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The Pagan Tribes of Borneo

A Description of Their Physical Moral and Intellectual Condition
With Some Discussion of their Ethnic Relations


by Charles Hose and William McDougall


With an Appendix on the Physical Characters of the Races of Borneo

by A. C. Haddon




In Two Volumes




Preface

In writing this book we have aimed at presenting a clear picture of the
pagan tribes of Borneo as they existed at the close of the nineteenth
century. We have not attempted to embody in it the observations
recorded by other writers, although we have profited by them and have
been guided and aided by them in making our own observations. We have
rather been content to put on record as much information as we have
been able to obtain at first hand, both by direct observation of the
people and of their possessions, customs, and manners, and by means
of innumerable conversations with men and women of many tribes.

The reader has a right to be informed as to the nature of the
opportunities we have enjoyed for collecting our material, and we
therefore make the following personal statement. One of us (C. H.) has
spent twenty-four years as a Civil Officer in the service of the Rajah
of Sarawak; and of this time twenty-one years were spent actually in
Sarawak, while periods of some months were spent from time to time
in visiting neighbouring lands -- Celebes, Sulu Islands, Ternate,
Malay Peninsula, British North Borneo, and Dutch Borneo. Of the
twenty-one years spent in Sarawak, about eighteen were passed in the
Baram district, and the remainder mostly in the Rejang district. In
both these districts, but especially in the Baram, settlements and
representatives of nearly all the principal peoples are to be found;
and the nature of his duties as Resident Magistrate necessitated a
constant and intimate intercourse with all the tribes of the districts,
and many long and leisurely journeys into the far interior, often
into regions which had not previously been explored. Such journeys,
during which the tribesmen are the magistrate's only companions
for many weeks or months, and during which his nights and many of
his days are spent in the houses of the people, afford unequalled
opportunities for obtaining intimate knowledge of them and their
ways. These opportunities have not been neglected; notes have been
written, special questions followed up, photographs taken, and sketches
made, throughout all this period.

In the years 1898 -- 9 the second collaborator (W. McD.) spent the
greater part of a year in the Baram district as a member of the
Cambridge Anthropological Expedition, which, under the leadership
of Dr. A. C. Haddon, went out to the Torres Straits in the year
1897. During this visit we co-operated in collecting material for a
joint paper on the animal cults of Sarawak;[1] and this co-operation,
having proved itself profitable, suggested to us an extension of
our joint program to the form of a book embodying all the information
already to hand and whatever additional information might be obtainable
during the years that one of us was still to spend in Borneo. The
book therefore may be said to have been begun in the year 1898 and
to have been in progress since that time; but it has been put into
shape only during the last few years, when we have been able to come
together for the actual writing of it.

During the year 1899 Dr. A. C. Haddon spent some months in the Baram
district, together with other members of the Cambridge Expedition
(Drs. C. G. Seligmann, C. S. Myers, and Mr. S. Ray); and we wish to
express our obligation to him for the friendly encouragement in, and
stimulating example of, anthropological field work which he afforded
us during that time, as well as for later encouragement and help
which he has given us, especially in reading the proofs of the book
and in making many helpful suggestions. We are indebted to him also
for the Appendix to this book, in which he has stated and discussed
the results of the extensive series of physical measurements of the
natives that he made, with our assistance, during his visit to Sarawak.

We have pleasure in expressing here our thanks to several other
gentlemen to whom we are indebted for help of various kinds -- for
permission to reproduce several photographs, to Dr. A. W. Nieuwenhuis,
the intrepid explorer of the interior of Dutch Borneo, who in his
two fine volumes (QUER DURCH BORNEO) has embodied the observations
recorded during two long journeys in the interior; to Mr. H. Ling Roth
for the gift of the blocks used in the preparation of his well-known
work, THE NATIVES OF SARAWAK AND BRITISH NORTH BORNEO, many of which
we have made use of; to Dr. W. H. Furness, author of THE HOME LIFE
OF BORNEO HEAD-HUNTERS (1902), for several photographic plates made
by him during his visits to the Baram in the years 1897 and 1898;
to Drs. C. G. Seligmann and C. S. Myers for permission to reproduce
several photographs; to Mr. R. Shelford, formerly Curator of the
Sarawak Museum, for his permission to incorporate a large part of
a paper published jointly with one of us (C. H.) on tatu in Borneo,
and for measurements of Land Dayaks made by him; to Mr. R. S. Douglas,
formerly Assistant Officer in the Baram district and now Resident of
the Fourth Division of Sarawak, for practical help genially afforded
on many occasions.

Finally, it is our agreeable duty to acknowledge our obligation to
H.H. the Rajah of Sarawak, who welcomed to his country the members of
the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition, and without whose enlightened
encouragement of scientific work on the part of his officers this
book would never have been written.

C. H.

W. McD.

JULY 1912.


Supplementary Preface by one of the Authors

I feel that it is necessary to supplement our joint-preface with some
few words of apology for, and explanation of, the appearance of my
name on the title-page of this book. For the book is essentially an
attempt to set forth in condensed form the mass of knowledge of the
tribes of Borneo acquired by Dr. Hose in the course of a quarter of
a century's intimate study of, and sympathetic companionship with,
the people of the interior. My own part in its production has been
merely that of a midwife, though I may perhaps claim to have helped
in the washing and dressing of the infant as well as in its delivery,
and even to have offered some useful advice during the long years of
pregnancy. And, since it is more difficult to present a brief and
popular account of any complex subject the more intimate is one's
knowledge of it, I may fairly hope that my superficial acquaintance
with the pagan tribes of Borneo has been a useful ally to Dr. Hose's
profound and extensive knowledge of them; I have therefore gladly
accepted my friend's generous invitation to place my name beside his
as joint-author of this work.

W. McD.



Contents






Chapter I
Geography of Borneo
1

Chapter II
History of Borneo
8

Chapter III
General Sketch of the Peoples of Borneo
28

Chapter IV
Material Conditions of the Pagan Tribes of Borneo
43

Chapter V
The Social System
63

Chapter VI
Agriculture
97

Chapter VII
The Daily Life of a Kayan Long House
116


Chapter VIII
Life on the Rivers
131

Chapter IX
Life in the Jungle
143

Chapter X
War
158

Chapter XI
Handicrafts
193

Chapter XII
Decorative Art
224



Chapter XIII
Ideas of Spiritual Existences and the Practices Arising from Them
1

Chapter XIV
Ideas of the Soul Illustrated by Burial Customs, Soul-Catching,
and Exorcism
28

Chapter XV
Animistic Beliefs Connected with Animals and Plants
51

Chapter XVI
Magic, Spells, and Charms
115

Chapter XVII
Myths, Legends, and Stories
136

Chapter XVIII
Childhood and Youth of a Kayan
153


Chapter XIX
The Nomad Hunters
177

Chapter XX
Moral and Intellectual Peculiarities
194

Chapter XXI
Ethnology of Borneo
223

Chapter XXII
Government
257

Appendix
The Physical Characters of the Races of Borneo. By A. C. Haddon
311

Index

343




List of Plates


1.	Young Kayan Chief with middle-class Companion (in Colour).
FRONTISPIECE
2.	Bruni, the pile-built Capital of the Sultans of Bruni	2
3.	A Jungle Path near Marudi, Baram District	4
4.	A Limestone Hill at Panga in Upper Sarawak	6
5.	Mount Dulit from the Tinjar River	8
6.	(A) Keltie Falls, Mount Dulit, Sarawak. (B) Kenyahs stopping
to camp for the Night on the Baram River   10
7.	The Rejang River emerging from the central mountain Region
12
8.	Gorge in the Rejang River above the entrance of Baloi
Peh	  14
9.	The Rejang River winding through the Hill Country	16
10.	The Rejang River about 300 Miles above its Mouth	16
11.	Jungle enveloped in thick Moss on Summit of Mount Dulit 18
12.	Head of the Rejang River	20
13.	In the Headwaters of the Baram River	22
14.	Lioh Matu (the Place of a Hundred Islands), at the Head of
the Baram River      24
15.	Fanny Rapid in the Pata River, Baram District	26
16.	A Sea Dayak or Iban	28
17.	Profile of Sea Dayak of Plate 16	28
18.	A Sea Dayak Woman	30
19.	Kayan Family of the Upper Rejang	32
20.	An Uma Pliau (Kayan) Girl of the Baram District 32
21.	Buling, the Son of a Kenyah Chief of the Baram District 34
22.	(A) A curly-haired Kayan of the Baram. (B) Aban Tingan,
a famous Kenyah Warrior, younger Brother of Tama Bulan	36
23.	Klemantans of the Tinjar District, and one old Kayan Chief
of Baloi, Laki Bo, wearing black Head-dress (back row, second figure,
left)  38
24.	Long Pokuns (Klemantans) of Tinjar River	38
25.	Kalabit (Murut) Chief (in centre) with Followers, from the
Source of the Baram River    40
26.	Punans of Tinjar River	40

27.	Tama Bulan Wang, the Kenyah Penghulu of the Baram District
42
28.	Kayan Girl from the Upper Kotei District	44
29.	Youthful Sea Dayaks in gala Dress	44
30.	Sea Dayak Woman wearing Coat and Petticoat ornamented with
Shells	     46
31.	Sulau, the Wife of a Kayan Chief, displaying her Collection
of valuable old Beads	    46
32.	A Barawan Woman (Klemantan) of the Tinjar	48
33.	Malanau Infant wearing Apparatus for moulding of the
Head	   48
34.	A Long House in the Baram District	50
35.	Murik Village of Long Tamala, Baram District	50
36.	Gallery of a Kayan House at Long Lama, Baram District	52
37.	Interior of a Kayan Dwelling-room	52
38.	Heads hanging in the Gallery of a Kayan House	54
39.	Beneath a Kayan House. To the left the Altar-posts for
Offerings can be seen	 54
40.	Large Barn in which PADI is stored	56
41.	Iban House	56
42.	Gallery of Iban House	56
43.	Iban Seat-mats. Iban Seed-baskets	58
44.	(B) Tobacco-boxes; (C) Wooden Plate for rolling Cigarettes;
(G) Gourd for Pith-heads of Darts; (P) Tobacco-pipes; (FP) Fire-piston;
(F) Nose-flute	    58
45.	Kenyah Woman's Hat. Kayan Tawak and Gongs	60
46.	Ningka, a valuable old Sea Dayak Jar	60
47.	Old earthenware Vessels much prized by all the Tribes	62
48.	Ibans bargaining over old Jars	62
49.	Tama Usong, leading Kayan Chief of the Baram District	64
50.	Aban Deng, the Chief of the Long Wats (Klemantan) of the
Baram District 66
51.	Sebop (Klemantan) Chief haranguing his Followers	 70
52.	Kenyahs of the Pata River. The Men wearing Caps and the one
squatting on the left are of the upper Class the others are of the
middle Class	 74
53.	A Kayan making Fire by Friction with a PUSA	78
54.	A Corpse in a Barawan (Klemantan) House. Party in the
unfinished House of Jangan, Chief of the Sebops, on the occasion of
the naming of his Child       82
55.	Ibans felling a Tree	98
56.	A Lirong Farm in the Tinjar River	100
57.	Kayans of Baloi in the PADI-field. The Tatu on the Thighs is
perceptible	   102

58.	Kenyah Women resting from Weeding in the PADI-field	104
59.	Kenyah Women at their Farm	106
60.	Kenyahs measuring the Length of the Shadow of the ASO DO at
Noon to determine the Time for sowing PADI  108
61.	Klemantan Women dressed as Men at the harvest Festival	114
62.	The Garden of a Kayan House, I.E. the Area between the House
and the River, with Fruit-trees and PADI Barns	   116
63.	Elderly Kayan Woman ascending the House-ladder with Basketful
of Water-vessels  118
64.	The Gallery of a Klemantan (Sebop) House, Tinjar District
120
65.	Jungle Fruits	122
66.	A Klemantan Village, showing the Balawing Pole	124
67.	Kayans splitting Rattans for Mat-making		126
68.	A Kayan Party sitting in the Gallery of a Long House	126
69.	Entertaining Guests in the Gallery of a Klemantan (Barawan)
House	    128
70.	Lepu Pohuns (Klemantans) of the Tinjar River	130
71.	(A) Ibans preparing a Boat for a long Journey. (B) Kayan
War-boat on the Lower Baram    132
72.	A Halt at Batu Pita on the Baram	132
73.	Cooking the mid-day Meal on a gravel Bed, Baram River	134
74.	Boat proceeding up the Rejang River below the Palagus
Falls	  134
75.	Poling up the Palagus Falls, Rejang River	136
76.	(A) Kenyahs hauling a Boat over Rapids. (B) Hut built on
River-bank for a night's Shelter       136
77.	A Boat about to descend the Falls at Long Bukau, Rejang
River	138
78.	Boat roofed with Leaf-mats on the Dapoi River, Baram
District   138
79.	Kayans fishing with Cast-net in the Upper Baram River	140
80.	Fishing with Rod and Line at the Tipang Falls of the Baram
140
81.	Typical Scene in the uppermost Reaches of a River	142
82.	Kenyah Hunters at Work with the Blow-pipe	144
83.	Kenyah Hunter returning Home with young Pig	146
84.	Kayan Hunting-party camping for the Night	146
85.	Ibans setting Traps for Pheasants and small Mammals. Punans
at Home     148
86.	Kayans working Gutta-percha	150
87.	(A) Gathering the IPOH Dart-poison. (B) Usong, a Kayan Youth
of upper Class, Son of Tama Usong (Plate 49)	   152

88.	Kenyah collecting IPOH Poison	152
89.	Klemantans making Fire in the Jungle by sawing one Piece of
Bamboo across another	    154
90.	Instructing Kayan Youths in the jungle	156
91.	Kenyah and Kayan Swords and Sheaths	158
92.	Spears and Paddles (Kayan and Klemantan)	160
93.	Kayan and Kenyah War-caps	162
94.	Coat and Cap, Sword, Knife, and Shield of Kenyah Warrior
(in Colour)    164
95.	A Murik (Klemantan) Youth in War-dress	166
96.	Klemantan War-boat ascending a Reach of the Baram near
Marudi	 168
97.	Pole set up in River by Kayans to mark the Spot where a
favourable Omen was observed	170
98.	Scouts watching a Boat in Trouble at the Mouth of the Akar
River, Baram District	     172
99.	Iban War-party in the Jungle	174
100.	Kayan House fenced in for Protection against Enemies	176
101.	Kenyah Mode of Attack	178
102.	Kayan Woman dancing, and carrying in right Hand a Head dressed
in Leaves	 180
103.	Iban War-boats on the Rejang River	182
104.	Iban Scouts on the alert	184
105.	Punan Heads taken by Ibans	186
106.	Iban Women dancing with human Heads	188
107.	Kalabit Smiths using stone Hammers. The Bellows are simpler
than those described in text	    194
108.	Iban making Fire-pistons	196
109.	Iban House in course of Construction	198
110.	Kanowit (Klemantan) Baskets and Beadwork	200
111.	Kayan Knife and Axes	202
112.	Kenyah hewing out Shaft of Blow-pipe before boring it	204
113.	Kenyahs drilling a Blow-pipe	206
114.	Kenyah lashing Spear-blade to Blow-pipe 208
115.	Kenyah making Dart for Blow-pipe	210
116.	Kenyah making Dart-poison	212
117.	Kenyahs making Bark-cloth	214
118.	Iban Woman extracting Cotton-seeds	216
119.	Iban Woman with Spinning-wheel	218
120.	Iban Woman preparing the Web for dyeing 220
121.	Iban Woman weaving	222
122.	Carved Door to the Room of Aban Jau, a Chief of the Sebops
(Klemantans), Tinjar River   226
123.	Door of Room in Sebop (Klemantan) House. The two Figures near
the Top probably represent Gibbons	  228
124.	Carvings on the Wall of the Gallery in a Long Ulai (Klemantan)
House, Baram District	 230

125.	Prow of Klemantan War-boat (the Man is an Iban) 232
126.	A Kenyah Pattern carved on a bamboo Tobacco-box 234
127.	Annular Design worked on bamboo Tobacco-box (Kenyah)	236
128.	Charcoal Drawings. The first depicts Women at Work on PADI
Mortars; the second the feeding of Pigs and Fowls; the third the
laying of a Corpse in the Tomb	    238
129.	Kenyah Sword-handle carved from a Deer's Horn	242
130.	Old Beads worn by Kayans (in Colour)	244
131.	Blanket (Pua) woven by Iban Woman	246
132.	Blanket (Pua) woven by Iban Woman	248
133.	Tatu Patterns on Thighs of Kayan Women	250
134.	Tatu Patterns on a Kalabit Woman	252
135.	Kalabit Tatu (Woman)	254
136.	Tatu designs	258
137.	,,	260
138.	,,	262
139.	,,	264
140.	,,	266
141.	,,	268
142.	,,	270
143.	,,	274
	Kenyah Women husking PADI (in Colour)	FRONTISPIECE
144.	Kenyah Altar showing large round Stones known as BATU
TULOI. Eggs offered to the Omen-birds in the Jungle	  2
145.	A Klemantan (Barawan) making Offerings of Eggs to the
Gods	  4
146.	Balawing Pole on the left; Altar-post of Bali Penyalong on the
right and in the middle a Post to which Pieces of the Flesh of slain
Enemies have been skewered as Thank-offerings after successful War,
set up before House of Long Pokuns (Klemantan)	8
147.	Wooden Images set up before a Kenyah House at the Approach
of an Epidemic of Cholera    12
148.	Wooden Image of Bali Atap, a Kenyah God 16
149.	Altar-posts set up before Klemantan House on return from
War    20
150.	(A) Temporary Shelter for Heads. (B) Gallery of a Kayan Long
House	   24
151.	Kenyah Dayongs wearing Masks	30
152.	Tomb of the Wife of a Chief of the Long Patas (Klemantan). The
white Discs were formerly made of Shell, but nowadays European Crockery
is used, and a German Firm supplies Dinner-plates provided with two
Perforations which facilitate the attachment of the Plates   34
153.	Tomb of a Sekapan (Klemantan) Chief	36
154.	The Grave of Kuling, Daughter of Boi Jalong, the principal
Kenyah Chief of the Batang Kayan River	     40
155.	Malanau Graves near Rejang Village	44
156.	Peng Coffins deposited on Ledges of overhanging Cliff on the
Mahakam. River	   46
157.	(A) Tama Bulan sacrificing a Pig to Bali Penyalong. (B)
Balari, a Kenyah, sacrificing a Fowl to Bali Penyalong	58
158.	A Kayan charging a Pig with a Message to the Gods	68
159.	Kayans discussing the Liver of a Pig	80

160.	Image of a Hornbill made by Ibans for use at Ceremonies 94
161.	Group of Kenyahs. On the Top of the Pole can be seen an Image
of the Hawk, Bali Flaki   106
162.	An Enemy's Head decorated by Kayans with various Charms 120
163.	Image of Crocodile, and House provided for the Spirit whose
Aid is invoked by Malanaus at the Bayoh Ceremony    126
164.	A wooden Figure of Crocodile, and Decorations used at the
Bayoh Ceremony by Malanaus    132
165.	Mixed Group of Kenyah and Klemantan Boys	154
166.	A Sekapan (Klemantan) Woman carrying Child in a Cradle	156
167.	Iban Boys bathing. The Fence is for Protection against
Crocodiles	 158
168.	(1) Fire-piston. (2) PUSA, used to make Fire at the naming
of a Kayan Child. The Figure represents Laki Pesong  160
169.	Kayans wrestling	164
170.	A Dance which nearly resembles some recent European
Developments of the Art     166
171.	A Kayan dancing 168
172.	A Lesson in Wood-carving (Kenyahs)	172
173.	An Iban Wedding 174
174.	Punans of the Baram	178
175.	Elderly Punan Headman	180
176.	A Punan Headman of the Tinjar	180
177.	Punans of Bok (Baram)	182
178.	Tatued Ukit of Rejang District	184
179.	A Punan Camp in the Dapoi River 186
180.	Punans working wild Sago	188
181.	Punans working Camphor	190
182.	Punan Mother and Child	192
183.	Creeper hung across Mouth of tributary Stream to prohibit
All-comers from ascending the Stream. 206
184.	Brass Hooks and Sword-handles sent by Tama Kuling to the
Resident of the Baram as Symbols of Peace      220
185.	A Kayan of the Mahakam River
186.	A Kayan Woman of the Mahakam River, East Borneo 226
187.	An Orang Bukit (Klemantan) Woman, Baram District	228
188.	Profile of Woman in Plate 187	230
189.	Long Pokuns (Klemantans) of Dapoi River, Baram District 234
190.	Lirong (Klemantan) Youths of Tinjar River	238
191.	A Lirong Woman (Klemantan) of the Tinjar River	240
192.	A Kajaman (Klemantan) Woman of the Upper Class	244

193.	Land Dayak Men (Klemantans) from Upper Sarawak	250
194.	(A) Land Dayak Girls of the Sadong District. (B) Land Dayaks
of Upper Sarawak   252
195.	Iban Women, Rejang District	254
196.	A small Fort at Kanowit, Rejang District	260
197.	The Fort at Claudetown (Marudi), with Squad of Rangers who
form the Garrison    264
198.	Entrance of the new Fort at Marudi, Baram District	268
199.	Court-room in Baram Fort	272
200.	The Silat River descending from Usun Apo to join the Baram,
the High Road between East and West Borneo. 276
201.	Kenyah masked Men going to meet former Enemies with Overtures
of Peace  280
202.	Klemantan Mask	284
203.	Tama Kuling (ALIAS Boi Jalong), principal Kenyah Chief of
the Batang Kayan District     288
204.	Tama Kuling's (Kenyah) Village at Tana Puti, Batang Kayan
District      292
205.	Madangs (Kenyahs) at the Peace-making at Marudi (1899)	296
206.	The great Peace-making at Marudi (1899), Baram District,
between the Kayan, Kenyah, and Klemantan Tribes of East and West
Borneo	      298
207.	Racing of War-boats at Marudi during the Peace-meeting
(1899)	 300
208.	Party of Kenyah Chiefs from the Batang Kayan on the Way to
visit the Rajah of Sarawak at Kuching, before the Peace-making in
the Baram in 1901  302
209.	Final Instructions from the Resident of the Third Division
of Sarawak to a Kayan Party about to attack Stronghold of Iban
Rebels	      304
210.	Peace-making with Kana and the Iban Rebels at Kanowit	306
211.	Madangs of Pliran with two Children newly restored to their
Parents by the Government from Captivity with Ibans 308


N.B. -- The following names are those of the gentlemen to whom we
are indebted for permission to reproduce their photographs. After
each name stands a list of the plates thus reproduced.

Dr. W. H. Furness. (Nos. 11, 32, 33, 40, 42, 44, 45, 48, 51, 52, 55,
62, 63, 82, 85, 87 (B), 93, 96, 99, 104, 147, 149, 152, 162, 165,
175, 179, 180, 181, 182.)

Dr. A. W. Nieuwenhuis. (Nos. 28, 37, 61, 67, 81, 151, 154, 165, 172,
183, 185, 186, 201, 204.)


Dr. A. C. Haddon. (Nos. 6, 22 (A), 43, 54, 76, 144, 150.)

Dr. C. S. Myers. (No. 157.)

Dr. C. G. Seligmann. (Nos. 87 (A), 207.)

Dr. Harrison W. Smith. (No. 194 (A).)

Mr. A. Moor. (No. 208.)

Mr. R. Shelford. (Nos. 193, 194 (B).)

The rest of the plates are from photographs taken by C. H.


Maps


The Eastern Archipelago.
Borneo.
Sketch Map of the Baram District, Sarawak.
Sketch Map of Sarawak.





CHAPTER 1

Geography of Borneo

Borneo is one of the largest islands of the world. Its area is
roughly 290,000 square miles, or about five times that of England
and Wales. Its greatest length from north-east to south-west is 830
miles, and its greatest breadth is about 600 miles. It is crossed
by the equator a little below its centre, so that about two-thirds
of its area lie in the northern and one-third lies in the southern
hemisphere. Although surrounded on all sides by islands of volcanic
origin, Borneo differs from them in presenting but small traces of
volcanic activity, and in consisting of ancient masses of igneous
rock and of sedimentary strata.

The highest mountain is Kinabalu, an isolated mass of granite in the
extreme north, nearly 14,000 feet in height. With this exception the
principal mountains are grouped in several massive chains, which
rise here and there to peaks about 10,000 feet above the sea. The
principal of these chains, the Tibang-Iran range, runs south-westward
through the midst of the northern half of the island and is prolonged
south of the equator by the Schwaner chain. This median south-westerly
trending range forms the backbone of the island. A second much-broken
chain runs across the island from east to west about 1[degree]
north of the equator. Besides these two principal mountain chains
which determine the main features of the river-system, there are
several isolated peaks of considerable height, and a minor ridge of
hills runs from the centre towards the south-cast corner. With the
exception of the northern extremity, which geographically as well
as politically stands apart from the rest of the island, the whole
of Borneo may be described as divided by the two principal mountain
chains into four large watersheds. Of these, the north-western basin,
the territory of Sarawak, is drained by the Rejang and Baram, as well
as by numerous smaller rivers. Of the other three, which constitute
Dutch Borneo, the north-eastern is drained by the Batang Kayan or
Balungan river; the south-eastern by the Kotei and Banjermasin rivers;
and the south-western by the Kapuas, the largest of all the rivers,
whose course from the centre of the island to its south-west corner
is estimated at 700 miles. Although the point of intersection of the
two principal mountain chains lies almost exactly midway between the
northern and southern and the eastern and western extremities of the
island, the greater width of the southern half of the island gives a
longer course to the rivers of that part, in spite of the fact that
all the six principal rivers mentioned above have their sources not
far from this central point. The principal rivers thus radiate from
a common centre, the Batang Kayan flowing east-north-east, the Kotei
south-east by east, the Banjermasin south, the Kapuas a little south
of west, the Rejang west, and the Baram north-west. This radiation of
the rivers from a common centre is a fact of great importance for the
understanding of the ethnography of the island, since the rivers are
the great highways which movements of the population chiefly follow.

In almost all parts of the island, the land adjoining the coast is
a low-lying swampy belt consisting of the alluvium brought down by
the many rivers from the central highlands. This belt of alluvium
extends inland in many parts for fifty miles or more, and is especially
extensive in the south and south-east of the island.

Between the swampy coast belt and the mountains intervenes a zone of
very irregular hill country, of which the average height above the
sea-level is about one thousand feet, with occasional peaks rising
to five or six thousand feet or more.

There seems good reason to believe that at a comparatively recent
date Borneo was continuous with the mainland of Asia, forming its
south-eastern extremity. Together with Sumatra and Java it stands
upon a submarine bank, which is nowhere more than one hundred fathoms
below the surface, but which plunges down to a much greater depth
along a line a little east of Borneo (Wallace's line). The abundance
of volcanic activity in the archipelago marks it as a part of the
earth's crust liable to changes of elevation, and the accumulation of
volcanic matter would tend to make it an area of subsidence; while
the north-east monsoon, which blows with considerable violence down
the China Sea for about four months of each year, may have hastened
the separation of Borneo from the mainland. That this separation was
effected in a very recent geological period is shown by the presence in
Borneo of many species of Asiatic mammals both large and small, notably
the rhinoceros (R. BORNIENSIS, closely allied to R. SUMATRANUS);
the elephant (E. INDICUS, which, however, may have been imported by
man); the wild cattle (BOS SONDIACUS, which occurs also in Sumatra);
several species of deer and pig (some of which are found in Sumatra
and the mainland); several species of the cat tribe, of which the
tiger-cat (FELIS NEBULOSA) is the largest; the civet-cat (VIVERRA)
and its congeners HEMIGALE, PARADOXURUS, and ARCTOGALE; the small
black bear (URSUS MALAYANUS); the clawless otter (LUTRA CINEREA); the
bear-cat (ARCTICTIS BINTURONG); the scaly ant-eater (MANIS JAVANICUS);
the lemurs (TARSIUS SPECTRUM and NYCTICEBUS TARDIGRADUS); the flying
lemur (GALEOPITHECUS VOLANS); the porcupine (HYSTRIX CRASSISPINIS);
numerous bats, squirrels, rats and mice; the big shrew (GYMNURA);
several species of monkeys, and two of the anthropoid apes. The last
are of peculiar significance, since they are incapable of crossing
even narrow channels of water, and must be regarded as products of
a very late stage of biological evolution. Of these two anthropoid
species, the gibbon (HYLOBATES MULLERI) is closely allied to species
found in the mainland and in Sumatra, while the MAIAS or orang-utan
(SIMIA SALYRUS) is found also in Sumatra and, though not now surviving
on the continent, must be regarded as related to anthropoids whose
fossil remains have been discovered there.[2]

The zoological evidence thus indicates a recent separation of Borneo
and Sumatra from the continent, and a still more recent separation
between the two islands.

The climate of the whole island is warm and moist and very equable. The
rainfall is copious at all times of the year, but is rather heavier
during the prevalence of the north-east monsoon in the months from
October to February, and least during the months of April and May. At
Kuching, during the last thirty years, the average yearly rainfall
has been 160 inches, the maximum 225, and the minimum 102 inches;
the maximum monthly fall recorded was 69 inches, and the minimum
.66, and the greatest rainfall recorded
in one day was 15 inches. The temperature hardly, if ever, reaches
100[degree] F.; it ranges normally between 70[degree] and 90[degree]
F.; the highest reading of one year (1906) at Kuching was 94[degree],
the lowest 69[degree]. Snow and frost are unknown, except occasionally
on the summits of the highest mountains. Thunder-storms are frequent
and severe, but wind-storms are not commonly of any great violence.

The abundant rainfall maintains a copious flow of water down the many
rivers at all times of the year; but the rivers are liable to rise
rapidly many feet above their normal level during days of exceptionally
heavy rain. In their lower reaches, where they traverse the alluvial
plains and swamps, the rivers wind slowly to the sea with many great
bends, and all the larger ones are navigable by small steamers for
many miles above their mouths: thus a large steam launch can ascend the
Rejang for 160 miles, the Baram for 120, and some of the rivers on the
Dutch side for still greater distances. The limit of such navigation
is set by beds of rock over which the rivers run shallow, and which
mark the beginnings of the middle reaches. In these middle reaches,
where the rivers wind between the feet of the hills, long stretches of
deep smooth water alternate with others in which the water runs with
greater violence between confining walls of rock, or spreads out in
wide rapids over stony bottoms. The upper reaches of the rivers, where
they descend rapidly from the slopes of the mountains, are composed
of long series of shallow rapids and low waterfalls, alternating at
short intervals with still pools and calm shallows, bounded by rock
walls and great beds of waterworn stones, which during the frequent
freshets are submerged by a boiling flood. The whole river in these
upper reaches is for the most part roofed in by the overarching forest.

Practically the whole of Borneo, from the seacoast to the summits of
the highest mountains, is covered with a dense forest. On the summits
this consists of comparatively stunted trees, of which every part is
thickly coated with moss. In all other parts the forest consists of
great trees rising to a height of 150 feet, and even 200 feet, and of a
dense undergrowth of younger and smaller trees, and of a great variety
of creepers, palms, and ferns. Trees of many species (nearly 500)
yield excellent timber, ranging from the hardest ironwood or BILIAN,
and other hard woods (many of them so close-grained that they will not
float in water), to soft, easily worked kinds. A considerable number
bear edible fruits, notably the mango (from which the island derives
its Malay name, PULU KLEMANTAN), the durian, mangosteen, rambutan,
jack fruit, trap, lansat, banana of many varieties, both wild and
cultivated, and numerous sour less nutritious kinds. Wild sago is
abundant in some localities. Various palms supply in their unfolding
leaves a cabbage-like edible. Among edible roots the caladium
is the chief. Rubber is obtained as the sap of a wild creeper;
gutta-percha from trees of several varieties; camphor from pockets
in the stem of the camphor tree (DRYOBALANOPS AROMATICA). But of all
the jungle plants those which play the most important parts in the
life of the people are the many species of the rattan and the bamboo;
without them more than half the crafts and most of the more important
material possessions of the natives would be impossible, and their
lives would perhaps nearly conform to the conventional notion of
savage existence as something 'nasty, dull, and brutish.' The jungle
of Borneo is, of course, famous for its wealth of orchids, and can
claim the distinction of producing the largest flower of the world
(RAFFLESIA), and many beautiful varieties of the pitcher plant.

The forests of Borneo harbour more than 450 species of birds, many
of them being of gorgeous colouring or strange and beautiful forms;
especially noteworthy are many hawks, owls, and eagles, fly-catchers,
spider-hunters, sun-birds, broad-bills, nightjars, orioles, miners,
pigeons, kingfishers, hornbills, trojans, magpies, jays, crows,
partridges, pheasants, herons, bitterns, snipes, plovers, Curlews,
and sandpipers. Amongst these are many species peculiar to Borneo;
while on the mountains above the 4000-feet level are found several
species which outside Borneo are known only in the Himalayas.

Besides the mammals mentioned above, Borneo claims several species
of mammal peculiar to itself, notably the long-nosed monkey (NASALIS
LARVATUS); two species of ape (SEMNOPITHECUS HOSEI and S. CRUCIGER);
many shrews and squirrels, including several flying species; a
civet-cat (HEMIGALE HOSEI); a deer (CERVUS BROOKII); the bearded pig
(SUS HARBATUS); the curious feather-tailed shrew (PTYLOCERCUS LOWII).

Reptiles are well represented by the crocodile, which abounds in all
the rivers, a long-snouted gavial, numerous tortoises and lizards
with several flying species, and more than seventy species of snakes,
of which some are poisonous, while the biggest, the python, attains
a length of thirty feet. The rivers abound in edible fish of many
species; insects are of course numerous and varied, and, aided by the
multitude of frogs, they fill the island each evening at sunset with
one vast chorus of sound.



CHAPTER 2

History of Borneo

The Pagan tribes of Borneo have no written records of their history
and only very vague traditions concerning events in the lives of their
ancestors of more than five or six generations ago. But the written
records of more cultured peoples of the Far East contain references to
Borneo which throw some small rays of light upon the past history and
present condition of its population. It has seemed to us worth while
to bring together in these pages these few historical notes. The later
history of Borneo, which is in the main the story of its occupation
by and division between the Dutch and English, and especially the
romantic history of the acquisition of the raj of Sarawak by its
first English rajah, Sir James Brooke, has often been told,[3] and
for this reason may be dismissed by us in a very few words.

The coasts of Borneo have long been occupied by a Mohammedan population
of Malay culture; this population is partly descended from Malay
and Arab immigrants, and partly from indigenous individuals and
communities that have adopted the Malay faith and culture in recent
centuries. When Europeans first visited the island, this population,
dwelling for the most part, as it still does, in villages and small
towns upon the coast and in or near the mouths of the rivers, owed
allegiance to several Malay sultans and a number of subordinate rulers,
the local rajahs and pangirans. The principal sultans had as their
capitals, from which they took their titles, Bruni on the north-west,
Sambas in the west, Pontianak at the mouth of the Kapuas river,
Banjermasin in the south at the mouth of the river of the same name,
Pasir at the south-east corner, Kotei and Balungan on the east at the
mouths of the rivers of those names; while the Sultan of Jolo, the
capital of the Sulu islands, which lie off the north coast, claimed
sovereignty over the northern end of Borneo. But these Malay sultans
were not the first representatives in the island of culture and of
civilised or semi-civilised rule; for history preserves some faint
records of still earlier times, of which some slight confirmation is
afforded by surviving traces of the culture then introduced.

In spite of all the work done on the history of the East Indies,
most of what occurred before and much that followed the arrival of
Europeans remains obscure. There are several Asiatic nations whose
records might be expected to contain valuable information, but all
are disappointing. The Klings, still the principal Hindu traders
in the Far East, visited the Malay Archipelago in the first or at
any rate the second century after Christ,[4] and introduced their
writing[5] and chronology. But their early histories are meagre
and unsatisfactory in the extreme. The Arab culture of the Malays,
which took root in Sumatra in the twelfth century, is of course of
no assistance in regard to events of earlier date, and does not give
trustworthy and detailed accounts until the fifteenth century. The
Chinese, on the other hand, always a literary people, carefully
preserved in their archives all that could be gathered with regard
to the "southern seas." But China was far away, and many local events
would possess no interest for her subjects. Under the circumstances,
the official historians deserve our gratitude for their geographical
descriptions and for the particulars of tribute-bearing missions to
the Son of Heaven, though they have little else to tell.

The first account we have been able to find referring to Borneo is
a description of the kingdom of Poli from the Chinese annals of the
sixth century. Poli was said to be on an island in the sea south-east
of Camboja, and two months south-east of Canton. The journey thither
was made by way of the Malay Peninsula, a devious route still followed
by Chinese junks. Envoys were sent to the Imperial court in A.D. 518,
523, and 616. "The people of this country," our authority says,
"are skilled in throwing a discus-knife, and the edge is like a saw;
when they throw it at a man, they never fail to hit him. Their other
arms are about the same as in China. Their customs resemble those
of Camboja, and the productions of the country are the same as of
Siam. When one commits a murder or theft they cut off his hands,[6]
and when adultery has been committed, the culprit has his legs chained
for the period of a year. For their sacrifice they choose the time when
there is no moon; they fill a bowl with wine and eatables and let it
float away on the surface of the water; in the eleventh month they have
a great sacrifice. They get corals from the sea, and they have a bird
called s'ari, which can talk." A later reference to the same place
says: "They carry the teeth of wild beasts in their ears, and wrap
a piece of cotton round their loins; cotton is a plant of which they
collect the flowers to make cloth of them; the coarser kind is called
KUPA, and the finer cloth T'IEH. They hold their markets at night,
and cover their faces.... At the east of this country is situated
the land of the Rakshas, which has the same customs as Poli."[7]

This is an interesting account in many ways, and tallies very
closely with what other evidence would lead one to suspect. For
there is reason to think that Bruni, before it became Mohammedan,
was a Bisaya kingdom under Buddhist sovereigns and Hindu influence;
and nearly all the particulars given with regard to the people of
Borneo are true of one or other of the races allied to Bisayas and
living near Bruni to-day. The discus-knife, a wooden weapon, is
not now in use, but is known to have been used formerly. The wild
Kadayans sacrifice after every new moon, and are forbidden to eat
a number of things until they have done so. The Malanaus set laden
rafts afloat on the rivers to propitiate the spirits of the sea. The
very names of the two kinds of cotton, then evidently a novelty to
the Chinese, are found in Borneo: KAPOK is a well-known Malay word;
but TAYA is the common name for cotton among the Sea Dayaks, though it
is doubtful whether it is found in Sumatra at all, and is not given
in Marsden's great Dictionary. The use of teeth as ear-ornaments
may refer to Kenyahs. If these identities are sufficient to show
that Poli was old Bruni, we have an almost unique illustration here
of the antiquity of savage customs. That an experience of fourteen
hundred years should have failed to convince people of the futility
of feeding salt waves is a striking demonstration of the widespread
fallacy, that what is old must needs be good.

Poli had already attained a certain measure of civilisation, and
even of luxury. The kingly dignity was hereditary, and the Buddhist
monarch was served with much ceremony. He was clad in flowered silk
or cotton, adorned with pearls, and sat on a golden throne attended
by servants with white dusters and fans of peacock feathers. When
he went out of his palace, his chariot, canopied with feathers and
embroidered curtains, was drawn by elephants, whilst gongs, drums,
and conches made inspiriting music. As Hindu ornaments have been found
at Santubong together with Chinese coins of great antiquity, as the
names of many offices of state in Bruni are derived from Sanskrit,
and the people of Sarawak have only lately ceased to speak of "the
days of the Hindus,"[8] there is nothing startling in the statement
that the kings of Poli were Buddhist.

Whatever Poli may or may not have been, there is little question
that Puni, 45 days from Java, 40 from Palembang, 30 from Champa,
in each case taking the wind to be fair, was Bruni. The Chinese, who
have neither B nor double consonants in their impoverished language,
still call the Bornean capital Puni. Groeneveldt says that the Chinese
consider Puni to have been on the west coast of Borneo. This state
is mentioned several times in the annals of the Sung dynasty, which,
though only ruling over Southern China, had a complete monopoly[9]
of the ocean trade for three centuries (960 to 1279 A.D.). Puni
was at that time a town of some 10,000 inhabitants, protected by
a stockade of timber. The king's palace, like the houses of modern
Bruni, was thatched with palm leaves, the cottages of the people with
grass. Warriors carried spears and protected themselves with copper
armour. When any native died, his corpse was exposed in the jungle,
and once a year for seven years sacrifices were made to the departed
spirit. Bamboos and palm leaves, thrown away after every meal, sufficed
for crockery. The products of the country, or at least such as were
sent as tribute, were camphor, tortoiseshell, and ivory.[10]

In the year 977, we are told, Hianzta, king of Puni, sent envoys
to China, who presented tribute with the following words: "May the
emperor live thousands and tens of thousands of years, and may he not
disapprove of the poor civilities of my little country." The envoys
presented a letter from the king. This was written on' what looked like
the very thin bark of a tree; it was glossy, slightly green, several
feet long, and somewhat broader than one inch; the characters in which
it was written were small, and had to be read horizontally. In all
these particulars the letter resembled the books of magic which are
still written by the Battas of inland Sumatra.[11] The message ran:
"The king of Puni, called Hianzta, prostrates himself before the most
august emperor, and hopes that the emperor may live ten thousands of
years. I have now sent envoys to carry tribute; I knew before that
there was an emperor, but I had no means of communication. Recently
there was a merchant called Pu Lu, whose ship arrived at the mouth
of my river; I sent a man to invite him to my place, and he told me
that he came from China. The people of my country were much delighted
at this, and preparing a ship, asked this stranger to guide them to
the court. The envoys I have sent only wish to see Your Majesty in
peace, and I intend to send people with tribute every year. But when
I do so I fear that my ships may occasionally be blown to Champa,
and I therefore hope Your Majesty will send an edict to that country
with orders that, if a ship of Hianzta arrives there, it must not
be detained. My country has no other articles,[12] and I pray Your
Majesty not to be angry with me." The envoys were entertained and
sent home with presents. In 1082 A.D., a hundred years later, Sri
Maja, king of Puni, sent tribute again, but the promise of yearly
homage was not kept. Gradually the Sung dynasty declined in power,
and East Indian potentates became less humble.

In the thirteenth and the early part of the fourteenth centuries
Bruni owed allegiance alternately to two powers much younger than
herself, Majapahit in Java, and Malacca on the west coast of the
Malay Peninsula. Both these states were founded in the thirteenth
century.[13] Majapahit, originally only one of several Javan kingdoms,
rapidly acquired strength and subjugated her neighbours and the nearest
portions of the islands around. Malacca, formed when the Malay colony
of Singapore was overwhelmed by Javanese, became the great commercial
depot of the Straits and the chief centre of Mohammedanism in the
Archipelago. The two powers therefore stood for two faiths and two
cultures: Majapahit for Brahminism and Hindu influence, Malacca for
Islam and the more practical civilisation of Arabia.

In the earliest years of the fourteenth century Bruni was a dependency
of Majapahit, but seems to have recovered its independence during the
minority of the Javan king. It is to this time that the tradition of
the Kapuas Malays ascribes the arrival of the Kayans in Borneo.[14]
Then Angka Wijaya extended the power of Majapahit over Palembang
in Sumatra, Timor, Ternate, Luzon, and the coasts of Borneo. Over
Banjermasin he set his natural son. In 1368 Javanese soldiers drove
from Bruni the Sulu marauders who had sacked the town. A few years
later the ungrateful king transferred his allegiance to China, and
not long afterwards, with calculating humility, paid tribute[15]
to Mansur Shah, who had succeeded to the throne of Malacca in 1374 A.D.

An extraordinary incident occurred at the beginning of the fifteenth
century, which again -- and for the last time -- draws our attention
to the Chinese court. The great Mongol conquerors, Genghis and Kublai
Khan, had little to do with the Malay Archipelago, though the latter
sent an unsuccessful expedition against Java in 1292. But the Ming
emperors, who were of Chinese blood, came to power in 1368 and soon
developed the maritime influence of the empire. For a few years there
was a continual stream of East Indian embassies. During the last
twenty years of the century, however, these became more rare, and in
1405 the Chinese emperor found it necessary to send a trusted eunuch,
by name Cheng Ho, to visit the vassal states in the south. This man
made several journeys, travelling as far as the shores of Africa,
and his mission bore immediate fruit. Among others, Maraja Kali,
king of Puni, although Cheng Ho does not appear to have called on
him in person, sent tribute in 1405; and so pleased was he with
the embroidered silk presented to him and his wife in return, that
he visited the Son of Heaven three years later. Landing in Fukien,
he was escorted by a eunuch to the Chinese capital amid scenes of
great rejoicing. The emperor received him in audience, allowing
him the honours of a noble of the first rank, and loaded him with
gifts. The same year, having accomplished his one great ambition of
"seeing the face of the Son of Heaven," this humbled monarch died in
the imperial city, leaving his son Hiawang to succeed to the throne of
Puni. Having induced the emperor to stop the yearly tribute of forty
katties of camphor paid by Puni to Java, and having agreed to send
tribute to China every three years, Hiawang returned home to take up
the reins of government. Between 1410 and 1425 he paid tribute six
times, besides revisiting the Chinese Court; but afterwards little
Puni seems to have again ignored her powerful suzerain.

It is probable that the Chinese colony in North Borneo which gave
its name to the lofty mountain Kina Balu (Chinese widow) and to
the Kina Batangan, the chief river which flows from it, was founded
about this time. Several old writers seem to refer to this event,
and local traditions of the settlement still survive. The Brunis and
Idaans (a people in the north not unlike the Bisayas) have legends
differing in detail to the effect that the Chinese came to seize the
great jewel of the Kina Balu dragon, but afterwards quarrelled about
the booty and separated, some remaining behind. The Idaans consider
themselves the descendants of these settlers, but that can only
be true in a very limited sense. Both country and people, however,
show traces of Chinese influence.

There is good evidence that the Chinese influence and immigration
were not confined to Bruni and the northern end of the island. In
south-west Borneo there are traces of very extensive washings of
alluvial gravels for gold and diamonds. These operations were being
conducted by Chinese when Europeans first came to the country; and
the extent of the old workings implies that they had been continued
through many centuries. Hindu-Javan influence also was not confined
to the court of Bruni, for in many parts of the southern half of
Borneo traces of it survive in the custom of burning the dead, in low
relief carvings of bulls on stone, and in various gold ornaments of
Hindu character.

The faith of Islam and the arrival of Europeans have profoundly
affected the manners and politics of the East Indies, and now it is
difficult to picture the state of affairs when King Hiawang revisited
China to pay homage to the Emperor. In 1521, within a hundred years
of that event, Pigafetta, the chronicler of Magellan's great exploit,
was calling on the "Moorish" king of Bruni, in the course of the
first voyage round the world. The change had come. Of the two new
influences, so potent for good and evil, Mohammedanism made its
appearance first. The struggle for religious supremacy ended in the
complete victory of the Prophet's followers in 1478, when Majapahit
was utterly destroyed, thirty years before the capture of Malacca by
the Portuguese.

How early the Arab doctrines were taught in Bruni  is impossible
to state with any precision. Local tradition ascribes their
introduction to the renowned Alak ber Tata, afterwards known as Sultan
Mohammed. Like most of his subjects this warrior was a Bisaya, and in
early life he was not a Mohammedan, not indeed a civilised potentate
at all, to judge by conventional standards; for the chief mark of
his royal dignity was an immense chawat, or loin-cloth, carried as
he walked by eighty men, forty in front and forty behind. He is the
earliest monarch of whom the present Brunis have any knowledge, a fact
to be accounted for partly by the brilliance of his exploits, partly
by the introduction about that time of Arabic writing. After much
fighting he subdued the people of Igan,[16] Kalaka, Seribas, Sadong,
Semarahan, and Sarawak,[17] and compelled them to pay tribute. He
stopped the annual payment to Majapahit of one jar of pinang juice,
a useless commodity though troublesome to collect. During his reign
the Muruts were brought under Bruni rule by peaceful measures,[18]
and the Chinese colony was kept in good humour by the marriage of
the Bruni king's brother and successor to the daughter of one of the
principal Chinamen.

Alak ber Tata is said to have gone to Johore,[19] where he was
converted[20] to Islam, given[21] the daughter of Sultan Bakhei and
the title of Sultan, and was confirmed in his claim to rule over
Sarawak and his other conquests.[22]

Sultan Mohammed was succeeded by his brother Akhmad, son-in-law of
the Chinese chief, and he was in turn succeeded by an Arab from Taif
who had married his daughter. Thus the present royal house of Bruni is
derived from three sources -- Arab, Bisaya, and Chinese. The coronation
ceremony as still maintained affords an interesting confirmation of
this account. On that occasion the principal minister wears a turban
and Haji outfit, the two next in rank are dressed in Chinese and Hindu
fashion, while the fourth wears a chawat over his trousers to represent
the Bisayas; and each of these ministers declares the Sultan to be
divinely appointed. Then after the demonstration of loyalty the two
gongs -- one from Menangkabau, the other from Johore -- are beaten,
and the Moslem high priest proclaims the Sultan and preaches a sermon,
declaring him to be a descendant of Sri Turi Buana, the Palembang
chief who founded the early kingdom of Singapore in 1160 A.D., who
reigned in that island for forty-eight years, and whose descendants
became the royal family of Malacca.

The Arab Sultan who succeeded Akhmed assumed the name Berkat and ruled
the country with vigour. He built a mosque and converted many of his
subjects, so that from his reign Bruni may be considered a Mohammedan
town. To defend the capital he sank forty junks filled with stone
in the river, and thus formed the breakwater which still bars the
entrance to large ships. This work rose above the water level, and
in former times bristled with cannon. Sultan Berkat was succeeded by
his son Suleiman, whose reign was of little consequence.

Neglecting Suleiman, we come now to the most heroic figure in Bruni
history, Sultan Bulkiah, better known by his earlier name, Nakoda
Ragam. The prowess of this prince has been celebrated in prose and
verse. He journeyed to distant lands, and conquered the Sulu islands
and eastern Borneo. Over the throne of Sambas he set a weak-minded
brother of his own. He even sent an expedition to Manila, and on the
second attempt seized that place. Tribute poured into his coffers from
all sides. His wife was a Javanese princess, who brought many people
to Bruni. These intermarried with the Bisayas, and from them it is
said are sprung the Kadayans, a quiet agricultural folk, skilled
in various arts, but rendered timid by continual oppression. Some
have settled recently in the British colony of Labuan, and others in
Sarawak round the river Sibuti, where they have become loyal subjects
of the Rajah of Sarawak.

Nakoda Ragam's capital at Buang Tawa was on dry land, but when he died,
killed accidentally by his wife's bodkin, the nobles quarrelled among
themselves, and some of them founded the present pile-built town of
Bruni. It was to this Malay capital and court that Pigafetta paid
his visit in 1521 with the surviving companions of Magellan. His is
the first good account from European sources of the place which he
called Bornei, and whose latitude he estimated with an error of less
than ten miles.[23]

It is easy to see from Pigafetta's narrative[24] that at the
date of his visit the effects of Nakoda Ragam's exploits had not
evaporated. The splendour of the Court and the large population the
city is said to have contained were presumably the result of the
conquests he had made in neighbouring islands. The king, like the
princes of Malacca before the conquest, had his elephants, and he and
his courtiers were clothed in Chinese satins and Indian brocades. He
was in possession of artillery, and the appearance and ceremonial of
his court was imposing.

From this time onwards the power of Bruni has continuously
declined. Recurrent civil wars invited the occasional interventions
of the Portuguese and of the Spanish governors of the Philippines,
which, although they did not result in the subjugation of the Malay
power, nevertheless sapped its strength.

The interest of the later history of Borneo lies in the successive
attempts,[25] many of them fruitless, made by Dutch and English to
gain a footing on the island. The Dutch arrived off Bruni in the year
1600, and ten days afterwards were glad to leave with what pepper
they had obtained in the interval, the commander judging the place
nothing better than a nest of rogues. The Dutch did not press the
acquaintance, but started factories at Sambas, where they monopolised
the trade. In 1685 an English captain named Cowley arrived in Bruni;
but the English showed as little inclination as the Dutch to take up
the commerce which the Portuguese had abandoned.

At Banjermasin, on the southern coast, more progress was made. The
Dutch arrived there before their English rivals, but were soon
compelled by intrigues to withdraw. In 1704[26] the English factors
on the Chinese island of Chusan, expelled by the imperial authorities
and subsequently driven from Pulo Condar off the Cochin China coast
by a mutiny, arrived at Banjermasin. They had every reason to be
gratified with the prospects at that port; for they could sell the
native pepper to the Chinese at three times the cost price. But their
bitter experiences in the China seas had not taught them wisdom; they
soon fell out with the Javanese Sultan, whose hospitality they were
enjoying, and after some bloody struggles were obliged to withdraw
from this part of the island.

In 1747 the Dutch East India Company, which in 1705 had obtained a firm
footing in Java, and in 1745 had established its authority over all
the north-eastern coast of that island, extorted a monopoly of trade
at Banjermasin and set up a factory. Nearly forty years later[27]
(1785), the reigning prince having rendered himself odious to his
subjects, the country was invaded by 3000 natives of Celebes. These
were expelled by the Dutch, who dethroned the Sultan, placing his
younger brother on the throne; and he, in reward for their services,
ceded to them his entire dominions, consenting to hold them as a
vassal. This is the treaty under which the Dutch claim the sovereignty
of Banjermasin and whatever was once dependent on it. In this way
the Dutch got a hold on the country which they have never relaxed;
and, after the interval during which their possessions in the East
Indies were administered by England,[28] they strengthened that hold
gradually, year by year, till now two-thirds or more of the island
is under their flag and feels the benefits of their rule. If there
are still any districts of this large area where Dutch influence has
even now barely made itself felt, they will not long remain in their
isolation; for the Controleurs are extending their influence even
into the most remote corners of the territory.

To turn again to the north-western coast and the doings of Englishmen,
in 1763 the Sultan of Sulu ceded to the East India Company the
territory in Borneo which had been given him when he killed the usurper
Abdul Mubin in Bruni. In 1773 a small settlement was formed on the
island of Balambangan, north of Bruni; and in the following year
the Sultan of Bruni agreed to give this settlement a monopoly of the
pepper trade in return for protection from piracy. In the next year,
however, Balambangan was surprised and captured by the Sulus. It was
reoccupied for a few months in 1803, and then finally forsaken.

Towards the end of the eighteenth century the Malays of Bruni,
Sulu, and Mindanao, with native followers and allies, inspired
we may suppose by the example of their European visitors, took to
piracy -- not that they had not engaged in such business before, but
that they now prosecuted an old trade with renewed vigour. English
traders still tried to pay occasional visits, but after the loss
of the MAY in 1788, the SUSANNA in 1803, and the COMMERCE in 1806,
with the murder of the crews, the Admiralty warned merchants that it
was CERTAIN DESTRUCTION to go up river to Bruni. For forty years this
intimation was left on British charts, and British seamen followed the
humiliating counsel. Not until the early forties was peace restored,
after an event of the most romantic and improbable kind, the accession
of an English gentleman to the throne of Sarawak.

Of this incident, so fateful for the future of the western side
of Borneo, it must suffice to say here that James Brooke, a young
Englishman, having resigned his commission in the army of the British
East India Company, invested his fortune in a yacht of 140 tons,
with which he set sail in 1838 for the eastern Archipelago. His
bold but vague design was to establish peace, prosperity, and just
government in some part of that troubled area, whose beauties he had
admired and whose misfortunes he had deplored on the occasion of an
earlier voyage to the China seas. When at Singapore, he heard that
the Malays of Sarawak, a district forming the southern extremity
of the Sultanate of Bruni, had rebelled against the Bruni nobles,
and had in vain appealed to the Dutch Governor-general at Batavia for
deliverance from their oppressors. Under the nominal authority of the
Sultan, these Bruni nobles, many of whom were of Arab descent, had
brought all the north-western part of Borneo to a state of chronic
rebellion. They had taught the Sea Dayaks of the Batang Lupar and
neighbouring rivers to join them in their piratical excursions, and,
being to some extent dependent upon their aid, were compelled to
treat them with some consideration; but all other communities were
treated by them with a rapacity and cruelty which was causing a rapid
depopulation and the return to jungle of much cultivated land.

Brooke sailed for Sarawak in August 1839, and found the country torn
by internal conflicts. The Sultan had recently sent Muda Hasim, his
uncle and heir-presumptive to the throne of Bruni, to restore order;
but this weak though amiable noble had found himself quite incapable
of coping with the situation. Brooke spent some time surveying the
coast and studying the people and country, and gained the confidence of
Muda Hasim. After an excursion to Celebes, Brooke sailed for a second
visit to Sarawak just a year after the first, and found the state of
the country going from bad to worse. Muda Hasim besought him to take
command of his forces and to suppress the rebellion. Brooke consented,
and soon secured the submission of the rebel leaders on the condition
that he (Brooke), and not any Bruni noble, should be the governor and
Rajah of Sarawak. Muda Hasim had offered to secure his appointment
to this office as an inducement to him to undertake the operations
against the rebels; Brooke therefore felt himself justified in granting
these terms. And when later Muda Hasim, no longer threatened with
disgrace and failure, showed himself disinclined to carry out this
arrangement, Brooke, feeling himself bound by his agreement with
the rebel leaders, whose lives he had with difficulty preserved from
the vengeance of the Bruni nobles, insisted upon it with some show
of force; and on September 24, 1841, he was proclaimed Rajah and
governor of Sarawak amid the rejoicings of the populace. Muda Hasim,
as representative of the Sultan, signed the document which conferred
this title and authority; but since he was not in any proper sense
Rajah of Sarawak, which in fact was not a raj, but a district hitherto
ruled or misruled by Bruni governors not bearing the title of Rajah,
this transaction cannot properly be described as an abdication by
Muda Hasim in favour of Brooke. Brooke accordingly felt that it was
desirable to secure from the Sultan himself a formal recognition of
his authority and title. To this end he visited the Sultan in the year
1842, and obtained from him the desired confirmation of the action of
his agent Muda Hasim. The way in which the raj of Sarawak has since
been extended, until it now comprises a territory of nearly 60,000
square miles (approximately equal to the area of England and Wales),
will be briefly described in a later chapter (XXII.).

The northern end of Borneo had long been a hunting-ground for slaves
for the nobles of Bruni and Sulu, whose Sultans claimed but did
not exercise the right to rule over it. In 1877 Mr. Alfred Dent,
a Shanghai merchant, induced the two Sultans to resign to him their
sovereign rights over this territory in return for a money payment. The
British North Borneo Company, which was formed for the commercial
development of it, necessarily undertook the task of pacification
and administration. In 1881 the company was granted a royal charter
by the British Government; and it now administers with success and a
fair prospect of continued commercial profit a territory which, with
the exception of a small area about the town of Bruni, includes all
of the island that had not been brought under the Dutch or Sarawak
flag. In 1888 Sarawak and British North Borneo were formally brought
under the protection of the British Government; but the territories
remained under the rule of the Rajah and of the company respectively,
except in regard to their foreign relations. In the year 1906 the
Sultan of Bruni placed himself and his capital, together with the
small territory over which he still retained undivided authority,
under the protection of the British Government; and thus was completed
the passing of the island of Borneo under European control.



CHAPTER 3

General Sketch of the Peoples of Borneo

It is not improbable that at one time Borneo was inhabited by people
of the negrito race, small remnants of which race are still to be
found in islands adjacent to all the coasts of Borneo as well as in
the Malay Peninsula. No communities of this race exist in the island
at the present time; but among the people of the northern districts
individuals may be occasionally met with whose hair and facial
characters strongly suggest an infusion of negrito or negroid blood.

It is probable that the mixed race of Hindu-Javanese invaders, who
occupied the southern coasts of Borneo some centuries ago, became
blended with the indigenous population, and that a considerable
proportion of their blood still runs in the veins of some of the
tribes of the southern districts (E.G. the Land Dayaks and Malohs).

There can be no doubt that of the Chinese traders who have been
attracted to Borneo by its camphor, edible birds' nests, and spices,
some have settled in the island and have become blended with and
absorbed by the tribes of the north-west (E.G. the Dusuns); and
it seems probable that some of the elements of their culture have
spread widely and been adopted throughout a large part of Borneo. For
several centuries also Chinese settlers have been attracted to the
south-western district by the gold which they found in the river
gravel and alluvium. These also have intermarried with the people of
the country; but they have retained their national characteristics,
and have been continually recruited by considerable numbers of their
fellow countrymen. Since the establishment of peace and order and
security for life and property by the European administrations, and
with the consequent development of trade during the last half-century,
the influx of Chinese has been very rapid; until at the present time
they form large communities in and about all the chief centres of
trade. A certain number of Chinese traders continue to penetrate far
into the interior, and some of these take wives of the people of the
country; in many cases their children become members of their mothers'
tribes and so are blended with the native stocks.

Among the Mohammedans, who are found in all the coast regions of
Borneo, there is a considerable number of persons who claim Arab
forefathers; and there can be no doubt that the introduction of the
Mohammedan religion was largely due to Arab traders, and that many
Arabs and their half-bred descendants have held official positions
under the Sultans of Bruni.

During the last half-century, natives of India, most of whom are Klings
from Madras, have established themselves in the small trades of the
towns; and of others who came as coolies, some have settled in the
towns with their wives and families. These people do not penetrate
into the interior or intermarry with the natives.

With the exception of the above-mentioned immigrants and their
descendants, the population of Borneo may be described as falling
naturally into two great classes; namely, on the one hand those
who have accepted, nominally at least, the Mohammedan religion and
civilisation, and on the other hand the pagan peoples. In Bruni and in
all the coast regions the majority of the people are Mohammedan, have
no tribal organisation, and call themselves Malays (Orang Malayu). This
name has usually been accorded them by European authors; but when
so used the name denotes a social, political, and religious status
rather than membership in an ethnic group. With the exception of these
partially civilised "Malays" of the coast regions and the imported
elements mentioned above, all the natives of Borneo live under tribal
organisation, their cultures ranging from the extreme simplicity of the
nomadic Punans to a moderately developed barbarism. All these pagan
tribes have often been classed together indiscriminately under the
name Dyaks or Dayaks, though many groups may be clearly distinguished
from one another by differences of culture, belief, and custom,
and peculiarities of their physical and mental constitutions.

The Mohammedan population, being of very heterogeneous ethnic
composition, and having adopted a culture of foreign origin, which
may be better studied in other regions of the earth where the Malay
type and culture is more truly indigenous, seems to us to be of
secondary interest to the anthropologist as compared with the less
cultured pagan tribes. We shall therefore confine our attention to
the less known pagan tribes of the interior; and when we speak of
the people of Borneo in general terms it is to the latter only that
we refer (except where the "Malays" are specifically mentioned). Of
these we distinguish six principal groups: (1) Sea Dayaks or Ibans,
(2) the Kayans, (3) Kenyahs, (4) Klemantans, (5) Muruts, (6) Punans.

A census of the population has been made in most of the principal
districts of Sarawak and of Dutch Borneo; but as no census of the
whole country has hitherto been made, it is impossible to state
with any pretence to accuracy the number of the inhabitants of the
island. Basing our estimate on such partial and local enumerations
as have been made, we believe the total population to be about
3,000,000. Of these the Chinese immigrants and their descendants, who
are rapidly increasing in number, probably exceed 100,000. The Malays
and the native converts to Islam, who constitute with the Chinese the
population of the towns and settled villages of the coast districts,
probably number between three and four hundred thousand; the Indian
immigrants are probably not more than 10,000; the Europeans number
perhaps 3000; the rest of the population is made up of the six groups
of barbarians named in the foregoing paragraph.

Any estimate of the numbers of the people of each of these six
divisions is necessarily a very rough one, but it is perhaps worth
while to state our opinion on this question as follows: Klemantans,
rather more than 1,000,000; Kenyahs, about 300,000; Muruts, 250,000;
Sea Dayaks, 200,000; Kayans, 150,000; Punans and other peoples of
similar nomadic habits, 100,000 -- I.E. a total of 2,000,000.

(1) Of all these six peoples the Sea Dayaks have become best known
to Europeans, largely owing to their restless truculent disposition,
and to the fact that they are more numerous in Sarawak than any of
the others. They have spread northwards over Sarawak during the latter
half of the last century, chiefly from the region of the Batang Lupar,
where they are still numerous. They are still spreading northward,
encroaching upon the more peaceful Klemantan tribes. They are
most densely distributed in the lower reaches of the main rivers
of Sarawak, especially the Batang Lupar and Saribas rivers, which
are now exclusively occupied by them; but they are found also in
scattered communities throughout almost all parts of Sarawak, and
even in British North Borneo, and they extend from their centre in
Sarawak into the adjacent regions of Dutch Borneo, which are drained
by the northern tributaries of the Great Kapuas River.

The Sea Dayak is of a well-marked and fairly uniform physical
type. His skin is distinctly darker than that of the other peoples
of the interior, though not quite so dark as that of most of the
true Malays. The hair of his head is more abundant and longer than
that of other peoples. His figure is well proportioned, neat, and
generally somewhat boyish. His expression is bright and mobile, his
lips and teeth are generally distorted and discoloured by the constant
chewing of betel nut. They are a vain, dressy, boastful, excitable,
not to say frivolous people -- cheerful, talkative, sociable, fond
of fun and jokes and lively stories; though given to exaggeration,
their statements can generally be accepted as founded on fact; they
are industrious and energetic, and are great wanderers; to the last
peculiarity they owe the name of Iban, which has been given them by
the Kayans, and which has now been generally adopted even by the Sea
Dayaks themselves.

The good qualities enumerated above render the Iban an agreeable
companion and a useful servant. But there is another side to the
picture: they have little respect for their chiefs, a peculiarity which
renders their social organisation very defective and chaotic; they
are quarrelsome, treacherous, and litigious, and the most inveterate
head-hunters of the country; unlike most of the other peoples, they
will take heads for the sake of the glory the act brings them and for
the enjoyment of the killing; in the pursuit of human victims they
become possessed by a furious excitement that drives them on to acts
of the most heartless treachery and the most brutal ferocity.

All the Sea Dayaks speak one language, with but slight local
diversities of dialect. It is extremely simple, being almost devoid
of inflections, and of very simple grammatical structure, relying
largely on intonation. It is closely allied to Malay.

(2) The Kayans are widely distributed throughout central Borneo, and
are to be found in large villages situated on the middle reaches of
all the principal rivers with the exception of those that run to the
north coast. They occupy in the main a zone dividing the districts
of the lower reaches of the rivers from the central highlands from
which all the rivers flow.

They are a warlike people, but less truculent than the Sea Dayaks,
more staid and conservative and religious, and less sociable. They
do not wantonly enter into quarrels; they respect and obey their
chiefs. They are equally industrious with the Sea Dayaks, and though
somewhat slow and heavy in both mind and body, they are more skilled
in the handicrafts than any of the other peoples. They also speak
one language, which presents even less local diversity than the Sea
Dayak language.

(3) The Kenyahs predominate greatly in the highlands a little north of
the centre of Borneo where all the large rivers have their sources;
but they are found also in widely scattered villages throughout the
Kayan areas. In all respects they show closer affinities with the
Kayans than with the Sea Dayaks; as regards custom and mode of life
they closely resemble the Kayans, with whom they are generally on
friendly terms; but they are easily distinguished from the Kayans by
well-marked differences of bodily and mental characters, as well as
by language. Physically they are without question the finest people
of the country. Their skin-colour is decidedly fairer than that of
Sea Dayaks or Kayans. They are of medium stature, with long backs
and short, muscular, well-rounded limbs; a little stumpy in build,
but of graceful and vigorous bearing. They are perhaps the most
courageous and intelligent of the peoples; pugnacious, but less
quarrelsome than the Sea Dayak; more energetic and excitable than the
Kayan; hospitable and somewhat improvident, sociable and of pleasant
manners; less reserved and of more buoyant temperament than the Kayan;
very loyal and obedient to their chiefs; more truthful and more to be
depended upon under all circumstances than any of the other peoples,
except possibly the Kayans.

The Kenyahs speak a number of dialects of the same language, and
these differ so widely that Kenyahs of widely separated districts
cannot converse freely with one another; but, as with all the peoples,
except the Sea Dayaks, nearly every man has the command of several
dialects as well as of the Kayan language.

(4) The Klemantans. Under this name we group together a number
of tribes which, though in our opinion closely allied, are widely
scattered in all parts of Borneo, and present considerable diversities
of language and custom. In physical and mental characters they show
affinities to the Kenyahs on the one hand and to the Muruts on the
other. They are less bellicose than the peoples mentioned above,
and have suffered much at their hands. They are careful, intelligent,
and sociable, though somewhat timid, people; skilful in handicrafts,
but less energetic than the Kayans and Kenyahs, and inferior to them
in metal work and the making of swords and spears and boats. The
blow-pipe is their characteristic weapon, and they are more devoted
to hunting than any others, except the Punans.

Klemantans are to be found in every part of the island, but most of
their villages are situated on the lower reaches of the rivers. They
are most abundant in the south, constituting the greater part of the
population of Dutch Borneo; in the north they are few, their place
being filled by their near relatives, the Muruts. The latter constitute
the principal part of the population of the northern end of the island,
predominating over all the other peoples in British North Borneo,
and in the northern extremities of Sarawak and of Dutch Borneo.

(5) The Muruts are confined to the northern part of Borneo. They
resemble the Klemantans more closely than the other peoples. They
are comparatively tall and slender, have less regular and pleasing
features than the Klemantans, and their skin is generally darker
and more ruddy in colour. Their agriculture is superior to that
of the other peoples, but they are addicted to much drinking of
rice-spirit. Their social organisation is very loose, their chiefs
having but little authority. Besides those who call themselves Muruts,
we class under the same general name several tribes which we regard as
closely allied to them; namely, the Adangs in the head of the Limbang;
the Kalabits about the head of the Baram; the Sabans and Kerayans at
the head of the Kerayan river; the Libuns; the Lepu Asings at the
head of the Bahau; Tagals and Dusuns in the most northerly part;
the Trings of the Barau and Balungan rivers on the east.

(6) The Punans, among whom we include, beside the Punans proper, the
Ukits and a few other closely allied but widely scattered small groups,
are the only people who do not dwell in villages established on the
banks of the rivers. They live in small groups of twenty or thirty
persons, which wander in the jungle. Each such group is generally
made up of a chief and his descendants. The group will spend a few
weeks or months at a time in one spot (to which generally they are
attracted by the presence of wild sago), dwelling in rude shelters of
sticks and leaves, and then moving on, but generally remaining within
some one area, such as the basin of one of the upper tributaries
of a large river. They are found throughout the interior of Borneo,
but are difficult to meet with, as they remain hidden in the depths
of the forests. Unlike all the other peoples, they cultivate no PADI
(rice), and they do not make boats or travel on the rivers. They
support themselves by hunting with the blow-pipe, by gathering
the wild jungle fruits, and by collecting the jungle products and
bartering them with the more settled peoples. In physical characters
they closely resemble the Kenyahs, being well-built and vigorous;
their skin is of very light yellow colour, and their features are
regular and well shaped. Mentally they are characterised by extreme
shyness and timidity and reserve. They are quite inoffensive and never
engage in open warfare; though they will avenge injuries by stealthy
attacks on individuals with the blow-pipe and poisoned darts. Their
only handicrafts are the making of baskets, mats, blow-pipes, and the
implements used for working the wild sago; but in these and in the use
of the blow-pipe they are very expert. All other manufactured articles
used by them -- cloths, swords, spears -- are obtained by barter from
the other peoples. Unlike all the other peoples, they have no form of
sepulture, but simply leave the corpse of a comrade in the rude shelter
in which he died. They sing and declaim rude melancholy songs or dirges
with peculiar skill and striking effect. Their language is distinctive,
but is apparently allied to the Kenyah and Klemantan tongues.

We propose to deal with the topics of each of our descriptive chapters
by giving as full as possible an account of the Kayans, and adding to
this some observations as to the principal diversities of custom and
culture presented by the other peoples. For, if we should attempt
to describe in detail each of these peoples with all their local
diversities, this book would attain an inordinate length. The Kayans
are in most respects the most homogeneous of these peoples, the
most conservative and distinctive, and present perhaps the richest
and most interesting body of belief and custom and art; while many
of their customs and arts have been adopted by their neighbours,
or are indigenous with them.

We may conclude this chapter by describing briefly in general terms
the physical characters, and the habits and customs that are common
to all or most of these pagan tribes.

These peoples present no very great differences of physical
character. All are of medium height; their skin-colour ranges from
a rich medium brown to a very pale CAFE-AU-LAIT, hardly deeper than
the colour of cream. Their hair is nearly black or very dark brown,
and generally quite lank, but in some cases wavy or even almost
curly. Their faces show in nearly all cases, though in very diverse
degrees, some of the well-known mongoloid characters, the wide
cheek-bones, the small oblique eyes, the peculiar fold of the upper
eyelid at its nasal end, and the scanty beard. In some individuals
these traces are very slight and in fact not certainly perceptible. The
nose varies greatly in shape, but is usually rather wide at the
nostrils, and in very many cases the plane of the nostrils is tilted
a little upwards and forwards. On the other hand some individuals,
especially among the Kenyahs, have distinctly aquiline and well-formed
noses. Amongst all these peoples, especially the Kenyahs, Punans,
and Klemantans, there are to be seen a few individuals of very regular
well-shaped features of European type.

Although as regards physical characters all these peoples have much in
common, yet each of them presents peculiarities which are obvious to
the eye of an experienced observer, and enable him without hesitation
to assign to their proper groups the majority of individuals; and
such recognition on mere inspection is of course rendered easier by
the relatively slight peculiarities of dress and ornament proper to
each group.

The pure-bred Kenyah presents, perhaps, the most clearly marked as
well as the finest physical type. His skin, is the colour of rich
cream with a very small dash of coffee. The hair of his head varies
from slightly wavy to curly, and is never very abundant or long in the
men. The rest of his body is almost free from hair, and what little
grows upon the face is carefully plucked out (not, leaving even the
eyebrows and eyelashes). This practice is common to all the peoples of
the interior except the Sea Dayaks. His stature is about 1600 mm.; his
weight about 136 pounds. His limbs are distinctly short in proportion
to his body; his trunk is well developed and square, and both limbs
and trunk are well covered with rounded muscles. His movements are
quick and vigorous, and he is hardy and capable of sustaining prolonged
toil and hardship. His head is moderately round (Index 79), his face
broad but well shaped. The expression of his face is bold and open.

The Kayan has a rather darker skin of a redder tone. His legs are not
so disproportionately short, but in all other respects his body is less
well proportioned, graceful, and active than the Kenyah's. His features
are less regular and rather coarser and heavier; his expression is
serious, reserved, and cautious.

The Murut is nearly as fair skinned as the Kenyah, perhaps a little
ruddier in tone. His most characteristic feature is the length of his
leg and lack of calf, in both of which respects he contrasts strongly
with the Kenyah. The length of his leg raises his stature above the
average. His intonation is characteristic, namely, somewhat whining;
whereas the Kenyah's speech is crisp and staccato.

The Klemantans present a greater variety of physical types, being
a less homogeneous group. Roughly they may be said to present all
transitions from the Kenyah to the Murut type. In the main they are
less muscular and active than the Kenyah. It is amongst them that
the upward and forward direction of the plane of the nostrils is
most marked.

The Punan presents, again, a well-marked type. His skin is even fairer
than the Kenyah's, and is distinguished by a distinctly greenish
tinge. He is well proportioned, graceful, and muscular, and his
features are in many cases very regular and pleasing. His expression
is habitually melancholy and strikingly wary and timid. In spite of
his homeless nomadic life he generally appears well nourished and
clean, and he seems less subject to sores and to the skin diseases
which so often disfigure the other peoples, especially the Muruts,
Kayans, and Sea Dayaks.[29]

All these peoples, with the exception of the Punans and similar nomads,
live in village communities situated with few exceptions on the banks
of the rivers. The populations of these villages vary from 20 or 30
persons only in the smallest, to 1500 or even more in a few of the
largest; while the average village comprises about 30 families which,
with a few slaves and dependants, make a community of some 200 to 300
persons. Each such community is presided over by a chief. A number of
villages of one people are commonly grouped within easy reach of one
another on the banks of a river. But no people exclusively occupies
or claims exclusive possession of any one territory or waterway. With
the exception of the Sea Dayaks, all these different peoples may here
and there be found in closely adjoining villages; and in some rivers
the villages of the different peoples are freely intermingled over
considerable areas. The segregation of the Sea Dayak villages seems
to be due to the truculent treacherous nature of the Sea Dayak,
which renders him obnoxious as a neighbour to the other peoples,
and leads him to feel the need of the support of his own people in
large numbers. All find their principal support and occupation in the
cultivation of PADI (rice), and all supplement this with the breeding
of a few pigs and fowls and, in the north of the island, buffalo,
with hunting and fishing, and with the collection of jungle produce
-- gutta-percha, rubber, rattan canes, camphor, sago. These jungle
products they barter or sell for cash to the Malay and Chinese traders.

They have no written records, and but vague traditions of their
past history and migrations. There is no political organisation
beyond a loose coherence and alliance for defence and offence of the
village communities of any one people in neighbouring parts of the
country -- a coherence which at times is greatly strengthened by the
personal ascendency of the chief of some one village over neighbouring
chiefs. One of the most notable examples of such personal ascendency
exercised in recent times was that of Tama Bulan (Pl. 27), a Kenyah
chief whose village was situated on one of the tributaries of the
Baram river, and who by his loyal co-operation with the government
of the Rajah of Sarawak greatly facilitated the rapid establishment
of law and order in this district.

Except for these informal alliances obtaining between neighbouring
villages of the people of any one stock, each village forms an
independent community, ruled by its chief, making war and peace
and alliances, and selecting patches of land for cultivation at its
own pleasure. No village community remains on the same spot for any
long period; but after fifteen, ten, or even fewer years, a new site
is sought, often at a considerable distance, and a new village is
built. The principal reasons for this habit of frequent migration,
which has produced the intimate mingling throughout large areas of the
peoples of different stocks, are two: first, the necessity of finding
virgin soil for cultivation; secondly, the occurrence of epidemics
or other calamities; these lead them to believe that the place of
their abode supplies in insufficient degree the favouring spiritual
influences which they regard as essential to their welfare. For among
all these peoples animistic beliefs abound; they hold themselves to be
surrounded on every hand by spiritual forces both good and bad, some
of which are embodied in the wild creatures, especially the birds,
while some are manifested in such natural processes as the growth of
the corn, the rising of the river in flood, the rolling of thunder,
the incidence of disease. And they are constantly concerned to keep
at a distance, by the observance of many rigidly prescribed customs,
the evil influences, and, to a less degree, to secure by propitiatory
acts the protection and the friendly warnings of the beneficent powers.

One of the most peculiar features of the people of Borneo is the great
diversity of language obtaining among them. The migratory habits of
the people and the consequent mingling of communities of different
stocks within the same areas, far from having resulted in the genesis
by fusion of a common language, have resulted in the formation of
a great number of very distinct dialects; so that in following the
course of a river, one may sometimes find in a day's journey of a
score of miles half a dozen or more villages, the people of each of
which speak a dialect almost, or in some cases quite, unintelligible
to their neighbours. A necessary consequence of this state of affairs
is that, with the exception of the Sea Dayaks, almost all adults
speak or at least understand two or more dialects or languages,
while most of the chiefs and leading men speak several dialects
fluently and partially understand a larger number. The language most
widely understood by those to whom it is not native is the Kayan;
but since the recent spread of trade through large areas under the
protection of the European governments, a simplified form of the Malay
language has been rapidly establishing itself as the LINGUA FRANCA of
the whole country. In Sarawak, where, during the last fifty years,
the Sea Dayaks have spread from the Batang Lupar district and have
established villages on all the principal rivers, their language,
which seems to be a bastard and very simple branch of the Malay tongue,
is very widely understood and is largely used as a common medium.

Note on the use of the term KLEMANTAN. The Malay name for Borneo is
Pulu Klemantan, and we have adopted this name to denote the large
group of allied tribes which in our opinion have the best claim to
be regarded as representing the indigenous population of the island.



CHAPTER 4

Material Conditions of the Pagan Tribes of Borneo

With few exceptions, the main features of the dress, adornment,
and weapons of all the peoples are similar, showing only minor
differences from tribe to tribe and from place to place. The essential
and universal article of male attire is the waist-cloth, a strip of
cloth about one yard wide and four to eight yards in length (see
Frontispiece). Formerly this was made of bark-cloth; but now the
cotton-cloth obtained from the Chinese and Malay traders has largely
superseded the native bark-cloth, except in the remoter regions; and
here and there a well-to-do man may be seen wearing a cloth of more
expensive stuff, sometimes even of silk. One end of such a cloth is
passed between the legs from behind forwards, about eighteen inches
being left dependent; the rest of it is then passed several times round
the waist, over the end brought up on to the belly, and the other end
is tucked in at the back. The man wears in addition when out of doors
a coat of bark-cloth or white cotton stuff,[30] and a wide sun-hat
of palm leaves, in shape like a mushroom-top or an inverted and very
shallow basin, which shelters him from both sun and rain; many wear
also a small oblong mat plaited of rattan-strips hanging behind from
a cord passed round the waist, and serving as a seat when the wearer
sits down. At home the man wears nothing more than the waist-cloth,
save some narrow plaited bands of palm fibre below the knee, and, in
most cases, some adornment in the ears or about the neck and on the
arms.[31] The man's hair is allowed to grow long on the crown of the
scalp, and to hang freely over the back of the neck, in some cases
reaching as far as the middle of the back. This long hair is never
plaited, but is sometimes screwed up in a knot on the top of the head
and fastened with a skewer. The latter mode of wearing the hair is
the rule among the Muruts, who use elaborately carved and decorated
hairpins of bone (the shin bone of the deer, Fig. 1). That part of
the hair of the crown which naturally falls forwards is cut to form
a straight fringe across the forehead. All the rest of the head is
kept shaven, except at times of mourning for the death of relatives.

When in the house the man commonly wears on his head a band of plaited
rattan, which varies from a mere band around the brows to a completed
skull-cap. The free ends of the rattan strips are generally allowed to
project, forming a dependent tassel or fringe (Pl. 21). A well-to-do
Kayan man usually wears a necklace consisting of a single string of
beads, which in many cases are old and of considerable value (Pls. 19
and 28). Every Kayan has the shell of the ear perforated, and when
fully dressed wears, thrust forward through the hole in each shell,
the big upper canine tooth of the tiger-cat; but he is not entitled
to wear these until he has been on the warpath. Those who have taken
a head or otherwise distinguished themselves in war may wear, instead
of the teeth, pieces of similar shape carved from the solid beak of
the helmeted hornbill. The youths who have not qualified themselves
for these adornments, and warriors during mourning, usually wear a
disc of wood or wax in their places (Pls. 19 and 21).

The lobe of the ear is perforated and distended to a loop some two
inches in length, in which a brass ring is worn. Just above this loop
a small hole through the shell is usually made, and from this a small
skein of beads depends. Similar ear ornaments are worn by Kenyahs and
some of the Klemantans, but not by Muruts, and by few individuals
only among Punans and Sea Dayaks. Many of the latter wear a row of
small brass rings inserted round the margin of the shell of each ear
(Fig. 2).

Many of the men wear also bracelets of shell or hard wood.

Although the dress of the men is so uniform in essentials throughout
the country, it gives considerable scope for the display of personal
tastes, and the Sea Dayak especially delights in winding many yards
of brilliantly coloured cloth about his waist, in brilliant coats
and gorgeous turbans[32] and feathers, and other ornaments; by means
of these he manages to make himself appear as a very dressy person
in comparison with the sober Kayan and with most of the people of
the remoter inland regions, who have little but scanty strips of
bark-cloth about the loins.

The universal weapons of the country are sword and spear, and
no man travels far from home without these and his oblong wooden
shield. Some of the peoples are expert in the use of the blowpipe
and poisoned dart. The blow-pipe and the recently introduced firearms
are the only missile weapons; the bow is unknown save as a plaything
for children,[33] and possibly in a few localities in the extreme
north.[34]

The dress of the women is less uniform than that of the men. The Sea
Dayak woman (Pls. 29 and 30) wears a short skirt of cotton thread
woven in curious patterns of several colours, reaching from the waist
almost to the knee; a long-sleeved jacket of the same material, and a
corset consisting of many rings of rattan built up one above another
to enclose the body from breast to thigh. Each rattan ring is sheathed
in small rings of beaten brass. The corset is made to open partially
or completely down the front, but is often worn continuously for long
periods. She wears her hair tied in a knot at the back of her head.

The principal garment of the women of all the other peoples is a
skirt of bark or cotton cloth, which is tied by a string a little
below the level of the crest of the hip bone; it reaches almost to
the ankle, but is open at the left side along its whole depth. It is
thus a large apron rather than a skirt. When the woman is at work in
the house or elsewhere, she tucks up the apron by drawing the front
flap backwards between her legs, and tucking it tightly into the band
behind, thus reducing it to the proportions and appearance of a small
pair of bathing-drawers. Each woman possesses also a long-sleeved,
long-bodied jacket of white cotton similar to that worn by the men;
this coat is generally worn by both sexes when working in the fields
or travelling in boats, chiefly as a protection against the rays of
the sun. The women wear also a large mushroom-shaped hat similar to
that worn by the men. With few exceptions all the women allow the hair
to grow uncut and to fall naturally from the ridge of the cranium,
confined only by a circular band of rattan or beadwork passing over
the occiput and just above the eyebrows.

The principal ornaments of the women are necklaces and girdles of
beads, earrings, and bracelets. A well-to-do Kayan woman may wear a
large number of valuable beads (see Pls. 28 and 31). The bracelets
are of ivory, and both forearms are sometimes completely sheathed
in series of such bracelets. The ear-rings are the most distinctive
feature of the Kayan woman's adornment. The perforated lobes of the
ears are gradually drawn down during childhood and youth, until
each lobe forms a slender loop which reaches to the collar-bone,
or lower. Each loop bears several massive rings of copper (Pl. 20),
whose combined weight is in some cases as much as two pounds.[35] Most
of the Kenyah women also wear similar earrings, but these are usually
lighter and more numerous, and the lobe is not so much distended. The
women of many of the Klemantan tribes wear a large wooden disc in the
distended lobe of each ear, and those of other Klemantan tribes wear
a smaller wooden plug with a boss (Pl. 32). The children run naked
up to the age of six or seven years, when they are dressed in the
fashion of their parents.

On festive occasions both men and women put on as many of their
ornaments as can be conveniently worn.


Deformation of the Head

Some of the Malanaus, a partially Mohammedan tribe of Klemantans,
seated about the mouths of the Muka, Oya, and Bintulu rivers of
Sarawak, have the curious custom of flattening the heads of the
infants, chiefly the females. The flattening is effected at an
early age, the process beginning generally within the first month
after birth. It consists in applying pressure to the head by means
of a simple apparatus for some fifteen minutes, more or less, on
successive days, or at rather longer intervals. The application of
the pressure for this brief space of time, on some ten to twenty
occasions, seems to suffice to bring about the desired effect. The
pressure is applied while the child sleeps, and is at once relaxed if
the child wakes or cries. The apparatus, known as TADAL (see Fig. 3),
consists of a stout flat bar of wood, some nine inches in length
and three wide in its middle part. This wider middle part bears on
one surface a soft pad for application to the infant's forehead. A
[inverted T] strap of soft cloth is attached by its upper
extremity to the middle of the upper edge of the wooden bar; and each
end of its horizontal strip is continued by a pair of strings which
pass through holes in the ends of the bar. The strings are brought
together on the front of the bar at its middle and passed through the
centre of a copper coin[36] or other hard disc. The bar is applied
transversely to the forehead of the infant; the vertical strap runs
back over the sagittal suture; the transverse strap is drawn tightly
across the occiput, and the required degree of pressure is gradually
applied by twisting the coin round and round on the front of the bar,
and so pulling upon the strings which connect the ends of the bar on
the forehead with the ends of the strap across the occiput (Pl. 33).

The effect produced is of course a flattening of brow and occiput and
a broadening of the whole head. The motive seems to be the desire to
enhance the beauty of the child by ensuring to it a moon-like face,
which is the most admired form. The Malanaus seem to be by nature
peculiarly round-headed; the question whether this is due to the
effects of head-flattening practised for many generations, must be
left to the investigations of the Neo-Lamarckians. They are also a
peculiarly handsome people, and it seems more likely that, taking a
pride in their good looks, they have, like so many other peoples,
sought to enhance the beauty of their children by accentuating a
racial peculiarity.


Houses

All the tribes except the Punans build houses of one type; but the size
and proportions, the strength of the materials used, and the skill and
care displayed in the work of construction, show wide differences. The
houses of the Kayans are perhaps better and more solidly built than any
others and may be taken as the type. Each house is built to accommodate
many families; an average house may contain some forty to fifty,
making up with children and slaves some two or three hundred persons;
while some of the larger houses are built for as many as a hundred
and twenty families, or some five to six hundred persons. The house
is always close to a river, and it usually stands on the bank at a
distance of 20 to 50 yards from the water, its length lying parallel
to the course of the river. The plan of the house is a rectangle,
of which the length generally much exceeds the width (Pl. 34).

Its roof is always a simple ridge extending the whole length of the
house, and is made of shingles of BILIAN (ironwood) or other hard
and durable kind of wood. The framework of the roof is supported at
a height of some 25 to 30 feet from the ground on massive piles of
ironwood, and the floor is supported by the same piles at a level some
7 or 8 feet below the cross-beams of the roof. The floor consists
of cross-beams morticed to the piles, and of very large planks of
hard wood laid upon them parallel to the length of the house. The
projecting eaves of the roof come down to a level midway between
that of the roof-beams and that of the floor, and the interval of
some 4 to 5 feet between the eaves and the floor remains open along
the whole length of the front of the house (I.E. the side facing the
river), save for a low parapet which bounds the floor along its outer
edge. This space serves to admit both light and air, and affords an
easy view over the river to those sitting in the house. The length
of the house is in some cases as much as 400 yards, but the average
length is probably about 200 yards. The width of the floor varies
from about 30 to 60 feet; the whole space between roof and floor is
divided into two parts by a longitudinal wall of vertical planks,
which runs the whole length of the house. This wall lies not quite
in the middle line, but a little to the river side of it. Of the two
longitudinal divisions of the house, that which adjoins the river
is thus somewhat narrower than the other; it remains undivided in
its whole length. The other and wider part is divided by transverse
walls at intervals of some 25 or 30 feet, so as to form a single row
of spacious chambers of approximately equal size. Each such chamber is
the private apartment of one family; in it father, mother, daughters,
young sons and female slaves, sleep and eat (Pl. 37). Within each
chamber are usually several sleeping-places or alcoves more or less
completely screened or walled off from the central space. The chamber
contains a fireplace, generally merely a slab of clay in a wooden
framework placed near the centre. The outside wall of this side of
the house is carried up to meet the roof. The entrance of light and
air and the egress of smoke are provided for by the elevation on a
prop of one corner of a square section of the roof, marked out by a
right-angled cut, of which one limb runs parallel to the outer wall,
the other upwards from one extremity of the former. This aperture
can be easily closed, E.G. during heavy rain, by removing the prop
and allowing the flap to fall into its original position.

The front part of the house, which remains undivided, forms a single
long gallery serving as a common antechamber to all the private rooms,
each of which opens to it by a wooden door (Pls. 36, 38). It is in
a sense, though roofed and raised some 20 feet above the ground, the
village street, as well as a common living and reception room. Along
the outer border of the floor runs a low platform on which the inmates
sit on mats. One part of this, usually that opposite the chief's
apartment in the middle of the house, is formed of several large
slabs of hardwood (TAPANG or Koompassia), and is specially reserved
for the reception of guests and for formal meetings. The platform
is interrupted here and there by smaller platforms raised some 3 or
4 feet from the floor, which are the sleeping quarters assigned to
the bachelors and male visitors. At intervals of some 30 or 40 feet
throughout the gallery are fireplaces similar to those in the private
chambers; on some of these fire constantly smoulders.

Over one of these fireplaces, generally one near the middle of
the great gallery, is hung a row of human heads (Pl. 38), trophies
obtained in war, together with a number of charms and objects used
in various rites.[37]

Alongside the inner wall of the gallery stand the large wooden mortars
used by the women in husking the PADI. Above these hang the winnowing
trays and mats, and on this wall hang also various implements of
common use -- hats, paddles, fish-traps, and so forth.

The gallery is reached from the ground by several ladders, each
of which consists of a notched beam sloping at an angle of about
45[degree], and furnished with a slender hand-rail. The more carefully
made ladder is fashioned from a single log, but the wood is so cut as
to leave a hand-rail projecting forwards a few inches on either side
of the notched gully or trough in which the feet are placed. From
the foot of each ladder a row of logs, notched and roughly squared,
and laid end to end, forms a foot-way to the water's edge. In wet
weather such a foot-way is a necessity, because pigs, fowls, and dogs,
and in some cases goats, run freely beneath and around the house, and
churn the surface of the ground into a thick layer of slippery mire.

Here and there along the front of the house are open platforms raised
to the level of the floor, on which the PADI is exposed to the sun
to be dried before being husked.

Under the house, among the piles on which it is raised, such
boats as are not in daily use are stored. Round about the house,
and especially on the space between it and the brink of the river,
are numerous PADI barns (Pl. 40). Each of these, the storehouse of
the grain harvested by one family, is a large wooden bin about 10
feet square, raised on piles some 7 feet from the ground. Each pile
carries just below the level of the floor of the bin a large disc of
wood horizontally disposed, and perforated at its centre by the pile;
this serves to prevent rats and mice gaining access to the bin. The
shingle roof of the bin is like that of the house, but the two ends
are filled by sloping surfaces running up under the gables. There
are generally also a few fruit trees and tobacco plants in the space
cleared round about the house; and in the space between it and the
river are usually some rudely carved wooden figures, around which
rites and ceremonies are performed from time to time.

Kayan villages generally consist of several, in some cases as many
as seven or eight, such houses of various lengths, grouped closely
together. The favourite situation for such a village is a peninsula
formed by a sharp bend of the river.

Of the houses built by the other peoples, those of the Kenyahs very
closely resemble those of the Kayans. The Kenyah village frequently
consists of a single long house (and with the Sea Dayaks this is
invariably the case), and it is in many cases perched on a high
steep bank immediately above the river. Some of the Klemantans also
build houses little if at all inferior to those of the Kayans, and
very similar to them in general plan. But in this as in all other
respects the Klemantans exhibit great diversities, some of their
houses being built in a comparatively flimsy manner, light timber
and even bamboos being used, and the roof being made of leaves. The
houses of the Muruts are small and low, and of poor construction.

The Sea Dayak's house differs from that of the Kayan more than any
of the others. The general plan is the same; but the place of the
few massive piles is taken by a much larger number of slender piles,
which pass up to the roof through the gallery and chambers. Of the
gallery only a narrow passageway alongside the main partition-wall
is kept clear of piles and other obstructions. The floor is of split
bamboo covered with coarse mats. An open platform at the level of the
floor runs along the whole length of the open side of the house. There
are no PADI barns about the house, the PADI being kept in bins in the
roofs. The roof itself is low, giving little head space. The gallery
of the house makes an impression of lack of space, very different to
that made by the long wide gallery of a Kayan or Kenyah house.

Although the more solidly built houses, such as those of the Kayans,
would be habitable for many generations, few of them are inhabited for
more than fifteen or twenty years, and some are used for much shorter
periods only. For one reason or another the village community decides
to build itself a new house on a different and sometimes distant site,
though the new site is usually in the same tributary river, or, if on
the main river, within a few miles of the old one. The most frequent
causes of removal are, first, using up of the soil in the immediate
neighbourhood of the village, for they do not cultivate the same
patch more than three or four times at intervals of several years;
secondly, the occurrence of a fatal epidemic; thirdly, any run of bad
luck or succession of evil omens; fourthly, the burning of the house,
whether accidentally or in the course of an attack by enemies.

On removing to a new site the planks and the best of the timber of a
well-built house are usually towed along the river to the spot chosen,
and used in the construction of the new house.

After the houses the most important of the material possessions of the
people are their boats. Each family possesses at least one small boat
capable of carrying seven or eight persons, and used chiefly for going
to and from the PADI fields, but also for fishing and short journeys
of all kinds. In addition to these the community possesses several
larger boats used for longer journeys, and generally at least one long
war-boat, capable of carrying 50 to 100 men. Each boat, even one of
the largest size, is hollowed from a single log, the freeboard being
raised by lashing narrow planks to the edge of the hollowed log. In
the middle of a large boat is a section, the freeboard of which is
raised still higher, and which is covered by an arched roof of palm
leaves. The boat is crossed at intervals of some three feet by seats
formed of short planks, each supported at both ends by projections of
the main timber, to which they are lashed with rattan. In travelling
on the lower reaches of the rivers, the rowers sit two on each bench,
side by side and facing the bow. On the upper reaches, where rapids
abound, a deck is made by laying split bamboos along the length of the
boat upon the benches, and the crew sits upon this deck in paddling,
or stands upon it when poling the boat over rapids.

In addition to the clothes, houses, and boats, and the domestic
animals mentioned above, and to the personal ornaments and weapons
to be described in later chapters, the material possessions of the
Kayans consist chiefly of baskets and mats.

The baskets are of various shapes and sizes, adapted to a variety
of uses. The largest size holds about two bushels of PADI, and is
chiefly used for transporting grain from the fields to the house
(Fig. 4). It is almost cylindrical in shape, but rather wider at
the upper end. Four strips of wood running down from near the upper
edge project slightly below, forming short legs on which the basket
stands. The upper end is closed by a detachable cap, which fits inside
the upper lip of the basket. It is provided with a pair of shoulder
straps, and a strap which is passed over the crown of the head. These
straps are made of a single strip of tough beaten bark. One end of it
is attached to the foot of the basket; a second attachment is made
at the middle of the height, forming a loop for the one shoulder;
the strip is then looped over to the corresponding point on the other
side, forming the loop for the head, and then carried down to the foot
of the basket on that side to form the loop for the other shoulder.

A smaller cylindrical basket, very neatly plaited of thin and very
pliable strips of rattan, is used for carrying the few articles which
a man takes with him in travelling -- a little rice and tobacco,
a spare waist cloth, a sleeping mat, perhaps a second mat of palm
leaves used as a protection against rain, a roll of dried banana
leaves for making cigarettes, perhaps a cap for wear in the house, and,
not infrequently nowadays, a bright coloured handkerchief of Chinese
silk. The lip of the basket is surrounded by a close set row of eyes
through which a cord is passed. To this cord a net is attached,
and is drawn together in the centre of the opening of the basket
by a second cord, in order to confine its contents. This basket is
provided with shoulder straps only.

In addition to these two principal baskets, each family has a number
of smaller baskets of various shapes for storing their personal
belongings, and for containing food in course of preparation (Fig. 5).

The mats are of many shapes and sizes. The largest are spread on
the raised part of the floor, both of the gallery and of the private
chambers, when a party sits down to eat or converse. Each individual
has his own sleeping mat, and each family has a number of mats used
for drying, husking, winnowing, and sieving the PADI.

The bamboo water-vessel consists of a section of the stem of the
bamboo, closed at the lower end by the natural septum, the upper end
having a lip or spout formed at the level of the succeeding septum. A
short length of a branch remains projecting downwards to form a handle,
by means of which the vessel can be conveniently suspended. These
vessels are used also for carrying rice-spirit or BORAK; but this
is stored in large jars of earthenware or china. The native jar of
earthenware is ovoid in shape and holds about one gallon, but these
are now largely superseded by jars made by the Chinese.

Each family possesses some dishes and platters of hardwood (Figs. 6
and 7), and generally a few china plates bought from traders; but a
large leaf is the plate most commonly used.

Rice, the principal food, which forms the bulk of every meal, is
boiled in an iron or brass pot with lip, handle, and lid, not unlike
the old English cauldron; it has no legs, and is placed on a tripod of
stones or suspended over the fire. This metal pot, which is obtained
from the Chinese traders, has superseded the home-made pot of clay
(Fig. 8) and the bamboo vessels in which the rice was cooked in former
times. A larger wide stewpan is also used for cooking pork, vegetables,
and fish. The Kayans smoke tobacco, which they cultivate in small
quantities. It is generally smoked in the form of large cigarettes,
the finely cut leaf being rolled in sheets of dried banana leaf. But
it is also smoked in pipes, which are made in a variety of shapes, the
bowl of hardwood, the stem of slender bamboo (Fig. 9). Sea Dayaks chew
tobacco, but smoke little, being devoted to the chewing of betel nut.

In every house is a number of large brass gongs (TAWAK), which are
used in various ceremonies and for signalling, and constitute also
one of the best recognised standards of value and the most important
form of currency. Besides these largest gongs, smaller ones of various
shapes and sizes are kept and used on festive occasions (Pl. 45). All
these gongs are obtained through traders from Bruni, China, and Java.

Beside the gongs a Kayan house generally contains, as the
common property of the whole household, several long narrow drums
(Fig. 10). Each is a hollow cylinder of wood, constricted about its
middle, open at one end, and closed at the other with a sheet of
deer-skin. This is stretched by means of slips of rattan attached to
its edges, and carried back to a stout rattan ring woven about the
constricted middle of the drum; the skin is tightened by inserting
wedges under this ring.

In most houses two or three small brass swivel guns may be seen
in the gallery, and a small stock of powder for their service is
usually kept by the chief. They are sometimes discharged to salute a
distinguished visitor, and formerly played some small part in repelling
attacks. The domestic animals of the Kayans are fowls, goats, pigs,
and dogs. The latter live in the house, the others run free beneath
and around the house.

The material possessions of the other peoples differ little from those
of the Kayans. Almost every Sea Dayak possesses, and keeps stored at
the back of his private chamber, one or more large vases. These were
formerly imported from China, but are now made by the Chinese of the
towns in Borneo. The commonest of the highly prized jars are of plain
brown brightly glazed earthenware, standing about three feet in height
on a flat bottom (Pl. 48); each is ornamented with a Chinese dragon
moulded in relief (BENAGA), or some scroll designs which, though very
varied, go by the name of RUSA (=deer) and NINGKA. A Dayak will give
from 200 to 400 dollars for such a jar. Rarer and still more highly
prized is a jar similar to these, but wider, very highly glazed, and
bare of all ornament save some obscure markings. Eight perforated
"ears" project just below the lip, and serve for the attachment of
a wooden or cloth cover. This jar occurs in two varieties, a dark
green and a very dark brown, which are known respectively as GUSI
and BERGIAU, the latter being the more valuable. Other smaller and
less valued jars are the PANTAR and the ALAS. The jars of the kinds
mentioned above are valued largely on account of their age; probably
all of them were imported from China and Siam, some of them no doubt
centuries ago. Besides these old jars there are now to be found in
most of the Sea Dayak houses many jars of modern Chinese manufacture,
some of which are very skilful imitations of the old types; and
though the Dayak is a connoisseur in these matters, and can usually
distinguish the new from the old, he purchases willingly the cheap
modern imitations of the old, because they are readily mistaken by
the casual observer for the more valuable varieties (Pl. 47).

A few large vases of Chinese porcelain, usually covered with elaborate
designs in colour, are to be found in most of the houses of the other
peoples (Pl. 47).



CHAPTER 5

The Social System

The Kayans constitute a well-defined and homogeneous tribe or
people. Although their villages are scattered over a wide area,
the Kayan people everywhere speak the same language and follow
the same customs, have the same traditions, beliefs, rites, and
ceremonies. Such small differences as they present from place to
place are hardly greater than those obtaining between the villagers
of adjoining English counties. Although communication between the
widely separated branches of the people is very slight and infrequent,
yet all are bound together by a common sentiment for the tribal name,
reputation, tradition, and customs. The chiefs keep in mind and hand
down from generation to generation the history of the migrations of
the principal branches of the tribe, the names and genealogies of the
principal chiefs, and important incidents affecting any one branch. At
least fifteen sub-tribes of Kayans, each bearing a distinctive name,
are recognised.[38] The word UMA, which appears in the names of each
group, means village or settlement, and it seems probable that these
fifteen sub-tribes represent fifteen original Kayan villages which
at some remote period, before the tribe became so widely scattered,
may have contained the whole Kayan population. At the present time
the people of each sub-tribe occupy several villages, which in most
cases, but not in all, are within the basin of one river.

In spite of the community of tribal sentiment, which leads Kayans
always to take the part of Kayans, and prevents the outbreak of
any serious quarrels between Kayan villages, there exist no formal
bonds between the various sub-tribes and villages. Each village is
absolutely independent of all others, save in so far as custom and
caution prescribe that, before undertaking any important affair (such
as a removal of the village or a warlike expedition), the chief will
seek the advice, and, if necessary, the co-operation of the chiefs
of neighbouring Kayan villages. The people of neighbouring villages,
especially the families of the chiefs, are also bound together by
many ties of kinship; for intermarriage is frequent.

As was said above, a Kayan village almost invariably consists of
several long houses. Each house is ruled by a chief; but one such
chief is recognised as the head-chief of the village.

The minor and purely domestic affairs of each house are settled
by the house-chief, but all important matters of general interest
are brought before the village-chief. In the former category fall
disputes as to ownership of domestic animals and plants, questions
of compensation for injury or loss of borrowed boats, nets, or other
articles, of marriage and divorce, and minor personal injuries, moral
or physical. The matters to be settled by the head-chief sitting in
council with the subordinate chiefs are those affecting the whole
village, questions of war and peace and of removal, disputes between
houses, trials for murder or serious personal injuries.

The degree of authority of the chiefs and the nature and degree of
the penalties imposed by them are prescribed in a general way by
custom, though as regards the former much depends upon the personal
qualities of each chief, and as regards the latter much is left to his
discretion. The punishments imposed are generally fines, so many TAWAKS
(gongs), PARANGS (swords) or spears, or other articles of personal
property. On the whole the chief plays the part of an arbitrator and
mediator, awarding compensation to the injured party, rather than that
of a judge. In the case of offences against the whole house, a fine
is imposed; and the articles of the required value are placed under
the charge of the chief, who holds them on behalf of the community,
and uses them in the making of payments or presents in return for
services rendered to the whole community.

The chief also is responsible for the proper observation of the omens
and for the regulation of MALAN (tabu) affecting the whole house; and,
as we shall see, he takes the leading part in social ceremonies and in
most of the religious rites collectively performed by the village. He
is regarded by other chiefs as responsible for the behaviour of his
people, and above all, in war he is responsible for both strategy
and tactics and the general conduct of operations.

For the maintenance of his authority and the enforcement of his
commands the chief relies upon the force of public opinion, which,
so long as he is capable and just, will always support him, and will
bring severe moral pressure to bear upon any member of the household
who hesitates to submit.

In return for his labours on behalf of the household or village the
Kayan chief gains little or nothing in the shape of material reward. He
may receive a little voluntary assistance in the cultivation of his
field; in travelling by boat he is accorded the place of honour and
ease in the middle of the boat, and he is not expected to help in
its propulsion. His principal rewards are the social precedence and
deference accorded him and the satisfaction found in the exercise
of authority.

If the people of a house or village are gravely dissatisfied with
the conduct of their chief, they will retire to their PADI-fields,
building temporary houses there. If many take this course, a new
long house will be built and a new chief elected to rule over it,
while the old chief remains in the old house with a reduced following,
sometimes consisting only of his near relatives.

The office of chief is rather elective than hereditary, but the
operation of the elective principle is affected by a strong bias in
favour of the most capable son of the late chief; so in practice a
chief is generally succeeded by one of his sons. An elderly chief will
sometimes voluntarily abdicate in favour of a son. If a chief dies,
leaving no son of mature age, some elderly man of good standing and
capacity will be elected to the chieftainship, generally by agreement
arrived at by many informal discussions during the weeks following
the death. If thereafter a son of the old chief showed himself a
capable man as he grew up, he would be held to have a strong claim on
the chieftainship at the next vacancy. If the new chief at his death
left also a mature and capable son, there might be two claimants, each
supported by a strong party; the issue of such a state of affairs would
probably be the division of the house or village, by the departure of
one claimant with his party to build a new village. In such a case
the seceding party would carry away with them their share of the
timbers of the old house, together with all their personal property.

The Kenyahs form a less homogeneous and clearly defined tribe than
the Kayans; yet in the main their social organisation is very similar
to that of the Kayans, although, as regards physical characters and
language as well as some customs, they present closer affinities with
other peoples than with the Kayans, especially with the Klemantans. The
Kenyah tribe also comprises a number of named branches, though these
are less clearly defined than the sub-tribes of the Kayan people. Each
branch is generally named after the river on the banks of which its
villages are situated, or were situated at some comparatively recent
time of which the memory is preserved. In many cases a single village
adopts the name of some tributary stream near the mouth of which it
is situated, and the people speak of themselves by this name. Thus it
seems clear that the named branches of the Kenyah tribe are nothing
more than local groups formed in the course of the periodical
migrations, and named after the localities they have occupied.[39]

The foregoing description of the relations of a Kayan chief to
his people applies in the main to the Kenyah chief. But among the
Kenyahs the position of the chief is one of greater authority and
consideration than among the Kayans. The people voluntarily work for
their chief both in his private and public capacities, obeying his
commands cheerfully, and accepting his decisions with more deference
than is accorded by the Kayans. The chief in return shows himself
more generous and paternal towards his people, interesting himself
more intimately in their individual affairs. Hence the Kenyah chief
stands out more prominently as leader and representative of his people,
and the cohesion of the whole community is stronger. The chief owes his
great influence over his people in large measure to his training, for,
while still a youth, the son or the nephew of a chief is accustomed
to responsibility by being sent in charge of small bodies of followers
upon missions to distant villages, to gather or convey information, or
to investigate disturbing rumours. He is also frequently called upon to
speak on public occasions, and thus early becomes a practised orator.

Among Klemantans, Muruts, and Sea Dayaks each house recognises a
headman or chief; but he has little authority (more perhaps among the
first of these peoples than among the other two). He acts as arbitrator
in household disputes, but in too many cases his impartiality is not
above suspicion, save where custom rigidly limits his preference.

Among both Kayans and Kenyahs three social strata are clearly
distinguishable and are recognised by the people themselves in each
village. The upper class is constituted by the family of the chief
and his near relatives, his aunts and uncles, brothers, sisters, and
cousins, and their children. These upper-class families are generally
in easier circumstances than the others, thanks to the possession
of property such as brass ware, valuable beads, caves in which the
swift builds its edible nest, slaves, and a supply of all the other
material possessions larger in quantity and superior in quality to
those of the middle- and lower-class families.

The man of the upper class can generally be distinguished at a glance
by his superior bearing and manners, by the neatness and cleanliness
of his person, his more valuable weapons, and personal ornaments,
as well as by greater regularity of features. The woman of the
upper class also exhibits to the eye similar marks of her superior
birth and breeding. The tatuing of her skin is more finely executed,
greater care is taken with the elongation of the lobe of the ear,
so that the social status of the woman is indicated by the length
of the lobe. Her dress and person are cleaner, and generally better
cared for, and her skin is fairer than that of other women, owing no
doubt to her having been less exposed to the sun.

The men of the upper class work in the PADI-fields and bear their share
of all the labours of the village; but they are able to cultivate
larger areas than others owing to their possession of slaves, who,
although they are expected to grow a supply of PADI for their own
use, assist in the cultivation of their master's fields. For the
upper-class women, also, the labours of the field and the house are
rendered less severe by the assistance of female slaves, although
they bear a part both in the weeding of the fields, in the harvesting,
and in the preparation of food in the house.

The chief's room, which is usually about twice as long as others, is
usually in the middle of the house; and those of the other upper-class
families, which also may be larger than the other rooms, adjoin it
on either side.

In all social gatherings, and in the performance of public rites and
ceremonies, the men of the upper class are accorded leading parts,
and they usually group themselves about the chief. Social intercourse
is freer and more intimate among the people of the upper class than
between them and the rest of the household.

The upper class is relatively more numerous in the Kenyah than in the
Kayan houses, and more clearly distinguishable by address and bearing.

The middle class comprises the majority of the people of a house in
most cases. They may enjoy all the forms of property, though generally
their possessions are of smaller extent and value, and they seldom
possess slaves. Their voices carry less weight in public affairs;
but among this class are generally a few men of exceptional capacity
or experience whose advice and co-operation are specially valued
by the chief. Among this class, too, are usually a few men in each
house on whom devolve, often hereditarily, special duties implying
special skill or knowledge, E.G. the working of iron at the forge,
the making of boats, the catching of souls, the finding of camphor,
the observation and determination of the seasons. All such special
occupations are sources of profit, though only the last of these
enables a man to dispense with the cultivation of PADI.

The lower class is made up of slaves captured in war and of their
descendants, and for this reason its members are of very varied
physical type. An unmarried slave of either sex lives with, and is
treated almost as a member of, the family of his or her master,
eating and in some cases sleeping in the family room. Slaves are
allowed to marry, their children becoming the property of their
masters. Some slave-families are allowed to acquire a room in the
house, and they then begin to acquire a less dependent position; and
though they still retain the status of slaves, and are spoken of as
"slaves-outside-the-room," the master generally finds it impossible
to command their services beyond a very limited extent, and in some
cases will voluntarily resign his rights over the family. But in this
case the family continues to belong to the lower class.

The members of each of these classes marry in nearly all cases within
their own class. The marriages of the young people of the upper
class are carefully regulated. Although they are allowed to choose
their partners according to the inscrutable dictates of personal
affinities, their choice is limited by their elders and the authority
of the chief. Many of them marry members of neighbouring villages,
while the other classes marry within their own village.

A youth of the upper class, becoming fond of some girl of the
middle class, and not being allowed to marry her (although this is
occasionally permitted), will live with her for a year or two. Then,
when the time for his marriage arrives (it having perhaps been
postponed for some years after being arranged, owing to evil omens,
or to lack of means or of house accommodation), he may separate from
his mistress, leaving in her care any children born of their union,
and perhaps making over to her some property -- as public opinion
demands in such cases. She may and usually will marry subsequently
a man of her own class, but the children born of her irregular
union may claim and may be accorded some of the privileges of their
father's class. In this way there is formed in most villages a class
of persons of ambiguous status, debarred from full membership in the
upper class by the bar-sinister. Such persons tend to become wholly
identified with the upper or middle class according to the degrees
of their personal merits.

Marriages are sometimes contracted between persons of the middle and
slave classes. In the case of a young man marrying a slave woman,
the owners of the woman will endeavour to persuade him to live with
her in their room, when he becomes a subordinate member of their
household. If they succeed in this they will claim as their property
half the children born to the couple. On the other hand, if the man
insists on establishing himself in possession of a room, he may succeed
in practically emancipating his wife, perhaps making some compensation
to her owners in the shape of personal services or brass ware. In this
case the children of the couple would be regarded as freeborn. It is
generally possible for an energetic slave to buy his freedom.

Less frequent is the marriage of a slave man with a free woman of the
middle class. In this case the man will generally manage to secure
his emancipation and to establish himself as master of a room, and to
merge himself in the middle class. In the case of marriage between two
slaves, they continue to live in the rooms of their owners, spending
by arrangement periods of two or three years alternately as members
of the two households. The children born of such a slave-couple are
divided as they grow up between the owners of their parents.

On the whole the slaves are treated with so much kindness and
consideration that they have little to complain of, and most of them
seem to have little desire to be freed. A capable slave may become
the confidant and companion of his master, and in this way may attain
a position of considerable influence in the village. A young slave is
commonly addressed by his master and mistress as "My Child." A slave
is seldom beaten or subjected to any punishment save scolding, and
he bears his part freely in the life of the family, sharing in its
labours and its recreations, its ill or its good fortunes. Nothing
in the dress or appearance of the slave distinguishes him from the
other members of the village.



The Family

Very few men have more than one wife. Occasionally a chief whose wife
has borne him no children during some years of married life, or has
found the labours of entertaining his guests beyond her strength,
will with her consent, or even at her request, take a second younger
wife. In such a case each wife has her own sleeping apartment within
the chief's large chamber, and the younger wife is expected to defer
to the older one, and to help her in the work of the house and of
the field. The second wife would be chosen of rather lower social
standing than the first wife, who in virtue of this fact maintains
her ascendancy more easily. A third wife is probably unknown; public
opinion does not easily condone a second wife, and would hardly
tolerate a third. In spite of the presence of slave women in the
houses, concubinage is not recognised or tolerated.

The choice of a wife is not restricted by the existence of any law
or custom prescribing marriage without or within any defined group;
that is to say, exogamous and endogamous groups do not exist. Incest
is regarded very seriously, and the forbidden degrees of kinship are
clearly defined. They are very similar to those recognised among
ourselves. A man may under no circumstances marry or have sexual
relations with his sister, mother, daughter, father's or mother's
sister or half sister, his brother's or sister's daughter; and in
the case of those women who stand to him in any of these relations
in virtue of adoption, the prohibitions and severe penalties are
if possible even more strictly enforced. First cousins may marry,
but such marriages are not regarded with favour, and certain special
ceremonies are necessitated; and it seems to be the general opinion
that such marriages are not likely to prove happy. Many young men of
the upper class marry girls of the same class belonging to neighbouring
villages of their own people, aid in some cases this choice falls
on a girl of a village of some other tribe. A marriage of the latter
kind is often encouraged by the chiefs and elder people, in order to
strengthen or to restore friendly relations between the villages.

The initiative is taken in nearly all cases by the youth. He begins
by paying attentions somewhat furtively to the girl who attracts his
fancy. He will often be found passing the evening in her company
in her parents' room. There he will display his skill with the
KELURI, or the Jew's harp, or sing the favourite love-song of the
people, varying the words to suit the occasion. If the girl looks
with favour on his advances, she manages to make the fact known to
him. Politeness demands that in any case he shall be supplied by the
women with lighted cigarettes. If the girl wishes him to stay, she
gives him a cigarette tied in a peculiar manner, namely by winding
the strip which confines its sheath of dried banana leaf close to
the narrow mouth-piece; whereas on all other occasions this strip is
wound about the middle of the cigarette. The young man thus encouraged
will repeat his visits. If his suit makes progress, he may hope that
the fair one will draw out with a pair of brass tweezers the hairs
of his eyebrows and lashes, while he reclines on his back with his
head in her lap. If these hairs are very few, the girl will remark
that some one else has been pulling them out, an imputation which
he repudiates. Or he complains of a headache, and she administers
scalp-massage by winding tufts of hair about her knuckles and sharply
tugging them. When the courtship has advanced to this stage, the girl
may attract her suitor to the room by playing on the Jew's harp,
with which she claims to be able to speak to him -- presumably the
language of the heart. The youth thus encouraged may presume to remain
beside his sweetheart till early morning, or to return to her side
when the old people have retired. When the affair has reached this
stage, it becomes necessary to secure the public recognition which
constitutes the relation a formal betrothal. The man charges some
elderly friend of either sex, in many cases his father or mother,
to inform the chief of his desire. The latter expresses a surprise
which is not always genuine; and, if the match is a suitable one,
he contents himself with giving a little friendly advice. But if
he is aware of any objections to the match he will point them out,
and though he will seldom forbid it in direct terms, he will know
how to cause the marriage to be postponed.

If the chief and parents favour the match, the young man presents
a brass gong or a valuable bead to the girl's family as pledge of
his sincerity. This is returned to him if for any reason beyond his
control the match is broken off. The marriage may take place with
very little delay; but during the interval between betrothal and
marriage the omens are anxiously observed and consulted. All accidents
affecting any members of the village are regarded as of evil omen,
the more so the more nearly the betrothed parties are concerned in
them. The cries of birds and deer are important; those heard about the
house are likely to be bad omens, and it is sought to compensate for
these by sending a man skilled in augury to seek good omens in the
jungle, such as the whistle of the Trogan and of the spider-hunter,
and the flight of the hawk from right to left high up in the sky. If
the omens are persistently and predominantly bad, the marriage is put
off for a year, and after the next harvest fresh omens are sought. The
man is encouraged in the meantime to absent himself from the village,
in the hope that he may form some other attachment. But if he remains
true and favourable omens are obtained, the marriage is celebrated if
possible at the close of the harvest. If the marriage takes place at
any other time, the feast will be postponed to the end of the following
harvest.[40] After the marriage the man lives with his wife in the room
of his father-in-law for one, two, or at most three years. During this
time he works in the fields of his father-in-law and generally helps
in the support of the household, showing great deference towards
his wife's parents. Before the end of the third year of marriage,
the young couple will acquire for themselves a room in the house and
village of the husband, in which they set up housekeeping on their
own account. In addition to these personal services rendered to the
parents of the bride, the man or his father and other relatives give
to the girl's parents at the time of the marriage various articles
which are valuable in proportion to the social standing of the parties,
and which are generally appropriated by the girl's parents.[41]

Divorce is rare but not unknown among the Kayans. The principal grounds
of divorce are misconduct, desertion, incompatibility of temper and
family quarrels; or a couple may terminate their state of wedlock
by mutual consent on payment of a moderate fine to the chief. Such
separation by mutual consent is occasioned not infrequently by the
sterility of the marriage, especially if the couple fails to obtain a
child for adoption; the parties hope to procure offspring by taking
new partners; for the desire for children and pride and joy in the
possession of them are strongly felt by all. The husband of a sterile
wife may leave the house for a long period, living in the jungle and
visiting other houses, in the hope that his wife may divorce him on
the ground of desertion, or give him ground for divorcing her. On
discovery of misconduct on the woman's part the husband will usually
divorce her; the man then retains all property accumulated since
the marriage, and the children are divided between the parents. The
co-respondent and respondent are fined by the chief, and half the
amount of the fine goes to the injured husband. Misconduct on the
part of the man must be flagrant before it constitutes a sufficient
ground for his divorce by his wife. In this case the same rules are
followed. Among the Kayans the divorce is not infrequently followed
by a reconciliation brought about by the intervention of friends;
the parties then come together again without further ceremony. There
is little formality about the divorce procedure. In the main it takes
the form of separation by mutual consent and the condonation of the
irregularity by the community on the payment of a fine to the chief.


Adoption

Adoption is by no means uncommon. The desire for children, especially
male children, is general and strong; but sterile marriages seem to be
known among all the peoples and are common among the Kenyahs. When a
woman has remained infertile for some years after her marriage, the
couple usually seek to adopt one or more children. They generally
prefer the child of a relative, but may take any child, even a
captive or a slave child, whose parents are willing to resign all
rights in it. A child is often taken over from parents oppressed
by poverty, in many cases some article of value or a supply of PADI
being given in exchange. Not infrequently the parents wish to have
the child returned to them when their affairs take a turn for the
better, owing to a good harvest or some stroke of luck, and this is
a frequent cause of dissensions. Usually the adopted child takes in
every way the position of a child born to the parents.

Some of the Klemantans (Barawans and Lelaks in the Baram) practise a
curious symbolic ceremony on the adoption of a child. When a couple has
arranged to adopt a child, both man and wife observe for some weeks
before the ceremony all the prohibitions usually observed during
the later months of pregnancy. Many of these prohibitions may be
described in general terms by saying that they imply abstention from
every action that may suggest difficulty or delay in delivery; E.G. the
hand must not be thrust into any narrow hole to pull anything out of
it; no fixing of things with wooden pegs must be done; there must be
no lingering on the threshold on entering or leaving a room. When the
appointed day arrives, the woman sits in her room propped up and with a
cloth round her, in the attitude commonly adopted during delivery. The
child is pushed forward from behind between the woman's legs, and,
if it is a young child, it is put to the breast and encouraged to
suck. Later it receives a new name.

It is very difficult to obtain admission that a particular child
has been adopted and is not the actual offspring of the parents;
and this seems to be due, not so much to any desire to conceal the
facts as to the completeness of the adoption, the parents coming to
regard the child as so entirely their own that it is difficult to find
words which will express the difference between the adopted child and
the offspring. This is especially the case if the woman has actually
suckled the child.


Proper Names

The child remains nameless during the first few years, and is spoken
of as UKAT if a boy, OWING if a girl, both of which seem to be best
translated as Thingumybob; among the Sea Dayaks ULAT (the little grub)
is the name commonly used. It is felt that to give the child a name
while its hold of life is still feeble is undesirable, because the
name would tend to draw the attention of evil spirits to it. During
its third or fourth year it is given a name at the same time as a
number of other children of the house.[42] The name is chosen with
much deliberation, the eldest son and daughter usually receiving
the names of a grandfather and grandmother respectively. Male and
female names are distinct. The name first given to any person is
rarely carried through life; it is usually changed after any severe
illness or serious accident, in order that the evil influences that
have pursued him may fail to recognise him under the new name; thus
the first or infant name of Tama Bulan was Lujah. After bearing it a
few years he went through a serious illness, on account of which his
name was changed to Wang. Among the Klemantans it is usual under these
circumstances to name the child after some offensive object, E.G. TAI
(dung), in order to render it inconspicuous, and thus withdraw it from
the attention of malign powers. After the naming of a couple's first
child, the parents are always addressed as father and mother of the
child; E.G. if the child's name is OBONG, her father becomes known as
TAMA OBONG, her mother as INAI OBONG, and their original names are
disused and almost forgotten,[43] unless needed to distinguish the
parents from other persons of the same name, when the old names are
appended to the new; thus, Tama Obong Jau, if Jau was the original
name of Tama Obong; and thus Tama Bulan received this name on the
naming of his first child, Bulan (the moon), and when it is wished to
distinguish him in conversation from other fathers of the moon he is
called Tama Bulan Wang. If the eldest child OBONG dies, the father,
Tama Obong Jau, becomes OYONG JAU; if one of his younger children
dies, he becomes AKAM JAU; if his wife dies, he becomes ABAN JAU;
if his brother died, he would be called YAT JAU; and if his sister,
HAWAN JAU; and if two of these relatives are dead, these titles are
used indifferently; but the deaths of wife and children are predominant
over other occasions for the change of name. An elderly man who has
no children receives the title LINGO, and a woman, the title APA
prefixed to his or her former name. A widow is called BALU. The names
of father and mother are never assumed by the children, and their
deaths do not occasion any change of name, except the adoption of
the title OYAU on the loss of the father, and ILUN on the loss of
the mother. These titles would be used only until the man became a
father. When a man becomes a grandfather his title is LAKI (E.G. LAKI
JAU), and this title supersedes all others. A child addresses, and
speaks of, his father as TAMAN, and his mother as INAI or TINAN,
and all four grandparents as POI. The parent commonly addresses the
child, even when adult, as ANAK, or uses his proper name. A father's
brother is addressed as AMAI, but this title is used also as a term
of respect in addressing any older man not related in any degree,
even though he be of a different tribe or race. They use the word
INAI for aunt as well as for mother, and some have adopted the Malay
term MA MANAKAN for aunt proper. The same is true of the words for
nephew and niece -- the Malay term ANAK MANAKAN being used for both.

The terms used to denote degrees of kinship are few, and are used
in a very elastic manner. The term of widest connotation is PARIN
IGAT, which is equivalent to our cousin used in the wider or Scotch
sense; it is applied to all blood relatives of the same generation,
and is sometimes used in a metaphorical sense much as we use the
term brother. There are no words corresponding to our words son and
daughter, ANAK meaning merely child of either sex. There are no words
corresponding to brother and sister; both are spoken of as PARIN,
but this word is often used as a title of endearment in addressing or
speaking of a friend of either sex of the same social standing and age
as the speaker. The children of the same parents speak of themselves
collectively as PANAK; this term also is sometimes used loosely and
metaphorically. A step-father is TAMAN DONG; father-in-law is TAMAN
DIVAN; forefather is SIPUN, a term used of any male or female ancestor
more remote than the grandparents; but these are merely descriptive
and not terms of address. A man of the upper class not uncommonly
has a favourite companion of the middle class, who accompanies him
everywhere and renders him assistance and service, and shares his
fortunes (FIDUS ACHATES in short); him he addresses as BAKIS, and the
title is used reciprocally. A title reciprocally used by those who are
very dear friends, especially by those who have enjoyed the favours
of the same fair one, is TOYONG (or among the Sea Dayaks -- IMPRIAN).

This list includes all the important Kayan terms used to denote
personal relations and kinship, so far as we know; and we think it
very improbable that any have escaped us. There seem to be no secret
names, except in so far as names discarded on account of misfortune are
not willingly recalled or communicated; but a child's name is seldom
used, and adults also seem to avoid calling on one another by their
proper names, especially when in the jungle, the title alone, such as
OYONG, or ABAN being commonly used; apparently owing to some vaguely
conceived risk of directing to the individual named the attentions
of malevolent powers.[44]

The foregoing account of the social organisation of the Kayans applies
equally well to the Kenyahs, except that some of the titles used
are different. The Klemantans and Muruts, too, present few important
differences except that the power of the chiefs is decidedly less,
and the distinction of the social strata less clearly marked, and
slaves are less numerous. The Sea Dayak social organisation is also
similar in most of its features. The most important of the differences
presented by it are the following: -- Polygamy is not allowed, and
occurs only illicitly. Both parties are fined when the facts are
discovered. Divorce is very common and easily obtained; the marriage
relation, being surrounded with much less solemnity, is more easily
entered into and dissolved. Infidelity and mutual agreement are the
common occasions of divorce. Either party can readily secure his or
her freedom by payment of a small fine. There are both men and women
who have married many times; a tenth husband or wife is not unknown;
and a marriage may be dissolved within a week of its consummation.

The Sea Dayak, like all the other peoples, regards incest very
seriously, and the forbidden degrees of kinship are well understood
and very similar to those of Kayans.

A Sea Dayak village consists in almost every case of a single house,
but such houses are generally grouped within easy reach of one
another. Very few slaves are to be found in their houses, since the
Ibans usually take the heads of all their conquered enemies rather
than make slaves of them.


Inheritance of Property

At a man's death his property is divided between his widow and
children. But in order to prevent the disputes, which often arise
over the division of inheritance, an old man may divide his property
before his death. The widow becomes the head of the room, though a
married son or daughter or several unmarried children may share it
with her. She inherits all or most of the household utensils. Such
things as gongs and other brass ware, weapons, war-coats, and boats,
are divided equally among the sons, the eldest perhaps getting a
little more than the others. The girls divide the old beads, cloth,
bead-boxes, and various trifles. The male slaves go to the sons,
the female slaves to the daughters. Bird's nest caves and bee trees
might be divided or shared among all the children.

It happens not infrequently that one son or daughter, remaining
unmarried, continues to live in the household of the parents and to
look after them in their old age. To such a one some valuable article,
such as a string of old beads or costly jar, is usually bequeathed.

Among the Sea Dayaks the old jars, which constitute the chief part
of a man's wealth, are distributed among both sons and daughters;
if the jars are too few for equal distribution, they are jointly
owned until one can buy out the shares of his co-owners.

The members of a Kayan household are bound together, not merely by
their material circumstances, such as their shelter under a common
roof and their participation in common labours, and not merely by
the moral bonds such as kinship and their allegiance to one chief and
loyalty to one another, but also by more subtle ties, of which the most
important is their sharing in the protection and warning afforded to
the whole house by the omen-birds or by the higher powers served by
these. For omens are observed for the whole household, and hold good
only for those who live under the one roof, This spiritual unity of
the household is jealously guarded. Occasionally one family may wish
for some reason, such as bad dreams or much sickness, to withdraw
from the house. If the rest of the household is unwilling to remove
to a new house, they will oppose such withdrawal, and, if the man
insists on separating, a fine is imposed on him, and he is compelled to
leave undisturbed the roof and all the main structure of his section
of the house; though the room would be left unoccupied. Conversely
Kayans are very unwilling to admit any family to become members of
the household. They never or seldom add sections to a house which
has once been completed; and young married couples must live in
their parents' rooms, until the whole household removes and builds
a new house. Occasionally a remnant of a household which has been
broken up by the attack of enemies is sheltered by a friendly house;
but the newcomers are lodged in the gallery only until the time comes
for building a new house, when they may be allowed to build rooms for
themselves, and to become incorporated in the household. Another plan
sometimes adopted is to build a small house for the newcomers closely
adjoining the main house, but joined to it only by an open platform.


Appendix to Chapter V

Tables showing Kinship of the Kenyahs of Long Tikan (Tama
Bulan's house) in the Baram District of Sarawak.

We have made out tables showing the kinship of the inhabitants of
several Kenyah long houses and of one Sea Dayak house, following
the example and method of Dr. W. H. R. Rivers. These tables have
not revealed to us indications of any peculiar system of kinship;
but we think it worth while to reproduce one of them as an appendix
to the foregoing chapter. The table includes all the inhabitants of
the house living in the year 1899, as well as those deceased members
of whom we are able to obtain trustworthy information. The arrangement
is by door or room, but since on marriage some shifting from one room
to another takes place, some individuals appear under two doors.

In these tables the names of males are printed in ordinary type,
those of females in italics; and the following signs are used: --

= for married to.

= indicates the children of a married couple.

implies that the individual below whose name it occurs reached adult
life, but died without issue.

implies a child dead at early age, sex and name unknown.

[male] implies male child not yet named.

[female] implies female child not yet named

? individual of unknown name.



(1) Sidi Karang's Door.

Sidi Karang = SIDI PENG (A Long Paku Kenyah).
	Baiai Gau = ULAU.
	x

Other Members of the Room.

Tama Aping Layong = BALU BUON.
	Lutang (nephew of Sidi Karang).
	SUKUN.

Mang = BORU TELLUN.
	Luat = ?
		Lim.
			o
	Ukang.
		o
	Lesun = BALU ULAN.
		Usun.
		Luyok = OYONG TURING. (See Door 6.)
		Linjau.
			o
		ITANG WING = Lara Wan.

(2) Ajong's Door.

Mawa Ontong (Long Belukun Kenyah) = ? (Long Belukun Kenyah woman).
	BALU LARA.
	Anjong = NGINO (Long Tikan).
		[male]
		[female]
		x
		x

(3) Mawa Jungan's Door.

Mawa Hungan (see Imoh's door) = MAWA UJONG.
	x
	x
	x
	x
	x
	x
	x
	Weak-minded.
	Kading.
	[female]



(4) Imoh's Door.

Jilo = ?
	Imoh = TINA APING POYONG, (sister of NGINO, see Door 2)
	formerly = Tama Aping Lalo. (see Door 5).
		Lirim.

(5) Pallavo's Door.

Maga = ?

PALLAVO (unmarried at 60).

Tugan (weak-minded slave).
	o

Tama Aping Lalo = (1st wife) TINA APING POYONG (see Door 4) = (2nd
wife) USUN (Likan Kenyah).

Anie Tapa (weak-minded) = ?
	Tigiling (weak-minded).

(6) Oyong Turing's Door.

Seling = ?
	Sidi Ontong = ?
		OYONG LUJOK = Oyong Turing.
			x
		Maga.

BALU ATING = ?
	Laro Libo (Long Palutan Kenyah) = LARA ULAU.
		ASONG.
		Sapo.
		Lalo.
		LUNGA.
		USUN.
		SINGIM.
		x
		x
		x
		x



(7) Balu Kran's Door.

Lingan (a Likan Kenyah) = ?
	Tama Aping Mawa = BALU KRAN (see Door 8).
		LAUONG.
		Siggau.
		Oyu Apa.
		[female] weak-minded.

(8) Balu Uding's Door.

Sawa Taja = ?
	BALU KRAN.
	BALU UDING = Mawa Imang.
		Oyu Suo.
	Luat.
		o

KENING (unmarried sister of Mawa Imang).

(9) Aban Moun's Door.

Kamang.
	Aban Moun = TELUN.
		Tama Sook Bilong = TINA SOOK BUNGAN.
			Sook (weak-minded).
			x unnamed.
			x unnamed.
		Tama Aping Salo = ? (Long Belukun Kenyah).
			x unnamed.
			x unnamed.
		TINA APING ODING.

(10) Aban Magi's Door.

Aban Magi (see Door 13) = TINA APING KRAN.
	Anie Liran.



(11) Lara Wan's Door.

Mawa Liva = (1st wife) TINA WAN = (2nd wife) UTAN URING
	Lara Wan = LARA LANAN (Long Paku).
		Jalong.
		Katan.
		JULUT.
		Jawing.
	Kuleh.
	Balu Mening.
		o

(12) Tama An Lahing's Door.

Batan = TINA LAHING.
	Tama an Lahing = TINA AN PIKA.
		ODING = Balari.
			x
			x
		ULAU.
		SILALANG.
	x
	BALU TATAN = Wan Tula (son of Balaban).
		Tago.
		Ballan.
		x
	KENING.
	Tama Owing Laang = NOWING UBONG (daughter of Aban Imang,
	an Uma Poh Kayan).
		MENING.
		MUJAN.
		x

(13) Oyu Irang's Door.

Sorang (Long Tikan) = SINJAI (Long Tikan) (sister of Aban Magi,
see Door 10; and Lara Libo, see Door 6).
	x
	x
	Oyu Irang.
	Pakat.
	Kupit.

Other members in the Room.

BALU TUBONG (sister of Sorang) = ? (a Long Tikan man).

ABING URAI (sister of Balu Tubong) = Aban Madan (Long Paku).



(14) Balu Usan's Door.

BALU USAN (Long Palutan) = Aban Siliwa (Long Palutan).
	x
	Oyu Sijau.

BALU MENO (niece of Balu Usan) = Aban Meggang (Long Peku).
	Lirong.
		o
	ULAN.
	[female]

(15) Balu Buah's Door.

Tegging = BALU MUJAN.
	BALU BUAH = Lara Lalu (Long Belukun Kenyah).
		x
		x
		x
		x
		UTAN URING.
		Abing Liran = LOONG LAKING.
		UTAI USUN.
		BAYIN.
		Apa.
		Baja.
		[female]
		[female]

(16) Oyong Kalang's Door.

Oyong Kalang (Long Palutan Kenyah) = OYONG NONG (Long Palutan Kenyah).
	x
	x
	Sago = ?
	INO.
	Angin.
	Ngau.
	Uya.



(17) Sidi Jau's Door.

Tama Owing Lawai (Lepu Tau) = TINA OWING KLING (sister of Tama
Bulan Wang).
	Sidi Jau = PAYAH LAH (Uma Poh Kayan).
		Kuleh.
		Libut.
	Balari = UDING.
		x
		x

Other People in the Room.

TINA APING UDING (Long Palutan) = Tama Aping Toloi (Long Tikan).
	POYONG.
	ULAU.
	LOGAN.

BALA KEYONG = Aban Batu.
	Oyu Baung.

Oyu Lalu = ?
	LUJOK.

Aban Jok (Murut x Kayan).

KANGIN (sister to Mang, see Door 1).

Aban Oyu (Murut) = BALU MONG.



(18) Aban Tingan's Door.

Aban Langat (Punan) = TINA OYU (Punan).
	Aban Tingan = BELVIUN (2nd wife).
		Kalang.
		Paran.
		MUJAN.
		x

Brothers.
	Tama Lim Balari = ?
		Balari.
		Livang.
	Laki Ludop (see Door 19) = OAN BUNGAN (Long Belukun).
		Tama Bulan (see Door 19).
		Aban Tingan = PAYA (1st wife, daughter of Paran Libut,
		his 1st cousin).
			Wan.
			LAN = Balan (Long Belukun Kenyah)
				Aping.
					o
			JULAN.
			Madang.
		Tina Owing Kling (see Door 17).

Slaves.

Aban Muda (Murut) = NUING LABAI
	Nawam.
	URAI.
	SUAI.
	Nurang.

Abo = BALU VANG.
	Oyu Biti.

Jipong.
	[female]

Oan Igan, child of Mapit (Long Palutan), brother of Jilo (see Imoh's
room).

Apoi
Lujah } brothers.

ULAU (Kalabit).

Padan.



(19) Tama Bulan's Door.

Laki Ludop = BUNGAN (see Door 18).
	Tama Bulan Wang = (1st wife) PENG = (2nd wife) PAYAH WAN
	(Uma Poh Kayan).
		BULAN = Luja (Uma Plian Kayan).
		Balari and Livang (1st cousins of Tama Bulan, adopted
		by him as sons).
		OBONG = Wan (son of Aban Tingan her 1st cousin).
		LEVAN.
		Linjau.





CHAPTER 6

Agriculture

For all the peoples of the interior of Borneo, the Punans and
Malanaus excepted, the rice grown by themselves is the principal
food-stuff. Throughout the year, except during the few weeks when the
jungle fruit is most abundant, rice forms the bulk of every meal. In
years of bad harvests, when the supply is deficient, the place of rice
has to be filled as well as may be with wild sago, cultivated maize,
tapioca, and sweet potatoes. All these are used, and the last three,
as well as pumpkins, bananas, cucumbers, millet, pineapples, chilis,
are regularly grown in small quantities by most of the peoples. But
all these together are regarded as making but a poor substitute for
rice. The cultivator has to contend with many difficulties, for in
the moist hot climate weeds grow apace, and the fields, being closely
surrounded by virgin forest, are liable to the attacks of pests of
many kinds. Hence the processes by which the annual crop of PADI is
obtained demand the best efforts and care of all the people of each
village. The plough is unknown save to the Dusuns, a branch of the
Murut people in North Borneo, who have learnt its use from Chinese
immigrants. The Kalabits and some of the coastwise Klemantans who
live in alluvial areas have learnt, probably through intercourse with
the Philippine Islanders or the inhabitants of Indo-China, to prepare
the land for the PADI seed by leading buffaloes to and fro across it
while it lies covered with water. The Kalabits lead the water into
their fields from the streams descending from the hills.

With these exceptions the preparation of the land is everywhere very
crude, consisting in the felling of the timber and undergrowth, and
in burning it as completely as possible, so that its ashes enrich
the soil. After a single crop has been grown and gathered on land so
cleared, the weeds grow up very thickly, and there is, of course,
in the following year no possibility of repeating the dressing of
wood ashes in the same way. Hence it is the universal practice to
allow the land to lie fallow for at least two years, after a single
crop has been raised, while crops are raised from other lands. During
the fallow period the jungle grows up so rapidly and thickly that by
the third year the weeds have almost died out, choked by the larger
growths. The same land is then prepared again by felling the young
jungle and burning it as before, and a crop is again raised from
it. When a piece of land has been prepared and cropped in this way
some three or four times, at intervals of two, three, or four years,
the crop obtainable from it is so inferior in quantity that the
people usually undertake the severe labour of felling and burning
a patch of virgin forest, rather than continue to make use of the
old areas. In this way a large village uses up in the course of some
twelve or fifteen years all the land suitable for cultivation within
a convenient distance, I.E. within a radius of some three miles. When
this state of affairs results, the, village is moved to a new site,
chosen chiefly with an eye to the abundance of land suitable for the
cultivation of the PADI crop. After ten or more years the villagers
will return, and the house or houses will be reconstructed on the old
site or one adjacent to it, if no circumstances arise to tempt them
to migrate to a more distant country, and if the course of their life
on the old site has run smoothly, without misfortunes such as much
sickness, conflagrations, or serious attacks by other villages. After
this interval the land is regarded as being almost as good as the
virgin forest land, and has the advantage that the jungle on it can
be more easily felled. But since no crop equals that obtainable from
virgin soil, it is customary to include at least a small area of it
in the operations of each year.

Each family cultivates its own patch of land, selecting it by
arrangement with other families, and works as large an area as the
strength and number of the roomhold permits. A hillside sloping down
to the bank of a river or navigable stream is considered the choicest
area for cultivation, partly because of the efficient drainage,
partly because the felling is easier on the slope, and because the
stream affords easy access to the field.

When an area has been chosen, the men of the roomhold first cut down
the undergrowth of a V-shaped area, whose apex points up the hill, and
whose base lies on the river bank. This done, they call in the help of
other men of the house, usually relatives who are engaged in preparing
adjacent areas, and all set to work to fell the large trees. In the
clearing of virgin forest, when very large trees, many of which have
at their bases immense buttresses, have to be felled, a platform of
light poles is built around each of these giants to the height of about
15 feet. Two men standing upon this rude platform on opposite sides
of the stem attack it with their small springy-hafted axes (Fig. 11)
above the level of the buttresses (Pl. 55). One man cuts a deep notch
on the side facing up the hill, the other cuts a similar notch about
a foot lower down on the opposite side, each cutting almost to the
centre of the stem. This operation is accomplished in a surprisingly
short time, perhaps thirty minutes in the case of a stem two to three
feet in diameter. When all the large trees within the V-shaped area
have been cut in this way, all the workers and any women, children,
or dogs who may be present are called out of the patch, and one or
two big trees, carefully selected to form the apex of the phalanx,
are then cut so as to fall down the hill.[45] In their fall these
giants throw down the trees standing immediately below them on the
hillside; these, falling in turn against their neighbours, bring
them down. And so, like an avalanche of widening sweep, the huge
disturbance propagates itself with a thunderous roar and increasing
momentum downwards over the whole of the prepared area; while puny
man looks on at the awful work of his hand and brain not unmoved,
but dancing and shouting in wild triumphant delight.

The fallen timber must now lie some weeks before it can be burnt. This
period is mainly devoted to making and repairing the implements to
be used in cultivating, harvesting, and storing the crop, and also
in sowing at the earliest possible moment small patches of early
or rapidly growing PADI together with a little maize, sugar-cane,
some Sweet potatoes, and tapioca. The patches thus sown generally lie
adjacent to one another. If the weather is fine, the fallen timber
becomes dry enough to burn well after one month. If much rain falls
it is necessary to wait longer in the hope of drier weather. Choosing
a windy day, they set fire to all the adjacent patches after shouting
out warnings to all persons in the fields. While the burning goes on,
the men "whistle for the wind," or rather blow for it, rattling their
tongues in their mouths. Some of the older men make lengthy orations
shouted into the air, adjuring the wind to blow strongly and so fan
the fire. The fire, if successful, burns furiously for a few hours
and then smoulders for some days, after which little of the timber
remains but ashes and the charred stumps of the bigger trees. If the
burning is very incomplete, it is necessary to make stacks of the
lighter timbers that remain, and to fire these again. As soon as the
ashes are cool, sowing begins. Men and women work together; the men go
in front making holes with wooden dibbles about six inches apart; the
women follow, carrying hung round the neck small baskets of PADI seed
(Fig. 12), which they throw into the holes, three or four seeds to
each hole. No care is taken to fill in the holes with earth. By this
time the relatively dry season, which lasts only some two months,
is at an end, and copious rains cause the seed to shoot above the
ground a few days after the sowing. Several varieties of PADI are in
common use, some more suitable for the hillsides, some for the marshy
lands. On any one patch three or four kinds are usually sown according
to the elevation and slope of the part of the area. Since the rates of
growth of the several kinds are different, the sowings are so timed
that the whole area ripens as nearly as possible at the same moment,
in order that the birds and other pests may not have the opportunity
of turning their whole force upon the several parts in turn. The men
now build on each patch a small hut, which is occupied by most of the
able-bodied members of the roomhold until harvest is completed, some
fourteen to twenty weeks after the sowing of the PADI, according to
the variety of grain sown. They erect contrivances for scaring away
the birds; they stick bamboos about eight feet in length upright in
the ground every 20 to 30 yards. Between the upper ends of these,
rattans are tied, connecting together all the bamboos on each area
of about one acre. The field of one roomhold is generally about four
acres in extent; there will thus be four groups of bamboos, each
of which can be agitated by pulling on a single rattan. From each
such group a rattan passes to the hut, and some person, generally a
woman or child, is told off to tug at these rattans in turn at short
intervals. Upon the rattans between the bamboos are hung various
articles calculated to make a noise or to flap to and fro when the
system is set in motion. Sometimes the rattan by which the system of
poles is set in movement is tied to the upper end of a tall sapling,
one end of which is thrust deeply into the mud of the floor of the
river. The current then keeps the sapling and with it the system of
bamboos swaying and jerking to and fro. The Kayans admit that they have
learnt this last "dodge" from the Klemantans. The watcher remains in
the hut all day long, while his companions are at work in the field;
he varies the monotony of his task by shouting and beating with a pair
of mallets on a hollow wooden cylinder. The watcher is relieved from
time to time, but the watch is maintained continuously day and night
from the time that the corn is about two feet above the ground until
it is all gathered in. In this way they strive with partial success
to keep off the wild pigs, monkeys, deer, and, as the corn ripens,
the rice-sparrow (MUNIA).

When the hut and the pest-scaring system have been erected, the men
proceed to provide further protection against wild pig and deer by
running a rude fence round a number of closely adjacent patches of
growing corn. The fence, some three to four feet high, is made by
lashing to poles thrust vertically into the ground and to convenient
trees and stumps, bamboos or saplings as horizontal bars, five or
six in vertical row. When this is completed the men take no further
part until the harvest, except perhaps to lend a hand occasionally
with the weeding. This is the time generally chosen by them for long
excursions into the jungle in search of rattans, rubber, camphor,
and for warlike expeditions or the paying of distant visits.

It is the duty of the women to prevent the PADI being choked by
weeds. The women of each room will go over each patch completely
at least twice, at an interval of about one month, hoeing down the
weeds with a short-handled hoe; the hoe consists of a flat blade
projecting at right angles from the iron haft (Fig. 13). The latter
is bent downwards at a right angle just above the blade, in a plane
perpendicular to that of the blade, and its other end is prolonged
by a short wooden handle, into the end of which it is thrust. The
woman stoops to the work, hoeing carefully round each PADI plant, by
holding the hoe in the right hand and striking the blade downwards and
towards her toes with a dragging action. In working over the patch in
this careful fashion some three weeks are consumed. In the intervals
the women gather the small crops of early PADI, pumpkin, cucumbers,
and so forth, spending several weeks together on the farm, sleeping
in the hut. In a good season this is the happiest time of the year;
both men and women take the keenest interest and pleasure in the
growth of the crop.

During the time when the grain is formed but not yet ripe, the people
live upon the green corn, which they prepare by gathering the heads and
beating them flat. These are not cooked, but merely dried in the sun,
and though they need much mastication they are considered a delicacy.

During the time of the ripening of the corn a spirit of gaiety and
joyful anticipation prevails. It is a favourite time for courtship,
and many marriages are arranged.

The harvest is the most important event of the year. Men, women, and
children, all take part. The rice-sparrows congregate in thousands as
the grain begins to ripen, and the noisy efforts of the people fail
to keep them at a distance. Therefore the people walk through the
crop gathering all ripe ears. The operation is performed with a small
rude knife-blade mounted in a wooden handle along its whole length
(Figs. 14, 15). This is held in the hollow of the right hand, the ends
of a short cross bar projecting between the first and second fingers
and between thumb and first finger. The thumb seizes and presses the
head of each blade of corn against the edge of the knife. The cars
thus cropped are thrown into a basket slung round the neck. As soon
as a large basket has been filled by the reapers, its contents are
spread out on mats on a platform before the hut. After an exposure of
two or three days, the grain is separated from the ears by stamping
upon them with bare feet. The separated grain passes through the
meshes of the coarse mat on to a finer mat beneath. The grain is then
further dried by exposure to the sun. When the whole crop has been
gathered, threshed, and dried in this way, it is transported in the
large shoulder baskets amid much rejoicing and merry-making to the
PADI barns adjoining the house, and the harvest festival begins.

The elaborate operations on the BADI FARM that we have described might
seem to a materialist to be sufficient to secure a good harvest;
but this is not the view taken by the Kayans, or any other of the
cultivators of Borneo. In their opinion all these material labours
would be of little avail if not supplemented at every stage by the
minute observance of a variety of rites. The PADI has life or soul,
or vitality, and is subject to sickness and to many vaguely conceived
influences, both good and bad.


Determination of the Seasons

The determination of the time for sowing the seed is a matter of so
great importance that in each village this duty is entrusted to a man
who makes it his profession to observe the signs of the seasons. This
work is so exacting that he is not expected to cultivate a crop of
PADI for himself and family, but is furnished with all the PADI he
needs by contributions from all the other members of the village.

It is essential to determine the approach of the short dry season, in
order that in the course of it the timber may be felled and burned. In
Borneo, lying as it does upon the equator, the revolution of the
year is marked by no very striking changes of weather, temperature,
or of vegetation. In fact, the only constant and striking evidences
of the passage of the months are the alternations of the north-east
and the south-west monsoons. The former blows from October to March,
the latter from April to September, the transitions being marked by
variable winds. The relatively dry season sets in with the south-west
monsoon, and lasts about two months; but in some years the rainfall
during this season is hardly less abundant than during the rest of
the year.

The "clerk of the weather" (he has no official title, though the
great importance of his function secures him general respect) has
no knowledge of the number of days in the year, and does not count
their passage. He is aware that the lunar month has twenty-eight
days, but he knows that the dry season does not recur after any
given number of completed months, and therefore keeps no record of
the lunar months. He relies almost entirely upon observation of the
slight changes of the sun's altitude. His observations are made by
the help of an instrument closely resembling the ancient Greek gnomon,
known as TUKAR DO or ASO DO (Pl. 60).

A straight cylindrical pole of hardwood is fixed vertically in the
ground; it is carefully adjusted with the aid of plumb lines, and
the possibility of its sinking deeper into the earth is prevented by
passing its lower end through a hole in a board laid horizontally on
the ground, its surface flush with the surface of the ground which
is carefully smoothed. The pole is provided with a shoulder which
rests upon this board. The upper end of the pole is generally carved
in the form of a human figure. The carving may be very elaborate,
or the figure may be indicated only by a few notches. The length of
the pole from the collar to its upper extremity is made equal to
the span from tip to tip of outstretched arms of its maker, plus
the length of his span from tip of the thumb to that of the first
finger. This pole (ASO DO) stands on a cleared space before or behind
the house, and is surrounded by a strong fence; the area within the
fence, some three or four yards in diameter, being made as level and
smooth as possible. The clerk of the weather has a neatly worked flat
stick, on which lengths are marked off by notches; these lengths are
measured by laying the stick along the radial side of the left arm,
the butt end against the anterior fold of the armpit. A notch is
then cut at each of the following positions: one notch about one
inch from the butt end, a second opposite the middle of the upper
arm, one opposite the elbow, one opposite the bend of the wrist,
one at the first interphalangeal joint, one at the finger-tip. The
other side of the rod bears a larger number of notches, of which the
most distal marks the greatest length of the mid-day shadow, the next
one the length of the mid-day shadow three days after it has begun
to shorten, the next the length of the shadow after three more days'
shortening, and so on. The mid-day shadow is, of course, the minimal
length reached in the course of the day, and the marks denoting the
changes in length of the shadow are arrived at, purely empirically,
by marking off the length of the mid-day shadow every three days.

The clerk of the weather measures the shadow of the pole at mid-day
whenever the sun is unclouded. As the shadow grows shorter after
reaching its maximal length, he observes it with special care, and
announces to the village that the time for preparing the land is near
at hand. When the shadow reaches the notch made opposite the middle
of the arm, the best time for sowing the grain is considered to have
arrived; the land is therefore cleared, and made ready before this time
arrives. Sowing at times when the shadow reaches other notches is held
to involve various disadvantages, such as liability to more than the
usual number of pests -- monkeys, insects, rats, or sparrows. In the
case of each successful harvest, the date of the sowing is recorded
by driving a peg of ironwood into the ground at the point denoting
the length of the mid-day shadow at that date. The weather prophet
has other marks and notches whose meaning is known only to himself;
his procedures are surrounded with mystery and kept something of
a secret, even from the chief as well as from all the rest of the
village, and his advice is always followed.

The method of observing the sun described above is universal among the
Kenyahs, but some of the Kayans practise a different method. A hole is
made in the roof of the weather-prophet's chamber in the long-house,
and the altitude of the mid-day sun and its direction, north or south
of the meridian, are observed by measuring along a plank fixed on
the floor the distance of the patch of sunlight (falling through the
hole on to the plank) from the point vertically below the hole. The
horizontal position of the plank is secured by placing upon it smooth
spherical stones and noting any inclination to roll. The sunbeam which
enters this hole is called KLEPUT TOH (=the blow-pipe of the spirit).

Some of the Klemantans practise a third method to determine when
the time for sowing is at hand, using a bamboo some feet in length
which bears a mark at a level which is empirically determined. The
bamboo is filled with water while in the vertical position. It is
then tilted till it points towards a certain star, when of course
some water escapes. After it has been restored to the vertical, the
level of the surface of the remaining water is noted. The coincidence
of this level with the mark mentioned above indicates that the time
for sowing is come.

The Sea Dayaks are guided by the observation of the position of
the Pleiades.

The appropriate season having been determined, it is necessary to
secure good omens before the preparation of the land can be begun. A
pig and a fowl having been sacrificed in the usual way, and their
blood sprinkled upon the wooden figures before the house,[46] two
men are sent out in a boat, and where they first see a spider-hunter
they land on the bank and go through the customary procedures. The
calls and appearances of various birds and of the MUNTJAC are of chief
importance. Some of these are good, some bad in various degrees. When
a preponderance of favourable omens has been observed, the men return
to the house to announce their success. They will wait two whole days
if necessary to secure a favourable result. During their absence
a strict MALAN or LALI (tabu) lies upon the house; no stranger may
enter it, and the people sit quietly in the house performing only
the most necessary tasks. The announcement of the nature of the omens
observed is made to the chief in the presence of a deeply interested
throng of both sexes. If the omens observed are considered to be bad,
or of doubtful import, the men go out for a second period; but if they
are favourable, the women of each room perform the private rites over
their stores of seed PADI, which are kept in their rooms. After the
pros and cons have been fully discussed, the chief names the day for
the beginning of the clearing operations.

At the beginning of the sowing the house is again subject to MALAN for
one day. During the growth of the PADI various charms and superstitious
practices are brought into use to promote its growth and health,
and to keep the pests from it. The PADI charms are a miscellaneous
collection or bundle of small articles, such as curious pebbles and
bits of wood, pigs' tusks of unusual size or shape, beads, feathers,
crystals of quartz. Kayans as a rule object to pebbles and stones
as charms. Such charms are generally acquired in the first instance
through indications afforded by dreams, and are handed down from
mother to daughter. Such charms contained in a basket are usually
kept in a PADI barn, from which they are taken to the field by the
woman and waved over it, usually with a live fowl in the hand, while
she addresses the PADI seed in some such terms as the following:
"May you have a good stem and a good top, let all parts of you grow
in harmony, etc. etc." Then she rapidly repeats a long customary
formula of exhortation to the pests, saying, "O rats, run away down
river, don't trouble us; O sparrows and noxious insects, go feed on
the PADI of the people down river." If the pests are very persistent,
the woman may kill a fowl and scatter its blood over the growing PADI,
while she charges the pests to disappear, and calls upon LAKI IVONG
(the god of harvests) to drive them out.

Women alone will gather the first ears of the crop. If they encounter
on their way to the fields any one of the following creatures,
they must at once return home, and stay there a day and a night, on
pain of illness or early death: certain snakes, spiders, centipedes,
millipedes, and birds of two species, JERUIT and BUBUT (a cuckoo). Or
again, if the shoulder straps of their large baskets should break
on the way, if a stump should fall against them, or the note of the
spider-hunter be heard, or if a woman strikes her foot by accident
against any object, the party must return as before.

It will be clear from the foregoing account that the women play the
principal part in the rites and actual operations of the PADI culture;
the men only being called in to clear the ground and to assist in
some of the later stages. The women select and keep the seed grain,
and they are the repositories of most of the lore connected with
it. It seems to be felt that they have a natural affinity to the
fruitful grain, which they speak of as becoming pregnant. Women
sometimes sleep out in the PADI fields while the crop is growing,
probably for the purpose of increasing their own fertility or that
of the PADI; but they are very reticent on this matter.


The Harvest Festival

When the crop is all gathered in, the house is MALAN to all outsiders
for some ten days, during which the grain is transported from the
fields to the village and stored in the PADI barns. When this process
is completed or well advanced, the festival begins with the preparation
of the seed grain for the following season. Some of the best of the
new grain is carefully selected by the women of each room, enough for
the sowing of the next season. This is mixed with a small quantity
of the seed grain of the foregoing seasons which has been carefully
preserved for this purpose in a special basket. The basket contains
grains of PADI from good harvests of many previous years. This is
supposed to have been done from the earliest time of PADI planting,
so that the basket contains some of the original stock of seed, or
at least the virtue of it leavening the whole. This basket is never
emptied, but a pinch of the old PADI is mixed in with the new, and
then a handful of the mixture added to the old stock. The idea here
seems to be that the old grain, preserving continuity generation after
generation with the original seed PADI of mythical origin,[47] ensures
the presence in the grain of the soul or spirit or vital principle of
PADI. While mixing the old with the new seed grain, the woman calls
on the soul of the PADI to cause the seed to be fruitful and to grow
vigorously, and to favour her own fertility. For the whole festival
is a celebration or cult of the principle of fertility and vitality --
that of the women no less than that of the PADI.[48]

The women who have been delivered of children during the past year
will make a number of toys, consisting of plaited work, in the shapes
of various animals filled with boiled rice (Fig. 16). These they
throw to the children of the house, who scramble for them in the
gallery. This seems to be of the nature of a thank-offering.

At this time also another curious custom is observed. Four water
beetles, of the kind that skates on the surface of the still water, are
caught on the river and placed on water in a large gong. Some old man
specially wise in this matter watches the beetles, calling to them to
direct their movements. The people crowd round deeply interested, while
the old man interprets the movements of the beetles as forecasting
good or ill luck with the crops of the following season, and invokes
the good-will of Laki Ivong. Laki Ivong is asked to bring the soul
of the PADI to their homes. Juice from a sugarcane is poured upon the
water, and the women drink the water, while the beetles are carefully
returned to the river. The beetles carry the messages to Laki Ivong.

When these observances have been duly honoured, there begins a
scene of boisterous fun. The women make pads of the boiled sticky
new rice, and cover it with soot from their cooking vessels. With
these they approach the men and dab the pads upon their faces and
bodies, leaving sooty marks that are not easily removed. The men
thus challenged give chase, and attempt to get possession of the rice
pads and to return the polite attention. For a short space of time a
certain license prevails among the young people; and irregularities,
even on the part of married people, which would be gravely reprobated
at all other times, are looked upon very much less seriously. It is,
in fact, the annual carnival. Each roomhold has prepared a stock of
BURAK from the new rice, and this now circulates freely among both men
and women, and large meals of rice and pork are usually eaten. All
join in dancing, some of the women dressed like men, some carrying
PADI-pestles; at one moment all form a long line marching up and
down the gallery in step to the strains of the KELURI; some young
men dance in realistic imitation of monkeys (DOK), or hornbills, or
other animals, singly or in couples. Others mimic the peculiarities
of their acquaintances. The women also dance together in a long line,
each resting her hands on the shoulders of the one going before her,
and all keeping time to the music of the KELURIES as they dance up
and down the long gallery. All this is kept up with good humour the
whole day long. In the evening more BURAK is drunk and songs are sung,
the women mingling with the men, instead of remaining in their rooms
as on other festive occasions. Before midnight a good many of the men
are more or less intoxicated, some deeply so; but most are able to
find their way to bed about midnight, and few or none become offensive
or quarrelsome, even though the men indulge in wrestling and rough
horseplay with one another. After an exceptionally good harvest the
boisterous merry-making is renewed on a second or even a third day.

The harvest festival is the time at which dancing is most
practised. The dances fall into two chief classes, namely, solo dances
and those in which many persons take part. Most of the solo dances take
the form of comic imitations of the movements of animals, especially
the big macaque monkey (DOK), the hornbill, and big fish. These dances
.seem to have no connection with magic or religion, but to be purely
aesthetic entertainments. The animals that are regarded with most awe
are never mimicked in this way. There are at least four distinct group
dances popular among the Kayans. Both men and women take part, the
women often dressing themselves as men for the occasion (Pl. 61). The
movements and evolutions are very simple. The LUPA resembles the dance
on return from war described in Chap. X. In the KAYO, a similar dance,
the dancers are led by a woman holding one of the dried heads which is
taken down for the purpose; the women, dressed in war-coats, pretending
to take the head from an enemy. The LAKEKUT Is a musical drill in which
the dancers stamp on the planks of the floor in time to the music. The
LUPAK is a kind of slow polka. In none of these do the dancers fall
into couples. A fifth dance, the dance of the departure of the spirit,
is a dramatic representation by three persons of the death of one of
them, and of his restoration to life by means of the water of life
(this is supposed to be brought from the country which is traversed
on the journey to the land of shades). This dance is sometimes given
with so much dramatic effect as to move the onlookers to tears.



CHAPTER 7

The Daily Life of a Kayan Long House

A little before dawn the cocks roosting beneath the house awaken the
household by their crowing and the flapping of their wings. The pigs
begin to grunt and squeal, and the dogs begin to trot to and fro in
the gallery. Before the first streaks of daylight appear, the women
light the fires in the private rooms or blow up the smouldering embers;
then most of them descend from the house, each carrying in a basket
slung on her back several bamboo water-vessels to be filled from the
river. Many of them bathe at this time in the shallow water beside
the bank, while the toilet of others consists in dashing water over
their faces, washing their mouths with water, and rubbing their teeth
with the forefinger. Returning to the house with their loads of water
(Pl. 63), they boil rice for the household breakfasts and for the
dinner of those who are to spend the day in the PADI field or the
jungle. The boiled rice intended for the latter use is made up in
packets wrapped in green leaves, each containing sufficient for a meal
for one person. About half-past six, when the daylight is fully come,
the pigs expectant of their meal are clamouring loudly for it. The
women descend to them by ladders leading from the private rooms, and
each gives to the pigs of her household the leavings of the meals
of the previous day. About the same time the men begin to bestir
themselves sluggishly; some descend to bathe, while others smoke
the fag ends of the cigarettes that were unfinished when they fell
asleep. Then the men breakfast in their rooms, and not until they are
satisfied do the women and children sit down to their meal. During all
this time the chronically hungry dogs, attracted by the odours of food,
make persistent efforts to get into their owner's rooms. Success in
this manoeuvre is almostly always followed by their sudden and noisy
reappearance in the gallery, caused by a smart blow with a stick. In
the busy farming season parties of men, women, and children will set
off in boats for the PADI fields taking their breakfasts with them.

After breakfast the men disperse to their various tasks. During some
three or four months of the year all able-bodied persons repair
daily to the PADI fields, but during the rest of the year their
employments are more varied. The old women and invalids remain all
day long in the rooms; the old men lounge all day in the gallery,
smoking many home-made cigarettes, and perhaps doing a bit of carving
or other light work and keeping an eye on the children. The young
children play in and out and about the house, chasing the animals,
and dabbling among the boats moored at the bank.

A few of the able-bodied men employ themselves in or about the house,
making boats, forging swords, spear-heads, iron hoes, and axes,
repairing weapons or implements. Others go in small parties to the
jungle to hunt deer and pig, or to gather jungle produce -- fruits,
rubber, rattans, or bamboos -- or spend the day in fishing in the
river. During the months of December and January the jungle fruits --
the durian, rambutan, mangosteen, lansat, mango, and numerous small
sour fruits (Pl. 65) -- are much more abundant than at other times;
and during these months all other work is neglected, while the people
devote themselves to gathering the fruit which forms for a time almost
their only food.

Except during the busy PADI season the work of the women is wholly
within the house. The heaviest part of their household labour is the
preparation of the rice. After breakfast they proceed to spread out
PADI on mats on the open platforms adjoining the gallery. While the
PADI is being dried by the exposure to sun and wind on these platforms,
it must be protected from the domestic fowls by a guardian who, sitting
in the gallery, drives them away by means of a long bamboo slung by
a cord above the platform. Others fill the time between breakfast and
the noonday dinner by bathing themselves and the children in the river,
making and repairing clothing, mats, and baskets, fetching more water,
cleaning the rooms and preparing dinner. This meal consists of boiled
rice with perhaps a piece of fish, pork, or fowl, and, like breakfast
and supper, is eaten in the private rooms.

As soon as dinner is over the pounding of the PADI begins
(Frontispiece, Vol. II.). Each mortar usually consists of a massive
log of timber roughly shaped, and having sunk in its upper surface,
which is a little hollowed, a pit about five inches in diameter and
nine inches in depth. Into this pit about a quarter of a bushel of
PADI is put. Two women stand on the mortar facing one another on
either side of the pit, each holding by the middle a large wooden
pestle. This is a solid bar of hardwood about seven feet long, about
two inches in diameter in the middle third, and some three or four
inches in diameter in the rest of its length. The two ends are rounded
and polished by use. Each woman raises her pestle to the full height
of her reach, and brings it smartly down upon the grain in the pit,
the two women striking alternately with a regular rhythm. As each
one lifts her pestle, she deftly sweeps back into the pit with her
foot the grain scattered by her stroke.

After pounding the PADI for some minutes without interruption,
one woman takes a winnowing pan, a mat made in the shape of an
English housemaid's dustpan, but rather larger than this article,
and receives in it the pounded grain which the other throws out of
the pit with her foot.

Both women then kneel upon a large mat laid beside the mortar; the
one holding the winnowing pan keeps throwing the grain into the air
with a movement which causes the heavier grain to fall to the back of
the pan, while the chaff and dust is thrown forward on to the mat. Her
companion separates the rice dust from the chaff by sifting it through
a sieve. A considerable quantity of the dust or finely broken rice
is formed by the pounding in the mortar, and this is the principal
food given to the pigs. The winnowed grain is usually returned to the
mortar to be put through the whole process a second time. The clean
rice thus prepared is ready for the cooking-pot.

The winnowing and sifting is often done by old women, while the
younger women continue the severer task of plying the pestle. In the
Kayan houses the mortars are in many cases double, that is to say,
there are two pits in the one block of timber, and two pairs of women
work simultaneously. In the middle of the afternoon the whole house
resounds with the vigorous blows of the pestles, for throughout the
length of the gallery two or more women are at work beside each room,
husking the day's supply of rice for each family.

For the women of all the peoples, except the Punans, the husking of
the PADI is a principal feature of the day's work, and is performed
in much the same fashion by all. The Kenyahs alone do their work out
of doors beside the PADI barns, sometimes under rude lean-to shelters.

When this task is completed the women are covered with dust; they
descend again to the river, and bathe themselves and the children
once more. They may gather some of the scanty vegetables grown in
small enclosures near most of the houses, and then proceed to prepare
supper with their rice and whatever food the men may have brought
home from the jungle. For now, about an hour before sundown, the men
return from expeditions in the jungle, often bringing a wild pig, a
monkey, a porcupine, or some jungle fruit, or young shoots of bamboo,
as their contribution to the supper table; others return from fishing
or from the PADI fields, and during the sunset hour at a large village
a constant stream of boats arrives at the landing-place before the
house. Most of the home-comers bathe in the river before ascending
to the house. This evening bath is taken in more leisurely fashion
than the morning dip. A man will strip off his waist-cloth and rush
into the water, falling flat on his chest with a great splash. Then
standing with the water up to his waist he will souse his head and
face, then perhaps swim a few double overhand strokes, his head going
under at each stroke. After rubbing himself down with a smooth pebble,
he returns to the bank, and having resumed his waist-cloth, he squeezes
the water from his hair, picks up his paddle, spear, hat, and other
belongings, and ascends to the gallery. There he hangs up his spear
by jabbing its point into a roof-beam beside the door of his chamber,
and sits down to smoke a cigarette and to relate the events of his
day while supper is preparing. As darkness falls, he goes to his
room to sup. By the time the women also have supped, the tropical
night has fallen, and the house is lit by the fires and by resin
torches, and nowadays by a few kerosene lamps. The men gather round
the fireplaces in the gallery and discuss politics, the events of the
day, the state of the crops and weather, the news obtained by meetings
with the people of neighbouring houses, and relate myths and legends,
folk-tales and animal stories. The women, having put the children
to bed, visit one another's rooms for friendly gossip; and young
men drop in to join their parties, accept the proffered cigarette,
and discourse the sweet music of the KELURI,[49] the noseflute,
and the Jew's harp (Figs. 17, 18, 19). Or Romeo first strikes up
his plaintive tune outside the room in which Juliet sits with the
women folk. Juliet may respond with a few notes of her guitar[50]
(Fig. 20), thus encouraging Romeo to enter and to take his place in
the group beside her, where he joins in the conversation or renews
his musical efforts. About nine o'clock all retire to bed, save a few
old men who sit smoking over the fires far into the night. The dogs,
after some final skirmishes and yelpings, subside among the warm ashes
of the fireplaces; the pigs emit a final squeal and grunt; and within
the house quietness reigns. Now the rushing of the river makes itself
heard in the house, mingled with the chirping of innumerable insects
and the croaking of a myriad frogs borne in from the surrounding
forest. The villagers sleep soundly till cock-crow; but the European
guest, lying in the place of honour almost beneath the row of human
heads which adorns the gallery, is, if unused to sleeping in a Bornean
long house, apt to be wakened from time to time throughout the night
by an outburst of dreadful yelpings from the dogs squabbling for the
best places among the ashes, by the prolonged fit of coughing of an
old man, by an old crone making up the fire, by the goats squealing
and scampering over the boats beneath the house, or by some weird
cry from the depths of the jungle.

In the old days the peace of the night was occasionally broken an hour
before the dawn by the yells of an attacking force, and by the flames
roaring up from bundles of shavings thrown beneath the house. But
happily attacks of this kind are no longer made, save in some few
remoter parts of the interior where the European governments have
not yet fully established their authority.

The even tenor of the life of a village is interrupted from time to
time by certain festivals or other incidents -- the harvest festival;
the marriage or the naming of a chiefs son or daughter; the arrival of
important guests (one or more chiefs with bands of followers coming
to make peace, or nowadays the resident magistrate of the district);
the funeral of a chief; the preparations for war or for a long
journey to the distant bazaar of Chinese traders in the lower part
of the river; the necessity of removing to a new site; an epidemic
of disease; the rites of formally consulting the omens, or otherwise
communicating with and propitiating the gods; the operations of the
soul-catcher. The more important of these incidents will be described
in later chapters. Here we need only give a brief account of the way
in which some of them affect the daily round of life in the long house.

A visiting chief will remain seated in his boat, while a follower
announces his arrival and ascertains that there is no MALAN (TABU) upon
the house which would make the presence of visitors unwelcome. Such
MALAN affecting the whole house or village obtains during the storing
of the PADI for ten consecutive days, during epidemics of sickness
in neighbouring villages, and at the time when the preparation
of the farm land begins. If a favourable answer is returned, the
visitor remains seated in his boat some few minutes longer, and
then makes his way into the gallery, followed by most of his men,
who leave their spears and shields in the boats. If the visitor is an
intimate friend, the chief of the house will send a son or brother
to welcome him, or will even go himself. Arrived in the gallery,
the visitor advances to the central platform where the chief of the
house awaits him, unstrings his sword from his waist, hangs it upon
any convenient hook, and sits down beside his host; while his men,
following his example, seat themselves with the men of the house in a
semicircle facing the two chiefs. The followers may greet, and even
embrace, or grasp by the forearm, their personal friends; but the
demeanour of the chief's is more formal. Neither one utters a word or
glances at the other for some few minutes; the host remains seated,
fidgeting with a cigarette and gazing upon the floor; the visitor
sitting beside him looks stolidly over the heads of his followers,
and perhaps clears his throat or coughs. Presently a woman thrusts
into the semicircle a tray of freshly made cigarettes. One of the
men of the house pushes it forward towards the principal visitor, who
makes a sign of acceptance by lightly touching the tray; the other,
crouching on his heels, lights a cigarette with an ember from the fire,
blowing it into a glow as he waddles up to present it to the visiting
chief. The latter takes it, but usually allows it to go out. By this
time the chief of the house is ready to open the conversation, and,
after clearing his throat, suddenly throws out a question, usually,
"Where did you start from to-day?" The embarrassing silence thus
broken, question and answer are freely exchanged, the cigarette of
the visitor is again lighted at the fire by a member of the household,
and conversation becomes general. Not infrequently the host, becoming
more and more friendly, throws an arm across his guest's shoulders
or strokes him endearingly with the palm of his hand.

In the meantime the women are busy preparing a meal, a pig having
been killed and hastily cut up. When it is ready, the visitors, if
old friends, are invited to partake of it in the chief's room. But
if they are not familiar acquaintances, the meal is spread for them
in the gallery on platters placed in a long row, one for each guest;
each platter containing many cubes of hot boiled pork and two packets
of hot boiled rice wrapped in leaves. The space is surrounded with a
slight bamboo fence to keep away the dogs. In either case the visitors
eat alone, their hosts retiring until the meal is finished. As the
chief's wife retires, she says, "Eat slowly, my children, our food is
poor stuff. There is no pork, no fish, nothing that is good." Before
withdrawing, one of the people of the house pours a little water from
a bamboo vessel on the right hand of the visiting chief, who then
passes on the vessel to his followers. With the hand thus cleansed
each guest conveys the food to his mouth, dipping his pieces of pork
in coarse salt placed in a leaf beside his platter; and when he has
finished eating, he drinks water from a bamboo vessel. The chief,
and perhaps also one or more of his upper-class companions, leaves a
little of the pork and a little rice on the platter to show that he
is not greedy or ravenous; and his good breeding prompts him to prove
his satisfaction with the meal by belching up a quantity of wind
with a loud and prolonged noise, which is echoed by his followers
to the best of their ability. After thus publicly expressing his
appreciation of his host's hospitality, he rinses out his mouth,
squirting out the water towards the nearest gap between the floor
boards, rubs his teeth with his forefinger, again rinses his mouth,
and washes his hand. Then relighting his cigarette, which he has kept
behind his ear or thrust through the hole in its shell, he rejoins
his host, who awaits him on the dais.

On such an occasion, and in fact on any other occasion suggestive
of festivity, the evening is enlivened with oratory, song, and
drink. After supper the men gather together about the chiefs, sitting
in close-set ranks on and before the dais. At a hint from the chief
a jar of BURAK (rice-spirit) is brought into the circle. This may be
the property of the chief or of any one of the principal men, who, by
voluntarily contributing in this way towards the entertainment of the
guests, maintains the honour of the house and of its chief. A little
is poured into a cup and handed to the house-chief, who first makes
a libation to the omen-birds and to all the other friendly spiritual
powers, by pouring a little on to the ground through some crevice of
the floor, or by throwing a few drops out under the eaves, saying,
as he does so, "Ho, all you friendly spirits." Then he drinks a little
and hands back the cup to the young man who has taken charge of the jar
of spirit. The latter, remaining crouched upon his heels, ladles out
another cupful of spirit and offers it in both hands to the principal
guest, who drinks it off, and expresses by a grunt and a smack of the
lips, and perhaps a shiver, his appreciation of its quality. The cup
is handed in similar formal fashion to each of the principal guests
in turn; and then more cups are brought into use, and the circulation
of the drink becomes more rapid and informal. As soon as each man
has had a drink, the house-chief rises to his feet and, addressing
himself to his guest, expatiates upon his admirable qualities, and
expresses eloquently the pleasure felt by himself and his people
at this visit. Then speaking in parables and in indirect fashion,
claiming perhaps indulgence on the ground that he is merely talking
in his sleep, he touches upon local politics at first delicately;
then warming up he speaks more directly and plainly. He may become
much excited and gesticulate freely, even leaping into the air and
twirling round on one foot with outstretched right arm in a fashion
that directs his remarks to each and all of the listening circle;
but, even though he may find occasion to admonish or reproach, or even
hint at a threat, his speech never transgresses the strictest bounds
of courtesy. Having thus unburdened himself of whatever thoughts
and emotions are evoked by the occasion, he takes from the attendant
Ganymede a bumper cup of spirit and breaks into song. Standing before
his guest and swinging the cup repeatedly almost to his (the guest's)
lips, he exhorts him in complimentary and rhyming phrases to accept his
remarks in a friendly spirit, and reminds him of the age and strength
of their family and tribal relations, referring to their ancestral
glories and the proud position in the world of their common race. At
the end of each sentence all the men of both parties break out into
a loud chorus, repeating the last word or two in deep long-drawn-out
musical cadence. Then, with the last words of his extemporised song,
the chief yields up the cup to the expectant guest, who, having sat
rigidly and with fixed gaze throughout the address, takes it in one
long draught, while the chorus swells to a deep, musical roar. At this
moment the circle of auditors, if much excited, will spring to their
feet and swell the noise by stamping and jumping on the resounding
planks. The house-chief smilingly strokes his guest from the shoulder
downwards and resumes his seat. The chorus and commotion die away,
and are followed by a moment of silence, during which the guest
prepares to make his reply in similar fashion. He rises and begins
by naming and lightly touching or pointing to his host and other of
the principal men present. Then he makes acknowledgment of the kind
and flattering reception accorded him, and his pleasure at finding
this opportunity of improving the understanding between himself and
his hosts. "The views so eloquently expressed by my friend (naming
him and using some complimentary title, E.G. brother or father)
are no doubt correct. Indeed, how could it be otherwise? But I have
been told so and so, and perhaps it may be, ..." and so he goes on
to state his own views, taking care to shift the responsibility for
any remaining dissension on to the shoulders of some distant third
party. He congratulates all parties on this free discussion of matters
of common interest, and with free gesticulation exhorts them to turn
a deaf ear to vague rumours and to maintain friendly relations. Then,
dropping down beside his host, he says "Take no notice of what I have
said, I am drunk." Ganymede again approaches him with a bumper cup, and
then rising to his feet and calling on his men, he addresses his host
in complimentary song and chorus, using the gestures and expressions
peculiar to his own people. The song culminates as before in a general
chorus, long drawn out, while the house-chief drains the cup.

The cups then circulate freely, and the smoking of cigarettes is
general; other shorter speeches may be made, perhaps by the sons or
brothers of the chiefs. As the evening wears away, both guests and
hosts become increasingly boisterous and affectionate; but few or none
on an occasion of this sort become intoxicated or quarrelsome. If a man
becomes a little too boisterous, he is led away to one of the sleeping
platforms in the gallery, and kept there until he falls asleep.

During an evening of this sort the women congregate in the adjacent
rooms, where they can overhear the proceedings; and if they find these
exceptionally interesting, they will congregate about the doors, but
will strictly abstain from interfering with, them in any way. The flow
of speech and song and conversation goes on uninterruptedly, except
when the occasional intrusion into the circle of some irrepressible
dog necessitates its violent expulsion; until, as midnight approaches,
the men drop away from the circle by twos and threes, the circle
being finally broken up when the visiting chief expresses a desire
to sleep. Each guest spreads his own mat on the platform assigned to
the party, and the men of the house retire to their rooms.

We will not conclude this chapter without stating that among the
Kayans, Kenyahs, and most of the Klemantans, alcoholic intoxication is
by no means common. At great feasts, such as are made at the close of
the harvest or on the return of a successful war-party, much BORAK
is drunk, the women joining in, and a few of the men will usually
become quite drunk; but most of them will hardly go further than a
state of boisterous jollity.

Although in a year of good PADI harvest each family constantly renews
its supply of BORAK, yet the spirit is never drunk in private, but
only on festive occasions of the kind described above, or when a man
entertains a small party of friends in his own chamber.

The account given above of the reception and entertainment of guests
would apply with but little modification to the houses of the Kenyahs
and Klemantans. In the Sea Dayak house the reception and entertainment
of guests is less ceremonious, and is carried out by the unorganised
efforts of individuals, rather than by the household as a whole
with the chief at its head. On the arrival of a party of visitors,
the people of each room clamorously invite the guests to sit down
before their chamber. The guests thus become scattered through the
house. First they are offered betel nut and sirih leaf smeared with
lime to chew, for among the Sea Dayaks this chewing takes the place of
the smoking of cigarettes which is common to all the others; and they
are then fed and entertained individually, or by twos and threes, in
various rooms. No pig is killed or rice-spirit offered, though possibly
a toasted bat or bit of salted wild pig will be served as a relish.

At great feasts the Sea Dayaks drink more freely than the other
peoples, except the Muruts. Men and women alike drink deeply, and
many become intoxicated. The men take pride in drinking the largest
possible quantity; and when the stomach is filled, will vomit up
large quantities, and then at once drink more, the women pressing it
upon them. The Dayaks and Muruts alone thus sink in the matter of
drink to the level of those highly cultured Europeans among whom a
similar habit obtains: while among all the other tribes strong drink
is seldom or never abused, but rather is put only to its proper use,
the promotion of good fellowship and social gaiety.



CHAPTER 8

Life on the Rivers

With the exception of the Punans and some of the Muruts who inhabit the
few regions devoid of navigable streams, all the peoples of Borneo make
great use of the rivers. The main rivers and their principal branches
are their great highways, and even the smallest tributary streams are
used for gaining access to their PADI fields. It is only when hunting
or gathering jungle produce that they leave the rivers. Occasionally
PADI is cultivated at a distance of a mile or more from the nearest
navigable stream, and a rough pathway is then made between the field
and the nearest point of the river. Here and there also jungle paths
are made connecting points where neighbouring rivers or their navigable
tributaries approach closely to one another. In the flat country near
the coast, where waterways are less abundant than in the interior,
jungle tracks are more used for communication between villages. Where
a route crosses a jungle swamp, large trees are felled in such a way
that their stems lie as nearly as possible end to end. Their ends
are connected if necessary by laying smaller logs from one to the
other. In this way is formed a rude slippery viaduct on which it is
possible for an agile and bare-footed man to walk in safety across
swamps many miles in extent.

But the jungle paths are only used when it is impossible to reach the
desired point by boat, or if the waterway is very circuitous. On the
lower and deeper reaches of the rivers the paddle is the universal
instrument of propulsion. It is used without any kind of rowlock --
the one hand, grasping the handle a little above the blade, draws
the blade backwards through the water; the other hand, grasping the
T-shaped upper end, thrusts it forward. The lower hand thus serves
as a fulcrum for the other.

A small boat may be propelled by a single rower, who, sitting at the
stern, uses the paddle on one side only, and keeps the boat straight
by turning the paddle as he finishes his stroke. In a boat of medium
size one man seated at the stern devotes himself to steering with his
paddle, although here and there among the coast-people a fixed rudder
is used. In a war boat of the largest size, the two men occupying
the bow-bench and the four men on the two stern-most benches are
responsible for the steering; the former pull the bow over, or lever
it in the opposite direction.

During a day's journey the crew of a boat will from time-to-time
lighten their labour with song, one man singing, the others joining
in the chorus; and if several boats are travelling in company the
crews will from time to time spurt and strive to pass one another in
good-humoured rivalry. At such times each crew may break out into a
deep-pitched and musical roar, the triumphal chorus of a victorious
war party.

In the upper reaches of the rivers there are numerous rapids, and
here and there actual falls. The boat is usually propelled up a rapid
by poling. Each member of the crew has beside him a stout pole some
eight or nine feet long; and when the boat approaches a rapid, the
crew at a shout from the captain, usually the steersman, spring to
their feet, dropping their paddles and seizing their poles. Thrusting
these against the stony bottom in perfect unison, the crew swings the
boat up through the rushing water with a very pleasant motion. If the
current proves too strong and the boat makes no progress, or if the
water is too shallow, three or four men, or, if necessary, the whole
crew, spring into the water and, seizing the boat by the gunwale, drag
it upstream till quieter water is reached. It is necessary for a man
or boy to bale out the water that constantly enters over the gunwale
while the boat makes the passage of a rapid. All through these exciting
operations the captain directs and admonishes his men unremittingly,
hurling at them expressions of a strength that would astonish a crew
on the waters of the Cam or Isis: "Matei tadjin selin" (may you die
the most awful death) is one of the favourite phrases. These provoke
no resentment, but merely stimulate the crew to greater exertions.

Sometimes, when much water is coming down after heavy rains, the
current is so swift in deep places that neither paddling, poling,
nor wading is possible. Then three or four men are landed on the bank,
or on the boughs of the trees, and haul on the boat with long rattans,
scrambling over rocks and through the jungle as best they can.

The passage down stream in the upper reaches of a river is even more
exciting and pleasurable. The crew paddles sufficiently to keep good
steerage way on the boat, as it glides swiftly between the rocks and
shallows; as it shoots over the rapids, the steersman stands up to
choose his path, the water splashes and gurgles and leaps over the
gunwale, and the men break out into song. The smaller waterfalls do
not check its onward rush; as the boat approaches a fall, several
men near the bow stand up to see if there is sufficient water; then,
as they resume their seats, all paddle with might and main until
the boat takes the leap. Occasionally a boat is upset during such
an attempt, and rarely one or two of the crew are lost through being
hurled against rocks and drowned while stunned.

In making a long journey the nights are passed if possible in friendly
villages. When no such village can be reached, the night is passed
either in the boats moored to the bank or on the river-bank. In
the former case the leaf mats, of which each man carries at least
one in his basket, are used to roof the boat; in the latter case a
rude hut is quickly built, a framework of saplings lashed together,
roofed with the mats, and floored at a level of some feet above the
ground with bamboos or slender saplings. On camping in the evening
and before starting in the morning, rice is cooked and eaten; and
about mid-day the journey is interrupted for about an hour while
the party lands on the bank, or, if possible, on a bed of pebbles,
to rest and to cook and eat the midday meal.


Fishing

Fish are caught in the rivers in several ways, and form an important
part of the diet of most of the peoples. Perhaps the cast net is
most commonly used. This is a net which, when fully extended in
the water, covers a circular patch about six yards in diameter,
while its central part rises in a steep cone, to the peak of which a
strong cord is tied. The main strands run radially from this central
point, increasing in number towards the periphery. They are crossed
by concentric strands. The periphery is weighted with bits of metal
or stone. This net is used both in deep and in shallow water. In the
former case one man steers and paddles a boat, while the other stands
at the prow with the cord of the net wound about the right hand. The
bulk of the net is gathered up on his right arm, the free end is
held in the left hand. Choosing a still pool some two fathoms in
depth, he throws a stone into the water a little ahead of the boat,
in the expectation that the fish will congregate about the spot as
they do when fruit falls from the trees on the banks. Then, as the
boat approaches the spot he deftly flings the net so that it falls
spread out upon the surface; its weighted edge then sinks rapidly
to the bottom, enclosing any fish that may be beneath the net. If
only small fish are enclosed, the net is twisted as it is drawn up,
the fish becoming entangled in its meshes, and in pockets formed about
its lower border. If a large fish is enclosed, the steersman will dive
overboard and seize the lower part of the net so as to secure the fish.

Or the boat is paddled to the foot of a small rapid; the fisherman
springs out and runs to the head of the rapid, and casts his net in
the still water immediately above it where fish frequently congregate.

Or a party takes the same net to the mouth of a small tributary, and,
while some hold the net so as to block the mouth almost completely,
others run through the jungle to a point some hundred yards up the
stream, and then drive down the fish by wading down stream splashing
and shouting. As soon as a number of fish come down against the net
its upper border is thrown down so as to enclose them.

Another net, made quite flat and some fifteen yards long by four feet
wide, is suspended by wooden floats across a small river so that the
fish may become entangled in its meshes.

Another net is used only by the women. In shape it is like a deep
basin; its wide mouth is attached to a stout circle of rattan, and
a wooden bar is tied across the mouth to serve as handle. With this
the women catch the sucker fish in the shallow rapids, one turning
up stones, the other catching in the net the fish that dart from
beneath them.

Yet another mode of netting fish is to suspend a square of net
attached by its corners to the ends of two crossed and downward bending
sticks. The net is suspended by cords from its corners to the end of
a long bamboo, which rests upon a post about its middle. The fisherman
lowers the net into the water by raising the landward end of the bamboo
lever, and when he sees fish swimming above it, attracted by a bait,
he suddenly depresses his end of the bamboo, so as to bring the net
quickly above the surface. On the coast drag nets are used.

The SELAMBO is used in small streams where fish are abundant. A
fence of upright bamboos is built out from either bank, starting at
opposite points and converging down stream to two points near the
middle of the stream and about seven feet apart; where each terminates
a stout pole is driven firmly into the bed of the river. These two
poles are connected by a stout cross-piece lashed to them a little
above the level of the water. The cross-piece forms a fulcrum for a
pair of long poles joined together with cross-pieces, in such a way
that their downstream ends almost meet, while up stream they diverge
widely. They rest upon the fulcrum at a point about one-third of their
length from their downstream ends. Between the widely divergent parts
up stream from the fulcrum a net is loosely stretched. The net lies
submerged until fish coming down stream are directed on to the net by
the convergent fences. The fisherman stands on a rude platform grasping
the handle-end, and, feeling the contacts of the fishes with the net,
throws his weight upon the handle, so bringing the net quickly above
the surface. Beside him he has a large cage of bamboo standing in the
water, into which the fish are allowed to slide from the elevated net.

A rod and line and baited hook are also in common use. The Kayans
make a hook of stout brass wire, cutting a single barb. The Kenyahs
use a hook made of rattan thorns. A strip is cut from the surface of
a rattan bearing two thorns about an inch apart; this is bent at its
middle so that the cut surfaces of the two halves are brought into
opposition, and the thorns, facing outward opposite one another,
form the barbs. The line is tied to the bend, and the bait is placed
over the tip projecting beyond the thorns. When the fish takes the
hook into his mouth and swallows the bait, the barbs being released
spring outward and secure the fish.

A rough kind of spoon bait is also used with rod and line.

Fish are taken also in traps. The most generally used is the BUBU. This
varies in length from eighteen inches to eight feet or even more. The
body of the trap is a conical cage of bamboo. From the wide mouth of
the cone a second smaller flatter cone passes upwards within the outer
one; the slender bamboo strips of which it is made come almost together
in the centre, their inner ends being free and pliable. This is fixed
beside the bank, its mouth turned down stream, and a few stakes are
driven into the bed of the river to guide the fish into the mouth;
or it may be laid in shallow water, two barriers of stones converging
to its mouth. The fish working up stream pass in at the mouth, and,
when they have passed the inner lips, cannot easily pass out again.

A still simpler trap consists merely of a long slender cone of bamboo
strips. The fish entering the mouth and passing up to the confined
space of the other end become wedged fast in it.

A Sea Dayak trap found in the south-west of Borneo is a cylindrical
cage of bamboo attached to a pole driven vertically into the bed of the
river. (Fig. 21). At one side of the cage is a circular aperture. Into
this fits a section of bamboo, the end of which within the cage is cut
into longitudinal strips that are made to converge, forming a cone,
through the apex of which the fish can push his way into the cage,
but which prevents his return. It is an application of the same valve
principle as that used in the trap first described above.

A larger trap is the KILONG, which is used in the lower reaches of the
rivers and also on the coast. It consists of a fence of stakes running
out from the bank or shore into water some two fathoms in depth. The
free end of the fence is wound in a spiral of about two turns. One
or two gates are made between the outer and the inner chambers of
the spiral on the side nearest to the bank or shore, and are left
open when the trap is set. The fish, finding themselves confined by
the fence, make for deeper water, and, entering the central chamber,
do not readily return. The fisherman then closes the gate and takes
out the fish with a landing net.

A prawn trap consists of a cylinder of heavy bark. One end is closed
with a conical valve of bamboo strips like that of the two traps
described above; the other flattened end is hinged to open for the
extraction of the catch. The trap is baited with decaying cocoanut and
thrown into the river with a long rattan attached to it and tied to
a pole; the trap sinks to the bottom and is examined from time to time.


Tuba Fishing

Fish are caught on the largest scale by poisoning the water with
the juice of the root of the tuba plant. This is usually practised
in the smaller rivers at times of slack water, all the people of a
village co-operating. The TUBA plant is cultivated in patches on the
PADI fields. Pieces of the roots are cut off without destroying the
plants. When a large quantity has been gathered, a fence is built
across the river at the spot chosen, and big BUBU traps are let into
it facing up stream. Then all the available small boats are manned
and brought into the reaches of the river extending about a mile above
the fence. Each boat carries a supply of tuba root, which the people
bruise by pounding it with wooden clubs against stumps and rocks
on the bank or against the side of the boat. Water is thrown into
the bottom of the boat and the pounded root is rinsed in the water,
pounded again, and again rinsed, until all its poisonous juice is
extracted. The water in all the boats, become milky with the juice,
is poured at a given signal into the river, either by baling or by
overturning the boats. After some twenty minutes the fish begin to
rise to the surface and rush wildly to and fro. In the meantime the
boats have been put to rights, and now begin to pursue the fish,
the men armed with fish-spears, the women with landing-nets. The
sport goes on for several hours. Some men armed with clubs stand
upon a platform which slopes up at a low angle out of the water and
rests upon the fence. Big fish come leaping upon this platform and
are clubbed by the men, who have to exert their agility to avoid
the spikes with which some of the fish are armed. Large quantities
of fish are sometimes taken in this way; what cannot be eaten fresh
are dried and smoked over the fires in the house.

While the TUBA fishing is being arranged and the preparations are
going forward, great care is taken to avoid mentioning the word TUBA,
and all references to the fish are made in oblique phrases, such as
"The leaves (I.E. the fishes) can't float over this fence." This
precaution is observed because it is believed that the birds and the
bats can understand human speech, and may, if they overhear remarks
about the preparations, give warning to their friends the fish, whose
magician[51] (a bony fish called BELIRA), will then make rain, and, by
thus swelling the river, prevent the successful poisoning of the water.

Tickling is also practised with success, the men standing in the
edge of a lake among the grass and sedges, where the fish seek cooler
water in the heat of the day.

All the methods of taking fish described above are practised by most
of the peoples, except of course the use of the drag-net in the sea.

The crocodiles, which are numerous in the lower reaches of the rivers,
are not hunted or attacked, save on provocation, by any of the peoples
of Borneo except the Malays.[52] Occasionally a bather is seized
by one of them while in the water or standing on a log floating in
deep water; and more rarely a person is dragged out of a small boat,
while drifting quietly on deep water at evening. If men and boats
are at hand they turn out promptly to attack the crocodile, if it
rises to the surface; but there is small chance of rescue. If the
victim has sufficient presence of mind and strength to thrust his
thumbs against the eyes of the reptile it may release him, escape
in this way is not unknown. In the case of a fatal issue, the men of
the village turn out to avenge the outrage, and, in the case of the
seizure of an important person, those of neighbouring villages will
join them. All available boats are manned by men armed with spears,
some of which are lashed to the ends of long poles. Congregating in
their boats near the scene of the disaster, the men prod the bed of the
river with their spears, working systematically up and down river and
up the small side streams. In this way they succeed in stabbing some
of the reptiles; and in this case, though they usually do not rise to
the surface, their bodies are found after some days in the creeks,
death having ensued from the inflammation set up in the wounds. The
wound caused by a spear-thrust would seldom be fatal to the crocodile,
but that the wound is liable to the perpetual assaults of smaller
creatures -- fish while he is in the water, flies when he lies on
the bank. These irritate and extend the wound. The stomachs of those
crocodiles that are captured are opened in search of traces of the
person taken, traces which usually remain there for some time in the
shape of hair or ornaments. If no trace is found the people's vengeance
is not satisfied, and they set baited hooks, or pay Malays to do so,
partly because the Malays are experts and claim to have potent charms
to bring the offender to the hook, partly because a Kayan does not
care to take upon himself the individual responsibility of catching
a crocodile, though he does not shrink
from the collective pursuit. The decaying body of a fowl, monkey, or
other animal (Malays sometimes use a living dog) is bound to a strong
bar of hard-wood, sharpened at both ends and some fifteen inches in
length. A number of small rattans are tied to the bar about its middle,
their other ends being made fast to a log. This arrangement is allowed
to float down river; if it does not float freely, the crocodile will
not take the bait. When a crocodile rises to the bait and swallows
it, the bar gets fixed cross-wise in his gullet as he pulls on the
rattans. The hunters, having kept the log in sight, then attach the
ends of the rattans to the boat, tow the reptile to the bank, and
haul him up on dry land. They secure his tail and feet with nooses,
which they lash to a pole laid along his back, and lash his jaws
together. Throughout these operations the crocodile is addressed
deferentially as LAKI (grandfather). He is then left exposed to
the sun, when he soon dies; in this way the people avoid the risks
attaching to slaying the crocodile with their own hands.



CHAPTER 9

Life in the Jungle

All the peoples of Borneo support themselves in part by hunting and
trapping the wild creatures of the jungle, but for the Punans alone
is the chase the principal source of food-supply; the various natural
products of the jungle are, with the exception of cultivated sago in
some few regions, their only marketable commodities.


Hunting

The wild pig (SUS BARBATUS[53]) is the principal object of the chase,
but deer of several species are also hunted and trapped. The largest
of these (CERVUS EQUINUS) is rather bigger than the English fallow
deer; the smallest is plandok, or mouse deer (TRAGULUS NAPU and
T. JAVANICUS), standing only about eight inches at the shoulder;
intermediate in size is the muntjac (CERVULUS MUNTJAC). There are
also small herds of wild cattle (BOS SONDAICUS), a small rhinoceros
(R. SUMATRANUS), large lizards (VARANUS), various apes and monkeys,
and a large porcupine (HESTRIX CRASSISPINUS), and several small
mammals, such as otters (LUTRA), bear-cats (ARCTICTIS), and civet
cats (PARADOAURUS) of various species, all of which are hunted for
their flesh, as well as several birds. The tiger-cat (FELIS NEBULOSA)
and the bear (URSUS MALAYANUS) are hunted for their skins and teeth,
and the dried gall-bladder of the bear is sold for medicine.

The pig and deer are most commonly hunted on foot by a party of
several men with a pack of four or five dogs. The dogs, having found
the trail, chase the pig until he turns on them. The dogs then surround
the pig, barking and yelping, and keep it at bay till the men run up
and despatch it with their spears. Both men and dogs sometimes get
severely bitten and torn by the tusks. During the fruit season the pigs
migrate in large herds and cross the rivers at certain places well
known to the hunters. The people lie in wait for them in little huts
built on the banks, and kill them from their boats as they swim across.

Kenyahs and Klemantans sometimes catch deer by driving them into a
JARING. This consists of a strong rope of plaited rattans stretched in
a straight line across the jungle, from tree to tree, some five feet
above the ground. It is generally laid so as to complete the enclosure
of an area that is almost surrounded by the river. Dependent from the
whole length of the rattan rope is a series of running nooses also
of rattan, each of which, overlapping its neighbours on both sides,
forms a loop about two feet in diameter. Men armed with spears are
stationed along the JARING, at short intervals, and the rest of the
party with the dogs beat the jungle driving any deer in the enclosed
space headlong towards the JARING. Some of the deer may escape, but
some will usually run their heads into the nooses and fall victims to
the spears of the watchers. Both pig and deer are sometimes brought
down with the blow-pipe, especially by the Punans, whose favourite
weapon it is.

The wild cattle are very wary and dangerous to attack. They sometimes
take to the water and are then easily secured. Punans, who hunt
without dogs (which in fact they do not possess) will lie in wait
for the rhinoceros beside the track by which he comes to his daily
mud-bath, and drive a spear into his flank or shoulder; then, after
hastily retiring, they track him through the jungle, until they come
upon him again, and find an opportunity of driving in another spear
or a poisoned dart through some weak spot of his armour.

Birds and monkeys are chiefly killed with the blow-pipe.


Traps

Traps of many varieties are made. For pig and deer a trap is laid at a
gap in the fence about the PADI field. It consists of a bamboo spear
of which the end is sharpened and hardened in the fire. This is laid
horizontally about two feet from the ground, resting on guides. Its
butt end is lashed to one end of a springy green pole at right angles
to its length; the pole is laid horizontally, one end of it being
firmly fixed to a tree, and the other (that carrying the spear) bent
forcibly backwards and held back by a loop of rattan. This spring is
set by means of an ingenious trigger, in such a way that an animal
passing through the gap must push against a string attached to the
trigger, and so release the spring, which then drives the bamboo
spear across the gap with great force. (The drawing (Fig. 22) Will
make clear the nature of the trigger.)

In one variety of this trap the spring is set vertically. The trap is
varied in other ways. A curious practice of the Ibans on setting such
a trap is to measure the appropriate height of the spear by means of
a rod surmounted with a carving of a human figure (Fig. 23).

Of many ingenious traps for small animals the JERAT is the most widely
used (see Fig. 24 and Pl. 85). A rude fence some hundreds of yards,
in some cases as much as a mile, in length, is made by filling up with
sticks and brushwood the spaces between the trees and undergrowth of
the jungle. At intervals of ten or twenty yards narrow gaps are left,
and in each of these a JERAT is set to catch the small creatures that,
in wandering through the jungle and finding their course obstructed
by the fence, seek to pass through the gaps. The gap is floored with
a small platform of light sticks, six to eight inches long, laid
across it parallel to one another in the line of the fence. The ends
of these are supported at one side of the gap, about two inches above
the ground, by a cross-stick lying at right angles to them. This stick
in turn is supported about one inch above the ground in the following
way: the two ends of a green stick are thrust firmly into the ground
forming an arch over the end of the platform, and the extremities
of the cross-stick are in contact with the pillars of the arch, and
kept a little above the ground by being pulled against them by the
spring trigger. This consists of a short stick attached by a cord
to a strong springy pole thrust vertically into the ground. To set
the trigger it is pulled down, bending the pole, and passed under the
arch from the platform side outwards; the upper end of the trigger is
then kept by the pull of the cord against the curve of the arch, and
its lower end is pulled against the middle of the cross-stick. The
pressure being maintained by the tension of the cord, this end of
the platform is supported by the friction between the trigger and the
cross-stick. The cord is prolonged beyond the trigger in a slip noose
which lies open on the platform completely across the gap, so that
any small animal entering the gap, and stepping upon the platform,
necessarily places its feet within the goose. A few leaves are laid
on the platform and cord to disguise them. When, then, a pheasant or
other creature of appropriate size and weight steps on the platform,
its weight causes the cross-stick to slip down from the hold of the
trigger, and this, being released, is violently jerked with the noose
into the air by the elastic reaction of the bent pole; in a large
proportion of cases the noose catches the victim's feet and jerks
him into the air, where he dangles by the feet till the arrival of
the trapper, who visits his traps twice a day.

Another very curious and strikingly simple plan is employed by the Sea
Dayaks for catching the Argus pheasant, whose beautiful wing feathers
are highly valued. The cock-birds congregate at certain spots in the
jungle, where they display their feathers and fight together. These
spots they clear of all obstacles, pulling and pushing away sticks and
leaves with their heads and necks, as well as scratching with their
feet. The Dayaks, taking advantage of this habit, thrust vertically
into the ground slips of bamboo, the edges of which are hardened in
the fire and rendered very sharp. In the course of their efforts
to remove these obstructions, the birds not infrequently inflict
serious wounds about their necks, and weakened by loss of blood,
are found by the Dayaks at no great distance from the fighting ground.

Traps of many other kinds are made for animals both large and small,
especially by the. Sea Dayaks, who use traps more frequently than
the other peoples. Our few descriptions will serve to illustrate
the ingenuity displayed, the complexity of the mechanical
principles involved in some of them, and the extreme simplicity of
others. Previous writers have described many of these in detail,
and we content ourselves with referring the curious reader to their
accounts.[54]

The Klemantans and some of the Kenyahs catch a small ground pigeon
(CHALCOPHAPS INDICA) in large numbers by the aid of a pipe or whistle,
by blowing softly on which the cooing notes of the bird are closely
imitated. The instrument consists of a piece of large bamboo closed at
one end and having a small hole about its middle (Fig. 25). The hunter,
concealed behind a screen of leafy branches, blows across this hole
through a long slender tube of bamboo; and when a bird approaches the
whistle, he slips over its head a fine noose attached to the end of
a light bamboo and, drawing it behind the screen, puts it alive into
a cage.

Small parrots are sometimes caught with bird-lime, made with the
juice of a rubber-tree.


The Gathering of Jungle Produce

The principal natural products gathered by the people in addition
to the edible fruits are, gutta-percha, rubber, camphor, various
rattans, beeswax and honey, vegetable tallow, wild sago, damar-resin
from various trees, and the edible birds' nests.

Small parties of men and boys go out into the jungle in search of
these things, sometimes travelling many days up river before striking
into the jungle; for it is only in the drier upland forests that such
expeditions can be undertaken with advantage. The party may remain
several weeks or months from home. They carry with them a supply of
rice, salt, and tobacco, cooking-pots and matches, a change of raiment,
spears, swords, shields, blowpipes, and perhaps two or three dogs. On
striking into the jungle, they drag their boat on to the bank and
leave it hidden in thick undergrowth. While in the jungle they camp
in rude shelters roofed with their leaf mats and with palm leaves,
moving camp from time to time. They vary their labours and supplement
their food-supply by hunting and trapping. Such an expedition is
generally regarded as highly enjoyable as well as profitable. As
in camping-parties in other parts of the world, the cooking is
generally regarded as a nuisance to be shirked if possible. The Sea
Dayaks indulge in these expeditions more frequently than others,
and such parties of them may often be found at great distances
from their homes. In the course of such long excursions they not
infrequently penetrate into the regions inhabited by other tribes,
and many troubles have had their origin in the truculent behaviour of
such parties. Such parties of Sea Dayaks have been known to accept
the hospitality of unsuspecting and inoffensive Klemantans, and to
outrage every law of decency by taking the heads of old men, women,
and children during the absence of their natural defenders.

Valuable varieties of gutta-percha are obtained from trees of more
than a score of species. The best is known as Kayan gutta, because it
is gathered and sent to the bazaars by the Kayans in a pure form. The
trees are felled and the stem and branches are ringed at intervals
of about eighteen inches, a narrow strip of bark being removed at
each ring. The milky viscid sap drips out into leaf-cups, which are
then emptied into a cylindrical vessel of bark. Water is then boiled
in a large pan beside the tree, a little common salt is added to the
water, and the gutta is poured into the boiling water, when it rapidly
congeals. Then, while still in a semiviscid state, it is kneaded with
the feet and pressed into a shallow wooden frame, which in turn is
compressed between two planks. In this way it is moulded into a slab
about one and a half inches thick, about a foot long, and about six
inches across at one end, two inches across at the other. While it is
still warm a hole is pierced through the narrower end; and the slab
is then thrown into cold water, where it sets hard. In this form it
reaches the market at Singapore, where it is valued at about five
hundred dollars ([pound sterling]50) the hundredweight.

Gutta of an inferior quality is obtained in large quantities by
tapping a large tree (JELUTONG) which grows abundantly in the
low-lying jungles.

The best rubber, known as PULUT by the Kayans, is obtained by them from
a creeper, the stem of which grows to a length of fifty to a hundred
feet and a diameter of six inches or more. It bears a brilliant red
luscious fruit which is eaten by the people; its seeds being swallowed
become distributed in this way. The Punans carefully sow the seed
they have swallowed, and transplant the young seedlings to the most
suitable positions. The milky juice of the creeper is gathered and
treated in much the same way as the gutta. It is rolled up while
hot into spherical lumps, each of which is pierced with a hole for
convenient transportation.

Camphor is formed in the crevices of the sterns of old trees of the
species DRYOBALANOPS AROMATICA, when the heart is decayed leaving
a central hollow. The tree is cut down, the stem split up, and the
crystalline scales of pure camphor are shaken out on to mats. It
is then made up in little bundles wrapped in palm leaves. The
large-flaked camphor fetches as much as [pound sterling]6 a pound
in the Chinese bazaar. Special precautions are observed by men in
search of camphor. A party of Kayans, setting out to seek camphor,
commonly gets the help of Punans, who are acknowledged experts in this
business. Omens are taken before setting out, and the party will not
start until favourable omens have been observed. The party is LALI
from the time of beginning these operations. They will speak to no one
outside the party, and will speak no word of Malay to one another;
and it is considered that they are more likely to be successful if
they confine themselves to the use of a peculiar language which seems
to be a conventional perversion of the Punan speech.

On entering a small river the party stretches a rattan across its
mouth; and, where they leave the river, they erect on the bank a
pole or frayed stick.[55] Other persons seeing such sticks set up
will understand and respect the party's desire for privacy. They then
march through the jungle to the place where they expect to find a group
of camphor trees, marking their path by bending the ends of twigs at
certain intervals in the direction in which the party is moving. Having
found a likely tree they cut into the stem with a small long-bladed
axe, making a deep small hole. An expert, generally a Punan, then
smells the hole and gives an opinion as to the chances of finding
camphor within it. If he gives a favourable opinion, the tree is cut
down and broken in pieces as described above. On cutting down the tree,
an oil which smells strongly of camphor sometimes pours out and is
collected. The party remains LALI until the collection of the camphor
is completed; no stranger may enter their hut or speak with them. The
practice of collecting camphor in this way is probably a very ancient
one,[56] whereas the collection of gutta and rubber has been undertaken
only in recent years in response to the demands of the European market.

Many varieties of the rattan palm grow luxuriantly in the forests of
Borneo, some attaining a length of 150 to 200 feet. It is a creeper
which makes its way towards the light, suspending itself to branches
and twigs by means of the curved spines which prolong the midribs of
the leaves. The cane is collected by cutting through the stem near its
root, and hauling on it, several men combining their t'efforts. The
piece cut down is dragged through the jungle to the river-bank. There
it is cut into lengths of fifteen feet, I.E. two and a half spans, and
dried in the sun. If the sap is thoroughly dried out, the cane assumes
a permanent yellow colour; but if any is left, the cane darkens when
soaked in water. When a large number of bundles has been collected,
they are bound together to form a raft. On this a hut is erected,
and two or three men will navigate the raft down river to the Chinese
bazaar, which is to be found in the lower part of every large river.

The small yellow fruit of the rattan is gathered in large quantities
and subjected to prolonged boiling. The fluid becomes of a bright
crimson colour; this, boiled down till it has the consistency of
beeswax, is known as dragon's blood, and is used by the people as a
colouring matter and also exported for the same purpose.

Honey and beeswax are found in nests which are suspended by the
wild bee from high branches of the MINGRIS (COOMPASSIA) and TAPANG
(ARBOURIA) trees, sometimes many nests on one tree. To reach the nest
the men climb the tree by the aid of a ladder somewhat in the fashion
of a steeple-jack. A large number of sharpened pegs of ironwood are
driven into the softer outer layers of the stem in a vertical row
about two feet apart, and bamboos are lashed in a single vertical row
to the pegs and to one another and to the lower branches. The ladder
is built up until at some sixty or eighty feet from the ground it
reaches a branch bearing a nest. The taking of the nests is usually
accomplished after nightfall. A man ascends the ladder carrying in
one hand a burning torch of bark, which gives off a pungent smoke,
and on his back a large hollow cone of bark. Straddling out along
the bough, he hangs his cone of bark beneath the nest, smokes out
the bees, and cuts away the nest from the bough with his sword,
so that it falls into the cone of bark. Then, choosing a piece of
comb containing grubs, he munches it with gusto, describing from his
position of advantage to his envious friends the delicious quality of
the grubs. After thus gathering two or three nests he lets down the
cone with a cord to his eagerly expectant comrades, who then feast
upon the remaining grubs and squeeze out the honey into jars. The
tree having been cleared of nests in this way, the wax is melted in
an iron pot and moulded in balls. The honey is eaten in the houses;
the wax is sold to the Chinese traders at about a shilling a pound.

Vegetable tallow is procured from the seeds of the ENGKABONG tree
(SHOREA). The seeds are crushed and the tallow melted out and gathered
in bamboos. It is used as a food, generally smeared on hot rice. It
is sometimes a principal feature of the Punan's diet for considerable
periods.

Wild sago is abundant and is much used by Punans, and occasionally
by most of the other peoples when their supply of PADI is short. The
sago tree is cut down and its stem is split into several pieces with
wedges. The pith is knocked out with a bamboo mallet. The sago is
prepared from the pith by the women, who stamp it on coarse mats,
pouring water upon it. The fine grains of sago are carried through on
to a trough below. It is then washed and boiled in water, when it forms
a viscid mass; this is eaten with a spoon or with a strip of bamboo
bent double, the two ends of which are turned round in the sago and
withdrawn with a sticky mass adherent; this is plunged in the gravy OF
pork and carried to the mouth. It is generally considered a delicacy.

Many varieties of the forest trees exude resins, which are collected
and used for torches and for repairing boats, as well as brought to
the bazaars, where the best kinds fetch very good prices. Sometimes
the resin is found in large masses on the ground where it has dripped
from the trees.

A curious and valuable natural product is the bezoar stone. These
stones are found in the gall-bladder and intestines of the
long-tailed monkey SEMNOPITHECUS (most frequently of S. HOSEI and
S. RUBICUNDUS). They are formed of concentric layers of a hard,
brittle, olive-green substance, very bitter to the taste. A soft brown
variety is found in the porcupine. Both kinds are highly valued by
the Chinese as medicine. The monkeys and porcupines are hunted for
the sake of these stones. A similar substance, also highly valued as
a medicine by the Chinese, is sometimes found as an accretion formed
about the end of a dart which has been broken off in the flesh of
S. HOSEI and has remained there for some long period.

The most important of the natural products gathered by the people
are the edible nests of three species of swift: COLLOCALIA FUCIPHAGA,
whose nest is white; C. LOWII, whose nest is blackish; and C. LINCHII,
whose nest contains straw and moss as well as gelatine. All three
kinds are collected, but those of the first kind are much more valuable
than the others. The nest, which is shaped like that of our swallow,
consists wholly of a tough, gelatinous, translucent substance, which
exudes from the bill of the bird as it builds. We do not understand
the physiology of this process. The people generally believe that
the substance of the nest is dried seafoam which the birds bring from
the sea on returning from their annual migration.

The nests are built always on the roofs and walls of large caves:
the white nests in low-roofed caves, generally in sandstone rock; the
black in the immense lofty caves formed in the limestone rocks. The
latter are reached by means of tall scaffoldings of strong poles
of bamboo, often more than a hundred feet in height. The nests are
swept from the rock with a pole terminating in a small iron spatula,
and carrying near the extremity a wax candle; falling to the ground,
which is floored with guano several feet thick, they are gathered
up in baskets. The white nests are gathered three times in the year
at intervals of about a month, the black nests usually only twice;
as many as three tons of black nests are sometimes taken from one
big cave in the course of the annual gathering. Each cave, or, in
the case of large caves, each natural subdivision of it, is claimed
as the property of some individual, who holds it during his lifetime
and transmits it to his heirs. During the gathering of the nests of
a large cave, the people live in roofless huts built inside it. The
nests are sold to Chinese traders -- the black nests for about a
hundred dollars a hundredweight, and the white nests for as much as
thirty or forty shillings per pound.



CHAPTER 10

War

The Kayans are perhaps less aggressive than any other of the interior
peoples with the exception of the Punans. Nevertheless prowess in
war has made them respected or feared by all the peoples; and during
the last century they established themselves in the middle parts of
the basins of all the great rivers, driving out many of the Klemantan
communities, partly by actual warfare, partly by the equally effective
method of appropriating to their own use the tracts of jungle most
suitable for the cultivation of PADI.

The fighting quality of the individual Kayan, the loyalty and obedience
of each household to its chief, the custom of congregating several long
houses to form a populous village upon some spot carefully chosen for
its tactical advantages (generally a peninsula formed by a deep bend
of the river), and the strong cohesion between the Kayans of different
and even widely separated villages, -- all these factors combine to
render the Kayans comparatively secure and their villages immune from
attack. But though a Kayan village is seldom attacked, and though
the Kayans do not wantonly engage in bloodshed, yet they will always
stoutly assert their rights, and will not allow any injury done to any
member of the tribe to go unavenged. The avenging of injuries and the
necessity of possessing heads for use in the funeral rites are for them
the principal grounds of warfare; and these are generally combined,
the avenging of injuries being generally postponed, sometimes for
many years, until the need for new heads arises. Though an old dried
head will serve all the purposes of the rites performed to terminate a
period of mourning, yet it is felt that a fresh head (or heads) is more
desirable, especially in the case of mourning for an important chief.

When an old head is used in these rites, it is customary to borrow
it from another house or village, and it is brought to the house by
a party of warriors in the full panoply of war, who behave both on
setting out and returning as though actually on the war-path.

It may be said generally that Kayans seldom or never wage war on
Kayans, and seldom attack others merely to secure heads or in sheer
vainglory, as the Ibans not infrequently do. Nor do they attack others
merely in order to sustain their prestige, as is sometimes done by
the Kenyahs, who in this respect carry to an extreme the principle
that attack is the most effective mode of defence.

War is generally undertaken by the Kayans very deliberately, after much
preparation and in large well-organised parties, ranging in numbers
from fifty to a thousand or more warriors, made up in many cases from
several neighbouring villages, and under the supreme command of one
chief of acknowledged eminence.

The weapons and war-dress are similar among all the peoples. The
principal weapon is the sword known as PARANG ILANG, or MALAT, a heavy
blade (Pl. 91) of steel mounted in a handle of horn or hardwood. The
blade, about twenty-two inches in length, has the cutting edge slightly
bowed and the blunt back edge slightly hollowed. The edges diverge
slightly from the handle up to a point about five inches from the tip,
where the blade attains its maximum width of nearly two inches. At this
point the back edge bends sharply forward to meet the cutting edge at
the tip. A very peculiar feature of the blade is that it is slightly
hollowed on the inner surface (I.E. the thumb side or left side in the
case of the PARANG, of a right-handed man, the right side in case of
one made for a left-handed man), and is convex in transverse section
to a corresponding degree on the other surface. This peculiar shape
of the blade is said to render the PARANG, more efficient in sinking
into or through either limbs or wood, and is more easily withdrawn
after a successful blow. This weapon is carried in a wooden sheath
suspended by a plaited waist-strap, and is the constant companion
of every man; for it is used not only in warfare, but also for a
variety of purposes, such as the hewing down of jungle undergrowth,
cutting rattans and bamboos, the rough shaping of wooden implements.

The weapon second in importance is the spear (Pl. 92). It consists of
a flat steel blade, about one foot in length, of which the widest part
(between one and two inches) is about four inches from the tip. The
tip and lateral edges of the blade are sharp, and its haft is lashed
with strips of rattan to the end of a wooden shaft. The extremity
of the haft is bent outwards from the shaft, to prevent its being
dragged off from the latter. The shaft is of tough wood and about
seven feet in length; its butt end is usually shod with iron. The
spear is used not only for thrusting, but also as a javelin and as a
parrying stick for warding off the spears hurled by the foe. It is
always carried in the boat when travelling on the river, or in the
hand during excursions in the jungle.

The blow-pipe, which projects a poisoned dart, is used by many of
the Kayans in hunting, but is hardly regarded as a weapon for serious
use in warfare.

Beside the principal spear, two or three short spears or javelins,
sometimes merely pointed bars of hardwood, are usually carried in
the left hand when an attack is being made.

Beside the sword and the spears the only weapons commonly used are
heavy bars of ironwood, sharpened at both ends and flung so as to
twirl rapidly in the air. They are chiefly used in defending houses
from attack, a store of them being kept in the house. For the defence
of a house against an expected attack, short sharp stakes of split
bamboo are thrust slantingly into the ground, so as to present the
fire-hardened tip towards the feet of the oncoming foe.

The interior peoples have long possessed a certain number of
European-made muskets (mostly flint-locks) and small Bruni-made brass
cannon, obtained from the Malay and Chinese traders. The latter were
chiefly valued for the defence of the house, but were sometimes mounted
in the bows of the war-boats. The difficulty of obtaining supplies of
gunpowder has always restricted greatly the use of firearms, and in
recent years the European governments have strictly limited the sale
of gunpowder and firearms; and even at the present day any war-party
commissioned by one of the governments to execute any police measure,
such as apprehending, or burning the house of, people who have wantonly
killed others, has to rely in the main on its native weapons.

The equipment of the fighting-man consists, in addition to his weapons,
of a war-cap and war-coat and shield (Pl. 93 and Fig. 26). The former
is a round closely-fitting cap woven of stout rattans split in halves
longitudinally. It affords good protection to the skull against the
stroke of the sword. It is adorned with two of the long black-and-white
barred feathers of the hornbill's tail in the case of, any man who
has earned this distinction by taking part in successful expeditions.

The war-coat is made of the skin of the goat, the bear, or (in case
of distinguished chiefs) of the tiger-cat. The whole of the skin in
one piece is used, except that the skin of the belly and of the lower
parts of the forelimbs are cut away. A hole for the warrior's head is
made in the mid-dorsal line a little behind the skin of the head, which
is flattened out and hangs over the chest, descending to the level of
the navel; while the skin of the back, flanks, and hind limbs in one
large flap, covers the back and hind parts of the warrior as far as
the bend of the knees. A large pearly shell usually adorns the lower
end of the anterior flap. The warrior's arms are thus left free, but
unprotected. In the finest coats there is a patch of brightly coloured
beadwork at the nape of the neck, and the back-flap is adorned with
rows of loosely dangling hornbills' feathers; but these again are
considered appropriate only to the coats of warriors of proved valour.

The Kayan shield is an oblong plate cut from a single piece of soft
wood. Its ends are pointed more or less acutely; the length between
the points is about four feet. The inner surface forms a flat hollow;
the outer is formed by two flat surfaces meeting in a flat obtuse
angle or ridge extending from point to point. The grain of the wood
runs longitudinally, and a downward falling PARANG is liable to split
the wood and become wedged fast in it. In order to prevent the shield
becoming divided in this way, and to hold fast the blade of the sword,
it is bound across with several stout strips of rattan which are laced
closely to the wood with finer strips. The handle, carved out of the
same solid block of wood as the body of the shield, is in the middle of
the concave surface; it is a simple vertical bar for the grasp of the
left hand. The Kayan shield is commonly stained red with iron oxide,
and touched up with black pigment, but not otherwise decorated.

Wooden shields of this kind are used by almost all the tribes, but
some of them decorate their shields elaborately. The two surfaces
of almost all Kenyah shields (Fig. 27) are covered with elaborate
designs picked out in colours, chiefly red and black. The designs
are sketched out on the wood with the point of a knife, and the
pigment is applied with the finger and a chisel-edged stick. The
principal feature of the designs on the outer surface is in all
cases a large conventionalised outline of a face with large eyes,
indicated by concentric circles in red and black, and a double row
of teeth with two pairs of canines projecting like huge tusks. This
face seems to be human, for, although in some shields there is nothing
to indicate this interpretation, in others the large face surmounts
the highly conventionalised outline of a diminutive human body, the
limbs of which are distorted and woven into a more or less intricate
design. Each extremity of the outer surface is covered by a similarly
conventionalised face-pattern on a smaller scale. On the inner side
each longitudinal half is covered with an elaborate scroll-pattern,
generally symmetrical in the two halves; the centre of this pattern
is generally a human figure more or less easily recognisable; the
two halves sometimes bear male and female figures respectively.

The shields most prized by the Kenyahs are further decorated with
tufts of human hair taken from the heads of slain enemies. It is put
on in many rows which roughly frame the large face with locks three
or four inches in length on scalp, cheeks, chin, and upper lip; and
the smaller faces at the ends are similarly surrounded with shorter
hair. The hair is attached by forcing the ends of the tufts into
narrow slits in the soft wood and securing it with fresh resin.

The Klemantan shields are, in the main, variations on the Kenyah
patterns. The Murut shields closely resemble those of the Kayans,
though the Dusuns, who have the domesticated buffalo, use a shield of
buffalo-hide attached to the forearm by a strap -- a feature unknown
in all the other types, which are borne by the handle only. The Sea
Dayaks nowadays make a greater variety of shields, copying those of
the other tribes with variations of their own. The shield originally
used by them before coming into contact with many other tribes,
but now discarded, was made of strips of bamboo plaited together and
stiffened with a longitudinal strip of wood (Fig. 28). It was of two
shapes, both oblong, one with rounded, the other with pointed ends.

The Land Dayaks still use a shield of tough bark (Fig. 29), and it is
not improbable that these were used by other tribes at no distant date.

Every Kayan household possesses, beside the many smaller boats, one or
more boats especially designed for use in war. A typical war-boat is
about 100 feet in length, from six to seven feet wide in its middle
part, and tapers to a width of about three and a half feet at bow
and stern. In some cases the length of the war-boat, which is always
made from a single log, is as much as 145 feet in length (Pl. 96),
but so large a boat is unwieldy in use, and its construction costs an
excessive amount of labour. The ordinary war-boat carries from sixty
to seventy men seated two abreast on the cross-benches. It is steered
by the paddles of the two bow-men and the four next the stern. One
of these war-boats, manned by sixty or seventy paddlers, can maintain
a pace about equal to that of our University racing eights.[57]

War is only undertaken after formal consultation and many discussions
between the chief or chiefs and all the leading men. If the village
primarily concerned does not feel itself strong enough to achieve its
ends, it will seek the help of some neighbouring village, usually,
but not always one of its own tribe. The discussion may be renewed
day after day for some little time, before the decision to fight is
taken and the time for the expedition is fixed.

The next step is to seek favourable omens, and two men are told off for
this work. They repair to some spot in the jungle, or more commonly
on the bank of the river, where they build a small hut; they adorn
it by fraying the poles of its framework, and so secure themselves
against interruptions by passing acquaintances. The sight or sound
of certain birds and beasts is favourable, of others unfavourable;
but the favourable creatures must be observed in a certain order,
if the omens are to be entirely satisfactory. If very bad omens are
observed, the men return home to report the fact, and will make another
attempt after a few days. If the omens are of mixed character, they
will persist for some time, hoping to get a sufficient number of good
omens to counteract or nullify the bad. When seeking for their place
of observation, their choice is determined by seeing a spider-hunter
(ARACHNOTHERA) flying across the river, chirping as it flies. When this
is seen they stop the boat, calling out to the bird, "O friend ISIT,
protect us and give us success." One of the men lands on the bank,
hews out a pole about eight feet long, cuts upon it bunches of shavings
without detaching (Pl. 97) them from the pole, and thrusts one end of
it into the ground so that it remains sloping towards the abode of the
foe. While this is being done on the bank, fire of some sort (if only
a cigarette) is lighted in the boat, and the position is explained
more fully to the bird, but without any mention of the name of the
enemy. The observers then erect a hut near the omen-pole for their
shelter, and pass the night there before looking out for the omen-bird
next desired. This is the trogan (HARPACTES DUVAUCELII), which has
a peculiar soft trilling note and a brilliant red chest. When this
bird appears, it is addressed in the same way as the spider-hunter;
and this second step of the process is also marked by a feathered stick
thrust into the ground before the hut. Then they spend another night in
the hut hoping for significant dreams. To dream of abundance of fruit
(which symbolises heads) is favourable; any dream of a disagreeable
or fearful situation is unfavourable. After a favourable dream comes
the most important stage of the business, the observation of the
hawks. They look for LAKI NEHO from the door of their hut about nine
o'clock in the morning. As soon as a hawk is seen, they light a fire
and call on him to go to the left, waving a feathered stick in that
direction, and, shouting at the top of his voice, one of them pours
out a torrent of words addressed to the hawk. If he goes out of sight
towards the right, they console themselves by remarking that he is one
of low degree, and they sit down to wait for another. If two hawks are
seen to fight in the air, that foretells much bloodshed. They are not
satisfied until they see a hawk sail far away out of sight towards
the left. Then a break is made; after which they observe the hawks
again, until they see one sail out of sight towards the right. If
all this is accomplished without the intervention of unfavourable
omens, they return home to report progress; but immediately return
to the hut and remain there. Then for one, two, or even three days,
all the men of the house stay at home quietly, busying themselves in
preparing boats and weapons. The chief, or some deputy, then performs
the rites before the altar-post of the war-god that stands before
the house in the way described in Chap. XV. The omens given by the
hawks on this occasion are guarantees for the safety of the house
and those left in it, and against accidents and sickness incidental
to the journey; they have no reference to the actual fighting.[58]
All the men of the war-party then proceed in their war-boats to the
spot where the war-omens have been observed, and camp round about
it in roughly built huts. Here they will remain at least two days,
establishing their connection with the favourable omen-birds. From
this encampment they may not return to the house, and, if they are
expecting a party of allies, they may await them here. By this time
the war-fever is raging among them, and rumours of the preparations
of the enemy are circulating. Spies or scouts may be sent out to
seek information about the enemy; but usually such information is
sought from the liver of a pig with the customary ceremony. A sharp
ridge on the liver dividing their own region from that of the enemy
is unfavourable, a low soft ridge is favourable.

From the moment of leaving the village the men of the war-party must
observe many tabus until their return home. They may not eat the head
of a fish; they must use only their home-made earthen pots; fire must
be made only by friction (see Pl. 89); they must not smoke; boys may
not lie down, but must sleep sitting. The people who remain at home
are not expected to observe these tabus; they may go to the farms, but
must keep quiet, and undertake nothing outside the ordinary routine.

If the object of the attack is a village in their own river, the
expedition paddles steadily day after day until it reaches the mouth
of some small stream at a distance of some miles from the enemy's
village. Forcing their boats some two or three miles up this stream
they make a camp. Here two solid platforms are built about twenty feet
apart, and a large beam is laid from one to the other. The chiefs
and principal men take their seats on the platforms, and then every
man of the party in turn approaches this beam, the fighting leader,
who is usually not one of the chiefs, coming first. If he is willing
to go through with the business, I.E. to take part in the attack, he
slashes a chip from the beam with his PARANG and passes under it. On
the far side of the beam stands a chief holding a large frond of fern,
and, as each man passes under, he gives him a bit of the leaf, while
an assistant cuts a notch on a tally-stick for each volunteer. If
for any reason any man is reluctant to go farther, he states his
excuse, perhaps a bad dream or illness, or sore feet, and returns
to the boats, amid the jeers of those who have passed the ordeal,
to form one of a party to be left in charge of the camp and boats.

Next, all the left-handed men are sorted out to form a party whose
special duty is to ambush the enemy, if possible, at some favourable
spot. These are known as the hornets (SINGAT). If any swampy ground
or other obstruction intervenes between their camp and the enemy's
village, a path is made through or over it to facilitate retreat
to the boats. A password is agreed upon, which serves as a means
of making members of the party known to one another upon any chance
meeting in the dark.

Scouts are sent out at dusk and, if their reports are favourable, the
attack is made just before dawn. About half the warriors are provided
with large bundles of dry shavings, and some will carry torches. When
the attacking party has quietly surrounded the house or houses, the
bundles of shavings are ignited, and their bearers run in and throw
them under the house among the timbers on which it is supported. Then
ensues a scene of wild confusion. The calm stillness of the tropical
dawn is broken by the deep war-chorus of the attacking party, by the
shouts and screams of the people of the house suddenly roused from
sleep, by the cries and squeals of the frightened animals beneath the
house, and the beating of the alarm signal on the TAWAK. If the house
is ignited, the encircling assailants strive to intercept the fleeing
inhabitants. These, if the flames do not drive them out before they
have time to take any concerted measures, will hurl their javelins
and discharge their firearms (if they have any) at their assailants;
then they will descend, bringing the women and children with them, and
make a desperate attempt to cut their way through and escape to the
jungle or, sometimes, to their boats. Kayans conducting a successful
attack of this kind will make as many prisoners as possible, and will
as a rule kill only those men who make desperate resistance, though
occasionally others, even women and children, may be wantonly killed
in the excitement of the moment. It is not unusual in the case of an
able-bodied man who has surrendered, but shown signs of attempting to
escape or of renewing his resistance, to deal him a heavy blow on the
knee-cap, and so render him lame for some time. It usually happens
that the greater part of the fugitives escape into the jungle; and
they are not pursued far, if the victors have secured a few heads and
a few prisoners. The head is hacked off at once from the body of any
one of the foe who falls in the fight; the trunk is left lying where
it fell. If any of the assailants are killed in the course of the fray,
their heads are not taken by their friends, and their corpses are left
upon the field covered with boughs, or at most, in the case of chiefs,
are dragged into the jungle and covered up with boughs and twigs, in
order to prevent their heads being taken by the enemy. If any of the
enemy remain so badly wounded that they are not likely to recover,
their heads are taken; and if no other heads have been secured,
the head of one of the more seriously wounded captives is taken,
or of one who is deformed or incapacitated in any way. If a captive
dies of his wounds his head is taken; but it is a rare exception for
Kayans to kill any of their captives after the short excitement of
the battle is over. The attacking party, even though it has gained a
decisive victory, usually returns with all speed, but in good order,
to its boats, carrying with it through the jungle all the loot that
is not too cumbersome for rapid portage, especially old beads, gongs,
and brass-ware; for they are always in danger of being cut off by
a party of their enemies, rallied and reinforced by parties from
neighbouring friendly villages. Still more are they liable to be
pursued and cut off, if the attack on the village has failed through
the defenders having been warned; for an attack upon a strong house or
village has little chance of success if the defenders are prepared for
and expecting it. The pursuit of the retreating party may be kept up
throughout one or two days, and, if the pursuers come up with them,
a brisk and bloody battle is the natural outcome; and it is under
these circumstances that the most severe fighting takes place. But
here again it is seldom that any large proportion of either party is
slain; for the dense jungle everywhere offers abundant opportunities
of concealment to those who condescend to seek its shelter, and there
are few, even among the Kayans and Kenyahs, who will fight to the
bitter end, if the alternative of flight is open to them.

A successful war-party returning home makes no secret of its
success. The boats are decorated with palm leaves (DAUN ISANG),
and a triumphal chorus is raised from time to time, especially on
passing villages. As the villagers come out to gaze on them, those who
have taken heads stand up in the boats. The heads, slightly roasted,
are wrapped up in palm leaves and placed in baskets in the stern of
the boat. If the return home involves a journey of several days,
the victors will, if possible, pass the nights in the houses of
friendly villages, where they are made much of, especially those
who have taken heads; and on these occasions the glamour of victory
is apt to turn the heads of some of the women and to break down the
reserve that modesty normally imposes upon them.

On approaching their own village, whither the rumour of their
success usually precedes them, the war-party is received with loud
acclamations, the people coming down to the riverside to receive
them. Before they ascend to the house, the heads have to be safely
lodged in a small hut specially built for their reception; and the
young boys are brought down to go through their first initiation in
the arts of war. Each child is made to hold a sword and, with the
assistance of some aged warrior, to strike a blow at one of the newly
captured heads. The older boys, some nine or ten years of age, who
are ripe for their second participation in mock warfare, also strike
at a head in a similar way, but engage also in mimic battles with one
another, using wooden swords and spears, and, curiously enough, small
roughly made bows and arrows.[59] It is customary for the victorious
warriors to spend the first night after their return encamped before
the house. A strip of green DAUN ISANG is tied about the left wrist
of each man who has taken part in the expedition, and also of each of
the young boys. Those who have taken heads adorn also their war-caps
with the same leaf and with feathered sticks. On the following day
a tall post of bamboo (BALAWING) is erected near the figure of the
war-god. It is covered with frayed palm leaves (DAUN ISANG), and from
its tip a single head, also wrapped in leaves, is suspended by a long
cord (Pl. 66). Before the altar-post of the war-god several shorter
thicker posts are erected, and to each of these two or three small
pieces of human flesh, brought home from the corpses of the slain
enemies for this purpose, are fastened with skewers. These pieces of
flesh seem to be thank-offerings to the hawks to whom the success is
largely attributed. These bits of flesh are dried over a fire at the
first opportunity on the return journey, in order to preserve them.[60]

As soon as the news of the taking of heads reaches the house, the
people go out of mourning, I.E. they shave the parts of the scalp
surrounding the crown and pull out eyebrows and eyelashes (which have
been allowed to grow during mourning); they put off their bark-cloth
garments and resume their cotton-cloths and ornaments.

If, as is usually the case on the return of a war-party, mourning for
a chief is to be terminated, one of the heads is carried down river
to his tomb, followed by most of the men, while the women wail in
the house. The head is first brought before the house, but not into
it. An old man shoots a dart into the air in the direction of the
enemy, and then, pattering out a long formula in the usual way, he
slaughters a fowl and puts a part of the carcase upon a short stick
thrust into the earth. The men of the party then march past, each
touching the carcase with his knee, and saying as he does so, "Cast
out sickness, make me strong and healthy, exalt me above my enemies,
etc. etc." Beside the tomb a tall pole is set up, and the head dressed
in leaves is suspended by a cord from its upper end. A number of pigs
will already have been slain in preparation for the feast, and their
lower jaws are hung about the tomb on poles. The deep war-chorus is
shouted by the party as it travels to and from the tomb. In returning
the whole party bathes in the river, and while they are in the water
an old man waves over them some of the ISANG leaves with which the
head has been decorated, wishing them health and long life.

A few days (not less than four) after the return of the war-party,
the heads are brought into the house with much rejoicing and
ceremony. Every family kills a pig and roasts its flesh,[61] brings
out stores of rice-spirit, and prepares cakes of rice-flour. The pigs'
livers are examined, and their blood is smeared upon the altar-post
of the war-god with a sort of brush (PLA) made by fraying the end of
a stick in a more than usually elaborate manner. Each head, adorned
with a large bunch of DAUN ISANG, is carried by an elderly man or
woman into the house, followed by all the people of the house -- men,
women, and children -- in long procession. The procession marches
up and down the whole length of the gallery many times, the people
shouting, singing, stamping, and pounding on the floor with PADI
pestles, or playing the KELURI. This is followed by a general feast
and drinking bout, each family preparing its feast in its own chamber,
and entertaining friends and neighbours who come to take part in the
general rejoicing. In the course of the feasting the women usually
take temporary possession of the heads, and perform with them a wild,
uncouth dance, waving the heads to and fro, and chanting in imitation
of the men's war-song (Pl. 102). The procession may be resumed at
intervals until the heads are finally suspended beside the old ones
over the principal hearth of the gallery. The heads have usually
been prepared by removal of the brain through the great foramen,
by drying over a fire, and by lashing on the lower jaw with strips of
rattan. The suspension of the head is effected by piercing a round hole
in the crown, and passing through it from below, by way of the great
foramen, a rattan knotted at the end. The free end of the rattan is
passed through and tied in a hole in the lower edge of a long beam
suspended parallel to the length of the gallery from the beams of
the roof (Pl. 68). The Kenyahs suspend the heads in the same way as
the Kayans, but most of the Klemantans and Ibans use in place of the
long beam a strong basket-work in the shape of a cone, the apex being
attached to the roof beams, and the heads tied in two or three tiers
in the wall of the cone. In either case the heads hang some five or
six feet above the floor, where they are out of reach of the dogs.


Defence

Since every Bornean long-house is, or until recently was, liable
at almost any time to a night attack of the kind described above,
the situation of the house is chosen with an eye to defence. The site
chosen is in nearly all cases on the bank of a river or stream large
enough for the navigation of small boats; a high and steep river-bank
is commonly preferred; and spits of land between two converging streams
or peninsulas formed by sharp bends of the rivers are favoured spots.

Beside the natural situation, the prime defence of the house is its
elevation some 10 to 30 feet above the level of the ground, joined
with the difficulty of access to the house by means of narrow ladders
easily drawn up or thrown down. This elevation of the house serves
also to secure its contents against sudden risings of the river,
and also against the invasion of evil odours from the refuse which
accumulates below it; but its primary purpose is undoubtedly defence
against human enemies. The interval between the low outer wall of the
gallery and the lower edge of the roof is the only aperture through
which missiles can be hurled into the house, and this is so narrow
as to render the entry of any missiles well-nigh impossible.

When a household gets wind of an intended attack, they generally put
the house into a state of defence by erecting a fence of vertical
stakes around it, some three yards outside the posts on which it is
supported and some six to eight feet in height. This fence is rendered
unclimbable by a frieze consisting of a multitude of slips of bamboo;
each of these is sharpened at both ends, bent upon itself, and thrust
between the poles of the palisade so that its sharp points (Pl. 100)
are directed outwards. This dense jungle of loosely attached spikes
constitutes an obstacle not easily overcome by the enemy; for the
loosely fitting bamboo slips can neither be hacked away nor removed
individually without considerable expenditure of time, during which
the attackers are exposed to a shower of missiles from the house. A
double ladder in the form of a stile is placed across the fence
to permit the passage of the people of the house. If there is any
definite pathway leading to the house, a log is sometimes suspended
above it by a rattan passing over a branch of a tree and carried to
the house. This can be allowed to fall upon the approaching enemy by
severing the rattan where it is tied within the house (Klemantan).

A further precaution is to stick into the ground round about the house
a large number of slips of bamboo. Each slip is some six inches in
length, and its sharp, fire-hardened point projects upwards and a
little outwards.

If the attacking party is likely to approach by the river, a trap
may be arranged at some point where, by reason of rapids or rocks,
the boats are likely to be delayed. Here a large tree overhanging
the river is chosen for the trap. Stout rattans are made fast to its
branches, brought over the branches of a neighbouring tree, and made
fast in some spot within reach of a hidden watcher. The stem of the
overhanging tree is then cut almost through, so that a few blows of
a sword, severing the supporting rattans, may cause the tree to fall
upon the passing boat.

When a hostile war-party enters a section of a river in which there
is a number of villages of one tribe or of friendly tribes, its
approach may be signalled throughout the district by the beating
of the TAWAK. The same peculiar rhythm is used for this purpose by
all the tribes, though it probably has been copied from the Kayans
by all the others. It consists in a rapid series of strokes of
increasing rate upon the boss, followed by one long deep note, and
two shorter ones struck upon the body and once repeated. Whenever
this war-alarm is heard in a village, it is repeated, and so passed
on from village to village. The people working in the farms or in the
jungle, or travelling on the river, return at once to their villages on
hearing the alarm, and the houses are prepared for defence. When the
news of the approach of a hostile party has been spread in this way
throughout the river, it has little chance of successfully attacking
a house or village, and it will, unless very numerous, content itself
with attempting to cut off some of the people returning home from
the farms. If the invading party is very strong, it may surround a
house whose defenders have been warned of their coming, and attempt
to starve them into submission. In the old days it was not uncommon
for a strong party of Kayans to descend upon a settlement of the more
peaceable coastwise people, and to extort from them a large payment of
brass-ware as the price of their safety. If the unfortunate household
submitted to this extortion, the Kayans would keep faith with them,
and would ratify a treaty of peace by making the headman of the
village blood-brother of their chief.

Some features of the tactics adopted by the Kayans are worthy of
more detailed description. If a strong party determines to attack a
house in face of an alert defence, they may attempt to storm it in
broad daylight by forming several compact bodies of about twenty-five
men. Each body protects itself with a roof of shields held closely
together, and the several parties move quickly in upon the house
simultaneously from different points, and attempt to carry it by
assault. The defenders of the house would attempt to repel such an
attack by hurling heavy bars of iron-wood, sharpened at both ends, in
such a way that the bar twirls in the air as it hurtles through it;
and this is one of the few occasions on which the blow-pipe is used
as a weapon of defence.

A village that has been warned of the approach of the foe may send out
a party to attempt to ambush the attackers at some difficult passage of
the river or the jungle. Scouts are sent out to locate the enemy. Some
climb to the tops of tall trees to look for the smoke of the enemy's
fires. Having located the enemy, the scouts approach so closely as to
be able to count their numbers and observe all their movements; and,
keeping in touch with the party, they send messages to their chief. If
the defenders succeed in ambushing the attackers and in killing
several of them, the latter usually withdraw discouraged, and may for
the time give up the attempt. If the defending party should come upon
the enemy struggling against a rapid, and especially if the enemy is
in difficulties through the upsetting of some of their boats, or in
any other way, they may fall upon them in the open bed of the river,
and then ensues the comparatively rare event, a stand-up fight in the
open. This resolves itself in the main into hand-to-hand duels between
pairs of combatants, as in the heroic age. The warriors select their
opponents and approach warily; they call upon one another by name,
hurling taunts and swaggering boastfully in the heroic style. Each
abuses the other's parents, and threatens to use his opponent's
skin as a war-coat, or his scrotum as a tobacco-pouch, to take
his head and to use his hair as an ornament for a PARANG-handle;
or doubt as to the opponent's sex may be insinuated. While this
exchange of compliments goes on, the warriors are manoeuvring for
favourable positions; each crouches, thrusting forward his left leg,
covering himself as completely as possible with his long shield,
and dodging to and fro continually. The short javelins and spears
are first hurled, and skilfully parried with spear and shield. When
a man has expended his stock of javelins and has hurled his spear,
he closes in with his PARANG. His enemy seeks to receive the blow of
the PARANG on his shield in such a way that the point, entering the
wood, may be held fast by it. Feinting and dodging are practised;
one man thrusts out his left leg to tempt the other to strike at it
and to expose his head in doing so. If one succeeds in catching his
enemy's PARANG in his shield, he throws down the shield and dashes
upon his now weaponless foe, who takes to his heels, throwing away
his shield and relying merely on his swiftness of foot. When one of
a pair of combatants is struck down, the other springs upon him and,
seizing the long hair of the scalp and yelling in triumph, severs the
neck with one or two blows of the PARANG. The warrior who has drawn
first blood of the slain foe claims the credit of having taken his
head. Such a free fight seldom lasts more than a few minutes. Unless
one party quite overwhelms the other in the first few minutes, both
draw off, and the fight is seldom renewed.

Since the establishment of the European governments in Borneo,
punitive expeditions have been necessary from time to time in order
to put a stop to wanton raiding and killing. In this respect the
Ibans and some of the Klemantans have been the chief offenders;
while the Kayans and Kenyahs have seldom given trouble, after once
placing themselves under the established governments. In the Baram
river, in which the Kayans form probably a larger proportion of the
population than in any other, no such expedition against them has
been necessary since they accepted the government of H.H. the Rajah
of Sarawak nearly twenty-five years ago.

In organising such an expedition, the European governments, especially
that of Sarawak, have usually relied in the main on the services
of loyal chiefs and their followers, acting under the control of a
European magistrate, and supported usually by a small body of native
police or soldiers armed with rifles. There is usually no difficulty
in securing the co-operation of any desired number of native allies or
volunteers; for in this way alone can the people now find a legitimate
outlet for their innate and traditional pugnacity. Sometimes the
people to be punished desert their village, hiding themselves in
the jungle; and in such cases the burning of their houses is usually
deemed sufficient punishment. In cases of more serious crime, such as
repeated wanton bloodshed and refusal to yield to the demands of the
government, it becomes necessary to apprehend the persons primarily
responsible, and, for this purpose, to pursue the fugitives. These
sometimes establish themselves on a hill-top surrounded by precipices
which can be scaled only by the aid of ladders, and there defy the
government forces until the hill is carried by assault, or by siege,
or the defenders are enticed to descend. One such hill in the basin
of the Rejang (Sarawak), Bukit Batu by name, consists of a mass of
porphyry some 1500 feet in height, and several miles in diameter,
with very precipitous sides. This has been used again and again as a
place of refuge by recalcitrant offenders, being so strong a natural
fortress that it has never been possible to carry it by assault. On
the last occasion on which Bukit Batu was used in this way, two Iban
chiefs established themselves on the hill and defied the government
of Sarawak for a period of four years, during which the hill became a
place of refuge for all evil-doers and outlaws among the Ibans of the
Rejang and neighbouring districts, who built their houses on ledges
of the mountain some four hundred feet above the level of the river.

The punitive expedition that we briefly describe in Chapter XXII. was
but a small affair compared with some, in which as many as 10,000
or 12,000 men have mustered under the government flag. So large a
number is seldom necessary or desired by the government; but when
contingents from all the loyal communities of a large district eagerly
offer their services, it is difficult to deny any of them permission
to take part. Kenyahs and Kayans will co-operate harmoniously, and
also Klemantans; but the former distrust the Sea Dayaks and will not
join forces with any large number of them.

The modes of warfare of the other tribes are similar in most respects
to that of the Kayans described above; but some peculiarities are
worthy of note.

Kenyah warfare is very similar to Kayan, save in so far as their
more impetuous temper renders their tactics more dashing. While the
Kayans endeavour to make as many captives as possible, the Kenyahs
attach little value to them. While Kayans never attack communities of
their own tribe, such "civil war" is not unknown among the Kenyahs,
whose tribal cohesion is less intimate in many respects. From these
two differences it results that the Kenyah war-parties are generally
smaller than those of the Kayans, more quick-moving, and more prone to
attack groups of the enemy encountered on farms or on the river. Like
the Ibans, the Kenyahs make peace more readily than the Kayans, who
nurse their grievances and seek redress after long intervals of time.

The Ibans conduct their warfare less systematically, and with far
less discipline than the Kayans and Kenyahs. An attack upon a house
or village by Bans is usually made in very large force; the party
is more of the nature of a rabble than of an army; each man acts
independently. They seek above all things to take heads, to which they
attach an extravagant value, unlike the Kayans and Kenyahs who seek
heads primarily for the service of their funeral rites; and they not
infrequently attack a house and kill a large number of its inmates in
a perfectly wanton manner, and for no other motive that the desire to
obtain heads. This passion for heads leads them sometimes into acts
of gross treachery and brutality. The Ibans being great wanderers,
small parties of them, engaged perhaps in working jungle produce, will
settle for some weeks in a household of Klemantans, and, after being
received hospitably, and sometimes even after contracting marriages
with members of the household, will seize an opportunity, when most
of the men of the house are from home, to take the heads of all the
men, women, and children who remain, and to flee with them to their
own distant homes.

So strong is this morbid desire of the Ibans to obtain human heads,
that a war-party will sometimes rob the tombs of the villages of
other tribes and, after smoking the stolen heads of the corpses,
will bring them home in triumph with glowing accounts of the stout
resistance offered by the victims. Their attitude in this matter is
well expressed by a saying current among them, namely, "Why should
we eat the hard caked rice from the edge of the pot when there's
plenty of soft rice in the centre?" The Iban women urge on the men
to the taking of heads; they make much of those who bring them home,
and sometimes a girl will taunt her suitor by saying that he has not
been brave enough to take a head; and in some cases of murder by Sea
Dayaks, the murderer has no doubt been egged on in this way.

Nevertheless, we repeat that there is no ground for the oft-reprinted
assertion that the taking of a head is a necessary prelude to
marriage.[62] Like other tribesmen Ibans do not bring home the heads
of their companions who have fallen in battle; but while men of other
tribes are content to drag the corpses of their fallen friends into
some obscure spot and to cover them with branches, Ibans frequently
cut off the heads and bury them at a distance from the scene of battle,
in order to prevent their being taken by the enemy.

The Ibans use a rather greater variety of weapons than the Kayans,
in that they have spears whose blades bear barbs which prevent the
withdrawal of the blade from the body of the enemy without great
violence.

The Klemantan tribes are on the whole far less warlike than Kayans,
Kenyahs, and Ibans. Their offensive warfare is usually on a small
scale, and is undertaken primarily for revenge. Their warlike ambition
is easily satisfied by the taking of a single head, or even by a
mere hostile demonstration against the enemy's house. Nevertheless,
like all the other tribes, except the Punans, the Klemantans need a
human head to terminate a period of mourning.

We venture to append to this chapter a few speculations on the
origin and history of head-hunting. From what we have said above it
is clear that the Ibans are the only tribe to which one can apply the
epithet head-hunters with the usual connotation of the word, namely,
that head-hunting is pursued as a form of sport. But although the Ibans
are the most inveterate head-hunters, it is probable that they adopted
the practice some few generations ago only (perhaps a century and a
half or even less) in imitation of Kayans or other tribes among whom
it had been established for a longer period. The rapid growth of the
practice among the Ibans was no doubt largely due to the influence
of the Malays, who had been taught by Arabs and others the arts of
piracy, and with whom the Ibans were associated in the piratical
enterprises that gave the waters around Borneo a sinister notoriety
during the eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth centuries. Until
the middle of the nineteenth century, the settlements of Ibans were
practically confined to the rivers of the southern part of Sarawak;
and there the Malays of Bruni and of other coast settlements enlisted
them as crews for their pirate ships. In these piratical expeditions
the Malays assigned the heads of their victims as the booty of their
Iban allies, while they kept for themselves the forms of property of
greater cash value. The Malays were thus interested in encouraging in
the Ibans the passion for head-hunting which, since the suppression of
piracy, has found vent in the irregular warfare and treacherous acts
described above. It was through their association with the Malays in
these piratical expeditions that the Ibans became known to Europeans
as the Sea Dayaks.

It seems not impossible that the practice of taking the heads of
fallen enemies arose by extension of the custom of taking the hair
for the ornamentation of the shield and sword-hilt. It seems possible
that human hair was first applied to shields in order to complete the
representation of a terrible human face, which, as we have seen, is
commonly painted on the shield, and which is said to be valued as an
aid to confusing and terrifying the foe. It is perhaps a difficulty
in the way of this view that the use of human hair to ornament
the shield is peculiar to the Kenyahs and some of the Klemantans
(the latter probably having imitated the former in this), and does
not occur among the Kayans. The Kenyahs themselves preserve the
tradition of the origin of the taking of heads; and the suggestion
is further borne out by the legend of TOKONG, which is widely known,
but is probably of Kenyah origin (see Chapter XVII.), according to
which the frog admonished a great Kenyah chief that he should cease to
take only the hair of the fallen foe, but should take their heads also.

A second plausible view of the origin of head-taking is that it arose
out of the custom of slaying slaves on the death of a chief, in order
that they might accompany and serve him on his journey to the other
world. We have pointed out several reasons for believing that this
practice was formerly general, and that it has fallen into desuetude,
but is hardly yet quite extinct. It is obvious that since the soul
of the dead man is regarded as hovering in the neighbourhood of the
body for some little time after its death, it would be felt that the
despatch of a companion soul was not a matter of immediate urgency;
and considerations of economy might well lead the mourners to prefer
capturing and killing members of some hostile community to slaying one
or more of their slaves, highly valued and sometimes affectionately
regarded as they are. It would then be felt that the relatives of
the deceased should continue to display signs of mourning until they
should have discharged this last duty to their departed friend. The
next step would be to supplant the practice of capturing a member of a
hostile community, and bringing him home to be slain, by the simpler,
less troublesome, and more merciful one of slaying the enemy on the
field of combat and bringing home only his head. In this way we may,
with some plausibility, seek to account for the origin of the practice
of taking heads, and of the tradition that the taking of a head is
necessary for the termination of a period of mourning. This second
suggestion is strongly supported by the fact that Kayans, Kenyahs,
and Klemantans occasionally, on returning home from a successful raid,
will carry one of the newly taken heads to the tomb of the chief for
whom they are mourning, and will hang it upon, or deposit it within,
the tomb beside the coffin. The head used for this purpose is thickly
covered with leaves (DAUN ISANG) tied tightly about it. It is possible
that this thick covering was first applied in order to disguise the
fact that the head is that of an enemy, and that the sacrifice of the
life of a domestic slave, originally demanded by custom and piety,
has been avoided by this process of substitution.

We have suggested above two different origins of the custom of
taking the heads of enemies. These two possibilities are by no means
mutually exclusive, and we are inclined to think that both substitutive
processes may have co-operated in bringing about this custom.

It seems probable that the taking of heads was introduced to Borneo
by Kayans when they entered the island, probably some few centuries
ago, and that the Klemantans and other tribes, like the Ibans, have
adopted the custom from their example.

We will conclude this chapter by questioning yet another of the
stories, the frequent repetition of which has given the tribes of the
interior the reputation of being savages of the worst type, namely,
the story that it is the practice of Kayans to torture the captives
taken in battle. This evil repute is, we have no doubt, largely
due to the fact that very few Europeans have acquired any intimate
first-hand acquaintance with the Kayans or Kenyahs; and that too
often the stories told by Sea Dayaks have been uncritically accepted;
for the Sea Dayaks have been bitterly hostile to the Kayans ever since
the tribes have been in contact; and the Iban is a great romancer. It
will be found that many of the alleged instances of torture by Kayans
have been described by Sea Dayaks; and we think there is good reason
for hesitating to accept any of these. But we would point out that,
if some of these accounts have been founded on fact, the Sea Dayak
victims, or their companions, have in all probability provoked the
Kayans to severe, reprisals by their atrocious behaviour, and may be
fairly said to have deserved their fate.

It is true that Kayans have been guilty of leaving a slave or captive
bound upon a tomb until he has died from exposure to the sun. We know
also of one instance in which a Murut slave, having treacherously
murdered the only son of a great Kayan chief in the Baram, at the
instigation of Bruni Malays, was killed by a multitude of small stabs
by the infuriated Kayan women, on being brought captive to the house.

But such occurrences as these by no means justify the statement that it
is the practice of Kayans to torture their captives; and we have heard
of no well-attested instances that give any colour to it. As we have
said above, Kayans commonly treat their captives so kindly that they
soon become content to remain in the households of their captors. The
Kayan feeling about torture is well illustrated by the fact that the
Kayan village responsible for the exposure of the slave mentioned
above was looked at askance by other Kayans. The spot was regarded
with horror by them, and they regard as a consequence of this act the
failure of the line of the chief of that village to perpetuate itself.

We have to admit that some of the Klemantans cannot be so
whole-heartedly defended against the charge of torturing their
captives. But we believe that it is not regularly practised by any
Klemantan tribe, but rather only on occasions which in some way evoke
an exceptional degree of emotional excitement. Thus, in one instance
known to us, the Orang Bukit of the Bruni territory, having lost the
most highly respected of their chiefs, purchased a slave in Bruni to
serve as the funereal victim, and, having shut him in a wicker cage,
killed him with a multitude of stabs, some eight hundred persons
taking part in the act. But even this act was, it must be observed,
of the nature of a pious and religious rite rather than an act of
wanton cruelty.

We cannot leave this subject without this last word. If we are quite
frank, we shall have to admit that, even though the worst accounts of
Kayan cruelty were substantially true, such behaviour would not in the
least justify the belief that the Kayans are innately more cruel than
ourselves. If we are tempted to take this view, let us remember that,
after our own race had professed Christianity for many generations,
the authority of Church and State publicly decreed and systematically
inflicted in cold blood tortures far more hideous and atrocious than
any the Kayan imagination has ever conceived.



CHAPTER 11

Handicrafts

In any account of the arts and crafts of the Kayans, the working of
iron claims the first place by reason of its high importance to them
and of the skill and knowledge displayed by them in the difficult
operations by which they produce their fine swords. The origin of
their knowledge of iron and of the processes of smelting and forging
remains hidden in mystery; but there can be little doubt that the
Kayans were familiar with these processes before they entered Borneo,
and it is probable that the Kayans were the first ironworkers in
Borneo, and that from them the other tribes have learnt the craft
with various measures of success.[63] However this may be, the Kayans
remain the most skilful ironworkers of the country, rivalled only in
the production of serviceable sword-blades by the Kenyahs.

At the present day the Kayans, like all the other peoples, obtain
their iron in the form of bars of iron and steel imported from Europe
and distributed by the Chinese and Malay traders. But thirty years ago
nearly all the iron worked by the tribes of the interior was from ore
found in the river-beds, and possibly from masses of meteoric iron;
and even at the present day the native ore is still smelted in the
far interior, and swords made from it by the Kenyahs are still valued
above all others.

Smelting and forging demand a specialised skill which is attained
by relatively few. But in each Kayan village are to be found two or
three or more skilled smiths, who work up for a small fee the metal
brought them by their friends, the finishing touches being generally
given by the owner of the implement according to his own fancy.

The smelting is performed by mixing the ore with charcoal in
a clay crucible, which is embedded in a pile of charcoal. The
charcoal being ignited is blown to a white heat by the aid of four
piston-bellows. Each of the bellows consists of a wooden cylinder
(generally made from the stem of a wild sago palm) about four feet in
length and six inches in diameter, fixed vertically in a framework
carrying a platform, on which two men sit to work the pistons (see
Pl. 107). The lower end of each cylinder is embedded in clay, and
into it near its lower end is inserted a tube of bamboo, which, lying
horizontally on the ground, converges upon and joins with a similar
tube of a second cylinder. The common tube formed by this junction in
turn converges with the tube common to the other pair of cylinders,
and with it opens by a clay junction into a final common tube of clay,
which leads to the base of the fire. The piston consists of a stout
stick bearing at its lower end a bunch of feathers large enough to
fill the bore of the cylinder. When the piston is thrust downwards,
it drives the air before it to the furnace; as it is drawn upwards,
the feathers collapsing allow the entrance of air from above. The
upper extremity of each of the piston-rods is attached by a cord to
one end of a stout pliable stick, which is firmly fixed at its other
end in a horizontal position, the cord being of such a length that the
piston-head is supported by it near the upper end of the cylinder. Two
men squat upon the platform and each works one pair of the cylinders,
grasping a piston-rod in each hand, thrusting them down alternately,
and allowing the elastic reaction of the supporting rods above to
draw them up again. The crucible, having been brought to white heat
in the furnace, is allowed to cool, when a mass of metallic iron or
steel is found within it.

The forging of implements from the metal obtained is effected by the
aid of a charcoal furnace to which a blast is supplied by the bellows
described above, or sometimes by one consisting of two cylinders
only. Stone anvils and hammers were formerly used, and may still
be seen in use in the far interior (Fig. 31); but the Kayans make
iron hammers and an anvil consisting of a short thick bar of iron,
the lower end of which is fixed vertically in a large block of wood.

The peculiarly shaped and finely tempered sword-blade, MALAT, is
the highest product of the Kayan blacksmith. The smith begins his
operations on a bar of steel some eight inches in length. One end is
either grasped with pincers, or thrust firmly into a block of wood
that serves for a handle. The other end is heated in the furnace and
gradually beaten out until the peculiar shape of the blade is achieved,
with the characteristic hollow on the one side and convexity on the
other. If the blade is to be a simple and unadorned weapon, there
follow only the tempering, grinding, and polishing. But many blades
are ornamented with curled ridges projecting from the back edge. These
are cut and turned up with an iron chisel while the metal is hot and
before tempering.

Two methods of tempering are in use. One is to heat the blade in
the fire and to plunge it at a dull heat into water. The other is
to lay the cold blade upon a flat bar of red-hot iron. This has the
advantage that the degree of the effect upon the blade can be judged
from the change of its colour as it absorbs the heat. The Kayan smiths
are expert in judging by the colours of the surface the degree and
kind of temper produced. They aim at producing a very tough steel,
for the MALAT has to serve not only in battle, but also for hacking
a path through the jungle, and for many other purposes.

Many sword-blades are elaborately decorated with scroll designs along
the posterior border and inlaid with brass. The inlaid brass commonly
takes the form of a number of small discs let into the metal near the
thick edge; small holes are punched through the hot metal, and brass
wire is passed through each hole, cut off flush with the surface and
hammered flat. The designs are chased on the cold metal with a chisel
and hammer supplemented by a file. The polishing and sharpening are
done in several stages: the first stage usually by rubbing the blade
upon a block of sandstone; the second stage by the use of a hone of
finer grain; and the highest polish is attained by rubbing with a leaf
whose surface is hard and probably contains silicious particles. At
the present time imported files are much used.

Other implements fashioned by the smiths are the small knives,
spear-heads, hoes, small adzes, rods for boring the sumpitan, the
anvil, and the various hammers, and chisels, and rough files used by
the smiths.


Brass-work

Although brass-ware is so highly valued by all the peoples of the
interior, the only brazen articles made by them (with one exception
presently to be noticed) are the heavy ear-rings of the women. The
common form is a simple ring of solid metal interrupted at one point
by a gap about an eighth of an inch wide, through which is pulled the
thin band of skin formed by stretching the lobule of the ear. Other
rings form about one and a half turns of a corkscrew spiral. These
rings are cast in moulds of clay, or in some cases in moulds hollowed
in two blocks of stone which are nicely opposed.

The Malohs, a Klemantan sub-tribe in the upper basin of the Kapuas
river, are well known as brass-workers; their wares are bartered
throughout the country, and a few Maloh brass-workers may be found
temporarily settled in many of the larger villages of all tribes. They
make the brass corsets of the Iban women, tweezers for pulling out the
hair of the face, brass ear-rings, and a variety of small articles,
and they make use of the larger brass-ware of Malay and Chinese origin
as the source of their material.


Fire Piston

This very ingenious instrument for the making of fire is cast in
metal by the Ibans. (See Fig. 36 and Pl. 108.) It consists of a
hollow brass or leaden cylinder about five inches in length and one
inch in diameter, the bore being about one-quarter of an inch in
diameter and closed at one end. A wooden piston, which closely fits
the bore, bears a rounded knob; it is driven down the cylinder by a
sharp blow of the palm upon the knob and is quickly withdrawn. The
heat generated by the compression of the air ignites a bit of tinder
(made by scraping the fibrous surface of the leaf stem of the Arenga
palm) at the bottom of the cylinder. The cylinder is cast by pouring
the molten metal into a section of bamboo, while a polished iron rod
is held vertically in the centre to form the bore. When the cylinder
is cold the iron rod is extracted, and the outer surface is trimmed
and shaped with knife or file.


Boat-building

The Kayans make much use of boats, as described in Chapter VIII., and
are skilful boat-makers. The forest offers them an abundant variety
of timbers suitable for the different types of boat used by them.

The most ambitious efforts of this kind are devoted to the construction
of the great war-boats, fine specimens of which are as much as
100 feet in length, or even, in exceptional instances, nearly 150
feet. The foundation of every boat is a single piece of timber shaped
and hollowed by fire and adze. Several kinds of timber are used,
the best being the kinds known as AROH (SHOREA) and NGELAI (AFZELIA
PALAMBANICA). Sometimes a suitable stem is found floating down river
and brought to the bank before the house. But such good fortune is
exceptional, and commonly a tree is selected in the forest as near as
possible to the river bank. The tree is felled in the way described in
Chapter VI. (Pl. 55), its branches are hewed away, and the stem is cut
to the required length and roughly hewn into shape. About one-fourth
of the circumference of the stem is cut away along the whole length,
and from this side the stem is hollowed. When, by chopping out the
centre, the thickness of this shell has been reduced to a thickness of
some five inches, it is brought down to the river. This is effected
by laying through the jungle a track consisting of smooth poles laid
across the direction of progress; the hollowed stem is pulled endwise
over this track with the aid of rattans, perhaps a hundred or more men
combining their strength. If the stem proves too heavy to be moved
at any part of the journey by their direct pull and push, a rough
windlass is constructed by fixing the stem of a small tree across
two standing trees and winding the rattans upon this, the trimmed
branches of the tree serving as the arms of the windlass. The Kayans
are skilled in this kind of transport of heavy timber; for the building
of their houses and of the larger tombs involves similar difficulties,
though the timbers required for these purposes are not so huge as those
used for the war-boats. Arrived at the river bank, the hollowed stem
is launched upon the water and towed down stream to the village at a
time when the water is high. It is made fast to the bank before the
village at as high a point as the water will allow, so that when the
river subsides it is left high and dry. A leaf shelter is then built
over it to protect it and the workers from the sun. The shell is then
further hollowed, partly by firing it with shavings inside and out,
and by scraping away the charred surfaces. The inside is fired first;
then the hollow is filled with water, and the outside is fired.

When in this way the shell has been reduced to a thickness of a few
inches, it is opened out, while hot from firing and still filled
with water, by wedging stout sticks some six to seven feet in length
between the lateral walls, so that the hollow stem (which hitherto
has had the form of a hollow cylinder some three to four feet in
diameter, lacking along its whole length a strip about the fourth
of its circumference) becomes a shallow trough some six to seven
feet wide in the middle of its length. During the hollowing, small
buttresses are left along each side at intervals of about two feet to
form supports for benches. After the opening, the shell is left lying
covered with branches for some days, while the wood sets in its new
form. The outer surface is then shaved approximately to the required
degree, all irregularities are removed, and holes about half-an-inch
in diameter are bored through all parts of the shell at intervals of
some twenty inches. Wooden pegs are then hammered into these holes,
each peg bearing two marks or grooves at an interval equal to the
thickness of the shell desired at each part; the peg is driven in from
the outside until the outer groove is flush with the outer surface of
the shell, and the projecting part is cut away; the inner surface is
then further chipped and scraped in each area until it becomes level
with the inner groove on the peg. In this way the workers are enabled
to give to each part its appropriate thickness. The outer surface is
then finally smoothed to form about one-third of a cylinder, and the
foundation is complete. It only remains to lash the cross-benches to
their supports, to raise the sides by lashing on a gunwale, and to
fit in wedge-shaped blocks at bow and stern. The gunwale consists of
a tough plank some ten inches wide overlapping the outer edge of the
shell, and lashed firmly to it by rattan strips piercing both shell
and planks at intervals of about six inches. In some cases the gunwale
is further raised in its middle part by lashing on a second smaller
plank to the upper edge of the first. The block fitted in at the
prow presents to the water a flat surface inclined at a low angle;
and a similar block completes the shell at the stern. The prow is
often ornamented with the head of a crocodile or the conventional
dog's head carved in hard wood and painted in red and black.

The whole operation, like every other important undertaking, is
preceded by the finding of omens, and it is liable to be postponed
by the observation of ill omens, by bad dreams, or by any misfortune
such as a death in the house. In each house are certain men who are
specially skilled in boat-making, and by them the work is directed and
all the finer part of the work executed. In the case of a war-boat
which is to be the property of the household, these special workers
are paid a fee out of the store of valuables accumulated under the
care of the chief by way of fines and confiscations.

The smaller boats, ranging from a small canoe suitable for one
or two paddlers only, to one capable of carrying a score or more,
are generally private property. These, like the war-boats, are made
from a single stem. The larger ones are made in just the same way
as the war-boats. In the smaller ones the bow is shaped from the
solid block and is not opened out, as is the rest of the boat. The
craftsman who makes a boat for another is helped by his customer,
and is paid by him a fee in brass-ware or dollars, the usual fee
being a TAWAK varying in size according to the size of the boat.

If Kayans find themselves for any reason in immediate need of a
boat when none is at hand, they sometimes fashion one very rapidly
by stripping the bark from a big tree. The two ends of the sheet of
bark are folded and lashed with rattan to form bow and stern; the
middle part is wedged open with cross-pieces which serve as benches,
and the shell is strengthened with transverse ribs and longitudinal
strips. A serviceable boat capable of carrying several men and their
baggage may be completed in the course of two hours. Such a makeshift
boat is more commonly made by Sea Dayaks.

Of all the interior tribes the Kayans are probably the best
boat-makers; but most of them make their own boats in the same way as
the Kayans. There are, however, a few of the Klemantan sub-tribes who
never attempt to make anything more than a very rough small canoe
of soft wood, and who buy from others what boats they need. This
is a curious instance of the persistent lack of the tradition of a
specialised craft among communities that might have been expected to
acquire it easily from their neighbours.

For ordinary work a rough paddle made from iron-wood is generally used;
the blade and shaft are of one piece; the flat blade, nearly two feet
in length, is widest about six inches below its junction with the
shaft, and from this point tapers slightly to its square extremity;
the shaft is about three feet in length and carries, morticed to its
upper end, a cross-piece for the grip of the upper hand.

A few paddles, especially those made for women, are very finely
shaped and finished, and have their shafts ornamented with carving
of a variety of designs, generally one band of carving immediately
above the blade and a second below the cross-piece. Some of the
Klemantans excel the Kayans in this work, producing very beautiful
women's paddles, sometimes with designs of inlaid lead (Pl. 92).


House-building

A Kayan community seldom continues to inhabit the same spot for more
than about a dozen years; though in exceptional instances houses are
continuously inhabited for thirty or even forty years. House-building
is thus a craft of great importance, and the Kayans are seldom content
to build their houses in the comparatively flimsy style adopted
by the Ibans and some of the Klemantans, and even occasionally by
Kenyahs. The main features of the structure of a Kayan long-house
have been described in Chapter IV. Here it remains only to describe
some of the more peculiar and important processes of construction.

The great piles that support the house may be floated down river
from the old house to be used in the construction of the new;
[64] they are not dug from the ground, but are felled by cutting
close to the surface of the ground. The great planks of the floor,
the main cross-beams, and the wooden shingles of the roof, are also
commonly carried from the old house to the new. If a house has been
partially destroyed by fire, no part of the materials of the old
house is used in the construction of the new; for it is felt that
in some indefinable way the use of the old material would render the
new house very liable to the same fate, as though the new house would
be infected by the materials with the ill-luck attaching to the old
house.[65] In such cases, or upon migration to a different river,
the whole of the timbers for the house have to be procured from the
jungle, and shaped, and erected; and the process of construction is
extremely laborious. But once the timber has been brought together
upon the chosen site, the building goes on rapidly, and the whole of a
house some hundreds of yards in length may be substantially completed
within a fortnight. The main supports of the structure are four rows
of massive columns of iron-wood. Holes about four feet in depth are
dug for the reception of the butt ends of these. They are disposed
in the manner indicated in the diagrams (Figs. 37, 38, 39), so that
a single row supports the front of the house, another the back, and a
double row the middle.[66] The intervals between the columns of each
row are about twenty feet, or rather more. Each pile is erected by
raising the one end until the other slips into the hole. Rattans are
tied round it a little above its middle and passed over a tall tripod
of stout poles. A number of men haul on these while others shove up
the top end with their shoulders. The pile is thus suspended with its
butt end resting so lightly on the ground that it can easily be guided
into the hole prepared for its reception. Smaller accessory piles,
to serve as additional supports, are put under the main cross beams of
the floor when these have been laid. The columns of the double row in
the middle line are about six feet taller than those of the front and
back rows. For the support of the floor a massive squared transverse
tie is morticed through each set of four columns at a height of some
fifteen to twenty feet from the ground, and secured by a pin through
each extremity. A squared roof-plate, still more massive than the floor
ties, is then laid upon the crowns of the columns of the front row,
along its whole length, and a second one upon the back row. This is
dowelled upon the columns (I.E. the top of the column is cut to form a
pin which is let into the longitudinal beam); and the beams which make
up the roof-plate are spliced, generally in such a way that the top of
a column serves as the pin of the splice. Each of these heavy beams
is generally lifted into its place by tiers of men standing on poles
lashed at different heights across the columns, their efforts being
seconded by others pulling on rattans which run from the beam over
the topmost cross-pole. The framework of the roof is then completed
by laying stout roof-ties across the crowns of the double row of
columns of the middle line, and lashing their extremities to stout
purlins (longitudinal beams for the support of the rafters in the
middle of their length), and by laying the ridge-timber upon a line
of perpendicular struts. The ridge-timber and purlins, though less
heavy than the roof-plates, consist also of stout squared timbers,
spliced to form beams continuous throughout the whole length of the
house. The rafters are laid at an angle of about forty degrees and
at intervals of eighteen inches; they are lashed to the ridge-timber
and to the purlins, and lipped on to the roof-plates, beyond which
they project about four feet to form an cave. Strong flat strips or
laths are laid along the rafters parallel to the length of the house
at intervals of about sixteen inches. On these are laid the shingles
or slats of iron-wood in regular rows, in just the way in which roof
tiles are laid in this country. Each slat is a slab about 
1 x 30 x 12 inches, and is
lashed by a strip of rattan, which pierces its upper end, to one
of the laths. The floor is completed by laying longitudinal joists
of stout poles across the main floor-ties; the poles are notched to
grip the ties. Upon these joists, transversely to them, are laid a
number of flat strips which immediately support the floor planks;
these are kept in place by their own weight.

In a well-built house these planks are between thirty and forty feet
in length, or even more, two to three feet in breadth, and three to
four inches thick. They are made from tough strong timber, but usually
not from the iron-wood trees. They are moved from house to house,
and some of those in use are probably hundreds of years old. A single
tree is generally made to yield two such planks. After being felled
it is split into halves longitudinally in the following way. A deep
groove is cut along one side, and wedges of hard tough wood are driven
in with rough heavy mallets. Deep transverse grooves are then cut in
the rounded surface of each half at intervals of three or four feet;
and the intervening masses of wood are split off. In this way it is
whittled down until it is only some six inche's thick. The plank is
then trimmed down to the desired thickness by blows of the adze struck
across the direction of the grain. The two ends are generally left
untrimmed until the plank has been transported to the site of the
house and has lain there for some time. This prevents its splitting
during the journey to the house and the period of seasoning.

When the floor has been laid, it only remains to make the main
partition wall which separates the gallery from the rooms along
the whole length of the house, and the walls between the several
rooms. These walls are made only some eight or nine feet in height. The
wall of the gallery is made of vertical planks lashed to horizontal
rails whose extremities are let into the columns of the anterior
set of the double median row. The wall thus divides the house into a
narrower front part, the gallery, and a broader back part; the latter
is subdivided by the transverse walls into the series of rooms each
of which accommodates one family.

The work of construction is carried on by all the men of the house;
the women and children lend what aid they can in the way of fetching
and carrying, and in preparing rattans. The ownership of each section
is arranged beforehand; the section of the chief being generally in
the middle, and those of his near relatives on either side of it. Each
man pays special attention to the construction of his own section,
and carries out the lighter work of that part, such as laying the
shingles, with the help of his own household. If any widow is the head
of a household, her section is constructed by her male neighbours or
relatives without payment.

Before beginning the building of a new house favourable omens must
be obtained; and the Kayans would be much troubled if bad omens
were observed during the building, especially during the first few
days. At this time, therefore, children are told off to beat upon
gongs hung about the new site, and so, by scaring away the birds
and obscuring the sound of their cries, to prevent the appearance of
bad omens from their side. Bad omens combined with ill-luck, such as
death, bad dreams, or an attack by enemies during building (even if
this were successfully repelled), would lead to the desertion of a
partially built house and the choice of another site.

All the interior peoples construct their houses on principles
similar to those described above, but with considerable diversity in
detail. The greatest diversity of plan is exhibited by the houses
of Ibans. An Iban community seldom remains in the same house more
than three or four years; it is, no doubt, partly on this account
that their houses are built in a less solid style than those of most
other tribes. The timbers used are lighter; the house is not raised so
high above the ground, and the floor is usually made of split bamboo
in place of the heavy planks used by Kayans and others. The plan of
construction is less regular. The numerous slight supporting piles
pass through the floor of the gallery in all sorts of odd positions;
the only part that is kept clear of them being a narrow gangway that
runs from end to end of the house; it adjoins the private chambers,
and is about four feet in width; it is called TEMPUAN.

Some of the Klemantans make houses very inferior to those of the
Kayans in respect to size, solidity, and regularity of construction;
lashed bamboos largely replace the strongly morticed timber-work
of the better houses; but the worst houses of all are made by those
Punans who have recently adopted the agriculture and settled habits
of the other peoples.


Other Kinds of Wood-working

The building of houses and the shaping of boats are by far the
most important kinds of wood-working; but there are many small
articles of wood in the making of which much skill and ingenuity are
displayed. Among these the shields and parang-sheaths deserve special
mention. The former have been described in Chapter X.

The sword-sheath is made from two slips of hard wood, cut to fit
together exactly, leaving a space accurately shaped for the lodgment
of the sword-blade. The two slips are neatly lashed together with
rattan, and in many cases are elaborately carved with varieties of
a peculiar conventional design in relief (see vol. i., p. 240).

Dishes of iron-wood, now almost superseded by European earthenware,
were formerly in general use (Figs. 6 and 7). Their shapes are very
good; the dish is generally provided with one or two "ears" or flanges
for the grip of the hands, and these are cunningly decorated with
carved designs or inlaid pieces of shell or pottery. Some have a spout
opposite the single handle. The hollowing and general shaping of such
dishes is done with a small adze, and they are finished with the knife.


Basket-work, etc.

The weaving of baskets, mats, and caps is one of the most important
handicrafts of the Kayans. It is chiefly practised by the women,
though the men help in collecting and preparing the materials. The
material chiefly used is strips of rattan. A rattan about one-third of
an inch in diameter is split into five strips, and the inner surface
of each strip is smoothed with a knife; but the stems of several
other jungle-plants are also used.

The most important of the baskets (Pl. 43), are the following:
The large one used for carrying PADI from the farms to the house;
the small basket hung on the back by a pair of shoulderstraps, and
always carried by the men on going far from home; the fish-baskets;
large baskets provided with lids and kept in the rooms for storing
clothing and other personal valuables; the winnowing trays, and the
large rough basket used for carrying on the back water-vessels or
any other heavy objects (Fig. 41).

Of the mats (see Pl. 43), the principal are the mat worn round the
waist for sitting upon; the large mats spread for seating several
persons in the gallery or private chambers; those spread on the
floor for catching the winnowed rice, or on the platforms outside
the gallery for exposing and drying the PADI before pounding it;
the mat which every person spreads to sleep upon.

Most of these baskets and mats are made from narrow strips of rattan
varying from 1/16 to 1/4 of an inch according to the size and use of
the article; the strips are closely woven with great regularity. The
commonest arrangement is for two sets of strips to cross one another
at right angles, each strip passing over and under two of the opposed
set. The basket-work so made is very pliable, tough, and durable. The
standard shapes are worked out with great precision. The Kayans are
generally content to make strong serviceable basket-ware without
ornamentation; but in a large proportion of basket-ware of this kind
made by the other peoples, strips of rattan dyed black are combined
with those of the natural pale yellow colour, and very effective
patterns are thus worked in. The dyeing of the strips is effected by
soaking them in a dye obtained by beating out in water the soft stem
and leaves of a plant known as TARUM. The dark stain is rendered still
blacker by subsequently burying the strips in the mud of the river for
some ten days, or by washing them in lime. The dyed strips are then
jet black with a fine polished surface, and the dye is quite permanent.

A form of mat-work deserving special notice is the LAMPIT, the mat
used largely for sleeping and sitting upon. It is made of stout
strips of rattan lying parallel to one another, and held together by
strings threaded through the strips at right angles to their length
at intervals of four or five inches. This mat has an extremely neat
appearance and allows itself to be neatly rolled up. The piercing of
the rattan strips at suitable intervals is facilitated by the use of
a block of wood grooved for the reception of the strip and pierced
with holes opening into the groove at the required intervals.

The most elaborately decorated and finely plaited basket-ware is made
by some of the Klemantan sub-tribes, especially the Kanowits and the
Tanjongs, and the Kalabits, who use, as well as the black dye, a red
dye (Pl. 110). The last is made by boiling the seeds of the rattan in
water and evaporating the product until it has the consistency of a
thick paste. The Punans also excel in this craft. These adepts barter
much of their handiwork in this kind with the people of communities
less skilled in it. This affords yet another illustration of the
fact that the various specialised handicrafts are traditional in
certain tribes and sub-tribes, and are practised hardly at all or
in an inferior manner only by the other tribes, who seem to find it
impossible to achieve an equal degree of mastery of these crafts.


Hat-making

The large flat circular hat worn by the Kayans for protection against
sun and rain is made by the women from the large leaves of a palm. It
is the only important handicraft practised by the women only. The hard
tough fluted leaves are pressed flat and dried, when the flutes form
ribs diverging from the stem. Triangular pieces of the length of the
radius of the hat (I.E. from twelve to eighteen inches) are cut and
then sewn together in a double layer; those of the upper layer radiate
from the centre; those of the under layer are disposed in the reverse
direction, so that their ribs diverge from the periphery, crossing
those of the upper layer at an acute angle. This arrangement gives
great rigidity to the whole structure. The two layers are stitched
together by threads carried round the hat in concentric circles at
intervals of about one inch. The peripheral edges are sewn to a slender
strip of rattan bent to form a circle, the two ends overlapping. The
centre is generally finished with a disc of metal or strong cloth on
the outer surface (Pl. 45). The hats hung upon the tombs are decorated
on the upper surface with bold designs painted in black and red.

Most of the other tribes make similar hats, and the Malanaus and
Land Dayaks are especially skilled in this craft. The former make
very large hats of similar shape, the upper surface being of strips
of rattan dyed red and black, and woven to form elaborate patterns.

Besides these sun-hats, the Kayans and Kenyahs and some of the
Klemantans weave with fine strips of rattan close-fitting skull-caps
and head-bands. The ends of the strips, some three or four inches in
length, are sometimes left projecting from the centre or forming a
fringe round the lower edge.

The close-fitting hemispherical war-cap is made of rattans about half
an inch thick split in halves.


The Making of the Blow-pipe

The blow-pipe or SUMPITAN is perhaps the finest product of native
Bornean craftmanship. It is made by Kayans, Kenyahs, and Punans,
and rarely by Ibans and Klemantans.

The best sumpitans are made from the hard straight-grained wood of
the JAGANG tree. Having chosen and felled the tree, often one of
large size, the craftsman splits from it long pieces about eight feet
in length. Such a piece is shaved with the adze until it is roughly
cylindrical and three to four inches in diameter (Pl. 112). The piece
may be carried home to be worked at leisure, or the boring may be
done upon the spot. A platform is erected about seven feet above the
ground; and the prepared rod is fixed vertically with the upper end
projecting through the platform, its lower end resting on the ground
(Pl. 113). Its upper end is lashed to the platform, its lower end to
a pair of stout poles lashed horizontally to trees, and its middle
to another pair of poles similarly fixed.

The next operation, the boring of the wood, is accomplished by the
aid of a straight rod of iron about nine feet long, of slightly
smaller diameter than the bore desired for the pipe, and having one
end chisel-shaped and sharpened. One man standing on the platform holds
the iron rod vertically above the end of the wood, and brings its sharp
chisel edge down upon the centre of the flat surface. Lifting the rod
with both hands he repeats his blow again and again, slightly turning
the rod at each blow. He is aided in keeping the rod truly vertical by
two or three forked sticks fixed horizontally at different levels above
the platform in such a way that the vertical rod slides up and down in
the forks, which thus serve as guides. The rod soon bites its way into
the wood. An assistant, squatting on the platform with a bark-bucket
of water beside him, ladles water into the hole after every two or
three strokes, and thus causes the chips to float out. This operation
steadily pursued for about six hours completes the boring. In boring
the lower part, the craftsman aims at producing a slight curvature
of the tube by very slightly bending the pole and lashing it in the
bent position; the pole on being released then straightens itself,
and at the same time produces the desired slight curvature of the
bore. This curvature is necessary in order to allow for the bending
of the blow-pipe, when in use, by the weight of the spearblade which
is lashed on bayonet-fashion. If the desired degree of curvature is
not produced in this way, the wooden pipe, still in the rough state
as regards its outer surface, is suspended horizontally on loops,
and weights are hung upon the muzzle end until, on sighting through
the bore, only a half circle of daylight is visible -- this being the
degree of curvature of the bore desired. The wood is then heated with
torches, and on cooling retains the curvature thus impressed on it.

It only remains to whittle down the rough surface to a smooth cylinder
slightly tapering towards the muzzle (Pl. 114), to polish the pipe
inside and out, to lash on the spear-blade to the muzzle end with
strips of rattan, and to attach a small wooden sight to the muzzle
end opposite the spear-blade. The polishing of the bore is effected by
working to and fro within it a long piece of closely fitting rattan;
that of the outer surface, by rubbing it first with the skin of a
stingray (which, although a marine fish, sometimes ascends to the
upper reaches of the rivers), and afterwards with the leaf (EMPLAS)
which is the local substitute for emery paper.

The shaft of the poisoned dart is made from the wood of the NIBONG and
wild sago palms. It is about nine inches in length and one-sixteenth
to one-eighth of an inch in diameter (Pl. 115). On to one end of this
is fitted a small tapering cylinder of tough pith, about one inch in
length, its greatest diameter at its butt end being exactly equal to
the bore of the pipe. The pith is shaved to the required diameter by
the aid of a small wooden cylinder of the standard size (Fig. 42);
this is prolonged in a pin of the same diameter as the shaft of the
dart. A piece of pith transfixed by the pin is shaved with a sharp
knife until its surface is flush with that of the wooden gauge.

The poison is prepared from the sap of the IPOH tree, ANTIARIS
TOXICARIA. The milky sap runs out when the bark is incised, and is
collected in a bamboo cup (Pl. 88). It is then heated slowly over a
fire in a trough made from the leaf stem of a palm, until it becomes
a thick paste of dark purple brown colour (Pl. 116). When the poison
is to be applied to the darts, it is worked into a thinner paste on
a palette with a spatula. A circular groove is cut round the shaft of
the dart about two inches from its tip, and the part so marked off is
rolled in the paste and then dried before a fire. For use against large
game, pig, deer, or human beings, a larger dose of poison is required
than can be carried on the tip of the shaft. A small triangular piece
of metal is affixed by splitting the tip of the shaft, thrusting in
the base of the triangular plate, and securing it with a fine thread
of rattan or fern-stem. The poison is then applied to the surface
of this metal. The metal is obtained nowadays from imported tin or
brass ware, but formerly a slip of hard wood was used, and, possibly,
in some cases stone.

The quiver for carrying the darts is a section of bamboo about four
inches in diameter and ten inches in length, fitted with a cap of the
same which fits over the shaved lip of the main piece (Fig. 44). A
wooden hook lashed to the quiver enables it to be hung from the
belt. The darts, mostly without piths, are wrapped in a squirrel skin
and thrust tip downwards into the quiver. A small gourd tied to the
quiver carries a supply of piths all ready to be placed on the darts.


Pottery

The importation of earthenware and of cooking pots of brass and
iron has now almost put an end to the native manufacture of pottery;
but in former times simple earthenware vessels for boiling rice were
made by Kayans, Kenyahs, Ibans, and some of the Klemantans. Those who
made no pots boiled their rice and sago in bamboos. The earthenware
cooking pot is a simple egg-shaped vessel, one end of which is open
and surrounded by a low everted lip or collar (Fig. 8, p. 60).

The clay is kneaded with water on a board until it has the desired
consistency. The vessel is then built up on a hollowed base by
squeezing the clay between a smooth rounded stone held by one hand
within the vessel and a flat piece of wood, with which the clay is
beaten from without. The roughly shaped vessel is allowed to dry in
the sun and baked in the fire. In some cases the surface is smoothed
and glazed by rubbing resin over its surface while hot.

Pots of this one shape only are made, but of several sizes. The
commonest size holds about a quart; the largest about two gallons. A
pot of this sort is carried in a basket made of fine unsplit rattans
loosely woven in the form of interlacing rings.


The Manufacture of Bark-cloth

The native cloth, which was in universal use among the tribes of the
interior until largely supplanted in recent years by imported cloth, is
made from the bark of trees of several species (principally the KUMUT,
the IPOH, and the wild fig). The material used is the fibrous layer
beneath the outer bark. A large sheet of it is laid on a wooden block
and beaten with a heavy wooden club in order to render it soft and
pliable. A piece of the required size and shape is cut from the sheet,
and sewn across the direction of the fibres with needle and thread at
intervals of about an inch. This prevents the material splitting along
the direction of the fibres. Before European needles were introduced,
the stitching was done by piercing holes with a small awl and pushing
the thread through the hole after withdrawing the awl (>Pl. 117).



Spinning and Weaving and Dyeing of Cloth

The Kayans, Kenyahs, and most of the Klemantans weave no cloth; but the
Kayans claim, probably with truth, that they formerly wove a coarse
cloth. In recent years the Ibans, Muruts, and a few of the Klemantan
tribes have been the only weavers. It may be said, we think, without
fear of contradiction, that this is the only craft in which the Ibans
excel all the other peoples. Their methods are similar to those of the
Malays, and have probably been learnt from them. The weaving is done
only by the women, though the men make the machinery employed by them.

The fibre used by the Ibans is cotton, which is obtained from shrubs
planted and cultivated for the purpose. The seed is extracted from
the mass of fibre by squeezing the mass between a pair of rollers
arranged like a rude mangle, while the fibre is pulled away by hand
(Pl. 118). Next the thread is spun from the mass of fibre by the aid
of a simple wheel, turned by the right hand while the left hand twists
the fibres (Pl. 119). The dyeing precedes the weaving if a pattern
is to be produced. The web is stretched on a wooden frame about six
feet long and twenty inches in width, by winding a long thread round
it from end to end. The parts of the web corresponding to the parts
of the cloth that are to remain undyed and of the natural pale brown
colour of the thread are tied round with dried strips of a fibrous leaf
(LEMBA), the upper and lower set of threads being wrapped up together
in the same bundles (Pl. 120). If only one colour is to be applied,
the web is then slipped off the frame. The threads are held in their
relative positions by the wrappings, but are further secured by tying
a string tightly about the whole bundle at each end. The web thus
prepared is soaked in the dye for some two or three days, and then
dried in a shady spot. The wrappings upon the threads are waterproof
and protect the wrapped parts from the dye. When, after the dyeing,
the web is stretched upon the loom, it presents the desired pattern in
colour upon the undyed ground. The undyed weft is then woven across
the web in the usual way. And since the threads of the weft do not
appear on the surface, the dyed parts of the web present a uniformly
coloured surface (Pl. 121).

In most cloths two colours, as well as the natural colour of the
thread, appear on the surface -- the commonest colour being a warm
brick red (obtained from the bark of the SAMAK tree) and a dark purple
(obtained from the leaves of the TARUM plant). Lime and gypsum are
sometimes mixed with the watery extracts as mordaunts, but these
are probably modern refinements. When two colours are to appear,
those parts of the web which are to be of one colour (say purple)
are wrapped up during the immersion in the red dye together with
the parts that are to appear uncoloured. When this first dyeing is
completed the web is prepared for the purple dye, by uncovering the
undyed parts which are to be purple, and wrapping up in bundles the
threads which have already been dyed red. After being soaked in the
purple dye and dried, all the wrappings are removed from the web,
and the desired pattern in three colours appears upon it when it is
stretched. Perhaps the most noteworthy feature of the operation of
dyeing is that the woman generally wraps up the threads in the way
required to produce the pattern without any guidance, judging the
length and number of the threads to be included in each bundle purely
by memory of the design aimed at.

The only striking peculiarity of the loom is its extreme
simplicity. The upper ends of the web are looped over a stout bar which
is fixed to a pair of uprights about a yard above the floor. The lower
ends of the web are looped over a stout rod, to the ends of which a
loop of cord is tied. The woman sits on the ground, (see Pl. 121) with
this loop around her waist, and thus stretches the web and maintains
the necessary tension of it. The manipulation of the shuttle and of the
threads of the web is accomplished without other mechanical aids than
the rods to which the one set of webthreads is tied by short threads.



CHAPTER 12

Decorative Art

All the tribes of Borneo practise a number of decorative arts. Some
of the Klemantans, notably the Malanaus, excel all other tribes,
in that they attain a high level of achievement in a great variety
of such arts; but each tribe and sub-tribe preserves the tradition
of some one or two decorative arts in which they are especially
skilled. Thus some of the Klemantan tribes specially excel in the
finer kinds of wood-carving (E.G. the decoration of paddles); the
Kayans in tatuing and in chasing designs on steel; the Kenyahs in the
painting of shields and in the production of large designs carved
in low relief on wood and used for adorning houses and tombs; both
Kayans and Kenyahs excel in the carving of sword-handles in deer's
horn; the Barawans and Sebops in beadwork; the Kalabits and Ibans in
tracing designs on the surface of bamboo; Punans in the decorative
mat-work; Kanowits and Tanjongs in basket-work.

Wood-carving is the most generally practised and on the whole the
most important of the decorative arts. Much of it is done on very hard
wood; and the principal tools are the sword, the small knife carried
in the sword-sheath, and adzes and axes of various sizes. The blade
of the knife is some three inches in length, resembling in general
shape the blade of the sword; it is wider in proportion, but has the
same peculiar convexity of the one side and concavity of the other
in transverse section. The shaft is sunk into the end of a rod of
hard wood and secured with gutta and fine rattan lashing. The handle
of hard wood is about a foot in length, half an inch in diameter,
and slightly bowed in the plane of the blade, the convexity being
in the direction of the cutting edge of the blade. The butt end of
the handle is cunningly carved in the shape of a crocodile's head, or
prolonged in a piece of carved deer's horn. The blade of the knife is
held between the thumb and finger of the right hand, the cutting edge
directed forwards, and the long handle is gripped between the forearm
and the lower ribs; the weight of the body can thus be brought to the
assistance of the arm in cutting hard material. With this knife most
of the finer carving is done, the adze and sword being used chiefly
for rough shaping.

The adze consists of a flat blade of steel in the shape of a highly
acute-angled triangle (Pl. 111). The slightly convex base is the
cutting edge. The upper half of the triangle (which may or may not be
marked by a shoulder) is buried in the lashings by which it is attached
to the wooden haft. The haft is a small bough of tough, springy wood,
cut from a tree, together with a small block of the wood of the stem;
the latter is shaved down until it forms an oblong block continuous
with the haft and at an angle to it of 70[degree] -- 80[degree]. The
upper half of the metal blade is laid upon the distal surface of
this block and lashed firmly to it with fine strips of rattan. A
piece of skin is often placed between the metal and the lashings;
this facilitates the removal of the blade, and enables the craftsman
to alter the angle between the cutting edge and the haft. Commonly
the blade is laid in the plane of the haft, and the implement is then
what we should call a small axe; on turning the blade through go',
it is converted to a small adze; and not infrequently the blade is
turned through a smaller angle, so that its plane forms an acute
angle with that of the haft.

Carved woodwork is commonly painted with black and red paint, prepared
respectively from soot and iron oxide mixed with sugar-cane juice
or with lime; the moist pigment is applied with the finger on larger
surfaces, and the finer lines and edges are marked out with the aid
of a chisel-edged stick of wood.


Beadwork

Old beads are much valued and sought after by all the tribes except
Ibans, especially by the Kayans. There are few families of the upper
class that do not possess a certain number of them.

Many varieties are well known, and some of the Kayan women are very
expert in recognising the genuine old specimens, and in distinguishing
these varieties from one another and from modern imitations.

Formerly these old beads were one of the principal forms of currency,
and they still constitute an important part of the wealth of many
families.

Most of these valuable old beads are of foreign manufacture, though a
few made from shell and agate are of the country. The old foreign-made
beads were probably imported by Arab and Chinese traders at various
dates. Some of them are probably of Chinese manufacture, others
probably came from the near East and even from Venice. Some are of
glass curiously marked and coloured, others of stone inlaid with bits
of different colours, others of some hard substance whose composition
defies description. Certain rare kinds are especially valued and
can hardly be bought at any price; they are reckoned to be worth at
least 100 dollars apiece. The most valuable of all is known as the
LUKUT SEKALA; the ownership of each such bead is as accurately known
throughout a large district as the ownership of the masterpieces of
ancient art in our own country. The wife of a rich chief may possess
old beads to the value of thousands of pounds, and will wear a large
part of them on any occasion of display (Pl. 130). These old beads are
worn threaded together to form necklaces and girdles, being arranged
with some reference to harmony of size and colour and to value, the
most valuable being placed in the middle where they will be shown to
best advantage. A single rare bead is sometimes worn on the wrist.

A woman who possesses a good stock of such beads will seldom be seen
without some of them on her person. She will occasionally exchange
a few for other varieties, and is generally eager to add to her
collection; she may occasionally make a present of one or two to some
highly esteemed friend or relative, and will generally assign them,
but without handing them over, to various female relatives before
her death.

Besides these valuable old beads there are in use among all the tribes
many small glass beads of modern European manufacture. These are
threaded to form a variety of designs, generally in two colours,
the combination of black and yellow being the most commonly
preferred. These strips of beadwork are put to many decorative uses:
they are applied to the women's head-bands, to the centre of the
sun-hat, to sword sheaths, to cigarette boxes, to the war-coat at the
nape of the neck, and, by some Klemantans, to the jackets of the women.

The designs worked in this way are but few, and most of them are
common to all the tribes. The thread used is prepared by rolling on
the thigh fibres drawn from the leaf of the pine-apple; it is very
strong and durable. The design to be reproduced is drawn or carved in
low relief on a board. A thread is fixed across the end of the board
and others are tied to it at short intervals; on these the beads are
threaded, neighbouring threads being tied together at short intervals;
and the colours of the beads are selected according to the demands
of the pattern over which they are worked.

Besides these designs on the flat, tassels, girdles, necklaces,
ear-rings, and cigarette rings are also made of these beads. The
modern imported beads used for these purposes are sometimes improved
by being ground flat on the two surfaces that adjoin their neighbours;
this is done by fixing a number of them into the cut end of a piece
of sugar-cane and rubbing this against a smooth stone. This treatment
of the beads gives to the articles made of them a very neat and highly
finished appearance.


Bamboo Decorations

The working of designs on the surface of pieces of bamboo is
done very simply, but none the less effectively. Among the bamboo
articles generally decorated in the way to be described are the native
drinking-cup, the tobacco-box, and tubes for carrying flint and steel
and all sorts of odds and ends.

The pattern to be produced is outlined with the point of the knife
upon the surface of the bamboo, the artist working from memory of the
desired pattern and adapting it to the proportions of the surface to
be covered. The Iban works more freely than others, working out the
pattern and modifying it to meet the exigencies of his material,
section by section, as he goes along. Others plan out the design
for the whole surface before working out any part in detail. It is
probable that in no case does a man sit down and produce a new pattern;
but the freer mode of working of the Iban leads him on to greater
modifications of the traditional designs; and it is probably partly
for this reason that a much larger variety of designs is applied in
this way by them than by the other tribes, among whom they are very
limited in number. But the greater variety of designs worked by the
Ibans is due also to the readiness with which he copies and adopts
as his own the patterns used by other tribes. The Kayans and Kenyahs
use almost exclusively varieties of the dog pattern and of the hook
and circle (see Fig. 47).

The design outlined by the point of the knife is made to stand out
boldly from the ground by darkening the latter. This is achieved in
two ways: (1) the ground is covered with parallel close-set scratches,
not running continuously throughout the larger areas of the ground,
but grouped in sets of parallel lines some few millimetres in length,
the various sets meeting at angles of all degrees; (2) the hard
surface of the bamboo is wholly scraped away from the ground areas
to a depth of about half a millimetre. In either case the black or
red paint is then smeared over the whole surface with the finger, and
when it has become dried the surface is rubbed with a piece of cloth
(Kayan), or scraped lightly with a knife (Iban). The pigment is thus
removed from the intact parts and remains adherent to the lines and
areas from which the hard surface layer has been removed. The design
is thus left in very low relief, and is of the natural colour of the
bamboo upon a black or dark-red ground, or on a ground merely darkened
by the parallel scratches (Pls. 126, 127).


Lashing

Lashing with strips of rattan and with coarse fibres from the leaf-stem
of some of the palms and ferns is applied to a great variety of
purposes, and largely takes the place of our nailing and screwing
and riveting. It is carried out extremely neatly and commonly has a
decorative effect. This effect is in some cases enhanced by combining
blackened threads with those of the natural pale yellow colour;
and the finer varieties of this work deserve to be classed with the
decorative arts. The finest lashing-work is done by the Kalabits,
who cover small bamboo boxes with a layer of close-set lashing,
producing pleasing geometrical designs by the combination of yellow
and black threads. The surface of the bamboo to which the lashing is
applied is generally scraped away to a depth of about one-sixteenth of
an inch; it is thus rendered less slippery than the natural surface,
and is therefore gripped more firmly by the lashing, and the surface
of the lashing is brought flush with the unlashed natural surface. The
effect is not only a highly ornamental appearance, but also a greatly
increased durability of the box, the natural tendency of the bamboo
to split longitudinally being very effectively counteracted.

Similar fine decorative lashing is used by all the tribes for binding
together the two halves of the sword sheath, and for binding the haft
of knife or sword where it grips the metal blade, though brass wire
is sometimes used for this purpose.

Closely allied to this lashing is the production of decorative
knots. A considerable variety of knots are in common use; they are
always well tied and practically effective, but some are elaborated
for decorative purposes to form rosettes, especially by Kayans in
making their sword sheaths.


Painting

We have stated above that the carved woodwork is often painted with
black, red, and white pigments. It must be added that wooden surfaces
are often painted on the flat, especially shields, the outer surfaces
of walls of PADI huts, and tombs, also grave hats and the gunwales of
boats, and decorative planks in the inner walls of the long gallery
of the house. The Kenyahs and some of the Klemantans, especially
the Skapans and Barawans, are most skilled in, and make most use of,
this form of decoration; but it is probably practised in some degree
by all the peoples.

The three pigments mentioned above -- black, red, and white, made
respectively from soot, iron oxide, and lime -- are, so far as we
know, the only native varieties; but at the present day these are
sometimes supplemented with indigo and yellow pigments obtained from
the bazaars. The pigment is generally laid on free-hand with the
finger-tip, a few guiding points only being put in.

It may be mentioned here that individuals of all the tribes will
occasionally amuse themselves by making rude drawings with charcoal
on the plank wall of the gallery. The drawings usually depict human
and animal figures, and scenes from the life of the people, and they
generally illustrate the particular form of occupation in which the
household is employed at the time, E.G. scenes from the PADI fields,
a group of people weeding, the return of a war-party, the collection
of honey, the capture of a large fish. These drawings are invariably
very crude; their nature is sufficiently indicated by Pl. 128. There
seem to be no noteworthy differences in this respect between the
different peoples.

The Punans, having no houses and therefore no walls on which to
draw pictures, have little opportunity to indulge any such tendency;
but we have seen rude hunting scenes depicted by them on the walls
of shallow caves; the technique consisted in scratching away the
soft rotted surface of the limestone rock to produce outlines of the
figures depicted.

The Malanaus, who live in the large limestone caves during the time
of harvesting the edible nests of the swift, sometimes make rude
drawings with charcoal on the walls of the cave.

The weaving of decorative designs on cloth is almost confined to the
Sea Dayaks. Some account of the designs will be given below.


Shell-work

Shells (chiefly nassas and the flat bases of cone-shells) are sometimes
applied by the Iban women to decorate their woven coats, by Kalabits
(in concentric circles on their sunhats), and more rarely by other
tribes in the decoration of baskets (Fig. 48). Fig. 49 represents
a garment decorated in this fashion by Iban women, and worn by them
when dancing with the heads of enemies in their hands.


The Decorative Designs

The Kayans make use in their decorative art of a large number of
conventional designs. The principal applications of these designs are
in tatu, beadwork, the production of panels of wood for the adornment
of houses, tombs, boats, and PADI barns, the decoration of bamboo
boxes, and the painting of hats, and the carving of highly ornate doors
to the rooms. All these applications involve the covering of flat or
curved surfaces with patterns either in low relief only or without
relief; and many of the designs are applied in all these different
ways, and all of them together form a natural group. Besides these
surface designs, a considerable variety of designs is used in giving
decorative form to solid objects such as the handles of swords and
paddles, the ends of main roof-beams in the houses, posts used in
various rites and in the construction of tombs, the figure-heads
of war-boats. These, with the exception of those used in carving
the sword handles, which are highly peculiar, form another group of
relatives. The designs chased upon the blades of the swords constitute
a fourth natural group distinct from the other two groups. A fifth
small group of designs is carved in the form of fretwork. We propose
to say a few words about the designs of each of these five groups.

(1) The designs of the first group are the most numerous and
most widely applied. A large proportion of them obviously are
conventionalised derivatives from animal forms. Of these animal forms
the human figure, the dog, and the prawn have been the originals
of the largest number of patterns; the macaque monkey and the large
lizard (VARANUS) are also traceable. Some designs vaguely suggest a
derivation from some animal form, but cannot confidently be assigned
to any one origin.

A few seemed to be derived from vegetable forms; while some few,
for example the hookpattern, seem to be derived from no animal or
vegetable form. The hook-pattern seems to be symbolical of conjunction
and acquisition in various spheres.

Of all the designs the derivatives from or variants of the dog are the
most numerous and the most frequently applied. The name dog-pattern
(KALANG ASU) is given to a very large number; and of these some
obviously reproduce the form of the dog, while the derivation of
the others from the same original can generally be made clear by
the inspection of a number of intermediate forms, although some of
them retain but very slight indications of the form or features of
the dog. The unmistakable dog-patterns are illustrated by one of the
panels shown in Pl. 124; and in Pls. 134 ET SEQ. we reproduce a number
of dog-patterns of more or less conventionalised characters. It will
be noticed that the eye is the most constant feature about which
the rest of the pattern is commonly centred; but that the eye also
disappears from some of the most conventionalised. It seems probable
that, although the name KALANG ASU continues to be commonly used to
denote all this group of allies, many of those who use the term, and
even of those who carve or work the patterns, are not explicitly aware
in doing so that the name and the patterns refer to the dog, or are
in any way connected with it; that is to say, both the words and the
pattern have ceased to suggest to their minds the meaning of the word
dog, and mean to them simply the pattern appropriate to certain uses.

We have questioned men who have been accustomed to apply the
dog-pattern as to the significance of the parts of the pattern, and
have led them to recognise that the parts of the dog, eye, teeth,
jaws, and so on, are represented; and this recognition has commonly
been accompanied by expressions of enlightenment, as of one making
an interesting discovery.[67] This ignorance of the origin of the
pattern is naturally true only of the more conventionalised examples,
whether of the dog or other natural forms. Probably a few who have
specially interested themselves in the designs have traced out their
connections pretty fully, but this is certainly quite exceptional. Most
of the craftsmen simply copy the current forms, introducing perhaps
now and then an additional scroll, or some other slight modification.

Some men are well known as experts in the production of designs,
and such a man can produce a wonderful variety, all or most being
well-known conventions. Their mode of working frequently implies
that the artist is working to a pattern, mentally fixed and clearly
visualised, rather than working out any new design. For he will
work first on one part of the surface, then on another, producing
disconnected fragments of the pattern, and uniting them later. Although
the women use these patterns in beadwork and in tatuing, they rely
in the main on the men for the patterns which they copy; these
being drawn on wood or cloth for beadwork, or carved in low relief
for tatuing. A Kayan expert may carry in mind a great variety of
designs. One such expert produced for our benefit, during a ten days'
halt of an expedition, forty-one patterns, drawn with pencil on paper;
most of these are of considerable complexity and elaboration.

(2) The designs carved in the solid or in high relief are for
the most part conventionalised copies of human and animal forms;
but the conventionalising is not carried so far as in those of the
first class, so that the carving generally constitutes an unmistakable
representation of the original. The posts set up as altars to the gods
are generally carved in the human form, and the degree of elaboration
varies widely from the rudest possible indication of the head and limbs
to a complete representation of all the parts. But in no case (with
the possible exception of some of the figures carved by Malanaus)
is the human form reproduced with any high degree of accuracy or
artistic merit (Figs. 50 -- 53)

The animal forms are used chiefly as the figureheads of war-boats and
at the ends of the main roof-beams of the houses; and some of these
are executed with a degree of artistry that must win our admiration,
especially when we reflect that the timber used is generally one of
the harder kinds (but not iron-wood) such as the mirabo (AFZELIA
PALEMBANICA), and that the only tools used are the axe, sword,
and knife. The animals most frequently represented are the dog,
crocodile, monkey, hornbill, and bear (Pls. 122, 125, Figs. 45,
46, 54 -- 57). Carved dogs, comparatively little conventionalised,
are sometimes used as the supports of low platforms upon which the
chiefs may sit on ceremonious occasions.

(3) The handles of the swords, generally of deer's antlers, but
sometimes of wood, exhibit a group of highly peculiar closely allied
designs. All these seem to be derived from the human form, although in
many cases this can only be traced in the light of forms intermediate
between the less and the more highly conventionalised (Pls. 129,
184). In examples in which the human form is most obvious, it has
the following position and character: -- The butt end of the blade
is sunk in a piece (about six inches in length) of the main shaft
of the antler at its distal or upper end. This piece constitutes
the grip of the handle or hilt. The proximal or lowest point of the
antler projecting at an angle of some 70[degree] from the grip is cut
down to a length of some four inches, forming a spur standing in the
plane of the blade and towards its cutting edge. The grip is lashed
with fine strips of rattan. The spur and the thick end in which the
spur and the grip unite are elaborately carved. If the sword is held
horizontally, its point directed forwards and its cutting edge upwards,
the butt end is presented with the spur vertically before the face
of the observer. It will then be seen that the surface turned to
the observer presents the principal features of the human figure,
standing with arms akimbo face to face with the observer. The key
to the puzzle Is the double row of teeth. Above this are the two
eyes. Below the level of the mouth the elbows project laterally, and
a little below these and nearer the middle line are the two hands;
and below these again the two legs stand out, carved not merely in
relief, but in the solid, and bent a little at the knee. The feet
are indicated below and more laterally. From the crown of the head
projects a ring of short hair made up of tufts white, black, and red
in colour. Another short tuft projects from the region of the navel
(? pubis), and a pair of tufts project laterally a little below the
level of the mouth. The extremity of the main shaft of the antler
projects a little beyond the feet of the human figure, and is carved in
a form which is clearly an animal derivative -- probably from the dog
or possibly the crocodile. From its open jaws projects a long tuft of
hair, and a pair of short tufts project laterally from the region of
its ears. The whole of the carved part of the hilt thus represents a
man standing upon the head of a dog (or crocodile). The interpretation
of the whole is much obscured by the fact that the parts of the human
figure named above are separated from one another by areas which are
covered with a continuous scroll design in low relief, and by the
fact that all the lateral parts of the carved area bear, scattered
irregularly in relief, reduplications of the various features of the
human figure, E.G. of the hands, elbows, knees, and even of the teeth,
as well as many pairs of interlocking hooks. These last, which recur
in other decorative designs, and which (as was said above) seem to
symbolise the taking of heads, form an important and constant feature
of the whole scheme of decoration. In the more elaborate examples
they are carved out of the solid; and usually one hole (or more)
about 5 mm. in diameter perforates the thickest part of the hilt,
and contains in the middle plane a pair of these interlocking hooks.

In the most elaborate examples of these carved sword hilts all obvious
trace of the human figure is lost in a profusion of detail, which,
however, is of the same general character as that of the examples
described above, and seems to consist of the various features of
the human and animal pattern combined in wild profusion with regard
only to decorative effect, and not at all to the reproduction of the
parent forms.

With the decorative designs of the hilt of the sword must be classed
those of its sheath. The sheath consists of two slips of TAPANG wood
firmly lashed together with finely plaited rattan strips, both strips
being hollowed so that they fit closely to the blade. It is provided
with a plaited cord, which buckles about the waist. The inner piece
of the sheath is smooth inside and out. The outer surface of the
outer piece is often elaborately decorated. The decoration consists
in the main of designs carved in relief; and these are composed of
the same elements as the design upon the sword hilt, namely, hooks,
single and interlocking, elbows, teeth, etc., all woven about with
a scroll design of relieved lines.

(4) The designs reproduced in fretwork are in the main adaptations
of some of those used in decorating surfaces, especially of the dog
pattern; but they are always conventionalised in a high degree (see
Pl. 130). The hook pattern is frequently introduced to fill up odd
corners. The human form is seldom or never traceable in work of this
kind. Fretwork is chiefly used to adorn the tombs of chiefs.

(5) The designs chased on the surfaces of the blades of swords and
knives and spear-heads form a distinctive group. They are flowing
scroll patterns containing many spiral and S-shaped curves in which
no animal or plant forms can be certainly traced, though suggestions
of the KALANG ASU may be found. The lack of affinity between these
patterns and those applied to other surfaces suggests that they may
have been taken over from some other people together with the craft
of the smith; but possibly the distinctive character is due only to
the exigencies of the material. Some of the designs painted on hats
and shields exhibit perhaps some affinity with these. This work is
almost confined to the Kayans.

It is worthy of remark that the art work of the Kayans is in the
main of a public character; for example, the decorative carving about
the house is done by voluntary and co-operative effort in the public
gallery and hardly at all in the private rooms; and ornamented hats
and shields are hung in the gallery rather than in the private rooms;
again, the war-boats, which are the common property of the household,
are decorated more elaborately than those which are private property.

All these forms of art work are the products of distinctly amateur
effort; that is to say that, although certain individuals attain
special skill and reputation in particular forms of art, they do
not make their living by the practice of them, but rather, like
every one else, rely in the main upon the cultivation of PADI for
the family support; they will exchange services of this kind, and
definite payments are sometimes agreed upon, but a large amount of
such work is done for one another without any material reward.


The Kenyahs, Klemantans, and Ibans

The Kenyahs make use of all, or most, of the patterns found among
the Kayans, and there is little or nothing that distinguishes the
decorative art of the one tribe from that of the other. They use
the patterns based on the monkey rather more than the Kayans; and a
decoration commonly found in their houses is a frieze running along
the top of the main partition wall of the house, bearing in low
relief an animal design, painted in red and black, which is called
BALI SUNGEI (I.E. water-spirit) or Naga. The latter name is known
to all the tribes, and is probably of foreign origin; and it seems
possible that the design and this name are derived from the dragon
forms so commonly used in Chinese decorative art.

The various Klemantan tribes make use of many decorative designs very
similar to those of the Kayans. Different animal forms predominant
among the different tribes, E.G. among the LONG POKUNS the form of the
gibbon and of the sacred ape (SEMINOPITHECUS HOSEI) are chiefly used
in house decoration. Among the Sebops and Barawans the human figure
predominates; the Malanaus make especially elaborate crocodile images
in solid wood. The tombs of some of the Klemantans are very massive
and elaborately decorated. The Tanjongs and Kanowits and Kalabits,
who excel in basket-work, introduce a variety of patterns in black,
red, and white. The majority of these are simple geometrical designs
which arise naturally out of the nature of the material; of more
elaborate designs specially common are the hook-pattern (Fig. 58),
the pigeon's eye (Fig. 59), and the caterpillar (Fig. 60).

In wealth of decorative designs the Ibans surpass all the other
tribes. These designs are displayed most abundantly in the decoration
of bamboo surfaces and in the dyeing of cloths. The designs on bamboo
surfaces are largely foliate scrolls, especially the yam-leaf, but
also occasionally animal derivatives.

The designs dyed upon the cloths (Fig. 61) are largely animal
derivatives; but the artists themselves seldom are aware of the
derivation, even when the pattern bears the name of its animal origin;
and as to the names of all, except the most obvious animal derivatives,
even experts will differ. The frog, the young bird, the human form,
and the lizard are the originals most frequently claimed. Parts of
the animal, such as the head or eye, are commonly repeated in serial
fashion detached from the rest of its form. And in many cases it is,
of course, impossible to identify the parts of the pattern, although
it may show a general affinity with unmistakable animal patterns. One
such pattern very commonly used in dyeing is named after AGI BULAN,
the large shrew (GYMNURA); but we have not been able to trace the
slightest resemblance to the animal in any of the various examples
we have seen (Pls. 131, 132).

We are inclined to suppose that the Ibans have copied many of their
cloth-patterns from the Malays together with the crafts of dyeing and
weaving. For their technique is similar to that of the Malays all over
the peninsula, and the same is true of some of their designs. Only
in this way, we think, can we account for their possession of these
crafts, which are practised by but very few of the other inland
peoples. The fact that plant derivatives predominate greatly over
animals in their designs, whereas the reverse is true of almost all
other tribes, bears out this supposition, for the Malays are forbidden
by their religion to represent animal forms, and make use largely of
plant forms.


Tatu

Tatuing is extensively practised among the tribes of Borneo. A great
variety of patterns are used, and they are applied to many different
parts of the body. A paper embodying most of the facts hitherto
ascertained has been published by one of us (C. H.) in conjunction
with Mr. R. Shelford, formerly curator of the Sarawak Museum, who has
paid special attention to the subject; we therefore reproduce here
the greater part of the substance of that paper,[68] with some slight
modifications, and we desire to express our thanks to Mr. Shelford[69]
for his kind permission to make use of the paper in this way.


The great diversity of tribes in Borneo involves, in a study of their
tatu and tatuing methods, a good deal of research and much travel,
if first-hand information on the subject is to be obtained. Between
us we have covered a considerable area in Borneo and have closely
crossquestioned members of nearly every tribe inhabiting Sarawak
on their tatu, but we cannot claim to have exhausted the subject by
any means; there are tribes in the interior of Dutch Borneo and in
British North Borneo whom we have not visited, and concerning whom
our knowledge is of the scantiest.

The practice of tatu is so widely spread throughout Borneo that it
seems simpler to give a list of the tribes that do not tatu, than of
those who do. We can divide such a list into two sections: the first
including those tribes that originally did not tatu, though nowadays
many individuals are met with whose bodies are decorated with designs
copied from neighbouring tribes; the second including the tribes
(mostly Klemantan) that have given up the practice of tatu owing to
contact with Mohammedan and other influences.


A.

	1. Punan.
	2. Maloh.
	3. Land Dyak.


B.

	4. Malanau.
	5. Miri.
	6. Dali.
	7. Narom.
	8. Sigalang (down-river tribes of Ukit stock).
	9. Siduan
	10. Tutong.
	11. Balait.
	12. Bekiau (traces of a former practice of tatu occasionally
	found).
	13. Bisaya.
	14. Kadayans.



The patterns once employed by the tribes included in the second
section of this list, most of which have adopted Malay dress and to
some extent Malay customs, are lost beyond recall. The Land Dayaks
display absolute ignorance of tatu, and aver that they never indulged
in the practice. Maloh and Punan men ornamented with Kayan tatu designs
we have often encountered; but they have no designs of their own,
and attach no special significance to their borrowed designs.[70]

We may note here that the ornamentation of the body by means of raised
scars and keloids is not known in Borneo. Both men and women of several
tribes will test their bravery and indifference to pain by setting
fire to a row of small pieces of tinder placed along the forearm, and
the scars caused by these burns are often permanent, but should not be
mistaken for decorative designs. Carl Bock (2, Pl. 16)[71] figures some
Punan women with rows of keloids on the forearms, but states (p. 71)
that these are due to a form of vaccination practised by these people.

The Kayans are, with one or two exceptions, the most tatued race in
Borneo, and perhaps the best tatued from an artistic point of view;
the designs used in the tatu of the men have been widely imitated,
and much ceremonial is connected with the tatu of the women, an account
of which we give below. Generally speaking, the true Klemantan designs
are quite simple, and it is noteworthy that although the Kenyah tribes
most nearly akin to Kayans have borrowed the Kayan tatu patterns, the
majority of Kenyah and Klemantan tribes employ quite simple designs,
whilst the primitive Kenyahs of the Batang Kayan river hardly tatu at
all. A remarkable exception to the general simplicity of the Klemantan
patterns is furnished by the Ukits, Bakatan, and Biadjau, who tatu very
extensively in the most complex designs; the Long Utan, an extinct
tribe, probably of Klemantan stock, also used highly decorative and
complex designs. Since so many tribes owe much of their knowledge
of tatu and the majority of their designs to the Kayans, it will be
well to commence with an account of the art of tatu as practised by
these people.


Kayan Tatu.

Dr. Nieuwenhuis [9, p. 450] agrees with us in stating that amongst
these people the men tatu chiefly for ornament, and that no special
significance is attached to the majority of designs employed; nor is
there any particular ceremonial or tabu connected with the process
of tatuing the male sex. There is no fixed time of life at which
a man can be tatued, but in most cases the practice is begun early
in boyhood. Nieuwenhuis [9, p. 456] remarks that the chiefs of the
Mendalam Kayans scarcely tatu at all.

Amongst the Sarawak Kayans, if a man has taken the head of an enemy
he can have the backs of his hands and fingers covered with tatu
(Pl. 141, Fig. 1), but, if he has only had a share in the slaughter,
one finger only, and that generally the thumb, can be tatued. On the
Mendalam river, the Kayan braves are tatued on the left thumb only,
not on the carpals and backs of the fingers, and the thigh pattern
is also reserved for head-taking heroes [9, p. 456]. Of the origin
of tatu the Kayans relate the following story: -- Long ago when the
plumage of birds was dull and sober, the coucal (CENTROPUS SINENSIS)
and the argus pheasant (ARGUSIANUS GRAYI) agreed to tatu each other;
the coucal began on the pheasant first, and succeeded admirably,
as the plumage of the pheasant bears witness at the present day; the
pheasant then tried his hand on the coucal, but being a stupid bird
he was soon in difficulties; fearing that he would fail miserably to
complete the task, he told the coucal to sit in a bowl of SAMAK tan,
and then poured the black dye over him, and flew off, remarking that
the country was full of enemies and he could not stop; that is why
the coucal to this day has a black head and neck with a tan-coloured
body. Nieuwenhuis [9, p. 456] relates substantially the same story,
the crow (CORONE MACRORHYNDYUS), however, being substituted for the
coucal and the incident of the bowl of SAMAK tan omitted.

Among Kayans isolated designs are found on the following parts of the
bodies of the men: -- The outside of the wrist, the flexor surface of
the forearm, high up on the outside of the thigh, on the breasts and
on the points of the shoulders, and, as already stated, in the case
of warriors on the backs of the hands and fingers. But not all the
men are tatued on all these parts of the body. The design tatued on
the wrist (Pl. 139, Figs. 8 -- 10) is termed LUKUT, the name of an
antique bead much valued by Kayans; the significance of this design
is of some interest. When a man is ill, it is supposed that his
soul has escaped from his body; and when he recovers it is supposed
that his soul has returned to him; to prevent its departure on some
future occasion the man will "tie it in" by fastening round his wrist
a piece of string on which is threaded a LUKUT[72] or antique bead,
some magic apparently being considered to reside in the bead. However,
the string can get broken and the bead lost, wherefore it seems safer
to tatu a representation of the bead on the part of the wrist which
it would cover if actually worn. It is of interest also to note that
the LUKUT, from having been a charm to prevent the second escape of
the soul, has come to be regarded as a charm to ward off all disease;
and the same applies to its tatued representation.

A design just below the biceps of a Punan tatued in the Kayan manner
is shown on Pl. 142, Fig. 10, and we were informed by the Punan that
this also was a LUKUT, an excellent example of the indifference paid
to the significance of design by people with whom such design is
not indigenous.

On the forearm and thigh the UDOH ASU or dog pattern is tatued,
and four typical examples are shown on Pl. 136, Figs. 1, 2, 5,
6. Nieuwenhuis has figured a series of these designs [9, Pl. 82][73]
showing a transition from a very elongate animal form to a rosette
form; we have occasionally met with the former amongst Sarawak Kayans,
but it is a common thigh design amongst the Mendalam Kayans; the
forms numbered B and C are unusual in Sarawak. Of the four examples
given in Pl. 136 -- and it may be noted that these met with the high
approval of expert tatu artists -- Figs. 1, 2, and 5 may be considered
as intermediate between Nieuwenhuis' very elongate example F and
the truncated form E which is supposed to represent the head only
of a dog. Fig. 2 is characteristic of the Uma Balubo Kayans, and is
remarkable in that teeth are shown in both jaws; whilst, both in this
example and in Fig. 5, the eye is represented as a disc, in Figs. 1
and 6 the eye is assuming a rosette-like appearance, which rosette,
as Nieuwenhuis' series shows, is destined in some cases to increase
in size until it swallows up the rest of the design. Fig. 6 may be
compared with Nieuwenhuis, Fig. E, as it evidently represents little
more than the head of a dog. Although a single figure of the dog is
the most usual form of tatu, we have met with an example of a double
figure; it is shown in Fig. 7; it will be observed that one of the
dogs is reversed and the tails of the two figures interlock. Fig. 8
represents a dog with pups, TUANG NGANAK; A is supposed to be the
young one.

The dog design figures very prominently in Kayan art, and the fact
that the dog is regarded by these people and also by the Kenyahs
with a certain degree of veneration may account for its general
representation. The design has been copied by a whole host of tribes,
with degradation and change of name (Fig. 62).

On the deltoid region of the shoulders and on the breast, a rosette or
a star design is found (text, Figs. 63 and 64). As already stated, it
seems in the highest degree probable that the rosette is derived from
the eye in the dog pattern, and it is consequently of some interest
to find that the name now given to the rosette pattern is that of the
fruit of a plant which was introduced into Borneo certainly within the
last fifty or sixty years. The plant is PLUKENETIA CORNICULATA, one of
the Euphorbiaceae, and it is cultivated as a vegetable; its Kayan name
is JALAUT. We have here a good example of the gradual degradation of
a design leading to a loss of its original significance and even of
its name, another name, which originated probably from some fancied
resemblance between pattern and object, being applied at a subsequent
date. IPA OLIM, I.E., open fruit of a species of MANGIFERA, is another
name occasionally applied to the rosette pattern, but JALAUT is in
more general use (cf. Pl. 140, Fig. 4, Pl. 141, Fig. 7, and Pl. 142,
Fig. 9).

On Pl. 141, Fig. 1, is shown a hand tatued in the Kayan manner; the
figures on the phalanges are known as TEGULUN,[74] representations
of human figures or as SILONG, faces, and they are evidently
anthropomorphic derivatives. The triangles on the carpal knuckles
are termed SONG IRANG, shoots of bamboo, and the zigzag lines are
IKOR, lines.

Kayan women are tatued in complicated serial[75] designs over the whole
forearm, the backs of the hands, over the whole of the thighs and
to below the knees, and on the metatarsal surfaces of the feet. The
tatuing of a Kayan girl is a serious operation, not only because of
the considerable amount of pain caused, but also on account of the
elaborate ceremonial attached to this form of body ornamentation. The
process is a long one, lasting sometimes as much as four years,
since only a small piece can be done at a sitting, and several long
intervals elapse between the various stages of the work. A girl when
about ten years old will probably have had her fingers and the upper
part of her feet tatued, and about a year later her forearms should
have been completed; the thighs are partially tatued during the
next year, and in the third or fourth year from the commencement,
I.E. about puberty, the whole operation should have been accomplished.

A woman endeavours to have her tatu finished before she becomes
pregnant, as it is considered immodest to be tatued after she has
become a mother. If a woman has a severe illness after any portion of
her body has been tatued, the work is not continued for some little
time; moreover, according to Nieuwenhuis (9, p. 453), a woman cannot
be tatued during seed time nor if a dead person is lying unburied in
the house, since it is LALI to let blood at such times; bad dreams,
such as a dream of floods, foretelling much blood-letting, will
also interrupt the work. A tatued woman may not eat the flesh of
the monitor lizard (VARANUS) or of the scaly manis (MANIS JAVANICA),
and her husband also is included in the tabu until the pair have a
male and a female child. If they have a daughter only they may not
eat the flesh of the monitor until their child has been tatued; if
they have a son only they cannot eat the monitor until they become
grandparents. Should a girl have brothers, but no sisters, some of
her tatu lines must not be joined together, but if she has brothers
and sisters, or sisters only, all the lines can be joined.

Tatu amongst Kayan women is universal; they believe that the designs
act as torches in the next world, and that without these to light
them they would remain for ever in total darkness; one woman told
Dr. Nieuwenhuis that after death she would be recognised by the
impregnation of her bones with the tatu pigment. The operation of
tatuing amongst Kayans is performed by women, never by men, and
it is always the women who are the experts on the significance and
quality of tatu designs, though the men actually carve the designs
on the tatu blocks. Nieuwenhuis states (9, p. 452) that the office of
tatuer is to a certain extent hereditary, and that the artists, like
smiths and carvers, are under the protection of a tutelary spirit,
who must be propitiated with sacrifices before each operation. As
long as the children of the artist are of tender age she is debarred
from the practice of her profession. The greater the number of
sacrifices offered, or in other words, the greater the experience of
the artist, the higher is the fee demanded. She is also debarred from
eating certain food. It is supposed that if an artist disregards the
prohibitions imposed upon her profession, the designs that she tatus
will not appear clearly, and she herself may sicken and die.

The tools used by a tatu artist are simple,[76] consisting of two
or three prickers, ULANG or ULANG BRANG, and an iron striker, TUKUN
or PEPAK, which are kept in a wooden case, BUNGAN. The pricker is a
wooden rod with a short pointed head projecting at right angles at one
end; to the point of the head is attached a lump of resin in which
are embedded three or four short steel needles, their points alone
projecting from the resinous mass (Fig. 68). The striker is merely a
short iron rod, half of which is covered with a string lashing. The
pigment is a mixture of soot, water, and sugar-cane juice, and it is
kept in a double shallow cup of wood, UIT ULANG; it is supposed that
the best soot is obtained from the bottom of a metal cooking-pot,
but that derived from burning resin or dammar is also used. The tatu
designs are carved in high relief on blocks of wood, KELINGE[77]
(Fig. 62), which are smeared with the ink and then pressed on the
part to be tatued, leaving an impression of the designs. As will be
seen later, the designs tatued on women are in longitudinal rows or
transverse bands, and the divisions between the rows or bands are
marked by one or more zigzag lines termed IKOR.

The subject who is to be tatued lies on the floor, the artist and
an assistant squatting on either side of her; the artist first dips
a piece of fibre from the sugar-palm (ARENGA SACCHARIFERA) into the
pigment and, pressing this on to the limb to be tatued, plots out the
arrangement of the rows or bands of the design; along these straight
lines the artist tatus the IKOR, then taking a tatu block carved with
the required design, she smears it with pigment and presses it on to
the limb between two lines. The tatuer or her assistant stretches with
her feet the skin of the part to be tatued, and, dipping a pricker
into the pigment, taps its handle with the striker, driving the
needle points into the skin at each tap. The operation is painful,
and the subject can rarely restrain her cries of anguish; but the
artist is quite unmoved by such demonstrations of woe, and proceeds
methodically with her task. As no antiseptic precautions are taken, a
newly tatued part often ulcerates, much to the detriment of the tatu;
but taking all things into consideration, it is wonderful how seldom
one meets with a tatu pattern spoilt by scar tissues.

It is against custom to draw the blood of a friend (PESU DAHA), and
therefore, when first blood is drawn in tatuing, it is customary to
give a small present to the artist. The present takes the form of
four antique beads, or of some other object worth about one dollar;
it is termed LASAT MATA, for it is supposed that if it were omitted
the artist would go blind, and some misfortune would happen to the
parents and relations of the girl undergoing the operation of tatu.

When the half of one IKOR has been completed the tattier stops and
asks for SELIVIT; this is a present of a few beads, well-to-do people
paying eight yellow beads of the variety known as LAVANG, valued at
one dollar apiece, whilst poor people give two beads. It is supposed
that if SELIVIT was not paid the artist would be worried by the dogs
and fowls that always roam about a Kayan house, so that the work
would not be satisfactorily done; however, to make assurance doubly
sure, a curtain is hung round the operator and her subject to keep
off unwelcome intruders. After SELIVIT has been paid a cigarette is
smoked, and then work recommences in earnest, there being no further
interruptions for the rest of the day except for the purpose of taking
food. The food of the artist must be cooked and brought to her,
as she must not stop to do other work than tatuing, and her tools
are only laid aside for a few minutes while she consumes a hurried
meal. Fowls or a pig are killed for the artist by the parents of
the girl who is being tatued. The fees paid to the artist are more
or less fixed; for the forearms a gong, worth from eight to twenty
dollars, according to the workmanship required; for the thighs a large
TAWAK, worth as much as sixty dollars if the very best workmanship is
demanded, from six to twenty dollars if only inferior workmanship is
required.[78] For tatuing the fingers the operator receives a MALAT
or short sword. Nieuwenhuis (8, p. 236) states that it is supposed
that the artist will die within a year if her charges are excessive;
but we have not met with this belief amongst the Kayans of the Rejang
and Baram rivers.

The knee-cap is the last part to be tatued, and before this is touched
the artist must be paid; as this part of the design is the keystone,
as it were, of the whole, the required fee is always forthcoming. A
narrow strip down the back of the thigh is always left untatued;
it is supposed that mortification of the legs would ensue if this
strip was not left open.

The time at which to begin tatuing a girl is about the ninth day after
new moon, this lunar phase being known as BUTIT HALAP, the belly of the
HALAP fish (BARBUS BRAMOIDES); as the skin of the girl being tatued
quickly becomes very tender, it is often necessary to stop work for
a few days, but it is a matter of indifference at what lunar phase
work recommences, so long as it was originally begun at BUTIT HALAP.

A Kayan chief of the Mendalam river informed Dr. Nieuwenhuis [9,
p. 4551 that in his youth only the wives and daughters of chiefs were
permitted the thigh tatu, women of lower rank had to be content with
tatu of the lower part of the shin and of the ankles and feet. The
designs were in the form of quadrangular blotches divided by narrow
untatued lines, and were known as TEDAK DANAU, lake tatu. The
quadrangles were twelve in number, divided from each other by four
longitudinal and two transverse untatued lines, 6 millimetres broad,
two of the longitudinal lines running down each side of the front of
the leg, and two down each side of the calf, approximately equidistant;
the forearm was tatued in the same style. This manner of tatu is
obsolete now, but Dr. Nieuwenhuis was fortunate in finding one very
old woman so tatued.

Nowadays the class restrictions as regards tatu are not so closely
observed, but it is always possible to distinguish between the
designs of a chiefs daughter, an ordinary free-woman, and a slave,
by the number of lines composing the figures of the designs, -- the
fewer these lines, the lower being the rank of the woman. Moreover,
the designs of the lower-class women are not nearly so complex as
those of the higher class, and they are generally tatued free-hand.

A very typical design for the forearm of a woman of high rank is shown
on Pl. 140, Fig. 3; it is taken from a Kayan of the Uma Pliau sub-tribe
dwelling on the Baram river, and may be compared with the somewhat
similar designs of the Mendalam river Kayans figured by Nieuwenhuis
[9, Pl. 85], one of which is a design for a chiefs daughter, the
other for a slave. The zigzag lines bounding the pattern on both
surfaces of the forearm are the IKOR, and these, as already stated,
are marked out with a piece of fibre dipped in the tatu ink before the
rest of the pattern is impressed by a wood-block or KLINGE. Taking
the flexor surface of the forearm first, the units of the designs
are: three bands of concentric circles (AAA) termed BELILING BULAN
or full moons; a triangle (B) each, limb formed by several parallel
lines, DULANG HAROK, the bows of a boat; spirals (CC) ULU TINGGANG,
the head of the hornbill. On the supinator surface BELILING BULAN
and ULU TINGGANG occur again, but instead of DULANG HAROK, there are
two other elements, a bold transverse zigzag known as DAUN WI (D),
rattan leaves, and at the proximal end of the pattern an interlacing
design, TUSHUN TUVA (E), bundles of tuba root (DERRIS ELLIPTICA). The
fingers are very simply tatued with a zigzag on the carpal knuckles
and transverse lines across the joints; the thumb is decorated in
a slightly different way. In Dr. Nieuwenhuis' designs cited above,
we find much the same elements; in one of them the BELILING BULAN are
more numerous and more closely set together, so that the concentric
circles of one set have run into those of the next adjoining; the
TUSHUN TUVA pattern is termed POESOENG, evidently the same as TUSHUN;
the spirals are much degraded in one example and are called KROWIT,
or hooks, whilst in the more elaborate example they are known as MANOK
WAK, or eyes of the SCOPS owl; the PEDJAKO PATTERN is an addition,
but the meaning of the word is not known; the pattern on the fingers
is much more complex than in the Uma Pliau example, and is perhaps
a degraded hornbill design.

Nieuwenhuis [8, Pl. XXIV.] figures the hand of a low-class woman
tatued with triangular and quadrangular blotches, and with some rude
designs that appear to have been worked in free-hand.

On Pl. 140, Fig. 1, is shown the design on the forearm of a high-class
woman of the Uma Lekan Kayans of the Batang Kayan river, Dutch Borneo;
in our opinion these elegant designs are quite in the front rank of
the tatu designs of the world. In spite of the elaboration, it is quite
possible to distinguish in these the same elements as in the Uma Pliau
specimen, viz.: BELILING BULAN ULU TINGGANG DAUN WI and TUSHUN TUVA;
but the DULANG HAROK is absent, and the SILONG or face pattern appears.

Nieuwenhuis [9, Pl. 93, b] figures the arm-tatu (supinator surface
only) of a Kayan woman of the Blu-u river, a tributary of the Upper
Mahakkam; the main design is evidently a hornbill derivative, the
knuckles are tatued with quadrangular and rectangular blotches. The
hornbill plays an important part in the decorative art of the Long
Glat, a Klemantan tribe of the Mahakkam river, and we suspect that,
if these Blu-u Kayans are of true Kayan stock, they have borrowed
the hornbill design from their neighbours.

With regard to the thigh patterns, it is usual to find the back of
the thigh occupied with two strips of an intersecting line design,
or some modification thereof; the simplest form is shown on Pl. 138,
Fig. 1; it is known as IDA TELO, the three-line pattern, and is used
by slaves; a more elaborate example from the Rejang river is shown in
Fig. 3, and is used both by slaves and free-women. Pl. 138, Fig. 2,
and Pl. 139, Fig. 6, are termed IDA PAT, the four-line pattern, and
are for free-women, not for slaves. The latter figure is a combination
of IDA PAT and IDA TELO. The wives and daughters of chiefs would
employ similar designs with the addition of another line, when they
are termed IDA LIMA, the five-line pattern, or else a design, known
as IDA TUANG, the underside pattern, two examples of which are given
on Pl. 139, Figs. 1 and 2. If these two latter designs are compared
with the hornbill design of the Long Glat, a figure of which, taken
from Nieuwenhuis [9, Pl. 86] is given (Pl. 139, Fig. 3) a certain
similarity in the MOTIF of the designs can be recognised. It must
be remembered that the Long Glat design is tatued in rows down the
front and sides of the thigh, whilst these Kayan designs have been
modified to form more or less of a sinuous line design for the back
of the thigh; or, in other words, the hornbill elements in the Long
Glat design, though they are serially repeated, are quite separate
and distinct one from the other, whilst in the Kayan designs the
hornbill elements are fused and modified to produce the sinuous
line pattern that in one form or another is generally employed for
the decoration of the back of the thigh. In this connection Pl. 139,
Fig. 5, is instructive; it is taken from a tatu block which, together
with those from which Figs. 1 and 2 are taken, was collected many
years ago by Mr. Brooke Low, amongst the Kayans of the Upper Rejang;
it also appears to be a doc, derivative, and no doubt was used for the
tatu of the front of a woman's thigh,[79] being serially repeated in
three or four rows as with the Long Glat. Yet it was unknown as a tatu
design to some Kayans of the Baram river to whom it was shown recently;
they informed us that the name of the design was TUANG BUVONG ASU,
pattern of dog without tail, and they stated that a somewhat similar
design was engraved by them on sword blades. Pl. 139, Fig. 4, is
taken from a tatu-block of uncertain origin, and the same name was
also applied to this by the Baram Kayans, though with some hesitation
and uncertainty; the hornbill MOTIF is here quite obvious.

We have stated that an interlacing line design is generally employed
for the back of the thigh; we figure, however, a remarkable exception
from the Baloi river (Pl. 140, Fig. 5); this is known as KALONG KOWIT,
hook pattern; A is a representation of an antique bead, BALALAT
LUKUT, B is known as KOWIT, hooks. Between the two strips of line
design at the back of the thigh runs a narrow line of untatued skin,
the supposed object of which has been described above. The front and
sides of the thigh in highclass women will be covered with three or
more strips of pattern such as are shown on Pl. 138, Figs. 4 and 5;
in the latter TUSHUN TUVA, DULANG HAROK, ULU TINGGANG and BELILING
BULAN can again be recognised; the ULU TINGGANG in this example are
less conventionalised than in the spirals of the forearm pattern,
and a spiral form of TUSHUN TUVA IS shown in addition to the angular
form. The other example exhibits IDA LIMA, TUSHUN TUVA JALAUT, KOWIT
(the interlocking spirals) and ULU TINGGANG. All these strips of
pattern are separated by the IKOR. The knee-cap is the last part
of the leg to be tatued, and the design covering it is called the
KALONG NANG, the important pattern, good examples of which are shown
in Figs. 70, 71; Fig. 72 represents the design on the front and sides
of the thigh of an Uma Semuka Kayan of the slave class, which also
is termed TUSHUN TUVA.

The admirable Uma Lekan patterns (Pl. 140, Fig. 2) represent on the
back of the thigh (AA) BELILING BULAN, on the front and sides (BB)
SILONG, faces or SILONG LEJAU, tigers' faces; the latter is evidently
an anthropomorph; the knee-cap design is particularly worthy of
notice.[80] Nieuwenhuis [9, Pl. 83, and 8, Pl. XXVII.] figures the
thigh tatu of a Mendalam woman of the PANJIN or free-woman class; the
back of the thigh is occupied by two strips of the four line pattern,
here termed KETONG PAT, and a somewhat crude anthropomorphic design,
known as KOHONG KELUNAN, human head, covers the front and sides of
the thigh (text Fig. 69); the centre of the knee-cap is occupied
by a very similar anthropomorph, known however as NANG KLINGE, the
important design, and extending in a semicircle round the upper part
of it is a design made up of intersecting zigzags and known as KALANG
NGIPA, the snake design; below the knee-cap is a transverse band of
hour-glass shaped figures termed PEDJAKO. Nieuwenhuis also figures
[9, Pl. 841 the thigh pattern of a chiefs daughter from the same
river; this only differs from the preceding example in the greater
elaboration of the KOHONG KELUNAN; the back of the thigh is covered
by a form of the IDA PAT pattern not by the IDA LIMA pattern. Some
of the tatu-blocks employed by the Mendalam Kayan women are figured
in the same works [9, Pl. 82, and 8, Pl. XXVIII.].

A comparison of the figures here given lends strong support to
the supposition that the tuba-root pattern is merely a degraded
anthropomorph. Fig. 69 is a recognisable anthropomorph such as is
tatued in rows on the thigh, and some such name as TEGULUN, SILONG,
or KOHONG is applied to it. Fig. 70 is a knee-cap design, evidently
anthropomorphic in nature, but termed NANG KLINGE, the important
design, since it is the last part of all to be tatued. Fig.71 is
termed TUSHUN TUVA, but a distinct face is visible in the centre
of the pattern; the general similarity between this last design and
the examples of TUSHUN TUVA shown in the designs on Pl. 138, Figs. 4
and 5, is quite obvious; the lower of the two TUSHUN TUVA designs in
Fig. 5, Pl. 138, is Cornposed of angular lines, thus reverting to the
angularity of the lines in text, Fig. 69; at E, Fig. 3, Pl. 140, the
lines are partly angular, partly curved, and the bilateral symmetry
is entirely lost; finally, in Fig. 72, the relationship of the TUSHUN
TUVA design to an anthropomorph is entirely lost.

A typical form of tatu on the foot of a low-class woman is shown on
Pl. 138, Fig. 6; a chiefs daughter would have some modification of
the principal element of the thigh design tatued on this part.


Kenyah Tatu.

The culture of the Sarawak Kenyahs is closely allied to that of the
Kayans, and their tatu may be considered separately from that of the
Kenyah-Klemantan tribes whose tatu is much more original in design.

The men of such Kenyah tribes as the Lepu Jalan, Lepu Tau, Lepu Apong,
etc., if tatued at all, are tatued in the Kayan manner, that is, with
some form of dog design on the forearms and thighs, and with rosettes
or stars on the shoulders and breasts. The dog design is usually known
as USANG ORANG, the prawn pattern; the teeth of the dog are held to
represent the notched border of the prominent rostrum characteristic
of the prawns of the genus PALAEMAN, that occur so plentifully in
the fresh-water streams of Borneo. An extreme modification of the dog
design to form a prawn is shown in Pl. 137, Fig. 9; Pl. 136, Fig. 4,
is a dog design, and is so termed. Pl. 136, Fig. 10, is known as
TOYU, a crab; A is the mouth, BA; B the claw, KATIP; C the back,
LIKUT; D the tail, IKONG. Pl. 136, Fig. 9, is termed LIPAN KATIP,
jaws of the centipede. All these are tatued on the flexor surface
of the forearm or on the outside of the thigh.[81] An example of a
star design termed USONG DIAN, durian pattern, is shown in Pl. 141,
Fig. 7. The women of these tribes tatu in the same way, and employ
the same designs as the Kayans, except that they never tatu on the
thighs. Amongst the Baram Kenyahs there appears to be very little
ceremonial connected with the process of tatuing.


Kenyah-Klemantan[82] Tatu.

Amongst this rather heterogeneous assemblage of tribes considerable
diversity of tatu design is found. The men are seldom tatued, but
when they are it is in the Kayan manner. The Peng or Pnihing of the
Koti basin have an elaborate system of male tatu, but it seems to be
dying out; the only examples that we have met are shown on Pl. 141,
Figs. 2 and 3. These represent the arms of Peng men; unfortunately we
have no information as to the significance of the designs. The only
other Peng design that we are acquainted with is a large disc tatued
on the calf of the leg. Dr. Nieuwenhuis states that Peng women are
tatued with isolated dog designs on the arms and legs like the men
of Kayan tribes [9, p. 461].

The Kenyah women of the Baram district exhibit a very primitive
style of tatu on the arms and hands (Pl. 141, Fig. 4); a broad band
encircles the middle of the forearm, and a narrow band an inch or so
distant of this also surrounds the arm; from this narrow band there run
over the metacarpals to the base of the fingers eight narrow lines,
the outermost on the radial side bifurcating; the design is known as
BETIK ALLE or line tatu. No other part of the body is tatued.

Nieuwenhuis figures [9, Pl. 95] a somewhat similar design employed
by the Lepu Tau women of the Batang Kayan; but in this case, instead
of eight longitudinal lines stopping short at the knuckles, there
are five broad bands running to the finger nails, interrupted at the
knuckles by a 2 cm.-broad strip of untatued skin. Moreover, with these
people the front and sides of the thigh and the shin are tatued with
primitive-looking designs made up of series of short transverse lines,
curved lines, and broad bands; the names of the designs are not given;
these designs are said to be characteristic of the slave-class, the
higher-class women copying the more elaborate designs of the Uma Lekan.

Amongst the Batang Kayan Kenyahs tatuing cannot be executed in the
communal house, but only in a hut built for the purpose. The males of
the family, to which the girl undergoing the operation belongs, must
dress in bark-cloth, and are confined to the house until the tatu is
completed; should any of the male members be travelling in other parts
of the island tatu cannot be commenced until they return. Amongst the
Uma Tow (or Lepu Tau) the daughter of a chief must be tatued before
any of the other females of the house; should the chiefs daughter
(or daughters) die before she has been tatued, all the other women
of the house are debarred from this embellishment (Nieuwenhuis [9,
pp. 453, 454]).

Nieuwenhuis, in his great work on Borneo, which we have cited so
often, gives a good account of the tatu of the Long Glat. According
to this authority, girls when only eight years old have the backs of
the fingers tatued, at the commencement of menstruation the tatu of
the fingers is completed, and in the course of the following year
the tatu is carried over the backs of the hand to the wrist; the
feet are tatued synchronously with the hands. At the age of eighteen
to twenty the front of the thigh is tatued, and later on in life the
back of the thigh; unlike the Kayans it is not necessary that the tatu
of the thighs should be finished before child-bearing. A Long Glat
woman on each day that she is tatued must kill a black fowl as food
for the artist. They believe that after death the completely tatued
women will be allowed to bathe in the mythical river Telang Julan,
and that consequently they will be able to pick up the pearls that
are found in its bed; incompletely tatued women can only stand on
the river bank, whilst the untatued will not be allowed to approach
its shores at all. This belief appears to be universal amongst the
Kenyah-Klemantan of the Upper Mahakam and Batang Kayan. On Pl. 86 of
Nieuwenhuis' book [9] is figured the thigh tatu of a Long Glat woman;
the front of the thigh is occupied with two rows of the hornbill MOTIF
to which reference has already been made. The sides of the thigh are
tatued with a beautiful design of circles and scrolls termed KERIP
KWE, flight feathers of the Argus pheasant, and on the back of the
thigh is a scroll design borrowed from the decoration of a grave
and known as KALANG SONG SEPIT.[83] The knee is left untatued. Some
other examples of the KERIP KWE design are given on Pl. 90, and of
the SONG SEPIT on Pl. 91; some of the SONG SEPIT designs recall the
KALANG KOWIT designs of the Baloi Kayans. Instead of a hornbill MOTIF,
a dog's head MOTIF is sometimes tatued on the thigh, an example of
which is figured on Pl. 87, Fig. A; it appears to be a composition
of four heads, and in appearance is not unlike SILONG LEJAU of the
Uma Lekan, figured by us. In the Long Glat thigh-tatu the bands of
pattern are not separated by lines of IKOR, as with the Kayans. Round
the ankles the Long Glat tatu sixteen lines, 3 mm. broad, known as
TEDAK AKING; the foot is tatued much after the manner shown in our
Fig. 6, Pl. 143. The supinator surface of the forearm and the backs
of the hands are also tatued, but the design does not extend so far up
the arm as with the Kayans [9, Pl. 92]; the forearm design is made up
of a hornbill MOTIF, but that shown in Fig. A of the plate is termed
BETIK KULE, leopard pattern, and is supposed to be a representation
of the spots on the leopard's skin; it is stated to be taken from a
Long Tepai tatu-block; the knuckles are tatued with a double row of
wedges, the finger joints with quadrangles.

The Uma Luhat seem to have borrowed their tatu and designs very largely
if not entirely from the Long Glat; with them the back of the thigh
is tatued before the front, which is exceptional. Half of the knee
is tatued. Their designs are modifications of the hornbill and dog's
head designs of the Long Glat. Nieuwenhuis figures several examples
[9, Pl. 87, Fig. B, Plate 88, Pl. 89, Pl. 93, Fig. A, Pl. 94], which
should be consulted, as they are of the greatest interest.

The Long Wai seem to tatu in much the same way as the Uma Luhat [2,
Pl., p. 189 and 7, p. 91].


Tatu of Muruts and Klemantans.

A number of tribes have adopted more or less the tatu of the
Kayans. Thus the men of the following Sarawak tribes, Sibops, Lirongs,
Tanjongs, Long Kiputs, Barawans, and Kanowits, are often, though not
universally, tatued like Kayans. The shoulder pattern of the Barawans
is distinctive, in that the rosette nearly always bears a scroll
attached to it, a relic of the dog MOTIF, from which the design is
derived (Pl. 138, Fig. 6). E. B. Haddon [4, Fig. 17] figures another
form of the dog MOTIF, which is tatued on the thigh or forearm, and
Ling Roth [7, p. 86] figures three rosette designs for the breast;
we figure two modifications of the dog design on Pl. 137, Figs. 7 and
8. The women of these tribes very rarely tatu; we have seen a Tanjong
woman with a circle of star-shaped figures round her wrist and one
on the thumb. The Tring women of Dutch Borneo are tatued on the hands
and thighs like Kayans; Carl Bock [2, Pl., p. 187] gives some figures
of them. In our opinion all of these tribes owe their tatu entirely
to foreign influences; for we have failed to find a single example
of an original design; the practice is by no means universal, and
great catholicity of taste is shown by those who do tatu. The men,
moreover, do not tatu as a sign of bravery in battle or adventure,
but merely from a desire to copy the more warlike Kayan.

We shall now treat of those tribes that have a distinctive and original
tatu, but it is well to bear in mind, that amongst many of these people
also the Kayan designs are coming into vogue more and more, ousting the
old designs. No tatu-blocks are employed for the indigenous patterns,
all the work being done free-hand.

(A) UMA LONG. -- The Uma Long women of the Batang Kayan exhibit
the most primitive form of tatu known in Borneo. It differs from
every other form in that the tatued surface of the skin is not
covered uniformly with the ink, but the design, such as it is, is
merely stippled into the skin, producing an appearance of close-set
irregular dots. Two aspects of the forearm of an Uma Long woman are
shown on Pl. 142, Fig. 5. No other part of the body is tatued, and
the practice is confined to the female sex.

(B) DUSUN. -- The men only tatu. The design is simple, consisting
of a band, two inches broad, curving from each shoulder and meeting
its fellow on the abdomen, thence each band diverges to the hip and
there ends; from the shoulder each band runs down the upper arm on
its exterior aspect; the flexor surface of the forearm is decorated
with short transverse stripes, and, according to one authority, each
stripe marks an enemy slain [7, p. 90]. This form of tatu is found
chiefly amongst the Idaan group of Dusuns; according to Whitehead
[11, p. 106] the Dusuns living on the slopes of Mount Kina Balu tatu
no more than the parallel transverse stripes on the forearm, but in
this case no reference is made to the significance of the stripes as
a head-tally. The Dusun women apparently do not tatu.

(C) MURUT. -- The Muruts of the Trusan river, North Sarawak, tatu
very little; the men occasionally have a small scroll design just
above the knee-cap and a simple circle on the breast; the women have
fine lines tatued from the knuckles to the elbows [7, p. 93]. The
Muruts of British North Borneo appear to be more generally tatued;
the men are tatued like Dusuns, though, according to Hatton, they
have three parallel stripes running from the shoulders to the wrists
and no transverse lines on the forearm.[84] Whitehead [11, p. 76]
figures a Murut woman of the Lawas river tatued on the arms from the
biceps to the knuckles with numerous fine longitudinal lines; a band
of zigzag design encircles the arm just above the commencement of the
longitudinal lines. The design on a man of the same tribe is given
on page 73 [11], it resembles "a three-legged dog with a crocodile's
head, one leg being turned over the back as if the animal was going to
scratch its ear." The part of the body on which the design was tatued,
is not specified and the sketch is rather inadequate, so that it is
impossible to tell for certain whether the design was tatued in outline
only or whether the outline was filled in uniformly; our impression is
that the outline only was tatued on this individual, and that it was
employed either as an experiment or from idle amusement. Zoomorphs
are conspicuous by their absence from all forms of decorative art
amongst the Lawas Muruts, and the particular zoomorph noted here
gives every evidence of an unpractised hand.

St. John states [7, p. 92] that the Muruts of the Adang river,
a tributary of the Limbang, are tatued about the arms and legs,
but he gives no details.

(D) KALABIT. -- This tribe, dwelling in the watershed of the Limbang
and Baram rivers, is closely akin to Muruts, but its tatu is very
different. The men tatu but rarely, and then with stripes down the
arms. The women, however, are decorated with most striking geometrical
designs, shown on Pl. 142, Figs. 1 -- 4. On the forearm are tatued
eight bold zigzag bands, one-eighth of an inch broad, which do not
completely encircle the arm, but stop short of joining at points
on the ulnar side of the middle line on the flexor surface. The
series of lines is known as BETIK TISU, the hand pattern. In some
cases two short transverse lines, called TIPALANG, cross-lines,
spring from the most distal zigzag at the point where it touches the
back of the wrist on the radial side; in other cases these lines are
tatued across the middle of the back of the wrist and two lozenges
are tatued on the metacarpals; these are known as TEPARAT (Pl. 142,
Fig. 1). The legs are tatued on the back of the thigh, on the shin,
and sometimes on the knee-cap. The designs can best be explained by
a reference to Pl. 142, Figs. 2 -- 4; the part of the design marked
A is termed BETIK BUAH, fruit pattern; B, betik lawa, trunk pattern;
and C, BETIK LULUD, shin pattern. In Fig. 4, A and C are as before;
D is BETIK KARAWIN; E, UJAT BATU, hill-tops; F, BETIK KALANG (Fig. 3).

Kalabit women are tatued when they are sixteen years old, whether
they are married or unmarried, and the operation does not extend
over a number of years as with the Long Glat and Kayans, nor is any
elaborate ceremonial connected with the process.

(E) LONG UTAN. -- An extinct Klemantan tribe, once dwelling on the
Tinjar river, an affluent of the Baram. We owe our knowledge of their
tatu to an aged Klemantan, who was well acquainted with the tribe
before their disappearance; at our behest he carved on some wooden
models of arms and legs the tatu designs of these people, but he
was unable to supply any information of the names or significance
of the designs. The men of the tribe apparently were not tatued,
and the designs reproduced on Pl. 141, Figs. 5, 6, are those of the
women. The essential features of the designs are spirals and portions
of intersecting circles; the intersecting circles are frequently to
be met with in the decorative art of Kenyahs, E.G. on the back of
sword-handles, round the top of posts, on carved bamboos, etc., and
in these cases the design is supposed to be a representation of the
open fruit of a species of mango, MANGIFERA SP. It is not improbable
that the design had the same significance amongst the Long Utan,
for we have met with one or two representations of the same fruit
amongst other Klemantan tribes.

(F) BIAJAU. -- The Dutch author C. den Hamer [5, p. 451] includes under
this heading the tribes living in the districts watered by the rivers
Murung, Kahayan, Katingan, and Mentaja of South-west Borneo. Under this
very elastic heading he would include the Ot-Danum, Siang, and Ulu
Ajar of Nieuwenhuis, but we treat of these in the next section. The
ethnology of the Barito, Kahayan, and Katingan river-basins sadly
needs further investigation; nothing of importance has been published
on this region since the appearance of Schwaner's book on Borneo more
than fifty years ago. We know really very little of the distribution or
constitution of the tribes dwelling in these districts, and Schwaner's
account of their tatu is very meagre. Such as it is, it is given here,
extracted from Ling Roth's TRANSLATION OF SCHWANER'S ETHNOGRAPHICAL
NOTES [7, pp. cxci. cxciv.]: The men of Pulu Petak, the right-hand
lower branch of the Barito or Banjermasin river, tatu the upper part
of the body, the arms and calves of legs, with elegant interlacing
designs and scrolls. The people of the Murung river are said to be most
beautifully tatued, both men and women; this river is really the upper
part of the Barito, and according to Hamer is inhabited by the Biajau
(VIDE POSTEA), who appear to be distinct from the Ngaju of Schwaner,
inhabiting the lower courses of the Barito and Kapuas rivers. The men
of the lower left-hand branch of the Barito and of the midcourse of
that river are often not tatued at all, but such tatu as was extant
in 1850 was highly significant according to Schwaner's account; thus,
a figure composed of two spiral lines interlacing each other and with
stars at the extremities tatued on the shoulder signified that the
man had taken several heads; two lines meeting each other at an acute
angle behind the finger nails signified dexterity in wood-carving;
a star on the temple was a sign of happiness in love. We have no
reason to consider this information inaccurate, but we do consider it
lamentable that more details concerning the most interesting forms
of tatu in Borneo were not obtained, for it is only too probable
that such information cannot be acquired now. The women of this
tribe do not tatu. In the upper Teweh river, an upper tributary of
the Barito the men are tatued a good deal, especially on parts of
the face, such as the forehead, the cheeks, the upper lip. The only
figures that Schwaner gives are reproduced by Ling Roth [7, p. 931,
they represent two Ngajus; the tatu designs are drawn on too small a
scale to be of much interest, and in any case we have no information
concerning them. The two figures of 'Tatued Dyaks' (? Kayans) (after
Professor Veth), on p. 95 of the above-cited work cannot be referred
to any tribe known to us.

Hamer in his paper [5] gives a detailed account of Biajau tatu, but,
unfortunately, without any illustrations; as abstracts of the paper
have already been given by Ling Roth [7, pp. 93, 94] and by Hein [6,
pp. 143 -- 147], we will pass on to the next section.

(G) OT-DANUM, ULU AJAR, AND SIANG (Kapuas river, tributaries). --
Concerning these tribes Nieuwenhuis says but little [9, p. 452],
merely noting that the men are first tatued with discs on the
calf and in the hollow of the knee and later over the arms, torso,
and throat, whilst the women tatu the hands, knees, and shins. Two
colours, red and blue, are used, and the designs are tatued free-hand,
the instrument employed being a piece of copper or brass about four
inches long and half an inch broad, with one end bent down at a right
angle and sharpened to a point. Sometimes thread is wound round the
end of the instrument just above the point, to regulate the depth
of its penetration. Two specimens in the Leyden Museum are figured
by Ling Roth [7, p. 85]. Hamer [5] says that the Ot-Danum women are
tatued down the shin to the tarsus with two parallel lines, joined
by numerous cross-lines, a modification of the Uma Tow design for the
same part of the limb. On the thigh is tatued a design termed SOEWROE,
said to resemble a neck ornament. A disc tatued on the calf of the
leg is termed BOENTOER, and from it to the heel runs a barbed line
called IKOEH BAJAN, tail of the monitor lizard; curiously enough,
though this is the general name of the design, it is on the right leg
also termed BARAREK, on the left DANDOE TJATJAH. Warriors are tatued
on the elbowjoint with a DANDOE TJATJAH and a cross called SARAPANG
MATA ANDAU.

A Maloh who had lived for many years amongst these people gave us
the following information about their tatu: -- There is with these
people a great difference between the tatu of the high-class and
that of the low-class individuals: amongst the former the designs are
both extensive and complicated, too complicated for our informant to
describe with any degree of accuracy, but they seem to be much the
same as those described by Hamer. The low-class people have to be
content with simpler designs; the men are tatued on the breast and
stomach with two curved lines ending in curls, and on the outside
of each arm with two lines also ending in curls (Pl. 142, Fig. 6);
on the outside of the thigh a rather remarkable design, shown on
Pl. 142, Fig. 7, is tatued; it is termed LINSAT, the flying squirrel,
PTEROMYS NITIDUS, and on the back of the calf is tatued a disc termed
KALANG BABOI, the wild pig pattern. The women are tatued as described
by Hamer down the front of the shin with two parallel lines connected
by transverse cross-bars; according to our informant the design was
supposed to represent a flat fish, such as a sole. (Pl. 142, Fig. 8.)

Of these people, as of so many others, the melancholy tale of
disappearance of tatu amongst the present generation and replacement
of indigenous by Kayan designs was told, and it seems only too likely
that within the next decade or two none will be left to illustrate
a once flourishing and beautiful art.

Schwaner can add nothing to the facts that we have collected, except
the statement that "the BILIANS (priestesses) have brought the art
of tatuing to the present degree of perfection through learning the
description of the pretty tatued bodies of the [mythical] Sangsangs."

(H) KAHAYAN. -- Our figure (Pl. 141, Fig. 3), and Pl. 81 of
Dr. Nieuwenhuis' book [9], is the extent of our knowledge of the tatu
of the inhabitants of the Kahayan river. The latter illustration
shows a man tatued with a characteristic check pattern over the
torso, stomach, and arms, but there is no reference to the plate
in the text. Our figure is copied from a drawing by Dr. H. Hiller,
of Philadelphia.

(I) BAKATAN AND UKIT. -- As Nieuwenhuis has pointed out [9, p. 451],
the tatu of these tribes is distinctive, inasmuch as most of the
designs are left in the natural colour of the skin against a background
of tatu; that is to say in the phraseology of the photographer,
whilst the tatu designs of Kayans, Kenyahs, etc., are POSITIVES,
those of the Bakatans are NEGATIVES. The men were formerly most
extensively tatued, and we figure the principal designs (Pl. 143),
most of which were drawn from a Bakatan of the Rejang river. The chest
is covered with a bold scroll design known as GEROWIT, hooks (Kayan,
KOWIT) (Figs. 1, 2); across the back and shoulder blades stretches a
double row of circles, KANAK, with small hooks interposed (Fig. 9);
on the side of the shoulder a pattern known as AKIH, the lizard,
PLYCHOZOON HOMALOCEPHALUM (Fam. Geckonidae), is tatued (Figs. 3, 4);
this lizard is used as a haruspex by the Bakatan. Circles are tatued
on the biceps, on the back of the thigh, and on the calf of the leg;
a modification of the scroll design of the chest occurs on the flexor
surface of the forearm. Another form of pattern for the calf of the
leg is shown in Fig. 73, it is termed SELONG BOWANG, the horse-mango,
MANGIFERA SP., the same fruit as that termed by Kayans IPA OLIM, and
of which a representation forms the chief element in the Long Utan
tatu. A series of short lines is tatued on the jaw, and is termed JA,
lines, or KILANG, sword-pattern, and a GEROWIT design occurs under the
jaw; the pattern on the throat is known also as GEROWIT (Fig. 10). On
the forehead is sometimes tatued a star or rosette pattern called
LUKUT, antique bead, and it appears that this is of the nature of
a recognition mark. In jungle warfare, where a stealthy descent
on an unprepared enemy constitutes the main principle of tactics,
it not unfrequently happens that one body of the attacking force
unwittingly stalks another, and the results might be disastrous if
there was not some means of distinguishing friend from foe when at
close quarters.[85] Kenyahs when on the warpath frequently tie a band
of plaited palm fibre round the wrist for the same object. The tatu of
the backs of the hands is avowedly copied from the Kayans, but has a
different name applied to it -- KUKUM. The metatarsus is tatued with
broad bars, IWA, very like the foot tatu of Kayan women of the slave
or of the middle class; lines known as JANGO encircle the ankle.

Tatuing is forbidden in the house; it can only be performed on the
warpath, and consequently men only are the tatu artists. The covering
of the body with designs is a gradual process, and it is only the
most seasoned and experienced warriors who exhibit on their persons
all the different designs that we have just detailed. The tatu of
the legs and feet is the last to be completed, and the lines round
the ankles are denied to all but the bravest veterans.

All that has been written above applies equally well to the Ukits,
or at least once did apply, for now the Ukits have to a great extent
adopted the tatu of the Kayan, and it is only occasionally that
an old man tatued in the original, Ukit manner is met. We give a
figure of a design on the back of the thigh of such a relic of better
days. (Pl. 143, Fig. 5).

The Bakatan and Ukit women tatu very little, only the forearm, on the
metacarpals, and on the back of the wrist; characteristic designs
for these parts are shown in Fig. 74, and Pl. 143, Figs. 7, 8. The
central part of the forearm design is an anthropomorphic derivative,
judging by the name TEGULUN; the lines are termed KILANG, and KANAK
and GEROWIT are also conspicuous; GEROWIT IS also the name of the
design for the metacarpals; the two stars joined by a line on the
wrist are termed LUKUT, and it is possible that their significance is
the same as that of the Kayan LUKUT tatued in the same place by men,
but we have no evidence that this is the case.

Nieuwenhuis figures [9, Pl. 80] a Bakatan tatued on the chest in the
typical manner.

The only other designs, apparently of Kalamantan origin, are those
figured by Ling Roth [7, p. 87]. Three of these are after drawings
by Rev. W. Crossland, and are labelled "tatu marks on arm of Kapuas
Kayan captive woman." The designs are certainly not of Kayan origin;
the woman had in all probability been brought captive to Sarawak, where
Mr. Crossland saw her, and it is unfortunate that exact information
concerning the tribe to which she belonged was not obtained. The
designs, if accurately copied, are so extremely unlike all that are
known to us that we are not able to hazard even a guess at their
provenance or meaning. The other design figured on the same page
is copied from Carl Bock; it occurred on the shoulder of a Punan,
and is said by Mr. Crossland to be commonly used by the Sea Dayaks
of the Undup. We met with a similar example of it (Pl. 138, Fig. 7)
on an Ukit tatued in the Kayan manner, but could get no information
concerning it, and suppose that it is not an Ukit design. Hein
[6, Fig. 90] figures the same design, and Nieuwenhuis [8, p. 240]
alludes to a similar. We may note here that the designs figured on
page 89 of Ling Roth's book [7] as tatu designs are in our opinion
very probably not tatu designs. They were collected by Dr. Wienecke in
Dutch Borneo, and appear to be nothing but drawings by a native artist
of such objects in daily use as hats, seat-mats, baby-slings, and so
on. We communicated with Dr. J. D. E. Schmeltz of the Leyden Museum,
where these "tatu" marks are deposited, and learnt from him that they
are indeed actual drawings on paper; there are ninety-two of them,
apparently all are different isolated designs, and they are evidently
the work of one artist.[86] There is not a tribe in Borneo which can
show such a variety of tatu design, and indeed we doubt if ninety-two
distinct isolated tatu designs could be found throughout all the length
and breadth of the island. Moreover, as can be seen by reference to the
cited work, the designs are of a most complicated nature, not figures
with the outlines merely filled in, as in all tatu designs known to
us, but with the details drawn in fine lines and cross-hatching, which
in tatu would be utterly lost unless executed on a very large scale.


Sea Dayak Tatu.

The Sea Dayaks at the present day are, as far as the men are concerned,
the most extensively tatued tribe in Borneo, with the exception
of the Bakatans, Ukits, Kahayans, and Biajau; nevertheless, from
a long-continued and close study of their tatu, we are forced to
the conclusion that the practice and the designs have been entirely
borrowed from other tribes, but chiefly from the Kayans. For some time
we believed that there were two characteristically Sea Dayak designs,
namely, that which is tatued on the throat (Figs. 75 and 76) and that
on the wrist (Pl. 143, Fig. 7), but when later we studied Bakatan tatu
we met with the former in the GEROWIT pattern on the throat of men, and
the latter in the LUKUT design on the wrist of the women. A Sea Dayak
youth will simply plaster himself, so to speak, with numerous isolated
designs; we have counted as many as five of the ASU design on one thigh
alone. The same design appears two or three times on the arms, and even
on the breast, though this part of the body as well as the shoulders
is more usually decorated with several stars and rosettes. The backs
of the hands are tatued, quite irrespective of bravery or experience
in warfare; in fact we have frequently had occasion to note that a man
with tatued hands is a wastrel or a conceited braggart, of no account
with Europeans or with his own people. This wild and irresponsible
system of tatu has been accompanied by an inevitable degradation of
the designs. There is a considerable body of evidence to show that the
Sea Dayaks have borrowed much in their arts and crafts from tribes who
have been longer established in Borneo; but it must be confessed that
in their decorative art they have often improved upon their models;
their bamboo carvings and their woven cloth are indeed "things of
beauty." But their tatu involves, not an intelligent elaboration
of the models, but a simplification and degradation, or at best an
elaboration without significance. Figs. 1 -- 6, Pl. 137, are examples
of the Sea Dayaks TUANG ASU or dog design. The figures show the dog
design run mad, and it is idle to attempt to interpret them, since
in every case the artists have given their individual fancies free
play. When the profession of the tatu-artist is hereditary, and when
the practice has for its object the embellishment of definite parts
of the body for definite reasons, we naturally find a constancy of
design; or, if there are varieties, there is a purpose in them, in
the sense that the variations can be traced to pre-existing forms,
and do not depart from the original so widely that their significance
is altogether lost. With the borrowing of exogenous designs arises such
an alteration in their forms that the original names and significance
are lost. But when the very practice of tatu has no special meaning,
when the tatu-artist may be any member of the tribe, and where no
original tatu design is to be found in the tribe, then the borrowed
practice and the borrowed designs, unbound by any sort of tradition,
run complete riot, and any sort of fanciful name is applied to the
degraded designs. Amongst the Kenyah tribes the modification and
degradation of the dog design has not proceeded so far as amongst
the Sea Dayaks, and this may be explained by their more restrained
practice of tatu and by the constant intercourse between them and
the Kayans, for they always have good models before them. Pl. 137,
Fig. 3, illustrates the extreme limit of degradation of the dog design
amongst Sea Dayaks; it is sometimes termed KALA, scorpion,[87] and
it is noteworthy that the representation of the chelae and anterior
end of the scorpion (A) was originally the posterior end of the dog,
and the hooked ends of the posterior processes of this scorpion design
(B), instead of facing one another as they did when they represented
the open jaws of the dog, now look the same way; the rosette-like eye
of the dog still persists, but of course it has no significance in the
scorpion. A curious modification of this eye is seen in another Sea
Dayak scorpion design figured by E. B. Haddon [4, Fig. 19]. Furness
[3, p. 142] figures a couple of scorpion designs, but neither are
quite as debased as that which we figure here. Furness also figures a
scroll design, not unlike a Bakatan design, tatued on the forearm, and
termed TAIA GASIENG, the thread of the spinning wheel; a similar one
figured by Ling Roth [7, p. 88] is termed TRONG, the egg plant. On the
breast and shoulders some forms of rosette or star design are tatued
in considerable profusion; they are known variously as BUNGA TRONG,
the egg plant flower, TANDAN BUAH, bunches of fruit, LUKUT, an antique
bead, and RINGGIT SALILANG. A four-pointed star, such as that shown in
Fig. 64, is termed BUAH ANDU, fruit of PLUKENETIA CORNICULATA; since
this fruit is quadrate in shape with pointed angles, it is evident that
the name has been applied to the pattern because of its resemblance to
the fruit. Furness figures examples of these designs and also Ling Roth
[7, p. 88]. We figure (Figs. 75, 76, 77) three designs for the throat
known sometimes as KATAK, frogs, sometimes as TALI GASIENG, thread of
the spinning wheel, and no doubt other meaningless names are applied
to them. Two of the figures (Figs. 75, 77) are evidently modifications
of the Bakatan GEROWIT design, but here they are represented with the
tatu pigment, whilst with the Bakatans the design is in the natural
colour of the skin against a background of pigment, I.E. the Dayak
design is the positive of the Bakatan negative. Furness figures two
examples of the throat design, one with a transverse row of stars
cutting across it; the same authority also figures a design for the
ribs known as TALI SABIT, waist chains, consisting of two stars joined
by a double zigzag line. The same design is sometimes tatued on the
wrist, when it is known as LUKUT, antique bead; it is also tatued on
the throat [7, p. 88], and attention has already been drawn to the
probable derivation of this design also from a Bakatan model.

It is only very seldom that Sea Dayak women tatu, and then only in
small circles on the breasts [7, p. 83] and on the calves of the legs.


As a conclusion to the foregoing account of Bornean tatu we add a table
which summarises in the briefest possible manner all our information;
its chief use perhaps will lie in showing in a graphic manner the
blanks in our knowledge that still remain.

We do not consider that tatu can ever be of much value in clearing up
racial problems, seeing how much evidence there is of interchange of
designs and rejection of indigenous designs in favour of something
newer; consequently we refrain from drawing up another scheme of
classification of tatu in Borneo; at best it would be little more
than a re-enumeration of the forms that we have already described in
more or less detail.



Table showing the Forms of Tatu Practised by the Tribes of Borneo




Character of Designs.
Part of Body Tatued.
Cermonial.
Object of Tatu.


Kayan
[male]
Isolated designs, representing the dog, a bead, rosettes and
stars. Serial designs on hands.
Inside of forearm, outside of thigh, breasts, wrist and points of
shoulders. Back of hand sometimes.
None
Sign of bravery in some forms, to ward off illness in others.



[female]
Serial designs of complex nature, geometrical, anthropo- and
zoomorphic.
The whole forearm, back of hand, the whole thigh, the metatarsal
surface of the foot.
Very elaborate
Chiefly for ornament, for use after death, for cure of illness.


Kenyah
[male]
As amongst Kayans, with some degradation of design and alternation
of name.
Same as with Kayans.
None
Sign of bravery in some cases. Chiefly for ornament.



[female]
As amongst Kayans.
The whole forearm, back of hand, metatarsal surface of foot.
None
Ornament.


Kenyah-Kalamantan.
Peng
[male]
Geometrical serial designs, discs, ? isolated designs.
Arm from shoulders to wrist; calf of leg.
?
? Ornament.



[female]
Designs employed by Kayan [male] [male]
Forearms and legs.
?
? Ornament.


Lepu Lutong
[female]
Simple geometrical design.
Forearm and back of hand.
?
?


Uma Tow
[male]
? ? same as Kayan designs.
?
?
?



[female]
Simple geometrical designs (low-class [female]
[female]), anthropomorphic designs, copied
from other tribes (high-class [female] [female]).
Forearm and back of hand, front and sides of the thigh and the shin.
Some.
?


Long Glat and Uma Luhat.
[male]
? not at all.


?



[female]
Complicated serial designs, chiefly of zoomorphic MOTIF.
As with Kayan [female] [female], but also with lines 
round the ankles. Tatu of forearms
not so extensive.

Chiefly ornament, for use in the next world.


Kalamantan.

Uma Long
[female]
Simple geometrical design ("stippled")
Forearm and back of hand.
?
?


Dusun
[male]
Lines
Stomach, breast, arm.
None
Partly as tally of enemies slain.



Murut
[male]
Scroll designs and circles
Above the knee-cap; on the breast (Practice obsolescent).
None.
?



[female]
Parallel lines.
Arm and back of hand.
? None.
? Ornament.


Kalabit
[male]
As with Dusuns
As with Dusuns
?
?



[female]
Zigzags and chevrons.
Forearms, the lower part of the leg.
Very little.
?


Long Utan
[female]
Complicated serial geometrical designs.
As with Long Glat.
?
?


Biajau
[male]
Complicated serial geometrical designs, scrolls, zoomorphs, etc.
Almost the whole body including the face amongst some of the
sub-tribes.
?
With some sub-tribes to signify success in war and love, manual
dexterity, etc.



[female]
? ?
? ? as with Long Glat.
?
?


Ot-Danum, Ulu Ajar, etc.
[male]
Curved lines, discs, and simple geometrical designs.
On breast, stomach, outside of arms and thighs, calf of leg.
? None.
In some cases a sign of bravery.



[female]
Simple designs like those of the Uma Tow Kenyahs (low-class 
[female] [female]). High-class [female] [female] like Long Glat?
Shin, thigh, and calf of leg.
?
?


Kahayan
[male]
Chequer design.
On breast, stomach, throat, arms.
?
?


Bakatan and Ukit
[male]
Chiefly scroll and circle designs. Nearly all represented in
"negative."
Jaws, throat, breast, back, shoulders, forearms, thighs, calf of leg,
ankles, feet and backs of hands.
Obsolete.
Sign of bravery and experience in war, symbol of maturity.



[female]
Anthropomorphic, lines, representation of a bead.
Forearms, wrist, metacarpals.
None.
Ornament.


Sea-Dayak
[male]
Degraded Kayan and Bakatan designs.
ALmost every part of the body, except the face.
None.
Ornament.


[female]
Small circles.
Breasts and calves of legs.
None.
Ornament.





Bibliography.


1. Beccari, Dr. O., NELLE FORESTE DI BORNEO (1902).
2. Bock, Carl, THE HEAD-HUNTERS OF BORNEO (1882).
3. Furness, W. H., THE HOME LIFE OF BORNEO HEAD-HUNTERS (1902).
4. Haddon, E. B., "The Dog-motive in Bornean Art" (JOURN. ANTH. INST.,
1905).
5. Hamer, C. den, IETS OVER HET TATOUEEREN OF TOETANG BIJ DE
BIADJOE-STAMMEN.
6. Hein, A. R., DIE BILDENDEN KUNSTE BEI DEN DAYAKS AUF BORNEO (1890).
7. Ling Roth, H., THE NATIVES OF SARAWAK AND BRITISH NORTH BORNEO
(1896), vol. ii.
8. Nieuwenhuis, Dr. A. W., IN CENTRAL BORNEO (1900). vol. i.
9. Nieuwenhuis, Dr. A. W., QUER DURCH BORNEO (1904), vol. i.
10. Schwaner, Dr. C. A. L. M., BORNEO (1853 -- 54); cf. Ling Roth,
vol. ii. pp. cxci to cxcv.
11. Whitehead, J., EXPLORATION OF MOUNT KINA BALU, NORTH BORNEO (1893).


Brief references to tatu will also be found in the writings of Burns,
Brooke Low, MacDougall, De Crespigny, Hatton, St. John, Witti, and
others, but notices of all these will be found in Mr. Ling Roth's
volumes.


Explanation of Plates.


Plate 136.

Fig. 1. -- Kayan dog design (UDOH ASU) for thighs of men. From a
tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.104.)

Fig. 2. -- Uma Balubo Kayan dog design. From a tatu-block in the
Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.90.)

Fig. 3. -- Sea Dayak scorpion design (KELINGAI KALA) for thigh, arm, or
breast of men. From a tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.99.)

Fig. 4. -- Kenyah dog design, copied from a Kayan model. From a
tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.108.)

Fig. 5. -- Kayan dog design. From a tatu-block in the Sarawak
Museum. (No. 1054.106.)

Fig. 6. -- Kayan dog design. From a tatu-block in the Sarawak
Museum. (No. 1054.88.)

Fig. 7. -- Kayan double dog design for outside of thigh of man. From
a tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.31.)

Fig. 8. -- Kayan designs of dog with pups (TUANG NGANAK). A=pup. For
thigh of man. From a tatu-block in Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.57.)

Fig. 9. -- Kenyah jaws of centipede design (LIPAN KATIP), for
breast or shoulder of man. From a tatu-block in the Sarawak
Museum. (No. 1054.20.)

Fig. 10. -- Kenyah crab design (TOYU). A=mouth (BA), B=claw (KATIP),
C=back (LIKUT), D=tail (IKONG). From a tatu-block in the Sarawak
Museum. (No. 1054.71.)



Plate 137.

Fig. 1. -- Sea Dayak modification of the dog design. From a tatu-block
in the Sarawak Museum.(No. 1054.102.)

Fig. 2. --	(No. 1054.101.)

Fig. 3. --	(No. 1054.67.)

Fig. 4. --	(No. 1054.109.)

Fig. 5. --	(No. 1054.70.)

Fig. 6. --  But known as "scorpion" (KALA) pattern.From a tatu-block
in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.69.)

Fig. 7. -- Barawan and Kenyah modification of the dog design,
known as "hook" (KOWIT) pattern. From a tatu-block in the Sarawak
Museum. (No. 1054.63.)

Fig. 8. --			(No. 1054.75.)

Fig. 9. -- Kenyah modification of the dog design, but known as the
"prawn" (ORANG) pattern. From
a tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.89.)


Plate 138.

Fig. 1. -- Kayan three-line pattern (IDA TELO) for back of
thigh of woman of slave class. From a tatu-block in the Sarawak
Museum. (No. 166A Brooke Low Coll.)

Fig. 2. -- Kayan four-line pattern (IDA PAT) for back of thigh of woman
of middle class. From a tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1434.)

Fig. 3. -- Kayan (Rejang R.) three-line pattern (IDA TELO) for back
of thigh of women of upper and middle classes. From a tatu-block in
the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.2.)

Fig. 4. -- Kayan (Uma Pliau) design for front and sides of thigh
of high class women. A = TUSHUN TUVA, tuba root; B = JALAUT, fruit
of PLUKENETIA CORNICULATA; D = KOWIT, interlocking hooks. From a
tatu-block in coll. C. Hose.

Fig. 5. -- Kayan design for front of thigh of woman of high class. A
= TUSHUN TUVA; B = DULANG HAROK, bows of a boat; C = ULU TINGGANG,
hornbill's head; D = BELILING BULAN, full moons. From a tatu-block
in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1432.)

Fig. 6. -- Barawan design for the shoulder or breast of men. From
a drawing.

Fig. 7. -- Design of uncertain origin, on the calf of the leg of an
Ukit man.


Plate 139.

Fig. 1. -- Kayan (Rejang R.) design known as IDA TUANG or IDA LIMA for
back of thigh of women of high rank. Note the hornbill heads at the
top of the design. From a tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 166D
Brooke Low Coll.)

Fig. 2. -- Kayan (Rejang R.) design; compare with Figs. 5 and 11. From
a tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 166C Brooke Low Coll.)

Fig. 3. -- Long Glat hornbill design (after Nieuwenhuis). This is
tatued in rows down the front and sides of the thigh.

Fig. 4. -- Kayan (?) hornbill design, known, however, as the "dog
without a tail" (TUANG BUVONG ASU). From a tatu-block in the Sarawak
Museum. (No. 1054.8.)

Fig. 5. -- Kayan (Rejang R.) tatu design known as "dog without a tail"
(TUANG BUVONG ASU) pattern, for front and sides of thigh of women
of high rank. From a tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 166G,
Brooke Low Coll.)

Fig. 6. -- Kayan three-line and four-line design (IDA TELO and IDA
PAT) for back of thigh of women of low class. From a tatu-block in
the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1435.)

Fig. 7. -- Uma Lekan Kayan anthropomorphic design (SILONG), tatued
in rows down front and sides of thigh.

Fig. 8. -- Kayan bead (LUKUT) design, tatued on the wrist of men.

Fig. 9. --  ,, ,, ,,

Fig. 10. -- ,, ,, ,, From a tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No.
1054.62.)

Fig. 11. -- Portion of Uma Lekan Kayan design for back of thigh of
women of high rank (after Nieuwenhuis).


Plate 140.

Fig. 1. -- Tatu design on the forearm of an Uma Lekan Kayan woman
of high rank. From a rubbing of a carved wooden model in the Sarawak
Museum. (No. 1398.)

Fig. 2. -- Tatu design on the thigh of an Uma Lekan Kayan woman of
high rank. From a rubbing of a carved wooden model in the Sarawak
Museum. (No. 1398.)

Fig. 3. -- Tatu design on the forearm of an Uma Phan Kayan woman
of high rank. A = BELILING BULAN, full moons; B = DULANG HAROK,
bows of a boat; C = KAWIT, hooks; D = DAUN WI, leaves of rattan; E =
TUSHUN TUVA, bundles of tuba root. From a carved wooden model in the
Sarawak Museum. (No. 1431.)

Fig. 4. -- Kenyah design, representing the open fruit of a species
of mango (IPA OLIM), tatued on breasts or shoulders of men. From a
tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.14.)

Fig. 5. -- Kayan (Baloi R.) KALANG KOWIT or hook design for back
of thigh of woman of high rank. From a tatu-block in the Sarawak
Museum. (No. 1054.54.)


Plate 141.

Fig. 1. -- Design on the hand of a Skapan chief tatued in the Kayan
manner. From a drawing.

Fig. 2. -- Design on the arm of a Peng man. From a drawing by
Dr. H. Hiller of Philadelphia.

Fig. 3. -- Design on the arm of a Kabayan man. From a drawing by
Dr. H. Hiller of Philadelphia.

Fig. 4. -- Design on the forearm of a Lepu Lutong woman. From
a drawing.

Fig. 5. -- Design on the forearm of a Long Utan woman. From a rubbing
of a carved model in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1430.)

Fig. 6. -- Design on the thigh of a Long Utan woman. From a rubbing
of a carved model in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1426.)

Fig. 7. -- Kenyah design, representing the DURIAN fruit (USONG DIAN),
tatued on the breasts or shoulders of men. From a tatu-block in the
Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.17.)


Plate 142.

Fig. 1. -- Tatu design on the forearm of a Kalabit woman. From
a drawing.

Fig. 2. -- Tatu design on front of leg of a Kalabit woman. C = BETIK
LULUD, shin pattern. From a photograph.

Fig. 3. -- Tatu design on back of leg of a Kalabit woman. A = BETIK
BUAH, fruit pattern; B = BETIK LAWA, trunk pattern. From a drawing.

Fig. 4. -- Tatu design on front of leg of the same Kalabit woman. D =
BETIK KARAWIN; E = UJAT BATU, hill-tops. From a drawing.

Fig. 5. -- Tatu design on the forearm of an Uma Long woman. From
a drawing.

Fig. 6. -- Tatu design on arms and torso of a Biajau man of low
class. From a drawing by a Maloh.

Fig. 7. -- Tatu design on leg of Biajau man of low class. From a
drawing by a Maloh.

Fig. 8. -- Tatu design on shin of Biajau woman of low class. From a
drawing by a Maloh.

Fig. 9. -- Kajaman design representing the fruit of PLUKENETIA
CORNICULATA (JALAUT), tatued on the breasts or shoulders of men. From
a tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. (No. 1054.21.)

Fig. 10. -- Tatu design on the biceps of an Ukit man, said to represent
a bead (LUKUT). From a drawing.


Plate 143.

Fig. 1. -- Design (GEROWIT, hooks) tatued on the breast of a Bakatan
man. From a tatu-block in the collection of H.H. the Rajah of Sarawak.

Fig. 2. --  ,,

Fig. 3. -- Design (AKIH, tree gecko) tatued on the shoulder of a
Bakatan man. From a drawing.

Fig. 4. --  ,,

Fig. 5. -- Design tatued on the calf of the leg of an Ukit. From
a photograph.

Fig. 6. -- Tatu design on the foot of a Kayan woman of low class. From
a drawing.

Fig. 7. -- Design representing an antique bead (LUKUT), tatued on
the wrist of a Bakatan girl. From a drawing.

Fig. 8. -- Design (GEROWIT) tatued on the metacarpals of a Bakatan
girl. From a drawing.

Fig. 9. -- Design (KANAK, circles) on the back of a Bakatan man. From
a tatu-block.

Fig. 10. -- Design (GEROWIT) tatued on the throat of a Bakatan
man. From a photograph.





CHAPTER 13

Ideas of Spiritual Existences and the Practices Arising From Them

The Kayans believe themselves to be surrounded by many intelligent
powers capable of influencing their welfare for good or ill. Some of
these are embodied in animals or plants, or are closely connected with
other natural objects, such as mountains, rocks, rivers, caves; or
manifest themselves in such processes as thunder, storm, and disease,
the growth of the crops and disasters of various kinds. There can be
no doubt that some of these powers are conceived anthropomorphically;
for some of them are addressed by human titles, are represented by
carvings in human form, and enjoy, in the opinion of the Kayans,
most of the characteristically human attributes.

Others are conceived more vaguely, the bodily and mental characters
of man are attributed to them less fully and definitely; and it is
probably true to say that these powers, all of which, it would seem,
must be admitted to be spiritual powers (if the word spiritual is
used in a wide sense as denoting whatever power is fashioned in the
likeness of human will and feeling and intelligence), range from the
anthropomorphic being to the power which resides in the seed grain and
manifests itself in its growth and multiplication, and which seems to
be conceived merely as a vital principle, virtue, or energy inherent
in the grain, rather than as an intelligent and separable soul.[88]

It has been said of some peoples of lowly culture that they have no
conception of merely mechanical causation, and that every material
object is regarded by them as animated in the same sense as among
ourselves common opinion regards the higher animals as animated. On
the difficult question whether such a statement is true of any people
we will not presume to offer an opinion; but we do not think that it
could be truthfully made about any of the peoples of Borneo. It would
be absurd to deny all recognition or knowledge of mechanical causation
to people who show so much ingenuity in the construction of houses,
boats, weapons, and a great variety of mechanical devices, such as
traps, and in other operations involving the intelligent application
of mechanical principles. These operations show that, though they
may be incapable of describing in abstract and general terms the
principles involved, they nevertheless have a nice appreciation of
them. If a trap fails to work owing to its faulty construction, the
trapper treats it purely as a mechanical contrivance and proceeds
to discover and rectify the faulty part. It is true that in this
and numberless similar situations a man's movements may be guided by
his observation of omens; but if, after obtaining good omens, he has
success in trapping, he does not attribute the successful operation of
the trap to any, activity other than its purely mechanical movements;
though it may be, and probably in some such cases is, true that the
Kayan believes the omen bird to have somehow intervened to direct
the animal towards the trap, or to prevent the animal being warned
against it. The Kayan hangs upon the tomb the garments and weapons
and other material possessions of the dead man;[89] and it would seem
that he believes that some shadowy duplicate of each such object is
thereby placed at the service of the ghost of the dead man. This, it
might be argued, shows that he attributes to each such inert material
object a soul, whose relation to the object is analogous to that of the
human soul to the body. But such an inference, we think, would not be
justified. As with the Homeric Greeks, the principle of intelligence
and life is not to be altogether identified with the ghost, or shade,
or shadowy duplicate of the human form that is conceived to travel to
the Kayan Hades. The soul seems to be rather an inextended invisible
principle; for, as the procedure of the soul-catcher[90] shows, it
is regarded as capable of being contained within, or attached to,
almost any small object, living or inert. It would seem, then, that
after death the visible ghost or shade of a man incorporates and is
animated by the soul; and that the visible shade of inert objects is,
like themselves, inert and inanimate.

There is, then, no good reason to suppose that the Kayans attribute
life, soul, or animation to inert material objects; and they do not
explain the majority of physical events animistically.

The spiritual powers or spirits may, we think be conveniently regarded
as of three principal classes: --

(1) There are the anthropomorphic spirits thought of as dwelling in
remote and vaguely conceived regions and as very powerful to intervene
in human life. Towards these the attitude of the Kayans is one of
supplication and awe, gratitude and hope, an attitude which is properly
called reverential and is the specifically religious attitude. These
spirits must be admitted to be gods in a very full sense of the word,
and the practices, doctrines, and emotions centred about these spirits
must be regarded as constituting a system of religion.

(2) A second class consists of the spirits of living and deceased
persons, and of other anthropomorphically conceived spirits which,
as regards the nature and extent of their powers, are more nearly on
a level with the human spirits than those of the first class. Such
are those embodied in the omen animals and in the domestic pig, fowl,
dog, in the crocodile, and possibly in the tiger-cat and a few other
animals.

(3) The third class is more heterogeneous, and comprises all the
spirits or impalpable intelligent powers that do not fall into one or
other of the two preceding classes; such are the spirits very vaguely
conceived as always at hand, some malevolent, some good; such also
are the spirits which somehow are attached to the heads hung up in
the houses. The dominant emotion in the presence of these is fear;
and the attitude is that of avoidance and propitiation.



The Gods

The Kayans recognise a number of gods that preside over great
departments of their lives and interests. The more important of
these are the god of war, TOH BULU; three gods of life, LAKI JU URIP,
LAKI MAKATAN URIP, and LAKI KALISAI URIP, of whom the first is the
most important; the god of thunder and storms, LAKI BALARI and his
wife OBENG DOH; the god of fire, LAKI PESONG; gods of the harvest,
ANYI LAWANG and LAKI IVONG; a god of the lakes and rivers, URAI UKA;
BALANAN, the god of madness; TOH KIHO, the god of fear; LAKI KATIRA
MUREI and LAKI JUP URIP, who conduct the souls of the dead to Hades.

Beside or above all these is LAKI TENANGAN, a god more powerful
than all the rest, to whom are assigned no special or departmental
functions. He seems to preside or rule over the company of lesser
gods, much as Zeus and Jupiter ruled over the lesser gods of the
ancient Greeks and Romans.

The Kayans seem to have no very clear and generally accepted dogmas
about these gods. Some assert that they dwell in the skies, but
others regard them as dwelling below the surface of the earth. The
former opinion is in harmony with the practice of erecting a tree
before the house with its branches buried in the ground and the root
upturned when prayers are made on behalf of the whole house; for the
tree seems to be regarded as in some sense forming a ladder or path of
communication with the superior powers. The same opinion seems to be
expressed in the importance attached to fire and smoke in prayer and
ritual. Fire, if only in the form of a lighted cigarette, is always
made when prayers are offered; it seems to be felt that the ascending
smoke facilitates in some way the communication with the gods.

While some gods, those of war and life, of harvest and of fire, are
distinctly friendly, others, namely, the gods of madness and fear,
are terrible and malevolent; while the god of thunder and those that
conduct the souls to Hades do not seem to be predominantly beneficent
or malevolent.

LAKI TENANGAN seems to be the supreme being of the Kayan universe. He
is conceived as beneficent and, as his title LAKI implies, as a
fatherly god who protects mankind. He is not a strictly tribal god, for
the Kayan admits his identity with PA SILONG, and with BALI PENYLONG,
the supreme gods of the Klemantans and Kenyahs respectively. In this,
we think, the Kayan religion shows a catholicity which gives it a
claim to rank very high among all religious systems.

LAKI TENANGAN has a wife, DOH TENANGAN, who, though of less importance
than himself, is specially addressed by the women. The god is addressed
by name in terms of praise and supplication; the prayers seem to be
transmitted to him by means of the souls of domestic pigs or fowls;[91]
for one of these is always killed and charged to carry the prayer
to the god. At the same time a fire is invariably at hand and plays
some part in the rite; the ascending smoke seems to play some part
in the establishment of communication with the god. As an example
of a prayer we give the following. The supplicant, having killed a
pig and called the messengers of the god, cries, "Make my child live
that I may bring him up with me in my occupations. You are above all
men. Protect us from whatever sickness is abroad. If I put you above
my head, all men look up to me as to a high cliff."

Similar rites are observed on addressing DOH TENANGAN. The following
was given us as an example, "Oh! DOH TENANGAN, have pity upon me;
I am ill -- make me strong to-morrow and able to find my food."

The Kayans are not clear whether Laki Tenangan is the creator of the
world. He does not figure in the Kayan creation myth.[92] There seems
to be no doubt about his supremacy over the other gods; these are
sometimes asked by Kayans to intercede with him on their behalf.[93]

As regards the minor departmental gods, it is difficult to draw the
line between them and the spirits of the third class distinguished
above. All of them are approached at times with prayers and with
rites similar to those used in addressing LAKI TENANGAN. Several
wooden posts, very roughly carved to indicate the head and, limbs
of a human form, stand before every Kayan house. When the gods are
addressed on behalf of the whole household, as before or after an
important expedition, the ceremony usually takes place before one
of these rudely carved posts.[94] But the post cannot be called an
idol. It is more of the nature of an altar. No importance attaches
to the mere posts, which are often allowed to fall away and decay and
are renewed as required. A similar post may be hastily fashioned and
set up on the bank of the river, if a party at a distance from home
has special occasion for supplication.

An altar of a rather different kind is also used in communicating
with the gods. It seems to be used especially in returning thanks for
recovery of health after severe illness. It consists of a bamboo some
four or five feet in length fixed upright in the ground. The upper
end is split by two cuts at right angles to one another, and a fresh
fowl's egg is inserted between the split ends (Pl. 145). Leaves of
the LONG, (a species of CALADIUM), a plant grown on the PADI field
for this purpose, are hung upon the post. These leaves serve merely
to signalise the fact that some rite is going forward; they are also
hung, together with a large sun hat, upon the door of any room in
which a person lies seriously ill, to make it known as LALI or tabu;
and in general they seem to be used to mark a spot as pervaded by
some spiritual influence, or, in short, as "unclean." The bodies
of fowls and pigs sacrificed in the course of the rites performed
before such an altar-post are generally hung upon sharpened stakes
driven into the ground before it, I.E. between it and the house,
towards which the post, in the case of posts of the former kind,
invariably faces; and the frayed sticks commonly used in such rites
are hung upon the altar-post. Such posts are sometimes fenced in,
but this is by no means always the case (Pl. 144).

The Kayans seek to read in the behaviour of the omen birds and in the
entrails of the slaughtered pigs and fowls indications of the way in
which the gods responds to their prayers. For they regard the true omen
birds as the trusty messengers of the gods. After slaughtering the pigs
or fowls to whose charge they have committed their petitions, they
examine their entrails in the hope of discovering the answer of the
gods; and at the same time they tell off two or three men to look for
omens from the birds of the jungle.[95] If the omens first obtained are
bad, more fowls and pigs are usually killed and omens again observed;
and in an important matter, E.G. the illness of a beloved child,
the process may be repeated many times until satisfactory omens are
forthcoming. Whatever may have been the origin and history of such
rites, it seems to be quite clear that the slaughtering of these
animals is regarded as an act of sacrifice in the ordinary sense
of the word, I.E. as an offering or gift of some valued possession
to the spiritual powers; for, although on some occasions a pig so
slaughtered is eaten, those stuck upon stakes before the altar-post
are left to rot; and the idea of sacrificing, or depriving oneself of,
a valued piece of property is clearly expressed on such occasions in
other ways; E.G. a woman will break a bead of great value when her
prayers for the restoration to health of a child remain unanswered,
or on such an occasion a woman may cut off her hair.[96]

The custom of approaching and communicating with the gods through the
medium of the omen birds, seems to be responsible in large measure
for the fact that the gods themselves are but dimly conceived,
and are not felt to be in intimate and sympathetic relations with
their worshippers. The omen birds seem to form not only a medium of
communication, but also, as it were, a screen which obscures for the
people the vision of their gods. As in many analogous instances,
the intercessors and messengers to whose care the messages are
committed assume in the eyes of the people an undue importance;
the god behind the omen bird is apt to be almost lost sight of,
and the bird itself tends to become an object of reverence, and to
be regarded as the recipient of the prayer and the dispenser of the
benefits which properly he only foretells or announces.[97]

We have little information bearing upon the origin and history of
these Kayan gods. But a few remarks may be ventured. The names of
many of the minor deities are proper personal names in common use
among the Kayans or allied tribes, such as JU, BALARI, ANYI, IVONG,
URAI, UKA; and the title LAKI, by which several of them are addressed,
is the title of respect given to old men who are grandfathers. These
facts suggest that these minor gods may be deified ancestors of great
chiefs, and this suggestion is supported by the following facts: --

First, a recently deceased chief of exceptional capacity and influence
becomes not infrequently the object of a certain cult among Klemantans
and Sea Dayaks. Men will go to sleep beside his grave or tomb, hoping
for good dreams and invoking the aid of the dead chief in acquiring
health, or wealth, or whatever a man most desires. Sea Dayaks sometimes
fix a tube of bamboo leading from just above the eyes of the corpse
to the surface of the ground; they will address the dead man with
their lips to the orifice of the tube, and will drop into it food
and drink and silver coins. A hero who is made the object of such a
cult is usually buried in an isolated spot on the crest of a hill;
and such a grave is known as RARONG.

Secondly, all Kayans, men and women alike, invoke in their prayers the
aid of ODING, LAHANGand his intercession with LAKI TENANGAN. That they
regard the former as having lived as a great chief is clearly proved
by the following facts: firstly, many Kayans of the upper class claim
to, be his lineal descendants; secondly, a well-known myth,[98] of
which several variants are current, describes his miraculous advent
to the world; thirdly, he is regarded by Kayans, Kenyahs, and many
Klemantans as the founder of their race.

The Kenyahs also invoke in their prayers several spirits who seem,
like ODIN LAHANG, to be regarded as deceased members of their tribe;
such are TOKONG and UTONG, and PA BALAN and PLIBAN. From all these
descent is claimed by various Kenyah and Klemantan sub-tribes; and
that they are regarded as standing higher in the spiritual hierarchy
than recently deceased chiefs, is shown by the prefix BALI,[99]
commonly given to their names, whereas this title or designation is
not given to recently deceased chiefs; to their names the word URIP
is prefixed by both Kayans and Kenyahs. The word URIP, means life or
living; the exact meaning of this prefix in this usage is obscure,
possibly it expresses the recognition that the men spoken of are,
though dead, still in some sense alive.

A further link in this chain of evidence is afforded by the Kenyah
god of thunder, BALINGO. This spirit, it would seem, must be classed
among the departmental deities, being strictly the Kenyah equivalent
of LAKI BALARI of the Kayans; and all the Kenyahs and many Klemantans
seem to claim some special relation to BALINGO,[100] while one Madang
(Kenyah) chief at least claims direct descent from him.[101]

The last mentioned instance completes the series of cases forming a
transition from the well remembered dead chief to the departmental
deity, the existence of which series lends colour to the view that
these minor gods have been evolved from deceased chiefs. The weakness
of this evidence consists in the fact that the series of cases
is drawn from a number of tribes, and is not, so far as we know,
completely illustrated by the customs or beliefs of any one tribe.

There is, then, some small amount of evidence indicating that the minor
gods are deified ancestors, whose kinship with their worshippers has
been forgotten completely in some cases, less completely in others. If
this supposition could be shown to be true, it would afford a strong
presumption in favour of the view that LAKI TENANGAN also has had
a similar history, and that he is but PRIMUS INTER PARES. For among
the Kayans, as we have seen, a large village acknowledges a supreme
chief as well as the chiefs of the several houses of the village;
and in the operations of war on a large scale, a supreme war chief
presides over a council of lesser chiefs. And it is to be expected
that the social system of the superior powers should be modelled upon
that of the people who acknowledge them.

On the other hand, none of the facts, noted in connection with
the minor gods as indicating their ancestral origin, are found to
be true of LAKI TENANGAN, except only his bearing the title LAKI,
which, as we have seen, is the title by which a man is addressed as
soon as he becomes a grandfather. The name TENANGAN is not a proper
name borne by any Kayans, nor, so far as we know, does it occur
amongst the other peoples. LAKI in Malay means a male. The name is
possibly connected with the Kayan word TENANG which means correct,
or genuine. The termination AN is used in several instances in Malay
(though not in Kayan) to make a substantive of an adjective. The name
then possibly means -- he who is correct or all-knowing; but this is
a very speculative suggestion.

It is possible that the Kayans owe their conception of a supreme
god to their contact. with the Mohammedans. But this is rendered
very improbable by the facts: firstly, that the Kayans have had
such intercourse during but a short period in Borneo, probably not
more than 300 years, (though they may have had such intercourse at
an earlier period before entering Borneo); secondly, that among the
Sea Dayaks, who have had for at least 150 years much more abundant
intercourse with the Mohammedans of Borneo than the Kayans have had,
the conception has not taken root and has not been assimilated.

The Kenyah gods and the beliefs and practices centering about them
are very similar to those of the Kayans. This people also recognises
a principal god or Supreme Being, whose name is BALI PENYLONG, and a
number of minor deities presiding over special departments of nature
and human life. The Kenyahs recognise the following minor deities:
BALI ATAP protects the house against sickness and attack, and is
called upon in cases of madness to expel the evil spirit possessing
the patient. A rude wooden image of him stands beside the gangway
leading to the house from the river's brink; it holds a spear in
the right hand, a shield in the left; it carries about its neck a
fringed collar made up of knotted strips of rattan; the head of each
room ties on one such strip, making on it a knot for each member of
his roomhold. Generally a wooden image of a hawk, BALI FLAKI, stands
beside it on the top of a tall pole.

The Kenyahs carve such images more elaborately than the Kayans, who
are often content merely to indicate the eyes, mouth, and four limbs,
by slashing away with the sword chips of wood from the surface of the
log, leaving gashes at the points roughly corresponding in position
to these organs. The Kenyahs treat these rude images with rather more
care than do the Kayans; and they associate them more strictly with
particular deities. The children of the house are not allowed to
touch such an image, after it has been once used as an altar post;
it is only when it is so used, and blood of fowls or pigs sprinkled
upon it, that it seems to acquire its uncleanness."[102]

BALI UTONG brings prosperity to the house. BALI URIP is the god of
life; he too has a carved altarpost, generally crowned with a brass
gong. BALINGO is the god of thunder.

BALI SUNGEI is the name given to a being which perhaps cannot
properly be called a god. He is thought of as embodied in a huge
serpent or dragon living at the bottom of the river; he is supposed
to cause the violent swirls and uprushes of water that appear on the
surface in times of flood. He is regarded with fear; and is held to be
responsible for the upsetting of boats and drownings in the river. It
is not clear that he is the spirit of the river itself; for floods and
the various changes of the river do not seem to be attributed to him.

BALI PENYALONG, like Laki Tenangen, has a wife BUNGAN. She is not
so distinctly the special deity of the women folk as is DOH TENANGAN
among the Kayans.

A special position in the Kenyah system is occupied by BALI FLAKI,
the carrion hawk, which is the principal omen bird observed during
the preparation for and conduct of war. Something will be said of
the cult of BALI FLAKI in a later chapter; but we would note here
that this bird is peculiar among the many omen-birds of the Kenyahs,
in that an altar-post before the house is assigned to him, or at
least one of the posts rudely carved to suggest the human figure is
specially associated with BALI FLAKI, and in some cases is surmounted
by a wooden image of the hawk. It seems to us probable that in this
case the Kenyahs have carried further the tendency we noted in the
Kayans to allow the omen birds to figure so prominently in their
rites and prayers as to obscure the gods whose messengers they are;
and that BALI FLAKI has in this way driven into the background, and
more or less completely taken the place of, a god of war whose name
even has been forgotten by many of the Kenyahs, if not by all of them.

Peculiar adjuncts of the altar-posts of the Kenyahs are the DRACAENA
plant (whose deep red leaves are generally to be seen growing in a
clump not far from them) and a number of large spherical stones,
BATU TULOI. These are perpetual possessions of the house. Their
history is unknown; they are supposed to grow gradually larger and to
move spontaneously when danger threatens the house. When a household
removes and builds for itself a new home, these stones are carried
with some ceremony to the new site (Pl. 144).

We reproduce here a passage from a paper published by us some ten
years ago[103] in which we ventured to speculate on the development
of the Kenyah belief in a Supreme Being.


We cannot conclude without saying something as to, the possible
origin of their conception of a beneficent Being more powerful
than all others, who sends guidance and warnings by the omen birds,
and receives and answers the prayers carried to him by the souls of
the fowls and pigs. It might be thought that this conception of a
beneficent Supreme Being has been borrowed directly or indirectly
from the Malays. But we do not think that this view is tenable
in face of the fact that, while the conception is a living belief
among the Madangs, a Kenyah tribe that inhabits a district in the
remotest interior and has had no intercourse with Malays, the Ibans,
who have had far more intercourse with the Malays than have the Kayans
and Kenyahs, yet show least trace of this conception. As Archdeacon
Perham has written of the Ibans, there are traces of the belief in
one supreme God which suggest that the idea is one that has been
prevalent, but has now almost died out. We are inclined to suppose
that the tribes of the interior, such as the Kenyahs and Kayans, have
evolved the conception for themselves, and that in fact Bali Penyalong
of the Kenyahs is their god of war exalted above all others by the
importance of the department of human activity over which he presides;
for we have seen that they had been led to conceive other gods --
Balingo, the god of thunder, Bali Sungei, the god of the rivers,
whose anger is shown by the boiling flood, and Bali Atap, who keeps
harm from the house, while the Kayans have gods of life, a god of
harvesting, and other departmental deities. It seems to us that the
only difficult step in such a simple and direct evolution of the idea
of a beneficent Supreme Being is the conception of gods or spirits that
perform definite functions, such as Bali Atap, who guards the house,
and the gods that preside over harvesting and war, as distinct from
such gods or nature-spirits as Balingo and Bali Sungei. But there
seems to be no doubt that this step has been taken by these peoples,
and that these various gods of abstract function have been evolved by
them. And it seems to us that, were a god of war once conceived, it
would be inevitable that, among communities whose chief interest is war
and whose prosperity and very existence depend upon success in battle,
such a god of battles should come to predominate over all others,
and to claim the almost exclusive regard of his worshippers. Such a
predominance would be given the more easily to one god by these people,
because the necessity for strict subordination to their chiefs has
familiarised them with the principles of obedience of subjects to
a single ruler and of subordination of minor chiefs to a principal
chief; while the beneficence of the Supreme Being thus evolved would
inevitably result; for the god of battles must seem beneficent to
the victors, and among these people only the victors survive. Again,
this conception is one that undoubtedly makes for righteousness,
because it reflects the character of the people who, within the
community and the tribe, are decent, humane, and honest folk.

We are conscious of presumption in venturing to adopt the view that
the conception of a beneficent Supreme Being may possibly be neither
the end nor the beginning of religion, neither the final result of
an evolution, euhemeristic, totemistic, or other, prolonged through
countless ages and generations, nor part of the stock-in-trade of
primitive man mysteriously acquired. Yet we are disposed to regard
this conception as one that, amid the perpetual flux of opinion and
belief which obtains among peoples destitute of written records,
may be comparatively rapidly and easily arrived at under favourable
conditions (such as seem to be afforded by tribes like the Kenyahs
and Kayans, warlike prosperous tribes subordinated to strong chiefs),
and may as rapidly fall into neglect with change of social conditions;
and we suggest that it may then remain as a vestige in the minds of a
few individuals only to be discerned by curious research, as among the
Ibans or the Australian blacks, until another turn of Fortune's wheel,
perhaps the birth of some overmastering personality or a revival of
national or tribal vigour, gives it a new period of life and power.


We still regard as highly plausible the view suggested in this
passage. We would add to what we have written only a few words in
explanation of what may seem to be a difficulty in the way of this
view. It was mentioned above that the Kayans recognise a god of war,
TOH BULU. This fact may seem incompatible with the view that the idea
of LAKI TENANGAN has been reached by exalting the god of war above
his fellow-departmental deities; but it is not, we think, a fatal
objection. For TOH BULU seems to be a god of but small account with
the Kayans; his name figures but little in their rites; and the name
itself indicates his subordinate position; for TOH is, as we have
seen, the generic name for spirits of minor importance, and BULU is
the Kayan word for feather; TOH BULU, literally translated, is then
the feather-spirit or spirit of the feathers. It seems possible,
therefore, that TOH BULU was nothing more than the spirit concerned
with the hornbill's feathers, which are the emblems or badges of
acknowledged prowess in battle; and that with the exaltation of the
original god of war above his fellows, this minor spirit concerned
in warfare has acquired a larger sphere and importance.

With the Kenyahs similar processes, we suggest, have led to
the exaltation of BALI PENYALONG, the original god of war, into
the position of the Supreme Being, and of BALI FLAKI, his special
messenger, into the position, or almost into the position, of the god
of war. This view derives, we think, considerable support from the
fact that the Kenyahs recognise no special god of war; and in view of
their tendency to create deities to preside over each of the great
departments of nature and of human activity, the absence from their
system of a special god of war requires some special explanation such
as we have offered above.

The Klemantan gods are more numerous and more vaguely conceived,
and the whole system seems more confused than that of the Kayans or
Kenyahs. It is probable that the Klemantan tribes have borrowed freely
from these more powerful neighbours. Many of them are very skilful in
wood-carving, and it is probably largely owing to this circumstance
that they make a larger number of images in human form. Some of these
are kept in the house, while others stand before the house like those
before the Kayan houses. The former are generally more highly regarded,
and it is before them that their rites are generally performed. It
seems not improbable that these stand for the gods proper to these
people, and those outside the house for the borrowed gods.

The supernatural beliefs and cults of the Sea Dayaks differ so widely
from those described above that we think it best to bring together
in one place (vol. ii., p. 85) what we have to say about them.


The Lesser Spirits of Ill-defined Nature

In the second of the three classes of spiritual beings distinguished
above (vol. ii., p. 4) we put the souls of men and of some of the
animals. Some account of beliefs connected with these will be given
in the following two chapters. We conclude this chapter by describing
the spirits of the third class, spirits or intelligent powers vaguely
conceived, of minor importance, but imperfectly individualised and not
regularly envisaged in any visible forms or embodied in any material
objects. The generic Kayan name for spirits of this class is TOH. All
the spirits of this class seem to be objects of fear, to be malevolent,
or, at least, easily offended and capable of bringing misfortunes of
all kinds upon human beings.

The most important of these TOH are perhaps those associated with the
dried human heads that hang in every house. It seems that these spirits
are not supposed to be those of the persons from whose shoulders
the heads have been taken. Yet they seem to be resident in or about
the heads, though not inseparable from them. They are said to cause
the teeth of the heads to be ground together if they are offended or
dissatisfied, as by neglect of the attentions customarily paid to the
heads or by other infringement of custom. The heads are thus supposed
to be animated by the TOH; if a head falls, through the breaking of
the rattan by which it is suspended, it is said to have thrown itself
down, being dissatisfied owing to insufficient attention having been
paid to it. This animation of the heads by the TOH is illustrated by
the treatment accorded by the people to the heads from the time they
are brought into the house. Having been dried and smoked in a small
hut made for the purpose, they are brought up to the house with loud
rejoicings and singing of the war chorus. For this ceremony all members
of the village are summoned from the fields and the jungle, and,
when all are assembled in the houses, every one puts off the mourning
garments which have been worn by all since the death of the chief for
whose funeral rites the heads have been sought. Everyone having donned
the ordinary attire, the men carry the heads in procession adorned
with DAUN SILAT, the dried and frayed leaves of a palm, before one
of the altar posts that stand between the house and the river. There
fowls and pigs are sacrificed in the usual way, and their blood is
scattered upon the assembled men with a wisp of shredded palmleaves.

Then the procession carries the heads into the house and up and down
the gallery. The men dressed in their war coats, carrying shields and
swords, drawn up in a long line, sing the war chorus, and go through
a peculiar evolution, known as SEGA LUPAR. Each man keeps turning to
face his neighbours, first on one side, then on the other, with regular
steps in time with all the rest. This seems to symbolise the alertness
of the warriors on the war-path, looking in every direction. The
heads, which have been carried by old men, are then hung up over
the principal hearth on the beam on which the old heads are hanging;
they are suspended by means of a rattan, of which one end is knotted
and the other passed upward through the FORAMEN MAGNUM and a hole cut
in the top of the skull. After this the men sit down to drink, and
the chief describes the taking of the heads, eulogising the warrior
who drew first blood in each case, and who is credited with the glory
of the taking of the head. Then follows a big feast, in every room a
pig or fowl being killed and eaten; after which more BORAK is drunk,
the war chorus breaking out spontaneously at brief intervals. BORAK is
offered to the heads by pouring it into small bamboo cups suspended
beside them; and a bit of fat pork will be pushed into the mouth of
each. The heads, or rather the TOH associated with them, are supposed
to drink and eat these offerings. The fact that the bits of pork remain
unconsumed does not seem to raise any difficulty in the minds of the
Kayans; they seem to believe that the essence of the food is consumed.

At all times the heads hanging in the house are treated respectfully
and somewhat fearfully. When it is necessary to handle them, some old
man undertakes the task, and children especially are prevented from
touching them; for it is felt that to touch them involves the risk
of madness, brought on by the offended TOH or spirits of the heads.

The fire beneath the heads is always kept alight in order that they
shall be warm, and dry, and comfortable. On certain special occasions
they are offered BORAK and pork in the way mentioned above.

On moving to a new house the heads are temporarily lodged in a small
shelter built for the purpose, and are brought up into the house with
a ceremony like that which celebrates their first installation. The
Kayans do not care to have in the house more than twenty or thirty
heads, and are at some pains occasionally to get rid of some
superfluous heads -- a fact which shows clearly that the heads are
not mere trophies of valour and success in war. The moving to a new
house is the occasion chosen for reducing the number of heads. Those
destined to be left are hung in a hut built at some distance from
the house which is about to be deserted. A good fire is made in it
and kept up during the demolition of the great house, and when the
people depart they make up in the little head-house a fire designed
to last several days. It is supposed that, when the fire goes out,
the TOH of the heads notice the fact, and begin to suspect that they
are deserted by the people; when the rain begins to come in through
the roof their suspicions are confirmed, and the TOH set out to pursue
their deserters, but owing to the lapse of time and weather are unable
to track them. The people believe that in this way they escape the
madness which the anger of the deserted TOH would bring upon them.

The precautions described in the foregoing paragraph illustrate very
well the power for harm attributed to the TOH of the heads and the
fear with which they are regarded. Nevertheless these beings are not
wholly malevolent. it is held that in some way their presence in the
house brings prosperity to it, especially in the form of good crops;
and so essential to the welfare of the house are the heads held to be
that, if through fire a house has lost its heads and has no occasion
for war, the people will beg a head, or even a fragment of one,
from some friendly house, and will instal it in their own with the
usual ceremonies.

The TOH of the heads are but a few among many that are conceived
as surrounding the houses and infesting the tombs, the rivers, the
forests, the mountains, the caves, and, by those who live near the
coast, the sea; in fact every locality has its TOH, and, since they
are easily offended and roused to bring harm, the people are careful
to avoid offence and to practise every rite by which it is thought
possible to propitiate them. Death and sickness, especially madness,
accidental bodily injuries, failure of crops, in fact almost any
trouble may be ascribed to the malevolent action of Toh. Examples of
the way conduct is influenced by this belief are the following: --

In clearing a patch of jungle in preparation for sowing PADI, it is
usual to leave a few trees standing on some high point of the ground
in order not to offend the TOH of the locality by depriving them
of all the trees, which they are vaguely supposed to make use of as
resting-places. Such trees are sometimes stripped of all their branches
save a few at the top; and sometimes a pole is lashed across the stem
at a height from the ground and bunches of palm leaves hung upon it;
a "bull-roarer," which is used by boys as a toy, is sometimes hung
upon such a cross-piece to dangle and flicker in the breeze.[104]

Again, young children are held to be peculiarly subject to the
malevolent influence of the TOH. We have already mentioned that no
name is given to a child until it is two or three years of age, in
order to avoid attracting to it the attention of the TOH. For the same
reason the parents dislike any prominent person to touch an infant;
and if for any reason such contact has taken place, it is usual to
give the mother a few beads, which she ties about the wrist or ankle
of the child, "to preserve its homely smell" as they say, and so, it
would seem, avoid the risk of the TOH being attracted by the unusual
odour of the child. Parents who have lost several young children will
give to a child, when the time comes for naming it, some such name as
TAI (dung), or TAI MANOK (birds' dung), or JAAT (bad), in order that
it may have a better chance of escaping the unwelcome attention of
the TOH. If for any reason it is suspected that the attention of some
evil-disposed TOH has been drawn to a child (and the same practice is
sometimes observed by adults under similar circumstances), a sooty mark
is made upon the forehead, consisting of a vertical median line and
a horizontal band just above the eyebrows. This is thought to render
it difficult for the TOH to recognise his victim. Such a black mark is
worn more especially on going away from the house. Sea Dayaks sometimes
go farther under such circumstances. They place the new-born child in
a small boat and allow it to float down river, and standing upon the
bank call upon all the evil spirits to take the child at once, if they
mean to take it, in order that the parents may be spared the greater
bereavement of losing it some years later. If, after floating some
distance down stream, the child is found unhurt, it is carried home,
the parents feeling some confidence that it will be "spared" to grow up

Again, on going to the territory of people who have recently come to
friendly terms with their village, men will make a black mark across
the forehead with soot in order to disguise themselves from the TOH
of this region. In the main, although all regions are infested with
TOH those of the locality in which a man dwells are regarded by him as
less dangerous than those of other parts; for experience has shown him
that in the neighbourhood of his own village he may behave in certain
ways with impunity, whereas in distant regions all is uncertain. It
is for this reason that, when boys enter any river or branch of the
river for the first time, a special rite is performed. An old man
will take them apart from the company to some spot on the bank of
the river, and, calling all the spirits of the place, will ask them
to favour the boys and to give them vigorous life. An egg (which
on this occasion is spoken of only by the name OVE = sweet potato)
is offered to the spirits on behalf of each boy (or sometimes merely
a fowl's feather) by placing it in the split end of a bamboo stick
thrust into the ground. Not until this rite has been performed are
the boys considered to be safe in the strange region.

The more remote and inaccessible the region, the more are the TOH
of it feared; rugged hill tops and especially mountain tops are the
abodes of especially dangerous TOH, and it was only with difficulty
that parties of men could be induced to accompany us to the summits
of any of the mountains.

The influence of the TOH is not always pernicious; certain spots
become credited with the presence of TOH of benign influence. Thus,
tradition relates of a streamlet (Telang Ading) falling over the
rocky bank of the Baram river some little distance below the mouth
of the AKAR, that a wild pig recently killed with spears fell into
it and was allowed to lie there, and that after a little while it
jumped up and made off Through this event the streamlet has acquired a
great reputation, and passing boats generally stop in order that the
crews may splash some of the water on their heads and faces, and so
be cured of any ailments they may happen to have at the time. These
therapeutic effects are attributed to the TOH of the stream.

The TOH play a considerable part in regulating conduct; for they are
the powers that bring misfortunes upon a whole house or village when
any member of it ignores tabus or otherwise breaks customs, without
performing the propitiatory rites demanded by the occasion. Thus on
them, rather than on the gods, are founded the effective sanctions
of prohibitive rules of conduct. For the propitiation of offended
TOH fowls' eggs and the blood of fowls and of young pigs are used,
the explanations and apologies being offered generally by the chief
or some other influential person, while the blood is sprinkled on
the culprit or other source of offence.

The beliefs and practices of the Kenyahs and Klemantans in regard to
spirits of this class are very similar to those of the Kayans. They
designate them by the same general name, TOH.

We are doubtful whether the Sea Dayaks can properly be said to have any
religion. They believe in a number of mythical and legendary heroes in
whose honour they indulge in heavy feasting; but none of these seem
to be credited with the attributes of a god, or to evoke on the part
of the people the specifically religious emotions and attitudes --
awe, reverence, supplication, trust, gratitude, and hope. Their cult
of the PETARA seems to show traces of Javanese and Hindu influence or
origin. They believe in a multitude of ill-defined spirits which they
speak of as ANTU, and towards which their attitude is very similar
to that of the Kayans towards the TOH. Some further account of Iban
superstitions will be found in Chapter XV.



CHAPTER 14

Ideas of the Soul Illustrated by Burial Customs, Soul-Catching,
and Exorcism

As among ourselves, several very different systems for the cure of
sickness are practised among the Kayans, and these seem to imply
very different theories of the cause of disease. But the Kayans,
less consistent or more open-minded than ourselves, are not divided
into sects, each following one system of therapeutics, but rather the
various systems are held in honour by all the people, and one or the
other is applied according to the indications of each case. Thus,
bodily injuries received accidentally or in battle are treated
surgically by cupping, splints, bandaging, and so forth. Familiar
disorders, such as malarial fever, are treated medically, I.E. by
rest and drugs. Cases of severe pain of unknown origin are generally
attributed to the malign influence of some TOH,[105] and the method
of treatment is usually that of extraction.[106] Madness also is
generally attributed to possession by some TOH. But in cases of severe
illness of mysterious origin that seems to threaten to end mortally,
the theory generally adopted is that the patient's soul has left
his body, and the treatment indicated is therefore an attempt to
persuade the soul to return. The first two modes of treatment are not
considered to demand the skill of a specialist for their application,
but the third and fourth are undertaken only by those who have special
powers and knowledge.

Among the Kayans the professional soul-catcher, the DAYONG,
is generally a woman who has served a considerable period of
apprenticeship with some older member of the profession, after having
been admonished to take up this calling by some being met with in
dreams -- often a dream experienced during sickness. The DAYONG does
not necessarily confine his or her activities to this one calling;
for in a large village there are usually several DAYONGS, and the
occasions demanding their services recur at considerable intervals of
time. The relatives of the sick man usually prefer to call in a DAYONG
from some other village. The DAYONG is expected to make the diagnosis
and to determine upon the line of treatment to be practised. If
he decides that the soul or BLUA of the patient has left his body,
and has made some part of the journey towards the abode of departed
souls, his task is to fall into a trance and to send his own soul
to overtake that of his patient and to persuade it to return. The
ceremony is usually performed by torch-light in the presence of a
circle of interested relatives and friends, the patient being laid
in the midst in the long public gallery of the house.

The DAYONG struts to and fro chanting a traditional form of words
well known to the people, who join in the chorus at the close of each
phrase, responding with "BALI-DAYONG," [107] I.E. "Oh powerful DAYONG;"
the meaning and intention of this chorus seem to be that of the "Amen"
with which a Christian congregation associates itself with the prayer
offered by its pastor. For the chant with which the DAYONG begins his
operations is essentially a prayer for help addressed to LAKI TENANGAN,
or, in case of a woman, to DOH TEMANGAN also.

The DAYONG may or may not fall and lie inert upon the ground in the
course of his trance; but throughout the greater part of the ceremony
he continues to chant with closed eyes, describing with words and
mimic gestures the doings of his own soul as it follows after and
eventually overtakes that of the patient. When this point is reached
his gestures generally express the difficulty and the severity of
the efforts required to induce the soul to return; and the anxious
relatives then usually encourage him by bringing out gongs or other
articles of value, and depositing them as additions to the DAYONG'S
fee. Thus stimulated, he usually succeeds in leading back the soul
towards the patient's body. One feature of the ceremony, not quite
logically consistent with its general scheme, is that the DAYONG takes
in his hand a sword and, glancing at the polished blade with a startled
air, seems to catch in it a glimpse of the wandering soul.[108] The
next step is to restore the soul to the body. The DAYONG comes out
of his trance with the air of one who is suddenly transported from
distant scenes, and usually exhibits in his palm some small living
creature, or it may be merely a grain of rice, a pebble, or bit of
wood, in which the captured soul is in some sense contained. This he
places on the top of the patient's head, and by rubbing causes it to
pass into the head. The soul having been thus restored. to the body,
it is necessary to prevent it escaping again; and this is done by
tying a strip of palm-leaf about the patient's wrist.

A fowl is then killed, or, in very severe cases of sickness, a pig,
and its blood is sprinkled or wiped by means of the sword or knife
upon this confining bracelet. In mild cases the fowl may be merely
waved over the head of the patient without being killed. The DAYONG
then gives directions as to the MALAN (the tabus) to be observed by
the patient, especially in regard to articles of diet, and retires,
leaving his fee to be sent after him.

This ceremony clearly involves a curious confusion of symbolical and
descriptive acts, which are not ordered in strict consistency with any
clearly defined theory of the nature of the soul and of its relations
to the body, or of the exact nature of the task of the soul-catcher.

The catching of souls is practised in very similar fashion among all
the peoples of Borneo, even by the Punans, though the details of the
procedure differ from tribe to tribe.

Mental derangement is commonly attributed to pos