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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/7489-8.txt b/7489-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a41f1cd --- /dev/null +++ b/7489-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15643 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Through Central Borneo:, by Carl Lumholtz + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Through Central Borneo: + An Account of Two Years' Travel in the Land of Head-Hunters + Between the Years 1913 and 1917 + +Author: Carl Lumholtz + +Release Date: February, 2005 [EBook #7489] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on May 10, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-Latin-1 + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THROUGH CENTRAL BORNEO: *** + + + + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman, Olaf Voss +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + +THROUGH CENTRAL BORNEO + +AN ACCOUNT OF TWO YEARS' TRAVEL IN THE LAND OF THE HEAD-HUNTERS BETWEEN +THE YEARS 1913 AND 1917 + +BY + +CARL LUMHOLTZ + +MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY OF SCIENCES OF CHRISTIANIA, NORWAY GOLD MEDALLIST OF +THE NORWEGIAN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY ASSOCIÉ ÉTRANGER DE LA SOCIÉTÉ DE +L'ANTHROPOLOGIE DE PARIS, ETC. + +WITH ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE AUTHOR AND WITH MAP + + + + +We may safely affirm that the better specimens of savages are much +superior to the lower examples of civilized peoples. + +_Alfred Russel Wallace._ + + + + +PREFACE + +Ever since my camping life with the aborigines of Queensland, many years +ago, it has been my desire to explore New Guinea, the promised land of all +who are fond of nature and ambitious to discover fresh secrets. In +furtherance of this purpose their Majesties, the King and Queen of Norway, +the Norwegian Geographical Society, the Royal Geographical Society of +London, and Koninklijk Nederlandsch Aardrijkskundig Genootschap, +generously assisted me with grants, thus facilitating my efforts to raise +the necessary funds. Subscriptions were received in Norway, also from +American and English friends, and after purchasing the principal part of +my outfit in London, I departed for New York in the autumn of 1913, en +route for the Dutch Indies. In 1914, having first paid a visit to the +Bulungan, in northeast Borneo, in order to engage the necessary Dayaks, I +was preparing to start for Dutch New Guinea when the war broke out. + +Under these changed conditions his Excellency, the Governor-General, +A.W.F. Idenburg, regretted his inability to give me a military escort and +other assistance needed for carrying out my plan, and advised me to await +a more favorable opportunity. During this interval, having meanwhile +visited India, I decided to make an expedition through Central Borneo, +large tracts of which are unexplored and unknown to the outside world. My +project was later extended to include other regions of Dutch Borneo, and +the greater part of two years was spent in making researches among its +very interesting natives. In these undertakings I received the valuable +assistance of their Excellencies, the governor-general and the commanding +general, as well as the higher officials of the Dutch Government, to all +of whom I wish to express my heartfelt thanks. + +Through the courtesy of the well-known Topografische Inrichting, in +Batavia, a competent surveyor, whose work will later be published, was +attached to my expeditions. He did not accompany me on my first visit to +the Bulungan, nor on the second occasion, when I went to the lake of +Sembulo, where the country is well known. In the map included in this book +I have indicated the locations of the different tribes in Dutch Borneo, +based on information gathered from official and private sources and on my +own observations. + +I usually had a taxidermist, first a trained Sarawak Dayak, later a +Javanese, to collect mammals and birds. Fishes and reptiles were also +preserved in alcohol. + +Specimens of ethnological interest were collected from the different +tribes visited; the collection from the Penihings I believe is complete. +Measurements of 227 individuals were taken and as soon as practicable will +be worked out by Doctor K.S. Schreiner, professor at the University of +Christiania. Vocabularies were collected from most of the tribes. In spite +of adverse conditions, due to climate and the limitations under which I +travelled, a satisfactory collection of photographic plates and films was +brought back. With few exceptions, these photographs were taken by myself. +For the pictures facing page 26 I am indebted to Doctor J.C. +Koningsberger, President of the Volksraad, Buitenzorg, Java. Those facing +pages 16 and 17 were taken by Mr. J.F. Labohm. The lower picture facing +page 286 was taken by Mr. A.M. Erskine. + +My observations on the tribes are recorded in conformity with my itinerary, +and include the Kayans, Kenyahs, Murungs, Penyahbongs, Saputans, the +nomadic Punans and Bukits, Penihings, Oma-Sulings, Long-Glats, Katingans, +Duhoi (Ot-Danums), and the Tamoans. On one or two occasions when gathering +intelligence from natives I was very fortunate in my informants--an +advantage which will be appreciated by any one who has undertaken a similar +errand and has enjoyed the keen satisfaction experienced when drawing the +veil from primitive thought which lies so near and yet so far away. + +Circumstances naturally prevented me from making a thorough study of any +tribe, but I indulge the hope that the material here presented may prove +in some degree acceptable to the specialist as well as to the general +reader. Matter that was thought to be of purely anthropological interest +is presented in a special supplement. Above all, I have abstained from +generalities, to which one might be tempted on account of the many +similarities encountered in the tribes that were visited. Without the +light of experience it is impossible to imagine how much of interest and +delight there is in store for the student of man's primitive condition. +However, as the captain of Long Iram said to me in Long Pahangei, "One +must have plenty of time to travel in Borneo." I have pleasure in +recording here the judicious manner in which the Dutch authorities deal +with the natives. + +On a future occasion I shall hope to be able to publish a detailed report +on several of the novel features of my Bornean collections, especially as +regards decorative art, the protective wooden carvings called kapatongs, +the flying boat, etc. + +The first collections sent to Norway ran the risks incident to war. Most +of them were rescued from the storehouses at Antwerp after the German +occupation, through the exertions of the Norwegian Foreign Office, though +a smaller part, chiefly zoölogical, appears to have been lost in Genoa. +Count Nils Gyldenstolpe, of the Natural History Museum, +Vetenskapsakademien in Stockholm, who is determining the mammals +collected, informs me that so far a new species of flying maki and two new +subspecies of flying squirrels have been described. + +To further my enterprise, liberal gifts of supplies were received from +various firms in Christiania: preserved milk from Nestle & Anglo-Swiss +Condensed Milk Co., tobacco from Tiedemann's Fabrik, alcohol for +preserving specimens from Löitens Braenderi, cacao from Freia Chokolade +Fabrik. A medical outfit was presented by Mr. E. Sissener, Apotheket +"Kronen," Christiania, and Messrs. Burrows, Wellcome & Co., of London, +placed at my disposal three of their excellent medicinal travelling-cases. + +I want to express my appreciation of many services rendered by the +Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij and its branches, especially the +Factorij in Batavia. I am under similar obligations to the Koninklijke +Paketvaart-Maatschappij, and my thanks are also due to De Scheepsagentuur +for courtesies received. Miss Ethel Newcomb, of New York, has kindly +transcribed the two songs rendered. + +Finally I desire to make grateful acknowledgment of valuable assistance +rendered by Doctor J.C. Koningsberger, and by Doctor W. van Bemmelen, +director of Koninklijk Magnetisch en Meteorologisch Observatorium, +Weltevreden, Batavia. + +Although force of circumstances altered the scope and to some extent the +character of this expedition, nevertheless my Bornean experiences afforded +great satisfaction. Moreover, my sojourn in the equatorial regions of the +East has imbued me with an even stronger desire to carry out my original +purpose, which I hope to accomplish in the near future. + +CARL LUMHOLTZ + +NEW YORK, April, 1920. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER I + +DEPARTURE FROM NEW YORK--A RACE WITH THE IMPERIAL LIMITED--IMPRESSIONS OF +JAPAN--SINGAPORE--ARRIVAL AT BATAVIA, JAVA--BUITENZORG--BORO BUDUR, THE +WONDROUS BUDDHIST MONUMENT + + +CHAPTER II + +BORNEO--CLIMATIC AND BIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS--NATURAL RESOURCES--POPULATION-- +HISTORY--GOVERNMENT OF THE NATIVES--RACIAL PROBLEMS. + + +CHAPTER III + +BANDJERMASIN, THE PRINCIPAL TOWN IN DUTCH BORNEO--NORTHWARD ALONG THE EAST +COAST--BALIK PAPAN, AN OIL PRODUCING CENTRE--SAMARINDA--TANDJONG +SELOR--THE SULTAN--UP THE KAYAN RIVER. + + +CHAPTER IV + +AN EXPEDITION INTO THE JUNGLE--FIRST IMPRESSIONS--RAPID CHANGE IN THE +DENSENESS OF VEGETATION--ANIMAL LIFE--A STUBBORN FIGHT + + +CHAPTER V + +MEETING PUNANS, THE SHY JUNGLE PEOPLE--DOWN THE RIVER AGAIN--MY +ENTHUSIASTIC BOATMEN--MALAYS VERSUS DAYAKS + + +CHAPTER VI + +RESUMPTION OF MY JOURNEY UP THE KAYAN RIVER--LONG PANGIAN--BERI-BERI-- +HINTS ON PROPER PROVISIONS--KENYAHS FROM CENTRAL BORNEO--EFFECT OF A +SPIDER'S BITE + + +CHAPTER VII + +ON THE ISAU RIVER--A KENYAH CHILD'S FUNERAL--A GREAT FISHING EXPEDITION-- +CATCHING FISH BY POISONING THE RIVER--TAKING OMENS--ENTERTAINING SCENES + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE JOURNEY CONTINUED UP THE KAYAN RIVER--FIRST EXPERIENCE OF KIHAMS, +OR RAPIDS--WITH KENYAH BOATMEN--ADVANTAGE OF NATIVE COOKING--LONG +PELABAN--THE ATTRACTIVE KENYAHS--SOCIAL STRATA--CUSTOMS AND +HABITS--VALUABLE BEADS + + +CHAPTER IX + +HYDROPHOBIA--FUNERAL CEREMONIES--AT A PADDI HARVEST--ANOTHER TUBA-FISHING +EXPEDITION--THE CHARM OF PRIMITIVE MAN--INTERESTING CEREMONIES--ON +HEADHUNTING GROUND + + +CHAPTER X + +IN FOG AND DARKNESS--A RAID BY ANTS--DEPARTURE FROM LONG PELABAN--AN +EXCITING PASSAGE--RETURN TO TAND-JONG SELOR + + +CHAPTER XI + +DEPARTURE FOR BANDJERMASIN--A PLEASANT STEAMSHIP LINE--TWO HEAD-HUNTERS-- +AN EXPEDITION TO LAKE SEMBULO--SAMPIT--THE ORANG-UTAN--STORMY WEATHER--A +DISAGREEABLE RECEPTION + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE WAR CHANGES MY PLANS--CHOLERA--UP THE GREAT BARITO RIVER--PURUK +TJAHU--DECIDE TO STAY AMONG THE MURUNGS--A DANCING FEAST + + +CHAPTER XIII + +DAYAK CURE OF DISEASE-EVIL SPIRITS AND GOOD--ANIMISM--BLIANS, THE +PRIEST-DOCTORS--THE FEAST OF RUBBER-GATHERERS--WEDDINGS--IN PRIMITIVE +SURROUNDINGS + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE SCALY ANT-EATER--THE PORCUPINE--THE BLOW-PIPE--AN UNUSUAL ADVENTURE +WITH A SNAKE--HABITS AND CUSTOMS OF THE MURUNGS--AN UNPLEASANT AFFAIR + + +CHAPTER XV + +FINAL START FOR CENTRAL BORNEO--CHRISTMAS TIME--EXTENT OF MALAY +INFLUENCE--THE FLOWERS OF EQUATORIAL REGIONS--AT AN OT-DANUM +KAMPONG--THE PICTURESQUE KIHAMS, OR RAPIDS--FORMIDABLE OBSTACLES TO +TRAVEL--MALAYS ON STRIKE + + +CHAPTER XVI + +ARRIVAL AT BAHANDANG--ON THE EQUATOR--A STARTLING ROBBERY--OUR +MOST LABORIOUS JOURNEY--HORNBILLS--THE SNAKE AND THE INTREPID +PENYAHBONG--ARRIVAL AT TAMALOË + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE PENYAHBONGS, MEN OF THE WOODS--RHINOCEROS HUNTERS--CHARACTERISTICS OF +THE PENYAHBONGS--EASY HOUSEKEEPING--DAILY LIFE--WOMAN'S LOT + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +A STRANGE MAMMAL--ANIMAL LIFE IN CENTRAL BORNEO--A SUPERB AND SILENT +REALM--VISIT TO A SALT WATER EXUDATION--PASSING THE DIVIDING RIDGE--A +MOUSE-DEER CHASE--ON THE KASAO RIVER + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE SAPUTANS--HOW THE EARS OF THE CHIEF WERE PIERCED--AN UNEXPECTED +ATTACK OF FILARIASIS--DEPARTURE FROM THE SAPUTANS--DOWN THE KASAO +RIVER--"TOBOGGANING" THE KIHAMS + + +CHAPTER XX + +ARRIVAL ON THE MAHAKAM RIVER--AMONG THE PENIHINGS--LONG KAI, A PLEASANT +PLACE--A BLIAN'S SHIELD--PUNANS AND BUKATS, SIMPLE-MINDED NOMADS--EXTREME +PENALTY FOR UNFAITHFULNESS--LONG TJEHAN + + +CHAPTER XXI + +AN EXCURSION DOWN THE RIVER--LONG PAHANGEI--THE OMASULINGS--THE GREAT +TRIENNIAL FESTIVAL--HOSPITABLE NATIVES--INCIDENTS IN PHOTOGRAPHY + + +CHAPTER XXII + +DAYAK DOGS--A FUNERAL ON THE MAHAKAM--OUR RETURN JOURNEY--AGAIN AT LONG +TJEHAN--IN SEARCH OF A UNIQUE ORCHID--A BURIAL CAVE + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +A PROFITABLE STAY--MAGNIFICENT FRUITS OF BORNEO--OMEN BIRDS--THE PENIHINGS +IN DAILY LIFE--TOP PLAYING--RELIGIOUS IDEAS--CURING DISEASE + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +HEAD-HUNTING, ITS PRACTICE AND PURPOSE + + +CHAPTER XXV + +DEPARTURE FROM THE PENIHINGS--FRUIT-EATING FISH--ANOTHER CALL AT LONG +PAHANGEI--A TRIP UP THE MERASI RIVER--GENIAL NATIVES--AN INOPPORTUNE +VISIT--THE DURIAN, QUEEN OF ALL FRUITS + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +AMONG THE LONG-GLATS--IS FEAR OF EXPOSURE TO THE SUN JUSTIFIED?-- +CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LONG-GLATS--GOODBYE TO THE MAHAKAM + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +CONTINUING THE JOURNEY DOWN THE RIVER--GREAT KIHAMS--BATOKELAU--AT +LONG IRAM--LAST STAGES OF OUR JOURNEY--ARRIVAL AT SAMARINDA--HINDU +ANTIQUITIES--NATIVE'S SUPERIORITY TO CIVILISED MAN + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +AN EARTHQUAKE--ERADICATING THE PLAGUE--THROUGH THE COUNTRY NORTHEAST +OF BANDJERMASIN--MARTAPURA AND ITS DIAMOND-FIELDS--PENGARON--THE GIANT +PIG--THE BUKITS--WELL-PRESERVED DECORATIVE DESIGNS--AN ATTRACTIVE FAMILY + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +THE BALEI OR TEMPLE--A LITTLE KNOWN PART OF THE COUNTRY--A COURTEOUS +MALAY--POWER OVER ANIMALS--NEGARA. + + +CHAPTER XXX + +AN EXPEDITION TO THE KATINGAN RIVER--TATUING OF THE ENTIRE BODY--THE +GATHERING OF HONEY--A PLEASANT INTERMEZZO--AN UNUSUALLY ARTISTIC +PRODUCTION--UP THE SAMBA RIVER--WITH INCOMPETENT BOATMEN + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +AMONG THE DUHOI (OT-DANUMS)--RICH COLLECTIONS--THE KAPATONGS--THE BATHING +OF DAYAK INFANTS--CHRISTMAS EVE--THE FLYING BOAT--MARRIAGE CEREMONIES + + +CHAPTER XXXII + +AGRICULTURAL PURSUITS--FACTS ABOUT ULU-OTS, THE WILD MEN OF +BORNEO--TAKING LEAVE OF THE INTERESTING DUHOI--A VISIT TO THE UPPER +KATINGANS--DANCING--FRIENDLY NATIVES--DOWN THE KATINGAN RIVER + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +KASUNGAN--THE WEALTH OF THE DAYAKS--ANIMISM--GUARDIANS OF THE DEAD--HUGE +SERPENTS--CROCODILES--GOVERNMENT OF DAYS GONE BY--KATINGAN CUSTOMS AND +BELIEFS + + +CHAPTER XXXIV + +FUNERAL CUSTOMS OF THE KATINGANS--DEPARTURE FROM KASUNGAN--AN ATTEMPTED +VISIT TO SEMBULO--INDIFFERENT MALAYS--A STRANGE DISEASE--THE BELIEF IN +TAILED PEOPLE--THE LEGEND OF THE ANCESTOR OF TAILED MEN + + +CHAPTER XXXV + +A VISIT TO KUALA KAPUAS--A BREED OF STUMP-TAILED DOGS--THE SHORT-TAILED +CATS OF BORNEO--A SECOND EXPEDITION TO LAKE SEMBULO--NATIVES UNDISMAYED BY +BERI-BERI--THE TAMOANS--THE PRACTICE OF INCISION + +FOLKLORE OF SOME OF THE TRIBES IN DUTCH BORNEO VISITED BY THE AUTHOR + +CONCLUSION + +SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES TO THE TRIBES IN DUTCH BORNEO VISITED BY THE AUTHOR + +A SHORT GLOSSARY + +INDEX + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + +Carl Lumholtz in the Bulungan, Dutch Borneo, May, 1914 + +In the jungle of Southern Borneo, near the Sampit River + +The Giant Taro (_Alocasia Macrorhiza_) + +The Orang-Utan. A more than half-grown specimen + +The Long-Nosed Monkey (_Nasalis Larvatus_), peculiar to Borneo + +The Sultan of Bulungan + +Chonggat, the author's Dayak collector of animals and birds + +Approaching Kaburau, on the Kayan River + +Banglan, a Kayan, and his family. Kaburau + +Ladders, below Long Pangian, on the Kayan River + +Young Kayan, from Kaburau + +Kayan, from Kaburau. Shows a Chinese manner of hair-dressing + +Kayan from Kaburau. Showing the distended ear lobes + +Kayan child, Kaburau + +Kayan mother and infant. Near Long Pangian + +Punans, the shy nomads of the jungle + +Punans near my camp + +Punan using the sumpitan or blowpipe + +Kayan climbing a tree + +Kayan at the author's camp, blowing a native wind instrument + +The King Cobra (_Naia Bungarus_) + +Young Orang-Utans + +Kayan, from Kaburau. Front, side, and back views + +Kayan, in mourning dress, Kaburau + +Kenyah, from Long Pelaban. Front, side, and back views + +Tuba fishing on the Isau River + +Tuba fishing. Taking the augury by fire-making. Isau River + +Tuba fishing. Effects of the poison. Pipa River + +Kenyahs starting in the morning for distant Apo Kayan. Long Pangian, Kayan +River + +A funeral house. Near Long Pelaban, Kayan River + +Long Pelaban, a Kenyah kampong, on the Kayan River + +The gallery of a communal house, Long Pelaban, Kayan River + +Kenyah father and child. Long Pelaban, Kayan River + +Kenyah woman, with large basket used for carrying rice. Long Pelaban, +Kayan River + +A Kenyah's sweetheart removing his eyebrows and eyelashes. Long Pelaban, +Kayan River + +Wrestling. Long Pelaban, Kayan River + +Kenyah girl, in a woman's usual attire. Long Pelaban, Kayan River + +Kenyah mother and child, on their daily trips to the Long Pelaban, Kayan +River + +Tuba fishing, at the Pipa River + +Kenyah ready for a trip to the ladang (fields). Long Pelaban, Kayan River + +Kenyah in full war attire. Long Pelaban, Kayan River + +Sacrificing the pig at the festival. Tumbang Marowei + +Murung women squatting in order to observe the author. Tumbang Marowei + +Murung man and wife. Tumbang Marowei + +The beating of gongs furnishes the music at festivals. Tumbang Marowei + +The Feast of the Rubber Gatherers. Tumbang Marowei + +Blians, or priest-doctors, at Tumbang Marowei + +Murung women smoking cigarettes and preparing them from native tobacco and +leaves of trees. Tumbang Marowei + +The Scaly Ant-Eater (_Manis_). Tumbang Marowei + +Telok Djulo, an Ot-Danum kampong, on the Barito River + +Ot-Danum, wearing gold breastplates. Telok Djulo + +Passing the Kiham Mudang, on the Upper Barito River + +Rough travel by boat on the Upper Barito River + +Passing the boats up the rapids of the Upper Barito River + +Part of my provisions, at Bahandang, Busang River + +Djobing, our efficient Malay + +Part of the expedition ascending the Busang River + +Tamaloë, a lately formed Penyahbong kampong + +Pisha, the good Penyahbong chief. Tamaloë + +Penyahbong rhino hunters. Tamaloë + +Penyahbong women. Tamaloë + +Back view of the Penyahbong women, showing their head-dress + +Penyahbong, front, side, and back view. Tamaloë + +The Penyahbong war dance. Tamaloë + +Saputan, on his way to the ladang (fields) and for the hunt of Babi. Data +Láong + +Saputans, front and side views. Data Láong + +Saputan, the kapala of Data Láong + +Saputans showing their war prowess + +Saputans poling. Data Láong + +Piercing the ears of the Saputan chief in order to insert a tiger cat's +corner teeth. Data Láong + +Mahakam River, westward view, from the author's tent, at Long Kai + +Penihings, the kapala of Long Kai and his children + +Bukat, at Long Kai, front, side, and back views + +Bukatwomen, at Long Kai, front and side views + +The Mélah ceremony for imparting health and strength. Long Pahangei + +Oma-Sulings. Long Pahangei + +The Dángei hut, a temporary place of worship + +The Rajá Besar, or great chief, and his wife. Long Pahangei + +Large wooden drum. Long Pahangei + +Lidju, a Long-Glat noble, and his wife, the sister of the Rajá Besar. Long +Pahangei + +Cooking rice in bamboo receptacles. Long Pahangei + +Lung Karang, a limestone hill, near Long Tjehan, on the Mahakam River + +Penihing burial cave, near the Tjehan River + +Penihing women carrying water. Long Kai + +Penihings, from Long Kai + +Two young Penihings, caught unawares by my camera. Sungei Lobang + +The durian tree, with fruit. Lulo Pakko, on the Merasi River + +One of our Javanese soldiers, in undress, carrying two durians. Lulo +Pakko, Merasi River + +A ripe durian opened + +Three Long-Glat women of the nobility. Long Tujo + +Back view of the Long-Glat women + +Long-Glat women. Long Tujo. Front view + +Long-Glat women. Side and back views + +Long-Glats, with a native dog. Long Tujo + +A narrow-snouted crocodile shot by our sergeant below the great rapids of +the Mahakam + +Entrance to the cave of Kong Beng + +Malays searching for diamonds at Martapura + +Malay house, near Martapura + +Malay house at Mandin + +Bukit women. Mandin + +Bukit at Lok Besar, front and back views + +Bukit woman and her two sons. Lok Besar + +Bukit women with their children. Lok Besar + +The "Order" of Beraui, and his wife, both Duhoi. Beraui, on the Samba +River + +A Duhoi and his family. Beraui, Samba River + +A bearded Dayak, front and side views + +Upper Katingans passing the rapids of Buntut Mangkikit + +Upper Katingan women dancing. Buntut Mangkikit + +Upper Katingan family, at Buntut Mangkikit + +An upper Katingan, of Buntut Mangkikit. Front, side, and back views + +Upper Katingan women at Buntut Mangkikit, front and side views + +Samples of Dayak tatuing + +Women beating small drums and singing. Buntut Mangkikit + +Protecting against evil spirits. Kasungan + +Staffs, called pantars, erected in memoriam of the dead, at a kampong +below Kuala Samba + +A wealthy Katingan, at Kasungan + +A loving pair guarding the dead. Kasungan + +Sacrifice of eggs to the good spirits. Long Pahangei, Mahakam River + +Panyanggaran, at Bali, Katingan River + +Panyanggaran, at Kasungan, Katingan River + +Tamoans, from Bangkal, Lake Sembulo, front and side views + +Katingan taking an astronomical observation. Kasungan + +Kenyah women husking rice. Long Pelaban, Kayan River + +A tailless dog, sister of the mother of the stump-tailed ones. +Bandjermasin + +The short-tailed domestic cat of Borneo + +A breed of stump-tailed dogs. Bandjermasin + + + + +CHAPTER I + + +DEPARTURE FROM NEW YORK--A RACE WITH THE IMPERIAL LIMITED--IMPRESSIONS OF +JAPAN--SINGAPORE--ARRIVAL AT BATAVIA, JAVA--BUITENZORG--BORO BUDUR, THE +WONDROUS BUDDHIST MONUMENT + +Having concluded important business matters during a brief stay in New +York, I decided to go to Canada to take the express train for Vancouver. +It was the last train which made connection with the Canadian Pacific +steamer for Hong-Kong, and if I could make it I should save three weeks. +With the assurance that I should have a couple of hours latitude, I +started in the morning for Montreal. There was no doubt that I should make +it unless something unusual delayed the north-bound train, and that is +exactly what occurred. The steam power of the brake got out of order, +necessitating a stop for repairs, and considerable time was lost. Darkness +came on and I began to feel anxious about the prospect of gaining my +object. + +The conductor and his assistant, in the knowledge that I had a through +ticket to Hong-Kong, did everything in their power to aid me. Wire +messages were sent to have the Imperial Limited Express wait for "a man +travelling first-class"; to the custom-house, and also for a cab and four +"red caps" to meet me on arrival. The assistant conductor told everybody +of the plight of the passenger with the long journey before him, the +engineer was prevailed upon to increase his speed; and the passengers +began to exhibit interest. A tall Canadian came to me and expressed his +belief that I would catch that train, and even if it should be gone there +was another a little later by which it might be overtaken. "I shall assist +you," he added. + +As we approached Montreal there were still twelve minutes left. The lights +of the city were visible near by, and one of my fellow passengers was in +the act of assuring me that my chances were good, when our train suddenly +stopped--on account of the bridge being open to permit a ship to pass. Ten +minutes lost! I had decided, if necessary, to sacrifice two boxes of honey +which I had bought at the last moment, honey and water being my usual +drink when on expeditions. The total weight was ninety kilograms, but they +were neatly packed in paper and had been allowed to stand at one side of +the entrance to the Pullman car. They were an important adjunct of my +outfit, but perhaps after all it would be necessary for us to part. + +Immediately upon the opening of the doors the four porters presented +themselves with the encouraging information that they understood the +Imperial Limited was waiting. My luggage, including the honey, was hurried +on to a large truck, my Canadian friend throwing his on too, and speeding +the boys to a trot, we ran as fast as we could to the baggage-room of the +custom-house, where the official in charge caused us only a short delay. +As the packages were being loaded into three cabs a man stepped forward +and accosted me: "We have got you now! I am a reporter for _The Star_, and +would like to know who the man is that keeps the Imperial Limited +waiting!" The moment did not seem favourable for an interview, but I +invited him to enter my cab and the two or three minutes required to drive +to the station afforded opportunity for an explanation: + +I was on my way to New Guinea. This was a Norwegian undertaking which had +the support of three geographical societies. It was hoped that a geologist +and a botanist from Norway would meet me next year in Batavia to take part +in this expedition to one of the least-known regions on the globe. "What +do you expect to find?" he asked just as we halted. + +The porters outside said the train was gone, having waited fifteen +minutes. The newspaper man immediately joined forces with my Canadian +friend, and they were equally determined that by some means I should +overtake that train. First we went to look for the station-master, hoping +through him to obtain permission to have the train stopped en route. When +found after a few minutes' search, he tried in vain to get one of the +officials of the Canadian Pacific Company on the telephone. My two friends +stood near to keep his interest active, but he did not seem to succeed. +The station was quiet and looked abandoned. It was after ten o'clock and +at that time of the evening the hope of reaching an official at his +residence seemed forlorn. + +Meantime I had my luggage ready to throw aboard the 10.30 express, which +was my one chance in case the Imperial Limited could be halted. The three +men were persistent but finally, two or three minutes before the departure +of the express, they came to me hurriedly and said: "You had better go by +this train to North Bay, where you will arrive at 9.30 to-morrow morning. +There you will catch the train, or if not you can return here." There +appeared to me small prospect that the three men would succeed in +obtaining the desired permission, but I had no time for reflection. The +train was ready to start and my luggage was hastily thrown to the platform +of the car. I bade the gentlemen a hurried good-bye, thanking them for all +the trouble they had taken. "You are going to catch that train!" the +reporter exclaimed in a firm and encouraging tone. "But what do you expect +to find in New Guinea?" he suddenly inquired as I jumped on to the slowly +moving train. + +Reflecting that in the worst case I would be back in Montreal in one and a +half days, I fell asleep. At 6.30 in the morning I was awakened by the +voice of the porter saying, "the train is waiting for you, sir," as he +rolled up the curtain. It really was the Imperial Express! The big red +cars stood there quietly in the sunshine of the early morning. In a few +minutes I was dressed, and never with greater satisfaction have I paid a +porter his fee. + +The station was Chalk River, and the train had waited forty minutes. What +a comfortable feeling to know that all my belongings were safely on board! +I had not only saved time and money but an interesting trip across the +continent lay before me. Having washed and put on clean garments, I had my +breakfast while passing through an enchanting hilly country, amid smiling +white birches, and the maples in the autumn glory of their foliage, with +more intensely red colouring than can be seen outside North America. The +oatmeal porridge seemed unusually well prepared: the waiter intimated that +the cook was a Parisian. However that might have been, he was probably of +French descent. + +Four days later we arrived at Vancouver, where I wrote to the three +gentlemen of Montreal, my appreciation of services rendered, addressing +them care of _The Star_. Their names I did not know, but it was not the +first time that I had been reminded of Darwin's assurance, in the account +of his travels round the world, as to "how many truly kind-hearted people +there are, with whom he (the traveller) never before had, nor ever again +will have any further communication, who yet are ready to offer him the +most disinterested assistance." + +Early in the morning on October 19 we saw the first Japanese fishing-boats. +The sea was green and in the atmosphere a kind of haze, which almost seems +peculiar to Japan, imparted an artistic tone to everything. In splendid +weather, almost calm, we sailed along the coast of Nippon. As we entered +the bay of Yokohama the sun was setting over a landscape that realised +one's preconceived ideas of the beauty of the country. On one side, low +ridges with rows of picturesque pine-trees just as you know them from +Japanese prints, while in the background to the west, above the clouds rose +the top of Fuji, nearly 4,000 metres above sea-level. We steamed up in +absolute calm, while the long twilight was still further prolonged by a +brilliant afterglow. + +Taking advantage of the permit to leave the steamer and rejoin it in Kobe, +and having received useful advice from Cook's representative who came on +board, I immediately went ashore. On calling a rickshaw I was much +surprised to find that the man spoke English quite well. He trotted +continuously twenty minutes, to the railway station, where in good time I +caught the train for the West, and at daybreak I was ready to observe the +beautiful country through which we passed. I had made no provision for +breakfast, but one of my fellow travellers, who came from Tokio, had the +courtesy to offer me two snipe with bacon, which tasted uncommonly well. + +In the morning I arrived at Kioto, the city of many temples, and found the +Kioto hotel satisfactory. I shall not attempt to describe in detail the +fascination of the two days I spent here, where one still may see +something of old Japan. In Kobe, Nagasaki, and other cities exposed to the +stream of travellers, Western influence is evident everywhere, and the +inhabitants are less attractive on that account. After all one has heard +and read about the charm of the country, one is inclined to think that the +reports are exaggerated, but as far as my brief experience in Nippon goes, +it is the most beautiful and interesting country that I have visited, and +I hope in the future to know it better. + +The deepest impression made upon me by the Japanese was that they are all +so active, healthy, and strong; always good-tempered, their manners are +exquisite, even the plain people bowing to each other, and many young +people saluted me on the street. The infinite variety in their shops is +noticeable. To see the coaling of the steamers in Japanese harbours, which +is done by baskets handed from one to another, makes an impression on the +traveller. Hundreds of women and men take part in the occupation, and they +come neatly dressed to this dirty work, women with clean white kerchiefs +on their heads. The low ditches in their rice-fields are like engineering +work, and their bundles of wood are nicely tied. + +Of the many temples I visited in Kioto the first was Chion-in, which lies +impressively on an elevation at the foot of a charming wooded hill. The +tiny lake at the back of the quaint structure, the peaceful atmosphere, +the sunshine, and singing birds--the _tout ensemble_ was inexpressibly +beautiful. On my way back to the hotel I passed a Christian church and +felt ashamed of the wretched architecture, in the usual conventional +style, made of stone with white-plastered walls, hard and unattractive. +Never have I been among a people so close to nature, strikingly +intelligent, friendly, and the most aesthetic of all nations on the globe. + +In continuing the journey opportunity is afforded to see Shanghai, +Hong-Kong, and at last Singapore, the important port of the Malay +Peninsula. Singapore, with its green lawns and trees, has a pleasant, +though humid climate, cooler than that of Batavia, and quite comfortable +although so near the equator. It is satisfying to know one place where the +native races have a good time in competition with the whites, not only the +Chinese, who have reached power and influence here, but also the Malays, +natives of India, Arabs, etc. The Chinese rickshaw men here are of superb +physique, and the excellence of the service renders this the most +agreeable method of getting about. Moreover, it is a pleasure to watch +their athletic movements and long easy stride, as if they were half +flying. Some of them pass the carriages. They are jolly, like big +children, and are natural teetotalers, but they sometimes fight about +money among themselves. + +After securing a Chinese photographer and a trained native collector of +zoological specimens, I embarked in the excellent Dutch steamer _Rumphius_ +for Batavia where I arrived on the 10th of November. The first thing to be +done was to ask an audience of the Governor-General of Netherlands India, +who usually stays at Buitenzorg, the site of the world-famous botanical +gardens. It is an hour's trip by express from Batavia, and although only +265 metres higher, has a much pleasanter climate. The palace, which is +within the botanical gardens, has an unusually attractive situation, and +the interior is light, cool, and stately. His excellency, A.W.F. Idenburg, +most courteously gave the necessary orders for the furtherance of my +proposed expedition to New Guinea, and as it was necessary for me to go +first to Dutch Borneo, to secure a Dayak crew, he provided me with an +introduction to the Resident of the South and Eastern Division. + +During the few days I stayed in Buitenzorg, the botanical gardens were a +source of ever new delight. It was in the latter half of November and thus +well into the rainy season. Usually showers came every afternoon, but the +mornings, even up to eleven o'clock, always appeared like spring-time, +only in a more magnificent edition than that of temperate zones. In the +effulgence of light and the fresh coolness of the first hours of the day, +plant and animal life seemed jubilant. After the calm and heat of midday, +violent thunder-storms of short duration may occur, but the evenings are +generally beautiful, although the prevailing inclination is to retire +early. In the tropics one realises more readily than elsewhere how a +single day contains all the verities and realities of one's whole life: +spring, summer, and autumn every day, as in a year or in a lifetime. +Australians and Americans who visit Java every year make a great mistake +in selecting the dry season, April to July, for their travels. To be sure, +one is not then troubled by rain, but on the other hand the heat is +greater, the country becomes dry, and including the botanical gardens, +loses much of its attraction. + +I decided to go by rail to Soerabaia, the point of steamboat connection +with Borneo; this would give me opportunity to see Java besides saving +some time. After twelve hours' travel by express the train stops for the +night at Djokjakarta where there is a good hotel. We now find ourselves in +a region which formerly was the main seat of Buddhism in Java. The +world-famous monument, Boro Budur, is in the neighbourhood to the north in +the district of Kedu, and by motor-car a visit may easily be made in one +day, but for those who can spend more time on this interesting excursion +there is satisfactory accommodation in a small hotel near by. The +government has of late years successfully restored this magnificent ancient +structure which at its base forms a square, with the length of the side 150 +metres, and rises to a height of more than 30 metres. At first sight it +does not seem as large as expected, but on entering the first gallery one +is struck by the monumental magnitude and unique beauty of the edifice. + +Built upon a small hill from blocks of trachyte, it consists of twelve +terraces rising one above another, and connected by staircases. The +uppermost terrace, fifteen metres in diameter, has a dome. Each gallery is +surrounded by a wall adorned with niches in handsome settings, each +containing a life-sized Buddha, with legs crossed, soles turned downward. +There are 432 such niches, and from this great number of statues of the +famous religious founder the place probably derived its name, Boro Budur +equals Bara Buddha (Buddhas without number). + +There are no less than 1,600 has reliefs, handsome carvings in hard stone +mostly representing scenes from the life of Buddha and "which must," says +Wallace, "occupy an extent of nearly three miles in length. The amount of +human labour and skill expended on the Great Pyramids of Egypt sink into +insignificance when compared with that required to complete this +sculptured hill-temple in the interior of Java." It dates from the eighth +or ninth century after Christ, and in reality is not a temple, but a +so-called dagoba, dedicated to the keeping of some Buddhist sacred relic +which was deposited in the dome, its principal part. In the beautiful +light of afternoon the walk through the galleries was especially +impressive. From that vantage point there is presented a fine, extensive +view of a peaceful landscape, and at the time of my visit an actively +smoking volcano in the far distance added a picturesque feature. In the +vicinity is another noble Hindu structure, the so-called temple of Mendut, +inside of which is found a large and singular Buddha sitting on a chair, +legs hanging down. The figure is nude and the expression on its features +is very mild. + +The journey from Djokjakarta to Soerabaia consumes about half a day and +the trip is pleasanter than that of the previous day, when the rolling of +the fast express on a narrow-gauge track was rather trying, while at +dinner-time the soup and water were thrown about in an annoying manner. I +have no doubt that this defect will soon be remedied, for Java is still +what a very distinguished English visitor said sixty years ago: "the very +garden of the East and perhaps upon the whole the richest, best +cultivated, and best governed tropical island in the world." Soerabaia is +the great shipping port for sugar, tobacco, etc., and a more important +commercial centre than Batavia. The day after my arrival I started for +Borneo where I intended to proceed to the Kayan or Bulungan River in the +Northeast. It was my purpose to take advantage of the occasion to acquaint +myself with that district and its natives which would extend my travels by +a few months. + + + + +CHAPTER II + + +BORNEO--CLIMATIC AND BIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS--NATURAL RESOURCES--POPULATION-- +HISTORY--GOVERNMENT OF THE NATIVES--RACIAL PROBLEMS + +Leaving Greenland out of consideration, Borneo is the second largest +island on the globe, the greater part of it, southern and eastern, +belonging to Holland. In a recent geological period this island as well as +Java and Sumatra formed part of Asia. A glance at the map shows that +Borneo is drained by rivers which originate in the central region near +each other, the greater by far being in Dutch territory, some of them +navigable to large steam launches for 500 or 600 kilometres. The principal +chain of mountains runs, roughly speaking, from northeast to southwest, +the average height being perhaps 1,000-1,500 metres, with higher peaks now +and then. There are also ranges from east and west. The remainder is +irregular hilly country, with low swampy coasts. The highest mountain is +Kinabalu, in the north, about 4,500 metres above the sea and composed of +"porphyritic granite and igneous rocks." There are no active volcanoes. +The whole island is covered with forest vegetation from the coasts to the +tops of the hills and ranges. + +The climate is humid and warm and remarkably even, the thermometer in the +inland rarely reaching above 85° F. in the shade. Rain is copious most of +the year; at night it sometimes rains continuously; but a day of +uninterrupted downpour did not occur during my two years of travel. It +comes in showers, usually lasting an hour or two, when it clears as +suddenly as it began, and within half an hour all is dry again. In the +interior, on account of the vast jungles, except in case of thunderstorms, +which are rare, there is no wind, but on the coasts one may encounter +storms in the time of both the northeast and the southwest monsoons. +Though Borneo and the central mountains of New Guinea have the greatest +rainfall in the Malay Archipelago, there is a distinct dry season, which +is mostly felt during April, May, and June, but is less noticeable in the +central parts. As regards the distribution of rain and dry weather, some +difference was experienced as between the two years, and a planter of +several years' experience in the south told me that one year is not like +another. In spite of the general supposition to the contrary the climate +of Borneo is quite pleasant, and probably less unhealthful than most +equatorial regions, particularly in the central part where malaria is rare +and prickly heat does not occur. + +Borneo has very many useful trees, notably hard woods. Rubber is still a +source of income to the Malays and Dayaks, and the rattan and bamboo, on +which the very existence of the natives depends, grow everywhere. The +sago-palm and a great number of valuable wild fruits are found, such as +the famous durian, mangosteen, lansat, rambutan, and others. The climate +seems to be specially suited to fruit, the pineapple and pomelo reaching +their highest perfection here. The coconut-palm thrives on the island. +Borneo is famous for its orchids and most of the species of pitcher-plants +(_nepenthes_) are found here, the largest of which will hold two "quarts" +of water. + +The elephant, rhinoceros, tapir, wild cattle, and many other kinds of +smaller animals of Asia are found in Borneo. No Indian tigers are in the +country, though many varieties of the cat family are there, among them the +beautiful large _felis nebulosa_. Wild pigs of many species roam the jungle +in abundance. Several kinds of mammals are peculiar to the island, among +which may be mentioned the long-nosed monkey (_nasalis larvatus_). There +are over 550 species of birds, but the individuals of the species are not +numerous; the pheasant family is especially gorgeous in form and colour. +The rivers and the surrounding sea swarm with fish of many kinds, +furnishing an abundance of food, although generally not very palatable. +The djelavat, in flavour not unlike salmon, and the salap, both of which I +met in the upper courses of the rivers Samba, Barito, and Mahakam, are +notable exceptions. + +The mineral resources of Borneo are very considerable; coal, gold, iron, +diamonds, tin, and antimony are among the most valuable. Anthracite coal +is not found in the country, that which is in evidence being from the +tertiary period. Gold is everywhere, but thus far is not found in +sufficient quantity to pay. Formerly the natives of the upper Kotawaringin +district had to pay the Sultan gold as a tax. A mining engineer told me +that in Martapura, the principal diamond-field, one may find gold, +platinum, and diamonds while washing one pan. + +The total population of the island is probably 3,000,000. As regards the +South and Eastern Division of Dutch Borneo--roughly half of the island--to +which my travels were confined, the census returns of 1914 give in round +figures a total of 906,000 people, of whom 800 are Europeans (470 men and +330 women), 86,000 Chinese, 817,000 Dayaks and Malays, and 2,650 Arabs and +other aliens. Of these peoples no less than 600,000 live in a +comparatively small area of the southeast, the districts of Oeloe Soengei +and Bandjermasin. These are nearly all Malays, only 4,000 or 5,000 being +Dayaks, who probably do not form the majority of the 217,000 that make up +the remainder of the native population of the Division. + +On account of the small white population and insufficient means of +communication, which is nearly all by river, the natural resources of +Dutch Borneo are still in the infancy of development. The petroleum +industry has reached important proportions, but development of the mineral +wealth has hardly begun. In 1917 a government commission, having the +location of iron and gold especially in view, was sent to explore the +mineral possibilities of the Schwaner Mountains. In the alluvial country +along the rivers are vast future possibilities for rational agriculture, +by clearing the jungle where at present the Malays and Dayaks pursue their +primitive operations of planting rice in holes made with a pointed stick. + +The early history of Borneo is obscure. Nothing in that regard can be +learned from its present barbarous natives who have no written records, +and few of whom have any conception of the island as a geographical unit. +Although the Chinese had early knowledge of, and dealings with, Borneo, +there seems little doubt that the country was first colonised by Hindu +Javanese from Modjopahit, the most important of the several kingdoms which +Hindus began to found in the early centuries after Christ. Modjopahit +enclosed the region round the present Soerabaia in East Java, and it was +easy to reach Borneo from there, to-day distant only twenty-seven hours by +steamer. These first settlers in Borneo professed Hinduism and to some +extent Buddhism. They founded several small kingdoms, among them +Bandjermasin, Pasir, and Kutei, also Brunei on the north coast. But +another race came, the Malays, who with their roving disposition extended +their influence in the coast countries and began to form states. Then +Islamism appeared in the Orient and changed conditions. Arabs, sword in +hand, converted Java, and as far as they could, destroyed temples, +monuments, and statues. The Malays, too, became Mohammedans and the sway +of Islam spread more or less over the whole Malay Archipelago. With the +fall of Modjopahit in 1478 the last vestige of Hindu Javanese influence in +Borneo disappeared. + +The Malays established sultanates with the same kind of government that is +habitual with Mohammedans, based on oppression of the natives by the +levying of tribute with the complement of strife, intrigue, and +non-progress. In the course of time the Malays have not only absorbed the +Hindu Javanese, but also largely the Bugis, who had founded a state on the +west coast, and in our time they are gradually pushing back the Dayaks and +slowly but surely absorbing them. The Chinese have also played a prominent +part in the colonisation of Borneo, having early developed gold and +diamond mines and established trade, and though at times they have been +unruly, they are today an element much appreciated by the Dutch in the +development of the country. + +As regards the time when European influence appeared in Borneo, the small +sultanate of Brunei in the north was the first to come in contact with +Europeans. Pigafetta, with the survivors of Magellan's expedition, arrived +here from the Moluccas in 1521, and was the first to give an account of it +to the Western world. He calls it "Bornei," which later, with a slight +change, became the name of the whole island. The ever-present Portuguese +early established trade relations with the sultanate. Since the Napoleonic +wars, when the East Indian colonies were returned to Holland, the Dutch +have gradually extended their rule in Borneo to include two-thirds of the +island. In the remainder the British have consolidated their interests, +and in 1906, the European occupation of Borneo was completed. The +distribution of territory has roughly been placed thus: Dutch Borneo, +seventy per cent; Sarawak and Brunei, twenty per cent; British North +Borneo, ten per cent. + +To the world at large Borneo is probably best known through the romance +surrounding the name of James Brooke, who became Raja of Sarawak, in 1841. +His story has often been told, but a brief account may not be out of +place. He had been to the Far East and its fascination, together with an +impulse to benefit the natives, drew him back again. After resigning his +commission in the army of the British East India Company, he built his own +yacht of 140 tons, practised his crew in the Mediterranean and then set +sail for the Malay Archipelago. In his _Proposed Exploring Expedition to +the Asiatic Archipelago_, 1838, are found these stirring words which strike +a responsive chord in the heart of every true explorer: + +"Imagination whispers to ambition that there are yet lands unknown which +might be discovered. Tell me, would not a man's life be well spent--tell +me, would it not be well sacrificed in an endeavour to explore these +regions? When I think of dangers and death I think of them only because +they would remove me from such a field for ambition, for energy, and for +knowledge." [*] + +[Footnote *: _The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. "Dido" for the Suppression +of Piracy_, by Captain H. Keppel, p. 374. Harper's, New York, 1846.] + +Mr. Brooke arrived at Sarawak where he remained some time, surveying the +coast and studying the people. In those days Malay pirates rendered the +country dangerous to approach and several ships had been lost and their +crews murdered. One of the chronic rebellions against the Sultan of Brunei +was raging at the time, and Mr. Brooke was asked to suppress it, was made +Raja, and defeated the rebels, cleared the river of pirates and +established order. + +Though Mohammedan laws were maintained in Sarawak, the worst abuses were +purged out, as for instance, the death penalty for conjugal infidelity, +and the sufficiency of a fine in extenuation of a murder. As for the +Dayaks who formerly were cheated by Malay traders and robbed by Malay +chiefs, they were permitted to enjoy absolute safety. Both Raja Brooke and +his nephew, who succeeded him in the same spirit, followed the policy of +making use of the natives themselves in governing, and Sarawak to-day +enjoys the distinction of being a country where the interests of the +natives are guarded with greater care than those of "the minority of +superior race." Resting on the good-will of the natives and their uplift, +the government of the two white Rajas has been remarkably successful. + +The Dutch, with their much larger possessions, in a similar way have +invoked the co-operation of the native chiefs. Their government is also +largely paternal, which is the form best suited to the circumstances. The +Malay Sultans maintain power under Dutch control and receive their income +from the government, which has abolished many abuses. As for the pagan +tribes, they are treated with admirable justice. + +Well administered by Europeans as Borneo undoubtedly is, the question may +well arise as to whether the natives are not becoming sufficiently +civilised to render purposeless expeditions to study them. To this may be +answered that in a country so vast, where white men are comparatively few +in number, the aborigines in the more remote part are still very little +affected by outside influence. The geographical features are an important +factor here. In the immense extent of forest vegetation which covers the +land from the sea to the tops of the mountains, the rivers are the only +highways, and in their upper courses, on account of rapids and waterfalls, +travel is difficult and often dangerous. Although in the last quarter of a +century much has been accomplished by ethnology, still for years to come +Borneo, especially the Dutch part of it, will remain a prolific field for +research. The tribes are difficult to classify, and in Dutch Borneo +undoubtedly additional groups are to be found. The Muruts in the north, +who use irrigation in their rice culture and show physical differences +from the others, are still little known. Many tribes in Dutch Borneo have +never been studied. So recently as 1913 Mr. Harry C. Raven, an American +zoological collector, in crossing the peninsula that springs forth on the +east coast about 1° N.L., came across natives, of the Basap tribe, who had +not before been in contact with whites. The problem of the Indonesians is +far from solved, nor is it known who the original inhabitants of Borneo +were, Negritos or others, and what role, if any, the ancestors of the +Polynesians played remains to be discovered. + +The generally accepted idea has been that the Malays inhabit the coasts +and the Dayaks the interior. This is not strictly correct because the +racial problems of the island are much more complicated. Doctor A.C. +Haddon recognises five principal groups of people in Sarawak, Punan, +Kenyah-Kayan, Iban or Sea Dayak, Malay, and the remaining tribes he +comprehends under the noncommittal name Klemantan. He distinguishes two +main races, a dolichocephalic and a brachycephalic, terming the former +Indonesian, the latter Proto-Malay. + +Doctor A.W. Nieuwenhuis, who about the end of the last century made +important researches in the upper parts of the Kapuas and Mahakam Rivers +and at Apo Kayan, found the Ot-Danum, Bahau-Kenyah, and Punan to be three +distinct groups of that region. Doctor Kohlbrugge and Doctor Haddon +consider the Ot-Danums as Indonesians, to whom the former also consigns +the Kayans and the Punans. [*] Doctors Hose and McDougall, who in their +_Pagan Tribes of Borneo_ have contributed much to the ethnology of the +island, have convincingly shown that the Ibans (Sea Dayaks) are recent +immigrants, probably of only two hundred years ago, from Sumatra, and are +Proto-Malays. They hold the view that the Kayans have imparted to the +Kenyahs and other tribes the "principal elements of the peculiar culture +which they now have in common." + +[Footnote *: Quoted from _Pagan Tribes in Borneo,_ II, p. 316] + +The Malays undoubtedly were the first to employ the word Dayak as a +designation for the native tribes except the nomadic, and in this they +have been followed by both the Dutch and the British. The word, which +makes its appearance in the latter part of the eighteenth century, is +derived from a Sarawak word, dayah, man, and is therefore, as Ling Roth +says, a generic term for man. The tribes do not call themselves Dayaks, +and to use the designation as an anthropological descriptive is an +inadmissible generalisation. Nevertheless, in the general conception the +word has come to mean all the natives of Borneo except the Malays and the +nomadic peoples, in the same way as American Indian stands for the +multitude of tribes distributed over a continent. In this sense, for the +sake of convenience, I shall myself use the word, but to apply it +indiscriminately to anthropological matters is as unsatisfactory as if one +should describe a certain tribe in the new world merely as American +Indian. + + + + +CHAPTER III + + +BANDJERMASIN, THE PRINCIPAL TOWN IN DUTCH BORNEO--NORTHWARD ALONG THE +EAST COAST--BALIK PAPAN, AN OIL PRODUCING CENTRE--SAMARINDA--TANDJONG +SELOR--THE SULTAN-UP THE KAYAN RIVER + +Fifty miles from land the sea assumes a different aspect through the fresh +water of the great Barito flowing on the surface. Its red hue is produced +by particles of soil brought from the inland of Borneo. In the beginning +of December I arrived at Bandjermasin, the principal town in Dutch Borneo, +inhabited for the most part by Malays and Chinese. It is the seat of the +Resident of the vast South and Eastern Division and has a garrison. The +sea loudly announces its presence here, the tide overflowing much of the +low ground, hence the Malay name, _bandjir_ = overflow, _másin_ = salt +water. Large clumps of a peculiar water-plant float on the river in +Bandjermasin in great numbers, passing downward with the current, upward +with the tide, producing a singular, but pleasing sight. It is originally +a native of America and has attractive light-blue flowers, but multiplies +to such an extent that the growth finally may interfere with traffic. In +India I saw a lagoon completely choked with it. + +There is one hotel where the table is fair and the beds are clean, but +blankets are considered unnecessary, and only sheets are provided. The +climate was not as hot as I expected, nights and mornings being +surprisingly cool. Early in July of the following year the morning +temperature was about 73° F. (23° C). Malaria is rare here, but there are +frequent indications of beri-beri. + +Friends invited me to go on an excursion to a small island, Kambang, where +there are a number of monkeys to whom Malays who desire children sacrifice +food. On our arrival the animals came to meet us in a way that was almost +uncanny, running like big rats in the tall grass on the muddy beach. Many +remnants of sacrificial offerings were strewn about. + +Two years later I was again in Bandjermasin, when an elderly American and +his wife appeared upon the scene-tourists, by the way, being very unusual +here. At the breakfast table they asked a young Dutchman the whereabouts +of the church and museum, and he replied that he did not think there was +either in the town. As a matter of fact there is a small wooden Dutch +church hidden away in a back street. Moreover, in 1914 the Resident, who +at that time was Mr. L.F.J. Rijckmans, had a house built, in Malay style +of architecture, for the safekeeping of Bornean industrial and +ethnological objects which had been on view at the exhibition at Samarang +in Java, thus forming the nucleus of a museum which at some future time +may be successfully developed. The Kahayan Dayaks, not far away to the +north, make exquisite cigar-cases from rattan, while the Bugis weave +attractive cotton goods, resembling silk, with an original and pleasing +colour combination. + +The Europeans have a lawn-tennis court where they usually play every +afternoon. In Bandjermasin is the headquarters of a German missionary +society whose activities are confined mainly to the Kahayan River. They +are Protestants and worked for a great number of years without making any +noteworthy impression on the natives, but of late years they have been +more successful. Catholics, who came later, have a station on the Mahakam +River. The government wisely has separated Protestant and Catholic +missionary activities, restricting the former to the southern part of the +country, the latter to the northern. + +There is no difficulty about getting up along the east coast northward as +far as the Bulungan, which was my immediate aim. The Royal Dutch Packet +Boat Company adheres to a schedule of regular fortnightly steamship +connection. On the way a stop is made at Balik Papan, the great +oil-producing centre, with its numerous and well-appointed tanks and modern +equipment, reminding one of a thriving town in America. One of the doctors +in this prosperous place told me that his two children of four and six +years enjoyed excellent health. Dysentery was prevalent among the coolies, +and occasionally cases of malaria occurred, but malaria is found even in +Holland, he added. + +As we sailed up the Kutei River in the early morning, approaching +Samarinda, an attractive scene presented itself. Absolute calm and peace +reigned, a slight morning mist rising here and there before us and giving +a touch of charm to the vista of modest white houses that stretched along +the beach in their tropical surroundings. Samarinda lies almost on the +equator, but nights and mornings are always cool, even to a greater degree +than in Bandjermasin. Northeast Borneo and North Celebes have a +comparatively cool climate, but from Samarinda southward it is warmer. I +called on the assistant Resident, in whose office a beautiful blue +water-rail, with a red head, walked unconcernedly about. He advised me that +this was the worst time for travelling, when the northwest monsoons, which +are accompanied by much rain, are blowing. + +The peace and contentment among the natives here, mostly Malays, impresses +one favourably. They are all very fond of their children and take good +care of them. The crying of children is a sound that is rarely heard. It +was my fortune to travel over two years in the Dutch Indies; it is +gratifying to state that during that time I never saw a native drunk, cit +her in Java or Borneo. My visits did not extend to the Muruts in the north +of Borneo, who are known to indulge excessively in native rice brandy. Nor +was I present at any harvest feast, but according to reliable report, +"strong drink is seldom or never abused" by the tribes of Borneo. The +Muruts and the Ibans are the exceptions. + +Two days later, among mighty forests of nipa-palms, we sailed up the Kayan +or Bulungan River and arrived at Tandjong Selor, a small town populated by +Malays and Chinese, the number of Europeans being usually limited to two, +the controleur and the custom-house manager. It lies in a flat swampy +country and on the opposite side of the river, which here is 600 metres +wide, lives the Sultan of Bulungan. I secured a large room in a house +which had just been rented by two Japanese who were representatives of a +lumber company, and had come to arrange for the export of hardwood from +this part of Borneo. + +Accompanied by the controleur, Mr. R. Schreuder, I went to call on the +Sultan. He was a man of about thirty-five years, rather prepossessing in +appearance, and proud of his ancestry, although time has so effaced his +Dayak characteristics that he looks like a Malay. Dato Mansur, his +executive, met us at the landing and escorted us into the presence of the +Sultan and his wife, where we were offered soda-water and whiskey, and we +remained an hour. They are both likeable, but the Sultan appears rather +nervous and frail, and it is rumoured that his health has suffered as a +result of overindulgence in spiritualistic seances. He gave an +entertaining account of natives living in the trees on the Malinau River. +As it had been impossible for me to obtain cartridges for my Winchester +rifle, the Sultan was kind enough to lend me one of his before we parted, +as well as two hundred cartridges. He also obligingly sent Dato Mansur up +the river to Kaburau, the principal Kayan kampong (village) to secure men +and boats for an intended expedition inland from there. + +The main business of Tandjong Selor, as everywhere in Borneo, is buying +rattan, rubber, and damar (a kind of resin) from the Malays and the +Dayaks, and shipping it by steamer to Singapore. As usual, trade is almost +entirely in the hands of the Chinese. The great event of the place is the +arrival of the steamer twice a month. When the whistle is heard from down +the river a great yell arises from all over the town. The steamer is +coming! People by the hundreds run down to the wharf amid great excitement +and joy. Many Malays do not work except on these occasions, when they are +engaged in loading and unloading. The principal Chinese merchant there, +Hong Seng, began his career as a coolie on the wharf. He has a fairly +well-stocked store with some European and American preserved articles, and +was reliable in his dealings, as the Chinese always are. He was rich +enough to have of late taken to himself a young wife, besides keeping his +first one. His two young sons who assisted him had been at school in +Singapore, and were proud to air their knowledge of English. + +The house where I lived was on the main street, on the river bank, and in +the evening the little shops on either side started playing nasty, cheap +European phonographs the noise of which was most disagreeable. Most of the +records were of Chinese music, the harsh quality of which was magnified +tenfold by the imperfections of the instruments. When the nerve-wracking +concert became intolerable, they were always good enough to stop it at my +request. + +However, there was one feature about this remote place which was +repugnant--the prevalent flogging of children with rattan, mostly among +the Mohammedan Malays. Not a day passed without wails and violent cries +arising in some part of the town, especially during the forenoon, although +I did not perceive that the children here were more incorrigible than +elsewhere. The Dayaks never beat their children, and later I did not +observe similar cruelty among Malays. Wise though King Solomon was, his +precept not to spare the rod should be regarded in the light of his large +family, "700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines." Even in the training +of animals, better results are obtained by omitting the lash. + +In the beginning of January, 1914, I was able to start for Kaburau. The +controleur courteously provided for my use the government's steamship +_Sophia_, which in six hours approached within easy distance of the +kampong. My party consisted of Ah Sewey, a young Chinese photographer from +Singapore whom I had engaged for developing plates and films, also +Chonggat, a Sarawak Dayak who had had his training at the museum of Kuala +Lampur in the Malay Peninsula. Finally, Go Hong Cheng, a Chinese trader, +acted as interpreter and mandur (overseer). He spoke several Dayak +dialects, but not Dutch, still less English, for Malay is the lingua +franca of the Dutch Indies as well as of the Malay Peninsula. As we +anchored for the night I heard for the first time, from the hills that +rose near by, the loud defiant cry of the argus pheasant. How wildly weird +it sounds on a quiet evening! + +The next morning the Kayans met us with boats to take us up to their +kampong, Kaburau. Some women were pounding paddi (rice) under the large +communal house which, in accordance with the custom of the country, was +raised from the ground on posts. Dogs were much in evidence, both on the +ground below and on the gallery of the house above. The canine species +kept by the Dayaks have erect ears, are rather small and their colour is +usually dull yellow. Here they were variously coloured, some entirely +black, and fights among them were of frequent occurrence. Ascending the +ladder I found a large tame bird of the stork family chained to the +gallery, for the Dayaks often keep birds and animals in their houses. + +The chief very hospitably had prepared one room for all four of us to +lodge in, which did not exactly suit me, as I like to have a place where +at times I may be _chez moi_, for the night at least. There was no suitable +place outside for my tent, so I decided to paddle a few hundred kilometres +up the river to a dilapidated camping-house for travellers, put up by the +Dayaks under government order. Such a house is called pasang-grahan and may +be found in many out-of-the-way places in Borneo. + +Though generally crude and unpretentious huts where travelling soldiers or +Malays put up, these shelters are very useful, especially for the night. +There is another kind of pasang-grahan, comfortable structures provided +with beds, similar to the rest-houses in India. In the more civilised +parts these are built for the use of officials and other travellers. The +one referred to had roof and walls of palm leaves, and as a matter of +course, stood on piles. Though said to be only three years old it was +already very shaky; still after clearing away the grass and some of the +jungle next to it, we established quite a comfortable camp. + +Chonggat brought in a number of birds and animals here, among them the +lovely raja bird, snow-white except for the deep blue head, and with a +very long graceful tail. It is also called paradise flycatcher +(_terpsiphone_), and is found from Sumatra up into middle China. In Borneo +it is quite common, being observed also on the Mahakam in the central part +of the island. According to the legend, it formerly cost a man his life to +kill it. This man soon showed himself to be an excellent worker who took +his business very seriously and did not allow himself to be distracted +when I amused visiting Kayans with simple moving pictures and by playing a +music-box. The jungle, dripping with dew in the early morning, did not +deter him, and at night it was his custom to shoot owls and hunt for deer +or other animals. After arranging his tent with little or no help from the +Dayaks, he would next put up a frame-work on which to dry his skins, under +a roof of palm leaves; here a fire was always kept, without which the +skins would have spoiled in that damp climate. Chonggat had a fine +physique, was always pleasant and willing and was possessed of more than +ordinary intelligence withal. Also keenly humourous, he enjoyed my initial +mistakes in Malay, though maintaining a proper respect for the leader of +the expedition. + +In the evening, having retired for the day, he, as well as the Chinese +photographer could be heard in their respective tents studying English +from small guidebooks which they had brought along. He told me that his +earnings were invested in a small rubber plantation which he and his +brothers worked together. Chonggat was a good example of what a native of +Borneo can accomplish under proper civilizing influences. + +One morning he brought in a king cobra (_naia bungarus_) which he had shot, +and as life was not yet extinct I got a good photograph of it. This serpent +was about three metres long, but these very poisonous snakes, called ular +tadong by the Malays, attain a length of seven metres. They are beautifully +formed for quick movement, and will attack human beings, the female being +particularly vicious when it has eggs. "When I see ular tadong coming +toward me," said Chonggat, who was no coward, "then I run." There are +several species of very poisonous snakes in Borneo, but according to my +experience they are not very numerous. Two small ones, about thirty-five +centimetres long, are the most common varieties encountered in the jungle. +They are sluggish and somewhat similar in appearance, dark brown and red +being the principal colours. One of them has its under side decorated with +transverse sections of beautiful scarlet alternating with black. + +Ah Sewey, the photographer, was also an efficient man, but at first we had +immense difficulty with the developing. One cannot count on water cooler +than 75° F., and at that temperature the films come out well, but in the +beginning many plates were spoiled. For the photographer in the tropics +the use of formalin is an absolute necessity. He must also face other +difficulties, avoiding among other things the possibility of having his +films, when drying, eaten by small species of grasshoppers. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + + +AN EXPEDITION INTO THE JUNGLE--FIRST IMPRESSIONS--RAPID CHANGE IN THE +DENSENESS OF VEGETATION--ANIMAL LIFE--A STUBBORN FIGHT + +About the middle of January, I began an expedition into the utan, as the +Malays call the great jungles of Borneo, first going up the river half a +day and from there striking inland toward the north. If circumstances +proved favourable, I intended to travel as far as Bengara, about twelve +days' trip for a Dayak with a light burden to carry. In case of +unfavourable weather and too much delay in getting fresh provisions, I +felt that I should be satisfied in penetrating well into a region not +before visited by whites, where I might succeed in coming into contact +with the shy nomads, called Punans, known to roam there in limited +numbers. To this end I had taken along one of the Sultan's petty +officials, a so-called raja, who exercised more or less control over the +Punans. This man, evidently half Malay and half Dayak, and as nude as the +rest, demanded to be waited upon by the other natives, who even had to put +up his hair. He was lazy; he would not be a raja if he were not. If he +were on the move one day, he would sleep most of the next. + +Among my twenty-two Kayans was an efficient and reliable man called +Banglan, the sub-chief of Kaburau, who was alert and intelligent. He had +only one hand, the result of a valorous fight with a crocodile, by which +his prahu (native boat) had been attacked one day at dawn in a small +tributary of the river. The animal actually upset the prahu and killed his +two companions, in trying to save whom with no weapon but his bare hands, +he lost one in the struggle. In their contact with the crocodiles the +Dayaks show a fortitude almost beyond belief. A Dutch doctor once treated +a man who had been dragged under water, but had the presence of mind to +press a thumb into each eye of the reptile. He was badly mangled, but +recovered. + +As long as we remained at a low altitude camping out was not an unalloyed +pleasure, because the tormenting gnats were exasperating, and at night the +humidity was great, making the bed and everything else damp. The +atmosphere was heavy and filled with the odor of decaying vegetable matter +never before disturbed. In the morning at five o'clock, my hour for +rising, there was considerable chill in the air. It was difficult to see a +star here and there through the tall trees and dense undergrowth that +surrounded us as closely as the walls of a cave. + +The stagnant atmosphere and dark environment, which the sun's rays vainly +attempted to penetrate, began to have a depressing effect on my spirits. +After a couple of nights spent thus, a longing for sunshine came over me +and I decided to stay one day, make a clearing, dry our belongings, and +put up a shelter in which to leave some of our baggage; all of which could +not be carried up the hills. + +I told the raja and Banglan that I wanted the sun to shine into the camp, +and the men immediately set to work with cheerful alacrity. The Dayaks +have no rivals in their ability to make a tree fall in the desired +direction. First, by carefully sighting the trunk, they ascertain the most +feasible way for the tree to fall, then they chop at the base with native +axes, sometimes four men working, two and two in unison. In a remarkably +brief time it begins to weaken, the top making slight forward movements +which are followed by a final sharp report announcing the end of their +labour. + +Quickly noting that they were masters in their craft, I permitted them to +fell forest giants in close proximity to our tents, some of which landed +but half a metre distant. Immense specimens in their fall brought down +thickets of creepers and smaller growths which produced big openings, so +we succeeded in making quite a sunny camp in the dark jungle. + +Since that experience I have made it an invariable rule in my travels to +cut a small clearing before putting up my tent in the jungle. Sometimes +the felling of one or two trees will ameliorate the situation +immeasurably, admitting fresh air and sunlight, and there is little +difficulty about it when one is accompanied by such able and willing men +as the Dayaks. For their own use when travelling they make simple shelters +as night approaches, because they dislike to get wet. The material is +always close at hand. Slender straight poles are quickly cut and brought +in to make frame-work for a shed, the floor of which is about half a metre +above ground. The roof is made of big leaves, and in less than an hour +they are comfortably at home in one or more sheds, grouped around fires on +the flimsy floor. + +It is a curious fact that one can always manage to make a fire in these +damp woods; a petroleum burner is not essential. The natives always know +where to go to find something dry that will burn; as for the white man's +cook, he usually improves upon the situation by soaking the wood in +petroleum, which is one of the valuable articles of equipment. Often in +the jungle, when slightly preparing the ground for erecting the tent, +phosphorescent lights from decayed vegetable matter shone in innumerable +spots, as if a powerful lamp were throwing its light through a grating. + +In ascending the hills it was surprising how soon the aspect of the +vegetation changed. The camp we were just leaving was only about a metre +above the Kayan River, so we probably were not more than twenty-odd metres +above sea-level. Twenty metres more, and the jungle vegetation was thinner +even at that short distance. Trees, some of them magnificent specimens of +hard wood, began to assert themselves. Above 100 metres elevation it was +not at all difficult to make one's way through the jungle, even if we had +not had a slight Punan path to follow. It is easier than to ascend the +coast range of northeast Queensland under 18° S.L., where the lawyer palms +are very troublesome. Making a light clearing one evening we opened the +view to a couple of tall trees called in Malay, palapak, raising their +crowns high above the rest; this is one of the trees from which the +natives make their boats. The trunk is very tall and much thicker near the +ground. + +Reaching a height of 500 metres, the ground began to be slippery with +yellow mud, but the jungle impeded one less than the thickets around +Lenox, Massachusetts, in the United States. Toward the south of our camp +here, the hill had an incline of 45 degrees or less, and one hardwood tree +that we felled travelled downward for a distance of 150 metres. A pleasant +soft breeze blew for about ten minutes, for the first time on our journey, +and the afternoon was wonderfully cool. + +A Kayan messenger here arrived from the kampong, bringing a package which +contained my mail, obligingly sent me by the controleur. The package made +a profound impression on the Dayaks as well as on the Chinese interpreter, +all of whom crowded around my tent to observe what would follow. I went +elsewhere for a little while, but it was of no avail. They were waiting to +see the contents, so I took my chair outside, opened and read my mail, +closely watched all the time by a wondering crowd. + +None of our attendant natives had been in this part of the country before +except a Punan, now adopted into the Kayan tribe, who knew it long ago and +his memory at times seemed dimmed. Fresh tracks of rhinoceros and bear +were seen and tapirs are known to exist among these beautiful wooded +hills. Chonggat succeeded in shooting an exceedingly rare squirrel with a +large bushy tail. We finally made camp on top of a hill 674 metres in +height which we called kampong Gunong. + +The Dayaks helped me to construct a small shed with a fireplace inside +where I could dry my wet clothing, towels, etc. Of their own initiative +they also put up around the tent some peculiar Dayak ornamentations in the +shape of long spirals of wood shavings hung on to the end of poles or +trees which they planted in the ground. The same kind of decorations are +used at the great festivals, and when a gentle wind set them in motion +they had quite a cheerful, almost festive appearance. + +Every morning, almost punctually at five o'clock, the gibbons or +long-armed, man-like apes, began their loud chatter in the tree-tops, more +suggestive of the calls of birds than of animals. They are shy, but become +very tame in confinement and show much affection. A wah-wah, as the animal +is called in this part of the world, will throw his arms around the neck +of his master, and is even more human in his behaviour than the orang-utan, +from which he differs in temperament, being more vivacious and inclined to +mischief. In a kampong I once saw a young gibbon repeatedly descend into a +narrow inclosure to tease a large pig confined there. The latter, although +three or four times as large, seemed entirely at his mercy and was +submissive and frightened, even when his ears were pulled by the wah-wah. +During my travels in the jungle of Borneo, few were the days in which I was +not summoned to rise by the call of the wah-wah, well-nigh as reliable as +an alarm clock. + +My stay here was protracted much longer than I expected on account of rain +and fog, which rendered photographing difficult; one or the other +prevailed almost continuously. Frequently sunlight seemed approaching, but +before I could procure and arrange my camera it had vanished, and light +splashes of rain sounded on my tent. This was trying, but one cannot +expect every advantage in the tropics, which are so beautiful most of the +year that I, for one, gladly put up with the discomforts of a wet season. + +Rain-storms came from the north and northeast; from our high point of +view, one could see them approaching and hear the noise of the rain on the +top of the jungle many minutes before they arrived. A few times, +especially at night, we had storms that lasted for hours, reaching +sometimes a velocity of eighty kilometres an hour. The trees of the jungle +are naturally not exposed to the force of the wind, standing all together, +so those surrounding our clearing seemed helpless, deprived of their usual +support. Some smaller ones, apparently of soft wood, which had been left +on the clearing, were broken, and the green leaves went flying about. On +one occasion at dusk Banglan stood a long time watching for any +suspicious-looking tree that might threaten to fall over the camp. +Torrents of rain fell during the night and we could barely keep dry within +our tents. The rain was more persistent here in the vicinity of the lower +Kayan than in any other part of Borneo during my two years of travel +through that country. + +White-tailed, wattled pheasants (_lobiophasis_), rare in the museums, were +very numerous here. This beautiful bird has a snow-white tail and its head +is adorned with four cobalt-blue appendages, two above and two underneath +the head. The Dayaks caught this and other birds alive in snares, which +they are expert in constructing. I kept one alive for many days, and it +soon became tame. It was a handsome, brave bird, and I was sorry one day +to find it dead from want of proper nourishment, the Dayaks having been +unable to find sufficient rain-worms for it. + +The beautiful small deer, kidyang, was secured several times. Its meat is +the best of all game in Borneo, although the Kayans look upon it with +disfavour. When making new fields for rice-planting, if such an animal +should appear, the ground is immediately abandoned. + +Scarcely fifty metres below the top of the hill was our water supply, +consisting of a scanty amount of running water, which stopped now and then +to form tiny pools, and to my astonishment the Dayaks one day brought from +these some very small fish which I preserved in alcohol. Naturally the +water swells much in time of rain, but still it seems odd that such small +fish could reach so high a point. + +Many insects were about at night. Longicornes scratched underneath my bed, +and moths hovered about my American hurricane lamp hanging outside the +tent-door. Leeches also entered the tent and seemed to have a predilection +for the tin cans in which my provisions and other things were stored. In +the dim lamplight I could sometimes see the uncanny shadows of their +bodies on the canvas, raised and stretched to an incredible height, moving +their upper parts quickly to all sides before proceeding on their "forward +march." To some people, myself included, their bite is poisonous, and on +the lower part of the legs produces wounds that may take weeks to cure. + +One day native honey was brought in, which had been found in a hollow +tree. It was sweet, but thin, and had no pronounced flavour. A few minutes +after the honey had been left on a plate in my tent there arrived a number +of large yellow hornets, quite harmless apparently, but persevering in +their eagerness to feast upon the honey. During the foggy afternoon they +gathered in increased numbers and were driven off with difficulty. The +temporary removal of the plate failed to diminish their persistence until +finally, at dusk, they disappeared, only to return again in the morning, +bringing others much larger in size and more vicious in aspect, and the +remaining sweet was consumed with incredible rapidity; in less than two +hours a considerable quantity of the honey in the comb as well as liquid +was finished by no great number of hornets. + +Later several species of ants found their way into my provision boxes. A +large one, dark-gray, almost black, in colour, more than a centimetre +long, was very fond of sweet things. According to the Malays, if irritated +it is able to sting painfully, but in spite of its formidable appearance +it is timid and easily turned away, so for a long time I put up with its +activities, though gradually these ants got to be a nuisance by walking +into my cup, which they sometimes filled, or into my drinking-water. +Another species, much smaller, which also was fond of sugar, pretended to +be dead when discovered. One day at ten o'clock in the morning, I observed +two of the big ants, which I had come to look upon as peaceful, in violent +combat outside my tent. A large number of very tiny ones were busily +attaching themselves to legs and antennae of both fighters, who did not, +however, greatly mind the small fellows, which were repeatedly shaken off +as the pair moved along in deadly grip. + +One of the combatants clasped his nippers firmly around one leg of the +other, which for several hours struggled in vain to get free. A small ant +was hanging on to one of the victor's antennae, but disappeared after a +couple of hours. Under a magnifying-glass I could see that each fighter +had lost a leg. I placed the end of a stick against the legs of the one +that was kept in this merciless vice, and he immediately attached himself +to it. As I lifted the stick up he held on by one leg, supporting in this +way both his own weight and that of his antagonist. Finally, they ceased +to move about, but did not separate in spite of two heavy showers in the +afternoon, and at four o'clock they were still maintaining their relative +positions; but next morning they and the other ants had disappeared. + + + + +CHAPTER V + + +MEETING PUNANS, THE SHY JUNGLE PEOPLE--DOWN THE RIVER AGAIN--MY +ENTHUSIASTIC BOATMEN-MALAYS VERSUS DAYAKS + +At my request the raja, with a few companions, went out in search of some +of the shy jungle people called Punans. Seven days afterward he actually +returned with twelve men, who were followed by seven more the next day. +All the women had been left one day's journey from here. These Punans had +been encountered at some distance from kampong Bruen, higher up the river, +and, according to reports, made up the entire nomadic population of the +lower Kayan River. Most of them were rather tall, well-made men, but, as a +result of spending all their lives in the darkness of the jungle, [*] +their skin colour, a pale yellowish brown, was strikingly lighter, +especially the face, than that of the Kayans. + +[Footnote *: In von Luschan's table, Punan 15, Kayan 22.] + +They actually seemed to hate the sun, and next day when it broke through +the mist for a little while they all sought shelter in the shade of trees. +As a result of their avoidance of direct rays from the sun they have a +washed-out, almost sickly pale appearance, contrasting strangely with the +warm tone of light brown which at times may be observed among the Dayaks. +This is probably the reason why they are not very strong, though +apparently muscular, and are not able to carry heavy burdens. They began +at once to put up a shed similar to those of the Dayaks, but usually their +shelters for the night are of the rudest fashion, and as they have only +the scantiest of clothing they then cover themselves with mats made from +the leaves of the fan-palm. + +On the Upper Mahakam I later made acquaintance with some of the Punans who +roam the mountainous regions surrounding the headwaters of that river. +Those are known under the name Punan Kohi, from a river of that name in +the mountains toward Sarawak. The members of the same tribe further east +in the mountains of the Bulungan district are called Punan Lun, from the +River Lun, to whom the present individuals probably belonged. According to +the raja, there are two kinds of Punans here, and his statement seems to +be borne out by the variations in their physical appearance. + +These nineteen nomads had black hair, straight in some cases, wavy in +others. Most of them had a semblance of mustache and some hair on the +chin. Their bodies looked perfectly smooth, as they remove what little +hair there may be. Some of them had high-arched noses. The thigh was +large, but the calf of the leg usually was not well-developed, though a +few had very fine ones; and they walked with feet turned outward, as all +the Dayaks and Malays I have met invariably do. The only garment worn was +a girdle of plaited rattan strings, to which at front and back was +attached a piece of fibre cloth. Although dirty in appearance, only one +man was afflicted with scaly skin disease. Visits to the hill-tops are +avoided by them on account of the cold, which they felt much in our camp. +Their dark-brown eyes had a kindly expression; in fact they are harmless +and timid-looking beings, though in some parts of Borneo they engage in +head-hunting, a practice probably learned from the Dayaks. Those I talked +with said the custom was entirely discontinued, although formerly heads of +other Punans, Malays, or Dayaks had been taken. + +These natives, following no doubt an observance prevalent among the +Dayaks, had some of their teeth filed off in the upper jaw, the four +incisors, two cuspids, and two bicuspids. Our Kayans from Kaburau had no +less than ten teeth filed off, the four incisors and three more on either +side. The operation is performed when a boy or girl becomes full-grown. +For the boys it is not a painful experience, but the girls have theirs +filed much shorter, which causes pain and loss of blood. + +The Punans make fire by iron and flint which are carried in a small bamboo +box. They are expert regarding the manufacture of the sumpitan +(blow-pipe), and are renowned for their skill in using this weapon and can +make the poisonous darts as well as the bamboo caskets in which these are +carried. Subsisting chiefly upon meat, their favourite food is wild pig. + +At the birth of a child all the men leave the premises, including the +husband. The dead are buried in the ground a metre deep, head toward the +rising sun. The Punans climb trees in the same manner as the Kayans and +other Dayaks I have seen, _i.e._, by tying their feet together and moving +up one side of the tree in jumps. The Kayans in climbing do not always tie +the feet. + +These shy nomads remained in camp two days and allowed themselves to be +photographed. One morning seven of them went out to look for game, armed +with their long sumpitans and carrying on the right side, attached to the +girdle, the bamboo casket that contained the darts. They formed a +thrilling sight in the misty morning as in single file they swung with +long, elastic steps up the hill. Though the Punans are famous as hunters +and trappers, they returned in a few hours without any result. Next +morning when I ventured to begin taking their measurements they became +uneasy and one after another slipped away, even leaving behind part of +their promised rewards, rice and clothing for the women, and taking with +them only tobacco and a large tin of salt, which I rather regretted, as +they had well earned it all. + +We made a trip of a few days' duration to the next elevation, Gunong Rega, +in a northerly direction, most of the time following a long, winding ridge +on a well-defined Punan trail. The hill-top is nearly 800 metres above +sea-level (2,622 feet), by boiling thermometer, and the many tree-ferns +and small palm-trees add greatly to its charm and beauty. + +Toward the end of February I made my way back to the river. From our last +camp, one day's march downward, three of my strongest Kayans had carried +45 kilograms each. My Javanese cook, Wong Su, on arriving in camp, felt +ill and I found him lying prostrate. He had not been perspiring on the +march down the hills and complained of chilly sensations. He also +presented the symptoms of a cold attack of malaria, but it was simply the +effects produced by the bites of leeches, to which he was particularly +susceptible. He had seven bites on one ankle and two on the other, and the +resulting wounds were swollen and suppurating, but by the application of +iodine followed by hot compress bandages, he was able to resume his work +in three days. Nevertheless, suppuration formed even at a distance from +the wounds, and five months later they were not entirely healed. It is bad +policy to remove leeches forcibly in spite of the temptation to do so. The +application of salt or tobacco juice makes them drop off, and the wounds +are less severe, but few persons have the patience to wait after +discovering a leech. The animal is not easily killed. The Dayaks always +remove it with the sword edge and immediately cut it in two. + +On our return to our old lodging-house near Kaburau I spent a week making +ethnological collections from the Kayan, who brought me a surprising +number, keeping me busy from early until late. Before continuing my +journey up the river I decided to go down to Tandjong Selor in order to +buy necessary provisions and safely dispose of my collections. The Kayans +were glad to provide prahus, the keelless boats which are used by both +Dayak and Malay. The prahu, even the largest size, is formed from a +dugout, and to the edge on either side are lashed two boards, one above +and overlapping the other. This is accomplished by threading rattan +through numerous small holes. As these are not completely filled by the +rattan, they are plugged with fibre and calked with damar to prevent +leakage. + +In order to travel more comfortably we lashed a prahu at either side of +mine, while many of the natives who took advantage of the occasion to +visit the shops in town, tied theirs at the rear of ours. It was a gay +flotilla that proceeded down the river, the Dayaks singing most of the +time, especially the women who accompanied their husbands, a number of +them sitting in my large but crowded prahu. The women never seemed to grow +tired of the Mae Lu Long, a jolly song which I had several times heard +them singing when returning from the fields in the evening. Its words are +of a language called Bungkok. The Kenyahs have the same song, and when I +sang it to the Penihings on the Upper Mahakam they also understood it. +These Kayans (Segai) are able to sing in the following six dialects or +languages: Bungkok, Tekená, Siudalong, Siupanvei, Lepói, and Lui Lui. + +[Musical notation: +KAYAN WOMEN'S SONG +(On returning from the fields) +Lively. +Mae lun long son dong min ma--i min kam lam (_Repeat_)] + +At times as they paddled along, the men would sing without words, but more +impressively, a song which until recently was used when the Kayan returned +to a kampong from a successful head-hunting expedition. Though the Dutch +authorities evidently have stamped out headhunting on the Kayan River, and +have even destroyed the heads that were hanging in the houses, smashing +them throwing them into the river, the Kayan still speaks of the custom in +the present tense. Even one or two of my companions were credited with +having taken part in such expeditions. + +To-day the young men sing the song of the returning head-hunters more for +the fun of it, but the enthusiasm of all waxed high when the paddlers took +it up. Those who did not paddle would reach out for the large trumpets +which, as part of my collections, were lying in my prahu, and blow them +with full force as an accompaniment, just as these instruments formerly +were used on real occasions. A deep, strong bass sound is produced which +resembles the distant whistle of a big ocean steamer. The men at the rear +would join in with wild shouts like those made by American cowboys, most +of them rising in their prahus to be able to give more impetus to the +paddles. The powerful strokes of our enthusiastic crew made my prahu jump +with jerky movements, and we progressed rapidly, arriving early in the +afternoon at Tandjong Selor. This time I was made comfortable in a +government's pasang-grahan that had just been completed, and which was far +enough from the main street to avoid disturbing noise. + +[Musical notation: +KAYAN HEAD-HUNTERS' SONG +(On returning from a successful raid) +Vae vae-ae vo vae vo ae vo ae-ae-ae-ae vo vae (_Repeat_)] + +I had found the Kayans very agreeable to deal with, and later had the same +experience with many other tribes of Borneo. They ask high prices for +their goods, but are not bold in manner. Though I made no special effort +to ingratiate myself with them they always crowded round me, and sometimes +I was compelled to deny myself to all callers regardless of their wishes. +When I was reading or writing it was necessary to tell them to be quiet, +also to stop their singing at night when my sleep was too much disturbed, +but they were never offended. Presents of fruit, fish, mouse-traps, and +other articles which they thought I might like, were constantly offered +me. The women, free and easy in their manners, were ladylike to a +surprising degree. In spite of having had ten teeth of the upper jaw filed +down and the remainder coloured black by the constant chewing of betel, +they are literally to the manner born. + +The controleur told me that his large district, the northernmost part of +Dutch Borneo, called Bulungan, comprised "about 1,100 square miles." He +estimated the number of inhabitants to be about 60,000, roughly speaking, +50 to each mile, but the population here as elsewhere follows the rivers. +The Dayaks are greatly in majority, the Malays inhabiting the Sultan's +kampong and a couple of small settlements in the vicinity. He had +travelled a good deal himself and taken census where it was possible. His +statistics showed that among the Dayaks the men outnumber the women +somewhat, and that children are few. In one small kampong there were no +children. The same fact has been noted in other parts of Borneo. The hard +labour of the women has been advanced as a reason. Doctor A.W. Nieuwenhuis +believes that inborn syphilis is the cause of the infertility of the Bahu +on the Upper Mahakam. Whatever the reason, as a matter of fact the Dayak +women are not fertile. The chief of the Kayan kampong, Kaburau, at the +time of my visit had a fourth wife on probation for two years, having +previously dismissed three because they bore him no children. + +With the Malays the condition is just the reverse. Their total number in +the Bulungan district is perhaps only one-tenth that of Dayaks, but with +them women preponderate and there are many children. Such is the case in +the rest of Dutch Borneo, and is one reason why the Malays ultimately must +dominate. + +The Sultan had for weeks been preparing to celebrate the marriage of his +younger brother, which event occurred before I left, and the festivities +were to continue for ten days. As a feature of the occasion, two young +Malay girls presented a dance which they evidently had not practised +sufficiently. Among the company was an old Malay who, according to the +testimony of all present, was one hundred and thirty years old. He had +lived to see seven sultans and was the ancestor of five generations. His +movements were somewhat stiff, but otherwise he was a young-looking old +man who, still erect, carried a long stick which he put down with some +force at each step. I photographed the Sultan, who donned his official +European suit, in which he evidently felt exceedingly uncomfortable. The +operation finished, he lifted up the skirts of the long black robe as if +to cool himself, and walked hurriedly away toward the house. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + + +RESUMPTION OF MY JOURNEY UP THE KAYAN RIVER--LONG PANGIAN--BERI-BERI-- +HINTS ON PROPER PROVISIONS--KENYAHS FROM CENTRAL BORNEO--EFFECT OF A +SPIDER'S BITE + +Shortly after my arrival in Tandjong Selor, fifty Dayaks, mostly Kenyahs, +Oma Bakkah, and some Kayans, arrived from distant Apo Kayan on a trading +expedition, and I considered this rather fortunate, as it would largely +solve the difficult question of prahus and men for my journey up the +river. The controleur and the Sultan also co-operated in assisting me to +make a start, but when at last all seemed in readiness, the Malays allowed +one of our prahus to drift away down toward the sea; after other similar +delays I finally began my expedition up the Kayan River. + +At the old pasang-grahan near Kaburau, I found that during our two weeks' +absence surprising changes had taken place in the vegetation of the +immediate surroundings. The narrow path leading from the river up the +embankment was now closed by large plants in flower, one species looking +like a kind of iris. The grass which we had left completely cut down had +grown over twenty centimeters. (Three weeks later it was in bloom.) It was +the month of March and several big trees in the surrounding jungle were +covered with masses of white blossoms. + +It is about 112 kilometres from Tandiong Selor to Long Pangian, our first +halting-place, and, as the current of the river is not strong until the +last day, the distance may be covered in four days. When low the Kayan +River is light greenish-brown, but when high the colour changes to a muddy +red-brown with a tinge of yellow. We used the dilapidated pasang-grahans +as shelters, but one night we were obliged to camp on the river bank, so I +had the tall, coarse grass cut down on the embankment, which was a few +metres higher than the beach. Underneath the tall growth was another kind +of grass, growing low and tangled like a mat, which could be disposed of +by placing poles under it, lifting it and rolling it back, while at the +same time the few roots attaching it to the ground were cut with swords. +In less than fifteen minutes I had a safe place for my tent. + +The Dayaks, however, who have little to concern them except their prahus, +in which is left whatever baggage they may have, as usual slept in the +prahus or on the stony beach. During the night the river rose a metre, and +some of the men awoke in water. The Chinese mandur, notwithstanding my +warnings, had tied his prahu carelessly, and in the middle of the night it +drifted off, with lighted lamp and two Dayaks sleeping in it. Luckily some +of the others soon discovered the accident and a rescuing party brought it +back early in the morning. The "kitchen" had been moved up to my place, +and in spite of rain and swollen river we all managed to get breakfast. I +had a call from the chief of the near-by kampong, who spoke excellent +Malay, and had visited New Guinea twice on Dutch expeditions, once with +Doctor Lorenz. One characteristic of the climate which had impressed him +much was the snow, which had been very cold for the feet. He was kind +enough to send me a present of a young fowl, which was very acceptable. + +Long Pangian is a small settlement where ten native soldiers are kept, +under the command of a so-called posthouder, in this case a civilized +Dayak from the South, who met us at the landing in an immaculate white +suit and new tan shoes. It was warmer here toward the end of March than at +Tandjong Selor, because there had not been much rain for a month. The soil +was therefore hard, and in the middle of the day so heated that after a +shower it remained as dry as before. A few Chinamen and Bugis who live +here advance rice and dried fish to the Malays to provision expeditions +into the utan which last two to three months, receiving in return rubber +and damar. The Malays come from lower down on the river, and a good many +of them leave their bones in the jungle, dying from beri-beri; others ill +with the same disease are barely able to return to Long Pangian, but in +three weeks those who do return usually recover sufficiently to walk about +again by adopting a diet of katsjang idju, the famous green peas of the +East Indies, which counteract the disease. The Malays mix native +vegetables with them and thus make a kind of stew. + +The rice traded in Borneo is of the ordinary polished variety, almost +exclusively from Rangoon, and it is generally supposed that the polishing +of the rice is the cause of this illness. The Dutch army in the East seems +to have obtained good results by providing the so-called silver-fleeced +rice to the soldiers. However, I was told that, in some localities at +least, the order had to be rescinded, because the soldiers objected so +strongly to that kind of rice. Later, on this same river, I personally +experienced a swelling of the ankles, with an acceleration of the heart +action, which, on my return to Java, was pronounced by a medical authority +to be beri-beri. Without taking any medicine, but simply by the changed +habits of life, with a variety of good food, the symptoms soon +disappeared. + +It is undoubtedly true that the use of polished rice is a cause of +beri-beri, because the Dayaks, with their primitive methods of husking, +never suffer from this disease, although rice is their staple food. Only on +occasions when members of these tribes take part in expeditions to New +Guinea, or are confined in prisons, and eat the rice offered of +civilization, are they afflicted with this malady. In my own case I am +inclined to think that my indisposition at the commencement of my travels +in Borneo was largely due to the use of oatmeal from which the husks had +been removed. Rolled oats is the proper food. + +Modern research has established beyond doubt, that the outer layers of +grains contain mineral salts and vitamines that are indispensable to human +life. Facts prove that man, if confined to an exclusive diet of white +bread, ultimately dies from malnutrition. Cereals which have been +"refined" of their husks present a highly starchy food, and unless they +are properly balanced by base-forming substances, trouble is sure to +follow. Scurvy, beri-beri, and acidosis have been fatal to many +expeditions, though these diseases no doubt can be avoided by a judicious +selection of provisions that insure acid and base forming nutrition in the +right proportion. [*] + +[Footnote *: For an illuminating example of poorly balanced food, see +_Physical Culture Magazine_, New York, for August, 1918, in which Mr. +Alfred W. McCann describes the disaster to the Madeira-Mamore Railway +Company in Brazil, when "four thousand men were literally starved to death +on a white bread diet." In the July number may be found the same food +expert's interesting manner of curing the crew of the German raider +_Kronprinz Wilhelm_, which in April, 1915, put in at Newport News, in +Virginia, with over a hundred men seriously stricken with acidosis. The +crew had enjoyed an abundance of food from the ships they had raided and +destroyed, but a mysterious disease, pronounced to be beri-beri, was +crippling the crew. As the patients failed to respond to the usual +treatment, the ship's chief surgeon consented to try the alkaline treatment +which Mr. McCann suggested to him. The patients rapidly recovered on a diet +consisting of fresh vegetable soup, potato-skin liquor, wheat bran, +whole-wheat bread, egg yolks, whole milk, orange juice, and apples. No +drugs were administered. + +It may be added that Dr. Alfred Berg (in the same magazine, September, +1919) recounts the cure of an absolutely hopeless case of stomach trouble +by the vegetable juice prepared according to McCann's formula. He has +found the results gained by the use of this soup in diet "so remarkable as +to be almost unbelievable." + +The formula in question, as taken from McCann's article, is: "Boil +cabbage, carrots, parsnips, spinich, onions, turnips together for two +hours. Drain off liquor. Discard residue. Feed liquor as soup in generous +quantities with unbuttered whole-wheat bread."] + +As a precautionary measure during my further travels in Borneo I adopted +the green peas of the Orient in my daily diet, and when properly cooked +they suit my taste very well. Every day my native cook made a pot of +katjang idju, to which I added as a flavour Liebig's extract, and when +procurable different kinds of fresh vegetables such as the natives use. +Almost any kind of preserved vegetables or meat, especially sausages, is +compatible with this stew, which is capable of infinite variations. For a +year and a half I used it every day, usually twice a day, without becoming +tired of it, and this regimen undoubtedly was the reason why the symptoms +of acidosis never reappeared. + +I may add that besides this dish my main food was milk and biscuits, +especially those made of whole wheat. In the tropics no milk will keep +beyond a certain time limit unless it is sweetened, which renders it less +wholesome. I found Nestlé & Company's evaporated milk serviceable, but +their sterilised natural milk is really excellent, though it is expensive +on an expedition which at times has to depend on carriers, and in +mountainous regions like New Guinea it would be impracticable to carry it. +Under these conditions one is content to have the evaporated or the +sweetened brand. Sterilised milk, although perhaps a luxury, is a +permissible one when travelling by boat, but the fact that it remains +sound only a limited time should be borne in mind. However, it helped me +to resist the adverse conditions of travel in the equatorial regions, and +to return to civilisation in prime physical condition. When I had +opportunity I ate the rice of the Dayaks, which is not so well sifted of +its husks, and is by far more palatable than the ordinary polished rice. I +found the best biscuits to be Huntley and Palmer's College Brown, +unsweetened. + +As regards one's native companions, the Dayaks or Malays are quite +satisfied as long as they get their full rations of rice and dried fish. +This is the food they have always been accustomed to and their demands do +not go further, although cocoanut-oil for frying the fish adds to their +contentment. Katjang idju was usually given them if there was sugar enough +to serve with it; they do not care for it unsweetened. I have dwelt at +some length on the food question, because information on this subject may +prove useful in case others are tempted to undertake journeys of +exploration and research in the East Indies. To have the right kind of +provisions is as important in the equatorial regions as in the arctic, and +civilised humanity would be better off if there were a more general +recognition of the fact that suitable food is the best medicine. + +Our Dayaks from Apo Kayan, who had proved very satisfactory, left us at +Long Pangian. They had to wait several days before their friends caught up +with them, so they could continue their long journey. This party of +Dayaks, after spending one month at home in gathering rubber, had +travelled in five prahus, covered some distance on land by walking over +the watershed, and then made five new prahus in which they had navigated +the long distance to Tandjong Selor. Ten men had been able to make one +prahu in four days, and these were solid good boats, not made of bark. +Already these people had been three months on the road, and from here to +their homes they estimated that at least one month would intervene, +probably more. + +The rubber which they had brought was sold for f. 2,500 to Hong Seng. They +had also sold three rhinoceros horns, as well as stones from the +gall-bladder and intestines of monkeys and the big porcupine, all valuable +in the Chinese pharmacopoea. Each kilogram of rhino horn may fetch f. 140. +These articles are dispensed for medical effect by scraping off a little, +which is taken internally with water. On their return trip the Dayaks +bring salt from the government's monopoly, gaudy cloths for the women, +beads, ivory rings for bracelets and armlets, and also rice for the +journey. Should the supply of rice become exhausted they eat native herbs. + +At Long Pangian we were able to develop plates effectively by hauling +clear and comparatively cool water from a spring fifteen or twenty minutes +away. By allowing six cans (five-gallon oil tins) of water to stand over +night, and developing from 4.30 next morning, we got very good results, +though the water would show nearly 76°F. My kinematograph was out of +order, and desiring to use it on my journey higher up the river, I decided +to go again to Tandjong Selor in an endeavour to have it repaired. The +delay was somewhat irritating, but as the trip down-stream consumed only +two days, I started off in a small, swift boat kindly loaned to me by the +posthouder. Fortunately Mr. J.A. Uljee, a Dutch engineer who was in town, +possessed considerable mechanical talent: in a few days he succeeded in +mending the apparatus temporarily. + +As I was preparing to return, another party arrived from Apo Kayan. They +were all Kenyahs, Oma Bakkah, who came in seven prahus, and proved so +interesting that I postponed my journey one day. The government has put up +a kind of lodging-house for visiting Dayaks, and the many fine implements +and utensils which these men had brought with them made the interior look +like a museum. Their beautiful carrying-baskets and other articles were +standing in a continuous row around the walls. These Kenyahs did not seem +to have been here before and were agreeable people with whom to deal. I +have not, before nor since, seen such a tempting collection of the short +sword of the Dayak which has grown to be almost a part of himself. In the +northeast these famous swords are called mandau, but the designation +parang is more extensively used, and I shall employ that name. One +exceedingly fine one, belonging to the chief, I purchased for three sets +of ivory rings, each set at fifteen florins, and one sarong. In the +blacksmith's art the Dayaks have reached a higher level than the otherwise +more advanced Malays and Javanese. There were three women in the party. +One of the men was dressed as a woman and his hands were tatued. Though +his voice was quite manly, there was something feminine about him and in +appearance he was less robust than the others. According to my Chinese +interpreter, who has travelled much, there are many such men in Apo Kayan. + +I stopped over night at one of the Bugis settlements which have large +pineapple plantations. Such delicious pineapples as those in northern +Borneo, with an unusual abundance of juice and very slightly acid, I had +never before tasted. A gigantic white rat, about the size of a rabbit, +which had been caught working havoc with the pineapples, was offered me +for sale alive. I afterward regretted that, owing to the great difficulty +of transportation, I declined, as no doubt it was a rare, if not a new, +species. + +In the evening, on my return to Long Pangian, I went to bed in the old +pasang-grahan which I occupied there. It consisted of a single large room +and had an air of security, so for once I omitted to tuck the mosquito-net +underneath me. But this was a mistake, for some animal bit me, and I was +awakened by an intense pain on the left side of my head which became +almost unbearable, then gradually subsided, and in two hours I slept +again. I applied nothing to the affected area because of the impossibility +of locating the bite. On the left side of my neck at the back soon +developed two balls of moderate size which had not quite disappeared four +years afterward. Next day I found a large dark-coloured spider which no +doubt was the culprit. When chased it made long high jumps on the floor, +but was finally captured. After that occurrence I paid strict attention to +the mosquito-net, and when properly settled in my bed for the night I felt +as safe against snakes or harmful smaller animals as if I were in a hotel +in Europe. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + + +ON THE ISAU RIVER--A KENYAH CHILD'S FUNERAL--A GREAT FISHING EXPEDITION-- +CATCHING FISH BY POISONING THE RIVER--TAKING OMENS--ENTERTAINING SCENES + +A report came to me that the people of kampong Long Isau (Long = sound; +Isau = a kind of fruit) were making preparations to catch fish by +poisoning the river, and that they were going immediately to build traps +in which the stupefied fish are caught. I decided to go at once, and a few +hours later we were on our way up the Isau River, a tributary to the +Kayan, at the junction with which lies Long Pangian. We made our camp just +opposite the kampong, which has a charming location along a quiet pool +formed by the river at this point. The natives here and on the Kayan river +above Long Pangian are Kenyahs. Our presence did not seem to disturb them +in the least, nor did the arrival of some Malays from Long Pangian, who +had closed their little shops in order to take part in the fishing. + +The chief was a tall, fine-looking man, the personification of physical +strength combined with a dignified bearing. He readily granted permission +to photograph the women coming down to the river to fetch water. The +Kenyah women wear scantier attire than those of any other tribes of +Borneo--simply a diminutive piece of cloth. It was picturesque to see +these children of nature descend the steps of the rough ladder that leads +down to the river, gracefully carrying on their backs a load of five or +six bamboos, then wade into the calm water, where they bathed for a few +moments before filling their receptacles. The Kenyah drinks water by +taking it up in his hands while looking at it. In the house he drinks from +the bamboo utensils which are always conveniently placed. The Malay throws +water quickly into his mouth with his right hand. + +There seemed to be an epidemic of cholerine among the children, three +having already died and one succumbed while we were at the kampong. The +sounding of a gong drew attention to this fact and people assembled at the +house of mourning where they wailed for an hour. The fishing was postponed +one day on account of the burial, and the work of making the coffin could +be heard over on our side of the river. During the night there was much +crying. + +Next day at noon the funeral took place. First, with quick steps, came two +men and two women, parents of children who had died before, followed by +the father of the dead child and another man of the family who carried the +coffin. The procession embarked in three prahus. The relatives were all +attired in simple but becoming mourning garments, made from wood-fibre, +consisting of tunics, and wrappers around the loins, which as regards the +women covered practically the whole body, and on their heads they wore +pointed hats of the same material. In the first prahu the little coffin +was placed, and immediately behind it the mother lay with face down. Over +her breast was a broad band of fibre which passed around to the back where +it was tied in a large bow. The mourning garb worn in this and other Dayak +tribes by relatives of a deceased person is an attempt to elude the evil +spirit (antoh) who is regarded as the cause of death and whose wrath the +remaining relatives are anxious to evade by disguising themselves in this +way. The men poled fast, and ten minutes later the cortege ascended the +bank without following a path, and deposited the coffin in a small, +old-looking house. Once daily for three days food is deposited near a dead +child, while in the case of adults it is given for a long time. + +The following day we all started up the river for the great catch. About +300 Dayaks had gathered, with 80 prahus. There were people from as far +east as Kaburau, but those of the kampongs west of Long Pangian did not +appear as expected. Some of the men carried spears specially devised for +fishing, and some had brought their shields. We passed seven traps, in +Kenyah called "bring," some in course of making, and others already +finished. These rapidly made structures were found at different points on +the river. Each consisted of a fence of slightly leaning poles, sometimes +fortified with mats, running across the river and interrupted in the +middle by a well-constructed trough, the bottom of which was made from +poles put closely together, which allowed the water to escape but left the +fish dry. + +The poison which stupefies or even kills the fish, without making it unfit +for food, is secured from the root of a plant called tuba and described to +me as being a vine. The root, which is very long, had been cut up into +short pieces and made into about 1,800 small bundles, each kampong +contributing its share. The packages had been formed into a beautifully +arranged pile, in accordance with the artistic propensities of both Kenyah +and Kayan, whose wood-stacks inside the rooms are models of neatness. The +heap in this case was two and a half metres long and a metre high, a +surprisingly small amount for the poisoning of a whole river. + +Before daylight they began to beat these light-brown tuba pieces until the +bark became detached. The bark is the only part used, and this was beaten +on two previously prepared blocks, each consisting of two logs lashed +together, with flattened upper sides. On either side of these crude tables +stood as many men as could find room, beating earnestly with sticks upon +the bark, singing head-hunting songs the while with much fervour. +Occasionally they interrupted the procedure to run about animatedly, +returning shortly to resume their labour. + +Later an augury was to be taken, and all gathered closely on a wide pebbly +beach. First a long piece of root, which is called the "mother of tuba," +was beaten vigorously by a number of men. Then one of the principal actors +stepped forward and began to make fire in the old-fashioned way, _i.e._, +by pulling with both hands a piece of rattan around a bamboo stick held to +the ground. According to several possibilities the divinations are +expounded: Should the rattan break before smoke ensues, the undertaking is +postponed for an hour or two; if the rattan breaks into two equal parts, +fish will not be caught; but if the right-hand piece is longer than the +left, all is well and much fish will be the result. + +The assemblage was chewing betel, smoking tobacco, and with hopeful +patience anticipating a successful outcome, while one chief after another +vainly attempted the augury. Only men who have taken heads are permitted +to make divinations of fire at the tuba-fishing, and if all the elders +have tried and failed the fishing is delayed one day. + +The same augury is used when dogs have run away. If the left-hand piece is +the longer, the dog is dead; if of the same size, the dog will be found at +a distant future time; but if the right is the longer, the animal will be +recovered very soon. The reading of pig's liver in regard to the present +or the future is used more by the Kayan than by the Kenyah. + +It was after nine o'clock in the morning when success was attained, and +the fishers all suddenly dispersed. Some of them carried beaten bark into +four empty prahus, threw water over it with their hands, then beat it +again, until finally it was crushed to shreds. The prahus were then turned +over and the stuff emptied into the water, where it soon disappeared. The +bark on the blocks, which by this time had the appearance of a +reddish-brown fibre, was now thrown into the river with much shouting and +running about, whereupon the men ran out of sight, probably to take to +their prahus. + +The majority of the stupefied fish are caught in the so-called "bring," +the traps running across the river, but frantic endeavours were made by +those engaged in the sport to take the fish before the fences were +reached, and for this purpose hand nets or spears were used. This part of +the proceeding was most entertaining. + +The fleet of prahus thoroughly searched the water, descending the river +slowly in seven hours. At a few places where the stream makes large pools +a few hundred metres long the boats loitered for a considerable time, as +the prey would not often rise to the surface. Now and then there was much +excitement over a fish that had risen and dived again, and the nearest +prahus would all try to get it. Soon a man would be seen to jump after it +with fixed spear, pass out of view, and after a while reappear on the +surface, invariably with a large fish on the spear point. It was a +magnificent exhibition of agility combined with skill. + +The Malays also captured many victims with their casting-nets. It is +customary for each to consider as his personal property all the fish he +obtains. These gatherings afford much delight to the children, of whom a +great number accompanied their elders in the prahus. Women and children +were in holiday attire, and, in spite of the grotesque ornaments of big +rings in the split, distended ear-lobes, the latter were unusually +charming. They had bracelets of brass and silver around their wrists and +ankles; some of them wore necklaces of antique beads in dull colors, +yellow, dark brown, or deep blue. Such a necklace may cost over a thousand +florins. The spirit of the whole occasion was like that of a great picnic. + +All was over at five o'clock in the afternoon, when the people dispersed +to their respective kampongs. At each of the seven "bring," each belonging +to one of the principal men, were caught from 100 to 200 fish, most of +them fairly large. I noted seven species. More than a thousand have been +caught, and for the next two nights and days the people were engaged in +opening and drying fish over fire and smoke. Thus preserved they are of a +dark-brown tint, very light in weight, and will keep for three months. +Before the dried product is eaten it is pounded, then boiled, and with +each mouthful a pinch of salt is taken. + +During the night much fish was obtained even as far down the river as our +kampong, and many men searched for it here, using as lamps petroleum in +bamboo with a piece of cloth for a wick. Next day all the able-bodied +people left the kampong for a week's stay at the ladangs (fields), one +day's journey up the Kayan River, only the weak and old people remaining +behind. On this occasion I observed five or six individuals, men and +women, of a markedly light, yellowish colour. One woman's body was as +light as that of a white woman, but her face was of the usual colour, +perhaps somewhat lighter. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + + +THE JOURNEY CONTINUED UP THE KAYAN RIVER--FIRST EXPERIENCE OF KIHAMS, OR +RAPIDS--WITH KENYAH BOATMEN--ADVANTAGE OF NATIVE COOKING--LONG +PELABAN--THE ATTRACTIVE KENYAHS--SOCIAL STRATA--CUSTOMS AND +HABITS--VALUABLE BEADS + +At Long Pangian several days were spent in vain efforts to secure men and +prahus to continue the journey up the Kayan River. The few Malays about, +as usual, did not believe in work, but the posthouder finally succeeded in +calling Kenyahs from the river above, and on the 1st of May we started +with five prahus and twenty-four men. It was quite refreshing to hear +again the joyous shouts of the paddlers, who worked eagerly and quickly +against the strong current. A little over an hour brought us to some +well-known rapids, or "kihams," as they usually are called in Borneo. +Formerly this Kiham Raja had a bad reputation, Dayaks being killed here +occasionally every year, but of late the government has blasted out rocks +and made it more passable. However, even now it is no trifle to negotiate +these rapids. Below them we halted and threw explosive Favier into the +water in the hope of getting fish, and as soon as the upheaval of the +water began the Kenyahs, as if by a given signal, hurried all the prahus +out to the scene. With other natives than Dayaks this would have given me +some anxiety, as the boats were heavily laden and contained valuable +cameras and instruments. We secured quite a number of fish and the Kenyahs +had a good time. + +The traveller soon assumes a feeling of confidence in these experienced +men as, according to circumstances, they paddle, pole, or drag the prahu +by a long piece of rattan tied to the inside of the bow. In passing these +rapids most of them got out and dragged us by the rattan, but as the shore +consisted of big stones that sometimes were inaccessible, they would often +throw themselves with the rope into the foaming water and manage to get +foothold a little further up. Sometimes it looked as if they would not +succeed, the prahu receding precariously, but they were so quick in their +movements and the prahus followed each other so closely that it was +possible to give mutual help. + +Amban Klesau, the only son of the chief of Long Mahan, directed my prahu. +He had taken part in an expedition to New Guinea and was an efficient and +pleasant man who had seen something of the world, but his attire was +fantastic, consisting of a long white nightshirt with a thin red girdle +around the waist, to which was attached his parang adorned with many +ornaments. He liked that shirt, for he did not take it off all day, +notwithstanding the extreme heat. The dry season had set in, and though in +our travels I took good care to place mats over the iron boxes in which +cameras and plates were kept, still they became warm. When I photographed, +perspiration fell like rain-drops. At Long Mahan (mahan = difficulties, or +time spent) we found the pasang-grahan occupied by travelling Malays, two +of whom were ill from a disease resembling cholera, so we moved on to a +ladang a little higher up, where we found a camping-site. + +Next day we stopped to photograph a beautiful funeral house on the bank of +the river, in which rest the remains of a dead chief and his wife. This +operation finished, the Dayaks prepared their midday meal consisting of +rice alone, which they had brought in wicker bottles. A number of bamboo +sticks were procured, which were filled with rice and water and placed in +a row against a horizontal pole and a fire was kindled underneath. As soon +as this cooking was finished the bamboos were handed to the chief, Amban +Klesau, who in the usual way split one open with his parang to get at the +contents. Having eaten, he distributed the rest of the bamboos. I was +given one, and upon breaking it open a delicious smell met my olfactory +sense. The rice, having been cooked with little water, clung together in a +gelatinous mass which had a fine sweet taste, entirely lacking when cooked +in the white man's way. + +During my travels in Borneo I often procured such rice from the Dayaks. It +is a very clean and convenient way of carrying one's lunch, inside of a +bamboo, the open end closed with a bunch of leaves. Fish and meat are +prepared in the same manner. With fish no water is used, nevertheless, +when cooked it yields much juice, with no suggestion of the usual +mud-flavoured varieties of Borneo. It will remain wholesome three days, and +whenever necessary the bamboo is heated at the bottom. One who has tasted +meat or cereals cooked between hot stones in earth mounds knows that, as +regards palatable cooking, there is something to learn from the savages. +It is a fact that Indians and Mexicans prepare green corn in a way +superior to that employed by the best hotels in New York. There is no +necessity of returning to the bamboo and hot stones as cooking utensils, +but why not accept to a greater extent the underlying principle of these +methods? + +In the evening we arrived at Long Pelaban, a large Kenyah kampong, where +for some time I made my headquarters. On the opposite bank of the river we +cut the tall grass and jungle and made camp. Soon we were visited by many +small boys who afterward came every day to look for tin cans. With few +exceptions they were not prepossessing in appearance; nearly all were +thin, and one was deaf and dumb, but they were inoffensive and +well-behaved. During my travels among Dayaks I never saw boys or girls +quarrel among themselves--in fact their customary behaviour is better than +that of most white children. Both parents treat the child affectionately, +the mother often kissing it. + +The sumpitan (blow-pipe) is found in his room, but the Kenyah usually +prefers to carry a spear when he goes hunting. In his almost daily trips +to the ladang he also takes it along, because instinctively mindful of +enemy attacks. The Kenyahs are physically superior to the Kayans and the +other natives I met, and more free from skin disease. They are less +reserved than the Kayans, who are a little heavy and slow. In none of +these tribes is any distrust shown, and I never saw any one who appeared +to be either angry or resentful. Though the so-called Dayaks have many +traits in common, of them all the Kenyahs are the most attractive. They +are intelligent and brave and do not break a contract; in fact, you can +trust their word more completely than that of the majority of common white +people. Neither men nor women are bashful or backward, but they are always +busy, always on the move--to the ladang, into the jungle, building a +house, etc. Murder by one of the same tribe is unknown and a lonely +stranger is quite safe in the kampong, where they do not like to kill +anybody. + +Among the Kenyahs and Kayans and many other tribes are found distinct +social strata, upper, middle, and low. The first class ranks as a sort of +nobility and until recent times had slaves, who were kindly treated. The +members of the second class have less property, but they are active in +blacksmithing, making prahus, determining the seasons by astronomical +observations, etc. These well-bred Dayaks are truthful and do not steal. +In their conception a thief will have to carry around the stolen goods on +his head or back in the next life, forever exposed to scorn and ridicule. +Third-class people are descendants of slaves and, according to the +posthouder at Long Pangian, himself a Dayak, they are the more numerous on +the Kayan River. These may tell lies, and ten per cent of them are apt to +appropriate small articles, but they never steal money. + +The Kenyah woman is most independent, and may travel unaccompanied by +another woman with a party of men for days, sleeping aside, separate from +the men. She and her husband both bring wood to the house and she does the +cooking. No man has ever been known to beat or kill his wife. If +dissatisfied, either may leave the other. The daughter of the chief at +Long Mahan had had three husbands. Abortive plants are used, but the men +do not know what they are. + +Every day I went to the kampong, and it was a pleasure to visit these +still primitive natives. Women, as usual, were timid about being +photographed, for it is a universal belief that such an operation prevents +women from bearing children. However, by giving money, cloth, sugar, or +the like, which would enable them to offer some little sacrifice to +protecting spirits, I usually succeeded. But if a woman is pregnant or has +care of a small child, no inducements are of any avail, as an exposure to +the camera would give the child bad luck or a disease that might kill it. + +The women here had the teeth of the upper jaw in front filed off, but not +the men, who make plugs from yellow metal wire, procured in Tandjong +Selor, with which they adorn their front teeth, drilling holes in them for +the purpose. The plug is made with a round flat head, which is the +ornamental part of it, and without apparent rule appears in one, two, or +three incisors, usually in the upper jaw, sometimes in both. One of my men +took his out to show to me. + +The women are cleanly, combing their hair frequently and bathing three +times daily. The men bathe even oftener; still all of them have more or +less parasites in their hair and frequently apply lime juice in order to +kill them. A young woman, whom I remembered as one of two who had danced +for the kinematograph, had considerable charm of manner and personal +attraction; it was a trifle disconcerting to find my belle a little later +hunting the fauna of her lover's head. Her nimble fingers were deftly +expert in the work and her beloved was visibly elated over the +demonstration of her affection. + +These natives do not tolerate hair on the body and pull it out or shave it +off. The men even remove the hair at the edge of the scalp all around the +head, letting the remainder attain a growth of about sixty centimetres, +and this is tucked up in a coil under the cap. The hair of eyebrows and +eyelids is removed with great care. The women perform this operation, and +tweezers made for the purpose are usually seen among the ornaments that +hang from the tops of their hats. I was told that people careful about +their appearance have their eyes treated in this manner every ten or even +every five days. It is a service which a young man's "best girl" is glad +to perform and a couple thus engaged may often be seen. Truly the wiles of +Cupid are many. + +The Dayaks are fond of ornaments and the Kenyahs are no exception. The +extraordinary number of large tin or brass rings worn in the vastly +distended ear-lobe is well known and is the striking feature in the +appearance of most tribes. I was told that among the Kenyahs the ear-lobes +of children are pierced when the infant is seven days old. Especially the +women of this and many other tribes carry this fashion to extremes, the +lobe being so elongated that it may be twisted twice around the ear. The +heavy weight of rings sometimes breaks the thin band to which the lobe has +been stretched. The men may also wear rings, though they remove them when +going into the utan or to the ladang, and, although in this regard the +males make less display than the females, in the wearing of valuable +necklaces they excel them. + +Necklaces of beads are worn by men, women, and children. When money is +obtained by selling rubber to the Chinese, or by taking part in an +expedition to New Guinea, there is much display of such ornaments, many of +which are manufactured in Europe. But the Dayaks are extremely particular +about the kind they buy; therefore it is useless to take beads out to +Borneo without knowing the prevalent fashion. On the Kayan River a +favoured style of bead is tubular in form, light yellow in hue, and +procured from Bugis traders who are said to obtain their stock in New +Guinea. Others of similar shape, but brown in colour, come from Sumatra. + +When children are small they are carried on the backs of their mothers in +a kind of cradle, the outside of which is often elaborately adorned with +beads. The chief in Long Pelaban had one, the value of which I computed to +be two thousand florins. The choicest beads are very old and have been +kept for centuries in Borneo. Some are thought to be of Venetian origin, +while others resemble a Roman variety. It is very difficult to induce the +Dayaks to sell any of these, which they guard as precious heirlooms and +the value of which they fully realize. According to Hose and McDougall, +the wife of a rich chief in Sarawak may possess old beads to the value of +thousands of pounds. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + + +HYDROPHOBIA--FUNERAL CEREMONIES--AT A PADDI HARVEST--ANOTHER TUBA-FISHING +EXPEDITION--THE CHARM OF PRIMITIVE MAN--INTERESTING CEREMONIES--ON +HEAD-HUNTING GROUND + +Hydrophobia was raging at Long Pelaban, and during my stay one man and +seven children were bitten. For religious reasons the Dayaks do not like +to kill dogs, so in cases like this the canines that are ill are caught, +their legs are tied together, and they are thrown into the water to die +without being killed. Over forty were disposed of in this way. I saw one +of the hydrophobia victims standing in the water as if alive, a little of +the back showing above the surface. + +The sounding of a gong one day signified the death of a woman. A party +immediately went out to procure a suitable tree from which to make the +coffin. Throughout the night we could hear without intermission the sounds +produced by those who hollowed out the log and smoothed the exterior. Next +day I was present at the obsequies of the dead woman. On the large gallery +men were sitting in two long rows facing each other, smoking their +green-hued native tobacco in huge cigarettes, the wrappers of which are +supplied by large leaves from two species of trees. A jar of native brandy +stood between them, of which but little was consumed. More alcohol is made +here from sugar-cane than from rice. The latter is the better and sweeter, +the former being sour. + +At the end of the gallery stood the large, newly made casket, which was +open, the corpse covered with cloth resting inside. It was an oblong, +heavy box supposed to represent a rhinoceros, though nothing positively +indicated this except the large head of this animal at one end, which, +though rudely made, was cut with considerable artistic skill. The family +sat around the casket, one man smoking tobacco, the women wailing and +occasionally lifting the cover to look at the face of the corpse. One babi +(pig) that had belonged to the deceased had been killed and was served +with rice. In the afternoon, having partaken of food, a number of men +carried the heavy burden on their shoulders down to the river, preceded by +two women belonging to the family. It was placed on two prahus, which were +lashed together, and then taken down the river to be buried. After the +death of a relative women mourners cut off about two centimetres from the +end of the hair; the men cut an equal portion from the front. + +Later in the afternoon the gong announced another death, that of a child. +On this account some sixty Malays who were camped here, bound for the utan +higher up the river, in search of rubber and damar, delayed their +departure as did some Kenyahs who were on their way to Apo Kayan, and the +people of the kampong did not go to their ladangs. The following day the +sound of the gong was again heard, but this time it was occasioned by the +fact that an adept had taken augurs from the flight of the red hawk, and +to him it was given that illness would cease. + +It was difficult to hold the busy Dayaks in the kampong. At this time, the +beginning of May, their attention was absorbed in harvesting the paddi. +Every day they started up the river to their ladangs a few miles distant, +returning in the evening with their crops. I decided to visit these +fields, taking my cameras with me. In years gone by the kampong people +have gradually cleared the jungle from a large tract of country, but part +of this clearing was still covered by logs that had not been burned. Over +these hundreds and hundreds of fallen trees, down steep little galleys and +up again, a path led to the present fields higher up in the hills, very +easy walking for bare feet, but difficult when they are encased in leather +shoes. For over an hour and a half we balanced along the prostrate trunks, +into some of which steps had been cut, but, arduous as was the ascent, we +naturally found the descent in the evening a more hazardous undertaking; +yet all emerged from the ordeal with sound limbs. + +We arrived a little before noon and found some of the natives busy +preparing their midday meal in and around a cool shed on top of a hill +from where an extensive view was obtained of the past and present fields +of the country. Near by was a watch-tower raised on top of upright logs. +At one side of it four bamboos of different sizes were hanging +horizontally over each other, which produced different notes when struck, +and probably had been placed there for the purpose of frightening birds +away. + +The Kenyahs "take turns" helping each other to harvest, and on this +occasion they were assisting their chief. It was a scene of much +animation, as if it were a festival, which in reality the harvesting is to +them. The long row of men and women in their best garments, with +picturesque sun-shades, cut the spikes one by one, as the custom is, with +small knives held in the hollow of their hands. Assuredly the food which +they received was tempting to hungry souls. The rice, after being cooked, +was wrapped in banana leaves, one parcel for each, forty-four in all, and +as many more containing dried fish which also had been boiled. The people +kindly acceded to my request to have them photographed. They then packed +the harvested paddi in big baskets, which they carried on their backs to +the storehouse in the kampong the same afternoon. From planting time till +the end of the harvest--four or five months--a man is deputed to remain in +the kampong to whom fish is forbidden, but who may eat all the rice he +wants, with some salt, and as recompense for his services receives a new +prahu or clothing. + +A few days later, the chief having early in the morning taken omens from a +small bird, the inhabitants with few exceptions departed on a tuba-fishing +expedition to the Pipa, a small tributary to the Kayan River farther +north. The two kampongs, Long Pelaban and Long Mahan, combined forces, and +as so many were going I experienced difficulty in arranging to join the +excursion, but finally succeeded in securing prahus and men from the +latter place. + +We passed a small settlement of Punans, former nomads, who had adopted the +Dayak mode of living, having learned to cultivate rice and to make prahus. +We found the people of Long Pelaban camped on a stony beach in two long +rows of rough shelters, each row containing many families under one common +roof of bark. The Long Mahan people had gone farther and camped on a +similar beach, and between the two I discovered a pleasant location in the +jungle by ascending the high bank of the river. Hardly had we finished +putting up our tents when a violent thunder-storm arose, which continued +unabated for half an hour, and thereafter with diminished force throughout +the night. Many of the Dayaks moved up to our position, and next day the +river ran high, so we did not make a start. + +In the morning, after a fine bath, as I was about to take breakfast, a +large party of visitors from Long Mahan approached. They were unacquainted +with the Malay tongue and showed obvious signs of embarrassment, but by +distributing a little candy to the children and biscuits to the adults +harmony was soon established. Two unusually attractive small girls wearing +valuable bead necklaces, who at first had appeared takut (frightened), +unconcernedly seated themselves on their heels in front of me. The others +perched in a long row on two poles which they laid on the wet ground, all +of them preparing to watch me eat breakfast. Among other things the menu +included half a dozen small boiled potatoes brought from Tandjong Selor +and obtained from Central Java; they usually keep for four or five weeks +and are a valuable aid in maintaining good health in the tropics. + +The Kenyahs had never seen potatoes before, and one man handed some of the +peelings to his wife for inspection, whereupon I gave her a potato, which +she peeled carefully, divided, and gave a piece to each of the two +children, with whom, however, it did not find favour. I opened a can of +milk and another of cream, for I was fresh from Europe and had plenty of +provisions. After helping myself from the cans I gave them to the +children, who greatly relished what was left in them, but they did not eat +greedily, behaving like white children who have not learned from adults to +eat hastily. The Kenyahs are very courteous. When a man passed my tent +opening he generally called aloud, as if announcing his presence. + +In visiting the camps I found the Kenyahs, even on an occasion like the +present, busily engaged at some occupation, and seldom or never was +anybody seen sitting idle. The men were splitting rattan into fine +strings, later to be used for many purposes: for plaiting the sheath of +the parang; for making bottle-shaped receptacles for rice; for securing +the axe to the handle, etc. Women were doing the same work with bamboo, +first drying the stalks by standing them upright before a fire. These fine +bamboo strings are later used in making winnowing trays and for various +kinds of beautifully plaited work. When employed in this way, or on other +occasions, the women smoke big cigarettes as nonchalantly as the men. + +Continuing the journey next day, we found it a laborious undertaking over +many small rapids. The water had already subsided, so we had to wade most +of the day, dragging the prahus, a task which we found rather fatiguing, +as the stones are difficult to step on in the water and very hot out of +it. The river was narrow, but here and there widened out into pools. Many +"bring" were erected over the stream, and I noticed that they were smaller +than those I had seen before, but the arrangements for beating the tuba +were far more elaborate. + +On the river bank, as we approached the main camping-place, piles of the +light-brown root were often seen, resembling stacks of wood. The gathering +of these roots, I learned, was accomplished in one day. Our men had helped +in the work and they also put up a couple of "bring" near our camp for our +own use. Early in the afternoon two rather solid structures, built like +bridges across the small river, were erected; on these the beating of the +tuba was to take place next morning. In the middle, lengthwise, was placed +a long, narrow excavated log, longer than the bridge itself, for the use +of the beaters. + +In the evening a large tree crashed to earth not far from my camp, and at +a later hour another, still nearer, thunderously broke with its fall the +silence of night. At two o'clock in the morning the beating of tuba began, +to the accompaniment of shouts and outcries, and though the noise was +considerable and unusual I did not find it intolerable, but fell asleep +again. I arose early, and after partaking of some excellent Dayak rice I +walked down to view the proceedings, and found the scene engrossing. Men +and women stood close together on each side of the long trough, crushing +the tuba with sticks in a similar manner to that adopted when pounding +rice. The trough had at one end a small compartment, open like the rest, +but the sides had been smoothed with an axe and when beaten served the +purpose of a gong. The bark was pounded into small pieces and then thrown +to one side upon large palm leaves which covered the bridge. + +Boarding a prahu, I next visited Amban Klesau's bridge, a little lower +down, which was larger and more pretentious, with tall poles erected on +it, and from the top hung ornamental wood shavings. The end of the trough +here had actually been carved into a semblance of the head of "an animal +which lives in the ground," probably representing a supernatural being +usually called nagah. The owner himself was beating it with a stick on +both sides of the head, and this made more noise than the pounding of the +fifty men and women who stood working at the trough. At times they walked +in single file around it. + +The pounding was finished in the forenoon, and all went a little farther +down the river to take the fire omen at a place where the river widened +out into a pool. A man with many tail-feathers from the rhinoceros +hornbill (_buceros rhinoceros_) stuck into his rattan cap seated himself +on a crude platform which had been built on upright poles over the water. +Some long pieces of tuba-root were lying there, and he squatted on his +heels facing the principal men who were sitting on the bank south of him. + +A few minutes later the chief of Long Mahan made his way out to the +platform over some logs which loosely bridged the space to the bank of the +river, and attempted the fire-making, but after two unsuccessful attempts +he retired. Several other prominent men came and tried, followed by the +man with the tail-feathers in his cap, but he also failed; whereupon they +all stepped ashore, taking the fire-making implements and some of the +roots with them, in order to see whether they would have better luck on +land. The brother of the chief now came forward and made two attempts, +with no more success than the others. Urged to try again, he finally +succeeded; the assemblage silently remained seated for a few minutes, when +some men went forth and beat tuba with short sticks, then threw water upon +it, and as a final procedure cast the bark into the river and again beat +it. From the group of the most important people an old man then waded into +the water and cast adrift burning wood shavings which floated down-stream. + +In the meantime the Long Mahan people had gone to throw the bark into the +river from their elaborate bridge, and those of Long Pelaban went to their +establishments. The finely pounded bark soon began to float down the river +from the bridges as it might were there a tannery in the neighbourhood. +Presently white foam began to form in large sheets, in places twenty-five +centimetres thick and looking much like snow, a peculiar sight between the +dark walls of tropical jungle. Above the first little rapid, where the +water was congested, a portion of the foam remained like snow-drift, while +most of it continued to advance and spread itself over the first long +pool. Here both men and women were busily engaged catching fish with +hand-nets, some wading up to their necks, others constantly diving +underneath and coming up covered with light foam. + +The insignificant number of fish caught--nearly all of the same kind--was +surprising and disappointing. Even small fish were eagerly sought. There +was little animation, especially at the beginning of the sport, and no +spears were used. Several tons of bark must have been utilized, at least +eight or ten times as much as at the Isau River, and I regretted that they +should have so little reward for their trouble. Five days were spent in +travel, two days in making "bring" and gathering tuba, and they had +pounded tuba for eight hours, since two o'clock in the morning. After all +these exertions many prahus must have returned without fish. Possibly the +fish had been practically exterminated by the tuba poisoning of former +years. One man told me that many fish remain dead at the bottom, which +partly accounts for the scanty result. + +I was desirous of having Chonggat remain here for a week of collecting, +but no Kenyah was willing to stay with him, all being deterred through +fear of Punan head-hunters, who, on this river, not so long ago, had +killed some rubber-gatherers from Sarawak. Besides, they also anticipated +revenge on the part of Kayans, eleven of whom had been killed by the +Kenyahs in Apo Kayan one and a half years previously. According to their +own reports and that of the Chinese interpreter, the heads of six men and +five women had been taken after a successful attack on the two prahus in +which the Kayans (Oma-Lakan) travelled. The Kenyahs (Oma-Kulit) who had +committed the outrage had been apprehended by the Company, as the +government is called by the natives. The brother of the chief of Long +Pelaban, who was with us fishing, three months previously had returned +from Samarinda, where he had spent one year in prison for having been +implicated in a minor way in this crime, while the main offenders were +serving labor terms of six years in Sorabaia, Java. + +This report was confirmed by a Dutch officer whom I met a month later and +who came from Apo Kayan. The attacking Kenyahs were eighty in number, of +whom ten were punished. The affair took place in 1912 at a distance of six +hours, going down-stream, from Long Nawang. Though head-hunters are known +to travel wide and far, and distant Apo Kayan is not too remote for them, +nevertheless to me, as well as to Chonggat, the risks seemed unfounded; +however, there remained no alternative but for all of us to return to Long +Pelaban. + + + + +CHAPTER X + + +IN FOG AND DARKNESS--A RAID BY ANTS--DEPARTURE FROM LONG PELABAN--AN +EXCITING PASSAGE--RETURN TO TANDJONG SELOR + +During April and the first half of May the weather was warm with very +little rain, though at times thunder was heard at a distance. But during +the second half of May thunder and lightning in the evening was the usual +occurrence, with an occasional thunder-clap at close quarters. At night it +rained continually though not heavily, but this was accompanied by a dense +fog which did not clear away until nine o'clock in the morning. When the +dark clouds gathered about sunset, it was not with exactly cheerful +feelings that I anticipated the coming night. My tent stood at a little +distance from the rest of the camp, for the reason that solitude at times +has its charms. When the lamp outside the tent door was extinguished, and +all was enveloped in darkness and fog to an overwhelming degree, a feeling +of loneliness and desolation stole over me, though it soon left me when I +thought of the glories of the coming day, when all the rain would be +forgotten. + +Shortly after sunset one evening scores of thousands of ants descended +upon me while supper was in progress. In the dim light afforded by the +lamp I had not perceived their approach until I felt them around my feet. +Upon looking about, I discovered to my astonishment that the floor, which +had a covering of closely set bamboo stalks, was black with ants and that +regiments of them were busily climbing up my bed. Coming in such immense +numbers and unannounced, their appearance was startling. Outside the soil +seemed to move. Twice before I had received visits from these ants but had +prevented their entering the tent by pouring hot water over them. The pain +caused by their bite is severe, although of short duration, and they are +therefore feared by the Dayaks and Malays. + +By liberal application of hot water and burning paper on the ground we +finally succeeded in driving the unwelcome visitors out of the tent; but +new hordes were constantly arriving, and we battled for two hours before I +could retire, carrying many bites as souvenirs. None were then in the tent +and next day not a trace of them remained. The Chinese photographer had +been there twenty minutes before the raid began and had not noticed even +one ant. The attack began as suddenly as it ceased. + +My stay on the Kayan River had been interesting as well as profitable. +Twice during that period requests had come from the government for Dayaks +willing to join a Dutch enterprise operating in northern New Guinea, and +the chances of my securing sufficient men on this river for my expedition +were evidently gone. However, with the assistance of the government I felt +sure there would be no difficulty in securing them from other rivers of +Dutch Borneo, but I deemed it wise to begin my return trip. + +The river was now so swollen that it was difficult to effect a departure, +and current report indicated that if the rain continued it might be +necessary to wait a month before the rapids below could be passed. I had +all my belongings packed in order to be ready to start whenever it was +found advisable to do so. While waiting I went over to the kampong to +kinematograph two dancing girls who the day before, owing to their +bashfulness, had detained us so long that the light became inadequate. At +last the river fell about a metre during the night, and the chief and his +brother called on me early in the morning to suggest that our best plan +would be to start in the middle of the day. + +Only a couple of hours are consumed in going to Long Pangian from here, on +account of the downward course of the river, which forms rapids and +currents at frequent intervals. As the men appeared disinclined to go, the +posthouder of Long Pangian, who then was with me, crossed the river and +gave the necessary impetus to action. Soon a big prahu was hauled by many +men down the bank to the river; this was followed by others, taken from +their storage place under the house, and shortly afterward we had +facilities for departure. Most of the boats were medium-sized; mine was +the largest, about seven and a half metres long, but so unsteady that the +luggage was loaded with difficulty. As usual my prahu carried the most +valuable articles, the photographic outfit, scientific instruments, etc., +all of which was finally secured by tying rattan over it from side to +side. Naturally, fewer men are needed going down a river than coming up, +and I had only four. + +At two o'clock in the afternoon a start was made and we proceeded rapidly +down-stream. The man standing at the bow is the commander, not the one +that steers with his paddle at the stern, and it appeared to be their +custom always to take the boat where the current was strongest and the +water most turbulent. It seemed reckless, but my prahu, heavily laden, +acted admirably, shooting through the waves without much exertion. After +nearly an hour of refreshing passage we approached the main rapid, Kiham +Raja. I kept behind the rest of the fleet, in order, if possible, to get a +snap-shot. In the beautiful light of the afternoon the prahus afforded a +splendid sight as, at short intervals, they passed along one after +another, the first ones already considerably lower than mine. My Kenyahs, +all standing, seemed to know exactly where to go and what to do, and we +moved along rapidly. Without a moment's hesitation we shot down the kiham. +This time they did not choose the place where the waves ran highest, and +we quickly slipped down the rapid, turbulent current, while the big waves +on our right threatened to engulf our craft. + +As usual, it was difficult to get away from Long Pangian, but the +posthouder exerted himself to the utmost, and after a few days we were +ready to leave for Tandjong Selor. To a large prahu that we had obtained +we had to lash a log on either side to keep it steady. I found that the +Kenyah prahus in these parts usually are unstable. One Dayak that had been +loading mine in stepping ashore tipped it to such a degree that two large +green waterproof bags containing clothing, blankets, etc., fell overboard. +They floated well and were recovered. + +Having finally put mats on upright saplings over the boats, as shade +against the sun and protection against rain, we were off, but it was not +altogether a pleasant two days' journey. My heavily laden prahu, having +been out of use for some time, leaked badly, so one of the five men had +all he could do to throw out the water which poured in through the holes +of the rattan fastenings. The man who was bailing sat opposite me in the +middle section, and for want of space I had to hold my feet up, with one +leg resting on either side of the prahu. I wore a pair of London Alpine +boots with thick soles and nails, weighing eight pounds, which I had found +too heavy for walking, but which were excellent for wear in wet boats. +When, in order to change my uncomfortable position, I placed both legs on +one side, the edge of the prahu nearly touched the water and the Dayaks +would cry out in warning. I have not on other rivers in Borneo met with +prahus quite as cranky as these. At the Bugis settlement I bought fifty +delicious pineapples at a very moderate price and distributed them among +us. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + + +DEPARTURE FOR BANDJERMASIN--A PLEASANT STEAMSHIP LINE--TWO HEAD-HUNTERS-- +AN EXPEDITION TO LAKE SEMBULO--SAMPIT--THE ORANG-UTAN--STORMY WEATHER--A +DISAGREEABLE RECEPTION + +In Tandjong Selor I was exceedingly busy for three days getting boxes and +packing the collections, and early in June I departed for Bandjermasin, on +S.S. _De Weert_. It has been my fortune to travel much on the steamships +of the Royal Packet Boat Company, which controls the whole Malay +Archipelago from Singapore to New Guinea and the Moluccas. It is always a +pleasure to board one of these steamers, as the officers are invariably +courteous, and the food is as excellent on the smaller steamers as on the +large ones. The same kind of genuine, good claret, at a reasonable price, +is also found on all of them, and it may readily be understood how much I +enjoyed a glass of cool Margaux-Medoc with dinner, after over five months +in the utan. The sailors on these steamers are Javanese. Those from +Madura, rather small men, made an especially good impression. A captain +told me they never give any trouble except when on leave ashore in +Sourabaia, where they occasionally remain overtime, but after a few days +they come to the office and want to be taken on again. They are punished +by having their wages deducted for the days they are absent, but the loss +of coin does not trouble them much. If they have cigarettes and their +meals they are happy, and they never accumulate money. They are engaged +for one year and some of them renew their contracts. + +As we sailed southward from the Kayan River we were told of a French count +who with his wife lived on an island three or four kilometres long, near +the coast. At first he had fisheries and sold dried fish, which, with +rice, forms the staple food of the natives of Borneo and other countries +of the East. He was enabled to change his business into cocoanut +plantations, which to-day cover the island. According to report they +dressed for dinner every day, to the end that they might not relinquish +their hold upon the habits of civilised society. Later I learned that when +the war broke out the count immediately went to France to offer his +services. + +Lieutenant C.J. La Riviere came aboard in Samarinda, en route to Holland +for a rest, after being in charge of the garrison at distant Long Nawang +in Apo Kayan. There are 40 soldiers, 2 officers, and 1 doctor at that +place, which is 600 metres above sea, in a mountainous country with much +rain, and therefore quite cool. In a single month they had had one and a +half metres of rain. Officers have been known to spend three months in +going from Long Iram to Apo Kayan, travelling by prahu almost the whole +distance. Usually the trip may be made in a couple of months or less. The +river at last becomes only four metres broad, with very steep sides, and +in one night, when it rains copiously, the water may rise five to six +metres. Mail usually arrives three times a year, but when the lieutenant +boarded the steamer he had not seen a newspaper for five months. + +He expressed his opinion that the government would find it extremely +difficult to stamp out head-hunting in Apo Kayan, with its 15,000 Dayaks, +because the custom is founded in their religious conception. "Our +ancestors have always taken heads," they say; "we also do it, and the +spirits will then be satisfied. We have learned it from our ancestors, who +want us to do it." "They often ask us," the lieutenant said: "When are you +going to leave Long Nawang? When you are gone then we will again take up +the head-hunting." These same Kenyahs are entrusted to go to Long Iram to +bring provisions to the garrison. About eighty of them are sent, +accompanied by only two soldiers, and after three months' absence the +goods arrive safely at Long Nawang. + +On board the steamer were also two Punan head-hunters from the interior +who were being taken to Bandjermasin under the guard of two soldiers. They +had been caught through the assistance of other Punans, and in prison the +elder one had contracted the dry form of beri-beri. He was a pitiful +sight, in the last stage of a disease not usually found among his +compatriots, no longer able to walk, looking pale and emaciated and having +lost the sight of his right eye. They had rather wild but not unpleasant +faces, and were both tatued like the Kenyahs. Their hair had been cut +short in the prison. I later took the anthropometric measurements of the +young man, who was a fine specimen of the savage, with a splendid figure, +beautifully formed hands and feet--his movements were elastic and easy. + +As it had been found impossible to secure Dayaks in the Bulungan for my +expedition to New Guinea, the resident courteously offered to get eighty +men from the Mahakam River. This would take at least two months and gave +me opportunity to visit a lake called Sembulo, a considerable distance +west of Bandjermasin. It was necessary first to go to Sampit, a small +town, two days distant, on a river of the same name, where there is a +controleur to whom the resident gave me an introduction, and who would be +able to assist in furthering my plans. I could not afford to wait for the +monthly steamer which touches at Sampit on its way to Singapore, so I +arranged to make the trip on board an old wooden craft which was under +repairs in Bandjermasin, and in the afternoon of June 5 we started. + +The steamer was small, slow, and heavily laden, so it was not a very +pleasant trip. As we sailed down the great Barito River on a dark and +cloudy evening, from the deck, which was scarcely a metre above the muddy +water, one might observe now and then floating clumps of the plants that +thrive so well there. On approaching the mouth of the river the water, +with the outgoing tide, became more shallow. The Malay sailor who +ascertained the depth of the water by throwing his line and sang out the +measures in a melodious air, announced a low figure, which made the +captain stop immediately. The anchor was thrown and simultaneously a great +noise of escaping steam was heard. Before the engine-room the sailors were +seen trying to stop the steam which issued, holding sacks in front of them +as a protection against being scalded. Coupled with my observation that +there were no life preservers in my little cabin, nor anywhere else, the +situation appeared disquieting, but the captain, a small-sized Malay and a +good sailor, as all of that race are, reassured me by saying that it was +only the glass for controlling the steam-power that was broken. After a +while the escape of steam was checked and a new glass was put in. + +The old craft kept up its reputation for rolling excessively, and I was +glad when finally we entered the smooth waters of the Sampit River. We +stopped for a couple of hours at a small kampong, where I made the +acquaintance of a Polish engineer in the government's service, who was +doing some work here. He told me that thirty years ago, in the inland +country west of Kotawaringin, he had seen a young Dayak whose chest, arms, +and legs, and most of the face, were covered with hair very similar in +colour to that of the orang-utan, though not so thick. The hair on his +face was black, as usual. There were no Malays at that head, but many +Dayaks. I have heard reports of natives in the Schwaner mountains, who are +said to have more hair on the body than Europeans, of a brownish colour, +while that on the head is black. Controleur Michielsen, [*] in the report +of his journey to the upper Sampit and Katingan in 1880, describes a +certain Demang Mangan who had long, thin hair on the head, while on the +chest and back it was of the same brown-red colour as that of the +orang-utan. His arms were long, his mouth large and forward-stretching, +with long upper lip, and his eye glances were shy. Among the Dayaks he was +known as mangan (red). + +[Footnote *: Controleur W.J. Michielsen, _Verslag einer Reis door de boven +distrikten der Sampit en Katingan rivieren in Maart en April_, 1880.] + +About noon we arrived at Sampit, a clean, attractive village situated on +slightly higher ground than is generally available on Bornean rivers. The +stream is broad here, having almost the appearance of a lake. As is the +custom, a small park surrounds the controleur's residence, and in the +outskirts of the town is a small, well-kept rubber plantation belonging to +a German. Sampit is a Katingan word, the name of an edible root, and +according to tradition the Katingans occupied the place in times long gone +by. + + +The weather was remarkably dry, so that the tanks at the corners of the +controleur's house, on which he depended for water, were becoming +depleted. When the fruits of the utan are ripe, the orang-utan may at +times be heard crying out in the neighbourhood, but on account of the dry +weather they had retired deeper into the jungle. Chonggat shot only one, +which was but half-grown and easily killed by a charge of shot. It is +often difficult to discover an orang-utan because he has a knack of hiding +himself where the foliage is densest, and if alarmed will proceed along +the branches of tall trees and thus disappear from sight. + +This intelligent, man-like ape is probably not so common in Dutch Borneo +as he is supposed to be. Mr. Harry C. Raven, who collected animals in the +northeastern part, told me that in a year he had shot only one. The +orang-utans are generally found in Southern Borneo and do not go very far +inland; in Central Borneo they are extremely rare, almost unknown. It is +to be hoped that these interesting animals will not soon be exterminated. +A Malay, the only hunter in Sampit, told me that some are so old that they +can no longer climb trees. When wounded an orang-utan cries like a child +in quite an uncanny manner, as a Dutch friend informed me. According to +the Dayaks, it will wrest the spear from its attacker and use it on him. +They also maintain, as stated elsewhere, that orang-utans, contrary to the +generally accepted belief, are able to swim. Mr. B. Brouers, of +Bandjermasin, has seen monkeys swim; the red, the gray, and the black are +all capable of this, he said. + +From a reliable source I have the following story. Eight Malays who had +made camp on a small promontory on the river, one morning were sitting +about sunning themselves when they were surprised to see an orang-utan +approaching. He entered their camp and one of the Malays nearest to him +instinctively drew his parang. Doubtless regarding this as an unfriendly +action, he seized one of the poles which formed the main framework of +their shelter and pulled it up, breaking the rattan fastenings as if they +were paper. The Malays now all attacked with their parangs, but the +orang-utan, taking hold of the end of the pole, swept it from side to side +with terrifying effect, and as the locality made it impossible to surround +him, they all soon had to take to the water to save themselves. + +My informant, who had spent several years travelling in Southern Borneo +buying rubber from the natives, told me that one day his prahu passed a +big orang-utan sitting on the branch of a tree. The Malay paddlers shouted +to it derisively, and the animal began to break off branches and hurled +sticks at the prahu with astonishing force, making the Malays paddle off +as fast as they could. The several points of similarity between man and +highly developed monkeys are the cause of the amusing saying of the +natives of Java: the monkeys can talk, but they don't want to, because +they don't like to work. + +The controleur obligingly put the government's steam launch _Selatan_ at +my disposal, which would take me to the kampong Sembulo on the lake of the +same name, whence it was my intention to return eastward, marching partly +overland. One evening in the middle of June we started. On entering the +sea the small vessel rolled more and more; when the water came over the +deck I put on my overcoat and lay down on top of the entrance to the +cabin, which was below. The wind was blowing harder than it usually does +on the coasts of Borneo, and in the early morning shallow waters, which +assume a dirty red-brown colour long before reaching the mouths of the +mud-laden rivers, rose into waves that became higher as we approached the +wide entrance to the Pembuang River. + +The sea washed over the port side as if we were on a sailing-boat, but the +water flowed out again through a number of small, oblong doors at the +sides which opened and closed mechanically. The launch, which was built in +Singapore, behaved well, but we had a good deal of cargo on deck as well +as down in the cabin. Besides, the approach to Pembuang River is not +without risks. The sand-bars can be passed only at one place, which is +twelve or thirteen metres wide and, at low water, less than a metre deep. +The route is at present marked out, but in bygone years many ships were +wrecked here. + +As the sea became more shallow the yellow-crested waves of dirty water +mixed with sand assumed an aspect of fury, and lying on my back I seemed +to be tossed from one wave to another, while I listened with some +apprehension to the melodious report of the man who took the depth of the +water: "Fourteen káki" (feet)! Our boat drew only six feet of water; +"Seven káki," he sang out, and immediately afterward, "Six káki!" Now we +are "in for it," I thought. But a few seconds more and we successfully +passed the dangerous bar, the waves actually lifting us over it. My two +assistants had spent the time on top of the baggage and had been very +seasick. We were all glad to arrive in the smooth waters of the river. The +captain, with whom later I became well acquainted, was an excellent +sailor, both he and the crew being Malays. It was the worst weather he had +experienced in the two years he had been at Sampit. According to him, +conditions in this part of Borneo may be even more stormy from August to +November. + +In the Malay kampong, Pembuang, I procured a large pomelo, in Borneo +called limao, a delicious juicy fruit of the citrus order, but light-pink +inside and with little or no acidity. After the exertions of the night +this, together with canned bacon, fried and boiled potatoes, furnished an +ideal midday meal. Necessary repairs having been made to the engine, next +day, on a charming, peaceful afternoon, we continued our trip up the +river. An unusually large number of monkeys were seen on both sides, and +the men sat on the railing, with their feet hanging outside, to look at +them. The red, long-nosed variety did not retreat, but looked at us calmly +from the branch where it sat; other species hurried off, making incredibly +long leaps from branch to branch. Shortly after sunset we threw anchor. + +Lake Sembulo is about sixteen kilometres long by about one in width. The +lake is entered suddenly, amid clumps of a big species of water plant +which in season has long white odoriferous flowers. Very striking is the +white bottom and the beaches consisting of gravel or sand. How far the +sandy region extends I am unable to say, but Mr. Labohm, the chief +forester, told me that in the Sampit River region northeast of here, and +about twenty metres above the sea, he walked for two days on whitish sand, +among rosaceae and azale, the forest being very thin. The comparatively +clear water is slightly tinged with reddish brown on account of its +connection with the Pembuang River, which has the usual colour of Bornean +rivers. Low receding hills rise all around as we steam along, and the +utan, which more or less covers the country, looks attractive, though at +first the forests surrounding the ladangs of the Malays are partly defaced +by dead trees, purposely killed by fire in order to gain more fields. + +After a couple of hours we arrived at kampong Sembulo, which has an +alluring look when viewed from the lake, lying on a peninsula with +handsome trees which mercifully hide most of the houses. The kapala of +this Malay settlement, who came on board in a carefully laundered white +cotton suit, had courteous manners. He kindly arranged for three prahus to +take us and our belongings ashore. + +There was a diminutive pasang-grahan here, neatly made from nipah palm +leaves, where I repaired, while Chonggat and Ah Sewey put up tents near +by. The presence of two easy chairs which had been brought from +Bandjermasin seemed incongruous to the surroundings, and had an irritating +rather than restful effect on me. Both Malays and Dayaks are very desirous +of securing European furniture for the house of the kapala, and will carry +a chair or table for hundreds of miles. On the occasion of my visit to the +Kenyah chief of Long Pelaban, in the Bulungan, he immediately went to a +heap of baskets and other articles occupying one side of the big room, dug +out a heavy table with marble top, which was lying overturned there, and +proudly placed it upright before me to be admired. That this piece of +furniture had been brought so great a distance over the kihams was almost +incomprehensible. + +I had a talk with the kapala and a large number of people who soon +gathered in front of the pasang-grahan. The Dayaks who originally lived +here have disappeared or amalgamated with the Malay intruders, who in this +case are largely composed of less desirable elements. It soon became +evident that no information could be gained from these people in regard to +the traditions of the place. One man said that if I would wait four or +five days (in which to be exploited by the wily Malay) he would undertake +to bring me three old men of the place, whereupon the kapala, who was more +obliging than the rest, went to fetch one of these, who pretended to have +no knowledge in such matters. + +In order to get relief from the increasing throng of men and boys, I went +for a walk, in which I was joined by the kapala and the mantri, a small +native police authority whom the controleur had sent with me to be of +assistance in making arrangements with the Malays. An old-looking wooden +mosque, twenty years old according to reports, stands at the turn of the +road. Near by is a cemetery covered with a large growth of ferns and +grass, which hides the ugly small monuments of the graves. The houses lie +along a single street in the shade of cocoanut-palms and other trees. On +account of the white sand that forms the ground everything looks clean, +and the green foliage of handsome trees was superb. Everywhere silence +reigned, for the women, being Mohammedans, remain as much as possible +inside the houses, and no voice of playing or crying child was heard. + +On returning from our walk, near sunset, I asked the kapala how much I had +to pay for the bringing ashore of my baggage. "Fifteen rupia" (florins) +was the answer. As things go in Borneo this was an incredibly excessive +charge, and as my intention was to go by boat to the Dayak kampong on the +lake, and from there march overland to the small river, Kuala Sampit, I +demanded to know how much then I would have to pay for twenty men that I +needed for the journey. "Five rupia a day for each," he said. Dayaks, who +are far more efficient and reliable, are satisfied with one rupia a day. +Those near by protested that it was not too much, because in gathering +rubber they made even more a day. At that rate it would have cost me a +hundred florins a day, besides their food, with the prospects of having +strikes for higher pay all the way, according to the Malay custom. + +Luckily the _Selatan_ had delayed its departure until next morning, so I +was not yet at the mercy of the greedy natives. The kapala seemed to have +as little influence with the people as the mantri, who plainly was afraid +of them. I got a prahu and went out to the captain, who arranged to take +us back next day, away from these inhospitable shores. At dusk he +accompanied me ashore, and in a refreshingly courageous manner read them +the text, telling them that I, who came recommended from the +Governor-General, was entitled to consideration; that it was a disgrace to +the Malay name to behave as they had done, etc. While I was eating my +evening meal two long rows of men were sitting outside on the ground, +watching the performance with close attention. + +Next morning the _Selatan's_ boat came to assist in bringing us on board +again. After the captain's severe arraignment last night the mantri seemed +to have spurred up his courage. He said that two rupia would be sufficient +to pay for our luggage. I gave one ringit (f. 2.50), which the captain +said was ample. The kapala, who had exerted himself to get our things on +board again, thanked me for the visit and we steamed away, arriving safely +in Sampit a couple of days later. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + + +THE WAR CHANGES MY PLANS--CHOLERA--UP THE GREAT BARITO RIVER--PURUK TJAHU-- +DECIDE TO STAY AMONG THE MURUNGS--A DANCING FEAST + +In the beginning of July I returned to Bandjermasin, where I packed my +collections and despatched them to Europe. I decided to send what goods I +had, with my two assistants, to Macassar on Celebes, where the Dayaks who +were to take part in the New Guinea undertaking would also be transported. +It might be possible for Chonggat to do some collecting in the +neighbourhood of the town. At all events, it would be more convenient to +have them wait for me there than to take them to Java. Having secured +passes from the resident for the two men, and given them recommendations +to the Norwegian consul in Macassar, I departed for Batavia to take the +last steps in fitting out my expedition to New Guinea. + +At this stage of my proceedings the war broke out. On August 6 I had an +audience of the Governor-General, who informed me that he was then unable +to let me have either soldiers or ship for my explorations. The day before +he had recalled his own great expedition on the Mamberamo in Northern New +Guinea, and advised me to wait for a more favourable opportunity, +promising that he would later give me all assistance. The commanding +general was equally agreeable. As I had never been in British India I +decided to go there while awaiting developments regarding the war, so the +following Saturday found me on my way to Singapore. Here I first arranged +for the safe return of my two assistants, who had been left in Macassar, +where cholera had broken out. Usually natives, who range under the +category of labourers, go as deck-passengers on steamers in the East. +Therefore, after I had bought second-class tickets for them, and the Dutch +Packet Boat Company had courteously offered to have a man meet them on +arrival, I felt satisfied that they would have no trouble in landing. I +then continued my journey over Penang to Madras. + +In spite of the continuation of the war and the great fascination of +India, in April, the following year, 1915, I decided to return to the +Dutch Indies and undertake an expedition to Central Borneo, parts of which +are unexplored and unknown to the outside world. Briefly, my plans were to +start from Bandjermasin in the south, ascend the Barito River, and, +branching hence into its northern tributary, the Busang, to cross the +watershed to the Mahakam or Kutei River. Following the latter to its mouth +I should reach the east coast near Samarinda. This journey, I found, would +take me through a country where were some tribes never before studied. + +At Colombo I took the Dutch steamer _Grotius_, which gave me a very +pleasant week. The Dutch are a kindly nation. There were fifteen children +on first-class playing on deck, and I never heard them cry nor saw them +fighting. After more than nine months' absence I again found myself in +Batavia, and from there I went to Buitenzorg to ask an audience of the +Governor-General. He offered to give me all assistance in furthering my +project, and I had the pleasure of being invited to dine at the palace. A +large open carriage, with quaint, old-fashioned lanterns, called for me. +The coachman and footman were liveried Javanese. It was a beautiful, cool, +starlit evening in the middle of June when we drove up the imposing avenue +of banyan-trees which leads to the main entrance. The interior of the +palace is cool and dignified in appearance, and the Javanese waiters in +long, gold-embroidered liveries, whose nude feet passed silently over the +marble floor, were in complete accord with the setting. + +Several weeks had to be spent in preparation for the trip. It was decided +that in Borneo I should be furnished with a small escort. Further, Mr. J. +Demmini, photographer in the well-known Topografische Dienst in Batavia, +was attached to the expedition, as well as Mr. H.P. Loing, a native +surveyor of the same institution. After much searching I finally found a +man, Rajimin, a native of Batavia, who seemed competent to collect birds +and animals. My kinematograph was out of order, but fortunately I +succeeded in replacing it with a secondhand Pathé. The first week in +August we departed from Tandjong Priok by steamer, bound for Bandjermasin, +Borneo. + +On our arrival in Sourabaia we learned that cholera was prevalent in +Bandjermasin, and our steamer carried serum for the doctors of the +garrison there. Early in the morning we steamed up the river, viewing the +usual scene of Malays bathing and children running out of the houses to +see the steamer pass. The most urgent matter demanding attention was to +have Rajimin, the taxidermist, vaccinated, as well as the two native boys +I had brought from Batavia. There were nine deaths a day, but while it is +unpleasant to be at a place where such an epidemic is raging, there is +reassurance in the knowledge that the bacillus must enter through the +mouth, and that therefore, with proper precautions, it is unnecessary for +anybody to have cholera. + +A Dutch doctor in Sourabaia told me that he had been practising two years +on the Barito River in Borneo, and had gone through a severe epidemic of +cholera, but neither he nor his wife had been affected, although their +native boy, while waiting at table, fell to the floor and in two hours +expired. His wife disinfected plates, forks, spoons, and even the fruit, +in a weak solution of permanganate of potassium. Of course there must be +no alcoholic excesses. In the tropics it is also essential, for several +reasons, always to boil the drinking water. + +The Dutch use an effective cholera essence, and if the remedy is applied +immediately the chances for recovery from the attack are favourable. The +lieutenant who accompanied me through Central Borneo told me that he saved +the life of his wife by immediately initiating treatment internally as +well as by bathing, without waiting for the doctor's arrival, for the +attack occurred in the middle of the night. After three or four hours she +was out of danger. One evening at the Bandjermasin hotel I was startled by +seeing our three Javanese men taking a sudden and determined departure, +carrying all their belongings. One of the hotel boys who occupied the room +next to them had shown the well-known symptoms of cholera, whereupon they +immediately decamped. I at once informed the manager, who gave the boy a +dose of cholera essence, and an hour later he was better. The next morning +he was still improving, and on the following day I saw him waiting at +table. + +The resident, Mr. L.F.J. Rijckmans, was kind enough to order the +government's good river steamer _Otto_ to take us up the Barito River to +Puruk Tjahu, a distant township, where boats and men might be secured and +where the garrison would supply me with a small escort. Toward the end of +August we departed. On account of the shallow water the _Otto_ has a flat +bottom and is propelled by a large wheel at the stern. We had 5,000 +kilograms of provisions on board, chiefly rice and dried fish, all stored +in tin cans carefully closed with solder. There were also numerous +packages containing various necessary articles, the assorting of which +would be more conveniently done in Puruk Tjahu. We also brought furniture +for a new pasang-grahan in Muara Tewe, but the steamer could have taken +much more. + +The evening of our departure was delightful, and a full moon shed its +light over the utan and the river. I occupied a large round room on the +upper deck, and felt both comfortable and happy at being "on the move" +again. Anchoring at night, there are about five days' travel on the +majestic river, passing now and then peaceful-looking kampongs where +people live in touch with nature. A feeling of peace and contentment +possessed me. "I do not think I shall miss even the newspapers," I find +written in my diary. + + +On approaching Muara Tewe we saw low mountains for the first time, and +here the river becomes narrower and deeper, though even at the last-named +place it is 350 metres wide. The water assumed a deeper reddish colour and +was speckled with foam, indicating a certain amount of flood caused by +rains higher up the river. We passed a family of wild pigs grubbing up the +muddy beach in search of roots. There was a large dark one and a huge +yellowish-white one, besides four young pigs dark in colour. At Muara +Tewe, where we had to make a stay of two days, the doctor of the garrison +said that in the case of the common species of wild pigs the full-grown +ones are always light in hue. Doctor Tjon Akieh, who came here from +Surinam, had some amusing monkeys, a native bear, tamer than most cats, +and a very quiet deer. In a steam-launch he had gone four days up the Ajo +River, a tributary to the Barito from the east, which passes between +limestone cliffs. In that locality the Dayaks are rarely visited by Malays +and therefore have retained their excellent tribal characteristics. The +men are inclined to obesity. + +After leaving Muara Tewe we passed many small kampongs which were less +attractive than those at the lower part of the river. The farther one +proceeds the more inhabited are the banks. In this vicinity, eleven years +previously, a violent Malay revolution which had lasted two years was +finally suppressed. As usual, the revolt was headed by a pretender to the +sultanate. The steamer in which we travelled was a reminder of those days, +for it had two gun-mountings on its deck and my cabin, round in shape, was +lightly armoured. + +Puruk Tjahu (puruk = small hill; tjahu = running out into the water) lies +at a bend of the river in a somewhat hilly and quite attractive country, +which is blessed with an agreeable climate and an apparent absence of +mosquitoes. The captain in charge of the garrison told me that he, +accompanied by the native kapala of the district, was going on a two +months' journey northward, and at his invitation I decided to follow him +as far as Sungei Paroi. I hoped that on my return a supply of films and +plates, ordered from London and already overdue, might have arrived. It +was, however, a very difficult proposition to have everything ready in +three days, because it was necessary first to take out of my baggage what +was needed for the journey. It meant the opening of 171 boxes and +packages. Convicts were assigned to assist in opening and closing these, +which afterward were taken to a storehouse, but as I had no mandur I alone +had to do the fatiguing work of going through the contents. The doctor of +the garrison kindly furnished me with knives and pincers for the +taxidermist, as the collector's outfit was missing from the boxes that had +been returned from Macassar. + +The _Otto_ needed only one and a half hours to run down stream to the Muara +Laong, a Malay kampong at the mouth of the river Laong, which we intended +to ascend by boats to the kampong Batu Boa, where the overland journey was +to begin. As soon as we arrived in the afternoon the kapala was sent for to +help in procuring a sufficient number of prahus for the next day. I brought +twenty-nine coolies from Puruk Tjahu to serve as paddlers. The kapala was +unable to find enough prahus, but it had grown dark, so we waited, hoping +for better luck next day. + +In the morning search was continued, but no great results were obtained. +The Malays evidently disliked to rent their boats, which were coming in +but slowly. In the meantime our luggage was being unloaded to the +landing-float. Mr. Demmini was able to secure some large prahus, among them +a specially good one belonging to a Chinaman, and the goods were placed in +them. At 11 A.M. all the baggage had been unloaded from the steamer, and +having worked like a dog for the last few days I felt that I had earned +twenty minutes for my usual bath, applying tepid water from a tin can, +with rough mittens. According to the opinion of those best able to judge, +bathing-water in the tropics should be of the same temperature as the +body, or slightly lower. There are three important items in my personal +outfit: A kettle in which drinking water is boiled, another (of a +different colour) in which water for bathing is heated, and a five-gallon +tin can which serves as a bathtub. + +Much refreshed from my bath, I felt ready for further action. In the +morning I had requested the captain not to wait for me, and he had already +left. At 12 o'clock the _Otto_ departed, and a few minutes later our +flotilla was under way. We stayed over night at Biha, a small but clean +Dayak kampong. The Murungs, as seen here for the first time, are rather +shy, dark-complexioned, somewhat short and strongly set people. They are +not ugly, though their mouths always seem ungainly. The next day we +arrived at a Malay kampong, Muara Topu, which is less attractive on +account of its lack of cleanliness and its pretense of being civilised. + +I soon realised that it would not be possible to overtake the captain, +still less to proceed overland, as our men from Puruk Tjahu were rather a +poor lot. They were Malays with the exception of three Dayaks, and one of +these, an Ot-Danum, had accepted Islam and therefore had imbibed many +Malay ideas. The majority of them were personally amiable, but physically, +with few exceptions, they were even below the Malay average, having weak, +ill-balanced bodies. I saw one man, when pushing his prahu, fall into the +water twice, and the men in my prahu often nearly upset it. In view of +these conditions I decided to stop over at the large kampong Tumbang +Marowei. Something might be gained by a stay among the Murungs, and +meantime the overdue photographic supplies, much needed for our inland +expedition, would possibly arrive. + +The kampong created a pleasant impression, the space in front toward the +river, which the Dayaks are compelled to clear and keep clean, being +unusually extensive--almost approaching a boulevard on the river bank. +Along this are four communal houses arranged lengthwise, in two pairs, and +elevated on upright posts. Between the groups and farther back is a +smaller house. There are areca-palms and other trees planted in front, and +at the back the vast jungle begins immediately. Most of the people were +absent, burning trees and bushes that had been cut down to make new fields +for rice-planting, the so-called ladangs, but about sunset they returned, +and all were quite friendly in their manners. + +We asked the kapala if he could have the people dance in order that we +might photograph them, but he said that would not be possible unless a +feast were made, a necessary part of which would be the sacrifice of a +babi (pig), whereupon an agreement was easily reached that I should pay +for the babi six florins, and that the Murungs should perform. The feast +was held one day later and was more interesting than I had expected. It +took place in front of the house where the kapala resided, and here a +sacred pillar stood, by the Katingans and others called kapatong, erected +on the occasion of a death. + +A striking feature in Dayak kampongs, especially in remote regions, is the +presence of such upright pillars, carved more or less completely into +human form and standing before the houses. These are invariably for the +benefit of a dead person whom they guard, and if the deceased was well +provided with earthly goods two or three are furnished. They are made of +ironwood and often higher than a man, but usually only the upper part is +actually worked into shape, though many instances are observed of smaller +statues the entire surface of which is crudely carved. When a death occurs +many duties are incumbent on the surviving relatives, one of the first +being to make the kapatong, the soul of which waits on and guards the soul +of the departed one. + +A good-sized domestic pig had been brought in dependent from a long pole +about which its feet had been tied, and it was deposited at the base of +the kapatong. One man held an upright stick between the legs of the +animal, while another opened the artery of the neck with one thrust of his +knife. The pig was next lifted up by the carrying-pole so that the blood +might run into a vessel, which was handed to a man who climbed the +kapatong and smeared blood on the image of a human being at the top. This +indicated that the feast was for the benefit of the soul of that ironwood +statue, because it is an invariable custom for the blood of a sacrificed +animal to be smeared on the principals of any feast or ceremony, and this +is also done when attempting to cure or ward off illness. The same custom +obtains in the case of those about to be married; or, if children are to +be named, if a move is made to a new home, blood is first daubed on the +house. + +The pig was then carried a little farther away, where the space was more +favourable for dancing, which soon began to our edification. It was the +same type of dance that is universal among the Dayaks wherever I have +been, although other varieties are seen in Borneo. This principal one +consists of moving in a circle around the sacrificial offering, which is +lying at the foot of an upright rod to the top of which a piece of cloth +is tied, or at the base of a sacred jar (blanga). The participants join +hands, and the movement is slow because an essential feature consists in +bending the knees--heels together--down and up again, slowly and in time; +then, moving one step to the left and bringing right heel to left, the +kneeling is repeated, and so on. The men danced for a long time, at first +by themselves, then the women by themselves, but most of the time the +circle was made up of alternate men and women. The latter, most of them +stocky and somewhat coarse-looking, danced with surprising excellence. +Though children of nature may be without good looks, there is decided +attraction in their grace and easy movements. + +It did not look difficult, so I joined in the dancing, as I have done many +times among other races. Greatly to the amusement of the natives I +demonstrated that I had caught the right steps, and then seated myself in +a chair which was the pride of the kapala and which had been brought out +for my benefit. While watching the performance I was surprised to see two +of the women, about the only ones who possessed any charm of appearance, +coming toward me, singing as they advanced. Each took me by a hand and, +still singing, led me forward to the dancing circle, where a man who had +been offering rice brandy to the people from a huge horn of the +water-buffalo adorned with wood shavings, stepped forward and offered it to +me. Lifting it I applied my face to the wide opening as if drinking. Twice +I pretended to drink, and after participating a while longer in the +activities I retired to my place of observation. + +No doubt the Dayaks had gladly acceded to my wishes in making the feast, +because dancing and sacrifice are believed to attract good spirits which +may be of assistance to them. In the evening there was a banquet with the +pig as the pièce de résistance; and a young fowl was sent to me as a +present. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + + +DAYAK CURE OF DISEASE--EVIL SPIRITS AND GOOD--ANIMISM--BLIANS, THE +PRIEST-DOCTORS--THE FEAST OF RUBBER-GATHERERS--WEDDINGS--IN PRIMITIVE +SURROUNDINGS + +A day or two later the kapala, evidently solicitous about our comfort, +asked permission to perform for three consecutive nights certain rites for +the purpose of curing several sick persons. The reason for his request was +that they might be noisy and prove disturbing to our rest. The ceremonies +consisted in singing and beating drums for three hours, in order to +attract good spirits and drive away the evil ones that had caused the +illness. One of the patients, who had malaria, told me later that he had +been cured by the nightly service, which had cost him forty florins to the +doctor. + +Among the aborigines of Borneo whom I visited, with the possible exception +of the Punan nomads, the belief in evil spirits and in good ones that +counteract them, both called antoh, is universal, and to some extent has +been adopted by the Malays. Though various tribes have their own +designations (in the Duhoi (Ot-Danum) ùntu; Katingan, talúm; Kapuas, +telún; Kahayan, kambae), still the name antoh is recognised throughout +Dutch Borneo. Apprehension of evil being predominant in human minds, the +word is enough to cause a shudder even to some Malays. There are many +kinds of both evil and good antohs; some are male, some female, and they +are invisible, like the wind, but have power to manifest themselves when +they desire to do so. Though sometimes appearing as an animal or bird, an +antoh usually assumes the shape of a man, though much larger than an +ordinary human being. Caves in the mountains are favourite haunts of evil +antohs. In the great rivers, like the Barito and the Katingan, are many of +huge size, larger than those in the mountains. Trees, animals, and even +all lifeless objects, are possessed by antohs good or bad. According to +the Katingans the sun is a benevolent masculine antoh which sleeps at +night. The moon is a feminine antoh, also beneficent. Stars are the +children of the sun and moon--some good, some bad. + +To drive away malevolent antohs and attract benignant ones is the problem +in the life philosophy of the Dayaks. The evil ones not only make him ill +and cause his death, but they are at the bottom of all troubles in life. +In order to attract the good ones sacrifices are made of a fowl, a pig, a +water-buffalo, or, formerly, a slave. Hens' eggs may also be proffered, +but usually as adjuncts to the sacrifice of an animal. If a child is ill +the Katingan makes a vow that he will give Antoh from three to seven eggs +or more if the child becomes well. If it fails to recover the offering is +not made. + +The blood is the more precious part, which the Bahau of the Mahakam, and +other tribes, offer plain as well as mixed with uncooked rice. The people +eat the meat themselves, but some of it is offered to the well-disposed +antoh and to the other one as well, for the Dayaks are determined to leave +no stone unturned in their purpose of defeating the latter. The Duhoi +(Ot-Danums) told me: "When fowl or babi are sacrificed we never forget to +throw the blood and rice mixture toward the sun, moon, and 'three of the +planets.'" With the Katingans the blian (priest-doctor) always drinks a +little of the blood when an animal is sacrificed. + +Singing to the accompaniment of drums, gongs, or the blian's shield, and +dancing to the sound of drums or gongs, are further inducements brought to +bear on the friendly antohs, which are attracted thereby. According to the +belief which prevails in their primitive minds, the music and dancing also +have a deterrent effect upon the malicious ones. Both evil and good antohs +are believed to congregate on such occasions, but the dancing and music +have a terrifying effect on the former, while on the latter they act as an +incentive to come nearer and take possession of the performers or of the +beneficiary of the function by entering through the top of the head. A +primitive jews'-harp, universally found among the tribes, is played to +frighten away antohs, and so is the flute. + +A kindly antoh may enter a man and become his guardian spirit, to whom he +occasionally offers food, but it never remains long because that would +make the man insane. One must not step over a person, because a benevolent +antoh that may be in possession is liable to be frightened away, say the +Katingans and other Dayaks. In dancing with masks, which is much practised +on the Mahakam, the idea is that the antoh of the animal represented by +the mask enters the dancer through the top of his head. + +The Penihings and Long-Glats of the Mahakam have an interesting belief in +the existence of a friendly antoh which reminded me of the superstition of +the "Nokken" in the rivers of Norway. It lives in rivers, is very rarely +beheld by mortals, and the one who sees it becomes rich beyond dreams of +avarice. The Long-Glats call it sangiang, a survival of Hindu influence. +An old man in Long Tujo is reported to have seen this antoh, and according +to him it had the appearance of a woman sitting underneath the water. No +doubt other tribes have the same belief. + +The most famous of antohs is the nagah, which may be good or evil, +according to the treatment received from mortals, and being very powerful +its help and protection are sought in a manner later to be described in +connection with my travels on the Mahakam. The nagah guards underneath as +well as above the surface of water and earth, but the air is protected by +three birds which are messengers, or mail carriers, so to speak. They are +able to call the good antoh and carry food to him; they are also +attendants of man and watch over him and his food. Fowls and pigs are +sacrificed to them as payment. They are--the tingang (hornbill), the +sankuvai (formerly on earth but now only in heaven), and the antang (red +hawk). As these birds are called by the same names in the tribes of the +Katingans, Ot-Danums, Kahayans, and others, it may be presumed that their +worship is widely prevalent in Borneo. + +Among most if not all native races certain persons occupy themselves with +religious services and at the same time cure disease. In Borneo, as far as +my experience goes, these priest-doctors, whether male or female, are +generally recognised by the name blian, or balian. Although some tribes +have their own and different designations, for the sake of convenience I +shall call them all blians. + +While there are both male and female blians, the service of women is +regarded as more valuable, therefore commands higher remuneration than +that received by men. A Dayak explained to me: As there are two sexes +among the antohs, so there are also male and female blians. He or she on +occasion pretends to be possessed of helpful antohs, in some parts of +Borneo called sangiangs. Besides assisting the blians in their work they +enable them to give advice in regard to the future, illness, or the +affairs of daily life. A blian may be possessed by as many as fifty good +antohs, which do not remain long at a time. Although in the remote past +men sometimes saw good or evil spirits, at present nobody is able to do so +except blians, who also sing in a language that only they and the antohs +understand. + +The blian does not know how to take omens from birds and read the liver of +the pig. There may be one expert along this line in the kampong and there +may be none. The blians of the tribes visited by me can neither make rain +nor afflict people with illness. Among the Long-Glats I saw them directing +the great triennial feast tàsa, at which they were the chief performers. +The constant occupation of the blians, however, is to cure disease which +is caused by a malicious antoh longing to eat human blood and desiring to +drive away the human soul. When hungry an antoh makes somebody ill. The +blian's rites, songs, dances, and sacrifices aim to induce a good antoh to +chase away or kill the evil one which has taken possession of the patient, +and thus make an opportunity for the frightened soul to return, which +restores the man to health. This, without undue generalisation, is a short +summary of the religious ideas which I found on the Mahakam and in +Southern Borneo, more especially those of the Penihing, Katingan, and +Murung. Further details will be found among descriptions of the different +tribes. + +Shortly afterward we all made an excursion up the river as far as Batu +Boa, which, as is often the case, contains a Dayak as well as a Malay +kampong. At the first one, a forlorn and desolate looking place, the +kapala, who had an unusually large goitre, told me that eighteen men had +been engaged by the captain for his journey northward from there, which +definitely precluded any prospect of ours for an overland expedition, even +if under other conditions it would have been possible. As for the Malays, +I found them rather distant, and was glad to return to Tumbang Marowei. + +Here a singular sight met us in a sculptured representation of a +rhinoceros with a man on his back, entirely composed of red rubber, +standing on a float and surrounded by a number of blocks made of the same +material. White and red pieces of cloth tied to upright saplings on the +float added a certain gaiety to the scene. Some of the kampong people had +just returned from a rubber expedition, and part of the output had been +cleverly turned into plastics in this way. + +The rhino was about seventy-five centimetres high, strong and burly +looking, and the posture of the young man on his back conveyed a vivid +suggestion of action. They were now on their way to sell this to some +Chinaman. The image was said to be worth from two to three hundred +florins, and as there was considerable additional rubber, perhaps all of +it approached a value of a thousand florins. Bringing this rubber from up +country had occupied eighteen days, and it was the result of ten men's +work for two or three months. Twice before during the last two years +rubber had been brought here in the same manner. + +First they considered it essential to make a feast for the badak (the +Malay name for rhinoceros). When going out on their expedition they had +promised to make a badak effigy if they found much rubber. As the man on +its back represented the owner, there was the risk that one of the souls +of the latter might enter his image, resulting in illness for the owner, +to avoid which a pig would have to be killed and various ceremonies +performed. + +The festival was scheduled to take place in three days, but it had to be +postponed one day on account of difficulties in procuring the pig. I +presented them with three tins of rice and another half full of sugar, +which they wanted to mix with water to serve as drink because there was no +rice brandy. It required some exertion to bring the heavy image from the +float up to the open space in front of the house where the rubber +gatherers lived, but this had been done a day or two before the feast, the +statue in the meantime having been covered with white cotton cloth. +Several metres of the same material had also been raised on poles to form +a half enclosure around the main object. The feast had many features in +common with the one we had seen, as, for instance, dancing, and a good +deal of Malay influence was evident in the clothing of the participants, +also in the setting. Nevertheless, the ceremonies, which lasted only about +two hours, were not devoid of interest. + +The men, manifesting great spontaneity and enthusiasm, gathered quickly +about and on the badak, and one of them took the rubber man by the hand. +This was followed by pantomimic killing of the badak with a ceremonial +spear as well as with parangs, which were struck against its neck. The man +who was deputed to kill the pig with the spear missed the artery several +times, and as blood was his first objective, he took no care to finish the +unfortunate animal, which was still gasping fifteen minutes later. + +An old woman then appeared on the scene who waved a bunch of five hens, to +be sacrificed, whirling them over and among the performers who were then +sitting or standing. The hens were killed in the usual way by cutting the +artery of the neck, holding them until blood had been collected, and then +leaving them to flap about on the ground until dead. Blood was now smeared +on the foreheads of the principal participants, and a young woman danced a +graceful solo. + +Having ascertained, by sending to the kampong below, that I could obtain +twenty men with prahus whenever I intended to move, I discharged with +cheerful willingness most of the Puruk Tjahu Malays. Their departure was a +relief also to the Murungs, who feared to be exploited by the Malays. As +soon as the latter had departed in the morning, many Dayaks whom I had not +seen before ventured to come up to the kitchen and my tent to ask for +empty tin cans. The Malays had slept in the Dayak houses, and the last +night one of them carried off the mat which had been hospitably offered +him. + +One day there were two weddings here, one in the morning and the other in +the evening. A cloth was spread over two big gongs, which were standing +close together on the floor and formed seats for the bride and bridegroom. +She seemed to be about sixteen years old, and laughed heartily and +frequently during the ceremony, which occupied but a few minutes. A man +waved a young live hen over and around them, then went away and killed it +in the usual manner, returning with the blood, which, with the help of a +stick, he smeared on the forehead, chest, neck, hands, and feet of the +bridal pair, following which the two mutually daubed each other's +foreheads. The principal business connected with marriage had previously +been arranged--that of settling how much the prospective bridegroom was to +pay to the bride's parents. With most tribes visited I found the +adjustment of the financial matter conclusive in itself without further +ceremonies. + +The officiating blian took hold of a hand of each, pulled them from their +seats, and whisked them off as if to say: "Now you can go--you are +married!" Outside the full moon bathed the country in the effulgence of +its light, but being quite in zenith it looked rather small as it hung in +the tropical sky. + +The moist heat in the latter part of September and first half of October +was more oppressive here than I experienced anywhere else in Borneo. When +for a few days there was no rain the temperature was uncomfortable, though +hardly rising above 90° F. As there was no wind Rajimin's skins would not +dry and many spoiled. Flies, gnats, and other pests were troublesome and +made it difficult even to take a bath. Itching was produced on the lower +part of the legs, which if scratched would become sores that usually took +weeks to heal, and though the application of iodine was of some avail, the +wounds would often suppurate, and I have myself at times had fever as a +result. The best remedy for these and like injuries on the legs is a +compress, or wet bandage, covered with oiled silk, which is a real +blessing in the tropics and the material for which any traveller is well +advised in adding to his outfit. + +Rain with the resultant cooling of the atmosphere seldom waited long, +however, and when the river rose to within a metre of my tent, which I had +pitched on the edge of the river bank, I had to abandon it temporarily for +the house in which Mr. Demmini and Mr. Loing resided, a little back of the +rest of the houses. Besides a kitchen, it contained a large room and a +small one, which I appropriated. This house, which was five generations +old and belonged to the brother of the kapala, had in its centre an +upright pillar carved at the top which passed through the floor without +reaching the roof. The house, as is the universal custom in Borneo, stands +on piles, and in erecting it a slave who, according to ancient custom, was +sacrificed, in that way to insure good luck, had been buried alive +underneath the central post, which was more substantial than the others. + +During rain it is conducive to a sense of comfort and security to be +safely roofed and sheltered in a house, but usually I preferred my tent, +and occupied it unless the river was too threatening. From the trees in +its close proximity a species of small frog gave concerts every evening, +and also occasionally favoured me with a visit. One morning they had left +in my quarters a cluster of eggs as large as a fist, of a grey frothy +matter, which the ants soon attacked and which later was eaten by the +hens. + +The fowls, coarse, powerful specimens of the poultry tribe, were a source +of great annoyance on account of their number and audacity. As usual among +the Malays, from whom the Dayaks originally acquired these domestic birds, +interest centres in the males on account of the prevalent cock-fights, and +the hens are in a very decided minority. For the night the feathered tribe +settles on top of the houses or in the surrounding trees. Hens with small +chickens are gathered together in the evening by the clever hands of the +Dayak women, hen and brood being put into an incredibly small wicker bag, +which is hung up on the gallery for the night. Otherwise carnivorous +animals, prowling about, would make short work of them. + +At dawn, having duly saluted the coming day, the numerous cocks descend +from their high roosts and immediately begin their favourite sport of +chasing the few females about. The crowing of these poorly bred but very +powerful males creates pandemonium for a couple of hours, and it is like +living in a poultry yard with nearly fifty brutal cocks crowing around +one. During the remainder of the day sudden raids upon kitchen or tent by +one or more of these cocks are of frequent occurrence, usually overturning +or otherwise damaging something. Although repeatedly and easily frightened +away, they return as soon as they see that the coast is clear again. This +is the one nuisance to be encountered in all the kampongs, though rarely +to the same extent as here. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + + +THE SCALY ANT-EATER--THE PORCUPINE--THE BLOW-PIPE--AN UNUSUAL ADVENTURE +WITH A SNAKE--HABITS AND CUSTOMS OF THE MURUNGS--AN UNPLEASANT AFFAIR + +A Murung one day brought and exhibited to us that extraordinary animal, +the scaly ant-eater (_manis_), which is provided with a long pipe-like +snout, and is devoid of teeth because its only food, the ant, is gathered +by means of its long tongue. The big scales that cover the whole body form +its sole defence, and when it rolls itself up the dogs can do it no harm. +Unable to run, it cannot even walk fast, and the long tail is held +straight out without touching the ground. Its appearance directs one's +thoughts back to the monsters of prehistoric times, and the fat meat is +highly esteemed by the Dayaks. The animal, which is possessed of +incredible strength in proportion to its size, was put in a box from which +it escaped in the night through the carelessness of Rajimin. + +A large live porcupine was also brought for sale by a Dayak woman who had +raised it. The creature was confined in a kind of bag, and by means of its +strength it managed to escape from between the hands of the owner. +Although she and several Dayaks immediately started in pursuit, it +succeeded in eluding them. However, the woman believed implicitly that it +would return, and a couple of days later it did reappear, passing my tent +at dusk. Every evening afterward about eight o'clock it was a regular +visitor, taking food out of my hand and then continuing its trip to the +kitchen, which was less than a hundred metres farther up the river bank. +Finally it became a nuisance, turning over saucepans to look for food and +otherwise annoying us, so I bought it for one ringit in order to have it +skinned. The difficulty was to catch it, because its quills are long and +sharp; but next evening the Murungs brought it to me enmeshed in a strong +net, and how to kill it was the next question. + +The Dayaks at once proposed to shoot it with the sumpitan--a very good +scheme, though I fancied that darkness might interfere. However, in the +light of my hurricane lamp one man squatted on the ground and held the +animal, placing it in a half upright position before him. The executioner +stepped back about six metres, a distance that I thought unnecessary, +considering that if the poisoned dart hit the hand of the man it would be +a most serious affair. He put the blow-pipe to his mouth and after a few +moments the deadly dart entered the porcupine at one side of the neck. The +animal, which almost at once began to quiver, was freed from the +entangling net, then suddenly started to run round in a small circle, fell +on his back, and was dead in less than a minute after being hit. + +It was a wonderful exhibition of the efficiency of the sumpitan and of the +accuracy of aim of the man who used the long heavy tube. The pipe, two +metres long, is held by the native with his hands close to the mouth, +quite contrary to the method we should naturally adopt. The man who coolly +held the porcupine might not have been killed if wounded, because the +quantity of poison used is less in the case of small game than large. The +poison is prepared from the sap of the upas tree, _antiaris toxicaria_, +which is heated until it becomes a dark paste. It is a fortunate fact that +these extremely efficient weapons, which noiselessly bring down birds and +monkeys from great heights, are not widely distributed over the globe. If +one is hit by the dart which is used when destined for man or big game, +and which has a triangular point, it is said that no remedy will avail. + +Rajimin, the taxidermist, had frequent attacks of malaria with high fever, +but fortunately he usually recovered rapidly. One day I found him skinning +birds with his pulse registering one hundred and twenty-five beats a +minute. I engaged a Murung to assist in making my zoological collections, +and he learned to skin well and carefully, though slowly. Judging from the +number of long-nosed monkeys brought in, they must be numerous here. These +animals are at times met in droves of a hundred or more passing from +branch to branch through the woods. When old they cannot climb. One +morning this Dayak returned with three wah-wahs, and related that after +the mother had been shot and had fallen from the tree, the father seized +the young one and tried to escape, but they were both killed by the same +charge. + +On account of adverse weather conditions most of the skins here spoiled, +in some degree at least, in spite of all efforts, especially the fleshy +noses of the long-nosed monkeys. A special brand of taxidermist's soap +from London, which contained several substitutes for arsenic and claimed +to be equally efficient, may have been at fault in part, though not +entirely, the main cause being the moist heat and the almost entire lack +of motility in the air. So little accustomed to wind do the natives here +appear to be that a small boy one day jubilantly drew attention to some +ripples in the middle of the river caused by an air current. + +My Malay cook was taken ill, so I had to do most of the cooking myself, +which is not particularly pleasant when one's time is valuable; and when +he got well his lack of experience rendered it necessary for me to oversee +his culinary operations. One day after returning to my tent from such +supervision I had a curious adventure with a snake. It was a warm day +about half past one. All was quiet and not a blade stirred. I paused near +the tent opening, with my face toward the opposite side of the river, +which could be seen through an opening among the trees. Standing +motionless on the bank, which from there sloped gradually down toward the +river, more than a minute had elapsed when my attention was distracted by +a slight noise behind me. Looking to the right and backward my surprise +was great to perceive the tail-end of a black snake rapidly proceeding +toward the left. Hastily turning my eyes in that direction I beheld the +well-shaped, powerful, though somewhat slender, forward part of the +serpent, which, holding its head high, almost to the height of my knee, +made downward toward the river. + +In passing over the open space along the river bank it had found its path +obstructed by some boxes, etc., that were in front of the tent opening, +and had suddenly changed its route, not noticing me, as I stood there +immovable. It thus formed a right angle about me scarcely twenty-five +centimetres distant. At first glance its shape suggested the redoubtable +king cobra, but two very conspicuous yellow parallel bands running +obliquely against each other across the flat, unusually broad head, +indicated another species, though probably of the same family. + +The formidable head on its narrow neck moved rapidly from side to side; I +felt as if surrounded, and although the reptile evidently had no hostile +intentions and appeared as much surprised as I was, still, even to a +nature lover, our proximity was too close to be entirely agreeable, so I +stepped back over the snake. In doing so my foot encountered the kettle +that contained my bathing water, and the noise probably alarmed the +serpent, which rapidly glided down the little embankment, where it soon +reached the grass next to the river and disappeared. It was a magnificent +sight to watch the reptile, about two and a half metres in length, jet +black and perfectly formed, moving swiftly among the trees. The Malays +call this snake, whose venom is deadly, ular hanjalivan, and according to +the Murungs a full-grown man dies within half an hour from its bite. This +species appears to be fairly numerous here. + +At times the natives here showed no disinclination to being photographed, +but they wanted wang (money) for posing. Usually I had to pay one florin +to each, or fifty cents if the hair was not long. At other times nothing +would induce them to submit to the camera. A young woman recently married +had a row with her husband one night, and the affair became very +boisterous, when suddenly they came to terms. The trouble arose through +her desire to earn some pin-money by being photographed in the act of +climbing an areca palm, a proceeding which did not meet with his approval. + +There were three female blians in the kampong whom I desired to photograph +as they performed the dances connected with their office, but the +compensation they demanded was so exorbitant (two hundred florins in cash +and nine tins of rice) that we did not reach an agreement. Later in the +day they reduced their demand to thirty florins for a pig to be used at +the dancing, which proposition I also declined, the amount named being at +least six times the value of the animal, but I was more fortunate in my +dealings with the two male blians of the place, one of them a Dusun, and +succeeded in inducing them to dance for me one forenoon. + +The two men wore short sarongs around their loins, the women's dress, +though somewhat shorter; otherwise they were nude except for bands, to +which numerous small metal rattles were attached, running over either +shoulder and diagonally across chest and back. After a preliminary trial, +during which one of them danced with much élan, he said: "I felt a spirit +come down in my body. This will go well." The music was provided by two +men who sat upon long drums and beat them with fervour and abandon. The +dance was a spirited movement forward and backward with peculiar steps +accompanied by the swaying of the body. The evolutions of the two dancers +were slightly different. + +In October a patrouille of seventeen native soldiers and nine native +convicts, under command of a lieutenant, passed through the kampong. In +the same month in 1907 a patrouille had been killed here by the Murungs. +It must be admitted that the Dayaks had reason to be aggrieved against the +lieutenant, who had sent two Malays from Tumbang Topu to bring to him the +kapala's attractive wife--an order which was obeyed with a tragic +sequence. The following night, which the military contingent passed at the +kampong of the outraged kapala, the lieutenant and thirteen soldiers were +killed. Of course the Dayaks had to be punished; the government, however, +took the provocation into account. + +The kapala's wife and a female companion demanded two florins each for +telling folklore, whereupon I expressed a wish first to hear what they +were able to tell. The companion insisted on the money first, but the +kapala's wife, who was a very nice woman, began to sing, her friend +frequently joining in the song. This was the initial prayer, without which +there could be no story-telling. She was a blian, and her way of relating +legends was to delineate stories in song form, she informed me. As there +was nobody to interpret I was reluctantly compelled to dispense with her +demonstration, although I had found it interesting to watch the strange +expression of her eyes as she sang and the trance-like appearance she +maintained. Another noticeable fact was the intense attachment of her +dogs, which centred their eyes constantly upon her and accompanied her +movements with strange guttural sounds. + +With the Murungs, six teeth in the upper front jaw and six in the under +one are filed off, and there is no pain associated with the operation. The +kapala had had his teeth cut three times, first as a boy, then when he had +one child, and again when he had four children. The teeth of one of the +blians had been filed twice, once when he was a boy and again when he had +two children. + +If a man has the means he is free to take four wives, who may all be +sisters if he so desires. As to the number of wives a man is allowed to +acquire, no exception is made in regard to the kapala. A brother is +permitted to marry his sister, and my informant said that the children +resulting from this union are strong; but, on the other hand, it is +forbidden for cousins to marry, and a still worse offence is for a man to +marry the mother of his wife or the sister of one's father or mother. If +that transgression has been committed the culprit must pay from one to two +hundred rupias, or if he cannot pay he must be killed with parang or +klevang (long knife). The children of such union are believed to become +weak. + +When twelve years of age girls are regarded as marriageable, and sexual +relations are absolutely free until marriage; in fact, if she chooses to +have a young man share her mat it is considered by no means improper. If a +girl should be left with child and the father cannot be found she is +married to somebody else, though no man is forced to wed her. Marriage +relations are very strict and heavy fines are imposed on people at fault, +but divorces may be had provided payment is made, and a widow may remarry +if she desires to do so. + +When a person dies there is much wailing, and if the deceased is a father +or mother people of the same house do not sleep for three days. The corpse +remains in the house three days, during which time a root called javau is +eaten instead of rice, babi and bananas being also permissible. The body +is washed and wrapped in white cotton cloth, bought from Malay traders, +and placed in a coffin made of iron-wood. As the coffin must not be +carried through the door, the house wall is broken open for it to pass on +its way to a cemetery in the utan. Sometimes as soon as one year +afterward, but usually much later, the coffin is opened, the bones are +cleaned with water and soap and placed in a new box of the same material +or in a gutshi, an earthen jar bought from the Chinese. The box or jar is +then deposited in a subterranean chamber made of iron-wood, called kobur +by both Malays and Murungs, where in addition are left the personal +effects of the deceased,--clothing, beads, and other ornaments,--and, if a +man, also his sumpitan, parang, axe, etc. This disposition of the bones is +accompanied by a very elaborate feast, generally called tiwah, to the +preparation of which much time is devoted. + +According to a conception which is more or less general among the Dayaks, +conditions surrounding the final home of the departed soul are on the +whole similar to those existing here, but before the tiwah feast has been +observed the soul is compelled to roam about in the jungle three or four +years, or longer, until that event takes place. This elaborate ceremony is +offered by surviving relatives as an equivalent for whatever was left +behind by the deceased, whose ghost is regarded with apprehension. + +Fortunately the Murungs were then preparing for such an observance at the +Bundang kampong higher up the river where I intended to visit. They were +making ready to dispose of the remains of no less a personage than the +mother of our kapala. A water-buffalo would be killed and the festival +would last for a week. In three years there would be another festal +occasion of two weeks' duration, at which a water-buffalo would again be +sacrificed, and when a second period of three years has elapsed the final +celebration of three weeks' duration will be given, with the same +sacrificial offering. Thus the occasions are seen to be of increasing +magnitude and the expenses in this case to be on a rising scale. It was +comparatively a small affair. + +About a month later, when I stopped at Buntok, on the Barito, the +controleur of the district told me that an unusually great tiwah feast had +just been concluded in the neighbourhood. He had spent ten days there, the +Dayaks having erected a house for him to stay in. More than two hundred +pigs and nineteen water-buffaloes had been killed. Over three hundred +bodies, or rather remains of bodies, had previously been exhumed and +placed in forty boxes, for the accommodation of which a special house had +been constructed. These, with contents, were burned and the remains +deposited in ten receptacles made of iron-wood, those belonging to one +family being put in the same container. + +Some of the Dayaks were much preoccupied with preparations for the Bundang +ceremony, which was postponed again and again. They encouraged me to +participate in the festivities, representing it as a wonderful affair. I +presented them with money to buy a sack of rice for the coming occasion, +and some of them went at once to Puruk Tjahu to purchase it. Having +overcome the usual difficulties in regard to getting prahus and men, and +Mr. Demmini having recovered from a week's illness, I was finally, early +in November, able to move on. Several people from our kampong went the +same day, and it looked as if the feast were really about to take place. + +We proceeded with uneventful rapidity up-stream on a lovely day, warm but +not oppressively so, and in the afternoon arrived at Bundang, which is a +pleasant little kampong. The Dayaks here have three small houses and the +Malays have five still smaller. A big water-buffalo, which had been +brought from far away to be sacrificed at the coming ceremonial, was +grazing in a small field near by. The surrounding scenery was attractive, +having in the background a jungle-clad mountain some distance away, which +was called by the same name as the kampong, and which, in the clear air +against the blue sky, completed a charming picture. We found a primitive, +tiny pasang-grahan, inconveniently small for more than one person, and +there was hardly space on which to erect my tent. + +There appeared to be more Siangs than Murungs here, the former, who are +neighbours and evidently allied to the latter, occupying the inland to the +north of the great rivers on which the Murungs are chiefly settled, part +of the Barito and the Laong. They were shy, friendly natives, and +distinguished by well-grown mustaches, an appendage I also later noted +among the Upper Katingans. The people told me that I might photograph the +arrangements incident to the feast as much as I desired, and also promised +to furnish prahus and men when I wished to leave. + +The following day Mr. Demmini seemed worse than before, being unable to +sleep and without appetite. The festival was to begin in two days, but +much to my regret there seemed nothing else to do but to return to Puruk +Tjahu. The Dayaks proposed to take the sick man there if I would remain, +but he protested against this, and I decided that we should all leave the +following day. In the evening I attended the dancing of the Dayak women +around an artificial tree made up of bamboo stalks and branches so as to +form a very thick trunk. The dancing at the tiwa feast, or connected with +it, is of a different character and meaning from the general performance +which is to attract good antohs. This one is meant to give pleasure to the +departed soul. The scene was inside one of the houses, and fourteen or +fifteen different dances were performed, one of them obscene, but +presented and accepted with the same seriousness as the other varieties. +Some small girls danced extraordinarily well, and their movements were +fairylike in unaffected grace. + +Enjoying the very pleasant air after the night's rain, we travelled +rapidly down-stream on the swollen river to Tumbang Marowei, where we +spent the night. There were twenty men from the kampong eager to accompany +me on my further journey, but they were swayed to and fro according to the +dictates of the kapala, who was resolutely opposed to letting other +kampongs obtain possession of us. He wanted to reserve for himself and the +kampong the advantages accruing from our need of prahus and men. To his +chagrin, in the morning there arrived a large prahu with four Murungs from +Batu Boa, who also wanted a chance at this bonanza, whereupon the kapala +began to develop schemes to harass us and to compel me to pay more. + +Without any reason whatsoever, he said that only ten of the twenty men I +had engaged would be able to go. This did not frighten me much, as the +river was swollen and the current strong, so that one man in each of our +prahus would be sufficient to allow us to drift down to the nearest Malay +kampong, where I had been promised men some time before. At first I was +quite concerned about the loading of the prahus, as the natives all +exhibited a marked disinclination to work, the kapala, as a matter of +fact, having ordered a strike. However, with the ten men allowed I was +able by degrees to bring all our goods down to the river bank, whereupon +the kapala, seeing that I was not to be intimidated, permitted the rest of +the men to proceed. + +It was an unpleasant affair, which was aggravated by what followed, and +was utterly at variance with my other experiences during two years among +the Dayaks. I was greatly surprised to observe that some of the men who +had been loitering near our goods on the bank of the river had begun to +carry off a number of large empty tins which had been placed there ready +for shipment. These are difficult to procure, and being very necessary for +conveying rice, salt, and other things, I had declined to give them away. +The natives had always been welcome to the small tin cans, also greatly in +favour with them. Milk and jam tins are especially in demand, and after +they have been thrown away the Dayaks invariably ask if they may have +them. As they are very dexterous in wood-work they make nicely carved +wooden covers for the tins, in which to keep tobacco or other articles. + +Returning from one of many tours I had made back to the house from where +our belongings were taken, I caught sight of three Murungs running as fast +as they could, each carrying two large tins, the kapala calmly looking on. +I told him that unless they were immediately returned I should report the +matter to the government. This had the desired effect, and at his order no +less than sixteen large tins were promptly produced. + +This was surprising, but as a faithful chronicler of things Bornean I feel +obliged to tell the incident, the explanation of which to a great extent +is the fact that the natives here have been too susceptible to the +demoralising Malay influence which has overcome their natural scruples +about stealing. It must be admitted that the Dayaks wherever I have been +are fond of wang (money), and they are inclined to charge high prices for +the articles they are asked to sell. They have, if you like, a childish +greed, which, however, is curbed by the influence of their religious +belief before it has carried them to the point of stealing. Under +continued Malay influence the innate longing for the possession of things +very much desired overwhelms them and conquers their scruples. + +We afterward discovered that several things were missing, of no great +importance except a round black tin case containing thermometers and small +instruments, which without doubt had been appropriated by the owner of the +house where we had been staying. Two or three weeks previously he had +begged me to let him have it, as he liked it much and needed it. I said +that was impossible, but evidently he thought otherwise. Perhaps the +Murungs are more avaricious than other tribes. I was told in Puruk Tjahu +that they were greedy, and it seems also as if their scruples about +stealing are less acute than elsewhere in Borneo. The reputation of the +Dayaks for honesty is great among all who know them. As far as my +knowledge goes the Murungs are mild-mannered and polite, but not +particularly intelligent. The higher-class people, however, are +intelligent and alert, manifesting firmness and strength of mind. + +It was one o'clock before we were able to start, but circumstances +favoured us, and after dark we reached the kampong at the mouth of the +Laong River, where we made ourselves quite comfortable on the landing +float, and I rejoiced at our recent escape from an unpleasant situation. +The following day we arrived at Puruk Tjahu. After a few days' stay it was +found expedient to return to Bandjermasin before starting on the proposed +expedition through Central Borneo. A small steamer belonging to the Royal +Packet Boat Company maintains fortnightly connections between the two +places, and it takes only a little over two days to go down-stream. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + + +FINAL START FOR CENTRAL BORNEO--CHRISTMAS TIME--EXTENT OF MALAY +INFLUENCE--THE FLOWERS OF EQUATORIAL REGIONS--AT AN OT-DANUM +KAMPONG--THE PICTURESQUE KIHAMS, OR RAPIDS--FORMIDABLE OBSTACLES TO +TRAVEL--MALAYS ON STRIKE + +Having arranged various matters connected with the expedition, in the +beginning of December we made our final start from Bandjermasin in the +_Otto_, which the resident again courteously placed at my disposal. Our +party was augmented by a military escort, under command of Onder-Lieutenant +J. Van Dijl, consisting of one Javanese sergeant and six native soldiers, +most of them Javanese. At midday the surface of the water was absolutely +without a ripple, and the broad expanse of the river, ever winding in large +curves, reflected the sky and the low jungle on either side with +bewildering faithfulness. At night the stars were reflected in the water in +the same extraordinary way. + +In order to investigate a report from an otherwise reliable source about +Dayaks "as white as Europeans, with coarse brown hair, and children with +blue eyes," I made a stop at Rubea, two or three hours below Muara Tewe. +It was a small and sad-looking kampong of thirteen families in many +houses. Several children were seen, a little lighter of colour than usual, +but their eyes were brown, and there was nothing specially remarkable +about them nor the rest of the people whom the kapala called from the +ladangs. Children lighter than the parents is a usual phenomenon in black +and brown races. There was, however, one four-year-old boy conspicuous for +his light hair and general blondness, who was different from the ordinary +Dayak in frame and some of his movements; he was coarsely built, with +thick limbs, big square head, and hands and feet strikingly large. There +could be no doubt about his being a half-breed, neither face nor +expression being Dayak. One hare-lipped woman and a child born blind were +observed here. Other kampongs in the inland neighbourhood, mentioned in +the same report, were not visited. + +On our arrival at Puruk Tjahu the low water at first made it doubtful +whether the _Otto_ would be able to proceed further, but during the night +it rose five metres, continued rising, and changed into a swollen river, +as in springtime, carrying sticks and logs on its dirty reddish waters. +After a foggy morning the sun came out and we had an enchanting day's +journey, the movement of the ship producing a soft breeze of balmy air +after the rainy night and morning. We passed a timber float stranded on +high ground, with Malay men, women, and children who had been living there +for weeks, waiting for the water to rise again as high as where it had +left them. They evidently enjoyed the unusual sight of the steamer, and +followed us attentively. + +In the afternoon we arrived at Poru, a small, oppressively warm kampong, +deserted but for an old man and one family, the others having gone to +gather rattan in the utan. This was to be our starting-point, where our +baggage would have to be put in convenient shape for travel in boat and +overland, and where we hoped it might be possible to buy prahus and obtain +men by searching the kampongs higher up the river. In this we were +disappointed, so the lieutenant went back to Puruk Tjahu, in the +neighbourhood of which are many kampongs, nearly all Malay, there as well +as here. He took with him one soldier who had proved to have an obnoxious +disease, leaving us with five for the expedition, which we deemed +sufficient. + +On Christmas day I bought from an old Dayak a large, ripe fruit called in +Malay nangca (_artocarpus integrifolia_) of the jack fruit family. It is +very common. Before maturing it is used as an every-day vegetable, which +is boiled before eating. I was surprised to find that when fully ripe this +fruit has an agreeable flavour of banana, but its contents being sticky it +is difficult to eat. The sergeant, with the culinary ability of the +Javanese, prepared for the holiday a kind of stew, called sambil goreng, +which is made on the same principle as the Mexican variety, but decidedly +superior. Besides the meat or fish, or whatever is used as the foundation, +it contains eight ingredients and condiments, all indigenous except red +pepper and onions. + +In the ladangs is cultivated the maize plant, which just then was in +condition to provide us with the coveted green corn, and carried my +thoughts to America, whence the plant came. Maize is raised on a very +limited scale, and, strange to say, higher up the river the season was +already over. At Poru we tried in vain to secure a kind of gibbon that we +heard almost daily on the other side of the river, emitting a loud cry but +different from that of the ordinary wah-wah. Rajimin described it as being +white about the head and having a pronounced kind of topknot. + +As far as we had advanced up the Barito River, Malay influence was found +to be supreme. The majority of the kampongs are peopled by Malays, Dayaks +at times living in a separate section. This relation may continue at the +lower courses of the tributaries, yielding to a Dayak population at the +upper portions. In the kampongs, from our present camp, Poru, up to the +Busang tributary, the population continues to be subject to strong Malay +influence, the native tribes gradually relinquishing their customs, +beliefs, and vernacular. But back from the river on either side the Dayak +still easily holds his own. + +The old kapala of Poru had an attractive eight-year-old granddaughter, of +a singularly active and enterprising disposition, who always accompanied +him. He called my attention to the fact that she wore a solid-looking gold +bracelet around each wrist, a product of the country. In the dry season +when the river is low two or three hundred Dayaks and Malays gather here +to wash gold, coming even as far as from Muara Tewe. The gold mixed with +silver is made into bracelets, wristlets, or breastplates by these +natives. + +The lieutenant had been unable to secure more than sixteen men, all +Malays, which was insufficient for the six prahus we had bought. Therefore +it became necessary to travel in relays, the lieutenant waiting in Poru +until our men and prahus should return from Telok Djulo, for which kampong +the rest of us started in late December. + +After considerable rain the river was high but navigable, and two days' +travel brought us to a rather attractive kampong situated on a ridge. +Rajimin accompanied by Longko, the principal one of our Malays, went out +in the evening to hunt deer, employing the approved Bornean method. With a +lamp in the bow the prahu is paddled noiselessly along the river near the +bank. Rusa, as a large species of deer are called, come to the water, and +instead of being frightened are attracted by the light. Rajimin, who was +of an emotional and nervous temperament, missed two plandoks and one rusa, +Longko reported, and when he actually killed a rusa he became so excited +that he upset the prahu. + +We started before seven o'clock on a glorious morning, January first. On +the river bank some trees, which did not appear to me to be indigenous, +were covered with lovely flowers resembling hibiscus, some scarlet, some +yellow. I had my men gather a small bunch, which for several hours proved +attractive in the prosaic Malay prahu. The equatorial regions have not the +abundance of beautiful flowers that is credited to them by popular belief. +The graceful pitcher-plants (_nepenthes_) are wonderful and so are many +other extraordinary plant creations here, but they cannot be classed as +beautiful flowers in the common acceptation of the word. There are superb +flowers in Borneo, among them the finest in existence, orchids, begonias, +etc., but on account of the character of their habitats, within a dense +jungle, it is generally difficult to see them. The vast majority of +orchids are small and inconspicuous, and in hunting for magnificent ones +the best plan is to take natives along who will climb or cut down the +trees on which they grow. + +On the third day the river had become narrow and shallower, and early in +the afternoon we arrived at Telok Djulo, a kampong of Ot-Danums +interspersed with Malays. It is composed of many houses, forming one side +of an irregular street, all surrounded with a low fence for the purpose of +keeping pigs out. The storehouses recalled those of the Bulungan, with +their wide wooden rings around the tops of the supporting pillars, to +prevent mice from ascending. Outside of the fence near the jungle two +water-buffaloes were always to be seen in the forenoon lying in a +mud-pool; these we were warned against as being dangerous. These Dayaks, +who are shy but very friendly, are said to have immigrated here over thirty +years ago. They are mostly of medium size, the women stocky, with thick +ankles, though otherwise their figures are quite good. The Ot-Danum men, +like the Murungs, Siangs, and Katingans, place conspicuously on the calf +of the leg a large tatu mark representing the full moon. When preparing to +be photographed, men, women, and children decorate their chests with +crudely made gold plates shaped nearly like a half moon and hanging one +above another, generally five in number. One of the blians was a Malay. + +Here we had to stay two weeks, while the remainder of our baggage was +being brought up and until a new station for storing goods had been +established in the jungle higher up the river. Rajimin had an attack of +dysentery, and although his health improved he requested permission to +return, which I readily granted notwithstanding his undeniable ability in +skinning birds. He was afraid of the kihams, not a good shot, and so +liable to lose his way in the jungle that I always had to have a Dayak +accompany him. It is the drawback with all Javanese that, being +unaccustomed to these great jungles, at first they easily get lost. +Rajimin joined a few Malays in building a small float, on which they went +down the river. Several Malays aspired to succeed him as taxidermist, but +showed no aptitude. I then taught one of our Javanese soldiers who had +expressed interest in the matter. Being painstaking and also a good shot, +the new tokang burong (master of birds), the Malay designation for a +taxidermist, gave satisfactory results in due time. + +One day while I was taking anthropometric measurements, to which the +Ot-Danums grudgingly submitted, one of them exhibited unusual agitation and +actually wept. Inquiring the reason, I learned that his wife had jilted +him for a Kapuas Dayak who, a couple of nights previously, when the +injured man was out hunting wild pigs for me, had taken advantage of the +husband's absence. Moreover, the night before, the rival had usurped his +place a second time, compelling the husband to go elsewhere. The incident +showed how Dayak ideas were yielding to Malay influence. He was in despair +about it, and threatened to kill the intruder as well as himself, so I +told the sergeant to strengthen the hands of the kapala. I could not +prevent the woman's disloyalty to her husband, but the new attraction +should not be allowed to stay in the house. This had the effect of making +the intruder depart a few minutes later, though he did not go far away. +The affair was settled in a most unexpected manner. The kapala being +absent, his substitute, _bonhomme mais borné_, and probably influenced by +her relatives, decided that the injured husband must pay damages f. 40 +because he had vacated his room the night he went out hunting. + +We procured one more prahu, but the difficulties of getting more men were +very great, one reason being that the people had already begun to cut +paddi. Though the new year so far brought us no rain, still the river of +late had begun to run high on account of precipitation at its upper +courses. High water does not always deter, but rapid rising or falling is +fraught with risk. After several days' waiting the status of the water was +considered safe, and, leaving three boatloads to be called for later, in +the middle of January, we made a start and halted at a sand slope where +the river ran narrow among low hills, two hundred metres below the first +great kiham. Malay rattan gatherers, with four prahus, were already camped +here awaiting a favourable opportunity to negotiate the kihams, and they +too were going to make the attempt next morning. As the river might rise +unexpectedly, we brought ashore only what was needed for the night. + +Next day at half-past six o'clock we started, on a misty, fresh morning, +and in a few minutes were within hearing of the roar of the rapids, an +invigorating sound and an inspiring sight. The so-called Kiham Atas is one +kilometre long. The left side of the river rises perpendicularly over the +deep, narrow waters, the lower part bare, but most of it covered with +picturesque vegetation, especially conspicuous being rows of sago palms. +The prahus had to be dragged up along the opposite side between big +stones. Only our instruments were carried overland, as we walked along a +foot-path through delightful woods, and at nine o'clock the prahus had +finished the ascent. + +Not long afterward we approached the first of the four big kihams which +still had to be passed and which are more difficult. Having been relieved +of their loads the prahus were hauled, one at a time, around a big +promontory situated just opposite a beautiful cascade that falls into the +river on the mountainous side. Around the promontory the water forms +treacherous currents. Above it eight or nine Malays pulled the rattan +cable, which was three times as long as usual, and when the first prahu, +one man inside, came into view from below, passing the promontory, it +unexpectedly shot out into the middle of the river, and then, in an +equally startling manner, turned into a back current. This rapidly carried +it toward an almost invisible rock where Longko, who was an old hand on +this river, had taken his stand among the waves and kept it from +foundering. The Malays were pulling the rattan as fast as they could, +running at times, but before the prahu could be hauled up to safety it +still had to pass a hidden rock some distance out. It ran against this and +made a disagreeable turn, but regained its balance. + +The next one nearly turned over, and Mr. Demmini decided to take out the +kinema camera, which was got in readiness to film the picturesque scene. +In the meantime, in order to control the prahu from the side, a second +rattan rope had been tied to the following one, thereby enabling the men +to keep it from going too far out. This should have been done at the +start, but the Malays always like to take their chances. Though the +remaining prahus did not present such exciting spectacles, nevertheless +the scene was uncommonly picturesque. After nine hours of heavy work, +during most of which the men had kept running from stone to stone dragging +rattan cables, we camped on a sand-ridge that ran out as a peninsula into +the river. At one side was an inlet of calm, dark-coloured water into +which, a hundred metres away, a tributary emptied itself into a lovely +waterfall. A full moon rose over the enchanting landscape. + +At half-past six in the morning we started for the next kiham, the +so-called Kiham Mudang, where we arrived an hour later. This was the most +impressive of all the rapids so far, the river flowing between narrow +confines in a steady down-grade course, which at first sight seemed +impossible of ascent. The river had fallen half a metre since the day +before, and although most kihams are easier to pass at low water, this one +was more difficult. The men, standing in water up to their arms, brought +all the luggage ashore and carried it further up the river. Next the +prahus were successfully pulled up, being kept as near land as possible +and tossed like toys on the angry waves, and pushed in and out of small +inlets between the big stones. In three hours we effected the passage and +in the afternoon arrived at Tumbang Djuloi, a rather prettily situated +kampong on a ridge along the river. + +I was installed in a small house which was vacant at one end of the little +village, the greater part of which is Malay. There were two houses +belonging to Ot-Danums which I found locked with modern padlocks. Nearly +all Malays and Dayaks were at the ladangs, where they spend most of their +time, remaining over night. Coal, which is often found on the upper part +of the Barito River, may be observed in the bank of the river in a layer +two metres thick. It is of good quality, but at present cannot be utilised +on account of the formidable obstacle to transportation presented by the +kiham below. + +Our Malays soon began to talk of returning, fifteen of the twenty-four men +wanting to go home. Payment having been refused until the goods left below +had been brought up, a settlement was reached and the necessary men, with +the sergeant, departed for Telok Djulo. In the meantime we began to convey +our belongings higher up the river, above the next kiham, where they were +stored in the jungle and covered with a tent cloth. + +After the arrival of the luggage which had been left behind, there was a +universal clamour for returning home, the Malays professing great +disinclination to proceeding through the difficult Busang country ahead of +us. Even those from Puruk Tjahu, who had pledged themselves to continue to +the end, backed out. Though wages were raised to f. 1.50 per day, only +eight men remained. To this number we were able to add three Malays from +the kampong. One was the Mohammedan guru (priest), another a mild-tempered +Malay who always had bad luck, losing floats of rattan in the kihams, and +therefore passed under the nickname of tokang karam (master of +misfortune). The third was a strong, tall man with some Dayak blood, who +was tatued. Djobing, as he was named, belonged to a camp of rattan workers +up on the Busang, and decided to go at the last moment, no doubt utilising +the occasion as a convenient way of returning. + +I was glad to see him climb down the steep embankment, carrying in one +hand a five-gallon tin, neatly painted, which had opening and cover at the +long side, to which a handle was attached. Under the other arm he had the +usual outfit of a travelling Malay, a mat, on which he slept at night and +in which were wrapped a sheet and a few pieces of light clothing. His tin +case was full of tobacco and brought forth disparaging remarks from the +lieutenant, who was chary of the precious space in the prahus. + +Having successfully passed the censor Djobing was assigned to my prahu, +where he soon showed himself to be a very good man, as alert as a Dayak +and not inclined to save himself trouble. He would jump into the water up +to his neck to push and steer the prahu, or, in the fashion of the Dayaks +and the best Malays, would place his strong back under and against it to +help it off when grounded on a rock. When circumstances require quick +action such men will dive under the prahu and put their backs to it from +the other side. + +There was little chance of more paddling, the prahus being poled or +dragged by rattan, and many smaller kihams were passed. We entered the +Busang River, which is barely thirty-five metres wide at its mouth, +flowing through hilly country. The water was low at that time, but is +liable to rise quickly, through rains, and as it has little opportunity +for expansion at the sides the current flows with such violence that +travel becomes impossible. The most difficult part of our journey lay +before us, and the possibility of one or two, or even three months' delay +on account of weather conditions is then taken as a matter of course by +the natives, though I trusted to have better luck than that. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + + +ARRIVAL AT BAHANDANG--ON THE EQUATOR--A STARTLING ROBBERY--OUR +MOST LABORIOUS JOURNEY--HORN-BILLS--THE SNAKE AND THE INTREPID +PENYAHBONG--ARRIVAL AT TAMALOE + +Bahandang, where we arrived early in the second afternoon, is the +headquarters of some Malay rubber and rattan gatherers of the surrounding +utan. A house had been built at the conflux with the river of a small +affluent, and here lived an old Malay who was employed in receiving the +products from the workers in the field. Only his wife was present, he +having gone to Naan on the Djuloi River, but was expected to return soon. +The place is unattractive and looked abandoned. Evidently at a previous +time effort had been made to clear the jungle and to cultivate bananas and +cassavas. Among felled trees and the exuberance of a new growth of +vegetation a few straggling bananas were observable, but all the big +cassava plants had been uprooted and turned over by the wild pigs, tending +to increase the dismal look of the place. A lieutenant in charge of a +patrouille had put up a rough pasang-grahan here, where our lieutenant and +the soldiers took refuge, while I had the ground cleared near one end of +it, and there placed my tent. + +Not far off stood a magnificent tree with full, straight stem, towering in +lonely solitude fifty metres above the overgrown clearing. In a straight +line up its tall trunk wooden plugs had been driven in firmly about thirty +centimetres apart. This is the way Dayaks, and Malays who have learned it +from them, climb trees to get the honey and wax of the bees' nests +suspended from the high branches. On the Barito, from the deck of the +_Otto_, I had observed similar contrivances on still taller trees of the +same kind called tapang, which are left standing when the jungle is +cleared to make ladangs. + +A few days later the rest of our party arrived and, having picked up six +rubber gatherers, brought the remainder of the luggage from their camp. +Some men were then sent to bring up the goods stored in the utan below, +and on February 3 this was accomplished. An Ot-Danum from the Djuloi +River, with wife and daughter, camped here for a few days, hunting for +gold in the river soil, which is auriferous as in many other rivers of +Borneo. They told me they were glad to make sixty cents a day, and if they +were lucky the result might be two florins. + +We found ourselves in the midst of the vast jungles that cover Borneo, +serving to keep the atmosphere cool and prevent air currents from +ascending in these windless tropics. We were almost exactly on the +equator, at an elevation of about 100 metres. In January there had been +little rain and in daytime the weather had been rather muggy, but with no +excessive heat to speak of, provided one's raiment is suited to the +tropics. On the last day of the month, at seven o'clock in the morning, +after a clear and beautiful night, the temperature was 72° F. (22° C.). +During the additional three weeks passed here, showers fell occasionally +and sometimes it rained all night. As a rule the days were bright, warm, +and beautiful; the few which were cloudy seemed actually chilly and made +one desire the return of the sun. + +Our first task was to make arrangements for the further journey up the +Busang River to Tamaloe, a remote kampong recently formed by the +Penyahbongs on the upper part of the river. We were about to enter the +great accumulation of kihams which make travel on the Busang peculiarly +difficult. The lieutenant's hope that we might secure more men from among +the rubber gatherers was not fulfilled. The few who were present made +excuses, and as for the others, they were far away in the utan, nobody +knew where. We still had some Malays, and, always scheming for money or +advantage to themselves, they began to invent new difficulties and demand +higher wages. Although I was willing to make allowances, it was impossible +to go beyond a certain limit, because the tribes we should meet later +would demand the same payment as their predecessors had received. The old +Malay resident, who in the meantime had returned from his absence, could +offer no advice. + +Finally exorbitant wages were demanded, and all wanted to return except +four. As the lieutenant had expressed his willingness to proceed to +Tamaloe in advance of the party and try to hire the necessary men there, +it was immediately decided that he should start with our four remaining +men and one soldier, while the rest of us waited here with the sergeant +and four soldiers. On February 4 the party was off, as lightly equipped as +possible, and if all went well we expected to have the necessary men +within three weeks. + +On the same afternoon Djobing and three companions, who were going up to +another rattan station, Djudjang, on a path through the jungle, proposed +to me to transport some of our luggage in one of my prahus. The offer was +gladly accepted, a liberal price paid, and similar tempting conditions +offered if they and a few men, known to be at the station above, would +unite in taking all our goods up that far. The following morning they +started off. + +The Malays of these regions, who are mainly from the upper part of the +Kapuas River in the western division and began to come here ten years +previously, are physically much superior to the Malays we brought, and for +work in the kihams are as fine as Dayaks. They remain here for years, +spending two or three months at a time in the utan. Djobing had been here +four years and had a wife in his native country. There are said to be 150 +Malays engaged in gathering rattan, and, no doubt, also rubber, in these +vast, otherwise uninhabited upper Dusun lands. + +What with the absence of natives and the scarcity of animals and birds, +the time spent here waiting was not exactly pleasant. Notwithstanding the +combined efforts of the collector, the sergeant, and one other soldier, +few specimens were brought in. Mr. Demmini, the photographer, and Mr. +Loing were afflicted with dysentery, from which they recovered in a week. + +As a climax came the startling discovery that one of the two money-boxes +belonging to the expedition, containing f. 3,000 in silver, had been +stolen one night from my tent, a few feet away from the pasang-grahan. +They were both standing at one side covered with a bag, and while it was +possible for two men to carry off such a heavy box if one of them lifted +the tent wall, still the theft implied an amount of audacity and skill +with which hitherto I had not credited the Malays. The rain clattering on +the roof of the tent, and the fact that, contrary to Dutch custom, I +always extinguished my lamp at night, was in their favour. After this +occurrence the lamp at night always hung lighted outside of the tent door. +All evidence pointed to the four men from Tumbang Djuloi who recently left +us. The sergeant had noticed their prahus departing from a point lower +down than convenience would dictate, and, as a matter of fact, nobody else +could have done it. But they were gone, we were in seclusion, and there +was nobody to send anywhere. + +In the middle of February we had twenty-nine men here from Tamaloe, twenty +of them Penyahbongs and the remainder Malays. The lieutenant had been +successful, and the men had only used two days in coming down with the +current. They were in charge of a Malay called Bangsul, who formerly had +been in the service of a Dutch official, and whose fortune had brought him +to distant Tamaloe, where he had acquired a dominating position over the +Penyahbongs. I wrote a report of the robbery to the captain in Puruk +Tjahu, and sent Longko to Tumbang Djuloi to deliver it to the kapala, who +was requested to forward it. There the matter ended. + +I was determined that the loss, though at the time a hard blow, should not +interfere with the carrying out of my plans. By rigid economy it could, at +least partially, be offset, and besides, I felt sure that if the necessity +arose it would be possible later to secure silver from Dutch officials on +the lower Mahakam River. Bangsul and some Penyahbongs, at my request, +searched in the surrounding jungle growth and found a hole that had been +dug of the same size and shape as the stolen box, where no doubt it had +been deposited until taken on board the prahu. + +The day previous to our departure Mr. Demmini again was taken ill, and in +accordance with his own wish it was decided that he should return. I let +him have Longko in command of one of the best prahus, and in time he +arrived safely in Batavia, where he had to undergo further treatment. +Longko, the Malay with the reputation for reliability, never brought back +the men and the prahu; their loss, however, was greater than mine, as +their wages, pending good behaviour, were mostly unpaid. + +Shortly after their prahu had disappeared from view, on February 20, we +departed in the opposite direction. Our new crew, of Penyahbongs mostly, +who only lately have become acquainted with prahus, were not quite so +efficient as the former, but much more amiable, laughing and cracking +jokes with each other as they ran along over the rocks, pulling the rattan +ropes of the prahus. No sooner did we ascend one kiham than we arrived at +another, but they were still small. Although the day was unusually warm, +there was a refreshing coolness in the shade under the trees that grow +among the rocks along the river. + +Early in the afternoon we camped at the foot of the first of twelve great +kihams which must be passed before arriving at Djudjang, the rattan +gatherers' camp. During a heavy shower a Penyahbong went into the jungle +with his sumpitan and returned with a young rusa, quarters of which he +presented to Mr. Loing and myself. Bangsul had travelled here before, and +he thought we probably would need two weeks for the journey to Djudjang +from where, under good weather conditions, three days' poling should bring +us to Tamaloe. He had once been obliged to spend nearly three months on +this trip. + +We spent one day here, while all our goods were being taken on human backs +to a place some distance above the kiham. Four Malays and one Penyahbong +wanted remedies for diseases they professed to have. The latter seemed +really ill and had to be excused from work. The rest said they suffered +from demum (malaria), a word that has become an expression for most cases +of indisposition, and I gave them quinine. The natives crave the remedies +the traveller carries, which they think will do them good whether needed +or not. + +Much annoyance is experienced from Malays in out-of-the-way places +presenting their ailments, real or fancied, to the traveller's attention. +The Dayaks, not being forward, are much less annoying, though equally +desirous of the white man's medicine. An Ot-Danum once wanted a cure for a +few white spots on the finger-nails. In the previous camp a Penyahbong had +consulted me for a stomach-ache and I gave him what I had at hand, a small +quantity of cholera essence much diluted in a cup of water. All the rest +insisted on having a taste of it, smacking their lips with evident relish. + +Early next morning the prahus were hauled up the rapids and then loaded, +after which the journey was continued through a smiling, slightly +mountainous country, with trees hanging over the river. We actually had a +course of smooth water, and before us, near the horizon, stretched two +long ridges with flat summits falling abruptly down at either side of the +river. At two o'clock in the afternoon we reached the foot of two big +kihams, and Bangsul considered it time to camp. It must be admitted that +the work was hard and progress necessarily slow. Nevertheless, it was so +early in the day that I suggested going a little further. Soon, however, +seeing the futility of trying to bring him to my way of thinking, I began +arrangements for making camp. Better to go slowly than not to travel at +all. Close to my tent, growing on low trees, were a great number of +beautiful yellow and white orchids. + +Toward sunset, Bangsul surprised me by bringing all the men to my tent. He +said they wanted to go home because they were afraid I should expect too +much of them, as they all wanted to travel plan-plan (slowly). The +Penyahbongs before me were of a decent sort, and even the Malays were a +little more gentle and honest than usual. Bangsul was "the whole thing," +and I felt myself equal to the situation. This was his first attempt at a +strike for higher wages and came unexpectedly soon, but was quickly +settled by my offer to raise the wages for the six most useful and +strongest men. + +After our baggage had been stored above the head of the kihams, and the +prahus had been taken up to the same place, we followed overland. As we +broke camp two argus pheasants flew over the utan through the mist which +the sun was trying to disperse. We walked along the stony course of the +rapids, and when the jungle now and then allowed a peep at the roaring +waters it seemed incredible that the prahus had been hauled up along the +other side. Half an hour's walk brought us to the head of the kihams where +the men were loading the prahus that were lying peacefully in still +waters. The watchmen who had slept here pointed out a tree where about +twenty argus pheasants had roosted. + +Waiting for the prahus to be loaded, I sat down on one of the big stones +of the river bank to enjoy a small landscape that presented itself on the +west side of the stream. When long accustomed to the enclosing walls of +the dark jungle a change is grateful to the eye. Against the sky rose a +bold chalk cliff over 200 metres high with wooded summit, the edge fringed +with sago palms in a very decorative manner. This is one of the two ridges +we had seen at a distance; the other is higher and was passed further up +the river. From the foot of the cliff the jungle sloped steeply down +toward the water. The blue sky, a few drifting white clouds, the beautiful +light of the fresh, glorious morning, afforded moments of delight that +made one forget all the trouble encountered in getting here. It seems as +if the places least visited by men are the most attractive. + +Four hornbills were flying about. They settled on the branches of a tall +dead tree that towered high above the jungle and deported themselves in +strange ways, moving busily about on the branch; after a few minutes three +of them flew away, the other remaining quietly behind. There are several +kinds of hornbills; they are peculiar birds in that the male is said to +close with mud the entrance to the nest in the hollow stem of the tree, +thus confining the female while she is sitting on her eggs. Only a small +hole is left through which he feeds her. + +The great hornbill (_rhinoflax vigil_) flies high over the jungle in a +straight line and usually is heard before it is seen, so loud is the noise +made by the beating of the wings. Its clamorous call is never to be +forgotten, more startling than the laughter of the laughing jackass of +Australia. The sound inspires the Dayak with courage and fire. When he +takes the young out of the nest, later to serve him as food, the parent +bird darts at the intruder. The hornbill is an embodiment of force that +may be either beneficent or harmful, and has been appropriated by the +Dayaks to serve various purposes. Wooden images of this bird are put up as +guardians, and few designs in textile or basket work are as common as that +of the tingang. The handsome tail feathers of the rhinoceros hornbill, +with transverse bands of alternate white and black, are highly valued; the +warriors attach them to their rattan caps, and from the solid casque with +which the beak of the giant species is provided, are carved the large red +ear ornaments. Aided by the sumpitan the Dayaks and Punans are expert in +bringing down the rather shy birds of the tall trees. + +Three hours later we had managed to carry all our goods above the kiham +Duyan, which is only one hundred metres long, but with a fall of at least +four metres; consequently in its lower part it rushes like a disorderly +waterfall. It took the men one and a half hours to pull the empty prahus +up along the irregular bank, and I stood on a low rock which protruded +above the water below the falls, watching the proceedings with much +interest. The day was unusually warm and full of moisture, as, without +hat, in the burning sun I tried for over an hour to get snapshots, while +two kinds of bees, one very small, persistently clung to my hands, face, +and hair. + +The journey continued laborious; it consisted mostly in unloading and +reloading the prahus and marching through rough country, now on one side +of the river, now on the other, where the jungle leeches were very active +and the ankles of the men were bleeding. At times the prahus had to be +dragged over the big stones that form the banks of the river. It was easy +to understand what difficulties and delays might be encountered here in +case of much rain. But in spite of a few heavy showers the weather +favoured us, and on the last day of the month we had successfully passed +the rapids. Next morning, after pulling down my tent, the Penyahbongs +placed stray pieces of paper on top of the remaining tent-poles as a sign +of joy that the kihams were left behind. There still remained some that +were obstinate on account of low water, but with our experience and +concerted action those were easily overcome, and early in the afternoon we +arrived at Djudjang, a rough, unattractive, and overgrown camp, where I +decided to stay until next morning. Many Malays die from beri-beri, but +there is little malaria among those who work in the utan of the Busang +River. The half dozen men who were present were certainly a strong and +healthy-looking lot. One of them, with unusually powerful muscles and +short legs, declined to be photographed. + +Our next camp was at a pleasant widening of the river with a low-lying, +spacious beach of pebbles. I pitched my tent on higher ground on the edge +of the jungle. Some of the Penyahbongs, always in good humour and enjoying +themselves, went out with sumpitans to hunt pig, and about seven o'clock, +on a beautiful starlit night, a big specimen was brought in, which I went +to look at. While one man opened it by cutting lengthwise across the ribs, +another was engaged taking out the poison-carrying, triangular point. With +his knife the latter deftly cut all around the wound, taking out some +flesh, and after a little while he found part of the point, then the rest. +It looked like glass or flint and had been broken transversely in two; +usually it is made of bamboo or other hard wood. + +The bladder was carefully cut out, and a man carried it off and threw it +away in order that the hunters should not be short of breath when walking. +The huge head, about fifty centimetres long, which was bearded and had a +large snout, was cut off with part of the neck and carried to one of the +camps, with a piece of the liver, which is considered the best part. I had +declined it, as the meat of the wild pig is very poor and to my taste +repulsive; this old male being also unusually tough, the soldiers +complained. The following morning I saw the head and jaws almost entirely +untouched, too tough even for the Penyahbongs. + +Next day the river ran much narrower and between rocky sides. In the +forenoon the first prahu came upon an otter eating a huge fish which the +strong animal had dragged up on a rock, and of which the men immediately +took possession. It was cut up in bits and distributed among all of them, +the otter thus saving the expedition thirty-two rations of dried fish that +evening and next morning. To each side of the head was attached a powerful +long spine which stood straight out. The natives called the fish kendokat. + +At one place where the water ran smoothly, one man from each prahu pulled +its rattan rope, the rest poling. I saw the Penyahbong who was dragging my +prahu suddenly catch sight of something under the big stones over which he +walked, and then he stopped to investigate. From my seat I perceived a +yellowish snake about one and a half metres long swimming under and among +the stones. A man from the prahu following ours came forward quickly and +began to chase it in a most determined manner. With his right hand he +caught hold of the tail and twisted it; then, as the body was underneath +the junction of two stones, with his left hand he tried to seize the head +which emerged on the other side. The snake was lively and bit at his hand +furiously, which he did not mind in the least. Others came to his +assistance and struck at its head with their paddles, but were unable to +accomplish their purpose as it was too well entrenched. + +A splendid primitive picture of the savage in pursuit of his dinner, the +Penyahbong stood erect with his back toward me, holding the tail firmly. +After a few moments he bent down again trying in vain to get hold of its +neck, but not being able to pull the snake out he had to let the dainty +morsel go. Later we saw one swimming down the current, which the +Penyahbongs evidently also would have liked a trial at had we not already +passed the place. + +The river widened out again, the rocks on the sides disappeared, and deep +pools were passed, though often the water ran very shallow, so the prahus +were dragged along with difficulty. Fish were plentiful, some +astonishingly large. In leaping for something on the surface they made +splashes as if a man had jumped into the water. On the last day, as the +morning mist began to rise, our thirty odd men, eager to get home, poling +the prahus with long sticks, made a picturesque sight. In early March, +after a successful journey, we arrived at Tamaloe, having consumed only +fourteen days from Bahandang because weather conditions had been +favourable, with no overflow of the river and little rain. It was pleasant +to know that the most laborious part of the expedition was over. I put up +my tent under a large durian tree, which was then in bloom. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + + +THE PENYAHBONGS, MEN OF THE WOODS--RHINOCEROS HUNTERS--CHARACTERISTICS OF +THE PENYAHBONGS--EASY HOUSEKEEPING--DAILY LIFE--WOMAN'S LOT + +The Penyahbongs until lately were nomadic people, roaming about in the +nearby Müller mountains, subsisting on wild sago and the chase and +cultivating some tobacco. They lived in bark huts on the ground or in +trees. Some eight years previous to my visit they were induced by the +government to form kampongs and adopt agricultural pursuits, and while +most of them appear to be in the western division, two kampongs were +formed east of the mountains, the Sabaoi and the Tamaloe, with less than +seventy inhabitants altogether. Tamaloe is the name of an antoh (spirit) +who lived here in the distant past. + +The kampong consists of four small, poorly built communal houses, and of +the Malays who have settled here, in houses of their own making, the most +important is Bangsul, who married a daughter of Pisha, the Penyahbong +chief. Both before and since their transition to sedentary habits the +Penyahbongs have been influenced by the Saputans, their nearest +neighbours, four days' journey to the north, on the other side of the +water-shed. Their ideas about rice culture and the superstitions and +festivals attending it, come from the Saputans, of whom also a few live in +Tamaloe. They have only recently learned to swim and many do not yet know +how to paddle. It may be of some interest to note the usual occurrence of +rain at this kampong as gathered from native observation. April-July there +is no rain; August-October, little; November and December have a little +more; January much; February and March less. + +Every evening as long as we remained here Pisha, the chief, used to sing, +reciting mythical events, thereby attracting good antohs (spirits) and +keeping the evil ones away, to the end that his people might be in good +health and protected against misfortune. His efforts certainly were +persevering, and he had a good voice that sounded far into the night, but +his songs were of such an extraordinarily melancholy character that it +still makes me depressed to remember them. He was an amiable man, whose +confidence I gained and who cheerfully gave any information I wanted. Of +his five daughters and three sons only the youngest daughter, who was not +yet married, was allowed to pronounce Pisha's name, according to custom. +Nor was it permissible for his sons-in-law to give me the name, still less +for him to do so himself. + +After Mr. Demmini's departure all the photographing fell upon me, to which +I had no objection, but it was out of the question also to do developing, +except of the kodak films, and as the lieutenant, who had done some +before, thought he could undertake it, the matter was so arranged. The +first attempts, while not wholly successful, were not discouraging, and as +time went on the lieutenant turned out satisfactory results. We had a +couple of days' visit from the kapala of Sebaoi, a tall and +nervous-looking Penyahbong, but friendly, as were the rest of them. I was +then engaged in photographing and taking anthropometric measurements of the +gently protesting natives, to whose primitive minds these operations +appear weirdly mysterious. At first the kapala positively declined to take +any part in this work, but finally reached the conclusion that he would be +measured, but photographed he could not be, because his wife was pregnant. +For that reason he also declined a glass of gin which the lieutenant +offered him. + +The valiant man who had tried to catch the yellow snake on our river +voyage called on me with his wife, who knew how to embroider well, and I +bought some shirts embellished with realistic representations of animals, +etc. The husband had that unsightly skin disease (_tinea imbricata_) that +made his body appear to be covered with half-loose fish scales. Next day, +to my amazement, he had shed the scales. The previous night he had applied +a remedy which made it possible to peel the dead skin off, and his face, +chest, and stomach were clean, as were also his legs and arms. His back +was still faulty because he had not had enough of the remedy, but he was +going to tackle the back that evening. The remedy, which had been taught +them by the Saputans, consists of two kinds of bark and the large leaves +of a jungle plant with red flowers, one of which was growing near my tent. + +All the tribes visited by me suffer more or less from various kinds of +skin diseases caused by micro-parasitic animals, the Kenyahs and +Oma-Sulings in a much less degree. The most repulsive form, just described, +does not seem to interfere with general health. Three of my Kayan carriers +thus affected were more muscular and stronger than the rest. One of them +was the humorous member of the party, always cutting capers and dancing. +Women are less affected than men, and I often saw men with the disfiguring +scaly disease whose wives were evidently perfectly free from it. + +A party of six fine-looking Penyahbongs were here on a rhinoceros hunting +expedition. They came from the western division, and as the rhino had been +nearly exterminated in the mountain ranges west and northwest of Tamaloë, +the hunters were going farther east. Such a party carries no provisions, +eating sago and animals that they kill. Their weapons are sumpitans and +parangs, and equipment for stamping sago forms part of their outfit. The +rhino is approached stealthily and the large spear-point on one end of the +sumpitan is thrust into its belly. Thus wounded it is quite possible, in +the dense jungle, to keep in touch with it, and, according to trustworthy +reports, one man alone is able in this way to kill a rhino. It is hunted +for the horn, which Chinamen will buy. + +At my request two of the hunters gave war-dances very well, taking turns. +Their movements were graceful, and in the moonlight they appeared sinuous +as serpents. The same dance obtains in all the tribes visited, and the +movement is forward and back, or in a circle. It was performed by one man +who in a preliminary way exercised the flexible muscles of the whole body, +after which he drew his sword, seized the shield which was lying on the +ground and continued his dancing more vigorously, but with equal grace. +Pisha, the chief, came to the dance, and the meeting with the new +arrivals, though silent and undemonstrative, was decidedly affectionate, +especially with one of them who was a near relative. Half embracing each +other, they stood thus at least a minute. + +The Penyahbongs have rather long legs, take long paces, putting down their +heels first. They have great endurance and can walk in one day as far as a +Malay can in three. In the mountains the cold weather prevented them from +sleeping much. It often happened that they were without food for three +days, when they would drink water and smoke tobacco. Trees are climbed in +the jumping way described before, and without any mechanical aid. Formerly +bathing was not customary. Excrements are left on the ground and not in +the water. They don't like the colour red, but prefer black. Fire was made +by flint and iron, which they procured from the Saputans. + +The hair is not cut nor their teeth. The women wear around the head a ring +of cloth inside of which are various odoriferous leaves and flowers of +doubtful appreciation by civilised olfactory senses. A strong-smelling +piece of skin from the civet cat is often attached to this head ornament, +which is also favoured by natives on the Mahakam. + +In regard to ear ornamentation the Penyahbongs are at least on a par with +the most extreme fashions of the Dayaks. The men make three slits in the +ear; in the upper part a wooden disk is enclosed, in the middle the tusk +of a large species of cat, and in the lobe, which is stretched very long, +hangs a brass coil. The ears of the women have only two incisions, the one +in the middle part being adorned with bead strings, while in the lobe up +to one hundred tin rings may be seen. They are tatued, and noticeable on +the men is a succession of stars across the chest, as if hanging on a +thread which is lower in the middle. The stars symbolise the fruits of +durian. The colour of the tatuing is obtained from damar. + +Formerly they wore scanty garments of fibre, the man wearing only a loin +cloth, and in case of cold weather a piece of the same material covered +the shoulders and back. The woman had a short skirt folded together at the +back, and both sexes used rattan caps. Besides sago their main subsistence +was, and still is, all kinds of animals, including carnivorous, monkeys, +bears, snakes, etc. The gall and urine bladder were universally thrown +away, but at present these organs from bear and large snakes are sold to +traders who dispose of them to Chinamen. Formerly these people had no +salt. + +No cooking utensils were employed. Sago was wrapped in leaves and placed +on the fire, and the meat was roasted. There is no cooking separately for +men and women, and meals are taken irregularly, but usually twice a day. +The crocodile is not eaten, because it would make one mad, nor are +domestic dogs or omen birds used for food. Honey is collected by cutting +down the tree. Their principal weapon is the sumpitan, which, as usual, +with a spear point lashed to one end, also serves as spear and is bought +from the Saputans. Parang and shield complete the man's outfit. On the +Busang only ten ipoh (upas) trees are known from which poison may be +obtained for the blow-pipe darts; to get a new supply a journey of two +days down the river is necessary, and six for the return. + +Except for a few cases of malaria, among the Penyahbongs there is no +disease. In 1911 the cholera epidemic reached them, as well as the +Saputans. Of remedies they have none. At the sight of either of the two +species of venomous snakes of the king cobra family this native takes to +his heels, and if bitten the wound is not treated with ipoh. Until +recently they had no blians; there were, at this time, two in Tamaloe, one +Saputan and one Malay, and the one in the other kampong learned his art +from the Saputans. One man does not kill another, though he may kill a +member of the Bukat tribe, neighbouring nomads who live in the northeast +of the western division, in the mountains toward Sarawak. Suicide is +unknown. It was asserted to me that the Penyahbongs do not steal nor lie, +though I found the Saputans untrustworthy in these respects. + +There is no marriage ceremony, but the young man must pay the parents of +the bride one gong (f. 30), and if the girl is the daughter of a chief her +price is six gongs. About half of the men select very youthful wives, from +eight years up. There are boys of ten married to girls of a similar age. +One boy of fourteen was married to a girl of twenty. Children of the chief +being much sought, one of Pisha's daughters, twenty-three years old, had +been disposed of when she was at her mother's breast, her future husband +being twenty at that time. Upon reaching womanhood she did not like him at +first, and for five years declined to share the mat with him. Recently, +however, she had begun to associate with him, and they had one child. The +children are not beaten, are left to pick up by themselves whatever +knowledge is necessary, and when the boy is ten years old he can kill his +babi with a sumpitan. The parents of young girls do not allow them to be +too intimate with young men. + +A pregnant woman must not eat durian which, in falling from the tree, has +broken, or stuck in a cleft without reaching the ground, nor any kind of +fruit that does not fall straight to earth, nor sago from a palm tree +which chanced to become entangled by a branch instead of falling directly +to the ground, nor the large hornbill, nor snakes, nor pigs, nor fish that +were killed by being struck on the head, or by any other means than with +spear or parang, nor land turtle, nor the scaly ant-eater. She must not +make a house or take part in making it, and therefore if a pole has to be +put in place she must call another woman to do it. + +Further, she must not eat an animal which has lost one or both eyes, nor +one the foot of which has been crushed, nor an animal of strong odour +(like civet cat, skunk, etc., not an offensive smell to these natives); +nor are she and her husband permitted to gather rubber, nor may wood be +gathered for fire-making which has roads on it made by ants. She must not +drink water from a back current, nor water which runs through a fallen +tree. A pig may be eaten, but if it has a foetus inside that must be +avoided. The husband also observes all these tabus and precautions. + +The Penyahbongs rise before dawn. Fire is made, primitive man's greatest +comfort, and they seat themselves before it awaiting daylight, the woman +brings her child near it, and all smoke strong native tobacco. Without +first eating, the man goes out to hunt for animals, usually alone, but if +two or three go together they later separate. The hunter leaves his parang +at home, taking only the sumpitan. He may not return until the afternoon. +Small game he carries home himself, but when a large animal has been +killed, as wild pig, deer, bear, large monkey, he will leave it in the +utan for his wife to bring home. In case of a rhino being slain he will +remove the horn, but the woman will cut up the animal and take it home, +unless it is too late, when she postpones the task until the next morning. + +The husband is fond of singing, and, accompanying himself by striking the +rattan strings attached to the back of a shield, he may occupy himself in +this way until the small hours of the morning. Women make mats in the +evening, or do work of some kind, and the young people may play and sing +for a while, or they may listen to the singing of the lord of the +household; but gradually all go to sleep except the wife. + +Besides the small knife for splitting rattan, which is the special +implement of the Dayak woman, the fair sex of the Penyahbongs has a +parang, a spear, an axe, a bone implement used in working rattan mats, and +a rattan bag which is carried on the back. The women in several Dayak +tribes also possess such feminine accessories. With the Penyahbongs the +male chiefly hunts, the female doing all the work. She makes the house, +cuts the sago palm, and prepares the sago. When setting forth to bring +home the animal killed by her husband she carries her own parang with +which to cut it up, placing it inside the rattan bag on her back. With one +or two other women she may go out with the dogs to kill wild pigs with a +spear. When searching for the many kinds of fruit found in the utan her +own axe is carried with which to cut the tree down, for she never climbs +to pick the fruit. As for the durian, she waits until it falls ripe to the +ground. The woman also brings water and firewood, does all the cooking, +and then calls her husband that he may eat. Basketry is not known, but the +rattan mat and the mat of palm leaves on which these natives sleep are +nicely made by the women, who also manufacture the large mat on which the +stamping of sago, by human feet, is performed. In changing abode women +carry everything, the men conveying only the sumpitan and the darts, +probably also a child that is big enough to walk, but the small child the +woman always carries. If the men go to war the women remain behind and +defend themselves if attacked. + +Although the woman thus bears an absurdly large share of the family +burden, nevertheless it cannot be said that her lot is an unhappy one, +because she is not the slave of the man, as is the case, for instance, +with the Australian savages. From time immemorial their society has known +no other conditions, and the married couples are generally happy. Both of +them treat their children with affection, and though the husband may +become angry, he only uses his tongue, never strikes her, and he has no +polygamous inclinations. Divorces, though permissible, do not occur, +because there is a natural feeling against illicit relations with the +husband or wife of another. Moreover, the rest of the community would +resent it. Bangsul, who had been there seven years, had never heard of +divorce. + +When a man is near death his family and others gather around him to see +him die, but without attempt to restore him to health. When dead his eyes +are closed, he is washed, and a new chavat of fibre as well as a new shirt +of the same material is given him. Tobacco is put in his mouth, four +cigarettes on his abdomen, and on his chest and stomach are placed sago +and cooked wild pig or some other meat for him to eat. Four bamboos filled +with water are set upright near by. His sumpitan with its darts, poison +for the darts, the parang, shield, and his musical instruments if he has +any--in short, one sample of everything he had is laid down by his side. +What little else may be left goes to the widow. When a woman dies she is +treated in the same way, but the nose flute is the only instrument that +accompanies her. + +A tree is cut down and from the log a dugout is made in which the corpse +is placed, a board being loosely fastened as a cover. This coffin is +placed on a simple platform in the utan. There is no feast attending this +rite. I visited the burial-place (taaran) of Tamaloe on the other side of +the river about a kilometre away. It was difficult to find, for the small +space which is cleared of jungle whenever there is a funeral very soon +grows up again. Only two boxes, each containing the corpse of a child, +were in good condition, the rest having fallen down and disappeared +through the action of rains and wild pigs. + +After the husband's death the widow eats only every second day for a +month; after that she is free to eat, but for a year she weeps twice a +day, morning and evening,--though sometimes she forgets. The father, +mother, and sister of the deceased also take part in the one-year period +of wailing twice a day. After that period has elapsed the widow may +remarry. For the widower there are practically the same regulations, +though he does not weep loudly, and after eight months he can look for +another wife; but first he must have taken a head. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + + +A STRANGE MAMMAL--ANIMAL LIFE IN CENTRAL BORNEO--A SUPERB AND SILENT +REALM--VISIT TO A SALT WATER EXUDATION--PASSING THE DIVIDING RIDGE--A +MOUSE-DEER CHASE--ON THE KASAO RIVER + +I was planning a visit to the headwaters of the Busang River, to be made +in connection with our future journey. Few natives, if any, have entered +that region, which was described as very mountainous, though the mountains +cannot be very high. But all who were approached on the subject, whether +Penyahbong or Malay, absolutely declined to take part in an expedition to +that country, because they would be killed by an animal called nundun, +which is very numerous there. They might be able to tackle one, they said, +but as soon as you encounter one there are hundreds more coming for you, +and there is nothing else to do but to run for your life. Those regions, +although known to be rich in rubber trees, are shunned by all natives. +Unless this is an altogether fabulous animal, which is hardly likely to be +the case, because the Punans and Bukats confirmed its existence, it would +appear to be a kind of bear which perhaps in fruit seasons gathers in +great numbers, and which is ferocious. + +Nundun, in Penyahbong and Bukat called bohang (bear), is said to run +faster than a dog, is killed with the sumpitan at twenty to thirty metres +distance, and is eaten. It is further declared that its habitat extends +through the hilly regions between the headwaters of the Busang River and +the Upper Barito, and that it is especially numerous near the kampong +Kelasin. If any one with the hope of possibly finding a new species of +mammal should care to follow the matter up, Kelasin on the Upper Barito +would not be an extremely difficult place to reach, with good men. Both +the lieutenant and I, having so many rifles, were much inclined to defy +the terrors of the nundun, but desirable as this expedition would have +been, it had to be given up because of the formidable difficulties in +getting men, even if we followed the route over the watershed which is +used by the natives. + +Bangsul had undertaken to negotiate with us on behalf of the Penyahbongs +and the Malays, and although in some ways he was an estimable man, his +Malay characteristic of turning everything to his own advantage at times +got the better of him and delayed an agreement. At first they demanded a +sum amounting to seven florins a day for each of the twenty-nine men +needed, but as fourteen Malay rubber-gatherers arrived very opportunely, +it was agreed that we should be taken to the Kasao River for 300 florins +and my six prahus. The natives had some trouble deciding how the prahus +should be divided among them, the kapala insisting upon having the largest +and best for himself. + +This question having been settled through Bangsul, on March 22 we +departed. Our prahus were poled most of the way on a stream which, though +rather shallow, ran with a swift current, and at times made my heavily +loaded craft take water. In Borneo it usually requires as many days to get +up-stream as it takes hours to come down. + +We stayed for the night at a former camping place of rattan seekers, a +small, narrow clearing on the river brink, on which tents and sheds were +huddled closely together in the way military men prefer when travelling in +the utan. The paddlers had asked us to be ready at daylight, but at seven +o'clock in the chilly and very foggy morning they were still warming +themselves around the fire. An hour later, when we had finished loading +the prahus, the river began to rise incredibly fast, at the rate of ten +centimetres per minute in the first six minutes, and in two hours and a +quarter it had risen 2.30 metres, when it became steady. In the meantime +we had remade our camp, hoping that the river might permit us to travel +next day. Three of the Penyahbongs went out hunting with the only sumpitan +we had, and shortly afterward returned with a pig. + +Early in the afternoon we were much surprised by the appearance of a prahu +with three Dayaks who had a dog and a sumpitan and brought a pig which +they had killed in the morning. They were the chief, with two companions, +from Data Láong on the Kasao River for which we were aiming. The rumour of +our party had reached his ears, and with thirty men he had been waiting +for us on this side of the watershed. Their scanty provisions soon ran +out, and after waiting nine days all had returned home except the present +party, whom we welcomed. The new men proved a valuable addition to our +crew. The kapala, who was attached to my prahu, was active and gave his +orders as if he knew how, a great relief from a weak Malay that hitherto +had been at "the helm." When the men with the poles were unable to move +the boat against the current, the small, but strongly built man, with a +few very powerful pushes, would bring it forward, making it vibrate by his +strength. + +At Tamaloe animals and birds were not plentiful, the call of the wah-wah +usually imparting a little life to the mornings; and I once heard a crow. +I do not remember to have seen on the whole Busang River the most familiar +of all birds on the Bornean rivers, an ordinary sandpiper that flits +before you on the beach. Birds singing in the morning are always rare +except in the localities of paddi fields. The one most likely to attract +attention on a forenoon is the giant hornbill, and as we advanced up the +Busang its laugh might still be heard. Much more unusual was the call of +some lonely argus pheasant or a crow. A few of the beautiful white raja +birds were observed. + +Wild pigs and deer continued plentiful, but the monkeys seemed gradually +to disappear. Fish there were in plenty, but they were now of smaller +kinds, not agreeable to eat, having an oily taste and mostly very bony. At +all our camping places ants of various kinds were numerous, also inside of +the tent, but they did not seem to be obnoxious. Just before sunset the +loud voices of the cicadas began, and after dark lovely moths were +attracted by my lamp, while during the night bats flew in and out of my +tent. The humidity of the atmosphere was great. Safety matches would not +strike fire unless kept in an airtight box. My cameras were inside of +solid steel boxes, provided with rubber bands against the covers, making +them water-tight. Nevertheless, upon opening one that had been closed for +three weeks the camera inside was found to be white with mould. + +It was rough and hard travelling on account of incessant low kihams to be +passed, or banks of small stones over which the prahus had to be dragged. +The Penyahbongs had not yet learned to be good boatmen, often nearly +upsetting the prahu when getting in or out. Occasionally long quiet pools +occurred, and the scenery here was grand and thrilling. Graceful trees of +infinite variety bent over the water, bearing orchids of various colours, +while creepers hung down everywhere, all reflected in a calm surface which +seldom is disturbed by the splashing of fish. The orchids were more +numerous than I had ever seen before. A delicate yellow one, growing in +spikes, had a most unusual aromatic fragrance, as if coming from another +world. + +In the morning a curtain of fog lies over the landscape, but about nine +o'clock it begins to lift, and creeping up over the tree-tops gradually +dissolves in the sun-light, while between the trees that border the river +the deep-blue sky appears, with beautiful small cumulus clouds suspended +in the atmosphere. With the exception, perhaps, of a large blue kingfisher +sitting in solitary state on a branch extending over the water, or a +distant hornbill with its cheerful grandiose laugh, there are no evidences +of animal life, nevertheless the exquisite scenery seems to lure the +beholder on and on. To pass through this superb and silent realm was like +a pleasant dream. There are no mosquitoes and consequently no malaria. + +We were progressing through a country of which little is known accurately +beyond its somewhat hilly character, and the fact that it is uninhabited +except for small transient parties of Malays searching for rattan or +rubber. The upper part of our route to the divide, a comparatively short +distance, had not, to my knowledge, been traversed by white men before. +Errors were corrected on the map of the watershed region. + +One day at noon, while we were waiting for the largest prahu to overtake +us, fresh tracks of pig were discovered on the bank, and the Saputan dog, +a very wise animal, was landed. A few minutes later he began the peculiar +barking which indicated that he had caught the scent, and one man seized a +sumpitan and ran off into the utan as fast as his legs could carry him, +holding the weapon in his right hand in a horizontal position, spear end +first. It sounded as if the dog might be holding the pig in the water a +little higher up, but this was soon found to be a mistake when the barking +was heard close by. The Saputan kapala then jumped from my prahu, drew his +parang, and with wonderful elastic movements disappeared in the utan. Two +or three minutes later they returned, one man bearing in his arms a +scarcely half-grown live pig, which had been hit by the sumpitan. The +whole affair lasted barely ten minutes. + +At another place, where we were again waiting for the big prahu, the +Penyahbongs amused themselves with wrestling in water up to their +shoulders. After some dancing around, the fight would invariably finish by +both disappearing and after a few seconds coming to view again. This +caused much merriment, especially to the wrestlers themselves, who laughed +immoderately when reappearing. + +We entered the tributary Bulau, and a couple of hours later arrived at its +junction with Bakkaang, at the source of which we expected to cross the +watershed. The river, which was rather narrow, would be difficult to +ascend unless we had showers. Luckily rain fell during the night, and +although delayed by trees that had fallen across the stream, which was +from six to ten metres wide, we made a good day's work and camped at an +attractive old clearing of rattan gatherers. + +I spent the next forenoon in an excursion to a place within the jungle, +where birds and animals sometimes congregate in great numbers to obtain +the salt water which issues from the earth or rocks. This masin (salt +water) was known to the Malay rattan seekers in our party, who had snared +birds and deer there. In the dry season hundreds of birds of various kinds +would gather. By wading up a small stream for twenty minutes we reached a +place where water exuded from a rock, especially at its top, and by +following the stream upward for another twenty minutes we arrived at the +larger one, where the ooze from the rocks overflowed the ground. Only +tracks were seen, but our guide said that after three rainless days in +succession birds and animals would be sure to come there. Myriads of +yellowish-gray flies covered the ground as well as the rocks, and after +having taken some specimens of algae, also some white gelatinous stuff +with which the Malays rub themselves when afflicted with beri-beri, I +returned to camp. + +In spite of frequent light showers the stream failed to rise appreciably, +and our goods had to be carried on the back of the men to our next camping +place. The following morning we started in a heavy rain at which we +rejoiced, because it enabled us to use our prahus until we reached the +foot of the dividing ridge. At noon we arrived in camp, with our clothing +thoroughly wet. What the downpour might have left intact the Penyahbongs, +forgetting everything but the safety of the prahus, had done their best to +drench by splashing water all the time. Just as we had made camp the rain +ceased and with it, being near the source of the stream, the overflow too +passed away. In dry weather it would be a tedious trip to get up the +Bakkaang. + +For two days we were busy carrying our goods to the top of the ridge. +Neither the Malays nor the Penyahbongs are very strong carriers, and they +complained of being stenga mati (half dead) from their exertions. On the +third day, when the ascent was to be finished, eight of them complained of +being sakit (sick) or played out, and they looked it. Fortunately the +Saputan chief, who a few days previously had left us to procure more men, +returned with four companions, who came in very opportunely. The ascent is +neither long nor difficult, a seldom used path leading across the ridge at +the most convenient place. The elevation above sea level, taken April 2, +by boiling point thermometer, was 425 metres (1,394.38 feet), and the +ridge seemed to run evenly to either side. The space for a camp was +somewhat cramped, and the small yellow bees that are so persistent in +clinging to one's face and hands were very numerous; they will sting if +irritated. Even the lieutenant, ordinarily impervious to that kind of +annoyance, sought the protection of his mosquito net. + +The calls of argus pheasant and wah-wah next morning sounded familiar. The +north side of the Bukit, or mountain (the name applied by the natives to +the ridge), is steeper and rougher than the south side, but the descent +presents no difficulties. We followed the small river Brani, most of the +time wading it. The distance to the junction of the Brani with the Kasao +River [*] is hardly five hours' walking, but copious showers, which at +times changed the river to a torrential stream, interfered with the +transportation of our goods, which required five days. + +[Footnote *: Kasao is the Malay name. The Saputans call the river Katju.] + +Our friend, the Saputan chief, had materially assisted us, and he was +desired to walk down to his kampong--by boat only an hour's journey on the +swift current--and bring men and prahus to take us away. He was very +willing and exceedingly efficient, but he was also, in his childish way, +intent on making as much out of us as possible. He wanted to bring too +many prahus and men, for all the male population of the kampong were +anxious to get this job, he said. I made him a fair offer, and three times +he came to tell me that he still had to think over it. Finally, after +three hours' deliberation, he accepted my proposition--provided I would +pay for two days instead of one! In order to get action, and considering +all the days they voluntarily had waited for us at the ridge, I acceded to +this amendment and he went away happy. + +The men and the prahus came promptly and we began loading; I was glad at +the prospect of getting away from the low-lying country, where we had our +camp among bamboo trees, with the chance of being flooded should the river +rise too high. As we were standing near my tent, getting ready to take it +down, a plandok (mouse-deer, _tragulus_) came along--among the Saputans, +and probably most Dayaks, reputed to be the wisest and most cunning of all +animals, and in folklore playing the part of our fox. It was conspicuously +pregnant and passed unconcernedly just back of the tent. As the flesh is a +favourite food of both Dayaks and Malays they immediately gave chase, +shouting and trying to surround it, which made the plandok turn back; then +the wonderfully agile Saputan chief darted after it and actually caught it +alive. Extraordinary agility is characteristic of most Dayaks. An army +officer in his report of the Katingans describes how a Dayak "suddenly +jumped overboard, drew his parang, and with one stroke cut a fish through +the middle. Before we knew what had happened the material for our supper +was on board." + +After a pleasant drifting down the current of the Kasao River, about noon +on April 7 we arrived at Data Láong, a Saputan kampong consisting of three +small communal houses. On the river bank a small space had been cleared of +grass for my tent. The people seemed very amenable to my purposes and +there was a primitive atmosphere at the place. We had used seventeen days +from Tamaloë, much in excess of the time calculated, but under +unfavourable circumstances we might easily have used double. There was +reason to be satisfied at arriving here safely without having incurred any +losses. We could look forward with confidence to the remainder of the +journey, mainly down the great Mahakam River, toward distant Samarinda, +because the Dayaks along the route were very numerous and had plenty of +prahus. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + + +THE SAPUTANS--HOW THE EARS OF THE CHIEF WERE PIERCED--AN UNEXPECTED ATTACK +OF FILARIASIS--DEPARTURE FROM THE SAPUTANS--DOWN THE KASAO RIVER-- +"TOBOGGANING" THE KIHAMS + +The Penyahbongs, men of the jungle, who left us to return home, had not +proved such good workers as the Saputans, who, though in a pronounced +degree smaller, mostly below medium size, are very strongly built. The +first named, nevertheless, are their superiors both physically and +morally. The more homely-looking Saputans, though friendly and willing to +assist you, try to gain an advantage in bargaining. They set high prices +on all things purchased from them and cheat if permitted to do so. +Although no case of actual stealing came to my notice, they are dishonest, +untruthful, and less intelligent than the tribes hitherto met. The chiefs +from two neighbouring kampongs paid us visits, and they and their men made +a somewhat better impression, besides having less skin disease. + +The Saputans are a crude and somewhat coarse people who formerly lived in +caves in the mountains further east, between the Mahakam and the Murung +(Barito) Rivers, and migrated here less than a hundred years ago. Lidju, a +Long-Glat raja from Batokelau, who at one time was my interpreter and +assistant, told me that the Saputans had made a contract with his +grandfather to take them to the Kasao. This report was confirmed by the +kapala of Batokelau. The Saputans probably do not number over 500 all +told. + +The custom of cutting the teeth, eight in upper front and six in the lower +jaw, is observed to some extent, but is not regularly practised. Both +sexes have shrill, sharp voices. The men admire women who have long hair, +light yellow skin, and long extension of the ear-lobes. The women like men +to be strong and brave on headhunting expeditions. Suicide is very rare. +They may use ipoh or tuba for the purpose. All animals are eaten without +restriction. The men are good hunters and know how to kill the tiger-cat +with sumpitan or spear. They also make good, large mats from split rattan, +which are spread on the floor, partly covering it. The women make mats +from palm leaves, and when the Saputans are preparing for the night's rest +the latter kind is unrolled over the rattan variety. Formerly sumpitans +were made in sufficient number, but the art of the blacksmith has almost +died out, only one remaining at the present time, and most of the +sumpitans are bought from the Bukats on the Mahakam River. + +There appear to be more men than women in the tribe. Children are wanted, +and though the usual number in a family is four, sometimes there is only +one. There are no restrictions in diet for a pregnant woman beyond the +prohibition of eating of other people's food. + +Only when the chief has a wedding is there any festival, which consists in +eating. There is no marriage ceremony, but having secured the girl's +consent and paid her father and mother the young man simply goes to her +mat. They then remain two days in the house, because they are afraid of +the omen birds. On the third day both go to fetch water from the river and +she begins to husk rice. Monogamy is practised, only the chief being +allowed to have five or more wives. The very enterprising kapala of Data +Láong, to the displeasure of his first wife, recently had acquired a +second, the daughter of a Penihing chief. While the payment of a parang +may be sufficient to secure a wife from among the kampong people, a chiefs +daughter is worth ten gongs, and in order to raise the money necessary to +obtain the gongs he set all the men of the kampong to work, gathering +rattan, for one month. Though each of them received something for his +labour, it was less than one-fourth of the amount accruing from the sale +of the product, leaving him sufficient to pay the price demanded for the +new bride. In Long Iram a gong may be bought for f. 30-80, and for +purposes of comparison the fact is mentioned that a Malay usually is +required to pay f. 60 to the girl's father to insure his consent to the +marriage. + +April was rainy, with frequent showers day and night, and thunder was +heard every evening. Life there was the same as in most Dayak kampongs, +nearly all the people being absent during the day at the ladangs, and in +the evening they bring home the roots of the calladium, or other edible +roots and plants, which are cooked for food. The paddi had been harvested, +but the crop was poor, and therefore they had made no feast. There is no +dancing here except war dances. For a generation they have been gathering +rubber, taking it far down the Mahakam to be sold. Of late years rubber +has nearly disappeared in these parts, so they have turned their attention +to rattan. + +One day a man was seen running with a sumpitan after a dog that had +hydrophobia, and which repeatedly passed my tent. The apparent attempt to +kill the animal was not genuine. He was vainly trying to catch it that he +might tie its legs and throw it into the river, because the people believe +that the shedding of a dog's blood would surely result in misfortune to +their health or crops. After three days the dog disappeared. + +In Data Láong few were those men, women, and children who had not some +form of the skin diseases usual among the Dayaks, which were rendered +still more repugnant by their habit of scratching until the skin bleeds. A +man and wife whose skin looked dry and dead, the whole body exhibiting a +whitish colour, one day came to my tent. Standing, or crouching, before +the tent opening they formed a most offensive picture, vigorously +scratching themselves, while particles of dead skin dropped in such +quantity that after some minutes the ground actually showed an +accumulation resembling snow. They were accompanied by a twelve-year-old +daughter who, strange to say, had a perfectly clean skin. + +The belief about disease and its cure is identical with that of other +tribes I have met. The evil antohs are believed to be very numerous in the +mountainous region at the headwaters of the Kasao River, from whence they +visit the kampongs, though only the blians are able to see them. The dead +person is given new garments and the body is placed in a wooden box made +of boards tied together, which is carried to a cave in the mountains, +three days' travel from Data Laong. There are many caves on the steep +mountain-side and each kampong has its own. + +The Saputans were shy about being photographed, but their objections could +be overcome by payments of coin. The kapala, always alive to the value of +money, set the example by consenting to pose with his family for a +consideration of one florin to each. But the risks incurred, of the usual +kinds hitherto described, were believed to be so great that even the sum +of ten florins was asked as reward in the case of a single man. A +prominent man from another kampong was preparing to make holes through the +ears of the kapala, and for a compensation I was permitted to photograph +the operation, which is an important one. It is the privilege of chiefs +and men who have taken heads to wear a tiger-cat's corner tooth inserted +in a hole in the upper part of each ear. The operation must not be +performed when the man in question has a small child. + +Surrounded by four men, the kapala seated himself on the stump of a tree. +The hair was first cut away above the ears, a long board was placed +upright behind and against his right ear, and the operator adjusted his +tool--an empty rifle cartridge of small calibre, which was encased in the +end of a small piece of wood. After having carefully ascertained that all +was in order he struck the tool, using a loose axe-head with sure hand, +two or three times. The supporting board was removed and a bamboo cylinder +of exactly the same size as the empty cartridge, which was held in +readiness, was immediately put into the hole. The round piece of cartilage +which had been cut out was taken care of, lest it be eaten by a dog and +cause illness. Blood streamed profusely from the ear, and, strange to +tell, the robust man looked as if he were going to faint. The four +assistants closed round him, stroking his arms, and he attempted to rise, +but had to resume his seat. + +Usually nothing untoward happens at such operations, but in this case an +evil antoh had taken possession of the kapala and was eating blood from +the wound. The principal blian was hastily sent for, and arriving +promptly, proceeded to relieve the suffering kapala. He clapped his hands +over the ear, and, withdrawing, opened them twice in quick succession, +then, after a similar third effort, a fair-sized stone (less than a +centimetre in diameter) was produced and thrown into the river. Slight +rain began to fall, and the scene was brought to a dramatic conclusion by +the exhausted chief being ignominiously carried away on the back of a +strong young man. At the house another stone was produced by the same +sleight-of-hand, but more strenuous measures had to be adopted in order to +remedy the uncanny incident. + +A pig was brought up into the room, where blood from its throat was +collected. Part of it was smeared on the kapala, and part was mixed with +uncooked rice as a sacrifice to some good antoh, who is called upon to +drive the evil one away. Outside on the river bank four stalks of bamboo, +which had branches and leaves at the top, were placed in a slanting +position. From the stems of these were hung two diminutive bamboo +receptacles made in the form of square, stiff mats, on which was placed +the mixture of rice and blood for the antoh to eat. Also suspended were +two short pieces of bamboo cut open lengthwise so as to form two small +troughs, into which a little blood was poured for the same supernatural +power to drink. + +When all this had been made ready the old blian, accompanied by two young +pupils, took position before the sacrifice. For about ten minutes he +spoke, with his face to the south, requesting a good antoh to come and the +evil one to depart, after which he, the young men, and the kapala, who +stood near, all repeatedly threw up rice in a southerly direction. This +was done in expectation that the good antoh, having eaten of the +sacrifice, would feel disposed to drive the bad one away. + +In the middle of April I was seized with an attack of filariasis, a +disorder caused by the sting of a certain kind of mosquito. During the day +I had felt pain in the glands of the loins, which were swollen, without +giving the matter any particular attention. As I am not in the habit of +being ill, in fact, so far had prided myself on growing younger each year, +this experience of suddenly becoming very weak and miserable was most +unexpected. Vomiting set in, so I went immediately to bed, and slept +soundly during the night and also most of the next day, when I found +myself with an extremely high fever, much more severe than that which +accompanies malaria, a pernicious form of which I once passed through on +the west coast of Mexico. Until many months afterward I did not know the +nature of my disorder, but resorted to the simple remedy always +available--to stop eating, as Japanese soldiers are reported to do when +wounded. On the fourth day the fever abated, after which improvement was +rapid. Two days later my general condition was fair, although the lower +part of the right leg, especially about the ankle, was red and swollen. I +soon felt completely restored in spite of the fact that a painless swelling +of the ankle remained. + +Two months later I had another attack, as sudden and unexpected as the +first. This was ushered in by a chill exactly like that preceding malaria, +but the fever that followed was less severe than on the former occasion, +and in a few days I was well again. + +More than a year afterward hypodermic injections of sodium cacodylate were +attempted with apparent success, though the swellings continued. Many +months later an improvement in the condition of the leg was gradually +brought about, to which perhaps a liberal consumption of oranges separate +from meals, largely contributed. This affection is not common in Borneo. A +native authority in Kasungan, on the Katingan River in South Borneo, +himself a Kahayan, told me of a remedy by which he and eight other natives +had been completely cured. It is a diffusion from three kinds of plants, +applied externally, samples of which I took. + +On the last day of April we were able to continue our journey down the +Kasao River, in seven prahus with twenty-eight men, twenty-four of whom +were Penihings, who, with their raja, as the chiefs are called on the +Mahakam, had arrived from below by appointment. Owing to my recent +distressing experience I was not sorry to say farewell to Data Laong, +where the women and children were afraid of me to the last, on account of +my desire to have them photographed. The Saputans are kind, but their +intellect is of a low order, and the unusual prevalence of skin disease +renders them unattractive though always interesting subjects. + +A glorious morning! The river, running high and of a dirty yellowish-green +colour, carried us swiftly with the current in the cool atmosphere of the +morning mist which the sun gradually cleared away. Repeatedly, though for +a few moments only, an enchanting fragrance was wafted to me from large, +funnel-shaped, fleshy white flowers with violet longitudinal stripes that +covered one of the numerous varieties of trees on our way. Many blossoms +had fallen into the water and floated on the current with us. It was a +pleasure to have again real Dayak paddlers, which I had not had since my +travels in the Bultmgan. + +We dashed through the tall waves of many smaller rapids and suddenly, +while I was having breakfast, which to save time is always taken in the +prahus, I found myself near what appeared to be a rapidly declining kiham. +A fathomless abyss seemed yawning before us, although the approach thereto +was enticing, as the rushing waters turned into white foam and played in +the strong sunlight. We passed a timid prahu which was waiting at one side +of the course, but had I desired to do so there was no time to stop my +prahu. That might have meant calamity, for we were already within a few +seconds of the rushing, turbulent waters. So down we went, with a +delightful sensation of dancing, falling water, strong sunlight, and the +indescribable freshness and swiftness of it all. The Penihing at the bow +looked back at me and nodded with a satisfied expression on his +countenance, as if to say: "That was well done." + +There were kihams after kihams to be passed; at one place where the rapids +were long, from twelve to eighteen men helped to direct each prahu with +rattan ropes, preventing it from going where the water was deep and the +waves ran high. But my men, who appeared to be skilful, evidently decided +not to depend on the rattan but steered deliberately out into the deep +water; the prahu began to move swiftly, and, tossed by the big waves, the +large tins and boxes were shaken about and threatened to fall overboard. +The bundle of one of the Dayaks actually dropped into the water. There +were only four men in the prahu, and the one at the bow, on whom so much +depends for safety, seeing that it was his bundle, immediately jumped +after it, leaving the boat to its fate. Luckily there was no reason for +the others to do likewise, and I escaped with drenched legs and a wet +kodak. + +New kihams soon compelled us to take out half the load and make double +trips, which proved slow and tedious work. I sat on the rocks waiting, and +ate luncheon, which consisted of one small tin of macquerel in oil, put up +in France, very convenient for travelling. In front of me on the other +side of the river a lonely Malay was working eagerly, trying to float a +big bundle of rattan which had lodged in the midst of a waterfall against +a large stone, and which finally he succeeded in loosening. Suddenly it +floated, and as suddenly he leaped upon it, riding astride it down the +foaming waters. + +The prospect for some smooth sailing now appeared favourable, but scarcely +had I made myself comfortable, lying down in my prahu, before I was +drenched by furious waves into which we had plunged. We soon got out of +them, however, and continued our swift travel downward. In the distance +most of our prahus could be seen in a calm inlet on the other side, where +Mr. Loing was awaiting our arrival; but my men continued on their course. +In a few seconds we entered the boiling waves of the rapids, down which we +went at thrilling speed. We literally jumped a small waterfall, then, +sharply turning to the left, passed another. More than a third of the boat +was in the air as we leaped over it. The Dayaks stand in the prahu and +every nerve is at full tension. The man at the bow shouts and warns. They +are daring, but manage to avoid the hidden rocks with which the course of +the river is studded, now steering slightly to the left, now more to the +right. Thirty or fifty centimetres one way or the other may make all the +difference between safety and disaster. Three men in a small prahu which +follows immediately behind, seeing that they cannot avoid dashing against +a rock, jump overboard, pull the boat out of its course, and save it. + +Ahead was another turn in the river where the third kiham in succession +awaited us, and after some moments of comparative quiet we again dashed +down into turbulent waves, and making a swift turn to the right on a +downward grade glided into smoother waters. The excitement was over and +the experience had been as delightful as it was unexpected. It reminded +one of tobogganing in Norway and was great fun, although the enjoyment was +always mingled with feelings of anxiety concerning the cameras and +instruments. + + +The luggage was unloaded from the prahus which were waiting at the head of +the last rapids, and was carried on the backs of natives who afterward +took the empty boats down. Although the men had worked incessantly for +nine hours, on the advice of the chief it was decided to proceed to +Samariting, the first Penihing kampong. Half the goods was stored near the +beach, to be called for the following day, and the now comfortably loaded +prahus made ready for the descent of the next rapids, which he said were +risky. He therefore was going to walk himself and advised us to do +likewise. Rain began to fall. On the high river bank I waited to see them +off. The first prahu had to return and take another course; the men all +seemed to be hesitating. Finally it made a fresh dash forward. Near the +end of the long rapids it almost disappeared from view, appeared again, +steering first to right then rapidly to left again. There was the +dangerous place, and having in this manner seen most of them pass +successfully, I walked on and shortly afterward boarded my prahu, which +carried us swiftly down to Samariting. + +The river bank on which the kampong is built is lower than usual, and the +place is clean and attractive. All the people look strikingly more healthy +than the Saputans, and I saw a few very nice-looking young girls. The men +swarmed round me like bees, all wanting in a most amiable way to help put +up my tent. During the day I had lost the cover of my red kettle--annoying +enough when it cannot by any means be replaced--but even a more serious +loss would have been compensated by the delightful experience of the day, +which was without other mishaps. + +Our goods having been safely brought in, the next day about noon we +started in fully loaded prahus. All went well with the exception of one of +the smaller boats which, timidly working down along the bank, suddenly +turned over and subsided on a rock. The men did their best to save the +contents, the rapid current making it impossible for us to stop until we +were a hundred metres further down, where the Dayaks made ready to gether +up boxes and other articles that came floating on the current. Nothing was +lost, but everything got wet. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + + +ARRIVAL ON THE MAHAKAM RIVER--AMONG THE PENIHINGS--LONG KAI, A PLEASANT +PLACE--A BLIANAS SHIELD--PUNANS AND BUKATS, SIMPLE-MINDED NOMADS--EXTREME +PENALTY FOR UNFAITHFULNESS--LONG TJEHAN + +A few minutes later we came in sight of the Mahakam River. At this point +it is only forty to fifty metres wide, and the placid stream presented a +fine view, with surrounding hills in the distance. In the region of the +Upper Mahakam River, above the rapids, where we had now arrived, it is +estimated there are living nearly 10,000 Dayaks of various tribes, +recognised under the general name Bahau, which they also employ +themselves, besides their tribal names. + +The first European to enter the Mahakam district was the Dutch +ethnologist, Doctor A.W. Nieuwenhuis, at the end of the last century. He +came from the West, and in addition to scientific research his mission was +political, seeking by peaceful means to win the natives to Dutch +allegiance. In this he succeeded, though not without difficulty and +danger. Although he was considerate and generous, the Penihing chief +Blarey, apprehensive of coming evil, twice tried to kill him, a fact of +which the doctor probably was not aware at the time. Kwing Iran, the +extraordinary Kayan chief, knew of it and evidently prevented the plan +from being executed. Blarey did not like to have Europeans come to that +country, which belonged to the natives, as he expressed it. + +The Penihing kampong, Sungei Lobang, was soon reached. It is newly made, +in accordance with the habit of the Dayaks to change the location of their +villages every fourteen or fifteen years, and lies on a high bank, or +rather a mud-ridge, which falls steeply down on all sides. It was the +residence of the chief and the Penihings who brought us here, and if +conditions proved favourable I was prepared to make a stay of several +weeks in this populous kampong, which consists of several long, +well-constructed buildings. The Dayaks assisted in putting up my tent, and +of their own accord made a low palisade of bamboo sticks all around it as +protection against the roaming pigs and dogs of the place. It proved of +excellent service, also keeping away the obnoxious fowls, and during the +remainder of my travels this measure of security, which I adopted, added +considerably to my comfort. On receiving their payment in the evening the +Dayaks went away in bad humour because they had expected that such a tuan +besar as I was would give them more than the usual wages allowed when +serving the Company, as the government is called. This tuan, they said, +had plenty of money to boang (throw) away, and he had also a good heart. + +Otherwise, however, these natives were kindly disposed and more attractive +than either of the two tribes last visited. In husking rice the +Penyahbongs, Saputans, and Penihings have the same method of gathering the +grains back again under the pestle with the hands instead of with the +feet, as is the custom of the Kenyahs and Kayans. All day there were +brought for sale objects of ethnography, also beetles, animals, and birds. +Two attractive young girls sold me their primitive necklaces, consisting +of small pieces of the stalks of different plants, some of them +odoriferous, threaded on a string. One girl insisted that I put hers on +and wear it, the idea that it might serve any purpose other than to adorn +the neck never occurring to them. Two men arrived from Nohacilat, a +neighbouring kampong, to sell two pieces of aboriginal wearing apparel, a +tunic and a skirt. Such articles are very plentiful down there, they said, +and offered them at an astonishingly reasonable price. + +Malay is not spoken here, and we got on as best we could--nevertheless the +want of an interpreter was seriously felt. The chief himself spoke some +and might have served fairly well, but he studiously remained away from +me, and even took most of the men from the kampong to make prahus at +another place. I was told that he was afraid of me, and certainly his +behaviour was puzzling. Three months later I was enlightened on this point +by the information that he had been arrested on account of the murder by +spear of a woman and two men, a most unusual occurrence among Dayaks, who, +as a rule, never kill any one in their own tribe. With the kampong +well-nigh deserted, it soon became evident that nothing was to be gained by +remaining and that I would better change the scene of my activities to +Long Kai, another Penihing kampong further down the river. + +A small garrison had been established there, and by sending a message we +secured prahus and men, which enabled us to depart from our present +encampment. There were some rapids to pass in which our collector of +animals and birds nearly had his prahu swamped, and although it was filled +with water, owing to his pluck nothing was lost. At Long Kai the +lieutenant and Mr. Loing put up a long shed of tent material, while I +placed my tent near friendly trees, at the end of a broad piece of road on +the river bank, far enough from the kampong to avoid its noises and near +enough to the river to enjoy its pleasant murmur. + +When going to their ladangs in the morning the Dayaks passed my tent, +thence following the tiny affluent, Kai, from which the kampong received +its name. Under the trees I often had interviews with the Penihings, and +also with the nomadic Bukats and Punans who had formed settlements in the +neighbouring country. Some of them came of their own accord, others were +called by Tingang, the kapala of Long Kai, who did good service as +interpreter, speaking Malay fairly well. From my tent I had a beautiful +view of the river flowing between wooded hills, and the air was often +laden with the same delicious fragrance from the bloom of a species of +trees which I had observed on the Kasao River. Here, however, the odour +lasted hours at a time, especially morning and evening. On the hills of +the locality grow many sago palms, to which the natives resort in case +rice is scarce. + +It was quite agreeable to see a flag again, the symbol of the Dutch nation +being hoisted every day on the hill where the military encampment was +located, usually called benting (fortress). Even the striking of a bell +every half-hour seemed acceptable as a reminder of civilisation. The +soldiers were natives, mostly Javanese. The lieutenant, Th. F.J. Metsers, +was an amiable and courteous man who loaned me Dutch newspapers, which, +though naturally months out of date, nevertheless were much appreciated. +We were about 1° north of equator and usually had beautiful, clear nights +in the month of May. The Great Bear of the northern hemisphere was visible +above the horizon and the planet Venus looked large and impressive. There +were no mosquitoes and the air was fine, but at times the heat of the day +was considerable, especially before showers. After two days of very warm +weather without rain ominous dark clouds gathered in the west, and half an +hour later we were in the thick of a downpour and mist which looked as if +it might continue for days. But in inland Borneo one knows a rainstorm +will soon belong to the past. Two hours later the storm abated and before +sunset all was over, and the night came again clear and glorious. + +One afternoon seven prahus with thirty-odd Dayaks were seen to arrive from +down the river, poling their way. They were Kayans from Long Blu, en route +for the Upper Kasao to gather rattan. Some of them called on me and +evidently already knew of the expedition. They carried only rice as +provisions and told me they intended to be away three months. On the Upper +Kasao there is no more rubber to be found, and, according to them, on the +upper part of Mahakam there is no more rattan. + +The Penihings of Long Kai are good-natured and pleasant, and it was +refreshing to be among real, natural people to whom it never occurs that +nudity is cause for shame; whom the teaching of the Mohammedan Malays, of +covering the upper body, has not yet reached. This unconsciousness of evil +made even the old, hard-working women attractive. They were eager to sell +me their wares and implements, and hardly left me time to eat. Their +houses had good galleries and were more spacious than one would suppose +from a casual glance. + +One morning I entered the rooms of one of the principal blians, from whom +I wanted to buy his shield, used as a musical instrument to accompany his +song. The shield looks like the ordinary variety used by all the tribes of +the Mahakam and also in Southern Borneo, but has from four to ten rattan +strings tied lengthwise on the back. In singing to call good spirits, +antohs, especially in case somebody is ill, he constantly beats with a +stick on one of the strings in a monotonous way without any change of +time. Among the Penihings this shield is specially made for the blian's +use, and unless it be new and unused he will not sell it, because the +blood of sacrificial animals has been smeared on its surface and the +patient would die. The only way I could secure one was by having it made +for me, which a blian is quite willing to do. + +This man paid little attention to my suggestion of buying, but suddenly, +of his own accord, he seized the shield and played on it to show me how it +was done. While he sings he keeps his head down behind the shield, which +is held in upright position, and he strikes either with right or left +hand. He had scarcely performed a minute when a change came over him. He +stamped one foot violently upon the floor, ceased playing, and seemed to +be in a kind of trance, but recovered himself quickly. A good antoh, one +of several who possessed him, had returned to him after an absence and had +entered through the top of his head. So strong is the force of +auto-suggestion. + +It was a matter of considerable interest to me to meet here +representatives of two nomadic tribes of Borneo who had formed small +settlements in this remote region. I had already made the acquaintance of +the Punans in the Bulungan, but as they are very shy I welcomed the +opportunity of meeting them on more familiar terms. For more than a +generation a small number has been settled at Serrata, six hours walking +distance from Long Kai. The other nomads, called Bukats, from the +mountains around the headwaters of the Mahakam, have lately established +themselves on the river a short distance above its junction with the +Kasao; a few also live in the Penihing kampong Nuncilao. These recent +converts from nomadic life still raise little paddi, depending mostly upon +sago. Through the good offices of the Long Kai kapala people of both +tribes were sent for and promptly answered the call. The Punan visitors +had a kapala who also was a blian, and they had a female blian too, as had +the Bukats. + +The Punans are simple-minded, shy, and retiring people, and the other +nomads even more so. The first-named are more attractive on account of +their superior physique, their candid manners, and somewhat higher +intellect. The natural food of both peoples is serpents, lizards, and all +kinds of animals and birds, the crocodile and omen birds excepted. With +the Bukats, rusa must not be eaten unless one has a child, but with the +Punans it is permissible in any case. The meat of pig is often eaten when +ten days old, and is preferred to that which is fresh. In this they share +the taste of the Dayak tribes I have met, with the exception of the +Long-Glats. I have known the odour from putrefying pork to be quite +overpowering in a kampong, and still this meat is eaten without any ill +effect. Salt is not used unless introduced by Malay traders. And evidently +it was formerly not known to the Dayaks. + +None of these jungle people steal and they do not lie, although children +may do either. They were much afraid of being photographed and most of the +Bukats declined. A Bukat woman had tears in her eyes as she stepped +forward to be measured, but smiled happily when receiving her rewards of +salt, tobacco, and a red handkerchief. It had been worth while to submit +to the strange ways of the foreigner. + +Both tribes are strictly monogamous and distinguished by the severe view +they take of adultery, which, however, seldom occurs. While it is regarded +as absolutely no detriment to a young girl to sleep with a young man, +matrimonial unfaithfulness is relentlessly punished. Payment of damages is +impossible. The injured Punan husband cuts the head from both wife and +corespondent and retires to solitude, remaining away for a long time, up +to two years. If the husband fails to punish, then the woman's brother +must perform the duty of executioner. The Bukats are even more severe. The +husband of an erring wife must kill her by cutting off her head, and it is +incumbent on her brother to take the head of the husband. At present the +Punans and Bukats are relinquishing these customs through fear of the +Company. + +The Bukats told me that they originally came from the river Blatei in +Sarawak, and that Iban raids had had much to do with their movements. +According to their reports the tribe had recently, at the invitation of +the government, left the mountains and formed several kampongs in the +western division. One of them, with short stubby fingers, had a broad +Mongolian face and prominent cheek-bones, but not Mongolian eyes, +reminding me somewhat of a Laplander. + +The Punans and the Bukats have not yet learned to make prahus, but they +are experts in the manufacture of sumpitans. They are also clever at +mat-making, the men bringing the rattan and the women making the mats. +Cutting of the teeth is optional. The gall of the bear is used as medicine +internally and externally. In case of fractured bones a crude bandage is +made from bamboo sticks with leaves from a certain tree. For curing +disease the Punans use strokes of the hand. Neither of these nomadic +tribes allow a man present when a woman bears a child. After child-birth +women abstain from work four days. When anybody dies the people flee, +leaving the corpse to its fate. + +Having accomplished as much as circumstances permitted, in the latter part +of May we changed our encampment to Long Tjehan, the principal kampong of +the Penihings, a little further down the river. On a favourable current +the transfer was quickly accomplished. We were received by friendly +natives, who came voluntarily to assist in putting up my tent, laying +poles on the moist ground, on which the boxes were placed inside. They +also made a palisade around it as they had seen it done in Long Kai, for +the Dayaks are very adaptable people. Several men here had been to New +Guinea and they expressed no desire to return, because there had been much +work, and much beri-beri from which some of their comrades had died. One +of them had assisted in bringing Doctor Lorenz back after his unfortunate +fall down the ravine on Wilhelmina Top. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + + +AN EXCURSION DOWN THE RIVER--LONG PAHANGEI--THE OMA-SULINGS--THE GREAT +TRIENNIAL FESTIVAL--HOSPITABLE NATIVES--INCIDENTS IN PHOTOGRAPHY + +It is significant as to the relations of the tribes that not only Bukats +and Punans, but also the Saputans, are invited to take part in a great +triennial Bahau festival when given at Long Tjehan. Shortly after our +arrival we were advised that this great feast, which here is called tasa +and which lasts ten days, was to come off immediately at an Oma-Suling +kampong, Long Pahangei, further down the river. + +Though a journey there might be accomplished in one day, down with the +current, three or four times as long would be required for the return. +However, as another chance to see such a festival probably would not +occur, I decided to go, leaving the sergeant, the soldier collector, and +another soldier behind, and two days later we were preparing for departure +in three prahus. + +What with making light shelters against sun and rain, in Malay called +atap, usually erected for long journeys, the placing of split bamboo +sticks in the bottom of my prahu, and with the Penihings evidently +unaccustomed to such work, it was eight o'clock before the start was made. +Pani, a small tributary forming the boundary between the Penihings and the +Kayans, was soon left behind and two hours later we passed Long Blu, the +great Kayan kampong. The weather was superb and the current carried us +swiftly along. The great Mahakam River presented several fine, extensive +views, with hills on either side, thick white clouds moving slowly over +the blue sky. As soon as we entered the country of the Oma-Suling it was +pleasant to observe that the humble cottages of the ladangs had finely +carved wooden ornaments standing out from each gable. + +We arrived at Long Pahangei (_h_ pronounced as Spanish jota) early in the +afternoon. Gongs were sounding, but very few people were there, and no +visitors at all, although this was the first day of the feast. This is a +large kampong lying at the mouth of a tributary of the same name, and is +the residence of a native district kapala. After I had searched everywhere +for a quiet spot he showed me a location in a clump of jungle along the +river bank which, when cleared, made a suitable place for my tent. Our +Penihings were all eager to help, some clearing the jungle, others +bringing up the goods as well as cutting poles and bamboo sticks. +Evidently they enjoyed the work, pitching into it with much gusto and +interest. The result was a nice though limited camping place on a narrow +ridge, and I gave each man one stick of tobacco as extra payment. + +During our stay here much rain fell in steady downpours lasting a night or +half a day. As the same condition existed higher up the river, at times +the water rose menacingly near my tent, and for one night I had to move +away. But rain in these tropics is never merciless, it seems to me. Back +from the coast there is seldom any wind, and in the knowledge that at any +time the clouds may give place to brilliant sunshine, it is not at all +depressing. Of course it is better to avoid getting wet through, but when +this occurs little concern is felt, because one's clothing dries so +quickly. + +The Oma-Sulings are pleasant to deal with, being bashful and unspoiled. +The usual repulsive skin diseases are seldom seen, and the women are +attractive. There appears to have been, and still is, much intercourse +between the Oma-Sulings and their equally pleasant neighbours to the east, +the Long-Glats. Many of the latter came to the feast and there is much +intermarrying among the nobles of the two tribes. Lidju, my assistant and +friend here, was a noble of the Long-Glats with the title of raja and +married a sister of the great chief of the Oma-Sulings. She was the +principal of the numerous female blians of the kampong, slender of figure, +active both in her profession and in domestic affairs, and always very +courteous. They had no children. Although he did not speak Malay very +well, still, owing to his earnestness of purpose, Lidju was of +considerable assistance to me. + +The kampong consists of several long houses of the usual Dayak style, +lying in a row and following the river course, but here they were +separated into two groups with a brook winding its way to the river +between them. Very large drums, nearly four metres long, hung on the wall +of the galleries, six in one house, with the head somewhat higher than the +other end. This instrument, slightly conical in shape, is formed from a +log of fine-grained wood, light in colour, with a cover made from wild ox +hide. An especially constructed iron tool driven by blows from a small +club is used to hollow out the log, and the drum is usually completed in a +single night, many men taking turns. In one part of the house lying +furthest west lived Dayaks called Oma-Palo, who were reported to have been +in this tribe a hundred years. They occupied "eight doors," while further +on, in quarters comprising "five doors," dwelt Oma-Tepe, more recent +arrivals; and both clans have married Oma-Suling women. + +The purpose of the great feast that filled everybody's thoughts is to +obtain many children, a plentiful harvest, good health, many pigs, and +much fruit. A prominent Dayak said to me: "If we did not have this feast +there would not be many children; the paddi would not ripen well, or would +fail; wild beasts would eat the fowls, and there would be no bananas or +other fruits." The first four days are chiefly taken up with preparations, +the festival occurring on the fifth and sixth days. A place of worship +adjoining the front of the easternmost house was being constructed, with a +floor high above ground on a level with the gallery, with which it was +connected by a couple of planks for a bridge. Although flimsily built, the +structure was abundantly strong to support the combined weight of the +eight female blians who at times performed therein. The hut, which was +profusely decorated with long, hanging wood shavings, is called dangei and +is an important adjunct of the feast, to which the same name is sometimes +given. Ordinary people are not allowed to enter, though they may ascend +the ladder, giving access to the gallery, in close proximity to the +sanctuary. + +Prior to the fifth day a progressive scale is observed in regard to food +regulations, and after the sixth, when the festive high mark is reached, +there is a corresponding decrease to normal. Only a little boiled rice is +eaten the first day, but on the second, third, and fourth, rations are +gradually increased by limited additions of toasted rice. The fifth and +sixth days give occasion for indulgence in much rice and pork, the +quantity being reduced on the seventh, when the remaining pork is +finished. On the eighth and ninth days the regulations permit only boiled +and toasted rice. Not much food remains on the tenth, when the menu +reverts to boiled rice exclusively. Some kinds of fish may be eaten during +the ten-day period, while others are prohibited. + +It was interesting to observe what an important part the female blians or +priest-doctors played at the festival. They were much in evidence and +managed the ceremonies. The men of the profession kept in the background +and hardly one was seen. During the feast they abstain from bathing for +eight days, do not eat the meat of wild babi, nor salt; and continence is +the rule. Every day of the festival, morning, afternoon, and evening, a +service is performed for imparting health and strength, called melah, of +which the children appear to be the chief beneficiaries. Mothers bring +babes in cradles on their backs, as well as their larger children. The +blian, who must be female, seizing the mother's right hand with her left, +repeatedly passes the blade of a big knife up her arm. The child in the +cradle also stretches out its right arm to receive treatment, while other +children and women place their right hands on the hand and arm of the +first woman, five to ten individuals thus simultaneously receiving the +passes which the blian dispenses from left to right. She accompanies the +ceremony with murmured expressions suggesting removal from the body of all +that is evil, with exhortations to improvement, etc. + +This service concluded, a man standing in the background holding a shield +with the inside uppermost, advances to the side of the mother and places +it horizontally under the cradle, where it is rapidly moved forward and +backward. Some of the men also presented themselves for treatment after +the manner above described, and although the melah performance is usually +reserved for this great feast, it may be employed by the blian for nightly +service in curing disease. + +This was followed by a dance of the blians present, nine or ten in number, +to the accompaniment of four gongs and one drum. They moved in single +file, most of them making two steps and a slight turn to left, two steps +and a slight turn to right, while others moved straight on. In this way +they described a drawn-out circle, approaching an ellipse, sixteen times. +After the dancing those who took part in the ceremonies ate toasted rice. +Each day of the feast in the afternoon food was given to antoh by blians +and girl pupils. Boiled rice, a small quantity of salt, some dried fish, +and boiled fowl were wrapped in pieces of banana leaves, and two such +small parcels were offered on each occasion. + +Meantime the festive preparations continued. Many loads of bamboo were +brought in, because much rice and much pork was to be cooked in these +handy utensils provided by nature. Visitors were slowly but steadily +arriving. On the fourth day came the principal man, the Raja Besar (great +chief), who resides a little further up the river, accompanied by his +family. The son of a Long-Glat father and an Oma-Suling mother, Ledjuli +claimed to be raja not only of these tribes, but also of the Kayans. Next +morning Raja Besar and his stately wife, of Oma-Suling nobility, +accompanied by the kapala of the kampong and others, paid me a visit, +presenting me with a long sugarcane, a somewhat rare product in these +parts and considered a great delicacy, one large papaya, white onions, and +bananas. In return I gave one cake of chocolate, two French tins of meat, +one tin of boiled ham, and tobacco. + +Domestic pigs, of which the kampong possessed over a hundred, at last +began to come in from the outlying ladangs. One by one they were carried +alive on the backs of men. The feet having first been tied together, the +animal was enclosed in a coarse network of rattan or fibre. For the +smaller specimens tiny, close-fitting bamboo boxes had been made, pointed +at one end to accommodate the snout. The live bundles were deposited on +the galleries, and on the fifth day they were lying in rows and heaps, +sixty-six in number, awaiting their ultimate destiny. The festival was now +about to begin in earnest and an air of expectancy was evident in the +faces of the natives. After the performance of the melah and the dance of +the blians, and these were a daily feature of the great occasion, a dance +hitherto in vogue at night was danced in the afternoon. In this the +people, in single file, moved very slowly with rhythmic steps, describing +a circle around three blians, including the principal one, who sat smoking +in the centre, with some bamboo baskets near by. Next morning the circular +dance was repeated, with the difference that the participants were holding +on to a rope. + +About four o'clock in the afternoon the Dayaks began to kill the pigs by +cutting the artery of the neck. The animals, which were in surprisingly +good condition, made little outcry. The livers were examined, and if found +to be of bad omen were thrown away, but the pig itself is eaten in such +cases, though a full-grown fowl or a tiny chicken only a few days old must +be sacrificed in addition. The carcasses were freed from hair by fire in +the usual way and afterward cleaned with the knife. The skin is eaten with +the meat, which at night was cooked in bamboo. Outside, in front of the +houses, rice cooking had been going on all day. In one row there were +perhaps fifty bamboos, each stuffed with envelopes of banana leaves +containing rice, the parcels being some thirty centimetres long and three +wide. + +During the night there was a grand banquet in all the houses. Lidju, my +assistant, did not forget, on this day of plenty, to send my party +generous gifts of fresh pork. To me he presented a fine small ham. As salt +had been left behind we had to boil the meat à la Dayak in bamboo with +very little water, which compensates for the absence of seasoning. A +couple of men brought us two bamboos containing that gelatinous delicacy +into which rice is transformed when cooked in this way. And, as if this +were not enough, early next morning a procession arrived carrying food on +two shields, the inside being turned upward. On these were parcels wrapped +in banana leaves containing boiled rice, to which were tied large pieces +of cooked pork. The first man to appear stepped up to a banana growing +near, broke off a leaf which he put on the ground in front of me, and +placed on it two bundles. The men were unable to speak Malay and +immediately went away without making even a suggestion that they expected +remuneration, as did the two who had given us rice. I had never seen them +before. + +The sixth day was one of general rejoicing. Food was exchanged between the +two groups of houses and people were in a very joyful mood, eating pork, +running about, and playing tricks on each other. Both men and women +carried charcoal mixed with the fat of pork, with which they tried to +smear the face and upper body of all whom they met. All were privileged to +engage in this sport but the women were especially active, pursuing the +men, who tried to avoid them, some taking refuge behind my tent. The women +followed one man through the enclosure surrounding the tent, at my +invitation, but they did not succeed in catching him. This practical +joking was continued on the following days except the last. + +The Oma-Palo had their own festival, which lasted only one day. It began +in the afternoon of the sixth day and I went over to see it. The livers of +the pigs were not in favourable condition, which caused much delay in the +proceedings, and it was nearly five o'clock when they finally began to +make a primitive dángei hut, all the material for which had been gathered. +A few slim upright poles with human faces carved at the upper ends were +placed so as to form the outline of a quadrangle. On the ground between +them planks were laid, and on the two long sides of this space were raised +bamboo stalks with leaves on, which leaned together and formed an airy +cover. It was profusely adorned with wood shavings hung by the ends in +long spirals, the whole arrangement forming a much simpler house of +worship than the one described above. The kapala having sacrificed a tiny +chicken, a man performed a war dance on the planks in superb fashion, and +after that two female blians danced. Next morning I returned and asked +permission to photograph the dancing. The kapala replied that if a +photograph were made while they were working--that is to say, +dancing--they would have to do all their work over again, otherwise some +misfortune would come upon them, such as the falling of one of the bamboo +stalks, which might kill somebody. Later, while they were eating, for +example, there would be no objection to the accomplishment of my desire. + +With the eighth day an increased degree of ceremonials became noticeable, +and in order to keep pace therewith I was driven to continuous activity. +On a muggy, warm morning I began work by photographing the Raja Besar, who +had given me permission to take himself and his family. When I arrived at +the house where he was staying he quickly made his preparations to "look +pleasant," removing the large rings he wore in the extended lobes of his +ears and substituting a set of smaller ones, eight for each ear. He was +also very particular in putting on correct apparel, whether to appear in +warrior costume or as a private gentleman of the highest caste. His sword +and the rest of his outfit, as might be expected, were of magnificent +finish, the best of which Dayak handicraft is capable. He made altogether +a splendid subject for the camera, but his family proved less +satisfactory. I had to wait an hour and a half before his womenfolk were +ready, femininity apparently being alike in this regard in all races. When +they finally emerged from the house in great array (which showed Malay +influence) they were a distinct disappointment. + +The raja, who was extremely obliging, ordered the principal men of the +kampong to appear in complete war outfit, and showed us how an imaginary +attack of Iban head-hunters would be met. They came streaming one after +another down the ladder, made the evolutions of a running attack in close +formation, holding their large shields in front of them, then ran to the +water and paddled away, standing in their prahus, to meet the supposed +enemy in the utan on the other side of the river. + +At noon the female blians were preparing for an important ceremony in the +dángei hut, with a dance round it on the ground later, and I therefore +went up to the gallery. The eight performers held each other by the hands +in a circle so large that it filled the hut. Constantly waving their arms +backward and forward they moved round and round. Some relics from Apo +Kayan were then brought in: a small, shining gong without a knob and a +very large bracelet which looked as if it had been made of bamboo and was +about eight centimetres in diameter. One of the blians placed the bracelet +round her folded hands and then ran round the circle as well as through +it; I believe this was repeated sixteen times. When she had finished +running they all walked in single file over into the gallery in order to +perform the inevitable mélah. + +Shortly afterward followed a unique performance of throwing rice, small +bundles of which, wrapped in banana leaves, were lying in readiness on the +floor. Some of the men caught them with such violence that the rice was +spilled all about, and then they flipped the banana leaves at those who +stood near. Some of the women had crawled up under the roof in +anticipation of what was coming. After a few minutes passed thus, the +eight blians seated themselves in the dángei hut and prepared food for +antoh in the way described above, but on this occasion one of them pounded +paddi with two short bamboo sticks, singing all the while. + +A very amusing entertainment then began, consisting of wrestling by the +young men, who were encouraged by the blians to take it up and entered the +game with much enthusiasm, one or two pairs constantly dancing round and +round until one became the victor. The participants of their own accord +had divested themselves of their holiday chavats and put on small ones for +wrestling. With the left hand the antagonist takes hold of the descending +portion of the chavat in the back, while with the right he grasps the +encircling chavat in front. They wrestled with much earnestness but no +anger. When the game was continued the following morning the young men +presented a sorry spectacle. Rain had fallen during the night, and the +vanquished generally landed heavily on their backs in the mud-holes, the +wrestlers joining in the general laugh at their expense. To encourage them +I had promised every victor twenty cents, which added much to the +interest. + +Having concluded their task of feeding the antohs the blians climbed down +the ladder and began a march in single file round the dángei hut, each +carrying one of the implements of daily life: a spear, a small parang, an +axe, an empty rattan bag in which the bamboos are enclosed when the woman +fetches water, or in which vegetables, etc., are conveyed, and another bag +of the same material suitable for transporting babi. Four of the women +carried the small knife which is woman's special instrument, though also +employed by the men. When the eight blians on this, the eighth day, had +marched sixteen times around the dángei they ascended the ladder again. +Shortly afterward a man standing on the gallery pushed over the flimsy +place of worship--a signal that the end of the feast had come. On the +previous day a few visitors had departed and others left daily. + +The feast had brought together from other parts about 200 Oma-Sulings and +Long-Glats. The women of both tribes showed strikingly fine manners, +especially those belonging to the higher class, which was well +represented. Some were expensively dressed, though in genuine barbaric +fashion as indicated by the ornaments sewn upon their skirts, which +consisted of hundreds of florins and ringits. It should be conceded, +however, that with the innate artistic sense of the Dayaks, the coins, all +scrupulously clean, had been employed to best advantage in pretty designs, +and the damsels were strong enough to carry the extra burden. + +The climax had been passed and little more was going on, the ninth day +being given over to the amusement of daubing each other with black paste. +On the tenth day they all went away to a small river in the neighbourhood, +where they took their meals, cooking paddi in bamboo, also fish in the +same manner. This proceeding is called násam, and the pemáli (tabu) is now +all over. During the days immediately following the people may go to the +ladang, but are obliged to sleep in the kampong, and they must not +undertake long journeys. When the feast ended the blians placed four eggs +in the clefts of four upright bamboo sticks as sacrifice to antoh. Such +eggs are gathered from hens that are sitting, and those which have become +stale in unoccupied nests are also used. If there are not enough such +eggs, fresh ones are taken. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + + +DAYAK DOGS--A FUNERAL ON THE MAHAKAM--OUR RETURN JOURNEY--AGAIN AT LONG +TJEHAN--IN SEARCH OF A UNIQUE ORCHID--A BURIAL CAVE + +Every night while we were camped here, and frequently in the day, as if +controlled by magic, the numerous dogs belonging to the Dayaks suddenly +began to howl in chorus. It is more ludicrous than disagreeable and is a +phenomenon common to all kampongs, though I never before had experienced +these manifestations in such regularity and perfection of concerted +action. One or two howls are heard and immediately all canines of the +kampong and neighbouring ladangs join, perhaps more than a hundred in one +chorus. At a distance the noise resembles the acclamations of a vast crowd +of people. The Penihings and Oma-Sulings treat man's faithful companion +well, the former even with affection; and the dogs, which are of the usual +type, yellowish in colour, with pointed muzzle, erect ears, and upstanding +tail, are in fine condition. A trait peculiar to the Dayak variety is that +he never barks at strangers, permitting them to walk on the galleries or +even in the rooms without interference. Groups of these intelligent +animals are always to be seen before the house and on the gallery, often +in terrific fights among themselves, but never offensive to strangers. + +They certainly serve the Dayaks well by holding the pig or other animal at +bay until the men can come up and kill it with spear. Some of them are +afraid of bear, others attack them. They are very eager to board the +prahus when their owners depart to the ladangs, thinking that it means a +chase of the wild pig. Equally eager are they to get into the room at +night, or at any time when the owner has left them outside. Doors are +cleverly opened by them, but when securely locked the dogs sometimes, in +their impatience, gnaw holes in the lower part of the door which look like +the work of rodents, though none that I saw was large enough to admit a +canine of their size. One day a big live pig was brought in from the utan +over the shoulder of a strong man, its legs tied together, and as a +compliment to me the brute was tethered to a pole by one leg, while the +dogs, about fifty, barked at and harassed it. This, I was told, is the way +they formerly were trained. As in a bull-fight, so here my sympathy was +naturally with the animal, which managed to bite a dog severely in the +side and shook another vigorously by the tail. Finally some young boys +gave it a merciful death with spears. + +A woman blian died after an illness of five days, and the next forenoon a +coffin was made from an old prahu. She had not been ill long, so the +preparations for the funeral were brief. Early in the afternoon wailing +was heard from the gallery, and a few minutes later the cortège emerged on +its way to the river bank, taking a short cut over the slope between the +trees, walking fast because they feared that if they lingered other people +might become ill. There were only seven or eight members of the +procession; most of whom acted as pall-bearers, and all were poor people. +They deposited their burden on the bank, kneeling around it for a few +minutes and crying mournfully. A hen had been killed at the house, but no +food was offered to antoh at the place of embarkation, as had been +expected by some of their neighbours. + +Covered with a large white cloth, the coffin was hurriedly taken down from +the embankment and placed in a prahu, which they immediately proceeded to +paddle down-stream where the burial was to take place in the utan some +distance away. The reddish-brown waters of the Mahakam, nearly always at +flood, flowed swiftly between the walls of dark jungle on either side and +shone in the early afternoon sun, under a pale-blue sky, with beautiful, +small, distant white clouds. Three mourners remained behind, one man +standing, gazing after the craft. Then, as the prahu, now very small to +the eye, approached the distant bend of the river, in a few seconds to +disappear from sight, the man who had been standing in deep reflection +went down to the water followed by the two women, each of whom slipped off +her only garment in their usual dexterous way, and all proceeded to bathe, +thus washing away all odours or other effects of contact with the corpse, +which might render them liable to attack from the antoh that had killed +the woman blian. + +In the first week of June we began our return journey against the current, +arriving in the afternoon at Data Lingei, an Oma-Suling kampong said to be +inhabited also by Long-Glats and three other tribes. We were very welcome +here. Although I told them I did not need a bamboo palisade round my tent +for one night, these hospitable people, after putting up my tent, placed +round it a fence of planks which chanced to be at hand. At dusk everything +was in order and I took a walk through the kampong followed by a large +crowd which had been present all the time. + +Having told them to bring all the articles they wanted to sell, I quickly +bought some good masks and a number of tail feathers from the rhinoceros +hornbill, which are regarded as very valuable, being worn by the warriors +in their rattan caps. All were "in the market," prices were not at all +exorbitant, and business progressed very briskly until nine o'clock, when +I had made valuable additions, especially of masks, to my collections. The +evening passed pleasantly and profitably to all concerned. I acquired a +shield which, besides the conventionalised representation of a dog, +exhibited a wild-looking picture of an antoh, a very common feature on +Dayak shields. The first idea it suggests to civilised man is that its +purpose is to terrify the enemy, but my informant laughed at this +suggestion. It represents a good antoh who keeps the owner of the shield +in vigorous health. + +The kapala's house had at once attracted attention on account of the +unusually beautiful carvings that extended from each gable, and which on a +later occasion I photographed. These were long boards carved in artistic +semblance of the powerful antoh called nagah, a benevolent spirit, but +also a vindictive one. The two carvings together portrayed the same +monster, the one showing its head and body, the other its tail. Before +being placed on the gables a sacrifice had been offered and the carvings +had been smeared with blood--in other words, to express the thought of the +Dayak, as this antoh is very fierce when aroused to ire, it had first been +given blood to eat, in order that it should not be angry with the owner of +the house, but disposed to protect him from his enemies. While malevolent +spirits do not associate with good ones, some which usually are beneficent +at times may do harm, and among these is one, the nagah, that dominates +the imagination of many Dayak tribes. It appears to be about the size of a +rusa, and in form is a combination of the body of that animal and a +serpent, the horned head having a disproportionately large dog's mouth. +Being an antoh, and the greatest of all, it is invisible under ordinary +conditions, but lives in rivers and underground caves, and it eats human +beings. + +Lidju, who accompanied me as interpreter and to be generally useful, had +aroused the men early in the morning to cook their rice, so that we could +start at seven o'clock, arriving in good time at the Kayan kampong, Long +Blu. Here, on the north side of the river, was formerly a small military +establishment, inhabited at present by a few Malay families, the only ones +on the Mahakam River above the great kihams. Accompanied by Lidju I +crossed the river to see the great kampong of the Kayans. + +Ascending the tall ladder which leads up to the kampong, we passed through +long, deserted-looking galleries, and from one a woman hurriedly retired +into a room. The inhabitants were at their ladangs, most of them four +hours' travel from here. Arriving finally at the house of Kwing Iran, I +was met by a handful of people gathered in its cheerless, half-dark +gallery. On our return to a newly erected section of the kampong we met +the intelligent kapala and a few men. Some large prahus were lying on land +outside the house, bound for Long Iram, where the Kayans exchange rattan +and rubber for salt and other commodities, but the start had been delayed +because the moon, which was in its second quarter, was not favourable. +These natives are reputed to have much wang, owing to the fact that +formerly they supplied rice to the garrison, receiving one ringit for each +tinful. + +Though next day was rainy and the river high, making paddling hard work, +we arrived in good time at Long Tjehan and found ourselves again among the +Penihings. During the month I still remained here I made valuable +ethnological collections and also acquired needed information concerning +the meaning and use of the different objects, which is equally important. +The chief difficulty was to find an interpreter, but an intelligent and +efficient Penihing offered his services. He "had been to Soerabaia," which +means that he had been at hard labour, convicted of head-hunting, and +during his term had acquired a sufficient knowledge of Malay to be able to +serve me. My Penihing collections I believe are complete. Of curious +interest are the many games for children, among them several varieties of +what might be termed toy guns and different kinds of puzzles, some of wood +while others are plaited from leaves or made of thread. + +The kampong lies at the junction of the Mahakam and a small river called +Tjehan, which, like several other affluents from the south, originates in +the dividing range. The Tjehan contains two or three kihams but is easy to +ascend, and at its head-waters the range presents no difficulties in +crossing. This is not the case at the sources of the Blu, where the +watershed is high and difficult to pass. Small parties of Malays +occasionally cross over to the Mahakam at these points as well as at +Pahangei. In the country surrounding the kampong are several limestone +hills, the largest of which, Lung Karang, rises in the immediate vicinity. + +Doctor Nieuwenhuis on his journey ascended some distance up the Tjehan +tributary, and in the neighbourhood of Lung Karang his native collector +found an orchid which was named _phalaenopsis gigantea_, and is known only +from the single specimen in the botanical garden at Buitenzorg, Java. On a +visit there my attention was drawn to the unusual size of its leaves and +its white flowers. I then had an interview with the Javanese who found it, +and decided that when I came to the locality I would try to secure some +specimens of this unique plant. Having now arrived in the region, I +decided to devote a few days to looking for the orchid and at the same +time investigate a great Penihing burial cave which was found by my +predecessor. + +Accompanied by two of our soldiers and with five Dayak paddlers, I +ascended the Tjehan as far as the first kiham, in the neighbourhood of +which I presumed that the burial cave would be and where, therefore, +according; to the description given to me, the orchid should be found. +There was no doubt that we were near a locality much dreaded by the +natives; even before I gave a signal to land, one of the Penihings, +recently a head-hunter, became hysterically uneasy. He was afraid of orang +mati (dead men), he said, and if we were going to sleep near them he and +his companions would be gone. The others were less perturbed, and when +assured that I did not want anybody to help me look for the dead but for a +rare plant, the agitated man, who was the leader, also became calm. + +We landed, but the soldier who usually waited upon me could not be +persuaded to accompany me. All the Javanese, Malays, and Chinamen are +afraid of the dead, he said, and declined to go. Alone I climbed the steep +mountain-side; the ascent was not much over a hundred metres, but I had to +make my way between big blocks of hard limestone, vegetation being less +dense than usual. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon when, from +the top of a crest which I had reached, I suddenly discovered at no great +distance, perhaps eighty metres in front of me, a large cave at the foot +of a limestone hill. With the naked eye it was easy to distinguish a +multitude of rough boxes piled in three tiers, and on top of all a great +variety of implements and clothing which had been deposited there for the +benefit of the dead. It made a strange impression in this apparently +abandoned country where the dead are left in solitude, feared and shunned +by their former associates. + +No Penihing will go to the cave of the dead except to help carry a corpse, +because many antohs are there who make people ill. The extreme silence was +interrupted only once, by the defiant cry of an argus pheasant. As the +weather was cloudy I decided to return here soon, by myself, in order to +photograph and make closer inspection of the burial-place. I then +descended to the prahu, and desiring to make camp at a sufficient distance +to keep my men in a tranquil state of mind, we went about two kilometres +down the river and found a convenient camping-place in the jungle. + +On two later occasions I visited the cave and its surroundings, becoming +thoroughly acquainted with the whole mountain. The Penihings have an easy +access to this primeval tomb, a little further below, by means of a path +leading from the river through a comparatively open forest. The corpse in +its box is kept two to seven days in the house at the kampong; the body of +a chief, which is honoured with a double box, remains ten days. According +to an otherwise trustworthy Penihing informant, funeral customs vary in +the different kampongs of the tribe, and generally the box is placed on a +crude platform a metre above the ground. + +As for the orchid, I, as well as the Dayaks, who were shown an +illustration of it, searched in vain for three days. There is no doubt +that I was at the place which had been described to me, but the plant must +be extremely rare and probably was discovered accidentally "near the +water," as the native collector said, perhaps when he was resting. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + + +A PROFITABLE STAY--MAGNIFICENT FRUITS OF BORNEO--OMEN BIRDS--THE PENIHINGS +IN DAILY LIFE--TOP PLAYING--RELIGIOUS IDEAS--CURING DISEASE + +On my return to camp a pleasant surprise awaited me in the arrival of +mail, the first in six months. The days that followed were laborious: +buying, arranging, and cataloguing collections. From early morning +Penihings came to my tent, desiring to sell something, and did not quit +until late at night. Some were content to stand quietly looking at the +stranger for ten or fifteen minutes, and then to go away, their places +being taken by others. But after all it was a happy time, much being +accomplished every day by adding to my collections and gaining much +interesting information. + +Over my tent grew a couple of rambutan trees, and close by were two trees +bearing a still more delicate fruit called lansat (_lansium domesticum_). +It is mildly acid, like the best kind of orange, but with more flavour, +and In appearance resembles a small plum without a stone, and when ripe is +almost white in colour. Every morning, at my request, the chief climbed +one of these trees, on Which the fruit hung by the bushel, and sold me a +basketful for a trifle. The lansat is so easily digested that one can eat +it freely in the evening without inconvenience; in fact it is a decided +aid to digestion. According to the natives these trees are plentiful in +the utan, but in the kampong they, as well as the famous durian and the +rambutan, have been raised from seed. Borneo certainly possesses fine wild +fruits, but as the jungle is laborious to pass through it would be most +difficult to find the trees. I have hitherto directed attention to the +superior quality attained by the fruits of the island which are grown from +imported stock, as the pineapple, pomelo, etc. + +The usual nuisance of crowing cocks is not to be avoided in a Dayak +kampong, though here they were few. I saw a hen running with a small +chicken in her beak, which she had killed in order to eat it--a common +occurrence according to the Penihings. The ludicrous self-sufficiency of +the Bornean male fowls, at times very amusing, compensates to some extent +for the noise they make, but they are as reckless as the knights-errant of +old. Outside my tent at dawn one morning I noticed one of them paying +devoted attention to a hen which was hovering her chickens. He stood +several seconds with his head bent down toward hers, then walked round +her, making demonstrations of interest, and again assumed his former +position, she meanwhile clucking protectingly to her brood. Finally, he +resolutely attacked her, whereupon she emitted a discordant shriek while +seven or eight tiny yellow chicks streamed forth from underneath her; in +response to her cry of distress another cock immediately appeared upon the +scene and valiantly chased the disturber away. + +No less than nine prahus started out one day, bound for Long Iram to buy +salt and other goods, taking a small quantity of rattan. The following +day, late in the afternoon, the party returned, having passed the night a +short distance away. As they had approached Long Blu an omen bird, +evidently a small woodpecker, had flown across their path in front of the +first prahu, whereupon the whole flotilla at once retraced their course--a +tedious day's trip against the current. It makes no difference whether +this bird flies from left to right, or from right to left, or whether it +crosses in front or behind the boat. If the bird is heard from the +direction on the left of the party the augury is bad, whether he is seen +or not. If heard from the right side everything is well. After waiting +three days the party proceeded on their way. + +There are seven omen birds, according to the Penihings, and they are +regarded as messengers sent by a good antoh to warn of danger. For the +same purpose he make a serpent pass in front of the prahu, or a rusa cry +in the middle of the day. At night this cry is immaterial. The most +inauspicious of all omens is the appearance of a centipede. If a man in a +ladang is confronted with such an animal he at once stops work there and +takes up a new field. + +The tribal name of the Penihings is A-o-haeng. Until recently each kampong +had from two to five súpi, chiefs or rajas, one being superior to the +others. The office was hereditary. There are still several rajas in one +kampong, for instance, three in Long Tjehan. The Penihings have a +practical turn of mind and though they usually tell the truth at times +they may steal. They are the best workers among the tribes on the Mahakam +River (above the great rapids) and on a journey they travel in their +prahus day and night, resting only a couple of hours in the early morning. +However, the custom of travelling at night may be due to fear of meeting +omen birds. + +The hair of the Penihings and the Oma-Sulings, though it looks black, in +reality is brown with a slight reddish tint plainly visible when sunlight +falls through it. I believe the same is the case with other Dayak tribes. +In Long Tjehan I observed two natives who, though passing as Penihings, +were of decidedly different type, being much darker in colour and of +powerful build, one having curly hair while that of the other was straight. +Penihing women have unpleasantly shrill voices, a characteristic less +pronounced with the men. Members of this tribe are not so fine-looking as +those of other tribes on the Mahakam, with the exception of the Saputans. + +When leaving the kampong on his daily trips to the ladang, or when he +travels, the Penihing carries his shield. Even when pig-hunting, if +intending to stay out overnight, he takes this armour, leaving it however +at his camping-place. A spear is also carried, especially on trips to the +ladang. The sumpitan, called sawput, is no longer made and the tribe is +not very apt at its use; therefore, being unable to kill the great +hornbill themselves, these natives have to buy its highly valued tail +feathers from the Punans. The latter and the Bukats, who are the greater +experts in the use of the sumpitan, notwithstanding their limited +facilities, are also the better makers, which is by no means a small +accomplishment. These nomads, and to some extent the Saputans as well, +furnish this weapon to all the Bahau tribes, the Kayans excepted. + +When meeting, no salutations are made. The mother uses for her babe the +same cradle in which she herself was carried on her mother's back. It is +of the usual Dayak pattern, and when it becomes worn or broken a new one +is provided, but the old one remains hanging in the house. A cradle is +never parted with, because of the belief that the child's life would +thereby be imperilled. Should the little one die, the cradle is thrown +into the river. An unmarried man must not eat rusa nor fowls, and a +married man is prohibited from doing so until his wife has had three +children. Men should not touch with their hands the loom, nor the ribbon +which is passed round the back of the woman when she weaves, nor should a +woman's skirt be touched by a man. These precautions are taken to avoid +bad luck in fishing and hunting, because the eyesight is believed to be +adversely affected by such contact. Their sacred number is four. + +An unusual game played with large tops is much practised for the purpose +of taking omens in the season when the jungle is cleared in order to make +new ladangs. The top (bae-ang) is very heavy and is thrown by a thin rope. +One man sets his spinning by drawing the rope backward in the usual way; +to do this is called niong. Another wishing to try his luck, by the aid of +the heavy cord hurls his top at the one that is spinning, as we would +throw a stone. To do this is called maw-pak, and hence the game gets its +name, maw-pak bae-ang. If the second player hits the spinning top it is a +good omen for cutting down the trees. If he fails, another tries his luck, +and so on. The long-continued spinning of a top is also a favourable sign +for the man who spins it. With the Katingans a hit means that it is +advisable to cut the trees at once, while a miss necessitates a delay of +three days. Every day, weather permitting, as soon as the men return from +the ladangs in the evening, about an hour before sunset, this game is +played on the space before the houses of the kampong. Sometimes only two +men consult fate, spinning alternately. The same kind of top is found +among the Kayans, Kenyahs, and other Dayak tribes. + +According to the information I obtained from the Dayaks they believe that +the soul has eternal existence, and although many tribes have the idea +that during life several souls reside in one individual, after death only +one is recognised, which is generally called liao. One or more souls may +temporarily leave the body, thereby causing illness. + +Neither in this life nor the next are there virtuous or sinful souls, the +only distinction being in regard to social standing and earthly +possessions, and those who were well-to-do here are equally so there. With +the Katingans whatever is essential to life in this world is also found in +the next, as houses, men, women, children, dogs, pigs, fowls, +water-buffaloes, and birds. People are stronger there than here and cannot +die. The principal clothing of the liao is the tatu marks, which it will +always keep. The garments worn besides are new and of good quality. When my +informant, a native official of Kasungan, who sports semi-civilised dress, +expressed his disapproval of the poor wearing quality of his trousers to +an old Katingan, the latter exclaimed: "That matters not. Above, all new +ones!" In the belief of the Duhoi (Ot-Danums) the liao remains with the +body until the funeral-house falls into decay, perhaps for twenty years, +when it enters the soil and "is then poor." The idea of the Penihings +about life after death is vague, and they do not pretend to know where the +soul goes. + +The Penihings acknowledge five souls, or batu, in each individual: one +above each eye, one at either side of the chest below the arm, and one at +the solar plexus. The souls above the eyes are able to leave their +abiding-place, but the others can go only short distances. If the +first-named depart the person becomes ill next day, the immediate cause +being that a malevolent antoh, desiring to eat the victim, has entered the +head through the top. On perceiving this the two souls located above the +eyes escape and the blian is called upon to bring them back, for unless +they return the afflicted one will die. + +A fowl or a pig, or both, may then be killed and the blood collected. Some +of it is smeared on the patient's forehead, head, and chest, the remainder +being offered to antoh, both in plain form and mixed with uncooked rice, +as has been described in Chapter XIX. When a fowl is sacrificed the empty +skin, suspended from a bamboo stalk, is likewise reserved for antoh, the +meat having been consumed, as usual, by those concerned. + +As another effective means of inducing the return of the soul the blian +sings for several hours during one night or more. In the Penihing tribe he +accompanies himself by beating an especially made stringed shield. It is +believed that the singer is able to see how the antoh caused the sickness: +whether he did it by throwing a spear, by striking with a stick, or by +using a sumpitan. In his efforts to restore the patient the blian is told +what to sing by a good antoh that enters his head. Without such help no +person can sing properly, and the object of the song is to prevail upon a +beneficent spirit to eject or kill the evil one so that the souls may +return. + +The blian usually resorts also to feats of juggling, proceeding in the +following way: Clasping his open hands forcibly together over the painful +part, at the same time turning himself round and stamping on the floor, he +wrings his hands for a few seconds and then, in sight of all, produces an +object which in the Penihing conception represents a bad antoh--in fact, +by them is called antoh. In this manner he may produce several bits of +substance which are thrown away to disappear. According to belief, when +the blian performs his trick it is in reality a good antoh that does it +for him. + +While we were in camp at Long Tjehan there was considerable singing at +night for the cure of sick people, and four voices could be heard in +different parts of the house at the same time. One night I was prevented +from sleeping by a remedial performance just above my tent, which was only +a few metres from the house. The clear, strong voice of the blian had +resounded for an hour or more, when five loud thumps upon the floor were +heard, as if something heavy had fallen. The fact was that the man had +stamped hard with his right foot as by sleight-of-hand he caught various +objects from the patient, producing in quick succession a piece of wood, a +small stone, a fragment of bone, a bit of iron, and a scrap of tin. Five +antohs, according to the Penihing interpretation, had been eradicated and +had fled. Afterward he extracted some smaller ones in a similar manner but +without stamping his foot. The singing was then continued by another man +and a woman, in order to call the friendly antoh, that the exercises might +be happily concluded. + +The blian also tries to placate the malevolent antoh by the gift of food. +A Penihing informant said that the evil one also eats the sacrificial +blood, including that which is smeared on the patient, and ultimately may +leave satisfied. As soon as the souls see that the antoh has gone they +return and the victim recovers. The blian's remuneration is usually one +parang and a handful of rice. If the person is very ill, a gong and a +handful of rice is the fee, but should the patient die the gong is +returned. The Duhoi (Ot-Danum) women occasionally put on men's costume, +and vice versa, to frighten the antoh that causes illness and keep it at a +distance. With the Katingans a good antoh is believed to reside in the +saliva applied by the blian for healing purposes to that part of a body +which is in pain. The saliva drives out the malevolent antoh, or, in other +words, cures the pain. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + + +HEAD-HUNTING, ITS PRACTICE AND PURPOSE + +The Penihings still live in dread of the head-hunting raids of the Ibans +of Sarawak, and the probability of such attacks no doubt caused the recent +establishment of a garrison at Long Kai. The Long-Glats on the Merasi, a +northern tributary to the Mahakam, are also constantly on guard against +the Ibans. Until lately these inveterate head-hunters would cross the +mountains, make prahus, then travel down the Upper Mahakam, and commit +serious depredations among the kampongs, killing whomsoever they could, +the others fleeing to the mountains. As one Penihing chief expressed it to +me: "The river was full of their prahus from the Kasao River to Long Blu." +Their last visit was in 1912, when the Bukats reported that a number of +Ibans had arrived at the headwaters of the river, but the raid did not +materialise, and they retired without making prahus. These raids have +naturally brought about much intermingling of the tribes on the Mahakam +River, and sometimes three or more may be found living in one kampong. + +About twenty years ago there was much fighting in these remote parts of +Borneo among Penihings, Saputans, Penjabongs, and Bukats, each tribe +making head-hunting raids into the dominions of another, and all being +constantly exposed to the fury of the Ibans from the north. Head-hunting +raids may include assaults on kampongs, but very often they are cowardly +attacks on small groups of unsuspecting people, men, women, and children. +The heads thus secured appear to be as highly valued as those acquired +under more heroic conditions. The fact is also noteworthy that the heads +of Malays are appreciated, but, with few exceptions, not those of white +people. Several times I heard of Malay rattan or rubber gatherers who had +been disposed of in that way. The head is severed by one stroke. + +As a typical case of head-hunting I give the following description of a +raid which, twelve years previous to my visit, was made by ten Bukats upon +a small party of Saputans who were on a babi hunt. Among the Penyahbongs, +Saputans, Punans, and Penihings a woman may accompany her husband or +another man on the chase, carry a spear, and assist in killing pig or +deer. Bear she does not tackle, but, as my informant said, "even all men +do not like to do that." She also carries her own parang, with which she +may kill small pigs and cut down obstacles in her path. The hunting-party, +one man and three women, had been successful. The babi had been killed +with spears and, in accordance with custom, the head had been cut off with +a parang. The carcass had been cut up and the three women carried the meat +in the coarse-meshed rattan bags on their backs, while the man bore the +head on his shoulder, all homeward bound, when the Bukats attacked them. +Only one woman escaped. + +The slayers hurried off with the three heads, being afraid of the people +of the kampong which was not far away. As usual the heads were tied by the +hair to the handle of the shield, and were thus carried to the place where +the rattan bags had been left, inside of which they were then placed. + +After taking heads the men are on the run for two or three days, +travelling at night with torches, and in the evening they make a big fire +to dry the heads. The brains, because of the weight, may have been taken +out the first evening; this is done through the foramen, and a hole is +made with a spear point in the top of the skull. The hair has first been +cut off and taken care of, to be tied as ornaments to shields or plaited +round the handle of the sword. The Katingans, however, throw away the hair +with the flesh. Apprehensive of pursuit, they may dry the head but a +little while each night, grass being tied round it when carried. Sometimes +damar is used to dry the flesh and the eyes. + +The last night out the head-hunters always sleep near their kampong, and +early next morning, while it is still dark, they come singing. The people +of the kampong waken, array themselves in their best finery, and go to +meet them, the women wearing their newest skirts and bringing pieces of +nice cloth to present to the conquerors. The man who cut the head carries +it suspended from his neck until it is taken from him by a woman who gives +him the cloth to wear instead, possibly as a badge of heroism. It makes no +difference whether this service is performed by his wife, an unmarried +woman, or another man's wife. The singing ceases and all proceed to the +kampong, to the house of the kapala, where the heads are hung from the +beam at the head of the ladder, and the cloths which were bestowed upon +the victors are returned to the women. The heads are left hanging, while +for the festivities connected with their arrival a hut, called mangosang, +is constructed, consisting of an airy shelter made of two rows of bamboo +stalks supported against each other, and profusely adorned with the +inevitable wood shavings. + +The head-hunters, who must take their food apart from their associates and +in the presence of the heads, now bring water from the river to boil rice, +in bamboo, outside on the gallery. When the cooking is finished the heads +are brought to take part in the meal, being hung near the place where the +men are to eat and about half a metre above the floor, to be out of reach +of dogs. A pinch of rice is put into the hole at the top of the skull and +the head is addressed in the following words: "Eat this rice first. Don't +be angry. Take care of me. Make this body of mine well." During the period +of restrictions imposed on the hunters the heads remain at the same place, +sharing the meals as described. + +For twelve days the hunters do no work and refrain from eating meat, +vegetables, fish, salt, and red pepper, rice being the only permissible +food. They are obliged to take their food on the gallery, and those who +have never been on such expeditions before must also sleep there during +that time. A man who has taken part three or more times may join his wife, +but he must take his meals on the gallery. When twelve days have passed no +more food is given to the heads, which are hung on the beam again, three +to five being placed together in a rattan basket, with leaves around them. +At the triennial festival, tasa, blood of pig or fowl mixed with uncooked +rice, is offered to the heads. + +Usually the head-hunting raids were, and are still to a limited extent, +carried far away into distant regions and may occupy several months. The +Saputans, who were devotees to the custom, would go as far as the river +Melawi in the southwest to Sarawak in the north, as well as to the Murung +or Upper Barito River in the east. Sometimes only two to five men would +go, but usually there were about ten--an equal number remaining behind in +the kampong. Controleur W.J. Michielsen, quoted before, relates an +instance of a Dayak from Serayan, whose daughter had been killed by a +Katingan head-hunter, who pursued the marauders to their homes, and, on +the occasion of the festivities incident to the return of the members of +the raid, he cut the head from the murderer of his child while the +celebration was in progress. His action was so sudden that they were +totally unprepared, and no attempt was made to prevent his escape with the +head. + +In times gone by when a Saputan man, woman, or child died it was the +custom for a member of the family to go forth to look for a head. In the +case of an ordinary person one was deemed sufficient, but for a chief five +to ten were necessary. When taking a head a cut was made in the slain +man's chest with a parang; into the wound the raiders then put their +forefingers and sucked the blood from them. + +Each head-hunter carried rice in a rattan basket, but he depended for food +mainly on sago-palms and wild animals that were killed. After such an +expedition has been determined upon, the preparations may occupy a year or +even longer, but usually about three months. When all is ready for a +start, a delay of from one to four days may be caused by unfavourable +interference of an omen bird. Should a bird chance to repeat the omen when +another start is made, the party must return to the kampong and wait a +long time. The Dayaks are very much guided in their actions by omens taken +not only from birds but also from incidents, and merely to hear a certain +bird is sufficient reason to change all plans. + +When leaving their kampong to take part in an expedition to New Guinea the +Penihings heard the cry of a bird called tarratjan, and requested the +lieutenant in charge to wait four days. He replied, naturally, that the +Company (government) does not employ birds in making decisions, and while +the Dayaks offered no further objection they declared to him that one of +them would surely die. According to my informant it so happened that +before arriving at the island one man died. If at such a time a large tree +should be seen falling, he said, then they would like to give up the trip +to New Guinea entirely, but being afraid of the Company they go, +notwithstanding the warning. + +If a head-hunting party sees a large tree fall, the expedition is +abandoned, and no young men who took part can ever join another venture of +the same kind. Old and experienced men, after the lapse of a year, may +resume operations. In case of meeting a centipede a head-hunting +expedition must return immediately to the kampong, and for four years no +such enterprise may be undertaken. + +The purposes of head-hunting are manifold. The slain man is believed to +change into a servant and assistant in the next life. When a chief dies it +becomes an essential duty to provide him with heads, which are deposited +on his grave as sacrifices, and the souls of which serve him in the next +life. Heads taken for the benefit of kampong people are hung in the house +of the kapala to counteract misfortune and to confer all manner of +benefits. An important point is that the presence of the heads from other +tribes, or rather of the souls residing in them, compels evil antohs to +depart. A kampong thus becomes purified, free from disease. The killing of +a fowl is not sufficient to accomplish this; that of a pig helps a little, +a water-buffalo more, but to kill a man and bring the head makes the +kampong completely clean. + +With the Katingans a head hanging in the house is considered a far better +guardian than the wooden figures called kapatongs, which play an important +part in the life of that tribe. Any fear of resentment on the part of the +liao (departed soul) residing in the head is precluded by their belief +that the Katingan antoh gave him the order to watch. + +"If no heads are brought in there will be much illness, poor harvest, +little fruit, fish will not come up the river as far as our kampong, and +the dogs will not care to pursue pigs," I was told by a Penihing who had +taken part in a head-hunt and served his sentence in Soerabaia. "But are +not people angry at losing their heads?" I asked him. "No," he answered, +"we give the heads food on their arrival and every month afterward, and +make fire every evening to keep them warm. If they feel cold, then they +get angry." The man who has taken a head is considered a hero by the +women, and if unmarried is certain to secure a desirable wife, but it is +erroneous to assert that the taking of a head was or is a necessary +condition to marriage. + +The government of the Dutch Indies, with energy and success, is +eradicating the evil head-hunting custom. Military expeditions involving +great expense from time to time are sent into remote regions to capture a +handful of culprits. By exercising tact it is not difficult finally to +locate the malefactors, and indeed the tribe may deliver them. It must be +remembered that the Dayaks themselves have no idea that there is anything +wrong in taking heads, and the government very wisely does not impose the +death penalty, but the transgressor is taken to Soerabaia, on Java, to +undergo some years of hard labour--from four to six, I understand. To "go +to Soerabaia" is extremely distasteful to the natives, and has proved a +most effective deterrent. On account of their forced stay at this remote +island city such Dayaks learn to speak Malay and several times I have +employed them. They are usually among the best men of the kampong, +resourceful, reliable, and intelligent, and may serve also as +interpreters. + +In his report on a journey to the Katingans in 1909 Captain J.J.M. Hageman +says: + +"By nature the Dayak is a good-tempered man. The head-hunting should not +be charged against him as a dastardly deed; for him it is an adat. In the +second place, he possesses very good traits of character, as evidenced by +his hospitality and generosity. Our soldiers, some sixty in number, +obtained a meal immediately in every kampong. When a Dayak goes on a +journey in a friendly region he may be sure of receiving shelter and food +in every house. + +"They are distrustful of foreigners, but if he has gained their confidence +they give assistance freely in every respect. Loving their liberty in a +high degree they prefer not to be ordered. The cowardly manner in which +they cut heads is no criterion of their courage." + +It would not be in accordance with facts to suppose that head-hunting has +altogether been eliminated in Borneo. It is too closely identified with +the religious life of the natives, but in time a substitute probably will +be found, just as the sacrifice of the water-buffalo supplanted that of +slaves. The most recent case that came to my notice on the Mahakam was a +Penihing raid from Long Tjehan to the Upper Barito five years previously, +in which four Murung heads were taken. + +It is extraordinary that such a revolting habit is practised in a race the +ethics of which otherwise might serve as a model for many so-called +civilised communities, these natives being free to an unusual degree from +the fault of appropriating what belongs to others and from untruthfulness. +The fact that the Dayaks are amiable in disposition and inclined to +timidity renders this phase of their character still more inexplicable. +The inevitable conclusion is that they are driven to this outrage by +religious influences and lose their self-control. As of related interest I +here note what Doctor J.M. Elshout, who had recently returned from Apo +Kayan, communicated to me. He had spent three years at the garrison of +Long Nawang among the fine Kenyahs and spoke the language. "As soon as one +enters upon the subject of taking heads one no longer knows the Kenyah. Of +his mild and pacific disposition little or nothing remains. Unbounded +ferocity and wantonness, treachery and faithlessness, play a very great +part; of courage, as we understand the meaning of the word, there is +seldom a trace. It is a victory over the brua (soul) of the man who lost +his head, and the slayer's own brua becomes stronger thereby. If +opportunity is given they will take heads even if they are on a commercial +trip. Outsiders, even if they have been staying a long time in the +kampong, run a risk of losing their heads." + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + + +DEPARTURE FROM THE PENIHINGS--FRUIT-EATING FISH--ANOTHER CALL AT LONG +PAHANGEI--A TRIP UP THE MERASI RIVER--GENIAL NATIVES--AN INOPPORTUNE +VISIT--THE DURIAN, QUEEN OF ALL FRUITS + +It became expedient to prepare for our farther journey down the river, but +first I wanted to take some photographs and measurements of the kampong +people; this, however, proved an impossible task because of the adverse +influence of the reticent and conservative Raja Paron, who spoke not one +word of Malay. Recently he had been shocked by the sale to me of two live +specimens of the curious spectacled lemur (_tarsius borneanus_), which had +been added to my collections. The raja was incensed with the man who sold +them, because the makiki, as these animals are called, are regarded as +antohs, and in their anger at being sold were making people ill. Therefore +these new proceedings for which his sanction was asked were regarded by +him with disapproval, and as a result of his opposition the people began +to disappear in the direction of their ladangs. Fortunately, I had secured +good material in both respects from Long Kai, and I began preparations for +departure. + +Prahus and a sufficient number of men were secured, and in the middle of +July we started. On the Mahakam there never was any difficulty about +getting men who were eager to gain their one rupia a day. The difficulty +was rather the other way, and this morning the prahus were found to +contain more paddlers than had been agreed upon, and seven surplus men had +to be put ashore. On the river-banks at this time were noticeable trees +bearing small fruit of a yellowish-red colour, and which were so numerous +as to impart their hue to the whole tree. Violent movements in the +branches as we passed drew our attention to monkeys, which had been +gorging themselves with fruit and scampered away on our approach. Birds, +naturally, like the fruit, and, strange to say, it is a great favourite +with fish, many kinds of which, chiefly large ones such as the djelavat +and salap, gather underneath the trees in the season. On the Mahakam and +the Katingan this is an occasion for the Dayaks to catch much fish with +casting-net, spears, or hooks. The tree, which in Malay is called crevaia, +is not cut, and there is no other known to the natives the fruit of which +the fish like to eat. Though not sweet, it is also appreciated by the +Dayaks. + +Another singular observation made on the Mahakam was the effect of dry +weather on the jungle. At one place, where it covered hills rising from +the river, the jungle, including many big trees, looked dead. From what I +later learned about the burning of the peat in Sarawak, where unusually +dry weather may start fires which burn for months, this was undoubtedly +also the case here, but it seems strange that in a country so humid as +Borneo the weather, although admittedly of little stability, may become +dry enough to destroy the woods in this manner. + +I had decided to pay another short visit to Long Pahangei, where we +arrived in the afternoon, and again we were among Oma-Sulings. Some good +specimens were added to my ethnographic collections, among them wearing +apparel for both sexes said to be over a hundred years old and which I +bought from the Raja Besar, who was visiting here. He possessed a number +of old implements and weapons of considerable interest. The raja of a +near-by kampong arrived on his way to Long Iram, and the largest of his +seven prahus was of unusual dimensions, measuring, at its greatest width, +1.34 metres over all. Although the board, four centimetres thick, stands +out a little more than the extreme width of the dugout, which is the main +part of a prahu, still the tree which furnished the material must have +been of very respectable size. + +The Raja Besar showed great desire to accompany me on an excursion up the +Merasi River, a northern affluent within the domain of the same tribe. My +preference was for Lidju, my constant assistant, but on the morning of our +start the great man actually forced himself into service, while the +former, who had been told to come, was not to be seen. The raja began +giving orders about the prahus and behaved as if he were at home. As I +remained passive he finally said that he wanted to know whether he could +go; if I preferred Lidju he would remain behind. Not wanting a scene, and +as he was so intent on going, I gave the desired permission. Though, like +the others, he was nude except for a loin-cloth, Raja Besar was a +gentleman at heart, but he did not know how to work, especially in a +prahu. On account of his exalted position he had never been accustomed to +manual labour, but always to command. He naturally selected a place in my +prahu and seated himself at one side, which kept the boat tilted; however, +it was out of the question for any of the men to correct him. When the +prahu moved away the first thing he did was to wash his feet, next his +hands and arms, finally to rinse his mouth, and several times during the +trip the performance was repeated. He was of little assistance except +through the authority that he exerted as a great raja. + +Early in the afternoon we arrived at Lulo Pakko (lulo = river; pakko = +edible fern), situated in a beautiful hilly country. The natives very +obligingly helped to make camp in the usual way. Raja Besar, who made +himself at home in the gallery of the long communal house, told me that he +wanted his "children," as he called the men, to remain until the following +day, his plan being to obtain double wages for them. With the swift +current, however, they could easily return the same day, so I said I had +no objection to their staying, but that they would receive no extra pay +for the additional time; whereupon they left without argument. + +Comfortably established on the cool, spacious gallery of the large house, +I received articles they were willing to sell, had decorative designs +interpreted for me, and interviewed the more intelligent of these pleasant +Oma-Sulings. On the floor lay an admirably finished plank, which was used +as a seat; it was about four centimetres thick and nearly two metres +broad, the bark remaining on the edges. In Long Pahangei I noticed a +similar one of slightly narrower width. + +The women, who were genial in their manners, came to my tent constantly to +ask for tobacco, which evidently was a great luxury with them, and +sometimes they were even troublesome. One afternoon when all was ready for +my bath, which I always take at one side of the tent opening, three young +women came and seated themselves just outside. While the natives are +always welcome and I like them, yet I was not prepared, after a hard day's +work, to relinquish my bath in order to receive a visit from even +attractive ones of the fair sex. There was simply nothing to do but to +disregard their presence. Calmly I began to take off my clothes, as if the +ladies were not there. At first my preparations seemed to make no +impression whatever, but finally, when I was about to divest myself of the +last of my few garments, they smiled and went away. + +This was the season for the durian fruit and we much enjoyed this +delicacy, of which Mr. A.R. Wallace, fifty years ago, wrote: "To eat +durians is a new sensation, worth a voyage to the East to experience." +There were some superb trees seventy metres high growing not far from my +tent, and many others farther away. The people of the Mahakam do not climb +these tall trees to get the fruit, but gather them from the ground after +it has fallen. One night I heard one fall with a considerable crash. +Roughly speaking, it is of the size of a cocoanut; a large one might kill +a man and has been known to cause serious injury. It is most dangerous for +children to walk under the trees in the fruit season. + +The durian is intensely appreciated by the natives, and tatu marks +representing the fruit are strikingly prominent in Central Borneo. It also +has its European devotees, though most of them take a dislike to it on +account of its strong odour, resembling that of decayed onions. On my +arrival in Batavia one of my first trips had been to the market to buy a +durian, which I brought to the hotel with anticipation of great enjoyment. +My disappointment was great, its taste being to me as offensive as its +odour. Nobody knows what a durian is like until he eats one that has been +permitted to ripen and fall to the ground. Even in Java this would be +difficult, unless one made special arrangements with the natives who bring +them to the market-places. It is popularly supposed that the durian is an +aphrodisiac, but that is not the case. Any food or fruit that one greatly +enjoys acts favourably on the digestive organs, and therefore makes one +feel in vigorous condition. + +Those that were brought to me on this occasion, and which had just fallen +from the tree, were of a fresh green colour with a streak of yellow here +and there and had a pleasant, rich odour. The most satisfactory way to eat +it is with a spoon; the pulp, though rich, is not heavy, and, moreover, is +stimulating. It serves the purpose of a dessert, with a flavour and +delicacy that is indescribable and that makes one feel happy. Among the +great enjoyments of life are the various delicious fruits when really ripe +and of the best grade, but comparatively few people have that experience. +The vast majority are perfectly satisfied to eat fruit that was picked +green and matured afterward. Many years ago I tasted a real orange from +New-South-Wales, and ever since I have disdained the more acid kind. + +My firmness in refusing to pay the men for more time than was necessary +produced a salutary effect upon Raja Besar. He fixed fair prices on things +I wanted to buy, which before he had not done, and I made him tie labels +on the specimens I bought. As he was truthful, he finally served as well +as Lidju. On the last day of our stay he helped me to repress the +eagerness of the Dayaks to "turn an honest penny." The prahus, besides +being defective, were not large enough for many men, and I was determined +not to have more than three in each, a quite sufficient number when going +downstream. I have a suspicion that he objected to four for reasons of +personal safety. + +Owing to the rapid current, we made the return voyage in two hours, and +when we got to the Mahakam River we found it very much swollen, with logs +floating downstream beside us. Our low-lying prahus were leaking and the +situation was not agreeable, though I should have felt more anxious had I +not been with Dayaks, who are extremely able boatmen. At Long Pahangei the +captain from Long Iram, who is also the controleur of that district, had +arrived and was waiting on account of the overflow of the river. I had an +hour's talk with this pleasant man, who thinks that the Dayaks on the +Upper Mahakam ultimately must die out because they do not have enough +children to perpetuate the tribe. He said that in 1909, when he was +stationed at Puruk Tjahu, nothing was known about the country where we +then were. + +The Oma-Sulings, according to their traditions, came from Apo Kayan nearly +two hundred years ago. Oma means place of abode; Suling is the name of a +small river in Apo Kayan. They had at the time of my visit six kampongs on +the Upper Mahakam, the largest of which is Long Pahangei, with about 500 +inhabitants. Material for clothing is no longer woven, but is bought in +Long Iram. This is probably also the case with the Long-Glats, but the +Penihings still do some weaving. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + + +AMONG THE LONG-GLATS--IS FEAR OF EXPOSURE TO THE SUN JUSTIFIED?-- +CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LONG-GLATS--GOOD-BYE TO THE MAHAKAM + +In the latter part of July we went to the near-by kampong, Long Tujo ("a +small animal with many legs"), situated at the mouth of another small +tributary to the Mahakam. Here live Long-Glats who are located below the +other Bahau peoples of the river and are found as far as Batokelau, between +the upper and lower rapids. Though Long Iram is rather distant--five days' +travel down-stream, and, if the river is high, perhaps two months may be +consumed in returning--still its influence was evidenced by the several +umbrellas I saw, all black, an adaptation from the high-class Malays and an +unusual sight in these parts. The kapala of this large kampong resembled a +Malay raja, in that he always carried an umbrella when he walked and looked +pale because the sun was not allowed to shine upon him. Two days later, +when I photographed the ladies performing dances, they had at least five of +these fashionable contrivances. + +It may be stated that natives of the Dutch Indies are generally afraid of +the sun. Well-to-do Malays carry umbrellas as a protection against it. In +Batavia I read in the newspapers that the Sultan of Priok, when visiting +an aviation camp, was so overcome by the heat that he had to be carried +away, regaining consciousness on arriving at his quarters. However, the +attack may have been induced to some extent by general lack of exercise +and the indolent life that characterises his compatriots who occupy high +positions. + +Even some of the pagan tribes protect their heads, as the Katingans, the +Duhoi, and others, who make beautiful sunshades, which also serve in case +of rain, and this was not learned from the Malays. In the Bornean tribes +that I visited, until the child is old enough to walk, the sun is not +allowed to shine upon it even for a moment. The blacks of Australia, on +the other hand, who are in a state of absolute nudeness, pay no attention +to the sun, though in common with most natives of hot countries they +usually prefer to follow the example of the animals and remain quiet in +the middle of the day. + +An umbrella of the usual type, Chinese or Japanese, is very useful for +travel in Borneo. At times it proves of excellent service in the prahu in +case of sudden showers, and it is invaluable for protecting the camera +when photographing. But as a matter of comfort and convenience it is my +custom to have my head uncovered except in rainy or cold weather. The sun +is a great friend and health-giver, and notwithstanding well-meant +warnings and an inborn fear first to be overcome, during my journeys in +Borneo I carried my hat in my pocket. When travelling in a prahu, I do not +care for a prolonged exposure to the sun, but often I photographed for +three or four hours continuously--really hard work--in the blazing light +of the equatorial sun, without experiencing any disagreeable effect. In +the spring of 1910 I travelled in this way for three months, mostly on +horseback, through the Sonora Desert, and felt stronger for it. It is my +opinion that overfatigue, excess in eating, or alcohol are the causes of +sunstroke. I have met only one man who, like myself, discards cover for +the head--Doctor N. Annandale, of the Indian Museum in Calcutta. Although +in our present state of knowledge I agree with him that it is unwise to +advise others to do likewise in the tropics, I emphatically recommend less +fear of the sun in temperate regions, always on the supposition that one +leads a healthy and sane life. + +The Long-Glats came from Apo Kayan, and established themselves first on +the River Glit, a tributary from the south to the River Ugga, which again +is an affluent to the River Boh, the outlet from Apo Kayan to the Mahakam. +Since that time the people have called themselves Long-Glit, which is +their correct name, but as they have already become known as Long-Glat, +through the Dutch, I shall use that designation. + +In the kapala's house I saw a superb plank, four metres long, raised +lengthwise against the wall; one side of it was taken up with fine +carvings on a large scale, representing three pairs of dogs. This I +fortunately obtained. The kapala's father was an Oma-Suling, but his +grandmother, a Long-Glat, had taught him some kremi or kesa, the Malay +words for folklore (in Long-Glat, lawong), and I collected from him two +rather interesting tales, which are included with other folklore stories +at the end of this book. In one of them (No. 18) the airplane is +foreshadowed, and by one that could fly for a month, at that. Needless to +state, an airplane had never been heard of in those parts. + +The people were inquisitive but more distant than the other tribes I had +visited, a quality which is often a saving grace. They were very willing +to be photographed, and among my subjects were three women of the +nobility, called rajas, who had many coins sewn on their skirts in a way +that looked quite well. One wore a head ornament such as I had not seen +before, an elaborate affair lying over the hair, which was worn loose and +hanging down the back. One man trembled noticeably when before the camera, +without spoiling the photograph, however, though it was a side-view. + +Of the women who helped me with the interpretations of designs, one had a +marked Mongolian fold of the eye, though her eyes could scarcely be said +to be placed obliquely. As far as my observations go, the Mongolian fold +is very slight with the natives of Borneo, or not present at all, and the +obliquity of the eyes is seldom striking. The Long-Glats do not tatu much, +many not at all, but generally they have on the left upper arm a picture +of the nagah in its usual representation with the disproportionately large +dog's mouth. Wild cattle are not eaten here. The great hornbill, as well +as the red and white hawk, may be killed, but are not eaten. + +Three times a day the women bring water and take baths, while the men +bathe when fancy dictates. Penihing and Kayan women begin to husk rice +about five o'clock in the morning, while it is still dark. That is pemáli +(forbidden) among the Long-Glats, but the women cook rice at that hour, +and, after eating, most of the people depart to the ladangs, returning +about four o'clock in the afternoon. The women who remain in the kampong +place paddi on mats in the sun to dry, and at noon they husk rice. Early +in the afternoon, and again about two hours after sunset, meals are +served, consisting always of boiled rice and a simple stew of boiled +vegetables of one or more kinds (called sayur, a Malay word), and +sometimes pork. + +In the evening the women may cut rattan into fine strips, or weave these +into mats, while the men employ themselves in making a sheath for a +parang, or an axe-handle, or carving a hilt for a sword, etc. They talk +till late at night and sometimes sing. None of the Bahau people are able +to make rattan mats of such exquisite finish as the Long-Glats. The +beautiful dull-red colour employed is procured from a certain grass which +is crushed and boiled, the rattan being kept in the infusion one day. The +black colour is obtained by the same method from the leaves of a tree, and +both colours are lasting. + +In the belief of the Long-Glats, people should not laugh at animals, lest +some misfortune result. For instance, when dogs fight among themselves or +with cats, one should not indulge in mirth, else the thunder, which is an +antoh, becomes angry and makes somebody ill. In this kampong was a young +hornbill which was quite domesticated and frequently came to rest on the +top of my tent. It often fought the hens and even the dogs, which was an +amusing sight, but would carry disquieting significance to the Dayak who +allowed himself to laugh. The lieutenant from Long Kai possessed a very +tame wah-wah which had accompanied him on a visit here. The natives told +me that a child had become ill because she could not help laughing at the +ape when it ran after the lieutenant and climbed one of his legs. +According to the blian, the little girl was very warm and feverish, but he +sang in the night, and next day she was well. + +Considerable similarity is evident in customs, manners, and beliefs of the +Long-Glats and the Oma-Sulings, though the limited time at my disposal did +not permit me fully to investigate this subject. Bear-meat is not eaten by +either, and rusa (deer) and kidyang are not killed, the latter especially +being avoided. Sumpitans are bought, and blians' shields such as the +Penihings have are not made. Both these tribes pray for many children, +which to them means larger ladangs and much food. The wish of these +peoples is to have ten children each. In view of the fact that in Long +Pahangei the number of women was disproportionately small, the desire for +large families seemed unlikely to be gratified. Many men, some of them +old, were unmarried, but no women were single. Twins sometimes occur, but +not triplets. The mother nourishes her offspring for about five years, the +two youngest suckling at the same time. A raja may marry ten women, or +more, and has a great marriage-feast of more than a week's duration. +Lidju, my Long-Glat assistant, said that his father had fifteen wives, his +grandfather thirty, but it was no longer the fashion to have so many. The +common man (orang kampong) is allowed only one wife. Divorces are easily +obtained, and neither suicide nor abortion is known. + +July is supposed to be the dry season, but rarely a day passed without +showers. One evening occurred the heaviest thunder-storm I experienced in +Borneo. It came from the west and was accompanied by a great downpour, +straining my tent to the utmost. The sergeant one day brought in a large +lizard (_varanus_) which he shot from the prahu just as it was about to +enter the river. Its length was 2.30 metres; the circumference back of the +fore legs 44 centimetres. + +It was with regret that I said good-bye to the Bahau peoples. Had it been +in my power, I should like to have spent years instead of months in this +Mahakam region. The Dayaks here are friendly to strangers, and as the +great rapids farther down the river form a natural barrier, they seldom +receive visitors, therefore are little changed by outside influence. The +Malays have never been able to extend their influence above the rapids, +and whatever modification may be noticeable in the natives is chiefly due +to their journeys to Long Iram in order to exchange the products of the +utan for commodities of the outside world. The government has exerted +itself to keep the Malays from coming, but no doubt in the end this will +prove as unavailing as it did on the Upper Barito. A few of them now and +then find their way across the range that forms a natural boundary toward +the south, and although thus far Malay settlement up here is negligible, +its ultimate ascendancy is probable, however long the time that may pass +before it is accomplished. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + + +CONTINUING THE JOURNEY DOWN THE RIVER--GREAT KIHAMS--BATOKELAU--AT +LONG IRAM--LAST STAGES OF OUR JOURNEY--ARRIVAL AT SAMARINDA--HINDU +ANTIQUITIES--NATIVE'S SUPERIORITY TO CIVILISED MAN + +Early in August, as soon as the river had receded sufficiently to be +considered favourable for travel, we started in seven prahus with +thirty-two men. After less than two hours' swift journey we encountered the +advance-guard of the kihams, which, though of little account, obliged us +to take ashore almost all our goods, and we walked about fifteen minutes. +It seemed a very familiar proceeding. Early in the afternoon we arrived at +the kubo, a desirable shelter that had been erected at the head of the +first great kiham, but its limited accommodations were taxed to +overflowing by our arrival. Already camped here were a few Buginese +traders and a raja from the Merasi River, accompanied by two good-looking +wives, who were all going to Long Iram and had been waiting two days for +the river to fall. The raja, who presented me with some bananas, moved +with his family a little farther down the river, and I put up my tent as +usual. + +Next morning the transportation of our goods on human backs was begun, and +shortly after six o'clock I started with the men to walk to the foot of +the rapids, which takes about three hours. On the way, I observed a large +accumulation of vines and branches heaped round the base of a tall trunk +which at first sight looked dead. The tree to all appearances had died, +all the branches had fallen, and with them the vines, orchids, ferns, +etc., that had lived on it, but after being rid of all this burden it came +to life again, for at the top appeared small branches with large leaves. A +singular impression was created by the big heap of vegetable matter, not +unlike a burial-mound, from the midst of which emerged the tall, straight +trunk with the fresh leaves at the top, telling the tale of a drama +enacted in the plant world through which the tree had passed triumphantly. + +My camping-place was a small clearing on the high river-bank, where I +remained two days while the goods were being transported. There had been +little rain for a few days; indeed, it is possible the dry season had +begun, and the weather was intensely hot, especially in the middle of the +day. I catalogued a number of photographic plates, but the heat in my +tent, notwithstanding the fly, made perspiration flow so freely that it +was difficult to avoid damage. Moreover, I was greatly annoyed by the +small yellow bees, which were very numerous. They clung to my face and +hair in a maddening manner, refusing to be driven away. If caught with the +fingers, they sting painfully. + +The river fell more than one metre during the first night, and the Merasi +raja's party passed in their prahus at seven o'clock next morning. At +twelve our seven prahus showed up, bringing some large packages that could +easiest be spared in case anything happened. The following day the +remainder of the baggage arrived, carried on the backs of the men, and I +was glad to have all here safe and dry. + +In a couple of hours we arrived in the kampong Batokelau (turtle), and +below are other rapids which, though long, are less of an obstacle. A +beautiful mountain ridge, about 1,200 metres high, through which the river +takes its course, appears toward the southeast. The population includes +fifty "doors" of Busangs, forty "doors" of Malays, and twenty of +Long-Glats. Crocodiles are known to exist here, but do not pass the rapids +above. The kapala owned a herd of forty water-buffaloes, which forage for +themselves but are given salt when they come to the kampong. When driven +to Long Iram, they fetch eighty florins each. The gables of the kapala's +house were provided with the usual ornaments representing nagah, but +without the dog's mouth. He would willingly have told me tales of +folklore, but assured me he did not know any, and pronounced Malay +indistinctly, his mouth being constantly full of sirin (betel), so I found +it useless to take down a vocabulary from him. + +Continuing our journey, we successfully engineered a rapid where a +Buginese trader two weeks previously had lost his life while trying to +pass in a prahu which was upset. Afterward we had a swift and beautiful +passage in a canyon through the mountain ridge between almost +perpendicular sides, where long rows of sago-palms were the main feature, +small cascades on either side adding to the picturesqueness. At the foot +of the rapids we made camp in order to enable me to visit a small +salt-water accumulation in the jungle a couple of kilometres farther down +the river. As we landed near the place, we saw over a hundred pigeons +leaving. There were two kinds of these birds at the pool, most of them of a +very common large variety, with white head and green wings, and all were +shy; according to the opinion of the Dayaks, owing to the prevalence of +rain. + +Next morning we started shortly after six o'clock, and early in the +afternoon reached the kampong Omamahak, which is inhabited by Busangs, +with a sprinkling of Malays. Two hours later twenty-one prahus arrived +from Apo Kayan with one hundred and seventy-nine Kenyahs on their way to +Long Iram to carry provisions to the garrison. Soon afterward the captain +of Long Iram overtook us here, returning from his tour of inspection +above, so the place became very populous. The next night we stopped at +Hoang Tshirao, inhabited by a tribe of the same name, also called Busang, +apparently quite primitive people. The kampong was neat and clean; there +were many new wooden kapatongs, as well as small wooden cages on poles, +evidently serving for sacrificial offerings. The following day we arrived +at Long Iram. + +Of comparatively recent origin, the town lies on level land, and its +inhabitants outside the garrison are Malays, Chinese, and Dayaks. The +street is long, extremely well kept, and everything looks orderly and +clean, while before the captain's house were many beautiful flowers. The +pasang-grahan, which is in a very quiet locality, is attractive and has +two rooms. One was occupied by an Austrian doctor in the Dutch military +service, who was on his way to Long Nawang, while I appropriated the +other. He was enthusiastic over the superb muscles of the Kenyahs who had +just arrived and were camping in a house built for such occasions on top +of a small hill a short distance away. Cows, brown in colour, were grazing +in a large field near by, and I enjoyed the unusual luxury of fresh +milk--five small bottles a day. After I had bathed and put on clean +garments, even though my linen-mesh underclothing was full of holes, I felt +content in the peaceful atmosphere. + +The doctor of Long Iram, who had been here one year, told me that no case +of primary malaria had come to his notice. What the Malays call demum is +not the genuine malaria, but probably due to the merotu, a troublesome +little black fly. One of his predecessors had collected 1,000 mosquitoes, +out of which number only 60 were anopheles. There was framboisia here, for +which the natives use their own remedies. The temperature at the warmest +time of the day is from 90° to 95° Fahrenheit; at night, 75° to 80°. There +is much humidity, but we agreed that the climate of Borneo, especially in +the interior, is agreeable. + +It was extraordinary how everything I had brought on this expedition was +just finished. The day before I had had my last tin of provisions; the +milk was gone except ten tins, which would carry me through to Samarinda, +a four days' journey; the candles were all used; the supply of jam +exhausted; tooth-brushes no longer serviceable; my clothes in rags. +Fortunately I had more stores in Bandjermasin. The rot-proof tents which I +bought in England were to some extent a disappointment because they +deteriorated even though not in actual use, or possibly because of that +fact. On account of the delay caused by the war the bulk of my +considerable tent outfit was not unpacked until two years after purchase. +It had been carefully kept, but was found to be more or less like paper, +and only a small portion could be used. One tent served me throughout +Bornean travels, but finally the quality of the fabric became impaired to +a degree which necessitated constant patching; it was made to last only by +the exercise of great care and with the aid of a fly, three of these +having been used on this expedition. If a journey to a country +climatically like Borneo is planned to last only a year, rot-proof tents +may be recommended on account of their light weight and great convenience. + +The enterprising Kenyahs offered to sell me the model of a raja's +funeral-house which seven of them made while there. Most of the material +evidently had been brought with them. It was an interesting sample of their +handicraft. At the house of the first lieutenant I was shown several +similar models, some with unusual painted designs, which were eloquent +testimonials to the great artistic gifts of this tribe. I also bought a +small earthen jar. One of the natives who was able to speak some Malay +said that such ware is common in Apo Kayan and is used for cooking rice. +The poison for the dart of the blow-pipe is also boiled in earthenware +vessels. The jars, which are sometimes twenty-five centimetres in +diameter, are protected on journeys by being encased in rattan netting. +The Kenyahs are perhaps the most capable of all the natives of Borneo. Of +the one hundred and seventy-nine visiting members of the tribe, only one +was afflicted with the skin diseases so prevalent among many of the other +Dayaks, and, according to Doctor J. M. Elshout, syphilis is not found +among those of Apo Kayan. + +The steamship connection with Samarinda is irregular, and as a small +transport steamer was making ready to take away its usual cargo of rattan +and rubber, I decided to avail myself of the opportunity. The commercial +products are loaded in a fair-sized boat, which is made fast to the side +of the steamer, and a similar one may be attached to the other side. Such +boats, which are called tonkang, also take passengers, mostly Malay and +Chinese, but there are no cabins, and the travellers spread their mats on +the limited deck according to mutual agreement. + +A swarm of Kenyahs began at seven o'clock to convey our baggage, and the +soldiers later reported that there was not even standing-room left. I +climbed on board and found rattan piled high everywhere, covering even the +steps that led up to the "passenger-deck," where I emerged crawling on all +fours. A shelter of duck had been raised for me in one corner, the +lieutenant and Mr. Loing placed their beds in the adjoining space, while +the soldiers camped next to them. All the natives, packed closely +together, formed another row. + +The most necessary of my belongings were stored inside the shelter, and +there I passed the four days quite comfortably. On account of many noises, +including that made by the engine, reading was impossible, so I employed +the time in mending two suits of my precious linen-mesh underwear which +was rapidly going to shreds, without prospect of opportunity to replace +them in the Far East. Morning and afternoon the Malays on deck held their +Mohammedan services, apparently singing in Arabic, and during the night +the sailors sang much. There were two rough bath-rooms, but I bathed only +once, as I was afraid of losing my slippers or other articles that were +liable to drop into the river through the intervals between the narrow +boards of the floor. + +We travelled steadily day and night, but stopped at many kampongs to take +on more cargo, and an additional tonkang was attached, which relieved some +of the congestion on ours. One afternoon the monotony was relieved by a +fight in the kitchen of the little steamer, when a sudden thumping sound +of nude feet against the floor was heard and boiled rice flew about. But +it was very soon over, evidently only an outburst of dissatisfaction with +the cook; somebody called for the Malay captain and we heard no more about +it. + +There was a Bombay Mohammedan merchant on board who had small stores of +groceries and dry-goods on the Kutei River, as the Mahakam is called in +its lower course. He also spoke of the hundreds of thousands of Hindus who +live in South Africa. On the last day of our journey a remarkably tame +young snake bird was brought on board, which one of the sailors bought. +According to reports, there are many of these birds on the river. He tied +it to the stern railing until night, when he put it on top of the cargo, +apprehending that it might try to dive if tempted by the constant sight of +the water. When asleep it curled itself up in an extraordinary manner, the +long neck at first glance giving it a serpent-like appearance. It cried +for fish and showed absolutely no fear. + +On August 22, 1916, we arrived at Samarinda. The custom-house authorities +permitted me to put our numerous packages in the "bom." The lieutenant and +Mr. Loing went to a new Chinese hotel, while I, in a prahu, paddled to the +pasang-grahan, a spacious building with several rooms. Our journey through +Central Borneo had been successfully concluded, and during nine months we +had covered by river 1,650 kilometres, 750 of these in native boats. + +During my absence the great war had become more real to the Archipelago +through the occasional appearance in Bornean waters of British and +Japanese cruisers. I heard of a German who walked from Bandjermasin to +Samarinda because he was afraid of being captured if he went by steamer. +The journey took him six weeks. It was my intention, while waiting here a +few days for the steamer, to visit a locality farther down the river which +is marked on the map as having Hindu antiquities. The kapala of the +district, who had been there, was sent for, and as he said that he had +neither seen nor heard of any such relics, which probably would have to be +searched for, I relinquished the trip. Hindu remains, which locally were +known to be present in a cave north of Samarinda, had been visited in 1915 +by the former assistant resident, Mr. A.W. Spaan, whose report on the +journey was placed at my disposal. The cave is in a mountain which bears +the name Kong Beng, Mountain of Images, due probably to a local Dayak +language. It lies in an uninhabited region four days' march west of +Karangan, or nearly two days' east of the River Telen, the nearest Dayaks, +who are said to be Bahau, living on the last-named river. During the time +of Sultan Suleiman six or seven statues were taken from Kong Beng to +Batavia and presented to the museum there. + +The country traversed from the River Pantun, to follow Mr. Spaan's +account, at first is somewhat hilly, changes gradually into undulating +country, and finally into a plain in the middle of which, quite +singularly, rises this lonely limestone mountain, full of holes and caves, +about 1,000 metres long, 400 broad, and 100 high, with perpendicular +walls. The caves are finely formed and have dome-shaped roofs, but few +stalactite formations appear. Thousands of bats live there and the ground +is covered with a thick layer of guano. From the viewpoint of natural +beauty these caves are far inferior to the well-known cave of Kimanis in +the Birang (on the River Berau, below the Kayan) with its extraordinarily +beautiful stalactite formations. In one of the caves with a low roof were +found eleven Hindu images; only the previous day the regent of Kutei had +turned the soil over and recovered a couple more archaeological remains. +Ten of these relics are in has-relief and about a metre high. The +eleventh, which is lower, represents the sacred ox and is sculptured in +its entirety. One bas-relief from which the head had been broken struck +the observer as being finely executed; he recognized four Buddhas, one +Durga, and one Ganesha. + +Another cave visited was noteworthy on account of a strong wind which +continually issues from it and for which he was unable to account. The +current is formed in the opening, and twenty-five metres back of it there +is no movement of the atmosphere. The cave is low, but after ten minutes' +walk it becomes higher and has connection with the outside air. There it +is very high, and the sun's rays falling in produced a magnificent effect, +but no wind was noticeable there. Standing in front of this cave a strange +impression was created by the sight of leaves, branches, and plants in +violent movement, while outside there was absolutely no wind. + +I should much have liked to visit Kong Beng, but circumstances prevented +my doing so, though the assistant resident, Mr. G. Oostenbroek, +courteously offered his small steamer to take me up along the coast. Some +months later an American friend, Mr. A.M. Erskine, at my instigation made +the journey, and according to him it would take a month to properly +explore the locality. The man whom the Sultan of Kutei sent with him threw +rice on the statues, and the accompanying Dayaks showed fear of them. By +digging to a depth of about a metre and a half through the layer of guano, +a pavement of hewn stone was found which rested on the floor of the cave. +That the trip proved interesting is evident from the following description +submitted to me: + +"The weird experience of those two nights and one day in the huge caves of +Kong Beng can never be forgotten. The caves were so high that my lanterns +failed to reveal the roof. There were hordes of bats, some of them with +wings that spread four feet. The noise of their countless wings, upon our +intrusion, was like the roar of surf. Spiders of sinister aspect that have +never seen the light of day, and formidable in size, were observed, and +centipedes eight or nine inches long. In places we waded through damp bat +guano up to our knees, the strong fumes of ammonia from which were quite +overpowering. + +"Far back in one of the caverns were those marvellous Hindu idols, +beautifully carved in bas-relief on panels of stone, each with a +projection at the bottom for mounting on a supporting pedestal. They +represent the Hindu pantheon, and are classic in style and excellent in +execution. They are arranged in a half-circle, and high above is an +opening to the sky which allows a long, slanting shaft of light to strike +upon their faces. The perfect silence, the clear-cut shaft of light--a +beam a hundred feet long--drifting down at an angle through the intense +darkness upon this group of mysterious and half-forgotten idols, stamps a +lasting picture upon one's memory. + +"It is the most majestic and strangely beautiful sight I have ever seen. +Coming upon the noble group of gods gazing at the light, after a long dark +walk through the cave, gives one a shock of conflicting emotions quite +indescribable. One hardly dares to breathe for fear of dispelling this +marvellous waking dream. Fear and awe, admiration and a sense of supreme +happiness at having a wild fancy turn to reality, all come over one at +once. A single glance at this scene was ample reward for all the long days +and nights of effort put forth to reach it. I never again expect to make a +pilgrimage of this sort, for only one such experience can be had in a +lifetime." + +It is rather surprising that Hindu remains in Borneo should be found at +such an out-of-the-way place, but Doctor Nieuwenhuis found stone carvings +from the same period on a tributary to the Mahakam. Remains of Hindu +red-brick buildings embedded in the mud were reported to me as existing at +Margasari, southwest of Negara. Similar remains are said to be at Tapen +Bini in the Kotawaringin district. + +In 1917, at the Dayak kampong Temang, in the district of that name, Mr. C. +Moerman, government geologist, saw a brass statue fifteen centimetres +high, which appeared to him to be of Hindu origin. Before being shown to +visitors it is washed with lemon (djeruk) juice. When on exhibition it is +placed on top of rice which is contained in a brass dish more than +twenty-five centimetres in diameter. After being exhibited it is again +cleaned with lemon-juice and then immersed in water which afterward is used +as an eye remedy. One must give some silver coin for the statue to "eat." +Its name is Demong (a Javanese word for chief) Akar. Originally there were +seven such Demongs in that country, but six have disappeared. + +Hindu influence is evident among the Dayaks in the survival of such names +as Dewa and Sangiang for certain good spirits. In the belief of the +Katingans, the departed soul is guarded by a benevolent spirit, Dewa, and +it is reported from certain tribes that female blians are called by the +same name. A party of Malays caught a snake by the neck in a cleft of a +stick, carried it away and set it free on land instead of killing it, but +whether this and similar acts are reminiscent of Hindu teaching remains to +be proven. + +At the end of August we arrived in Bandjermasin, where several days were +spent in packing my collections. For many months I had been in touch with +nature and natural people, and on my return to civilisation I could not +avoid reflective comparisons. Both men and women of the Mahakam have +superb physiques; many of them are like Greek statues and they move with +wonderful, inborn grace. When with them one becomes perfectly familiar +with nudity and there is no demoralising effect. Paradoxical as it may +sound, the assertion is nevertheless true, that nothing is as chaste as +nudity. Unconscious of evil, the women dispose their skirts in such +fashion that their splendid upper bodies are entirely uncovered. Composed +of one piece of cloth, the garment, which reaches a little below the knee +and closes in the back, passes just over the hips, is, as civilised people +would say, daringly low. It is said that the most beautiful muscles of the +human body are those of the waist, and among these natives one may observe +what beauty there is in the abdomen of a well-formed young person. + +It is an undeniable fact that white men and women compare unfavourably +with native races as regards healthful appearance, dignity, and grace of +bearing. We see otherwise admirable young persons who walk with drooping +shoulders and awkward movements. Coming back to civilisation with fresh +impressions of the people of nature, not a few of the so-called superior +race appear as caricatures, in elaborate and complicated clothing, with +scant attention to poise and graceful carriage. One does not expect ladies +and gentlemen to appear in public in "the altogether," but humanity will +be better off when healthful physical development and education of the +intellect receive equal attention, thus enabling man to appear at his +best. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + + +AN EARTHQUAKE--ERADICATING THE PLAGUE--THROUGH THE COUNTRY NORTHEAST OF +BANDJERMASIN--MARTAPURA AND ITS DIAMOND-FIELDS--PENGARON--THE GIANT +PIG--THE BUKITS--WELL-PRESERVED DECORATIVE DESIGNS--AN ATTRACTIVE FAMILY + +I decided to travel more in Borneo, but before undertaking this it was +necessary for several reasons to go to Java. In Soerabaia I had my first +experience of an earthquake. Shortly before two o'clock, while at luncheon +in the hotel, a rather strong rocking movement was felt, and I looked at +the ceiling to see if there were cracks which would make it advisable to +leave the room. But it lasted only a few seconds, although the chandeliers +continued to swing for a long time. At other places clocks stopped, and I +read in the papers that the vibration passed from south to north, damaging +native villages. In one town the tremors lasted three minutes and were the +worst that had occurred in thirty-four years, but when the disturbance +reached Soerabaia it was far less severe than one experienced in Los +Angeles, California, in April, 1918. + +As is well known, the government of the Dutch Indies expends millions in +eradicating the plague, which is prevalent in portions of eastern Java. In +addition to exterminating the rats, it is necessary to demolish the bamboo +huts of the natives and move the inhabitants to new quarters. Houses of +wood are erected, lumber for the purpose being imported from Borneo in +great quantities. That the efforts have been crowned with success is +indicated from the reports issued in 1916, showing that plague cases had +been reduced seventy per cent. + +Returning to Bandjermasin toward the end of October, I began to make +arrangements for a journey to Lok Besar, in a hilly region of the +Northeast at the source of the Riam Kiwa River. This kampong had recently +been visited by the government's mining engineer, Mr. W. Krol, on one of +his exploring expeditions. At first glance it might seem unpromising to +make researches in a region so near to a stronghold of the Malays, but as +he was the first and only European who had been in the upper country of +that river, there was a fair chance that the natives might prove of +considerable interest. It was a matter of five or six days by prahu from +Bandjermasin, followed by a three days' march, and I decided to return by +a different route, cross the mountain range, and emerge by Kandangan. + +Accompanied by Mr. Loing, the surveyor, and the soldier-collector, I +started from Bandjermasin on November 1. To travel by the canal to +Martapura can hardly be regarded as a pleasure-trip, as mosquitoes and +flies are troublesome. Half a year later I went by the road to the same +place under more cheerful conditions, and though the day was overcast, the +flooded country just north of the town presented a picturesque appearance. +Rows of high-gabled Malay houses, with narrow bridges leading out to them, +were reflected in the calm water, and beautiful blue morning-glories +covered the small bushes growing in the water. Along the road were forests +of _melalevca leucodendron,_ of the family of _myrtaceae,_ from which the +famous cajuput-oil is obtained. It is a very useful, highly aromatic, and +volatile product, chiefly manufactured in the Moluccas, and especially +appreciated by the Malays, who employ it internally and externally for all +ailments. They are as fond of cajuput-oil as cats are of valeriana. + +Early in the afternoon the prahus landed us at Martapura, which is +renowned for its diamonds and once was the seat of a powerful sultanate. +The fields, which have been known for a long time, cover a large area, and +the diamonds found in gravel, though mostly small and yellow, include some +which are pronounced to be the finest known to the trade. There is always +water beneath the surface, and natives in bands of twenty occupy +themselves in searching for the precious stones, digging holes that serve +besides as self-filling basins in which the gravel is panned. The +government does not work the fields. In a factory owned by Arabs the +diamonds are cut by primitive but evidently very efficient methods, since +South African diamonds are sent here for treatment, because the work can +be done much cheaper than in Amsterdam. + +The controleur, Mr. J.C. Vergouwen, said that there were 700 Dayaks in his +district. He was able to further my plans materially by calling a Malay +official who was about to start in the same direction for the purpose of +vaccinating the natives some distance up country. The kapala of the +district, from Pengaron, who happened to be there, was also sent for, and +both men were instructed to render me assistance. Next day the Malay +coolies carried our baggage to the unattractive beach near the +market-place, strewn with bones and refuse, loaded our goods in the prahus, +and the journey began. The men were cheap and willing but slow, and it was +near sunset when we arrived at the English rubber plantation near +Bumirata. + +The controleur had been friendly enough to send word to the manager that +he had invited me to stay overnight at the estate. However, upon arrival +there we were told that the manager had gone to Bandjermasin the day +before, but was expected back at seven o'clock. It did not seem the proper +thing to make ourselves at home in his absence, so we returned to the +kampong, five minutes below by prahu, to make camp in a spacious, rather +clean-looking, shed that formed the pasar or market-place. + +At midnight I was awakened by the halting of an automobile and a Malay +calling out, "Tuan! Tuan!" and I stepped from my bed to meet a friendly +looking man in a mackintosh, who proved to be Mr. B. Massey, the manager. +We talked together for an hour in the calm of a Bornean night. What he +said about the irregularity of the climatic conditions interested me. Two +years previously it had been so dry for a while that prahus could move +only in canals made in the river-bed. His friends had thought him mad to +come to Borneo, but he liked the climate better than that of Java. His +kind invitation to breakfast I declined with regret, because when one is +travelling it is very troublesome to change clothing, shave, and appear +civilised. + +We arrived at Pengaron at noon. The kapala of the district, a Malay with +the title of kiai, lived in a comfortable house formerly occupied by a +controleur, one room serving the purpose of a pasang-grahan. On our +arrival he was at the mosque, but returned in an hour. The vaccinateur was +already there, and by a lucky chance Ismail made his appearance, the +kapala from Mandin, whom the controleur thought would be useful, as he had +influence with Malays and Dayaks. The kiai, a remarkably genial man, was +the most agreeable Malay I met. He behaved like an European, bathed in the +bathroom, _a la_ Dutch, dressed very neatly, and had horses and carriage. +The hours were told by a bell from four o'clock in the morning, and two +clocks could be heard striking, one an hour ahead of the other. + +In the afternoon, Mr. Krol, the mining engineer, returned from a trip of a +month's duration, wearing a pedometer around his neck. He had walked +twenty miles in the jungle that day. A Dayak who had accompanied him from +Pa-au, one day's march toward the east, gave me some information about the +giant pig, known to exist in Southern Borneo from a single skull which at +present is in the Agricultural High School Museum of Berlin. During my +Bornean travels I constantly made inquiries in regard to this enormous +pig, which is supposed to be as large as a Jersey cow. From information +gathered, Pa-au appears to be the most likely place where a hunt for this +animal, very desirable from a scientific point of view, might be started +with prospect of success. An otherwise reliable old Malay once told me +about a pig of extraordinary size which had been killed by the Dayaks many +years ago, above Potosibau, in the Western Division. The Dayaks of Pa-au, +judging from the one I saw and the information he gave, are Mohammedans, +speak Malay, and have no weapons but spears. + +The vaccinateur started in advance of us to prepare the people for our +arrival. Our new paddlers, who were jolly and diligent men, brought their +rice packed in palm-leaves, one parcel for the men of each prahu. They use +leaves of the banana even more frequently for such purposes, as also do +Javanese and Dayaks, and spread on the ground they form a neat and +inviting setting for the food, serving the purpose of a fresh table-cloth. +The men ate rapidly with their fingers and afterward drank water from the +kali (river), throwing it into the mouth with the hand, as is the Malay +custom. I did not notice that they brought dried fish, which is the usual +complement to a meal. In this section of the country there is much +admixture of blood between Dayaks and Malays, which accounts for the fact +that the latter are more genial and agreeable than their lower classes +usually are. At Pinang the small population turned out in full force, +standing picturesquely near the mosque on an open space between the +cocoanut-trees that grew on the high river-bank. It was evident that +visitors are not often seen there. + +At Belimbing the usually steep, high river-bank had been made accessible +by short sticks so placed as to form steps that led up almost +perpendicularly. Great was my surprise to find myself facing an attractive +little pasang-grahan, lying on grassy, level ground at almost the same +height as the tops of the cocoanut and pinang palms on the other side of +the river. It was a lovely place and charmingly fresh and green. The +house, neatly built of palm-leaves, contained two rooms and a small +kitchen, with floors of bamboo. In the outer room was a table covered with +a red cloth and a lamp hung above it, for the Malays love the accessories +of civilisation. The kapala and the vaccinateur were there to receive us, +and we were treated as if we were officials, two men sleeping in the house +as guard. I was told there are no diseases here except mild cases of demum +(malaria) and an itching disorder of the skin between the fingers. + +On the fourth day from Martapura we arrived at the first Dayak habitation, +Angkipi, where Bukits have a few small bamboo shanties consisting of one +room each, which were the only indications of a kampong. The most +prominent feature of the place was a house of worship, the so-called +balei, a square bamboo structure, the roomy interior of which had in the +centre a rectangular dancing-floor of bamboo sticks. A floor similarly +constructed, but raised some twenty-five centimetres higher, covered about +all the remaining space, and serves as temporary habitations for the +people, many small stalls having been erected for the purpose. Our friend +the vaccinateur was already busy inside the building, vaccinating some +fifty Dayaks from the neighbouring hills and mountains who had responded +to his call. When I entered, they showed timidity, but their fears were +soon allayed, and I made myself at home on the raised floor, where I had a +good camping-place. + +Although these Bukits, among whom I travelled thereafter, are able to +speak Malay, or Bandjer, the dialect of Bandjermasin, they have preserved +more of their primitive characteristics than I expected. As I learned +later, at Angkipi especially, and during a couple more days of travel, +they were less affected by Malay influence than the Dayaks elsewhere on my +route. The kampong exists only in name, not in fact, the people living in +the hills in scattered groups of two or three houses. Rice is planted but +once a year, and quite recently the cultivation of peanuts, which I had +not before observed in Borneo, had been introduced through the Malays. +Bukits never remain longer than two years at the same house, usually only +half that time, making ladang near by, and the next year they move to a +new house and have a new ladang. For their religious feasts they gather in +the balei, just as the ancient Mexicans made temporary habitations in and +near their temples, and as the Huichols and other Indians of Mexico do +to-day. + +The natives of Angkipi are stocky, crude people. Several had eyes set +obliquely, _a la_ Mongol, in a very pronounced manner, with the nose +depressed at the base and the point slightly turned upward. Among the +individuals measured, two young women were splendid specimens, but there +were difficulties in regard to having them photographed, as they were all +timid and anxious to go home to their mountains. + +Next day, marching through a somewhat hilly country, we arrived at the +kampong Mandin on the River Lahanin. Here was the residence of Ismail, to +whose influence probably was due the recent conversion to Islam of several +families. The pasang-grahan, though small, was clean and there was room +for all. Thanks to the efforts of the vaccinateur, the Dayaks, who were +very friendly, submitted to the novel experience of the camera and kept me +busy the day that we remained there. A great number of women whom I +photographed in a group, as soon as I gave the signal that it was all +over, rushed with one impulse to the river to cleanse themselves from the +evil effects of the operation. + +As the Bukits are not very strong in carrying burdens, we needed fifty +carriers, and Ismail having assisted in solving the problem, the march was +continued through a country very much cut up into gulches and small hills. +Time and again we crossed the Riham Kiwa, and went down and up gullies +continually. At a small kampong, where I took my midday meal sitting under +a banana-tree, the kapala came and in a friendly way presented me with a +basket of bananas, for these Dayaks are very hospitable, offering, +according to custom, rice and fruit to the stranger. He told me that +nearly all the children were ill, also two adults, but nobody had died +from a disease which was raging, evidently measles. + +At Ado a harvest-festival was in progress in the balei, which, there, was +of rectangular shape. Within I found quite elaborate preparations, among +which was prominently displayed a wooden image of the great hornbill. +There was also a tall, ornamental stand resembling a candelabrum, made of +wood and decorated with a profusion of long, slightly twisted strips of +leaves from the sugar-palm, which hung down to the floor. From here nine +men returned to our last camping-place, where they had left a similar +feast in order to serve me. The harvest-festival is called bluput, which +means that the people fulfil their promise to antoh. It lasts from five to +seven days, and consists mostly of dancing at night. Neighbouring kampongs +are invited and the guests are given boiled rice, and sometimes babi, also +young bamboo shoots, which are in great favour and are eaten as a sayur. +When the harvest is poor, no feast is made. + +The balei was very stuffy, and little light or air could enter, so I +continued my journey, arriving later in the afternoon at Beringan, where a +tiny, but clean, pasang-grahan awaited us. It consisted mainly of four +small bamboo stalls, in which there was room for all of us to sleep, but +the confined air produced a disagreeable congestion in my head the next +day. We now had to send for men to Lok Besar, which was our ultimate goal, +and the following day we arrived there, passing through a country somewhat +more hilly than hitherto. I put up my tent under some bananas, and felt +comfortable to be by myself again, instead of sleeping in crowded +pasang-grahans. There was not even such accommodation here, but the kapala +put most of his little house at our disposal, reserving only a small room +and the kitchen for himself and family. The boiling-point thermometer +showed an elevation of 270 metres. + +I had a meeting with the blians, who knew nothing worth mentioning. Almost +everything had been forgotten, even the language, still it is remarkable +how primitive these people remain, and there is scarcely any mixture of +Malay apparent in the type. For two or three days the kind-hearted, simple +people gathered in numbers at the middle kampong of the three which bear +the same name, Lok Besar, upper, middle, and lower. The Dayaks call the +upper one Darat, which means headwaters. + +One man had a skin formation which at a superficial glance might be taken +for a tail. It was about the size of a man's thumb, felt a little hard +inside, and could be moved either way. On the outside of each thigh, over +the head of the femur, was a similar but smaller formation. Another man +had an excrescence on each thigh, similarly located, but very regular in +shape, forming half a globe; I saw a Dayak on the Mahakam with the same +phenomenon. One woman had such globular growths, though much smaller, in +great numbers on the feet. + +Among the Bukits I observed two harelipped men, one hunchback, and an +unusual number of persons with goitre. These natives drink water by the +aid of a leaf folded into an improvised cup. Eight of the upper front +teeth are cut. Suicide is not known. Their only weapon at present is the +spear, which they buy very cheaply from the Malays, but formerly the +sumpitan was also in use. To hunt pig they have to go some distance into +the mountains; therefore, they seldom undertake it. Honey is gathered by +climbing the tree in which the bees' nest is discovered. Bamboo pegs are +inserted in the trunk at intervals and a rope made from a certain root is +tied between them, thus forming a ladder upon which the natives ascend the +tree at night. The women make rattan mats, and also habongs or receptacles +in which to carry the mats when travelling. + +Fire is extinguished for the night. These natives sleep on a single mat, +made from either bamboo or rattan, and usually nothing is placed under the +head, but sometimes small wooden blocks are used. In the morning when they +arise they roll the mats, and the chamber-work is done. A young girl whom +I measured had her hair fastened up with the quill of a porcupine; when +asked to undo her hair, she put the quill under the top of her skirt. The +Bukits possess one musical instrument, sarunai, a kind of clarinet, which +does not sound badly. There are many blians, nearly all men. Several +prominent members of the tribe asserted that head-hunting was never +practised--at least there is no tradition concerning it. + +A man may have one, two, or three wives. When a young man is poor, he pays +two ringits or two sarongs to his bride's father, but half that amount is +sufficient for a woman no longer youthful. The usual payment appears to be +twelve ringits or twelve sarongs, which the blian at the wedding places on +top of his head, while with his right hand he shakes two metal rings +provided with rattles. On the Barito I noted the same kind of rattles used +on a similar occasion. He asks Dewa not to make them ill, and a hen as +well as boiled rice is sacrificed to this antobu. The dead are buried in +the ground as deep as the height of a man. Formerly the corpse was placed +in a small bamboo house which rested on six upright poles, and on the +floor a mat was spread. + +I was pleasantly surprised one day when a Dayak arrived at our kampong +bringing a number of attractive new bamboo baskets which he had bought on +the Tappin River, near by to the west. He was going to finish them off by +doing additional work on the rims and then carry them to Kandangan, where +they would fetch about one guilder each. All were of the same shape, but +had different designs, and he knew the meaning of these--there was no +doubt about it--so I bought his entire stock, thirteen in number. I +learned that most of the people were able to interpret the basket designs, +but the art of basket-making is limited, most of them being made by one or +two women on the Tappin. A very good one, large and with a cover, came +from the neighbouring lower kampong. An old blian sold it to me, and his +wife softly reproved him for so doing, but when I gave her ten cents as a +present she seemed very well satisfied. + +For the interpretation of these designs I found an excellent teacher in a +gentlewoman from the lower kampong. She had extensive knowledge concerning +this matter, an impression later confirmed by submission of the baskets to +another woman expert from the Tappin, of repute as a maker and for +knowledge of the designs. I hope that in due time my informant will +receive the photograph of herself and her boys which I shall send to her +in grateful recognition of her valuable assistance. Her name was Dongiyak, +while her good husband was called Nginging. She had two attractive and +extremely well-behaved sons of twelve and fourteen years, who trusted +implicitly in her and showed absolute obedience, while she was kindness +itself coupled with intelligence. In fact their relations were ideal, and +it seemed a pity that these fine boys should grow to manhood and die in +dense ignorance. + +I doubt whether any traveller, including the honest missionary, disagrees +with the terse sentence of the great Wallace in _The Malay Archipelago_: +"We may safely affirm that the better specimens of savages are much +superior to the lower examples of civilised peoples." Revolting customs +are found, to be sure, among native races, but there are also redeeming +virtues. Is there a so-called Christian community of which it may be truly +said that its members do not steal, as is the case with the majority of +Dayak tribes? There are savage races who are truthful, and the North +American Indians never broke a treaty. + +In the morning, when beginning my return journey, I had to send more than +once to the kampong below to ask the men to come, because of their +reluctance to carry burdens. We had to proceed slowly, and early in the +afternoon reached the summit of the watershed, which naturally is not at +its highest here, the elevation ascertained by boiling-point thermometer +being 815 metres. At a temperature of 85° F., among shady trees, a short +rest was very acceptable, and to get down the range proved quick work as +the woods were not dense. Afterward we followed a path through tall grass +over fallen trunks, crossing numerous gullies and rivulets. As darkness +approached, clouds gathered threateningly and rain began to fall. It was +really a pleasure to have the kapala of Tumingki meet us a couple of +kilometres before arriving there. A man whom I had sent ahead to the river +Tappin for the purpose of securing more baskets and to bring a woman to +interpret the designs, had evidently told him about us. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + + +THE BALEI OR TEMPLE--A LITTLE KNOWN PART OF THE COUNTRY--A COURTEOUS +MALAY--POWER OVER ANIMALS--NEGARA + +The kapala cleared the way with his parang, and just before dusk we +arrived at the balei, a large structure which the people had taken as a +permanent abode, having no houses and possessing ladangs near by. Many +fires were burning inside, round which the families had gathered cooking +rice, and my entire party also easily found room. The kapala at once sent +out five men to gather the necessary coolies for the continuance of our +journey the following day. + +The carriers were slow in coming, and while waiting in the morning I +catalogued four baskets which my messenger had brought from Tappin and a +few more which I was able to buy here. The woman from Tappin, who +accompanied my man, was even better informed than Dongiyak. She knew +designs with remarkable certainty, and it was gratifying to be able to +confirm information gathered before, also in two instances to correct +errors. Many of the designs seemed familiar to the men standing around, +for they, too, without being asked, would sometimes indicate the meaning +correctly. + +This done, I again inspected the balei, accompanied by the kapala who +himself was a blian; he and the others were perfectly willing to give any +information about customs and beliefs, although equally unable to do so. +The dancing space in the middle was rectangular, about eight metres long, +lying nearly east and west. It was about thirty centimetres lower than the +remainder of the floor, on which I counted nineteen small rooms, or rather +stalls. In the middle of the dancing place was a large ornamental stand +made of wood, twice as high as a man, from which were hanging great +quantities of stripped palm leaves. From the western part of the stand +protruded upward a long narrow plank, painted with simple curved designs +representing nagah, the great antoh, shaped like a serpent and provided +with four short curved fangs stretched forward. The people could not be +induced to sell the effigy because it was not yet one year old. + +The country was uneven and heavy for travelling, or, as the carriers +expressed it, the land was sakit (Malay for "ill"). There were more +mountain ranges than I expected, rather low, though one we got a fine view +of two quite impressive mountains. Here and there on the distant hillsides +ladangs were seen and solitary houses could be discerned. On our arrival +in the first kampong we were hospitably offered six young cocoanuts, +considered a great delicacy even among white people. Although I do not +much appreciate the sweetish, almost flavourless water of this fruit, they +proved very acceptable to my men, as the day was intensely hot for Borneo. + +At the kampong Belimbing, by taking out on of the walls which were +constructed like stiff mats, I obtained a good room in the pasang grahan, +but the difficulty about getting men increased. The kapala, or pumbakal, +as this official is called in these parts, was obliging and friendly, but +he had slight authority and little energy. He personally brought the men +by twos and threes, finally one by one, and he worked hard. When finally +we were able to start, still a couple of men short, he asked to be excused +from accompanying me further, to which I readily assented. There were too +many pumbakals who graced the expedition with their presence. I believe we +had four that day who successively led the procession, generally with good +intentions to be of assistance, but, in accordance with their dignity, +carrying little or nothing, and receiving the same payment as the rest. +However, it must be conceded that their presence helped to make an +impression on the next kampong which was expected to furnish another gang +of carriers. + +We managed to travel along, and finally reached the last Dayak kampong, +Bayumbong, consisting of the balei and a small house. The balei was of +limited proportions, dark, and uninviting, so I put up my tent, which was +easily done as the pumbakal and men were friendly and helpful. All the +carriers were, of course, anxious to return, but as they were engaged to +go to Kandangan I told them they would have to continue, promising, +however, to pay for two days instead of one and to give them all rice in +the evening. These people are like children, and in dealing with them a +determined but accommodating ruling is necessary. + +The journey was less rough than before, though we still passed gulches +over which bamboo poles afforded passage for a single file, and soon the +road began to be level. It was not more than four or five hours' walk to +Kandangan, but rain began to fall and the men each took a leaf from the +numerous banana trees growing along the road with which to protect +themselves. On approaching the village we found two sheds some distance +apart which had been built conveniently over the road for the comfort of +travelling "inlanders." As the downpour was steady I deemed it wise to +stop under these shelters, on account of the natives, if for no other +reason, as they are unwilling carriers in rain. + +The house of a Malay official was near by, and after a few minutes he came +forth in the rain, a servant bringing a chair which he offered to me. +Feeling hungry, I inquired if bananas were purchasable, but without +immediate result. He was naturally curious to know where I came from, and +having been satisfied in that respect he went back to his house, soon +returning with bananas and a cup of tea. Hearing that I had been three +weeks without mail and was anxious to have news of the war, he also +brought me two illustrated Malay periodicals published in Amsterdam. Alas! +they were half a year old, but nevertheless, among the illustrations were +some I had not seen before. This was a worthy Malay and not unduly +forward--he was too well-mannered for that. + +The rain having abated somewhat we soon found ourselves in Kandangan, +where the curiosity of Malays and Chinese was aroused by our procession. +Neither the assistant-resident nor the controleur were at home, but the +former was expected next morning. Many Malays, big and little, gathered in +front of the pasang grahan, where the man in charge could not be found, +but a small boy started in search of him. After half-an-hour the rest of +our party began to come in, and forty-five wet coolies with their damp +burdens filled the ante-room of the pasang grahan, to the despair of the +Malay custodian who belatedly appeared on the scene. Notwithstanding the +unpleasantness of the crowded room I did not think it right to leave the +poor carriers out in the rain, therefore had allowed them to remain. The +burdens having been freed from the rattan and natural fibrous bands by +which they had been carried, these wrappings--a load for two men--were +disposed of by being thrown into the river. Gradually the place assumed an +orderly aspect and Mr. Loing and I established ourselves in two quite +comfortable rooms. + +Through fortunate circumstances the assistant-resident, Mr. A.F. Meyer, +was able to arrange to have our old acquaintance, the river-steamer +_Otto,_ to wait for us at Negara and take us to Bandjermasin. His wife had +an interesting collection of live animals and birds from the surrounding +country. She loved animals and possessed much power over them. A kitten of +a wild cat of the jungle, obtained five days previously, was as tame as a +domesticated specimen of the same age. She stroked the back of a hawk +which was absolutely quiet without being tied or having its wings cut. He +sat with his back toward us and as she stroked him merely turned his head, +immediately resuming his former position. All the birds were in perfect +plumage at that time, the month of November, and in fine condition. + +We came to a number of beautiful rails, males and females, from the large +marshes of the neighbourhood; the birds were busily running about, but at +sight of her they stopped and emitted clacking notes. From the same +marshes had been obtained many small brownish ducks with exquisitely +shaded coats. The snake bird, with its long, straight, sharp beak and +long, thin neck, she said was dangerous, and she teased him to thrust his +head through the rails. Finally she took from a cage two musangs which +were resting and pressed them against her chest. They were as tame as +cats. It was curious to note that when walking they held their tails so +that a loop was formed in the middle. + +In Negara are many high-gabled houses, which I was told are Bandjermasin +style; at all events, they form the original Malay architectural pattern +in Borneo. The town is strongly Malay and famous for its boat-building. +The gondola-like boats of ironwood that attract the attention of the +stranger on his first visit to Bandjermasin, come from this place. +Mosquitoes were troublesome in the surrounding marshes; nevertheless, I +understand there is no malaria. + +In this and similar sections in the vicinity of Bandjermasin it is +noticeable that Malay women and girls whiten their faces on special +occasions, doubtless in imitation of Chinese custom. The paint, called +popor, is made from pulverised egg-shells mixed with water, and, for the +finest quality, pigeons' egg-shells are utilised. Where there is much +foreign influence Dayak women have adopted this fashion for festal +occasions. At harvest time, when both Dayak and Malay women wear their +best garments, the faces of the women and the little girls are painted. + +My expedition of three weeks had proved successful mainly on account of +the unexpectedly well-preserved knowledge of decorative designs which I +encountered among the Bukits. Otherwise they are slowly but surely +yielding to the Malay influence to which they have been exposed for +hundreds of years. Only the comparative inaccessibility of the country has +prevented their complete absorption. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + + +AN EXPEDITION TO THE KATINGAN RIVER--TATUING OF THE ENTIRE BODY--THE +GATHERING OF HONEY--A PLEASANT INTERMEZZO--AN UNUSUALLY ARTISTIC +PRODUCTION--UP THE SAMBA RIVER--WITH INCOMPETENT BOATMEN + +Arrangements were at once begun for another expedition, this time to the +west of Bandjermasin. I planned to ascend the Mendawei, or Katingan River, +as it is also called, and, if circumstances permitted, cross over to the +headwaters of the Sampit, returning by that stream. Through the kind +efforts of the resident, Mr. H.J. Grijson, arrangements were made that +would enable me to use the government's steam-launch _Selatan_ as far up +the river as it is navigable, to Kuala Samba, and in case necessity arose, +to have it wait for my return. This arrangement would save much time. + +Accompanied by Mr. Loing, the surveyor, on the last day of November I left +Bandjermasin on the steamship _Janssens_, which, en route for Singapore, +was to call at Sampit. There is always a large contingent of Malays who +with their families go on this steamer to and fro between Borneo and the +Malay Peninsula, where they work on rubber and cocoanut plantations; out +of their earnings they buy the desires of their hearts--bicycles and +yellow shoes. Thus equipped they go back to Bandjermasin to enjoy +themselves a few weeks, after which the bicycles are sold and the +erstwhile owners return to the scene of their labours to start afresh. + +The controleur, Mr. H.P. Schouten, had just returned on the _Selatan_ from +a trip up the Katingan, and turned it over to my use. When the coaling had +been done and our goods taken on board, the strong little boat lay deep, +but the captain said it was all right. He was the same able djuragan of +two years before. Having received from the controleur letters to the five +native officials located on the Katingan, we departed, and the following +morning arrived at the mouth of the river. At first the country was very +thinly inhabited, because the banks are too low to encourage settlement. +As hitherto noted the country bordering on the lower portions of the great +rivers is populated by Malays exclusively, and here their territory +stretches almost to Kasungan. The remainder of the riparian lands is +occupied by Katingans. There is some slight difference in the language +spoken by those who live on the middle part, from Kasungan to Bali (south +of Kuala Samba), and those who from Bali northward occupy the rest of the +watercourse. They are termed by the Malays Lower and Upper Katingans. +Those of the first category appeared to be of medium size and inclined to +stoutness; on the upper stretches of the river they are taller. These and +other differences may be due in a measure to tribal changes brought about +by head-hunting raids. It is known that there was an influx of Ot-Danums +from the Samba on account of such raids. While all Katingans eat snakes +and large lizards, the upper ones do not eat rusa but the lower ones do. +Their total number is estimated to be about 6,000. In 1911-1912 this river +was visited by cholera and smallpox, which reduced the population by 600 +and caused the abandonment of some kampongs. + +Under favourable circumstances one may travel by prahu to Kuala Samba, our +first goal, in sixteen days, the return journey occupying half that time. +On reaching Kasungan the river was not quite two metres deep, dimming our +chances of proceeding further with the steam-launch. The djuragan put up +his measuring rod on the beach, for unless the water rose he would have to +go one day down stream. The prospect was not pleasing. The under kapala of +the district, a native official whose title for the sake of convenience is +always abbreviated to the "onder," at once exerted himself in search of a +large boat belonging to a Malay trader, supposed to be somewhere in the +neighbourhood, and a young Dutchman who recently had established himself +here as a missionary was willing to rent me his motor-boat to tow it. + +After several days of preparation, the river showing no sign of rising, we +started in an unusually large prahu which was provided with a kind of deck +made of palm-leaf mats and bamboo, slightly sloping to each side. It would +have been quite comfortable but for the petroleum smoke from the +motor-boat, which was sickening and made everything dirty. + +In 1880, when Controleur W.J. Michielsen visited the Katingan and Samba +Rivers, the kampongs consisted of "six to ten houses each, which are lying +in a row along the river bank and shaded by many fruit trees, especially +cocoanut palms and durians." A similar description would serve to-day. The +large communal house as known in most parts of Borneo does not seem to +obtain here. Communal houses of small size were in use ten years +previously and are still found on the Upper Samba. Their gradual +disappearance may be explained by the fact that the government, as I was +informed, does not encourage the building of communal houses. + +Whatever the reason, at the present time the dwelling is a more or less +flimsy structure, built with no thought of giving access to fresh air, and +sometimes no provision is made for the escape of smoke from the fireplace. +But the people are very hospitable; they gladly received us in their +houses, and allowed me, for purposes of ventilation, to demolish +temporarily part of the unsubstantial wall, which consisted of bark or +stiff mats. The high ladder is generally provided with a railing leaning +outward at either side. + +The Katingans are shy, kind-hearted natives, the great majority of them +being unusually free from skin disease. No illness was apparent. With some +of the Lower Katingans the calf of the leg was below normal size. This was +the case with three women in Pendahara, and also with a blian who +otherwise was a stout man. All the men have a large representation of the +full moon tatued on the calf of the leg, following the custom of the +Ot-Danums, Murungs, and Siangs. As far as I ascended the river the Upper +Katingans rarely have more tatuing than this, but the Lower Katingans are +elaborately ornamented, chest and arms being covered with illustrations of +familiar objects. Several old men, now dead, had their bodies, even their +backs, legs, and faces, covered with tatu marks, and one thus decorated +was said still to be living. + +Near the kampong Pendahara, where we camped the first night, were many of +the majestic tapang trees which I first noticed on the Barito. In the calm +evening after a light shower, with the moon almost full, their tall stems +and beautiful crowns were reflected in the placid water. The Katingans +guard and protect these trees because they are the abode of bees, and when +the Malays cut them down the Dayaks are indignant. Both honey and wax are +gathered, the latter to be sold. The nest is reached in the customary +manner by a ladder of sharpened bamboo pegs driven into the rather soft +wood as the man ascends. The gathering is done at night, an assistant +bearing a torch made of bark and filled with damar or wax. The native +first smears himself with honey in order that the bees shall not sting +him; when he reaches the deposit a large bark bucket is hoisted up and +filled. In lowering it the honey sometimes disappears, my informant said, +because antoh is very fond of it. + +About noon, as we were passing a ladang near Bali, we heard the beating of +a gong, also weird singing by a woman. It was evident that a ceremony of +some kind was in progress, probably connected with funeral observances, so +I ordered a halt. As we lay by many people gathered on the top of the +steep bank. We learned that an old woman had died and that the ceremonies +were being performed in her honour. I climbed the ladder and found in +front of me a house on poles, simply constructed, as they always are at +the ladangs. Several of the men wore chavats; an elderly female blian sang +continuously, and a fire was burning outside. + +Ascending the ladder of the house I entered a dingy room into which the +light came sparingly. In a corner many women were sitting silently. Near +them stood one of the beautiful red baskets for which the Katingans higher +up the river are famous. As I proceeded a little further an extremely fine +carved casket met my astonished eyes. Judging from its narrowness the +deceased, who had been ill for a long time, must have been very thin when +she passed away, but the coffin, to which the cover had been fastened with +damar, was of excellent proportions and symmetrical in shape. The material +was a lovely white wood of Borneo, on which were drawn large round flowers +on graceful vines, done in a subdued light red colour procured from a +pigment found in the earth. The effect was magnificent, reminding me of +French tapestries. Two diminutive and unfinished mats were lying on the +cover, symbolising clothing for the deceased, and tufts of long, beautiful +grass had been tied to the top at either end. The coffin was to be placed +on a platform in the utan. Its name in Katungan is bákan rúni; (bákan = +form, exterior; rúni = dead person) + +To see such an artistic production was worth a great deal of trouble. +Usually this and similar work is made by several working in unison, who +co-operate to obtain the best result in the shortest time. I was gratified +when they agreed to make an exact copy for me, to be ready on my return +from up country. When one of the men consented to pose before the camera +his wife fled with ludicrous precipitation. A dwarf was photographed, +forty years old and unmarried, whose height was 1.13 metres. + +I was about to leave when the people began to behave in a boisterous +manner. Men caught firebrands and beat with them about the feet of the +others. Some cut mats in pieces, ignited them, and struck with those. A +woman came running out of the house with a piece of burning mat and beat +me about my feet and ankles (my trousers and shoes were supposed to be +white) and then went after others, all in good humour and laughingly. She +next exchanged firebrands with a man, and both struck at each other +repeatedly. This same custom is used at funerals with the Ot-Danums on the +Samba, and the explanation given in both tribes is that the mourners want +to forget their grief. + +After distributing pieces of chewing-tobacco to all present, which seemed +to please them much, I left the entertaining scene. In the afternoon we +arrived at a small kampong, Tevang Karangan, (tevang = inlet; karangan = a +bank of coarse sand or pebbles) where Upper Katingans appeared for the +first time. No Malays live here, but there is much intermixture with +Ot-Danums. The people were without rice, and edible roots from the jungle +were lying in the sun to dry. The cemetery was close at hand in the +outskirts of the jungle, where little houses could be seen consisting +simply of platforms on four poles with roofs of palm-leaf mats, each +containing one, two, or three coffins. It is impossible to buy skulls from +the Dayaks on account of their fear that the insult may be avenged by the +ghost of the original owner, through the infliction of misfortunes of +various kinds--illness, loss of crops, etc. According to their belief, +punishment would not descend upon the stranger who abstracted a human bone +from a coffin, but upon the natives who permitted the theft. Moreover, +they believe they have a right to kill the intruder; the bone must be +returned and a pig killed as a sacrifice to the wandering liao of the +corpse. But the case is somewhat different with slaves, who up to some +thirty years ago were commonly kept in these districts, and whose bodies +after death were disposed of separately from those of free people. + +Kuala Samba is quite a large kampong situated at the junction of the Samba +with the Katingan River, and inhabited chiefly by the Bakompai, a branch +of the Malays. Our large boat had to remain here until we returned from +our expedition up the Samba, the main tributary of the river and inhabited +by Ot-Danums who are called Duhoi, their proper name in these parts. I +desired to start immediately and the "onder" of the place, as well as the +pumbakal, at once set to work chasing for prahus, but things moved slowly +and people seemed to take their own time about obeying the authorities. + +Not until nine o'clock next day could we leave, and I was glad it was no +later. The prahus in these regions are large and comfortable, with a +bamboo covering in the bottom. They probably originated with the Bakompai, +but the Duhoi also make them. At five o'clock it was thought best to camp +at the lonely house of a Kahayan, recently immigrated here, whose wife was +a Duhoi woman. As usual I had to remove part of the wall to get air, the +family sleeping in the next room. In the small hours of the morning, by +moonlight, two curious heads appeared in the doorway, like silhouettes, to +observe me, and as the surveillance became annoyingly persistent I +shortened the exercises I usually take. + +At the first kampong prahus and paddlers were changed, and on a rainy day +we arrived at a small kampong, Kuluk Habuus, where I acquired some +unusually interesting carved wooden objects called kapatongs, connected +with the religious life of the Duhoi and concerning which more will be +told presently. As a curious fact may be mentioned that a Kahayan living +here had a full, very strong growth of beard. A few more of the Kahayans, +one in Kuala Kapuas for instance, are known to be similarly endowed by +nature although not in the same degree as this one. The families +hospitably vacated their rooms in our favour, and a clean new rattan mat +was spread on the floor. At Tumbang Mantike, on this river, there is said +to be much iron ore of good quality, from which formerly even distant +tribes derived their supplies. + +I had been told that a trip of a few hours would bring us to the next +kampong, but the day proved to be a very long one. There were about five +kihams to pass, all of considerable length though not high. It soon became +evident that our men, good paddlers as they were, did not know how to +overcome these, hesitating and making up for their inefficiency by +shouting at the top of their voices. However insignificant the stream, +they yelled as if passing a risky place. Sunset came and still the kampong +was--djau (far). Mr. Loing had gone in our small prahu with four of our +best men to finish the map-making, if possible, before darkness set in. + +The light of day faded, though not so quickly as the books represent, but +soon it was as dark as possible before the appearance of the waning moon +which would not be visible for several hours. I had let Mr. Loing have my +lamp, so I lit a candle. It was not a pleasant experience, with clumsy +stupid men who, however, did their best, all finally taking to the water, +wading and pushing the boat, constantly emitting loud, hoarse cries to +encourage themselves; and thus we progressed little by little. What with +the faint light of the candle, the constant rush of water, and the noise +of the rapids, though not dangerous in the day time, the situation +demanded calmness. Moreover, there was the possibility of an overflow of +the river, which often happens, caused by rains above. I thought of the +Kenyahs of the Bulungan--if I only had them now. After an hour and a half +of this exasperating sort of progress we came to smooth water, but even +here the men lost time by running into snags which they ought to have +seen, because I had gotten my hurricane lamp from Mr. Loing whom we had +overtaken. One of the men was holding it high up in the bow, like the +Statue of Liberty in New York harbour. + +There were only three or four houses at the kampong where we arrived at +nine o'clock, but people kindly permitted us to occupy the largest. The +men were allowed an extra ration of rice on account of their exertions +since eight o'clock in the morning, as well as some maize that I had +bought, and all came into the room to cook at the fireplace. Besides Mr. +Loing and myself all our baggage was there, and the house, built on high +poles, was very shaky. The bamboo floor gave way in a disagreeable manner, +and it did not seem a remote possibility for it to fall, though the genial +lady of the manor, who went away herself, assured us that the house was +strong. I did not feel thoroughly comfortable until the "onder" and the +thirteen men had finished their cooking and gone elsewhere to camp. When +all was quiet and we could go to sleep it was twelve o'clock. + +Early in the morning Mr. Loing went back in the small prahu to take up the +map where he had been compelled to quit on account of the darkness. In the +meantime I had opportunity to receive a man who had been reported to me +the previous night as wanting assistance because of a wound on his head. +Knowing that the Dayaks are always ready to seize an opportunity to obtain +medicine, even when they are well, I postponed examining into his case. He +had merely a scratch on his forehead--not even a swelling. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + + +AMONG THE DUHOI (OT-DANUMS)--RICH COLLECTIONS--THE KAPATONGS--THE BATHING +OF DAYAK INFANTS--CHRISTMAS EVE--THE FLYING BOAT--MARRIAGE CEREMONIES + +As we approached the kampong Kuala Braui, our next objective, the men in +our prahus began yelling in time, in a manner surprisingly like a college +yell. We were received at the landing float by the "onder" of the place, a +nervous and shy but intelligent looking Duhoi. Pajamas graced his tall +form as an outward sign that he was more than an ordinary Dayak, and he +wore the same suit every day for a week without washing it. He spoke very +few Malay words, which made intercourse with him difficult. Very gentle +and retiring, by those unacquainted with the Dayaks he would be regarded +as unlikely to possess head-hunting proclivities; nevertheless, twenty +years previous to my visit, this same man avenged members of his family +who had been deprived of their heads by Penyahbongs, killing two of the +band and preserving their heads. Ten years before he had presented them to +Controleur Baren on the Kayan River, thus depriving me of the chance I had +hoped for on my arrival. + +The small kampong on the river bank, which here is over twenty metres high +and very steep, is new, and a primitive pasang grahan was in course of +erection. Six men were much entertained by the novel work of putting up my +tent and received tobacco as remuneration. The place lies near an affluent +from the north, called Braui, which is more difficult of ascent than the +Samba on account of its many kiams. The kapala of the kampong, with two +prahus, had ascended it in twenty days. The Dayaks told me that if they +wanted gold they were able to wash much in these rivers when the water is +low. + +I heard here of large congregations of wild pigs, up to 500 or 1,000. When +the herds, called dundun, have eaten all the fruit at one place they move +to another, feeding and marching, following one leader. They can be heard +at a great distance, and there is time to seek safety by climbing a tree +or running. When hunting pigs in the customary way, with dogs and spears, +men have been killed by these animals, though the victims are never eaten. +A fine rusa with large horns was killed one day when crossing the river, +and I preserved the head. It seemed to me to have shorter hair on the back +and sides than this deer usually has, and was larger. The flesh tasted +extremely well, in fact much better than that of the ordinary variety. +During our stay here, in December, a strong wind blew almost every day, +late in the afternoon, not always bringing rain, and quite chilly after +sunset. + +When Schwaner made his memorable exploration in 1847 he did not come up +the Samba, but ascended the Katingan River, returning to Western Borneo +over the mountains that bear his name. Controleur Michielsen, in 1880, was +the first European to visit the Samba River, and since then it has been +ignored by explorers. It is part of a large region occupied by the +Ot-Danums, a name which signifies people living at the sources (ot) of the +rivers (danum = water, river). They are found chiefly around the headwaters +of the Kapuas and the Kahayan, and on the Samba and Braui. Some also live +on the upper tributaries to the Katingan, for instance on the Hiran. On all +these rivers they may number as many as 5,000, about 1,200 of which should +be located on the Samba and the Braui. The last figures are fairly correct, +but the first ones are based only on information derived from native +sources. + +On the Samba, where I met the Ot-Danums, they are known as Duhoi, a name +applied by themselves and other tribes. They are still in a primitive +condition, though in outward appearance beginning to show the effect of +foreign influence. While a few wear chavats and sometimes becoming rattan +caps, nearly all cut their hair, and they no longer have sumpitans. Higher +up the river is a Malay kampong consisting of settlers from the Western +Division. Occasional traders also bring about inevitable changes, though +as yet few of these Dayaks speak Malay. + +The Kahayans who live to the east of them always liked to come to the +Samba, often marrying Duhoi wives, and they also exert an influence. In +intellect they are superior to the Duhoi as well as in knowledge of +worldly affairs, in that respect resembling the Malays, though they have +none of their objectionable qualities. One or two of them are generally +present in a kampong, and I always found them useful because they speak +Malay well besides being truthful and reliable. Some of these are converts +to Christianity through the efforts of the Protestant mission on the +Kahayan River, which has begun to extend its activity to the Samba by +means of such Kahayans. + +I prevailed on the "onder" to call the people from three kampongs above, +promising presents of rice. He wrote the order himself in Arabic letters +and sent it on, and late the following day twenty-five Duhoi arrived, +among them four women and several children. Many showed indications of +having had smallpox, not in a scarred face, but by the loss of an eye; one +man was totally blind from the same cause. In order to induce them to +dance I bought a domestic pig, which was brought from the ladang and in +the customary way was left on the ground in the middle of the dancing +place. Four men attended to the gongs which had unusually fine tones. + +The women were persuaded to come forward with difficulty. As I expected, +they were like bundles of cloth, exhibiting Malay innovations, and the +dance was uninteresting, each woman keeping her position in a stationary +circle. There was not much life in the dancing of the men either, each +performing at his place in a similar circle, with some movements +resembling the most common form of dancing hitherto described. Finally, +one whose long hair and attire, an ancient short shirt, betrayed him as +belonging to the old school, suddenly stepped forward, drew his parang, +and began to perform a war dance, swinging himself gracefully in a circle. +Another man was almost his equal, and these two danced well around the +babi which was lying at the foot of two thin upright bamboo poles; to the +top of one of these a striped cloth had been tied. + +This meeting was followed by friendly dealings with the Dayaks of the +kampongs above, who began to visit me. Silent and unobtrusive, they often +seated themselves before my tent, closely observing my movements, +especially at meal time, eager to get the tin that soon would be empty. A +disagreeable feature, however, was that the natives often brought +mosquitoes with them, and when they began to slap themselves on arms and +legs their absence would have been more acceptable than their company. But +each day they offered for sale objects of great interest and variety. +Several beautifully engraved wah-wah (long armed monkey) bones, serving as +handles for women's knives, are worthy of mention, one of which might be +termed exquisite in delicate execution of design. Admirable mats were made +by the tribe, but the designs proved perplexing to interpret, as knowledge +on the subject seems to be lost. The difficulty about an interpreter was +solved when the "onder's" clerk returned from a brief absence; he was an +intelligent and trustworthy Kayan who spoke Malay well, had been a +Christian for six years, but adopted Islam when he married a Bakompai +wife. Compared with the retiring "onder," who, though a very good man, +seemed to feel the limitations of his position, this Kahayan appeared more +like a man of the world. + +I made a large collection of kapatongs (in Kahayan, hapatong), which here, +and in less degree on the Katingan, I found more abundant than in any +region of Borneo visited. These interesting objects are carved +representations of a good antoh, or of man, bird, or animal which good +antohs have entered, and which, therefore, are believed to protect their +owners. When the carving has been finished the blian invokes a beneficent +antoh to take it in possession, by dancing and singing one or two nights +and by smearing blood on it from the sacrifice of a fowl, pig, or a +water-buffalo--formerly often taken from a slave. As with a person, so with +a kapatong; nobody is permitted to step over it lest the good antoh which +resides in it should become frightened and flee. + +Kapatongs are made from ironwood; they are of various kinds and serve many +purposes. The larger ones, which appear as crude statues in many kampongs +of Southern Borneo, more rarely on the Mahakam, are supposed to be +attendants on the souls of the dead and were briefly described in Chapter +XII. + +The smaller kapatongs are used for the protection of the living and all +their earthly belongings or pursuits. These images and their pedestals are +usually carved from one block, though the very small ones may be made to +stand inside of an upright piece of bamboo. Some kapatongs are placed in +the ladang to protect the crops, others in the storehouse or inside the +baskets where rice or food is kept. The monkey, itself very predatory on +the rice fields, is converted into an efficient watchman in the form of +its image, which is considered an excellent guardian of boiled rice that +may be kept over from one meal to the next. + +For protection at night the family may have a number of images, preferably +seven, placed upright and tied together, standing near the head of the +bed; a representation of the tiger-cat is placed on top of it all, for he +impersonates a strong, good antoh who guards man night and day. From the +viewpoint of the Katingans the tiger-cat is even more powerful than the +nagah. When cholera or smallpox is apprehended, some kapatongs of fair +size are left standing outside the room or at the landing places of the +prahus. Images representing omen birds guard the house, but may also be +carried on a journey in a basket which is placed near the head when a man +is sleeping in a prahu or on land. A kapatong of one particular omen bird +is thus capable of allaying any fear if real omen birds or snakes should +pass in front of the boat. + +On head-hunting expeditions kapatongs were of prime importance. Smeared +with blood, they were taken along for protection and guidance, and +afterward were returned to the room. Some of them are very curious; a +favourite one represents a pregnant woman, the idea being that a woman +with a child is a good watcher, as the infant cries and keeps her awake. +That the child is not yet born is of no consequence. In my possession is a +kapatong of the head-hunters which represents a woman in the act of +bearing a child. Among the Dayaks the woman is regarded as the more alert +and watchful; at night it is she who perceives danger and thrusts her hand +against her husband's side to arouse him. + +When feasts occur kapatongs, etc., are taken outside the house to partake +of blood from the animal or (formerly) the slave sacrificed. They are +supposed to drink it and are smeared with it. When important they are +never sold, but are transmitted as heirlooms from father to son. They +passed in a circuit among brothers, remaining three to five years with +each, and were the cause of much strife, brother having been known to kill +brother if deprived of his kapatong. + +Many of those which came into my possession showed distinct traces of the +application of blood. Some had necklaces around the necks as a sign that +they had received human blood. A few of these were later estimated by an +intelligent Dayak to be two hundred years old. At the time of purchase I +was struck with the fact that the Ot-Danums were parting with objects of +great importance in their religious life. One reason is that the young +generation no longer practises head-hunting, which necessitated the use of +a great number of kapatongs. The people are gradually losing faith in +them. + +These Duhoi were curiously varying in their physical aspects; some were +tall, like the "onder," others of medium size; some had hooked noses, +others turned up noses. The wife of the "onder" had unusually light skin, +but there was no indication of a mixture of white blood. Their temperament +is peaceful and gentle, and, according to the Kahayan clerk, who had been +here ten years, they are truthful. Most of those that were measured came +from the kampongs above, one of which is only two or three hours away. +Several men had their foreheads shaved in a manner similar to the Chinese, +a straight line from ear to ear forming the hair limit. I observed the +same fashion with the Upper Katingans, and in rare cases also with the +Kayans and Kenyahs. They make fire by drilling one upright stick into +another lying on the ground. Seven is their sacred number. Formerly the +kampongs elected a kapala for an indefinite period. If he was satisfactory +he might remain a long time. At present the native kapala of the district +makes the appointment. + +Among my friends here were the kapala of the kampong and his wife. She was +an interesting woman, very intelligent, with a slender but splendid +figure, and her face was curiously Mongolian. She had lost an eye by +smallpox, but there was so much light and vivacity in the brown one she +had left that the missing organ was forgotten. At first sternly refusing +to face the camera, after receiving chocolate like the rest both she and +her husband wanted to be photographed. + +More than once I have seen the Dayak father here and elsewhere take the +youngest baby to the river to bathe. As soon as the navel is healed, about +eight days after birth, the infant is immersed, usually twice a day, +before seven o'clock in the morning and at sunset. The temperature of the +river water here in the morning was 72° F. It is astonishing how the +helpless little nude being, who can neither walk nor talk, remains +absolutely quiet while being dipped under the cold water again and again. +The father holds it in a horizontal position for immersion, which lasts +only a few moments, but which undoubtedly would evoke lusty cries from a +white child. Between the plunges, which are repeated at least three times, +with his hand he strokes water from the little body which after a few +seconds is dipped again. It seems almost cruel, but not a dissenting voice +is heard. The bath over he takes the child into his arms, ascends the +ladder of the river bank and carries it home as silent as when it went +forth. Sometimes one may hear children cry from being cross, but as a rule +they are charming. + +Monkeys, including the orang-utan, are eaten, but not the crocodile nor +the tiger-cat. In accordance with the prevailing Dayak custom men and +women eat at the same time. If they choose, women may accompany fishing or +hunting expeditions if not far away, but when the game is wild ox or +rhinoceros they are not allowed to take part. When there is an overflow of +the river one cannot go hunting, nor if one should fall at the start, nor +if the rattan bag should drop when the man slings it on his back, or if +anybody sneezes when about to leave the house. If when going out on an +errand one stubs his toe against the threshold, he must wait an hour. +Having started on a fishing or hunting expedition nobody is permitted to +go back home; should this be done the enterprise would be a failure for +the others; nor should the dogs, on a pig hunt, be called in while on a +ladang lest monkeys and deer eat the paddi. When about to undertake a +journey of more than four or five days' duration one must abstain from +eating snake or turtle, and if a pregnant woman eats these reptiles the +child will look like them. Should she eat fruit that has fallen to the +ground, the child will be still-born. The same prohibition applies to +lizards. + +Up to twenty years ago the Duhoi and the Katingans made head-hunting raids +on each other. It was the custom to take a little flesh from the arm or +leg of the victim, which was roasted and eaten. Before starting on such an +expedition the man must sleep separate from his wife seven days; when +going pig-hunting the separation is limited to one day. On the Upper Samba +the custom still prevails of drinking tuak from human skulls. This was +related to me by the "onder" of Kasungan, a trustworthy man who had +himself seen it done. + +A wide-awake kapala from one of the kampongs above was of excellent +service in explaining the purposes of the ethnological objects I +purchased. About articles used by women he was less certain, but he gave +me much valuable information, though it was impossible to keep him as long +as I desired because he felt anxious about the havoc rusa and monkeys +might make with his paddi fields. At five o'clock of an afternoon I had +finished, and in spite of a heavy shower the kapala left to look after his +paddi, with a night journey of six hours before him. These people are +satisfied with little, and he was happy to receive, besides rice and +money, a quantity of cocoanut oil and some empty tin cans thrown in. + +During this busy day the thought occurred to me that the night was +Christmas eve, the great festival in Scandinavian countries, and I had +made no preparation for a better meal, having neither time nor means. In +fact, it so happened that I had rather less than usual. Nevertheless, the +day had passed happily, as I accomplished much and acquired interesting +information, for instance, about the flying prahu which I had secured. It +was about half a metre long, and this and similar models seem to be quite +an institution in the southern parts of Borneo. The Duhoi and the +Katingans use the contrivance for curing disease, though not in the way we +should expect, by carrying away the disorder, but by making a present of +the prahu to a good antoh to facilitate his journey. + +The name of the flying prahu is menáma, in. Katingan, melambong. The more +or less wavy carvings of the edge represent the beach. On board are +several wooden images: The great hornbill which carries the prahu along +and steers it; the tiger-cat, which guards it; the gong and two blanga +(valuable urns), to which are added a modernism in the shape of a +rifle--all are there ready to drive away the bad antoh which caused the +illness. To a pole--or rather a combination of two poles--are tied two +rudely made wooden figures, one above the other, representing, the one +below, the djuragan or skipper (tiháng); the one above, the master of the +"sails" (únda). + +When a Duhoi is very ill and able to pay the blian five florins, he +promises a good antoh to give him a menáma if he will make him well. The +contrivance is then made and the necessary ceremonies performed to the end +that its purpose shall be fulfilled. In the presence of many persons, the +afflicted man lying on his mat, the blian dances in the room holding the +prahu on his hands, the left at the bow, and swerving it to left and to +right; he sings at the same time but there is no other music. On three +consecutive nights this performance is continued for about an hour, near +the door, with an eye to the ship's departure, and although it does not +disappear it is believed to have accomplished its mission. + +The Duhoi are polygamous, as are the Kahayans. According to a rough +estimate, one-third of the people have one wife, one-third two, and +one-third three. If a girl declines the suitor on whose behalf the father +acts, she is not forced and the matter is closed. Should she agree, then +the price must first be determined, and is paid in goods, gongs, cattle, +domestic pigs, water-buffaloes, etc. Really poor people are not found +here, and the least amount a man pays for his wife is two gongs, which are +procured from the Malay trader. + +About sunset people gather for the marriage ceremony. The couple sit on +one gong. A water-buffalo, pig, or fowl having been sacrificed, the blian +sings and smears blood on navel, chest, and forehead of the pair. On +rising to go to their room the bridegroom beats seven times upon the gong +on which they were sitting, and before he enters the door he strikes the +upper lintel three times, shouting loudly with each blow. Food is brought +there, and while the door is left open the newly wedded eat meat and a +stew of nangka seasoned with red pepper and salt, the guests eating at the +same time. After the meal the bridegroom gives everybody tuak, and people +go home the same evening unless they become drunk, which often happens. +The young married couple remain one year with the bride's parents. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII + + +AGRICULTURAL PURSUITS--FACTS ABOUT ULU-OTS, THE WILD MEN OF +BORNEO--TAKING LEAVE OF THE INTERESTING DUHOI--A VISIT TO THE UPPER +KATINGANS--DANCING--FRIENDLY NATIVES--DOWN THE KATINGAN RIVER + +When about to make a new ladang one fowl is sacrificed in the morning and +the blood, with the usual addition of rice, is thrown up in the air by the +husband or wife as a present to antoh, the meat being reserved for home +consumption. On arrival at the selected place they carry the sharpening +stone some distance into the utan where a portion of the same mixture is +applied to it. A few weeks are devoted to cutting down the jungle, and +then about a month must pass before the felled trees, bushes, and vines +are dry enough to burn. + +On the day chosen for burning the wood a winnowing tray, on which the +outline of a human form has been crudely drawn with charcoal, is hung in +the house. The picture represents a good antoh named Putjong and he is +solicited to make the wind blow. When starting the fire every one yells +"hoi," thereby calling the winds. One day, or even a shorter time, may +suffice to burn the accumulations on the cleared space, and when the work +is finished all the participants must bathe. + +A simple house is then erected for occupancy while doing the necessary +work incident to the raising of crops. The work of clearing the ground is +immediately begun and completed in three or four weeks. Then comes +planting of the paddi preceded by a sacrifice of pig or fowl. The blood, +with the usual addition, is presented to antoh and also smeared on the +seed, which may amount to ten baskets full. All the blood having been +disposed of in this manner, the meat is put over the fire to cook, and at +the noon-day meal is eaten with boiled rice. + +In their agricultural pursuits people help each other, taking different +fields in turn, and at planting time thirty men may be engaged making +holes in the ground with long sticks, some of which may have rattles on +one end, a relic of former times, but every one uses the kind he prefers. +After them follow an equal number of women, each carrying a small basket +of paddi which she drops with her fingers into the holes, where it remains +uncovered. They do not plant when rain is falling. After planting is +finished, usually in one day, they repair to the kampong, have their +evening meal, and drink tuak until midnight. + +In five months the paddi is ready for cutting--a very busy time for the +people. There are perhaps fifty ladangs and all must be harvested. +Husband, wife, and children all work, and the family may have to labour by +themselves many weeks before helpers come. In the afternoon of the day +previous to commencing harvest work the following ceremony is performed, +to provide for which the owner and his wife have brought new rice from the +ladang as well as the kapatongs, which in the number of two to five have +been guarding the crop. + +Inside the room a couple of winnowing trays are laid on the floor and on +these are placed the kapatongs in recumbent position, axes, parangs, the +small knives used for cutting paddi and other knives, spears for killing +pigs as well as those for fish, fish-hooks and lines, the sharpening stone +and the hammer used in making parangs and other iron utensils. The +guardians of the ladang and the implements are to be regaled with new +paddi. + +Blood of pig and fowls mixed with new rice having been duly offered to +antoh, the mixture is smeared on the kapatongs and implements and a small +quantity is also placed on a plate near the trays. Here also stands a dish +of boiled rice and meat, the same kind of food which is eaten later by the +family. The owner with wife and children having concluded their meal, all +others present and as many as care to come are welcome to partake of new +rice and meat and to drink tuak. + +On the following day they go to the ladang to cut paddi, but barely half +the number that took part in the feast assist in the work. The first rice +spear that is cut is preserved to be taken home and tied underneath the +roof outside the door. This is done in order to prevent birds, monkeys, +rusa, or babi from eating the paddi. At the ladang rice is boiled, and on +this occasion the family and their guests eat at the same time. When the +first baskets of new paddi arrive at the storehouse and the grain is +poured out on the floor, a little blood from a fowl sacrificed is smeared +on it after the necessary offering to antoh has been thrown up into the +air. + +Upon the death of a man who was well-to-do, the body is kept for a period +of seven days in the coffin, within the family dwelling-house, but for a +poor man one day and night is long enough. Many people gather for the +funeral. There is little activity in the day time, but at night the work, +as the natives call it, is performed, some weeping, others dancing. When +the room is large the feast is held in the house, otherwise, outside. Fire +is kept burning constantly during the night, but not in the daytime. Many +antohs are supposed to arrive to feast on the dead man. People are afraid +of these supernatural associations but not of the departed soul. Formerly, +when erecting a funeral house for an important man, an attendant in the +next life was provided for him by placing a slave, alive, in the hole dug +for one of the upright posts, the end of the post being set directly over +him. + +On the Samba I found myself in close proximity to regions widely spoken of +elsewhere in Borneo as being inhabited by particularly wild people, called +Ulu-Ots: (ulu = men; ot = at the headwaters). Their habitats are the +mountainous regions in which originate the greatest rivers of Borneo, the +Barito, the Kapuas (western), and the Mahakam, and the mountains farther +west, from whence flow the Katingan, the Sampit, and the Pembuang, are +also persistently assigned to these ferocious natives. They are usually +believed to have short tails and to sleep in trees. Old Malays may still +be found who tell of fights they had forty or more years ago with these +wild men. The Kahayans say that the Ulu-Ots are cannibals, and have been +known to force old men and women to climb trees and hang by their hands to +the branches until sufficiently exhausted to be shaken down and killed. +The flesh is roasted before being eaten. They know nothing of agriculture +and to them salt and lombok are non-existent. Few of them survive. On the +authority of missionaries there are some three hundred such savages at the +headwaters of the Kahayan, who are described as very Mongolian in +appearance, with oblique eyes and prominent cheekbones, and who sleep in +trees. + +They are considered inveterate head-hunters, and the skulls of people +killed by them are used as drinking-vessels. Controleur Michielsen, who in +his report devotes two pages of hearsay to them, concludes thus: "In the +Upper Katingan for a long time to come it will be necessary to exercise a +certain vigilance at night against attacks of the Ulu-Ot head-hunters." A +civilised Kahayan who, twelve years previous to my visit, came upon one +unawares at the headwaters of the Samba, told me that the man carried in +his right hand a sampit, in his left a shield, and his parang was very +large. He wore a chavat made of fibre, and in his ear-lobes were inserted +large wooden disks; his skin was rather light and showed no tatuing; the +feet were unusually broad, the big toe turned inward, and he ran on his +toes, the heels not touching the ground. + +Without precluding the possibility, although remote, of some small, still +unknown tribe, it seems safe to assume that Ulu-Ot is simply a collective +name for several mountain tribes of Central Borneo with whom we already +have made acquaintance--the Penyahbongs, Saputans, Bukits, and Punans. Of +these the last two are nomads, the first named have recently been induced +to become agriculturists, and the Saputans some fifty years ago were still +in an unsettled state. The "onder" at Braui confirmed this opinion when +telling me of the fight he and thirty other Duhoi once had with +Penyahbongs from whom he captured two heads--for they are Ulu-Ots, he +said. + +Before all my things were cleared away from my camping-place and taken to +the prahus, the kapala and three women, one of them his wife, came and +seated themselves in a row close together in a squatting position. With +the few words of Malay he knew he explained that the women wanted to say +good-bye. No doubt it was their way, otherwise they have no greetings. At +the landing float the "onder" and his Kahayan assistant were present to +see us off. When leaving I was on the point of wishing I might return some +day to the unsophisticated Duhoi. + +On our arrival at Kuala Samba we found ourselves in a different +atmosphere. The Bakompai, although affable, are inquisitive and +aggressive, and do not inspire one with confidence. The cheerful old +Kahayan who lived on board our big prahu to guard it had just one measure +of rice left, and was promptly given more rations. On account of the low +water and the difficulties attending my use of the _Selatan_ it had long +been evident that I should have to give up my tour to the head of the +Katingan River, but before returning I desired to make the ascent as far +as to the first renowned kiham in order to see more of the Upper +Katingans. + +My prahu leaked so badly that we had to bail it out constantly, and the +men were the worst in my experience, lazy and very inefficient, only one +of them being strong and agile. Not until eight o'clock in the evening did +we reach our destination, the kampong Buntut Mangkikit. In beautiful +moonlight I put up my tent on the clearing along the river bank in front +of the houses, perhaps for the last time in a long period. The roar of the +rapids nearly two kilometres distant was plainly audible and soothing to +the nerves, reminding me of the subdued sound of remote waterfalls, +familiar to those who have travelled in Norway. However, the kiham at this +time was not formidable and comparatively few have perished there, but +many in the one below, which, though lower in its fall and very long, is +full of rocks. The nights here were surprisingly cool, almost cold, and +the mornings very chilly. + +A Kahayan was the only person about the place who could speak Malay. The +kapala presented the unusual spectacle of a man leaning on a long stick +when walking, disabled from wasting muscles of the legs. I have seen a +Lower Katingan who for two years had suffered in this way, his legs having +little flesh left, though he was able to move. The kapala was a truthful +and intelligent man who commanded respect. His wife was the greatest of +the four blians here, all women; male blians, as usual, being less in +demand. Her eyes were sunk in their sockets and she looked as if she had +spent too many nights awake singing, also as if she had been drinking too +much tuak. She had a staring though not unpleasant expression, was devoted +to her religious exercises, and possessed an interesting personality. + +A majority of the women was disinclined to face the camera, one of them +explaining that she was not ashamed but was afraid. However, an example in +acquiescence was set by the blian and her family. She wore for the +occasion an ancient Katingan bodice fitting snugly around the body, with +tight sleeves, the material showing foreign influence but not the style of +making. Another woman was dressed in the same way, and a big gold plate +hung over the upper part of the chest, as is the prevailing mode among +women and children. Gold is said to be found in the ground and the +Katingans themselves make it into ornaments. Many of the men wore chavats. + +Of the men that were measured, one was sombre brown, darker than the rest, +and three harelips were observed. A man may have from one to three wives, +who sometimes fight, but all ends well. In each family there are at least +two children, and often as many as seven, while one woman had borne +eleven, of whom only four survived. The feminine fashion in hair-dressing +is the same as that followed by the Duhoi, which looks well, the hair +folded over on each side with some locks tied over the middle. I saw here +two implements called duhong, knives shaped like broad spear points, +relics of ancient times, with which the owners would not part. The +Katingans are probably the friendliest and best tempered Dayaks I met. The +children are tender hearted: when the kapala's nude little son, about two +and a half years old, approached my film box his father spoke harshly to +him; the child immediately began to cry bitterly and his mother, the great +blian, soothed and affectionately kissed him until he became calm. + +The obliging kapala, in order to do his bit to induce the people to dance, +offered to present one pig if I would give rice and salt. The dancing, +which was performed around a blanga on a mat spread on the ground, was +similar in character to what may be seen elsewhere in Borneo. Four men and +four women performed one dance. In another only women took part, and they +moved one behind another in a circle with unusually quick, short steps, +signifying that good antohs had taken possession of them. The principal +blian later sat down on a mat and sang; three women sitting near +accompanied her by beating small oblong drums. They all became +enthusiastic, for music attracts good antohs. In the Katingan language the +word lauk means creature; an additional word, earth, water, or air, as the +case may be, signifying whether an animal, a bird, or a fish is meant. + +Having accomplished in a short time as much as could be expected, we +returned to Kuala Samba, and from there, in the first week of January, +started southward in our big prahu. The river was very low, and after half +an hour we were compelled to take on board two Bakompai men as pilots +among the sand banks. At Ball the coffin was found to be ready and was +taken on board. It had been well-made, but the colours were mostly, if not +all, obtained from the trader and came off easily, which was somewhat +disappointing. It seemed smaller than the original, though the makers +insisted that it was quite similar and challenged me to go and see the one +they had copied, which was in the vicinity, behind the kampong. + +Here I saw a new and somewhat striking arrangement for the disposition of +the dead. A small white house contained several coffins guarded by seven +kapatongs of medium size, which stood in a row outside, with the lower +part of their legs and bodies wrapped in mats. The skull of a +water-buffalo and many pigs' jaws hung near by. Two tall memorial staffs, +called pantars, had been erected, but instead of the wooden image of the +great hornbill which usually adorns the top, the Dutch flag presented +itself to view. Appearing beautiful to the Dayaks it had been substituted +for the bird. The all-important second funeral having been celebrated, the +dead occupied their final resting place. + +We spent the night at a large kampong where there was a fine, +straightforward kapala who appeared at a disadvantage only when, with +intent to please me, he wore clothes, but from whom I gained valuable +information. He also had a sense of humour, and next day when our coffin +was carried ashore, in order that I might be enlightened in regard to the +significance of its decorations, he laughed heartily and exclaimed in +astonishment at the sight. With the exception of the upper part of the +back, few parts of his body were left uncovered with tatu marks. Over and +below each knee he had extra designs to protect him from disease, he said, +each of which represented a fish of ancient times. + +At our next and last stopping-place the small pasang grahan, on very tall +poles, was in poor condition and the roof was full of holes, but the +kapala, an uncommonly satisfactory man--there was no Malay about him--saw +to it that rough palm-leaf mats were placed above the ceiling to protect +against possible rain, and two large rattan mats were spread on the shaky +floor, so we had a good camping-place. There was an unusually pretty view +of the majestic river from up there, including a wide bend just below. +Experience modifies one's requirements, and I felt content as I took my +bath at the outer corner of the shed, high above the still water on which +the moon shone placidly. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + + +KASUNGAN--THE WEALTH OF THE DAYAKS--ANIMISM--GUARDIANS OF THE DEAD--HUGE +SERPENTS--CROCODILES--GOVERNMENT OF DAYS GONE BY--KATINGAN CUSTOMS AND +BELIEFS + +Next day we arrived at Kasungan, where we were offered quarters in a large +room in the "onder's" house. There was no news of our steamer, the +_Selatan_, and I remained about a week. The "onder," a Kahayan who had been +here twenty-five years, had the intelligence and reliability that seems +characteristic of the Dayaks of the Kahayan and Kapuas Rivers, and, as a +matter of course, possessed extensive knowledge of the Katingan. He had +lately been converted to Christianity. The kampong was quite large, and +although it has been subject to the influence of Malay traders a long time +and quite recently to that of a missionary, still the natives offered +considerable of interest. It is only eight years since the communal house +obtained. Before some of the houses stand grotesque kapatongs, and the +majority of the population lives in the atmosphere of the long ago. I was +still able to buy ethnological articles and implements which are becoming +increasingly difficult to secure. + +On entering a house the salutation is, _Akko domo_ (I (akko) arrive). To +this is answered, _Munduk_ (Sit down). On leaving the visitor says, _Akko +buhao_ (I am going). To which is responded, Come again. On my way to visit +a prominent Katingan I passed beneath a few cocoanut trees growing in +front of the house, as is the custom, while a gentle breeze played with +the stately leaves. "Better get away from there," my native guide suddenly +said; "a cocoanut may fall," and we had scarcely arrived inside the house +before one fell to the ground with a resounding thump half a metre from +where I had been standing. Eighteen years previously a Katingan had been +killed in this way as he descended the ladder. Eleven years later another +was carrying his child on his back when a cocoanut of small size hit and +killed the little one. + +The man whose house I visited was rich, according to Dayak standard, not +in money, but in certain wares that to him are of equal or greater value. +Besides thirty gongs, rows of fine old valuable jars stood along the walls +of his room. There are several varieties of these blangas, some of which +are many hundred years old and come from China or Siam. This man possessed +five of the expensive kind, estimated by the "onder" at a value of six +thousand florins each. He consented to have one of the ordinary kind, +called gutshi, taken outside to be photographed; to remove the real +blanga, he said, would necessitate the sacrifice of a fowl. To the casual +observer no great difference between them is apparent, their worth being +enhanced by age. In 1880 Controleur Michielsen saw thirty blangas in one +house on the Upper Katingan, among them several that in his estimation +were priceless. Over them hung forty gongs, of which the biggest, +unquestionably, had a diameter of one metre. Without exaggeration it +represented, he says, a value of f. 15,000, and he was informed that the +most valuable blangas were buried in the wilds at places known only to the +owner. No European had been there since Schwaner, over thirty years +previously, passed the river. + +In front of another house was a group of very old-looking stones which are +considered to be alive, though such is not the belief with reference to +all stones, information in that regard being derived from dreams. Those on +view here are regarded as slaves (or soldiers) of a raja, who is +represented by a small kapatong which presides in a diminutive, +half-tumbled-down house, and who is possessed by a good antoh that may +appear in human shape at night. When the people of the kampong need rice or +have any other wish, a fowl or pig is killed; the blood is smeared on the +raja and on the slaves, and some of the meat is deposited in a jar standing +next to him. When advised of what is wanted the raja gives the slaves +orders to see that the people are supplied. + +At each side of the base of a ladder, a little further on, stood a post +with a carving of a tiger-cat grasping a human head and guarding the +entrance. They are a protection to the owner of the house against evil +antohs; it is as if they were saying: "Keep away, antoh! You see I slew a +man, so you know what will happen to you!" + +The bones of dead persons were kept at the back of at least one dwelling, +inside the appropriate small house provided for the purpose, and some +curious kapatongs of large size were to be seen, some of which had guarded +the dead for more than a hundred years. One has the head of a good antoh, +showing big corner teeth and out-hanging tongue, as he watches that no bad +antohs come to injure the dead man's soul. + +A woman carrying a betel box is believed to watch well because when +chewing betel one does not sleep; but in her case there must always be a +male kapatong near by, for a woman alone is not sufficient protection. +Betel makes the mouth and lips beautiful in the estimation of the natives, +therefore many kapatongs are seen with betel box in hand. + +A very extraordinary guardian of the dead is a loving pair, the man's arm +placed affectionately over the shoulder of his companion. Lovers do not +sleep, hence they are good at watching, reasons the Dayak. + +In these regions I gathered some information about the huge serpent of +which one hears occasionally in Borneo, called sahua by the Malays, and +which, according to accounts, may attain a length of seven or eight +metres. It is able to remain long under water, moves slowly on land, and +can climb trees. Deer and pigs are its usual food, but at times it attacks +and eats natives. A few years previously this python devoured a Katingan, +and as it remains at the same place for some time after a meal, two days +later it was found and killed. These Dayaks kill it with knives, spears +being ineffectual, and the meat is eaten. A very large lizard is also said +to be a man-eater. + +Crocodiles are numerous here, and at low water have been responsible for +the disappearance of many Katingans. They are considered good antohs, but +if one of the monsters devours a man arrangements are made to kill it, +though otherwise the natives prefer not to do so and do not eat it. For +the purpose of capture they use a piece of strong wood, about three +centimetres thick, pointed at each end. A line of fibre a metre long is +tied to the middle, and about half a metre above the surface of the water +an ill-smelling monkey or dog is suspended from it as bait. When swallowed +by the crocodile the stick usually becomes wedged in the mouth between the +upper and lower jaws and he is hauled ashore. + +A few years before my visit the brother of the kapala was eaten by a +crocodile as he and two other Katingans were fishing with a casting-net. +While sitting in the prahu he was attacked by the animal and dragged below +the surface of the water. The entire kampong was incensed and believed +that a bad antoh had ordered the crocodile to commit the evil deed. A babi +was immediately killed and the blood sacrificed to induce a good antoh to +come and help them; they also danced for the same purpose, while some of +them prepared the material with which to catch the reptile. They have been +fishing for crocodiles ever since, for their religion prohibits quitting +until the bait is taken either by the large fish, tapa, or by the python, +called sahua. When either of these huge animals swallows the bait, that +event is regarded as a sign from a good antoh to the effect that their +task is finished. Many years may elapse before the message comes and the +kapala, who had caught fifty, must still continue, for twenty years if +necessary, until the sign appears. + +When preparing to kill crocodiles the magic use of rice is as essential as +when the lives of men are to be taken, proceedings in both cases being +identical. If a Katingan wants to get a head he must pay the blian to +conjure with rice--a cupful is enough--and to dance. To have this done +costs one or two florins. During incantations and dancing the blian throws +the rice in the direction of the country where the man wants to operate. +By the act of throwing the rice an antoh is called to assist and he causes +the intended victim to become stupid and forgetful, therefore easily +killed. From two to seven days later a start is made on the expedition, +and when the head is cut the rice is sure to be found inside. + +In earlier days the kampongs were ruled by hereditary rajas called bakas, +who held their people in firm subjection, and they are reported to have +fought much among themselves. According to the "onder" of the kampong, it +was not an unusual occurrence to murder a rich man and take his goods as +well as his head, and as murder could not be compensated with money, his +relatives having to avenge the deed, a vendetta ensued which might last +five or six years. A custom which required a debtor to become the slave of +his creditor, even in the case of brothers, has been abolished. + +Formerly when an enemy approached a curious message was sent from kampong +to kampong. To the top of a spear was tied a tail feather of the +rhinoceros hornbill, symbolising rapid movement, and also a woman's skirt +of fibre with a bunch of odoriferous leaves attached. Women used to fasten +these to the skirt in addition to those placed in the hair. This meant an +urgent order for people to gather quickly for the fight, and in the event +of failure to obey the call promptly the leaves and skirt signified +unworthiness to wear masculine attire. + +Two methods of fire-making were in use here, by drilling or by friction +with a rope made of fibre or rattan across a block of wood. The Katingan +does not know the art of doing inlaid work on the blade of the parang, in +which Kenyahs and Kayans excel, and he makes no earthen ware. Hair that +has been cut from the head must be placed in a tree. Their sacred number +is seven, as is that of the Ot-Danum, Kapuas, and Kahayan. As usual with +Dayaks, all members of the family eat at the same time as the men. Sons +and daughters inherit equally, while brothers and sisters receive nothing +unless the deceased was childless. + +The father of a young man must arrange the payment for the bride, and +probably receives remuneration himself for the service rendered. The +son-in-law remains in the house of his father-in-law a year or more and +assists him. A raja was privileged to have five or six wives. + +During the period of pregnancy both wife and husband are subject to the +following restrictions: + +1. They must not split firewood, otherwise harelip will result, or a child +with double thumbs. + +2. The arms or legs must not be cut off from any animal caught, else the +child will have stumps of arms or legs. + +3. When fish has been caught the couple must not open the head themselves; +if they do the child will be born without ears. + +4. The husband must not make fish hooks, or the child will be born doubled +up in a wrong position, perhaps causing the mother's death. + +5. Neither of them may stretch up either arm to take food from the hanging +trays of bamboo, called toyang. Should they do so the child will come into +the world arm first, or probably not be born. + +6. They must not nail up boxes or anything else (nails were formerly of +wood), nor tie up anything,--for instance, a rattan for drying +clothes,--nor lock a trunk, else the child will not be born and the mother +will die. + +7. In case of feeling hot, if he or she should take off their upper +garments they must not be tied round the neck, or the child will be born +dead, with the navel cord around its neck. + +8. The work of tying split bamboo sticks into loose mats, for instance +such as are used in the bottom of the prahu, must not be done, or the +child will be born with two and two or all four fingers grown together. + +9. They must not put the cork in a bottle or place the cover on a bamboo +basket containing rice in order to close it for a considerable time, as in +that case the child will be born blind in one or both eyes, or with one +ear, one nostril, or the rectum closed, but the cover may be put back on a +basket from which rice is taken for daily use. + +10. For five months the work of putting a handle on a parang and fastening +it with damar must not be done else both mother and child would die. + +The name given the child when the umbilical cord is cut remains unchanged. +Among names in vogue here for men are Bugis (black), Spear, Axe, Duhong +(ancient knife), etc., Tingang and other names of birds, or names taken +from animals, fish, trees, and fruit; many are called Peti, the Malay name +for a steel trunk sold by traders. A person must not give his own name nor +call by the name of his father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, +grandfather or grandmother, whether they are alive or dead. If one of +these names is given there will be no luck, for instance, in fishing or +hunting. + +There are many sorts of páli (sins) but all may be paid for in kind or by +sacrifice. One of the most serious is that of a widow who marries before +the second funeral of her husband has been solemnised. Although the rule +does not apply to husband and wife, a man is forbidden to touch a woman's +dress and vice versa, and transgression must be made good by sacrifice of +a fowl or even a pig. In case a chavat or other article of clothing +belonging to a man has been hung to dry after washing, and a woman other +than his wife wishes to take the garment from the rattan line, she must +use a stick for the purpose. + +Every big tree is believed to have an antoh in possession of it, some +being well disposed, others of evil disposition. When a man is killed by +falling from a tree, members of his family come and proceed to hit it with +darts blown from the sumpitan, cut it with parangs, spear it, and as final +punishment it is felled. Many people gather, angry with the tree antoh, +and a feast is made for the purpose of calling a good spirit to drive away +or kill the bad one. + +When a large tree falls no work is done for seven days. House building +must cease and sacrificial offerings of pork and tuak are made to a good +antoh to induce him to deal with the evil one that caused the mishap. + +Travellers who encounter omen birds, or hear the cry of a rusa at noon, or +similar omens, camp for three days and then proceed to the nearest kampong +to buy fowl, a pig, and eggs, in order to sacrifice not only to the bird +or animal that gave the omen, but also to the good antoh which sent it. +Seven days afterward the journey is continued. + +When a plandok (mouse-deer) appears underneath a house the owner is sure +to die unless proper remedies are employed. If people succeed in catching +the animal it is not killed, but smeared all over with cocoanut oil. Then +they kill a dog, take its blood, which is mixed with rice and thrown to +the plandok; also the blood of a fowl, with the same addition, is offered. +The plandok's liao is given this to eat in order that he may not cause the +occupant of the house to die; the animal is then carried into the utan, +about an hour's walk, and set free. Three days afterward they sacrifice a +pig, the blood of which, with the usual admixture, is given to the bad +antoh who sent the plandok, with entreaties not to kill the man. For seven +days the head of the house stays in the kampong, being free to bathe in +the river and walk about, but he must not go outside the settlement. + +The red monkey is an attendant of a bad antoh, and if he enters a house or +comes on the roof or underneath the house it is considered very +unfortunate. There is no remedy and the owner must move elsewhere; the +house is demolished, the wooden material carried away and erected in +another kampong. Should he remain at the same place there would be much +strife between him and his neighbours. If a wah-wah climbs on a roof the +house will burn down. There is no remedy for this either; the incumbent +leaves and makes a new home. + +On the other hand, should a scaly ant-eater enter a room it is a joyful +event, indicating that the owner will become rich. The animal is caught, +blood from a fowl is smeared over him, and he is carried back to the utan. + +If it should so happen that a red-backed lizard, a timid animal rather +common about kampongs, enters a house it also brings good luck. A good +antoh gave it the order to come, and it means much paddi, a gutshi, and +other good things. Three fowls must be sacrificed and the people also +dance. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV + + +FUNERAL CUSTOMS OF THE KATINGANS--DEPARTURE FROM KASUNGAN--AN ATTEMPTED +VISIT TO SEMBULO--INDIFFERENT MALAYS--A STRANGE DISEASE--THE BELIEF IN +TAILED PEOPLE--THE LEGEND OF THE ANCESTOR OF TAILED MEN + +When a liao departs through the top of the head and death occurs, gongs +are beaten for twenty-four hours. Five or six men set to work to make a +beautiful coffin similar to the one already described; this is often +finished in a day and the corpse, having been washed, is immediately +placed within it. For a man a new chavat of wood fibre is adjusted around +the loins, without other vestments. Another day is consumed in the work of +decorating the coffin, which is done by men, while women weave diminutive +mats, which are left less than half finished and are laid on top of the +casket. For three days and as many nights the remains are kept in the +house, and, if a man, his duhong (ancient knife), parang, knife, spear, +sumpitan, betel box, tobacco container, and much food are placed nearby. + +After these matters have received attention, food is eaten by those +present. Fires are kept burning within the house and also outside, and +after each meal the people strike one another's legs with firebrands in +order to forget their grief. Members of the family, who begin to wail +immediately after his death, continue to do so constantly for seven days, +and they wear no red garments until after the tiwah feast which +constitutes his second funeral. The coffin is buried in the ground or +placed on a crude platform, and, when this work is finished, thorough +ablution in water containing leaves which possess qualities especially +adapted to this purpose is the rule for everybody concerned. This is done +to the end that no odour of the dead shall linger, thus exposing the +living to danger from the bad antoh that is responsible for the +unfortunate event which necessitated their recent activities. Later, all +partake of tuak, including the children. + +After this preliminary disposal of the body the family begins to plan for +the second and final funeral, which is considered a compensation to the +departed soul for the property he left behind. Caution demands that they +be very punctilious about this, for the ghost, though believed to be far +above this plane, is thought to be resentful, with power to cause +misfortunes of various kinds and therefore is feared. Until recently, when +a man of means died, a slave had to be killed and his head placed on top +of the coffin. When time for the second funeral, the tiwah, came round +another slave was killed and his head hung near by. They are his +attendants in the next life, but many more and elaborate arrangements are +necessary to satisfy the demands of the liao, and they must be fully +complied with on the celebration of the tiwah, the most elaborate of all +feasts in Borneo. + +When the deceased is well-to-do this observance may follow immediately, +but usually years go by and many liaoes are served at the same time. On +the great occasion the coffin is put on a big fire for a couple of hours +until the flesh has been burned from the bones, which are then collected +in a small box and placed in a house of limited proportions especially +constructed for this purpose and called sandung. It is made of ironwood, +and in these regions the people have a preference for placing it high +above the ground, but it may also be put underground in a subterranean +chamber also made of ironwood, which may take five or six months to +construct and which is large enough to accommodate a family. The feast +lasts one week, during which food and tuak are provided. Every night the +women dance inside the house, around a tree composed of many bamboo stalks +placed together so as to form a large trunk. As elsewhere mentioned, +(Chapter XIV), the dancing, which is similar to that which follows the +harvest, is for the benefit of the ghost and is distinct from the usual +performance. + +As soon as the tiwah feast has been decided upon the people start +simultaneously to perfect the various arrangements, some looking for a +water-buffalo or two, others beginning to make the several contrivances +which the occasion demands. Many men are thus occupied for several months. +There are experts in the required handiwork, though a skilful man may be +capable of performing all the various tasks. In earlier days the different +memorials and the box containing the bones were placed in front of the +house of the deceased, but of late years government officials have made +some changes in this arrangement. When preparing for a tiwah feast it was +the custom to close the river for perhaps three months by suspending a +rattan rope on which were hung many spears of wood, tail feathers of the +great hornbill, and leaves of certain trees. After a head had been secured +the impediment was removed, but the government has forbidden the temporary +obstruction. + +A most important matter is the construction of the device to which the +water-buffalo, formerly the slave, is tied when sacrificed. In its make-up +it expresses symbolically the rules of behaviour for the widow until after +the feast has been celebrated. Its name is panyanggaran, an obscure word +which probably may be derived from sangar, which means to kill; the place +of killing. + +The foundation is a large post, usually of ironwood, firmly planted in the +ground; its top is pointed and a little below, on either side, is attached +horizontally a piece of dressed wood like two arms. Further below a number +of sticks are affixed to each side, pointing obliquely upward, and all on +a plane with the arms above. These sticks, usually three on each side but +sometimes more, are considered as spears, and the top of each is finished +with a rosette representing four spear-points, called kalapiting. The post +itself is also regarded as a spear and is called _balu_ (widow), while the +sticks are named _pampang-balu_ (widow rules). It seems possible that the +post also represents the woman, head, arms, and body being recognisable. +However that may be, the attached sticks are regarded as so many rules and +reminders for the widow. In Kasungan I saw in one case eight sticks, in +another only four. The rules may thus vary or be applicable to different +cases, though some are fundamental. + +Assuming that the requirements are six in number, according to my +informant, the following should be observed by the widow: (1) To make the +tiwah feast; (2) to refrain from remarriage until the feast has been +celebrated; (3) to abstain from sexual intercourse; (4) to remain in the +same place until after the feast; (5) to ask permission from the family of +the deceased if she wants to leave the kampong temporarily; (6) to wear no +red garments until the feast has been completed. Should any of these +injunctions be disregarded a gutshi, the value of which may be twenty +florins, must be paid to his relatives. If the widow desires to marry +earlier than the tiwah feast she is required to pay the entire cost of the +celebration, and sometimes an additional amount. + +A simpler device than the panyanggaran is also used, serving a similar +purpose and called sapundo. It consists of an upright post carved to +represent the face of a good antoh, with tongue hanging out. To this +pillar is tied a water-buffalo (as substitute for the slave formerly +employed), a cow, or pig. As the sapundo is much easier to make it is used +by the orang kampong or poor people. For a rich man who has gone hence +both contrivances may be erected. + +Another matter demanding attention is the erection of a tall, rather +slender pole of ironwood, called pantar. A gong or gutshi strung near the +top signifies that the deceased was a person of wealth and prominence, +while a wooden image of the rhinoceros hornbill occupies a lofty position +on the pinnacle. On account of its ability to discern objects at a great +distance, this bird is regarded as a good watchman to guard the sacrifice, +whether it be a water-buffalo or other animal. The pantar itself simply +means "in memoriam," as if enjoining: "Don't forget this man!" These +primitive monuments sometimes last over a hundred years, and more than one +may be raised for the same man. Should it prove impossible to secure a +water-buffalo, an ordinary cow may serve as sacrifice. The family thereby +presents the animal's liao (soul) to the liao of the deceased, and the +blian by dancing and sacrifice calls the latter to come and eat. Not only +this, but the liao of every animal, bird, and fish which the family eats +from the time of his death until the tiwah feast is given to him. Account +is kept by incised cross-cuts on certain posts, notifying him of the +number. I was told that when a raja died similar marks of account were +made on a slave. The jaws of pigs or other animals, hanging by scores in +the houses, together with heads of fish and legs of birds, are similar +accounts for the same purpose, and all close with the tiwah feast. + +A kapatong must be made, or, if the deceased were rich, perhaps two or +three, which are inaugurated by the blian in the usual way, to be the +ghost's attendants and guardians. The remaining duties to be performed are +the making of a box or coffin for the bones to rest in, and the house in +which it is to be deposited, either above or under the ground as may be +decided. These tasks accomplished, no further responsibility devolves upon +the widow or other members of the family. + +On my return journey I stopped a few hours at a kampong in the vicinity to +see some stones that, according to Katingan belief, are alive and +multiplying. As my visit was expected, a fowl had just been sacrificed to +these guardians of the kampong, and a fire made from bark was burning near +by to keep the stones comfortable, so they would not be angry at being +photographed. There were two roundish specimens, almost honeycombed with +small cavities, one of them, scarcely twenty-five centimetres high, being +regarded as masculine and the other, smaller and covered with green moss, +was supposed to be of feminine gender. Originally, as the story goes, only +these two were there, but later six "children" appeared, as evidenced by +six smaller stones lying close to the "parents." The domain held sacred to +this interesting family was bounded by four pieces of wood, each about a +metre in length. Over all was extended a small square piece of red cloth +supported on four upright sticks, which had been placed there two weeks +before on behalf of a sick man whose recovery was attributed to this act +of veneration. In front of the small enclosure lay four stones of +inconsiderable size, lying in two pairs and supposed to be attendants; in +the rear was a small house, reputed to be over three hundred years old, +its purpose being to protect the stones, where offerings of food, with +skulls of deer and pigs, were deposited. + +Next day we met the _Selatan_ on its way up the river, brought our luggage +on board, and continued our journey. We had a disagreeable night before +arriving at Bandjermasin; in fact, it is risky to travel south of Borneo +in a steam-launch in January. As the wind was strong and the waves were +too high for us to proceed, anchor was thrown and we were tossed about, +the lamps went out, and, according to the captain, the boat nearly turned +over. Mr. Loing, prostrate with seasickness, saved himself from being +thrown overboard by grasping the rail. + +After packing my collections I again set out for Sampit with the intention +of revisiting Sembulo by another route, proceeding by prahu up the Kuala +Sampit as far as possible, and then marching overland to the lake. The +controleur was absent, but his native clerk and the kapala together got me +the prahus and the men, such as the place afforded. As usual, the Malay +coolies were late in arriving and began making many difficulties about +various things. To cheer them I gave each f. 1.50 in advance, which made +them all happy, and in buoyant, talkative spirits they immediately went +off to buy rice, dried fish, tobacco, cigarettes, and other things. All +was well, and at ten o'clock in the morning we finally started, with a +native policeman in attendance. + +An hour later the coolies wanted to cook rice. It did not take long to +discover that they were not very useful, though the clerk had done his +best. Two brothers were intolerably lazy, continually resting the paddles, +lighting cigarettes, washing their faces, etc., the elder, after the full +meal they had eaten, actually falling asleep at times. The interest of the +men centred in eating and early camping, and we made slow progress, +detained besides by a thunder-storm, as it was impossible to make headway +against the strong wind. The man at the helm of the small prahu was +intelligent, and from him I finally obtained information about a place to +stop for the night. + +At six o'clock we arrived at the mouth of the Kuala Sampit, where we found +it difficult to effect a landing on account of the dilapidated condition +of the landing-float. Some distance from the water stood a lonely house, +in genuine Malay style, with high-gabled roof. The stairs afforded +precarious access, a condition which may have been regarded as a +protection, but more likely it was due to laziness and want of care. +However that may have been, the interior was surprisingly substantial, +with an excellent floor like that in a ballroom. I slept in a detached +ramshackle room used as a kitchen, comfortable because of being open to +the air. + +In the morning the Malays were again too late. I was ready for a start at +six o'clock, but about that time they began to cook. The small river, +perhaps twenty metres wide, is deep enough to have allowed a steam-launch +of the _Selatan's_ dimensions to go as far as the kampong Rongkang, our +first destination, and there is little current. At five o'clock we had to +stop to give the men opportunity to prepare their rice, and in the evening +we arrived at Rongkang. The gongs were being beaten lustily in the +darkness; we thought it must be on account of a death, which proved to be +the case, a woman having died some days before. The house which was placed +at my disposal was more nearly airtight than usual. + +The kapala said it was difficult to get men, but he would do his best. A +strange epidemic had lately appeared, and some deaths had occurred in the +kampongs of this region. In the room I occupied a woman had recently +recovered from an attack of a week's duration. The disease, which probably +is a variety of cholera, was described to me as being a severe diarrhoea +accompanied by vomiting, paralysis, and fever, the crisis occurring in +three to five days. The disorder appears to rise from the feet, and if it +settles between the liver and heart may prove fatal in half a day. As I +learned later, this illness, which the Malays call men-tjo-tjok, is +usually present in the inland region of the Sampit River, and is also +found on the upper parts of the Kahayan and Pembuang Rivers. + +People in this neighbourhood were lappar (hungry), having no rice, and the +men were absent in the utan looking for rattan, white damar, and rubber, +which they exchange for rice from Chinese traders. Under such +circumstances, chiefly women and children are left in the kampongs. Of +nearly thirty men needed for my overland trip, only three could be +mustered here. One Dayak who was perfectly well in the evening came next +morning to consult me about the prevalent illness which he had contracted +during the night. The only available course was to return to Sampit. + +The name of the Dayaks here and on Lake Sembulo is Tamoan (or Samoan), +with intermixture of Katingans, who are said to understand each other's +language. Most of these friendly natives had fair-sized beards, some only +mustaches. The elder men complainingly said that the younger ones no +longer want to tatu nor cut the front teeth. No haste was apparent about +making the coffin for the woman who had been dead four days; although not +yet commenced they said it would be completed that day. + +The left bank of the river is much higher than the right, which is +flooded, therefore the utan on that side presents a very different +appearance, with large, fine-looking trees and no dense underbrush. All +was fresh and calm after the rain which prevails at this season +(February). There were showers during the afternoon, at times heavy, and +the Malays were much opposed to getting wet, wanting to stop paddling, +notwithstanding the fact that the entire prahu was covered with an atap. +As we approached the mouth of the river, where I intended to camp for the +night, I noticed a prahu halting at the rough landing place of a ladang, +and as we passed it the rain poured down. When the single person who was +paddling arose to adjust the scanty wet clothing I perceived that it was a +woman, and looking back I discovered her husband snugly at ease under a +palm-leaf mat raised as a cover. He was then just rising to walk home. +That is the way the men of Islam treat their women. Even one of the Malay +paddlers saw the humour of the situation and laughed. + +At Rongkang I was told the legend of the dog that in ancient times had +come from the inland of Borneo to Sembulo, where it became progenitor of +the tailed people. In various parts of Borneo I heard about natives with +short tails, and there are to-day otherwise reliable Dayaks, Malays, and +even Chinese, who insist that they have seen them. Especially in regard to +their presence at the lake of Sembulo, at the kampong of the same name, +the consensus of opinion is strong. That place is the classical ground for +the rumour of tailed men, and I thought it worth while, before leaving +Borneo, to make another attempt later to reach Sembulo and investigate the +reasons for the prevalent belief in tailed humans in that locality. The +most complete legend on this subject I obtained from a prominent +ex-district kapala, Kiai Laman, a Kahayan Dayak converted to Islam. He has +travelled much in certain sections of Borneo, is interested in folklore +matters, and told his stories without apparent errors or contradictions. +The tale here rendered is from the Ot-Danums on the Upper Kahayan River. + +A male dog called Belang started out to hunt for game--pig, deer, plandok. +The kampong heard him bark in the manner common to dogs when on the trail +of an animal, and then the baying ceased. The owner watched for the animal +to return, but for half a year there was no news of him. In the meantime +the dog had gone to Sembulo, making the trip in fifteen days. He appeared +there in the shape of a man, took part in the work of the kampong, and +married. His wife bore a child who had a tail, not long, about ten +centimetres. "I do not like to tell a lie," said my raconteur. "What the +sex was I do not know, but people say it was a male infant. She had +another child, a female, also with a tail." + +In the ladang the woman thought the crying of her children sounded very +strange. "It is not like that of other infants," she said. "Other people +have no tails and you have; you look like the children of a dog." Their +father replied: "In truth I am a dog," and immediately he resumed his +natural form, ran away, and after an interval arrived in the Upper +Kahayan, where his owner welcomed him, and the dog lived to old age and +died. + +In due time the two children married and had large families, all of whom +had tails, but since the Malays came and married Sembulo women the tails +have become shorter and shorter. At present most of the people have none, +and those that remain are not often seen because clothes are now worn; +however, many travellers to Sembulo have beheld them. + +The rendering from Rongkal is similar, with this difference: The man from +Upper Kahayan followed his dog--which at sight of his master resumed +canine form--and killed it. According to a Malay version, a raja of +Bandjermasin was much disliked and the people made him leave the country. +He took a female dog with him in the prahu and went to Sembulo, where he +had children all of whom had tails. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV + + +A VISIT TO KUALA KAPUAS--A BREED OF STUMP-TAILED DOGS--THE SHORT-TAILED +CATS OF BORNEO--A SECOND EXPEDITION TO LAKE SEMBULO-NATIVES UNDISMAYED BY +BERI-BERI--THE TAMOANS--THE PRACTICE OF INCISION + +The second trip to Sembulo had to be postponed until the return of the +controleur of Sampit from an extended tour, when the steam-launch +_Selatan_ would again be placed at my service. During the weeks of waiting +I made a trip to Kuala Kapuas, northwest of Bandjermasin. The Kapuas River +is broad here, I should say at least 600 metres; if there is any wind one +cannot cross because the prahus are all made of iron-wood and sink easily, +owing to the fact that they are heavy and do not accommodate themselves to +the waves. A German missionary and family had been here ten years. The +children looked a little pale but strong, and had never had malaria nor +children's diseases. + +I soon became convinced that there was little here for me to learn. The +Dayaks have been too long exposed to Malay and European influences, though +still able to make splendid mats, for which this place is well known. +Malay ascendancy is strong on the lower courses of the two great rivers +that meet here, on the Kapuas as far as Djangkang, on the Kahayan as far +as Pahandut. I carried away mud for future zoological examination from the +bottom of a pool, ten minutes walk from the shore. There are always small +fish in it, and three or four times a year it is flooded. In dry seasons, +although not every year, the water of the sea reaches as far as Mandumei. + +In Bandjermasin my attention was drawn to an interesting breed of +stump-tailed dogs which belonged to Mr. B. Brouers. The mother is a white +terrier which has but half a tail, as if cut off. When she had pups, two +had stump tails, two had long ones, and one had none; her sister has no +tail. Though the fathers are the ordinary yellowish Dayak dogs with long +tails, the breed apparently has taken nothing or next to nothing from +them. They are all white, sometimes with hardly noticeable spots of +yellow. + +Nobody who has travelled in Borneo can have failed to notice the great +number of short-tailed cats. In Bandjermasin those with long tails are +very rare, and among Malays and Dayaks I do not remember ever having seen +them. They are either stub-tailed or they have a ball at the end of a tail +that is usually twisted and exceptionally short. These cats are small and +extremely tame, and can hardly be pushed away with a kick, because they +have always been used to having their own way in the house. They are more +resourceful and enterprising than the ordinary domestic cat, using their +claws to an almost incredible extent in climbing down perpendicular wooden +walls, or in running under the roof on rafters chasing mice. I have twice +photographed such cats, a liberty which they resented by striking +viciously at the man who held them and growling all the time. Their +accustomed food is rice and dried fish. + +The steamship _Janssens_ had recently reduced its already infrequent +sailings for Singapore, which caused some delay, but finally, toward the +end of March, I embarked for Sampit. I was glad to see the controleur, who +came down to the pier, for the rare occasions when steamers call here are +almost festive events, and arrangements were at once made for my journey +to Sembulo. At Pembuang we took on board the native kapala of the +district, who was to accompany me; he also brought an attendant, a cook, +and a policeman, all natives. Twelve hours later, when we arrived at the +kampong Sembulo, the kapala who came on board the _Selatan_ informed us +that no Dayaks were there. As the lake was low and the water continued to +fall it was impossible to proceed to Bangkal, the other kampong, or to +remain here more than a few days. Therefore, at my request the native +authorities agreed to have the Bangkal Dayaks congregate here, the kapala +himself undertaking to bring them. + +The population of the kampong Sembulo, formerly called Pulau Tombak, at +the present time is Malay, comprising more than two hundred full-grown +men, nearly all recent arrivals from Bandjermasin, Sampit, Pembuang, and +other places. Very little rice is planted because the soil is sandy and +unsuited to cultivation, therefore the inhabitants confine their +activities mainly to rubber gathering. At that time about a hundred men +were busy in the jungle on the opposite side, gathering white rubber, +which is plentiful in the surrounding country. They cross the lake in +their small prahus, pole them up the streams, and remain perhaps three +months in the utan working under adverse conditions. When engaged in their +pursuit they must always stand in water, which covers the ground and is +usually shallow but at times reaches to the armpit. + +Four weeks previously an epidemic of beri-beri had started with a +mortality of one or two every day. When attacked by the disease they +return to the kampong but only few recover, most of them dying from one or +the other of the two forms of beri-beri. Nevertheless, the remainder +continue the work undismayed--"business going on as usual." In the tropics +life and death meet on friendly terms. "That is a sad phase of this +country," said a Briton to me in India; "you shake hands with a man to-day +and attend his funeral to-morrow." + +At its deepest part the lake measures about seven metres. From May to +August, when the Pembuang River is small and the lake is low, the depth is +reduced to a metre. People then must walk far out to get water. Every +afternoon we had gales accompanied by heavy rain from the northeast, +although once it came from the southwest, and the _Selatan_ had to put out +another anchor. I was told that similar storms are usual every afternoon +at that season (April), during which prahus do not venture out; apparently +they also occur around Sampit and arc followed by calm nights. + +Eighteen Dayaks were brought here from Bangkal. Of these, nine were +Tamoan, the tribe of the region, eight Katingan, and one Teroian (or +Balok) from Upper Pembuang. They were measured, photographed, and +interviewed. One man looked astonishingly like a Japanese. The name of the +tribe, Tamoan, also pronounced Samoan, means to wash. The tatu marks are +the same as those of the Katingans. At present these natives have only six +kampongs, three of them above Sampit. Cultivating rice was very difficult, +they complained, on account of the poor soil and wet weather. The lake has +few fish and they cannot be caught except when the water is low. There are +no large serpents here, and neither snakes, dogs, nor crocodiles are +eaten; but the rusa is accepted as food. Fruits, as the durian and +langsat, are rather scarce. + +Fire is made by twirling, and these natives use the sumpitan. They know +how to make tuak, crushing the rice, boiling it, and then pouring it into +a gutshi until the vessel is half full, the remaining space being filled +with water. In three days the product may be drunk, but sometimes it is +allowed to stand a month, which makes it much stronger. If there is no +tuak there can be no dancing, they said. Many remarked upon the expense of +obtaining a wife, the cost sometimes amounting to several hundred florins, +all of which must be earned by gathering rubber. The tiwah feast is +observed, but as to legends there are none, and their language and customs +are disappearing. + +These Tamoans are disintegrating chiefly on account of the ravages of +cholera. About forty years previously an epidemic nearly extinguished +Bangkal, and there was another in 1914. The result is that the population +has changed, people from other kampongs, at times from other tribes, +taking the places of the dead. At the kampong Sembulo there appear to be +no Tamoans remaining, the Malays having easily superseded them. + +Although my journey to the lake yielded no evidence to substantiate the +legend connected with it, because I found no Dayaks left "to tell the +tale," still, satisfaction is derived even from a negative result. Having +accomplished what was possible I returned to Sampit, arriving almost at +the same time a sailing ship came in from Madura, the island close to +northeastern Java. It was of the usual solid type, painted white, red, and +green, and loaded with obi, a root resembling sweet potatoes, which on the +fourth day had all been sold at retail. A cargo of terasi, the well-known +spicy relish made from crawfish and a great favourite with Malays and +Javanese, was then taken on board. + +In the small prison of Sampit, which is built of iron-wood, the mortality +from beri-beri among the inmates was appalling. Nine men, implicated in +the murder of two Chinese traders, in the course of eight months while the +case was being tried, all died except a Chinaman who was taken to +Bandjermasin. I understood a new prison was about to be erected. It seems +improbable that ironwood has any connection with this disorder, but Mr. +Berger, manager of the nearby rubber plantation, told me the following +facts, which may be worth recording: Six of his coolies slept in a room +with ironwood floor, and after a while their legs became swollen in the +manner which indicates beri-beri. He moved them to another room, gave them +katjang idju, the popular vegetable food, and they soon recovered. He then +replaced the ironwood floor with other material, and after that nobody who +slept in the room was affected in a similar way. + +I met in Sampit three Dayaks from the upper country of the Katingan on +whom the operation of incision had been performed. According to reliable +reports this custom extends over a wide area of the inland, from the upper +regions of the Kapuas, Kahayan, and Barito Rivers in the east, stretching +westward as far as and including the tribes of the Kotawaringin. Also, in +the Western Division on the Upper Kapuas and Melawi Rivers, the same usage +obtains. In Bandjermasin prominent Mohammedans, one of them a Malay Hadji, +told me that the Malays also practise incision instead of circumcision. +The Malays, moreover, perform an operation on small girls, which the +Dayaks do not. + +The controleur invited me to take part in a banquet which he gave to +celebrate the completion of a road. There were present Malay officials, +also Chinamen, and one Japanese. The latter, who arrived at Sampit one and +a half years before with forty florins, had since increased his capital to +a thousand through the sale of medicines to natives whom he reached by +going up the rivers. We were seated at three tables, twenty-eight guests. +The natives were given viands in addition to the menu provided, because +they must have rice. Their women had helped to cook--no small undertaking +for so many in an out-of-the-way place like Sampit. It was an excellent +dinner; such tender, well-prepared beef I had not enjoyed for a long time. +Claret, apollinaris, and beer were offered, the latter appearing to be the +favourite. Women were served in another room after the men had dined. + + + + +FOLKLORE OF SOME OF THE TRIBES IN DUTCH BORNEO VISITED BY THE AUTHOR + + +1. THE MOTHERLESS BOY + +(From the Penyahbongs, kampong Tamaloë) + +Ulung Tiung was left at home by his father who went out hunting. Borro, +the cocoanut-monkey, came and asked for food, but when Ulung gave him a +little he refused to eat it and demanded more. The boy, who was afraid of +him, then gave more, and Borro ate until very little remained in the +house. The monkey then said, "I am afraid of your father, and want to go +home." "Go," replied the boy, "but return again." When the father came +home in the evening he was angry that the food had been taken. + +The following day when the father went out hunting, Borro again came +asking for food. The boy, at first unwilling, finally yielded; the monkey +ate with much gusto and as before wanted to go home. "Do not go," said the +boy, "my father is far away." "I smell that he is near," said Borro, and +went. + +When the father returned in the evening and saw that the food again had +been eaten he was very angry with the boy, who replied: "Borro ate it--I +did not take any." Whereupon the father said: "We will be cunning; next +time he comes tell him I have gone far away. Make a swing for him near +your mat, and when he is in it tie rattan around him and swing him." + +The father went away and the monkey came again and asked for food, and got +it. When he had eaten the boy said: "You had better get into the swing +near my mat." Borro liked to do that and seated himself in it, while the +boy tied rattan around him and swung him. After a little while the monkey, +fearing that the father might come back, said he wanted to get out, but +the boy replied, "Father is not coming before the evening," at the same +time tying more rattan around him, and strongly, too. + +The father came home and fiercely said: "You have been eating my food for +two days." Thereupon he cut off Borro's head, and ordered his son to take +him to the river, clean him, and prepare the flesh to be cooked. The boy +took Borro's body to the river, opened it and began to clean it, but all +the small fish came and said: "Go away! What you put into the water will +kill us." The boy then took the monkey some distance off and the big fish +came and said: "Come nearer, we want to help you eat him." + +The sisters of Borro now arrived, and his brothers, father, children, and +all his other relatives, and they said to Ulung Tiung: "This is probably +Borro." "No," he said, "this is a different animal." Then the monkeys, +believing what he said, went away to look for Borro, except one of the +monkey children, who remained behind, and asked: "What are you doing +here?" "What a question!" the boy answered; "I am cutting up this animal, +Borro." + +The child then called all the monkeys to return, and they captured Ulung +Tiung and carried him to their house and wanted to kill him. "Don't kill +me," he said, "I can find fruit in the utan." The monkeys permitted him to +do that, and told him to return in the evening, but the boy said that +first he would have to dream. + +In the morning the monkeys asked him what he had dreamed. "There is plenty +of fruit in the mountain far away," he answered, pointing afar, and all +the monkeys went out to the mountain leaving their wives and children +behind. When they were all gone Ulung Tiung killed the women and children +with a stick, and went home to his father. "I killed the women and +children," he declared, "but the men had not come back." "We will watch +for them with sumpitan," said his father, and when the monkeys returned +and found that all who had remained at home were dead, they began to look +for Ulung Tiung, but he and his father killed half of them with sumpitan +and the rest ran away. + +NOTE.--Ulung Tiung is the name for a boy whose mother is dead, but whose +father is alive. For the sake of convenience I have maintained the Malay +name "borro" for the cocoanut-monkey. + + +2. THE FATHERLESS BOY + +(From the Penyahbongs; kampong Tamaloë) + +Ulung Ela made a fish-trap and when he returned next morning he found it +full of fish. He put them in his rattan bag, which he slung on his back +and started for home. As he walked, he heard an antoh, Aaton Kohang, +singing, and he saw many men and women, to whom he called out: "It is much +better you come to my place and sing there." Aaton Kohang said: "Very +well, we will go there." The boy continued his march, and when he came +home he gave one fish to his mother to roast, which she wrapped in leaves +and put on the live coals. He also prepared fish for himself, ate quickly, +and begged his mother to do the same. The mother asked: "Why do you hurry +so?" The boy, who did not want to tell her that he had called an antoh, +then said that it was not necessary to hurry. + +After they had finished eating, in the evening Aaton Kohang arrived with +many men and many women. They tickled the mother and her boy under the +arms until they could not talk any more and were half dead, took what +remained of the fish, and went away. The two fell asleep, but ants bit +them in the feet and they woke up and saw that all the fish were gone. +"Ha!" they said: "Aaton Kohang did this," and they ran away. + +NOTE.--Ulung Ela is the name for a boy whose father is dead, but whose +mother is alive. + + +3. THE TWO ORPHANS + +(From the Penyahbongs; kampong Tamaloë) + +Two small sisters, whose father and mother had died, went with the women +to look for sago. The tree was cut and the sago, after having been beaten, +was put into the large rattan bag. The younger child, who was sitting +close to the bag, dropped asleep and fell into it. The other girl came to +look for her sister but could not find her. She had disappeared, and when +the women saw that the bag was already full they all went home. On +returning next day they found plenty of sago inside of the tree, and had +no difficulty in filling their bags. + +NOTE.--Ulung Ania is the name for the elder of the two girl orphans. Ulung +Kabongon is the name for the younger. When her elder sister died the +latter became obon, and her name became Obon Kabongon. + + +4. THE TREE OF WHICH ANTOH IS AFRAID + +(From the Penyahbongs; kampong Tamaloë) + +Tabédjeh wanted to go to the place where a girl, Inyah, was living. On the +way he met an antoh in the shape of a man with whom he began talking. +Antoh said: "I am going to catch Inyah and eat her." Tabédjeh then drew +his parang and cut off his head. But a new head grew, and many more, so +that Tabédjeh became afraid and fled, with antoh running after him. He +lost his parang, then, after a while, he stopped and took sticks to strike +antoh with, but every time he struck the stick was wrested from him, and +he had to take flight again. + +He ran up on a mountain and antoh, in close pursuit, caught up with him +sitting on a fallen tree. Tabédjeh was tired and short of breath, but when +antoh saw what kind of a tree he was sitting on he said: "You may remain +there. I cannot eat you now because I am afraid of that tree." Tabédjeh +took a piece of the wood of the tree, which is called klamonang, and he +went to the house of Inyah to show her the tree of which antoh is afraid, +and they had their wedding at once. + + +5. LEAVES THAT BAFFLED ANTOH + +(From the Penyahbongs; kampong Tamaloë) + +Two brothers were walking in the utan, with sumpitans, when they met a pig +which one of them speared. The quarry became furious and attacked the +other one, but they helped each other and killed the pig, ate what they +wanted, and continued their hunting. + +Next they met a rhino which they killed. As they began to take off the +hide, cutting into his chest, the rhino became alive again, and the hide +turned out to be the bark of a tree. The two ran home, but the rhino came +after them, so they again had to flee, pursued by him, until they came +across a small tree called mora, of which antoh is afraid. They gathered +some of the leaves, and as soon as the rhino saw that he ran away. + + +6. PENGANUN, THE HUGE SERPENT + +(From the Penyahbongs; kampong Tamaloë) + +The mother of Daring's wife ordered him to go out and hunt for animals to +eat, but said they would have to be without bones. He searched for a +month, and all that he got had bones. Finally he brought back a leech, +which she ate. Then she said: "Go and look for penganun," the huge serpent +with the golden horn. He met the monster and used all his poisoned darts +before it succumbed. He left it there and went home. "Have you got the big +serpent?" she asked him. "Yes!" he answered. She then went out to bring it +in, but she cut off only a little of the flesh, which she brought back. It +was cooked in bamboo, and the people in the house ate it, but before they +had finished the meal they became crazy--fifteen of them. The affected +ones, as well as the bamboo in which the cooking had been done, turned +into stone, but the meat disappeared. Daring and his wife, who had not +partaken of the meal, escaped. + +NOTE.--There exists in Borneo a huge python, in Malay called sahua, which +is the basis for a superstitious belief in a monster serpent, called +penganun, the forehead of which is provided with a straight horn of pure +gold. The tale is possibly influenced by Malay ideas. The Penyahbongs have +a name for gold, bo-an, but do not know how to utilise the metal. + + +7. HOW THE PENGANUN WAS CAUGHT ALIVE + +(From the Penyahbongs; kampong Tamaloë) + +Two young girls, not yet married, went to fish, each carrying the small +oblong basket which the Penyahbong woman is wont to use when fishing, +holding it in one hand and passing it through the water. A very young +serpent, of the huge kind called penganun, entered a basket and the child +caught it and placed it on the bark tray to take it home. + +Penganun ate all the fish on the tray, and the girls kept it in the house, +catching fish for it, and it remained thus a long time. When it grew to be +large it tried to eat the two girls, and they ran away to their mother, +who was working on sago, while their father was sleeping near by. Penganun +was pursuing them, and he caught the smaller one around the ankle, but the +father killed the monster with his sumpitan and its spear point. With his +parang he cut it in many pieces and his wife cooked the meat in bamboo, +and they all ate it. + +NOTE.--Penganun, see preceding tale. The sumpitan (blow-pipe) has a spear +point lashed to one end, and thus also may serve as a spear. + + +8. THE FATHERLESS BOY + +(From the Saputans; kampong Data Láong) + +A woman was going to the ladang in the morning, and she said to her young +son, Amon Amang, whose father was dead: "When the sun comes over the tree +there you must begin to husk paddi." She then went away to the ladang +while the boy remained at home. He carried the paddi, as well as the +oblong wooden mortar, up into a tree. There he began to work, and the +mortar and the paddi and the boy all tumbled down because the branch +broke. A man helped the half-dead boy to come to his senses again, +throwing water on him, and when the mother returned she was very angry to +see the mortar broken and the paddi strewed all about. "I told you to husk +paddi in the house when the sun came over the tree," she said. "Better +that you now go and hunt birds." + +The boy then decided to hunt. He climbed a tree and put up snares to catch +birds. He caught a great many big hornbills, which he fastened alive to +his loin cloth, and they began to fly, carrying the boy with them to a big +tree, where they loosened themselves from him, left him in a cleft, and +all flew away. The tree was very tall, but he climbed down a fig tree +which grew beside it, descended to the ground, and went home. + +His mother was not pleased that he did not bring any birds, and he told +her what had happened. "Why all this?" she said. "You fell from the tree! +You should have killed the birds," she declared reproachfully. + +NOTE.--Amon Amang means the husband's child. (Amon = father; Amang = +child.) + +During my stay of two weeks at Data Lahong fortunate circumstances enabled +me to gather a considerable number of Saputan tales. Several prominent men +from neighbouring kampongs visited me and were willing to tell them, while +of equal importance was the fact that a Mohammedan Murung Dayak in my +party spoke the language well and made a very satisfactory interpreter. + +On the other hand, I remained among the Penihings for many weeks, but the +difficulty of finding either men who knew folklore or who could interpret +well, prevented me from securing tales in that tribe. However, there is +strong probability that much of the folklore told me by the Saputans +originated with the Penihings, which is unquestionably the case with No. +16, "Laki Mae." The reason is not far to seek since the Saputans appear to +have been governed formerly by the Penihings, though they also are said to +have had many fights with them. According to information given me at Long +Tjehan, Paron, the Raja Besar in the kampong, until recent years was also +raja of the Saputans. + + +9. THE ANTOH WHO MARRIED A SAPUTAN + +(From the Saputans; kampong Data Láong) + +Dirang and his wife, Inyah, went out hunting with dogs, and got one pig. +She then cut rattan to bind the pig for carrying it home, and the man in +tying, broke the rattan. He became very angry and told his wife to look +for another piece of rattan. She went away and met an antoh in the shape +of a woman who asked her: "Where are you going?" "To look for rattan," was +the answer, and "What is your name?" Inyah asked. "I am Inyah Otuntaga," +the antoh answered. Inyah then said: "Take this rattan and give it to my +husband." + +Inyah Otuntaga brought the rattan to the man, who tied the babi all +around, and she took it up and carried it home. The man, meanwhile, +followed her, thinking it was his wife. She went to this side and that +side in the jungle, frequently straying. "What is the matter," he said, +"don't you know the way?" "Never mind," she retorted, "I forgot." Arriving +at the house she went up the wrong ladder, and the man was angry and said: +"Don't you know the right ladder?" She answered: "I cannot get up the +ladder." "Come up and walk in," he exclaimed, and began to think she was +an antoh. + +She entered the room and slept there, lived with him ever after, and had +two children. His former wife, much incensed, went to the house of her +father, and after a while she had a child. Her little boy chanced to come +to the house of his father, who asked his name. "I am the son of Inyah," +he said. Then the father learned where his former wife was, and he went to +fetch her, and afterward both wives and their children lived together. + + +10. LAKI SORA AND LAKI IYU + +(From the Saputans; kampong, Data Láong) + +Two men, Sora and Iyu, went into the utan to hunt with sumpitans. While +Iyu made a hut for the two, Sora went to look for animals and came across +a pig, which he killed. He brought the liver and the heart to the hut and +gave them to Iyu to cook. When the cooking was finished Iyu advised him of +it, and the two sat down to eat. It was already late in the afternoon and +Iyu, whose duty it was to fetch the pig, waited until next day, when he +went away to bring it in, but instead he ate it all by himself, and then +returned to the hut and told Sora what he had done. It was now late in the +evening and they both went to sleep. The following morning Sora went out +again with his sumpitan, but chased all day without meeting an animal, so +he took one root of a water-plant called keládi, as well as one fruit +called pangin, and went home. The keládi was roasted, but the fruit it was +not necessary to prepare. They then sat down to eat, but could not satisfy +their hunger, and Iyu was angry and asked why he brought so little. "I did +not bring more," Sora answered, "because it is probable the owner would +have been angry if I had." Iyu said: "Tomorrow I shall bring plenty." + +Next morning Iyu came to the place where Sora had found the root and the +fruit, and he ate all that remained there, but this belonged to an antoh, +called Amenaran, and one of his children saw Iyu eat the root which he did +not cook, and also saw him climb the tree and eat the fruit. He went and +told his father, the antoh, who became angry, spoke to Iyu about it, and +wanted to know who had given him permission. + +Iyu, who was up in the tree still gorging himself with fruit, said he was +not afraid and he would fight it out that evening. Amenaran stood below +and lightning poured forth from his mouth and thunder was heard. Iyu said: +"I have no spear, nor parang, but I will kill that antoh." And the big pig +he had eaten and all the roots and all the fruits that he had been feeding +on, an immense quantity of faeces, he dropped on Amenaran's head, and it +killed him. Iyu returned home and told Sora that he had put Amenaran to +death. They then went out and killed many animals with the sumpitan and +returned to the kampong. "Now that antoh is dead we can no more eat raw +meat nor much fruit," said Iyu. Long ago it was the custom to eat the meat +raw and much of it, as well as much fruit, and one man alone would eat one +pig and a whole garden. Now people eat little. With the death of antoh the +strong medicine of the food is gone, and the Saputans do not eat much. + +NOTE.--Laki is the Malay word for man or male, adopted by many of the +tribes. The native word for woman, however, is always maintained. Keládi +is a _caladium_, which furnishes the principal edible root in Borneo. + + +11. THE WONDERFUL TREE + +(From the Saputans; kampong Data Láong) + +Tanipoi bore a female infant, and when the child had been washed with +water on the same day, the father gave her the name Aneitjing (cat). Years +passed, and the girl had learned to bring water in the bamboo and to crush +paddi. And the mother again became pregnant, and in due time had another +little girl which was called Inu (a kind of fruit). + +Now, among the Saputans the custom long ago was that the woman who had a +child should do no work during forty days. She must not bring water, nor +husk paddi, nor cook. She remained in the house and took her bath in the +river daily. She slept much and ate pork cooked in bamboo, and rice, if +there was any, and she was free to eat anything else that she liked. Her +husband, Tanuuloi, who during this time had to do all the work, became +tired of it, and he said to his wife: "I cannot endure this any longer, I +would rather die." + +After he had cooked the meal and they had eaten he said: "Take the two +children and go with me to the river." All four of them went into a prahu +which he paddled down stream until they came to a large rock in the middle +of the river, where he stopped it. They all climbed on the rock, and the +prahu he allowed to drift away. He then said to his wife: "You and I will +drown ourselves." "I cannot," she said, "because I have a small child to +suckle." He then tore the child from the mother's breast and placed it on +the rock. The two children and the mother wept, and he caught hold of one +of her hands, dragged her with him into the water, and they were both +drowned. + +The two children remained on the rock all day. After sunset Deer (rusa) +arrived. The older child called out; "Take me from here." And Deer came to +the stone and placed Aneitjing on his back, and behind her Inu, and +carried them ashore. Deer then made a clearing in the utan and built a hut +for them. He then went to the ladang to look for food, but before starting +he said to the children: "I am going to the ladang. Maybe I shall be +killed by the dogs. In that case you must take my right arm and my right +eye and bring them here." + +Deer went away and was attacked by dogs. The two children heard the +barking, and when they arrived the dogs were gone and Deer was found dead. +The children took the right arm and the right eye and went home, made a +clearing and dug a hole, where the arm and the eye were placed, and they +covered the hole with earth. They often went to look at that place. After +twenty days they saw a sprout coming up, and in twenty years this had +grown into a big tree which bore all sorts of fruit and other good things. +From the tree fell durian, nangka, and many other kinds of delicious +fruit, as well as clothing, spears, sumpitans, gongs, and wang (money). + +Rumour of this spread to the kampong, and two men arrived, Tuliparon, who +was chief, and his brother Semoring. They had heard of the two young +women, and they made a hut for themselves near by, but did not speak to +the girls. They went to sleep and slept day after day, a whole year, and +grass grew over them. Inu, the younger, who was the brighter of the two, +said to Aneitjing: "Go and wake these men. They have been sleeping a long +time. If they have wives and children in the kampong this will make much +trouble for all of them." Aneitjing then asked Tipang Tingai for heavy +rain. It came in the evening and flooded the land, waking the two men who +found themselves lying in the water. They placed their belongings under +the house of the women and went to the river to bathe. They then returned +and changed their chavats under the house. The women wanted to call to +them, but they were bashful, so they threw a little water down on them. +The men looked up and saw that there were women above and they ascended +the ladder with their effects. + +The girls gave them food, and Tuliparon said to Inu: "I am not going to +make a long tale of it. If you agree I will make you my wife, and if you +do not agree, I will still make you my wife." Inu answered: "Perhaps you +have a wife and children in the kampong. If you have, I will not, but if +you have not, then I will." "I am free," he said, "and have neither wife +nor child." Reassured on this point she consented. His brother and +Aneitjing agreed in the same way. The women said that they wanted always +to live where they had the tree with so many good things. The men felt the +same way, and they went to the kampong and induced all the people to come +out there, and thus a new kampong was founded. + +NOTE.--Tipang Tingai means the highest God, the same as the Malay Tuan +Allah. It is also used by the Penyahbongs. + + +12. MOHAKTAHAKAM WHO SLEW AN ANTOH + +(From the Saputans; kampong Data Láong) + +Once upon a time three brothers, Mohaktahakam, Batoni, and Bluhangoni, +started in the morning from the kampong and walked to another kampong +where Pahit, an antoh, had a fish-trap. They were intent on stealing the +fish, and as they went along they considered among themselves how they +could take it. Pahit was very strong, but Mohaktahakam said: "Never mind, +I am going to fight it out with him." Arriving there they let the water +out of the trap, and with parang and spear they killed lots of fish of +many kinds, filling their rattan bags with them. Taking another route they +hurried homeward. Their burdens were heavy, so they could not reach the +kampong, but made a rough shelter in the usual way on piles, the floor +being two or three feet above the ground. They cut saplings and quickly +made a framework, called tehi, on which the fish were placed. Underneath +they made a big fire which smoked and cured them. In the morning they had +boiled rice and fish to eat, and then went out to hunt for animals with +sumpitan. The fish meanwhile remained on the tehi, the fire being kept +alive underneath. + +Pahit found his trap dry and no fish there. "Why have people been bold +enough to take the fish?" he said to himself. "They don't know I am strong +and brave"; and, very angry, he followed their tracks. He had gone +scarcely half-way when he smelled the fish, which was very fat. When he +arrived at the camp he found the fish over the fire, but nobody there. He +gathered some leaves together behind the camp and sat down upon them to +wait the arrival of the men. + +In the afternoon Batoni and Bluhangoni returned to camp carrying much pig +and deer. He immediately caught hold of both of them, lifted them up and +brought them down with force upon the rough floor of the hut, and both +died. Pahit saw that places had been made for three men to sleep, and +knowing that there must be another man coming he decided to wait. The two +bodies he placed under the hut, on the ground. After a while Mohaktahakam +came, carrying pig, deer, rhino, wild ox, and bear, and threw it all down +near the drying fish, to cook it later. He was tired, having walked all +day, and went up into the hut to smoke tobacco. Pahit saw this and went +after him. He caught hold of the man to throw him down, but could not lift +him. Mohaktahakam, very angry, caught Pahit by the arms, lifted him up, +threw him against the floor and killed him. "Pahit spoke of being strong +and brave, but I am stronger," he said. + +Mohaktahakam then made his brothers come to life again, and they cleaned +all the animals they had caught and placed the meat on a tehi to dry and +smoke. Then they cooked meat in bamboo and ate, afterward going to sleep. +During the night one of them at times mended the fire, which was kept +burning. In the morning, after eating, they went home to the kampong, +carrying bags full of meat and fish. + +NOTE.--Tehi, a framework for drying fish or meat, is called in Malay, +salai. + + +13. THE MAGIC BABI BONE + +(From the Saputans; kampong Data Láong) + +Dirang left the kampong to hunt for heads, with three prahus and many men, +armed with parangs, shields, sumpitans, and spears, and they also carried +some rice for provisions. After a while the people who remained behind +became very hungry, and one day Inyah, the wife of Dirang, went out to +look for bamboo shoots to eat. She met a small babi (pig), caught it, and +brought it home. In the kampong she asked the men to help her make a shed +for it. + +The babi, which was male, grew bigger and bigger. It was very strong, and +when dogs, cats, or hens came near the shed it would kill and eat them. It +was fierce and angry because it had not enough to eat, and finally it +turned the shed over and killed and ate all the people. No one escaped but +Inyah, who fled to another kampong, where she asked for help and the +people permitted her to remain there. + +Shortly afterward the babi arrived. All the people heard the noise it made +as it came through the utan, breaking the jungle down. They said to Inyah: +"You would better run away from here. We are afraid he may eat us." Inyah +went away, trying to reach another kampong. She got there and asked for +help against the man-eating babi. Hardly had she received permission to +remain before a great noise was heard from the babi coming along. The +people, frightened, asked her to pass on, and she ran to another kampong. +There was a woman kapala in that kampong who lived in a house that hung in +the air. Inyah climbed the ladder, which was drawn up after her. The babi +came and saw Inyah above, but could not reach her, and waited there many +days. + +Dirang, who was on his way back from the headhunting expedition, came down +the river, and he said to one of his companions: "It is well to stop here +and make food." This chanced to be close to the place where Inyah was. +They went ashore to make camp. Some of them went out to search for wood +and met the babi, who attacked them, and they fled to their prahus. When +Dirang, who was an antoh, saw his men on the run, he became very angry, +went after the babi, and cut off its head. His men cut up the body and +cooked the meat in bamboo, near the river, sitting on a long, flat rock. +They ate much, and Dirang said that he now wanted to paddle down to the +kampong, so they all started. Inyah had seen Dirang, and she said to the +woman kapala: "Look! There is my husband. No other man would have been +brave enough to kill the babi." The woman kapala said: "I should like to +have such a husband if I wanted one, but I am afraid of a husband." Inyah +said: "I want to go down." And she walked over to the place where the men +had been sitting on the rock, went upon it, and accidentally stepped on a +bone left from the meal, which hit her on the inside of the right ankle. +The bone was from the right hind leg of the babi, and was sharp, so it +drew a little blood from the ankle. + +She felt pain and went back to the house. Some time later the leg began to +swell, and as time passed it grew bigger and bigger. The woman kapala +said: "There must be a child inside." "If that is the case," said Inyah, +"then better to throw it away." "No, don't do that. Wait until the child +is born and I will take care of it," said the kapala. When her time had +come the child arrived through the wound made by the babi bone, and the +kapala washed the child and took care of it. When two months old the child +was given the name Obongbadjang. When he was fifteen years old he was as +strong as Dirang. + +Dirang had brought many heads to the kampong, but finding all the people +dead and houses fallen down, he became angry and killed the slaves he had +brought back. He then went out on another hunt for heads. When the prahus +passed the kampong where Inyah was, all the people in the house saw them, +and Obongbadjang, her young son, who had heard much of Dirang, went down +to see him. "Where are you going?" asked Dirang. "I want to go with you," +answered the boy. Dirang liked him, and let him into the prahu. + +They travelled far and wide, and finally came to the kampong which they +wanted to attack. Dirang went in from one end of the house and +Obongbadjang from the other, and they cut the heads from all the people, +men, women, and children, and met in the middle of the house. Dirang was +wondering who this young man was who was strong like himself and not +afraid. "My name is Obongbadjang," he said, "the son of Dirang and Inyah." +He then ran away, although Dirang tried to keep him back, and he ran until +he arrived where his mother was. + +On seeing his son run away Dirang felt "sick in his throat," then +collected all the heads, comprising the population of the whole kampong, +put them in the prahus, and returned to look for his son and wife. He +stopped at the same place where he had killed the big babi and made a hut. +He then went to look for Obongbadjang and Inyah. When he was walking under +the house, which was high up in the air, Inyah threw a little water down +on him. He turned his head up and saw there was a house, but there was no +ladder and he could not get up. They put out the ladder and he went up and +met Inyah again, who, until then, he did not know was alive. He also met +his son, and after remaining a little while he took them away to rebuild +their kampong. + +NOTE.--"Sick in his throat," Saputan mode of speech for deep emotional +depression, is similar to our "feeling a choking in the throat." The +Malays say: "Sick in his liver." + +For the sake of convenience the Malay name babi for a pig, perfectly known +to the Dayaks, has been maintained in this tale. + + +14. WHEN HUSBAND AND WIFE ARE ANTOHS + +(From the Saputans; kampong Data Láong) + +There were many young men who wanted to marry Inu Songbakim, a young girl, +but she liked only one man, Monjang Dahonghavon, and, having obtained the +consent of her father and mother, he shared her mat. One day he went out +to work, making planks with his axe, while she remained at home cooking. +When she had prepared the food she took it to him, and when she arrived at +the place where he was working he looked at her as he was cutting with the +axe and hurt himself. He died, and his father came and took the corpse to +the house. Being an antoh he restored the life of his son, who became very +angry with his wife for being the cause of his death. He wanted to kill +her, but as she was very strong he could not do it, and instead, with his +parang, killed her father and mother. His wife, in turn, became filled +with wrath, and with a parang killed his father and mother. + +The young man then left her to look for another wife, but could not find +any that was to his liking, strong and good-looking, so after a while he +decided to return to the wife he already had. "I like you much," she said, +"but if you want to have me again you must make my father and mother alive +again." "I will do that," he answered, "if you first will restore to life +my father and mother." They were both antohs, so there was a general +return to life, and the people from the two kampongs to which the families +belonged came together and made the kampongs into one. + + +15. THE WOMAN, THE BIRD, AND THE OTTER + +(From the Saputans; kampong Data Láong) + +Many young men courted Ohing Blibiching, but she was difficult to please. +Finally, she favoured Anyang Mokathimman because he was strong, skilful in +catching animals, brave in head-hunting. She said: "Probably you have a +wife." "No, I am alone," he said, and her father and mother having given +consent, they then lived together. + +After a while he said: "I want to go away and hunt for heads." She said: +"Go, but take many men with you. If you should be sick, difficulties would +be great." She then made rice ready in a basket, calculating that on a +long journey they would depend more on the sago found in the utan. They +would also kill animals for food, therefore, in addition to their parangs, +the men took sumpitans along. + +"If we have any mishaps," he said, "I shall be away two months. If not, I +shall be back in a month." She remained in the kampong guarded by her +father, mother, and other people, and after a while many young men began +to pay her attention, telling her: "He has been away a long time. Maybe he +will not return." One day at noon when she was filling her bamboo +receptacles in the river as usual, taking a bath at the same time, she saw +a fish sleeping, and caught it. She then lifted on her back the big-meshed +rattan bag which held the bamboo receptacles, all full of water, and went +home, carrying the fish in her hand. Before cooking it she went to husk +paddi. + +The bird Teong, who had heard she was beautiful, saw her and he liked her +much. He flew to a tree from which he could get a good look at her where +she was husking the paddi. In admiration he jumped from branch to branch +until a dead one broke which fell down and wounded young Otter in the +river under the tree. The mother of Otter became angry with Bird Teong for +the injury. "I have been in this tree quite a while," Bird answered, +"because I like to look at that woman. I did not know Otter was +underneath. If you want damages, ask that woman there." "Why should I pay +Otter?" the woman said. "I did not call Bird Teong. I have just finished +pounding and am going to cook fish. This case we will settle tomorrow. I +am hungry now." She went away and so did Bird and Otter. She cooked rice +in one bamboo and the fish in another. Then she ate, after which she went +to the river as the sun was setting, to take her bath. She soon went to +sleep. + +Early the next morning she made her usual tour to the river to bring water +and take her bath, and when she had eaten, Bird and Otter arrived. Otter +wanted damages from Bird, and Bird insisted that the woman should pay. She +repeated that she knew nothing of Bird and had not asked him to come. As +they were arguing, to her great relief her husband arrived. He brought +many prisoners and many heads. "It is well you have come," she said. "Bird +and Otter have made a case against me. I was husking paddi, and Bird liked +to look at me. I did not know he was there in the tree for a long time. A +branch fell down and wounded Otter's child, making her very angry, and she +asks damages from me." "This case is difficult," the husband answered. "I +must think it over." After a while he said: "The best thing to do is to +give food to both." Bird was given fruit to eat and Otter fish, and they +went home satisfied. All the people of the kampong gathered and rejoiced +at the successful head-hunting. They killed pigs and hens, and for seven +nights they ate and danced. + +NOTE.--When an attack on men is decided upon the sumpitan is hidden and +left behind after the spear-head has been detached from it and tied to a +long stick. This improvised spear is the principal weapon on head-hunting +raids, as well as on the chase after big game. The bird, called by the +Saputans teong, is common, of medium size, black with yellow beak, and +yellow around the eyes, also a little red on the head. It learns easily to +talk, and is also common in Java. + + +16. LAKI MAE + +(From the Saputans; kampong Data Láong) + +The wife of Laki Mae was pregnant and wanted to eat meat, so she asked her +husband to go out hunting. He brought in a porcupine, wild hens, kidyang, +pig, and deer, and he placed all the meat on the tehi, to smoke it over +fire, that it should keep. But the right hind leg of the porcupine was +hung up by itself unsmoked, to be eaten next day. They had their evening +meal and then went to sleep. In the night she bore an infant son, and, +therefore, next morning another woman came to do the cooking. She took the +hind leg and before proceeding to cook it, washed it. It slipped through a +hole in the floor to the ground underneath. Looking through the hole she +saw a small male child instead of the leg, and she told Mae of this. + +"Go and take this child up and bring it here. It is good luck," he said. +"It is my child too." It was brought up to the room and washed and laid to +the wife's breast, but the child would not suckle. Mae said: "It is best +to give him a name now. Perhaps he will suckle then." He then asked the +child if it wanted to be called Nonjang Dahonghavon, and the child did +not. Neither did it want Anyang Mokathimman, nor Samoling, nor Samolang. +It struck him that perhaps he might like to be called Sapit (leg) Tehotong +which means "Porcupine Leg," and the child began to suckle at once. The +child of the woman was given a name two months later, Lakin Kudyáng. + +For two years the mother suckled the two, and then they were old enough to +play behind the houses of the kampong. They saw many birds about, and they +asked their father to give each of them a sumpitan. When they went out +hunting the human boy got one bird, but the other boy got two. Next time +the woman's son killed a plandok (mouse-deer), but the other one secured a +pig. Their father was angry over this and said to "Porcupine Leg": "Go and +kill the two old bears and bring the young ones here." He had recently +seen two bears, with one cub each, under the roots of a tree in the +neighbourhood. The boy went, and the bears attacked him and tried to bite +him, but with his parang he killed both of them, and brought the cubs +along to the kampong, bringing besides the two dead bears. The father +again sent him out, this time to a cave where he knew there were a pair of +tiger-cats and one cub. "Go and kill the pair and bring the cub here," he +said. Again the boy was successful. Laki Mae did not like this and was +angry. + +In the evening "Porcupine Leg" said to his brother: "I have a long time +understood that father is angry with me. Tomorrow morning I am going away. +I am not eating, and I will look for a place to die." His brother began to +weep, and said he would go with him. Next morning they told their father +they were going to hunt for animals and birds. But when they did not +return in the evening, nor later, the mother said: "I think they will not +come back." Half a month later many men attacked the kampong. Laki Mae +fought much and was tired. "If the boys had remained this would not have +happened," the people said angrily to him. In the meantime the human son +began to long to return, and he persuaded "Porcupine Leg" to accompany +him. They both came back and helped to fight the enemy, who lost many dead +and retired. + +NOTE.--This story is also found with the Penihings, from whom undoubtedly +it is derived. _Laki_, see No. 10. _Tehi_, see No. 12. + + +17. SEMANG, THE BAD BOY + +(From the Long-Glats; kampong Long Tujo) + +A woman called Daietan had one child, Semang, who was a bad boy. He was +lazy, slept day and night, and did not want to make ladang nor plant any +banana nor papaya trees. His mother angrily said to him: "Why don't you +exert yourself to get food?" Semang said: "Well, I will go tomorrow to +search for something to eat." + +At sunrise next morning he went away in a prahu, paddling up-stream. He +reached a kampong, and the name of the raja here was Anjangmaran. He could +find no food, so he went on to the next kampong, and to another, but had +no success, so he continued his journey, and then arrived at the fourth +kampong. There were no people here. It was a large kampong with many +houses, and grass was growing everywhere. + +He went up into a room and there he found all sorts of goods; salt, gongs, +many tempaians (large Chinese urns) in which paddi was stored, and +tobacco. Semang said to himself, "I am rich. Here is all that I need." And +he lay down to sleep. In the night Deer (rusa) arrived and called out: "Is +there any one here?" He ascended the ladder and lay down near the cooking +place. Semang heard him, but was afraid to move, and slept no more. In the +night he heard Deer talk in his sleep: "Tomorrow morning I am going to +look for a small bottle with telang kliman. It is underneath the pole in +front of the house." + +Semang said: "Who is talking there?" Deer waked up and became frightened, +ran down the ladder, and got into Semang's prahu, where he went to sleep. +Before dawn Semang arose and walked down toward the prahu. On his way he +saw an ironwood pole in front of the room, went up to it, and began to dig +under it. He found a small bottle which he opened, and he put his first +finger into it. He was astonished to see that his finger had become white, +and he said: "This must be good to put on the body." He poured some into +his hollowed hand and applied it all over his body and hair. His body +became white and his clothes silken. + +Pleased with this, Semang ascended the ladder, gathered together all the +goods that he had found in the room, and began taking them to the prahu. +There he found Deer asleep, and killed him with his spear. After bringing +all the goods from the house to the prahu, Semang started down-stream. +Owing to the magic liquid his prahu had become very large, and carried +much, much goods, as well as the dead deer. + +He travelled straight for the kampong, where he caught sight of his +mother. "O, mother!" he cried, and went up the ladder carrying the bottle. +He washed his mother with the liquid. She became young and beautiful, and +it also gave her many beautiful garments. By the same aid Semang made the +room handsome. Everything became changed instantly. The ceiling was of +ironwood, and the planks of the floor were of a wood called lampong, which +resembles cedar. Large numbers of brass vessels were there, and many gongs +were brought from the prahu, besides a great quantity of various goods. +The mother said: "This is well, Semang." She felt that she no longer had +cause to be troubled; that whatever she and Semang might need would come +without effort on their part. + +NOTE.--According to Long-Glat belief, the deer, called in Malay rusa, +possesses a magic liquid which enables it to restore the dead to life. The +name of the liquid is telang kliman (telang = liquid; kliman = to make +alive). + + +18. ADVENTURES IN PURSUIT OF MAGIC + +(From the Long-Glats, kampong Long Tujo) + +Once there lived a woman, Boamaring, who was Raja Besar in a large kampong +where people did not know how to work. They could not make ladangs nor +prahus. Everything they needed came to them of its own accord, and the +rajas of the neighbouring kampongs were afraid of her. This is the way it +came about. + +She heard a rumour of a musical instrument which could play by itself, and +which had the power of bringing all necessary food. She said to her +husband, whose name was Batangnorang, "Go to the limit of the sky and +bring the instrument that plays by itself." Putting on tiger skin, and +carrying his parang and sumpitan, Batangnorang went into a small prahu +which was able to fly, and it flew one month, to the end of the sky. He +landed in a durian tree, near a small house covered with the tail feathers +of the hornbill. Its walls were of tiger skins, the ridgepole, as well as +the poles of the framework, were made of brass, and a carving of the naga +stood out from each gable. + +He heard music from inside the house, and saw a woman dancing alone to the +tune of the instrument that played by itself. She was the antoh of the end +of the sky, and he knew that she ate people, so he was afraid to come +down, for many men since long ago had arrived there and had been eaten. +Many corpses of men could be seen lying on the ground. From his bamboo +cask he took a small arrow, placed it in his sumpitan, and then blew it +out toward the dancing woman. The arrow hit the woman in the small of the +back, and she fell mortally wounded. Then he flew down to the house, +finished killing her with his spear, and cut her head off with his parang. +He then went up to her room and took the musical instrument, her beautiful +clothing, and beads, and placed all, together with the head, in his prahu. +He also took many fine rattan mats, burned the house, and flew away in the +sky. After a month he arrived in his kampong and returned to his wife. +"Here is the musical instrument you wanted," he said. "Good!" she +answered, "what else did you hunt for?" + +He placed it on the floor and asked it to play by striking it one time. +Sugar, boiled rice, durian, cocoanuts began to fall down, also tobacco, +salt, clothing--all the good things that they could wish for. The Raja +Besar was greatly pleased and was all smiles, and the people of her +kampong no longer found it necessary to work. Everything that they needed +came when they wished for it, and all enjoyed this state of things. + +When a month had passed she learned of a woman's hair ornament which was +to be found in the river far away. It was of pure gold, and when one hung +it up and struck it all sorts of food would drop from it. "Go and get +that," she told her husband. "It is in a cave underneath the waters of the +river." + +Batangnorang made himself ready. He put on tiger skin, placed on his head +a rattan cap with many tail feathers of the hornbill fastened to it, took +his parang, his shield adorned with human hair, and his sumpitan. But he +did not carry mats for bedding, nor food. He had only to wish for these +things and they came. He then said farewell to his wife in a way that the +Long-Glats use when departing on a long journey. She sat on the floor, and +bending down he touched the tip of his nose to the tip of hers, each at +the same time inhaling the breath as if smelling. + +Batangnorang departed, stopping on the river bank, where he stood for a +time looking toward the East, and calling upon the antoh Allatala. Then he +went into the water, dived, and searched for ten days until he found the +cave, inside of which there was a house. This was the home of the +crocodile antoh, and was surrounded by men, some of them alive, some half +dead, and many dead. + +Crocodile was asleep in his room, and all was silent. Batangnorang went up +on the gallery and sat down. After waiting a long time Crocodile awoke. He +smelt man, went to the door which he opened a little, enough to ascertain +what this was, and he saw Batangnorang. Then he passed through it and said +to the stranger: "How did you come here? What is your name?" "I come from +the earth above. I am Batangnorang." He was afraid antoh would eat him, +and Crocodile's sister being his mother he added timidly: "I have a +mother. I do not know of a father," he continued. "My mother, your sister, +told me to go and meet my father down in the water." "What necessity was +there for my child to come here?" asked Crocodile. "I am looking for a +woman's hair ornament of gold," he answered. Crocodile said: "If you are +my child then I will cook rice for you." + +They both went into the room, which was fine, made of stone; the roof was +of gold, and there were many gongs and much goods there. Crocodile cooked +rice, but as he wanted to try the stranger he took one man from those +outside, cut him into many pieces, and made a stew. He then told him to +eat, and being afraid to do otherwise, Batangnorang ate it. Crocodile then +said: "Truly you are my child. Another man would not have eaten this +stew." + +After the meal Crocodile put the remainder of the food away, with a tiny +key opened a small steel trunk, took out the gold ornament, and gave it to +Batangnorang. "Give this to your mother, Crocodile. When she wants to use +it, hang it up and place a beautiful mat underneath. Then strike it one +time with the first finger. Whatever you ask for must come." + +Batangnorang took the hair ornament and placed it in the pocket of his +shirt, put on his parang, and took his spear and shield. He then said +farewell, and as he walked away he suddenly turned and thrust his spear +into Crocodile's breast and killed him. Batangnorang carried away all that +he desired, diamonds as large as hens' eggs, and much gold. He then went +home, ascended to the room where his wife sat, and laid his weapons away. + +He seated himself near his wife and produced the ornament. "I got this," +and handed it to her. "How do you use it?" she asked. He hung it up by a +string and placed a fine rattan mat underneath. All the people in the +kampong gathered to see this, women, men, and children. He then struck it +with his first finger, when lo! and behold! there fell all around pork, +boiled rice, vegetable stew, sugar-cane, papaya, durian, bananas, +pineapples, and white onions. All present ate as long as they were able, +and food continued to fall. After that people slept at night and arose in +the morning to eat and do no work, because all that they wished for was +produced immediately. + +NOTE.-The flying prahu, mentioned in this legend, plays an important part +in the religious exercises of the Ot-Danum, Katingan, and Kahayan. See +Chapter XXXI. The head ornament of women is different in this tribe from +those observed elsewhere in Borneo. It may be seen in the back view of the +three Long-Giat women in Chapter XXVI. The tale shows Malay influence by +such expressions as gold, diamonds, brass, shirt pocket, bottle. Allatala, +the rendering of the Mahommedan Tuan Allah, is accepted as an antoh also +by certain Dayak tribes in Southern Borneo. Steel trunks, as sold by +Chinese or Malays, are much in favour with the Dayaks, and were observed +wherever I travelled. It is one of the first articles that those who have +taken part in an expedition to New Guinea will buy to take home. White +onions are usually to be procured on travels among the Dayaks, and of +course are not originally indigenous, no more than are sugarcane and +pineapples (both scarce, especially the latter), cassava and red peppers. + +The non-Dayak expressions do not necessarily imply that the legend is +Malay. The one circumstance that might lend colour to this belief is that +in this legend, as well as in the preceding (Semang), both of which were +told me by the same man, the beauty of idle life is glorified. This seems +to be more a Malay than a Dayak quality. I was not long enough among the +Long-Glats to be able to decide on this point. Circumstances favour a +non-Malay origin. My informant, the kapala of Long Tujo, who showed Malay +influence (see Chapter XXVI), may have embellished his narrative by his +acquired knowledge of things foreign. He was in reality a thorough Dayak, +and he had scruples about telling me these stories. He hesitated, +especially in regard to the one related, because it might injure him much +to let me know that one. The Long-Glat leave-taking, described, is called +_ngebaw_ (to smell) _laung_ (nose). + + +19. THE ORANG-UTAN AND THE DAYAK + +(From the Ot-Danums; kampong Gunong Porok, Upper Kahayan River) + +There was a man who, in grief and sorrow over the death of his wife, his +children, and others, left his house and went far into the utan. Feeling +tired he lay down to rest under a great lanan tree. While he slept a +female orang-utan, which had its nest in the same tree and had been away +hunting for food, came home, lifted the man in her arms, and carried him +to her nest high up in the branches. When he awoke it seemed impossible +for him to climb down, so he remained there. Each day she brought him +fruit of various kinds, also occasionally boiled rice, stolen from the +houses of the ladangs. After a few days she began to take liberties with +him. At first the man declined her advances and she became angry, showing +her teeth and nails. Finally she bit him in the shoulder, and then he +surrendered. The man remained in the tree over a year. Although anxious to +escape he feared the revenge of the orang-utan too much to make the +attempt. In due time a male child was born who was human, but covered with +long hair. + +One day when she was absent seeking food he saw a sailing ship approach +the coast and put out a boat for hauling water from the river near by. +Hastily stringing his garments together he began the descent, but the rope +was not long enough; however, by letting himself drop part of the distance +he succeeded in getting down, and went away in the boat. Not finding him +at home the orang-utan tried to swim to the ship, but the distance was too +great. She then ascended the tree, and, in full view of the ship as it +sailed away, she lifted the child and tore it in twain. + +NOTE.--The Dayaks insist that this animal can swim, and my informant, a +trustworthy Kahayan, said he had seen it. The orang-utan spends most of +his time in the trees, seldom descending to the ground. That the one in +this case is assumed to follow the daily habit of the Dayak is in +accordance with the spirit of folk-lore. + + +20. BRANAK, THE ANTOH + +(From the Ot-Danums, of the Upper Kahayan River) + +A man called Mai Boang (father of Boang) had a very good-looking son who +owned a fine big male dog, and when the child grew to be old enough he +used the animal for hunting. One day when the dog was following the tracks +of a deer he came into a long, long cave and Boang followed. To pass +through the cave consumed thrice the time required to cook rice. Emerging +on the other side the dog and the boy arrived at a house where there was a +handsome woman. As darkness was falling he asked if he might stay over +night, and she gave permission, the dog remaining under the house. Each +was attracted by the other, so they passed the night together. Boang +remained there, and in time she bore him a son. She possessed a female +dog, and the two dogs had two male and two female pups. + +Two or three years later Boang wanted to see his father and mother. She +said: "I will go with you for a short time." With wife and child he went +away, but he soon had to return because she did not like his country, of +which the language and everything else was different. They came back, +lived long, and had many children. Her name was Kamkamiak and she had +long, long nails. When he was disinclined to comply with her wishes she +forced him by using her nails on a tender spot. She shows herself to-day +as alang, the black hawk. + +The descendants of this pair are also Kamkamiak, evil antohs of women at +childbirth. The offspring of the dogs is another kind of antoh, called +Penyakit (sickness). One of these appears in the form of a large goat +which is seen only occasionally. It bites in the neck and the throat, the +wounds are invisible, and the victim must die on the second or third day. + +When the descendants of Mai Boang are ill they become better when relating +the story of Boang. + +NOTE.--The handsome woman who figures in this story is an evil antoh which +afflicts women at childbirth and by the Ot-Danums and others is called +Kamkamiak, the one with the long nails. She is also commonly known by the +name Branak. She causes the woman to lose much blood and to have pain in +the uterus, the nails of the antoh playing an important part in these +conditions. Men who work in the utan gathering rubber, rattan, etc., are +liable to get a disorder under the scrotum that looks like scratches, and +which ulcerate and may be troublesome for several months or a year. These +are ascribed to the long nails of the antoh, Branak, and sacrifices of +sugar and eggs are offered. + +Pontianak, the well-known town in the Western Division of Dutch Borneo, is +the name of another good-looking female antoh, who causes injury to women +at childbirth. + +Some evil antohs, by Kahayans and others called kuyang, also select +maternity victims. They are believed to fly through the air at night, +appearing like fireflies, and enter the woman through head, neck, or +stomach, doing much harm. They are supposed to suck blood, and when a +woman dies at childbirth from bleeding, the belief is that it was caused +by these evil spirits that in the daytime appear as ordinary human beings. +They are also able to suck blood from men and kill them. The goat is at +times an antoh, as is also the case with the water-buffalo, which may +appear in dreams and cause illness. + +The period of time required for "cooking rice" mentioned in the tale is +called one pemasak, equal to about half an hour. + + +21. THE PÁTIN FISH + +(From the Katingans; kampong Talinka) + +A Dayak went fishing and caught a pátin which he took home in his prahu. +He left the fish there and advised his wife, who went to fetch it. Upon +approach she heard the crying of an infant, the fish having changed into a +child, and she took it up, brought it home, gave it to eat and drink, and +clothed it. The little one proved to be a girl who grew to womanhood, +married, and had children. She said to her husband: "As long as we are +married you must never eat pátin." + +After a time the husband saw another man catch a pátin, and feeling an +irresistible desire to eat the fat, delicious-looking fish, he was +presented with a portion which he took to his house and cooked. Seeing +this, his wife for the second time said: "Why do you eat pátin? You do not +like me." "I must have this," he said, and he ate, and also gave it to his +children to eat. "I am not human," she said, "I am pátin, and now I will +return to the water. But mind this: If you or your descendants ever eat +pátin you will be ill." And she went down to the river and became fish +again. Since that time her descendants do not eat pátin, even when they +accept Islam. Some have dared to break the rule, and they have become ill +with fever and diarrhoea, accompanied by eruptions, abscesses, and open +sores on the arms and legs. The remedy is to burn the bones of the fish +and waft the smoke over the patient. For internal use the bones pulverised +and mixed with water are taken. + +NOTE.--This fish, by the Dutch called meerval, is said to be about a metre +long, and though eaten with impunity by some, its flesh is evidently +poisonous, and, according to reports, if taken will cause the flesh to +fall from the bones. In accordance with a custom apparently universal +among Dayaks, of leaving quarry for the women to bring home, the patin +when caught is usually left at the landing float to be disposed of by the +wife of the fisherman. + +The Kiai Laman, a Kahayan, and a Mohammedan, who related the story, does +not eat this fish, nor water turtle. Mr. B. Brouers, of Bandjermasin, +whose mother was a Dayak noble from the Lower Kahayan, was instructed by +her never to eat turtle. He, being a Dutchman, disregards this and nothing +has ever happened, as he said, but he added that an acquaintance who did +likewise lost the skin of his finger-tips. + + +22. THE STORY OF THE BIRD PUNAI + +(From the Kahayans of Kuala Kapuas) + +Long, long ago a man was catching punai with sticks to which glue had been +applied. One was caught under the wing and fell to the ground. As he went +to take it up it flew away a short distance. This happened several times, +but at last he seized it, when suddenly it changed to a woman. He brought +her to his house and said he wanted to make her his wife. "You may," she +replied, "but you must never eat punai." This story happened in ancient +times when many antohs were able to change into human beings. + +The woman bore him many children. One day, when in a friend's house, +people were eating punai, and he also ate some of it. His wife learned +this and said to him: "I hear that you have eaten punai. You don't like +me. I shall become a bird again." Since then her descendants have never +eaten this bird, because they know that their great, great, great +grandmother was a punai. + +NOTE.--The punai is a light-green pigeon. Mata Punai (the eye of punai) is +one of the most common decorative designs of many Dayak tribes. + + +23. RETRIBUTION + +In the beginning there were mountain-tops and sea between them. Gradually +the sea subsided and the land appeared. A man and a woman living on such a +mountain-top had a son. One day a typhoon lifted him in the air and +carried him off to Java, where he arrived in the house of a rich Javanese. +This was long before the Hindu kingdom of Modjopahit. In this house he +remained many years, and showed much intelligence and industry in his +work, which was to cut wood, fish, look after the poultry, and clean the +rooms. It was not necessary to give him orders, for he understood +everything at a glance. By and by he became a trader, assisting his +patron. Finally he married the rich man's only daughter, and after living +happily a long time he remembered his parents, whom he had left in Borneo, +desired to visit them, and asked his wife to accompany him. + +They went in two ships, and, after sailing a month or more, came to a +mountain, for there was no river then. When the ships arrived, prahus came +out to ask their errand. "I am looking for my father and mother whom I +left long ago," said the owner. They told him that his father was dead, +but that his mother still lived, though very old. + +The people went and told her that her son had come to see her. She was +very poor, for children there were none, and her husband was dead. Wearing +old garments, and in a dilapidated prahu, she went out to the ships, where +she made known that she wanted to see her anak (child). The sailors +informed the captain that his mother was there, and he went to meet her, +and behold! an old woman with white hair and soiled, torn clothing. "No!" +he said, "she cannot be my mother, who was beautiful and strong." "I am +truly your mother," she replied, but he refused to recognise her, and he +took a pole (by which the prahus are poled) and drove her off. + +She wept and said: "As I am your mother, and have borne you, I wish that +your wife, your ships, and all your men may change into stone." The sky +became dark, and thunder, lightning, and storm prevailed. The ships, the +men, and the implements, everything, changed into stone, which today may +be seen in these caves. + +NOTE.--In the neighbourhood of Kandangan, a small town northward from +Bandjermasin, are two mountains, one called gunong batu laki: the mountain +of the stone man, the other gunong batu bini: the mountain of the stone +wife. They contain large caves with stalactite formations which resemble +human beings, ships, chairs, etc. The natives here visualise a drama +enacted in the long gone-by, as related. + +The Ex-Sultan of Pasir, a Malay then interned by the government in +Bandjermasin, who was present when this story was told to me by a +Mohammedan Kahayan, maintained that it is Dayak and said that it is also +known in Pasir (on the east coast). Although the fact that the scene is +laid in a region at present strongly Malay does not necessarily give a +clew to the origin of the tale, still its contents are not such as to +favour a Dayak source. + + + + +CONCLUSION + +In closing this account of my investigations in Borneo it seems +appropriate to comment briefly regarding the capabilities and future +prospects of the tribes in Dutch Borneo comprised under the popular term +Dayaks. We have seen that these natives are still inclined to the +revolting habit of taking heads. In their dastardly attacks to accomplish +this purpose, though moved by religious fanaticism, they show little +courage. On the other hand they exhibit traits of character of which a +civilised community might well be proud. + +They are honest, trustworthy, and hospitable. In their kampongs a lonely +stranger is safe from molestation and a white man travelling with them is +far safer than with the Malays. They are able woodcraftsmen, and +strikingly artistic, even their firewood being arranged in orderly +fashion, pleasing to the eye. Should criticism arise regarding the +unrestricted relations permitted in these tribes before marriage, owing to +the fact that primitive conditions survive which are disapproved in +civilised society, to their credit it must be admitted that conjugal +relations are all that could be desired. A Dayak does not strike his wife, +as Malays may do, and in business matters he takes her advice. During my +travels I never heard of but one instance of infidelity. If such cases +occur they are punished in some tribes with extreme severity. + +In certain ways the Dayaks show more aptitude than either Malays or +Javanese. To illustrate--the young men of the latter races whom I employed +as "boys" on various occasions, and the Javanese soldiers who accompanied +me, were satisfactory on the whole, but when several work together, each +one is afraid he will do more than his share. Neither of them can tie +knots that are at once firm and readily undone, nor are they able to drive +a nail properly, put in screws, or rope a box, although no doubt in time +they could learn; but the Dayaks are uniformly handy at such work. A +well-known characteristic of the "inlander," which he possesses in common +with some classes in other races, is that if he receives his due, no more +and no less, he accepts the payment without question, but if a gratuity is +added he will invariably ask for more. The Dayaks are much easier to deal +with in that regard and more businesslike. + +Needless to state neither Javanese nor Malays are stupid. They learn +quickly to do efficient routine work in office or shop, but when something +new demands attention they are at a loss and appear awkward. Their +intelligence, especially as regards the Javanese, is sometimes beyond the +ordinary. Dr. J.C. Koningsberger, who at the time was director of the +Botanic Garden at Buitenzorg, Java, told me that an "inlander" once +applied to him for a position. He was able to read a little, but the +doctor said: "I cannot employ you because you cannot write." A week later +he returned and demonstrated that he had mastered the obstacle, having +been taught by a friend in the evenings by lamplight. When clever, the +Javanese are very clever. + +The different tribes of Dayaks known to me are also quick of perception, +intelligent, and, though varying in mental ability, some of them, as the +Kahayans and the Duhoi, undoubtedly are capable of considerable attainment +if given the opportunity. The Dutch missionary in Kasungan told me of a +sixteen-year-old youth, a Duhoi, who was very ambitious to learn to read. +Although he did not know the letters to start with, the missionary assured +me that in two hours he was able to read short sentences. + +It was always a pleasure to meet the unsophisticated Dayaks, and on +leaving them I invariably felt a desire to return some day. What the +future has in store for them is not difficult to predict, as the type is +less persistent than the other with which it has to compete in this great +island domain. Ultimately these natives, who on the whole are attractive, +will be absorbed by the Malays; the latter, being naturally of roving +disposition, travel much among the Dayaks, marry their women, and acquire +their lands. The Malay trader takes his prahus incredibly far up the +rivers. No place is so remote that beads, mirrors, cotton cloth, bright +bandannas, sarongs for women, "made in Germany," etc., do not reach the +aborigines, often giving them a Malay exterior, however primitive they may +be in reality. The trader often remains away a year, marries a woman whom +he brings back, and the children become Malays. In its assumed superiority +the encroaching race is not unlike the common run of Mexicans who +insidiously use the confiding Indians to advance their own interests. As +Mohammedans, the aggressors feel contempt for the pork-eating natives, +many of whom gradually give up this habit to attain what they consider a +higher social status, at the same time adopting a new way of living, and +eventually disappear. + +In this manner a change is slowly but surely being wrought in the Dayaks, +who regard the Malays as superior and are influenced accordingly; but the +influence is not beneficial. Malays have been known to incite them to +head-hunting, using them as tools for their own ends, and when entering +upon one of their frequent revolutions always manage to enlist the support +of Dayaks whom they have deceived by promises. The late comers have +already occupied most of the main courses of the great rivers, and are +constantly pressing the rightful owners back into the interior. + +The Dutch officials, be it said to their credit, are helping the latter +against the intruders, and at times the government has limited the +activities of the Malays on some rivers. But it is difficult, and +apparently impossible, to stop a process of absorption that began +centuries ago. The ultimate extinction of the Dayak is inevitable because +the Malay is not only stronger, but has the additional advantage of being +more prolific. + + + + +SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES TO THE TRIBES IN DUTCH BORNEO VISITED BY THE AUTHOR + + +KAYANS + +The Kayans of Dutch Borneo are not numerous. Outside of Long Blu on the +Mahakam they are found chiefly on the Kayan River in the large district of +the northeast called Bulungan. They occupy the lower course, reaching not +quite to Long Pangian, though having settlements there. Three subtribes +are known to exist here, Oma-Gaai, Oma-Laran, and Oma-Hiban. The first +named, also called Segai, live in Kaburau, Bruen, and Long Pangian. They +appear somewhat different from the rest in language, and they abstain from +rusa (deer) as food, while the others eat it. They file off ten teeth in +the upper front jaw. At the headwaters of the Kayan River in Apo Kayan +lives a subtribe, Oma-Lakan, said to number about 400; these do not file +the front teeth. In Chapter IX is described a recent head-hunting raid by +the Kenyahs on these Kayans. + + +KENYAHS + +The Kenyahs are found only within the Bulungan district on the Kayan +River. They are settled principally at the headwaters in Apo Kayan and at +the sources of a northern tributary, the Bahau, in Podjungan. In these two +regions it is estimated that they number altogether about 25,000. Down the +river they have a few kampongs below Long Pangian, in the same vicinity; +west of it are a few more, as mentioned in the description of my journey. +On attempting to ascend the river further one would soon reach a vast +extent of country entirely uninhabited except around the headwaters. The +Bahau, too, is inhabited only at its source, and both rivers pass through +wild, picturesque regions. + +On that portion of the Kayan called Brem-Brem the river presents a +formidable array of kihams which defeated the government's attempt to +establish communication between Apo Kayan and the debouchure of the river. +This was desirable for the sake of provisioning the garrison. An officer +of the Dutch army in Borneo told me that from military reports and the +testimony of Kenyahs he estimated that the Brem-Brem is a continuous +stretch of kihams for thirty kilometres. The Kenyahs had told him that +they walked two days and he thought that for four kilometres the river ran +underground. These difficult conditions compel the Kenyahs to take another +route in their travels to Tandjong Selor, marching over the watershed to +the Bahau River, where they make new prahus and then continue the journey. + +I give a list of subtribes with reserve: + +Oma-Bakkah, Oma-Lisan, Oma-Kulit, Oma-Lim, Oma-Puah, Oma-Yalan, +Oma-Tokkung, Oma-Bakkung, Oma-Bam, Oma-Lung, Oma-Badang, Lepo-Tepó, +Lepo-Táo, Lepo-Maot, Lepo-Ké Anda Páh, Lepo-Ké Ang Lung, Lepo-Ké +Oma-Lasang. Most of the Lepo are on the Bahau. My informant, who had +travelled in the interior, said there was little difference in the +languages of these subtribes. + +The Kenyahs, a few Kayans, and the Katingans mutilate the membrum virile +by transpiercing the glans and the urethra, and a piece of brass wire is +inserted. A Kenyah tribe (Oma-Badang) in Podjungan, makes two perforations +so directed that the wires are crossed. + +The kapala of the Penihing kampong Long Kai, on the Mahakam, told me that +Kayan and Kenyah are the same people. He probably knew the Kayans only by +personal experience, but his opinion is curious in view of the fact that +the two tribes have been bracketed by Dr. A.C. Haddon and Dr. J.H.F. +Kohlbrugge. + + +MURUNGS + +(Notes from kampong Tumbang Marowei, on the Laong, a tributary to the +Barito River, in Central Borneo) + +At the time of childbirth two to four women and one blian attend the +prospective mother, who assumes a recumbent position with the upper +portion of the body slightly raised. The blian blows upon a cupful of +water which the woman drinks in order to make delivery easy. The umbilical +cord is cut with a knife or a sharp piece of ironwood, and the afterbirth +is buried. Death in labor is not unknown, and twins are born occasionally. +The mother is confined for a week, and she is forbidden to eat pork, eggs, +new rice, cocoanut oil, or any acid substance. She may partake of ordinary +rice, lombok (red pepper), as well as sugar, and all kinds of fruit except +bananas. She bathes three times a day, as is her usual custom. In one +week, as soon as the navel is healed, two or three fowls are killed, or a +pig, and a small feast is held at which rice brandy is served. The child +is suckled for one year. + +No name is given the infant until it can eat rice, which is about five +months after birth. At the age of six years, or when it begins to take +part in the work of the paddi fields, fishing, etc., the name is changed. +In both cases the father gives the name. The kapala, my informant, changed +his name a third time about ten years previously, when he entered the +service of the government. Names are altered for the purpose of misleading +evil spirits. + +Children were few here, one reason being that abortion is a common +practice, as is instanced in the case of the kapala's wife who prided +herself on her success in this regard on ten occasions. Massage as well as +abortifacient herbs are employed for the purpose. The root of a plant in +general use is soaked in water before administering. I was also shown a +vine which was about two centimetres in diameter and was told that if a +portion of this was cut off and the end inserted into a pint bottle the +vine would yield sufficient juice to fill it in a night. In case children +are not wanted both husband and wife drink of this liquid after the +morning meal, and both abstain from water for the remainder of the day. It +is believed that afterward it would be possible for the man to have +offspring only by marrying a new wife. There are also several specifics to +prevent conception, but none for producing fertility. The kapala gave as +reasons for this practice scarcity of food and woman's fear of dying. Both +seem incongruous to fact and primitive ideas, and perhaps his view would +better be accepted only as an indication of his ignorance in the matter. +The young people are taught to dance by the blian before they are married, +and take lessons for a year or two. + +The Murung blian possesses three small wooden statues of human beings +which he employs in recovering brua (souls) and bringing them back to +persons who are ill, thus making them well. These images are called +jurong, two being males, the other female, and carrying a child on its +back. While performing his rites over either sex the blian holds the +female jurong in his right hand, the other two being inserted under his +girdle, one in front, the other at the back, to protect him against his +enemies. In the case of a child being ill its brua is brought back by +means of the infant carved on the back of the effigy. Undoubtedly the +images are similar in character to the kapatongs I have described as +occupying an important place in the lives of the Duhoi (Ot-Danum), the +Katingan, and other tribes of Southwestern Borneo. + + +PENYAHBONGS + +(Notes from the Upper Busang River, Central Borneo) + +The Dutch officials give this tribe the name of Punan-Penyahbongs; the +Malays call them Punans, seldom Penyahbongs. The Saputans, a neighbouring +tribe, told me that the Penyahbongs and the Punans make themselves +mutually understood. Whether they really are Punans or have been called so +because of their recent nomadic habits is difficult to determine. However, +since they declare themselves to be Punans, in view of all related +circumstances it is safe to conclude that they are allied to that great +nomadic tribe. + +According to the Penihing chief in Long Kai the name Penyahbong was +applied formerly not only to the people, but also to the mountain range in +which they were living, the Müller mountains, around the headwaters of the +Kapuas River in the Western Division. The western sides of the Müller +mountains seem to have been their headquarters, and most of them still +live west of the mountains. To one of the tributaries of this river the +tribe owes the name by which they are known among Punans, Saputans, and +Bukats, who call the Penyahbongs simply Kreho. + +They are not numerous and so far as my information goes they are limited +to a few hundred. Gompul, the most reliable of my Malays in that region, +and one of the first to arrive in those parts, told me that his mother had +been captured by the Penyahbongs and kept by them for thirty-five years, +until her death. According to his estimate there were over two hundred of +them in the Müller mountains, and they had killed many Malays, taking +their heads. Three chiefs were famous for being very tall. + +Fishing with tuba is known to them, also to the nomadic Punans and Bukats, +Saputans, and Penihings. The Penyahbongs believe they were placed in this +world by an antoh. Omens are taken from nine birds and from dreams. When a +house is finished there are two or three hours' dancing in the night by +men and women, one man playing the sapi (native guitar). + +The child is born outside of the house. One or two women stand by to take +it, wrapped in cloth, into the dwelling, where for three days it remains +unbathed. Although death at childbirth is known to occur, usually within +fifteen minutes the mother rises and repairs to the house. The umbilical +cord is cut with a sharp bamboo and the afterbirth is not taken care of, +dogs generally being permitted to eat it. When the child can walk the +father and mother give it a name. No abortion is practised, there are no +puberty ceremonies, and sexual intercourse is not practised during +menstruation. + + +SAPUTANS + +(Notes from the Kasao River, a tributary to the Upper Mahakam) + +The name Saputan is derived from the word sahput, sumpitan (the +blow-pipe), and probably means, "those who have sumpitan." In the upper +part of the Kasao River is a big back current called Saputan and the people +who originally lived at the headwaters have the same name as the current. +At first they were roaming in the mountains, though not conflicting with +the Penyahbongs, and later settled in four kampongs which, beginning with +the uppermost, at the time of my visit were: 1. Pomosing (mouse) at a +tributary of the same name. 2. Data Láong (land of durian). 3. Ong Sangi +(ong = river). 4. Nomorunge (a common, small, black and white bird) on a +tributary of the same name; with hardly a hundred full-grown persons, this +is the largest. Formerly the office of the chief, tjúpi, was hereditary. +When he became old he was succeeded by his son. + +The woman bears her child in the house, surrounded by women, her husband, +and another man. She assumes a lying position and is helped by being +frequently lifted up, and by stroking. The abdomen is rubbed with a +certain medicinal herb, first having been heated over the fire, to +facilitate the expulsion of the afterbirth, which later is hung in a tree. +Having tied a vine round the umbilical cord near the abdomen they cut the +cord with a sharp piece of bamboo. The assisting women wash the baby as +well as the mother. + +For two days after childbirth she does no work, and for some time she must +not eat the fat of pig or fish. In case of twins being born, they are +welcome if the sex is the same, but if one is male and the other female, +one is given away, the father exercising his preference. Two months after +birth a name is given by the father. Should the mother die, no other woman +willingly suckles the child unless the father has a daughter who can do +it. However, by paying from one to three gongs a woman may be induced to +undertake the duty. + + +ORANG BAHAU + +(On the Mahakam River) + +Bahau is the name of a river in Apo Kayan, where the tribes of the Mahakam +River lived before they migrated to their present habitations, a hundred +and fifty to two hundred years ago. The Penihings, Kayans, Oma-Sulings, +and Long-Glats speak of themselves as Orang Bahau, as also do the +Saputans, though probably they did not originally come from Apo Kayan. +According to these Dayaks the designation as used by the Malays signifies +people who wear only chavat (loin cloth), and the Punans and Ibans are +said to be included under the same term. + + +PUNANS AND BUKATS + +(Notes from kampong Long Kai on the Mahakam River) + +The formidable king cobra (_naia bungarus_) is feared by the Punans, who +have no remedy for the bite of this or any other venomous snake. The +Bukats are said to know a cure which they share with the Penihings; the +bark is scraped from a certain tree and the juice is applied to the wound. +Death from lightning is unknown to any of these three tribes. + +The Punans apparently do not attribute disease to the adverse influence of +an antoh, although their remedy is the same, consisting of singing in the +night and removing small stones from the abdomen or other parts that may +be affected. + +The Bukats whom I met were beautifully tatued. The kapala whom I saw at +Long Kai had the mark of a ripe durian on each shoulder in front and an +immature one above each nipple. On the lower part of the upper arm was a +tatu of an edible root, in Penihing called rayong. Over the back of his +right hand, toward the knuckles, he had a zigzag mark representing the +excrescences of the durian fruit. In regard to the presence of spirits, +number of souls, blians, disease, and its cure, restrictions for pregnant +women, the child's cradle--the ideas of the Bukats are identical with +those of the Penihings, and possibly are derived from them. + + +PENIHINGS + +(Notes from the Mahakam River) + +The Penihings get their supply of ipoh, the poison for the sumpitan darts, +from Punans who live at the sources of the rivers of the Western Division. +According to native report the trees which furnish the juice do not grow +along the Mahakam and the nearest country where they are found is to the +south of Tamaloë. As is the case with the Punans and Bukats, cutting the +teeth is optional. + +Restrictions imposed during pregnancy do not differ from those of other +tribes described. At childbirth no man is permitted to be present. For +three days the mother eats boiled rice, red pepper, and barks of certain +trees, and she may work on the third day. Twins are known to occur. As +soon as the navel is healed a name is given to the child. Both Penihing +and Saputan, if asked, are allowed to give their own names. Marriages are +contracted while the woman is still a child. There are no marriage +ceremonies and divorces are easily obtained. If a married woman is at +fault with another man the two must pay the injured husband one gong, as +well as one gong for each child. In case the husband is at fault, the same +payment is exacted by the injured wife. + +The Penihings have a game called ot-tjin which I also observed in other +Bornean tribes, and which to some extent is practised by the Malays. This +game, generally known among scientific men by the name mancala, is of the +widest distribution. Every country that the Arabs have touched has it, and +it is found practically in every African tribe. It is very common in the +coffee houses of Jerusalem and Damascus. A comprehensive account of the +game mancala is given by Mr. Stewart Culin, the eminent authority on +games, in the Report of the U.S. National Museum for 1894, pages 595-607. + +With the Penihings the complete name is aw-li on-nam ot-tjin, meaning: +playon-nam fish. An essential of the game is an oblong block of heavy wood +which on its upper surface is provided with two rows of shallow holes, ten +in each row, also a larger one at each end. The implement is called +tu-tung ot-tjin, as is also both of the large single holes at the ends. +There are two players who sit opposite each other, each controlling ten +holes. The stake may be ten or twenty wristlets, or perhaps a fowl, or the +black rings that are tied about the upper part of the calf of the leg, but +not money, because usually there is none about. The game is played in the +evenings. + +Two, three, four, or five stones of a small fruit may be put in each hole; +I noticed they generally had three; pebbles may be used instead. Let us +suppose two have been placed in each hole; the first player takes up two +from any hole on his side. He then deposits one in the hole next +following. Thus we have three in each of these two holes. He takes all +three from the last hole and deposits one in each of the next three holes; +from the last hole he again takes all three, depositing one in each of the +next three holes. His endeavour is to get two stones in a hole and thus +make a "fish." He proceeds until he reaches an empty hole, when a +situation has arisen which is called gok--that is to say, he must stop, +leaving his stone there. + +His adversary now begins on his side wherever he likes, proceeding in the +same way, from right to left, until he reaches an empty hole, which makes +him gok, and he has to stop. + +[Illustration: THE GAME MANCALA AS USED BY THE PENIHINGS.] + +To bring together two stones in one hole makes a "fish," but if three +stones were originally placed in each hole, then three make a "fish"; if +four were originally placed, then four make a "fish," etc., up to five. +The player deposits the "fish" he gains to the right in the single hole at +the end. + +The two men proceed alternately in this manner, trying to make "fish" (ára +ot-tjin). The player is stopped in his quest by an empty hole; there he +deposits his last stone and his adversary begins. During the process of +taking up and laying down the stones no hole is omitted; in some of them +the stones will accumulate. On the occasion of the game described I saw +two with eight in them. + +When one of the players has no stones left in his holes he has lost. If +stones are left on either side, but not enough to proceed, then there is +an impasse, and the game must be played over again. + + +OMA-SULINGS + +(On the Mahakam River) + +To marry the daughter of a noble the man must pay her father twenty to +thirty gongs (each costing twenty to forty florins). The price of the +daughter of a pangawa is from one to three gongs, and to obtain a wife +from the family of a pangin costs a parang, a knife, or some beads. Women +assist at childbirth, which takes place within the room, near the door, +but generally no blian is present. + +When a girl has her first menstruation a hen or a pig is killed, and in +the evening the blood thus obtained is applied to the inside of a folded +leaf which the blian wafts down her arms--"throwing away illness," the +meat of the sacrifice being eaten as usual. The same treatment is bestowed +upon any one who desires good health. + +As many infants die, it is the custom to wait eight or ten days after +birth before naming a child, when a similar sacrifice is made, and a leaf +prepared in like manner is passed down the arms of the infant by the +blian. In selecting a name he resorts to an omen, cutting two pieces of a +banana leaf into the shape of smaller leaves. According to the way these +fall to the ground the matter is decided. If after two trials the same +result is obtained the proposed name is considered appropriate. Also on +the occasion of marriage, a similar sacrifice and the same curative +practice are used. + +When couples tire of each other they do not quarrel. The husband seeks +another wife and she another husband, the children remaining with the +mother. The sacred numbers of the Oma-Sulings are four, eight, and +sixteen. Contact with a woman's garment is believed to make a man weak, +therefore is avoided. + +The interpretation of designs in basketwork, etc., is identical with the +Oma-Sulings and the Penihings, though the women of the last-named tribe +are better informed on the subject. + +The antoh usually recognised by the name nagah, is called aso (dog) lidjau +by the Oma-Sulings and Long-Glats, while among the Penihings and Punans it +is known as tjingiru, but nagah is the name used also in Southern Borneo, +where I frequently noticed it in designs. On the Mahakam few are the +Oma-Suling and Long-Glat houses which are not decorated with an artistic +representation of this antoh. Among the Penihings in Long Tjehan I never +saw a sword hilt carved with any other motif. On the knife-handle it is +also very popular. + +There are three modes of disposing of the dead: by burying in the ground a +metre deep; by depositing the coffin in a cave, or by making a house, +called bila, inside of which the coffin is placed. A raja is disposed of +according to either the second or third method, but the ordinary people of +the kampong are placed in the ground. + + +LONG-GLATS + +(Notes from Long Tujo, Mahakam River) + +Before they emigrated from Apo Kayan the name of the Long-Glats was +Hu-van-ke-raw. Attached to Long Tujo is a small kampong occupied by the +Oma-Tapi, who speak a different language, and almost opposite, scarcely a +kilometre down the river, is another inhabited by the Oma-Lokvi, who speak +a dialect other than Long-Glat. Not far west of here is a kampong, +Nahamerang, where the Bato-Pola live, said to be Kayan. The Long-Glats +appear to be powerful, but their measurements are very irregular. They +seem darker in colour than the other Bahau people, most of them showing +twenty-six on the von Luschan colour scale. + +Pregnant women and their husbands are subject to restrictions similar to +those already described in regard to other tribes. In addition may be +mentioned that they must not eat two bananas that have grown together, nor +sugar-cane which the wind has blown to the ground, nor rice if it has +boiled over the kettle, nor fish which in being caught has fallen to the +ground or in the boat. The afterbirth drops through the floor and is eaten +by dogs or pigs. The still-born child is wrapped in a mat and placed in a +hollow tree. The mother may work in five days. Two to four weeks elapse +before the child is named by the blian and this ceremony is accompanied by +the sacrifice of a pig. In cases of divorce the children may follow either +parent according to agreement. + +The coffin is a log hollowed out, and provided with a cover. At one end is +carved the head of Panli, an antoh, and at the other his tail. Many +vestments are put on the corpse, and for a man a parang is placed by his +side within the coffin. The house is then made and the coffin placed +inside. + + +DUHOI (Ot-Danums) + +(Notes from the Samba River, Southwestern Borneo) + +The new-born child is washed with water of that which is brought to the +mother, and the afterbirth is thrown into the river. Most of the women, +after bearing a child in the morning, walk about in the afternoon, though +some have to wait a few days. Their food for some time is rice and fish, +abstaining from salt, lombok (red pepper), fat, acid, and bitter food, +also meat. + +Seven days after birth the child is taken to the river to be bathed. On +its return blood from a fowl or, if people are well to do, from a pig that +has been sacrificed, is smeared on its forehead and chest, and a name is +given. The presence of the blian not being required, the parents give the +name, which is taken from a plant, tree, flower, animal, or fish. A +wristlet is placed around each wrist and the name is not changed later in +life. There are no puberty nor menstruation ceremonies. No sexual +intercourse is permissible while a woman is pregnant, nor during +menstruation, nor during the first three months after childbirth. Cousins +may marry. + +Evidence of polyandry is found among the Duhoi. Eight years previous to my +visit on the river Braui lived for six years a woman blian about thirty +years old, who had three young husbands. She practised her profession and +the husbands gathered rattan and rubber. She was known to have had +thirty-three husbands, keeping a man a couple of weeks, or as many months, +then taking others. She had no children. + +A design representing the flying prahu, described in Chapter XXXI, is also +occasionally seen in Kahayan mats, the idea being that it may be of +assistance to some beneficent antoh. In this connection it is of interest +to note how the Kahayans use the flying prahu as a feature of the great +tiwah festival. Drawings of the craft are made in colours on boards which +are placed in the house of ceremonies, and are intended to serve as a +conveyance for the liao. Such drawings are also presented to the good +antoh, Sangiang, as a reward for his assistance in making the feast +successful, thus enabling him to fly home. + + +UPPER AND LOWER KATINGANS + +(Southwestern Borneo) + +Of the Dayaks living about the headwaters of the Katingan River Controleur +Michielsen, in his report quoted before, says: "I cannot omit here to +mention that the Dayaks of these regions in language and habits show the +closest agreement with the Alfurs in Central Celebes, whom I visited in +1869, and that most of the words of the Alfur language (which I at once +understood because it resembles the low Java language) also here in the +Dayak language were observed by me. This circumstance affords convincing +testimony in favour of the early existence of a Polynesian language stock +and for a common origin of the oldest inhabitants of the archipelago." + +There appears to be much similarity in regulations regarding marriage, +birth, death, and other adats as observed by the Katingans, Duhoi, and +Mehalats. The latter, who live on the Senamang, a tributary to the +Katingan River near its headwater, may be a Duhoi subtribe, but very +little is known about them; the custom of drinking tuak from human skulls +is credited to them, and they are looked upon with contempt by the +Katingans for eating dogs. + +With the Katingans it is the custom for the blian to deposit in a cup +containing uncooked rice the objects withdrawn from a patient. Having +danced and spoken to the cereal he throws it away and with it the +articles, the rice advising the antoh that the small stones, or whatever +was eliminated, which he placed in the patient, are now returned to him. + +These Katingans begin their year in June and July, when they cut the +jungle in order to make ladangs, months being designated by numbers. At +the beginning of the year all the families sacrifice fowls, eat the meat, +and give the blood to antoh in accordance with their custom. After the +harvest there is a similar function at which the same kind of dancing is +performed as at the tiwah feast. On both occasions a game is engaged in +which also is found among the Bahau and other tribes, wherein a woman +jumps dexterously between heavy pestles that, held horizontally, are +lifted up and brought down in rapid succession. Three months later--at the +end of the year--another festival occurs. + +The Katingan calendar may be rendered thus: + +1. Cutting the jungle, June and July....... during 2 months + +2. Drying the trees and burning them....... during 1 month + +3. Planting paddi.......................... during 2 months + +4. New paddi............................... in 3 months + +5. Harvesting.............................. during 1 or 2 months + +6. Waiting................................. during 3 months + +In order to ascertain the auspicious date for planting paddi these Dayaks +employ an astronomical device founded on the obvious fact that in their +country there comes a period when a rod placed in an upright position +casts no shadow. That is the time for planting. In addition to this method +of determination they consult a constellation of three stars which "rise" +in the east and "set" in the west during half a year, and are invisible +during the following six months. When the three stars appear +perpendicularly above the rod in the early morning, before sunrise, then +the time to plant is at hand; when they are in the zenith in the late +afternoon before sunset, the season for making ladang has come. + +For these observations, however, a single rod is not used, but an +arrangement of rods called togallan, seven in number, which are planted in +the ground, the middle one upright, the rest diverging on either side like +a fan. Beginning on the left side, six months are indicated, but the +togallan does not remain standing more than three; in fact as soon as the +planting is finished it is removed. Although the most propitious time is +when the sun is at zenith, it is also considered favourable for half the +distance from the middle rod toward 3 and toward 5. If paddi is planted in +the second month the crop will be injured; if in the fifth month, the +plant will be damaged. + +[Illustration: INDICATION BY THE TOGALLAN OF THE FAVORABLE TIME FOR +PLANTING RICE.] + +Formerly heavy spears made of ironwood were employed not only as weapons, +but for agricultural purposes as well, both when making the holes into +which the seed grains are dropped and as material in erecting the +astronomical device. Each of the seven rods is called ton-dang, as is the +pointed stick with which at present the ground is prepared for planting +paddi. + + +MISCELLANEOUS + +With the Kenyahs and many other tribes it is the custom to give boiled +rice that has stood overnight to the dogs, pigs, and hens; it is not +considered fit for human food. + +Regarding the number of souls: The Murung says that each person has seven +souls, called brua, six being distributed as follows: one at the top of +the head, one in each eye and knee, and one in the navel. The Duhoi +(Ot-Danum) has also seven brua, one at the top of the head and one in each +eye, knee, and wrist. + +Other tribes speak of three souls. The Kenyahs, according to Dr. J.M. +Elshout, have only one brua, located at times in the head, at times in the +heart; and the tiger-cat and the orang-utan have stronger brua than man. +The Katingans likewise recognise but one, called liao in life, and after +death. They also give the same name to the soul of an animal, but the more +common usage in the tribes is to call the ghost liao, by the Malays named +njava. + +In regard to the practice of incision, which is used in Southwest Borneo, +Chapter XXXV, I am able to furnish some details gathered in Sampit from +three Dayaks who had been operated upon. A cut is made in the praeputium +lengthwise with a knife (further east a sharpened bamboo is used), a piece +of iron wood being used as a support, and the operation which in Katingan +is called habálak is performed by the father of the father's brother when +the boy is coming of age. Before the event he must go into the river up to +his navel seven days in succession, morning, midday, and evening, and +stand in the water for an hour. All boys must undergo the operation, which +is not sanguinary, the leaves of a tree called mentawa being applied to +the wound. They could give no reason why they follow this practice any +more than the ordinary Dayak can explain the purpose of tatuing. + +With the Kayans, and, indeed, all the tribes I met in Dutch Borneo, it is +the custom to urinate in a sitting position. + +To the observer it is strikingly evident that the mammae of both Dayak and +Malay women retain firmness and shape much longer than is the case with +white women. + + + + +A SHORT GLOSSARY + + +_adat_, precept, regulation, religious observance. +_antoh_, spirit, good or evil. +_atap_, a shelter, consisting of a mat resting on upright saplings, + often erected in the boats on long journeys. + +_babi_, pig. +_badak_, rhinoceros. +_balei_, a general name for a house of worship. +_barang_, goods, things, belongings. +_blanga_, large, valuable jar, usually of Chinese manufacture. +_blian_, priest-doctor. +_bom_, custom-house. +_brua_, soul. + +_chavat_, loin-cloth. +_company_ (the), the government. +_cranyang_, basket. + +_damar_, resin. + +_gutshi_, large jar. + +_inlander_, native. +_ipoh_, poison for the dart of the blowpipe, also the tree from + which it is secured (the upas tree). + +_kali_, river. +_kampong_, native village. +_kapala_, chief (= pumbakal). +_kidyang_, a small kind of deer. +_kiham_, rapids. +_kuala_, mouth of a river. + +_ladang_, paddi field. +_laki_, man, male. +_lombok_, red pepper. + +_mandau_, Dayak short sword (= parang). +_mandur_, overseer. + +_nagah_, fabulous animal, the apparition of a spirit. + +_onder_, native subdistrict chief. +_orang_, man. + +_paddi_, rice. +_parang_, Dayak short sword (= mandau). +_pasang-grahan_, public lodging-house. +_pisau_, small knife. +_plandok_, mouse-deer (_tragulus_). +_prahu_, native boat. +_pumbakal_, chief (= kapala). + +_raja_, a native chief, or noble. +_raja besar_, big raja. +_ringit_, the Dutch coin of f. 2.50. +_rupia_, florin, guilder. +_rusa_, deer. + +_sambir_, mat made from palm leaves. +_sarong_, a cloth wound around the loins. +_sayur_, vegetable stew. +_sumpitan_, blowpipe. + +_takut_, timid. +_ticcar_, mat made from rattan. +_tin_, five-gallon tin can. +_tingang_, great hornbill. +_tingeling_, scaly ant-eater. +_tuak_, native rice brandy. +_tuan_, master, lord. +_tuan besar_, great master or lord. +_tuba_, root used for poisoning the water for fishing purposes. + +_utan_, jungle, woods. + +_wah-wah_, gibbon, a long-armed monkey. +_wang_, coin, money. + + + + +INDEX + + +Aaton Kohang (antoh), tale of + +Acidosis, cure of + +Ado, harvest festival at + +Adventures in Pursuit of Magic, folk-tale + +Agility, of natives + +Agriculture, vast possibilities for + +Ah Sewey, photographer + +Airplane, foreshadowed in folk-tale + +Ajo River, the + +Akieh, Doctor Tjon + +Alcohol, from rice and from sugar-cane + +Alfurs of Central Celebes, resemblance of Katingans to + +Amban Klesau, boatman + +Amenaran, folk-tale about + +Amon Amang, the fatherless boy + +Aneitjing, legend of + +Angkipi + +Animals, of Borneo; + of the jungle; + of Central Borneo; + laughing at, feared by Long-Glats; + Mrs. Meyer's collection of; + Dayak belief concerning souls of. + _See also_ Blood of sacrificed animals + +Annandale, Doctor N. + +Ant-eater, the scaly; + supposed to bring good luck + +Anthracite coal + +Antimony + +Antiquities, Hindu + +_Antoh Who Married a Saputan, The_, folktale + +Antohs (good and evil spirits), various designations for; + shape usually assumed by; + kinds of; + haunts of; + sacrifices to attract good; + attracted by music and dancing; + the nagah; + the sangiang; + three birds that call; + disease caused by evil; + at ear-piercing operation; + singing to attract; + food offered to; + evil, ejected by singing; + represented on kapatongs; + flying prahu presented to; + sacrifice to, at rice-planting; + at harvest feast; + at funeral feast; + guarding the dead; + in crocodiles; + in trees; + representation of, on the sapundo; + evil; + placed in the world by, belief of natives; + the nagah in decorative designs; + names given to nagah by different tribes; + drawing of flying prahu presented to; + folktales about + +Ants, in the jungle; + a raid by; + along Busang River + +Apes + +Apo Kayan + trading expedition from; + the garrison in; + head-hunting in; + relics from; + Oma-Sulings from; + home of the Long-Glats; + Kenyahs of; + the Oma-Lakans of + +Aptitude, of natives + +Arabs, in Borneo; + conversion of Java by + +Artistic character of natives + +_Artocarpus integrifoha_ + +Asia: Borneo, Java and Sumatra formerly parts of + +Astronomical device for determining best time for rice-planting + +Auguries. See Omens. + +Australia, sun disregarded by blacks of + + +Baggage, story of excessive charge for carrying; + opening of many pieces of + +Bahandang, arrival at + +Bahau River, the; + inhabited at source only; + tribes from + +Bahau tribes, the + +Bahau-Kenyah tribe + +Bakas (hereditary rajas) + +Bakkaang River, the + +Bakompai, the; + characteristics of + +Balei, the (house of worship) + +Bali + +Balik Papan, oil-producing centre + +Balok tribe, the + +Bamboo, abundance of, in Borneo; + sumpitan darts carried in cases made of; + food cooked in; + uses of split; + tent protected by; + bandage made from; + baskets + +Banana, rice wrapped in leaves of; + omens taken with leaves + +Bandjermasin, population of; + founding of; + principal town in Dutch Borneo; + meaning of the name; + the hotel in; + climate of; + church and museum in; + Protestant and Catholic missionaries in; + departure for; + return to; + epidemic of cholera at; + final start from; + a journey through the country northeast of; + the cats and dogs in + +Bangkal, natives from; + different tribes in; + the Tamoans of; + epidemic of cholera at + +Banglan, fight of, with crocodile + +Bangsul, boatman + +Banquet, given by controleur at Sampit + +Baren, Controleur, heads presented to + +Barito River, the; + the journey up; + rapids of + +Basap tribe, the + +Baskets, bamboo, designs on + +Batavia, arrival at; + departure from; + return to; + Hindu statues presented to museum at + +Bathing, in the tropics; + frequent, of natives; + a visit from native women at time for + +Batokelau + +Bato-Pola tribe, the + +Bats, in the jungle; + in caves of Kong Beng + +Batu Boa + +Bayumbong + +Beads, necklaces of; + cradle decorated with; + valuable old + +Bear; + as food; + strange animal resembling; + gall of, used as medicine + +Beards, on natives + +Bees + +Belimbing, village of + +Berg, Dr. Afred + +Berger, Mr., experience of, with ironwood floors + +Beri-beri; + green peas used to counteract; + polished rice as cause of; + curing of crew of _Kronprinz Wilhelm_ stricken with; + epidemic of, at Sembulo; + in prison at Sampit + +Beringan, the pasang grahan at; + elevation at + +Betel, chewing of; + betel box on kapatongs + +Biha, the Murungs at + +Birds, of Borneo; + kept in houses; + caught in snares; + worship of; + antoh called and fed by; + seen along Busang River; + argus pheasant; + hornbills; + omen; + the punai; + white-tail pheasant; + the raja; + snake; + the teong; + Mrs. Meyer's collection of; + folktales about + +Blacksmiths, Dayaks, skilful; + art of, dying out among Saputans + +Blangas, valuable old + +Blarey, Penihing chief + +Blatei River, the + +Blians (priest-doctors), male and female; + possessed by good antohs; + constant occupation of; + shield of; + dress of Murung; + dance of; + among the Penyahbongs; + Saputan belief in; + at great triennial festival; + rice-throwing by; + march of; + funeral of; + methods practised by, for cure of disease; + singing of; + juggling of; + the usual remuneration of; + wooden statues used by Murung + +Blood of sacrificed animals, + smeared on principals of any feast or ceremony; + on kapatongs; + on stones; + at marriage ceremony; + at rice-planting; + at harvest feast + +Blow-pipe. _See_ Sumpitan + +Blu River, the + +Boat, native keelless. _See also_ Prahu. + +Boatmen: the Dayak; + meal of the Dayak; + Amban Klesau; + wages of; + dismissal of Malay; + Longko; + refusal of, to continue journey; + Djobing; + party sent to Tamaloë to hire; + the Penyahbong; + illness of; + a strike among; + unexpected addition to crew of; + inefficient; + wearied by carrying goods to top of ridge; + more men procured by Saputan chief; + easily obtained on the Mahakam; + plan of, to receive double wages; + the meal of the Malay; + on the Samba at night; + shout of, resembling college yell; + difficulties with Malay coolies + +Boh River, the + +Bone, engraved + +Boots, London Alpine + +Borneo, the second largest island; + formerly a part of Asia; + climatic conditions of; + mountains of; + river system of; + rain in; + dry season in; + useful trees of; + fruits of; + animal life of; + mineral resources of; + population of; + early history of; + colonised by Hindu Javanese; + the Malays in; + European occupation of; + geographical features of; + native tribes of; + original inhabitants of, unknown; + along the east coast of; + strong drink seldom abused by natives of; + trade in; + stormy weather along coast of; + plan of expedition through Central; + preparation for journey through Central; + distance covered on journey through Central + +Boro Budur, Buddhist monument, II + +Borro, the cocoanut monkey, folk-tale of + +Botanical gardens at Buitenzorg + +Boys, Kenyah + +Bracelets, brass and silver; + gold; + used in blian's dance + +_Branak, the Antoh_, folk-tale + +Brandy: rice; + from sugar-cane; + drunk from skulls; + at marriage ceremony; + at rice-planting and harvesting; + at funeral feast; + Tamoan method of making + +Brani River, the + +Braui River, the + +Breast-plates + +Brem-Brem River, the, rapids of + +British, in Borneo + +British India + +Brooke, James, made Raja of Sarawak; + exploring expedition of + +Brouers, B. + +Brua. _See_ Souls + +Bruen, the Kayans in + +Brunei, founded by Hindu Javanese; + Pigafetta's expedition to + +_Buceros rhinoceros_ + +Buddha, statues of, and scenes from life of, in the Boro Budur; + statue in temple of Mundut; + in caves of Kong Beng + +Buddhism, former main seat of, in Java, II; + of first settlers in Borneo + +Buffaloes, water + +Bugis, the, absorbed by Malays; + weaving of + +Buitenzorg, botanical gardens at; + Governor-General's palace at; + a visit to the Governor-General at + +Bukats, the, settlements of, in Upper Mahakam region; + customs of; + food of; + original home of; + strictly monogamous; + punishment for matrimonial unfaithfulness by; + women of; + sumpitans and mats made by; + customs regarding childbirth; + tuba-fishing practised by; + beautiful tatuing of; + cure for snake-bite known to; + death from lightning unknown to; + beliefs identical with those of Penihings; + experts in use of sumpitan; + head-hunting raid by + +Bukit mountain ridge, the + +Bukits, the, at Angkipi; + primitive character of; + physical characteristics of; + customs of; + teeth filed by; + weapon of; + sleeping-mat of; + yielding to Malay influence; + nomadic people; + the Ulu-Ots + +Bulau River, the + +Bulungan, the Sultan of; + size and population of; + Kayans and Kenyahs of + +Bulungan River, the + +Bumirata, rubber plantation near + +Bundang, tiwah feast at + +Buntok + +Buntut Mangkikit + +Burial cave of the Penihings + +Busang River, the; + the journey up; + rapids of; + delightful landscape on west side of; + the watershed of; + rapid rise of; + animals and birds seen along; + fish in; + insects seen along; + the orchids on; + superb scenery on; + elevation of watershed of; + data from, concerning Penyahbongs + +Busang tribe, the + +Businesslike character of natives + + +Cajuput oil + +Calendar, the Katingan + +Camping-houses, for travellers. _See_ Pasang grahan + +Canal, to Martapura + +Candelabrum, stand resembling + +Cannibals + +Canyon, trip through a + +Caps, rattan + +Carriers, the + +Carvings, on house at Data Lingei; + in a Long-Glat's house; + on casket; + on kapatongs; + on flying prahu + +Casket, a carved. _See also_ Coffin + +Cassava + +Cat, wild; + tame kitten of; + short-tailed + +Cattle, wild + +Caves, containing Hindu antiquities; + near Kandangan; + cave of Kimanis + +Celebes, climate of North; + Alfurs of Central + +Cemetery, at Sembulo; + at Tevang Karangan + +Centipedes, appearance of, an omen; + met by head-hunting party; + in caves of Kong Beng + +Cereals, removal of husks of + +Chairs + +Chalk cliff + +Characteristics of natives + +Chavat (loin-cloth) + +Chiefs, tall Penyahbong + +Childbirth, restrictions preceding; + methods employed to prevent; + Bukat customs regarding; + Duhoi customs regarding; + Long-Glat customs; + Murung; + Oma-Suling; + Penihing; + Penyahbong; + Punan; + Saputan + +Children, Malay at Samarinda; + flogging of; + few among Dayaks; + many among Malays; + a Kenyah child's funeral; + of the Kenyahs; + ornaments worn by; + provisions shared with; + Dutch, on steamer; + light colour of native; + born blind; + marriage of; + of the Penyahbongs; + of the Sapucans; + number of, in family; + at great triennial feast; + native games for; + protected from sun; + of the Long-Glats and Oma-Sulings; + bathing of infant; + Katingan; + restrictions preceding birth of; + naming of; + custom of changing name of; + at Kuala Kapuas; + still-born + +Chinese, in Singapore; + number of, in Borneo; + early knowledge of Borneo had by; + important element in development of Borneo; + trade principally in hands of; + at Sampit + +Chion-in, temple of + +Cholera; + cure of + +Chonggat, taxidermist + +Christmas day in the jungle; + Christmas eve + +Cicadas + +Cigar-cases, made from rattan + +Cigarettes + +Classes, social, among native tribes + +Cleanliness of natives + +Clearing, a, in the jungle + +Climate + +Climbing trees, native methods of + +Clocks, in Malay's house + +Coal; + along Barito River + +Coaling of steamers in Japanese harbours + +Cobra, a king; + remedy for bite of + +Cocks, annoyance caused by crowing of + +Cocoanuts; + plantations of; + natives killed by falling + +Coffin, making the; + duplicate made of carved; + Katingan name for; + for second funeral; + of the Long-Glats + +Coins, used as ornaments + +Collections, ethnographic, specimens added to + +Colombo + +Colour, skin; + light, in black and brown races; + hair + +Communal houses + +Cooking, in bamboo; + by the Penyahbongs + +Coolies, employed as paddlers + +Cows, at Long Iram; + sacrificed at funeral feast + +Cradle, adorned with beads; + customs regarding the + +Crocodile; + fight with a; + not eaten; + on Katingan River; + kapala's brother eaten by; + killing of; + folk-tale about + +Crow + +Culm, Stewart + +Cure of disease by natives + + +Daily life, of the Penyahbongs; + of the Long-Glats + +Damar, white + +Dance, of the Murungs; + of the blians; + at the tiwah feast; + war-dance; + of blians at triennial feast; + of the people at triennial feast + +Dancing, of the Murungs; + to attract good spirits; + with masks; + of the Duhoi; + of the Katingans; + at tiwah feast; + on completion of Penyahbong house; + at harvest festival + +Dangei hut, the + +Data Laong, village of; + meaning of name; + folk-lore from + +Data Lingei, a one-night camp at + +Dayaks, number of, in Borneo; + extinction of, by Malays inevitable; + safety enjoyed by; + derivation of the word; + name applied to all natives of Borneo except Malays and nomadic peoples; + little drunkenness among; + of Bulungan; + manners of; + few children of; + ultimately must die out; + food of; + social classes among; + the Kenyahs, the most capable of; + Hindu influence among; + physical superiority of; + and Malays; + characteristics of; + customs of + +De Weert, steamship + +Dead, the, natives' fear of; + guarded by kapatongs; + guarded by statue of lovers. + See also Funeral customs + +Debtors, as slaves + +Deer, the kidyang; + Bornean method of hunting; + along Busang River; + mouse; + fine specimen killed and eaten; + cry of, at noon, an omen; + folk-tales about; + magic fluid possessed by; + as food + +Demmini, J., photographer; + illness of; + return of, to Batavia + +Demum, a form of malaria + +Designs, decorative + +Diamond fields of Martapura + +Disease, cure of, by natives; + caused by malicious anto; + tatu marks to prevent; + natives' fondness for white man's remedies for; + skin + +Divorce among natives + +Djangkang + +Djelavat (Bornean fish) + +Djobing, boatman + +Djokjakarta + +Djudjang, rattan gatherers' camp; + arrival at + +Dogs, Dayak, description of; + augury concerning lost; + treatment of, in hydrophobia cases; + not eaten, hunting wild pig with; + belief concerning shedding of blood of; + traits of; + howling of; + stump-tailed; + folk-tale about; + eaten by Mehalats + +Dongiyak, basket designs interpreted by + +Dreams, omens from + +Dress, the Dayak; + of Katingan women; + of Kenyan women; + of the Penyahbongs; + mourning + +Drinking, Kenyah and Malay manner of + +Drums, in houses at Long Pahangei; + blian's + +Drunkenness rare among natives + +Dry weather in the jungle + +Ducks, marsh + +Duhoi, the (Ot-Danums); + head-hunting of; + primitive condition of; + intermarriage of, with Kahayans; + friendly visit of; + rich collections for sale by; + abundance of kapatongs used by; + varying physical aspects of; + shaving of foreheads by; + the kapala of; + method of making fire; + sacred number of; + customs of; + the flying prahu of; + polygamy of; + marriage customs and ceremonies of; + rice-planting and harvesting of; + funeral customs of; + taking leave of; + intelligence of; + polyandry among; + customs regarding childbirth; + number and location of souls of + +Durian, the, queen of fruits + +Dutch, the, rule of, in Borneo; + flag, on memorial staff + +Dutch Borneo, population of south and east; + population of north; + natural resources of; + government of; + native tribes in; + Bandjermasin principal town in; + Malays of + +Dutch Packet Boat Company + +Dwarf, photograph of, taken + + +Ears, rings worn in; + ornamentation of Penyahbongs'; + piercing of chiefs; + wooden disks in lobes of + +Earthenware jars + +Earthquake, on Java + +Eating, customs regarding + +Eggs, offered as sacrifice + +Elephants + +Elevation + +Elshout, Dr. J.M.; + quoted, on head-hunting + +Enemy, announcing approach of + +Equator, on the + +Erskine, A.M., description of caves of Kong Beng by + +European influence in Borneo + +Europeans, number of, in Borneo + +Eyes, with Mongolian fold; + set obliquely + + +_Fatherless Boy, The_, folk-tale + +Feast, dancing; + of the rubber gatherers; + on removal of bones of dead; + wedding; + harvest; + the great triennial; + kapatongs at; + at beginning and end of year + +_Felis nebulosa_ + +Filariasis, an attack of + +Fire, making a, in the jungle; + with flint and iron; + with rattan and bamboo; + by drilling; + by friction with rope; + by twirling + +Fire omen + +Fires, in the jungle + +Firebrands, used at funeral + +Fish, of Borneo; + in the jungle; + method of catching by poisoning river; + spearing for; + drying; + frame for drying; + catching by means of explosive; + cooked in bamboo; + kendokat caught by an otter; + abundance of in Busang River; + fruit-eating; + in pool near Bandjermasin; + the patin; + folk-tales about + +Fishing, tuba; + expeditions, omens concerning + +Flies; + yellowish gray; + black + +Flowers, of water-plant; + of equatorial regions; + along Kasao River; + on the Kai River + +Flute + +Flying prahu, the; + legend of; + a feature of tiwah feast; + as design in mats + +Fog + +Folk-lore tales, telling of, in song; + of the Kahayans; + of the Katingans; + of the Long-Glats; + Malay influence in; + of the Ot-Danums; + of the Penyahbongs; + of the Saputans + +Food, hints on proper, for travel in East Indies; + of the Dayaks and Malays; + at the paddi harvest; + at great triennial feast; + offered to antohs; + of the head-hunters; + of the Bukats; + of Duhoi bride and groom; + of the Long-Glats; + of the Penyahbongs; + of the Punans + +Forests of Borneo + +Fowls, Bornean + +Framboisia + +French count, story of a + +Frogs + +Fruits of Borneo; + the durian; + the lansat; + the nangca; + the rambutan; + eaten by fish + +Fuji, Mount, height of + +Funeral customs, the second funeral feast; + the pantar; + the panyanggaran; + the sapundo; + souls of animals presented to soul of deceased; + a child's funeral; + of the Bukats; + of the Bukits; + of the Duhoi; + of the Katingans; + of the Kenyahs; + of the Long-Glats; + of the Murungs; + of the Oma-Sulings; + of the Penihings; + of the Penyahbongs; + of the Punans; + of the Saputans + +Funeral house; + model of a raja's + +Furniture, European, natives desirous of securing + + +Games: for children; + top-spinning; + mancala; + played at beginning and end of year + +Garrison, in Apo Kayan; + at Long Iram; + at Long Kai; + at Long Nawang; + at Puruk Tjahu, ill + +German missionaries + +Gibbon (man-like ape) + +Glit River, the + +Gnats + +Go Hong Cheng, interpreter + +Goat, at times an antoh + +Goitre + +Gold; + of Barito River country; + hunting for, on Busang River; + in Samba and Braui Rivers; + on Katingan River; + not used by Penyahbongs + +Gompul + +Governor-General of Netherlands India + +Grass, in the jungle + +Grasshoppers + +Grijson, H.J. + +_Grotius_, Dutch steamer + +Guitar, a native + +Gunong, camp + +Gunong Porok, village of, folk-lore from + +Gunong Rega, height of + + +Haddon, Doctor A.C. + +Hageman, Captain J.J.M., on character of the Dayak + +Hair, removal of body; + on body, resembling orang-utan; + colour of head; + parasites in; + mustaches; + beards; + worn cut, by Duhoi; + shaving of forehead; + cut from head and placed in tree; + arrangement of women's + +Harelip + +Harvest, paddi; + festival + +Hawk, worship of; + a tame + +Head-hunters, song of; + seen on board steamer; + meeting an imaginary attack of; + food of + +Head-hunting, measures taken by Dutch government to eradicate; + among various tribes; + religious fanaticism incentive to; + a recent raid; + description of a raid; + customs regarding the practice of; + omens concerning; + the purposes of; + Captain Hageman quoted concerning; + effect of, on disposition of natives; + kapatongs of prime importance in; + rice-throwing before; + folktale about; + principal weapon used in; + Dayaks incited to by Malays; + of the Bukats; + not practised by Bukits; + of Duhoi chief; + of the Duhoi and Katingans; + raids of the Ibans; + of the Kenyahs; + discontinued by Ot-Danums; + of the Punans; + of the Ulu-Ots + +Head ornament, women's + +Heat, intense, in jungle + +Hens, sacrificed at rubber gatherers' feast; + sacrificed at wedding; + sacrificed at funeral; + hung in bags at night; + chickens eaten by + +Hindu Javanese, first settlers in Borneo; + kingdoms founded by; + absorbed by Malays + +Hinduism of first settlers in Borneo + +Hindus, in South Africa; + antiquities of, found in Borneo; + brass statue; + influence of, among Dayaks + +Hoang Tshirao, village of + +Honesty, of natives + +Honey, native methods of gathering + +Hong Seng, Chinese merchant + +Hornbills; + the rhinoceros; + the tail feathers of; + image of, on flying prahu; + image of, on pantar + +Hornets + +Hose, Doctor + +Hospitality, of natives + +House of worship, at Angkipi; + at Ado; + at Tumingki + +Houses: camping, for travellers; + communal; + with upright pillars before; + at Tumbang Marowei; + custom of burying slave alive underneath; + at Long Kai; + at Long Pahangei; + with beautiful carvings; + Malay; + high-gabled, in Negara; + of the Katingans; + form of salutation on entering and leaving; + dancing on completion of + +_How the Penganun was Caught Alive_, folktale + +Humidity + +Humour, sense of, among natives + +Hunchback + +Hunting, deer; + wild pig; + rhinoceros; + by the Penyahbongs; + part taken by women in; + omens concerning + +Hydrophobia + + +Ibans, the; + head-hunting raids of; + known as Orang Bahau + +Idenburg, A.W.F., Governor-General of Netherlands India + +Imperial Limited Express, a race with the + +Incision, the practice of + +India, British + +Indonesians, the + +Infants, bathing of + +Infidelity in marital relations, punishment for; + rareness of + +Inheritance, customs regarding + +Insects, in the jungle; + remedy for bites of + +Intelligence of natives + +Interpreter, the + +Inyah Otuntaga, legend of + +Inu, legend of + +Ipoh, poison for sumpitan darts + +Iron + +Ironwood, kapatongs made of; + receptacle for dead made of; + boats of; + funeral house of; + the panyanggaran made of; + the pantar; + spears of; + effect of sleeping on floors of + +Isau River, the + +Islamism + +Ismail; + residence of + +Iyu, folk-tale about + + +_Janssens_, steamship + +Japan, along the coast of; + impressions of + +Japanese, characteristics of; + remedy of, for wounds; + a native resembling; + medicines sold to natives by + +Jars, valuable old + +Java, best season to visit; + Buddhist monument in; + the garden of the East; + formerly part of Asia; + Islamism in; + an earthquake in; + eradicating the plague in + +Javanese, sailors; + soldiers; + easily lost in jungle; + remarkable intelligence of; + Hindu Javanese + +Javau, edible root + +Jews'-harp + +Joking, practical + +Juggling, by blians +Jungle, the, an expedition into; + making a shelter in; + cutting a clearing in; + stagnant atmosphere of; + making a fire in; + hardwood trees of; + ease of ascent in; + denseness of vegetation in; + animal life in; + birds of; + rain in; + fish in; + insects of; + rapid growth of vegetation in; + grass in; + in the midst of; + effect of dry weather on + +Jurong, wooden image used by blian + + +Kaburau + +Kahayan River, the, Protestant mission on; + Malay influence on; + folklore from + +Kahayans, the, cigar-cases made by; + the camp among; + with beards; + compared with Malays; + superior intellect of; + converts to Christianity among; + polygamy of; + folk-tale of + +Kai River, the + +Kambang, island of + +Kamkamiak, evil antoh + +Kandangan, the journey to; + arrival at; + caves near + +Kapala, election of, by Duhoi; + disabled, at Buntut Mangkikit; + tatuing on, at Bali; + brother of, eaten by crocodile + +Kapatongs; + attendants on souls of the dead; + for protection of the living; + carried by head-hunters; + curious representations of; + transmitted as heirlooms; + at feasts; + representing a raja; + representing a woman with betel box + +Kapuas River, the + +Kasao River, the; + Saputan name for; + drifting down; + continuation of journey down; + flowers along; + rapids of; + data from, concerning Saputans + +Kasungan; + at the "onder's" house in + +Katingan River, the, an expedition to; + plan to reach head of, abandoned; + ascent of, as far as first renowned rapids; + the return trip down; + closing of, for tiwah feast; + the Dayaks of + +Katingans, the, Sampit once occupied by; + belief of, in good and evil spirits; + belief, concerning cure of disease; + head-hunting raids of; + Upper and Lower; + number of; + characteristics of; + the dwelling of; + tatuing of; + honey gathering by; + a funeral of; + first appearance of Upper, at Tevang Karantan; + the flying prahu of; + children of; + dress of women; + friendliness of; + wives of; + customs and beliefs of; + crocodile killing by; + manner of announcing approach of enemy; + murder among; + methods of fire-making; + restrictions concerning women; + sins among; + names in vogue among; + good and evil omens of; + funeral customs of; + from Bangkal; + folktale of; + resemblance of, to Alfurs; + manner of curing disease; + game played by; + festivals of; + calendar of; + astronomical device of, for determining rice-planting season; + belief of, in one soul + +Katjang idju (native vegetable stew) + +Kayan River, the, journey up; + colour of; + rapids of; + the trip down; + rise of water in; + the Kayans and Kenyahs of; + inhabited only at source and at headwaters + +Kayans, the; + filing off of teeth by; + ethnological collections from; + prahus provided by; + songs of; + dialects of; + headhunting by; + agreeable to deal with; + the women of; + few children among; + compared with Kenyahs; + social classes among; + kampong of, at Long Blu; + trade of; + location of; + sub-tribes of; + claimed to be same tribe as Kenyahs; + known as Orang Bahau + +Kedu, the district of, II + +Keladi, water-plant + +Kelasin, village of + +Kendokat (fish) + +Kenyahs, the; + from Apo Kayan; + the women of; + funeral of a child of; + tuba-fishing by; + the children of; + boys of; + compared with Kayans; + most attractive of the natives; + rings worn in ears by; + the spear carried by; + physical superiority of; + characteristics of; + cleanliness of; + ornaments worn by; + removal of body hair by; + courtesy of; + industry of; + head-hunting by; + effect of head-hunting on disposition of; + most capable of the natives; + location of; + number of; + the sub-tribes of; + claimed to be same tribe as Kayans; + belief of, concerning soul + +Keppel, Captain H., _The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. "Dido"_ by + +Kiai Laman + +Kidyang (deer) + +Kiham, Atas; + Duyan; + Mudang; + Raja. + _See also_ Rapids + +Killing, by Bukats; + among Kenyahs; + of soldiers, by Murungs; + by Penihing chief; + among the Penyahbongs; + by Punans; + vendetta resulting from + +Kinabalu, highest mountain in Borneo + +Kinematograph, return to Tandjong Selor to repair; + replaced by a Pathe + +Kingfisher + +Kioto, fascination of; + hotel at; + temple of Chion-in at + +Klemantan tribes, the + +Knife, the klevang; + carried by women; + handle of, made from wah-wah bones; + the ancient duhong + +Kobe, western influence in + +Kohlbrugge, Doctor J.H.F. + +Kong Beng, caves of + +Koningsberger, Doctor J.C. + +Kreho, name given to the Penyahbongs + +Krol, W. + +Kuala Braui + +Kuala Kapuas; + folk-tale from + +Kuala Samba + +Kuala Sampit River, the + +Kuluk Habuus + +Kutei + +Kwing Iran, Kayan chief; + at the house of + + +La Riviere, Lieutenant C.J. + +Ladangs (paddi fields), season for clearing jungle for + +Lahanin River, the + +_Laki Mae_, folk-tale + +_Laki Sora and Laki lyu_, folk-tale + +Lamps, native + +Language, Malay; + resemblance of Dayak to Alfur + +Lansat, the (fruit) + +_Lansium domesticum_ + +Laong River, the + +Leave-taking, native manner of + +_Leaves that Baffled Antoh_, folk-tale + +Ledjuli. _See_ Raja Besar + +Leeches, jungle; + the bite of + +Legs, wasting of muscles of + +Lemur, the spectacled + +Liao. _See_ Souls + +Lidju, interpreter + +Lightning, death from, unknown to Bukats, Penihings and Punans + +Limestone hills + +Lizard, as food; + shot by sergeant; + a man-eating; + red-backed, supposed to bring good luck + +_Lobiophasts_ + +Lodging-house, for Dayaks at Long Pangian + +Loing, Mr. + +Lok Besar, a journey to; + arrival at; + elevation at + +Long Blu, Kayan kampong at + +Long-Glats, the, belief of, in friendly spirit; + food of; + and Oma-Sulings; + the women of; + Ibans feared by; + weaving no longer done by; + location of; + original home of; + characteristics of; + mats made by; + customs and beliefs of; + large families desired by; + the children of; + folk-lore of; + manner of bidding farewell; + known as Orang Bahau; + former name of; + colour of; + sub-tribes of; + customs regarding childbirth; + funeral customs of + +Long Iram; + garrison at; + arrival at; + description of; + temperature at + +Long Isau, fishing at + +Long Kai; + garrison at; + data from, concerning tribes + +Long Mahan + +Long Nawang, the garrison at + +Long Pahangei, great triennial festival at; + the camp at; + houses of; + a second visit to; + largest Oma-Suling settlement + +Long Pangian; + dry weather at; + the posthouder of; + developing plates at; + difficulty in securing men at; + the tribes at + +Long Pelaban + +Long Tjehan, the camp at; + Bahau festival at; + return to; + the rajas in; + natives observed in; + curing of sick at + +Long Tujo, the Long-Glats of; + folk-lore from; + data from, concerning natives + +Longicornes + +Longko, Malay boatman; + deer killed by; + desertion of + +Lorenz, Dr. + +Lulo Pakko, the camp at + +Lung Karang, orchid found near + + +Macassar + +Madras + +Magellan's expedition + +Magic, folk-tale about + +_Magic Babi Bone, The_, folk-tale + +Mahakam River, the; + fish in; + religious ideas on; + arrival on; + an excursion down; + the rapids of; + overflow of; + Oma-Suling settlements on Upper; + departure from region of Upper; + Malay influence not extended to Upper; + continuing the journey down; + dry season on; + rapid fall of; + the tribes of; + data from, concerning tribes + +Mail, receipt of, in the jungle + +Maize, cultivation of + +Malaria + +Malay, language, the; + coolies, difficulty with + +Malays, in Borneo, number of; + influence of; + pirates among; + food sacrificed to monkeys by; + of the Bulungan district; + women and children of; + food of; + method of drinking water; + revolution of; + at Batu Boa; + influence supreme on Barito River; + a strike among; + outfit of travelling; + engaged in gathering rattan; + head-hunting raids on; + umbrellas carried by; + not in Upper Mahakam region; + use of cajuput oil by; + at Pengaron; + and Dayaks; + house of; + at Belimbing; + in Negara; + paint used by women; + lower portions of great rivers populated by; + influence of, on Kahayan and Kapuas Rivers; + of Sembulo; + influence of, shown in folk-tales; + intelligence of; + Dayaks being absorbed by + +Mamberamo River, the, expedition on, recalled + +Mancala (game), description of + +Mandau, short sword + +Mandin, village of + +Mandumei, water of sea reaches + +Mangosten (wild fruit) + +_Manis_ + +Mansur, Dato + +Map-making + +Margasari, Hindu remains at + +Marriage customs, of the Bukats; + of the Bukits; + of the Duhoi; + of the Katingans; + of the Long-Glats; + of the Murungs; + of Oma-Sulings; + of Penihings; + of Penyahbongs; + of Punans; + of Saputans + +Marriage, unfaithfulness in; + faithfulness in + +Martapura, diamond-fields of; + by canal to + +Masks, dancing with; + bought at Data Lingei + +Massey, B. + +Mata Punai, decorative design + +Mats, making of; + sleeping; + designs on; + made at Kuala Kapuas + +McCann, Alfred W., formula of, for cure of diseases with vegetables + +McDougall, Dr. + +Measles + +Meat, formerly eaten raw + +Medicine, natives' fondness for white man's; + gall of bear used as + +Mehalats, the, customs of + +_Melalevea leucodendron_ + +Men, physical appearance of; + women outnumbered by; + dressed as women; + dress of blian; + ear ornamentation of; + restrictions concerning women, observed by; + regulations observed by widowers; + precautions taken by unmarried; + mutilation of body by + +Mendawei (Katingan) River, the, expedition to + +Mendut, the temple of + +Merasi River, the; + an excursion up; + the return journey on + +Metsers, Lieutenant T.F.J. + +Mexico, Indians of + +Meyer, A.F. + +Meyer, Mrs. A.F., collection of animals and birds of + +Michielsen, Controleur W.J.; + first European to visit Samba River; + quoted, on the Ulu-Ots; + blangas seen by; + quoted, on Katingans + +Milk, best kind for travel in the tropics + +Mineral resources of Borneo; + gold; + iron + +Missionaries, Protestant and Catholic, in Dutch Borneo + +Modjopahit, founded by Hindus; + fall of + +Moerman, C. + +_Mohaktahakam Who Slew an Antoh_, folktale + +Mohammedanism + +Money (wang) + +Money-box, the stealing of a + +Monkeys: long-nosed; + food sacrifices to; + supposed to be able to swim; + saying of natives of Java concerning; + seen along Pembuang River; + as food; + along the Busang River; + figure of, to protect rice-field; + superstition concerning red; + tale of the cocoanut. + _See also_ Orang-utan _and_ Wah-Wah + +Monogamy + +Months, designated by numbers + +Moon, native belief concerning; + tatu marks representing + +Morning-glories + +Mosque, wooden, at Sembulo + +Mosquito-netting + +Mosquitoes; + illness caused by sting of + +_Motherless Boy, The_, folk-tale + +Moths + +Motor-boat, prahu towed by + +Mountains of Borneo: + Kinabalu; + Gunong Rega; + first appearance of; + on Busang River; + crossing the Bukit; + Lung Karang; + seen from Batokelau; + canyon through; + Mountain of Images; + seen from Tumingki; + the stone man and the stone wife; + Muller + +Mourning garments + +Mouse-deer, capture of a; + superstition concerning + +Moving-pictures shown to natives + +Muara Laong + +Muara Tewe, in + +Muara Topu + +Mud, taken from pool bottom + +Muller mountains, home of the Penyahbongs + +Murder, vendetta resulting from. + _See also_ Killing + +Murungs, the, physical appearance of; + a stay among; + dance of; + dress of; + soldiers killed by; + filing of teeth by; + marriage customs of; + funeral customs of; + location of; + tatuing of; + customs regarding childbirth; + wooden images employed by; + belief of, concerning number and location of souls + +Muruts, the + +Musangs, tame + +Museum, nucleus of, in Bandjermasin + +Music, good spirits attracted by + +Musical instruments: the drum; + the flute; + the jews'-harp; + the sapi; + the sarunai; + the shield; + trumpet; + folk-tale about + +Mustaches + + +Nagah, good and evil spirit; + represented in decorative designs; + description of; + names given to, by different tribes + +Nagasaki, western influence in + +Nahamerang, village of + +Names, in vogue among Katingans; + custom of changing + +Naming of children + +Nangca (fruit) + +Napoleonic Wars, the + +_Nasalis larvatus_ + +Natives of Borneo. _See_ Dayaks _and_ Tribes + +Necklaces, bead; + made of stalks of plants; + on kapatongs + +Negara + +_Nepenthes_ + +Netherlands India, Governor-General of + +New Guinea, securing men for expedition to; + fitting out of expedition to, interrupted by war; + omen bird heard at start of an expedition to + +Newspapers, received at Long Kai + +Nieuwenhuis, Dr. A.W.; + attempt to kill + +Nipa palm + +Nohacilat, aboriginal wearing apparel from + +"Nokken," Norwegian superstition of the + +Nomorunge, village of + +Nose, in Long-Glat leave-taking + +Nudity, chasteness of + +Numbers, sacred + +Nuncilao, village of + +Nundun, the + + +Oatmeal + +Obongbadjang, folk-tale about + +Oeloe Soungei, district of + +Oil, at Balik Papan + +Oma-Gaai, Kayan sub-tribe + +Oma-Lakan, the, Kayan sub-tribe + +Oma-Lokvi, the + +Oma-Palp, the; + festival of + +Oma-Sulings, the, country of; + characteristics of; + and the Long-Glats; + the great festival of; + the women of; + funeral customs of; + hair colour of; + a second visit to; + meaning of the name; + from Apo Kayan; + weaving no longer done by; + villages of, on Upper Mahakam; + food of; + desire of, for large families; + included in Orang Bahau; + beliefs and customs of; + customs regarding childbirth; + marriage customs of; + omen before naming children; + sacred numbers of; + use by, of nagah in decorative designs + +Oma-Tapi, the + +Ome-Tepe, the + +Omamahak + +Omen birds; + not eaten; + kapatongs of images of + +Omens: fire, before tuba-fishing; + taken from birds; + from pig's liver; + the centipede; + taken by top-spinning; + concerning headhunting; + from dreams; + from banana leaves before naming children; + hunting expeditions abandoned because of; + good and evil, among the Katingans + +"Onder," the; + head-hunting by + +Ong Sangi, village of + +Onions, white + +Oostenbroek, G. + +Orang Bahau, the; + meaning of name; + tribes included in + +Orang-utan, Dayak resembling; + shot by Chonggat; + rare in Central Borneo; + cries like child when wounded; + supposed to be able to swim; + stories of attacks of; + as food; + belief in soul of; + folk-tale about + +_Orang-Utan and the Dayak,_ _The_, folk-tale + +Orchids, of Borneo; + with aromatic fragrance; + search for rare variety of + +Ornaments worn by natives + +Ot-Danums, the; + at Telok Djulo; + physical appearance of; + the village of; + ornaments of; + tatuing of; + story of an unfaithful wife; + cure of disease by; + on the Katingan River; + funeral customs of; + of Tevang Karangan; + known as Duhoi on the Samba River; + headhunting of; + meaning of the name; + the kapatongs; + location and number of; + primitive conditions of; + customs regarding childbirth; + belief concerning number and location of souls; + folklore of + +Ot-tjin, the game + +Otter, fish caught by; + folk-tale about + +_Otto_, government river steamer + +Outfit for travel in the tropics, principal items in + +Ox, wild + + +Pa-au + +Paddi. _See_ Rice + +Paddlers. _See_ Boatmen + +_Pagan Tribes in Borneo_, quoted + +Pahandut + +Pahit (antoh), legend of + +Paint, face, of Malay women + +Pajamas, worn by a native + +Palapak tree, the + +Pani River, the + +Pantars (memorial poles) + +Panyanggaran, the (memorial pole) + +Paradise flycatcher, the + +Parang (short sword); + inlaid work on blade of + +Pasang-grahan (camping-house); + at Belimbing; + at Beringan; + at Kandangan; + at Long Iram; + at Long Pangian; + at Samarinda; + at Sembulo; + protected by palm-leaf mats + +Pasir; + the ex-Sultan of + +_Pátin Fish_, _The_, folk-tale + +Peanuts, cultivation of + +Peas, green, of the East Indies + +Pembuang River, the, approach to; + the trip up + +Pendahara, camp at + +_Penganun_, _the Huge Serpent_, folk-tale + +Pengaron, arrival at + +Penihings, the, belief of, in friendly spirit; + a stay among; + articles sold by; + murder committed by chief of; + characteristics of; + houses of; + the blian's shield; + physical appearance of; + valuable collections made while among; + a burial cave of; + funeral customs of; + tribal name of; + the raja or chief of; + omens of; + customs of; + hair colour of; + voices of; + weapons of; + the women of; + the cradle of; + sacred number of; + top-spinning by; + religious ideas of; + the five souls of; + method of curing disease; + Ibans feared by; + weaving done by; + Saputans formerly governed by; + impossible to obtain folk-tales from; + tuba-fishing practised by; + included in Orang Bahau; + cure for snake-bite known to; + death from lightning unknown to; + marriage customs of; + customs regarding childbirth; + filing of teeth by; + game played by; + use by, of nagah in designs; + interpretation of basket designs by + +Penyahbongs, the, kampong of Tamaloe formed by; + a nomadic people; + boat crew of; + rhinoceros hunting expedition of; + characteristics of; + head ornament of; + ear ornamentation of; + garments of; + tatuing of; + food of; + customs of; + no disease among; + marriage customs of; + the women of; + the children of; + hunting of; + weapons of; + no divorce among; + funeral customs of; + compared with the Saputans; + the Ulu-Ots; + agriculturists; + head-hunters; + folk-tales of; + gold not used by; + allied to Punans; + number of; + known as Kreho; + tuba-fishing practised by; + name applied also to mountain range; + belief of, in antoh; + customs regarding childbirth; + omens taken by + +Penyakit, evil antoh + +Peppers, red + +Petroleum; + value of, in the jungle + +_Phalaenopsis gigantea_ + +Pheasants of Borneo; + the argus; + white-tail, wattled + +Phonographs, in Tandjong Selor + +Phosphorescent lights in the jungle + +Photography in the tropics: + camera feared by natives; + payment made for privilege of photographing natives; + refusal to be photographed; + ornaments put on by natives, before being photographed; + refusal to permit photograph to be taken while working; + disapproval by Raja Paron; + bathing of natives to cleanse themselves after being photographed; + the harvesters; + the ear-piercing operation; + the Raja Besar; + women rajas; + a kapala and his wife + +Physical appearance of natives + +Pig, domestic, reading of liver of, as augury; + sacrifice of, at dancing feast; + sacrifice of, at rubber gatherers' feast; + sacrifice of, at ear-piercing operation; + meat of, as eaten by natives; + killing of, for great triennial festival; + dancing around; + sacrifice of, at rice-planting + +Pig, wild; + food of Punans; + colour of; + capture and killing of; + along the Busang River; + harassed by dogs; + giant; + herds of; + hunting; + folktale about + +Pigafetta, expedition of, to Brunei + +Pigeons; + legend of + +Pillars, sacred, for benefit of the dead. _See_ Kapatongs + +Pinang + +Pineapples + +Pipa River, the + +Pirates, Malay + +Pisha, Penyahbong chief; + marriage of daughter of + +Pitcher-plant, the + +Plague, the, measures taken to eradicate + +Plandok (mouse-deer); + superstition concerning + +Platinum + +Podjungan, the Kenyahs in + +Poison, used in blow-pipe + +Polyandry + +Pomelo, the + +Pomosing, village of + +Pontianak, evil antoh + +Population, of Borneo; + of Bulungan + +Porcupine, killing of; + legend of + +Portuguese, the, early trade relations of, with Brunei + +Poru, village of + +Potatoes, unknown to natives + +Prahu (native, keelless boat), construction of; + a gay flotilla; + difficulty in procuring; + loss and recovery of; + time required to build; + loading the; + of the Kenyahs; + bailing out leaky; + difficulty in securing men for; + given to the natives; + upsetting of; + with collection of animals and birds, nearly swamped; + an unusually large; + gondola-like; + towed by motor-boat; + with bamboo covering in bottom; + the flying; + legend of the flying + +Prickly heat + +Priest-doctors. _See_ Blians + +Priok, Sultan of + +Prison at Sampit, beri-beri among inmates of + +Protestant mission on Kahayan River + +Proto-Malays + +Provisions, hints on proper; + for trip up Barito River, in; + the end of, reached + +Pulau Tombak + +Punai (pigeon), legend of + +Punans, the; + a nomadic tribe; + shy people of the jungle; + avoidance of sun's rays by; + skin colour of; + different tribes of; + physical characteristics of; + food of; + customs of; + filing off of teeth by; + renowned for skill in use of sumpitan; + a hunting party of; + headhunting raid of; + two headhunter prisoners; + settlement of, at Serrata; + marriage customs of; + punishment for marital infidelity; + original location of; + makers of the sumpitan; + manner of curing disease; + the women of; + customs regarding childbirth; + the Ulu-Ots; + Penyahbongs allied to; + tuba-fishing practised by; + remedy of, for disease; + possess no remedy for bite of snake; + death from lightning unknown to; + included in Orang Bahau + +Puruk Tjahu, in + +Python, man-eating + + +Rails, marsh + +Rain, in Borneo; + storms in the jungle; + at Long Nawang; + usual occurrence of, at Tamaloe; + storms on Lake Sembulo + +Rainy season in the tropics + +Raja, the Sultan's; + represented by kapatong; + office of, hereditary; + women rajas + +Raja Besar, Ledjuli, a visit from; + photographing; + articles bought from; + a trip up the Merasi River with + +Raja bird, the + +Raja Paron + +Rajimin, taxidermist; + illness and return of + +Rambutan (wild fruit) + +Rapids, of the Barito River; + of the Busang River; + of the Kasao River; + of the Katingan River; + of the Kayan River; + of the Mahakam River; + of the Samba River + +Rat, large white + +Rattan, abundance of, in Borneo; + cigar-cases made from; + uses of split; + gatherers of; + mats made from; + floated down Kasao River; + no longer found on Upper Mahakam; + caps of + +Rattles, worn by women; + used by blian at wedding + +Raven, Harry C. + +Religion, native ideas of + +Retribution, folk-tale + +Rhinoceros; + horns of; + red rubber statue of; + hunting; + folk-lore tale about + +Rhinoflax vigil + +Riam Kiwa River, the; + elevation of watershed of + +Rice, brandy made from; + polished a cause of beri-beri; + cooked in bamboo; + harvesting of; + method of husking; + cooking of, for great festival; + throwing of; + making new field for; + planting of; + time required for cooking; + season for planting, determined by togallan; + considered unfit for food day after cooking + +Rickshaw men, the + +Rifle, loaned by Sultan + +Rijckmans, L.F.J. + +Rings, tin and brass, worn in ear-lobes + +River system of Borneo + +Rongkang, epidemic at + +Roth, Ling + +Royal Dutch Packet Boat Company + +Rubber; + feast of gatherers of; + an English plantation; + gathering, at Sembulo + +Rubea, the natives at + +Rumphius, Dutch steamer + +Rusa. See Deer + + +Sacrifice, of pig; + of hens; + of food, to antohs; + of slave in building of houses; + of water-buffalo; + at paddi-planting; + when tree falls + +Sago-palm + +Sailors, Javanese; + Malay + +Salap (fish) + +Salt, use of + +Salt water, issuing from rock; + pool of + +Salutations, when meeting; + at leave-taking; + on entering and leaving a house + +Samarinda; + arrival at; + climate of; + the natives in + +Samariting + +Samba River, the, fish in; + houses on; + an expedition up; + passing the rapids of; + night on; + first European to visit; + gold in; + data from, concerning natives + +Sambil goreng (native stew) + +Samoan tribe. See Tamoans + +Sampit, village of; + start for; + return to; + beri-beri at; + banquet given by controleur of + +Sampit River, the + +Sand-bars, at mouth of Pembuang River + +Sand, white + +Sandpiper, the + +Sandung (funeral house) + +Sangiang, the (antoh) + +Sankuvai, the (bird that calls antoh) + +Sapundo, the (memorial post) + +Saputans, the; + characteristics of; + number of; + the women and children of; + habits and customs of; + marriage customs of; + food of; + belief of, about disease and its cure; + funeral customs of; + piercing of ears of; + shy about being photographed; + makers of the sumpitan; + headhunting of; + the Ulu-Ots; + folklore of; + governed formerly by Penihings; + tuba-fishing practised by; + derivation of the name; + four villages of; + customs of, regarding childbirth; + included in Orang Bahau + +Sarawak, James Brooke made raja of; + success of government of, under white rajas; + five groups of people in; + fires at + +Schouten, H.P. + +Schreuder, R. + +Schwaner Mountains, the, mineral possibilities of; + exploration of; + the natives in + +Sea, water from, reaches Mandumei + +Sea Dayaks, the + +Seat, plank used as + +Segai, the, Kayan sub-tribe + +_Selatan_, government steam-launch; + rough weather on board + +_Semang, the Bad Boy_, folk-tale + +Sembulo, Lake, an expedition to; + description of; + visit to, postponed; + the Dayaks on; + legend of the tailed people of; + second expedition to; + storms on; + depth of; + no evidence of tailed men found at + +Sembulo, village of, arrival at; + mosque and cemetery of; + legend of the tailed people of; + population, Malay; + rubber gathering, chief occupation of; + natives from Bangkal brought to; + epidemic of beri-beri at; + Tamoans superseded by Malays at + +Senamang River, the, natives of + +Serpent, huge, man-eating; + legends of golden-horned. + _See also_ Snake + +Serrata + +Shelters, in the jungle + +Shield: blian's, used as musical instrument; + picture of antoh on warrior's; + of the Penihings + +Shyness of natives + +Siangs, the; + tatuing of + +Singapore; + climate of + +Singing, of Kayan women; + of head-hunters; + to cure disease; + folk-tales; + of Penyahbong chief; + of the Penyahbong men; + of blian at funeral ceremonies; + of Katingan women + +Sins, kinds of, among Katingans + +Skin, colour of natives'; + diseases; + formations on thighs + +Skins, animal, drying of; + spoiled by weather conditions + +Skulls, natives unwilling to sell; + used as drinking-vessels + +Slave, formerly sacrificed to attract antoh; + buried alive under houses; + stones thought to be; + debtors as; + killing of, for wealthy man's funeral; + formerly sacrificed at tiwah feast; + cuts inflicted on, when raja dies + +Smallpox + +Snake, poisonous; + curious adventure with; + deadly bite of black; + a fight with; + as food; + caught and set free; + huge, man-eating; + bite of cobra; + cure for bite of; + folk-tales about + +Snake-bird + +Snares, for catching birds + +Social classes, among tribes + +Soerabaia, point of steamboat connection with Borneo; + important commercial centre; + arrival at; + head-hunters imprisoned at; + an earthquake at + +Soldiers, killing of, by Dayaks + +Song, of native women; + of the head-hunters + +Sonora Desert, the + +_Sophia_, government steamship + +Sora, folk-tale about + +Souls, belief of various tribes concerning + number and location of; + departure of, through top of head; + of animals presented to soul of deceased person; + method of recalling; + of animals + +Spaan, A.W. + +Spear, the hunting + +Spiders, effect of bite of; + in caves of Kong Beng + +Spirits, good and evil; + Hindu names for good. _See also_ Antohs + +Squirrel, shot by Chonggat + +Stalactites, in cave of Kimanis; + in caves near Kandangan + +_Star_, the Montreal, assistance given by reporter for + +Stars, native belief concerning; + tatu-marks representing; + rice-planting season determined by + +Statue, brass, of Hindu origin + +Stealing, Dayak belief concerning punishment for; + of tin cans; + scruples about, overcome by Malay influence; + of expedition's moneybox; + among jungle people + +Steamers: coaling of, in Japanese harbours; + unpleasant trip on Barito River; + voyage on a rattan transport; + the _De Weert_; + the _Grotius_; + the _Otto_; + the _Selatan_; + the _Sophia_ + +Steel trunk + +Stew, native, katjang idju; + sambil goreng + +Stones, believed to be alive + +Store-houses + +_Story of the Bird Punai_, folk-tale + +Sugar-cane; + alcohol from + +Suicide among natives + +Sultan of Bulungan, the, a visit to; + marriage of brother of + +Sultanates established by Malays + +Sumatra, formerly a part of Asia + +Sumpitan, the (blow-pipe); + expert makers of; + method of holding; + poison for darts of; + the poison-carrying point; + the spear point on + +Sun, belief concerning; + exposure to, feared by natives; + under equatorial, without head covering + +Sungei Lobang + +Sungei Paroi, preparation for journey to + +Sword, short, of the Dayak + +Syphilis + + +Tabédjeh, legend of + +Tail, skin formation resembling + +Tailed men, the, legend of; + no evidence of, found at Lake Sembulo + +Talinka, folk-lore from + +Tamaloë, the journey to; + arrival at; + kampong of, formed by Penyahbongs; + origin of the name; + usual occurrence of rain at; + animals and birds not plentiful at; + folk-tales from + +Tamoans, the; + meaning of name; + scarcity of food of; + cholera ravages among; + superseded by Malays at Sembulo; + tatuing of + +Tandjong Priok + +Tandjong Selor + +Tapang trees + +Tapen Bini, Hindu remains at + +Tapir, the + +Tappin River, the + +_Tarsius borneanus_ + +Tatu-markings: the full moon; + stars; + the durian fruit; + the nagah; + fish; + the rayong; + colour of, from damar; + the clothing of the liao, or soul; + on entire body; + to prevent disease + +Taxidermy in the tropics + +Teeth, filing off of; + metal plugs worn in + +Tehi, frame for drying fish + +Telang kliman, magic liquid + +Telen River, the + +Telok Djulo, village of + +Temang, brass statue at + +Temperature: maximum in inland Borneo; + in Bandjermasin; + at Tumbang Marowei; + on the equator; + at Long Iram; + at summit of watershed of the Riam Kiwa River + +Temple. _See_ Balei + +Tent, preferred to house; + the rot-proof + +Teong, the bird + +Teroian tribe, the + +_Terpsiphone_ + +Tevang Karangan, Upper Katingans at + +Throat, sick in his, Saputan expression + +Thunder-storms + +Tiger-cat, representation of, as protection; + not eaten; + image of, on flying prahu; + image of, guarding house; + soul of + +Tigers, Indian + +Tin; + cans, stolen by natives + +_Tinea imbricata_ + +Tingan, interpreter + +Tipang Tingai + +Tiwah feast (second funeral feast) + +Tjehan River, the + +Tobacco; + native; + asked for by women; + chewing; + given to natives + +Togallan, time for planting rice determined by + +Top-spinning, omens taken by + +Torch + +Trade in Borneo, mainly conducted by Chinese + +Traders, native, from Apo Kayan + +_Tragulus_ + +Traps, fishing + +Travellers, and omens + +Travelling, Malay outfit for; + Penihing custom of travelling at night + +_Tree of which Antoh is Afraid, The_, folktale + +Trees, of Borneo; + felling of; + hardwood, of the jungle; + methods of climbing tall; + poison from; + fruit-bearing; + falling, and head-hunting raids; + fallen but still living; + punishment of, when man is killed by falling from; + antohs in; + sacrifices made on falling of; + the crevaia; + the durian; + the lansat; + the tapang; + folk-tales about + +Tribes, native, of Borneo: classification of; + intermingling of; + friendly relations among; + characteristics and capabilities of; + the Bahau; + Basap; + Bato-Pola; + Bukats; + Bukits; + Busang; + Duhoi; + Ibans; + Katingans, Upper and Lower; + Kayans; + Kenyahs; + Long-Glats; + Mehalats; + Murungs; + Muruts; + Oma-Lokvi; + Oma-Palo; + Oma-Sulings; + Oma-Tapi; + Oma-Tepe; + Orang Bahau; + Ot-Danums; + Penihings; + Penyahbongs; + Punans; + Saputans; + Siangs; + Tamoans + +Triennial feast, the great; + the purpose of; + building of place of worship; + food regulations at; + service imparting health and strength at; + dance of blians at; + dance of the people; + killing and preparation of pigs for; + the banquet; + practical joking at; + rice-throwing at; + wrestling; + march of blians; + end of + +Trumpets, as accompaniment to singing + +Trunk, steel + +Trustworthiness of natives + +Truthfulness of natives + +Tuak. _See_ Brandy + +Tuan Allah + +Tuba-fishing + +Tumbang Djuloi, village of + +Tumbang Mantike, iron ore at + +Tumbang Marowei, village of; + return to; + data from, concerning Murungs + +Tumingki, village of + +Turtle; + supposed to be poisonous + +Twins, among children of the Dayaks + +_Two Orphans, The_, folk-lore tale + + +Ugga River, the + +Uljee, J.A. + +Ulu-Ots, supposed to be cannibals; + habitats of; + believed to have tails and to sleep in trees; + number and appearance of; + inveterate head-hunters; + collective name for several tribes + +Ulung Ela, the fatherless boy + +Ulung Tiung, the motherless boy + +Umbrellas, carried by Malays; + useful for travel in Borneo + +Upper Kahayan River, the, folk-lore from + + +Vaccinateur, the + +Vancouver, arrival at + +Van Dijl, Lieutenant J. + +_Varanus,_ + +Vegetables, used in cure of diseases; + stew of + +Vegetation in the jungle, change in denseness of; + rapid growth of + +Vendetta among the Katingans + +Vergouwen, J.C. + +Villages, custom of changing location of + +Voices, shrill + +Von Luschan colour scale + + +Wages, paid to boatmen + +Wah-wah (man-like ape); + traits of; + human behaviour of; + knife handles made from engraved bones of; + superstition concerning + +Walking, native manner of + +Wallace, A.R., quoted, on the Boro Budur; + his opinion of the durian; + his _Malay Archipelago_ quoted + +War-dance + +War, European + +Watch-tower, a + +Water, boiling of drinking, essential in tropics; + temperature of bathing, in tropics; + salt, from rocks; + pool of salt + +Water-buffaloes; + sacrifice of; + herd of, at Batokelau; + at times an antoh + +Water-plant + +Wealth of the Dayaks + +Weapons: the klevang; + the parang; + the spear; + the sumpitan; + carried by women + +Wearing apparel: aboriginal, added to collection; + the Dayak; + of Katingan women; + of Kenyah women; + of Penyahbongs; + mourning garments + +Weather, variety in, in the tropics + +Weaving, by the Bugis; + material for clothing; + rattan mats + +Wedding, festival; + at Tumbang Marowei. + See also Marriage customs + +_When Husband and Wife are Antohs,_ folklore tale + +Widows, rules observed by + +Wild men of Borneo (the Ulu-Ots) + +Wind, lack of, in the tropics; + in cave of Kong Beng; + at Kuala Braui; + calling the; + on Lake Sembulo + +Wives, number permitted by various tribes; + price paid for; + disloyal + +Women: coaling of steamers by Japanese; + song of the Kayan; + manners of; + few children of Dayak; + the Malay; + dress of; + mourning garments of; + frequent bathing of; + photographing; + cigarette smoking by; + dancing of; + blians; + folk-lore tales sung by; + restrictions imposed on; + head ornament of; + weapons carried by; + occupations of; + lot of, not an unhappy one; + part taken by, on hunting trips; + rules observed by widows; + a visit from, at bathing time; + face paint used by Malay; + regarded as more alert than men; + hair-dressing of; + a Malay boatman's wife; + antohs which cause injury to; + polyandry among Duhoi; + customs regarding childbirth; + of the Bukats; + of the Bukits; + the Duhoi; + Kayan; + Katingan; + of the Kenyahs; + Long-Glat; + of the Murungs; + Oma-Suling; + Penihing; + Penyahbong; + Punan; + Saputan + +_Wonderful Tree, The_, folk-lore tale + +Wong Su, cook + +Woodcraftsmen, Dayaks able + +Wrestling, in the water; + at great triennial feast + +Wristlets + + +Year, the Katingan + +Yokohama, the bay of + + +[Illustration (Map): THE DUTCH INDIES AND SURROUNDING COUNTRIES] + +[Illustration (Map): BORNEO (DOTTED SURFACE) AS COMPARED IN SIZE WITH THE +BRITISH ISLES (WHITE) (After Wallace)] + + + + +SAMPLES OF DAYAK TATUING + +The figure of a man represents a Lower Katingan, particularly a kapala at +Tewang Rongkang, the only one I saw with tatu marks on the knees. These +depict a fish of ancient times. On each thigh is the representation of a +dog or possibly the nagah with a dog's head. + +The central tatu design represents a tree, the trunk of which rises from +the navel; adjoining it above are two great oval designs stretching across +the chest and depicting the wings of a fowl. The tree which is called +garing, is a fabulous one that cannot be killed. This same pattern may be +observed on the mats of the Kayans. + +Down the arms and over the shoulders are similar designs representing +leaves of the areca palm. + +The border around the wrist is a representation of a bird called susulit. +The cross on the hand represents the beak of this bird; the starlike +figure is the eye of the hornbill. + +The globular tatu mark on the calf of the leg (h) is peculiar to +Katingans, Ot-Danums, and other tribes. The design below, representing a +certain fruit, was seen on a Katingan. + +The seven tatu marks to the right (a, b, c, d, e, f, g) represent the +durian in various phases. The upper (a) to the left is a ripe durian, a +design often observed in the tribes, one on each shoulder of a man. The +next three (b, c, d) are young fruit, often seen one above each nipple. +The next figure (e), usually observed on the upper arm (in front) +represents 14 durians. + +Above the nails of the tatued hand of a Penihing woman (f) are seen +similar triangular marks, while across it runs a border representing the +protuberances of the fruit. The latter designs are also found on the foot +(g) of the same individual. The cross lines over fingers and toes +represent banana leaves. + +[Illustration: SAMPLES OF DAYAK TATUING: +Tatuing of Lower Katingan +a. Bukit +b. Bukit +c. Bukit +d. Saputan +e. Long-Glat +f, g. Hand and foot of Penihing woman, Durian designs +h. The globular tatu mark] + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Through Central Borneo:, by Carl Lumholtz + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THROUGH CENTRAL BORNEO: *** + +This file should be named 7489-8.txt or 7489-8.zip + +Produced by Jeroen Hellingman, Olaf Voss +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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