a +great temptation to passing crews when their fruit is ripe, the rights +of the proprietor are usually respected or compensation voluntarily +paid. Theft within the house or village is practically unknown. Even +before the European governments were established, Malay and Chinese +traders occasionally penetrated with boat-loads of goods far into +the interior; and now such enterprises are regularly and frequently +undertaken. Occasionally a trader establishes himself in a village +for months together, driving a profitable trade in hardware, cloth, +tobacco, etc. These traders usually travel in a small boat with a +company or crew of only two or three men, and they are practically +defenceless against any small party of the natives who might choose +to rob or murder them. Such traders have now and again been robbed, +and sometimes also murdered, by roving bands of Sea Dayaks, but we +know of no such act committed by Kayans or Kenyahs. The trader puts +himself under the protection of a chief and then feels his life and +property to be safe. + +It would not be true to say that the Kayans or any of the other +peoples are always strictly truthful. They are given to exaggeration +in describing any event, and their accounts are apt to be strongly +biassed in their own favour. Nevertheless, deliberate lying is a +thing to be ashamed of, and a man who gets himself a reputation as +a liar is regarded with small favour by his fellows. + +The Kayans, as we have said elsewhere, are not coarse of speech, +and both men and women are strictly modest in respect to the display +of the body. Though the costume of both sexes is so scanty, the +proprieties are observed. The Kayan man never exposes his GENITALIA +even when bathing in the company of his fellows, but, if necessary, +uses his hands as a screen. The bearing of the women is habitually +modest, and though their single garment might be supposed to afford +insufficient protection, they wear it with an habitual skill that +compensates for the scantiness of its dimensions; they bathe naked +in the river before the house, but they slip off their aprons and +glide into the water deftly and swiftly; and on emerging they resume +their garments with equal skill, so that they cannot be said to expose +themselves unclothed. The same is true of most of the other tribes, +with the exception of the men of Kenyah and Klemantan communities +that inhabit the central highlands; these, when hauling their boats +through the rapids, will divest themselves of all clothing, or will +sit naked round a fire while their waist-cloths are being dried, +without the least embarrassment. + +There is no Kayan word known to us that could properly be translated +as justice or just, injustice or unjust. Yet it is obvious that they +view just conduct with approval and unjust with disapproval; and they +express their feelings and moral judgments by saying laconically of +any particular decision by a chief, TEKAP or NUSI TEKAP. But the +word TEKAP is of more general application than our word 'just,' +and might be applied to any situation which evokes a judgment of +moral approval; for example, on witnessing any breach of custom or +infringement of tabu a Kayan would say NUSI TEKAP; TEKAP, in short, +is applicable to whatever is as it ought to be. + +Specialised terms for moral qualities of character and conduct are, +however, not lacking. A just and wise chief would be said to be TENANG; +but this word implies less purely a moral quality than our word +justice and more of intellectual capacity or knowledge or accuracy; +the word is more especially applied as a term to describe the quality +of a political speech which meets with approval. The word HAMAN means +skilful, or clever, or cunning, in the older sense of capable both +physically and intellectually. A man who fights pluckily is said +to be MAKANG, and the same word is applied to any daring or dashing +feat, such as crossing the river when it is dangerously swollen. To +disregard omens would be MAKANG also; it seems, therefore, to have +the flavour of the word rash or foolhardy. + +SAIOH means good in the sense of kindly, pleasantly toned, or +agreeable. JAAK is bad in the sense of a bad crop or an unfortunate +occurrence, or a sore foot, I.E. it conveys no moral flavour. Morally +bad is expressed by SALA; this is used in the same sense in Malay +and may well be a recently-adopted word. In general the language +seems to be very poor in terms expressive of disapproval, adverse +judgments being generally expressed by putting nusi, the negative or +primitive particle, before the corresponding word of positive import; +thus a cowardly act or man would be denounced as NUSI MAKANG. + +We think it is true to say that, although they thus distinguish +the principal qualities of character and conduct with appropriate +adjectival terms, they have no substantival terms for the virtues +and vices, and that they have not fully accomplished the processes +of abstraction implied by the appropriate use of such highly abstract +substantives. + +As regards the influence of their religious beliefs on the moral +conduct of the Kayans, we have seen that the fear of the TOH serves +as a constant check on the breach of customs, which customs are in +the main salutary and essential for the maintenance of social order; +this fear does at the least serve to develop in the people the power +of selfcontrol and the habit of deliberation before action. The part +which the major spirits or gods are supposed to play in bringing +or fending off the major calamities remains extremely vague and +incapable of definition; in the main, faithful observation of the +omens, of rites, and of custom generally, seems to secure the favour +of the gods, and in some way their protection; and thus the gods +make for morality. Except in regard to that part of conduct which is +accurately prescribed by custom and tradition, their influence seems to +be negligible, and the high standard of the Kayans in neighbourliness, +in mutual help and consideration, in honesty and forbearance, seems +to be maintained without the direct support of their religious beliefs. + +The high moral level attained by individuals among the Kayans +and Kenyahs, and less frequently by Klemantans, is, we think, +best exemplified by the enlightened and public-spirited conduct of +some of the principal chiefs. It might have been expected that the +leading chiefs of warlike and conquering peoples like the Kayans and +Kenyahs, which, until the advent of the European governments, had +never encountered any resistance which they could not break down by +armed force, would have been wholly devoted to conquest and rapine; +and that a chief who had acquired a high prestige and found himself +able to secure the adhesion in war of a number of other chiefs and +their followers would have been inspired with the barbarous ideals +of an Alexander, a Napoleon, a Chaka, or a Cetewayo. But though some +of them have shown tendencies of this kind, there have been notable +exceptions who have recognised that chronic hostility, distrust, and +warfare, which had always been characteristic of the relations between +the various tribes and villages, were an unmixed evil. Such men have +used their influence consistently and tactfully and energetically to +establish peaceful relations between the tribes. Unlike some savage +chieftains of warrior tribes in other parts of the world, such as +some of those produced by the Bantu race, or those who established +the great confederation of the Iroquois tribes, they have not sought +merely to bring about the combination of all the communities of +their own stock in order to dominate over or to exterminate all +other tribes. They have rather pursued a policy of reconcilement +and conciliation, aiming at establishing relations of friendship and +confidence between the communities of all languages and races. One +such powerful Kenyah chief of the Baram district, Laki Avit, had +earned a high reputation for such statesmanship before the district +was incorporated in the Raj of Sarawak. His policy was to bring about +intermarriages between the families of the chiefs and upper-class +people of the various tribes. Tama Bulan (see Pl. 27), the leading +Kenyah chief of the same district at a later time, spared no efforts +to bring about friendly meetings between chiefs of different tribes, +for the purpose of making peace and of promoting intercourse and +mutual understanding.[181] It should be added that these peacemaking +ceremonies are generally of lasting effect; the oaths then taken are +respected even by succeeding generations. Tama Kuling, who a decade +ago was the most influential of the Batang Kayan chiefs, had also +spontaneously pursued a similar policy.[182] + +It has been said of many savage peoples that they recognise no natural +death, but believe that all deaths not due to violence are due to +black magic. No such statement can be made of the Kayans; few, if +any, deaths are ascribed by them to the efforts of sorcerers. Natural +death is recognised as inevitable in old age, and disease is vaguely +conceived as the effect of natural causes; though as to what those +natural causes are they have no definite ideas. This attitude is shown +by their readiness to make use of European drugs and of remedies for +external application. Quinine for fever, and sulphate of copper for +the treatment of yaws, are most in demand. Cholera and smallpox are the +great epidemic diseases which have ravaged large areas of Borneo from +time to time. The Kayans recognise that both these diseases spread up +river from village to village, and that to abstain from intercourse +with all villages lower down river and to prevent any one coming up +river contributes to their immunity. With this object the people of +a tributary stream will fell trees across its mouth or lower reaches +so as to block it completely to the passage of boats, or, as a less +drastic measure, will stretch a rope of rattan from bank to bank +as a sign that no one may enter (Pl. 183). Such a sign is generally +respected by the inhabitants of other parts of the river-basin. They +are aware also of the risk of infection that attends the handling of +a corpse of one who has died of epidemic disease, and they attempt +to minimise it by throwing a rope around it and dragging it to the +graveyard, and there burying it in a shallow grave in the earth, +without touching it with the hands.[183] + +The Kayans have some slight knowledge of the medicinal properties +of some herbs, and make general use of them. They administer as +an aperient a decoction of the leaves of a certain plant, called +OROBONG, which they cultivate for the purpose on their farms. The +root of the ginger plant is used both internally and for external +application. A variety of vegetable products are used in preparing +liniments; the basis most in request for these is the fat of the +python and of other snakes, but wild pig's fat is used as a more +easily obtainable substitute. + +There is a small common squirrel (SCIURUS EXILIS), the testicles of +which are strikingly large in proportion to his body. These organs are +dried and reduced to powder, and this powder, mixed with pig's fat, +is rubbed over the back and loins in cases of impotence.[184] + +Kayan mothers treat colic in their children by chewing the dried root +of a creeper (known as PADO TANA) with betel nut, and spitting out +the juice on the belly of the patient. + +Some of the coastwise Klemantans make use of a bitter decoction of a +certain creeper as a remedy for jungle fever. It is asserted by Kayans +and others that the Punans make use of the poison of the IPOH tree +(the poison used on their darts) as an internal remedy for fever. It +is said also (probably with truth, we think) that the Punans also +apply the IPOH poison to snake-bites and to festering wounds.[185] + + +Surgery + +Broken limbs are bound round with neat splints made of thin slips +of bamboo tied in parallel series. Little effort is made to bring +the broken ends of the bones into their proper positions or to reduce +dislocations. Abscesses are not usually opened with the knife, but are +rather encouraged to point, and are then opened by pressure. A cold +poultice of chopped leaves is applied to a bad boil or superficial +abscess, and it is protected from blows and friction by a small cage of +slips of rattan. Festering wounds are dressed with the chewed leaves +or the juice of the tobacco plant, or are washed with a solution of +common salt. But a clean wound is merely bound up with a rag; or, +if there is much haemorrhage, wood ashes are first applied. They +practise no more efficient methods for arresting haemorrhage. + +Headache is treated by tugging the hair of the scalp in small bundles +in systematic order. Massage of the muscles is practised for the relief +of pain, and massage is applied to the abdomen in cases of obstinate +constipation; in certain cases they claim to break up hard lumps in +the belly by squeezing them with the hands. Bodily aches and fatigue +are relieved by pulling and bending the parts of the limbs until all +the joints crack in turn. + +Cupping is perhaps the most frequently practised surgical +operation. Severe internal bruising from falls or heavy blows is the +usual occasion. The operation is performed by scratching the skin +with the point of a knife, and then applying the mouth of a bamboo cup +previously heated over the fire. The cup is a piece of bamboo some five +or six inches in length and an inch or rather more in diameter. Its +edge is thinned and smoothed. Several of these may be simultaneously +applied in a case of extensive bruising. Since this operation, like +tatuing, involves the shedding of blood, some small offering, such +as a few beads, must be made to the patient by the operator. + +The Kayans have distinct numerals up to ten (JI, DUA, TELO, PAT, +LIMER, NAM, TUSU, SAYA, PITAN, PULU). Those from eleven to nineteen +are formed by prefixing PULU ( = ten) to the names of the digits; +and those from twenty to twenty-nine by prefixing DUA PULU ( = +two twenty); and so on up to JI ATOR ( = one hundred). Two hundred +is DUA ATOR, three hundred is TELO ATOR, and so on up to MIBU ( = +one thousand). All or most of the other tribes (except the Punans) +have a similar system of numerals, though the numbers beyond the +first ten are little used. In counting any objects that cannot be +held in the hand or placed in a row, the Kayan (and most of the other +peoples) bends down one finger for each object told off or enumerated, +beginning with the little finger of the right hand, passing at six to +that of the left hand, and then to the big toe of the right foot, and +lastly to that of the left foot. When all the names or objects have +been mentioned, he holds the toe reached until he or some one else +has told off the number; if the number was, say, seventeen, he would +keep hold of the second toe of the left foot until he had counted up +the number implied by that toe, either by means of counting or by +adding up five and five and five and two; unless the count ends on +the little toe of the left foot, when he knows at once that the number +is twenty. If a larger number than twenty is to be counted, as when, +for example, a chief has to pay in tax for each door of his house, +he calls in the aid of several men, who sit before him. One of these +tells off his fingers and toes as the chief utters the names of the +heads of the rooms; and when twenty have been counted in this way, +a second man begins on his fingers, while the first continues to +hold on to all his toes. A third and a fourth man may be used in the +same way to complete the count; and when it is completed, the total +is found by reckoning each man as two tens, and adding the number of +fingers and toes held down by the last man. The reckoning of the tens +is done by addition rather than multiplication. Both multiplication +and division are almost unknown operations. + +When a chief is getting ready to pay in the door tax of two dollars a +door, he does not count the doors and then multiply the number by two: +he simply lays down two dollars for each door and pays in the lot, +generally without knowing the sum total of the dollars. If a chief +were told to pay in the tax for half his doors only, he would not +know how to carry out the instruction. Subtraction is accomplished +only in the most concrete manner, E.G. if a man wished to take away +eight from twenty-five, he would count out twenty-five of the objects +in question, or of bits of leaf or stick, then push away eight and +count up the remainder. A dodge sometimes adopted, especially by the +Kenyah, for counting the persons present, is to take a fern-leaf with +many fronds, tear off a half of each frond, handing each piece to +one of the men, until every man present affirms that he has a piece, +and then to count the number of torn fronds remaining on the stalk. + +It will thus be seen that the arithmetical operations of the Kayans +are of an extremely concrete character; those of the other tribes +are similar (with the exception again of the Punans, who do not count +beyond three); though many of the Klemantans get confused over simple +counting and reckoning, which the Kayans accomplish successfully. + +Tama Bulan, the Kenyah chief whom we have had occasion to mention in +several connections, obtained and learnt the use of an abacus from a +Chinaman, and used it effectively. This deficiency in arithmetic is, +however, no evidence of innate intellectual inferiority, and there +seems to be no good reason to doubt that most of the people could +be taught to use figures as readily as the average European; those +children who have entered the schools seem to pick up arithmetic with +normal rapidity. + +The Sea Dayaks sometimes deposit sums of money with the Government +officers, and they know accurately the number of dollars paid in; +but when they withdraw the deposit, they generally expect to receive +the identical dollars paid in by them. + + + +Measurement + +The Kayans use two principal standards of length, namely, the BUKA and +the BUHAK. The former is the length of the span from finger-tip to tip +of outstretched arms; the latter is the length of the span from tip of +the thumb to tip of the first finger of the same hand. In buying a pig, +for example, the price is determined by the number of BUHAK required +to encircle its body just behind the forelegs. The half BUKA is also in +general use, especially in measuring rattans cut for sale, the required +length of which is two and a half BUKA. In order to express the half, +they have adopted the Malay word STINGAH, having no word of their own. + +Distances between villages are always expressed in terms of the +average time taken by a boat in ascending the stream from one to the +other. Distances by land are expressed still more vaguely; for example, +the distance between the heads of two streams might be expressed +by saying that, if you bathe in one, your hair would still be wet +when you reach the other (which means about one hour); or a longer +distance, by saying that if you started at the usual time from one +of the places you would reach the other when the sun is as high as +the hawk (which means a journey from sunrise to about 10 A.M.), or +when the sun is overhead (I.E. noon), or when it is declining (about +3 P.M.), or when the sun is put out (sunset), or when it is dark. + +In order to describe the size of a solid object such as a fish, +a Kayan would compare its thickness with that of some part of his +body, the forearm, the calf of the leg, the thigh, or head, or the +waist. In describing the thickness of the subcutaneous fat of a pig, +he would mention one, two, three, or even four fingers. + + + +Cosmological and Geographical Notions + +The more intelligent Kayans can give a fairly good general description +of the geographical features and relations of the district in which +they live. In order to do this a Kayan will map out the principal +features on a smooth surface by placing pieces of stick to represent +the rivers and their tributaries, and pieces of leaf to represent the +hills and mountains; he will pay special attention to the relations +of the sources of the various streams. In this way a Kayan chief of +the Baram would construct a tolerably accurate map of the whole Baram +district, putting in Bruni and USUN APO and the heads of the Rejang, +Batang Kayan, Tutong, and Balait rivers. He knows that all the rivers +run to the sea, though few Kayans have seen the sea or, indeed, been +outside the basin of their own river. To have been to another river, +or to have seen the sea, is a just ground of pride. He does not know +that Borneo is an island, though he knows that the white men and +the Chinese come from over the sea; he will confidently assert that +the sea is many times larger than the Baram river, even ten times as +large. They seem to regard the sea as a big river of which their main +river is a tributary. + +Ibans sometimes speak of AIROPA (meaning Europe), which they take +to mean the river Ropa, as the home of the white man; and all the +tribesmen are apt to think of foreigners as living on the banks of +rivers in forest-covered country much like their own. + +Although the Kayans do not observe the stars and their movements +for practical purposes, they are familiar with the principal +constellations, and have fanciful names for them, and relate +mythical stories about the personages they are supposed to represent +(Chap. XVII.).[186] They seem to have paid no special attention +to the planets. Inconsistently with the star myths, the stars are +regarded as small holes in the floor of another and brighter world, +and it is said that these holes have been made by the roots of plants +which have penetrated through the soil of that world. + +The sky is regarded as a dome which meets the earth on every hand, +and this limiting zone is spoken of as the edge of the sky; but they +have no notion how far away this edge may be; they recognise that, +no matter how many days one travels in any one direction, one never +gets appreciably nearer to it, and they conclude, therefore, that +it must be very distant. They understand that the clouds are very +much less distant than the sky, and that they merely float about the +earth. Neither sun nor moon seems to be regarded as animated. + +Two total eclipses of the sun have occurred in Borneo in the last +half-century. These, of course, caused much excitement and some +consternation.[187] The former of them serves as a fixed date in +relation to which other events are dated. + +The traditional lore of the Kayans provides answers of a kind to many +of the deep questions that the spirit of enquiry proposes whenever +man has made provision against the most urgent needs of his animal +nature. Yet the keener intelligences among them do not rest satisfied +with these conventional answers; rather, they ponder some of the +deepest questions and discuss them with one another from time to +time. One question we have heard debated is -- Why do not the dead +return? Or rather, Why do they become visible only in dreams and even +then so seldom? The meeting of dead friends in dreams generally leaves +the Kayan doubtful whether he has really seen his friend; and he will +try to obtain evidence of the reality of the REVENANT by prayer and by +looking for a favourable answer in the liver of a pig, the entrails of +a fowl, or in the behaviour of the omen birds. They argue that persons +who have been much attached to their relatives and friends would surely +return to visit them frequently if such return were at all possible. + +The relation of the sky to the earth remains also an open and disputed +question. One of us well remembers how, when staying in a Kenyah house, +he was approached by a group of youths who evidently were debating some +knotty problem, and how they very seriously propounded the following +question: -- If a dart were shot straight up into the air and went +on and on, what would become of it? Would it come up against the sky +and be stopped by it? + +The whereabouts of the home of the white men, and how long is spent +on the journey thither, are questions often raised. Tama Bulan once +raised the question of the motion of the sun, and having been told +that really the earth revolves and that the sun only appears to move +round it, he argued that this could hardly be, since we see the sun +move every day. For a long time he said nothing more on this topic +to us, but it continued to occupy his mind; for some years later he +recurred to it and announced that he now accepted the once incredible +doctrine, because he had inquired concerning it of every European he +had been able to meet, and all had given him the same answer. + +The methods of argument of the Kayans are characteristic and worthy +of a short description. As we have said, they are great talkers and +orators. They are by no means an impulsive people; far less so than +the Kenyahs or the Sea Dayaks. Although they are not a vivacious or +talkative people in general intercourse, every undertaking of any +importance is carefully discussed in all its aspects, often at what we +should consider unnecessary length, before the first step is taken; +and in such discussions each man likes to have his say, and each is +heard out patiently by his fellows. They have a strong belief in the +efficacy of words; this is illustrated by the copious flood of words +which they pour out whenever they perform any religious or other rite. + +In arguing or persuading, or even threatening, they rely largely on +indirect appeals, on analogy, simile, and metaphor, flavoured with +a good deal of humour of a rather heavy kind. Or they may convey a +strong hint by describing a professed dream in which the circumstances +under discussion are symbolised. + +The following incident illustrates this mode of speech. Two +Kayans quarrelled over the sale of a pig. The current price was +a dollar a BUHAK (I.E. the span from finger-tip to thumb-tip, see +vol. ii. p. 212). The buyer had insisted on measuring it by spans +from thumb to tip of second finger, whereas the customary span is to +the tip of the index finger. The case was brought before the chief, +who of course might have contented himself, but not perhaps the +purchaser, by authoritatively laying down the law of custom. He, +therefore, being a man of tact and experience, thrust out his second +finger and pointed it at the purchaser of the pig, saying, "Suppose +any one pointed at you like that, instead of with the index finger; +you would all laugh at him." All the people sitting round laughed, +and the purchaser went away convinced of the propriety of using the +index finger in measuring a pig. + +To illustrate the way in which a chief may exert influence in matters +in which he has no footing for the exercise of formal authority, we +cite the following bit of history. It is an ancient custom of the +Kayans to have in the house a very large LAMPIT (the mat made of +parallel strips of rattan), the common property of the household, +which is spread on the occasion of the reception of visitors to +serve as a common scat for guests and hosts. The Kayans of the Baram, +under the individualising influences of trade and increasing stocks +of private property, neglected to renew these communal mats; and thus +the good old custom was in danger of dying out. This was observed with +regret by an influential chief, who, therefore, found an opportunity +to relate in public the following story. "A party of Kayans," he said, +"once came over from the Batang Kayan to visit their relatives in the +Baram. The latter dilated upon the benefits of the Rajah's government, +peace, trade, and the possibility of fine dress for themselves and +their wives and of many other desirable acquisitions, all for the small +annual payment of two dollars a door. The visitors looked about them +and confessed that they still had to be content with bark clothing, +bamboo cups, and wooden dishes; 'but,' they added, 'if you come to +our house you will at least find on the floor a good LAMPIT on which +we can all sit together.' " The story quickly went the round of the +Kayan villages in the Baram, with the result that large LAMPITS quickly +came back into general use and the good old custom was preserved. + +The Kayans have a keen sense of humour and fun. As with ourselves, the +most frequent occasions of laughter are the small mishaps that happen +to one's companions or to oneself; and practical jokes are perpetrated +and appreciated. For example, at the time when the wild pigs were dying +in large numbers, a boat-load of Kayans working up-river encountered +a succession of pigs' carcases floating down, most of them in a state +of decomposition and swollen with gases. A practical joker at the bow +conceived the notion of prodding the carcases with his spear and thus +liberating the foul-smelling gases for the benefit of those who sat +in the stern of the boat, to their great disgust and the amusement +of those on the forward benches. Again -- a Klemantan example -- a +chewer of betel-nut and lime sometimes prepares several quids wrapped +carefully in SIRIH leaf, and sets them aside till they are required. On +one occasion, while the crew of a boat landed to cook their dinner, +a youngster carefully opened such a quid and substituted a piece of +filth for the betel-nut. When the victim of the joke spat out the +morsel, spluttering with disgust and anger, the crew was moved to loud +laughter, which they tried in vain to suppress out of consideration +for the feelings of the victim; for no one likes to be laughed at. + +But, although the Kayans have a strong sense of the ridiculous, their +laughter is not so violent and uncontrollable as that of Europeans +is apt to be, and it is not so apt to recur from time to time at the +mere recollection of an amusing incident. + +We refer to some of the stories reproduced in Chapter XVII. as examples +of the less crude forms of humour appreciated by the people. These +stories are repeated again and again, without failing to amuse those +who are perfectly familiar with them. AEsop's fables transposed into a +Bornean key were, we found, much appreciated. In a large proportion of +the entertaining stories of the Kayans, as well as of the other tribes, +the point of the story depends on some reference to sexual relations +or actions But such references are not, as a rule, coarsely put, but +rather hinted at merely, often in a somewhat obscure way; E.G. such +a story may terminate before the critical point is reached with some +such phrase as "Well, well, what of it?" and a shrug of the shoulders. + +The tendency of the Kayans to laconic speech is well illustrated by +their way of referring to well-known stories or fables with one or +two words, in order to sum up or characterise a situation -- much as +we say "sour grapes!" + +Like all other varieties of mankind (some few savage tribes perhaps +excepted), the Kayans and other tribes are apt to distort the truth in +their own favour, in describing from memory incidents that seriously +affect their interests. When a party has allowed itself to commit some +reprehensible action, such as over-hasty and excessive reprisals, +a whole village, or even several villages, may conspire together +more or less deliberately to "rig up "some plausible version of +the affair which may serve to excuse or justify the act in the +eyes of the government. A good PENGHULU[188] will set about the +investigation of such an affair with much tact and patience. He +will send for those immediately concerned and patiently hear out +their version of the incident. If it departs widely from the truth, +he will find reason to suspect the fact. But, instead of charging the +men with untruthfulness, or attempting to extort the truth by threats, +or bullying, or torture (as is so often done in more highly civilised +courts), he keeps silence, shrugs his shoulders, and tells them to go +away and think it over, and to come back another day with a better +story. In the meantime he hears the version of some other group, +who view the affair from a different angle, and thus puts himself in +a position to suggest modifications of the new version of the former +group. When he has in this way gathered in a variety of accounts of +the incident, he find himself in a position to construct, by a process +of moral triangulation, an approximately correct picture; this he now +lays before the party immediately concerned, who, seeing that the game +is up, fill in the details and supply minor corrections. Throughout +this process the tactful PENGHULU never shuts the door upon his +informants or tries to pin them down to their words, or make them +take them back; rather he keeps the whole story fluid and shifting, +so that, when the true account has been constructed, the witnesses +are not made to feel that they have lost their self-respect. + +It seems worth while to describe here one of a large class of incidents +which illustrate at the same time the workings of the native mind +and the way in which an understanding of such workings may be applied +by the administrator. The Resident of the Baram having heard of the +presence in the central no-man's land of a considerable population of +Kenyahs under a strong chief, TAMA KULING, sent friendly messages to +the latter. He responded by sending a lump of white clay, which meant +that he and his people recognised that they were of the same country +as the people of the Baram and that their feelings were friendly; +and with it came an elaborately decorated brass hook (Pl. 184), which +was to serve as a complimentary and symbolical acknowledgment of the +white man's power of binding the tribes together in friendship. He +sent also a verbal message acknowledging his kinship with the Kenyahs +of the Baram; but he added that he and his people were in the dark and +needed a torch (I.E. they wanted more explicit information about the +conditions obtaining in the Baram). In reply to these representations, +the Resident despatched trusty messengers to TAMA KULING bearing +the following articles: a large hurricane lamp for TAMA KULING, and +smaller ones for the other principal chiefs of the district: smaller +lamps again were sent for the heads of houses, and with them a large +stock of boxes of lucifer matches, which were to be dealt out to the +heads of the rooms of each house. In this way the desired torch was +provided for every member of their communities. With these symbols +went a large horn of the African rhinoceros, out of which TAMA KULING +might fashion a hilt for his sword.[189] + +We were afterwards informed that, on the arrival of these symbolic +gifts, TAMA KULING called together the chiefs of all the surrounding +villages to receive their share, and to discuss the advisability +of accepting the implied invitation to migrate into the Baram. The +proposition was favourably received, and a large proportion of +the population of that region have since acted upon the resolution +then taken. + +To the disjointed collection of remarks which make up this chapter +we venture to add the following observations. It has often been +attempted to exhibit the mental life of savage peoples as profoundly +different from our own; to assert that they act from motives, and +reach conclusions by means of mental processes, so utterly different +from our own motives and processes that we cannot hope to interpret +or understand their behaviour unless we can first, by some impossible +or at least by some hitherto undiscovered method, learn the nature of +these mysterious motives and processes. These attempts have recently +been renewed in influential quarters. If these views were applied to +the savage peoples of the interior of Borneo, we should characterise +them as fanciful delusions natural to the anthropologist who has spent +all the days of his life in a stiff collar and a black coat upon the +well-paved ways of civilised society. + +We have no hesitation in saying that, the more intimately one becomes +acquainted with these pagan tribes, the more fully one realises the +close similarity of their mental processes to one's own. Their primary +impulses and emotions seem to be in all respects like our own. It is +true that they are very unlike the typical civilised man of some of +the older philosophers, whose every action proceeded from a nice and +logical calculation of the algebraic sum of pleasures and pains to +be derived from alternative lines of conduct; but we ourselves are +equally unlike that purely mythical personage. The Kayan or the Iban +often acts impulsively in ways which by no means conduce to further +his best interests or deeper purposes; but so do we also. He often +reaches conclusions by processes that cannot be logically justified; +but so do we also. He often holds, and upon successive occasions +acts upon, beliefs that are logically inconsistent with one another; +but so do we also. + + + +CHAPTER 21 + +Ethnology of Borneo + +In the foregoing chapters it has been shown that the six groups which +we have distinguished by the names Kayans, Kenyahs, Klemantans, Muruts, +Nomads or Punans, and Ibans or Sea Dayaks, differ considerably from +one another in respect of material and moral culture as well as of +mental and physical characters. We have used these names as though the +groups denoted by them were well defined and easily to be distinguished +from one another. But this is by no means the case. Our foregoing +descriptions are intended to depict the typical communities of each +group, those which present the largest number of group-marks. Besides +these more typical communities, which constitute the main bulk of the +population, there are many communities or sub-tribes which combine +in some measure the characteristics of two or more of the principal +groups. It is this fact that renders so extremely difficult the +attempt to classify the tribes and sub-tribes in any consistent and +significant fashion, and to which is largely due the confusion that +reigns in most of the accounts hitherto given of the inhabitants of +Borneo. We believe, however, that the divisions marked by the six +names we have used, namely, Kayan, Kenyah, Klemantan, Murut, Punan, +and Iban, are true or natural divisions; and that the intermediate +forms are due, on the one hand, to crossing through intermarriage, +which takes place continually in some degree, and, on the other hand, +to the adoption of the customs and beliefs and traditions and to the +imitation of the arts and crafts of one natural group by communities +properly belonging to a different group. The main groups seem to +us to be separated from one another by differences of two kinds: +some by racial or ethnic differences, which involve differences of +physical and mental constitution, as well as by cultural differences; +others by differences of culture only, the racial characters being +hardly or not at all differentiated. + +We propose in this chapter to attempt to justify these main +distinctions, and to define more nearly their essential nature and +grounds. This attempt must involve the statement of our opinion as +to the ethnic affinities of all the principal tribes. We are fully +aware that this statement can be only of a provisional nature, and +must be liable to modification and refinement in the light of further +observation and discussion. But we think that such a statement may +serve a useful purpose; namely, that it may serve as a basis upon +which such corrections and refinements may later be made. + +The most speculative part of this statement must necessarily be +that which deals with the affinities of the tribes of Borneo with +the populations of other areas; but even here we think it better to +set down our opinion for what it may be worth, not concealing from +the reader its slight basis. We state in the following paragraph the +main features of the history of the tribes of Borneo as we conceive it. + +The wide distribution of remnants of the Negrito race in the islands +round about Borneo and in the adjacent parts of the mainland of Asia +renders it highly probable that at a remote period Negritos lived in +Borneo; but at the present time there exist no Negrito community and +no distinct traces of the race, whether in the form of fossil remains +or of physical characters of the present population, unless the curly +hair and coarse features of a few individuals to be met with in almost +all the tribes may be regarded as such traces. These negroid features +of a small number of the present inhabitants are perhaps sufficiently +accounted for by the fact that slaves have been imported into Borneo +from time to time throughout many centuries by Arabs and Malays and by +the Illanum pirates; and some of these slaves were no doubt Negritos, +and some, possibly, Africans or Papuans.[190] + +We leave open the question of an ancient Negrito population, and +go on to the statement that the present population is derived from +four principal sources. From a very early period the island has +been inhabited in all parts by a people of a common origin whose +surviving descendants are the tribes we have classed as Klemantans, +Kenyahs, and Punans. This people probably inhabited Borneo at a +time when it was still connected with the mainland. Their cultural +status was probably very similar to that of the existing Punans. It +seems not improbable that at this early period, perhaps one preceding +the separation of Borneo, Sumatra, and Java from the mainland, this +people was scattered over a large part of this area. For in several +of the wilder parts, where the great forest areas remain untouched, +bands of nomads closely resembling the Punans of Borneo are still +to be found, notably the Orang Kubu of Sumatra, and perhaps the +Bantiks of northern Celebes. The principal characteristics of this +primitive culture are the absence of houses or any fixed abode; +the ignorance of agriculture, of metal-working, and of boat-making; +and the nomadic hunting life, of which the blow-pipe is the principal +instrument. The chief and only important improvement effected in the +condition of the Punans since that early period would seem to be the +introduction of the superior form of blow-pipe of hard wood. This +cannot be made without the use of a metal rod for boring, and, since +none of the Bornean tribes which still lead the nomad life know how +to work metals, it may be inferred that they have learnt the craft +of making the SUMPITAN from more cultured neighbours, procuring from +them by barter the iron tools required -- as they still do. + +It is impossible to make any confident assertion as to the affinities +of this widely diffused people from which we believe the Punans, +Kenyahs, and Klemantans to be descended. But the physical characters +of these tribes, in respect of which they differ but slightly from +one another, lead us to suppose that it was formed by a blending +of Caucasic and Mongoloid elements, the features of the former +predominating in the race thus formed. The fairness of the skin, the +wavy and even, in some individuals, the curly character of the hair; +the regular and comparatively refined features of many individuals; the +frequent occurrence of straight and aquiline noses; the comparatively +large, horizontal, or only slightly oblique, palpebral aperture; +the not infrequent absence of all trace of the Mongolian fold of the +eyelid and its slightness when present -- all these characters point +to the predominance of the Caucasic element in the ethnic blend. + +On the other hand, the smooth yellowish skin, the long dark thick +hair of the scalp, and the scantiness of the hair on the cheeks, +chin, and lips; the rather broad cheek-bones, the prevailing slight +obliquity of the eyes, the rather narrow palpebral aperture, and +the presence of a slight Mongolian fold -- these characters (all +of which are found in a considerable proportion of these peoples) +are features that point to Mongol ancestry.[191] + +It was said above that the skin of these tribes is of very pale yellow +colour. In this respect there is little to choose between them, but +on the whole the Punans are of rather lighter colour than the others, +and, as was said before, of a faintly green tinge. This difference +is, we think, sufficiently accounted for by the fact that the Punan +seldom or never exposes himself to full sunlight, whereas the others +are habitually sun-browned in some degree. But the lighter colour of +this whole group of tribes (as compared especially with the Kayans and +Ibans) cannot be explained in this way; for the habits and conditions +of life of Kenyahs and Klemantans are very closely similar to those of +the Kayans; and it must, we think, be regarded as a racial character. + +The name Indonesian is perhaps most properly applied to this people +which we suppose to have resulted from the contact and blending +of the Caucasic and Mongoloid stocks in this corner of Asia. The +systematic ethnographers use this term in a vague and uncertain +manner. Deniker defines the Indonesians by saying that they comprise +"the little intermixed inland populations of the large islands (Dyaks +of Borneo, Battas of Sumatra, various "Alfurus" of Celebes, and certain +Moluccas)."[192] He seems doubtful whether the name Indonesian should +be applied to the eight groups of aborigines of Indo-China which +he distinguishes.[193] He recognises that the Indonesians and the +Malayans are of very similar physical characters, but distinguishes +them as two of four races which have given rise to the population of +the Malay Archipelago -- namely, Malayans, Indonesians, Negritos, and +Papuans. He regards the Indonesians (used in a wide sense to include +Malays) as most closely akin to the Polynesians; but he expresses no +opinion as to their relations to the Mongol and Caucasic stocks. + +Keane describes the Indonesians as a Proto-Caucasic race which must +have occupied Malaysia and the Philippines in the New Stone Age. He +separates them widely from the Malays and Proto-Malays, whom he +describes as belonging to the Oceanic branch of the Mongol stock;[194] +and the "Dyaks" of Borneo are classed by him with strict impartiality +sometimes with the Proto-Malays, sometimes with the Proto-Caucasians. + +If these oldest inhabitants of Borneo may be regarded as typical +Indonesians (and we think that they have a strong claim to be so +regarded), then we think that the usage of the term by both Keane and +Deniker errs in accentuating unduly the affinity of the Indonesians +with the Polynesians, and that Keane's errs also in ignoring the +Mongol affinities of the Indonesians. + +The most plausible view of the relations of these stocks seems to us +to be the following. Polynesians and Indonesians are the product of an +ancient blend of southern Mongols with a fair Caucasic stock. In both +the Caucasic element predominates, but more so in the Polynesian than +in the Indonesian. We imagine this blending to have been effected at a +remote period in the south-eastern corner of Asia, probably before the +date at which Borneo became separated from the mainland. If, as seems +probable, this blending was effected by the infusion of successive +doses of Mongol blood from the north into a Caucasic population +that had previously diffused itself over this corner of Asia from +the west,[195] the smaller proportion of the Mongol element in the +Polynesians may be due to their having passed into the islands, +while the Indonesians remained on the continent receiving further +infusions of Mongol blood. + +The separation of Borneo from the mainland then isolated part of the +Indonesian stock within it, at a period when their culture was still +in a very primitive condition, presumably similar to that of the +Punans. The Proto-Malays, on the other hand, represent a blending of +the Mongol stock (or of a part of the Indonesian race) with darker +stock allied to the Dravidians of India, which is perhaps properly +called Proto-Dravidian, and of which the Sakai of the Malay peninsula +(and, perhaps, the Toala of central Celebes) seem to be the surviving +representatives in Malaysia. In this blend, which presumably was +effected in an area south of that in which the Indonesian blend was +formed, the Mongol element seems to predominate. + +After the separation of Borneo from the mainland, there came a long +period throughout which it remained an isolated area, the population +of which received no important accessions from other areas. It is +probable that during this period the Indonesian population of the +mainland continued to receive further infusions of Mongol blood; +for there is abundant evidence that for a long time past there has +been a drifting of Mongol peoples, such as the Shans, southwards from +China into the Indo-Chinese area. + +We may suppose that during this period the knowledge and practice of +working iron, of building long houses and boats, and of cultivating +PADI, became diffused through the greater part of the population of +this corner of the Asiatic continent. This advance of culture would +have rendered possible the passage of these peoples to the islands +in boats. But it seems probable that no considerable incursion of +people from this area was effected until a comparatively recent date. + +In Chapter II. we have mentioned the evidences of Hindu-Javan influence +on Borneo, to which must be ascribed the existence of the Buddhist +court at Bruni before the coming of the Malays, as well as traces of +Hindu culture in south Borneo, including the practice of cremation +by the Land Dayaks, the burning of the bones by other tribes, stone +carvings,[196] and articles of gold and fragments of pottery of Hindu +character. There must have been a certain infusion of Javanese and +perhaps Hindu blood at this time; but both in physical type and in +culture the surviving traces seem to be insignificant. + +We have mentioned also in Chapter II. the early intercourse between +China and the Buddhist rulers of Bruni and other parts of north and +northwest Borneo, and the legend of an early settlement of Chinese +in the extreme north. + +But these civilised or semi-civilised visitors and settlers were +separated from the indigenous Borneans by a great culture gap, +and they probably had but little friendly intercourse with them +and affected their culture but little, if at all; and though it is +possible that they bartered salt, metal, tools, and weapons, for +camphor and other jungle produce, their influence, like that of the +Malays, probably extended but a little way from the coasts in most +parts of the island. The higher culture of the indigenous tribes of +the interior has been introduced, we believe, by invasions of peoples +less widely separated from them in cultural level, who have penetrated +far into the interior and have mingled intimately with them. Three +such invasions may be distinguished as of principal importance: +that of the Kayans in the south and perhaps in the south-east, of the +Muruts in the north, and of the Ibans in the south-west. Each of these +three invading populations has spread up the course of the rivers to +the interior and has established its communities over large areas, +until in the course of the nineteenth century they have encountered +one another for the first time. Besides these three most numerous +and important invasions, there have been many smaller settlements +from the surrounding islands, especially from Java, Celebes, and the +Philippines, whose blood and culture have still further diversified +the population and culture of the tribes of Borneo and complicated +the ethnographical problems of the island. + +Of the three principal invasions, that of the Kayans has been of most +effect in spreading a higher culture among the indigenous population. + +There is good reason to believe that the Kayans have spread across +Borneo from the south and south-eastern parts, following up the +course of the large rivers until they reached USUN APO, the central +highlands, in which (see vol. i. p. 2) all the large rivers have their +sources. The tradition of such north-westward migration is preserved +among the Kayans of the Baram, who, according to their own account, +crossed the watershed into the basins of the western rivers only a few +generations ago. This tradition is in accordance with the fact that, +within the memory of men still living, they have spread their villages +farther westward along the banks of the Baram and the Rejang rivers, +driving back the Muruts northwards from the Baram. It is borne out +by the accounts of the Bruni Malays to the effect that the Brunis +first became acquainted with the Kayans some few generations ago, +and had known the Muruts long before the advent of the Kayans; and +further, by the fact that the Kayans have left their name attached to +many rivers both in the south and east, where the name Batang Kayan +(or Kayan River) is the common appellation of several rivers on which +Kayan villages are now very few. + +The Kayans seem to have entered Borneo by way of the rivers opening +on the south coast, and gradually to have penetrated to the central +highlands by following up these rivers, pushing out communities every +few years to build new villages higher up the river in the course +of their unceasing search for new areas adapted to their wasteful +farming operations. + +There can, we think, be little doubt that the Kayans are the +descendants of emigrants from the mainland, and that they brought +with them thence all or most of the characteristic culture that we +have described. But from what part exactly of the mainland, and by +what route, they have come, and how long a time was occupied by the +migration, are questions in answer to which we cannot do more than +throw out some vague suggestions. + +We believe that the Kayans migrated to Borneo from the basin of the +Irrawadi by way of Tenasserim, the Malay Peninsula, and Sumatra; and +that they represent a part of the Indonesian stock which had remained +in the basin of the Irrawadi and adjacent rivers from the time of the +separation of Borneo, there, through contact with the southward drift +of peoples from China, receiving fresh infusions of Mongol blood; +a part, therefore, of the Indonesians which is more Mongoloid in +character than that part which at a remote period was shut up in +Borneo by its separation from the mainland. During this long period +the Kayans acquired or developed the type of culture characterised by +the cultivation of PADI on land newly cleared of jungle by burning, +the building of long houses on the banks of rivers, the use of boats, +and the working of iron. + +The way in which in Borneo the Kayans hang together and keep touch +with one another, even though scattered through districts in which +numerous communities of other tribes are settled, preserving their +characteristic culture with extreme faithfulness, lends colour to the +supposition that the whole tribe may thus have been displaced step by +step, passing on from one region and from one island to another without +leaving behind any part of the tribe. The passage of the straits +between the Peninsula and Sumatra, and between Sumatra and Borneo, +are the parts of this tribal migration that are the most difficult +to imagine. But we know that Kayans do not fear to put out to sea in +their long war-boats. We have known Kayan boats to descend the Baram +River and to follow the coast up to Bruni; and we have trustworthy +accounts of such expeditions having been made in former days by +large war parties in order to fight in the service of the Sultan of +Bruni. The distance from the Baram mouth to Bruni (about 100 miles) +is nearly equal to the width of the broadest stretch of water they +must have crossed in order to have reached Borneo from the mainland +by way of Sumatra. This hypothetical history of the immigration of +the Kayans receives some support from the fact that a vague tradition +of having crossed the sea still persists among them. We attach some +importance to this Kayan tradition of their having come over the sea, +as evidence that they are comparatively recent immigrants to Borneo; +but the principal grounds on which we venture to suggest this history +of the Kayans and of their invasion of Borneo are three: first, +the affinities of the Kayans in respect of physical character and +culture to certain tribes still existing in the area from which we +believe them to have come; secondly, historical facts which go far +to explain such a migration; thirdly, their relations to other tribes +of Borneo. We add a few words under each of these heads. + +I. As long ago as the year 1850, J. R. Logan, writing of highland +tribes of the basins of the Koladan and Irrawadi and the south-eastern +part of the Brahmaputra, asserted that "the habits of these tribes +have a wonderful resemblance to those of the inland lank-haired races +of Indonesia... . There is hardly a minute trait in the legends, +superstitions, customs, habits, and arts of these tribes, and the +adjacent highlanders of the remainder of the Brahmaputra basin, +that is not also characteristic of some of the ruder lank-haired +tribes of Sumatra, Borneo, the Philippines, Celebes, Ceram, and the +trans-Javan islands."[197] + +This assertion, though, no doubt, rather too sweeping, seems to have +a large basis in fact, so far as it concerns the tribes of Borneo. + +We have not been able to find that any one tribe of this part of +the mainland agrees closely with the Kayans in respect of physical +characters and all important cultural features. Nevertheless, very +many of the features of the Kayan culture are described as occurring +amongst one or another tribe, though commonly with some considerable +differences in detail. In attempting to identify the nearest relatives +of the Kayans among the mainland tribes, it has to be remembered that +all these have been subjected to much disturbance, in some cases, +no doubt, involving changes of habitat, since the date at which, +as we suppose, the Kayans left the continent. And since the Kayans, +from the time of their arrival in Borneo, have played the part of a +dominating and conquering people among tribes of lower culture, and +have imposed their customs upon these other tribes, without blending +with them or accepting from them any important cultural elements, +it follows that we must regard the Kayans as having preserved, more +faithfully than their relatives of the mainland, the culture which +presumably they had in common with them a thousand years or more ago. + +Of all the peoples of the south-eastern corner of the continent, +the one which seems to us most closely akin to the Kayans is that +which comprises the several tribes of the Karens.[198] These have been +regarded by many authors (3) as the indigenous people of Burma. Their +own traditions tell of their coming from the north across a great river +of sand and of having been driven out of the basin of the Irrawadi at +a later date (1). At present the Karens are found chiefly in the Karen +hills of Lower Burma between the Irrawadi and the Salween and in the +basin of the Sittang River, which runs southwards midway between those +two greater rivers to open into the head of the Gulf of Martaban. But +they have been much oppressed by their more civilised neighbours, the +Burmese and the Shans, and their communities are widely scattered in +the remoter parts of the country and are said to extend into Tenasserim +far down the Malay Peninsula. By the Burmese they are called also +KAYENS or KYENS, the Y and R sounds being interchangeable in Burmese +(1 and 3). + +Peoples generally recognised as closely akin to the KARENS are the +CHINS (who are also known as Khyens) (14) of the basin of the Chindwin, +the large western tributary of the Irrawadi; and the KAKHYENS (also +called KACHINGS and SINGPHO), who occupy the hills east of Bhamo and +the basin of the river Tapang in the borderlands of Burma and Yunnan +(7). The Nagas of Manipur and of the Naga Hills of Assam also seem +to belong to the same group of peoples, though less closely akin to +the Karens than the Chins and the Kakhyens. + +It seems highly probable that all these, together with the Kayans, +are surviving branches of a people which occupied a large area of +south-eastern Asia, more especially the basin of the Irrawadi, for a +considerable period before the first of the successive invasions which +have given rise to the existing Burmese and Shan nations. The physical +characters of all of them are consistent with the view taken above, +namely, that they represent the original Indonesian population of which +the Klemantans of Borneo are the pure type, modified by later infusions +of Mongol blood. In all these occur individuals who are described as +being of almost purely Caucasic type and very light in colour. + +Three principal tribes of Karens are distinguished, the Sgan, Pwo, +and Bwe. Of these the Bwe are also known as the Hill-Karens and seem +to have preserved their own culture more completely than the others, +though the Sgan are said to be the purest in blood, the lightest in +colour, and more distinctive in type than any other of the tribes +of south-eastern Asia (4). Of the Hill-Karens, Mason said, "Some +would be pronounced European. Indeed, if not exposed to the sun, +some of them would be as fair, I think, as many of the inhabitants +of northern Europe." Yet the commoner type of Karen is said to show +distinctly Mongoloid facial characters. Of those Karens who have +been least affected by their more cultured neighbours, we are told +that they live in small communities, each of which is governed by +a patriarch who is at once high priest and judge, and who punishes +chiefly by the infliction of fines. He raises no regular tax, but +receives contributions in kind towards the expenses of entertainment +(3). Several communities join together, sometimes under a leading +chief, in order to meet a common foe (3). They build long houses +in which a whole community of as many as 400 persons dwell together +(4). These houses are described as of Himalayic type. "It (the house) +is made by sinking posts of large size firmly in the ground and +inserting beams or joists through the posts eight feet from the ground, +and on these laying the floor with slats of bamboo." The walls and +partitions are mats of woven bamboo, and the roof is thatched with palm +leaves (4). This very incomplete description leaves it open to suppose +that the Karen house is very similar to that built by the Kayans when +for any reason the latter build in hasty and temporary fashion. But the +still more scanty description of another writer (3) implies that the +arrangement of the interior of the house is unlike that characteristic +of the Kayans. They frequently migrate to new sites. + +The Karens cultivate PADI and prepare the jungle land for cultivation +by burning down the forest. They prepare from rice a spirit to which +they are much addicted. The hill tribes are truculent warriors and +head-hunters. Captives are made slaves. They use and make spears +and axes, and a cross-bow[199] with poisoned arrows. They rear pigs +and poultry, and train dogs to the chase. The men eradicate their +beards. They wear many small rings on the forearms and legs. The +lobes of the ear are perforated and often enormously distended (3). + +They address prayers and supplications for protection and prosperity to +a Supreme Being whom they address as "Lord of the heavens and earth" +(5). They believe also in a multitude of nature spirits, most of whom +are harmful. The fear of them occasions many ceremonial acts. The +taking of heads is said to be a means of propitiating these spirits +(3). They believe that during sickness the soul departs from the +body; and the medicine-man attempts to arrest it and to bring it +back to the body of the patient. In this and other rites the blood +of fowls (which they are said to venerate) (2) is smeared on the +participants. Divination by means of the bones of fowls and the +viscera, especially the liver of the pig, is in common use (5). The +souls of the dead go to a place in which they live much as in this +world. It is called ABU LAGAN[200] (3). In this abode of shades +everything is upside down and all directions are inverted (5). There +are no rewards and punishments after death (3). Parents take the names +of father and mother of So-and-so -- the name of their first child. The +knife with which the navel cord is cut at birth is carefully preserved +(5). Finally, the Karens are said to be distinguished by a lack of +humour, a trait which is well marked also in the Kayans. + +In respect of all the characters and culture elements mentioned above, +the Karens resemble the Kayans very closely. Against these we have +to set off a few customs mentioned by our authorities in which they +differ from the Kayans. + +The Karens eat everything except members of the cat tribe. They bury +the bodies of the dead after they have lain in state some three or +four days; and they hold an annual feast for the dead at the August +new moon. They ascribe two souls to man, one of a kind which is +possessed also by animals, tools, weapons, the rice, and one which +is the responsible soul peculiar to man.[201] + +The bride is taken to the house of the bridegroom's father. Only +one tribe, namely, the Red Karens, practises tatu, and among them a +figure which seems to represent the rising sun is tatued on the back +of the men only (5). They weave a coarse cloth. + +These differences are not very great, and their significance is +diminished by the following considerations. The Kayans may have +acquired their aversion to killing the dog through contact with +Malays. They bury the dead in the ground in the case of poor persons +or those dead of epidemic disease. And they have a tradition that they +formerly practised the weaving of cloth. They may also have acquired +the art of making and using the solid wooden blow-pipe from Malays; +and this would account for their having given up the use of the bow +and arrow as a serious weapon. On the other hand, the inferior houses +of the Karens, the lack of restrictions among them upon animal foods, +their earth burial -- all these may well be due to decay of custom +among an oppressed people; and the fact that they seem to make but +little use of boats may well be due to their having been driven +away from the main rivers and pushed into the hills. We have little +doubt that many more points of resemblance would be discoverable, +if we had any full account of the Karens as they were before their +culture was largely affected by contact with Burmese and Shans and +by the influence of the missionaries who have taught so successfully +among them for more than sixty years. + +Among the elements of Kayan culture which are lacking or but feebly +represented among the Karens, some are reported among the tribes most +nearly allied to the Karens, and others among other peoples of the +same area. + +Thus the peculiar Kayan custom of tatuing the thighs of women has a +close parallel in the tatuing of the thighs of men among all Burmese +and Shans; and the Kayans may well have adopted the practice from +them. Among the Shans there obtains the custom of placing the coffin on +upright timbers at some height above the ground (9). Among the Nagas, +and especially the Kuki Nagas,[202] who are said to be most nearly +allied to the Karens, beside a number of the culture elements which we +have noticed above as common to Karens and Kayans, other noteworthy +points of resemblance to the Kayans are the following: A system of +tabu or GENNA which may affect individuals or whole villages, and is +very similar to the MALAN of the Kayans; the practice of ornamenting +houses with heads of enemies, the motive of taking the head being to +provide a slave in Hades for a deceased chief; the use of human and +other hair in decorating weapons.[203] + +Their method of attacking a village is like that of the Kayans, +namely, to surround it in the night and to rush it at dawn; they +obstruct the approach of an enemy to their village by planting in the +ground short pieces of bamboo sharpened and fire-hardened at both ends; +they use an oblong wooden shield or a rounded shield of plaited cane; +their blacksmiths use a bellows very like that of the Kayan smiths; +they husk their PADI in a solid wooden mortar with a big pestle +A LA Kayan; they floor their houses with similar massive planks; +they catch fish in nets and traps, and by poisoning the water; men +pierce the shell of the ear in various ways; omens are read from the +viscera of pigs, and the cries of some birds are unlucky; they worship +a Supreme Deity and a number of minor gods, E.G. gods of rain and of +harvest; they often sacrifice pigs and fowls to the gods, and omens +are always read from the slaughtered animals; those who die in battle +and in childbirth are assigned to special regions of the other world; +the women are tatued (on chest) to facilitate recognition in Hades; +in felling the jungle preparatory to burning it to make a PADI farm, +they always leave at least one tree standing for the accommodation +of the spirits of the place. + +Other of the instruments, arts, and customs of the Kayans are found +widely spread in south-eastern Asia. Such are the small axe or adze +with lashed head; the musical instrument of gourd and bamboo pipes +with reeds; the bamboo guitar; the use of old beads and of hornbill +feathers for personal adornment; the making of fire by friction of +a strip of rattan across a block of wood. + +II. Whether this people, of whom the Kayans, Karens, Chins, Kakhyens, +and Nagas, seem to be the principal surviving branches, came into +the Irrawadi basin and adjacent areas by migration from Central Asia +by way of the Brahmaputra valley, as Cross and McMahon (accepting +the tradition of the Karens) believe, or came, as Logan suggested, +eastward from Bengal, it seems certain that it has been divided into +fragments, driven away from the main rivers, and in the main pushed +southwards by successive swarms of migration from the north. This +pressure from the north seems to have driven some of the Karens down +into the Malay Peninsula, where they are still found; and it may +well be that, before the rise of the Malays as an aggressive people +under Arab leadership, the ancestors of the Kayans occupied parts of +the peninsula farther south than the Karens now extend, and possibly +also parts of Sumatra. If this was the case, it was inevitable that, +with the rise to dominance of the Mohammedan Malays in this region, +the Kayans must have been either driven out, exterminated, or converted +to Islam and absorbed. It seems probable that different communities +of them suffered these three different fates. + +The supposition that the Kayans represent a part of such a population, +which was driven on by the pressure of Malays to seek a new country +in which to practise its extravagant system of PADI culture, is in +harmony with the probability as to the date of their immigration +to the southern rivers of Borneo; for the rise and expansion of the +Menangkabau Malays began in the middle of the twelfth century A.D.; +and the Kayans may well have entered Borneo some 700 years ago. + +III. We have now to summarise the evidence in favour of the view that +the Kayans have imparted to the Kenyahs and many of the Klemantan +tribes the principal elements of the peculiar culture which they now +have in common. + +We have shown that the culture of the Kenyah and Klemantan tribes +is in the main very similar to that of the Kayans, and that it +differs chiefly in lacking some of its more advanced features, in +having less sharply defined outlines, in its greater variability +from one community to another, and in the less strict observance of +custom. Thus the Kayans in general live in larger communities, each of +their villages generally consisting of several long houses; whereas +a single long house generally constitutes the whole of a Kenyah or +Klemantan village. The Kayans excel in iron-working, in PADI culture, +in boat-making, and in house-building. Their customs and beliefs +are more elaborated, more definite, more uniform, and more strictly +observed. Their social grades are more clearly marked. They hang +together more strongly, with a stronger tribal sentiment, and, while +the distinction between them and other tribes is everywhere clearly +marked and recognised both by themselves and others, the Klemantans +and Kenyahs everywhere shade off into one another and into Punans. + +The process of conversion of Punans into settled communities that +assimilate more or less fully the Kayan culture is still going on. We +are acquainted with settled communities which still admit their +Punan origin; and these exhibit very various grades of assimilation +of the Kayan culture. Some, which in the lives of the older men were +still nomadic, still build very poor houses and boats, cultivate PADI +very imperfectly, and generally exhibit the Kayan culture in a very +imperfect state. + +On the other hand, the Kenyahs have assimilated the Kayan culture more +perfectly than any other of the aborigines, and in some respects, such +as the building of houses, they perhaps equal the Kayans; but even they +have not learnt to cultivate PADI in so thorough a manner as to keep +themselves supplied with rice all through the year, as the Kayans do; +and, like the various Klemantan tribes,[204] they suffer almost every +year periods of scarcity during which they rely chiefly on cultivated +and wild sago and on tapioca. The Kayans, on the other hand, grow +sufficient PADI to last through the year, except in very bad seasons, +and they never collect or cultivate sago. The view that this relative +imperfection of the agriculture of the Kenyahs and Klemantans is due to +the recency of their adoption of the practice, is confirmed by the fact +that many of them still preserve the tradition of the time when they +cultivated no PADI. It seems that most of the present Kenyahs first +began to plant PADI not more than two, or at most three, centuries +ago. Some of the Kenyahs also preserve the tradition of a time when +they constructed their houses mainly of bamboo; this was probably +their practice for some few generations after they began to acquire +the Kayan culture. At the present day those Punans who have only +recently taken to the settled mode of life generally make large use +of the bamboo in building their small and relatively fragile houses. + +The view that the Kayans have played this large civilising role is +supported by the fact that Kayan is the language most widely understood +in the interior, and that it is largely used for intercommunication, +even between members of widely separated Kenyah communities whose +dialects have diverged so widely that their own language no longer +forms a medium of communication between them; whereas the Kayans +themselves do not trouble to acquire familiarity with the Kenyah or +Klemantan languages. + +If both Kenyahs and Klemantans represent sections of the aboriginal +population of nomadic hunters who have absorbed Kayan culture, it +remains to account for the existence of those peculiarities of the +Kenyahs that have led us to separate them from the tribes which we +have classed together as Klemantans. The peculiarities that distinguish +Kenyahs from Klemantans are chiefly personal characteristics, notably +the bodily build (relatively short limbs and massive trunks), the more +lively and energetic temperament, the more generous and expansive +and pugnacious disposition. These peculiarities may, we think, be +accounted for by the supposition that the aborigines from whom the +Kenyahs descend had long occupied the central highlands where most +of the Kenyah communities still dwell and which they all regard as +the homeland and headquarters of their race. + +Of the Klemantan tribes some, E.G. the Aki, the Long Patas, and the +Long Akars, resemble more nearly the Kayans; others, E.G. the Muriks, +the Sebops, the Lirongs, the Uma Longs, the Pengs or Pinihings, +show more affinity with the Kenyahs. It seems probable that these +diversities have resulted from the assimilation of culture directly +from the Kayans by the one group and from the Kenyahs by the other. A +third group of Klemantan tribes such as the Long Kiputs, the Batu +Blah, and the Trings, scattered through the northern part of the +island, resemble more nearly the Muruts; and among these are found +communities whose culture marks them as descendants of nomads who +have assimilated the Murut culture in various degrees. + + +The Muruts + +The Muruts differ somewhat as regards physical features from all the +other tribes, especially in having coarser but less Mongoloid features, +a longer skull, and a more lanky build of body and limbs. Their +intonation is nasal, and the colour of the skin slightly darker and +ruddier than that of the Klemantans. + +Their culture differs so much as to lead us to suppose that it had +a somewhat different origin from that of the Kayans. They build long +houses; but these are comparatively flimsy structures, and they are +often situated at a distance from any navigable stream. Even those +Muruts who live on the river-banks make much less use of boats than +the other tribes, and all of them are great walkers. They have very +little skill in boat-making. Their most distinctive peculiarity is +their system of agriculture (see vol. i. p. 97), which involves +irrigation, the use of buffalo, the raising of two crops a year, +and the repeated use in successive years of the same land. Other +distinctive features are their peculiar long sword and short spear; +the absence of any axe and blow-pipe; the custom according to which +the women propose marriage to the men (Kalabits). + +In the Philippine Islands a system of agriculture similar to that +of the Muruts is widely practised; and some of the tribes, though +their culture has been largely influenced by Spanish civilisation, +seem to be of the same stock as the Muruts; thus the Tagals of Borneo +are not improbably a section of the people known as Tagalas in the +Philippines, and the Bisayas of Borneo probably bear the same relation +to the Visayas of the Philippines. + +It seems probable, therefore, that this type of culture has been +carried into the north of Borneo by immigrants from the Philippines, +whither it was introduced at a remote period, possibly from Annam, the +nearest part of the mainland; or possibly it came to Borneo directly +from Annam.[205] It is probable that many of the tribes which we have +classed with the Muruts, on account of their possession of the Murut +culture, are, like the Klemantans and Kenyahs, descendants of the +ancient Indonesian population who have adopted the culture of more +advanced immigrants. The descendants of the immigrants who introduced +this type of culture are, we think, the Muruts proper, who claim that +name and dwell chiefly in the Trusan, the Padas, the Sembakong, the +Kerayan rivers, and in the head of the Kinabatangan; also the Kalabits +in the northern part of the upper basin of the Baram. It is these +which display most decidedly the physical peculiarities noted above. + +As examples of Klemantan tribes that have partially adopted the Murut +culture we would mention the LONG KIPUTS, the BATU BLAHS, the TRINGS, +and the ADANGS in the head of the Limbang River; to the same group +belong the KADAYANS in the neighbourhood of Bruni, who, from contact +with their Malay neighbours, have become in large part Mohammedans +of Malay culture. + + +The Ibans (Sea Dayaks) + +The Ibans stand distinctly apart from all the other tribes, both by +reason of their physical and mental peculiarities and of the many +differences of their culture; we have little doubt that they are the +descendants of immigrants who came into the south-western corner of +Borneo at no distant date. We regard them as Proto-Malays, that is +to say, as of the stock from which the true Malays of Sumatra and the +Peninsula were differentiated by the influence of Arab culture. A large +number of the ancestors of the present Ibans were probably brought to +Borneo from Sumatra less than two hundred years ago. Some two centuries +ago, a number of Malay nobles were authorised by the Sultan of Bruni +to govern the five rivers of Sarawak proper, namely, the Samarahan, +the Sadong, the Batang Lupar, the Saribas, and the Klaka rivers. These +Malays were pirate leaders, and they were glad to enrol large numbers +of pagan fighting men among their followers; for the latter were glad +to do most of the hard work, claiming the heads of the pirates' victims +as their principal remuneration, while the Malays retained that part +of the booty which had a marketable value. These Malay leaders found, +no doubt, that their pagan relatives of Sumatra lent themselves +more readily to this service than the less warlike Klemantans of +Borneo, and therefore, as we suppose, they brought over considerable +numbers of them and settled them about the mouths of these rivers. The +co-operation between the piratical Malay Tuankus and the descendants of +their imported PROTEGES continued up to the time of the suppression of +piracy by the British and Dutch half a century ago. It was from this +association with the sea and with coast-pirates that the Ibans became +known as the Sea Dayaks by Sir James Brooke; and to this encouragement +of their head-hunting proclivity by the Malays is no doubt due their +peculiarly ruthless and bloodthirsty devotion to it as to a pastime, +rather than (as with the Kayans and other tribes) as to a ceremonial +duty occasionally imposed upon them by the death of a chief. + +It seems to us probable that the greater part of the ancestors of +the Ibans entered Borneo in this way. But there is reason to think +that some of them had settled at an earlier date in this part of +Borneo and rather farther southward on the Kapuas River. The BUGAUS, +KANTUS, and DAUS, who dwell along the southern border of Sarawak, +and some other Iban tribes in the northern basin of the Kapuas River, +are probably descendants of these earlier immigrants of Proto-Malay +stock. In most respects they closely resemble the other Iban tribes, +but they are distinguished by some peculiarities of language and +accent; their manners are gentler, their bearing less swaggering; +they are less given to wandering, and they have little skill in the +making and handling of boats. These are recognised by themselves and +by other Ibans as belonging to the same people; but they are a little +looked down upon by Ibans of the other tribes as any home-staying +rural population is looked down upon by travelled cosmopolitans. + +This conjectural history of the immigration of the Ibans explains the +peculiar fact that, although all the Ibans of all parts are easily +distinguishable from all the other peoples, and although they all +recognise one another as belonging to the same people, they have no +common name for the whole group. They commonly speak of KAMI MENOA +(I.E. "we of this country") when they refer to their people as a whole; +and the Kayan designation of them as IVAN (immigrant or wanderer) has +been adopted by large numbers of them in recent years and modified into +Iban, so that the expression KAMI IBAN is now frequently used by them. + +The identification of the Iban with a Proto-Malay stock is justified +by their language and physical characteristics. The former seems to be +the language from which Malay has been formed under Arab influence and +culture. It employs many words which are no longer current in Malay, +but which, as is shown by Marsden's MALAY DICTIONARY, were in use +among Sumatran Malays in the eighteenth century. + +Since the Mohammedan populations which now are called Malay are of +mixed origin, they present no very well-defined or uniform physical +type. But of all Malays those of Sumatra and of the Peninsula are +generally recognised as presenting the type in its greatest purity; +and it is this type which the Ibans most closely reproduce. The +near resemblance of facial type between the Malays and the Ibans is +apt to be obscured for the casual visitor by the fact that the Iban +puts little or no restraint upon his expressions and is constantly +chattering, laughing, and smiling; whereas the Malay is taught from +childhood to restrain his expressions and to preserve a severe and +grave demeanour in the presence of strangers. But in private the +Malay relaxes, and then the resemblance appears more clearly. + +The principal features of the Iban's culture which distinguish it from +that of the other tribes may be enumerated here. The Iban closely +resembles the Kayan in his method of cultivating PADI, but he is +even more careful and skilful, and generally secures a surplus. His +house differs characteristically from those of the Kayan type, and +resembles the long houses still inhabited by some Sumatran Malays, +in being comparatively small, and in having a framework of many +light poles rather than of heavy hardwood timbers, and a floor of +split bamboo in place of huge planks. In methods of weaving and dyeing +cloth and in the character of the cloths produced;[206] in the wearing +of ornamental head-cloths; in the weaving of mats and baskets with +the PANDANUS leaf and a large rush known as BUMBAN rather than with +strips of split rattan; in their methods of trapping and netting fish; +in the character of the sword and axe and shield as formerly used;[207] +in the use of the fire-piston;[208] in musical instruments and methods; +in the custom of earth burial; in the visiting and making of offerings +at the graves of noted men in the hope of supernatural aid, -- in +all these respects the Iban culture differs from that of the Kayans, +and closely resembles that of the Malays. + +The Iban culture presents also certain features not common to other +peoples of Borneo and not found among the Malays; and all or most +are such as must have been exterminated among the Malays on their +conversion to Islam, if they had formed part of their culture in +their pre-Islamic period. Such are the religious beliefs and customs +of the Ibans with the cult of the PETARA; the NGARONG; the rite with +the clay crocodile for getting rid of farm pests (vol. ii. p. 88); +the use in weaving of a number of designs of animal origin; the +adornment of the edge of the ear with many brass rings; the lack of +any strict avoidance of killing dogs. + +Thirdly, of the features of Iban culture which are common to them and +to the other tribes of Borneo, many seem to have been borrowed by them +from their neighbours, and often in an incomplete or imperfect manner; +such are the system of omenreading, the ritual slaughter of fowls and +pigs, much of their dancing and tatuing, the PARANG ILANG and wooden +shield, the feathered war-coat of skin, the KELURI or small bag-pipe, +and the fashion of wearing their hair, -- all these seem to have been +borrowed from the Kayans; the woman's corset of brassbound hoops, +from the Malohs; the mat worn posteriorly for sitting upon, from +the Kenyahs.[209] + +Besides the three great invasions of foreign blood and foreign culture, +those borne by the Kayans, the Muruts, and the Ibans respectively, +there have been numerous minor invasions on all sides. In the following +paragraphs we make mention of those that seem to have been of most +importance in modifying the population and the culture of Borneo. + +In the south there are traces of Javanese culture with its Hindu +elements among many of the tribes, but especially among the Land Dayaks +who occupy the southern extremity of Sarawak. These cremate their +dead; they set apart a separate round house for the trophies of human +heads, and in this the bachelors are expected to pass the nights. The +Malawis of South-East Borneo seem to be similar in many respects to +the Land Dayaks of Sarawak. The Land Dayaks have a reputation in +Upper Sarawak for quicker intelligence and more adaptability than +the other tribes, and hence are in much request for services of the +most various kinds. It is an interesting question whether this may be +due to a dash of Hindu blood; the facial type and the more abundant +growth of hair on the face would support an affirmative answer. + +The Malohs are a well-marked tribe found on the Kalis and Mandai +rivers, tributaries of the Kapuas River. Physically they are marked +by exceptionally long narrow heads (index about 76). They speak +a language very different from those of the central and northern +parts of the island, but speak also the Iban language with a peculiar +accent. The Malohs alone of all the peoples of Borneo eat the flesh of +the crocodile. The most distinctive feature of their culture is their +skill and industry in brass working. Malohs supply a large proportion +of all the brass-ware to be found in the interior. This addiction to +brass-working suggests that they represent an immigration from Java, +which has long enjoyed a great reputation for its brass-ware and an +extensive market throughout the islands. + +On the east coast are many communities of Bugis, who are mostly +Mohammedans and seem to have come from Celebes, where they are a +numerous people. + +In the north and extreme north-west the Dusuns seem to be of Murut +stock with an infusion of Chinese blood and culture. They use a +plough drawn by buffalo in the PADI fields, which they irrigate +systematically. + +Round about the northern coasts are to be found many small bands +of Lanuns and Bajaus, living largely in boats. They are mostly +Mohammedans, and descend from the notorious piratical communities +whose headquarters were in the Sulu Islands and other islands off +the north-east coast. + +In the foregoing pages we have said very little about the languages +spoken by the tribes of Borneo. Although one of us has a practical +command of the Kayan, Kenyah, Sea Dayak, and Malay languages, +and a tolerably intimate acquaintance with a number of the +Klemantan dialects, we do not venture upon the task of discussing +their systematic positions and relations to languages of other +areas. For this would be a task of extreme difficulty and complexity +which only an accomplished linguistic scholar could profitably +undertake. Nevertheless, we think it worth while to add a few words +regarding the bearing of the languages on the foregoing ethnological +discussion. It seems clear that in the main the differences and +affinities between the many languages and dialects spoken by the +pagan tribes bear out, so far as they are known to us, the principal +conclusions of our argument. The Sea Dayak or Iban tongue stands +distinctly apart from all the rest, and is indisputably very closely +allied to the Malay. The Kenyahs, Klemantans, and Punans speak a great +variety of tongues, which are, however, so closely similar, and the +extreme members of which are connected by so many intermediate forms, +that it would seem they may properly be regarded as but dialects of +one language. The Kayan language, on the other hand, stands apart from +both the Iban and the Klemantan languages, but is much nearer to the +latter than the former. The Kenyah dialects especially contain many +words or roots that appear also in the Kayan, and seem to be more +closely allied to it than is any of the Klemantan tongues. This may +well be due to the more intimate contact with the Kayans enjoyed by the +Kenyahs, who, as we have seen, have assimilated the Kayan culture more +completely than any other of the indigenous tribes, and who may well +have taken up many Kayan words together with other culture elements. + +The Murut languages again seem to stand apart from the Iban, Kayan, +and Kenyah-Klemantan, as a distinct group whose vocabulary has little +in common with those others.[210] + +In conclusion, we venture to make a suggestion which we admit to be +widely speculative and by which we wish only to draw attention to a +remote possibility which, if further evidence in its favour should +be discovered, would be one of great interest. We have throughout +maintained the view, now adopted by many others, of which Professor +Keane has been the principal exponent, namely, the view that the +Indonesian stock was largely, probably predominantly, of Caucasic +origin. In our chapter on animistic beliefs concerning animals and +plants, and in the chapter on religion, we have shown that the Kayans +believe in a multiplicity of anthropomorphic deities which, with Lake +Tenangan at the head of a galaxy of subordinate gods and goddesses +presiding over special departments of nature, strangely resembles +the group of divine beings who, in the imagination of the fathers +of European culture, dwelt in Olympus. And we have shown that the +system of divination practised by the Kayans (the taking of omens +from the flight and cries of birds, and the system of augury by the +entrails of sacrificial victims) strangely resembles, even in many +details, the corresponding system practised by the early Romans. Our +suggestion is, then, that these two systems may have had a common +root; that, while the Aryans carried the system westward into Europe, +the Indonesians, or some Caucasic people which has been merged in the +Indonesian stock, carried it eastward; and that the Kayans, with their +strongly conservative tendencies, their serious religious temperament, +and strong tribal organisation, have, of all the Indonesians, preserved +most faithfully this ancient religious system and have imparted it in +a more or less partial manner to the tribes to whom they have given +so much else of culture, custom, and belief. + +It is perhaps not without significance in this connection that the +Karens, whom we regard as the nearest relatives of the Kayans, were +found to worship a Supreme Being, and have proved peculiarly apt +pupils of the Christian missionaries who have long laboured among them. + +By way of crowning the indiscretion of the foregoing paragraphs, +we point out that there are certain faint indications of linguistic +support for this speculative suggestion. BALI, which, as we have +explained, is used by Kayans and Kenyahs to denote whatever is +sacred or is connected with religious practices, is undoubtedly a +word of Sanskrit derivation.[211] FLAKI, the name of the bird of +most importance in augury, bears a suggestive resemblance to the +German FALKE and the Latin FALCO. The Kayan word for omen is AMAN, +the resemblance of which to the Latin word is striking. Are these +resemblances merely accidental? If more of the words connected with +the religious beliefs and practices could be shown to exhibit equally +close resemblances, we should be justified in saying -- No. + + + +CHAPTER 22 + +Government + +In an earlier chapter we have sketched the history of government in +Borneo from the earliest times of which any record remains, up to the +time at which the whole island was brought under European control. In +this chapter we propose to describe the way in which the European +governments have extended their spheres of influence and have secured +the co-operation of the natives in the maintenance of peace and order +and freedom. + +For some years after Mr. James Brooke became Rajah of Sarawak (1841), +his rule was confined to the territory then known as Sarawak. This +area, still known as Sarawak proper, is some 7000 square miles in +extent and comprises the basins of the following rivers: the Sarawak, +the Samarahan, the Sadong, and the Lundu. The Batang Lupar and Saribas +rivers, which enter the sea to the north of this area, were infested +by pirate bands under the leadership of Malay Serifs who, though +they professed allegiance to the Sultan of Bruni, were but little +controlled by him. The depredations of these unruly neighbours led Sir +James Brooke to undertake several expeditions against them. In the year +1849, Captain Sir Harry Keppel of H.M.S. DIDO lent his aid (not for the +first time), and the combined forces finally swept out those hornets' +nests and put an end to piracy in those regions. With the approval of +the Sultan of Bruni, Rajah Brooke established stations in the lower +waters of the Saribas and Skarang rivers, and a little later at Kanowit +on the Rejang River. This was the first of a series of similar steps +by which the area of the Raj has been successively extended, until +now it comprises about 60,000 square miles, more than eight times +its original extent. In each of these out-stations one or two English +officers were appointed to represent the Rajah's government. In each +station a small wooden fort was built, and in some cases the fort was +surrounded with a stockade. This served as residence for the officer, +or officers, and their small band of native police, generally some +ten or twelve Malays armed with rifles and a small cannon. The prime +duty of these officers, entitled Governors (or later, Residents), was +to protect the local population from the oppression and depredations +of the Serifs, and generally to discourage and punish bloodshed and +disorder. The general policy followed in all these new districts was +to elicit the co-operation of the local chiefs and headmen, and, when +the people had begun to appreciate the benefits of peace, including +the opening of the rivers to Malay and Chinese traders, to impose +a small poll-tax to defray the expenses of administration. The area +of control was then gradually extended farther into the interior by +securing the voluntary adhesion of communities and tribes settled in +the tributaries and higher waters of each river. This policy, steadily +pursued in one district after another, has invariably succeeded, +although the time required for complete pacification has, of course, +varied considerably; and it was only during the early years of this +century that the process seemed to reach its final stage among the +Sea Dayaks in the interiors of the Batang Lupar and Rejang districts. + +The stability of the Rajah's government was seriously threatened in +1857 by the insurrection of Chinese gold-workers at Bau in Sarawak +proper. But this rebellion, in the course of which Sir James Brooke +narrowly escaped death at the hands of the rebels, was soon suppressed, +largely by the energy of the Tuan Muda (the present Rajah), who came +to the aid of Sir James with a strong force of Sea Dayaks and Malays. + +The process of establishing order and good government in the new +territory was complicated by the intrigues of the Bruni nobles or +PANGIRANS and of the independent Malay chiefs, who, seeing their +power to oppress and misrule the coast districts seriously curtailed, +and indeed threatened with extinction, by the growing influence of +the Europeans in Borneo, conspired with others of similar status in +Dutch Borneo to rid the island of these unwelcome innovators. In the +year 1859 two English officers of the Sarawak government at Kanowit +on the lower Rejang (Messrs. Fox and Steele) were murdered by a gang +of Malanaus. There was good reason to believe that this incident, +together with several murders of Europeans in Dutch Borneo, was the +result of a loosely concerted action of the Malay chiefs, and that +the Kanowit murders were directly instigated by Serif Masahor and +Pangiran Dipa; the latter a Bruni noble who misruled Muka and the +surrounding area. Rajah Brooke visited the Sultan of Bruni and secured +his authorisation for the punishment of these and others concerned +in the murders; and in 1860 an expedition, led by his two nephews, +captured Muka and would have expelled the Serif and the Pangiran but +for the untimely interference of the British Consul at Bruni, who +seems to have been misinformed of the nature of the situation.[212] +In the following year the Rajah, visiting the Sultan at Bruni, found +him willing to cede Muka and the basins of the adjoining rivers, +the Oya, Tatau, and Bintulu, in return for a perpetual annual payment +of 16,000 dollars, an arrangement which was accepted and which still +holds good. Thus the intrigues of the Malay nobles, which for a time +had seriously threatened the stability of the Rajah's government, +resulted in the addition of an area of some 7000 square miles to the +Sarawak territory. + +The basin of the Rejang, the largest river of Sarawak, was the next +region to be added to the Raj. Here Sir James Brooke's government +first came into contact with the Kayans (in the year 1863). The +reputation of the Kayans as a dominant tribe of warriors, whose +raids were feared even as far as Bruni, had rendered them proud +and self. confident- and unready to appreciate the benefits of the +Rajah's government. Their continued hostility rendered advisable a +demonstration of force. Accordingly in the year 1863 the Tuan Muda +(the present Rajah, H. H. Sir Charles Brooke) led an expedition of +some 10,000 or more native levies, consisting chiefly of Sea Dayaks and +Malays, up the Rejang as far as the mouth of the Baloi Peh, a spot some +250 miles from the mouth of the Rejang and in the edge of the Kayan +country. The Kayans could not withstand so large a force and retreated +farther up river after but little show of resistance. Several of their +long houses were destroyed, and a message demanding their submission to +the Rajah's government was sent by a captive to Oyong Hang, the most +influential of the Kayan chiefs. The messenger carried a cannon-ball +and the Sarawak flag, and was instructed to ask Oyang Hang which he +would choose; to which question the chief is said to have returned +the answer that he wanted neither. Although the expedition failed to +secure the submission of any large number of the Kayans and Kenyahs, +it established the Rajah's authority as far as it had penetrated; +for a number of Klemantan villages settled in the middle reaches of +the Rejang accepted the offer of peace, and a number of their chiefs +brought the Sarawak flag down river and celebrated the traditional +peace-making rites with the Rajah's representative. The Kayans have +never since attempted to raid the lower reaches of the river; but it +was not until the early eighties, during the Residency of the late +Mr. H. B. Low, that the bulk of the Kayans of the Rejang acknowledged +the Rajah's authority and began to co-operate in his administration, +a result achieved without any repetition of the large expedition of +1863. From that time (about 1885) the Baloi or Upper Rejang may be +regarded as having formed part of Sarawak. + +In the year 1882 the northern boundary of Sarawak was again pushed +forward by the cession to the Rajah by the Sultan of Bruni of the +basin of the Baram, an area of some 10,000 square miles, on condition +of a perpetual annual payment of 6000 dollars. This was an area in +which, except along the coast, the Sultan's authority had never been +exercised, and which had been kept closed to trade and the depredations +of the Malays, by the fear of the Kayans. For the Kayans, who dominated +all the middle waters of the Baram, had in the past threatened even +Bruni. The Sultan was no doubt glad to see the Rajah undertake the task +of controlling his formidable neighbours, who, dwelling within striking +distance of his capital, were a perpetual menace to his power and even +to his personal safety. The Baram district has been brought completely +under the Rajah's rule without the introduction of any armed force from +outside; and as the process of establishing peace and order has there +followed a normal and undisturbed course, and is familiarly known to +us, we propose to describe it in some detail on a later page. Since +the date of the inclusion of the Baram, the Raj of Sarawak has been +again extended towards the north on three. occasions. The first of +these additions was the basin of the Trusan River. In this case the +Sultan offered to sell the territory for a lump sum, and his offer +was accepted by the Rajah, whose officers occupied it in the year +1885. In 1890, the people living on the Limbang River, whose basin +adjoins that of the Baram on its northern border, were in a state of +rebellion against the Sultan, and the region had for several years +been in a very disturbed state. The present Rajah therefore proposed +to annex the country in return for an annual payment. The British +Government was asked to approve this step and to fix the amount of the +sum to be paid to the Sultan. A favourable reply having been given +by the Foreign Office, and the annual sum of 6000 dollars having +been awarded as a fair return for the cession, the administration +of the country was peacefully entered upon by the Rajah's officers, +who where warmly welcomed by the greater part of the inhabitants. + +The latest and presumably the final extension of the boundaries of +Sarawak was effected in 1905, when the basin of the small river Lawas +was bought from the British North Borneo Company. + +In the opening year of this century a small part of Borneo still +remained under purely native control, namely, the town of Bruni and +an area about it of 1700 square miles, comprising the basins of the +small rivers Balait and Tutong. By agreement with the Sultan this +area was placed under the administration of a Resident representing +the British Government in the year 1906. Thus the European occupation +of Borneo was completed. + +The history of the establishment of Dutch rule throughout the larger +part of Borneo has been similar to that of the acquisition of Sarawak +by its two English Rajahs. Dutch trading stations were established in +the south-west corner of Borneo as early as 1604. In the seventeenth +century stations were established in southern Borneo by both British +and Dutch traders; but the Dutch traders extended their influence more +rapidly than their rivals, and by the middle of the eighteenth century +had secured a practically exclusive influence in those parts. The +British held possession of all the Dutch East Indies during the +brief period (1811 -- 1816) which was terminated by the Congress of +Vienna. On the retirement of the British, the Dutch Government took +over all the rights acquired by the Dutch traders; and since that +time it has continued to consolidate its control and to extend the +area of its administration farther into the interior along the courses +of the great rivers. There were in the area that is now Dutch Borneo +several independent Malay Sultans, of which the principal had their +capitals at Pontianak, Banjermasin, and Kotei. In 1823 the Sultan +of Banjermasin ceded a large part of his territory to the Dutch +government; in 1844 the Sultan of Kotei accepted its protection; +and by similar steps by far the larger part of the island has been +marked out as the Dutch sphere of influence. The water parting from +which the principal rivers flow east and west has been agreed upon by +the Dutch and the Sarawak governments as the boundary between their +territories; and though the upper waters of the great rivers which +flow west and south through Dutch Borneo have up to the present +time hardly been explored, the authority of the Dutch Government +is well established over all the tribes of the coastal regions and, +especially in the south, extends far into the interior, but is still +little more than nominal in the head waters of the rivers. The system +of administration now practised by the Dutch closely resembles in most +essential respects that obtaining in Sarawak, and it has brought to the +natives of the greater part of Dutch Borneo the same great benefits, +peace, freedom, justice, and trade. + +The northern extremity of Borneo, an area comprising some 31,000 square +miles and 200,000 inhabitants, is now administered by the British +North Borneo Company (chartered by the British Government in 1892), +which acquired it by purchase in successive instalments from the +Sultans of Bruni and Sulu. The Company has followed in the main an +administrative policy similar to that of Sarawak, and has appointed +as governors officers of large East Indian experience placed at +their disposal by the British Government. The Company has attempted +to achieve in a brief period a degree of commercial development +which in Sarawak and Dutch Borneo has been reached only gradually +in the course of several generations; and to this circumstance must +be attributed many of the difficulties which for a time caused it +"to get into the newspapers." But these difficulties have now been +overcome, and the whole territory placed in a condition of prosperity +and orderly progress. + +[ERROR: unhandled &tb;] + +It has been widely recognised that Sarawak provides a most notable +example of beneficent administration of the affairs of a population +in a lowly state of culture by representatives of our Western +civilisation. Among all such administrative systems that of Sarawak +has been distinguished not only by the rapid establishment of peace, +order, and a modest prosperity, with a minimum output of armed force, +but especially by reason of the careful way in which the interests +of the native population have constantly been made the prime object +of the government's solicitude. The story of the success of the two +white Rajahs of Sarawak has several times been told in whole or in +part. But we think it is worth while to try to give some intimate +glimpses of the working of the system as it affects the daily lives of +the pagan tribes, taking our illustrations in the main from incidents +in which one of us has been personally concerned. + +From the very inception of his rule, Sir James Brooke laid down +and strictly adhered to the principle of associating the natives +with himself and his European assistants in the government of +the country, and of respecting and maintaining whatever was not +positively objectionable in the laws and customs of the people. And +this policy has been as faithfully followed by the present Rajah.[213] +The Raj of which Sir James Brooke became the absolute ruler in the +way described in Chapter II. was a country in which the supreme +authority had been exercised for many generations by Malay rulers, +and in which the only generally recognised system of law was the +Mohammedan law administered by them. The two white Rajahs, instead +of imposing any system of European-made laws upon the people, as in +their Position of benevolent despot they might have been tempted +to do, have accepted the Mohammedan law and custom in all matters +affecting the population of the Mohammedan religion; and they have +gradually introduced improvements when and where the defects and +injustices of the system revealed themselves. In the work both of +administration and legislation the Rajahs have always sought and +enjoyed the advice and co-operation of Malays. They have maintained +the principal ministries of State, and have continued the tenure of +those offices by the Malay nobles who occupied them at the time of +Sir James Brooke's accession to power; and, as these have died or +retired in the natural course, they have chosen leading Malays of +the aristocratic class to fill the vacancies. Three of these Malay +officers, namely, the Datu Bandar, Datu Imaum, and the Datu Hakim, +have been members of the Supreme Council since its institution in +1855. The first of these offices may be best defined by likening it +to that of a Lord Mayor; or better, perhaps, to that of the salaried +Burgomaster of a German city; its occupant is understood to be the +leading citizen of the Malay community of Kuching, the capital town +of Sarawak. The Datu Imaum is the religious head of the Mohammedan +community, and the Datu Hakim the principal of the Malay judges. + +The Supreme Council consists of the three Malay officers named above +together with three or four of the principal European officers, and the +Rajah, who presides over its deliberations. It meets at least once a +month to consider all matters referred to it by lower tribunals. It +embodies the absolute authority of the Rajah; from its decrees +there is no appeal. It decides questions of justice, administration, +and legislation; and it continually enriches and improves the law +by creating precedents, which serve to guide the local courts, by +deliberately revising and repealing laws, and by adding new laws to +the Statute Book. It is the sole legislative authority. The presence of +the Malay members at the meetings of the Council is by no means a mere +formality; they take an active part in its deliberations and decisions. + +Beside the Supreme Council there exists a larger body whose functions +are purely advisory. It is called the Council NEGRI or State Council, +and consists of the Rajah and the members of the Supreme Council, +the Residents in charge of the more important districts, and the +principal "Native Officers" and PENGHULUS, some seventy members in +all. This Council meets at Kuching once in every three years under +the presidency of the Rajah, who provides the members with suitable +lodgings and entertains them at dinner. At the meeting of this +council topics of general interest are discussed, and the Rajah makes +some general review of the state of public affairs and the progress +achieved since the previous meeting. But the principal purpose of the +institution is the bringing together, under conditions favourable for +friendly intercourse, of the leading men of the whole country. Each +new member is formally sworn in, taking an oath of loyalty to the Rajah +and his government. The native chiefs return from these meetings with +an enhanced sense of the importance and dignity of their office and +with clearer notions of the whole system of government and of their +places in it. + +Though Mohammedan law remains as the basis of the law administered +among the Malays, notable improvements have been introduced, +E.G. the death penalty for incest and corporal punishment for conjugal +infidelity have been abolished; slaveholding, though not made illegal, +has been discouraged throughout the country by rendering it easy for +slaves to secure their freedom; and the power of the master over his +slave has been greatly restricted. A man is not allowed to marry a +second or third wife, unless he can prove himself able to provide for +each of the women and her offspring; wilful murder is always punished +by death or long imprisonment, not merely by imposition of a fine as +in former times. + +The development of commerce and industries has, of course, given rise +to legal questions for which the Mohammedan law provides no answers; +and to meet these necessities, laws modelled on the Indian code and +on English law have been enacted. + +The presence of a large Chinese community (now comprising some +50,000 persons) has always been a source of legal and administrative +difficulties. These difficulties have been met in the past by securing +the presence of leading Chinese merchants on the judicial bench, +as assessors familiar with the language, customs, and circumstances +of their countrymen, whenever the latter have been involved in legal +proceedings. In the present year a special court for the trial of +Chinese civil cases has been instituted, consisting of seven of the +leading Chinese merchants, of whom all, save the president, who is +nominated by the Rajah, are elected by the Chinese community. + +The government of the pagan population, comprising as it does so many +tribes of diverse customs, languages, and circumstances, has presented +a more varied and in many respects a more difficult problem. But the +same principles have been everywhere applied in their case also. The +backbone of the administrative and judicial system has been constituted +by the small staff of English officers carefully chosen by the Rajah, +and increased from time to time as the extension of the boundaries of +Sarawak opened new fields for their activities. During recent years +this administrative staff has counted some fifty to sixty English +members. Of these about a dozen are quartered in Kuching, namely, +the Resident of the first division, his assistant, a second-class +Resident, and the heads of the principal departments, the post office, +police and prisons, the treasury, the department of lands and surveys, +public works, education, and the rangers. + +The Sarawak rangers are a body of some 400 men trained to the use of +fire-arms and under military discipline. The majority are Sea Dayaks, +the remainder Malays and Sikhs. Two white officers, the commandant +and the gunnery instructor, are supported by native non-commissioned +officers. The force is recruited by voluntary enlistment, the men +joining in the first place for five years' service. This force supplies +the garrisons of the small forts, one or more of which are maintained +in each district; and from it a small body of riflemen has commonly +been drawn to form the nucleus of any expeditionary force required +for punitive operations. + +The whole territory of Sarawak is divided into four divisions, each of +which is again divided into two or more districts. The first division +coincides with Sarawak proper; the second includes the Batang Lupar, +Saribas, and Kelaka districts; the third comprises the Rejang, Oya, +Muka, Bintulu, and Matu districts; the fourth consists of the Baram, +Limbang, Trusan, and Lawas. The first, third, and fourth divisions +are administered by divisional Residents, which three officers rank +next to the Rajah in the official hierarchy. Each district is under +the immediate charge of an officer. These district officers are +of two ranks, namely Residents of the second class, and Assistant +Residents. In each district, with the exception of the smallest, the +Resident is assisted in his multifarious duties by a second white +officer of the rank of cadet or extra-officer, and has under his +direction a squad of ten to twenty-five rangers under the charge of a +sergeant; a sergeant of police in charge of about twelve policemen, +who are generally drawn from the locality; several Malay or Chinese +clerks; and generally some two or three "native officers." The last +are Malays of the aristocratic class resident in the district; they +are appointed by the Rajah on the recommendation of the Resident and +receive a regular salary. Their duties are to assist the Resident in +his police-court work, to hold special courts for the settlement of +purely Malay cases of a domestic nature, and to take charge of the +station in the absence of the Resident and his assistant. + +The prime duty of the Resident is to preserve order in his district +and to punish crimes of violence. But he is responsible also for +every detail of administration, including the collection of taxes +and customs duties, the settlement of disputes, and the hearing of +complaints of all kinds, the furnishing of reports to the central +government on all matters of moment, the development of trade and the +protection of traders, especially the inoffensive Chinese; and above +all, in the newer districts, it is his duty to gain the confidence +of the chiefs of the wilder tribes, and to lead them to accept the +Sarawak flag and the benefits of the Rajah's government, in return +for the small poll-tax required of them. It is well recognised by +the Rajah and his officers that the success of a Resident depends +primarily upon his acquiring intimate knowledge of the people and +establishing and maintaining good relations with them; and with this +end in view every Resident is expected to be familiar not only with +the Malay language, which is the official language of the country, as +well as in some measure a common medium of communication between the +chiefs of the various tribes, but also with one or more of the other +languages spoken in his district. The headquarters of the Resident +are usually the fort, or a small residency built not far from it in +the lower reaches of the chief river of his district. Here a Chinese +bazaar, I.E. a compact village of Chinese traders and shopkeepers, and +a Malay Kampong, generally spring up under the shelter of the fort; +and thus the station becomes the headquarters of trade as well as of +administration. To this centre the workers of jungle produce bring +their stuff, floating down river on rafts of rattans or in their +canoes; from it the Malay and Chinese traders or pedlars set out in +their boats for long journeys among the up-river people; and to it +come occasional parties of the up-river tribesmen, to consult with +the Resident, to seek redress for wrongs, to report the movements of +tribes in the adjacent territories, or to obtain permission to go on +the war-path in order to punish offences committed against them. + +Since the river is the one great high road, and since the Resident +and his assistants are seated generally near the point where it leaves +the district, the coming and going of all visitors can hardly escape +their observation. And, since the station sees every few days the +arrival of visitors or the return of parties of its own people from +up river, the Resident can keep himself pretty well informed of the +state of the country, and all news of importance will reach him after +no long delay, if only he is always accessible and willing to turn +a sympathetic ear to all comers. + +But the successful administration of one of the larger and wilder +districts, such as the Rejang or the Baram, requires that the Resident +shall not be content with the zealous discharge of his many duties +at his headquarters. He can only establish intimate relations of +reciprocal knowledge and confidence with the chiefs of the many +scattered communities of his district by making long journeys up river +several times a year. And situations not infrequently arise which +urgently demand his presence in some outlying part of his district +and which serve as the occasions of such journeys. + +Before describing such a journey, something must be said of the +place in the scheme of government occupied by the chiefs and headmen +of the various communities. Each of the Malay Kampongs and other +similar villages of the Malanaus and other coastwise peoples is +under the immediate charge of one of its more influential elders, +who bears the title of TUAH KAMPONG. He is appointed by the Rajah on +the recommendation of the Resident and receives a small salary. His +duties are to settle the minor disputes of his village, to collect +the tax, to keep order, and to report all breaches of the peace to +the Resident. He has authority to call in the police and to order +the arrest of any villager; in cases of dispute between villages he +represents his village in the Resident's court, and, where his own +people are concerned, he may sit on the bench with the Resident to +hear and advise upon the case. The Sarawak flag is the badge of his +office, and his position and duties are defined in a document bearing +the Rajah's signature. + +From among the more influential chiefs of the up-river communities +the Rajah appoints, on the recommendation of the Resident, a certain +number in each district to the office of PENGHULU. In a district of +Mixed population such as the Baram, one PENGHULU (sometimes two) is +usually appointed for each of the principal tribes of the district, +E.G. in the Baram are, or recently were, two Kayans, one Kenyah, one +Sebop, and one Barawan holding the office. The principal PENGHULUS +are made members of the Council of State, and they are expected to +attend its triennial meetings. The status of the PENGHULUS is similar +to that of the TUAH KAMPONG, and he also is given the Sarawak flag, +which he will display on his boat on official journeys, and a document +signed by the Rajah recording his appointment and the duties of his +office; but many of them derive a considerably greater importance than +their fellows from the numerical strength and the warlike character +of their followings. The PENGHULU has authority not only over his +own house or village, but also over the chiefs or headmen of other +communities of the same tribe and region. He is expected to keep the +Resident informed of any local incident requiring his attention, +and to be present in the Resident's court when any of his people +are tried for any serious offence; he has authority to try minor +cases, both civil and criminal, among his own people. Perhaps his +most important service is the following. When an up-river man has +been charged with a serious offence, the summons of the Resident's +court is forwarded to the PENGHULU of his tribe and district with the +instruction that he shall send the man down river to headquarters. It +is generally possible for the PENGHULU to call the man to him, and, +by explaining to him the situation and the order of the Resident, +to secure his peaceful surrender. But in case of refusal to come, or +of active resistance, the PENGHULU is expected to apply such force +as may be necessary for effecting the arrest and the conveyance to +headquarters. In this way in a well-governed district the arrest of +evildoers is effected with remarkable sureness and with far less +risk of violence, bloodshed, and the arousal of angry passions, +than if the Resident should send his police or rangers to do the +work. The PENGHULU is in a much better position than the Resident for +obtaining accurate information upon, and a full understanding of, the +circumstances of any such up-river incidents; and his help is thus +often of the greatest value to the Resident. If he judges that the +accused man is innocent, and especially if the charge against him has +been made by a Chinaman, a Malay, or a member of any other than his +own tribe, he will usually accompany the prisoner to headquarters, +in, order to see that no injustice is done him. Another important +function of the PENGHULU is the preliminary investigation of breaches +of the peace among his people (see vol. ii. p. 219). + +The PENGHULU is responsible also for the collection of the door-tax +from the chief of each house or village of his people and for +its delivery to the Resident. He is allowed to exercise a certain +discretion in the matter of remission of taxes to elderly or infirm +householders. He is responsible also for the transmission to the +Resident of all sums in payment of fines of more than five dollars, +imposed by himself or by his subordinate chiefs. On the happily +infrequent occasions on which it becomes necessary to organise a +punitive expedition, the PENGHULUS are expected to help in the raising +of the required force, and to accompany the expedition as commanders of +their own group of warriors, acting under the orders of the Resident. + +A PENGHULU is punished for neglect of his duties by suspension from his +office for a definite period, or in more serious cases by dismissal +and the appointment of another chief Since the dignity and prestige +of the office are high, this punishment is deeply felt. + +Among the Kayans and Kenyahs and most of the Klemantans, the PENGHULUS +exercise a very effective authority, and, since with few exceptions the +chiefs chosen to fill the office have been loyal, zealous, and capable, +they have rendered great services to the government. Among the Sea +Dayaks the lack of authority of the chiefs, which is a characteristic +feature of their social system, has rendered it impossible to secure +for their PENGHULUS the same high standing and large influence; the +result of which has been the creation of an unduly large number of +these officers and the consequent further depreciation of the dignity +of the office. + +The PENGHULU is the link between the native system of government as +it obtained before the coming of the white man, and that established +and maintained by the Rajah and his white officers. The former +consisted of the exercise of authority by the several chiefs, each +over the people of his own village only, except in so far as a chief +might acquire some special prestige and influence over others through +his own reputation for wisdom and that of his people for success in +war. Among the Kayans and Kenyahs especially, the principal chiefs have +long aimed at extending their influence by marrying their relatives +to those of other powerful chiefs. In this way chiefs of exceptional +capacity, aided by good fortune, have achieved in certain instances +a very extended influence. Such a chief was Laki Avit, a Kenyah, +who, some twenty years before the Rajah's officers first entered +upon the task of administering the Baram, was recognised throughout +all the interior of the district as the leading chief, a position +which could only have been achieved by the consistent pursuit of a +wise policy of conciliation and just dealing between. Kenyahs and +Kayans. But the order and peace maintained by the influence of such +a chief depended wholly on his continued vigour, and they seldom or +never survived his death by more than a few years. In the case of Laki +Avit, for example, the Bruni Malays, jealous and afraid of the allied +Kayans and Kenyahs, soon succeeded by means of murderous intrigues +in bringing back the more normal condition of suspicious hostility +and frequent warfare. Thus, although several chiefs had endeavoured +to establish peace throughout wide areas, no one of them had achieved +any enduring success. For this end the unifying influence of a central +authority and superior power was necessary, and this was supplied by +the Rajah. We may liken the whole system of society as now established +to a conical structure consisting of a common apex from which lines of +authority descend to the base, branching as they go at three principal +levels. If we imagine the upper part of this structure cut away at +a horizontal plane just above the lowest level of branching, we have +a diagrammatic representation of the state of affairs preceding the +Rajah's advent -- a large number of small cones each representing +a village unified by the subordination of its members to its chief, +but each one remaining isolated without any bond of union with its +neighbours. At the present time the base of the cone remains almost +unchanged, but the Rajah's government binds together all its isolated +groups to form one harmonious whole, by means of the hierarchy of +officers whose authority proceeds from the Rajah himself, the apex +of the system. + +The establishment of the Rajah's government has thus involved no +breaking up of the old forms of society, no attempt to recast it +after any foreign model, but has merely supplied the elements that +were lacking to the system, if it was to enable men to live at peace, +to prosper and multiply, and to enjoy the fruits of their labours. But +though we describe the society of Sarawak as being now a completed +structure, the simile is inadequate and might mislead. The structure +is not that of a rigid building, but of a living organisation; and +its efficiency and permanence depend upon the unceasing activities of +all its parts, each conscious of the whole and of its own essential +role in the life of the whole, and each animated by a common spirit +of unswerving devotion to, and untiring effort in the cause of, the +whole. The Rajah's power rests upon the broad base of the people's +willing co-operation; he in turn is for them the symbol of the whole, +by the aid of which they are enabled to think of the state as their +common country and common object of devotion; and from him there +descends through his officers the spirit which animates the whole, +a spirit of reciprocal confidence, justice, goodwill, and devotion to +duty. The system is in fact the realisation of the ideal of monarchy +or personal government; its successful working depends above all on +the character and intellect of the man who stands at the head of the +state; and the steady progress of all better aspects of civilisation +in Sarawak, a progress which has evoked the warm praise of many +experienced and independent observers,[214] has been due to the fact +that the resolution, the tact and sympathy, the wisdom and high +ideals which enabled the first of its English Rajahs to establish +his authority, have been unfailingly displayed in no less degree by +his successor throughout his long reign. + +It is obvious that this permeation of the whole system of government +by the spirit of its head can only be perpetuated by constant personal +intercourse between him and his officers and between the officers of +the various grades. This has been a main principle observed by the +Rajah. He has frequently visited the district stations, to spend a +few days in consultation with his white officers, and to renew his +personal acquaintance with the local chiefs, who spontaneously assemble +to await his arrival. Such visits to any station have seldom been +made at greater intervals than one year; and these annual meetings +at the district stations between the Rajah and his officers of all +grades have been of the utmost value in preserving the profound and +personal respect with which he is regarded throughout the land and +which is in due measure reflected to his representatives, both white +and native. The Rajah has also kept himself in close touch with the +Residents and the affairs even of the remotest districts by encouraging +the Residents to write to him personally and fully on all important +matters, and by writing with his own hand full and prompt replies. + +The foregoing brief account of the system of government will have +accentuated its essentially personal character; and it will have +made clear the necessity for constant personal intercourse between +the officers of various grades, and for the long excursions of the +Residents into the interior parts of their districts, one of which +we propose to describe as an illustration of the intimate working +of the administrative system. For in the larger and wilder districts +the Resident's station may be separated from populous villages by a +tract of wild jungle country, the return journey over which cannot +be accomplished in less than a month or even more. + +The journey we are about to describe, as illustrative of the +administrative labours of the Resident of one of the wilder districts, +was made in the Baram in the year 1898 by one of us (C. H.) in the +course of his official duties and in part only by the joint-author +of this book. A slight sketch of the political history and condition +of the Baram is required to render intelligible the objects of the +journey and the course of events. The Baram was added to Sarawak +territory, under the circumstances described above (vol. ii. p. 261), +in the year 1882. At that time it enjoyed the reputation of a wild +and dangerous region, owing to the strength of the Kayans, who, +dwelling in all the middle parts of the rivers, had made a number +of bold raids as far as the coast and even to the neighbourhood of +Bruni. The Sea Dayaks had obtained no footing in the river, and the +Klemantans, who dwelt in the lower reaches, had proved quite incapable +of withstanding their formidable neighbours. The latter had driven them +out of the more desirable parts of the river, had made many slaves, +and had appropriated many of the valuable caves in which they had +gathered the edible nests of the swift. But considerable numbers of the +Klemantans remained in the lower reaches and in some of the tributary +rivers. The upper waters of the Baram were occupied mainly by Kenyah +communities; and about the watershed in which the Baram, the Rejang, +and the Batang Kayan have their sources (a mountainous highland, +geographically the very centre of the island, known as Usun Apo), were +the Madangs, a powerful sub-tribe of the Kenyahs, whose reputation as +warriors was second to none. In 1883 a fort was built at Marudi (now +officially known as Claudetown), a spot on the river-bank some sixty +miles from the sea, the first spot at which in ascending the river a +high bank suitable for a settlement is encountered. Here Mr. Claude +de Crespigny, assisted by two junior officers, a squad of some thirty +rangers, and a few native police, began the task of introducing law and +order into these 10,000 square miles of dense jungles, rushing rivers, +and high mountains, the scene for unknown ages of the hard perpetual +struggle of savage man with nature, and of the fierce conflict of +man with man. At first the interior tribes remained aloof, and the +little outpost of civilisation was frequently threatened by them +with extermination. But after some few years the Kayans of the lower +villages became reconciled to the new state of affairs, recognised +the authority of the Rajah and of the Resident, and consented to pay +the small annual door-tax amounting to two dollars per family or door. + +These were the Kayans of villages that were readily accessible +because seated on reaches of the river navigable by the Resident's +steam-launch, that is, not more than seventy miles above Claudetown. It +was soon realised that the people of the remoter parts were only to +be brought under the Rajah's government by means of friendly visits +of the Resident to their villages. This policy was actively pursued +by Mr. Charles Hose, who had become assistant to the Resident in 1884, +officer in charge in 1888, and Resident in 1890; some four or five long +journeys were made each year, each occupying several weeks. During +these journeys, which were necessarily made in the native boats, +the Resident would spend the nights, whenever possible, in the native +houses, sometimes whiling away several days in friendly intercourse +with his hosts, and thus acquiring much useful information as well +as more intimate understanding of their characters, languages, and +customs. In this way the area of government control was extended step +by step, until about the year 1891 practically all the inhabitants of +the Baram had accepted the Rajah's government and acknowledged it by +the payment of some tax, however small. The chiefs of the Klemantans +and their people were for the most part very glad to place themselves +under the protection of this new government; but the Kayans and +Kenyahs, not feeling themselves to be in need of any such protection, +were less ready to accept the Resident's proposals. Two considerations +mainly induced them to take this course: first, they desired peace, +or at any rate less warfare, and it was possible to convince them that +this result might be achieved by pointing to other districts such as +the Rejang, with whose affairs they had some acquaintance. Secondly, +they found that a Chinese bazaar had sprung up at Claudetown, and that, +as soon as they accepted the Rajah's government, they would obtain +greatly increased facilities for driving the highly profitable trade +in jungle produce; for, before they had come under the government, +the Chinese and Malay traders had hardly ventured to penetrate to +their remote villages with their cloths and lucifer matches, hardware, +steel bars, and other much-coveted goods. + +Several of the most influential chiefs who had early showed themselves +staunch friends of the government were made PENGHULUS, and have long +continued by their example and influence energetically to support the +Resident, notably the Kayan, Tama Usong, and the Kenyah, Tama Bulan +(see Pls. 49, 27). The latter especially, though not one of the first +to come in, exercised his great influence consistently, wisely, and +energetically, in support of the Resident and in the establishment +of peace and order throughout the district and even beyond its +boundaries. But he was only one of several chiefs who have displayed a +high degree of enlightenment and moral qualities of a very high order. + +The hostility of the Kalabits on the north-eastern border, who +persistently raided those villages of their fellow-tribesmen that had +come under the government, had necessitated an expedition against +them in 1893. And Sea Dayak parties of jungle workers had on more +than one occasion stirred up serious trouble. But, in spite of these +difficulties, by the year 1898 all the inhabitants of the district +were paying the regular door-tax, crimes of violence had been almost +abolished, trade was everywhere increasing, and peace was assured, +save for the threat to it from one quarter, namely, the Madangs of Usun +Apo and the neighbouring powerful settlements of Kenyahs across the +water-parting in the head-waters of the Batang Kayan. It had always +been a weakness of the Rajah's government that it could assure to +the Baram people no protection against attack from those regions, +the latter of which, though nominally Dutch territory, was not yet +controlled by the Dutch government. In the year 1897 a numerous band +of Madangs had migrated into the extreme head of the Baram from the +corresponding and closely adjoining part of the Rejang, largely owing +to the pressure put upon them by the ever roving and meddlesome Sea +Dayaks. Neither these Madangs nor the Kenyahs of the Batang Kayan +had entered into friendly relations with the Sarawak government, and +they had preserved a hostile attitude towards the Baram tribes. The +Resident therefore determined to visit the Madangs, and to invite +Kenyah chiefs from the Batang Kayan to meet him on the extreme edge +of the Sarawak territory, in order to open friendly intercourse +with them, and to persuade them if possible to attend a general +peace-meeting at Claudetown, at which the outstanding feuds between +them and the Baram folk might be ceremonially washed out in the blood +of pigs. For, if this attempt could be carried to a successful issue, +it would go far to assure the peace of the whole district, and would +add considerably to the volume of trade descending the Baram River: +An additional feature of the programme was that the Resident should +take with him on his visit a number of the Baram chiefs, and should in +the course of the journey make arrangements with the largest possible +number of chiefs for their attendance at the proposed peace-making. + +Accordingly, on the 9th of October 1898, we started from Claudetown +in the Resident's launch with a retinue of half a dozen Sea Dayak +rangers and two policemen, and towing some half a dozen boats, +including one for our own use up-river. After spending a day in +visiting villages in the lower Tinjar, the largest tributary of the +Baram, we resumed the journey up-river and reached the village of +Long Tamala. There we were joined by the chiefs of the two houses Tama +Aping Nipa and Tama Aping Kuleh, and were most hospitably entertained +by the former. On the following morning we again steamed up-river, +having added to our train these two Kenyah chiefs, each with a boat's +crew of fighting men, they having agreed to make the whole journey +with us. After stopping at several villages at which the Resident's +services were in request for the settlement of disputed questions, +in the afternoon we reached Long Tajin, a big Kayan village, and +were welcomed by Juman, the chief, and his wife Sulau, a woman of +strikingly handsome and refined features and graceful aristocratic +manner (Pl. 31). She is the daughter of the late Aban Jau, who was +for many years the most powerful chief of the Tinjar Sebops. He had +long resisted the advances of the Resident, and had submitted to the +Rajah's government only after a long course of patient persuasion. He +had regarded himself as the up-river Rajah, and had never ceased to +regret the old state of affairs. "I'm an old man now," he told the +Resident, "but if I were as salt as I used to be, the Rajah would not +have taken possession of the Baram without a struggle." Another of +his many picturesque sayings seems worth recording: "Your Rajah may +govern the down-river people; they are inside the Sultan's fence and +he had the right to hand them over. But over us he had no authority; +we are the tigers of the jungle and have never been tamed." He had +frequently threatened to attack the fort; and when he had sent to the +Resident a message to that effect in the usual symbolic language, +the latter's only reply had been to go up to his house with two or +three men only, and to spend five days there as Aban Jau's guest, +and to persuade him to come down to Claudetown to meet the Rajah. + +The evening was spent in discussing the prospects of the expedition +with Juman and other chiefs, some of whom took a gloomy view. The +following morning the steam-launch was sent downriver, and we took to +the boats and paddled a short stage to Bawang Takun, another large +Kayan village, where we stayed over-night to give the people time +to prepare their boats and the Resident the opportunity for some +judicial inquiries. There was heavy rain throughout the night, +and in the morning the river, which in this part of its course +runs between limestone cliffs, was rushing so rapidly that we +could only make progress by repeatedly crossing the river to seek +the slack-water side of each reach. Failing to reach any village, +we passed the night in rude shelters on the bank. On the following +day the river was still in flood, but we reached Long Lawa, a Kayan +village, and decided to wait there until the river should subside to +a more normal condition. Here a party of Kenyahs met us, sent by Tama +Bulan to conduct us to his house some two or three days' journey up +the Pata tributary. On the morning of the 16th the river had fallen +ten feet, and starting at daybreak we reached the mouth of the Pata, +and camped on a KERANGAN or pebble-bed beautifully situated among +the forest-clad slopes a little way up the Pata. In the course of the +day a boatful of Kayans from the Apoh had joined us. On the 17th we +had an exciting day working up the rapids and waterfalls of the Pata, +and reached Long Lutin, a very large Kayan village of many long houses, +most pleasantly situated and surrounded by hills clothed with the rich +green of the young PADI crop. Here we spent the night in the house of +the principal chief, Laki Lah, a quaint old bachelor, whom we greatly +astonished by eating plum-pudding with burning brandy upon it. + +Another day's journey over a long series of rapids brought us to the +house of Tama Bulan, at that time the most influential chief of the +Baram. We found there a number of Kenyah chiefs from the upper reaches +of the Pata awaiting our arrival. Tama Bulan, who was strongly in +favour of carrying through the Resident's plan, eloquently supported it +during the hospitable procedures of the evening, assuring the assembled +chiefs that the journey would finally resolve the troubles of the +Baram. As usual there was no lack of enterprise and "go" among the +Kenyahs, and they were all keen to make the venture; while the Kayans +on the other hand were, as always, more cautious, more inclined to +dwell on the possibilities of failure, and slower to take up the plan +and make it their own. The Kenyahs had not yet completed the taking +of omens for the expedition, and the following days were devoted to +this process (see vol. ii. p. 52), Tama Bulan and his people taking +omens for the whole of the Kenyah contingent, while Juman went on to +prepare the people of the Akar. In the course of the day Tama Bulan +accompanied us on visits to several neighbouring Kenyah villages +situated a little farther up the river. In the evening we had another +convivial meeting with great flow of oratory and rice-spirit. On the +third day, favourable omens having been observed, sacrifices of pigs +and fowls were offered before the altar-posts of the war-god, and the +various rites needful to complete the preparation for a long journey +were performed (see Pl. 157). In the afternoon the Resident inspected +the site for a bungalow or block-house which the Kenyahs proposed to +make (and have since erected) for the use of the government's officers. + +On October 23rd we left Tama Bulan's house with a party of about one +hundred all told, in several boats. We were joined at Long Lutin by +Laki Lah and a boatful of his Kayans, made a rapid passage to Long +Pata (the spot where the Pata joins the Baram), and resumed the +toilsome ascent of the main river to reach the Akar. That evening +we reached a Kenyah village at Long Lawan, and as usual we were +hospitably entertained with the fatted pig and brimming cups of +rice-spirit. The weather was now brilliantly fine and the river of +only normal swiftness, and we passed the night in a Kenyah house in +the Akar. Here we spent two days awaiting the arrival of a party +of Kayans from the upper Akar. The Kayans having arrived, another +general discussion of the plan of operations was held; and on the +third day the expedition returned to the Baram, and after surmounting +the difficulties presented by many rapids and a narrow gorge at Batu +Pita, entered the Silat on the 28th. The Silat is the uppermost of the +large tributaries of the Baram (Pl. 200). It descends from the Madang +country, winding round the foot of the Batu Tujoh, a limestone mountain +of 5000 feet. All this country is at a considerable height above +sea-level (1000 feet and more), and the climate is much cooler and more +bracing than that of the lower levels. It is a land of many streams +and hills. All the lower slopes have been cleared and cultivated by +the Kenyahs, so that it presents a more open and smiling aspect than +the lower country, where the clearings are but tiny islands in the +vast ocean of gloomy forest. The river itself is even more beautiful +than the other tributaries of the Baram, lovely as all these are in +their upper reaches. This was not the first exploration of the Silat, +for the Resident had twice before journeyed up its lower reaches; +but on this occasion it was necessary to penetrate to its very head, +in order to reach the villages of the principal Madang chiefs, Saba +Irang and Tama Usun Tasi. So for five days the expedition toiled up +the Silat, and during these days Juman, Laki Lah, and most of the +Kayans turned back, their confidence being shaken by the unfamiliar +aspect of the country, by the neighbourhood of the hitherto hostile +Madangs, and by the bad dream of one of their chiefs and the illness +of another. On the fifth day the diminished fleet of boats entered the +Lata, a tributary coming down from the Mudong Alan and Saat mountains, +from the slopes of which the water runs also to the Rejang River and +the Batang Kayan. Here the boats were left behind and the expedition +went forward on foot, making but slow progress in the rocky river-bed. + +Near the mouth of the Lata the expedition was met by a large party of +Kenyahs -- men, women, and children -- the whole population of a Kenyah +village of the Batang Kayan, Lepu Agas by name, who had just arrived +with the intention of making their home in that neighbourhood. These +people had been the greatest enemies of Tama Bulan, and the feud had +only been healed in the previous year. + +A curious custom, which seems at the present time to be peculiar to the +Kenyahs and rapidly dying out among them, was observed by the Lepu Aga +people on this occasion. As the Resident's party approached the spot +where they awaited its arrival, they sent out three men to establish +the first contact. It was the function of these three men to make +sure of the friendly intentions of the approaching party (Pls. 201, +202). They wore large wooden masks elaborately carved, and bearing +great lateral projections like horns or antlers, in addition to full +war dress.[215] They advanced down a long pebblebank, keeping step and +making grotesque movements with heads and arms, which seemed to imply +a mixture of caution and curiosity. After dodging about for some time, +they came near and inquired: "Who are you? Whence do you come? What +is your business?" Having obtained satisfactory assurances, they +retreated, stepping backwards with the same grotesque gestures, and +returned to report the results of their investigations to their chief. + +Before friendly intercourse between the parties could begin it was +still necessary, in view of the recent feud between them, that +they should engage in a sham fight (JAWA). When this boisterous +ceremony had been accomplished, the Resident presented to the Lepu +Agas a number of presents, calculated to whet their appetite for the +products of civilised industry to be found in the Baram bazaar. Very +soon all suspicion and reserve were overcome, and all the men of the +Resident's party turned to with hearty goodwill to help build a house +for their former enemies. So well did they work that between sunrise +and sunset a house of forty doors was hewn out of the forest, solidly +constructed, and roofed; so that when night fell the new-comers were +able to move in and to invite their helpers to a convivial meeting +in its long gallery. The Resident made a speech in native fashion, +saying that his party had ventured to build a rude hut in order +to provide a night's shelter for their new friends, and hoped that +they would find it sufficient for the moment. Tama Bulan also spoke, +saying how now the old troubles were over, never to come again. Aban +Jalong, the old chief of the Batang Kayan people, was so touched by +these unwonted demonstrations of goodwill, that he wept and could +with difficulty find words in which to express the gratitude of +himself and his people. Through these people messages of goodwill and +invitations to the proposed peace-making at Claudetown were sent to +their former neighbours in the Batang Kayan, and these in due time +bore good fruit. For in the course of the next few years several +communities followed the example of the Lepu Agas, and moved over from +the Batang Kayan to the Baram. It may be of interest to add that the +Lepu Agas still inhabit the house built under these extraordinary +circumstances. After some few more days of travelling up-river, we +were met by a party of Madangs who had been sent down to meet the +Resident; while awaiting his arrival they had hewed out a small boat, +and in this, which served almost as much the purposes of a sledge as +of a boat, they hauled him over rocks and rapids and still pools until, +having outpaced the rest of the party, they brought him, on the eighth +day from leaving the Silat, to their village at the foot of Mudong +Alan. It was a large village comprising nine long houses disposed in +a circle and containing probably not less than 2000 persons. Here he +was received on the bank of the stream by a large body of Madangs +headed by Tama Usun Tasi, who at once offered him the hospitality +of his roof. The incidents of the visit have been described by the +Resident, and passages from his account may here be transcribed: -- + + +My Kenyah friends had not arrived yet, but I thought it best to go +with him (Tama Usun Tasi) at once; afterwards I congratulated myself +on my decision, when I found that, according to custom, Tama Bulan +and his followers (being unable to enter the house until all cases +of blood-money between his people and the Madangs had been settled) +were obliged to camp near the river for one night. The Madangs +assisted in making huts for my followers, gave them several pigs, +and sent down their women laden with baskets full of rice; so no +want of hospitality marred our reception. In the evening I took a +walk round the village, followed by a crowd of women and children, +who appeared greatly pleased to find that the white man was able to +converse with them in the Kenyah tongue. Then, as the crowd increased, +I sat down on a log and produced a few pounds of tobacco, and the +whole party was soon chatting and laughing as if they had known me +for years. I have often noticed that the women of the Kenyah tribe +in the interior are far more genial and less shy than those of other +communities, and I believe that the surest sign of the good faith of +natives such as these is that the women and children come out to greet +one unattended by the men. The sounds of our merriment soon attracted +the attention of the men, and as they strolled over and joined us in +gradually increasing numbers, the possibility of any disturbance taking +place between these people and mine quickly vanished from my mind. + +On the following morning several parties of Madangs from other villages +came in, numbering in all about 600, and exchanged presents of weapons +with my people. It was necessary that the gods should be consulted as +to whether the meeting was really in the interests of peace or not. So +a pig was caught and tied by the legs, and when all the Madangs were +assembled in Tama Usun Tasi's house, the pig was brought in and placed +in front of the chiefs. Then one of the head men from a neighbouring +village took a lighted piece of wood and singed a few of the bristles +of the pig, giving it a poke with his hand at the same time, as if +to attract its attention, and calling in a loud voice to the supreme +being, "Bali Penyalong." Then, talking at a great rate and hardly +stopping for a moment to take breath, he asked that, if any one +had evil intentions, the truth might be revealed before the evilly +disposed one was allowed to enter the Madang houses, and that, if any +Madang, whether related to him or not, wished to disturb the peace +which was about to be made with the Baram people, his designs should +be revealed. The old man stood waving his hands as if to sweep within +the circle of his influence the whole of the assembled crowd, and then, +jumping into the air with great violence, brought both feet down on the +plank floor with a resounding thump; then, spinning round on one foot +with his arm extended, he quickly altered the tone of his voice to a +more gentle pitch, and, quivering with excitement, quietly sank down +into his place amid a dead silence. The speech was a stirring one, +and created an impression. Others spoke a few words to the pig, and +it was then taken to one side and stabbed in the throat with a spear, +after which the liver was taken out and examined. I should mention that +a pig intended to serve the same purpose was provided by the Madangs +for our people, who were still waiting to be invited to the house. + +Having years before studied the beliefs of the natives with regard to +divination by pigs' livers, and knowing the great importance attached +to it, I was as anxious as any one to see the liver. I saw at a glance +that the omen was good, and seized the opportunity to make the most +of it. I quickly called the chiefs' attention to all the good points +before they had given their own opinion, and at once saw that their +interpretation was the same as my own, and that they were somewhat +surprised to find it so. + +Thereupon two messengers were sent backwards and forwards to discuss +the number of people killed on either side from time to time, +and big gongs, shields, and weapons of all kinds changed hands +as blood-money. When all had been settled, notice was given to our +people that the Madangs were ready to receive them into their houses, +and the Baram people sent a message back that they were prepared to +accept the invitation. When Kayans and Kenyahs who have been at feud +desire to meet peaceably, it is necessary to go through a sort of +sham fight, called JAWA, so that both parties can, as it were, blow +off steam. As this ceremony is generally executed with much vigour by +fully armed parties, it often happens that some people are badly hurt; +and I was half afraid that such an accident might check the progress of +our negotiations. But the omens had been favourable, and the implicit +belief in such omens goes far to prevent bad feeling. About midday +Tama Bulan and his followers, in full war costume, announced their +intention of moving by bursting into the war-cry, a tremendous roar +which was immediately answered by the people in the houses. The noise +and excitement increased as the Baram people neared the house of Tama +Usun Tasi, and guns with blank charges were fired. On came the Baram +people, stamping, shouting, and waving their weapons in defiance, the +Madangs in the houses keeping up a continuous roar. When the Baram +people first attempted to enter the house, they were driven back, +and a tremendous clashing of shields and weapons took place; then the +Madangs retreated from the entrance in order to allow their visitors +to come in, stamping and making the most deafening noise. When the +Baram people had all entered, the Madangs once more rushed at them, +and for some two minutes a rough-and-tumble fight continued, in which +many hard blows were given. No one received a cut, however, except +one man who, running against a spear, was wounded in the thigh; +but the affair was quickly settled by the payment of a pig and a +small spear to the wounded person; so the ceremony may be said to +have ended without a mishap. When quiet had been restored, we all sat +down and rice-spirit was produced, healths drunk, and speeches made; +food was brought out and given to the visitors in the long verandah, +as, on first being received, visitors are not allowed to enter the +rooms; and the convivialities were prolonged far into the night. + +In the evening of the following day the Madangs prepared a feast for +all present, and afterwards a great deal of rice-spirit was drunk +and some very good speeches made, former troubles and difficulties +being explained and discussed in the most open manner. Each chief +spoke in turn, and concluded his speech by offering drink to another +and singing a few phrases in his praise, the whole assembly joining +in a very impressive chorus after each phrase and ending up with a +tremendous roar as the bamboo cup was emptied. + +The following day the Madangs collected a quantity of rubber for their +first payment of tribute to the government, namely, $2.00 per family, +and as we had no means of weighing it except by guesswork, it was +decided that Tama Bulan and two Madang headmen should act as assessors, +and decide whether the piece of rubber brought by each person was +sufficiently large to produce $2.00. It took these men the whole day +to receive it all, and much counting was done on the fingers and toes. + +On taking our departure from the Madang country, most of the women +presented us with a small quantity of rice for food on our homeward +journey, but as each little lot was emptied into a large basket, the +giver took back a few grains so as not to offend the omen-birds, who +had bestowed on them a bounteous harvest, by giving the whole away to +strangers. Presents of considerable value were given on both sides, +and all parted the best of friends. The two principal Madang chiefs +accompanied us for a day's journey, their followers carrying the whole +of our baggage. On parting I promised to arrange a similar peace-making +at Claudetown, at which most of the Baram chiefs would be present. + + +We add an account of the peace-making previously published by one +of us.[216] + + + +The peace-making that I am going to describe was organised in order to +bring together on neutral ground, and in presence of an overwhelming +force of the tribes loyal to the government, all those tribes whose +allegiance was still doubtful, and all those that were still actively +hostile to one another, and to induce them to swear to support the +government in keeping the peace, and to go through the formalities +necessary to put an end to old blood-feuds. At the same time the +Resident had suggested to the tribes that they should all compete +in a grand race of war canoes, as well as in other races on land +and water. For he wisely held that in order to suppress fighting +and head-hunting, hitherto the natural avenues to fame for restless +tribes and ambitious young men, it is necessary to replace them by +some other form of violent competition that may in some degree serve +as a vent for high spirits and superfluous energy; and he hoped +to establish an annual gathering for boat racing and other sports, +in which all the tribes should take part, a gathering on the lines +of the Olympic games in fact. The idea Was taken up eagerly by the +people, and months before the appointed day they were felling the +giants of the forest and carving out from them the great war canoes +that were to be put to this novel use, and reports were passing from +village to village of the many fathoms length of this or that canoe, +and the fineness of the timber and workmanship of another. + +In order to make clear the course of events, I must explain that +two large rivers, the Baram and the Tinjar, meet about one hundred +miles from the sea to form the main Baram river. Between the peoples +living on the banks of these two rivers and their tributaries there +is a traditional hostility which just at this time had been raised to +a high pitch by the occurrence of a blood-feud between the Kenyahs, +a leading tribe of the Baram, and the Lirongs, an equally powerful +tribe of the Tinjar. In addition to these two groups we expected a +large party of Madangs, a famous tribe of fighting men of the central +highlands whose hand had hitherto been against every other tribe, +and a large number of Sea Dayaks, who, more than all the rest, are +always spoiling for a fight, and who are so passionately devoted +to head-hunting that often they do not scruple to pursue it in an +unsportsmanlike fashion. So it will be understood that the bringing +together in one place of large parties of fully armed warriors of all +these different groups was a distinctly interesting and speculative +experiment in peace-making. + +The place of meeting was Marudi (Claudetown), the headquarters of the +government of the district. There the river, still nearly a hundred +miles from the sea, winds round the foot of a low flat-topped hill, on +which stand the small wooden fort and court-house and the Resident's +bungalow. Some days before that fixed for the great meeting by the +tokens we had sent out, parties of men began to arrive, floating down +in the long war canoes roofed with palm leaves for the journey. On the +appointed day some five thousand of the Baram people and the Madangs +were encamped very comfortably in leaf and mat shelters on the open +ground between our bungalow and the fort, while the Sea Dayaks had +taken up their quarters in the long row of Chinamen's shops that form +the Marudi bazaar, the commercial centre of the district. But as yet no +Tinjar folk had put in an appearance, and men began to wonder what had +kept them -- Were the tokens sent them at fault? Or had they received +friendly warnings of danger from some of the many sacred birds, without +whose favourable omens no journey can be undertaken? Or had they, +perhaps, taken the opportunity to ascend the Baram and sack and burn +the Kenyah houses now well nigh empty of defenders? We spent the time +in foot-racing, preliminary boat-racing, and in seeing the wonders +of the white man. For many of these people had not travelled so far +downriver before, and their delight in the piano was only equalled by +their admiration for that most wonderful of all things, the big boat +that goes up stream without paddles, the Resident's fast steam-launch. + +At last one evening, while we were all looking on at a most exciting +practice-race between three of the canoes, the Lirongs, with the main +mass of the Tinjar people, came down the broad straight reach. It +was that most beautiful half-hour of the tropical day, between the +setting of the sun and the fall of darkness -- the great forest stood +black and formless, while the sky and the smooth river were luminous +with delicate green and golden light. The Lirongs were in full war +dress, with feathered coats of leopard skin and plumed caps plaited +of tough rattan, and very effective they were as they came swiftly +on over the shining water, sixty to seventy warriors in each canoe +raising their tremendous battle-cry, a deep-chested chorus of rising +and falling cadences. The mass of men on the bank and on the hill +took up the cry, answering shout for shout; and the forest across +the river echoed it, until the whole place was filled with a hoarse +roar. The Kenyahs ran hastily to their huts for their weapons, and by +the time they had grouped themselves on the crest of the hill, armed +with sword and shield and spear and deadly blowpipe, the Lirongs had +landed on the bank below and were rushing up the hill to the attack. A +few seconds more and they met with clash of sword and shield and a +great shouting, and in the semi-darkness a noisy battle raged. After +some minutes the Lirongs drew off and rushed back to their boats as +wildly as they had come; and, strange to say, no blood was flowing, +no heads were rolling on the ground, no ghastly wounds were gaping, +in fact no one seemed any the worse. For it seems that this attack +was merely a well understood formality, a put-up job, so to say. When +two tribes, between whom there is a blood-feud not formally settled, +meet together to make peace, it is the custom for the injured party, +that is the tribe which has last suffered a loss of heads, to make an +attack on the other party but using only the butt ends of their spears +and the blunt edges of their swords. This achieves two useful ends-it +lets off superabundant high spirits, which, if too much bottled up, +would be dangerous; and it "saves the face" of the injured party by +showing how properly wrathful and bellicose its feelings are. So when +this formality had been duly observed everybody seemed to feel that +matters were going on well; they all settled down quietly enough for +the night, the Resident taking the precaution to send the Lirongs to +camp below the fort; and the great peace-conference was announced to +be held the following morning. + +Soon after daybreak the people began to assemble beneath the great +roof of palm-leaf mats that we had built for a conference hall. The +Baram chiefs sat on a low platform along one side of the hall, and +in their midst was Tama Bulan, the most famous of them all, a really +great man who has made his name and influence felt throughout a very +large part of Borneo. When all except the Tinjar men were assembled, +of course without arms, the latter, also unarmed, came up the hill +in a compact mass, to take their places in the hall. As they entered, +the sight of their old enemies, the chiefs of the Baram, all sitting +quietly together, was too much for their self-control; with one +accord they made a mad rush at them and attempted to drag them from +the platform. Fortunately we white men had placed ourselves with a +few of the more reliable Dayak fortmen between the two parties, and +partly by force and partly by eloquence we succeeded in beating off +the attack, which seemed to be made in the spirit of a school "rag" +rather than with bloody intent. But just as peace seemed restored, +a great shout went up from the Baram men, "Tama Bulan is wounded"; +and sure enough there he stood with blood flowing freely over his +face. The sight of blood seemed to send them all mad together; the +Tinjar people turned as one man and tore furiously down the hill to +seize their weapons, while the Baram men ran to their huts and in a +few seconds were prancing madly to and fro on the crest of the hill, +thirsting for the onset of the bloody battle that now seemed a matter +of a few seconds only. At the same time the Dayaks were swarming out +of the bazaar seeking something to kill, like the typical Englishman, +though not knowing which side to take. The Resident hastened after +the Tinjars, threw himself before them, and appealed and threatened, +pointing to the two guns at the fort now trained upon them; and Tama +Bulan showed his true greatness by haranguing his people, saying his +wound was purely accidental and unintended, that it was a mere scratch, +and commanding them to stand their ground. Several of the older and +steadier chiefs followed his example and ran to and fro holding back +their men, exhorting them to be quiet. + +The crisis passed, the sudden gust of passion slowly died away, +and peace was patched up with interchange of messages and presents +between the two camps. The great boat race was announced to take +place on the morrow, and the rest of the day was spent in making +ready the war canoes, stripping them of their leaf roofs and all +other superfluous gear. + +At daybreak the racing-boats set off for the startingpost four miles +up river. The Resident had given strict orders that no spears or other +weapons were to be carried in the racing-boats, and as they started +up river we inspected the boats in turn, and in one or two cases +relieved them of a full complement of spears; and then we followed +them to the post in the steam-launch. There was a score of entries, +and since each boat carried from sixty to seventy men sitting two +abreast, more than a thousand men were taking part in the race. The +getting the boats into line across the broad river was a noisy and +exciting piece of work. We carried on the launch a large party of +elderly chiefs, most. of whom were obviously suffering from "the +needle," and during the working of the boats into line they hurled +commands at them in language that was terrific in both quality and +volume. At last something like a line was assumed, and on the sound +of the gun the twenty boats leaped through the water, almost lost +to sight in a cloud of spray as every one of those twelve hundred +men struck the water for all he was worth. There was no saving of +themselves; the rate of striking was about ninety to the minute, and +tended constantly to increase. Very soon two boats drew out in front, +and the rest of them, drawing together as they neared the first bend, +followed hotly after like a pack of hounds. This order was kept all +over the course. During the first burst our fast launch could not keep +up with the boats, but we drew up in time to see the finish. It was +a grand neck-and-neck race all through between the two leading boats, +and all of them rowed it out to the end. The winners were a crew of the +peaceful down-river folk, who have learnt the art of boat-making from +the Malays of the coast; and they owed their victory to their superior +skill in fashioning their boat, rather than to superior strength. When +they passed the post we had an anxious moment -- How would the losers +take their beating? Would the winners play the fool, openly exulting +and swaggering? If so, they would probably get their heads broken, +or perhaps lose them. But they behaved with modesty and discretion, +and we diverted attention from them by swinging the steamer round and +driving her through the main mass of the boats. Allowing as accurately +as possible for the rate of the current as compared with the rate of +the tide at Putney, we reckoned the pace of the winning boat to be +a little better than that of the 'Varsity eights in racing over the +full course. + +The excitement of the crowds on the bank was great, but it was entirely +good-humoured -- they seemed to have forgotten their feuds in the +interest of the racing. So the Resident seized the opportunity to +summon every one to the conference hall once more. This time we settled +down comfortably enough and with great decorum, the chiefs all in one +group at one side of a central space, and the common people in serried +ranks all round about it. In the centre was a huge, gaily painted +effigy of a hornbill, one of the birds sacred to all the tribes, +and on it were hung thousands of cigarettes of home-grown tobacco +wrapped in dried banana leaf. Three enormous pigs were now brought +in and laid, bound as to their feet, before the chiefs, one for each +of the main divisions of the people, the Barams, the Tinjars, and +the hill-country folk. The greatest chiefs of each of these parties +then approached the pigs, and each in turn, standing beside the pig +assigned to his party, addressed the attentive multitude with great +flow of words and much violent and expressive action; for many of +these people are great orators. The purport of their speeches was +their desire for peace, their devotion to the Resident ("If harm come +to him, then may I fall too," said Tama Bulan), and their appreciation +of the trade and general intercourse and safety of life and property +brought them by the Rajah's government; and they hurled threats and +exhortations against unlicensed warfare and bloodshed. + +As each chief ended his speech to the people he turned to the pig +at his feet, and, stooping over it, kept gently prodding it with +a smouldering fire-brand, while he addressed to it a prayer for +protection and guidance -- a prayer that the spirit of the pig, +soon to be set free by a skilful thrust of a spear into the beast's +heart, should carry up to the Supreme Being. The answer to these +prayers might then be read in the form and markings of the underside +of the livers. So the pigs were despatched, and their livers hastily +dragged forth and placed on platters before the group of chiefs. Then +was there much anxious peering over shoulders, and much shaking of +wise old heads, as the learned elders discussed the omens; until at +last the Resident was called upon to give his opinion, for he is an +acknowledged expert in augury. He was soon able to show that the only +true and rational reading of the livers was a guarantee of peace and +prosperity to all the tribes of the district; and the people, accepting +his learned interpretation, rejoiced with one accord. Then the Resident +made a telling speech, in which he dwelt upon the advantages of peace +and trade, and how it is good that a man should sleep without fear +that his house be burnt or his people slain; and he ended by seizing +the nearest chief by the hair of his head, as is their own fashion, +to show how, if a man break the peace, he shall lose his head. + +This concluded the serious part of the conference, and it only +remained to smoke the cigarettes of good fellowship, taken from +the hornbill-effigy, and to drink long life and happiness to one +another. So great jars of "arack" were brought in and drinking +vessels, and each chief in turn, standing before some whilom enemy, +sang his praises in musical recitative before giving him the cup; +and after each phrase of the song the multitude joined in with a +long-drawn sonorous shout, which, while the drink flowed down, rose +to a mighty roar. This is a most effective way of drinking a man's +health, and combines the advantages of making a speech over him and +singing "For he's a jolly good fellow"; moreover, the drink goes to +the right party, as it does not with us. It should be adopted in this +country, I think. By many repetitions of this process we were soon +reduced to a state of boisterous conviviality; and many a hard-faced +old warrior, who but the day before had drawn his weapons against +his enemy, now sat with his arms lovingly thrown about that same +enemy. When this state of affairs was reached, our work seemed to be +accomplished, and we white men retired to lunch, leaving one chief in +the midst of a long-winded speech. As soon as the restraint of the +Resident's presence was removed, the orator began to utter remarks +of a nature to stir up the dying embers of resentment; at least so +it seemed to one wily old chief, a firm supporter of the government, +who bethought him to send one of his men to pull away the palm-leaf +mats from above the indiscreet orator, and so leave his verbosity +exposed to the rays of the mid-day sun. No sooner said than done, +and this was the beginning of the end; for others following suit made +a rush for the mats that would be so useful in making their camps +and boats more rain-proof. There was a mighty uproar that brought +us headlong to the scene, only to see the big hall melt away like +a snowflake as hundreds of hands seized upon the mats and bore them +away in triumph. So the great peace conference was brought to an end +amid much laughter and fun. + +It only remained for the chiefs to pay in the taxes for the year -- +the two dollars per family which it is their business to collect from +their people, and which is the only tax or tribute claimed by the +Rajah. This business was got through on the following morning; and +then we said many kind farewells, as the various parties set out one +after another in the great war canoes on their long up-stream journey; +some of them to battle for many days against the swiftly flowing river, +and after that again for many days to pole their boats through the +flashing rapids and over the lovely quiet reaches, where the rare +gleams of sunlight break through the overarching forest; until, +coming to their own upland country, where anxious wives and children +are waiting, they will spread even in the remotest highlands the news +of the white man's big boat that goes of itself against the stream, +of the great boat-race, and of how they came wellnigh to a fearful +slaughtering, and how they swore peace and goodwill to all men, and +how there should be now peace and prosperity through all the land, +for the great white man who had come to rule them had said it should +be so, and the gods had approved his words. + + +The foregoing account of the journey to the Madang country and +of the subsequent events would constitute the last chapter of any +history of the pacification of the Baram. Since the time of those +incidents, there has been no serious disturbance of the peace; and +there seems to be good reason to hope that, so long as the Rajah's +government continues to be conducted along the same lines, there +will be no recrudescence of savagery. The last case of fighting on +any considerable scale occurred in 1894, when Tama Bulan's people, +resenting the offensive conduct of bands of Sea Dayaks who had +penetrated to their neighbourhood in search of jungle-products, +turned out and took the heads of thirteen of the Dayaks. It was only +after prolonged negotiation that the Dayaks were persuaded to resign +their hopes of a bloody revenge and to accept a compensation of 3000 +dollars, which was paid by the Kenyahs at the Rajah's order. + +It has not always been possible to make peace prevail by wholly +peaceable procedures. The Baram was fortunate in that the Sea Dayaks +had not established themselves anywhere within its borders. In the +Rejang, on the other hand, large numbers of them were allowed to +settle, coming in from the Saribas and the Batang Lupar in the early +days of the Rajah's government. And since the Kayans and Kenyahs were +already in possession of the upper river and considered themselves +the dominant tribes and lords of the land, it was inevitable that +there should grow up a keen rivalry which could hardly fail to +lead occasionally to armed conflict. For the Sea Dayaks had been +accustomed to adopt a somewhat swaggering and domineering attitude +towards the Klemantan tribes, and could not easily learn to modify +it when they came in contact with the prouder and less submissive +Kayans and Kenyahs. This rivalry has been the source of most of the +troubles of the Rejang, where, since the big expedition of 1863, the +Rajah and his officers have on several occasions found it necessary +to subdue recalcitrant tribes or communities by leading armed forces +against them. + +As an illustration of these sterner methods we add a brief account +of one such expedition led by one of us (C. H.) in the year 1904, in +his capacity of Divisional Resident of the several Rejang districts; +an expedition which, there is reason to hope, may prove to be the +last of the series. The purpose of this expedition was to reduce +to order a small community of Sea Dayaks that was established upon +Bukit Batu, an almost impregnable mountain which rises up almost +perpendicularly on all sides at the head of the Bali, one of the +eastern tributaries of the Rejang. This community had been formed in +the manner to which legend assigns the foundation of ancient Rome, +namely, by the gathering together in this strong place of various +outlaws and violent characters who for one reason or another had +quarrelled with and defied the government. The same spot had been +similarly occupied many years before; and though it had been forcibly +cleared of its defenders, its natural advantages had, in the course +of years, led to the growth of a new community of the same kind. + +This band had raided the surrounding country, slaying and robbing +people of several tribes, and generally had been having a "gorgeous +time." They had repeatedly refused to yield even when threatened by +armed force. And when the Resident sent them a peremptory message, +commanding them to appear to surrender themselves at the nearest +government station within one month, they returned an impudent +answer, saying that they had so far accepted orders from no one, +and asking -- Who was he that they should obey him? Steps were at +once taken to enforce obedience. Since to storm the hill might well +cost many lives, it seemed preferable to try to lure its defenders +from their stronghold. The Resident, without giving the brigands +further warning, went up the Rejang with a single boat's crew to a +point about 150 miles above the mouth of the Bali, the tributary +that flows past Bukit Batu. At this point another tributary, the +Bukau, coming from near the opposite side of Bukit Batu, joins the +Rejang. Here he collected a force of some 200 Kayans and Klemantans, +and led them up to the head of the Bukau and then on foot through +the jungle to the neighbourhood of Bukit Batu. The route by which +the brigands usually passed to and from their fastness was at a spot +near the river, where rude ladders of wood and rattan had been fixed +to facilitate the ascent and descent of the precipitous foot of the +hill. Near this spot the force was divided into two parties, which +were stationed in the jungle at some little distance from the ladders, +right and left of the path to the river; and a party of ten active men +was detached, with instructions to hang about the foot of the ladders +and to retreat along the path to the river if they were attacked. On +the second day the Ibans on the mountain snapped at the bait. About +forty of them descended stealthily and then rushed upon the small +party, hoping to hunt down in the jungle all whom they could not +strike down on the spot, and thus to secure ten heads and enjoy the +frenzy of slaughter. The ten decoys fled swiftly down the path, and +the supporting parties, guided by the yells of the Ibans, closed in +from both sides and fell upon them. A few of the rebels were killed, +without any fatal casualties to the Resident's party. The rest fled +through the jungle and many of them were afterwards arrested. Those +who remained on the hill promptly drew up the ladders and hurled down +rocks. To have carried the hill by storm would still have been most +difficult and costly, and, as it proved, a needless feat. The Resident +therefore contented himself with destroying all the property of the +brigands that was within reach, including a number of valuable jars +and gongs which they had secreted in a cave at the foot of the hill, +and the fields of young PADI on which they were largely dependent +for their food-supply. For he well knew that this procedure would +render the spot hateful to the Ibans; for the scene of a disaster, +especially one where they have been worsted in fight, becomes an +object of superstitious dread. The Resident therefore led back +his party by the way they had come, dismissed them to their homes, +and returned down river to Sibu, after sending a command to those +remaining on the hill that they should present themselves forthwith +at Kapit. The order was obeyed; fines, pledges, and compensations to +relatives of their victims were paid in; and the principal men were +ordered to reside for a year in the neighbourhood of Sibu Fort and +afterwards to return to their native districts. + +It should be added that these Ibans frankly acknowledged that the +Resident had been too clever for them, and that they bore him no +ill-will; and that some of them, accompanying him on later excursions, +proved themselves willing helpers and agreeable companions. + +Other and larger expeditions of armed forces have in the past been +led against tribes or villages, generally on account of their having +refused to surrender to the government members guilty of taking heads +or of attacking other villages wantonly and without permission. In +all cases the government officers have relied almost exclusively +upon the services of bodies of natives under the immediate charge of +their own chiefs and armed only with their native weapons. In some +cases the offending parties have fled from their villages without +offering active resistance; and in these cases the government force +has usually been content to inflict punishment by burning down their +houses and taking what property was left in them. + +It is perhaps too much to hope that no cases of taking heads or of +wanton attack on jungle parties or on weak villages will ever again +occur. But such incidents have become very infrequent and the offenders +have seldom escaped punishment; for, unlike our own population, many +thousands of whom live detached from all local bonds as isolated +floating units unknown to the government and to those among whom +they dwell, every man in Sarawak, with the partial exception of the +nomad jungle-dwellers, is a member of some local group which is held +responsible by the government for his good behaviour; thus in every +district every man is known, if not as an individual, at least as a +member of some community; and every stranger (or party of strangers) +is expected to be able to give a satisfying account of himself; and +any who wish to work in the jungle of any district other than their +own are required to have government permission. It is thus impossible +for any criminal to conceal himself for any length of time from the +government; and so sure is it of effecting arrest, when necessary, +that accused persons are frequently allowed to attend to their farms +and follow their ordinary occupations pending the time of their +trial. Even when a man accused of a serious offence flees across the +border to Dutch territory, he is generally apprehended by the Dutch +officers sooner or later and sent round to Kuching by sea. + +The raising of the taxes from the people to defray the expenses of +government has raised no difficulties. The door-tax of two dollars[217] +per door (I.E. per family or household) is the only direct tax laid +on the tribes. When once the initial reluctance has been overcome, +this has been collected and regularly paid in by chiefs and PENGHULUS, +including the headmen of the nomad groups. In times of misfortune, +whether individual or collective, such as the loss of crops or of a +house by fire, the tax is remitted; and no tax is expected from men +over sixty years of age, from cripples or invalids, or from widows. + +The Sea Dayaks alone pay a door-tax of one dollar only, it having been +understood from the early days, when they were the only fighting tribe +with which the Rajah was intimately acquainted, that they are liable +at any time to be called upon by the government to render assistance +in punitive expeditions or in other public works, such as procuring +timber for government buildings. But this holds good only for those +who remain in the districts in which they have long been settled. + +The sum raised by direct taxation forms now but a small part of the +total revenue of the State of Sarawak; for the development of trade +and agriculture, especially the cultivation of pepper and sago and +rubber, and the growing capacity and facilities for the purchase of +imported goods by the people even of the remotest parts, enable the +government to raise a considerable revenue by indirect taxation in +the form of customs duties. + +The minerals, worked in the main by the Borneo Company,[218] +principally gold, antimony, and mercury, have also been an important +source of revenue. The recent discovery of supplies of petroleum +promises to result in an important addition to the wealth of the +country.[219] But these various commercial and industrial developments +affect hardly at all the lives of the pagan tribes, So far as they +are concerned, the work of the government may be summed up by saying +that it has suppressed the chronic warfare which kept them all in a +state of armed hostility and uneasy distrust of one another; that it +has suppressed head-hunting and crimes of violence, has rendered life +and property secure, and has administered justice with a firm hand +and a strict regard to the customs and traditional sentiments of the +people; that it has wellnigh extinguished slavery; that it has opened +the whole country to trade, and, by thus improving the facilities for +sale of the jungle produce, has increased the purchasing power of the +people, while bringing within the reach of all of them the products of +civilised industry that they most value; and that while it has strictly +regulated the sale of those products, such as fire-arms and strong +liquor, which have proved detrimental to so many other peoples of the +lower culture, it has encouraged the people to cultivate a greater +variety of vegetable products, especially sago, coconuts, pepper, and +rubber, and to improve the methods of cultivation of PADI. Lastly, +the government has rendered possible the establishment of a number +of excellent mission schools in older stations, where considerable +numbers of children of the pagan tribes have been made Christians and +trained to fill subordinate posts in the administrative service, or +to return to leaven the native villages with a wider knowledge and a +better understanding of the principles which underlie the white man's +conduct and culture. The missionaries have exerted also among the Sea +Dayaks a strong influence making for peace and order; but they have +hardly yet come into contact with Kayans or Kenyahs. Mention must also +be made of the Malay schools which the government has instituted and +supported in the principal stations, and in which many young Malays +receive the elements of a useful education. + +In all its undertakings the success of the government has only been +rendered possible by the high prestige that the white man everywhere +enjoys; and this in turn has been acquired and maintained, not so much +by his command of the mechanical resources of western civilisation, +as by the fact that, with very few exceptions, the white men with +whom the natives have had intercourse have been English gentlemen, +animated by the spirit and example of the two white Rajahs, and +keenly conscious of their individual and collective responsibility +as representatives of their race and country in a foreign land.[220] + +We have dwelt at some length on the government of the Rajah of Sarawak +in its relation with the pagan tribes, and, if we dismiss in a few +words the administrative labours of the Dutch and of the British North +Borneo Company in their respective territories, it is not because we +regard those labours as of less interest and importance or as less +successful, but because in the main they have run on similar lines and +have achieved similar results to those of the government of Sarawak, of +which alone we have intimate knowledge. Dutch Borneo comprises roughly +two-thirds of the whole island, a very large territory which comprises +the basins of the largest rivers and hence, the rivers being the only +highways, the most inaccessible parts of the island. The Kapuas River, +for example, is estimated to be nearly 700 miles in length; and the +necessity of ascending these hundreds of miles of river-way, much of +it difficult and dangerous, has rendered the process of establishing +control over the tribes of the interior slow and laborious. For this +reason the process is not yet completed; although the Dutch have had +stations in Borneo since the early years of the seventeenth century, +when they expelled the Portuguese from Bruni and Sambas. But it was +not until 1785 that they came into possession of any considerable +territory, namely, the Sultanate of Banjermasin, and not till after the +return to them of their East Indian rights in 1816 that they extended +their territorial possessions to their present large proportions. + +The Dutch settlement and possessions in Borneo were for many years +administered by traders and a trading company whose prime object was, +of course, profitable trade. The problems of native administration no +doubt seemed to them at first of minor importance and interest, and +they made many mistakes.[221] But, as with our own great company in +India, it became increasingly necessary, if only for the sake of trade, +to study the art and policy of administering the affairs of the native +population. This has now been done to good effect, and, stimulated +possibly by the example of wise paternal government afforded by the +Rajahs of Sarawak, the Dutch have established a system of Residents or +district officers who have successfully invoked the co-operation of +the native chiefs in a manner very similar to that practised in the +neighbouring state. And the Dutch officers have of late years shown +themselves willing and able effectively to co-operate with those of +Sarawak in all matters of common interest, especially in the settlement +of troubles on the boundary between their territories. The enlightened +interest of the Dutch Government in the welfare of the tribes of the +far interior and in the promotion of ethnographical knowledge has +been strikingly manifested in the opening years of this century by +the despatch of two successive expeditions, under the leadership of +Dr. Nieuwenhuis, to study the people, their customs and conditions, +and by its generous expenditure upon the publication of the handsome +volumes in which he has embodied his valuable reports.[222] On the +second journey this intrepid traveller penetrated to the head of the +Batang Kayan, and there made the acquaintance of the same Kenyahs +who had recently visited the Resident of the Baram. In this way the +spheres of Dutch and of British influence have been made to overlap +in these central highlands. + + + + + +The Physical Characters of the Races and Peoples of Borneo + +A. C. Haddon + + +Introduction + +The following sketch of the races and peoples of Borneo is based +upon the observations of the Cambridge Expedition to Sarawak in 1899 +and those of Dr. A. W. Nieuwenhuis in his expeditions to Netherlands +Borneo in 1894, 1896 -- 1897, and 1898 -- 1900 (QUER DURCH BORNEO, +Leiden, vol. i., 1904, vol. ii., 1907). + +It is generally acknowledged that in Borneo, as in other islands of +the East Indian Archipelago, the Malays inhabit the coasts and the +aborigines the interior, though in some these reach the coast while +Malayised tribes have pushed inland up the rivers, a sharp distinction +between the two being frequently obliterated where they overlap. The +condition, however, is much more complicated as we can now distinguish +at least two main races among the aborigines. + +We have no evidence as to who were the primitive inhabitants of +Borneo. One would expect to find Negritos in the interior, as these +black, woolly-haired pygmies inhabit the Andamans, parts of the +Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, the Philippines, New Guinea, and possibly +Melanesia. No authoritative evidence of their occurrence in Borneo +is forthcoming, and one can confidently assert that there are no +Negritos in Sarawak. Nor are there any traces of Melanesians. It is +generally admitted that, assuming the Australians to be mainly of +that race, a Pre-Dravidian element should occur in the Archipelago, +and the cousins Sarasin have noted this strain among the Toalas of +Celebes and Moszkowski among the Batins of Sumatra; in this connection +it is of interest that Nieuwenhuis discovered ten Ulu Ayars and two +Punans with straight hair and a "black or blue-black" skin colour; +Kohlbrugge,[223] who records this observation, offers no explanation. + +Dr. E. T. Hamy in 1877 recognised a primitive element in the Malay +Archipelago, for which he adopted the term Indonesian, a name +previously invented by Logan for the non-Malay population of the +East Indian Archipelago. De Quatrefages and Hamy further established +this stock in their CRANIA ETHNICA (1882), and de Quatrefages in +his HISTOIRE GENERALE DES RACES HUMAINES (1889) boldly states that +these high- and narrow-headed peoples are "un des rameaux de la +branche blanche allophyle" (L.C. pp. 515, 521). Keane terms the +Indonesians "the pre-Malay Caucasic element in Oceania" (MAN PAST +AND PRESENT, 1899, p. 231). Various investigators[224] have studied +skulls obtained from this region which prove the wide extension of +dolichocephaly. Kohlbrugge (1898), who investigated the Teriggerese, +Indonesian mountaineers of Java, says: "Les Indonesiens sont +dolichocephales, les Malais brachycephales ou hyperbrachycephales. Le +sang indonesien se decele donc par la longueur de la tete: plus +celle-ci se rapproche du type dolichocephale, plus pur est le sang +indonesien." Volz confirms Hagen's observations of the existence +among the Battak of North Sumatra of two types, a dolichocephalic +Indonesian and a brachycephalic type. + +The term Indonesian may now be regarded as definitely restricted to +a dolichocephalic, and the term Proto-Malay to a brachycephalic race, +of which the true Malays (Orang Malayu) are a specialised branch. + +The next point to discuss is the presence of these two races in +Borneo. The Dutch Expedition found three distinct types in the interior +of Netherlands Borneo, the Ulu Ayars (Ulu Ajar)[225] or Ot Danum of the +upper Kapuas, the Bahau-Kenyahs (Bahau-Kenja) of the middle or upper +Mahakam (or Kotei) and the upper waters of the rivers to the north, +and the Punans, nomadic hunters living in the highlands about the +head-waters of the great rivers. The first of these may be classed +as predominantly Indonesian and the others as mainly Proto-Malay in +origin. According to Nieuwenhuis the Bahaus and Kenyahs both remember +that they came from Apo Kayan at the headwaters of the Kayan river; +they were formerly known as the Pari tribes. In all the tribes of this +group the social organisation is in the main similar, and this affinity +is borne out by their material culture, thus they may be regarded as +originally one people. Tribes calling themselves Bahau now live along +the Mahakam above Mujub and include one Kayan group; on the upper +Rejang are Bahau tribes under the name of Kayan, and a small section +has advanced into the Kapuas area and settled on the Mendalam which +again includes Kayans and kindred tribes. All the tribes still in Apo +Kayan call themselves Kenyah, as also those of the eastward flowing +Tawang, Berau and Kayan (or Bulungan) rivers and those of the upper +Limbang and Baram flowing northwards. The Kenyahs of Apo Kayan live +along the Iwan, a tributary of the Kayan river (or Bulungan); to the +north-east is another tributary called the Bahau which seems to have +been the original home of the Bahau people since the tribes of Borneo +habitually take their names from the rivers along which they live.[226] + +Nieuwenhuis came to the conclusion that the three chief tribes +measured by him represented three main groups of the population of +Central Borneo, physically and culturally. Mr. E. B. Haddon drew +attention (MAN, 1905 No. 13, p. 22) to the close similarity of the +results published by Kohlbrugge (1903) with those published by me +(1901). I recognised five main groups of peoples in Sarawak: Punan, +Klemantan (or, as Dr. Hose and I then spelled it, Kalamantan), +Kenyah-Kayan, Iban or Sea Dayak, and Malay. The Ibans are not +referred to by either of the Dutch ethnologists, who, like myself, +merely alluded to the Malay element. Kohlbrugge and I included the +Bakatan or Beketan and the Ukit or Bukat in the Punan group, and +also bracketed together the Kayans and Kenyahs. In Sarawak there +are numerous and often small tribes which it is frequently very +difficult or quite impossible to differentiate from one another, +although the extremes of the series can be distinguished; we therefore +decided to comprehend them under the non-committal term of Klemantan +(p. 42). I showed that they were of mixed origin, and stated that, +"It is possible that the Kalamantans were originally a dolichocephalic +people who mixed first with the indigenous brachycephals (Punan group) +and later with the immigrant brachycephals (Kenyah-Kayan group) +or the Kalamantans may have been a mixed people when they first +arrived in Borneo and subsequently increased their complexity by +mixing with these two groups" (L.C. p. 352). I also made it clear +that I regarded the dolichocephalic element as of Indonesian stock +and the brachycephalic of Proto-Malayan origin. It was with great +satisfaction that I found Kohlbrugge had come to similar conclusions +and that the Ulu Ayars exhibit such strong traces of an Indonesian +origin, stronger perhaps than those of any tribe in Sarawak, with the +possible exception of the scarcely studied Muruts and allied tribes. + +Kohlbrugge states (1903, p. 2) that he has shown for the interior +of Sumatra, Java, and Celebes that there are mesaticephalic +peoples distinct in other respects from the coast peoples, but not +dolichocephalic. He concludes that the (Ulu Ayar) Dayaks, being the +only dolichocephals, are the only pure Indonesians, and the rest +(Kayans and Punans) are more or less mixed with Malays. The mean +cephalic index of 130 Tenggerese of the interior of Java is 79.7, +but the Ulu Ayars constitute a uniform group which ranges from 7 1 +to 81.4, of which 9 are 74 or under and 9 are between 74.1 and 76 +inclusive, the median of 26 adult males being 74.7.[227] [Although +the median Kalabit index in the living subject is somewhat higher, +that of the skulls, as well as the cranial index of Muruts and Trings +(Table C), is very similar in this respect to that of the Ulu Ayars.] + +According to Nieuwenhuis' statistics, as given by Kohlbrugge, there is +in the brachycephalic group (Kayans and Punans) a greater range (75 to +93.3, and 1 Kayan woman reaches 97) than in the Ulu Ayars; most fall +between 78 and 85, the medians of both being just over 81. There are 8 +dolichocephals[228] out of his 43 Kayan men and 4 out of his 25 women, +but only I Punan out of 14. In his curve of the Kayan indices there is +a drop at 82 [a curve of my data shows a similar drop]. "I leave it an +open question," he says (p. 13), "whether this break indicates mixture +of a dolichocephalic and brachycephalic group; this can only be decided +by the study of more abundant material, and requires confirmation from +the geographical and ethnographical standpoint. At all events it may +be assumed A priori that if long-headed and broadheaded peoples occur +in the interior of Borneo, then mixed peoples will also be met with, +and the Kayans might be such." [An examination of my data will show +that there is practically no difference between the Kayans and Kenyahs +in this respect.] + +A comparison is also possible between the bi-zygomatic breadths made +by Nieuwenhuis and ourselves. The figures are those of the minimum, +median, and maximum. KAYANS (43 [male], N) 126, +139, 153 ; (25 [female], N) 125, 132, 141; (21 +[male], H) 132, 141, 150. PUNANS (14 [ERROR: +unhandled ♂], N) 132, 138, 145; (19 [male], +H) 130, 142, 154. ULU AYARS (26 [male], N) 12 5, +136, 145. LAND DAYAKS (42 [male], S) 122, 136, 145. + +Kohlbrugge points out that there seems to be no ground for dividing the +"Indonesians" into a taller and shorter group since the differences +are slight. If this distinction were drawn, the Ulu Ayars (av. 1.571 +m., med. 1.551 m.) would belong to the shorter group as would the +Enganese (av. 1.570 m.). His 34 Kayan men (av. 1.584 m., med. 1.582 +m.) and 14 Punan men (av. 1.583 m., med. 1.569 m.) and the Gorontalese +(1.584 m.) are intermediate between these and the Tenggerese (1.604 +m.) and Battak (1.605). I also find this distinction untenable, as +our Kayans (av. 1.559 m., med. 1.550 m.) and Punans (av. 1.555 m., +med. 1.550 m.) are of the same stature or even possibly shorter than +his Ulu Ayars, whereas our 16 Kenyah men (av. 1.597 m., med. 1.608) +are taller than his Kayans. He adds that the shorter "Indonesians" +live in the plains, the taller in the mountains, but he cannot say for +certain whether a mountain climate affects stature as many believe. It +is to be regretted that Kohlbrugge extends in this instance the term +Indonesian to the Kayans and Punans. Taking our measurements I find +that the Kenyahs and the Muruts (av. 1.601 m., med. 1.590 m.) are +the tallest groups, then come the Iban (av. 1.590 m., med. 1.585 m.), +the Kayan and Punan medians come about half-way between the tallest +Klemantans (Long Pokun, med. 1.590 m.) and the shortest (Lerong, +med. 1.520 m). The above figures refer to men only, the women are +markedly shorter. + +Kohlbrugge gives the following information with regard to body +measurements: the Kayan women are 14 cm. shorter than the men, usually +the difference is 10 -- 12 cm. The span is greater than the stature, +the proportion is 105.2 : 100 in Kayans, 1034: 100 in Ulu Ayars and +106.5 : 100 in Punans and Tenggerese. In youths it is rather higher +than in men. The difference between Tenggerese and Ulu Ayars is due +to the latter having shorter arms, especially the upper arms, and +the chest of the Bornean peoples is 2 cm. narrower. Other Indonesian +peoples have a longer upper arm than the Ulu Ayars, who also have +the tibia shorter in proportion to the femur. Kayan and Ulu Ayar men +have a comparatively shorter femur than the Punan. The latter thus +resemble the Tenggerese, the others have the same relative length +as many other peoples of the Archipelago; there is no difference +between the Malays and Indonesians in this respect. The Kayan women +have relatively a much longer femur than the men. The shorter tibia +makes the whole leg of the Bornean peoples shorter than in others -- +except that the Punans make it up with a longer femur. Women and young +people have longer legs than men. The Punans have the fattest calves +approximating to the Tenggerese, the other Bornean tribes are more +like the Gorontalese. The chest girth of Ulu Ayars and Tenggerese is +almost the same, despite the difference in the breadth of the chest, +in which the Ulu Ayars resemble the inhabitants of Atchin measured by +Lubbers. The proportion of the length of the foot to the stature is +16 : 100 in Kayans of both sexes, 154 : 100 in Ulu Ayars, and 15.2 in +Punans. But the Kayan feet are shorter than those of the Gorontalese, +who have the longest feet in the Archipelago. The other Bornean +peoples are the same as Indonesians who resemble the Malays in this +respect. The pelvic breadth of the Kayan men and women is equal (26 +cm.), though men have the wider chest; the Punan pelvis is narrower +than in the other two tribes; but in all three the pelvis is broader +than in the Tenggerese. + +We must now turn to the evidence of the crania, of which only a very +brief account need be presented here. Owing to the fact that the +people are head-hunters the skulls obtained by a traveller in any +house are necessarily those of another community, group, or tribe +than that to which the occupants of the house belong. Consequently +it is necessary for a traveller to learn from the inhabitants the +provenience of each cranium, and every one in the house knows it. It +is useless for analytical purposes to deal with skulls of which +the tribe is not accurately known; the information that a skull was +obtained in a certain village or on a particular river is, as a rule, +of very little value. + +In Table C I give particulars of three head indices of 83 crania, of +which the history is known in each case. Fifty-eight of these have +been presented by Dr. Hose to the University of Cambridge. I have +added to these 5 Murut, 1 Lepu Potong, 1 Kalabit, 1 Tring, 1 Bisaya, +and 1 Orang Bukit, which Dr. Hose presented to the Royal College of +Surgeons, London, 1 Ukit skull in the same museum, 3 Dusun in the +British Museum, and 5 Murut, 3 Maloh, and 3 Kayan, which I measured +in Sarawak. I have chosen the cranial length-breadth, length-height, +and breadth-height indices, as these are more directly comparable with +the corresponding cephalic indices of Table A. A detailed account of +these crania must await a more suitable occasion. + +The dolichocephalic crania are, as a rule, distinctly akrocephalic, +that is, the length-height index is superior to the length-breadth +index, but this is not the case with the brachycephals. I find the +average length-height index in the living subject of a dozen inland +tribes is 72.5 for 131 males and 78.2 for 40 females. That is, so far +as our measurements go, the women are more akrocephalic than the men, +which is unusual. + +The conclusions to be drawn from a somatological investigation are +necessarily limited. In my introductory remarks I stated that one could +distinguish two main races among the principal groups of the peoples of +Sarawak, a dolichocephalic and a brachycephalic, and that the former +might be termed Indonesian and the latter Proto-Malay; further, no +one group is probably of pure race, though it appears that some may be +predominantly Indonesian and others Proto-Malay. I do not for a moment +suggest that there was one migration of pure Indonesians and another +of pure Proto-Malays which flooded Borneo and by various minglings +produced the numerous tribes of that island, though I do suggest that +there have been throughout the whole Archipelago various movements +of peoples, some of which may have been relatively pure communities +of these two races. There can be little doubt that we must look to +the neighbouring regions of the mainland of Asia for their immediate +point of departure southwards, for we now know that two similar races +have inhabited this area from a remote antiquity. The light- (or +light-brown) skinned dolichocephals of south-east Asia, assuming for +the present that they are all of one race, have frequently been termed +Caucasians -- for the present I prefer to speak of them as Indonesians +-- and of these there are doubtless several strains. The light- (or +light-brown) skinned brachycephals are usually grouped as Southern +Mongols. In the south-east corner of Asia there are probably several +strains of these brachycephals which hitherto have been insufficiently +studied. Even when an Indonesian element has been recognised in +the population of the Archipelago there has been too persistent a +practice of terming the brachycephalic element "Malay." The true Malay, +Orang Malayu, is merely a specialised branch of a stock for which I +prefer the non-committal name of Proto-Malay, even "Southern-Mongol" +is preferable to "Malay." The Proto-Malay race has its roots on the +mainland. It has yet to be shown how far the brachycephals of this +region belong to what is here termed the Proto-Malay race or to what +extent other, and doubtless allied, stocks are implicated. If, as is +very probable, there have been migrations of differentiated peoples +from the mainland into the islands, the Bornean peoples may be of more +complex origin than the earlier generalisations might suggest. The +dissecting out and the tracing of the migrations of these peoples +is the work of ethnography, somatology can be of little assistance; +all that I have done is to provide a certain amount of material for +the use of students in the future. It must also be remembered that +the immigrants from the mainland may have had at one time infusions +of Negrito or Pre-Dravidian (Sakai) blood, not to speak of Tibetan, +Chinese, or other mixtures. Similarly when the first migrations from +the mainland took place the fairer-skinned immigrants probably found +an indigenous population of Negritos, Pre-Dravidians, and possibly +to some extent of Papuans in various parts of the Archipelago. We +know that many of the islands, including Borneo, have been subject to +direct migrations from India and China, and there has doubtless been +a certain amount of movement of peoples from island to island. The +racial history of this region is therefore extremely complex. + +Dr. Hose has suggested the following classification[229] of the +peoples of Sarawak (exclusive of the Malays), which I have followed +in arranging the descriptions given below. For the sake of comparison +I have recast the data published by Kohlbrugge concerning the three +types studied by Nieuwenhuis; it is unfortunate that our several +results cannot be more closely correlated. + + + +A Classification of the Peoples of Sarawak + + +1. Murut Group: + + Murut, Pandaruan, Tagal, Dusun; + Kalabit, Lepu Potong; + Adang, Tring. + +II. Klemantan Group: + + 1. South-western Group: + + Land Dayaks; + [Certain tribes of Netherlands Borneo]; + Maloh. + + 2. Central Group: + + A. Baram sub-group: Bisaya, Tabun, Orang Bukit, + Kadayan, Pliet, Long Pata, Long Akar. + B. Barawan sub-group: Murik, Long Julan, Long Ulai, + Batu Blah, Long Kiput, Lelak, Barawan, Sakapan, + Kajaman. + C. Bakatan sub-group: Seping, Tanjong, Kanawit, + Bakatan, Lugat. + + 3. Sebop Group: + + Malang, Tabalo, Long Pokun, Sebop, Lerong; + Milanau (including Narom and Miri). + + +III. Punan Group: + + Punan, Ukit, Siduan, Sigalang. + +IV. Kenyah Group: + + Madang, Long Dallo, Apoh, Long Sinong, Long Lika Bulu, + Long Tikan. + +V. Kayan Group. +VI. Iban Group: Iban (Sea Dayaks) and Sibuyau. + + + + +Descriptions of Peoples + + +General Remarks on the Methods of Taking Observations + +The physical characters and measurements of each individual were noted +on a separate card, and the bulk of them have been embodied in the +following synopses. As my object has been to give a general impression +of each group, I have not burdened the descriptions with superfluous +scattered observations. The original records are available in Cambridge +for any desirous of consulting them. The statistics given refer to +the several recorded observations; where these fall short of the total +number it may be taken for granted that as a rule the remainder did not +depart markedly from the normal standard of the group in question -- +the presence of salient characters would be noted, not their absence. + +In Table A certain measurements and indices are given of the more +important groups in order to facilitate comparisons. Very small +groups and half-breeds have been omitted, the object being to +summarise the characters of the adults of the larger groups. The +median in most cases is practically identical with the average, +but where a difference occurs, the median more nearly represents the +central type. The indices are based on a calculation to two decimal +places; where the second decimal place is under five it is left out of +account, and where five or over the first decimal place is augmented +by one. This table should be compared with Table C. + +In the other tables all the measurements and indices are given. + +HEAD: LENGTH, from glabella to most prominent point of occiput; +BREADTH, maximum at right angles to above; BI-AURIC BREADTH, from base +of the tragus, pressing firmly; CIRCUMFERENCE, greatest circumference +immediately above the glabella; AURICULAR VERTICAL ARC, from base +of tragus over the vertex; AURICULAR RADII taken with a Cunningham's +radiometer from the ear-hole. FACE: TOTAL LENGTH, from nasion to chin; +UPPER LENGTH, from nasion to alveolus; BI-ZYGOMATIC BREADTH, from +greatest prominence of cheek arches, pressing firmly; INTER-OCULAR +WIDTH, between inner angles of the eyes; BI-GONIAL BREADTH, from the +angle of the lower jaw, pressing firmly. NOSE: LENGTH, from nasion +to angle with lip; BREADTH, between outer curvature of alae, without +pressure; BI-MALAR BREADTH, from the outer upper corner of the margin +of the orbit, pressing firmly (this was usually marked with a soft +pencil); NASO-MALAR LINE, between these points over the bridge of +the nose. + +The term DOLICHOCEPHALIC is used to designate a cephalic index of +77.9 and under, and BRACHYCEPHALIC one of 78 and over. Heads with a +length-height index of 66.9 and under are PLATYCEPHALIC, those of 67 -- +69.9 are MESOCEPHALIC, and those of 70 and over are HYPSICEPHALIC. The +breadth-height limits are 82.9, 83 -- 84.9, and 85. The term +CHAMAEPROSOPIC is used where the total facial index is 89.9 and under, +and LEPTOPROSOPIC where it is 90 and over, the corresponding limit for +the upper facial index is -49.9 and 50+. Owing to the character of the +nose it was not easy in most cases to ascertain the exact upper limit +of the length, and it is probably owing to this that the indices show +such marked platyrhiny. Unfortunately these indices cannot be compared +with those obtained by Nieuwenhuis, as he measured to the tip of the +nose and not to its angle with the lip as we did. The term LEPTORHINE +is used for noses with an index of 69.9 and under, MESORHINE for +70 -- 84.9, PLATYRHINE for 85 -- 99.9, and HYPER-PLATYRHINE for 100 +and over. The profiles of the nose were compared with the figures in +NOTES AND QUERIES (1892). In speaking of the EYE, by fold is meant +the Mongolian fold which covers the caruncle. All the irises have a +brown colour, being either light, medium, or dark. The observations +on the EARS were made by means of MS. notes and diagrams drawn up +for me by Prof. A. Keith. He recommended that persons under fifteen +years of age or over sixty should not be noted, and that as there is +a very marked sexual difference, observations on men and women should +be kept quite separate. Variations in every race are, within certain +limits, so numerous that he suggested that at least a hundred of each +sex should be observed; although the numbers examined of the several +tribes is usually very small, their total number will probably be found +sufficient to give a fair idea of the more common types of ears. The +TYPES of ears suggested by Dr. Keith are (1) "European": this applies +only to the general shape; the folding, etc., varies enormously. (2) +"Negroid": this resembles the "Orang type" but differs in being +two-thirds of a circle; that is to say, the Negroid ear has a much +greater breadth relative to its height than the ears of Europeans. (3) +"Orang": this is the smallest and most degenerate form of ear, seen +in its most typical form in the orang utan; it is the common female +type. (4) "Chimpanzee": this is the largest and most primitive form +of ear, and is found in its typical condition in the chimpanzee; +it is commonly, but not always, set at a considerable angle to the +head. ANGLE: The ear may be appressed (0), or it may stand out from +the head at an angle of less than 30[degree] (1), between 30[degree] +and 60[degree] (2), or over 60[degree] (3). LOBULE: This is never +totally absent, but when it is 3 mm. or less from the middle of the +curved base of the anti-tragus it may be called approximately so +(0), when 3 -- 10 mm. it is small (1), 10 -- 15 mm. medium (2), +over 15 mm. long (3). The lobule may be free or adhere partially +or totally to the side of the face. DESCENDING HELIX: The degree of +folding varies; there may be none (0), under 2 mm. (1), between 2 and +4 mm. (2), between 4 and 6 mm. (3). DARWIN'S POINT: It may be absent +(0), or present as a distinct tip (1), as an infolded tip (2), as an +inrolled knob (3), or as a slight thickening of the infolded part +of the helix (4); the position is constant in the upper posterior +segment. TRAGUS: This may be absent (0), otherwise it varies in size +measured from base to apex, under 3 mm. (I), between 3 and 5 mm. (2), +or 5 to 7 mm. (3). Sometimes it has two apices. ANTI-TRAGUS: This +also may be absent (0), or if present the size from base to apex +measures as in the tragus under 3 mm. (1), between 3 and 5 mm. (2), +or 5 -- 7 mm. (3). ANTI-HELIX: It is bent into an angle slightly or +not at all (0), the angle does not reach the level of the helix (1), +the angle is a little within or a little beyond the level of the helix +(2), it is very prominent, distinctly beyond the level of the helix +(3). Its prominence is a human feature. + +As regards the HAIR, in all cases where there were a number of +observations one or two of the oldest men had grizzled or even grey +hair. The hair of the head is usually worn long and often attains +a length of about two feet, but it is sometimes cut shorter and is +occasionally very short. It is usually fairly abundant, but in all +groups a few persons have scanty hair. The hair of the face is in +all groups either absent or very scanty; the same applies to the body +hair. The only scale of SKIN colours we had was that given in the NOTES +AND QUERIES ON ANTHROPOLOGY (2nd ed., 1892), but as this was obviously +inadequate for the purpose, Dr. Hose prepared a scale for our use +in the field, the shades of which have subsequently been as far as +possible equated with those of Prof. von Luschan's Hautfarben-Tafel +(Puhl and Wagner, Rixdorf); it is these numbers which appear in +brackets in the following descriptions, and I have also attempted +to describe them in English; the term cinamon is based on the colour +of the stick cinnamon of commerce. The colours were usually matched +from the inner aspect of the upper arm so as to avoid the darkening +caused by the burning of the sun. Besides the information recorded +on the cards, a number of additional data on skin colour collected +by Dr. Hose are included in the synopses. As regards STATURE the +subject is described as SHORT when he measures less than 1.625 m. (5 +ft. 4 in.), MEDIUM 1.625 -- 1.724 m. (5 ft. 4 in. to 5 ft. 8 in.), +and TALL 1.725 m. and over; the subject had his eyes looking towards +the horizon. + +With the exception of the observations by Mr. R. Shelford, mainly on +the Land Dayaks and Iban, which are duly noted, all the data on the +living were collected by Dr. W. McDougall and myself, either separately +or conjointly, and I have to thank him for permitting me to work up +the results. Our thanks are due to Dr. Hose, at whose invitation we +went to Sarawak, and without whose zeal, knowledge of the country, +and wonderful influence over the natives this work could not have +been accomplished. Mr. S. H. Ray also assisted us as amanuensis. Most +of the figures were tabulated for me by Miss Barbara Friere-Marreco +and the remainder by Miss Lilian Whitehouse, who also has greatly +assisted me in drawing up this memoir. + + +I. Murut Group + +Seven KALABIT men and 3 women and 4 MURUT men were measured. No +descriptive details of the Muruts are available. + +HEAD-FORM: The cephalic indices show 7 to be dolichocephalic and 7 +brachycephalic; the 3 women are slightly more dolichocephalic than +the men, for whom the median is 78.5. One Kalabit is platycephalic, +1 mesocephalic, and 8 hypsicephalic as regards length-height, and +all are hypsicephalic as regards breadth-height. Four Kalabits were +noted as having oval heads, in 1 the occiput was prominent, 1 ovoid, +and 1 woman ellipsoidal. + +FACE: Five Kalabits have pentagonal faces, being rather broad in 3, +2 were long and rather narrow, the jaws are narrow in 2. They show +a marked tendency to prognathism, especially dental prognathism. The +Kalabits are chamaeprosopic as regards both the total facial and the +upper facial indices, with one exception in both respects. The forehead +has a slight tendency to be narrow and high. The cheek-bones are +moderately prominent in 5 men and 1 woman and not prominent in 2 men +and 1 woman. The lips are moderately full. The chin is rather small, +and retreating in 3. NOSE: One Murut is leptorhine, 2 Kalabit men are +mesorhine, 6 are platyrhine, and 5 hyper-platyrhine. The root is high +in 4 Kalabit men, narrow in 3, broad in 4 and 1 woman, and flat in 3 +and 1 woman; the base is reflected in 3 of each sex, and straight in +2 men; the alae are small in 4 men and 3 women, moderate in 3 men, +and round in 1 of each sex; the nostrils are rounded in 5 men and +3 women, and wide in 2 men. EYES: The aperture is narrow in 1 man, +moderately open in 5 men and 1 woman, wide in 1 man and 2 women; it +is straight with no fold in 5 men, straight with slight fold in 1 man, +more or less oblique with slight fold in 1 man and 2 women, in 1 woman +it is straight and the fold is more developed in the right eye than +in the left; the colour is medium in 1 man, dark brown in 5 men and +3 women. EARS: Type European in 3 of each sex, Negroid in 1 man, and +intermediate in 2 men; angle prominent in 5 men and 3 women, slightly +prominent in 2 men; lobule always distended, in 2 men it is adherent; +descending helix infolded under 2 mm. in all but 1 man in whom it is +under 4 mm.; Darwin's point absent in 3 men and 1 woman, doubtful in +2 men, infolded in 1 man, inrolled in 2 women; tragus under 3 mm. in 2 +men, 3 -- 5 mm. in the rest; anti-tragus absent in 4 men, and 1 woman, +under 3 mm. in 3 men and 2 women; anti-helix below level of helix in +2 of each sex, about at the same level in 5 men and 1 woman. + +HAIR: It is straight to wavy in 1 of each sex, wavy in 3 men and 1 +woman, wavy-curly in 1 man. The colour is rusty black in 7 men and +3 women. It is moderately abundant and long. + +SKIN: Four are lightest cinamon (12), 1 light cinamon (14), 1 cinamon +(6), 2 pale fawn (pale 17), 2 dull fawn (17). + +Stature: All but 1 Murut man are of short stature, 1 Kalabit man being +only 1.485 m. (4 ft. 10 1/2 in.), the 3 women are still shorter, +1 being 1.410 m. (4 ft. 7 1/2 in.), the median for the Kalabits is +1.565 (5 ft. 1 1/2 in.). + + +II. Klemantan Group + + +1. South-western Group + +(A) Forty-two LAND DAYAK men were measured by Mr. Shelford. + +HEAD-FORM: The cephalic indices range fairly evenly from 73.5 to 86.9, +19 men being dolichocephalic; the median is 78.4. + +FACE: One is noted as very broad and 2 as prognathous. All but 1 are +chamaeprosopic as regards the total facial index and all but 6 as +regards the upper facial. NOSE: Nineteen are mesorhine, 17 platyrhine, +and 6 hyper-platyrhine; 1 is noted as aquiline, 3 as straight but +flat, and 2 have a low bridge; 2 have broad alae, 1 having a very +concave nose, broader than long with an index of 116.2, and wide +nostrils, it is evidently abnormal. Byes: A fold is mentioned in 18, +of which 3 are slight and 2 pronounced, its absence is noted in 3; +5 have medium brown irises. + +HAIR: It is noted as straight in 6 and wavy in 2; it is black in 8, +and 24 have abundant hair; the hair of the face is absent in 7 and +sparse in 8, 1 had a stubbly beard. + +SKIN: The colour of the skin is darker than that of other inland +tribes, 19 being of a very dark warm cinamon (25) and 4 cinamon +(6). It is noted in 1 as much darker when uncovered. + +STATURE: None are tall, 7 are medium, the rest short, 4 being under +1.5 m. (4 ft. 11 in.), the median is 1.577 m. (5 ft. 2 in.). + +[Thirty-one male and 4 female Ulu Ayar Dayaks were measured by +Nieuwenhuis, of these 5 were boys under 17, and all 4 females were +girls of 17 and under. See vol. ii., p. 315, note 1. + +HEAD-FORM: The cephalic indices range fairly evenly between 71 and +81.4, all but 5 are dolichocephalic, the median being 74.7. + +FACE: It is usually of medium breadth; 2 (I.E. 6 per cent) have +broad faces. The bi-zygomatic breadth ranges from 125 to 145 mm., +the median being 136 mm. NOSE: The breadth-measurements range from 36 +to 46 mm., the length-measurements being taken from root to tip are +therefore not comparable. Eighteen males and 3 females are noted as +having concave noses, 13 and 1 as having broad flat noses, none as +straight or narrow, I.E. 60 per cent of the Ulu Ayars have concave +("depressed," "sunken," or "hollow") noses. EYES: The Mongolian fold +does not occur. The colour is dark. + +HAIR: All had straight hair except 1 man; it is generally rather +scanty. The colour is black. + +SKIN: The colour is noted as black or blue-black in 10, brown and +yellow in 5, light brown in 20. + +STATURE: None are tall, 3 are medium, and the rest short, 2 being +under 1.5 m. (4 ft. 11 in.); the median is 1.551 (5 ft. 1 in.).] + +(B) Seven MALOH men were measured by us. + +HEAD-FORM: The cephalic index is essentially dolichocephalic, +3 being low brachycephals, the median 76.8. Two are mesocephalic +in the length-height index and none in the breadth-height, all the +remainder are hypsicephalic in both respects; 4 are pyriform, 2 oval, +and 1 ellipsoidal in shape. + +FACE: Two are pentagonal, 2 rather broad, and 2 long; alveolar +prognathism is noted in 3, 1 of which has also general prognathism. Two +only are leptoprosopic in their total and upper facial indices. The +forehead is somewhat narrow and high, the cheek-bones more or +less prominent, the lips are usually moderately full, and the chin +fairly well developed. NOSE: One is mesorhine, 4 platyrhine, and 2 +hyper-platyrhine; the profile is equally divided between straight +and concave; the base is reflected in 5, deflected in 2; the alae are +rather small and the nostrils wide and rounded. EARS: Type European in +5 (1 doubtful), Negroid in 2; angle prominent in 5, slightly prominent +in 2; lobule distended in all; descending helix infolded under 2 +mm. in 5, 2 -- 4 mm. in 2; Darwin's point absent in 5, inrolled in 2 +(1 doubtful); tragus 3 -- 5 mm. in 5 (2 doubtful), rather less in 2; +anti-tragus absent in 1, doubtful in 1, under 3 mm. in 5 anti-helix +below level of helix in 4, about at the same level in 3. + +HAIR: The hair is distinctly wavy and long; it is rusty black in 5 +and black in 2. There is a moderate amount on the face and none on +the body. + +SKIN: SIX are dull fawn (17). + +STATURE: ALL are short, 1 being 1.47 m. (4 ft. 9 3/4 in.); the median +is 1.585 m. (5 ft. 2 1/2 in.). + + +2. Central Group + +BARAWAN SUB-GROUP -- This consists of 1 Murik man, 1 Long Ulai man and +1 woman, 8 Long Kiput men, 3 Lelak men, 12 Barawan men and 5 women, +2 Sakapan men, 1 Kajaman, and 4 mixed breeds (I.E. mixed with other +Klemantan blood). + +HEAD-FORM: Of the longer series the Barawans are the more +dolichocephalic, 6 men and 3 women have an index below 78, 1 Long Kiput +man and only 4 others being dolichocephalic; the median of the whole +series, excluding women, is 79. Most of the men and all the women +are hypsicephalic; but 2 Barawans are platycephalic, and 1 Barawan +and 2 mixed breeds are mesocephalic in length-height; 1 Long Kiput is +platycephalic in length-height and breadth-height, 2 are mesocephalic +in both respects, and 1 in length-height only; 1 Lelak is platycephalic +in length-height and mesocephalic in breadth-height. The shape is noted +as oval in 5 men and 3 women, ovoid in 1 of each sex, round in 3 men. + +FACE: Nine men and 3 women have a pentagonal face; it is oval in 1 man +and 2 women, rather long in 5 men, square in 2 men, broad in 1 of each +sex. All are chamaeprosopic in both respects except 1 Barawan man as +regards total facial index and 2 in the upper. The forehead is rounded +or prominent in 8 men and 6 women, upright in 4 men and 1 woman, more +or less sloping in 4 men, broad and low in 5 men, narrow in 4 men. The +cheek-bones are large in 6 men and 1 woman, more or less prominent +in 10 men and 3 women, moderate in 11 men and 2 women. The lips vary +in thickness, 10 being thin and 7 more or less thick. The chin is +fairly well developed except in 6 men. NOSE: One Lelak is leptorhine, +2 Long Kiputs) 3 Barawan men and 2 women and 2 Barawan mixed breeds +are mesorhine; 5 Long Kiputs, 2 Lelaks, 6 Barawan men and 1 woman and 1 +mixed breed, 1 Long Ulai man and woman and 2 Sakapans are platyrhine; +1 Long Kiput, 3 Barawan men and 2 women, 1 Murik and 1 Kajaman are +hyper-platyrhine. The profile is straight in 10 men and 1 woman, more +or less concave in 13 men and 5 women, slightly aquiline in 4 men; +blunt tips were noted in 2 cases. The root is more or less depressed +in 12 men and 4 women, not depressed in 7 men, broad and high in 3, +high in 3, narrow in 3. The base is reflected or slightly so in 16 +men and 4 women, straight in 9 and 1, slightly deflected in 1 woman; +the alae are small in 3 men and 4 women, moderate in 4 men, and wide +in 5; the nostrils are round in 7 men and 5 women, oval in 10 and 1, +and transversely oval in 2 men. EYES: Aperture is moderate in 11 men +and 2 women, small in 10 men, large in 1 man. It is straight with no +fold in 3 men and 2 women, straight with a slight fold in 1 woman, +slightly oblique with no fold in 8 men and 1 woman, slightly oblique +with slight fold in 8 men and 2 women, in 1 Barawan man it is slightly +oblique with a very marked fold, 11 Barawans have more or less oblique +eyes of which 7 have a fold, 4 are straight, 1 of which has a slight +fold. Four men have light brown irises, 2 of each sex dark brown, +the remainder are medium. EARS: Type European in 5 Long Kiputs, +2 Lelaks, 8 Barawans and 2 mixed breeds, 1 Kajaman; Negroid in 1 +Barawan mixed breed; orang in 2 Barawans. Angle slightly prominent in +1 Long Kiput, 2 mixed breeds and 1 Kajaman, rather more so in 1 Long +Kiput, prominent in 1 Lelak, 5 Barawans. Lobule distended throughout, +perforated in 2 Barawans, adherent in 1 mixed breed. Descending helix +absent in 1 Long Kiput, infolded less than 2 mm. in 4 Long Kiputs, +1 Lelak, 11 Barawans and 2 mixed breeds, 1 Kajaman; 2 -- 4 mm. in 1 +Lelak, 1 Barawan mixed breed. Darwin's point absent in all except +1 Barawan and 1 mixed breed where it is an infolded tip. Tragus +under 3 mm. in 4 Long Kiputs, 1 Lelak, 1 Barawan and 1 mixed breed, +slightly more in 1 Lelak, 1 Barawan; 3 -- 5 mm. in 1 Long Kiput, +9 Barawans and 2 mixed breeds, 1 Kajaman. Anti-tragus absent in 1 +Long Kiput, 3 Barawans; under 3 mm. in 3 Long Kiputs, 2 Lelaks, +7 Barawans and 3 mixed breeds, 1 Kajaman; 3 -- 5 mm. in 1 Long +Kiput, 1 Barawan. Anti-helix below level of helix in 2 Long Kiputs, +5 Barawans and 1 mixed breed; about at same level in 3 Long Kiputs, +2 Lelak, 6 Barawans and 2 mixed breeds, 1 Kajaman. The 5 Barawan +women have ears of European type; angle slightly prominent in 2, +prominent in 3; lobule distended in all; descending helix infolded +less than 2 mm. in 4, 2 -- 4 mm. in 1; Darwin's point absent in all; +tragus 3 -- 5 mm. in all; anti-tragus absent in 2, under 3 mm. in 3; +anti-helix below level of helix in 2, about at same level in 3. + +HAIR: Seven men and 2 women have straight hair, 17 and 3 wavy, and +2 men curly hair; the colour. is rusty black in 13 men and 3 women, +black in 12 and 3, brown in 1 man. It is generally abundant and long. + +SKIN: Three are cinamon (6), 6 light cinamon (14), 15 lighter still +(12), 3 dull fawn (17), 3 pale fawn (pale 17), 4 pale pinkish buff +(11). + +STATURE: Four men are of medium stature, 30 are short, of whom 2 +men and all 6 women are below 1.5 m., 1 Barawan woman being only +1.395 m. (4 ft. 7 in.); the Barawans as a whole are shorter than +the others. The median for the whole series of men is 1.54 m. (5 +ft. 1/2 in.). + + +3. Sebop Group + +Sixteen MALANG men and 4 women were measured. + +HEAD-FORM: The indices show 10 men and 3 women to be dolichocephalic, +6 men and 1 woman brachycephalic; the median is 76.9 for the men. All +are hypsicephalic, except 2 men in respect to length-height. The shape +is described as ovoid in 7 men, oval in 2, round oval in 1 of each sex, +and ellipsoidal in 4 men. + +FACE: IT is pentagonal in 10 men and 3 women, ovoid in 1 woman, and +lozenge-shaped in 1 man; 6 men have long faces and 2 broad. Alveolar +prognathism is noted in 3 men, and superciliary ridges in 3. All are +chamaeprosopic except 1 of each sex in regard to the upper facial +index. The forehead is full in 9 men and 1 woman, broad in 3 men and 1 +woman, narrow in 4 and 1, low in 4 and 2, high in 4. The cheek-bones +are more or less prominent in 12 men and 2 women, moderate in 2 men, +and not prominent in 2 of each sex. The lips are moderately thin. The +chin is rather small in 6 men; it is fairly well developed in 7 men and +4 women. NOSE: 2 men and 1 woman are mesorhine, the rest platyrhine, +2 men being hyper-platyrhine. The profile is straight in 8 men and 1 +woman, more or less concave in 4 men and 3 women, slightly aquiline +in 2 men, high-bridged in 1, and slightly sinuous in 1; blunt tips +are noted in 4 men and 3 women. The root is moderately high in 10 men +and 1 woman, low in 6 and 3; it is narrow in 3 men and broad in 9 men +and 3 women. The base is reflected in 12 men and 4 women, straight in +3 men; the aloe are small in 11 men and 4 women, and moderate in the +remaining men; the nostrils are round in 9 men and 1 woman, wide in 4 +and 1, long oval in 2 men and round oval in 1, narrow and elongated +in 1 woman, large in 1 man, they are nearly or quite horizontal in +3 men. EYES: The aperture is small or narrow in 7 men and 2 women, +moderately open in 5 men and 1 woman; it is straight with no fold in +8 men and 1 woman, straight with a slight fold in 4 men, slightly +oblique with no fold in 2 men and 1 woman, slightly oblique with +fold in 2 of each sex, the fold being slight in 1 man. The colour +of the iris is dark brown in 8 men and 4 women, medium in 7 men and +light in 1. EARS: Type European in 13 men and 4 women (1 doubtful), +approximately Negroid in 2 men, chimpanzee in 1 man; angle prominent +in 11 men and 3 women, rather less in 3 men, slightly prominent in +2 men; lobule distended in all but 1 man; descending helix absent in +2 women, infolded less than 2 mm. in 12 men and 1 woman (doubtful), +2 -- 4 mm. in 4 men and 1 woman; Darwin's point absent in 15 men and +3 women, doubtful in 1 man, infolded in 1 woman (?); tragus under 3 +mm. in 2 men, 3 -- 5 mm. in 14 men and 4 women (1 doubtful), double in +3 men and 1 woman of these latter; anti-tragus absent in 6 men and 1 +woman, trace in 2 men, under 3 mm. in 7 men and 2 women (1 doubtful), +3 -- 5 mm. in 1 of each sex; anti-helix below level of helix in 11 men +and 3 women (1 doubtful), about at the same level in 5 men and 1 woman. + +HAIR: It is wavy in character; the colour is rusty black in 14 men and +4 women, black in 2 men. It is usually long and abundant on the head; +4 men have slight moustaches. + +SKIN: Fourteen are lightest cinamon (12), 2 light cinamon (14), 9 +pale fawn (pale 17), 2 light brown (near 17), 5 pale pinkish buff (11). + +STATURE: One man is tall, the rest are short, 2 men and all the women +being under 1.5 m.; the median for the men is 1.535 m. (5 ft. 1/2 in.). + +Eight LONG POKUN men and 10 women were measured. + +HEAD-FORM: The cephalic indices show 5 men and 4 women to be +dolichocephalic, 3 men and 6 women brachycephalic; the median for +the men is 76.9, for the women 79.4. One man is platycephalic, 3 +men and 1 woman mesocephalic and the rest hypsicephalic as regards +length-height, all are hypsicephalic as regards breadth-height, in +each respect the women being markedly more hypsicephalic than the +men. The shape is noted as oval in 1 man and 9 women, round oval in +1 of each sex, ellipsoidal in 1 man and pyriform in 4 men. + +FACE: In 5 men and 6 women it is more or less pentagonal, in 1 man +and 2 women lozenge-shaped. All are markedly chamaeprosopic both in +total facial and upper facial indices. The forehead is narrow in 3 +men and 1 woman, broad in 2 and 1, small in 2 women, high or moderate +in 2 men and 6 women, fairly prominent in 1 and 2, low in 3 men. The +cheek-bones are moderately prominent in 8 of each sex, very prominent +in 1 woman, and not prominent in 1 woman. The lips are moderately thin +in most cases, but are rather thick in 2 men and 1 woman. The chin +is small in 3 men and 6 women (noted as not retreating in 2 women), +but is fairly well formed. NOSE: Four men and 5 women are mesorhine, +the rest platyrhine, 1 of each sex having an index of 100. The profile +is straight in 7 men and 4 women (the tip being blunt in 4 men and 2 +women, and depressed in 3 men), concave in 4 women, "Chinese" in 1 man +and 2 women. The root is broad in 4 men and 9 women (flat in 4 of the +women), low in 3 men and 2 women, moderately high in 4 of each sex, +moderately narrow in 2 men; the base is more or less reflected in 8 +men and 6 women, very much reflected in 1 woman, and nearly straight +in 3; the alae are small in 6 men and 8 women, moderate in 1 of each +sex and wide in 1 of each sex; the nostrils are round in 3 men and +7 women, more or less widely open in 6 men and 5 women and small in +3 women. EYES: The aperture is moderately open in 6 men and 7 women, +wide in 1 of each sex and rather narrow in 1 man and 2 women; it is +straight with no fold in 4 men and 6 women, straight with fold more +or less developed in 2 men and 1 woman, slightly oblique with no fold +in 2 men, slightly oblique with slight fold in 2 women, and oblique +with a trace of fold in 1 woman. The colour is light brown in 1 man, +medium in 6 men and 7 women, dark in 1 and 3. EAR: Type European in 7 +men (2 doubtful) and 3 women, intermediate between European and Negroid +in 1 man; angle prominent in 6 men and 1 woman; lobule distended, right +adherent in 1 woman; descending helix infolded less than 2 mm. in 7 +men and 1 woman, 2 -- 4 mm. in 1 of each sex; Darwin's point absent +in 2 men and 1 woman, doubtful in 2 men, distinct tip in one man; +tragus under 3 mm. in 3 of each sex, being double in 1 man and 3 women, +slightly larger in 2 men, being double in 1, 3 -- 5 mm. in 3 men and +7 women, being double in 4 women; anti-tragus absent in 2 men and 5 +women (1 doubtful), trace in 2 men and 1 woman, under 3 mm. in 4 men +and 1 woman; anti-helix below level of helix in 6 men and 1 woman, +about at the same level in 2 men (1 doubtful) and 1 woman. + +HAIR: It is straight in 1 man, straight to wavy in 1 man and 5 women, +wavy in 5 and 3, wavy to curly in 1 man. The colour is rusty black +in 7 of each sex and dark brown in 3 women. It is long and fairly +abundant on the head; 2 men have beards, one only on the right side. + +SKIN: Seven are lightest cinamon (12), 1 with a trace of green, +5 are dull fawn (17), 2 pale fawn (pale 17), 3 pale pinkish buff (11). + +STATURE: TWO men are of medium height, the rest short, the median +being 1.59 m. (5 ft. 21 in.); only 2 women are over 1.5 m. and 2 are +under 1.4 m. (4 ft. 7 in.), the median being 1.47 m. (4 ft. 10 in.). + +Five SEBOP men were measured. + +HEAD-FORM: All but 1 are dolichocephalic, the median, being 75.3) +1 is platycephalic in regard to length-height, and 1 mesocephalic, +the rest are hypsicephalic in both respects. The shape is pyriform +in 2, oval to roundish in the remainder. + +FACE: It is pentagonal in 4, and narrow with rather prominent +brow-ridge in 1. All are chamaeprosopic in both respects. The forehead +is full in 2 and low in 2. The cheek-bones are more or less prominent +in 4, 1 is not prominent. The lips are thin in 3 and moderate in 2. The +chin is fairly well developed. NOSE: Three are mesorhine, 1 platyrhine, +and 1 hyper-platyrhine. The profile is concave in 2, straight in 1, and +intermediate in 2; a blunt tip is noted in 1. The root is narrow and +moderately high in 2, moderately broad in 2, moderately high in 1, and +2 are fairly broad and flat. The base is reflected in 3 and straight +in 2; the alae are small in 3, moderately large and rounded in 1, +and wide and horizontal in 1. EYES: The aperture is fairly open in 4, +rather narrow in 1; it is straight with no fold in 3, and slightly +oblique with a slight fold in 2. The colour is medium brown. EARS: +Type European in 2, European to Negroid in 1; angle prominent in 2; +lobule distended in 1, trace in 1, 3 -- 10 mm. in 2, 10 -- 15 mm. in +1; descending helix infolded less than 2 mm. in 2, 2 -- 4 mm. in 3; +Darwin's point absent in 2; tragus under 3 mm. in 1, rather larger +in 1, 3 -- 5 mm. in 3; anti-tragus under 3 mm. in 4, 3 -- 5 mm. in 1; +anti-helix below level of helix in 2, about at the same level in 3. + +HAIR: It is wavy in 3, straight to wavy in 1, curly in 1; the colour +is rusty black in 4, dark brown in 1. It is fairly long and moderately +abundant on the head; 1 man has a small moustache at angles of mouth, +and 1 has a fairly good moustache and beard. + +SKIN: Two are lightest cinamon (12), 1 light brown (near 17). + +STATURE: All are short, 1 being under 1.5 m.; the median is 1.54 +m. (5 ft. 1/2 in.). + +Ten LERONG men and 5 women were measured. + +HEAD-FORM: The cephalic indices show 4 men and 1 woman to be +dolichocephalic, 6 men and 4 women brachycephalic, the median being +78.5 for the men and 81 for the women. Three men are mesocephalic as +regards length-height, otherwise both sexes are hypsicephalic both in +length-height and breadth-height, the women being more so than the +men. The shape is noted as ovoid in 5 men, pyriform in 3 men, oval +in 3 of each sex, and round oval in 2 women (1 with vertical occiput). + +FACE: It is more or less pentagonal in 8 men and 1 woman, oval or ovoid +in 4 women, broad in 1 woman, and long in 2 men; alveolar prognathism +is noted in 1 of each sex and sunken temples and cheeks in 1 man. All +are chamaeprosopic as regards both total facial and upper facial +indices, one man only being an exception in both respects. The forehead +is good in 3 of each sex, fair in 3 men, rather narrow in 2 men and +1 woman. The cheek-bones are prominent in 8 men and 2 women, not +prominent in 2 and 3. The lips are moderately thin in 4, men but tend +to be thick in 2 men and 4 women. The chin is usually well developed, +but is small in 2 women. NOSE: Three men and 1 woman are mesorhine, +the rest platyrhine, 1 woman being hyper-platyrhine. The profile is +straight in 4 men and 1 woman, straight to slightly sinuous in two +men, "Chinese" in 1 woman, concave in 4 men and 3 women; blunt tips +are noted in 6 cases and depressed tips in 3; the root is moderately +high in 7 men, narrow in 2, more or less broad in 4 men and 1 woman, +rather low in 2 and 1, broad and flat in 4 women. The base is more or +less reflected in 6 men and 4 women, straight in 4 men; the alae are +small in 4 of each sex, moderate in 4 men, wide in 1 of each sex; the +nostrils are rounded in 5 of each sex, and more or less widely open in +6 men, distended in 1 man. EYES: The aperture is moderately wide in 9 +men and 4 women, and rather narrow in 1 woman; it is straight with no +fold in 4 men and 1 woman, straight with slight fold in 2 women (in one +case trace of fold in right eye only), slightly oblique with trace of +fold in 2 men and 1 woman and with fairly developed fold in 1 woman, +slightly oblique with no fold in 1 of each sex, quite oblique with +slight fold in 1 man. The colour is medium brown in 8 men and 5 women +and dark brown in 1 man. EARS: Type European in 9 men and 4 women (3 +doubtful), Negroid in one man; angle prominent in 8 men (1 doubtful), +slightly prominent in 1 man; lobule distended in all but 1 man in +whom it is medium; descending helix infolded less than 2 mm. in 9 men +and 1 woman (doubtful), 2 -- 4 mm. in 1 man; Darwin's point absent +in 6 men, inrolled knob in 1 man; tragus under 3 mm. in 4 men, being +double in 3, slightly larger in 1 of each sex being double in both, +3 -- 5 mm. in 6 men and 4 women being double in 1 man; anti-tragus +absent in 3 men and 4 women, under 3 mm. in 8 men; anti-helix below +level of helix in 5 men, about at the same level in 5 men and 1 woman. + +HAIR: It is straight in 2 women, straight to wavy in 6 men and 3 +women, wavy in 3 men. The colour is rusty black in 7 men and 3 women, +light rusty black in 1 man, dark brown in 1 man and 2 women. It is +nearly always abundant on the head, and is rather long, especially +in the women. + +SKIN: Eight are lightest cinamon (12), 1 light cinamon (14), 2 cinamon +(6), 4 pale fawn (pale 17). + +Stature: One man is of medium height, the rest are short, 2 being +under 1.5 m., the median is 1.52 (4 ft. 11 3/4 in.). Four women are +under 1.5 m., one being only 1.39 m. (4 ft. 61 in.). + +Seven MILANAU men, consisting of 6 Narom and 1 Miri, were measured. + +HEAD-FORM: All are brachycephalic, but it should be remembered that +deformation of the head is practised by these people (vol. i., p. 48), +and it is probable that the cephalic index is very rarely normal, +consequently the head indices may be neglected. Three are flat behind +and broad in the parietal region, of whom 2 are narrow in front and +1 broad, 3 are more or less ovoid. + +FACE: It is pentagonal in 4, the angle of the jaws is prominent in +1; the Miri man has an oval face pointed below, with small jaws and +alveolar prognathism. All are chamaeprosopic in regard both to total +facial and upper facial indices. The forehead is low and broad in +1, high and broad in 1, low in 1, high in 2, and rather sloping in +1. The cheek-bones are prominent in 3 and moderately large in 4. The +lips are moderately thin as a rule, in 1 they are fairly large. The +chin is rather small in 4, and fairly well formed in 3. NOSE: Four +men are mesorhine and 3 platyrhine, the highest index being 89.1. The +profile is straight in 4, with blunt tip in 2, slightly concave in 2, +and sinuous with blunt tip in 1; the root is high in 1, narrow and +moderately high in 2, broad and moderately high in 3; the base is +straight in 5, reflected in 1, and slightly concave in 1; the alae are +moderate in 3, and small in 1; the nostrils are rounded in 1, broad +in 1, moderately oval in 1. EYES: The aperture is moderately wide; +it is straight with no fold in 1, slightly oblique with no fold in 3, +more or less oblique with slight fold in 3. The colour of the iris is +medium brown in 4 and light in 2. EARS: Type European in 2, European to +Negroid in 1, European to chimpanzee in 1, chimpanzee in 1, orang in +1; angle prominent in 6, slightly prominent in 1; lobule absent in 1, +trace in 3, being adherent in 1, small in 2, medium in 1; descending +helix infolded less than 2 mm. in 6, 2 -- 4 mm. in 1; Darwin's point +absent in all; tragus under 3 mm. in 1, slightly larger in 15 3 -- +5 mm. in 5, being double in 2; anti-tragus under 3 mm. in 5, 3 -- 5 +mm. in 2; anti-helix below level of helix in 3, slightly below in 1, +about at the same level in 2, distinctly beyond in 1. + +HAIR: One man had curly hair 1 wavy, 1 straight to wavy, and 1 +straight, but the character was difficult to determine as in all +cases but one the hair was cut, being more or less closely cropped +in 2 men. The colour is noted as black in 6, and rusty black in 1, +and as fairly abundant on the head in 3; several had hair on the +face, 2 had small moustaches, 2 had moustaches and short beards, +1 had small beard and moustache and thick eyebrows. + +SKIN: Three axe cinamon (6), 1 light cinamon (14), 1 lightest cinamon +(12), and 1 pale fawn (pale 17). + +STATURE: One is of medium height, the rest are short but none are +under 1.5 m.; the median is 1.562 m. (5 ft. 1 1/2 in.). + + +III. Punan Group + +Eighteen PUNAN men and four women were measured by us and one man by +Mr. Shelford. + +HEAD-FORM: The cephalic indices show 3 men to be dolichocephalic, the +rest of the men and all the women are brachycephalic, the median being +80.9 for the men and 81.2 for the women. Two men are platycephalic +both in length-height and breadth-height, 1 is platycephalic in +length-height but mesocephalic in breadth-height, 1 is platycephalic in +length-height but hypsicephalic in breadth-height, 1 is mesocephalic +in length-height but platycephalic in breadth-height, 1 of each sex +is mesocephalic in both respects, 1 of each sex is mesocephalic +in length-height but hypsicephalic in breadth-height, 1 woman is +hypsicephalic in length-height and platycephalic in breadth-height, +the rest are hypsicephalic in both respects. The shape is usually +ovoid in the men, 2 are noted as pyriform; 3 women have round heads. + +FACE: The shape varies; it is oval in 4 men and 2 women, but owing to +the general moderate prominence of the cheek-bones and the smallness +of the chin, it becomes pentagonal (3 men) or even lozenge-shaped +or triangular (2 men); 1 woman has a broad face and 1 man a somewhat +square, while 2 men have long faces. Alveolar prognathism is noted in +1 case and superciliary ridges in 2. All are chamaeprosopic except 2 +men, 1 being leptoprosopic in regard to both total facial and upper +facial indices, the other as to upper facial only. The forehead is +upright in 3 of each sex, full in 5 men and 1 woman. The cheek-bones +are prominent in 9 men, moderate in 6 men and 2 women, broad in +1 of each sex. The lips are moderately thin except in 2 men and 1 +woman. The chin is usually fairly well formed; though small it is +not retreating in 5 men. NOSE: Eight men are mesorhine, 7 men and 3 +women platyrhine, 4 men and 1 woman hyper-platyrhine. The profile +is straight in 10 men and 1 woman, slightly concave in 6 and 1; +the root is more or less depressed in 9 men and 2 women, fairly high +and narrow in 4 men; the base is slightly reflected in 9 men and 4 +women, straight in 7 men, and slightly deflected in 2 men; the alae, +are usually moderately developed, rather thin in 4; the nostrils are +oval in 13 or rounded in 4. EYES: The aperture is moderate in 11 men +and 1 woman, small in 5 and 2; it is straight with no fold in 5 men, +slightly oblique with no fold in 3 men, slightly oblique with a slight +fold in 6 men and 3 women and with a more developed fold in 1 woman, +moderately oblique with moderate fold in 3 men and with slight fold +in 1 man. The colour is light brown in 2 men, medium in 8, dark in +6 and 1 woman. EAR: Type European in 8, European to Negroid in 4; +angle prominent in 6, more so in 2; lobule distended in 9, absent in +1, adherent in 2, being small in 1; descending helix absent in 3, +infolded less than 2 mm. in 6, rather more in 1, 2 -- 4 mm. in 2; +Darwin's point a distinct tip in 2, doubtful in 1, absent in the rest; +tragus under 3 mm. in 5, being double in 1, rather larger in 1, 3 -- +5 mm. in 7, being double in 1; anti-tragus absent in 2, trace in 1, +under 3 mm. in 10; anti-helix below level of helix in 5, about at +the same level in 8. + +HAIR: It is straight in 6 men and 3 women, straight to wavy in 2 men, +wavy in 8 men and 1 woman, wavy to curly in 1 man. The colour is +rusty black in 12 men and 1 woman, black in 5 men, and dark brown in +1 man. It is usually fairly long and abundant on the head, but in 6 +men it is noted as thin; 7 have a slight amount of hair on the face +and 1 a moderate amount on the legs. + +SKIN: Fifteen are light cinamon (14), 15 lightest cinamon (12), +11 pale fawn (pale 17), and 6 dull fawn or light brown (17). + +STATURE: Two are of medium height, the rest short, 4 men being under +1.5 m.; the median is 1.55 m. (5 ft. 1 in.). + +Three UKIT men were measured by Mr. Shelford. They are more +brachycephalic than the Punan, their median index being 83.3, but are +slightly less chamaeprosopic, 2 being leptoprosopic in regard to the +upper facial index. All 3 are mesorhine. + +The Mongolian fold is very slight in 2. All have straight black +hair. One is tall, measuring 1.735 m. (5 ft. 8 1/4 in.), the other +2 are short. + +[Fourteen PUNAN men were measured by Nieuwenhuis. + +HEAD-FORM: The cephalic indices range evenly between 77.5 and 86.1, +the median being 81.3; all except 1 are brachycephalic. + +FACE: It is broad in 5 and medium in the rest. The bi-zygomatic breadth +ranges from 132 to 145 mm., which is rather narrower than the range +obtained by us, 130 -- 154 mm. NOSE: the breadth varies between 37 and +43 mm., whereas in the Punans measured by us the range was between 34 +and 44 mm. The shape is noted as concave in 4, broad and flat in 10, +I.E. 29 percent have "depressed," "sunken," or "hollow" noses. EYES: +the Mongolian fold does not occur. The iris is dark. + +HAIR: It is uniformly straight and tends to be scanty. The colour +is black. + +SKIN: The colour is light brown in 10, brown and yellow in 2, black +or blue-black in 2. + +STATURE: None are tall, 4 are of medium height, the rest are short +1 being under 1.5 m.; the median is 1.569 m. (5 ft. 1 3/4 in.).] + + +IV. Kenyah Group + +Twenty-six KENYAH men and 6 women were measured, consisting of 6 +MADANG men, 9 Long Dallo men and 2 women, 9 Apoh men, 4 Long Sinong +women, and two other men. All these may be taken as pure Kenyahs, +and the following data are based thereon. + +HEAD-FORM: THE cephalic indices of the three groups given on Table +A range from dolichocephaly to brachycephaly, and it is interesting +to note that the Madangs, with a median of 78.1, have distinctly the +narrowest heads, intermediate are the Long Dallo men, median 80.5, +while the Apoh men, with a median of 84, have distinctly the broadest +heads. The head in all is markedly hypsicephalic both as regards the +length-height and the breadth-height indices. The shape is described +as round in 8 men, oval in 2, ovoid in 3, square in 1, pyriform in 3, +and long in 2. The 4 Long Sinong women are distinctly brachycephalic, +the mean being 83.2, but the average is 85.1, owing to one having an +index 93.8. They also are very hypsicephalic. + +FACE: Six men are recorded as having pentagonal faces, 3 broad and 3 +long; alveolar prognathism is noted in 2. All are chamaeprosopic as +regards the total facial index, and all except 1 Madang and 2 Long +Dallo men as regards the upper facial index. The forehead is upright +in 10 men, 1 is noted as bulging and 1 as sloping. The cheek-bones are +moderate in 12 men, prominent in 6 men (1 very marked) and 2 women, +and broad in 1 of each sex. The lips are, as a rule, moderately full, +but are thin in 3. The chin is fairly well developed. NOSE: One man is +leptorhine, 6 are mesorhine, 13 platyrhine, 6 hyper-platyrhine. The 2 +Long Dallo women are mesorhine, the 4 Long Sinong women are strongly +platyrhine. The profile is straight in 14 men, a few others varied. The +base is slightly reflected in 14 men, straight in 2; the alae are broad +in 5 men, small in 2, and the septum is disclosed in 2; the nostrils +are wide in 8 men, elongated in 1. EYES: The aperture is moderate in +10 men, wide in 6 men and 3 women, narrow in 7 men; it is straight with +no fold in 6 men and 1 woman and with a slight fold in 5 men, slightly +oblique with no fold in 5, and with a slight fold in 4 and 2 women, +oblique with no fold in 1. The colour is light in 2 men and 1 woman, +medium in 15 men and 1 woman, and dark in 7 men and 4 women. EARS: Data +were obtained only for the Madang. Type European in 3 (2 doubtful), +Negroid 1 (?); angle prominent 2 (?); lobule distended in 4, of medium +size in 1 (?); descending helix infolded less than 2 mm. in 2, rather +more in 1; tragus 3 -- 5 mm. in 5, being double in 1, 5 -- 7 mm. in 1; +anti-tragus absent in 1, trace in 1, under 3 mm. in 3, 3 -- 5 mm. in 1; +anti-helix below level of helix in 2, about at the same level in 1. + +HAIR: It is straight in 7 men and 1 woman, wavy in 14 men and 2 women, +curly in 2 men. The colour is dark brown in 3 men, rusty black in 15 +men and 5 women, black in 5 men and 1 woman. It is usually long and +moderately abundant on the head; face hair was observed in 2 men, +and a small amount on the body in 5. + +SKIN: The average skin colour is various shades of cinamon; 11 are +cinamon (6), 16 are light cinamon (14), 14 are lightest cinamon (12), +9 pale fawn (pale 17), 3 dull fawn or light brown (17), 6 pale pinkish +buff (11). + +STATURE: 7 men (3 Madangs, 3 Long Dallos, 1 Long Tikan) are of medium +height; the rest are short; the median is 1.61 m. (5 ft. 31 in.). The +stature of the 6 women ranges from 1.42 m. (4 ft. 8 in.) to 1.57 +m. (5 ft. 1 3/4 in.). + + +V. Kayan Group + +Twenty-one KAYAN men and 1 woman were measured. + +HEAD-FORM: The cephalic index forms a gradual series with a median +of 79.8, all except 5 being brachycephalic. The head is distinctly +hypsicephalic, only 5 being mesocephalic as regards length-height. Five +were noted as oval, 2 ovoid, 1 square ovoid, 3 round. + +FACE: The form varies, 3 being more or less pentagonal, 2 squarish, +2 round, and 5 oval. All are chamaeprosopic except 1 man in the total +facial and upper facial indices, and 1 of each sex in the upper +facial index. The forehead is upright in 6, and rounded and full +in 6. The cheek-bones are moderate in 14, and prominent in 3. The +lips are moderately full, being noted as thick in 2 men. The chin is +fairly well developed, with 3 exceptions. NOSE: Ten are mesorhine and +the remainder platyrhine, of whom 5 are hyper-platyrhine, 2 of these +latter are boys (aged 15); the excessive platyrhiny is due mainly to +the shortness of the nose in the three adults. The profile is straight +in 16 and moderately concave in 3; the root is slightly depressed in +11 and high in 6; the base is reflected in 11 and straight in 4; the +nostrils are transversely oval in 2, oval in 5, and round in 5. EYES: +The aperture is narrow in 12 and medium in 4; it Is straight with +no fold in 8 and with a slight fold in 2, slightly oblique with no +fold in 2 and with a slight fold in 6; 1 man with a straight eye and +no fold is noted as having a lash fold which is the character of a +Mongolian upper eyelid. The colour is light in 6, medium in 10, and +dark in 3. EARS: Type European in 2, European to Negroid in 3, orang +in 3; angle slightly prominent in 2; lobule distended in 5, perforated +in 2; descending helix absent in 1, infolded less than 2 mm. in 8; +Darwin's point absent; tragus under 3 mm. in 5, 3 -- 5 mm. in 4; +anti-tragus under 3 mm. in 8, 3 -- 5 mm. in 1; anti-helix below level +of helix in 4, about at the same level in 4, distinctly beyond in 1. + +HAIR: It is straight in 6, wavy in 12, wavy to curly in 1, and curly +in 1 (Pl. 22); the colour is rusty black in 12, black in 6, and dark +brown in 1. + +SKIN: The average skin colour is a light cinamon (14) or pale fawn +(pale 17). + +STATURE: All but 3 of the men are of short stature, the median being +1.550 m. (5 ft. 1 in.). + +[Forty-eight male and 30 female KAYANS were measured by Nieuwenhuis, +also 1 Mahakam Kayan of each sex. Of these 5 were boys under 16 and +5 girls under 16, who will be omitted from the description where it +is possible to distinguish them. + +HEAD-FORM: The cephalic index of the men forms a gradual series from +75 to 85.4 with 6 higher indices; 8 are dolichocephalic, the median +of the whole series of adult men being 81.1; that of the women ranges +from 75 to 93.2, with a slight weakening in the series about where the +median 82.5 occurs; one index, 97, falls considerably outside; 4 are +dolichocephalic. The Mahakam man has an index of 78.3, the woman 74. 1. + +FACE: One Kayan had a long face, 14 per cent (including children) +had broad faces, the rest were medium. In our and his Kayans the +bi-zygomatic breadth ranges from 132 to 150 mm., except that two of +his are narrower, 126 and 129 mm. NOSE: Breadth-measurements agree +with ours. Two males and 1 female are noted as having concave noses, +35 and 20 as broad and flat, 9 and 8 as straight, 1 of each sex +as narrow and straight. These characterisations are of course not +mutually exclusive. No convex noses were observed; 4 per cent are +concave ("depressed," "sunken," or "hollow"). EYES: The Mongolian +fold does not occur. The iris is always dark. + +HAIR: 28 per cent of the males and 17 per cent of the females had +wavy hair, 1 man had curly hair, the rest straight. As a rule it is +rather scanty, but 30 per cent of the Kayans had a moderate amount. The +colour is black. + +SKIN: The colour is brown or yellow. + +STATURE: Two men are tall, 6 medium and the rest short, 6 being +below 1.5 m., of whom 2 are under 18 years old; the median is 1.572 +(5 ft. 2 in.). The women over 23 average 14 cm. shorter than the men; +this is a large difference, as it is usually 10 -- 12 cm., as in our +Sarawak figures.] + + +VI. Iban (or Sea Dayaks) Group + +Fifty-six IBAN men were measured by us. + +HEAD-FORM: The cephalic index forms a gradual series, the median +being 83, and therefore shows brachycephaly. The head is usually +hypsicephalic, but 1 is platycephalic as regards breadth-height, +2 are mesocephalic both in length-height and breadth-height, 5 are +mesocephalic in length-height and 3 in breadth-height. Thirteen are +noted as round, 7 as ovoid, 4 as oval, several had broad parietal +and narrow frontal regions producing a pyriform norma verticalis. + +FACE: The form is noted as pentagonal in 10, oval in 5, broad oval +in 4, the narrowness of the jaw producing the pentagonal shape. The +majority are chaniaeprosopic, but 1 is leptoprosopic in total facial +and upper facial indices, and 7 are leptoprosopic in upper facial +index. The forehead is generally full or slightly bulging, but may be +straight and vertical; 3 are noted as being sloped. The cheek-bones +are prominent in 20, and moderately so in 24. The lips are moderately +full. The chin is small and moderately prominent. NOSE: Sixteen are +mesorhine, 21 platyrhine, and 19 hyper-platyrhine. The profile is +concave in 23, straight in 18 and nearly so in 4; the root is more +or less high in 19, more or less depressed in 20, in most cases it is +broad or moderately so; the base is straight in 24, reflected in 25, +deflected in 3; the alae are wide in 8, moderate in 6, small in 9; +the nostrils are oval in 10, transversely oval in 8, round in 13, +wide in 9. EYES: The aperture is narrow in 13, medium in 18, wide +in 3; it is straight with no fold in 10 and with a slight fold in +11, slightly oblique with no fold in 10 and with a moderate fold in +21. The majority are normal as regards the eyelashes, but 3 have a +distinct Mongolian character and 5 have it slightly. The colour is +intermediate in 25, dark in 22, light in 5, 4 cases were noted with +a bluish margin to the iris. EARS: Type European in 31, European to +Negroid in 2, Negroid in 2, orang flattened above in 1; angle slightly +prominent in 22, rather more so in 1, prominent in 8, more so in 1, +very prominent in 1; lobule distended in 10 and perforated in 5, +very small in 1, small in 13, being adherent in 4, rather small in +1, medium in 10, 1 being adherent, 2 perforated, and 1 doubtful; +descending helix absent in 2, infolded less than 2 mm. in 23, 2 -- +4 mm. in 13; Darwin's point an infolded tip in 1, an inrolled knob +in 2, absent in the rest; tragus under 3 mm. in 11, being double +in 1, slightly larger in 1, 3 -- 5 mm. in 25, being double in 3, +5 -- 7 mm. in 1; anti-tragus absent in 4, under 3 mm. in 24, 3 -- +5 mm. in 8, 5 -- 7 mm. in 1; anti-helix below level of helix in 23, +about at the same level in 15. + +HAIR: It is straight in 16, wavy in 26, curly in 2, 1 being described +as crisp. The colour is rusty black in 26, black in 17, and dark +brown in 1. Eight men had a slight amount of hair on the face; the +body hair is absent or very scanty, but one had a quantity on his legs. + +SKIN: Five are dark warm cinamon, 27 cinamon (6), 5 light cinamon +(14), 11 dull fawn (17), 11 light brown (near 17), 5 various shades of +a light greenish sepia (light 3 1), 3 a still lighter greenish sepia. + +STATURE: One man is tall, 11 are of medium stature, and the remainder +short, 2 being under 1.5 In.; the median is 1.585 m. (5 ft. 2 1/2 in.). + +Thirteen SIBUYAU men were measured by Mr. Shelford and 1 by us. + +HEAD-FORM: All but two are brachycephalic, the median being +83. Mr. Shelford did not measure the radii and so the height indices +cannot be given. + +FACE: All are chamaeprosopic with regard to the total facial index +and all except 3 in the upper facial index. + +NOSE: Two are leptorhine, 7 mesorhine, and 5 platyrhine. + +STATURE: All the men are short, 3 being under 1.5 m.; the median is +1.535 m. (5 ft. 1 in.). + + +Printed by R. & R. Clark, Limited, EDINBURGH. + + + + +WORKS ON ANTHROPOLOGY + +By PROF. J. G. FRAZER, D.C.L., LL.D., LITT.D. + +THE GOLDEN BOUGH + +A STUDY IN MAGIC AND RELIGION + +Third Edition, Revised and Enlarged. 8vo. + +Part I. THE MAGIC ART AND THE EVOLUTION OF KINGS. Two volumes. 20s. net + +,, II. TABOO AND THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. One volume. 10s. net. + +,, III. THE DYING GOD. One volume. Second Edition. 10s. net. + +,, IV. ADONIS, ATTIS, OSIRIS. One volume. Second Edition. 10s. net. + +,, V. SPIRITS OF THE CORN AND OF THE WILD. Two volumes. 20s. net. + +,, VI. THE SCAPEGOAT. [AUTUMN 1912. + +,, VII. BALDER THE BEAUTIFUL. [AUTUMN 1912. + +TOTEMISM AND EXOGAMY. A Treatise on Certain Early Forms of Superstition +and Society. With Maps. Four vols. 8vo. 50s. net. + +LECTURES ON THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE KINGSHIP. 8vo. 8s. 6d. net. + +PSYCHE'S TASK. A Discourse concerning the Influence of Superstition +on the Growth of Institutions. 8vo. 2s. 6d. net. + +THE SCOPE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY. 8vo. 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Crown +8vo. 7s. net. + +MACMILLAN AND CO., LTD., LONDON. + + + +Plates + + + +Young Kayan Chief with middle-class Companion + + + +Bruni, the pile-built Capital of the Sultans of Bruni + + + +A Jungle Path near Marudi, Baram District + + + +A Limestone Hill at Panga in Upper Sarawak + + + + + +Old Beads Worn By Kayans + +A. LUKUT SEKALA. -- Value formerly one healthy adult male slave +present value, from [pound sterling] 10 to [pound sterling] 15. + +B. LABANG PAGANG. -- Value 5s. to 15s. Used chiefly at marriage +ceremony. Kayan value in brass-ware, one gong. + +C. JEKOK0K. -- Value 15s. to 25s.; or in brass-ware, a small tawak. + +D. KELAM WIT. -- Value 15s. to 30s.; or in brass-ware, a tawak which +measures from the base of the boss to the outer edge a span between +the first finger and the thumb. Also much used in marriage ceremony. + +E. KELAM BUANG. -- Value about 15s.; much sought after and worn on +a girdle by Kayan girls. The bear bead. + +F. KELAM BUANG BUTIT TELAWA. -- The name means the bear bead with +spider's belly. Value about 15s. + +G. KAJA OBING. -- Value 15s. to 25s. + +H. KELAM SONG. -- Value from [pound sterling]4 to [pound sterling]6; +or one adult female slave. + +L KELAM. -- Kenyah. Value about 15s. + +J. LUKUT. -- Kenyah. Value about 10s., or a gong; value about ten to +fifteen ingans of PADI, or about 7 bushels. + +K. LUKUT MURIK. -- A bead used by the Murik tribe. Value about 10s. + +L. INO KALABIT. -- A Kalabit necklace. Value about [pound sterling]5; +or an adult buffalo. + +M. A single blue bead from the necklace "L." + +The yellow beads in the necklace are known as LABANG, and the blue +ones as BUNAU. The beads in the necklace are all very old ones. The +beads A to H are chiefly, though not exclusively, found among Kayans; +I and J among Kenyahs; K among Muriks (Klemantans); and the necklace +L among Kalabits (Murut). + + + + + + + + + +NOTES + +[1] -- Published in the JOURNAL OF THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, +vol. xxxi. + +[2] -- Within Borneo the distribution of the MAIAS seems to be largely +determined by his incapacity to cross a river, there being several +instances in which he occurs on the one but not on the other bank of +a river. + +[3] -- See especially the recently published HISTORY OF SARAWAK +UNDER ITS TWO WHITE RAJAHS, by S. Baring-Gould and C. A. Bampfylde, +London, 1910. + +[4] -- Crawfurd, DESCRIPTIVE DICTIONARY, p. 140. + +[5] -- Despite Crawfurd's opinion this is now an accepted +fact. Raffles's HISTORY OF JAVA contains much interesting information +on the point, and there is a remarkable statement which has not +obtained the attention that it deserves, showing that the Chinese +recognised the similarity between the Java and Soli (Nagpur) +alphabets. -- Groeneveldt, NOTES ON MALAY ARCHIPELAGO AND MALACCA; +Trubner's ESSAYS RELATING TO INDO-CHINA, vol. i. p. 166. + +[6] -- There is a Bruni still alive whose hands have been cut off +for theft. + +[7] -- This account is taken from Groeneveldt (LOC. CIT.) who, +however, supposes Poli to be on the north coast of Sumatra. In this +he follows "all Chinese geographers," adding "that its neighbourhood +to the Nicobar Islands is a sufficient proof that they are right." But +Rakshas, which may have been "for a long time the name of the Nicobar +Islands, probably on account of the wildness and bad reputation +of their inhabitants," is merely Rakshasa, a term applied by the +Hindu colonists in Java and the Malay Peninsula to any wild people, +so that the statement that to the east of Poli is situated the land +of the Rakshas is hardly sufficient support for even "all Chinese +geographers." Trusting to "modern Chinese geographers," Groeneveldt +makes Kaling, where an eight-foot gnomon casts a shadow of 2.4 +feet at noon on the summer solstice, to be Java, that is to say, +to be nearly 5[degree] south of the equator. Having unwittingly +demonstrated how untrustworthy are the modern geographers, he must +excuse others if they prefer the original authority, who states that +Poli is south-EAST of Camboja, the land of the Rakshas EAST of Poli, +to "all" geographers who state on the contrary that Poli is south-WEST +of Camboja, the Rakshas' country WEST of Poli. The name Poli appears +to be a more accurate form of Polo, the name by which Bruni is said +to have been known to the Chinese in early times. + +[8] -- Rajah Charles Brooke, TEN YEARS IN SARAWAK, quoted in Ling +Roth's valuable work, THE NATIVES OF SARAWAK AND BRITISH NORTH BORNEO, +vol. ii. p. 279. + +[9] -- E. H. Parker, CHINA, p. 33. + +[10] -- Groeneveldt, LOC. CIT. + +[11] -- Marsden, HISTORY OF SUMATRA, p. 383. + +[12] -- Than camphor, tortoiseshell, ivory, and sandal woods. + +[13] -- There is some doubt as to the date of the foundation of +Majapahit. + +[14] -- According to a Malay manuscript of some antiquity lent to +us by the late Tuanku Mudah, one of the kings (BATARA) of Majapahit +had a beautiful daughter, Radin Galo Chindra Kirana. This lady was +much admired by Laiang Sitir and Laiang Kemitir, the two sons of one +Pati Legindir. On the death of the king, Pati Legindir ruled the land +and the beautiful princess became his ward. He, to satisfy the rival +claims of his two sons, promised that whoever should kill the raja +of Balambangan (an island off the north coast of Borneo), known by +the nickname of Manok Jingga, should marry the princess. Now at the +court there happened to be Damar Olan, one of the sons of Raja Matarem, +who had disguised his high descent and induced Pati Legindir to adopt +him as his son. This young man found favour in the princess's eyes, +and she tried to persuade her guardian to let her marry him. Pati +Legindir, however, declared that he would keep to his arrangement, +and roughly told the lover to bring Manok Jingga's head before thinking +of marrying the princess. So Damar Olan set out with two followers on +the dangerous mission, which he carried out with complete success. On +his return he met his two rivals, who induced him to part with the +head of the royal victim, and then buried him alive in a deep trap +previously prepared. Pati Legindir, suspecting nothing, ordered his +ward to marry Laiang Sitir, who brought the trophy to the palace; but +the princess had learned of the treachery from one of the spectators, +and asked for a week's delay. Before it was too late, Damar Olan, who +had managed to find a way out of what nearly proved a grave, reached +the court and told his tale, now no longer concealing his rank. He +married the princess and afterwards was entrusted by Pati Legindir +with all the affairs of state. Having obtained supreme power, Damar +Olan sent his treacherous rivals to southern Borneo, with a retinue +of criminals mutilated in their ear-lobes and elsewhere as a penalty +for incest. These transported convicts, the ancestors of the Kayans, +landed near Sikudana and spread into the country between the Kapuas +and Banjermasin. It is interesting to see how this tale agrees with +other traditions. The Kayans state that they came across the sea at no +distant date. Javan history relates that Majapahit was ruled during +the minority of Angka Wijaya by his elder sister, the princess Babu +Kanya Kanchana Wungu. A neighbouring prince, known as Manok Jengga, +took advantage of this arrangement by seizing large portions of the +young king's domains. One, Daram Wulan, however, son of a Buddhist +devotee, overthrew him and was rewarded by the hand of the princess +regent. When Angka Wijaya came of age he entrusted the care of a +large part of his kingdom to his sister and brother-in-law. + +[15] -- SEJARAH MALAYA, edited by Shellabear, Singapore, 1896, p. 106. + +[16] -- Whose descendants are the Malanaus. + +[17] -- Cf. Low, JOURNAL STRAITS BRANCH ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, +vol. v. p. 1, from whose article we have obtained much interesting +material. + +[18] -- This is said to have been accomplished by Alak ber Tata's +brother, Awang Jerambok, the story of whose dealings with the Muruts +is well known both to Brunis and Muruts. He set out one day for +the head of the river Manjilin, but lost his way after crossing the +mountains. After wandering for three days he came upon a Murut village, +whose inhabitants wished to kill him. He naturally told them not to +do so, and they desisted. After some time, which he spent with these +rude folk, then not so far advanced into the interior, he so far won +their affections that they followed him to Bruni, where they were +entertained by the sovereign and generously treated. These Muruts +then induced their friends to submit. + +[19] -- Founded after the capture of Malacca by the Portuguese, +1512 A.D. (Crawfurd, DESCRIPTIVE DICTIONARY). Sultan Abdul Krahar, +great-great-grandson of Sultan Mohammed's younger brother, died about +1575 A.D. From this fact and the statement that Mohammed stopped the +Majapahit tribute, we may infer that the latter sat on the throne of +Bruni in the middle of the fifteenth century; if this inference is +correct, the story of his visit to Johore must be unfounded. + +[20] -- Some say he was never converted, others that he was summoned +to Johore expressly to be initiated into Islam. + +[21] -- He is also alleged to have seized the lady in a drunken +freak. It is stated that the Sultan was so much enraged at this that +he proposed to make war on Bruni. His minister, however, suggested +that enquiries should be made into the strength of that kingdom before +commencing operations. He was accordingly sent to Bruni, where he was +so well received that he married and remained there, with a number +of followers. Word was sent to Johore that the princess was treated +as queen and was quite happy with her husband. This appeased the +Sultan's wrath. An old friend of ours belonging to the Burong Pingai +section of Bruni, that is to say, the old commercial class, says that +his people are all descended from this Pengiran Bandahara of Johore, +and that the name Burong Pingai is derived from the circumstance that +their ancestor bad a pigeon of remarkable tameness. + +[22] -- Cf. with Dalrymple's account of the origin of the Sulu +Sultanate, JOURNAL INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO, iii. 545 and 564. See also +Lady Brassey's LAST VOYAGE, p. 165. + +[23] -- He puts the longitude 30[degree] too far east; but in his day, +of course, there were no chronometers. + +[24] -- Cited in full by Crawfurd, DESCRIPTIVE DICTIONARY OF THE +INDIAN ISLANDS. Article, "Brunai." + +[25] -- Much of the following information is extracted from an article +by J. R. Logan on European intercourse with Borneo, JOURNAL INDIAN +ARCHIPELAGO, vol. ii. p. 505. + +[26] -- The article in the JOURNAL INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO says 1702. + +[27] -- Crawfurd, DESCRIPTIVE DICTIONARY, p. 37. + +[28] -- 1811 to 1815. + +[29] -- It seems not unreasonable to conjecture that the uniformly +high physical standard of the Punans and their seemingly exceptional +immunity from disease are due to their exposed mode of life, and to the +consequently severe selection exercised upon them by their environment. + +[30] -- The Sea Dayak is exceptional in this respect; he wears a coat +of coloured cotton fibre woven in various patterns by the women. + +[31] -- See Chap. XII. + +[32] -- The turban is a head-dress which is copied from the Malays +and is rapidly spreading inland. + +[33] -- This toy cross-bow is found among Kayans. Both it and the +arrow used are very crudely made. + +[34] -- The war dress and accoutrements will be more fully described +in Chap. X. + +[35] -- Accidental tearing of the lobe inevitably occurs occasionally; +and if this is attributed to the carelessness of any other person a +brass TAWAK or gong must be paid in compensation. Repair of a torn +lobe is sometimes effected by overlapping the raw ends and keeping +them tied in this position for some weeks. + +[36] -- Some of the copper coins of Sarawak are perforated at the +centre. + +[37] -- By the Kayans the heads are suspended in a single long row +from thelower edge of a long plank, each being attached by a rattan +passed through a hole in the vertex. Many of the Klemantans hang them +in a similar way to a circular framework, and the Sea Dayaks suspend +them in a conical basket hung by its apex from the rafters. + +[38] -- The sub-tribes are the following: -- Uma Pliau, Uma Poh, Uma +Semuka, Uma Paku, and Uma Bawang, chiefly in the basin of the Baram; +in the Rejang basin -- the Uma Naving, Uma Lesong, Uma Daro; in the +Bintulu basin -- the Uma Juman; in the Batang Kayan -- the Uma Lekan; +in the Kapuas -- the Uma Ging; the Uma Belun, the Uma Blubo scattered +in several river-basins; and one other group in the Madalam river, +and one in the Koti. + +[39] -- All the Kenyahs of the Baram are known as Kenyah Bauh. On +the watershed between the Batang Kayan and the Baram are the Lepu +Payah and the Madang. In the Batang Kayan basin are the Lepu Tau, +the Uma Kulit, Uma Lim, Uma Baka, Uma Jalan, Lepu Tepu. In the Koti +basin are the Peng or Pnihing; in the Rejang the Uma Klap. These are +the principal branches of the pure Kenyahs; each of them comprises a +number of scattered villages, the people of each of which have adopted +some local name. In addition to these there is a number of groups, +such as the Uma Pawa and the Murik in the Baram, and the Lepu Tokong +and the Uma Long in the Batang Kayan, the people of which seem to us to +be intermediate as regards all important characters between the Kenyahs +and the Klemantans. (For discussion of these relations see Chap. XXI.) + +[40] -- For the marriage ceremony see Chap. XVIII. + +[41] -- We take this opportunity of contradicting in the most emphatic +manner a very misleading statement which of all the many misleading +statements about the peoples of Borneo that are in circulation is +perhaps the most frequently repeated in print. The statement makes +its most recent reappearance in Professor Keane's book THE WORLD'S +PEOPLES (published in 1908). There it is written of the "Borneans" +that "No girl will look at a wooer before he has laid a head or two +at her feet." To us it seems obvious that this state of affairs could +only obtain among a hydra-headed race. The statement is not true of any +one tribe, and as regards most of the "Borneans" has no foundation in +fact. Applied to the Sea Dayaks alone has the statement an element of +truth. Among them to have taken a head does commonly enhance a wooer's +chances of success, and many Sea Dayak girls and their mothers will +taunt a suitor with having taken no head, but few of them will make +the taking of a head an essential condition of the bestowal of their +favour or of marriage. A mother will remark to a youth who is hanging +about her daughter, BISI DALAM, BISI DELUAR BULI DI TANYA ANAK AKU +(When you have the wherewithal to adorn both the interior and the +exterior of a room (I.E. jars within the room and heads without in +the gallery) you can then ask for my child). + +[42] -- For the naming ceremony see Chap. XVIII. + +[43] -- It is not rare to find that a child does not know the original +names of his parents, and even husbands may be found to have forgotten +the original names of their wives. + +[44] -- We append to this chapter a table showing the names and +degrees of kinship of all the inhabitants of one Kenyah long house. At +the suggestion of Dr. W. H. R. Rivers, who has found this method +of great value in disentangling the complicated kinship systems +of some Melanesian and Papuan and other peoples, we have collected +similar information regarding Kayan, Sea Dayak, Klemantan, and Murut +villages. But in no case does the table discover any trace of any +elaborate kinship system. + +[45] -- They are skilled woodmen, and know how to cut a tree so as +to ensure its falling in any desired manner; the final strokes cut +away the ends of the narrow portion of the stem remaining between +the upper and lower notches. + +[46] -- See Chap. X. + +[47] -- See Chap. XVII. + +[48] -- The same connection of ideas is illustrated by the practice of +sterile women who desire children sleeping upon the freshly gathered +ears in the huts in the fields. + +[49] -- See Chap. XVIII. + +[50] -- See Chap. V. + +[51] -- See Chap. XVII. + +[52] -- See Chap. XV. + +[53] -- There are said to be two other less common species of wild pig, +but probably there is only one other. + +[54] -- A good account, taken mainly from Skertchly, of many traps may +be found in Mr. Ling Roth's well-known work, THE NATIVES OF SARAWAK +AND BRITISH NORTH BORNEO, London, 1896; and also in McPherson's work +on FOWLING. + +[55] -- A stick of this kind is used in many rites. It is prepared by +whittling shavings from a stick and leaving them attached at one end; +so that a series of the shavings projects along one side of the stick. + +[56] -- A similar practice prevails in the Malay Peninsula. + +[57] -- On one occasion on which a race between twenty-two of these +war-boats was rowed at Marudi on the Baram river, we timed the +winning-boat over the down-stream course of four and half miles. The +time was twenty-two minutes thirteen seconds. + +[58] -- There is no reason to suppose that the Kayan augurs have not +complete faith in the significance of the omens, and in the reality +of the protection afforded by the favourable omen-birds, which they +speak of as upholding them. Nevertheless, there can be no doubt +that the strong faith of the people in the omen-birds, and the awe +inspired by them, is very favourable to the maintenance of discipline +and obedience to the chiefs, and that this fact is appreciated by the +chiefs. The cult of the omen-birds, which hampers the undertakings of +these peoples at almost every turn, and which might seem to be wholly +foolish and detrimental, thus brings two great practical advantages: +namely, it inspires confidence, and it promotes discipline and a strong +sense of collective unity and responsibility. It is not improbable, +then, that the advantages of this seemingly senseless cult outweigh +its drawbacks, which in the shape of endless delays and changes of +plans are by no means small. + +[59] -- So far as we know this is the only way in which the bow +and arrow is used in Borneo, although the principle of the bow is +frequently applied in making traps. It is perhaps worthy of remark +that the dense character of the jungle is probably more favourable +to use of the blow-pipe than to that of the bow and arrow. + +[60] -- It is probable that the observation of this practice by +Europeans has given rise to the frequently published statements +that the tribes of the interior are cannibals. We affirm with some +confidence that none of the peoples of Borneo ever consume human +flesh as food. It is true that Kayans, Kenyahs, and Klemantans will +occasionally consume on the spot a tiny piece of the flesh of a +slain enemy for the purpose of curing disorders, especially chronic +cough and dysentery; and that Ibans, men or women, during the mad +rejoicings over captured heads will occasionally bite a head, or +even bite a piece of flesh from it. A third practice involving the +consumption of human flesh was formerly observed among the Jingkangs +(Klemantans of Dutch Borneo); when a son was seriously ill and the +efforts of the medicine-men proved ineffective, an infant sister of +the patient was killed and a small piece of the flesh given to the +patient to eat. It would, we think, be grossly unfair to describe +any of these peoples as cannibals on account of these practices. + +[61] -- At one such feast eighty-five pigs and fifty-six fowls were +slaughtered. + +[62] -- See footnote, vol. i., p. 76. + +[63] -- The Malays of Bruni and the other coast settlements have, of +course, used iron, and perhaps to some small extent forged it, since +the time when they adopted Arab civilisation; but they have not at any +time practised the smelting of iron ore. Between three and five hundred +years ago the principal currency of the people of Bruni consisted +of small oblong flattened pieces of iron known as SAPANGGAL (about 2 +[ERROR: unhandled ×] 1 [ERROR: unhandled ×] 1/4 inches) +bearing the Sultan's stamp. This iron was probably obtained from +Chinese and other foreign traders, and was worked up into implements. + +[64] -- The convenience of thus floating the timber is one reason for +the general tendency shown by Kayans to migrate gradually down river. + +[65] -- This is an example of a very common type of practice which +implies the belief that the attributes of any object will attach +themselves to any whole into which the object may be incorporated as +a part; thus a hunter who has shot dead a pig or deer with a single +bullet will cut out the bullet to melt it down with other lead, and +will make a fresh batch of bullets or slugs from the mixture, believing +that the lucky bullet will leaven the whole lump, or impart to all +of it something of that to which its success was due. Compare also +the similar practice in regard to the seed grain (vol. i., p. 112). + +[66] -- The pair of centre columns and the main columns supporting the +roof back and front should have been drawn thicker than the accessory +columns supporting the floor, and the width of the roof-plates is +much greater than is indicated in the diagrams. + +[67] -- Some Kayans habitually speak of most of the dog-patterns by +the term USANG ORANG (which means the prawn's head). This indicates +possibly some gradual substitution of designs of the one origin for +those of the other. + +[68] -- "Materials for a Study of Tatu in Borneo," by Charles Hose +and R. Shelford, J.R.A.I. vol. xxxvi. Here also we have to thank +the Council of the Royal Anthropological Institute for permission to +republish part of this paper, and to reproduce the plates and figures +accompanying it. The reference figures of this section refer to the +bibliographical list at the end of this chapter. + +[69] -- Since these pages were printed we have had to mourn the loss +of our friend and fellow-worker, cut off in the early summer of a +life strenuously devoted to scientific research. + +[70] -- Nieuwenhuis also notes (9, p. 451) that men in the course +of their travels amongst other tribes permit themselves to be tatued +with the patterns in vogue with their hosts. + +[71] -- These figures refer to the bibliography printed at the end +of this chapter, vol. i., p. 280. + +[72] -- The Sea Dayaks often employ for the same reason a carpal bone +of the mouse-deer (TRAGULUS). + +[73] -- See also Haddon (4, Fig. 2), and Nieuwenhuis (8, Pls. XXV. and +XXVI.); the designs figured in the latter work are not very easy to +interpret, the lower of the two rosette figures looks as if it was +derived from four heads of dogs fused together. See also Ling Roth +(7, p. 85). + +[74] -- In ancient days when a great Kayan or Klemantan chief built +a new house, the first post of it was driven through the body of +a slave; this sacrifice to a tutelary deity is no longer offered, +but a human figure is frequently carved on the post of a house and +may be a relic of the old custom; the figure is called TEGULUN. Sea +Dayak anthropomorphs are termed ENGKRAMBA and appear in cloths and +bead-work designs, also in carvings on boundary marks, witch-doctor's +baskets, etc. + +[75] -- We apply the term SERIAL to those designs in which the units +of the pattern are repeated, or in which the units follow each other +in serial order; the UDOH ASU on a Kayan man's thigh is an ISOLATED +design, but the design on his hands is a SERIAL design. + +[76] -- Cf. Ling Roth (7, p. 34) and Nieuwenhuis (9, Pl. 32). + +[77] -- The Sea Dayak word TELINGAI or KELINGAI has the same meaning. + +[78] -- The prices in the Baram river are much higher than in the +Mendalam, where a gong can only be demanded by an artist of twenty +years' experience; less experienced artists have to be content with +beads and cloth (9, p. 452). + +[79] -- The wooden block is carefully cut square, and the design +occupies the whole of one surface; this is characteristic of the +blocks of female designs, whereas designs for male tatu are carved +on very roughly shaped blocks and do not always occupy the whole of +one surface. Since the female designs have to be serially repeated it +is important that the blocks should be of the exact required size, +otherwise the projecting parts of the uncarved wood would render +the exact juxtaposition of the serially repeated impressions very +difficult, whilst the isolated male designs can be impressed on the +skin in a more or less haphazard way. + +[80] -- The drawing is taken from a rubbing of a model carved by an +Uma Lekan; this will account for the asymmetry noticeable every here +and there throughout the design. A print from an actual tatu-block is +shown in Pl. 139, Fig. 7; this would be repeated serially in rows down +the front and sides of the thigh, so that absolute uniformity would be +attained; the carver of the model, which was about one-sixth life size, +has not been able to keep the elements of his design quite uniform. + +[81] -- For other examples of modified ASU designs employed by Kenyah +tribes, see E. B. Haddon (4, pp. 117, 118). + +[82] -- By this name we denote those Kenyah tribes which stand +nearest to the Klemantans and furthest from the Kayans in respect of +customs. Cf. Chap. XXI. + +[83] -- The names of the designs are given in Kayan. + +[84] -- The same author states that "a sometime headman of Senendan +had two square tattoo marks on his back. This was because he ran away +in a fight, and showed his back to the enemy." This explanation seems +to us most improbable. + +[85] -- As an instance of a quite opposite effect produced by a mark +on the forehead, we may note here, that some Madangs who had crossed +over from the Baram to the Rejang on a visit, appeared each with a +cross marked in charcoal on his forehead; they supposed that by this +means they were disguised beyond all recognition by evil spirits. The +belief that such a trivial alteration of appearance is sufficient +disguise is probably held by most tribes; Tama Bulan, a Kenyah chief, +when on a visit to Kuching, discarded the leopard's teeth, which when +at home he wore through the upper part of his ears, and the reason +that he alleged was the same as that given by the Madang. These people +believe not only that evil spirits may do them harm whilst they are on +their travels, but also that, being encountered far from their homes, +the spirits will take advantage of their absence to work some harm +to their wives, children, or property. + +[86] -- Dr. Schmeltz has kindly furnished us with an advance sheet +of his forthcoming catalogue of the Borneo collection in the Leyden +Museum; he catalogues these drawings as tatu marks, but in a footnote +records our opinion of them made by letter. Dr. Nieuwenhuis apparently +adheres to the belief that they really are tatu marks. + +[87] -- Mr. E. B. Haddon (4, p. 124) writes: "The tattoo design used by +the Kayans and Kenyahs ... has been copied and adopted by the Ibans in +the same way as the Kalamantans have done, the main difference being, +that the Ibans call the design a scorpion. FOR THIS REASON THE PATTERN +TENDS TO BECOME MORE AND MORE LIKE THE SCORPION ... ." The italics are +ours. Is not this "putting the cart before the horse"? It is only when +the design resembles a scorpion that the term SCORPION is applied to +it; all other modifications, even though tending towards the scorpion, +are called DOG; PRAWN, or CRAB. + +[88] -- The following statement, which was written by us of the Kenyahs +in a former publication, holds good also of the Kayans: "They may +be said to attribute a soul or spirit to almost every natural agent +and to all living things, and they pay especial regard those that +seem most capable of affecting their welfare for good or ill. They +feel themselves to be surrounded on every hand y spiritual powers, +which appear to them to be concentrated in those objects to which their +attention is directed by practical needs; adopting a mode of expression +familiar to psychologists, we may say that they have differentiated +from a 'continuum' of spiritual powers a number of spiritual agents +with very various degrees of definiteness. Of these the less important +are very vaguely conceived, but are regarded as being able to bring +harm to men, who must therefore avoid giving offence to them, and must +propitiate them if they should by ill-change have been offended. The +more important, assuming individualised and anthromorphic forms and +definite functions, receive proper names, are in some cases represented +by rude images, and become the recipients of prayer and sacrifice" +(JOURN. OF ANTHROP. INSTITUTE, vol. xxxi. p. 174). + +[89] -- If the dead man possessed no sufficiently presentable +garments, these may be supplied by friends. This last act of respect +and friendship has not infrequently been permitted to one of us. + +[90] -- See vol. ii. p. 29. + +[91] -- See vol. ii. p. 61. + +[92] -- See vol. ii., p. 137. + +[93] -- For the views of an individual Kayan on Laki Tenangan, see +vol. ii., p. 74. + +[94] -- See vol. ii., p. 53. + +[95] -- See Chap. X. + +[96] -- The idea of giving up a valued possession to the god or +spirit in order to appease or propitiate him seems to underlie +a curious rite formerly practised by the JINGKANGS, a Klemantan +sub-tribe living on the great Kapuas river. These people, like most +of the peoples of Borneo, value their male children more highly than +their female children. If a boy seems to be at the point of death, +and if all other efforts to restore him have proved unavailing, the +relatives would kill an infant sister of the boy, and would cause the +boy to eat a small bit of the roasted flesh. The intention seems to +be to appease some malevolent spirit that is causing the sickness; +and the eating of the flesh seems to be considered necessary in order +to connect the sacrifice clearly with the sick child. + +[97] -- Cf. vol. ii., p. 75, for the statement of a Kayan on this +question. + +[98] -- See vol. ii., p. 138. + +[99] -- See vol. ii., p. 29, for usage of this word. + +[100] -- This relation is illustrated by the fact that among the +charms and objects of virtue which the Kenyahs hang beside the heads +in the galleries of their houses, or over the fireplaces in their +rooms, are to be found in many houses one or two specimens of stone +axe-heads. The original use of these objects is not known to the +great majority of their possessors, who regard them as teeth dropped +from the jaw of the thunder-god, BALINGO. It is generally claimed +that some ancestor found these stones and added them to the family +treasures. A man who possesses such "teeth," carries them with him +when he goes to war. The Madang chief TAMA KAJAN ODOH, mentioned in +the following note as claiming descent from Balingo, possessed the +unusual number of ten such teeth. The credit of having first obtained +specimens of these stones from the houses belongs to Dr. A. C. Haddon, +who discovered a specimen in a Klemantan house of the Baram basin +in the year 1899. The existence of such Stones in native houses in +Dutch Borneo had been reported by Schwaner many years before that date. + +[101] -- When questioned as to this claim, he gave us at once without +hesitation the names in order of the ancestors of nineteen generations +through whom he traces his descent from Balingo. It is perhaps +worth while to transcribe the list as taken down from his lips in +ascending order: -- KAJAN, TAMA KAJAN ODOH, SIGO, APOI, BAUM ([ERROR: +unhandled ♀]), ODOH SINAN ([female]), ALONG, +APOI, LAKING, LAKING GILING, GILING SINJAN, SINJAN PUTOH, PUTOH ATI, +ATI AIAI JALONG, BALARI, UMBONG DOH ([female]), +KUSUN PATU BALINGO. This succession of names, it will be noticed, +is consistent with the custom, common to the Kenyahs and Kayans, +of naming the father after his eldest child. + +[102] -- There are four words used by the Kayans to express the notion +of the forbidden act, MALAN, LALI, PARIT, and TULAH. All these are +used as adjectives qualifying actions rather than things; but they +are not strictly synonymous terms. MALAN and PARIT seem to be true +Kayan words; LALI and TULAH to have been taken from the Malay, and to +be used generally by Kayans in speaking with Kenyahs or men of other +tribes to whom these words are more familiar than the Kayan terms. + +MALAN applies rather to acts involving risks to the whole community, +PARIT to those involving risk to the individual committing the +forbidden act: thus, during harvest it is MALAN for any stranger to +enter the house, and the whole house or village is said to be MALAN; +but it is PARIT for a child to touch one of the images. Again, it is +not MALAN for the proper persons to touch the dried heads on certain +occasions, but it is always in some degree PARIT for the individual, +and for this reason the task is generally assigned to an elderly +man. LALI and TULAH seem to be the LINGUA FRANCA equivalents of MALAN +and of PARIT respectively. + +[103] -- "The Relations between Men and Animals in Sarawak," +J. ANTH. INST. vol. xxxi. + +[104] -- We are not aware that the "bull-roarer" is put to any other +uses than this by any of the tribes. + +[105] -- See Chap. XIII. + +[106] -- Vol. ii., p. 120. + +[107] -- The word BALI is used on a great variety of occasions, +generally as a form of address, being prefixed to the proper name +or designation of the being addressed or spoken of. The being thus +addressed is always one having special powers of the sort that +we should call supernatural, and the prefix serves to mark this +possession of power. It may be said to be an adjectival equivalent +of the MANA of the Melanesians or of the WAKANDA or ORENDA of North +American tribes, words which seem to connote all power other than +the Purely mechanical. It seems not improbable that the word BALI has +entered the Kayan language from a Sanskrit source; for in Sanskrit it +was prefixed to the names of priests and heroes. The word is even more +extensively used by the Kenyahs, who prefix it to the names of several +of their gods; and the Klemantans use the word VALI in the same way. + +[108] -- This procedure seems to be one of the many varieties of +"crystal gazing" that are practised among many peoples; and it +seems probable that the DAYONG, in some cases at least, experiences +hallucinatory visions of the scenes that he so vividly describes as +he gazes on the polished metal. The sword so used becomes the property +of the DAYANG. + +[109] -- These beads seem to be designed for use by the ghost in +paying for its passage across the river of death. + +[110] -- Among some of the peoples it is customary to beat a big gong +while this operation is in progress, or, in the case of a woman, a +drum, in order to announce to the inhabitants of the other world the +coming of the recently deceased. The beating of gongs is in general +use for signalling from house to house. + +[111] -- Small articles specially valued by the deceased are enclosed +in the coffin; thus, OYANG LUHAT, a Kayan PENGHULU (see Chap. XXII.), +who bled slowly to death from an accidentally inflicted wound, gave +strict instructions as he lay dying that his certificate of office +bearing the Rajah's signature and his Sarawak flag, the public badge +of his office, should be put in his coffin with his body; and there +can be no reasonable doubt that he hoped to display them, or rather +their ghostly replicas, in the other world. As a clear instance of +such belief it seems worth while to mention the following case. One +of us had given some coloured prints to a Kayan boy, an only son to +whom his parents were much attached. On a subsequent visit he was +told by the bereaved mother that the child had been very fond of the +pictures, and that she had put them in his coffin because she knew +that he would like to look at them in the other world. + +[112] -- Among Klemantans it is usual to spoil all articles hung upon +a tomb; and they give the reason that in the other world everything +is the opposite of what it is here: the spoilt shall be perfect, the +new and unspoilt shall be old and damaged, and so on. It is probable +that the real or original motive for this practice is the desire to +avoid placing temptations to theft in the way of strangers. + +[113] -- Among some of the Klemantan tribes the opposite practice of +shaving the whole scalp is observed in mourning. + +[114] -- In some of the remoter forts of the Sarawak government old +heads that have been confiscated are kept, and are occasionally lent +for the purpose of enabling a village to go out of mourning without +shedding human blood. + +[115] -- When pressed in private after a ceremony of this kind, +a certain DAYONG admitted to us that perhaps, if we should look +into the house, we should see the food apparently untouched; but he +maintained that nevertheless all the strength or essence of the food +would have been consumed, the husks merely being left. + +[116] -- Apparently it is not that the DAYONG claims to be "possessed" +by the soul of the dead man; for from time to time he inclines his ear +again to the soul-house to catch the faint voice of the ghost. We know +of no cases in which it is claimed that the body of a living man is +"possessed" by a departed soul. + +[117] -- Cases occur among the Kayans, though but rarely. The method +most employed is to stab a knife into the throat. + +[118] -- In one such case the body was laid out in the gallery of the +house and preparations for the funeral were far advanced, when one of +us (C. H.) arrived. On glancing at the alleged corpse he suspected that +life was not extinct, and succeeded, by the application of ammonia +to the nostrils, in restoring the entranced Kayan to animation, +and shortly to a normal condition of health. + +[119] -- The man mentioned in the foregoing footnote had given to a +DAYONG (no doubt in response to leading questions) a circumstantial +account of adventures of this kind, before we had an opportunity of +questioning him after an interval of some ten days. He then admitted +that he could remember nothing clearly. + +[120] -- The cry of this species is peculiar; it terminates with an +interrupted series of cries that sound like mocking laughter. + +[121] -- See below, vol. ii. p. 130. + +[122] -- The incident was reported by Dr. Hose to the British Consul +at Bruni, who entered an effective warning against repetitions of +such acts. + +[123] -- A dangerous madman is generally kept shut up in a large +strong cage in the gallery of the house. + +[124] -- It is believed that the tatuing on the woman's hands and +forearms illuminates for the ghost dark places traversed on the +journey to the other world. + +[125] -- Coco-nuts are commonly opened by two blows with a sword +struck upon opposite sides, and it seems probable that the method of +splitting the jar was suggested by this practice. + +[126] -- In this chapter we have departed from our rule of describing +first and most fully the facts and beliefs of the Kayan people, because +before planning this book we had paid special attention to this topic, +and had obtained fuller information in regard to the Kenyahs than to +other peoples, and had published this in the form of a paper in the +JOURNAL OF THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE ("The Relations between +Men and Animals in Sarawak," J. ANTH. INSTIT. vol. xxxi.). This +paper, modified and corrected in detail, forms the substance of this +chapter. We wish to epxress our thanks to the Council of the Royal +Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland for permission +to make use of this paper. + +[127] -- We find that the practices of these people in connection with +omens or auspices so closely resemble those of the early Romans that +it seems worth while to draw attention to these resemblances, and we +therefore quote in footnotes some passages from Dr. Smith's DICTIONARY +OF CLASSICAL ANTIQUITIES, referring to the practice of the Romans: +"In the most ancient times no transaction, whether private or public, +was performed without consulting the auspices, and hence arose the +distinction of AUSPICIA PRIVATA and AUSPICIA PUBLICA." + +[128] -- See Chap. XXII. + +[129] -- "No one but a patrician could take the auspices." + +[130] -- "Romulus is represented to have been the best of augurs, +and from him all succeeding augurs received the chief mark of their +office." + +[131] -- "Hence devices were adopted so that no ill-omened sound +should be heard, such as blowing a trumpet during the sacrifice." + +[132] -- "The person who has to take them (the auspices) first marked +out with a wand ... a division of the heavens called 'templum,' +... within which he intended to make his observations." + +[133] -- "It was from Jupiter mainly that the future was learnt, +and the birds were regarded as his messengers." + +[134] -- "The Roman auspices were essentially of a practical nature; +they gave no information respecting the course of future events, they +did not inform men what was to happen, but simply taught them whether +they were to do or not to do the matter purposed; they assigned no +reason for the decision of Jupiter, they simply announced -- Yes +or No." + +[135] -- "It was only a few birds which could give auguries among +the Romans. They were divided into two classes: Oscines, those which +gave auguries by singing or their voice; and Alites, those which +gave auguries by their flight." "There were considerable varieties +of omen according to the note of the Oscines or the place from which +they uttered the note; and similarly among the Alites, according to +the nature of their flight." + +[136] -- "They endeavoured to learn the future, especially in war, +by consulting the entrails of victims." + +[137] -- This phrase as commonly used implies the exchange of +greetings. + +[138] -- See Chap. XII. + +[139] -- Of the Romans it is said: "When a fox, a wolf, a serpent, +a horse, a dog, or any other kind of quadruped, ran across a person's +path or appeared in an unusual place, it formed an augury." + +[140] -- JOURN. OF STRAITS ASIATIC SOCIETY, Nos. 8, 10, and 14. + +[141] -- See Chap. XXII. + +[142] -- See Chap. XVII. + +[143] -- In the paper from which the greater part of this chapter is +extracted this word was spelt NYARONG. It is now clear to us that it +should be spelt as above, with the initial NG, a common initial sound +in the Sea Dayak language. The most literal translation of the word +is, the thing that is secret, or simply, the secret, or my secret. + +[144] -- Almost every Iban possesses and constantly carries with +him a bundle of such objects; they are regarded as charms and are +called PENGAROH; but few probably claim to enjoy the protection of +a secret helper. + +[145] -- INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE PSYCHOLOGY, and elsewhere. + +[146] -- Now that the sacrifice of human victims is forbidden, Kenyahs +and Klemantans sometimes carve a human figure upon the first of the +main piles of a new house to be put into the ground. + +[147] -- See vol. ii., p. 4. + +[148] -- Quoted in Mr. Frazer's TOTEMISM, 1st ed., 1887, p. 8. + +[149] -- Aban Jau possessed a large curiously shaped pig's tusk which +he wore on his person in the belief that any firearm fired at it would +not go off. It is probable that his belief in this charm was connected +with his belief in the dream-pig. The belief was very genuine, until +in a moment of excessive confidence he hanged the tusk upon a tree and +invited one of us to fire at it. The tusk was shattered. Aban Jau said +nothing; but presumably a process of disintegration began in his mind; +for after some hours he remarked that his charm had lost its power. + +[150] -- Dr. Boas is of the opinion that the totems of the Indians +of British Columbia have been developed from the personal MANITOU, +the guardian animals acquired by youths in dreams. Miss A. C. Fletcher +is led to a similar conclusion by a study of the totems of the Omaha +tribe of Indians (IMPORT OF THE TOTEM, Salem, Mass., 1897). The facts +described above in connection with the NGARONG of the Ibans and similar +allied institutions among other tribes of Sarawak would seem, then, +to support the views of these authors as to the origin of totemism. + +[151] -- Sixteen different methods, most of which combine the notion +of soul-catching with that of exorcism, are enumerated and described +by Mr. E. H. Gomes in his recent work, SEVENTEEN YEARS AMONGST THE +DAYAKS OF BORNEO. + +[152] -- In a recent note in the JOURNAL OF THE SARAWAK MUSEUM, +Jan. 1911, Mr. W. Howell states that the power of TAU TEPANG is +supposed to be transmitted in certain families from generation to +generation; that the head of a TAU TEPANG man leaves his body at +night and goes about doing harm, especially to the crops; that the +power is passed on to a child of a TAU TEPANG family by the mother, +who touches the cut edge of the child's tongue with her spittle. + +[153] -- Cf. BAWANG DAHA, the lake of blood of the Kayan Hades, +vol. ii., p. 40. + +[154] -- The people are naturally reticent about this rite. The +facts were brought to our knowledge by a case which is instructive +in several ways. A Sebop had murdered a Chinese trader and taken +his head. He was ordered to surrender himself for trial at the fort +within the space of one month, and informed that he would be taken +alive or dead if he failed to present himself. He refused and took +to the jungle. Upon which one of the up-country chiefs (Tama Bulan) +was commissioned to arrest him. The murderer was found in the jungle +and called on to surrender, but refused, and died fighting. At this +his brother was enraged against the chief and made the TEGULUN against +him; and being at a distance from his victim, the man was at no pains +to keep the matter secret, and it came to the ears of the chief. He, +although the most enlightened native in the country, felt uneasy +under this terrific malediction and complained to the Resident, +who insisted on a public taking back or taking off of the curse. + +[155] -- A free translation runs: -- + + +"O holy DAYONG; thou who lovest mankind, +Bring back thy servant from Leman, +The region between the lands of life and death, +O holy DAYONG." + + + +[156] -- See vol. ii., p. 11. + +[157] -- Although breach of custom and of LALI by any individual may +bring misfortune on the whole household, the offending individual is +regarded as specially liable to wasting sickness with diarrhoea and +spitting of blood. + +[158] -- We have a wooden image of this being. It is rudely +anthropomorphic, and is covered with fish-like scales. Its sex is +indeterminate. He is supposed to ascend the river from the sea, +kneeling on the back of a sting-ray. + +[159] -- The sword handle is sometimes made of hard wood, but +generally of deer's horn, very elaborately carved (see Pl. 129). It +seems possible that this elaborate carving which, in spite of many +minor variations, is of only two fundamental types, is or was at one +time connected with this myth. But we have not been able to get any +statement to this effect. + +[160] -- The creeper is here regarded as the male partner. + +[161] -- Cf. an Iban story given in Perham's "Sea-Dayak Gods," +J.S.B.R.A. SOC. ix. 236. + +[162] -- This greeting of the passer-by and the charging him with +some commission is very characteristic of the Ibans. + +[163] -- A form of trial by ordeal occasionally practised by Ibans +and other tribes. + +[164] -- This refers to the difference of colour between the carapace +and the plastron. + +[165] -- Refers to the flat under surface contrasting with the +rounded back. + +[166] -- See vol. i. p. 139. + +[167] -- This is the only mention of rain-making that has come to +our notice among any of the Borneans. + +[168] -- This notion of an atmosphere or "odour" of virtue attaching +to material objects pervades the thought and practice of Kayans. As +another illustration of it, we may remark that a Kayan will wear for +a long time, and will often refuse to wash, a garment which has been +worn and afterwards given to him by a European whom he respects. + +[169] -- We give the original and translation of one such lullaby: -- + + +"Megiong ujong bayoh +Mansip anak yap -- cheep, cheep. +Lematei telayap, +Telayap abing, +Lematei Laki Laying oban, +Lematei Laki Punan oban." + + +The translation runs: -- + + +"The branches of the bayoh tree are swaying +With the sound of little chicks-cheep, cheep, +The lizards are dead, +There are no lizards any more, +Gray-haired Laki Laying is dead, +The old jungle man is dead." + + +The reference to the Punan in this lullaby may be explained by saying +that the children are frightened sometimes by being told that the +jungle man will take them. + +[170] -- The PENGHULU is the leading chief of a district; +cf. Chap. XXII. + +[171] -- Even when in tatuing blood is drawn, as almost inevitably +occurs, beads are given the tatuer to indemnify her and make it clear +that the deed was not intended. + +[172] -- It came into use, no doubt, through the hospitable offering +of cigarettes by the women of the household. + +[173] -- The omen birds are not consulted in the hope of obtaining +favourable omens; but rather special events are regarded as of evil +omen; such are any outbreak of fire in the house, any fatal accident +to any member of the house, the repeated crying of the muntjac +(the barking deer) about the house. In one instance known to us the +attractive daughter of a Kenyah chief had three times been compelled +by series of bad omens to break off the betrothals. + +[174] -- Some few communities of Punans live in the large caves of +the limestone mountains; it seems possible that this is a survival of +a very ancient custom that preceded the making of shelters, however +rude; but we know of no facts which can be regarded as supporting this +view, save that we have found human bones of uncertain age in several +caves. Some of these caves have undoubtedly been used as burial-places, +possibly during epidemics of cholera or smallpox. + +[175] -- See Chap. XXI. + +[176] -- Perhaps the most commonly used is a double-ended spatula. With +this the head of the family stirs the boiled sago, and then conveys +it to his own mouth on one end and to his wife's mouth on the other. + +[177] -- Formerly, they say, they cooked in green bamboos; and this +is still done occasionally. They also occasionally boil their sago +in the large cups of the pitcher-plant (NEPENTHES). + +[178] -- This occurrence of incest between couples brought up +in the same household is, of course, difficult to reconcile with +Prof. Westermarck's well-known theory of the ground of the almost +universal feeling against incest, namely that it depends upon +sexual aversion or indifference engendered by close proximity during +childhood. But medical men who have experience of slum practice in +European towns can supply similar evidence in large quantity. And the +medical psychologists of the school of Freud could cite much evidence +against this theory. + +We cannot refrain from throwing out here a speculative suggestion +towards the explanation of the feeling against incest which seems +to find support in certain of the facts of this area. It seems to +us that the feeling with which incest is regarded is an example +of a feeling or sentiment engendered in each generation by law +and tradition, rather than a spontaneous reaction of individuals, +based on some special instinct or innate tendency. The occurrence +of incest between brothers and sisters, and the strong feeling of +the Sea Dayaks against incest between nephew and aunt (who often are +members of distinct communities), are facts which seem to us fatal to +Prof. Westermarck's theory, as well as to point strongly to the view +that the sentiment has a purely conventional or customary source. Now, +if we accept some such view of the constitution of primitive society as +has been suggested by Messrs. Atkinson and Lang (PRIMAL LAW), namely, +that the social group consisted of a single patriarch and a group of +wives and daughters, over all of whom he exercised unrestricted power +or rights; we shall see that the first step towards the constitution of +a higher form of society must have been the strict limitation of his +rights over certain of the women, in order that younger males might +be incorporated in the society and enjoy the undisputed possession +of them. The patriarch, having accepted this limitation of his rights +over his daughters for the sake of the greater security and strength +of the band given by the inclusion of a certain number of young males, +would enforce all the more strictly upon them his prohibition against +any tampering with the females of the senior generation. Thus very +strict prohibitions and severe penalties against the consorting of the +patriarch with the younger generation of females, I.E. his daughters, +and against intercourse between the young males admitted to membership +of the group and the wives of the patriarch, would be the essential +conditions of advance of social organisation. The enforcement of these +penalties would engender a traditional sentiment against such unions, +and these would be the unions primitively regarded as incestuous. The +persistence of the tendency of the patriarch's jealousy to drive his +sons out of the family group as they attained puberty would render +the extension of this sentiment to brother-and-sister unions easy +and almost inevitable. For the young male admitted to the group would +be one who came with a price in his hand to offer in return for the +bride he sought. Such a price could only be exacted by the patriarch +on the condition that he maintained an absolute prohibition on sexual +relations between his offspring so long as the young sons remained +under his roof. + +It is not impossible that a trace of the primitive state of society +imagined by Messrs. Atkinson and Lang survives in the fact that a +Kayan chief may, if he is so inclined, temporarily possess himself +of the wife of any of his men without raising the strong resentment +and incurring the penalties which would attend adultery on the part +of any other man of the house; but the law against incest with his +daughters, whether natural or adopted, would be enforced against him +by the co-operation of the chiefs of neighbouring houses and villages. + +[179] -- A limestone cliff whose foot is washed by the Baram river +and which contains a number of caves (known as Batu Gading, or the +ivory rock) is said by a Kayan legend to have been formed by a Kayan +house being turned into Stone owing to incestuous conduct within it. + +[180] -- This would not be always true of similar cases among Sea +Dayaks. + +[181] -- See vol. ii. p. 296 for a striking example of self-control +displayed by this great man under most trying circumstances. + +[182] -- Only one evil effect of the success of these efforts for the +spread of peace has come under our notice, namely, a tendency in some +communities to economise labour by building flimsy houses in place +of the massive and roomy structures which were fortresses as well +as dwelling-places. + +[183] -- The desire of the people inhabiting a branch of the river +to shut themselves off from all intercourse with the areas in which +an epidemic disease is raging, is sometimes disregarded by Malay or +Chinese traders; such disregard has sometimes led to trouble. + +This desire for seclusion as a safeguard against epidemics is by no +means peculiar to the tribes of the interior of Borneo, but seems to +be shared by many savage and barbarous peoples. It is one that ought +to be strictly respected by all travellers; and we have no doubt that +the disregard of this desire by European explorers, ignorant, no doubt, +of its existence or of the practical and rational grounds on which it +is based, has been the cause in many cases of their hostile reception +by native tribes and potentates, and has led to bloodshed and punitive +expeditions which might have been wholly avoided if the explorers had +been equipped with some general knowledge of, and some respect for, +the principles of conduct of savage peoples. + +[184] -- In view of the valuable properties now attributed to spermin +in some scientific quarters, it would be rash to assert that this +treatment can have no therapeutic value. It is of interest to note +that prolonged working of camphor in the jungle is said to produce +impotence and that, in order to avoid this, the workers make frequent +breaks and will not prolong a camphor-gathering expedition beyond a +limited period. For impotence is regarded by a young Kayan as a very +great calamity. + +[185] -- It seems possible that the Punans acquire some degree of +immunity to the effects of the IPOH poison through constantly handling +it and applying it in the ways mentioned above. The only evidence in +support of this that we can offer is the fact that the Punans handle +their poisoned darts much more recklessly than the other peoples. + +[186] -- There is current among the Klemantans a larger number of +such myths than among the Kayans. + +[187] -- The second occurred during the residence of one of us +(C. H.) in the Baram, and the alarm of the people was largely prevented +by the issue to all the chiefs of TEBUKU (tallies) foretelling the +date of its incidence. Nevertheless one woman, at least, was so much +frightened by the spectacle that she ran into her house and dropped +down dead. + +[188] -- See vol. ii. p. 272. + +[189] -- The horn of the small and rare Bornean rhinoceros is the +most highly valued of the various substances out of which the sword +hilts are carved. + +[190] -- Although it is impossible to form any estimate of the numbers +of such imported slaves of negroid type, it is, we assert, a fact +that some have been imported. We have trustworthy information of the +possession of two Abyssinian slaves in recent times by a Malay noble. + +[191] -- In the course of measuring and observing the physical +characters of some 350 individuals of the various tribes, we recorded +in each case the eye characters. Of a group of 80 subjects made +up of Kenyahs, Klemantans, and Punans (who in this respect do not +differ appreciably from one another), we noted a moderately marked +Mongolian fold in 14 subjects, the rest having in equal numbers +either no fold or but a slight trace of it. As regards obliquity of +the aperture, in rather more than half it was recorded as slight, +in one quarter as lacking, and in the rest as moderate. As regards +the size of palpebral apertures, half were noted as medium, and +about one quarter as small, and the remaining quarter as large. In +the main, obliquity and smallness of aperture go with the presence +of the Mongolian fold. The most common form of eye in this group may +therefore be described as very slightly oblique, moderately large, +and having a slight trace of the Mongolian fold. + +[192] -- THE RACES OF MAN, p. 486, London, 1900. + +[193] -- OP. CIT. p. 392. + +[194] -- MAN, PAST AND PRESENT, London, 1899, pp. 562 and 143. + +[195] -- Prof. A. H. Keane (MAN, PAST AND PRESENT, p. 206), after +citing the statements of various observers to the effect that persons +of almost purely Caucasic or European type are not infrequently +encountered among several of the tribes of Upper Burma, Tonking, +and Assam, notably the Shans, and the allied peoples known as Chins, +Karens, Kyens, and Kakhyens, writes: "Thus is again confirmed by the +latest investigations, and by the conclusions of some of the leading +members of the French school of anthropology, the view first advanced +by me in 1879, that peoples of the Caucasic (here called 'Aryan') +division had already spread to the utmost confines of south-east Asia +in remote prehistoric times, and had in this region even preceded the +first waves of Mongolic migration radiating from their cradleland on +the Tibetian plateau." While we accept this view, so ably maintained +by Keane, it is only fair to point out that J. R. Logan, in a paper +published in 1850, had maintained that a Gangetic people (by WHICH +HE meant a people formed in the Gangetic plain by the blending of +Caucasic and Mongoloid stocks) bad wandered at a remote epoch into +the area that is now Burma, following the shore of the Indo-Malayan +sea; and that he recognised the Karens and Kakhyens as the modern +representatives of this people of partially Caucasic origin ("The +Ethnology of Eastern Asia," THE JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO, +vol. iv. p. 481, 1850). + +[196] -- Nieuwenhuis publishes a photograph of such carvings found +in the Mahakan or Upper Kotei river. They included fragments of +a cylindrical column and what seems to be a caparisoned kneeling +elephant. QUER DURCH BORNEO, vol. ii. p. 116. + +[197] -- "The Ethnology of Eastern Asia," JOURN. OF INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO, +vol. iv. p. 478. + +[198] -- We have not been able to find any full and satisfactory +description of the Karens, but we have brought together whatever +statements about them and the tribes most nearly related to them seem +significant for our purpose from the +following sources. The figures in brackets in the text refer to +this list. + + +(1) J. R. Logan, "The Ethnology of Eastern Asia," LOC. CIT. +(2) Lieut.-Col. James Low on "The Karean Tribes of Martaban and Javai," +JOURN. OF INDIAN ARCH., vol. iv. +(3) A. R. McMahon, THE KARENS OF THE GOLDEN CHERSONESE, London, 1876. +(4) E. B. Cross, "The Karens," JOURN. OF THE AMER. ORIENTAL SOC., 1854. +(5) T. Mason, "The Karens," JOURN. OF THE ASIATIC SOC., 1866, part ii. +(6) D. M. Smeaton, THE LOYAL KARENS OF BURMA, London, 1887. +(7) J. Anderson, FROM MANDALAY TO MOMIEN. +(8) Lieut.-Col. Waddell, "Tribes of the Brahmaputra Valley," JOURN. OF +THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOC., 1900. +(9) A. R. Colquhoun, AMONG THE SHANS, London, 1885. +(10) T. C. Hodson, NAGA TRIBES OF MANIPUR, London, 1911. +(11) T.C. Hodson, "The Assam Hills, " a paper read before the +Geographical Society of Liverpool in 1905. +(12) Sir J. G. Scott, BURMA. +(13) A. H. Keane, MAN, PAST AND PRESENT, London, 1899. +(14) J. Deniker, THE RACES OF MAN, London, 1900. + + + +[199] -- The cross-bow is used as a toy by Kayan boys only. + +[200] -- Cp. the Kayan APO LEGGAN, vol. ii. p. 40. + +[201] -- This, however, is a statement which perhaps might loosely +be made of the Kayans. Cp. vol. ii. p. 34. + +[202] -- [The Kuki's are normally not considered Nagas. They live +in the same area, but are far more recent immigrants from Burma, +and differ considerably from the Nagas. -- J.H.] + +[203] -- It is worthy of note that the Kayans have long used and +highly prize for the decoration of their swords the hair of the +Tibetan goat dyed a dark red, and have continued to obtain this hair +at a great price from Malay and Chinese traders. The wild tribes of +the Chin hills, said to be closely akin to the Kukis, adorn their +shields with tassels of goat's hair dyed red (see THE CHIN HILLS, +by B. S. Carey and H. N. Tuck, Rangoon, 1896). According to the same +authorities, these Chins are inveterate head-hunters. They read omens +in the livers of pigs and other beasts, and in the cries of birds; +they wear a loincloth like the Kayan Bah; they scare pests from +their PADI fields by means of an apparatus like that used by Kayans +(vol. i. p. 102); they floor their houses with huge planks hewn out +with an adze very similar to the Kayan adze. + +[204] -- Some communities of Malanaus never plant rice, but rely for +their principal food supply upon the numerous sago-palms which they +have planted round about their villages. It is doubtful whether these +have ever cultivated PADI on any considerable scale. + +[205] -- Deniker (RACES OF MAN, p. 392) describes, under the name +MOIS, an aboriginal tribe of Annam in terms which show that they +present many points of similarity with the Muruts. + +[206] -- The Malay does not, like the Iban, make use of the various +animal designs, but confines himself to simple geometrical patterns +-- but this difference is probably a result of the adoption of the +Moslem religion. + +[207] -- Most Ibans now procure the PARANG ILANG of the Kayans and +copy their wooden shields. + +[208] -- The fire-piston is found also in North Borneo, but with this +exception is peculiar to the Ibans among the pagan tribes. It has been +widely used by the Malays of the peninsula and those of Menangkaban +in Sumatra (see H. Balfour, "The Fire Piston," in volume of essays +in honour of E. B. Tylor). + +[209] -- The general use of this mat is common to the Kenyahs, Punans, +and most of the Klemantans, but it is comparatively rare among the +Kayans; this is a significant fact, for such a mat is more needed by +a jungle dweller than by one whose home is a well-built house. We +have not met with any mention of such a mat among the tribes of +the mainland. + +[210] -- See the vocabularies of the Kayan, Kenyah, and Kalabit +(Murut) languages recently published by Mr. R. S. Douglas, Resident +of the Baram district, in the JOURNAL OF THE SARAWAK MUSEUM, Feb. 1911. + +[211] -- This is clearly shown in the article "BALI" of Monier +Williams's SANSKRIT DICTIONARY. + +[212] -- For a full account of these transactions and for the later +history of Sarawak in general the reader may be referred to the +recently published SARAWAK UNDER TWO WHITE RAJAHS, by Messrs. Bampfylde +and Baring-Gould, London, 1909. + +[213] -- The principles according to which the government has been +conducted cannot be better expressed than in the following words of +H. H. Sir Charles Brooke, the present Rajah. Writing in the SARAWAK +GAZETTE of September 2, 1872, he observed that a government such +as that of Sarawak may "start from things as we find them, putting +its veto on what is dangerous or unjust and supporting what is fair +and equitable in the usages of the natives, and letting system and +legislation wait upon occasion. When new wants are felt it examines and +provides for them by measures rather made on the spot than imported +from abroad; and, to ensure that these shall not be contrary to +native customs, the consent of the people is gained for them before +they are put in force. The white man's so-called privilege of class +is made little of and the rules of government are framed with greater +care for the interests of the majority who are not European than for +those of the minority of superior race." + +[214] -- See pp. 417 -- 420 of Messrs. Bampfylde and Baring Gould's +TWO WHITE RAJAHS. + +[215] -- These three masks were afterwards given to the Resident, +and are now in the British Museum. + +[216] -- "A Savage Peace-Conference," by W. McDougall, THE EAGLE, +the magazine of St. John's College, Cambridge, 1900. + +[217] -- The dollar is the Straits Settlements dollar; its value in +English money is two shillings and fourpence. + +[218] -- This Company has enjoyed, for more than half a century, the +right to work minerals in Sarawak, paying royalty to the government; +it has been and is the principal channel through which the natural +products of the country have been brought into the world's markets. It +has always worked in harmony with the government, and to the judicious +conduct of its affairs the present material prosperity of the country +is largely due. An important development of the Company's activity +in recent years has been the planting of large areas with the Para +rubber-plant. + +[219] -- The beneficent and active interest taken by the Rajah in +the prosperity of the natives, and the paternal character of his +government, are well illustrated by a recently issued order. It is +within the memory of all that in the years 1910 and 1911 occurred the +great rubber "boom" in the markets of Europe. With the hope of vast +profits, speculators hurried to every region where rubber was known +to grow. The seeds of the Para rubber-plant had been introduced to +Sarawak many years before; the suitability of the soil and climate +for the production of the best quality of Para rubber had been +abundantly demonstrated and the natives had been encouraged to +plant for their own profit the seeds and young plants which were +distributed to them from the government stations, so that when the +boom came many of them possessed small plantations of the trees that +"lay the golden eggs." The speculators were everywhere seeking to +buy these plantations at prices which, though they seemed handsome +to the natives, were low enough to provide a very large profit to the +buyers. The Rajah caused warnings to be published and brought to the +notice of the natives, and informed them that they were at full liberty +to appropriate jungle. land for the formation of rubber plantations, +and that their tenure of such lands would be secured to them so long +as they cared for the trees and worked the rubber properly. He further +ordered that no sales of rubber plantations should be effected without +the knowledge and approval of the government. + +[220] -- The Rajahs of Sarawak have personally chosen and appointed +their white officers with the greatest care; and their good judgment +has secured for, their country the services of a number of Englishmen +of high abilities and sterling moral quality. Of those members +of the Sarawak service who have passed away, the following have +pre-eminent claims to be gratefully remembered by the people of the +country: James Brooke Brooke (nephew of the first Rajah), W. Brereton, +A. C. Crookshank, J. B. Cruickshank, C. C. de Crespigny, A. H. Everett, +H. Brooke Low, C. S. Pearse, and, above all, F. R. O. Maxwell. + +[221] -- Crawford, a leading authority on the history of the East +Indian Islands, wrote of the Dutch in Borneo of the early times -- +"Their sole object, according to the commercial principles of the +time, was to obtain, through arrangements with the native prince, +the staple products of the country at prices below their natural cost, +and to sell them above it... . The result of these (arrangements) was +the decline of the trade of Banjermasin; its staple product, pepper, +which had at one time been considerable, having become nearly extinct" +(DICTIONARY OF THE INDIAN ISLANDS, Lond., 1865, p. 65). + +[222] -- 'QUER DURCH BORNEO,' by A. W. Nieuwenhuis. + +[223] -- Dr. A. W. Nieuwenhuis, "Anthropometrische Untersuchungen bei +den Dajak." Bearbeitet durch Dr. J. H. F. Kohlbrugge, MITT. AUS DEM +NIEDERL. REICHSMUS. FUR VOLKERK. ser. ii. No. 5, Haarlem, 1903. Owing +to the inaccessibility of this memoir, I have incorporated his more +important observations in this essay. + +[224] -- Swaving, G., NATUURK. TIJDSCHR. V. NED. IND., xxiii., 1861, +xxiv., 1862. + +Hoeven, J. van der, CATALOGUS CRANIORUM DIVERSARUM GENTIUM. + +Virchow, R., Z.F.E., xvii., 1885, p. (270), in which he states +that of 47 "Dayak" skulls in the museums of Paris, Amsterdam, and +the Royal College of Surgeons, London, 20 were dolichocephalic, 12 +mesaticephalic, and 15 brachycephalic. Cf. also Z.F.E., xxiv., 1892, +p. (435). + +Hagen, B., VERH. D. KON. AKAD. D. WETENSCH. NATUURKUND, xxviii., +Amsterdam, 1890. + +Waldeyer, W., Z.F.E., xxvi., 1894, p. (383). + +Zuckerkandl, E., MITT. D. ANTHROP. GESELL. WIEN, xxiv., 1894, p. 254. + +Kohlbrugge, J. H. F., L'ANTHROPOLOGIE, ix., 1898, p. 1. + +Volz, W., ARCH. F. ANTHROP., xxvi., 1900, p. 719. + +Haddon, A. C., ARCHIV. PER L' ANT. E L' ETNOL., xxxi., 1901, p. 341. + +[225] -- Nieuwenhuis usually speaks of these as Ulu Ajar Dajak. I +have more than once deprecated this use of the term "Dayak" as it has +simply come to mean a non-Malayan inhabitant of Borneo, for example, +we find "Kenjah Dajak" on his map. In Sarawak this term is confined +to the Sea Dayaks and Land Dayaks, for the former I have suggested +that the native name Iban be adopted, but I have not been able to +find a suitable native name for the Land Dayaks of Sarawak who are +probably allied to the Ulu Ayars. + +[226] -- The foregoing statement is taken from Nieuwenhuis, but +Dr. Hose sends me the following remarks: + +"PARI is the word for PADI in both Kayan and Kenyah language. + +"The Uma Timi and Uma Klap of the Upper Rejang are possibly Bahautribes +but the four Kayan tribes of the Upper Rejang, the Uma Bawang, Uma +Naving, Uma Daro and Uma Lesong say that they came from Usun Apo or +Apo Kayan as Nieuwenhuis calls it. + +"The Kayans in the Kapuas are the Uma Ging, and the only Kayans that I +know of in the Bulungan river are the Uma Lekans: there are no Kayans +or Kenyahs in the Limbang river. + +"Apo Kayan or Usun Apo is the country from which the Batang Kayan +river or Bulungan, the Kotei, and their great tributaries rise on +the one side, and the tributaries of the Rejang and Baram on the +other. It extends from the Bahau river in the north to the Mahakam +in the south. The Kenyahs of the Baram are spoken of by the people +of the Batang Kayan as Kenyah Bau." + +[227] -- In order to make Kohlbrugge's data comparable with ours +I have in all cases grouped his youths and girls over 16 with the +adults, and have left those younger out of reckoning. + +[228] -- I.E. having an index of 77.9 and under. + +[229] -- This was drawn up by Dr. Hose from his general knowledge +of the people of Sarawak, and it will be found to agree very closely +with the anthropometric data, thus we may regard it as expressing the +present state of our knowledge of the affinities of the several tribes. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg Pagan Tribes of Borneo, by Hose & McDougall + diff --git a/3307.zip b/3307.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3ff9daf --- /dev/null +++ b/3307.zip diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. 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