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BERKELOUW BOOKDEALERS SYDNEY

THE PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

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MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited

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p

Plate 122. KENYAH WOMEN HUSKING PADI.

Frontispiece, Vol. II.

THE PAGAN TRIBES
OF BORNEO

A DESCRIPTION OF THEIR PHYSICAL

MORAL AND INTELLECTUAL CONDITION

WITH SOME DISCUSSION OF THEIR

ETHNIC RELATIONS

BY

CHARLES HOSE, D.Sc.

FORMERLY DIVISIONAL RESIDENT AND MEMBER OF THE SUPREME COUNCIL OF SARAWAK
AUTHOR OF ' A DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE MAMMALS OF BORNEO *

AND

WILLIAM McDOUGALL, M.B., F.R.S.

FELLOW OF CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE
AND READER IN MENTAL PHILOSOPHY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

WITH AN APPENDIX ON THE PHYSICAL CHARACTERS
OF THE RACES OF BORNEO

BY

A. C. HADDON, D.Sc, F.R.S.

m

IN TWO VOLUMES
VOL. II

MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED

ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON

1912

COPYRIGHT

CONTENTS OF VOLUME II

CHAPTER Xm

PAGE

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 5 1

CHAPTER XVI
Magic, Spells, and Charms . . . 115

CHAPTER XVII
Myths, Legends, and Stories . . . .136

CHAPTER XVIII
Childhood and Youth of a Kayan . . • i53

V

vi PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

CHAPTER XIX

PAGE

The Nomad Hunters . . . . • i77

CHAPTER XX

Moral and Intellectual Peculiarities . -194

CHAPTER XXI
Ethnology of Borneo . . . . .223

CHAPTER XXH
Government . . . . . .257

APPENDIX

The Physical Characters of the Races of Borneo.

By A. C. H ADDON .... . 311

INDEX 343

LIST OF PLATES

FACE PAGE

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 (Kle-

mantan). 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

36

40

44

46

153. Tomb of a Sekapan (Klemantan) Chief

154. The Grave of Kuling, Daughter of Boi Jalong, the

principal Kenyah Chief of the Batang Kayan River

155. Malanau Graves near Rejang Village .

156. Peng Coffins deposited on Ledges of overhanging Cliff

on the Mahakam River .....

157. {a) Tama Bulan sacrificing a Pig to Bali Penyalong.

{b) Balari, a Kenyah, sacrificing a Fowl to Bali
Penyalong .......

158. A Kayan charging a Pig with a Message to the Gods

159. Kayans discussing the Liver of a Pig .

58
68
80

viii PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

94

[o6

I20

126
132

FACE PAGE

160. Image of a Hornbill made by Ibans for use at

Ceremonies ........

161. Group of Kenyahs. On the Top of the Pole can be

seen an Image of the Hawk, Bali Flaki .

162. An Enemy's Head decorated by Kayans with various

Charms ........

163. Image of Crocodile, and House provided for the Spirit

whose Aid is invoked by Malanaus at the Bayoh
Ceremony ........

164. A wooden Figure of Crocodile, and Decorations used

at the Bayoh Ceremony by Malanaus

165. Mixed Group of Kenyah and Klemantan Boys

166. A Sekapan (Klemantan) Woman carrying Child in a

Cradle . . . . , . . . .156

167. Iban Boys bathing. The Fence is for Protection

against Crocodiles . . . . . . .158

168. (i) 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 . . . .224

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

LIST OF PLATES ix

FACE PAGE

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 Ruling {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

A^.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 (^), 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.)

PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

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

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

Dr. C. G. Seligmann. (Nos. 87 {a\ 207.)

Dr. Harrison W. Smith. (No. 19 A {a).)

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

Mr. R. Shelford. (Nos. 193, 194 (<5).)

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

MAPS

The Eastern Archipelago . . . .At end of Volume

Borneo ........ „

Sketch Map of the Baram District, Sarawak . „

Sketch Map of Sarawak .... „

CHAPTER XIII

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 con-
nected 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 like-
ness 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

2 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

to be conceived merely as a vital principle, virtue,
or energy inherent in the grain, rather than as an
intelligent and separable soul/

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 opera-
tions show that, though they maybe incapable of de-
scribing 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

^ The following statement, which was written by us of the Kenyahs in a
former publication, holds good also of the Kayans : "They may be said to
attribute a soul or spirit to almost every natural agent and to all living things,
and they pay especial regard to those that seem most capable of affecting their
welfare for good or ill. They feel themselves to be surrounded on every
hand by spiritual powers, which appear to them to be concentrated in those
objects to which their attention is directed by practical needs ; adopting a mode
of expression familiar to psychologists, we may say that they have differentiated
from a * continuum ' of spiritual powers a number of spiritual agents with very
various degrees of definiteness. Of these the less important are very vaguely
conceived, but are regarded as being able to bring harm to men, who must
therefore avoid giving offence to them, and must propitiate them if they
should by ill-chance have been offended. The more important, assuming
individualised and anthropomorphic forms and definite functions, receive
proper names, are in some cases represented by rude images, and become
the recipients of prayer and sacrifice " {/otirn. of Anthrop. InstiHite, vol.
xxxi. p. 174).

KENYxVH ALTAR SHOWING LARGE ROUND STONES
KNOWN AS BATU TULOI.

Plate 144. EGGS OFFERED TO THE OMEN-BIRDS
IN THE JUNGLE.

SPIRITUAL EXISTENCES 3

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 opera-
tion 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 ; ^ 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 in-
telligence 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 ^ 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

^ If the dead man possessed no sufficiently presentable garments, these may
be supplied by friends. This last act of respect and friendship has not
infrequently been permitted to one of us.

^ See vol. ii. p. 29.

4 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

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 : —

(i) 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 anthropo-
morphically 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 malevo-
lent, 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.

SPIRITUAL EXISTENCES

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 Lakijup 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

6 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

ascending smoke facilitates in some way the com-
munication 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 malevo-
lent ; while the god of thunder and those that
conduct the souls to Hades do not seem to be pre-
dominantly beneficent or malevolent.

Laki Tenangan seems to be the supreme being
of the Kayan universe. He is conceived as bene-
ficent 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 Penylongy the supreme
gods of the Klemantans and Kenyahs respectively.
In this, we think, the Kayan religion shows a catho-
licity 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 ;^ 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

^ See vol. ii. p. 6i.

SPIRITUAL EXISTENCES 7

Tenangan. The following was given us as an
example, ** Oh ! Dok 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.^ 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.^

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 house-
hold, as before or after an important expedition,
the ceremony usually takes place before one of
these rudely carved posts.^ 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

^ See vol. ii., p. 137.

^ For the views of an individual Kayan on Laki Tenangan, see vol. ii.,
p. 74- ^ See vol. ii., p. 53.

VOL. II B

8 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

right angles to one another, and a fresh fowl's Qgg
is inserted between the split ends (PI. 145). Leaves
of the Lon^" (a species of Caladium), a plant grown
on ih^ 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

(PI. 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 discover-
ing 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.^ If the omens first
obtained are bad, more fowls and pigs are usually
killed and omens again observed ; and in an import-
ant matter, e.g. the illness of a beloved child, the
process may be repeated many times until satis-
factory omens are forthcoming. Whatever may

1 See Chap. X.

I

Plate 146. BALAWING POLE ON THE LEFT, ALTAR -POST OF BALI
PENYALONG ON THE RIGHT, AND IN THE MIDDLE A POST TO WHI(^
PIECES OF THE FLESH OF SLAIN ENEMIES HAVE BEEN SKEWERED AS
THANK-OFFERINGS AFTER SUCCESSFUL WAR, SET UP BEFORE HOUSE
OF LONG POKUNS (KLEMANTANS).

SPIRITUAL EXISTENCES 9

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/

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 com-
mitted 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

^ The idea of giving up a valued possession to the god or spirit in order to
appease or propitiate him seems to underlie a curious rite formerly practised
by \l\xq JingkangSf a Klemantan subtribe living on the great Kapuas river.
These people, like most of the peoples of Borneo, value their male children
more highly than their female children. If a boy seems to be at the point of
death, and if all other efforts to restore him have proved unavailing, ihe
relatives would kill an infant sister of the boy, and would cause the boy to eat a
small bit of the roasted flesh. The intention seems to be to appease some male-
volent spirit that is causing the sickness ; and the eating of the flesh seems to
be considered necessary in order to connect the sacrifice clearly with the
sick child.

lo PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

as the recipient of the prayer and the dispenser of
the benefits which properly he only foretells or
announces.^

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, B atari, Anyi, Ivongy 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 some-
times 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 Lahang
and 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

* Cf. vol. ii., p. 75, for the statement of a Kayan on this question.

SPIRITUAL EXISTENCES ii

myth/ of which several variants are current, describes
his miraculous advent to the world ; thirdly, he is re-
garded 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 subtribes ; and that they are regarded
as standing higher in the spiritual hierarchy than
recently deceased chiefs, is shown by the prefix
Bali^ 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 re-
cognition 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^ while one Madang

^ See vol. ii., p. 138.

* See vol. ii. , p. 29, for usage of this word.

^ This relation is illustrated by the fact that among the charms and objects
of virtue which the Kenyahs hang beside the heads in the galleries of their
houses, or over the fireplaces in their rooms, are to be found in many houses
one or two specimens of stone axe-heads. The original use of these objects
is not known to the great majority of their possessors, who regard them as
teeth dropped from the jaw of the thunder-god, Balingo. It is generally
claimed that some ancestor found these stones and added them to the family
treasures. A man who possesses such " teeth," carries them with him when
he goes to war. The Madang chief Tama Kajan Odoh, mentioned in the
following note as claiming descent from Balingo, possessed the unusual number
of ten such teeth. The credit of having first obtained specimens of these stones
from the houses belongs to Dr. A. C. Haddon, who discovered a specimen in
a Klemantan house of the Baram basin in the year 1899. The existence of such
stones in native houses in Dutch Borneo had been reported by Schwaner many
years before that date.

12 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

(Kenyah) chief at least claims direct descent from
him.^

The last mentioned instance completes the series
of cases forming a transition from the well re-
membered dead chief to the departmental deity, the
existence of which series lends colour to the view
that these minor gods have been evolved from de-
ceased 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 com-
pletely in others. If this supposition could be
shown to be true, it would afford a strong presump-
tion in favour of the view that Laki Tenangan also
has had a similar history, and that he is hut 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

^ When questioned as to this claim, he gave us at once without hesitation the
names in order of the ancestors of nineteen generations through whom he traces
his descent from Balingo. It is perhaps worth while to transcribe the list as
taken down from his lips in ascending order : — Kajan, Tama Kajan Odoh, Sigo^
Apoiy Baun ( ? ), Odoh Sinan ( 9 ), Along^ Apoi, Laking, Laking Giling, Giling
Sinjarij Sinjan Putoh^ Putoh Aft, AH Aiaijalong, Balariy Umbong Doh ( 9 ),
Kusun Patu Balingo. This succession of names, it will be noticed, is consistent
with the custom, common to the Kenyahs and Kayans, of naming the father
after his eldest child.

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SPIRITUAL EXISTENCES 13

Tenangan, except only his bearing the title Lakiy
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 concep-
tion of a supreme god to their contact with the
Mohammedans. But this is rendered very im-
probable 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
1 50 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

14 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

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."^

Bali Utong brings prosperity to the house. Bali
Urip is the god of life ; he too has a carved altar-
post, 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

^ There are four words used by the Kayans to express the notion of the
forbidden act, malan, lali^ parity and tulah. All these are used as adjectives
qualifying actions rather than things ; but they are not strictly synonymous
terms. Malan and parit seem to be true Kayan words ; lali and tulah to have
been taken from the Malay, and to be used generally by Kayans in speaking
with Kenyahs or men of other tribes to whom these words are more familiar
than the Kayan terms.

Malan applies rather to acts involving risks to the whole community, parit
to those involving risk to the individual committing the forbidden act : thus,
during harvest it is malan for any stranger to enter the house, and the whole
house or village is said to be malan ; but it is parit for a child to touch one of
the images. Again, it is not malan for the proper persons to touch the dried
heads on certain occasions, but it is always in some degree parit for the indi-
vidual, and for this reason the task is generally assigned to an elderly man.
Lali and tulaA seem to be the lingua franca equivalents of malan and of
parit respectively.

SPIRITUAL EXISTENCES 15

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 Penyalongy 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 Draccena plant (whose deep red
leaves are generally to be seen growing in a clump
not far from them) and a number of large spherical

i6 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

stones, Batu tuloL 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 (PI. 144).

We reproduce here a passage from a paper
published by us some ten years ago^ 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 I bans, who have had far more
intercourse with the Malays than have the Kayans and
Kenyahs, yet show least trace of this conception. As Arch-
deacon Perham has written of the I bans, 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

^ ** The Relations between Men and Animals in Sarawak," J. Anth.
Inst. vol. xxxi.

Plate 148. WOODEN IMAGE OF BALI ATAP, A KENYAH GOD.

SPIRITUAL EXISTENCES 17

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 com-
munities 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 com-
paratively rapidly and easily arrived at under favourable
conditions (such as seem to be afforded by tribes like the
Kenyahs and Kayans, warlike prosperous tribes subordin-
ated 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 individ-
uals only to be discerned by curious research, as among

i8 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

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 Kay an 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 con-
cerned 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, con-
siderable 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

SPIRITUAL EXISTENCES 19

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 explana-
tion 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 im-
portance, but imperfectly individualised and not
regularly envisaged in any visible forms or embodied
in any material objects. The generic Kayan name

20 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

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

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XIII

SPIRITUAL EXISTENCES 21

the assembled men with a wisp of shredded palm-
leaves.

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 break-
ing 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 under-

22 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

takes 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 com-
fortable. On certain special occasions they are
offered borak and pork in the way mentioned
above.

On moving to a new house the heads are tempo-
rarily 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 para-
graph illustrate very well the power for harm attri-
buted to the Toh of the heads and the fear with

XIII SPIRITUAL EXISTENCES 23

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 in-
juries, 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 /^<3fz, 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.^

^ We are not aware that the *' bull-roarer" is put to any other uses than
this by any of the tribes.

VOL. II C

24 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

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
Jadt (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

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Plate 150. GALLERY OF A KAY AN LONG HOUSE.

SPIRITUAL EXISTENCES 25

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 neighbour-
hood 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 ^^^ (which on this occasion
is spoken of only by the name ^z/^ = 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

26 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

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 Tok
of the stream.

The Joh play a considerable part in regulating
conduct ; for they are the powers that bring mis-
fortunes 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 propitia-
tion 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 attri-
butes of a god, or to evoke on the part of the
people the specifically religious emotions and at-
titudes— awe, reverence, supplication, trust, grati-
tude, 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-

SPIRITUAL EXISTENCES 27

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 I ban superstitions will be found
in Chapter XV.

CHAPTER XIV

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} and the method of treatment is usually
that of extraction.^ 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

1 See Chap. XIIL 2 Vol. ii., p. 120.

28

CHAP. XIV IDEAS OF THE SOUL 29

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 DayongSy
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 tra-
ditional form of words well known to the people,
who join in the chorus at the close of each phrase,
responding with ** Bali- Dayong,'' ^ i.e. '' Oh powerful

•^ The word Bali is used on a great variety of occasions, generally as a form
of address, being prefixed to the proper name or designation of the being
addressed or spoken of. The being thus addressed is always one having
special powers of the sort that we should call supernatural, and the prefix
serves to mark this possession of power. It may be said to be an adjectival
equivalent of the Mana of the Melanesians or of the Wakanda or Orenda of
North American tribes, words which seem to connote all power other than the
purely mechanical. It seems not improbable that the word Bali has entered
the Kayan language from a Sanskrit source ; for in Sanskrit it was prefixed to
the names of priests and heroes. The word is even more extensively used by
the Kenyahs, who prefix it to the names of several of their gods ; and the
Klemantans use the word Vali in the same way.

so PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

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 essenti-
ally a prayer for help addressed to Laki Tenangan,
or, in case of a woman, to Doh Tenangan 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.^ 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 trans-
ported 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

^ This procedure seems to be one of the many varieties of " crystal gazing"
that are practised among many peoples ; and it seems probable that the
Dayong^ in some cases at least, experiences hallucinatory visions of the scenes
that he so vividly describes as he gazes on the polished metal. The sword so
used becomes the property of the Dayong.

IDEAS OF THE SOUL 31

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 con-
fusion of symbolical and descriptive acts, which are
not ordered in strict consistency with any clearly
defined theory of the nature of the soul and of its
relations to the body, or of the exact nature of the
task of the soul-catcher.

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

Mental derangement is commonly attributed to
possession by evil Toh, and exorcism is practised
among some of the tribes, but very little by the
Kayans, who generally content themselves with con-
fining any troublesome madman in a cage.

No doubt the catching of the soul does make
strongly for the recovery of the patient, through
inspiring him with hope and confidence. But it
cannot always stave off death. If, in spite of the
operations of one soul-catcher, the patient s strength
still sinks, some other practitioner is usually called
in for consultation. In the case of a chief the help
of three or even four may be invoked successively
or together ; and the ceremony of catching the soul

32 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

may be repeated again and again with greater
elaboration of detail, and may be prolonged through
many hours and even days with brief interruptions.

When all these efforts prove unavailing, despair-
ing relatives sometimes put the end of a blow-pipe
to the dying or dead man's ear (or merely their
lips) and shout through it, '* Come back, this is
your home, here we have food ready for you."
Sometimes the departed soul is believed to reply,
** I am far from home, I am following a To A and
don't know the way back."

If, in spite of all these efforts, the patient dies,
a drum is loudly beaten (or in case of a female
a tawak) in order to announce the decease to
relatives and friends gone before, the number of
strokes depending upon the rank and sex of the
departing spirit. The corpse is kept in the house
during a period which varies from one night for
people of the lower class, to three nights for middle
class folk, and ten days for a chief. During this
time the dead man lies in state. The corpse has a
bead of some value under each eyelid ; Mt is dressed
in his finest clothes and ornaments, and is enclosed
within a coffin hollowed from a single log, the lid of
which is sealed with resin and lashed round with
rattans.

The coffin is covered with a particular design in
red and black and white, and is placed in the gallery
on a low platform, surrounded by the most valuable
personal property of the dead man, whose family
will take pains to make the display of property as
imposing as possible. A fire is kept burning near
the coffin, and small packets of cooked rice and of
tobacco are placed upon it for the use of the dead
man's soul. Hundreds of cigarettes are hung in
bundles about the platform by people of the house,

^ These beads seem to be designed for use by the ghost in paying for its
passage across the river of death.

IDEAS OF THE SOUL 33

sent by them as tokens of kindly remembrance to
their departed friends, who are believed to be able
to recognise by smell the hands that made each
bundle. During the whole period the dead man is
attended continuously by at least two or three
mourners, either relatives or, more rarely, hired
mourners, who from time to time throughout both
day and night wail loudly, renewing their wailing at
the arrival of each party of friends or relatives.

These parties come in from neighbouring villages
in response to news of the death sent them by
special messengers, and in the case of an influential
chief several thousand men and women sometimes
congregate in this way to do him honour.

Upon the arrival of any person of importance,
gongs and drums are beaten, and the dead man is
informed of the fact by the Dayong or by a relative.
The visitor is led to a seat near the coffin, where he
will sit silently or join in the wailing, until after a
few minutes he enters into conversation with his
hosts. When all the expected guests have arrived,
pigs are slaughtered and a feast is made.

While the coffin lies in the house all noises other
than the wailing are avoided in its immediate
neighbourhood, and the children, dogs, and fowls
are kept away from it. The Dayong will sit beside
the coffin occasionally brandishing a sword above
it in order to keep in check the Toh who, attracted
to the neighbourhood of the corpse, might grow
too bold.

On the day appointed for the removal of the
corpse it is the duty of the Dayong to instruct the
dead man's soul how to find his way to the other
world ; this he does, sitting beside the coffin and
chanting aloud in doleful tones. For (curiously
enough in view of the theory implied by the soul-
catching ceremony) the man's soul is regarded as
remaining in, or in the proximity of, the body so

34 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

long as it remains in the house. This is one of
several indications that the Kayans vaguely dis-
tinguish two souls — on the one hand the ghost-soul
or shade, which in dreams wanders afar, on the
other hand the vital principle. It would seem that
so long as this vital spark remains in the body the
ghost-soul may return to it ; but that, when death
is complete, this vital spark also departs, and then
the ghost-soul will return no more.

The use of the word urip further bears out this
interpretation. In common speech urip means
alive, but it is applied also as a prefix to the names
of those recently deceased, and seems to mark the
speaker's sense of the continuance of the personality
as that which has life in spite of the death of the
body.

Thus blua and urip seem to mark a distinction
which in Europe in different ages has been marked
by the words soul and spirit, anima and animus^
psyche and pneuma, and which was familiar also to
the Hebrews. In this, of course, Kayan thought
on this subject does but follow on the lines of many
other peoples of more advanced civilisation.

When the Dayong has completed his instruc-
tions, the rattan lashings about the head of the
coffin are loosed. Since this is the moment at
which the soul is believed to take its final departure
from the body, it is probable that this custom of
unlashing the coffin is connected with the idea of
facilitating its escape, although we have obtained
no definite statement to this effect. At the same
time the fire that has been kept burning by the
coffin is allowed to die out. To the coffin, which
is shaped roughly like a boat, two small wooden
figures are attached — a figure of a woman at the
head, a male figure at its foot. These figures are
not improbably a vestige of a bygone custom of
killing slaves, whose souls would row the boat of

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Plate 152. TOMB OF A CHIEF OF THE LONG PAT AS

(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.

IDEAS OF THE SOUL 35

the dead man on his journey to the other world.
This interpretation is borne out by the fact that a
live fowl is usually tied to one of these wooden
figures. The coffin is then conveyed out of the
house by lowering it to the ground with rattans,
either through the floor, planks being taken up for
the purpose, or under the eaves at the side of the
gallery. In this way they avoid carrying it down
the house-ladder ; and it seems to be felt that this
precaution renders it more difficult for the ghost to
find its way back to the house.^ All this is done
with great deliberation, the coffin being brought by
easy stages to the river bank. There it is laid in
a large boat gaily decorated with bright-coloured
cloths, which is paddled down river to the grave-
yard, followed by the boats of the mourning friends,
who refrain from speaking to any persons en-
countered on the way. The tombs of the village
are on the river bank some quarter of a mile below
the house, generally on the opposite bank. Here
the final resting-place of the coffin has been pre-
pared by erecting a great log of timber, which is
large in proportion to the social standing of the
dead man. In the case of a chief the log is of iron-
wood, some three feet or more in diameter and
some thirty feet in length. One end of this is sunk
some four or five feet into the ground. The erect-
ing of such a massive support is a task of some
difficulty, achieved by first digging the pit at the
foot of the log and then hauling up the other end
with a rough windlass. The upper end, which is
always the root-end of the log, is cut in the form of
a deep cleft, just wide enough to receive the coffin.
Above the cleft a large slab of hardwood forms a

^ Among some of the peoples it is customary to beat a big gong while this
operation is in progress, or, in the case of a woman, a drum, in order to
announce to the inhabitants of the other world the coming of the recently
deceased. The beating of gongs is in general use for signalling from house to
house.

36 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

cover for the coffin, and this is often elaborately
carved (see Pis. 152, 153). In some cases two, and
in others even four, smaller poles are used for the
support of the coffin, but this usually only to avoid
the labour of erecting one very large one. The
coffin is lifted into this cleft by the aid of a scaffold-
ing which is built around the large pole, and which
afterwards falls away when the lashings are cut.
On landing at the graveyard the mourners carry
the coffin between the two parts of a cleft pole
which are fixed in the ground so as to make a large
V (this is called nyring, the wall), and all the
mourners are expected to pass through this cleft,
each, in doing so, placing his foot upon a fowl
which is laid bound upon the ground. The coffin is
then lifted to its cleft, and the weapons, implements,
and war clothes, the large hat, the cooking-pot, and
in fact any articles of personal property that may be
of use to the departing soul, are hung upon the
tomb.^ If a gong is hung up, it may be cracked
or pierced beforehand, but it is not usual among
Kayans to spoil other articles before hanging them
on the tomb.^ The scaffolding about the tomb is
then caused to fall away, and it only remains for
the mourners to purify themselves. This they do

^ Small articles specially valued by the deceased are enclosed in the coffin ;
thus, Oyang Luhat^ a Kaiyzxi penghulu (see Chap. XXIL), who bled slowly to
death from an accidentally inflicted wound, gave strict instructions as he lay
dying that his certificate of office bearing the Rajah's signature and his
Sarawak flag, the public badge of his office, should be put in his coffin with
his body ; and there can be no reasonable doubt that he hoped to display
them, or rather their ghostly replicas, in the other world. As a clear instance
of such belief it seems worth while to mention the following case. One of us
had given some coloured prints to a Kayan boy, an only son to whom his
parents were much attached. On a subsequent visit he was told by the
bereaved mother that the child had been very fond of the pictures, and that
she had put them in his coffin because she knew that he would like to look at
them in the other world.

2 Among Klemantans it is usual to spoil all articles hung upon a tomb ;
and they give the reason that in the other world everything is the opposite of
what it is here : the spoilt shall be perfect, the new and unspoilt shall be old
and damaged, and so on. It is probable that the real or original motive for
this practice is the desire to avoid placing temptations to theft in the way of
strangers.

Plate 153. TOMB OF A SEKAPAN (KLEMANTAN) CHIEF.

IDEAS OF THE SOUL 37

with the help of the lower jaws of the pigs that
were consumed at the funeral feast. The jaws are
placed together with water in a gong or other basin,
and the Dayong, taking a fowl's feather, sprinkles
drops of water from the basin upon all the assembled
mourners, pouring out the while a stream of words,
the purport of which is — may all evil things, all
sickness and such things be kept away from you.
Then the mourners return in a single file through
the V formed by the cleft pole, each one again
placing his foot on the fowl (which dies before the
end of the ceremony), spitting as he goes through,
and exclaiming, '* Keep off evil " (ball jaat, i.e. liter-
ally, spiritual or supernatural evil). When all have
passed through, the upper ends of the two parts of
the cleft pole are brought together and lashed round
with rattans ; and a small tree, pulled up by the
roots, and having its branches cut away, is laid
beside the pole with its roots turned towards the
grave (this is called selikang) ; and on the other
side of the pole is put another vertical pole with a
cross-piece tied at its upper end. Fire is left
burning beside these structures. In this way the
Kayans symbolically prevent any of the uncanny
influences of the graveyard following the party back
to the house ; though they do not seem to be clear
as to whether it is the ghosts of the dead, or the
Toh of the neighbourhood, or those which may have
contributed to his death, against whom these pre-
cautions are taken. This done, the whole party
returns as quickly as possible to the village, halting
only to bathe on the way.

The whole household of which the dead man was
a member continues in mourning for a period which
is long in proportion to his social standing ; the
mourning rules are observed most strictly by the
nearest relatives. The signs of mourning are the
wearing of bark-cloth or of clothes made yellow

38 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

with clay, allowing the hair to grow on the parts of
the head and face usually kept shaved,^ and the
putting aside of ornaments such as ear-rings, neck-
laces, or the substitution of wooden ear-rings for
the metal ones commonly worn by the women. All
music, feasts, and jollifications are avoided. The
period of mourning can only be properly terminated
by a ceremony in which a human head plays an
essential part. Where the influence of the European
governments has not made itself felt, the death of a
chief necessitates the procuring of a fresh head, and
a party may be sent out to cut off in the jungle, on
the farms, or on the river, some small party of a
hostile village. The common people must postpone
the termination of their mourning until some such
occasion presents itself. Nowadays in the districts
in which head hunting has been suppressed, an old
head, generally one surviving from an earlier period,
is borrowed or begged for the purpose from another
village, and is brought home with all the display
properly belonging to a return from successful war
(see Chap. X.). As soon as the head is brought
into the house the period of mourning terminates
amid general rejoicing. The head, or a fragment
of it, or the bundle of palm leaves (daun isang)
with which it has been decorated, is hung upon
the tomb.^

In case of any dispute regarding the division of
the property of a dead man, his ghost may be called
upon by a Dayong and questioned as to the dead
man's intentions ; but this would not be done until
after the harvest following upon the death. The
ceremony is known as dayong janoi. A small model
of a house, perhaps a yard in width and length, is

^ Among some of the Klemantan tribes the opposite practice of shaving the
whole scalp is observed in mourning.

2 In some of the remoter forts of the Sarawak government old heads that
have been confiscated are kept, and are occasionally lent for the purpose of
enabling a village to go out of mourning without shedding human blood.

IDEAS OF THE SOUL 39

made and placed in the gallery beside the door
of the dead man's chamber. Food and drink of
various kinds as prepared for a feast are placed in
this house, together with cigarettes. The Dayong
chants beside the house, calling upon the soul of the
dead man to enter the soul-house, and mentioning
the names of the members of his family. From
time to time he looks in, and after some time
announces that all the food and drink has been
consumed. The people accept this statement as
evidence that the ghost has entered the soul-house.-^
The Dayong acts as though listening to the whisper-
ing of the soul within the house, starting and clucking
from time to time. Then he anounces the will of the
ghost in regard to the distribution of the property,
speaking in the first person and reproducing the
phraseology and peculiarities of the dead man.^
The directions so obtained are usually followed, and
the dispute is thus terminated. But in some cases
the people apply a certain test to verify the alleged
presence of the ghost. A shallow dish (often a
gong) of water is placed near the soul-house, and
a ring-shaped armlet of shell is placed vertically in
this basin, the water covering its lower half. A few
fine fibres of the cotton-seed are thrown on to the
surface of the water, and by tapping on the planks
the people keep these in movement. If the threads
float through the ring, that is conclusive evidence of
the presence of the ghost ; but so long as the threads
cannot be got to pass through the ring, the people
are not satisfied that the ghost is present.

^ When pressed in private after a ceremony of this kind, a certain Dayong
admitted to us that perhaps, if we should look into the house, we should see the
food apparently untouched ; but he maintained that nevertheless all the strength
or essence of the food would have been consumed, the husks merely being left.

2 Apparently it is not that the Dayong claims to be " possessed " by the soul
of the dead man ; for from time to time he inclines his ear again to the soul-
house to catch the faint voice of the ghost. We know of no cases in which it
is claimed that the body of a living man is *' possessed " by a departed soul.

VOL. II D

40 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

Ideas of Life after Death

The soul of the dead man is supposed to wander
on foot through the jungle until he reaches the crest
of a mountain ridge. From this point he looks
down upon the basin of a great river, the Long
Malan, in which five districts are assigned as the
dwelling-places of souls, the destination of each
being determined by the mode of death. The
ghosts of those who die through old age or disease
go to Apo Leggan, the largest of these districts,
where they live very much as we do in this life.
Those who die a violent death, whether in battle or
or by accident, go to the basin of a tributary river,
Long Julan, where is Bawang Daha (lake of blood) ;
there they live in comfort, and become rich though
they do no work : they have for wives the ghosts of
women that have died in child-bed. Those that
have been drowned find a home beneath the rivers,
and are supposed to become possessed of all property
lost in the water by their surviving friends ; this
place (or places) bears the name of Ling Yang,
The souls of still-born children dwell in Tenyu
Lalu ; they are believed to be very brave, owing
to their having experienced no pain in this world.
Finally, suicides^ have assigned to them a special
district, Tan Tekkan, where they live miserably,
eating only roots, berries, and other jungle produce.

Other districts of this great country are vaguely
assigned to the souls of Malays and other peoples.
It is generally said that the left bank of the river
is the place of the tribes of Borneo, while the right
bank is assigned to all other peoples ; and the soul
is especially warned by the Dayong to avoid the
right bank lest it should find itself among foreigners.
These beliefs seem to involve some faint rudiment

1 Cases occur among the Kayans, though but rarely. The method most
employed is to stab a knife into the throat.

Plate 154. THE GRAVE OF RULING, DAUGHTER OF BOI JALONG, THE
PRINCIPAL KENYAH CHIEF OF THE BATANG KAYAN RIVER.

XIV IDEAS OF THE SOUL 41

of the doctrine oi post-mortem retribution or, at least,
compensation, — a rudiment which does not appear
in the beliefs of the other peoples.

The departed soul standing on the mountain
ridge surveys these regions ; and it is not until he
stops here to rest that he becomes aware that he
is finally separated from his body. This fact is
brought home to him by the arrival of the ghost-
souls of the various articles hung upon his tomb,
which hurry after him, but only overtake him at
thw his first resting - place ; and he bewails his
unhappy fate.

There are current among Kayans several versions
of the further journey of the soul. The ghost
descends the mountain to the banks of Long Malan,
which river he must cross to reach his appointed
place. The river must be crossed by means of a
bridge consisting of a single large log suspended
from bank to bank. This log, bitang sekopa, is
constantly agitated by a guardian, Maligang by
name. If the ghost has during the earthly life
taken a head, or even merely taken part in a
successful head-hunting raid, a fact indicated by
the tatuing of the hands, he crosses this bridge
without difficulty ; but if not, he falls below and is
consumed by maggots or, according to another
version, is devoured by a large fish, Patau, and so
is destroyed. When the ghost reaches the other
bank, he is greeted by those of his friends who
have gone before, and they lead him to their
village. Some part of the journey is generally
regarded as made by boat, though it is not possible
to make this fit consistently into the general scheme.
Another point on which opinion is very vague is
the part played by Laki Jup Urip, a deity or spirit
whose function it is to guide the souls to their
proper destinations.

In many Kayan villages stories are told of

42 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

persons who are believed to have died and to have
come to life again. This belief seems to have
arisen in every case from the person having lain
in a trance for some days, during which he was
regarded as dead. The Kayans accept the cessation
of respiration as evidence of death, and they assert
that these persons cease to breathe.^

It seems that such persons usually give some
account of their experiences during the period in
which they have deserted their bodies. They
usually allege that they have traversed a part of the
road to the land of shades, and describe it in terms
agreeing more or less closely with the traditional
account of it current among the Kayans. Since in
these cases the person is thought to be dead, no
efforts are made by the Dayong to lead back his
departing soul, and its return has to be explained
in some other way. In some cases the returned
soul describes how he was turned back by Maligang,
the awful being who guards the bridge across the
river of death. ^

Mr. R. S. Douglas, Resident of Baram, has
recently reported a similar belief held by the Muriks,
a Klemantan tribe, where it is supported by the
following legend. The soul or spirit of a certain
man, Uku Pandah by name, left his body two years
before the time appointed as the term of its in-
corporate life, and gained admittance to the land
of shades in the shape of a pig. It was, however,
recognised by the ruler of that land, and ordered by
him to return to its mortal body. The command
was obeyed, and Uku Pandah, having been dead for

^ In one such case the body was laid out in the gallery of the house and
preparations for the funeral were far advanced, when one of us (C. H. ) arrived.
On glancing at the alleged corpse he suspected that life was not extinct, and
succeeded, by the application of ammonia to the nostrils, in restoring the en-
tranced Kayan to animation, and shortly to a normal condition of health.

2 The man mentioned in the foregoing footnote had given to a Dayong (no
doubt in response to leading questions) a circumstantial account of adventures
of this kind, before we had an opportunity of questioning him after an interval
of some ten days. He then admitted that he could remember nothing clearly.

XIV

IDEAS OF THE SOUL

43

two days, came to life again and lived for two years,
during which he described to his friends the country
of the dead of which he had thus obtained a glimpse ;
and this knowledge has been preserved by the tribe.
The beliefs and traditions of the various tribes
in regard to the other world seem to have been
confused through the intercourse between them, so
that it is not possible to mark off clearly what

'i)

Bawan^ Matei Muong
Lake o-F suxdde^

Bawong D^hia r~>
JSiood.where Sie pe4pU ga^ ^ Ado Mas,

vhoareTcaUdinbaUle.aUJlfwsi x , f . . .

Lake of Blood/.where fhei

v/omsn. Miho obit irv chUdbu

/rang /ad»n^ apui jupan

Apo La^gan

^^i.H.^Ji^

SiAprermBtin^

Fig. 78.

Stcmibrdi Otogt Estatt,£oi

features properly belong to each of the tribes. The
general features are similar with all the peoples.
The Kenyah story is very similar to that of the
Kayans, though the names of the various places are
different, and they usually conceive the first part of
the soul's journey as being made by boat on the
river.

Tama Kajan Odoh, the Madang chief whose line
of descent from Balingo is given on p. 12, vol. ii., made
us a rough map of the land of the shades (Fig. "]%)

44 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

and of the country traversed by the ghost on its
journey thither. This was done in the way maps
of their own country are always made by the
Borneans, namely, he laid upon the floor bits of
stick and other small objects to represent the
principal topographical features and relations. We
tested the trustworthiness of his account by asking
him to repeat it on a subsequent occasion ; when he
did so without any noteworthy departure from the
former description. A point of special interest is the
appearance in the land of shades of the house of
Bali Peny along and of Oko Perbungan (which seems
to be the Madang name for the wife of the Supreme
Being). This map brings out clearly what seems
to be the essential feature of all these schemes,
namely, that the land of shades is the basin of a river
divided by a mountain ridge from that from which the
ghost departs.

The Punans add some picturesque incidents.
According to their version, a huge helmeted horn-
bilP {^Rhinoflax Vigil) sits by the far end of the
bridge across the river of death, and with its screams
tries to terrify the ghost, so that it shall fall from
the bridge into the jaws of the great fish which is in
league with the bird. On the other side of the river
is Ungap, a woman with a cauldron and spear.
Ungapy if appeased with a gift, aids the ghost to
escape from the monstrous bird and fish. Pebbles
or beads are put in the nostrils of the Punan corpse
in order that they may be presented to Ungap,

The Punans recite or sing a story in blank
verse descriptive of this passage of the soul. It is
sometimes sung in very dramatic fashion, the per-
former acting the principal incidents and pitching
his voice in a doleful, though musical, minor key.
Such a recitation of the passage of the soul, delivered

^ The cry of this species is peculiar ; it terminates with an interrupted
series of cries that sound like mocking laughter.

Plate 155. MALANAU GRAVES NEAR REJANG VILLAGE.

IDEAS OF THE SOUL 45

by a wild and tragic figure before an intently listen-
ing group of squatting men and women illuminated
by flickering torchlight, is by no means unimpressive
to the European observer. The following lines are
a rough literal translation of a fragment of the story
which describes the meeting with Ungap of Batang
Mijong, a departed soul : —

Ungap speaks —

Batang Mijong stands waving his shield.

The helmsman Saramin with body of brass will carry
over Batang Mijong.

Batang Mijong seeks the place of the Punans.

Good journey to you, Batang Mijong.

Batang Mijong^ O, why are you called ?
Batang Mijong speaks —

Why do you question me, why do you stare at me ?
Ungap answers —

Your limbs are shapely, smooth is your skin and slender
your body.

My eyes are dazzled by your bodily perfections.

Some of the Malanaus, one of the many branches
of the Klemantan people, hold peculiar views about
the soul. Each man is credited with two souls.
After his death one of these goes to some region
in the heavens where it becomes a good spirit that
assists at the Bayoh ceremonies.^ The other makes
a journey to a world of the dead much like Apo
Leggan of the Kayans ; and the journey involves
the crossing of the river on a single log, the passage
of which is disputed by a malign being, who tries
to shake the nerve of the ghost by flinging ashes
at him as he traverses the bridge. Other Malanaus
(of Muka) describe this opposing power as a two-
headed dog, Maiwiang by name, whom it is
necessary to propitiate with the gift of a valuable
bead. For this reason a bead of some value is
fastened to the right arm of the corpse before the
coffin is closed. It is said of the Malanaus that

^ See below, vol. ii. p. 130.

46 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

they were formerly in the habit of killing several
slaves at the tomb of a chief; and, since it was
believed that, if the victims died a violent death,
their souls would not go to the same place as the
dead chief, and would thus be of no service, they
were allowed to die from exposure to the sun while
bound to the tomb. Now that homicide is pro-
hibited, these people arrange a great cock-fight;
and there can be little doubt that the death of
many of the birds is felt to compensate in some
degree for the enforced abstention from homicide.

The last case on record of the killing of a slave
at the entombment of a chief occurred about fifteen
years ago among the Orang Bukits (Klemantans) in
Bruni territory. The son of the dead chief (Datu
Gunong) went to Bruni city, and there bought an
aged slave from one of the principal officers of
state. The slave was kept in a bamboo cage until
the day of entombment, when he was killed, each
of the funeral guests inflicting a small wound with
a spear. His head was hung on the tomb. From
circumstantial accounts of this incident which
reached one of us, we infer that those who took
part in this brutal act were moved only by a sense
of duty and that the co-operation was repugnant to
all of them.^

Exorcism

The Kayans, as well as most of the peoples,
regard madness as due to possession by an evil
spirit,^ but the Malanaus extend this theory to
many other forms of disease, and practise an
elaborate rite of exorcism. This will be described
in the chapter (XVI.) dealing with charms and
magical practices.

1 The incident was reported by Dr. Hose to the British Consul at Bruni,
who entered an effective warning against repetitions of such acts.

2 A dangerous madman is generally kept shut up in a large strong cage in
the gallery of the house.

IDEAS OF THE SOUL 47

It will be gathered from what has been said in
the foregoing pages that the life after death is
regarded as not in any way very different from this
life, as neither a very superior nor an inferior con-
dition ; although, as we have said, those who die
a violent death are believed to have a rather better
lot, and suicides a worse fate, than others. Social
distinction and consideration, especially such as is
achieved by the taking of heads in war, is carried
over into the life after death ; and men are anxious
that outward marks of such distinction should go
with them. This is undoubtedly one of the grounds
for tatuing the body. Among the Kayans a man's
hands are only fully tatued when he has taken a
head ; while the social status of a woman is
marked by the degree of fineness of the tatuing.^
It follows that death is neither greatly feared nor
desired ; but an old man will sometimes affirm that
he is quite ready or even desirous to die, although
he may seem cheerful and fairly vigorous.

The Kayans believe in the reincarnation of the
soul, although this belief is not clearly harmonised
with the belief in the life in another world. It is
generally believed that the soul of a grandfather
may pass into one of his grandchildren, and an old
man will try to secure the passage of his soul to a
favourite grandchild by holding it above his head
from time to time. The grandfather usually gives
up his name to his eldest grandson, and reassumes
the original name of his childhood with the prefix or
title Laki, and the custom seems to be connected
with this belief or hope. There is no means of
discovering whether the hope is realised. The
human soul may also, in the belief of all the peoples,
be reincarnated in the body of almost any animal ;
but opinions in regard to this matter are very

^ It is believed that the tatuing on the woman's hands and forearms
illuminates for the ghost dark places traversed on the journey to the other
world.

48 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

vague. Thus the Kayans believe that the objec-
tion of the Mohammedan Malays to the eating of
pig is due to reincarnation of their souls in animals
of that species, which belief naturally causes some
vexation to the Malay traders.

Among the Kayans and other peoples sceptics
are to be found, and, as no inquisitorial methods are
in vogue among them, such persons will on occasion
give expression to their doubts about the accepted
dogmas, although speech about such topics is
generally repressed by some touch of awe. One
man, for example, argued in our hearing that he
could hardly believe that man continues to exist
after death, for, said he, if men and women still lived
after death, some of those who have been very fond
of their children would surely return to see them,
and would be in some way perceived by the living.
But all such discussions are usually terminated with
the remark, *' Nusi jam ? " (*' Who knows ?")

The Kenyahs' disposal of their dead is very
similar in all respects to the Kayan practice. But
the burial customs of most of the Klemantan tribes
are different. Their usual practice is to keep the
coffin containing the corpse in the gallery of the
house until the period of mourning is terminated.
A bamboo tube carried down through the floor to
the ground permits the escape of fluids resulting
from decomposition. The coffin itself is sealed
closely with wax, and elaborately decorated with
carved and painted wood-work. After several
months or even years have elapsed a feast is made
(the feast of the bones) ; the coffin is opened and
the bones taken out and cleaned. They are then
packed into a smaller coffin or a large ovoid jar,
which is carried to the village cemetery. There it is
placed either in the hollowed upper end of a massive
post, or into a large wooden chamber containing, or
to contain, the remains of several persons, generally

XIV IDEAS OF THE SOUL 49

near relatives. These tombs are in many cases
very elaborately decorated with painted wood-
work.

Since the Klemantans who use the jar to contain
the bones are not capable of making such large jars,
but procure jars of Indo-Chinese and Chinese
manufacture, it seems probable that the jars are
comparatively modern substitutes for the smaller
wooden coffin or bone-box. Only the richer folk
can afford the luxury of a jar.

A rather different procedure is sometimes
adopted by the same Klemantans who use the
wooden coffins, namely, the corpse is placed in a jar
a few days after death. Since the mouth of the jar
is generally too small to admit the corpse the jar is
broken horizontally into two parts by the following
ingenious procedure. The jar is sunk in the water
of the river until it is full of water and wholly sub-
merged ; it is held horizontally by two men, one at
either end, just beneath the surface of the water.
A third man strikes a sharp downward blow with an
axe upon the widest circumference of the jar ; it is
then turned over and he strikes a second blow upon
the same circumference at a spot opposite to the
first. At the second stroke the jar falls in two,
sometimes as cleanly and nicely broken as though
cut with a saw.^ The corpse is then packed in with
its knees tied closely under the chin ; the upper
part of the jar is replaced and sealed on with wax.
When the time of the feast of the bones arrives, the
jar is reopened, the bones cleaned, and replaced in
the jar.

This mode of jar burial is commonly practised by
the Muruts, and is commoner in the northern parts
of the island than elsewhere. It may be added
that the jars used are generally valuable old jars,

Coco-nuts are commonly opened by two blows with a sword struck upon
opposite sides, and it seems probable that the method of splitting the jar was
suggested by this practice.

50 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO ch.xiv

and that the cheap modern copies of them find little
favour.

The Klemantans put selected pieces of the
property of the deceased within the tomb, but do
not generally hang them on it externally as the
Kayans and Kenyahs do.

The Sea Dayaks bury their dead in the earth,
generally in a village graveyard on the river banks
not far from the house. The body, together with
personal property, is merely wrapped in mats and
laid in a grave some three feet in depth. It is not
usual to keep it in the house for some days as the
Kayans do, and the burial is effected with com-
paratively little ceremony. The grave of the
common man is not marked with any monument,
but that of a chief may be marked by a sungkup ;
this consists of two pairs of stout posts, at head and
feet respectively ; each pair is erected in the form of
an oblique cross ; the upper end of each post is
carved in decorative fashion. Two broad planks
laid between the lower parts of these crossed posts
form a roof to the grave. In the case of a man
noted for great success in farming or fighting, a
bamboo tube may be sunk through the earth to the
spot just above the root of the nose, and through
this they speak to him and pour rice spirit in order
to strengthen their appeal.

The Land Dayaks of upper Sarawak, as well as
some other Klemantan tribes in South Borneo, are
peculiar in that they burn the dead, or the bones
alone after the flesh has dropped away. The
burning of the whole body is in some tribes carried
out by the richer families only ; the bodies that are
not burned are buried in the earth.

CHAPTER XV

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS CONNECTED WITH ANIMALS
AND PLANTS^

Many of the animals, both wild and domesticated,
are held by the Kenyahs in peculiar regard ; those
that most influence their conduct are the omen-
birds, and among the omen-birds the common
white-headed carrion-hawk [Haliaster intermedins)
is by far the most important. The Kenyahs always
observe the movements of this hawk with keen
interest, for by a well-established code of rules
they interpret his movements in the heavens as
signs by which they must be guided in many
matters of moment, especially in the conduct of
warlike or any other dangerous expeditions.^ The
hawk is always spoken of and addressed as Bali

^ In this chapter we have departed from our rule of describing first and
most fully the facts and beliefs of the Kayan people, because before planning
this book we had paid special attention to this topic, and had obtained fuller
information in regard to the Kenyahs than to other peoples, and had published
this in the form of a paper in the Journal of the Anthropological Institute
(*'The Relations between Men and Animals in Sarawak, "y^ Anth. Instit.
vol. xxxi. ). This paper, modified and corrected in detail, forms the substance
of this chapter. We wish to express our thanks to the Council of the Royal
Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland for permission to make
use of this paper.

2 We find that the practices of these people in connection with omens or
auspices so closely resemble those of the early Romans that it seems worth
while to draw attention to these resemblances, and we therefore quote in foot-
notes some passages from Dr. Smith's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities y
referring to the practice of the Romans : "In the most ancient times no trans-
action, whether private or public, was performed without consulting the
auspices, and hence arose the distinction of auspicia privata and aiispicia-
publica.^'

51

52 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

Flakiy and is formally consulted before any party
of Kenyahs sets out from home for distant parts.

To illustrate the formalities with which they read
the omens we will transcribe here a passage from
a journal kept by one of us. The occasion of the
incidents described was the setting out of a large
body of Kenyahs from the house of Tama Bulan
(PL 27), a chief who by his personal merits had
attained to a position of great influence among the
other Kenyah chiefs, and who had been confirmed in
his authority by His Highness the Rajah of Sarawak.
The object of the expedition was to visit and make
peace with another great fighting tribe, the
Madangs, who live in the remotest interior of
Borneo.^ Tama Bulan, whose belief in the value
of the omens had been slightly shaken, was willing
to start without ceremonies, and to make those
powers which he believed to protect us responsible
for himself and his people also. But the people
had begged him not to neglect the traditional rites,
and he had yielded to their wishes.

At break of day, before I was up, Tama Bulan was
washed by the women at the river's brink with water and
the blood of pigs to purify him for his journey, and later
in the morning the people set to work to seek omens and a
guarantee of their safety on the journey from the hawks
that are so numerous here. A small shelter of sticks and
leaves was made on the river-bank before the house, and
the women having been sent to their rooms, three men of
the upper class ^ sat under this leaf-shelter beside a small
fire, and searched the sky for hawks. After sitting there
silently for about an hour the three men suddenly became
animated ; one of them took in his right hand a small chick
and a stick frayed by many deep cuts with a knife, and
waved them repeatedly from left to right, at the same time
pouring out a rapid flood of words. They had caught sight
of a hawk high up and far away from them, and they were
trying to persuade it to fly towards the right. Presently

1 See Chap. XXII.
2 •* No one but a patrician could take the auspices."

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 53

the hawk, a tiny speck in the sky, sailed slowly out of sight
behind a hill on the right, and the men settled themselves
to watch for a second hawk which must fly towards the
left, and a third which must circle round and round. In
the course of about half-an-hour two hawks had obligingly
put in an appearance, and behaved just as it was hoped and
desired that they should behave ; and so this part of the
business was finished, and about a score of men bustled
about preparing for the next act. They brought many
fowls and several young pigs, and a bundle of long poles
pointed at either end. Before the house stand upright two
great boles of timber ; the upper end of each of them is
carved into a rude face and crowned with a brass gong
(PL 157). These are two images of the one Supreme
Being, Bali Penyalong, and they seem to be at the same
time the altars of the god. A tall young tree, stripped of
all but its topmost twigs, stands beside one of them, and is
supposed to reach to heaven or, at least, by its greater
proximity to the regions above, to facilitate intercourse.
As to the meaning of this and many other features of these
rites it is impossible to form any exact idea, for the opinions
of these people in such matters are hardly less vague and
diversified than those of more civilized worshippers. Tama
Bulan, in his character of high priest,^ took his stand before
one of these images, while a nephew, one of the three men
who had watched the hawks, officiated before the other
and went through exactly the same ceremonies as his uncle,
at the same time with him. Tama Bulan held a small
bamboo water-vessel in his left hand, and with a frayed
stick in his right hand sprinkled some of the water on the
image, all the time looking up into its face and rapidly
repeating a set form of words. Presently he took a fowl,
snipped off its head and sprinkled its blood upon the
image, and so again with another and another fowl. Then
he held a young pig while a follower gashed its throat,
and as the blood leapt out he scattered it on the image,
while the score of men standing round about put their
hands, some on him, some on one another ; maintaining
in this way physical contact with one another and with
their leader, they joined in the prayer or incantation which
he kept pouring forth in the same rapid mechanical fashion
in which many a curate at home reads the Church service.

^ '• Romulus is represented to have been the best of augurs, and from him
all succeeding augurs received the chief mark of their office. "

54 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

In the house, meanwhile, four boys were pounding at two
big drums to keep away from the worshippers all sounds
but the words of their own prayers.^ Then another fowl
and another pig were sacrificed in similar fashion at each
altar, and the second part of the rite was finished by the
men sticking the carcases of the slaughtered beasts each
one on the point of a pole, and fixing the poles upright in
the earth before the images.

Tama Bulan now came up into the house to perform the
third and last act. A pig was brought and laid bound
upon the floor, and Tama Bulan, stooping, with a sword in
his right hand, kept punching the pig gently behind the
shoulder as though to keep its attention, and addressed it
with a rapid flow of words, each phrase beginning " O Bali
Bouin." The pig's throat was then cut by an attendant,
and Tama Bulan, standing up, diluted its blood with water
and scattered it abroad over all of us as we stood round
about him, while he still kept up the rapid patter of words.
Then he pulled off the head of a fowl and concluded the
rites by once more sprinkling us all with blood and water.
Everyone seemed relieved and well satisfied to have got
through this important business, and to have secured pro-
tectors for all the party during the forthcoming journey.
For the three hawks will watch over them, and are held to
have given them explicit guarantees of safety. The frayed
stick that had figured so largely in the rites was stuck
under the rafters of the roof among a row of others
previously used, and there it will remain, a sign and a
pledge of the piety of the people, as long as the house shall
stand. And then as Tama Bulan, pretty well covered with
blood, went away to wash himself, I felt as though 1 had
just lived through a book of the Aeneid, and was about to
follow Father Aeneas to the shores of Latium.

This elaborate rite, so well fitted to set agoing
the speculative fancy of any one acquainted with the
writings of Robertson Smith and Messrs. Jevons
and Frazer, was one of the first that we witnessed
together. After giving all our facts we shall return
to discuss some of the interesting questions raised
by it, but it will be seen that we are far from having

^ " Hence devices were adopted so that no ill-omened sound should be
heard, such as blowing a trumpet during the sacrifice. "

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 55

discovered satisfactory explanations of all its features.
Obscure features to which we would direct attention
are the use of the fire and the frayed stick, for these
figure in almost all rites in which the omen-birds
are consulted or prayers and sacrifices made.
The Kenyahs seem to feel that the purpose of
fire is to carry up the prayers to heaven by means
of the ascending flame and smoke, in somewhat the
same way as the tall pole planted by the side of the
image of Bali Penyalong facilitates communion with
the spirit ; for they conceive him as dwelling some-
where above the earth.

Before going out to attack an enemy, omens are
always sought in the way we have described, and if
the expedition is successful the warriors bring home
not only the heads of the slain enemy, but also
pieces of their flesh, which they fix upon poles
before the house, one for each family, as a thank-
offering to Bali Flaki for his guidance and protection.
It seldom occurs that a hawk actually takes or eats
these pieces of flesh, and that does not seem to be
expected. Without favourable omens from the
hawks Kenyahs will not set out on any expedition,
and even when they have secured them, they still
anxiously look out for further guidance, and may be
stopped or turned back at any time by unfavourable
omens. Thus, should a hawk fly over their boat
going in the same direction as themselves, this is a
good omen ; but if one should fly towards them as
they travel, and especially if it should scream as it
does so, this is a terribly bad omen, and only in case
they can obtain other very favourable omens to
counteract the impression made by it will they con-
tinue their journey. If one of a party dies on the
journey, they will stop for one whole day for fear
of offending Bali Flaki. If a hawk should scream
just as they are about to deliver an attack, that means
that some of the elder men will be killed in the battle.

VOL. II E

56 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

Bali Flaki is also consulted before sowing and
harvesting the rice crop, but besides being appealed
to publicly on behalf of the whole community, his
aid may be sought privately by any man who wishes
to injure another. For this purpose a man makes
a rough wooden image in human form, and retires
to some quiet spot on the river bank where he sets
up a teguluuy a horizontal pole supported about a
yard above the ground by a pair of vertical poles.
He lights a small fire beside the teguluuy and, taking
a fowl in one hand, he sits on the ground behind it
so as to see through it a square patch of sky,^ and
so waits until a hawk becomes visible upon this
patch. As soon as a hawk appears he kills the
fowl, and with a frayed stick smears its blood on the
wooden image, saying, ** Put fat in his mouth "
(which means '* Let his head be taken and fed with
fat in the usual way "), and he puts a bit of fat in the
mouth of the image. Then he strikes at the breast
of the image with a small wooden spear, and throws
it into a pool of water reddened with red earth, and
then takes it out and buries it in the ground. While
the hawk is visible, he waves it towards the left ; for
he knows that if it flies to the left he will prevail
over his enemy, but that if it goes to the right his
enemy is too strong for him.

When a new house is built, a wooden image of
Bali Flaki with wings extended is put up before it,
and an offering of mixed food is put on a little shelf
before the image, and at times, especially after
getting good omens from the hawks, it is offered
bits of flesh and is smeared with pig's blood. If the
people have good luck in their new house, they
renew the image ; but if not, they usually allow it
to fall into decay. If, when a man is sitting down
to a meal, he espies a hawk in the heavens, he will

1 "The person who has to take them (the auspices) first marked out with
a wand ... a division of the heavens called ' templum,' . . . within which
he intended to make his observations."

XV ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 57

throw a morsel of food towards it, exclaiming, ** Bali
Flaki ! "

We have seen that during the formal consulta-
tion of the hawks the women are sent to their rooms.
Nevertheless many women keep in the cupboards in
which they sleep a wooden image of the hawk with
a few feathers stuck upon it. If the woman falls
sick she will take one of these feathers and, waving
it to and fro, will say, ** Tell the bad spirit that is
making me sick that I have a feather of Bali Flaki."
When she recovers her health Bali Flaki has the
credit of it.

Although Kenyahs will not kill a hawk, they
would not prevent us from shooting one if it stole
their chickens ; for they say that a hawk who will
do that is a low-class fellow, a cad, in fact, for there
are social grades among the hawks just as there are
among themselves.

Although the Kenyahs thus look to Bali Flaki
to guide them and help them in many ways, and
express gratitude towards him, we do not think
that they conceive of him as a single great spirit,
as some of the other tribes tend to do ; they rather
look upon the hawks as messengers and inter-
mediators between themselves and Bali Penyalong,^
to which a certain undefined amount of power is
delegated. No doubt it is a vulgar error with
them, as in the case of professors of other forms of
belief, to forget in some degree the Supreme Being,
and to direct their prayers and thanks almost
exclusively to the subordinate power, which, having
concrete forms, they can more easily keep before
their minds. They regard favourable omens as
given for their encouragement, and bad omens as
friendly warnings.^ We were told by one very

^ *' It was from Jupiter mainly that the future was learnt, and the birds
were regarded as his messengers."

^ "The Roman auspices were essentially of a practical nature ; they gave
no information respecting the course of future events, they did not inform men

58 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

intelligent Kenyah that he supposed that the hawks,
having been so frequently sent by Bali Penyalong
to give them warnings, had learnt how to do this
of their own will, and that sometimes they probably
do give them warning or encouragement independ-
ently without being sent by him.

All Kenyahs hold Bali Flaki in the same peculiar
regard, and no individuals or sections of them claim
to be especially favoured by him or claim to be
related to him by blood or descent.

Other Omen- Birds

Kenyahs obtain omens of less importance from
several other birds. When favourable omens have
been given by the hawks, some prominent man is
always sent out to sit on the river-bank beside a
small fire and watch and listen for these other birds.
Their movements and cries are the signs which he
interprets as omens, confirming or weakening the
import of those given by the hawks. Of these
other omens the most regarded are those given by
the three species of the spider-hunter [Arachno-
thera Chrysogenys, A, modest a, and A. Longirostris).
All three species are known as "Sit" or '' Isit."
When travelling on the river, the Kenyahs hope to
see " I sit" fly across from left to right as they sit
facing the bow of the canoe. When this happens
they call out loudly, saying, " O, Isit on the left
hand ! Give us long life, help us in our under-
taking, help us to find what we are seeking, make
our enemies feeble." They usually stop their
canoes, land on the bank, and, after making a small
fire, say to it, " Tell Isit to help us." Each man of
the party will light a cigarette in order that he

what was to happen, but simply taught them whether they were to do or not
to do the matter purposed ; they assigned no reason for the decision of Jupiter,
they simply announced — Yes or No."

TAMA BULAN SACRIFICING A PIG TO BALI PENYALONG.

Plate 157. BALARI, A KEN YAH, SACRIPTCING A FOWL
TO BALI PENYALONG.

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 59

may have his own small fire, and will murmur some
part at least of the usual formulas. After seeing
" Isit " on their left, they like to see him again on
their right side.

Next in importance to the spider-hunters are
the three varieties of the trogan {Harpactes Diardi,
H. Duvauceliiy and H. kasumba). They like to
hear the trogan calling quietly while he sits on a
tree to their left ; but if he is on their right, the
omen is only a little less favourable.^ On hearing
the trogan's cry, they own it, as they say, by
shouting to it and by stopping to light a fire just as
in the case of '* I sit."

Kieng, the woodpecker [Lepocestes porphyromelas),
has two notes, one of which is of good, the other of
bad omen. If they have secured good omens from
the birds already mentioned, they will then try to
avoid hearing Kieng, lest he should utter the note of
evil omen ; so they sing and talk and rattle their
paddles on the sides of the boat.

Other omen-birds of less importance are Asi
{Carcineutes melanops), whose note warns them of
difficulties in their path, and Ukang (Sasia abnormis),
whose note means good luck for them. Telajan,
the crested rain-bird {Platylophus coronatus)^ an-
nounces good luck by its call and warns of serious
difficulties also.

Kong, the hornbill (Anorrhinus comatus), gives
omens of minor importance by his strange deep cry.
The handsome feathers of another species of
hornbill {Buceros rhinoceros), with bold bars of black
and white, are worn on war-coats and stuck in the
war-caps by men who are tried warriors, but may
not be worn by mere youths. The substance of the

^ ** It was only a few birds which could give auguries among the Romans.
They were divided into two classes : Oscines, those which gave auguries by
singing or their voice ; and Alites, those which gave auguries by their flight. "
"There were considerable varieties of omen according to the note of the
Oscines or the place from which they uttered the note ; and similarly among
the Alites, according to the nature of their flight."

6o PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

beak of the helmeted hornbill {^Rhinoflax vigit) is
sometimes carved into the form of the canine tooth
of the tiger-cat, and a pair of these is the most
valued kind of ear-ornament for men. Only elderly
men, or men who have taken heads with their own
hands, may wear them. One of the popular dances
consists in a comical imitation of the movements of
the hornbill, but no special significance attaches to
the dance ; it seems to be done purely in a spirit of
fun. Young hornbills are occasionally kept in the
house as pets.

We know of no other bird that plays any part in
the religious life of the Kenyahs or affects them in
any peculiar manner.

The Pig

All Kenyahs keep numerous domestic pigs,
which roam beneath and about the house, picking
up what garbage they can find to eke out the scanty
meals of rice-dust and chaff given them by the
women. It seems that they seldom or never take
to the jungle and become feral, although they are
not confined in any way.

The domestic pig is not treated with any show
of reverence, but rather with the greatest contumely,
and yet it plays a part in almost all religious
ceremonies, and before it is slaughtered explana-
tions are always offered to it, and it is assured that
it is not to be eaten. We have seen that, in the
rites preparatory to an important and dangerous
expedition, the chief was washed with pig's blood
and water, and that young pigs were slain before
the altar-post of Bali Penyalong, and their blood
sprinkled on the post and afterwards upon all or
most of the men of the household. It is probably
true that Bali Penyalong is never addressed with-
out the slaughter of one or more pigs, and also that

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 6i

no domestic pig is ever slaughtered without being
charged beforehand with some message or prayer
to Bali Penyalong, which its spirit may carry up to
him. But the most important function of the pig is
the giving of information as to the future course of
events by means of the markings on its liver/

Whenever it becomes specially interesting or
important to ascertain the future course of events,
when, for example, a household proposes to make
war, or when two parties are about to go through a
peace-making ceremony, a pig is caught by the
young men from among those beneath the house,
and is brought and laid, with its feet lashed together,
before the chief in the great gallery of the house.
And it would seem that the more important the
ceremony the larger and the more numerous should
be the pigs selected as victims. An attendant
hands a burning brand to the chief, and he, stooping
over the pig, singes a few of its hairs, and then,
addressing the pig as '* Bali Bouin," and gently
punching it behind the shoulder, as we have already
depicted him, he pours out a rapid flood of words.
The substance of his address is a prayer to Bali
Penyalong for guidance and knowledge as to the
future course of the business in hand, and an
injunction to the soul of the pig to carry the prayer
to Bali Penyalong.

Sometimes more than one chief will address one
pig in this way ; and then, as soon as these prayers
are concluded, some follower plunges a spear into
the heart or throat of the pig, and rapidly opens its
belly in the middle line, drags out the liver and lays
it on a leaf or platter with the underside uppermost,
and so carries it to the chief or chiefs. Then all
the elderly men crowd round and consult as to the
significance of the appearances presented by the

^ " They endeavoured to learn the future, especially in war, by consulting
the entrails of victims."

62 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

underside of the liver. The various lobes and
lobules are taken to represent the various districts
concerned in the question on which light is desired,
and according to the strength and intimacy of the
connections between these lobes, the people of the
districts represented are held to be bound in more
or less lasting friendship. While spots and nodules
in any part betoken future evils for the people of
that part, a clean healthy liver means good fortune
and happiness for all concerned.

The underside of the liver, which alone is sig-
nificant, varies considerably from one specimen to
another, and this must prevent any very definite
and consistent identification of the parts with
the different districts of the country. The rule
generally observed is to identify the under surface
of the right lobe [Arti toh) with the territory of the
party that kills the pig and makes the enquiry ; the
adjacent part of the left lobe (Sunan) with the
territory of any party involved in the question which
adjoins that of the first party ; and the under surface
of the caudal extremity [Arti arkat) with that of any
remoter third party (see Fig. 79). If the ridge that
runs up between the right and left lobes is sharp, it
indicates that there will still be some bad feeling
(or, as they say, the swords are still sharp). A
gall-bladder which is long and overlapping indicates
more trouble between the parties to the right
and left ; but one which is sunk almost out of
sight in the substance of the liver is a sign that
no further trouble is to be expected. The grooves
on the under surface of the right lobe stand for the
waterways and, if they are strongly marked, imply
freedom of intercourse. Notches at the free edges
stand for past injuries suffered (the scars of wounds
received, as it were) ; and if these are equally
marked in the several parts they indicate peace,
because it is implied that no balance of old scores

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS

63

remains to any one of the parties concerned. A
sore or abscess in any part foretells the speedy
death of one of the chiefs of the people of that
part.

Fig. 79.

Sketch of ventral side of pig's liver from which omens are read. The
several parts are taken to represent the several districts in which the augur is
interested, and the future relations between the communities inhabiting these
districts are foretold from the observation of the ligaments, fissures, and
prominences, etc. , connecting or separating these parts, and their good or bad
fortune is implied by the state of the surface of corresponding parts. On one
occasion the signs were read as follows : — Arti toh (right lateral lobe) stood
for the Tinjar district and people ; Arti arkat (the right central lobe) for the
Madangs ; Sunan (the left central lobe) for the main Baram and its people ;
Tokong (the left lateral lobe) for a particular Kayan village in thelBaram. The
shortness of the gall-bladder {Pedu) which separates the Baram and the Madang
districts was held to be of good omen, as also the large development of the
caudate lobe and the strength of the ligaments connecting Arti toh with Arti
arkat. A pit in the area Sunan was held to foretell the early death of some
Baram chief.

It is obvious that this system of interpretation,
which is common to nearly all the peoples, gives
much scope for the operation of prejudice, sugges-
tion, and ingenuity. But the group of interpreting

64 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

chiefs and elder men generally achieves unanimity
in giving its verdict.

The omens thus obtained are held to be the
answer vouchsafed by Bali Penyalong to the prayers
which have been carried to him by the spirit of the

If the answer obtained in this way from one pig
is unsatisfactory, they will often kill a second, and
on important occasions even a third or fourth, in
order to obtain a favourable answer. Unless they
can thus obtain a satisfactory forecast, they will not
set out upon any undertaking of importance.

After any ceremony of this kind the body of
the pig is usually divided among the people, and
by them cooked and eaten without further ceremony.
But we have seen that, after the ceremony in
preparation for an expedition, the bodies of the
young pigs whose blood was scattered on the altar-
post of Bali Penyalong were fixed upon tall poles
beside this altar-post and there left ; and this seems
to be the rule in ceremonies of this sort, though it
is not clear whether the carcases are left there as
offerings to the hawks or to Bali Penyalong, or
because they are in some sense too holy to be used
as food after being used in such rites.

Probably Kenyahs never give to the spirits in
this way the whole body of a large pig, but only of
quite small pigs, and in this they are probably
influenced by considerations of economy.

It may be said generally that Kenyahs do not
kill domestic pigs simply and solely for the sake of
food. The killing of a pig is always the occasion
for, or occasioned by, some religious rite. It is
true that on the arrival of honoured guests a
pig is usually killed and given to them for food ;
but its spirit is then always charged with some
message to Bali Penyalong. It is said that, when
the pig's spirit comes to Bali Penyalong, he is

XV ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 65

offended if it brings no message from those who
killed the pig, and he sends it back to carry off
their souls.

On many other occasions also pigs are killed ;
thus, on returning from a successful attack on
enemies, a pig is usually killed for each family of
the household, and a piece of its flesh is put up on
a pole before the house ; and during the severe
illness of any person of high social standing, pigs
are usually killed, and friendly chiefs may come
from distant parts, bringing with them pigs and
fowls that they may sacrifice them, and so aid in
restoring the sick man to health. On the death of
a chief, too, a great feast is made, and many pigs
are slaughtered, and their jaw-bones are hung up
on the tomb. A pig is sometimes used in the
ceremony by which a newly-made peace is sealed
between tribes hitherto at blood-feuds, but a fowl is
more commonly used.

The wild pig which abounds in the forest is
hunted by the Kenyahs, and when brought to bay
by the dogs is killed with spears, and it is eaten
without ceremony or compunction by all classes.
The wild pig is never used as messenger to the
gods, and its liver is not consulted. The lower
jaws of all wild pigs that are killed are cleaned and
hung up together in the house, and it is believed
that if these should be lost or in any way destroyed
the dogs would cease to hunt.

The domestic fowls are seldom killed for food,
and their eggs too can hardly be reckoned as a
regular article of diet, though the people have no
prejudice against eating them. And it would seem
that the fowls are kept in the main for ceremonial
purposes, and that their table use is of very
secondary importance.

Fowls are killed on many of the occasions on
which pigs are sacrificed, and, as we have seen in

66 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

the description of the ceremony at Tama Bulan's
house, their blood may be poured upon the altar-
posts of Bali Penyalong. It would seem that
fowls and pigs are to some extent interchangeable
equivalents for sacrificial purposes. Perhaps the
most important occasion on which the fowl plays
a part is the performance of the rite by which a
blood-feud is finally wiped away. The following
extract from the journal previously quoted describes
an incident of this kind : —

In the evening there was serious business on hand. Two
chiefs, who some years ago were burned out of their homes
in the Rejang district by the government, have settled
themselves with their people in the Baram district. They
had made a provisional peace with the Kayans some years
ago, but the final ceremony was to be performed this
evening. The two chiefs of the immigrants, who had
remained hitherto in a remote part of the house, seated
themselves at one side, and the Kayan chiefs at the other,
and Tama Bulan and ourselves between the two parties.
First, presents of iron were exchanged. In the old days
costly presents of metal-work used to be given ; but, as this
led sometimes to renewed disputes, the government has
forbidden the giving, in such ceremony, of presents of a
greater value than two dollars. So now old sword-blades
are given, and the other essential part of the present has
been proportionately reduced from a full-grown fowl to a
tiny chick. After much preliminary talking, two chicks
were brought and a bundle of old sword-blades, which
Tama Bulan, in his character of peace-maker, carries with
him whenever he travels abroad. A chief of either party
took a chick and a sword and presented them to the other.
Then one led his men a little apart and began to rattle off
an invocation beginning, " O sacred (Bali) chick," snipped
off its head with the sword, and with the bloody blade
smeared the right arm of his followers as they crowded
round him. The old fellow kept up the stream of words
until every man was smeared ; and then they all stamped
together on the floor raising a great shout. Then the other
party went through a similar performance ; and the peace
being thus formally ratified, we sat down to cement it still
further by a friendly drinking bout.

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 67

Another ceremony in which the fowl plays a
prominent part is that by which the wandering soul
of a sick person is found and led back to his
body by the medicine-man. This is described in
Chapter XIV.

It seems clear that the fowl, like the pig, is used
on these occasions as a messenger sent by man to
the Supreme Spirit. In most cases when a fowl is
slaughtered in the course of a ceremony, it is first
waved over the heads of the people taking part in
it, and its blood is afterwards sprinkled upon them.

In the blood-brotherhood ceremony, when each
of the two men drinks or smokes in a cigarette a
drop of the other's blood drawn with a bamboo-
knife, a fowl is in many cases waved over them and
then killed, and occasionally a pig also is killed. In
such a case the man who has killed the fowl will
carry its carcase to the door of the house, and there
he will wave towards the heavens a frayed stick
moistened with its blood, while he announces the
facts of the ceremony to Bali Penyalong. So that
here again the fowl seems to play the part of a
messenger. The carcase and the bloody stick are
afterwards put up together on a tall pole before
the house. After going through this ceremony a
man is safe from all the members of the house-
hold to which his blood -brother belongs ; and in
the case of two chiefs all the members of either
household are bound to those of the other by a
sacred tie.

Fowls' eggs are sometimes put on the cleft poles
as sacrifices. In one instance, when we were
engaged in fishing a lake with a large party in boats,
we came upon a row of eight poles stuck upright at
the edge of the lake, each holding a fowl's egg in
its cleft upper end. These had just been put there
by the crew of one of the canoes as an offering to
the crocodiles, which were regarded as the most

68 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

influential of the powers of the lake and able to
ensure us good sport.

In such cases the eggs are probably economical
substitutes for fowls, as seems to be indicated by the
following facts : When Kenyah boys enter a strange
branch of the river for the first time, they go, each
one taking a fowl's egg in his hand, into the jungle
with some old man, who takes the eggs, puts them
into the cleft ends of poles fixed upright in the earth,
and thus addresses all the omen-birds collectively,
" Don't let any harm happen to these children who
are coming for the first time to this river ; they give
you these eggs." Sometimes instead of eggs the
feathers of a fowl are used ; and both the eggs and
feathers would seem to be substituted for fowls, as
being good enough in the case of mere children
performing a minor rite.

When the belly of a fowl is opened there are
prominent two curved portions of the gut. The
state of these is examined in some cases before the
planting o{ padi, and sometimes before attempting
to catch the soul of a sick man. If the parts are
much curved, it is a good omen ; if straight or but
slightly curved, it is a bad omen.

The Crocodile

Like all other races of Sarawak, the Kenyahs
regard the crocodiles that infest their rivers as more
or less friendly creatures. They fear the crocodile
and do not like to mention it by name, especially if
one be in sight, and refer to it as **old grandfather."
But the fear is rather a superstitious fear than the
fear of being seized by the beast. They regard
those of their own neighbourhood as more especially
friendly, in spite of the fact that members of their
households are occasionally taken by crocodiles,
either while standing incautiously on the bank of

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 69

the river or while floating quietly at evening time
in a small canoe. When this happens, it is believed
either that the person taken has in some way
offended or injured one or all of the crocodiles, or
that he has been taken by a stranger crocodile that
has come from a distant part of the river, and there-
fore did not share in the friendly understanding
usually subsisting between the people and the local
crocodiles. But in any case it is considered that the
crocodiles have committed an unjustifiable aggression
and have set up a blood -feud which can only be
abolished by the slaying of one or more of the
aggressors. Now it is the habit of the crocodile to
hold the body of his victim for several days before
devouring it, and to drag it for this purpose into
some muddy creek opening into the main river. A
party is therefore organised to search all the neigh-
bouring creeks, and the first measure taken is to
prevent the guilty crocodile escaping to some other
part of the river. To achieve this they take long
poles, frayed with many cuts, and set them up on
the river-bank at some distance above and below
the scene of the crime and at the mouths of all the
neighbouring creeks and streamlets ; and they kill
fowls and pray that the guilty crocodile may be
prevented from passing the spots thus marked.
They then search the creeks, and if they find the
criminal with the body of his victim they kill him,
and the feud is at an end. But, if they fail to find
him thys, they go out on the part of the river
included between their charmed poles, and, with
their spears tied to long poles, prod all the bed of
this part of the river, and thus generally succeed in
killing one or more crocodiles. They then usually
search its entrails for the bones and hair of the
victim so as to make sure that they have caught
the offending beast. But, even if they do not
obtain conclusive evidence of this kind, they seem

70 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

to feel that justice is satisfied, and that the beast
killed is probably the guilty one.

Except in the meting out of a just vengeance in
this way, no Kenyah will kill a crocodile, and they
will not eat its flesh under any circumstances. But
there is no evidence to show that they regard them-
selves as related by blood or descent to the croco-
diles or that their ancestors ever did so.

When Kenyahs go on a journey into strange
rivers or to the lower part of the main river, they
fear the crocodiles of these strange waters, because
they are unknown to them, and any one of them
might easily be mistaken by the crocodiles for
some one who has done them an injury. Some
Kenyahs tie the red leaves of the DraccBna below
the prow of their boat whenever they go far from
home, believing that this protects them from all
danger of attack by crocodiles.

The Dog

In all Kenyah houses are large numbers of dogs,
which vary a good deal in size and colour, but
roughly resemble large, mongrel - bred, smooth-
haired terriers. Each family owns several, and
they are fed with rice usually In the evening ; but
they seem to be always hungry. The best of them
are used for hunting ; but besides these there is
always a number of quite useless, ill-fed, ill-tempered
curs ; for no Kenyah dare kill a dog, however much
he may wish to be rid of it. Still less, of course,
will he eat the flesh of a dog. The dogs prowl
about, in and around the house, much as they
please, but are not treated with any particular
respect. When a dog Intrudes where he Is not
wanted it Is usual to click with the tongue at him,
and this Is usually enough to make him pass on ;
but blows with a stick follow quickly if the animal

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 71

does not obey. They display little affection for
their dogs, and they do not like children to touch
or play with the dogs, but of course cannot alto-
gether prevent them.

One young Kenyah chief, on being questioned,
said that the reason they will not kill dogs is that
they are like children, and eat and sleep together
with men in the same house ; and he added that,
if a man should kill a dog, he would go mad.

If a dog dies in the house, the men push the
carcase out of the house and into the river with
long poles, and will on no account touch it with
their hands. The spot on the floor on which the
dog died is fenced round with mats for some few
days in order to prevent the children walking
over it.

It is usual for the Kenyah men to have one
or more designs tatued on their forearms and
shoulders. Among the commonest of these designs
are those known as the prawn and the dog (see
Chap. XII.). They seem to be conventionalised
derivatives from these animal forms. It is said
that the dog's head design was formerly much more
in fashion than it is at the present time.

Deer and Cattle

Very few Kenyahs of the upper class will kill or
eat deer and wild cattle. They believe that if they
should eat their flesh they would vomit violently
and spit out blood. They have no domestic cattle,
and the buffalo does not occur in their districts.
Lower-class Kenyahs and slaves, taken as war-
captives from other tribes, may eat deer and horned
cattle, but they must take the flesh some little
distance from the house when they cook it. A
woman who is pregnant, or for any other reason is
in the hands of a physician, has to observe the

VOL. II F

72 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

restrictions with regard to deer and cattle more
strictly than other people, and she will not touch or
allow to be brought near her any article of leather
or horn.

The war-coats of the men are often made of the
skin of goats or deer, and any man may wear such
a war-coat. But when a man has a young son, he
is particularly careful to avoid contact with any part
of a deer, lest through such contact he should
transmit to his son in any degree the timidity of
the deer. On one occasion when we had killed a
deer, a Kenyah chief resolutely refused to allow its
skin to be carried in his boat, alleging the above
reason.

The cry or bark of the deer (Ceruulus muntjac)
is a warning of danger, and the seeing or hearing of
the mouse-deer or plandok {Tragulas napu) has a
like significance.

The Tiger-Cat

The only large species of the Felidce that occurs
in Borneo is the tiger-cat {Felis nebulosa), Kenyahs
will not eat it, as men of some tribes do, but will
kill it ; and they fashion its handsome spotted skin
into war-coats. Such coats are worn only by men
who have been on the war-path. The canine teeth
of the tiger-cat are much prized as ornaments ; they
are worn thrust through holes in the upper part of
the shell of the ear, but only by full-grown men.
Kuleh, the name of this beast, is sometimes given
to a boy.

The true tiger does not now occur in Borneo, and
it is doubtful whether it ever was a native of the
island. Nevertheless the Kenyahs know it by name
{Linjau) and by reputation, and a few skins are in
the possession of chiefs. No ordinary man, but only
a distinguished and elderly chief, will venture to

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS ^

wear such a skin as a war-coat, or even to touch it.
These skins have been brought from other lands by-
Malay traders, and it is probable that whatever know-
ledge of the tiger the Kenyahs possess has come
from the same source.

A chief will sometimes name his son Linjau, that
is, the Tiger.

Other Animals

A carnivore {Arctogale leucotis) allied to the civet-
cat warns of danger when seen or heard.

There is a certain large lizard ( Varanus) that is
eaten freely by other tribes, but Kenyahs may not
eat it, though they will kill it.

They regard the seeing of any snake as an
unfavourable omen, and will not kill any snake
gratuitously.

Kenyahs, like all, or almost all the other natives
of Borneo, are more or less afraid of the Maias
(the orang-utan) and of the long-nosed monkey,
and they will not look one in the face or laugh
at one.

In one Kenyah house a fantastic figure of the
gibbon is carved on the ends of all the main cross-
beams of the house, and the chief said that this has
been their custom for many generations. He told
us that it is the custom, when these beams are being
put up, to kill a pig and divide its flesh among the
men who are working, and no woman is allowed to
come into the house until this has been done. None
of his people will kill a gibbon, though other Kenyahs
will kill and probably eat it. They claim that he
helps them as a friend, and the carvings on the
beams seem to symbolize his supporting of the
house.

In other parts of the same house are carvings of
the bangat, Semnopithecus Hosei, but the old chief

74 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

regards these as much less important and as recent
innovations.

We do not know of any other animals to which
especial respect or attention is paid by the Kenyahs.

Animal Cults of the Kayans

The white-headed hawk (Bali Flaki) of the
Kenyahs has its equivalent among the Kayans in
the large dark-brown hawk, which they call Laki
Neho. But as it is not possible to distinguish these
two kinds of hawks when seen flying at some dis-
tance, they address and accept all large hawks seen
in the distance as Laki Neho.

The function and powers of Laki Neho seem to
be almost identical with those of Bali Flaki. He is
a giver of omens and a bringer of messages from
Laki Tenangan. The following notes of a conver-
sation with an intelligent Kayan chief will give
some idea of his attitude towards Laki Neho. It
must be remembered that these people have no
priesthood and no dogmatic theologians to define
and formulate beliefs, so that their ideas as to the
nature of their gods and their abodes and powers
are, though perhaps more concrete, at least as
various in the minds of different individuals as are
the corresponding ideas among the average adherents
of more highly developed forms of religion ; and
perhaps no two men will agree exactly on these
matters, and any one man will freely contradict his
own statements.

Laki Tenangan is an old man with long white
hair who speaks Kayan and has a wife, Doh
Tenangan. They sometimes see him in dreams,
and if fortunate they may then see his face,^ but
if unlucky they see his back only. In olden times
powerful men sometimes spoke with him, but now

'■ This phrase as commonly used implies the exchange of greetings.

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 75

this never occurs. He dwells in a house far away.
Laki Neho also has a house that is covered with
palm leaves and frayed sticks. It is in a tree-top,
yet it is beside a river, and has a landing-place
before it like every Kayan house. This house is
sometimes seen in dreams. It is not so far away
as the house of Laki Tenangan. At first our
informant said that help is asked directly of Laki
Neho ; but, when pressed, he said that Laki Neho
may carry the message to Laki Tenangan. Some
things Laki Neho does of his own will and power ;
for example, if a branch were likely to fall on a
Kayan boat he would prevent it, for Laki Tenangan
long ago taught him how to do such things. When
a man is sick, Kayans appeal to Laki Neho ; but if
he does not make the patient well they then appeal
to Laki Tenangan directly, killing a pig, whose
spirit goes first to the house of Laki Neho, and
then on to the more distant house of Laki Tenangan.
For they believe that in such a case the patient
has somehow offended Laki Neho by disregarding
or misreading his omens. A man suffering from
chronic disease may himself pray to Laki Tenangan.
He lights a fire and kills a fowl, and perhaps a pig
also, and calls upon Laki Neho to be his witness
and messenger. He holds an egg in one hand and
says, "This is for you to eat, carry my message
direct to Laki Tenangan that I may get well and
live and bring up my children, who shall be taught
my occupations and the true customs." The fire is
lighted to make Laki Neho warm and energetic.

It will be seen from the above account that the
Kayans have formed a concept of the power of the
hawks in general, and have given it a semi-
anthropomorphic character, and we shall see below
that the Sea Dayaks have carried this process still
further.

76 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

CROCODILES

The Kayan's attitude towards the crocodile is
practically the same as the Kenyah's. We append
the following notes of a conversation with a young
Kayan chief, Usong, and his cousin Wan : —
There are but very few Kayans who will kill a
crocodile except in revenge. But if one of
their people has been taken by a crocodile
they go out together to kill the criminal, and
they begin by saying, '* Don't run away, you've
got to be killed, why don't you come to the surface.'*
You won't come out on the land because you have
done wrong and are afraid." After this he will
perhaps come on land ; and if he does not, he will
at least float to the surface of the water, and is then
killed with spears. In olden days Kayans used to
make a crocodile of clay and ask it to drive away
evil spirits ; but now this is not done. A crocodile
may become a man just like themselves. Some-
times a man dreams that a crocodile calls him to
become his blood-brother, and after they have gone
through the regular ceremony and exchanged
names (in the dream), the man is quite safe from
crocodiles. Usong's uncle has in this way become
blood-brother to a crocodile, and is now called
'* Baya " (the generic'name for the crocodile), while
some crocodile unknown is called Jok, and Usong
considers himself the nephew of the crocodile Jok.
Usong's father has also become blood-brother to
a crocodile, and Usong calls himself a son of this
particular unknown crocodile. Sometimes he asks
these two, his uncle- and his father -crocodiles, to
give him a pig when he is out hunting, and once
they did give him one. After relating this, Usong
added, ** But who knows if this be true ? "

Wan's great-great-grandfather became blood-
brother to a crocodile, and was called *' Klieng

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS ^^

Baya." Wan has several times met this crocodile
in dreams. In one dream he fell into the river
when there were many crocodiles about. He
climbed on to the head of one, which said to him,
*' Don't be afraid," and carried him to the bank.
Wans father had charms given him by a crocodile
and would not on any account kill one, and Wan
clearly regards himself as being intimately related
to crocodiles in general.

The Kayans regard the pig and the fowl in much
the same way as the Kenyahs do, and put them to
the same uses. The beliefs and customs with regard
to deer, horned cattle, dogs, and the tiger-cat, are
similar to those of the Kenyahs save that they will
not kill the last of these. They are perhaps more
strict in the avoidance of deer and cattle. One old
chief, who had been ailing for a long time, hesitated
to enter the Resident's house because he saw a pair
of horns hanging up there. When he entered he
asked for a piece of iron, and on returning home
he killed a fowl and' a pig, and submitted to the
process of having his soul caught by a dayong, lest
it should have incurred some undefined injury in
the neighbourhood of the horns.

The Kayans avoid the skin of the tiger even
more strictly than the Kenyahs or any other tribe ;
even a great chief will not touch a tiger-skin, and
we have known one refuse to enter a house because
he knew that it contained a tiger-skin war-coat.

Like the Kenyahs, the Kayans entertain a
superstitious dread of the Maias and the long-nosed
monkey, but the Dok [Macacus nemestrinus), the
coco-nut monkey of the Malay States, has special
relations to them. It is very common in their
district, but they will kill it only when it is stealing
their rice-crop ; and they will never eat it as other
peoples do. There is a somewhat uncertain belief

78 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

that it is a blood-relative, and the following myth is
told to account for this. A Kayan woman of high
class was reaping padi with her daughter. Now
it is against custom to eat any of the rice during
reaping ; and when the mother went away for a
short time leaving the girl at work, she told her on
no account to eat any of the rice. But no sooner
was the mother gone than the girl began to husk
some padi and nibble at it. Then at once her body
began to itch, and hair began to grow on her arms
like the hair of a Dok. Soon the mother returned
and the girl said, " Why am I itching so ^ " The
mother answered, " You have done some wicked
thing, you have eaten some rice." Then hair
grew all over the girl's body except her head
and face, and the mother said, *' Ah, this is what
I feared, now you must go into the jungle and
eat only what has been planted by human hands."
So the girl went into the jungle and her head
became like a Dok's, and she ceased to be able
to speak.

The Dok does not help them in any way, but
only spoils their crops. A very popular dance is
the Dok dance, in which a man imitates very
cleverly the behaviour of the Dok. It is a very
ludicrous performance, and excites boisterous mirth.
They say it is done merely in fun.

In one Kayan house the ends of all the main
crossbeams that support the roof are ornamented
with fretwork designs, which are clearly animal-
derivatives and apparently all of the same animal.
The form suggests a crocodile, and some of the men
agreed that that was its meaning, while others
asserted that it was a dog. No doubt it was
originally one or other of these, but has now become
a conventional design merely, and its true origin has
been forgotten.

A pattern which seems to be derived from the

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 79

outline of a dog, and which goes by the name
Kalang asu ( = dog-pattern), occurs in a great variety
of forms in the decorative art of the Kayans, and
also, though to a less extent, in that of the Kenyahs.
It is tatued on arm and thigh, is reproduced in
beadwork, and carved in low relief on decorative
panels/

Neither Kayans nor Kenyahs make much use of
snakes of any kind, but there is one snake with red
head and tail [Batang lima) which, when they see it
in the course of a journey, they must kill, else harm
will befall them. Again, if they see a certain snake
just as they are about to enter a strange river or a
strange village, they will stop and light a fire on the
bank in order to communicate with Laki Neho.
Kayans will not eat any species of turtle or tortoise.

Klemantans

The following notes of a conversation with the
Orang Kaya Tumonggong, the influential chief of
the Long Pata people (one of the many groups of
Klemantans), show that these people regard the
hawk in much the same way as the Kenyahs do :
The hawk, Bali Flaki, is the messenger of " Bali
Utong," the Supreme Being. When a party is
about to set out on any expedition they explain
their intentions to Bali Flaki, and then observe the
movements of the hawks. If a hawk circles round
over their heads, some of the party will fall sick on
the journey and probably will die. If the hawk flies
to the right when near at hand, it is a good omen ;
but if it flies to the right when at a distance, or to
the left, whether near or far, that is a bad omen.
The people then light a fire and entreat the hawk
to give a more favourable sign, and if it persists in
going to the left they give up the expedition. If,

1 See Chap. XII.

8o PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

while the omens are being read, the hawk flaps his
wings, or screams, or swoops down and settles on a
tree, the omen is bad. But if it swoops down and
up again, that is good. If two or three hawks are
visible at the same time, and especially if they all
fly to the right, that is very good ; but if many are
visible, and especially if they fly off in different
directions, that is very bad, for it means that the
enemy will scatter the attacking force. If the
hawk should capture a small bird while it is under
observation, that means that they will be made
captives if they persist in their undertaking. The
hawk is not claimed as a relative by Klemantans.
They take omens from various other birds in matters
of minor importance.

Klemantans use the domestic pig and fowl as
sacrificial animals just as the Kenyahs and Kayans
do, and they have the same superstitious dread of
killing a dog. One group of them, Malanaus, use a
dog in taking a very solemn oath, and sometimes
the dog is killed in the course of this ceremony.
Or instead of the dog being killed, its tail may be
cut off, and the man taking the oath licks the blood
from the stump ; this is considered a most binding
and solemn form of oath. The ceremony is spoken
of as Koman asu, i.e. '' the eating of the dog."

Most Klemantans will kill and eat both deer
and cattle freely. But there are exceptions to this
rule. Thus Damong, the chief of a Malanau
household, together with all his people, will not kill
or eat the deer Cervulus muntjac, alleging that an
ancestor had become a deer of this kind, and that,
since they cannot distinguish this incarnation of
his ancestor from other deer, they must abstain
from killing all deer of this species. We know of
one instance in which one of these people refused
to use again his cooking-pot, because a Malay who
had borrowed it had used it for cooking the flesh of

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. 4f .

. % ■•

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Plate 159. KAYANS DISCUSSING THE LIVER OF A PIG.

XV ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 8i

deer of this species. This superstition is still rigidly-
adhered to, although these people have been con-
verted to Islam of recent years.

On one occasion another chief resolutely refused
to proceed on a journey through the jungle when a
mouse-deer, Plandok, crossed his path ; he .will not
eat this deer at any time.^

The people of Miri, who also are Mohammedan
Malanaus, claim to be related to the large deer, Cervus
equinuSy and some of them to the muntjac deer also.
Now, these people live in a country in which deer
of all kinds abound, and they always make a clearing
in the jungle around a tomb. On such a clearing
grass grows up rapidly, and so the spot becomes
attractive to deer as a grazing ground ; and it seems
not improbable that it is through frequently seeing
deer about the tombs that the people have come
to entertain the belief that their dead relatives
become deer, or that they are in some other way
closely related to the deer.

The Bakongs, another group of Malanaus, hold
a similar belief with regard to the bear-cat [Artictis)
and the various species of Paradoxurus ; in this case
the origin of the belief is admitted by them to be
the fact that, on going to their graveyards, they
often see one of these beasts coming out of a tomb.
These tombs are roughly constructed wooden
coffins raised a few feet only from the ground, and
it is probable that these carnivores make their way
into them, in the first place, to devour the corpse,
and that they make use of them as lairs.

The relations of the Klemantans to the crocodiles
seem to be more intimate than those of other tribes.
One group, the Long Patas, claim the crocodile as
a relative. The story goes that a certain man
named Silau became a crocodile. First he became

* Of the Romans it is said : " When a fox, a wolf, a serpent, a horse, a dog,
or any other kind of quadruped, ran across a person's path or appeared in an
unusual place, it formed an augury,"

82 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

covered with itch, and he scratched himself till he
bled and became rough all over. Then his feet
began to look like a crocodile's tail ; as the change
crept up from his feet to his body, he called out to
his relatives that he was becoming a crocodile, and
made them swear that they would never kill any
crocodile. Many of the people in olden days knew
that Silau became a crocodile ; they saw him at
times and spoke to him, and his teeth and tongue
were always like those of a man. Many stories are
told of his meeting with people by the river-side.
On one occasion a man sat roasting a pig on the
river-bank, and, when he left it for a moment, Silau
took it and divided it among the other crocodiles,
who greatly enjoyed it. Silau then arranged with
them that he would give a sign to his human
relatives by which the crocodiles might always be
able to recognise them when travelling on the river.
He told his human friends that they must tie leaves
of the DraccBua below the bows of their boats ;
this they always do when they go far from home,
so that the crocodiles may recognise them and so
abstain from attacking them.

If a man of the Long Patas is taken by a
crocodile, they attribute this to the fact that they
have intermarried to some extent with Kayans.
When they come upon a crocodile lying on the
river-bank, they say, " Be easy, grandfather, don't
mind us, your are one of us." Some of the
Klemantans will not even eat anything that has
been cooked in a vessel previously used for cooking
crocodile's flesh, and it is said that if a man should
do so unwittingly his body would become covered
with sores.

If a crocodile is seen on their left hand by Long
Patas on a war expedition, that is a bad omen ;
but if on their right hand, that is the best possible
omen.

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 83

The Orang Kaya Tumonggong tells us that in
the olden times the crocodiles used to speak to
his people, warning them of danger, but that now
they never speak, and he supposes that their
silence is due to the fact that his people have
intermarried with other tribes. The Long Patas
frequently carve a crocodile's head as the figure-
head for a war-canoe.

The Batu Blah people (Klemantans) on return-
ing from the war-path make a huge effigy of a
crocodile with cooked rice, and they put fowl's eggs
in its head for eyes and bananas for teeth, and
cover it with scales made from the stem of the
banana plant. When all is ready it is transfixed
with a wooden spear, and the chief cuts off its head
with a wooden sword. Then pigs and fowls are
slaughtered and cooked, and eaten with the rice
from the rice-crocodile, the chiefs eating the head
and the common people the body. The chief of
these people could give us no explanation of the
meaning of this ceremony ; he merely says they do
it because it is custom.

One community of Klemantans, the Lelak people,
lived recently on the banks of a lake much infested
with crocodiles. Their chief had the reputation of
being able to induce them to leave the lake. To
achieve this he would stand in his boat waving a
bundle of charms, which included among other
things teeth of the real tiger and boars' tusks, and
then address the crocodiles politely in their own
language. He would then allow his boat to float
out of the lake into the river, and the crocodiles
would follow him and pass on down the river.

Many, probably all, Klemantans put up wooden
images of the crocodile before their houses, and
many of them carve the prow of their war-canoes
into the form of a crocodile's head with gaping
jaw.

84 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

Some of the Muruts make an effigy of the
crocodile from clay for use on the celebration of a
successful expedition.

The Punans

The Punans make use of all the omen-birds that
are used by the Kenyahs, and they regard them
as in some degree sacred, and not to be killed or
eaten. They seem to read the omens in much the
same way as the Kenyahs do ; but they are not so
constant in their cult of the omen-birds, and Punans
of different districts differ a good deal from one
another in this respect. In fact, it is doubtful
whether those that have mixed least with the other
peoples pay any attention to the omen-birds ; and
it seems not unlikely that the cult of the omen-
birds is in process of being adopted by them.

With the exception of these birds there is prob-
ably no wild animal of the jungle that the Punans
do not kill and eat. They refuse to eat the domestic
pig, but this, they say, is because they know nothing
of it, it is strange to them. Having no domestic
pigs and fowls, they of course do not sacrifice them
to their gods, nor do they seem to practise the rite
of sacrifice in any form.

They give the names of various animals to their
children, and they use these names in the ordinary
way.

The crocodile seems to be regarded as a god by
the Punans — they speak of it as Bali Penyalong.
(This, as we have already said, is the name of the
Supreme Spirit of the Kenyahs.) They sometimes
make a wooden image of it, and hang it before the
leaf shelter or hut in which they may be living at
any time ; and if one of their party should fall ill,
they hang the blossom of the betel-nut tree on the
figure, and the medicine-man addresses it when

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 85

he seeks to call back the wandering soul of his
patient.

Punans certainly ascribe significance to the
behaviour of a few animals other than those
observed by the other peoples. Thus, if they see
a lizard of any kind upon a branch before the
shelter in which they are encamped, and especially
if it utters its note, they regard this as a sign that
enemies are near.

The Sea Dayaks or I bans

The I bans do not seem to have any conception
that corresponds closely to the Supreme Spirit of
the races with which we have already dealt. Arch-
deacon Perham ^ has given an account of the Petara
of these people, showing how it is a conception of
one god having very many manifestations and func-
tions, each special function being conceived vaguely
as an anthropomorphic deity. He has described also
the mythical warrior-hero and demi-god Klieng, and
the god of war, Singalang Burong. As Archdeacon
Perham has said, this last deity has a material animal
form, namely, the white-headed hawk, which is the
Bali Flaki of the Kenyahs, and plays a somewhat
similar part in their lives. But Singalong Burong
is decidedly more anthropomorphic than Bali Flaki ;
he is probably generally conceived as a single being
of human form living in a house such as the I bans
themselves inhabit ; whereas Bali Flaki, even if
sometimes conceived in the singular as the great
Bali Flaki, is very bird-like. We have seen that
the Kayans describe their hawk-god, Laki Neho, as
dwelling in a house, which, though in the top of a
tree, has a landing-stage before it on the river-bank.
In the case of the Kayans, the conception is only
half-way on the road to a full anthropomorph ;

* Journ. of Straits Asiatic Society^ Nos. 8, lo, and 14.

86 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

whereas with the I bans the change has been com-
pleted and the hawk-god is completely anthropo-
morphic. Corresponding with this increased im-
portance and definition of the anthropomorphic
hawk-god, we find that for the I bans the virtue has
departed out of the individual hawks, and that they
are no longer consulted for omens; for the I bans
say that Singalang Burong never leaves his house,
and that for this reason they do not take omens
from the hawks when going on the war-path.
Nevertheless, he is the chief or ruler over all the
other omen birds, who are merely his messengers.
He thus seems to have come to occupy almost the
supreme position accorded to Bali Penyalong by the
Kenyahs. The following notes are the statements
made upon this subject by a very intelligent I ban
of the Undup district : Once a year they make a
big feast for Singalang Burong and sing for about
twelve hours, calling him and Klieng and all the
Petara to the feast. (This is the ceremony known
2L^gawai burong. It is a most tedious and monoton-
ous performance after the first few hours.) In olden
days Singalang Burong used to come to these feasts
in person as a man just like an I ban in appearance
and behaviour. At the end of the feast he would
go out, take off his coat, and fly away in the form
of a white-headed hawk. Now they are not sure that
he comes to their feast, because they never see him.
Singalang Burong is greater than Klieng, although
it is Klieng that gives them heads in war. Singa-
lang Burong married an I ban woman, Kachindai
Lanai Pantak Girak, and he gave all his daughters
in marriage to the omen-birds. Dara Inchin Tem-
baga Monghok Chelabok married Katupong {Sasia
abnormis)\ Dara Selaka Utih Nujut married Mam-
buas [Carcurentis) ; Pingai Tuai Nadai Mertas Indu
Moa Puchang Penabas married Bragai [Harpactes)\
Indu Langgu Katungsong Ngumbai Dayang Katu-

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 87

pang Bunga Nketai married Papau {Harpactes
diardi) ; and, lastly, Indu Bantok Tinchin Mas Ndu
Pungai Lelatan Pulas married Kotok [Lepocestes).
He had also one son, Agi Melieng etc., who
married the daughter of Pulang Gana, the god
of agriculture, her name being Indu Kachanggut
Rumput Melieng Kapian.

It was amusing and instructive to hear this
I ban rattle off these enormous names without any
hesitation, while another Iban sitting beside him
guaranteed their accuracy.

In the olden days, it is said, there were only
thirty-three individuals of each kind of omen-bird
(including Singalang Burong). But although these
thirty-three of each kind still exist, there are many
others which cannot be certainly distinguished from
them, and these do not give true omens. It would
be quite impossible to kill any one of these thirty-
three true representatives of each kind, however
much a man might try.

Nevertheless, if an Iban kills an omen-bird by
mistake, he wraps it in a piece of cloth and buries it
carefully in the earth, and with it he buries rice and
flesh and money, entreating it not to be vexed and to
forgive him, because it was all an accident. He then
goes home and will speak to no one on the way, and
stays in the house for the rest of that day at least.

The I bans read omens not only from the birds
mentioned above as the son-in-law of Singalang
Burong, but also from some other animals. And
it is interesting to note that they have made a verb
from the substantive burong (a bird), namely,
beburong (to bird), i.e. to take omens of any kind,
whether from bird or beast. An excellent account
of the part played by omens in the life of the I bans
has been given by Archdeacon Perham in the paper
referred to above, and we have nothing further to
add to that account.

VOL. II G

88 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

The hornbill must be included among the sacred
birds of the Iban, although it does not give omens.
On the occasion of making peace between hostile
tribes, the I bans sometimes make a large wooden
image of the hornbill and hang great numbers of
cigarettes upon it ; and these are taken from it
during the ceremony and smoked by all the men
taking part in it. On the occasion of the great
peace-making at Baram in March 1899, ^^ which
thousands of Kenyahs, Kayans, Klemantans, and
I bans were present/ the Ibans made an elaborate
image of the hornbill some nine feet in height, and
hung upon it many thousands of cigarettes, and
these were smoked by the men of the different
tribes, all apparently with full understanding of the
value of the act.

A special deity or spirit, Pulang Gana, presides
over the rice-culture of the Ibans, but the crocodile
also is intimately concerned with it. The following
account was given us by an intelligent Iban from
the Batang Lupar : —

Klieng first advised the Ibans to make friends
with Pulang Gana, who is a Petara and the grand-
father ['' aki'') oi padi. Pulang Gana first taught
them to plant padi and instructed them in the
following rites : —

On going to a new district Ibans always make a
life-size image of a crocodile in clay on the land
chosen for the padz-fsLvm. The image is made
chiefly by some elderly man of good repute and
noted for skilful farming. Then for seven days
the house is malt, i,e, under special restrictions — no
one may enter the house or do anything in it except
eat and sleep. At the end of the seven days they
go to see the clay crocodile and give it cloth and
food and rice-spirit, and kill a fowl and a pig before
it. The ground round about the image is kept

1 See Chap. XXII.

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 89

carefully cleared and is held sacred for the next
three years, and if this is not done there will be
poor crops on the other farms. When the rites
have been duly performed this clay crocodile
destroys all the pests which eat the rice. If, in
a district where Ibans have been long settled, the
farm-pests become very noxious, the people pass
three days mali and then make a tiny boat of bark,
which they call utap. They then catch one specimen
of each kind of pest — one sparrow, one grasshopper,
etc. — and put them into the small boat, together
with all they need for food, and set the boat free
to float away down the river. If this does not
drive away the pests, they resort to the more
thorough and certainly effectual process of making
the clay crocodile.

Many Ibans claim the live crocodile as a relative,
and, like almost all the other peoples, will not eat
the flesh of crocodiles, and will not kill them,
save in revenge when a crocodile has taken one of
their household. They say that the spirit of the
crocodile sometimes becomes a man just like an
I ban, but better and more powerful in every way,
and sometimes he is met and spoken with in this
form.

Another reason given for their fear of killing
crocodiles is that Ribai, the river-god, sometimes
becomes a crocodile ; and he may become also a
tiger or a bear. Klieng, too, may become any one
of five beasts, namely, the python, the maias, the
crocodile, the bear, or the tiger, and it is for this
reason that Ibans seldom kill these animals. For
if a man should kill one which was really either
Ribai or Klieng, he would go mad.

The Ibans are by nature a less serious-minded
and less religious people than the Kenyahs and
Kayans, and they have a greater variety of myths
and extravagant superstitions ; nevertheless, they

90 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

use the fowl and the pig as sacrificial animals in
much the same way as the other tribes. They eat
the fowl and both the wild and domestic pig freely,
except in so far as they are restrained by somewhat
rigid notions of economy in such matters. The
fowl plays a larger part than the pig in their
religious practices, and its entrails are sometimes
consulted for omens.

I bans will kill and eat all kinds of deer, but there
are exceptions to this rule. The deer are of some
slight value to them as omen-givers. Horned cattle
they will kill and eat, but they are not accustomed
to their flesh, and few of them relish it.

I bans have numerous animal fables that remind
one strongly of ^Esop's fables and the Brer Rabbit
stories of the Africans. In these kora, the land-
tortoise, and plandoky the tiny mouse-deer, figure
largely as cunning and unprincipled thieves and
vagabonds that turn the laugh always against the
bigger animals and man.^

The Ngarong or Secret Helper

An important institution among some of the
I bans, which occurs but in rare instances among
the other peoples, is the ngarong''" or secret helper.
The ngarong is one of the very few topics in regard
to which the I bans display any reluctance to speak
freely. So great is their reserve in this connection
that one of us lived for fourteen years on friendly
terms with I bans of various districts without ascer-
taining the meaning of the word ngarong, or suspect-
ing the great importance of the part played by the
notion in the lives of some of these people. The

1 See Chap. XVII.

2 In the paper from which the greater part of this chapter is extracted this
word was spelt nyarong. It is now clear to us that it should be spelt as above,
with the initial ng^ a common initial sound in the Sea Dayak language. The
most literal translation of the word is, the thing that is secret, or simply, the
secret, or my secret.

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 91

ngarong seems to be usually the spirit of some
ancestor or dead relative, but not always so, and it
is not clear that it is always conceived as the spirit
of a deceased human being. This spirit becomes
the special protector of some individual I ban, to
whom in a dream he manifests himself, in the first
place in human form, and announces that he will be
his secret helper ; and he may or may not inform
the dreamer in what form he will appear in future.
On the day after such a dream the I ban wanders
through the jungle looking for signs by which he
may recognise his secret helper ; and if an animal
behaves in a manner at all unusual, if a startled
deer stops a moment to gaze at him before bounding
away, if a gibbon gambols about persistently in the
trees near him, if he comes upon a bright quartz-
crystal or a strangely contorted root or creeper,^
that animal or object is for him full of a mysterious
significance and is the abode of his ngarong. Some-
times the ngarong then assumes the form of an I ban
and speaks with him, promising all kinds of help
and good fortune. If this occurs the seer usually
faints away, and when he comes to himself again
the ngarong will have disappeared. Or, again, a
man may be told in his dream that if he will go
into the jungle he will meet his ngarong in the form
of a wild boar. He will then, of course, go to seek
it, and if by chance other men of his house should
kill a wild boar that day, he will go to them and beg
for its head or buy it at a good price if need be,
carry it home to his bed-place, offer it cooked rice
and kill a fowl before it, smearing the blood on the
head and on himself, and humbly begging for pardon.
Or he may leave the corpse in the jungle and
sacrifice a fowl before it there. On the following
night he hopes to dream of the ngarong again, and

^ Almost every Iban possesses and constantly carries with him a bundle of
such objects ; they are regarded as charms and are called pengaroh ; but few
probably claim to enjoy the protection of a secret helper.

92 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

perhaps he is told in his dream to take the tusks
from the dead boar and that they will bring him
good luck. Unless he dreams something of this
sort, he feels that he has been mistaken, and that
the boar was not really his secret helper.

Perhaps only one in a hundred men is fortunate
enough to have a secret helper, though it is ardently
desired by many of them. Many a young man goes
to sleep on the grave of some distinguished person,
or in some wild and lonely spot, and lives for some
days on a very restricted diet, hoping that a secret
helper will come to him in his dreams.

When, as is most commonly the case, the secret
helper takes on the form of some animal, all in-
dividuals of that species become objects of especial
regard to the fortunate I ban ; he will not kill or
eat any such animal, and he will as far as possible
restrain others from doing so. A ngarong may after
a time manifest itself in some new form, but even
then the Iban will continue to respect the animal-
form in which it first appeared.

In some cases the cult of a secret helper will
spread through a whole family or household. The
children and grandchildren will usually respect the
species of animal to which a man's secret helper
belongs, and will perhaps sacrifice fowls or pigs to it
occasionally, although they expect no help from it ;
but it is asserted that if the great-grandchildren
of a man behave well to his secret helper, it will
often befriend them just as much as its original
protdge.

The above general account of the secret helper
is founded on the descriptions of many different
Ibans, and we will now supplement it by describing
several particular instances.

Anggus (an Ulu Ai Iban of the Batang Lupar)
says that every Iban who has no ngarong hopes to
get some bird or beast as his helper at the begawai,

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 93

the feast given to the Petara. He himself has
none, but he will not kill the gibbon because the
ngarong of his grandfather, who died twenty years
ago, was a gibbon. Once a man came to his
grandfather in a dream and said to him, ** Don't
you kill the gibbon," and then turned into a grey
gibbon. This gibbon helped him to become rich
and to take heads, and in all possible ways. On
one occasion, when he was about to go on the
war-path, his ngarong came to him in a dream and
said, " Go on, I will help you," and the next day
he saw in the jungle a grey gibbon which was un-
doubtedly his ngarong. When he died he said to
his sons, '* Don't you kill the gibbon," and his sons
and grandsons have obeyed him in this ever since.
Anggus adds that when a man dreams of a ngarong
for the first time he does not accept it, and will still
kill animals of that kind ; nor is a second dream
enough ; but when he dreams the same dream a
third time, then his scepticism is overcome and he
can no longer doubt his good fortune.

Anggus himself once shot a gibbon when told to
do so by one of us. He first said to it, *' I don't
want to kill you, but the Tuan who is giving me
wages expects me to, and the blame is his. But if
you are really the ngarong of my grandfather, make
the shot miss you." He then shot and missed three
times, and on shooting a fourth time he killed a
gibbon, but not the one he had spoken to. Anggus
does not think the gibbon helps either his father or
himself.

Payang, an old Katibas Iban, tells us that he
has been helped by a python ever since he was a
youth, when a man came to him in a dream and
said, "■ Sometimes I become a python and some-
times a cobra, and I will always help you." It has
certainly helped him very much, but he does not
know whether it has helped his children ; neverthe-

94 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

less he has forbidden them to kill it. He does not
like to speak of it, but he does so at our request.
Payang concluded by saying that he had no doubt
that we white men have secret helpers, very much
more powerful than the I ban's, and that to them
we owe our ability to do so many wonderful
things.

Imban, an I ban who had recently moved to the
Baram river from the Rejang, had once when sick
seen in a dream the Labi- Labi, the large river-turtle
( Trionyx subplanus), and had made a promise that
if he should recover he would never kill it. So when
he settled on the Baram river as head of a house-
hold, he attempted to impose a fine on his people
for killing the Labi- Labi, insisting that it was
mali to kill it or bring its carcase into his river.
They appealed to one of us as the resident magis-
trate, and it was decided that if Imban wished
to insist on this observance he must remove to a
small tributary stream. This he has done, and a
few of his people have followed him ; and on them
he enforces a strict observance of his cult of the
river-turtle.

A still more interesting case is the following
one: — A community of I bans were building a new
house on the Dabai river some years ago, and one
day, while they were at work, a porcupine ran out
of a hole in the ground near by. During the follow-
ing night one of the party was told by the porcupine
in a dream to join their new house with his (the
porcupine's). So they completed their house ; and
ever since that time they have made yearly feasts in
honour of the porcupines that live beneath the house,
and no one in the house dare injure one of them,
though they will still kill and eat other porcupines in
the jungle. They have had no death in the house
during the seven years that it has been built, and
this they attribute to the protecting power of the

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 95

porcupines ; and when any one is sick, they offer
food to them, and regard their good offices as far
more important than the ministrations of the manang
(the medicine-man). Last year some relatives of
these I bans moved to this village, and for three
months the knowledge of the part played by the
porcupines was hidden from them as a mysterious
secret. At the end of that time this precious
mystery was disclosed to the new-comers, and the
porcupines were feasted with every variety of cooked
rice, some of it being made into a rude image of a
porcupine, and with rice-spirit and cakes of sugar
and rice-flour, salt and dried fish, oil, betel-nut, and
tobacco. Several fowls were slain, and their blood
was daubed on the chin of each person in the house,
a ceremony known as enselan. The liver of one
fowl was carefully taken out and put with the food
offered to the porcupines, that they might read the
omens from it ; and they were then informed of the
arrival of the new-comers. The fowls were waved
over the heads of the people by the old men, while
they prayed the porcupines to give them long life
and health, and a token of their goodwill in the form
of a smooth rounded pebble. On an occasion of
this sort it is highly probable that the required
token will be found ; for the secret helper would no
doubt be surreptitiously helped by some member of
the household who, being deficient in faith, prefers
to make a certainty of so important a matter rather
than leave it entirely to the ngarong.

Inquiries made since the publication of the
facts reported in the foregoing paragraphs have
shown us that the cult of the ngarong or secret
helper is probably not common to all branches of
the Sea Dayaks people. We have heard of its
occurrence amongst the Ulu Ai Dayaks both of the
Batang Lupar and Rejang districts, but we have no
positive knowledge of its occurrence among other

96 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

branches unless the custom known as nampok has
some connection with it.

Conclusion

We have now to discuss some problems sug-
gested by a review of the facts set forth above, and
to bring forward a few additional facts that seem to
throw light on these questions.

The question that we will first discuss is this :
Are all or any of the instances of peculiar regard paid
to animals, or of animals sacrificed to gods or spirits,
or of the ceremonial use of their blood, to be
regarded as institutions surviving from a fully
developed system of totemism now fallen into
decay ? It will have been noticed that many of
the features of totemism, as it occurs in its best
developed forms, occur among the people of one or
other of the tribes of Sarawak. We have, in the
first place, numerous cases in which a whole com-
munity refuses to kill or eat an animal which is
believed to protect and aid them by omens and
warnings and in other ways, and in which the
animal is worshipped with prayer and sacrifice {e.g,
the hawk among various tribes) ; we have at least
one instance of a community claiming to be related
to a friendly species (Long Patas and the crocodile),
and having as usual an extravagant myth to account
for the belief ; we have the domestic animal that is
sacrificially slain, its blood being sprinkled on the
worshippers and its flesh eaten by them, and that is
never slain without religious rites (pig of the
Kenyahs and Kayans) ; we have the animal that
must not be killed tatued on the skin of the men
(the dog), or its skin worn by fully grown men only
(the tiger-cat), or images of it made of clay or carved
in wood and set up before the house (the hawk and
crocodile) ; we have also the animal that is claimed

XV ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 97

as a relative imitated in popular dances (the Dok-
monkey of the Kayans) ; the belief that the souls of
men assume the form of some animal that must
not be killed or eaten (deer and the Arctogale
among Klemantans) ; the observance by invalids of
a very strict avoidance of contact with any part of an
animal that must not be killed or eaten in any case
(horned cattle among many Kenyahs and Kayans).
Not only do we see these various customs, which
in several parts of the world have been observed as
living elements of totem-cults, and which in other
parts have been accepted as evidence of totem-
worship in the past, but in the agricultural habits of
the people we may see an efficient cause of the
decay of totemism, if at some time in the past
it has flourished among them. For it has been
pointed out, especially by Mr. Jevons in his Intro-
duction to the History of Religion, that totemism
seems to flourish most naturally among tribes of
hunters, and that the introduction of agriculture
must tend towards its decay. Now there is some
reason to suppose that the introduction to Borneo
of rice and of the art of cultivating it is of compara-
tively recent date. Crawford reckoned that the
cultivation oi padi was introduced to the southern
parts of Borneo from Java some 306 years ago, and
into the northern parts from the Philippine Islands
about 1 50 years ago. But whatever the date of the
occurrence may have been, it seems to be certain
that, by the introduction oS. padi cultivation from
some other country, most of the tribes of Sarawak
were converted, probably very rapidly, from hunting
to agriculture. This conversion must have caused
great changes in their social conditions and in
their customs and superstitions ; and, if totemism
flourished among them while they were still simple
hunters, its decay may well have been one of the
chief of these changes.

98 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

A second factor that would have tended to bring
about this change is the prevalence of a belief in a
god or beneficent spirit more powerful than all
others, and more directly concerned with the welfare
/ of his worshippers, however this belief may have
come into being. And a third factor that may have
tended in the same direction is the custom of head-
hunting, and the important part played by the
heads in the religious life of the people. For there
is some reason to think that head-hunting is a com-
paratively young institution among the tribes of
Sarawak.

But in spite of all this, and although we do not
think it is possible completely to disprove the truth
of the hypothesis that some or all of these animal
cults are vestiges of a once fully developed totemic
system, we are inclined to reject it. We are led to
do so by four considerations. In the first place, if
by totemism we mean a social organisation con-
sisting in the division of a people into groups or
clans, each of which worships or holds in super-
stitious regard one or more kinds of animal or plant,
or other natural objects to which the members of
the group claim to be related by blood or by descent,
then it seems to us sufficiently wonderful that this
system should have existed among peoples so
remote from one another in all things, save certain
of the external conditions of life, as the Indians
of North America and the natives of Australia.
And it seems to us that to invoke the aid of the
hypothesis of totemism in the past to explain the
existence of a set of animal or plant superstitions
in any particular case is but to increase the mystery
that shrouds their origin ; for unless it can be shown
that the adoption or development of totemism by
any people brings with it immense advantages for
them in the struggle for existence, every fresh case
in which the evidence compels us to admit its

XV ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 99

occurrence, whether in the past or as a still flourish-
ing institution, can but increase the wonder with
which we have to regard its wide distribution.

Secondly, we have in the total absence of totemism
among the Punans very strong ground for rejecting
the suggestion of its previous existence among the
Kenyahs. For in physical characters, in language,
and, as far as the difference in the mode of life
permits, in customs and beliefs, the Punans resemble
the Kenyahs so closely that we must assume them
to be closely allied by blood ; and it seems probable
that the Punans have merely persisted in the
cultural condition from which the Kenyahs and
other tribes have been raised by the adoption of
agriculture and the practice of building substantial
houses. Yet, as we have said, the Punans, although
in that condition of nomadic hunters which is prob-
ably the most favourable to the development and
persistence of totemism, observe hardly any restric-
tions in their hunting, and in fact seem to kill and
eat with equal freedom almost every bird and beast
of the jungle, shooting them with the blow-pipe and
poisoned darts with consummate skill. The only
exceptions to this rule are, so far as we know, the
omen-birds, a carnivore, and a lizard, and, as we
have said, it seems doubtful whether even these are
excepted in the case of Punans who have not had
much intercourse with other peoples.

Thirdly, although it may be said that even at
the present time many of the features of the religious
side of totemism are present, we have not been able
to discover any traces of a social organisation based
upon totemism. There is no trace of any general
division of the people of any tribe into groups which
claim specially intimate relations with different
animals, except in the case of the Klemantans ; and
in their case such special relations seem to be the
result merely of the different conditions under

loo PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

which the various scattered groups now live. There
are no restrictions in the choice of a wife that might
indicate a rule of endogamy or exogamy. There
are no ceremonies to initiate youths into tribal
mysteries ; certain ceremonies in which the youths
take a leading part are directed exclusively to
training them for war and the taking of heads in
battle. We know of no instance of any group of
people being named after an animal or plant which
is claimed as a relative ; and in the case of the
more homogeneous tribes, such as the Kenyahs
and Kayans, all prohibitions with regard to animals
and all benefits conferred by them are shared
equally by all the members of any one community,
and, with but very few exceptions, are the same for
all the communities of the tribe.

Lastly, we think it unnecessary to regard the
various animal superstitions of these tribes as
survivals of totemism, because it seems possible to
find a more direct and natural explanation of almost
every case. The numerous cases seem to fall into
two groups : the superstitious practices concerned
with the sacrificial animals, the pig and fowl on the
one hand, and all those concerned with the various
other animals on the other hand. These latter
may, we think, be regarded as the expression of
the direct and logical reaction of the mind of the
savage to the impression made upon it by the
behaviour of the animals.

It has been admirably shown by Professor Lloyd
Morgan ^ how we ourselves, and even professed
psychologists among us, tend to overestimate the
complexity of the mental processes of animals ; and
there can be no doubt that savages generally are
subject to this error in a very much greater degree,
that, in fact, they make, without questioning and in
most cases without explicit statement even to them-

^ Introduction to Comparative Psychology, and elsewhere.

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS loi

selves, the practical assumption that the mental
processes of animals — their passions, desires,
motives, and powers of reasoning — are of the same
order as, and in fact extremely similar to, their own.
That the Kenyahs entertain this belief in a very
practical manner is shown by their conduct when
preparing for a hunting or fishing excursion. If,
for example, they are preparing to poison the fish
of a section of the river with the ** tuba " root, they
always speak of the matter as little as possible, and
use the most indirect and fanciful modes of ex-
pression. Thus they will say, '* There are many
leaves floating here," meaning, '' There are plenty of
fish in this part of the river." And these elaborate
precautions are taken lest the birds should overhear
their remarks and inform the fish of their inten-
tions— when, of course, the fish would not stay to be
caught, but would swim away to some other part of
the river.

Since this belief seems to be common to all or
almost all savages and primitive peoples, it would
be a strange thing if prohibitions against killing
and eating certain animals and various superstitious
practices in regard to animals were not practically
universal among them. Bearing in mind the
reality of this belief in the minds of these peoples,
it is easy to understand why they should shrink
from killing any creature so malignant - looking
and powerful for harm as a snake, and why they
should feel uneasy in the presence of, and to
some extent dread, the maias and the long-
nosed monkey, creatures whose resemblance to
man seems even to us somewhat uncanny. Their
objection to killing their troublesome and super-
fluous dogs seems to be due to a somewhat simi-
lar feeling — a recognition of intelligence and
emotions not unlike their own, but mysteriously
hidden from them by the dumbness of the animals.

I02 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

In the same way it is clear that it is but a very
simple and logical inference that the crocodiles
are a friendly race, and but the clearest dictate
of prudence to avoid offending creatures so power-
ful and agile ; for if the crocodiles were possessed
of the mental powers attributed to them by the
imagination of the people, they might easily make
it impossible for men to travel upon the rivers
or dwell on their banks. A similar process
would lead to the prohibition against the eating
of the tiger-cat, the only large and dangerous
carnivore.

The origin of the prohibitions against killing
and eating deer and horned cattle is perhaps not
so clear. But it must be remembered that until
very recently the only horned cattle known to the
tribes of the interior were the wild cattle (the
Seladang of the Malay peninsula), very fierce and
powerful creatures. These wild cattle hide them-
selves in the remotest recesses of the forests, and,
as they are but very rarely seen, they may well
be regarded as somewhat mysterious and awful.
Deer, on the other hand, abound in the forests, and,
like most deer, are very timid ; and it is perhaps
their timidity that has led in some cases to the
prohibition against their flesh, for we have seen
how a Kenyah chief feared lest his little son, safe at
home, should be infected with the deer's timidity if
he himself a hundred miles away should come in
contact with the skin of one. In another case we
have seen that by the people of one community deer
are regarded as relatives, or as containing the souls
of their ancestors, and that this belief probably had
its origin in the fact that deer are in the habit of
frequenting the grassy clearings made about the
tombs by the people. And we saw that a similar
belief in respect of certain carnivores probably had
a similar origin.

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 103

We think that even the elaborate cult of the
hawk and of the other omen-birds is to be explained
on these lines. If we think of the hawk's erratic
behaviour, how he will come suddenly rushing down
out of the remotest blue of the sky to hover over-
head, and then perhaps to circle hither and thither
in an apparently aimless manner, or will keep flying
on before a boat on the river, or come swiftly to
meet it, screaming as he comes, — if we think of this,
it is easy to understand how a people whose whole
world consists of dense forests and dangerous rivers,
a people extremely ignorant of natural causation,
yet intelligent and speculative, and always looking
out for signs that shall guide them among the
mystery and dangers that surround them, may have
come to see in the hawk a messenger sent to them
by the beneficent Supreme Being. For this Being
is vaguely conceived by them as dwelling in the
skies whence the hawk comes, and whither he so
often returns. And then we may suppose that the
messenger himself has come to be an object of
worship in various degrees with the different tribes,
as seems to be the rule in all religious systems in
which servants of a deity mediate between him and
man.

The origin of the various rites in which the fowl
and pig are sacrificed, and their blood smeared or
sprinkled on men or on the altar-posts of gods, or
on the image of the hawk, and their souls charged
with messages to the Supreme Being — the origin of
this group of customs must be sought in a different
direction. To any one acquainted with Robertson
Smith's Religion of the Semites, and with Mr. Jevon's
Introduction to the History of Religion, the idea
naturally suggests itself that these animals are or
were true totems, of which the cult has passed into
a late stage of decay. It might be supposed that,
being originally totem animals, they thereby became

VOL. II H

I04 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

domesticated by their worshippers ; that they were
occasionally slain as a rite for the renewal of the
bond between them and their worshippers, their
blood being smeared or sprinkled on the latter, and
their flesh ceremonially eaten by them ; and that
the eating of them has become more and more
frequent, until now every religious rite, of however
small importance, is made the occasion for the killing
and eating of them. It might also be supposed
that, with the development or the adoption of the
conception of a Supreme Being, the original purpose
and character of the rites had become obscure, so
that the slaughtered animals are now regarded in
some cases as sacrifices offered to the deity.

But we do not think that this tempting hypothesis
as to the origin of the rites can be upheld in this
case. In the first place, the wild pig of the jungle
is hunted in sport and killed and eaten freely by all
the various tribes, and is, in fact, treated on the
whole with less respect and ceremony than perhaps
any other animal. Secondly, the domestic pig differs
so much from the wild pig that Mr. Oldfield Thomas
has pronounced it to be of a different species, and
it seems possible that it has been introduced to
Borneo by the Chinese at a comparatively recent
date. Further, there is reason to suppose that the
custom of sacrificing pigs and fowls arose through
the substitution of them for human beings in certain
rites. For there is a number of rites of which it is
admitted by the people that the slaughter of human
beings was formerly a central feature ; of these, the
most important and the most widely spread are the
funeral rites of a great chief, the rites at the building
of a new house, and those on returning from a
successful war expedition. In all these fowls or
pigs are now substituted as a rule, but we know of
instances in which in recent years human beings
were the victims. Thus some years ago, on the

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 105

death of the chief of a community of Klemantans
(the Orang Bukit), a slave was bought by his son,
and a feast was made, and the slave was killed
through each man of the community giving him a
slight wound. This was said to be the revival of
an old and almost obsolete custom. In another
recent case, when a mixed party of Kayans and
Kenyahs returned from a successful war expedition,
only the Kenyahs had secured heads. The Kayans
therefore took an old woman, one of the captives,
and killed her by driving a long pole against her
abdomen, as many of them as possible taking part
by holding and helping to thrust the pole. The
head was then divided among the parties of Kayans,
and pieces of the flesh were hung on poles beside
the river, just as is done with the flesh of slain
enemies and with the flesh of the pigs that are
always slaughtered on such occasions. It, was said
that this killing of a human being was equivalent to
killing a pig, only much finer.

Kayans tell us that they used to kill sla,ves at
the death of a chief, usually three, but at least one,
and that they nailed them to the tomb, in order
that they might accompany the chief on his long
journey to the other world and paddle the canoe in
which he must travel. This is no longer done, but
a wooden figure of a man is put up at the head and
another of a woman at the foot of the coffin of a
chief as it lies in state before the funeral. And a
small wooden figure of a man is usually fixed on the
top of the tomb, and it is said that this is to row the
canoe for the chief. A live fowl is usually tied to
this figure, and although it is said to be put there
merely to eat the maggots, we think there can be
no doubt that we see here going on the process of
substitution of fowl for slave.

In building a new house it is customary among
almost all these tribes to put a fowl into the hole

io6 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

dug to receive the first of the piles that are to
support the house, and to allow the end of the pile
to fall upon the fowl so as to kill it. The Kenyahs
admit that formerly a girl was usually killed in this
way, and there is reason to believe that in all cases
a human victim was formerly the rule, and that the
fowl is a substitute merely.^

In the following cases, too, we see the idea of
substitution of fowls or pigs for men.

It is customary with the Malanaus of Niah to
kill buffalo, and also to kill fowls, and put them
together with eggs on poles in the caves in which
the swifts build the edible nests, in order to secure
a good crop of nests. One year, when the nests
were scanty they bought a slave in Brunei, and killed
him in the cave, in the hope of increasing the
number of nests.

It was formerly the custom to exact a fine of one
or more slaves as punishment for certain offences,
e,g. the accidental setting fire to a house. At the
present time, when slaves are scarcer than of yore,
they are rarely given in such cases, but usually brass
gongs ; and the gongs are always accompanied by
a pig.

Now, when slaves were killed and nailed to the
tomb of a chief, the purpose was perfectly clear and
simple. It was done in just the same spirit in
which the weapons and shield and clothing are still
always hung on the tomb of a deceased warrior, in
order, namely, that his shade may not be without
them on the journey to the other world. On the
introduction of the domestic pig it may well have
become customary for the poorer classes, who could
not afford to kill a slave, or for families which owned
no slaves, to kill a pig as in some degree a compen-
sation for the want of human victims. If such a

^ Now that the sacrifice of human victims is forbidden, Kenyahs and
Klemantans sometimes carve a human figure upon the first of the main piles
of a new house to be put into the ground.

Plate i6i. GROUP OF KENYAHS.
On the top of the pole can be seen an image of the hawk, Bali Flaki.

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 107

custom were once introduced, it may well have
spread rapidly from motives of both economy and
humanity ; for a slave is as a rule very kindly treated
by his master, and in many cases comes to be
regarded as a member of the family.

We may suppose, too, that it was formerly the
custom to kill a slave when prayers of public
importance were made to the Supreme Being, in
order that the soul of the slave might carry the
prayer to him. If this was the case, the substitution
of pig for slave, on the introduction of the domestic
pig, may be the more readily conceived to have
become customary, when we remember that these
people regard the souls of animals as essentially
similar to their own/ If such a custom of substitu-
tion once gained a footing, it would naturally become
usual to take the opportunity of communicating with
the higher powers whenever a pig was to be
slaughtered.

This view, that in all sacrifices of the pig and
fowl these are but substitutes for human victims,
finds very strong support in the following facts : —
The Kalabits, a tribe inhabiting the north-western
corner of the Baram district, breed the water-buffalo
and use it in cultivating their land. It has probably
been introduced to this area from North Borneo at
a recent date. The religious rites of this people
closely resemble those of the tribes with which we
have been dealing above ; but in all cases in which
pigs are sacrificed by the latter, buffaloes are used
by the Kalabits.

The rite of sprinkling the blood of pigs and
fowls on men and on the altar -posts and images
may, we think, be an extension or adaptation of the
blood-brotherhood ceremony. We have seen that
with the Kayans and Kenyahs the essential feature
of this ceremony is the drawing of a little blood

^ See vol. ii., p. 4.

io8 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

from the arm of the two men, each of whom then
drinks or consumes in a cigarette the blood of the
other one. Such a rite calls for no remote explana-
tion ; it seems to have suggested itself naturally to
the minds of primitive people all the world over as
a process for the cementing of friendship. When
two hostile communities wished to make a permanent
peace with one another, it would be natural that
they should wish to perform a ceremony similar to
the rite of blood-brotherhood. But the interchange
of drops of blood between large numbers of persons
would obviously be inconvenient ; and if the idea
of substituting fowls and pigs for human victims
had once taken root in their minds, it woyld have
been but a small step to substitute their blood for
human blood in the peacemaking ceremonies. We
have seen above that in such a ceremony fowls are
exchanged by the two parties, so that the men of
either party are smeared with the blood of the fowl
originally belonging to the other party. It may be
that here, too, the blood of slaves was formerly
used, but of this we have no evidence. The custom
of smearing the blood of fowls and pigs on the two
parties to a friendly compact having been arrived
at in this way, the rite might readily be extended
to the cases in which the hawk, represented by his
wooden image, or the Supreme Being, also repre-
sented by an image, is invoked as one of the parties
to the compact. We are inclined to think that in
some such way as we have here suggested, namely,
by the substitution of pigs and fowls for human
victims, and of their blood for human blood, the
origin of the customs of sacrificing fowls and pigs,
and of ceremonially sprinkling their blood, may be
explained.

We conclude, then, that the various superstitions
entertained by these tribes in regard to animals are
not to be looked upon as survivals of totemism.

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 109

but that they may all be explained in a simpler and
more satisfactory manner.

Suggested Theory of the Origin of Totemism

Before bringing this chapter to an end, we would
point out that among the facts we have described
there are some which seem to suggest a possible
and, indeed, as it seems to us, a very natural and
probable mode of origin of totem - worship. We
refer to the varieties of the Ngarong of the I bans
and sporadic analogous cases among the other
tribes. We have seen that the Ngarong may
assume the form of some curious natural object, or
of some one animal distinguished from its fellows
by some slight peculiarity, which receives the atten-
tions of some one man only. In such cases the
Ngarong is hardly distinguishable from a fetish.
In other cases the man, being unable to distinguish
the particular animal which he believes to be
animated by his Ngarong, extends his regard and
gratitude to the whole species. In such a case it
seems difficult to deny the name " individual totem "
to the species, if the term is to be used at all. In
other cases, again, all the members of a man's family
and all his descendants, and, if he be a chief, all the
members of the community over which he rules,
may come to share in the benefits conferred by his
Ngarong, and in the feeling of respect for it and in
the performance of rites in honour of the species of
animal in one individual of which it is supposed to
reside. In such cases the species approaches very
closely the clan -totem in some of its varieties.
(In speaking of the **Kobong" of certain natives
of Western Australia, Sir G. Grey^ says, ** This
arises from the family belief that some one indi-
vidual of the species is their nearest friend, to kill

^ Quoted in Mr. Frazer's Totemism, ist ed., 1887, p. 8.

no PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

whom would be a great crime, and to be carefully
avoided.")

Of similar cases among other tribes of guardian-
animals appearing to men in dreams and claiming
their respect and gratitude, we must mention the
case of Aban Jau, a powerful chief of the Sebops, a
Klemantan subtribe. He had hunted and eaten
the wild pig freely like all his fellow-tribesmen, until
once in a dream a wild boar appeared to him, and
told him that he had always helped him in his
fighting. Thereafter Aban Jau refused, until the
day of his death, to kill or eat either the wild or
the domestic pig, although he would still consult
for omens the livers of pigs killed by others.^

We have described above (vol. ii., p. 76) how a
Kayan may become blood-brother to a crocodile in a
dream, and may thereafter be called Baya (crocodile),
and how in this way one Kayan chief had come to re-
gard himself as both son and nephew to crocodiles,
and how he believed that they brought him success
in hunting and carried him ashore when (in a dream)
he had fallen into the river. The cousin of this
chief, too, regarded himself as specially befriended
by crocodiles because his great-grandfather had
become blood-brother to one in a dream. So it is
clear that the members of the family to which these
young men belong are likely to continue to regard
themselves as related by blood to the crocodiles, and
bound to them by special ties of gratitude.

In another case we saw how all the people of
one household regard themselves as related to the
crocodiles and specially favoured by them, explaining

* Aban Jau possessed a large curiously shaped pig's tusk which he wore on
his person in the belief that any firearm fired at it would not go off. It is
probable that his belief in this charm was connected with his belief in the
dream - pig. The belief was very genuine, until in a moment of excessive
confidence he hanged the tusk upon a tree and invited one of us to fire at it.
The tusk was shattered. Aban Jau said nothing ; but presumably a process
of disintegration began in his mind ; for after some hours he remarked that
his charm had lost its power.

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS iii

the relation as due to one of their ancestors having
become a crocodile. In another case we saw that
some ill-defined relation to the gibbon is claimed
by a community of Kenyahs whose house is
decorated with carvings of the form of the gibbon,
and whose members will not kill the gibbon. And
in yet another case we saw that a Kayan house is
decorated with conventionalised carvings of some
animal whose species has been forgotten by the
community. In each of these last three cases, it
seems highly probable that the special relation to
the animal was established by some such process
as we see going on in the preceding case ; so that
we seem to have in this series one case of incipient
totemism and others illustrating various stages of
decay of abortive beginnings of totemism. And it
is easy to imagine how in the absence of unfavour-
able conditions such beginnings might grow to a
fully developed totem-system. For suppose that
in any one community there happened to be at
one time two or more prosperous families, each
claiming to be related with and protected by some
species of animal as the result of friendly overtures
made by the animals to members of the families in
their dreams. It would then be highly probable
that members of other families, envious of the good
fortune of these, would have similar dream ex-
periences, and so come to claim a similar protection ;
until very soon the members of any family that
could claim no such protection would come to be
regarded as unfortunate and even somewhat disre-
putable beings, while the faith of one family in its
guardian-animal would react upon and strengthen
the faith of others in theirs. So a system of clan-
totems would be established, around which would
grow up various myths of origin, various magical
practices, and various religious rites.

It is well known that such dreams as convince

112 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

the Iban, the Kayan, and the Kenyah of the reality
of his special relation to some animal, and lead him
to respect all animals of some one species, produce
similar results in other parts of the world. We quote
the following passages from Mr. Frazer's remarks on
individual totems in his book on totemism : — " An
Australian seems usually to get his individual totem
by dreaming that he has been transformed into an
animal of that species." " In America the individual
totem is usually the first animal of which a youth
dreams during the long and generally solitary fast
which American Indians observe at puberty." Such
dream experiences are then the vera causa of the
inception of faith in individual totems among the
peoples in which totemism is most highly developed ;
and among the tribes of Sarawak we find cases
which illustrate how a similar faith, strengthened
by further dreams and by the good fortune of its
possessor, may spread to all the members of his
family or of his household and to his descendants,
until in some cases the guardian animal becomes
almost, though not quite, a clan-totem. The further
development of such incipient totems among these
tribes is probably prevented at the present time,
not only by their agricultural habits, but also by
their passionate addiction to war and fighting and
head-hunting; for these pursuits necessitate the
strict subordination of each community to its chief,
and compel all families to unite in the cult of the
hawk to the detriment of all other animal-cults,
because the hawk is, by its habits, so much better
suited than any other animal to be a guide to them
on warlike expeditions.^

^ Dr, Boas is of the opinion that the totems of the Indians of British Columbia
have been developed from the personal manitou, the guardian animals acquired
by youths in dreams. Miss A. C. Fletcher is led to a similar conclusion by
a study of the totems of the Omaha tribe of Indians {Import of the Totem, Salem,
Mass., 1897). The facts described above in connection with the Ngarong ol
the Ibans and similar allied institutions among other tribes of Sarawak would
seem, then, to support the views of these authors as to the origin of totemism.

ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 113

The prevalence of the belief in a Supreme Being
must also tend to prevent the development of
totemism.

Plants

In Chapter VI. we have described most of the
superstitious beliefs and practices connected with
the padi plant and the rice.

It is not clear that any other plants are regarded

as be-souled ; but we mention here certain customs

in connection with some of them that seem to point

in that direction. The silat, a common jungle palm,

figures most prominently in rites and beliefs of the

Kayans. The leaves of this palm are used to

decorate the heads taken in war ; and on the

occasion of any ceremonial use of the heads, fresh

leaves are always hung upon or about them. No

other leaves will serve this purpose, though it is

difficult to say in what the special virtue of this

plant consists. The leaves of the same plant are

hung about the doorway of a new house when the

people first take up their abode in it ; but it is hung

in such a way that passers-by do not brush against

it, and children especially are kept away from it. It

is commonly hung about the altar-posts of the gods ;

and it is a strip of this leaf that is tied about the

wrist of a sick man to confine his soul to his body

at the close of the soul-catching ceremony. It is

tied also about the wrists of men returning from

any warlike expedition. When applied for any

ceremonial purpose it is called isang ; and it is

not until it has been so used that it becomes an

" unclean " object. It is used in its merely material

aspect for roofing leaf shelters in the jungle, and is

put to other similar uses to which the broad tough

leaves are well adapted. Most or all of the peoples

use the leaves of this plant in the same ways as the

Kayans.

114 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap, xv

Long, a species of Caladiunty is commonly hung,
both root and leaves, upon the door of a room
to mark that it is lali (tabu) owing to sickness,
harvesting, or any other circumstance.

Orobong, a weed (not unlike the foxglove in
appearance) which always grows freely among the
young padiy is gathered by the female friends of any
woman passing through the ordeal of childbirth.
They boil the leaves and wash her body with the
decoction on several days following the delivery.
It is held that, if this is not done, the woman's
abdomen will not regain its normal state. This
usage also is common to the Kayans with many
other tribes.

The leaves of the Draccena are sometimes tied
beneath the prow of a boat during journeys to
distant parts (as mentioned on p. 70, vol. ii.) ; they
are also hung upon the tombs and, with the isang,
upon altar posts, when the rites are performed.

The I bans and some of the Klemantans will not
make the first stroke in cutting down the tapang
tree {Arbouria), alleging that, if they do so, great
troubles will befall them.

Supplementary Note on the Ngarong

Since correcting the proofs of this chapter we have come upon a
brief account of the guardian spirits of the I ban, which corroborates
our account of the Ngarong. It is contained in a series of papers
entitled Religious Rites and Customs of the Ibans or Dyaks of
Sarawak, Borneo, written by Leo Nyuak (an I ban educated in a
mission school), and translated by the Very Rev. Edm. Dunn
{Anthropos, vol. i. p. 182, 1905). In this account the guardian
spirit is called Tua, and we are told that "The Tua or guardian
spirit of an I ban has its external manifestation in a snake, a leopard,
or some other denizen of the forest. It is supposed to be the spirit
of some ancestor renowned for bravery, or some other virtue, who
at death has taken an animal form ... it is revealed in a dream
what animal form the honoured dead has taken."

CHAPTER XVI

MAGIC, SPELLS, AND CHARMS

Magic is in a comparatively neglected and back-
ward condition among the Kayans and Kenyahs,
Punans, Ibans, and the more warlike up-country
Klemantans. On the other hand, some of the coast-
wise tribes of Klemantans, especially the Malanaus
and Kadayans, cultivate magic with some assiduity.

The Kayans dislike and discourage all magical
practices, with the exception of those which are
publicly practised for beneficent purposes and have
the sanction of custom.

In the old days they used to kill those suspected
of working any evil by magic. There are no
recognised magicians among them other than the
dayongs^ and these, as we have seen, perform the
functions of the priest and the physician rather than
those of the wizard or sorcerer.

Some of the dayongs make use at certain
ceremonies of a rough mask carved out of wood,
or made from the shell of a gourd. The mask is
merely an oval shell with slits for eyes and mouth,
generally blackened with age and use. It may be
worn during the soul- catching ceremony, but not
during attendance on the recently deceased. This
use of a mask is not known to us among any other
of the peoples (PL 151).

The medicine man of the Ibans is known as
manang] the manangs are more numerous than

115

ii6 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

the dayongs of the Kayans ; they are more strictly
professional in the sense that they do but little other
work, depending chiefly on what they can earn by
their treatment of disease and by other ways of
practising upon the superstitions of their fellows.
They generally work in groups of three or four, or
more in cases of serious illness, and, with the
imitativeness and disregard for tradition character-
istic of the Iban, they have developed a great variety
of procedures,^ into most of which the element of
deliberate fraud enters to a much greater extent than
into the practice of the Kayan dayongs. The Sea
Dayak manang is usually covered with skin disease
(tinea) and shirks all hard work with the other
members of the village.

A peculiar and infrequent variety of Sea Dayak
manang are the manang ball. They are men who
adopt and continuously wear woman's dress and
behave in all ways like women, except that they
avoid as far as possible taking any part in the
domestic labour. They claim to have been told in
dreams to adopt this mode of life ; they are em-
ployed for the same purpose as the more ordinary
manangSy and they practise similar methods.

Among the Ibans certain persons get a bad
reputation for working harm by magic. They are
said to be cunning in sorcery {tau tepang), and these
persons may properly be said to be sorcerers or
witches. They are believed to work harm in many
ill-defined ways, especially to health ; but their pro-
cedures are not generally known ; they probably
include poisoning, but, like the practices of our
European witches in recent times, they probably
have but little existence outside the timorous
imaginations of the people. Such persons are dis-
liked and shunned, though not killed as they would

1 Sixteen different methods, most of which combine the notion of soul-catch-
ing with that of exorcism, are enumerated and described by Mr. E. H. Gomes
in his recent work, Seventeen Years amongst the Dayaks of Borneo.

XVI MAGIC, SPELLS, AND CHARMS 117

be among Kayans or Kenyahs. They are not
professional sorcerers, i.e, their help is not called in
by other persons who wish to work evil on their
enemies, for others do not dare to do this. At the
present time in Sarawak, if a man accuses another
of practising tepang, he is liable to be sued for libel
and fined.^

Black Magic

The most important of the magical practices is
one known and occasionally resorted to among all
the peoples for the purpose of bringing about the
death of a personal enemy. We describe the pro-
cedure as carried out by the Sebops (Klemantans),
but in all essentials the account holds good for all
or nearly all the peoples. It is not usual to invoke
the aid of any recognised magician. The man
whose heart is filled with hatred against another
will retire secretly to a spot at the edge of a padi
field, or of some other clearing, where he can see
a large expanse of sky and yet feel sure of being
unobserved. Here he sets up the batang pra, a
pole supported horizontally some six or eight feet
above the ground, its ends resting on two vertical
poles. A little figure of a man or woman (according
to the sex of the person aimed at), which has been
carved for the purpose out of soft wood, is fixed
upright in the ground beneath the batang pra.
This is called tegulun kalingai usa, which, literally
translated, is *' the reflected image of the body."
The operator makes a fire beside the tegulun, digs
a small hole in the ground, and fills it with water
coloured with ferruginous earth. This pool is

^ In a recent note in \ki^ Journal of the Sarawak Musgum, Jan. 191 1, Mr.
W. Howell states that the power of tau tepang is supposed to be transmitted
in certain families from generation to generation ; that the head of a tau tepang
man leaves his body at night and goes about doing harm, especially to the
crops ; that the power is passed on to a child of a tau tepang family by the
mother, who touches the cut edge of the child's tongue with her spittle.

ii8 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

called Bawang Daar^ the lake of blood. Sitting
before the tegulun he scans the space of sky framed
by the batang pra^ searching for some hawk upon
the wing. As soon as he sees a hawk within this
area, he addresses it, waving in one hand a small
frayed stick, and saying, " Put fat in the mouth of
So-and-So," and he puts a bit of pork fat into the
mouth of the tegulun. Then saying, "Send him to
Bawang Daar^' he immerses the tegulun in his pool
of reddened water ; and taking it out again he
thrusts into it a little wooden spear. After this he
buries the tegulun in a hole in the ground, covering
it with earth. (Only people who die by violence or
of some much-feared disease are normally buried in
this fashion.) This done he keeps shouting to the
hawk to go to the left, at the same time waving his
stick in that direction. If the hawk passes out of
the area of operations towards the right, he knows
that his attempt will not succeed, and he desists for
the time being ; if it flies out to the left he knows
that his arts will prevail, and he addresses the
hawk as follows : —

** Bali Flaki tuai musit, ou matei iya kalunan ito
Tama Odoh (the name of the victim), tuju kau, Bali
Flaki, mieu tuor bawang daar au muloh usuky Bali
Flaki, mieu niak boin na alam ujun, pala uja matei
sagam ; matei daar kayu sagam ; matei suat ; m.atei
aioh sagam; matei many at alam. sungei ; matei
padam ; matei nakap bay a ; matei sakit ulun ; matei
sakit usokr (Translation runs — "O Bali Flaki, go
your way, let this man Tama Odoh die ; go and
put him in the lake of blood, O Bali Flaki ; stab
him in the chest, Bali Flaki, put fat of pig in his
mouth that he may die to-morrow (this is equivalent
to — let his head be taken ; for fat is always put in
the mouth of the head taken in battle) ; let him be
killed by a falling tree, to-morrow ; let him die from

1 Cf. Bawang Daha, the lake of blood of the Kayan Hades, vol. ii., p. 40.

XVI MAGIC, SPELLS, AND CHARMS 119

a wound ; let him die by the hand of his enemy, to-
morrow ; let him be drowned, to-morrow ; let him
die of a deadly disease ; let him be caught by a
crocodile ; let him die of pain in the head ; let him
die of pain in the chest.") It will be observed that
the formula calls upon the hawks to give effect to
the malevolent wishes, so that the operation is not
one of direct magical or sympathetic action, but
rather is one by which the aid of a higher power is
invoked. This feature of the process renders it
one which the strongest minded cannot pooh-pooh.

With this comprehensive curse the rite is con-
cluded and the vengeful man returns home and
secretly observes his enemy. The latter may be-
come aware that magic is being worked against him
through dreaming that fat is put into his mouth ;
and as he is probably more or less aware of the
hatred of his enemy, it is not unlikely that such a
dream will come to him.^ There can be no doubt
that, if in this or any other way a man learns that
he has been made the object of a magical attempt
of this sort, he, in many cases, suffers in health ; and
it is probable that in some cases such knowledge
has proved fatal. If it is discovered that any man
has attempted to injure another in this way, he falls
into general reprobation, and, if the case can be
proved against him, heavy damages in the form of
pigs, gongs, etc., may be awarded by the house-
chief.

^ The people are naturally reticent about this rite. The facts were brought
to our knowledge by a case which is instructive in several ways. A Sebop had
murdered a Chinese trader and taken his head. He was ordered to surrender
himself for trial at the fort within the space of one month, and informed that
he would be taken alive or dead if he failed to present himself. He refused
and took to the jungle. Upon which one of the up-country chiefs (Tama Bulan)
was commissioned to arrest him. The murderer was found in the jungle and
called on to surrender, but refused, and died fighting. At this his brother was
enraged against the chief and made the tegulun against him ; and being at a
distance from his victim, the man was at no pains to keep the matter secret,
and it came to the ears of the chief He, although the most enlightened native
in the country, felt uneasy under this terrific malediction and complained
to the Resident, who insisted on a public taking back or taking off of the
curse.

VOL. n I

I20 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

A curse is sometimes imposed without formality,
and in the heat of the moment, in the face of their
enemy. Under these circumstances the curse is
usually muttered indistinctly, and seems then to
work upon the victim all the more powerfully. The
words used are similar to those of the curse written
out above.

A characteristic bit of I ban magic is the follow-
ing : — A man, angered by finding that some one has
deposited dirt in or about his property or premises,
takes a few burning sticks and, thrusting them into
the dirt, says, " Now let them suffer the pains of
dysentery."

Therapeutic Magical Procedures

It was said in Chapter XIV. that the Kayans treat
disease by three distinct methods, namely, by soul-
catching, by drugs and regimen, and by extraction
of the supposed cause of the trouble. This last
operation seems to fall under the head of magic and
may be described here. It is usually performed by
the DayongSy and is applied more particularly in
cases in which localised pain is a prominent feature
of the disorder. The Dayong comes provided with
a short tube, prepared by pushing out the core of
a section of the stem of a certain plant of the ginger
family. After inquiring of the patient the locality
of his pains, he holds up the polished blade of a
sword, and, gazing at it as one seeing visions, he
sings a long incantation beginning : —

Bali Dayong usun lasan

Urip ulun kam kelunan

Nini ketai natong tawang Leman

Bali Dayong}

^ A free translation runs : —

" O holy Dayong, thou who lovest mankind,
Bring back thy servant from Leman,
The region between the lands of life and death,
O holy Dayong^

Plate 162. AN ENEMY'S HEAD DECORATED BY KAYANS WITH
VARIOUS CHARMS.

XVI MAGIC, SPELLS, AND CHARMS 121

The crowd of people, men and women, sitting
round the central figure, join in the Bali Dayong,
which recurs as the refrain at the end of each verse,
intoning in loud deep voices. It seems clear from
the use of the words Bali Dayong that the whole is
addressed to some superior power ; for no human
Dayong, and indeed no human being, is addressed
or spoken of with the title Bali. And it would
perhaps be more correct, therefore, to describe
the address as a supplication rather than an in-
cantation, and the whole operation as a re-
ligious rite rather than a magical procedure.
But we are here on the disputed borderland
between magic and religion, and other features
incline us to regard the process as magical rather
than religious.

During the singing of a number of verses in this
way, the Dayong seems to become more and more
distraught and unconscious of his surroundings ; and
when the singing ceases he behaves in a strange
manner, which strikes the attendant crowd with awe,
starting suddenly and making strange clucking noises.
Then he produces the tube mentioned above, and
pressing one end upon the skin of the part indicated
by the patient as the seat of the pain, he sucks
strongly, and, presently withdrawing it, he blows
out of it on to his palm a small black pellet, which
moves mysteriously upon his hand as he exhibits it
to the patient and his friends as the cause of the pain ;
and if the patient has complained of more than one
seat of pain, the operation is repeated. It only
remains for the Dayong to return gradually with
some violent gestures and contortions to his normal
state, and to receive his fee, which properly consists
of the sword used by him in the ceremony, and a
live fowl. The whole procedure is very well adapted
to secure therapeutic effects by suggestion. The
singing and the atmosphere of awe engendered by

122 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

the Dayong's reputation and his uncanny behaviour
prepare the patient, the suction appHed through
the tube gives him the impression that something
is being drawn through his skin, and the skilful
production of the mysterious black pellet completes
the suggestive process, under the influence of which,
no doubt, many an ache or pain has suddenly dis-
appeared. On one occasion, one of us being a little
indisposed in a Klemantan house, we made an
opportunity to examine the methods of the Dayong
a little more closely than is usually possible, by
inviting one to undertake the extraction of his pains.
We were then able to realise more vividly the
suggestive force of the procedure, and to see that
the black pellets were bits of dark beeswax which
were carried upon the finger-nails of the Dayong, and
surreptitiously introduced by him into his mouth as
they were required for exhibition after being blown
through the tube ; we could see also that the
mysterious movements of the pellets upon his palm
were produced by the help of short fine hairs pro-
truding from it. It seems impossible to deny the
presence of a certain element of fraud in this
procedure, but we think that it would be hasty
and uncharitable to assert that the Dayong s attitude
is wholly one of fraud ; we must remember that
our most orthodox medical practitioners accord a
legitimate place in their armamentarium to mistura
rubra (solution of burnt sugar) and to similar aids
whose operation is purely suggestive.

Most of the coastwise tribes seek to drive away
epidemic disease by the following procedure : — One
or more rough human images are carved from the
pith of the sago palm and placed on a small raft or
boat, or full-rigged Malay ship, together with rice
and other food carefully prepared. The boat is
decorated with ribbons of the leaves and with the
blossoms of the areca palm, and allowed to float out

XVI MAGIC, SPELLS, AND CHARMS 123

to sea with the ebb-tide in the belief or hope that it
will carry the sickness with it.

Among the I bans, if a man has deceived people
in a serious matter by means of a malicious lie, and
if the untruth is discovered, one of the deceived
party takes a stick and throws it down at some spot
by which people are constantly passing, saying in
the presence of others, *' Let any one who does not
add to this liar's heap (tugong bMld) suffer from pains
in the head." Then others do likewise, and the
nature of the growing heap becoming known, every
passer-by throws a stick upon it lest he should
suffer pains. In this way the heap grows until it
attains a large size, in some cases that of a small
haystack, and, being known by the name of the liar,
is a cause of great shame to him.

When any man has his hair cut or shaved, he
sees that the hair cut off is burnt or otherwise care-
fully disposed of. This is common to all the
Borneans. It would seem that this is not prompted
by fear of any definite harm, nor is there, so far as
we know, any recognised way of using the hair cut
off to work injury to its former owner. The custom
seems rather to be due to the fact that shields and
swords are decorated with the hair of enemies by
Kenyahs and others ; therefore it is felt that to use
a man's hair for this purpose is almost equivalent
to taking his head ; and it is well to guard against
this possibility. No doubt also it is vaguely felt
that if the hair of one's head should come into the
possession of any other person, that person would
acquire some indefinable power over one.

Magical practices for the injury of enemies and
rivals are more various and frequent among the
coastwise Klemantans, especially the Bisayas,
Kadayans, and Malanaus. It is probable that they
have learnt much of this from the Malays. One
variety is to hang up at the edge of a padi field a

124 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

yam or other root covered with projecting spikes of
bamboo cane. This is done openly to spoil the crop.
Another trick is to tie under a bench in the boat
of one's enemy a pebble, generally of quartz. This
is supposed to make the boat so heavy that it can
only travel very slowly.

Charms

These practices involve the application of charms.
Charms are extensively used by all the peoples,

least so by Kayans. In
every house is at least one
bundle of charms, known
as siap aioh by the Ken-
yahs, by whom more im-
portance is attached to it
than by any of the other
tribes. This bundle, which
is the property of the
whole household or village,
generally contains hair
taken from the heads that
hang in the gallery ; a
crocodile's tooth ; the
blades of a few knives
that have been used in
special ceremonies ; a few crystals or pebbles of
strange shapes ; pig's teeth of unusual shape (of
both wild and domestic pig) ; feathers of a fowl
(these seem to be substitutes for Bali Flaki's
feathers, which they would hardly dare to touch) ;
stone axe-heads called the teeth of Balingo ; ^ and
isang, i.e. palm leaves that have been put to cere-
monial use (Fig. 80).

The whole bundle, blackened with the smoke
and dust of years, hangs in the gallery over the

^ See vol. ii., p. 11.

Fig. 80. — Kenyah Siap.

XVI MAGIC, SPELLS, AND CHARMS 125

principal hearth beside the heads, usually in a wide-
meshed basket. It constitutes the most precious
possession of the household, being of even greater
value than the heads. No one willingly touches or
handles the siap, not even the chief. And when it
becomes necessary to touch the bundle, as in trans-
ferring it to a new house, some old man is specially
told off for the duty; he who touches it brings
upon himself the risk of death, for it is v^vy parit
to touch it, i,e, strongly against custom and there-
fore dangerous.^ Its function seems
to be to bring luck or prosperity of
all kinds to the house ; without it
nothing would prosper, especially in
warfare.

Many individuals keep a small
private bunch of siap, made up of
various small objects, of unusual
forms, generally without any human
hair (Fig. 81). These are generally
obtained through dreams. A man
dreams that something of value is to
be given him, and then, if on waking
his eye falls upon a crystal of quartz, fig. 81. — Kenyah
or any other slightly peculiar object, Charm made with

, \ . ii« 1 1'^ crocodile s tooth.

he takes it and hangs it above his
sleeping-place ; when going to bed he addresses it,
saying that he wants a dream favourable to any busi-
ness he may have in hand. If such a dream comes
to him, the thing becomes siap ; but if his dreams are
inauspicious, the object is rejected. Since no one
can come in contact with another man's siap without
risk of injury, the inconvenience occasioned by
multiplication of siap bundles puts a limit to their
number. Nevertheless a man who possesses private
siap will carry it with him attached to the sheath of

^ Although breach of custom and of lali by any individual may bring mis-
fortune on the whole household, the offending individual is regarded as specially
liable to wasting sickness with diarrhoea and spitting of blood.

126 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

his sword, and special hooks are provided in most
houses for the hanging up of such swords (Fig. 82).
There are many instances of siap of specialised
function. A man specially devoted to hunting with
the blowpipe will have a special blow-pipe siap tied
to his quiver (this is especially common among
Punans). He will dip this siap in the blood of
every animal he kills, so that it becomes thickly
encrusted. This is thought to increase or preserve
its virtue.

Another special kind of siap is that which ensures
a man against hurt from firearms, through causing
any gun aimed at him to miss
fire.

The I bans use personal charms
which they call pengaroh ; but in
accordance with their more indi-
vidualistic disposition, they have
no important charm common to
the whole household correspond-
ing to the household siap of the
other peoples. The objects com-
posing xh^ pengaroh are an assort-
ment even more varied and
fantastic than the siap of other
peoples. In many cases they
are carried with small china pots
of oil, which are used to rub on the body as a
universal remedy.

A curious object to be occasionally seen in some
Sea Dayak houses is the empugau. It is a blackened
bundle hung in a basket among the heads above the
hearth. It is covered with the smoke and soot of
ages, and though it is generally claimed as the
property of some one man who has inherited it from
his forefathers, even he knows nothing of its history
and composition, and is unwilling to examine it
closely. It is regarded by the I bans as the head of

Fig. 82. — Kayan Hook.

XV. MAGIC, SPELLS, AND CHARMS 127

m

some half-human monster. On careful examination
of several specimens we have found the empugau to
consist of a large cocoanut in its husk, tricked out
with a rude face mask having part of the fibrous
husk combed out to look like hair. The I bans
regard it with some awe, and it seems probable
that it has formerly played some part in magical
procedures.

Love Charms

Love charms are used by most of the peoples,
though the Kayans and Kenyahs are ex-
ceptions, since they prefer to rely chiefly
upon the power of music and personal
attractions. These charms are in almost
all cases strongly odorous substances.
The Iban youth strings together a neck-
lace of strongly scented seed known as
buah balong. This he generally carries
about with him, and, when his inclination
is directed towards some fair one, he places
it under her pillow, or endeavours to per-
suade her to wear it about her neck. If
she accepts it, he reckons her half won.

Klemantans, among whom love charms
Q[o by the g^eneric name san^kil, make use

f • r r u r u- l> r Iban Trapper's

ot a variety of charms, of which one of charm.
the most used is a scented oil that they
contrive to smuggle on to the garments or other
personal property of the woman.

Those that have had much contact with Malays
make use of pieces of paper on which they scrawl
certain conventional patterns.

Charms are used by I bans to ensure success in
trapping. The trapper carries a stick one end of
which is carved to represent the human form (Fig.
2>2,). He uses this to measure the appropriate height
of the traps set for animals of different species.

Fig. 83.

128 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

All the peoples observe a large number of re-
strictions in regard to contact with objects, especially
articles of food. Some of these are mentioned in
other chapters. Here we notice a few typical
instances. In Chapter XV. we related that each of
the peoples avoid certain animals ; in some cases
they avoid not only killing or touching these animals,
but also even very remote relations with them : as,
for example, taking food from a vessel in which
their flesh has been cooked on some previous
occasion ; coming within the range of the odour of
the object ; coming into a house in which there is
any part of such an animal.

The evil resulting from breach of any such
prohibitions generally takes the form of wasting
sickness with pains in the head, chronic cough,
dysentery, or spitting of blood. When a Kenyah
has knowingly for any reason, or unintentionally,
come in contact with any one of the forbidden
objects, or if he finds himself suffering from any of
these things, and therefore suspects that he has
unwittingly come under their influence, he subjects
himself to a process of purification. At break of
day he descends, with other members of his family,
to the brink of the river provided with a chicken, a
sword-blade, two frayed sticks, and a length of spiky
vine known as atat. This latter is bent into the
form of a ring, within which he takes his stand and
awaits the appearance of Isit (the spider hunter —
one of the omen-birds). He calls it by name, Bali
Isit ; and as soon as Isit calls in reply, he pours out
a long-winded address, charging him to convey to
Bali Penyalong his prayer for recovery or protection.
Then he snips off the head of the chicken, and wipes
some of its blood on the frayed sticks and on the
ring. The ring, with the chicken and the frayed
sticks, are then lifted above his head by his at-
tendants, and water is poured upon them from a

XVI MAGIC, SPELLS, AND CHARMS 129

bamboo, so that it drips from them on to his head.
Eight times the ring is Hfted up, and each time the
pouring out of the water is repeated. Then, stand-
ing on the blade of the sword, he again addresses
the omen-bird as before. This completes the rite,
which is known as lemazva.

A similar rite of purification is practised by most
of the other peoples. In some cases the principal
feature of the rite of purification is being spat upon
by the chief.

It may be broadly said that all these peoples are
constantly on the alert to provide against unknown
dangers ; that, having no definite theories of causa-
tion, they are apt to accept every hint of danger or
hurtful influence suggested by the attributes and
relations of things, and to seek to avoid these
influences or to ward them off or counteract them
by every means that in any way suggests itself to
their minds as possibly efficacious.

Although the Kayans regard a madman as
possessed by an evil spirit, they seem to have no
traditional methods of casting out the spirit ; but
some of the Klemantans practise a rite of exorcism ;
this varies in detail from tribe to tribe, and attains
the greatest elaboration among the Malanaus.
The rite is known as bayoh, and bears a general
resemblance to the corresponding Malay rite known
as berhantu. The Malanaus are Klemantans of the
coast regions of Sarawak, most of whom have
recently become converted to Islam, while all of
them have been much influenced by contact with
Malays. The following account is reproduced from
a paper published by one of us (C. H.) in the
Review of the Far East (Feb. 1907), to the editor of
which we are indebted for permission to make use
of the paper : —

The ceremony of casting out evil spirits is of frequent
occurrence among Malanaus, and the noise of gongs and

h

I30 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

drums throughout the night, lasting every night for some-
times a whole week, cannot fail to impress even a casual
observer.

The natives of Niah, who are Malanaus, believe in a
multitude of spirits, good and bad, great and small, im-
portant and of little account. At the head of these is Ula
Gemilang, the sea divinity, a power who works for the good
of man.i Adum Girang is another spirit of the sea, as also
is Raja Duan, who has power over the sun, a spirit who is
distinguished, when he appears in human form, by his
white head-cloth. Majau is said to be pre-eminently rich.
Aiar Urai Arang is said to be a small child whose mother
is Aiar. Besides these there are other powerful spirits of
the sea, the land, the up-river country, and so forth, and
each is attended by innumerable slaves and attendants of
ghostly kind ; they have influence of many kinds over the
dwellers in this world, some for good, others very much for
evil. Madness is caused by various evil spirits throwing
themselves into mortals, ghosts with red eyes which flash
like lightning. The " amok " devil, which comes from the
swamp, differs from those which drive people to commit
suicide — these again being quite distinct from those which
cause merely harmless lunacy.

It not infrequently happens that when a woman (or
more rarely a man) is insane or is very ill, she is urged to
admit that a devil has possessed her, and to become a
medicine woman. By this means she becomes well of her
complaint, and at the same time acquires the power of
helping others to cast out devils. But she is not able of
her own accord to determine whether she shall become a
medicine woman or not. For three nights she is taken
through the ceremony of bayoh^ afterwards to be described,
without a rattan swing, and then for three nights with the
swing. If the indications are favourable, some three weeks
are allowed to elapse before she undergoes the final test of
five nights with the swing. The first bayoh is to satisfy the
people, the second to appease the demon ; and if her malady
is cured by the eleven nights of artificial hysteria, she is
considered to have been accepted both by men and spirits
in her new role of exorciser.

As one woman expressed it, she is now "in with the

^ We have a wooden image of this being. It is rudely anthropomorphic,
and is covered with fish-like scales. Its sex is indeterminate. He is supposed
to ascend the river from the sea, kneeling on the back of a sting-ray.

XVI MAGIC, SPELLS, AND CHARMS 131

demons." Even then, however, it does not follow that she
is able to see when an evil spirit has ceased to possess a
person. One old female, who had worked at bayoh for
fifteen years, admitted that if a devil went into herself she
could turn it out, but only a more powerful woman than
herself could turn devils out of others.

Two forms of bayoh are known to the people of Niah, but
it is only with the bayoh sadong that there is any need to
deal here. The other form is used by the Punans, or mixed
Punans and Malanaus. If it is supposed that some illness is
due to possession by an evil spirit, it is decided to call the
medicine women and get the unwelcome visitant to depart,
though it is not considered possible in all cases to turn a
demon out of his mortal abode. Offerings of eggs and fowls
to the good spirits having proved fruitless, a day is fixed for
the bayoh, preferably shortly after a good harvest, and the
household begins its preparations for the occasion. As
powerful spirits are to be invited to the house, the room
where they are to appear is decked with a profusion of
ornaments suited to such exalted guests. Great tassels of
white shavings are hung upon the walls, a white cloth adorned
with the blossoms of the areca palm hides the rafters, and
these graceful inflorescences are spread out fanwise over
the doors and among the shavings. In one corner a hollow
cone of areca blossoms and shavings spread over a frame-
work of rattan is suspended from a rafter ; and a model of
a ship or raft is placed just outside an open window. As
the function takes place at night, candles of beeswax are
set about to give light. At the appointed time brass dishes
are put on the floor with rice of many colours — yellow, red,
and blue — spread in patterns of crocodiles ; popcorns of rice
and maize, water, and washing utensils, boxes of betel ready
for chewing, tobacco, and cigarettes, to appease the varied
appetites of the spirits invoked. Just after sundown the
neighbours troop in and settle themselves round the room,
the ill-mannered pushing themselves in front. Certain of
the villagers agree to form the band. Soon the house is
full of people, boys and old men contentedly chewing and
smoking, women retiring to darker parts of the room to
gossip. A person of importance will be received with
some show of civility, but without any definite ceremony.
Arabian incense, kamanyan, which is used nowadays
because the native garu has too high a value for export
to be consumed at home, disperses a not unpleasant smell

132 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

through the gathering. Then the fun begins, gongs and
drums are struck, and the strains of music sound
through the village. With intervals of a quarter of an
hour every two hours, the monotonous melody proceeds
until seven the next morning, to be resumed, in all prob-
ability, the next night for another twelve hours, and
perhaps maintained night after night for a whole week.

The medicine women — one, two, or three, rarely four
in number — have collected in the middle of the room.
Generally experienced by years of performing, they are
often too old to be attractive, despite the gorgeous raiment
with which they conceal their aged frames and the hawk-
bells which jingle as they move. At first they collect round
the earthenware censers to warm their hands. They then
begin to step with the music and wave their arms, hissing
loudly through their teeth the while, and occasionally
breaking into a whistle. After a time they sit down and
nod this way and that to the music, as though engaged in
training the muscles of the neck. But the drums and gongs
go faster, till the long hair of the woman flies round with
her head. The whistling is varied by a chant, sadongy in an
ancient language now barely understood.

"Why do you speak? Why do you sadong} Why
are you such a long time ? As long as it takes a pinang
(areca) to become old ? The fruit of the cocoanut has had
time to reach maturity and drop. Come to this country
below the heavens. What do you wish? What is your
desire ? I have come to heal the sick one who lies on the
floor, feeble and unable to rise, thin and shrivelled like a
floating log. Have pity from your heart and prevent my
soul from parting from my skin and my bones from falling
away. This sickness is very severe and I am unable to
contend against it."

One of the women goes to the patient, who, clad in
black, sits alone on a mat, and brings her a pinang blossom
to hold, covering her head with a cloth. The unfortunate
being is then brought to the hollow cone of shavings and
seated within it ; it is then whirled round till the white
shreds rise like a ballet dancer's skirt. Gradually the sick
person is worked up to a frenzy, and, keeping time with
the music, the medicine women sway about and wag their
heads. So the proceedings go on, with weird fantastic
dancing, noddhig, howling, whistling, chanting, for all the
hours of the tropical night. Then the medicine women are

,■■■##*■-:

Plate 164. A WOODEN FIGURE OF CROCODILE, AND DECORATIONS
USED AT THE BAYOH CEREMONY BY MALANAUS.

XVI MAGIC, SPELLS, AND CHARMS 133

whirled round in the cone, and one by one they fall into a
faint, to be recovered by fanning with the pinang blossom.
They dance about and brush against the onlookers as
though unable to control their movements, and are only
kept at a distance by finding handfuls of rice flung in
their faces. The point of giddiness and hysteria eventually
reached can only be compared with certain stages of
drunkenness.

The outsider will find it difficult to detect much method
in the madness, but on more sober occasions the performers
can offer intelligible explanations of their behaviour. The
account given by an old medicine woman at Niah, and
confirmed by the man who conducts the ceremonies at the
same village, shows that the part taken by the spirits is

Fig. 84. — Boat used in bayoh ceremony.

quite as definite as the performance of the exorcisers.
Attracted by the music, the followers of the chief evil
spirits gather round the house when the bayoh has begun,
and hunt about. These little demons ask the chief medicine
woman, "Why have you called us?" She replies, "Tell your
master that I have called you because there is a person here
sick." They then . go back and fetch the more powerful
spirit whom they serve. This demon comes up from the
sea to the jong^ a small ship or raft that stands behind the
house (Fig. 84), and finds his way up the rope ladder. He
asks the bayoh woman, " Why have you called me, mother?"
She answers, " I have called you because there is a sick person
here. You can help him ! See whether you can help him
or not." If the demon finds the sickness beyond his power
to cure, he says, " I cannot help you ; get some one else " ;
and the next night another one is invoked, until the evil

134 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

spirit is cast out of the patient. If for seven nights the
attempt is made in vain, the bayoh is stopped and medicines
are tried again, but with little hope that they will do much
good. One of the bayohs I saw at Niah was on behalf of
a slightly mad woman, who became very violent during the
performance. She was said to be mad because she had
become a Mohammedan, and it was explained that the
Malanau demons had no power over the evil spirits of
Islam. The poor woman was consequently put into stocks
in her own room, and not long afterwards recovered.

When a big spirit comes into one of the medicine
women, as they say, like a flash she feels its presence, but
does not see its form. If it agrees to help, the woman goes
on with the regular bayoh^ and soon feels confident that she
is able to make the patient well. She asks for rice and
other food, and spirit made from fruit, which she eats and
drinks to gratify the demon within her. She calls upon the
people to see that the viands are good, but not from any
selfish motive, for it is said that she is not aware that she
is eating at all. The coloured rice, which has been prepared,
is the spirit's share, and eggs are also given. The demon
invoked to help calls out to the evil spirit in possession of
the sick person, " You stay in this craft whilst I sit here."
"If you don't wish to stay here you can go to the woods,
or your former abode." The evil spirit then goes from the
patient into the basket prepared for his reception, and is
then induced or ordered to depart by the demon in the
medicine woman. What remains of the food set apart for
thvxspirit is scattered along the river. The bayoh is stopped,
ana thanksgiving offerings are floated out to sea that the
exertions of the supernatural powers may not have been in
vain, or these gifts may be taken into the jungle, where the
hollow cone and raft are also placed or hung from a tree.

The medicine women work for a fee, and it is likely
enough that the length of the bayoh is influenced to some
extent by their pay. Sometimes the ceremony is most
gorgeous. A rattan swing, covered with a beautiful cloth,
is provided for the women and the patient to swing in, with
a platform near at hand to receive the evil spirit. Some-
times Ula Gemilang himself is invoked. On these occasions
the expenditure is profuse. A box is placed in the middle
of the room with a handsome covering. The walk up the
floor is covered with cloth of gold thread. There are seven
candles in seven brass sticks, seven betel stands, and seven

XVI MAGIC, SPELLS, AND CHARMS 135

men carrying spears. When the god arrives, seven people
carry the umbrella over his head. If everything is not
perfectly satisfactory in his judgment, he demands through
the medicine woman whose body he has occupied some
expensive gift, and if this is refused she may fall in a dead
faint. Rice is thrown on her and she is fanned with the
pinang blossoms, but the women who attend to her only
share her fate and also become senseless. Eventually they
recover, but there is now but little hope for the patient,
for Gemilang is angry. In a despairing mood the bayok
women then seek help from lesser powers.

Needless to say, the women bear out their part of the
pantomime with great skill, becoming "possessed" at the
proper time, snatching at the sick person's head as though
to catch the evil spirit, and so forth. It is probable that
in some cases the ceremony works a cure by suggestion.
In any case the villagers have not too many occasions for
social gatherings and feasts, and since those who hold
bayohs must offer a good deal of hospitality to their neigh«
hours, such meetings in a village are exceedingly popular
with all except those who wish to go to sleep.

VOL. II

CHAPTER XVII

MYTHS, LEGENDS, AND STORIES

Among all the peoples of Borneo a number of
myths are handed on from generation to generation
by word of mouth. These are related again and
again by those who make themselves reputations
as story-tellers, especially the old men and women ;
and the people are never tired of hearing them
repeated, as they sit in groups about their hearths
between supper and bed-time, and especially when
camping in the jungle. The myths vary consider-
ably in the mouths of different story-tellers, especially
of those that live in widely separated districts ; for
the myths commonly have a certain amount of local
colouring. Few or none of the myths are common
to all the peoples ; but those of any one people are
generally known in more or less authentic form to
their neighbours.

Although many of the myths deal with such
subjects as the creation of the world, of man, of
animals and plants, the discovery of fire and agri-
culture, subjects of which the mythology has been
incorporated in the religious teachings of the
classical and Christian worlds, the mythology of
these peoples has little relation to their religion.
The gods figure but little in the myths, and the
myths are related with little or no religious feeling,
no sense of awe, and very little sense of obligation
to hand them on unchanged. They are related in

136

cH.xvii MYTHS, LEGENDS, STORIES 137

much the same spirit and on the same occasions as
the animal stories, of which also the people are fond,
and they may be said to be sustained by the purely
aesthetic or literary motive, rather than the religious
or scientific motives. In fact it is not possible to
draw any sharp line between myths and fables. If
it is asked. Do the people believe the myths.? no
clear answer can be given ; for few of the myths
have any direct bearing upon practical life, and
therefore belief in them is not brought to the test
of action, the only test that can reveal the reality of
belief, or indeed differentiate belief from merely
unreflective acceptance of a story. Where such
practical bearing is not altogether wanting, we
commonly see conduct regulated in conformity with
the myth or story, as in the case of the story of the
bat carrying to the creatures in the river the news
of the intention of the people to poison the water.

A certain number of the Bornean myths and
legends have been published in Mr. Ling Roth's
book and elsewhere, especially those of the I bans.
We have chosen for reproduction some repre-
sentative specimens that have not hitherto appeared
in well - known publications. A few stories that
properly belong to this chapter are scattered in
other parts of this book.

We give first in a condensed form the substance
of a long rambling creation-myth current among
all branches of the Kayan people. This myth is
sung in rhymed blank verse, a fact which is partly
responsible for the wealth of names occurring in it.

In the beginning there was a barren rock. On
this the rains fell and gave rise to moss, and the
worms, aided by the dung-beetles, made soil by
their castings. Then a sword handle {haup malat)
came down from the sun ^ and became a large tree.

^ The sword handle is sometimes made of hard wood, but generally of deer's
horn, very elaborately carved (see PI. 129). It seems possible that this

138 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

From the moon came a creeper, which hanging from
the tree became mated with it through the action of
the wind/ From this union were born Kaluban
Gai and Kalubi Angai, the first human beings, male
and female. These were incomplete, lacking the
legs and lower half of their trunks, so that their
entrails hung loose and exposed. Leaves falling
from the tree became the various species of birds
and winged insects, and from the fallen fruits sprang
the fourfooted beasts. Resin, oozing from the trunk
of the tree, gave rise to the domestic pig and fowl,
two species which are distinguished by their under-
standing of matters that remain hidden from all
others, even from human beings. The first in-
complete human beings produced Pengok Ngai and
Katira Murei\ the latter bore a son, Batang Uta
Tataiy who married Ajai Aval and begot Sijau
Laho, Oding Lahang, Pabalan, Pliban, and Tokongy
who became the progenitors of the various existing
peoples. Oding Lahang is claimed as their ancestor
by the Kayans, and also by the Kenyahs and some
of the Klemantan tribes.

Tokong is claimed as ancestor by the Sebops (a
tribe of Klemantans) and by the Punans. The
former attribute to him the introduction of head
hunting. The story goes that once upon a time,
when Tokong and his people were preparing to
attack a village, he was addressed by the frog, who
called out, " Wong ka kok, tetak batok^ This fairly
represents the cry of this species of frog {Bufo) ;
and tetak batok in the Sebop language means " cut
through the neck." At first the people, who hitherto
had taken only the hair of their enemies to adorn
their shields, scoffed at this advice ; but the frog
assured them that the taking of heads would bring

elaborate carving which, in spite of many minor variations, is of only two
fundamental types, is or was at one time connected with this myth. But we
have not been able to get any statement to this effect.
^ The creeper is here regarded as the male partner.

MYTHS, LEGENDS, STORIES 139

them prosperity of every kind, and demonstrated
the procedure he advised by decapitating a small
frog. Tokong therefore determined to follow the
frog's advice and carried away the heads of his
enemies ; this was followed immediately by increased
prosperity. As the party returned home and passed
through their fields the padi grew very rapidly.
As they entered the fields the padi was only
up to their knees, but before they had passed
through it was full-grown with full ears. As they
approached the house their relatives came to meet
them, rejoicing over various pieces of good fortune
that had befallen them. The words of the frog thus
came true, and Tokong and his people continued to
follow the new practice, and from them it was learned
by others.

Although the help of the stars is not needed
by the Borneans in directing their course when
travelling, since all but very short journeys are
made on the rivers, most of them are familiar
with the principal constellations, and name them in
accordance with the resemblances they discover to
men, animals, and other objects. Some of the tribes
determine the arrival of the season for sowing padi
by the observation of the stars. Thus the Long
Kiputs (Klemantans) name the great square of
Pegasus Palaiy the padi storehouse (these houses
are generally square) ; the Pleiades they call a
well ; and the constellation of which Aldebaran is a
member they call a pig's jaw. They measure the
altitude of a star by filling a tall bamboo vessel with
water, inclining it until it points directly to the star,
and then setting it upright again, and measuring the
height at which the surface of the water remaining
in the vessel stands above its floor. Orion is inter-
preted as the figure of a man, Lafaang, in much the
same way as by Europeans ; but his left arm is
thought to be wanting. They tell the following

I40 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

story about Lafaang, who of course is regarded as
of their own tribe.

The Story of Lafaang

The daughter oi Palai (the constellation Pegasus)
fell in love with a Long Kiput youth, Lafaang by
name, and invited him to ascend to the heavens,
warning him at the same time that the customs in
her celestial home were very different from those of
earth. The girl was very beautiful, and Lafaang
was not slow to find his way to her father's house.
Palai, surprised to see this mortal visitor, enquired
of his daughter, ** Who is this man, and why does he
come here 1 " "It is the man I wish to wed," replied
the girl. The kind-hearted father told her to give
her lover food, and consented to the realisation of
her hopes. So Lafaang took up his abode in the
house of Palai and was wedded to his daughter.
But in spite of repeated instructions, Lafaang found
it very difficult to conform to the customs of his
adopted country. He put his food into his mouth
with his fingers instead of using a needle for the
purpose, and by doing so distressed his wife, who
chid him for his disobedience to her instructions.
On the morrow of his arrival he was invited to clear
a patch of jungle for a padi field ; and his wife told
him that, in order to fell a tree, he was merely to
lay the axe she gave him at the foot of the tree,
which would forthwith fall to the ground. But
habit was too strong to be controlled, and, when
Lafaang set his hand to the task, he fell to chopping
at the tree. But though he chopped with might
and main he made no impression, and his gentle
spouse was horrified to see the crudeness of his
methods. On the next day he was told to watch
Palai at work felling the trees. Squatting in the
jungle he saw how the great trees fell when Palai

XVII MYTHS, LEGENDS, STORIES 141

merely laid the blade of the axe at the foot of each
one. This spectacle filled Lafaang with terror and
he would have ran away, but that his wife re-
proached him for cowardice. On the following day
he set to work again ; and once more forgetting his
lesson, he began to chop at the stems of the trees.
This gross breach of custom was punished by the
fall of a tree from the patch of jungle hard by that
on which Palai was at work ; for the tree in falling
cut off Lafaang s left arm. Disgusted by these dis-
agreeable incidents and by the awkward appearance
of his wife, who was now far advanced in pregnancy,
Lafaang made up his mind to return to his own
people. His wife reproached him for his intention ;
but, when she could not alter his determination, she
gave him sugar-cane tops and banana roots,
previously unknown to men, and let him down to
earth by means of a long creeper. Before he
reached the ground he heard the cry of his new-born
child, and begged to be allowed to go back to see
him. But his entreaties were unavailing, and weep-
ing bitterly, he alighted on the earth at Tikan Orum
(a spot in the upper Baram district). Still his dis-
obedience was not overcome ; for, although he had
been told to plant the sugar-cane and banana by
merely throwing them on the ground, he planted
them carefully in the soil ; and to this day a tall
coarse grass {bru) grows on the spot. Nevertheless
some sugar-cane and banana plants grew up ; but
they were of an inferior quality, and such they have
remained wherever they have spread in this world.
Lafaang died among his own people on earth, but
the bright constellation that bears his name and
shape still moves across the heavens, reminding
men of his journey to the world above the sky and
of the misfortunes he suffered there.^

^ Cf. an Iban story given in Perham's "Sea-DayakGods,"y.6'.^.^.^. Soc,
ix. 236.

142 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

The Story of Usai

The following myth, current under several forms
among the Klemantans, accounts for a number of
the geographical features of the Baram district, in
which it was told us. The story was evoked from
an old man of the Long Kiputs by a question as to
his views about the nature of the stars. He
explained that the stars are holes in the sky made
by the roots of trees in the world above the sky
projecting through the floor of that world. At one
time, he explained, the sky was close to the earth,
but one day Usai, a giant, when working sago with
a wooden mallet accidentally struck his mallet
against the sky ; since which time the sky has been
far up out of the reach of man. Our informant,
warming up with the excitement of the recital, went
on to give us the following history of Usai : —

Usai was the brother of the guardian of the
shades of men. His wife desired to have a large
prawn that lived in the Baram river ; so Usai built
a dam across the river at Lubok Suan (a spot where
the river is about 250 yards in width) and baled out
the water below it, seizing the crocodiles with his
fingers and whisking them out on to the bank.
While this operation was in progress, the dam gave
way ; and Usais wife was drowned in the sudden
rush of water. In vain he sought for his wife,
weeping bitterly. Disconsolately he waded down
the river. At the mouth of the Pelutan he wept
anew, throwing aside the crocodiles as he explored
the bed of the river. At Long Salai he found his
wife's coat and wept again. At Long Lama he
found his wife's waist-cloth and gave up hope, and
at Tamala he clucked like a hen, so great was his
grief. Still he went on wading down the river.
The water, which at Long Plusan was only just
above his ankles, reached his middle at the mouth

MYTHS, LEGENDS, STORIES 143

of the Tutau, and covered all his body at the place
where the Tinjar (the largest tributary) flows into
the Baram. At the mouth of the Adoi he wailed
aloud, ''Adoi, Adoi!'' (a sorrowful cry in common
use, nearly the equivalent of our Alas ! ). He began
to shiver with cold, but at the mouth of the Bakong
he wept again. When he reached Lubok Kajaman
he was out of his depth (this is a part known to be
very deep) and colder than ever ; but he kept on,
and presently the water reached only to his belly,
and when he reached the sea it came only to his
knees. (There is a shallow bar at the river mouth.)
On seeing the boundless ocean, UsaigdiY^ up the
search and strode down the coast to Miri, where he
lived on charcoal and ginger. (The belief is widely
held that the people of Miri, formerly ate charcoal
in large quantities.) The people of Miri seemed to
him like maggots ; and they, taking him to be a
great tree, climbed up on him. When he brushed
them off, he killed ten men with each sweep of his
hand. The Miri people set to work to hew down
this great tree, and blood poured from Usais foot
as they worked. Then Usai spoke to them, asking
them what sort of creatures they might be, and
said, " Listen to my words. I am about to die.
My brains are sago, my liver is tobacco. Where my
head falls there the people will have much knowledge,
where my feet lie will be the ignorant ones." Then,
his legs being cut through, he fell with a mighty
crash, his head falling towards the sea, his feet point-
ing up river. ('* This accounts for the fact that white
men and Chinese know so many things, while the
people of Borneo are ignorant " said our informant ;
but this was probably his own comment.) The
Miris, of whom a thousand were killed by the fall
of Usai, have beautiful hair, because his head fell
in their district ; but the other people have only
such hair as grew on Usais limbs. The mosquitoes

144 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

that existed in the time of Usai were as big as fowls^
and their bites were terribly painful. The people
hewed them into small pieces, so that now they are
the smallest of the animals ; but their bite is still
painful.

The I ban Story of Simpang Impang

The following story, which is an old favourite
among the I bans (Sea Dayaks) of the Batang
Lupar, will serve to illustrate, with its many hetero^
geneous features, the myth-making faculty of this
imitative and fun-loving people. It will be noticed
that the story combines the characters of a creation-
myth, an animal fable, and a fairy tale : —

Once upon a time some people were looking for
edible vegetables in the jungle, when they came
upon a huge python, which they took to be a log.
Sitting upon it to cut up their vegetables, they by
chance wounded it, and caused the python's blood
to flow out. Recognising then the nature of their
resting-place, the people cut up the python and
began to cook its flesh. Then heavy rain began ta
fall, and it rained like anything for days and days,
so that all the land was covered with water, and
only the top of Tiang Laju (the highest peak of the
Batang Lupar district) stood out above the flood..
All the people and animals were drowned except
one woman, a dog, a rat, and a few other small
animals, which climbed to the top of this mountain.
The woman, seeking shelter from the rain, noticed
that the dog seemed to have found a warm place
beneath a creeper. The creeper was swaying in the
wind and rubbing against a tree, and thus was
warmed by the friction. The woman, taking the hint,
rubbed the creeper hard on a piece of wood, and sa
for the first time produced fire. Having no husband
the woman took the creeper for her mate, and soore

MYTHS, LEGENDS, STORIES 145

afterwards gave birth to a son, who was but one-half
of a human being, having one arm, one leg, one
eye, and so on. This child. Simp ang Imp ang, whose
only companions were the animals, often complained
bitterly to his mother of his incompleteness. One
day Simpang Impang discovered some padi grain
which the rat had hidden in a hole. He spread it
out to dry on a leaf, which he put on top of a stump.
On this the rat demanded the padi back ; and when
Simpang Impang r^ius^d it, he grew very angry, and
swore that he and all his race would always retaliate
by taking the padi of men whenever they could get
at it. While they were disputing, Selulat Antu
Ribut, the wind-spirit, came by and scattered the
padi grains far and wide in the jungle. Simpang
Impang looked round in anger and astonishment,
and could perceive nothing but the noise of the
wind. So he set out with some of his companions
to get back his corn from the wind-spirit, or know
the reason why. After wandering for some days he
came to a tree on which were many birds ; they
picked off its buds as fast as the tree could push
them out. Simpang Impang asked the tree to tell
him the way to the house of the wind-spirit ; and the
tree said, " Oh, yes, he came this way just now, and
his house is far away over there. When you come
to it, please tell him I am tired of putting out my
leaves to have them bitten off by these rascal birds,
and that I want him to come and end my miserable
life by blowing me down."

Simpang Impang went on and came to a lake,
which said, " Whither are you going, friend .'* " And
when he answered that he was going to find the
wind-spirit, the lake complained that its outlet to
the river was blocked with a lump of gold, and told
him to get the wind-spirit to blow away the obstruc-
tion. Simpang Impang promised to put in a word
for the lake, and, passing on, came to a cluster of

k

146 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

sugar-canes and bananas. " Whither are you going,
friend ? " said they. " I'm going to the wind-spirit "
he answered. " Oh ! then, will you please ask him
how it is we have no branches like other trees ; we
should like to have branches like them." ^ ** Yes, Til
remember it," said Simp ang Imp ang, and, passing on,
he soon came to the home of the wind-spirit. There
he heard a great noise of wind blowing, and the
wind-spirit said, ** What do you want here, Simpang
ImpangT He answered angrily that he had come
to demand ih^ padi that the wind-spirit had carried
away. ** We'll settle the dispute by diving " said
the wind-spirit,^ and he dived into the water ; but
being only a bubble, he very soon popped up to the
surface. Then Simpang Impang called on his com-
panion the fish to dive for him ; and when the wind-
spirit saw that he had no chance of coming out the
winner in this ordeal, he said, '* No, this is not fair,
we'll settle the matter by jumping," and he leapt
right over the house. Simpang Impang called on
the swift as his substitute, and the swift, rising from
the ground, jumped right out of sight. Still the
wind-spirit would not give in. " We'll have another
test ; let's see who can go through this blow-pipe " ;
and he went whistling through. Then Simpang
Impang did not know what to do, for none of his
companions seemed able to help him. But he had
forgotten the ant, until a little squeaky voice called
out, ** I can do it " ; and forthwith the ant crawled
through the blow-pipe. Still the wind-spirit would
not give in, and Simpang Impang was very angry,
and seizing his father, the fire-drill, he set the wind-
spirit's house on fire. Then at last the wind-spirit
called out that he would make compensation for the
padih^ had taken away. " But," said he, *' I haven't

^ This greeting of the passer-by and the charging him with some commission
is very characteristic of the Ibans.

2 A form of trial by ordeal occasionally practised by Ibans and other
tribes.

XVII MYTHS, LEGENDS, STORIES 147

any gongs or other things to pay you, so I'll make
you a whole man with two arms and two legs and
two eyes." Simpang Impang accepted the bargain,
and was overjoyed to find himself a whole man.
Then he remembered the messages he had brought
from the tree and the lake, and the wind-spirit
promised to do as he was asked. And then Simpang
Impang put to him the question of the bamboo and
of the banana plant ; and the wind-spirit said, **They
have no branches because human beings are always
offending against custom ; they often utter the
names of their father-in-law and mother-in-law, and
sometimes they walk before them in going through
the jungle ; that is why the bamboo and the banana
have no branches."

Kenyah Fable of the Mouse-Deer and
THE Tortoise

Animal fables are current among all the peoples
of Borneo, and are frequently repeated and listened
to with much enjoyment ; some individuals who
acquire the reputation of being good story-tellers
are frequently called upon to practise their art.
Closely allied with this enjoyment of fables is the
practice of describing incidents of social or tribal
intercourse in fables, parables, or allegories, which
are made to suit the occasions and to point the
appropriate moral.

Once upon a time Plandok (the tiny mouse-deer)
and Kelap (the water-tortoise) went out together to
find fruit. They found a tree laden with ripe fruit
close by a house. " I can't climb up that tree," said
Plandok, "but I'll give you a leg up, and then you
can get on to that branch." So he pushed up Kelap
on to the lowermost branch. Kelap threw down all
the fruit, but then didn't know how to get down, and
called to Plandok for help. ** Oh ! get down anyway

I

148 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

you like," said Plandok. " But I can't get down
forwards and I can't get down backwards." " Then
throw yourself down," said Plandok^ and Kelap threw
himself down and came to the ground with a great
thud. The people in the house heard the sound
and said, " There's a durian falling." Then Plandok
began to divide the fruit into heaps. ** This is for
me and that's iox you^' he kept calling out; and every
time he put some more fruit to Kelafs heap, he
shouted louder than before. " Hello," said the
people in the house, " there's somebody dividing
something," and they ran out to see what was going
on. Plandok skipped away with his share of the fruit,
and left Kelap to hide himself as best he could under
the broad leaves of a Caladium plant. The people
saw the tree stripped of its fruit, and Kelafs tracks
on the ground soon led to the discovery of his hiding-
place. " Here's the thief," said the people, ** let's
put him in the fire." " Oh yes," said Kelap, '' please
put me in the fire ; last time they put me in the fire
they only half did the thing, and left one side quite
untouched by the fire." ^ '* Oh ! that won't do," said
the people, ** let's squeeze him in the sugar-cane
press." *' Oh yes, please squeeze me in the press,"
said Kelap, '' last time they put me in the press they
only squeezed one side of me." ^ " Then that won't
do either," they cried, *' let's throw him into the
river." " Oh ! don't throw me into the river," said
Kelap, and began to weep. So they threw him into
the river. Kelap swam out to the middle of the
river and, putting up his head above the surface,
called out, ** That's alright, this is my home." At
this the people saw that he had got the better of
them, and determined to turn the tables by poison-
ing the water with tuba? The bat overheard
what they were saying, and at once flew off to

^ This refers to the difference of colour between the carapace and the plastron.
' Refers to the flat under surface contrasting with the rounded back.
^ See vol. i. p. 139.

XVII MYTHS, LEGENDS, STORIES 149

Kelap, and advised him to get out of the river.
*' No, I shall stay here," said Kelap, ''this is the
safest place for me," and he went and stood quite
still among the big stones in the shallow water.

Presently the people began to beat out the tuba
root on the stones, and one man, taking Kelafs
back for a stone, began to beat his tuba upon it.
Then Kelap made his back sink lower little by little,
so that the water began to cover it. '* Hello ! "
said the man, " the water's rising, it's no good
trying to poison the river when the water's rising."
So they went home.

The Kenyah Story of the Belira Fish

The belira is a fish that has an extraordinary
number of bones. The following story accounts
for this exceptional number of bones and, in con-
junction with the foregoing story, explains why
Kenyahs, when proposing to poison the river with
tuba in order to take the fish, speak of their inten-
tions only in parables.

The fish began to complain that they were so
often caught by men who poisoned the river. So
they decided they must have a dayong who could
make rain for them ^ so as to prevent the poisoning
of the water. They asked one fish after another to
become a dayong \ but all refused until they came
to the belira, who said he would do his best to
become a dayong and to make rain for them, if each
of the other fishes would give him a bone. They
accepted the bargain and each gave him a bone,
and that is why the belira has so many bones.

The Story of the Stupid Boy

The following Klemantan story illustrates the
taste of the people for the comic : —

^ This is the only mention of rain-making that has come to our notice
among any of the Borneans.

I50 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

One day Saleh and his father set out in their
boat for their farm. '* Look out for logs " (i.e,
floating timber), said Sale/is father. They had not
gone very far when Salek sings out, ** I see some
timber." " Where ? " says his father. " Why, there
on the bank," says Salek, pointing to the jungle.
" Oh ! you silly," says his father, " go on." So they
went on and landed, and the father, leaving Salek
to cook some rice in the large pot, began to cut
down some trees. Presently he came back and
found Salek with the pot upside down over the fire,
and nothing cooked. " What are you at ? " cries
the father. '* Well," says Salek, " I put the pot over
the fire as you told me to do, but when I poured
the water on it, it all ran into the fire and put it
out." '* You stupid boy, you should have put the
pot on the other way up." " But you didn't tell me
so," says Salek,

The father had chipped his axe, so he sends
Salek home to fetch another. Salek sets out gaily
singing, the blade of the axe lying in the bow of the
boat. Soon the boat strikes a snag and overboard
goes the axe -blade. ** Oh, bother ! " says Salek,
" but never mind. Til mark the place," and he whips
out his knife and cuts a notch in the gunwale of the
boat at the spot where the axe fell in. Arriving at
the landing stage before his father's house, he
begins to dive into the water to find the lost
axe-head, and continues vainly seeking it till his
mother comes out to ask what he is doing. "I'm
looking for the axe that fell into the water just
at this notch, as I was coming down river," says
Salek. "Oh! you are a stupid," says his mother,
and fetches him a new axe. Salek goes back to
his father, who has found a fruit tree. He tells
Salek to gather the fruit in his basket while he goes
on felling trees. Presently the father comes back
and finds Salek fastened with his back to the tree

xvii MYTHS, LEGENDS, STORIES 151

by the shoulder-basket, which he has put right
round its stem, and his legs going up and down.
** Hello ! what are you up to now ? " says the father.
"■ Why, I'm carrying away the whole tree to save
trouble," says Saleh, ** and I'm watching the clouds
up there to see how fast I'm walking with this tree
on my back."

A Story with a Moral

We conclude this chapter with an example of
a fable which points a moral. It is told by the
Barawans of their neighbours, the Sebops (both are
Klemantan tribes), who, they say, put off every
task till the morrow.

One wet night Kra, the monkey, and Raongy
the toad, sat under a log complaining of the cold.
** Kr-r-r-h " went Kra, and " Hoot- toot-toot " went
the toad. They agreed that next day they would
cut down a kumut tree and make themselves a coat
of its bark. In the morning the sun shone bright
and warm, and Kra gambolled in the tree-tops, while
Raong climbed on the log and basked in the sun-
light. Presently down comes Kra and sings out^
'* Hello, mate ! How are you getting on .^ " " Oh !
nicely," says Raong, ** Well, how about that coat
we were going to make ? " says Kra, " Oh ! bother
the coat," says Raong, " we'll make it to-morrow ;
I'm jolly warm now." So they enjoyed the sun-
shine all day long. But, when night fell, it began
to rain again, and again they sat under the log
complaining of the cold. '' Kr-r-r-h,'' went Kray
and " Hoot-toot-toot " went Raong. And again
they agreed that they must cut down the kumut
tree and make themselves a coat of its bark. But
in the morning the sun was shining again warm and
bright ; and again Kra gambolled in the tree-tops
and Raong sat basking in the sunshine ; and again

VOL. ir L

152 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO ch. xvn

Raong said, ** Oh ! bother the coat, we'll make it to-
morrow." And every day it was the same, and so to
this day Kra and Raong sit out in the rain com-
plaining of the cold, and crying '' Kr-r-r-k'' and
" Hoot-toot-toot."

CHAPTER XVIII

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH OF A KAYAN

From the time that the parents of a Kayan
become aware of his existence they faithfully
observe, without intermission until his appearance
in the world, certain tabus. Or, in their own
language, they are malan and certain things and
acts are lali for them. The belief that the child
will resemble in some degree the things which
arrest the glance of his mother while she carries him
(lemali) is unquestioningly held and acted upon ;
hence the expectant woman seeks to avoid seeing
all disagreeable and uncanny objects, more
especially the Maias and the long-nosed monkey ;
she observes also the tabus imposed upon sick
women in general, and besides these a number of
other tabus peculiar to her condition, most of which
apply to acts or situations which may symbolise any
difficulty in delivery of the child ; for example, she
must not tie knots, she must not thrust her hand
into any narrow hole to pull anything out. The
tabus of the latter class are observed by the husband
even more strictly, if possible, than by the wife. The
woman must also avoid certain kinds of flesh and
fish. It frequently happens that the woman begins
to crave to eat a peculiar soapy earth {batu krap^,
and this is generally supplied to her.

The woman will also take positive measures to
ensure the prosperous course of her pregnancy and

153

154 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

delivery. At the quickening she sacrifices a young
pig and charges it to convey her prayer to Doh
Tenangan ; and on the occurrence of any untoward
incident, such as a fall, the prayer and sacrifice are
repeated. The carcases of the victims are stuck
upon poles before the house near her door, and the
inevitable feathered sticks, smeared with blood, are
thrust behind a roof beam in the gallery opposite
her door.

In every Kayan house are certain elderly women
(not the Dayongs) who have a reputation for special
knowledge and skill in all matters connected with
pregnancy and childbirth. One of these is called in
at an early stage ; she makes from time to time a
careful examination of the patient's abdomen and
professes to secure the best position of the child.

She has also a number of charms, which she
hangs in the woman's room, and various unguents,
which she applies externally. But all these pro-
cedures are surrounded by a veil of secrecy which
we have failed to penetrate. And, in fact, all
information in regard to the processes of childbirth
is difficult to obtain, for all Kayans are very reticent
on the matter, even among themselves.

In all other respects the pregnant woman follows
her ordinary mode of life until the pains of labour
begin. Then she is attended by the wise woman
and several elderly relatives or friends. She sits in
her room which is lali to all but her attendants and
her husband ; and she is hidden from the latter by a
screen of mats. During the pains she grasps and
pulls on a cloth fixed to a rafter above and before
her. The pains seem to be severe, since the woman
generally groans and cries out ; but the duration of
labour is commonly brief, perhaps two or three
hours only. The attendants' great anxiety is lest
the child should go upward, and to prevent this they
tie a cloth very tightly round the patient about the

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 155

upper part of her abdomen. During the pains two
of them press down with great force upon the
uterus, one from each side. The wise woman pro-
fesses to accomplish version by external manipula-
tion, if she judges that the feet are about to present.
But we do not know whether her claim to so much
skill is well founded. If the after-birth does not
follow immediately upon the child, the attendants
become very anxious ; two of them lift up the patient,
and, if it does not soon appear, an axe-head is
tied to the cord in order to prevent its return
within the body, and possibly that the weight may
hasten its extrusion. We have no reason to suppose
that any internal manipulation is attempted at this
or any other stage of labour or of pregnancy. Im-
mediately after delivery the cord is tied and cut
across with a bamboo knife. If the child does not
cry at once, its nostrils are tickled with a feather.

The after-birth is usually buried or merely thrown
away. But if the child is born enclosed in the mem-
branes (with a caul), they are dried and preserved
by the mother. It is said that, when dried, it is
pounded to a powder and mixed with medicines
administered to the child in later years.

If labour is unusually difficult or prolonged, or if
accidents happen, the news spreads quickly through
the house ; and, if the attendants begin to fear a
fatal issue, the whole household is thrown into con-
sternation, for death in childbirth is regarded with
peculiar horror. All the men of the house, includ-
ing the chief and boys, will flee from the house, or,
if it is night, they will clamber up among the beams
of the roof and there hide in terror ; and, if the worst
happens, they remain there until the woman's corpse
has been taken out of the house for burial. In such
a case the burial is effected with the utmost despatch.
Old men and women, who are indifferent to death,
will undertake the work, and they expect a large fee.

156 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

The body, wrapped in a mat, is buried in a grave
dug in the earth among the tombs, instead of being
put in a coffin raised on a tall post ; for the soul of
the woman who dies in childbirth goes, with the
souls of those who fall in battle, or die by violence
of any kind, to Bawang Daha (the lake of blood).

If twins are born, one is chosen, generally the
boy, if they are of different sexes. The other is
got rid off by exposure in the jungle. The avowed
motive for this practice (which, of course, is rapidly
passing away under the influence of the European
governments) is the desire to preserve the life of
the survivor ; for they hold that his chances of life
are diminished not only by the necessity of dividing
the mother's care and milk between the twins, if
both survive, but also by the sympathetic bond
which they believe to exist between twins, and
which renders each of them liable to all the ills and
misfortunes that befall the other; and to Kayans
the loss of a child of some years of age is a calamity
of the first magnitude, whereas the sacrifice of one
of a pair of new-born twins is hardly felt.

At the moment the child is completely born, a
tawak or a drum (according as it is male or female)
is beaten in the gallery with a peculiar rhythm. All
members of the household (i.e. all whose rooms are
under the roof of the one long house, and who, there-
fore, are under the same omens and tabus) who are
within the house at this moment have the right to
a handful of salt from the parents of the child ; and
all members who are not under the roof at the
moment are expected to make a present of some
piece of iron to the child. This is an ancient custom,
which is no longer strictly observed, and which seems
to be undergoing a natural decay.

During the confinement of a woman, Kayans
(more especially those of the upper Rejang) some-
times perform a dance which is supposed to facilitate

:^ --^^ '' ^

f

Plate i66. A SEKAPAN (KLEMANTAN) WOMAN, CARRYING CHILD
IN A CRADLE.

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 157

delivery. It is commonly performed by a woman,
a friend or relative of the labouring woman, who
takes in her arms a bundle of cloth, which she
handles like a baby while she dances, afterwards
putting it into the cradle {kavat) in which a child
is carried on the back. An old story relates the
origin of this dance as follows. A widow died in
childbirth, and the child was given to a woman
who happened to be dancing at the time of its birth,
and who afterwards became a very influential and
prosperous person.

When the delivery has been normally accom-
plished and all goes well, the mother at once nurses
the child ; and a woman of the lower class may
resume her lighter household duties within twenty-
four hours. A woman of the upper class may remain
recumbent for the most part of several days or even
weeks. For seventeen days the mother wears threads
tied round the thumbs and big toes, and during this
time she is expected to avoid heavy labour, such
as farm-work and the pounding of padi. There
seems to be no trace of any such custom as the
couvade, though the father observes, like the mother,
certain tabus during the early months and years of
the child's life, with diminishing strictness as the
child grows older. The child also is hedged about
with tabus. The general aim of all these tabus
seems to be to establish and maintain about the
child a certain atmosphere (or, as they say, a certain
odour) ^ in which alone it can thrive. Neither father
nor mother will eat or touch anything whose pro-
perties are thought to be harmful or undesirable for
the child, e.g, such things as the skin of the timid
deer (see vol. ii. p. 72), or that of the tiger-cat ; and

^ This notion of an atmosphere or ' ' odour " of virtue attaching to materia!
objects pervades the thought and practice of Kayans. As another illustration
of it, we may remark that a Kayan will wear for a long time, and will often
refuse to wash, a garment which has been worn and afterwards given to him
by a European whom he respects.

158 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

the child himself is still more strictly preserved from
such contacts. Further, nothing used by or about
the child — toys, garments, cradle, or beads — must be
lost, lent, sold, or otherwise allowed to pass out of the
possession of the parents ; though, if one child has
thriven, its properties are preferred to all others for
the use of a younger brother or sister. It is im-
portant also that no stranger shall handle or gaze
too closely upon the child ; and when it is put down
to sleep in the parents' room, the mat or rude wooden
cradle on which it lies is generally surrounded by a
rough screen. The more influential the stranger, the
more is his contact to be feared ; for any such con-
tact or notice may attract to the infant the unwelcome
and probably injurious attentions of the toh. For the
same reason it is forbidden, ox par it, to a child to lie
down on the spot where a chief has been sitting or
where he usually reposes. And it is a grave offence
for a child to jump over the legs of a reclining chief;
but in this case the disrespect shown is probably
the more important ground of the disapprobation
incurred.

If any such contact has unwittingly occurred, or
if, for example, a Kayan mother has consented to
submit an ailing child to inspection by a European
medical man, the danger incurred may be warded
off by the gift from the stranger to the child of
some small article of value. In a similar way the
breach of other tabus, such as the entering of a
room which is lali, may be rendered innocuous.

The infant is carried by the mother almost con-
tinuously during the waking hours of its first year
of life ; it is generally suspended in a sling made of
wood or of basket-work, resembling in shape the
baby's swing familiar in our nurseries ; the child
sits on a semicircular piece of board, its legs de-
pendent, its knees and belly against the mother's
back, and its own back supported by the two

m

Plate 167. IBAN BOYS BATHING. THE FENCE IS FOR PROTECTION
AGAINST CROCODILES.

XVIII CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 159

vertical pieces of the cradle (see PI. 166). The
mother nurses the infant in her arms during most
of her leisure moments, and she hushes it to sleep
by crooning old lullabies as she rocks it in her arms
or in a cradle suspended from a pliable stick. ^
The father hardly handles it during its first year,
but many fathers nurse and. dandle the older infants
for hours together in the most affectionate manner ;
and, if the child's grandfather is living, he generally
becomes its devoted attendant.

About the end of its first year the infant begins
to crawl and toddle about the room and gallery, to
sprawl into the hearth and eat charcoal, and to get
into all sorts of mischief in the usual way. During
the first year he lives chiefly on his mother's milk,
but takes also thick rice-water from an early age.

Towards the end of the first year the lobes of
the ears are perforated, and a ring (or, in the case
of a girl, several small rings) is inserted in each.
Of childish affections of health, the commonest at
this age is yaws {frambcesia) about the mouth.
Kayan mothers believe that every child must go
through this, and that one attack protects against
its recurrence ; and the rareness of the disease in
adults seems to bear out this belief. Most of the

^ We give the original and translation of one such lullaby : —

*' Megiong ujong bayoh

Mansip anak yap — cheep, cheep.

Lematei telayap,

Telayap abing,

Lematei Laki Laying oban,

Lematei Laki Punan oban."

The translation runs : —

' ' The branches of the bayoh tree are swaying
With the sound of little chicks — cheep, cheep,
The lizards are dead,
There are no lizards any more,
Gray-haired Laki Laying is dead,
The old jungle man is dead."

The reference to the Punan in this lullaby may be explained by saying that
the children are frightened sometimes by being told that the jungle man will
take them.

i6o PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

children are weaned about the end of their second
year.

During the next years, until the boy is five or
six years of age, he remains always under the care
of his mother. He spends the day running about
within and around the house and among the boats
at the landing-place, playing with his fellows, chasing
the pigs and fowls, and bathing in the river. The
children are in the main what is commonly called
good, they cry but little, and quarrels and outbreaks
of temper are few. During the boy's third year a
hole is punched in the shell of each ear. A single
blow with a bamboo punch takes out a circular piece ;
into this a circular plug of wax or wood is inserted.
The girl, on the other hand, has more rings added
to the lobes of her ears, which gradually yield to
the weight, and begin to assume the desired charac-
ter of slender loops. During these years the boy
normally takes the first step of his initiation as a
warrior by striking a blow at a freshly taken head,
or, if need be, at an old one (see vol. ii. p. 169).

It is at some time in the course of these years,
usually not earlier than the beginning of the child's
third year, that he first receives a name. The
occasion of the rite is a general naming of all the
children of the house of suitable age ; and the time
is determined by the conclusion of a successful
harvest ; for a general feast is made for which much
rice and burak are required, and these cannot be
spared in a year of poor harvest. For each child
who is to be named a small human image in soft
wood is prepared. This is an effigy of Laki Pesong,
the god whose special function it is to care for the
welfare of the children. A small mat is woven aAd
a few strips of rattan provided for each child. Each
child sits with his (or her) mother in the gallery
beside the door of their room, and the parents
announce the name they propose for the child.

Plate i68. (i) FIRE PISTON. (2) PUSA, USED TO MAKE FIRE AT

THE NAMING OF A KAYAN CHILD.

The figure represents Laki Pesong.

XVIII CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH i6i

Then the father, or some other man, after killing
a chick or young pig, lays the image on the mat
before the child, passes one of the rattan strips
beneath it, and, holding the image firmly with a
big toe on each end of it, pulls the strip rapidly to
and fro, until it is made hot by its friction against
the image, and smoke begins to rise. While this
goes on, the same man, or another, pours out a stream
of words addressed to Laki Pesong, the sense of
which is a supplication for an answer to the question,
*' Is this a suitable name ? Will he be prosperous
under it? Will he enjoy a long Hfe ? " etc. He
continues the sawing movement until the strip
breaks in two. The two pieces are then compared ;
if they are of unequal length, this result is regarded
as expressing the approval of the proposed name by
Laki Pesong; if they are of approximately equal
length, the god is held to have expressed his dis-
approval, and another name is proposed and sub-
mitted to the same test. If disapproval is thus
expressed several times, the naming of the child is
postponed to another occasion (Pis. 53, 168).

If a name has been approved, the image, together
with the knife used in killing the pig or chicken, is
wrapped up in the small mat ; the bundle, which, as
well as the ceremony, is called pusa, is thrust behind
the rafters of the gallery opposite the door of the
child's room, to remain there as a memento of the
naming.

When the naming is accomplished a general
feast begins, the parents of the newly named children
contributing the chief part of the good things ; and a
number of specially invited guests may participate.

The name so given at this ceremony is borne
until the child becomes a parent ; when he resigns
it in favour of the name given to his child with the
title Taman ( = father) prefixed (or Tinan in the case
of a woman).

i62 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

Among the Kayans of the upper Rejang the
naming ceremonies differ widely from those described
above, and are even more elaborate. The following
description was given us by Laki Bo, a Kayan
penghulu} A child is named sometime between its
third month and the end of its second year, the
date depending partly on the father's capacity to
afford the expenses incidental to the ceremony.
The father and his friends obtain specimens of all
the edible animals and fish, and after drying them
over the fire, set them up in his room in attitudes
as lifelike as possible. He procures also the leaves
of a species of banana tree which bears very large
horn-like fruit, known as puti oran ; and having
procured the services of a female dayong, who has a
reputation for skill in naming, he calls all the friends
and relatives of the family to the feast. The dayong
enters the room where the child is, bearing a fowl's
^^^, while gongs and drums are beaten and guns
discharged. She strokes the child from forehead to
navel with the ^^'g, calling out some name at each
stroke, until she feels that she has found a suitable
name. The whole company then pretends to fall
asleep ; and presently some go out into the gallery.
The dayong then calls upon sixteen of the women to
enter the room ; they enter led by a woman who,
pretending to be a fowl, clucks and crows, and
Says, " Why are you all asleep here '^ It has been
daylight for a long time. Don't you hear me crow-
ing.? Wake up, wake up." The child, which has
been kept in its parents' cubicle during this first
part of the ceremony, is then brought into the large
room, and a fowl and small pig are slaughtered and
their entrails examined. If these yield favourable
omens, the dayong begins to chant, invoking the
protection of good spirits for the child. Then
sixteen men and sixteen women, whose parents are

1 Tht penghulu is the leading chief of a district ; cf. Chap. XXII.

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 163

still living, are sent to fetch water for the use of the
child and its mother. The feasting then begins,
some person eating on behalf of the child, if it is
too young to partake of the feast. Eight days
later the dayong again invokes the protection of the
beneficent spirits, and the child is taken out into
the gallery and shown to all the household. Some
near relative makes a cross upon its right foot with
a piece of charcoal, and the child is taken to the
door of each room to receive some small present
from each roomhold. The child must then return
to its parents' room and remain there eight days.
After the next harvest a similar feast of pigs' flesh
and dried animals is made, and the name is confirmed.
But if in the meantime the child has been ill, or any
other untoward event has happened, a new name
is given to it. In this case it would be usual to
choose the well-tried name of some prosperous
uncle or aunt. Again the child must be confined
to its parents' room for eight days following the
feast ; and after that time it is free to go where it
will, or rather wherever children are allowed to go.
From five or six years onwards the boy more
and more accompanies the men in their excursions
on the river and in the jungle, and is taught to
make himself useful on these occasions, and also on
the /<3:<3f^ farm, where he helps in scaring pests and
in other odd jobs. But he still has much leisure,
which is chiefly devoted to playing with his fellows.
Among the principal boys' games the following
deserve mention : — Spinning of peg-tops of hard
wood, usually thrown overhand, but sometimes
underhand, in a manner very similar to that of
English boys, each boy in turn striving to strike the
tops of the others with his own ; this game is played
about the time oi padi harvest. Simple kites are
flown. A roughly made bow with unfeathered arrow
is a somewhat rare toy. Most of the out-door games

i64 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

are of the nature of practice for the chase and war,
and of trials of strength and of endurance of pain.
Wrestling is perhaps the most popular sport with
the older boys and with men. Each grips his
antagonist's waistcloth at its lower edge behind,
and strives to lay him on his back (PI. 169).
Throwing mock spears at the domestic pigs or
goats, and thrusting a spear through a bounding
hoop, afford practice for sport and war. Running
games like prisoner's base, and diving and swim-
ming games, are also played. All these boys' games
are but little organised, and the competitive motive
is not very strongly operative ; there are few set
rules, and but little scope for training in leadership
and subordination is afforded by them.

In the house less active games are played. In
one of the most popular of these a number of chil-
dren squat in a ring upon the floor ; one takes a
glowing ember from a hearth, and passes it on to
his neighbour, who in turn passes it on as quickly
as possible. In this way it goes round and round
the ring until the last spark of fire goes out. He
or she who holds it at that moment is then dubbed
Aban Lalu or Balu Doh ( = widower Lalu or widow
Doh).

Pets, in the form of birds and the smaller
mammals, especially hornbills, parrokeets, squirrels,
porcupines, are kept in wicker cages.

About the age of ten years the Kayan boy begins
to wear a waistcloth — his first garment — his sister
having assumed the apron some two or three
years earlier ; we are not aware of any ceremony
connected with this. From this time onward the
boy begins to accompany his father on the longer
excursions of the men, especially on the long expedi-
tions in search of jungle produce ; and on these
occasions he is expected to take an active part in
the labours of the party. Participation in such

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 165

expeditions affords, perhaps, the most important part
of his education. There is little or no attempt
made to impart instruction to the children, whether
moral or other, but they fall naturally under the
spell of custom and public opinion ; and they absorb
the lore, legends, myths, and traditions of their tribe,
while listening to their elders as they discuss the
affairs of the household and of their neighbours in
the long evening talks. They learn also the pro-
hibitions and tabus by being constantly checked ; a
sharp word generally suffices to secure obedience.
Punishments are almost unknown, especially physical
punishments ; though in extreme cases of dis-
obedience the child's ear may be tweaked, while it
is asked if it is deaf A sound scolding also is not
infrequent, and an incorrigible offender, especially
if his conduct has been offensive to persons outside
his family, may be haled before the chief, who rates
him soundly, and who may, in a more serious case,
award compensation to be paid by the delinquent's
father. But in the main the Spencerian method of
training is followed. A parent warns his child of
the ill effects that may be expected from the line of
behaviour he is taking, and when those effects are
realised, he says, ** Well, what did I tell you ? "
and adds a grunt of withering contempt.

The growth of the children in wisdom and
morality is aided also by the hearing from the lips
of their elders wise saws and ancient maxims that
embody the experience of their forefathers, many
of which are possibly of Malay origin. A few
of these seem worthy of citation here : —

" Never mind a drop or two so long as you don't
spill the whole."

'* Better white bones than white eyes " (which
means — that death is preferable to shame).

" If you haven't a rattan do the best you can with
a creeper."

i66 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

It is difficult to say exactly at what age puberty
begins with the youths. The girls mostly begin
their courses in the fourteenth or fifteenth year.
By this time the girl of the better class has the
lobes of her ears distended to form loops, which
allow her heavy ear-rings to reach to her collar-bone
or even lower, and she is far advanced towards com-
pletion of her tatu on thighs, feet, hands, and fore-
arms (see Chap. XII.). The process is begun at
about the tenth year, and is continued from time to
time, only a small area being covered at each bout,
owing to the pain of the operation and the ensuing
inflammation and discomfort.

The boys begin at about fifteen years, or rather
earlier, to assert their independence, by clubbing
together with those of their own age, and taking
up their sleeping quarters with the bachelors in the
gallery. At an earlier age the children have picked
up a number of songs and spontaneously sing them
in groups, but now they begin to develop their
powers of musical expression by practising with the
keluri, Jew's harp, drum and tawak.

Of these instruments the first is the most used,
especially by the youths. 1 1 is a rude form of the bag-
pipes. The keluri consists of a dried gourd which has
the shape of an oval flask with a long neck (Fig. 85).
The closed ends of a bundle of six narrow bamboo
pipes are inserted in the body of the gourd through
a hole cut in its wall, and are fixed hermetically with
wax. Their free ends are open, and each pipe has
a small lateral hole or stop at a carefully deter-
mined distance from the open end. The artist blows
through the neck of the gourd, and the air enters
the base of each pipe by an oblong aperture which
is filled .by a vibrating tongue or reed ; this is formed
by shaving away the wall of the bamboo till it is
very thin, and then cutting through it round three
sides of the oblong ; it is weighted with a piece of

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH

167

wax. The holes are stopped by the fingers, each
pipe emitting its note only when its hole is stopped.
The physical principles involved are ob-
scure to us. Varieties of this instrument
are made by all the tribes of Borneo as
well as by many other peoples of the far
East (PL 70).

The bamboo harp is similar to that made
and used by the Punans (see Fig. 86) ; the
sapeh is a two-stringed instrument of the
banjo order ; the strings are thin strips of
rattan ; the whole stem and body are carved
out of a single block of hard wood (see
PI. 1 70 and Fig. 20).

Some of the girls learn to execute a
solo dance, which consists largely in slow
graceful movements of the arms and hands
(PI. 170). The bigger boys are taught
to take part in the dance in which the
return from the warpath is dramatically
represented. This is a musical march
rather than a dance. A party of young
men in full war-dress form up in single
line ; the leader, and perhaps two or three
others, play the battle march on the keluri.
The line advances slowly up the gallery,
each man turning half about
at every third step, the even
numbers turning to the one
hand, the odd to the other
hand, alternately, and all
stamping together as they
complete the turn at each
third step. The turning to
right and left symbolises the
alert guarding of the heads
which are supposed to be carried by the victorious
warriors.

Fig. 85.— Keluri.

VOL. II

M

i68 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

A more violent display of warlike feeling is given
in the war-dance which is executed by one or two
warriors only. The youth, in full panoply of war,
and brandishing a parang and shield, goes through
the movements of a single combat with some fanciful
exaggeration (PL 171). He crouches beneath his
shield, and springs violently hither and thither, emit-
ting piercing yells of defiance and rage, cutting and
striking at his imaginary foe or his partner in the
dance. But it is characteristic of the Kayans that
neither in this dance nor in actual practice in fencing
do they attempt to strike one another. The boy,
besides watching these martial displays, is instructed
in the arts of striking, parrying, and shielding by the
older men, who strike at him with a stick but arrest
the blow before it goes home. And we have found it
impossible to introduce among them a more realistic
mode of playful fencing. The ground of this
reluctance actually to strike one another in fencing
is probably their strong feeling for symbolism and
the prevailing tendency to believe that the sym-
bolical art brings about that which it symbolises.
In part also it is due to the fact that to draw the
blood of any member of the household is lali and
involves the penalty of a fine.^

The youth goes through no elaborate rite of
initiation to manhood ; and, to the best of our
knowledge, there exists no body of secret knowledge
or of tradition or rites shared in only by the adult
men, to participation in which he might be admitted
in the course of such a rite. The only rite that is
required to qualify him for taking his place as a full-
fledged member of the community is the second
occasion on which he strikes at the heads taken
in battle. We have seen that he performs this
ceremonial act for the first time when still of tender

1 Even when in tatuing blood is drawn, as almost inevitably occurs, beads
are given the tatuer to indemnify her and make it clear that the deed was not
intended.

J^'

pLAit 171, A i^AyAin DAI\Cii\G.

XVIII CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 169

age. The age at which he repeats it depends in
part upon the occurrence of an opportunity ; it
commonly falls between his eighth and fifteenth year.
If in a house there is a number of big lads who have
not performed this rite, owing to no heads having
been taken for some years, a head may be borrowed
for the purpose from a friendly household ; and in
this case the borrowed head is brought into the
house with all the pomp and ceremony of successful
war.

As the returning war - party approaches the
village, the boys who are to take part in the rite are
marshalled before the house by a master of the
ceremonies. He kills a fowl and thrusts a sharpened
stake right through it, so that the point projects
from its beak, and slashes the carcase into three
pieces, one for the adults of the house, one for
the boys, and one for the infants. He then takes a
short bamboo knife, and a bunch of isang leaves, and,
after making a short address to the boys, ties a band
of isang round the wrist of each of them, and, dilut-
ing the blood of the fowl with water, smears some
of the mixture on each boy's wrist-band. He puts
a handful of rice on a burning log and gives a grain
of it to each of the boys to eat.

Some old man of the house goes down to the
river to meet the returning war-party and brings up
the head (or one of the heads) and holds it out,
while the master of ceremonies, holding the portion
of the fowl's carcase assigned to the boys, leads up
each boy in turn to strike at the head with a sword.
The boys then go down to the river ; and,
while they bathe, a bunch of isang with which the
head has been decorated is waved over them.
During the feasting which follows the boys may eat
only twice a day. No youth may join a war-party
until he has taken part in this rite. The boys are
with few or no exceptions keen to go out to war and

I70 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

therefore they like to go through this ceremony at
the earliest permissible opportunity.

When the youth begins to feel strongly the
attraction of the other sex, he finds opportunities
of paying visits, with a few companions, in friendly
houses. It is then said in his own house that he
has gone '' to seek tobacco," a phrase which is well
understood to mean that he has gone to seek female
companionship.^

We must not pass over without mention a
peculiar mutilation which is practised by most of
the Kayan youths as they approach manhood,
namely, the transverse perforation of \h^ glans penis
and the insertion of a short rod of polished bone or
hard wood.

A youth of average presentability will usually
succeed in becoming the accepted lover of some girl
in his own or another house (cp. Chap. V.); and
though he may engage himself in this way with two
or three girls in turn before deciding to "settle
down," he is usually not much over twenty years of
age when he becomes accepted as the future husband
of a girl some years his junior. A Kayan youth
who has rendered pregnant a girl with whom he
has kept company can be relied upon to acknowledge
his responsibility and to marry her before her time
comes. In general it may be said that the rite of
marriage does not mark so complete a change in
the recognised relations of the young couple as
with ourselves, except perhaps in those parts of
this country where " handfasting " is recognised
as customary and regular. A time is appointed for
the wedding, generally shortly after the completion
of the padi- harvest ; but this date is liable to be
repeatedly postponed to the following year by the
occurrence of various events which are regarded as

^ It came into use, no doubt, through the hospitable offering of cigarettes
by the women of the household.

xviii CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 171

of evil omen and as foretelling the early death of
one of the couple if they should persist in going
through the ceremony. Such omens are hardly ever
disregarded ; not even if the girl is far advanced in
pregnancy.^ In the latter case the girl does not
incur the odium that attaches to the production of
bastard offspring (see Chap. XX.); she is treated
as a married woman would be, and her child is
regarded as legitimate.

We describe in the following paragraphs the
wedding of the son of an influential Kayan chief to
the daughter of the chief of another house of the
same village, such as we have had occasion to assist
at. The weddings of couples of less exalted station
are correspondingly less elaborate in all particulars.

When the appointed time draws near, the bride-
groom sends a trusted friend (his " best man ") to
open negotiations with the bride's parents. The
emissary carries with him a number of presents whose
value accords with the status and wealth of the
bridegroom's parents. For some time the fiction
is maintained that the object of his visit is not even
suspected by the family, who make enquiries into
the nature of his business. After some fencing
he comes to the point and asks on behalf of his
friend for a definite date at which he may marry
the daughter. The parents raise objections and
difficulties of all sorts, and perhaps nothing is
settled until a second or third visit. If the parents
accept the proposal, the best man hands to them
five sets each of sixteen beads, the beads of each
set being of uniform shape and colour, namely
(i) small yellow beads {utek)\ (2) black beads
{medak) ; (3) a set known as habarani which may

^ The omen birds are not consulted in the hope of obtaining favourable
omens ; but rather special events are regarded as of evil omen ; such are any
outbreak of fire in the house, any fatal accident to any member of the house,
the repeated crying of the muntjac (the barking deer) about the house. In one
instance known to us the attractive daughter of a Kenyah chief had three times
been compelled by series of bad omens to break off the betrothals.

172 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

not be worn by the bride before the naming of her
first child ; (4) light blue beads (krutang) ; (5) dark
blue beads {tobi). Each of these sets of beads is
held to ensure to the bride the enjoyment of some
moral good. The girl also sends a string of beads
to her lover by the hand of his best man, and at
last the date is fixed, due regard being paid to the
phases of the moon ; new moon is considered the
most favourable time of the month. The importance
ascribed to the phase of the moon seems to arise
from the fact that the shape of the half- moon
suggests the state of pregnancy. Tally is kept by
both parties of the date agreed upon. On two
long strips of rattan an equal number of knots is
tied. Each party keeps one of these tallies (often
it is carried tied below the knee) and cuts off one
knot each morning ; when the last knot alone
remains, the appointed day is at hand.

The parties on both sides invite the attendance
of their friends and relatives, who crowd the gallery
of the bride's house. Early in the morning the
bridegroom arrives with his best man and a party
of young friends in full war-dress ; they land from a
boat even though they have come but a few yards
by water. They march up to the house, some of
them carrying large brass gongs ; ascending the
ladder, they lay the gongs down the gallery from
the head of the ladder towards the door of the bride's
room at such intervals that the bride can step from
one to another. It is understood that these gongs
become the property of the bride and her parents.
Others of the bridegroom's band carry other articles
of value, and when the party reaches the door of
the bride's room, they parley with her parents and
friends who are gathered in the room, displaying
and offering these objects to the defenders of the
room as inducements to admit them. They strive
also to push open the door. Presently the men of

XVIII CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 173

the defending party make a sortie from the room
fully armed, and repel the attackers with much show
of violence, but without bloodshed. After this sham
fight has been repeated, perhaps several times, the
bridegroom and his supporters are at last admitted
to the room, and they rush in, only to find, perhaps,
that the coy maiden has slipped away through the
small door which generally gives access to a neigh-
bouring room. The impatient bridegroom cannot
obtain information as to her whereabouts, and so he
and his men sit down in the room and accept the
proffered cigarettes. Presently the bride relents and
returns to her parents' room accompanied by a bevy
of her girl friends. But the bridegroom takes no
notice of her entry. The inevitable pig meanwhile
has been laid in the gallery, together with a few
gifts for the dayong who is to read its liver. Here
the final steps of the bargaining are conducted by
the friends of the bridegroom. (It is impossible to
say in each case how far this bargaining is genuine
and how far the terms of the bargain have been
arranged beforehand.) More gongs are added to
the row upon the floor, chiefly by the friends invited
by the bridegroom, who thus make their wedding
gifts, perhaps until the row extends to the door of
the bride's room. The pig is then killed and its
liver examined ; and, if necessary, this is repeated
with another and another pig, until one whose liver
permits of favourable interpretation is found. (A
series of bad livers would lead to postponement.)
The dayong then sprinkles pig's blood and water
from a gong upon all the assembly, invoking the
blessing of the gods upon the young couple, asking
for them long life and many children. Then the
bride and bridegroom walk up and down the row
of gongs eight times, stepping only upon the metal.
In some cases the bridegroom descends to his boat
at the landing-stage on each of these eight excur-

174 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

sions, thus showing that he is free to come and go
as he pleases and has no entanglements. In this
degenerate age the ceremony terminates with this
act, but for the feasting and speech-making which
fill up the evening hours. But in the old days,
as we are credibly informed by those who have
been eye-witnesses, the bride descended with the
groom and his party to his boat and was then carried
off at full speed, pursued by several boat-loads of
her friends. The fleeing party would then check
the pursuit by throwing out on to the bank every
article of value still remaining among them ; each
article in turn would be snapped up by the pursuers,
who then, having thus resisted to the last and
extorted the highest possible price from the bride-
groom, would allow the happy pair to console each
other in peace for the many trials they had had to
endure.

It may seem difficult to reconcile the form of the
marriage ceremony (involving as it does a blending
of symbolical capture with actual purchase) with the
fact that, in accordance with the custom almost
universally followed among Kayans, the bridegroom
becomes a member of the room of his father-in-law
and remains there for some years before carrying
off his wife to his own house. But we think this
latter practice, which in some quarters has been
regarded as a survival from a matriarchal organisa-
tion of society, is a recently introduced custom, which
has come rapidly into favour as a means by which
the bridegroom and his friends avoid a part of the
expense involved in the older form of marriage.
For the residence for a period of years of the young
couple in the house and room of the wife's parents
is made a part of the marriage contract. If the
bride is the only child of a chief, her husband may
remain permanently in her home and succeed her
father as chief. But in most cases the couple

XVIII CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 175

migrates to the husband's house after a few years,
generally on the occasion of the building of a new
house or on the death of his father, both of which
events afford him the opportunity of becoming head
of a room and thus taking rank as, and assuming
the full responsibilities of, 2i paterfamilias.

The marriage ceremonies of the Kenyahs and
Klemantans are similar but less elaborate. But
the Sea Dayak ceremony is different. A feast is
made in the house of the girl's parents. The bride-
groom makes no considerable gifts to the parents of
the bride, though he is generally expected to become
a member of their household for the first few years
of his married life. The principal feature of the
ceremony is the splitting open of a pinang (the seed
of the areca palm) during the feast, in the presence
of the young couple and their relatives. The two
halves are examined for signs of decay or imper-
fection ; and if there are none, the marriage is
regarded as approved. A live fowl is waved over
the couple by the chief of the house as he says,
*' Make them prosperous, make them happy, give
them long life, make them wealthy, etc. etc." The
phrases conform to a conventional pattern, but each
orator modifies and adapts them freely. The words
seemed to be addressed to the fowl, and it seems
impossible to discover in the Iban mind any con-
ception of a higher power behind or beyond the
fowl, though we may suspect that in a vague way
the live fowl symbolises or represents Life in general
or the power behind Nature (PI. 173).

Few or no Kayans can state their age without
going through some preliminary calculations, and
even then their statements are apt to be vague and
uncertain. A Kayan mother can generally work
out the age of each of her children on request. She
puts down in a row bits of leaf or stick, one for each
year, working back from the present, and recalling

176 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO cH.xvm

each year by the name of the place where the padi
crop of that year was raised. When she reaches
back to the year of the birth of any one of her
children, she says that the child was born about or
before or soon after this particular harvest, and by
counting the pieces of stuff laid down she then
arrives at the child's age.

An elderly man can generally make no more
accurate statement regarding his age than that at
the time of the great eclipse he had just begun to
wear a waistcloth, or that when the great guns were
heard (i.e, the sound of the eruption of Krakatoa)
he was just beginning '* to look for tobacco."

We mention here a statement commonly made
by Kayans, which, if true, is of some interest as
reporting a curious exception to a world - wide
custom commonly regarded as directly determined
by the difference of nature between the sexes, the
report, namely, that among the Kalabits the initiative
in all love-making is taken by the women. We have
no detailed information in regard to their courtship
and marriage procedures.

CHAPTER XIX

THE NOMAD HUNTERS

In almost all parts of Borneo there are to be found
hidden in the remotest recesses of the jungles small
bands of homeless nomad hunters. All these closely
resemble one another in physical characters and in
mode of life ; but differences of language mark them
as belonging to several groups, of which the Punans,
the Ukits, the Sians, the Bukitans, the Lugats, and
the Lisums are the best known. Hitherto we have
designated all these groups by the name Punan,
which properly belongs to the largest group only.
These groups inhabit different areas, though there
is considerable overlapping ; and it seems probable
that they are merely local varieties of one stock, and
that their differences are mainly the results of
geographical separation and of intercourse with, and
probably some mingling of blood with, the settled
tribes of the regions inhabited by the several groups.
For their languages seem to be closely allied ; but in
each region the nomads seem to have adopted many
words from their settled neighbours, with whom
they trade ; and instances are known to us in which
the men of the settled tribes have married women
of the nomads and have adopted their mode of life,
and others in which children of nomad women,
married into Kenyah, Kayan, or other villages,
have gone back to their mothers* people.

The Punans proper are found in the central

177

178 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

highlands wandering through the upper parts of the
basins of all the large rivers ; here and there they
range into the lowlands, and in rare instances they
even reach the coast. The Ukits, on the other
hand, confine themselves to the interior, and are
found chiefly in the upper parts of the basins of the
Kotei, the Rejang, the Kapuas, and Banjermassin
rivers. The Bukitans inhabit chiefly the upper
basins of the rivers of Sarawak. Although these
nomads wander perpetually in the forests, moving
their camp every few weeks or months, any one
group attaches itself to a particular area, partly
because they become familiar with its natural
resources, partly because they establish friendly
relations with the villagers of the region, with whom
they barter jungle-produce to the advantage of both
parties. The settled tribesmen of any region find
this trade so profitable that they regard the harmless
nomads with friendly feelings, learn their language,
and avoid and reprobate any harsh treatment of
them that might drive them to leave their district.
In fact they look upon them with a certain sense of
proprietorship and are jealous of their intercourse
with other tribes ; the nomads, in fact, rank high
among the many natural products of the jungle that
render any particular region attractive to the tribes-
men.

Of all these nomad groups the Punans are the
most numerous and we have seen more of them
than of any others. We therefore describe their
peculiar mode of life ; but it may be understood that
what we say of them holds good in the main of the
other groups of nomads with but little modification.

From the point of view of physical development
the Punans are among the finest of the peoples of
Borneo. They resemble the Kenyahs more closely
than any other tribe ; that is to say, they are of very
pale yellow colour, of short stature with long body

ijISK.

Plate 174. PUNANS OF THE BARAM.

XIX THE NOMAD HUNTERS 179

and short legs, but otherwise well proportioned and
very sturdily built with well-rounded limbs and
large muscular development. Their heads are sub-
brachycephalic and inclining to be square ; their
features are more regular than those of most other
tribes ; their most distinctive physical characters are
a relatively well-developed nasal bridge, nostrils
directed so much forward that one seems to look
right into their heads through them, and the slight
greenish tinge and line silky texture of their pale
yellow skins. The greenish tinge may be noticed
in all nomad Punans, and it is possible that the
ruddier darker tint of the agricultural peoples is
largely or wholly due to their greater exposure to
the sun ; for the Punan fears the broad daylight and
rarely or never leaves the deep shade of the jungle.

In fineness of texture of the skin they surpass all
the other tribes, and they seldom or never suffer
from the disfiguring scaly affections of the skin so
common among the others.

The Punans are more uniform as regards their
physical characters than the other peoples ; there
are no distinctions of upper and lower social strata
as among the other tribes, and thus the mixture of
blood, which in the Kayan and Kenyah communities
results from the adoption of war captives into the
lower class, does not occur with them ; and they
present none of the wide diversities of type such as
are common in the other tribes, especially between
the upper and lower social classes. They corre-
spond, in fact, to the relatively pure bred upper
classes of the other tribes, and present the same
high standard of physical development and vigour.
It is not improbable that the severer conditions of
their mode of life contribute to maintain this high
standard.

The facial expression and the bodily attitudes of
the Punans are also characteristic. When gathered

i8o PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

in friendly talk with strangers, even those whom
they have every reason to trust, they prefer to
remain squatting on their heels, rather than to sit
down on a mat ; and the tension of their muscles,
combined with the still alert watchfulness of their
faces, conveys the impression that they are ready to
leap up and flee away or to struggle for their lives at
any moment. It is doubtless this alertness of facial
expression and bodily attitude that gives the Punan
something of the air of an untameable wild animal.

In spite of his distrustful expression the Punan
is a likeable person, rich in good qualities and
innocent of vices. He never slays or attacks men
of other tribes wantonly ; he never seeks or takes
a head, for his customs do not demand it ; and he
never goes upon the warpath, except when occasion-
ally he joins a war-party of some other tribe in order
to facilitate the avenging of blood. But he will
defend himself and his family pluckily, if he is
attacked and has no choice of flight ; and, if any one
has killed one of his relatives, he will seek an oppor-
tunity of planting a poisoned dart in his body. In
a case of this kind all the Punans of a large area
will aid one another in obtaining certain information
as to the identity of the offender ; and any one of them
will avenge the injury to his people, if the opportunity
presents itself. They do not avenge themselves
indiscriminately on all or any member of the
offender's village or family, but they will postpone
their vengeance for years, if the actual offender cannot
be reached more promptly. It seems worth while
to recount a particular instance of Punan vengeance.
The Punans of the Tinjar basin were claimed by a
Sebop chief; that is to say, the chief, Jangan by
name, regarded them as under his protection and
as therefore under an obligation to trade with him
and his people only. But the Pokun people in the
basin of a neighbouring river, the Balaga, a tributary

Plate 175. ELDERLY PUNAN HEADMAN.

K

I

i

i

Plate 176. A PUNAN HEADMAN OF THE TINJAR.

I

XIX THE NOMAD HUNTERS i8i

of the Rejang, also claimed similar rights over the
Punans of the district. One of these Pokuns, a man
of the upper class, being angered by the adhesion
of the Punans to the chief Jangan and by their re-
fusal to trade with him, cut down one of them during
an altercation in the jungle, leaving him dead on the
spot. The companions of the murdered man retired,
and all the Punans deserted the neighbourhood of
the Pokuns. Some four years later the Pokun com-
munity migrated to the Tinjar ; and shortly after-
wards the murderer, thinking the whole matter was
forgotten, set out through the jungle with a small
party to seek to trade with another group of
Punans. While on the march he was struck in the
cheek (the favourite spot for the aim of the Punan
marksman) by a poisoned dart from an unseen
assailant and died within ten minutes. His com-
panions, remembering the incident of four years
before, suspected the Punans, but saw no trace
of any.

The Punans confessed the act of vengeance to
Jangan, and he communicated the facts to the
Resident of the Baram district (C.H.), who happened
to be in the neighbourhood at the time. The Pokuns
wished to take vengeance on the Punans, and they
would undoubtedly have turned out in force to hunt
down and kill all the Punan men they could find,
but that the Resident forbade them to take action,
and enforced his command by threatening to burn
down their houses in their absence. It is only fair
to add that the Pokun chief recognised the justice
of this prohibition and showed no resentment.

That the Punans will not allow the slaying of
any one of their number to go unavenged on the
person of the slayer is well known to all the people
of the country, and this knowledge does much to
give them immunity from attack.

The Punans cultivate no crops and have no

i82 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

domestic animals. They live entirely upon the wild
produce of the jungle, vegetable and animal. Of
the former, sago and a form of vegetable tallow
found in the seed of a tree {Shorea) are the most
important. Animals of all kinds are eaten, and are
secured principally by the aid of the blow-pipe and
poisoned darts, in the use of which the Punans are
very expert. The Punan dwelling is merely a rude
low shelter of palm leaves, supported on sticks to
form a sloping roof which keeps off the rain but
very imperfectly, and leaves the interior open on
every side.^

A Punan community consists generally of some
twenty to thirty adult men and women, and about
the same number of children. One of the older
men is recognised as the leader or chief He has
little formally defined authority, but rather the
authority only that is naturally accorded to age and
experience and to the fuller knowledge of the tribal
history and traditions that comes with age. His
sway is a very mild one ; he dispenses no substantial
punishments ; public opinion and tradition seem to
be the sole and sufficient sanctions of conduct among
these Arcadian bands of gentle wary wanderers.
Decisions as to the movements of the band are
arrived at by open discussion, in which the leader
will exercise an influence proportioned to his reputa-
tion for knowledge and judgment. He is mainly
responsible for the reading of the omens, and has
charge of the few and simple household gods — if that
lofty title may be given to the wooden image of a
crocodile and the bundle of charms attached to it
which are always to be seen in a Punan camp.

If, in case of disagreement, one or more of the

1 Some few communities of Punans live in the large caves of the limestone
mountains ; it seems possible that this is a survival of a very ancient custom
that preceded the making of shelters, however rude ; but we know of no facts
which can be regarded as supporting this view, save that we have found human
bones of uncertain age in several caves. Some of these caves have undoubtedly
been used as burial-places, possibly during epidemics of cholera or smallpox.

^1

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m i

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XIX THE NOMAD HUNTERS 183

members of a band refuses to accept the judgment
of the leader and of the majority, he, or they, will
withdraw from the community together with wife
and children, to form a band which, though in the
main independent of the parent group, will usually
remain in its near neighbourhood and maintain some
intercourse. Fighting between Punans, whether of
the same or of different communities, is very rare ;
the only instances known to us are a few in which
Punans have been incited by men of other tribes to
join in an attack on their fellows.

The members of the band are for the most part
the near relatives of the leader, brothers and sons
and nephews with their wives and children. Each
man has usually one wife. We know of no instances
of polygyny amongst them; though we know of cases
in which a Punan woman has become the second
wife of a man of some other tribe. On the other
hand, polyandry occurs, generally in cases in which
a woman married to an elderly man has no children
by him. They desire many children, and large
families are the rule ; a family with as many as eight
or nine children is no rarity.

Marriage is for life, though separation by the
advice and direction of the chief, or by desertion of
the man to another community, occurs. Sexual
restraint is probably maintained at about the same
level as among the other peoples, the women being
more strictly chaste after than before marriage. The
ceremony of marriage is less elaborate than among
the settled tribes. A young man will become the
lover of a girl generally of some other group than his
own, and when she becomes pregnant the marriage
is celebrated. There is little or no formal arrange-
ment of marriages by the elders on behalf of the
young people.

The ceremony of marriage consists merely in a
feast in which all, or most of, the members of the

VOL. II N

i84 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

two communities take part. Speeches are made,
and the leaders exhort the young couple to industry
and to obedience to themselves, making specific
mention of the principal duties of either sex, such as
collecting camphor and procuring animal food for
the man, the preparing of sago, cooking, and tend-
ing the children for the woman.

After the ceremony, the husband joins the wife's
community and generally remains a member of it ;
unlike the Kayans, among whom a husband, though
he may live for some years with his wife's people,
eventually brings her to his father's village. No
definite payment is made to the parents of the
bride, but some small gift, perhaps two or three
pounds of tobacco, is usually presented to them by
the bridegroom.

Adverse omens may cause the postponement of
a marriage ; but beyond this there seems to be no
regular method of obtaining or seeking divine sanc-
tion for the marriage ; an offering of cooked food
may be made to Bali-Penyalong, by placing it on
a stake beneath the image of the crocodile (which
seems to serve as an altar) with some dedicatory
words — for like the other peoples the Punans are
voluble in speech, both in human intercourse and
in appealing to the supernatural powers. On such
occasions the words uttered usually take in part the
form of a prayer for protection from danger.

Those who are accustomed to all the complex com-
forts and resources of civilisation, and to whom all
these resources hardly suffice to make tolerable the
responsibility and labour of the rearing of a family,
can hardly fail to be filled with wonder at the thought
of these gentle savages bearing and rearing large
families of healthy well-mannered children in the
damp jungle, without so much as a permanent shelter
above their heads. The rude shelter of boughs and
leaves, which is their only house, is perhaps made

MP

Plate 178. TATUED UKIT OF REJANG DISTRICT.

THE NOMAD HUNTERS 185

a little more private than usual for the benefit of the
labouring woman. The pregnant woman goes on
with her work up to the moment of labour and re-
sumes it almost immediately afterwards. She at
once becomes responsible for the care of the infant.
The only special treatment after childbirth is to sit
with the back close to a fire, so as to heat it as
much as can be borne. The delivery is sometimes
aided by tightly binding the body above the gravid
uterus in order, it would seem, to prevent any re-
trogression of the process. While the mother goes
about her work in camp, the infant is usually sus-
pended in a sling of bark-cloth from a bent sapling
or branch, an arrangement which enables the mother
to rock and so soothe the child by means of an
occasional push. When travelling or working in
the jungle the mother carries the infant slung upon
her back, either in a bark-cloth or a specially con-
structed cradle of plaited rattan such as is used by
the Kayans. The infant is suckled from one to two
years, and then takes to the ordinary diet of boiled
wild sago, varied with other animal and vegetable
products of the jungle.

The children begin to help in the family work at
a very early age. They are disciplined largely by
frequent warnings against dangers, actual and sup-
positious, of which they remain acutely conscious
throughout life. This discipline no doubt contri-
butes largely to induce the air and the attitude of
timid alertness which are so characteristic of the
Punan. Harmony and mutual help are the rule
within the family circle, as well as throughout the
larger community ; the men generally treat their
wives and children with all kindness, and the women
perform their duties cheerfully and faithfully.

The religious beliefs and practices of the Punans
are similar to those of the Kayans, but are less
elaborated. They observe a simpler system of

i86 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

omens, of which the behaviour and calls of lizards
and grasshoppers and of the civet cat {Ardogale)
are the chief. They pray to Bali Penyalong, who
seems to be the principal object of their trust. This
being is probably conceived anthropomorphically,
but his human qualities are not so clearly marked
as in the case of the gods of the settled tribes.
They make no images in human form, and we do
not know that Bali Penyalong is supposed by them
to have a wife. The only image used in rites is the
wooden image of the crocodile, which is carried from
place to place with every change of camp. In com-
municating with the omen -creatures, fire and the
frayed sticks are used in much the same way as by
the Kayans. Their rites involve no animal sacrifices,
and they do not look for guidance or answer to
prayer in the entrails of animals. It seems probable
that the Punans in each region have absorbed some
of their religious and superstitious notions from the
settled tribes of the same region ; for in each region
the Punan beliefs are different, showing more or
less affinity to those of the settled tribes. It is an
obscure question whether all their religious belief
has been thus absorbed from more cultured neigh-
bours, or whether the Punans represent in this and
other respects the perpetuation (perhaps with some
degeneration or impoverishment) of a more primitive
culture once common to the ancestors of all, or the
greater part of, the tribes of Borneo.^ The fact that
the principal divinity recognised by them bears the
same name (Bali Penyalong) as the chief god of the
Kenyahs is compatible with either view.

Beside Bali Penyalong the Punans are aware of
the existence of other divinities, which, however, are
very obscurely conceived and seldom approached
with prayer or rite. As regards the land of shades
and the journey thither, Punan beliefs are closely

1 See Chap. XXI.

THE NOMAD HUNTERS ,187

similar to those of Kenyahs and some of the
Klemantans. Their account of the journey of the
dead includes the passage of a river guarded by a
great fish and a hornbill (see Chap. XIV.). But they
practice no burial and no funeral rites. As soon as
a man dies in any camp, the whole community
moves on to a new camp, leaving his body under
one of their rude shelters, covered only with a few
leaves and branches.

Their view of the life after death seems to
involve no system of retribution and to be wellnigh
devoid of moral significance. Their religious beliefs
probably influence their conduct less strongly than
do those of the Kayans ; for among the latter such
beliefs certainly make strongly for social conduct,
i.e, for obedience to the chiefs and for observance of
custom and public opinion ; but in the Punan
community the conditions of life are so simple and
so nearly in harmony with the impulses of the
natural man that temptations to wrong-doing are few
and weak ; external sanctions of conduct, therefore,
are but little needed and but little operative.

Danger assails the Punan on every side and at
all times, hence alertness, energy, and courage are
the prime virtues ; courage is rated highest, and a
woman looks especially for courage in her husband.
But though courageous and active, Punans are not
pugnacious ; as was said above, they rarely or never
fight against one another, and the nomadic groups
of each region maintain friendly relations with one
another. Within each group harmony and mutual
helpfulness is the rule ; each shares with all members
of the group whatever food, whether vegetable or
animal, he may procure by skill or good fortune.
On returning to camp with a piece of game, a Punan
throws it down in the midst and it is treated as
common property. If he has slain a large pig or
deer, too heavy for him to bring in unaided, he

i88 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

returns to camp and modestly keeps silence over his
achievement until some question as to his luck is
put to him ; then he remarks that he has left some
small piece of game in the jungle, a mere trifle.
Three or four men will then set out and, following
the path he has marked by bending down twigs on
his way back to camp, will find the game and bring
it in. If a present of tobacco is made to one
member of a group of Punans, the whole mass is
divided by one of them into as many heaps as there
are members of the band present ; and then each of
them, men and women alike, takes one heap for his
or her own use, the one who divided the mass taking
the heap left by the rest.

In spite of their shyness and timidity, they
respond readily to kind treatment. They are never
seen on the rivers, as they have no boats and
cannot easily be persuaded to venture a trip in a
boat. It is possible to make many expeditions
through the jungle without getting any glimpse of
them. One of us (C. H.) had lived in the Baram
district six years before succeeding in seeing a
single Punan. The history of his first meeting
with Punans may serve to illustrate their timidity,
caution, and good feeling. On making a long
hunting trip on the slopes of Mount Dulit, he took
with him a Sebop who was familiar with Punans and
their language. For some days no trace of them
was seen ; but one morning freshly made footprints
were observed round about the camp. The follow-
ing night a cleft stick was set up at some twenty
paces from the camp with a large cake of tobacco in
the cleft, and on the stick a mark was carved which
would be understood by the Punans as implying
that they were at liberty to take the tobacco. This
is a method of opening communications and trade
with them well known to the Klemantans. In the
morning the tobacco had disappeared, and fresh foot-

mv

XIX THE NOMAD HUNTERS 189

prints showed that its disappearance was due to
human agency. The following night this procedure
was repeated, and in the course of the day Punan
shouts were heard, coming from a distance of some
hundreds of yards. The interpreter was sent out
with instructions to parley and, if possible, to persuade
the Punans to come into camp. Presently he
returned with two shy but curious strangers, who
squatted at some distance and were gradually
encouraged to come to close quarters. After
staying a few minutes and accepting presents of
tobacco and cloth, they made off. On the following
day they returned with eight male co ^panions,
bringing a monkey, a hornbill, and a rare bird, all
killed with their poisoned darts ; and they enquired
how much rubber they should bring in return for the
tobacco. They were told that no return was
expected, but, understanding that animals of all
sorts were being collected, they attached themselves
to the party, lent their unmatched skill to adding to
the collections, and brought in many rare specimens
that now repose safely in the Natural History
Museum at South Kensington. They soon gained
confidence and took up their sleeping quarters
under the raised floor of the rough hut ; and, when
after some weeks the time for parting came, they
voluntarily took a prominent part in carrying down
the collections to the boats, and went away well
satisfied with the simple presents they received.

Punans never build boats or travel on the water
of their own initiative and agency. In fact they
dislike to come out from the shade of the forest on
to a cleared space or the stony bed of the river.
They are very conservative in spite of their inter-
course with more advanced tribes, and they harbour
many irrational prejudices. They entertain a
particular aversion to the crocodile, an aversion
strongly tinged with awe. They will not kill it or

iQO PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

any one of their omen-beasts. They are very shy
of whatever is unfamiliar. Many of them will not
eat salt or rice when opportunity offers.

The medicine men or Dayongs of the Punans
are distinguished for their knowledge and skill, and
are in much request among the other tribes for
the catching of souls and the extraction of pains and
disease. They are therefore fairly numerous ; but,
as among the other peoples, the calling is a highly
specialised one, though not one which occupies a
man's whole time or excuses him from the usual
labours of his community. Their methods do not
differ widely from those of the Kayan and Kenyah
Dayongs,

The Punan has great faith in charms, especially
for bringing good luck in hunting. He usually
carries, tied to his quiver, a bundle of small objects
which have forcibly attracted his attention for any
reason, e.g. a large quartz crystal, a strangely
shaped tusk or tooth or pebble, etc., and this
bundle of charms is dipped in the blood of the
animals that fall to his blow-pipe.

As regards dress and weapons the Punan differs
little from his neighbours. A scanty waist-cloth
of home-made bark-cloth, or equally scanty skirt
for the woman, strings of small beads round wrists
or ankles or both, numbers of slender bands of
plaited palm-fibre below the knees and about the
wrists, and sometimes a strip of cloth round the
head, make up his costume for all occasions.

All his belongings are such as can easily be
transported. He carries a sword, a small knife, a
blow-pipe with spear-blade attached, and a small
axe with long narrow blade for working camphor
out of the heart of the camphor-tree. Besides
these essential tools and weapons, which he con-
stantly carries, the family possesses sago-mallets
and sieves, dishes and spoons or spatulas of hard-

Plate i8i. PUNANS WORKING CAMPHOR.

THE NOMAD HUNTERS 191

wood, and tongs of bamboo for eating sago/ a few
iron pots,^ large baskets for carrying on the back,
a few mats of plaited rattan, and small bamboo
boxes.

These are the sum of the worldly goods of a
Punan family, and it would, we suppose, be difficult
to find another people who combine so great a
poverty in material possessions with so high a level
of contentment and decent orderly active living.

Although his material possessions are so few,
the Punan is not capable of fashioning all of them
by his own independent efforts. All his metal tools
he obtains from the Kayans (or other tribes) who
are his patrons. But everything else he makes
with his own hands. The long blow-pipe of polished
hard-wood, which is his favourite weapon, he makes
by the same methods and as well as the Kayans.
But the iron rod which he uses in the process of
boring the wood he cannot make. This illustrates
his intimate dependence on other tribes, and seems
to imply that the blow-pipe, at least in the highly
finished form in which it is now used, cannot have
been an independent achievement of the Punans.
They are especially skilful in the plaiting of rattan
strips to make baskets, mats, and sieves. They do
little wood-carving, but carve some pretty handles
for knives and decorative pieces for the sword-
sheaths from the bones of the gibbon and deer.
They are expert also in making bamboo pipes
with which to imitate the calls of the deer and of
some of the birds.

Hunting, tracking, and trapping game are the
principal and favourite pursuits of the men ; they
display much ingenuity in these pursuits and attain

^ Perhaps the most commonly used is a double-ended spatula. With this
the head of the family stirs the boiled sago, and then conveys it to his own
mouth on one end and to his wife's mouth on the other.

"^ Formerly, they say, they cooked in green bamboos ; and this is still done
occasionally. They also occasionally boil their sago in the large cups of the
pitcher-plant {nepenthes).

192 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

a wonderful skill in the interpretation of the signs
of the jungle. For example, a Punan is generally-
able to read from the tracks left in the jungle by
the passage of a party of men, the number of the
party, and much other information about it. They
are expert scouts, and, when their neighbourhood is
invaded by any party whose intentions are not
clearly pacific, they will follow them for many days,
keeping them under close observation while
remaining completely hidden.

The Punan has few recreations. His highest
artistic achievement is in song. His principal musical
instrument is a simple harp made from a length of
thick bamboo (Fig. 86) ; from the surface of this six
longitudinal strips are detached throughout the length

Fig. 86. — Punan Bamboo Harp.

of a section of twenty inches or more, but retain at
both ends their natural attachments. Each strip is
raised from the surface by a pair of small wooden
bridges, and is tuned by adjusting the interval
between these. The only other musical instrument
is a very simple " harmonica." A series of strips of
hard-wood, slightly hollowed and adjusted in length,
are laid across the shins of the operator, who beats
upon them with two sticks. But the finest songs
are sung without accompaniment and are of the
nature of dramatic recitals in the manner of a some-
what monotonous and melancholy recitative. To
hear a wild Punan, standing in the midst of a
solemn circle lit only by a few torches which hardly
seem to avail to keep back the vast darkness of the
sleeping jungle, recite with dramatic gesture the

Plate 182. PUNAN MOTHER AND CHILD.

XIX THE NOMAD HUNTERS 193

adventures of a departing soul on its way to the
land of shades, is an experience which makes a
deep impression, one not devoid of aesthetic quality.

In dancing, the Punan attains only a very modest
level. The men dance upon a narrow plank (for
the good reason that they have nothing else to
dance upon) ; and the exhibition is one of skilful
balancing on this restricted base while executing a
variety of turning movements and postures. The
women dance in groups with very restricted move-
ments of the feet, and some monotonous swaying
movements of the arms and body. The men also
imitate the movements of monkeys and of the horn-
bill and the various strange sounds made by the
latter.

The most striking evidence of the low cultural
standing of the Punan is the fact that he cannot
count beyond three (the words are/^, dua, telo) ; all
larger numbers are for him merely many [pina).
Yet, although in culture he stands far below all
the settled agricultural tribes, there is no sufficient
reason for assuming him to be innately inferior to
them in any considerable degree, whether morally
or intellectually. Any such assumption is rendered
untenable by the fact that many Punans have quickly
assimilated the mode of life and general culture of
the other tribes ; and there can be no doubt, we
think, that many of the tribes that we have classed
as Klemantan and Kenyah are very closely related
to the Punans, and may properly be regarded as
Punans that have adopted Kayan or Malay culture
some generations ago.

CHAPTER XX

MORAL AND INTELLECTUAL PECULIARITIES

In this chapter we propose to bring together a
number of observations which have found no place
in foregoing chapters but which will throw further
light on the moral and intellectual status of the
pagan tribes.

We have seen that among the Kayans the
immediate sanction of all actions and of judgments
of approval and disapproval is custom, and that the
sanction of custom is generally supported by the
fear of the toh and of the harm they may inflict upon
the whole house. The principle of collective or
communal responsibility of the household, which is
thus recognised in face of the spiritual powers, as
well as in face of other communities, gives every
man an interest in the good behaviour of his
fellows, and at the same time develops in him the
sense of obligation towards his community. The
small size of each community, its separation and
clear demarcation by its residence under a single
roof, its subordination to a single chief, and its
perpetual conflict and rivalry with other neighbour-
ing communities of similar constitution, all these
circumstances also make strongly for the develop-
ment in each of its members of a strong collective
consciousness, that is to say, of a clear conscious-
ness of the community and of his place within it and
a strong sentiment of attachment to it. The attach-

194

CHAP. XX PECULIARITIES 195

ment of each individual to his community is also
greatly strengthened by the fact that it is hardly
possible for him to leave it, even if he would. For
he could not hope to maintain himself alone, or
as the head of an isolated family, against the
hostile forces, natural and human, that would
threaten him ; and it would be very difficult for
him to gain admittance to any other community.

It is only when we consider these facts that we
can understand how smoothly the internal life of
the community generally runs, how few serious
offences are committed, how few are the quarrels,
and how few the instances of insubordination
towards the chief, and how tact and good sense can
rule the house without inflicting any other punish-
ment than fines and compensatory payments.

And yet, when all these circumstances have been
taken into account, the orderly behaviour of a Kayan
community must be in part regarded as evidence of
the native superiority of character or disposition of the
Kayans. For though the Sea Dayaks, Klemantans,
and Muruts, live under very similar conditions, they
do not attain the same high level of social or moral
conduct. Among the Muruts there is much
drunkenness and consequent disorder, and the same
is true in a less degree of the Sea Dayaks ; among
them and some of the Klemantan tribes quarrels
within the house are of frequent occurrence, gener-
ally over disputed ownership of land, crops, fruit-
trees, or other property. And these quarrels are not
easily composed by the chiefs. Such quarrels not
infrequently lead to the splitting of a community, or
to the migration of the whole house with the
exception of one troublesome member and his
family, who are left in inglorious isolation in the
old house.

But the higher level of conduct of the Kayans is
in most respects rivalled by that of the Kenyahs,

196 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

and some importance must therefore be attributed
to the one prominent feature of their social organ-
isation which is peculiar to these two peoples,
namely a clearly marked stratification into three
social strata between which but little intermarriage
takes place. This stratification undoubtedly makes
for a higher level of conduct throughout the
communities in which it obtains ; for the members
of the higher or chiefly class are brought up with
a keen sense of their responsibility towards the
community, and their example and authority do
much to maintain the standards of conduct of
the middle and lower classes.

We have said that almost all offences are
punished by fines only. Of the few offences which
are felt to require a heavier punishment, the one
most seriously regarded is incest. For this offence,
which is held to bring grave peril to the whole
house, especially the danger of starvation through
failure of the padi crop, two punishments have
been customary. If the guilt of the culprits is
perfectly clear, they are taken to some open spot
on the river-bank at some distance from the
house. There they are thrown together upon the
ground and a sharpened bamboo stake is driven
through their bodies, so that they remain pinned to
the earth. The bamboo, taking root and growing
luxuriantly on this spot, remains as a warning to all
who pass by ; and, needless to say, the spot is looked
on with horror and shunned by all men. The other
method of punishment is to shut up the offenders in
a strong wicker cage and to throw them into the
river. This method is resorted to as a substitute
for the former one, owing to the difficulty of getting
any one to play the part of executioner and to drive
in the stake, for this involves the shedding of the
blood of the community.

The kind of incest most commonly committed is

PECULIARITIES 197

the connection of a man with an adopted daughter,
and (possibly on account of this frequency) this is
the kind which is most strongly reprobated. It is
obvious also that this form of incest requires a
specially strong check in any community in which
the adoption of children is a common practice. For,
in the absence of severe penalties for this form of
incest, a man might be tempted to adopt female
children in order to use them as concubines. We
find support for this view of the ground of the
especially severe censure on incest of this form in
the fact that intercourse between a youth and his
sister-by-adoption (or vice versa) is not regarded as
incest, and the relation is not regarded as any bar
to marriage. We know of at least one instance
of marriage between two young Kenyahs brought
up together as adopted brother and sister.^ Of

^ This occurrence of incest between couples brought up in the same house-
hold is, of course, difficult to reconcile with Prof. Westermarck's well-known
theory of the ground of the almost universal feeling against incest, namely that
it depends upon sexual aversion or indifference engendered by close proximity
during childhood. But medical men who have experience of slum practice in
European towns can supply similar evidence in large quantity. And the
medical psychologists of the school of Freud could cite much evidence against
this theory.

We cannot refrain from throwing out here a speculative suggestion towards
the explanation of the feeling against incest which seems to find support in
certain of the facts of this area. It seems to us that the feeling with which
incest is regarded is an example of a feeling or sentiment engendered in each
generation by law and tradition, rather than a spontaneous reaction of indi-
viduals, based on some special instinct or innate tendency. The occurrence
of incest between brothers and sisters, and the strong feeling of the Sea Dayaks
against incest between nephew and aunt (who often are members of distinct
communities), are facts which seem to us fatal to Prof Westermarck's theory,
as well as to point strongly to the view that the sentiment has a purely
conventional or customary source. Now, if we accept some such view of the
constitution of primitive society as has been suggested by Messrs. Atkinson
and Lang {Primal Law), namely, that the social group consisted of a single
patriarch and a group of wives and daughters, over all of whom he exercised
unrestricted power or rights ; we shall see that the first step towards the
constitution of a higher form of society must have been the strict limitation of
his rights over certain of the women, in order that younger males might be
incorporated in the society and enjoy the undisputed possession of them. The
patriarch, having accepted this limitation of his rights over his daughters for
the sake of the greater security and strength of the band given by the inclusion
of a certain number of young males, would enforce all the more strictly upon
them his prohibition against any tampering with the females of the senior
generation. Thus very strict prohibitions and severe penalties against the con-
sorting of the patriarch with the younger generation of females, i.e. his

198 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

other forms of incest the more common (though,
it should be said, incest of any form is very in-
frequent) are those involving father and daughter,
brother and sister, and brother and half-sister.

The punishment of the incestuous couple does
not suffice to ward off the danger brought by them
upon the community. The household must be
purified with the blood of pigs and fowls; the
animals used are the property of the offenders or
of their family ; and in this way a fine is imposed.

When any calamity threatens or falls upon a
house, especially a great rising of the river which
threatens to sweep away the house or the tombs of
the household, the Kayans are led to suspect that
incestuous intercourse in their own or in neighbour-
ing houses has taken place ; and they look round for
evidences of it, and sometimes detect a case which
otherwise would have remained hidden. It seems
probable that there is some intimate relation be-
tween this belief and the second of the two modes
of punishment described above ; but we have no
direct evidence of such connection.^

daughters, and against intercourse between the young males admitted to
membership of the group and the wives of the patriarch, would be the essential
conditions of advance of social organisation. The enforcement of these
penalties would engender a traditional sentiment against such unions, and these
would be the unions primitively regarded as incestuous. The persistence of the
tendency of the patriarch's jealousy to drive his sons out of the family group as
they attained puberty would render the extension of this sentiment to brother-
and-sister unions easy and almost inevitable. For the young male admitted to
the group would be one who came with a price in his hand to offer in return
for the bride he sought. Such a price could only be exacted by the patriarch
on the condition that he maintained an absolute prohibition on sexual relations
between his offspring so long as the young sons remained under his roof.

It is not impossible that a trace of the primitive state of society imagined by
Messrs. Atkinson and Lang survives in the fact that a Kayan chief may, if he
is so inclined, temporarily possess himself of the wife of any of his men with-
out raising the strong resentment and incurring the penalties which would
attend adultery on the part of any other man of the house ; but the law against
incest with his daughters, whether natural or adopted, would be enforced
against him by the co-operation of the chiefs of neighbouring houses and
villages.

1 A limestone cliff whose foot is washed by the Baram river and which
contains a number of caves (known as Batu Gading, or the ivory rock) is said by
a Kayan legend to have been formed by a Kayan house being turned into stone
owing to incestuous conduct within it.

XX

PECULIARITIES 199

All the other peoples also, except the Punans,
punish incest with death. Among the Sea Dayaks the
most common form of incest is that between a youth
and his aunt, and this is regarded at least as seriously
as any other form. It must be remembered that,
owing to the frequency of divorce and remarriage
among the Sea Dayaks, a youth may find himself
in the position of step-son to half a dozen or more
divorced step-mothers, some of them perhaps of his
own age, and that each of them may have several
sisters, all of whom are reckoned as his aunts ;
therefore he must walk warily in his amorous
adventures.

Sexual perversion of any form is, we think, ex-
tremely rare among the pagan tribes of Borneo.
We have never heard of any case of homosexuality
on good authority, and we have never heard any
reference made to it ; and that constitutes, to our
thinking, strong evidence that vice of that kind is
unknown among most of the tribes. It is not un-
known, though not common, among the Malays and
Chinese, and, if cases occur sporadically among the
pagans, they are presumably due to infection from
those quarters.

Homicide

Kayans, as we have seen, have no scruple in
shedding the blood of their enemies, but they very
seldom or never go to war with other Kayans ; and
the shedding of Kayan blood by Kayans is of rare
occurrence. To shed human blood, even that of
an enemy, in the house is against custom. Never-
theless murder of Kayan by Kayan, even by
members of the same house, is not unknown. In
a wanton case, where two or more men have de-
liberately attacked another and slain him, or one
has killed another by stealth, the culprit (or culprits)

VOL. II o

200 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

would usually be made to pay very heavy compensa-
tion to relatives, the amount being greater the
higher the social status and the greater the wealth
of the culprit ; the amount may equal, in fact, the
whole of his property and more besides ; and he
might, in order to raise the amount, have to sell
himself into slavery to another, slavery being their
only equivalent to imprisonment. The relatives
would probably desire to kill the murderers ; but the
chief would generally restrain them and would find
his task rendered easier by the fact that, if they
insist on taking the murderer's life, they would
forfeit their right to compensation.^ The amount
of the compensation to be paid would not depend
upon the social standing of the murdered man, but
the fine paid to the house or chief would be heavier
in proportion to his rank. But we have knowledge
of cases in which chiefs have, with the approval of
the house, had a murderer put to the sword. The
murderer who has paid compensation has, however,
by no means set himself right with the household ;
they continue to look askance at him. Set fights
or duels between men of the same house are very
rare. If a Kayan of one house kills one of another,
his chief would see that he paid a proper compensa-
tion to the relatives, as well as a fine to his own
house. If a man killed his own slave, he would be
liable to no punishment unless the act were com-
mitted in the house ; but public opinion would
strongly disapprove.

' Running amok ' is not unknown among Kayans,
though it is very rare. If a man in this condition
of blind fury kills any one, he is cut down and killed,
unless he is in the house ; in which case he would
be knocked senseless with clubs, carried out of the
house into the jungle, and there slain.

Drunkenness during an act of criminal violence

^ This would not be always true of similar cases among Sea Dayaks.

PECULIARITIES 201

is regarded as a mitigating circumstance, and the
fines and compensation imposed would be of smaller
amount than in a case of similar crime deliberately-
committed.

Suicide is strongly reprobated, and, as we have
seen, the shades of those who die by their own
hands are believed to lead a miserable and lonely
existence in a distressful country. Tan Tekkan,
in which they wander picking up mere scraps
of food in the jungle. Nevertheless, suicides occur
among Kayans of both sexes. The commonest
occasion is the enforced separation of lovers,
rather than the despair of rejected lovers. We
have known of two instances of Kayan youths who,
having formed attachments during a long stay in a
distant house and who then, finding themselves
under the necessity of returning home with their
chief and unable to arrange marriage with their
fair ones, have committed suicide. The method
most commonly adopted is to go off alone into the
jungle and there to stab a knife into the carotid
artery. The body of a suicide is generally buried
without ceremony on the spot where it is found.
Suicides of women are rarer than those of men ;
desertion by a lover is the commonest cause.

Dishonesty in the form of pilfering or open
robbery by violence are of very rare occurrence.
Yet temptations to both are not lacking. Fruit-
trees on the river-bank, even at some distance from
any village, are generally private property, and
though they offer a great temptation to passing
crews when their fruit is ripe, the rights of the
proprietor are usually respected or compensation
voluntarily paid. Theft within the house or village
is practically unknown. Even before the European
governments were established, Malay and Chinese
traders occasionally penetrated with boat-loads of
goods far into the interior ; and now such enter-

202 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

prises are regularly and frequently undertaken.
Occasionally a trader establishes himself in a
village for months together, driving a profitable
trade in hardware, cloth, tobacco, etc. These
traders usually travel in a small boat with a
company or crew of only two or three men, and
they are practically defenceless against any small
party of the natives who might choose to rob or
murder them. Such traders have now and again
been robbed, and sometimes also murdered, by
roving bands of Sea Dayaks, but we know of no
such act committed by Kayans or Kenyahs. The
trader puts himself under the protection of a chief
and then feels his life and property to be safe.

It would not be true to say that the Kayans or
any of the other peoples are always strictly truth-
ful. They are given to exaggeration in describing
any event, and their accounts are apt to be
strongly biassed in their own favour. Nevertheless,
deliberate lying is a thing to be ashamed of, and
a man who gets himself a reputation as a liar is
regarded with small favour by his fellows.

The Kayans, as we have said elsewhere, are not
coarse of speech, and both men and women are
strictly modest in respect to the display of the body.
Though the costume of both sexes is so scanty,
the proprieties are observed. The Kayan man
never exposes his genitalia even when bathing in
the company of his fellows, but, if necessary, uses
his hands as a screen. The bearing of the women
is habitually modest, and though their single
garment might be supposed to afford insufficient
protection, they wear it with an habitual skill that
compensates for the scantiness of its dimensions ;
they bathe naked in the river before the house, but
they slip off their aprons and glide into the water
deftly and swiftly ; and on emerging they resume
their garments with equal skill, so that they cannot

PECULIARITIES 203

be said to expose themselves unclothed. The same
is true of most of the other tribes, with the exception
of the men of Kenyah and Klemantan communities
that inhabit the central highlands ; these, when
hauling their boats through the rapids, will divest
themselves of all clothing, or will sit naked round a
fire while their waist-cloths are being dried, without
the least embarrassment.

There is no Kayan word known to us that could
properly be translated as justice or just, injustice or
unjust. Yet it is obvious that they view just
conduct with approval and unjust with disapproval ;
and they express their feelings and moral judgments
by saying laconically of any particular decision by a
chief, tekap or nusi tekap. But the word tekap is
of more general application than our word 'just,'
and might be applied to any situation which evokes
a judgment of moral approval ; for example, on
witnessing any breach of custom or infringement of
tabu a Kayan would say nusi tekap ; tekap, in short,
is applicable to whatever is as it ought to be.

Specialised terms for moral qualities of character
and conduct are, however, not lacking. A just and
wise chief would be said to be tenang\ but this word
implies less purely a moral quality than our word
justice and more of intellectual capacity or knowledge
or accuracy ; the word is more especially applied as
a term to describe the quality of a political speech
which meets with approval. The word haman means
skilful, or clever, or cunning, in the older sense of
capable both physically and intellectually. A man
who fights pluckily is said to be makang, and the
same word is applied to any daring or dashing feat,
such as crossing the river when it is dangerously
swollen. To disregard omens would be makang2\.so ;
it seems, therefore, to have the flavour of the word
rash or foolhardy.

Saioh means good in the sense of kindly, pleasantly

204 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

toned, or agreeable. Jaak is bad in the sense of a
bad crop or an unfortunate occurrence, or a sore
foot, i.e. it conveys no moral flavour. Morally bad
is expressed by sala ; this is used in the same sense
in Malay and may well be a recently-adopted word.
In general the language seems to be very poor in
terms expressive of disapproval, adverse judgments
being generally expressed by putting nusi, the
negative or primitive particle, before the correspond-
ing word of positive import ; thus a cowardly act or
man would be denounced as nusi makang.

We think it is true to say that, although they thus
distinguish the principal qualities of character and
conduct with appropriate adjectival terms, they have
no substantival terms for the virtues and vices, and
that they have not fully accomplished the processes
of abstraction implied by the appropriate use of such
highly abstract substantives.

As regards the influence of their religious beliefs
on the moral conduct of the Kayans, we have seen
that the fear of the toh serves as a constant
check on the breach of customs, which customs are
in the main salutary and essential for the mainte-
nance of social order ; this fear does at the least
serve to develop in the people the power of self-
control and the habit of deliberation before action.
The part which the major spirits or gods are
supposed to play in bringing or fending off the
major calamities remains extremely vague and in-
capable of definition ; in the main, faithful observa-
tion of the omens, of rites, and of custom generally,
seems to secure the favour of the gods, and in some
way their protection ; and thus the gods make for
morality. Except in regard to that part of conduct
which is accurately prescribed by custom and tradi-
tion, their influence seems to be negligible, and the
high standard of the Kayans in neighbourliness, in
mutual help and consideration, in honesty and for-

PECULIARITIES 205

bearance, seems to be maintained without the direct
support of their religious beliefs.

The high moral level attained by individuals
among the Kayans and Kenyahs, and less frequently
by Klemantans, is, we think, best exemplified by the
enlightened and public-spirited conduct of some of
the principal chiefs. It might have been expected
that the leading chiefs of warlike and conquering
peoples like the Kayans and Kenyahs, which, until
the advent of the European governments, had never
encountered any resistance which they could not
break down by armed force, would have been
wholly devoted to conquest and rapine ; and that
a chief who had acquired a high prestige and found
himself able to secure the adhesion in war of a
number of other chiefs and their followers would
have been inspired with the barbarous ideals of an
Alexander, a Napoleon, a Chaka, or a Cetewayo.
But though some of them have shown tendencies of
this kind, there have been notable exceptions who
have recognised that chronic hostility, distrust, and
warfare, which had always been characteristic of the
relations between the various tribes and villages,
were an unmixed evil. Such men have used their
influence consistently and tactfully and energetically
to establish peaceful relations between the tribes.
Unlike some savage chieftains of warrior tribes in
other parts of the world, such as some of those
produced by the Bantu race, or those who
established the great confederation of the Iroquois
tribes, they have not sought merely to bring about
the combination of all the communities of their own
stock in order to dominate over or to exterminate
all other tribes. They have rather pursued a policy
of reconcilement and conciliation, aiming at estab-
lishing relations of friendship and confidence between
the communities of all languages and races. One
such powerful Kenyah chief of the Baram district,

2o6 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

Laki Avit, had earned a high reputation for such
statesmanship before the district was incorporated
in the Raj of Sarawak. His policy was to bring
about intermarriages between the families of the
chiefs and upper-class people of the various tribes.
Tama Bulan (see PI. 27), the leading Kenyah chief
of the same district at a later time, spared no efforts
to bring about friendly meetings between chiefs of
different tribes, for the purpose of making peace
and of promoting intercourse and mutual under-
standing.^ It should be added that these peace-
making ceremonies are generally of lasting effect ;
the oaths then taken are respected even by succeed-
ing generations. Tama Ruling, who a decade ago
was the most influential of the Batang Kayan chiefs,
had also spontaneously pursued a similar policy.^

It has been said of many savage peoples that they
recognise no natural death, but believe that all
deaths not due to violence are due to black magic.
No such statement can be made of the Kayans ; few,
if any, deaths are ascribed by them to the efforts of
sorcerers. Natural death is recognised as inevitable
in old age, and disease is vaguely conceived as the
effect of natural causes ; though as to what those
natural causes are they have no definite ideas. This
attitude is shown by their readiness to make use of
European drugs and of remedies for external applica-
tion. Quinine for fever, and sulphate of copper for
the treatment of yaws, are most in demand. Cholera
and smallpox are the great epidemic diseases which
have ravaged large areas of Borneo from time to
time. The Kayans recognise that both these
diseases spread up river from village to village, and
that to abstain from intercourse with all villages

^ See vol. ii. p. 296 for a striking example of self-control displayed by this
great man under most trying circumstances.

^ Only one evil effect of the success of these efforts for the spread of peace
has come under our notice, namely, a tendency in some communities to
economise labour by building flimsy houses in place of the massive and roomy
structures which were fortresses as well as dwelling-places.

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XX

PECULIARITIES 207

lower down river and to prevent any one coming
up river contributes to their immunity. With this
object the people of a tributary stream will fell trees
across its mouth or lower reaches so as to block it
completely to the passage of boats, or, as a less drastic
measure, will stretch a rope of rattan from bank to
bank as a sign that no one may enter (PI. 183).
Such a sign is generally respected by the inhabit-
ants of other parts of the river-basin. They are
aware also of the risk of infection that attends the
handling of a corpse of one who has died of epidemic
disease, and they attempt to minimise it by throw-
ing a rope around it and dragging it to the grave-
yard, and there burying it in a shallow grave in the
earth, without touching it with the hands.^

The Kayans have some slight knowledge of the
medicinal properties of some herbs, and make general
use of them. They administer as an aperient a
decoction of the leaves of a certain plant, called
Orobongy which they cultivate for the purpose on
their farms. The root of the ginger plant is used
both internally and for external application. A
variety of vegetable products are used in preparing
liniments ; the basis most in request for these is the
fat of the python and of other snakes, but wild pig's
fat is used as a more easily obtainable substitute.

There is a small common squirrel (Sciurus exilis),
the testicles of which are strikingly large in pro-
portion to his body. These organs are dried and

^ The desire of the people inhabiting a branch of the river to shut them-
selves off from all intercourse with the areas in which an epidemic disease is
raging, is sometimes disregarded by Malay or Chinese traders ; such disregard
has sometimes led to trouble.

This desire for seclusion as a safeguard against epidemics is by no means
peculiar to the tribes of the interior of Borneo, but seems to be shared by many
savage and barbarous peoples. It is one that ought to be strictly respected by
all travellers ; and we have no doubt that the disregard of this desire by European
explorers, ignorant, no doubt, of its existence or of the practical and rational
grounds on which it is based, has been the cause in many cases of their hostile
reception by native tribes and potentates, and has led to bloodshed and
punitive expeditions which might have been wholly avoided if the explorers
had been equipped with some general knowledge of, and some respect for, the
principles of conduct of savage peoples.

2o8 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

reduced to powder, and this powder, mixed with pig's
fat, is rubbed over the back and loins in cases of
impotence/

Kayan mothers treat colic in their children by-
chewing the dried root of a creeper (known as pado
tana) with betel nut, and spitting out the juice on
the belly of the patient.

Some of the coastwise Klemantans make use of a
bitter decoction of a certain creeper as a remedy for
jungle fever. It is asserted by Kayans and others
that the Punans make use of the poison of the ipoh
tree (the poison used on their darts) as an internal
remedy for fever. It is said also (probably with
truth, we think) that the Punans also apply the ipoh
poison to snake-bites and to festering wounds.^

Surgery

Broken limbs are bound round with neat splints
made of thin slips of bamboo tied in parallel series.
Little effort is made to bring the^broken ends of the
bones into their proper positions or to reduce
dislocations. Abscesses are not usually opened
with the knife, but are rather encouraged to point,
and are then opened by pressure. A cold poultice
of chopped leaves is applied to a bad boil or
superficial abscess, and it is protected from blows
and friction by a small cage of slips of rattan.
Festering wounds are dressed with the chewed
leaves or the juice of the tobacco plant, or are

^ In view of the valuable properties now attributed to spermin in some
scientific quarters, it would be rash to assert that this treatment can have
no therapeutic value. It is of interest to note that prolonged working of
camphor in the jungle is said to produce impotence and that, in order to avoid
this, the workers make frequent breaks and will not prolong a camphor-gather-
ing expedition beyond a limited period. For impotence is regarded by a young
Kayan as a very great calamity.

^ It seems possible that the Punans acquire some degree of immunity to the
effects of the ipoh poison through constantly handling it and applying it in the
ways mentioned above. The only evidence in support of this that we can offer
is the fact that the Punans handle their poisoned darts much more recklessly
than the other peoples.

XX

PECULIARITIES 209

washed with a solution of common salt. But a
clean wound is merely bound up with a rag ; or, if
there is much haemorrhage, wood ashes are first
applied. They practise no more efficient methods
for arresting haemorrhage.

Headache is treated by tugging the hair of the
* scalp in small bundles in systematic order. Massage
of the muscles is practised for the relief of pain, and
massage is applied to the abdomen in cases of
obstinate constipation ; in certain cases they claim
to break up hard lumps in the belly by squeezing
them with the hands. Bodily aches and fatigue are
relieved by pulling and bending the parts of the
limbs until all the joints crack in turn.

Cupping is perhaps the most frequently practised
surgical operation. Severe internal bruising from
falls or heavy blows is the usual occasjon. The
operation is performed by scratching the skin with
the point of a knife, and then applying the mouth of
a bamboo cup previously heated over the fire. The
cup is a piece of bamboo some five or six inches in
length and an inch or rather more in diameter.
Its edge is thinned and smoothed. Several of
these may be simultaneously applied in a case of
extensive bruising. Since this operation, like
tatuing, involves the shedding of blood, some small
offering, such as a few beads, must be made to the
patient by the operator.

The Kayans have distinct numerals up to ten
(yV, dua, telOy pat, limer, nam, tusu, saya, pitan,
pulu). Those from eleven to nineteen are formed
by prefixing pulu ( = ten) to the names of the digits ;
and those from twenty to twenty-nine by prefixing
dua pulu ( = two twenty) ; and so on up to ji ator
( = one hundred). Two hundred is dua ator, three
hundred is telo ator, and so on up to mibu ( = one
thousand). All or most of the other tribes (except
the Punans) have a similar system of numerals,

2IO PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

though the numbers beyond the first ten are Httle
used. In counting any objects that cannot be held
in the hand or placed in a row, the Kayan (and
most of the other peoples) bends down one finger for
each object told off or enumerated, beginning with
the little finger of the right hand, passing at six to
that of the left hand, and then to the big toe of the
right foot, and lastly to that of the left foot. When all
the names or objects have been mentioned, he holds
the toe reached until he or some one else has told
off the number ; if the number was, say, seventeen,
he would keep hold of the second toe of the left foot
until he had counted up the number implied by that
toe, either by means of counting or by adding up
five and five and five and two ; unless the count
ends on the little toe of the left foot, when he knows at
once that the number is twenty. If a larger number
than twenty is to be counted, as when, for example,
a chief has to pay in tax for each door of his house,
he calls in the aid of several men, who sit before
him. One of these tells off his fingers and toes as
the chief utters the names of the heads of the
rooms ; and when twenty have been counted in this
way, a second man begins on his fingers, while the
first continues to hold on to all his toes. A third
and a fourth man may be used in the same way to
complete the count ; and when it is completed, the
total is found by reckoning each man as two tens,
and adding the number of fingers and toes held
down by the last man. The reckoning of the tens
is done by addition rather than multiplication.
Both multiplication and division are almost unknown
operations.

When a chief is getting ready to pay in the door
tax of two dollars a door, he does not count the
doors and then multiply the number by two : he
simply lays down two dollars for each door and ^
pays in the lot, generally without knowing the sum

XX

PECULIARITIES 211

total of the dollars. If a chief were told to pay in
the tax for half his doors only, he would not know
how to carry out the instruction. Subtraction is
accomplished only in the most concrete manner, e.g,
if a man wished to take away eight from twenty-five,
he would count out twenty-five of the objects in
question, or of bits of leaf or stick, then push away
eight and count up the remainder. A dodge some-
times adopted, especially by the Kenyah, for count-
ing the persons present, is to take a fern-leaf with
many fronds, tear off a half of each frond, hand-
ing each piece to one of the men, until every man
present affirms that he has a piece, and then to count
the number of torn fronds remaining on the stalk.

It will thus be seen that the arithmetical
operations of the Kayans are of an extremely
concrete character ; those of the other tribes are
similar (with the exception again of the Punans,
who do not count beyond three) ; though many of
the Klemantans get confused over simple counting
and reckoning, which the Kayans accomplish
successfully.

Tama Bulan, the Kenyah chief whom we have
had occasion to mention in several connections,
obtained and learnt the use of an abacus from a
Chinaman, and used it effectively. This deficiency
in arithmetic is, however, no evidence of innate
intellectual inferiority, and there seems to be no
good reason to doubt that most of the people could
be taught to use figures as readily as the average
European ; those children who have entered the
schools seem to pick up arithmetic with normal
rapidity.

The Sea Dayaks sometimes deposit sums of
money with the Government officers, and they know
accurately the number of dollars paid in ; but when
they withdraw the deposit, they generally expect to
receive the identical dollars paid in by them.

212 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

Measurement

The Kayans use two principal standards of length,
namely, the buka and the buhak. The former is
the length of the span from finger-tip to tip of
outstretched arms ; the latter is the length of the
span from tip of the thumb to tip of the first finger
of the same hand. In buying a pig, for example,
the price is determined by the number of buhak
required to encircle its body just behind the fore-
legs. The half buka is also in general use, especi-
ally in measuring rattans cut for sale, the required
length of which is two and a hsXi buka. In order
to express the half, they have adopted the Malay
word stingaky having no word of their own.

Distances between villages are always expressed
in terms of the average time taken by a boat in
ascending the stream from one to the other.
Distances by land are expressed still more vaguely ;
for example, the distance between the heads of two
streams might be expressed by saying that, if you
bathe in one, your hair would still be wet when you
reach the other (which means about one hour) ; or
a longer distance, by saying that if you started at
the usual time from one of the places you would
reach the other when the sun is as high as the
hawk (which means a journey from sunrise to about
lo A.M.), or when the sun is overhead [i.e. noon), or
when it is declining (about 3 p.m.), or when the sun
is put out (sunset), or when it is dark.

In order to describe the size of a solid object
such as a fish, a Kayan would compare its thickness
with that of some part of his body, the forearm,
the calf of the leg, the thigh, or head, or the waist.
In describing the thickness of the subcutaneous fat
of a pig, he would mention one, two, three, or even
four fingers.

PECULIARITIES 213

COSMOLOGICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL NOTIONS

The more intelligent Kayans can give a fairly-
good general description of the geographical
features and relations of the district in which they
live. In order to do this a Kayan will map out the
principal features on a smooth surface by placing
pieces of stick to represent the rivers and their
tributaries, and pieces of leaf to represent the hills
and mountains ; he will pay special attention to the
relations of the sources of the various streams. In
this way a Kayan chief of the Baram would
construct a tolerably accurate map of the whole
Baram district, putting in Bruni and Usun Apo
and the heads of the Rejang, Batang Kayan,
Tutong, and Balait rivers. He knows that all the
rivers run to the sea, though few Kayans have
seen the sea or, indeed, been outside the basin
of their own river. To have been to another
river, or to have seen the sea, is a just ground of
pride. He does not know that Borneo is an island,
though he knows that the white men and the
Chinese come from over the sea ; he will confi-
dently assert that the sea is many times larger
than the Baram river, even ten times as large.
They seem to regard the sea as a big river of which
their main river is a tributary.

I bans sometimes speak of Airopa (meaning
Europe), which they take to mean the river Ropa,
as the home of the white man ; and all the tribes-
men are apt to think of foreigners as living on the
banks of rivers in forest-covered country much like
their own.

Although the Kayans do not observe the stars
and their movements for practical purposes, they
are familiar with the principal constellations, and
have fanciful names for them, and relate mythical

214 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

stories about the personages they are supposed to
represent (Chap. XVI I.)/ They seem to have paid
no special attention to the planets. Inconsistently
with the star myths, the stars are regarded as small
holes in the floor of another and brighter world,
and it is said that these holes have been made by
the roots of plants which have penetrated through
the soil of that world.

The sky is regarded as a dome which meets the
earth on every hand, and this limiting zone is spoken
of as the edge of the sky ; but they have no notion
how far away this edge may be ; they recognise that,
no matter how many days one travels in any one
direction, one never gets appreciably nearer to it,
and they conclude, therefore, that it must be very
distant. They understand that the clouds are very
much less distant than the sky, and that they merely
float about the earth. Neither sun nor moon seems
to be regarded as animated.

Two total eclipses of the sun have occurred in
Borneo in the last half-century. These, of course,
caused much excitement and some consternation.^
The former of them serves as a fixed date in relation
to which other events are dated.

The traditional lore of the Kayans provides
answers of a kind to many of the deep questions
that the spirit of enquiry proposes whenever man
has made provision against the most urgent needs
of his animal nature. Yet the keener intelligences
among them do not rest satisfied with these conven-
tional answers ; rather, they ponder some of the
deepest questions and discuss them with one another
from time to time. One question we have heard

^ There is current among the Klemantans a larger number of such myths
than among the Kayans.

2 The second occurred during the residence of one of us (C. H.) in the Baram,
and the alarm of the people was largely prevented by the issue to all the chiefs
of tebuku (tallies) foretelling the date of its incidence. Nevertheless one
woman, at least, was so much frightened by the spectacle that she ran into
her house and dropped down dead.

PECULIARITIES 215

debated is — Why do not the dead return ? Or
rather, Why do they become visible only in dreams
and even then so seldom ? The meeting of dead
friends in dreams generally leaves the Kayan doubt-
ful whether he has really seen his friend ; and he will
try to obtain evidence of the reality of the revenant
by prayer and by looking for a favourable answer in
the liver of a pig, the entrails of a fowl, or in the
behaviour of the omen birds. They argue that
persons who have been much attached to their
relatives and friends would surely return to visit
them frequently if such return were at all possible.

The relation of the sky to the earth remains also
an open and disputed question. One of us well
remembers how, when staying in a Kenyah house,
he was approached by a group of youths who
evidently were debating some knotty problem, and
how they very seriously propounded the following
question : — If a dart were shot straight up into the
air and went on and on, what would become of it "^
Would it come up against the sky and be stopped
by it?

The whereabouts of the home of the white men,
and how long is spent on the journey thither, are
questions often raised. Tama Bulan once raised
the question of the motion of the sun, and having
been told that really the earth revolves and that the
sun only appears to move round it, he argued that
this could hardly be, since we see the sun move
every day. For a long time he said nothing more
on this topic to us, but it continued to occupy his
mind ; for some years later he recurred to it and
announced that he now accepted the once incredible
doctrine, because he had inquired concerning it of
every European he had been able to meet, and all
had given him the same answer.

The methods of argument of the Kayans are
characteristic and worthy of a short description.

VOL. II p

2i6 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

As we have said, they are great talkers and orators.
They are by no means an impulsive people ; far less
so than the Kenyahs or the Sea Dayaks. Although
they are not a vivacious or talkative people in general
intercourse, every undertaking of any importance is
carefully discussed in all its aspects, often at what we
should consider unnecessary length, before the first
step is taken ; and in such discussions each man
likes to have his say, and each is heard out patiently
by his fellows. They have a strong belief in the
efficacy of words ; this is illustrated by the copious
flood of words which they pour out whenever they
perform any religious or other rite.

In arguing or persuading, or even threatening,
they rely largely on indirect appeals, on analogy,
simile, and metaphor, flavoured with a good deal of
humour of a rather heavy kind. Or they may con-
vey a strong hint by describing a professed dream
in which the circumstances under discussion are
symbolised.

The following incident illustrates this mode of
speech. Two Kayans quarrelled over the sale of a
pig. The current price was a dollar a buhak {i.e. the
span from finger-tip to thumb-tip, see vol. ii. p. 212).
The buyer had insisted on measuring it by spans
from thumb to tip of second finger, whereas the
customary span is to the tip of the index finger.
The case was brought before the chief, who of
course might have contented himself, but not
perhaps the purchaser, by authoritatively laying
down the law of custom. He, therefore, being a
man of tact and experience, thrust out his second
finger and pointed it at the purchaser of the pig,
saying, " Suppose any one pointed at you like that,
instead of with the index finger; you would all laugh
at him." All the people sitting round laughed, and
the purchaser went away convinced of the propriety
of using the index finger in measuring a pig.

PECULIARITIES 217

To illustrate the way in which a chief may exert
influence in matters in which he has no footing
for the exercise of formal authority, we cite the
following bit of history. It is an ancient custom
of the Kayans to have in the house a very large
lampit (the mat made of parallel strips of rattan),
the common property of the household, which is
spread on the occasion of the reception of visitors
to serve as a common seat for guests and hosts.
The Kayans of the Baram, under the individualis-
ing influences of trade and increasing stocks of
private property, neglected to renew these com-
munal mats ; and thus the good old custom was in
danger of dying out. This was observed with
regret by an influential chief, who, therefore, found
an opportunity to relate in public the following
story. " A party of Kayans," he said, " once came
over from the Batang Kayan to visit their relatives
in the Baram. The latter dilated upon the benefits
of the Rajah's government, peace, trade, and the
possibility of fine dress for themselves and their
wives and of many other desirable acquisitions, all
for the small annual payment of two dollars a door.
The visitors looked about them and confessed that
they still had to be content with bark clothing,
bamboo cups, and wooden dishes ; ' but,' they added,
* if you come to our house you will at least find
on the floor a good lampit on which we can all sit
together.' " The story quickly went the round of
the Kayan villages in the Baram, with the result
that large lampits quickly came back into general
use and the good old custom was preserved.

The Kayans have a keen sense of humour
and fun. As with ourselves, the most frequent
occasions of laughter are the small mishaps that
happen to one's companions or to oneself; and
practical jokes are perpetrated and appreciated.
For example, at the time when the wild pigs were

2i8 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

dying in large numbers, a boat-load of Kayans
working up-river encountered a succession of pigs'
carci^ses floating down, most of them in a state of
decomposition and swollen with gases. A practical
joker at the bow conceived the notion of prodding
the carcases with his spear and thus liberating the
foul-smelling gases for the benefit of those who sat
in the stern of the boat, to their great disgust and
the amusement of those on the forward benches.
Again — a Klemantan example — a chewer of betel-
nut and lime sometimes prepares several quids
wrapped carefully in sirih leaf, and sets them aside
till they are required. On one occasion, while the
crew of a boat landed to cook their dinner, a
youngster carefully opened such a quid and sub-
stituted a piece of filth for the betel-nut. When
the victim of the joke spat out the morsel, splutter-
ing with disgust and anger, the crew was moved to
loud laughter, which they tried in vain to suppress
out of consideration for the feelings of the victim ;
for no one likes to be laughed at.

But, although the Kayans have a strong sense of
the ridiculous, their laughter is not so violent and
uncontrollable as that of Europeans is apt to be,
and it is not so apt to recur from time to time at
the mere recollection of an amusing incident.

We refer to some of the stories reproduced in
Chapter XVII. as examples of the less crude forms of
humour appreciated by the people. These stories
are repeated again and again, without failing to
amuse those who are perfectly familiar with them.
/Esop's fables transposed into a Bornean key were,
we found, much appreciated. In a large proportion
of the entertaining stories of the Kayans, as well as
of the other tribes, the point of the story depends
on some reference to sexual relations or actions.
But such references are not, as a rule, coarsely put,
but rather hinted at merely, often in a somewhat

XX PECULIARITIES 219

obscure way ; e.^^. such a story may terminate before
the critical point is reached with some such phrase
as '* Well, well, what of it ? " and a shrug of the
shoulders.

The tendency of the Kayans to laconic speech
is well illustrated by their way of referring to well-
known stories or fables with one or two words, in
order to sum up or characterise a situation — much
as we say '* sour grapes ! "

Like all other varieties of mankind (some few
savage tribes perhaps excepted), the Kayans and
other tribes are apt to distort the truth in their own
favour, in describing from memory incidents that
seriously affect their interests. When a party has
allowed itself to commit some reprehensible action,
such as over-hasty and excessive reprisals, a whole
village, or even several villages, may conspire
together more or less deliberately to **rig up " some
plausible version of the affair which may serve to
excuse or justify the act in the eyes of the govern-
ment. A good Penghulu^ will set about the
investigation of such an affair with much tact and
patience. He will send for those immediately
concerned and patiently hear out their version of the
incident. If it departs widely from the truth, he
will find reason to suspect the fact. But, instead of
charging the men with untruthfulness, or attempt-
ing to extort the truth by threats, or bullying, or
torture (as is so often done in more highly civilised
courts), he keeps silence, shrugs his shoulders, and
tells them to go away and think it over, and to
come back another day with a better story. In
the meantime he hears the version of some other
group, who view the affair from a different angle,
and thus puts himself in a position to suggest
modifications of the new version of the former
group. When he has in this way gathered in a

^ See vol. ii. p. 272.

220 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

variety of accounts of the incident, he find himself
in a position to construct, by a process of moral
triangulation, an approximately correct picture ;
this he now lays before the party immediately
concerned, who, seeing that the game is up, fill in
the details and supply minor corrections. Through-
out this process the tactful Penghulu never shuts
the door upon his informants or tries to pin them
down to their words, or make them take them back ;
rather he keeps the whole story fluid and shifting, so
that, when the true account has been constructed, the
witnesses are not made to feel that they have lost
their self-respect.

It seems worth while to describe here one of a
large class of incidents which illustrate at the same
time the workings of the native mind and the way
in which an understanding of such workings may be
applied by the administrator. The Resident of the
Baram having heard of the presence in the central
no-man's land of a considerable population of
Kenyahs under a strong chief, Tama Kuling, sent
friendly messages to the latter. He responded by
sending a lump of white clay, which meant that he
and his people recognised that they were of the
same country as the people of the Baram and that
their feelings were friendly ; and with it came an
elaborately decorated brass hook (PI. 184), which
was to serve as a complimentary and symbolical
acknowledgment of the white man's power of bind-
ing the tribes together in friendship. He sent also
a verbal message acknowledging his kinship with
the Kenyahs of the Baram ; but he added that
he and his people were in the dark and needed a
torch (i.e. they wanted more explicit information
about the conditions obtaining in the Baram). In
reply to these representations, the Resident
despatched trusty messengers to Tama Kuling
bearing the following articles : a large hurricane

Plate 184. BRASS HOOKS AND SWORD - HANDLES SENT BY
TAMA KULING TO THE RESIDENT OF THE BARAM AS SYMBOLS
OF PEACE.

XX PECULIARITIES 221

lamp for Tama Ruling, and smaller ones for the
other principal chiefs of the district : smaller lamps
again were sent for the heads of houses, and with
them a large stock of boxes of lucifer matches, which
were to be dealt out to the heads of the rooms of
each house. In this way the desired torch was
provided for every member of their communities.
With these symbols went a large horn of the
African rhinoceros, out of which Tama Kuling might
fashion a hilt for his sword.^

We were afterwards informed that, on the arrival
of these symbolic gifts, Tama Kuling called
together the chiefs of all the surrounding villages to
receive their share, and to discuss the advisability
of accepting the implied invitation to migrate into
the Baram. The proposition was favourably re-
ceived, and a large proportion of the population of
that region have since acted upon the resolution
then taken.

To the disjointed collection of remarks which
make up this chapter we venture to add the follow-
ing observations. It has often been attempted to
exhibit the mental life of savage peoples as pro-
foundly different from our own ; to assert that they
act from motives, and reach conclusions by means of
mental processes, so utterly different from our own
motives and processes that we cannot hope to
interpret or understand their behaviour unless we
can first, by some impossible or at least by some
hitherto undiscovered method, learn the nature of
these mysterious motives and processes. These
attempts have recently been renewed in influential
quarters. If these views were applied to the savage
peoples of the interior of Borneo, we should char-
acterise them as fanciful delusions natural to the
anthropologist who has spent all the days of his life

^ The horn of the small and rare Bornean rhinoceros is the most highly-
valued of the various substances out of which the sword hilts are carved.

222 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap, xx

in a stiff collar and a black coat upon the well-paved
ways of civilised society.

We have no hesitation in saying that, the more
intimately one becomes acquainted with these pagan
tribes, the more fully one realises the close
similarity of their mental processes to one's own.
Their primary impulses and emotions seem to be in
all respects like our own. It is true that they are
very unlike the typical civilised man of some of the
older philosophers, whose every action proceeded
from a nice and logical calculation of the algebraic
sum of pleasures and pains to be derived from
alternative lines of conduct ; but we ourselves are
equally unlike that purely mythical personage. The
Kayan or the I ban often acts impulsively in ways
which by no means conduce to further his best
interests or deeper purposes ; but so do we also.
He often reaches conclusions by processes that
cannot be logically justified ; but so do we also.
He often holds, and upon successive occasions acts
upon, beliefs that are logically inconsistent with one
another ; but so do we also.

CHAPTER XXI

ETHNOLOGY OF BORNEO

In the foregoing chapters it has been shown that
the six groups which we have distinguished by
the names Kayans, Kenyahs, Klemantans, Muruts,
Nomads or Punans, and I bans or Sea Dayaks, differ
considerably from one another in respect of material
and moral culture as well as of mental and physical
characters. We have used these names as though
the groups denoted by them were well defined and
easily to be distinguished from one another. But
this is by no means the case. Our foregoing de-
scriptions are intended to depict the typical com-
munities of each group, those which present the
largest number of group-marks. Besides these more
typical communities, which constitute the main bulk
of the population, there are many communities or sub-
tribes which combine in some measure the character-
istics of two or more of the principal groups. It is this
fact that renders so extremely difficult the attempt to
classify the tribes and sub-tribes in any consistent
and significant fashion, and to which is largely due
the confusion that reigns in most of the accounts
hitherto given of the inhabitants of Borneo. We
believe, however, that the divisions marked by the
six names we have used, namely, Kayan, Kenyah,
Klemantan, Murut, Punan, and I ban, are true or
natural divisions ; and that the intermediate forms
are due, on the one hand, to crossing through inter-

223

224 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

marriage, which takes place continually in some
degree, and, on the other hand, to the adoption of
the customs and beliefs and traditions and to the
imitation of the arts and crafts of one natural group
by communities properly belonging to a different
group. The main groups seem to us to be
separated from one another by differences of two
kinds : some by racial or ethnic differences, which
involve differences of physical and mental constitu-
tion, as well as by cultural differences ; others by
differences of culture only, the racial characters being
hardly or not at all differentiated.

We propose in this chapter to attempt to justify
these main distinctions, and to define more nearly
their essential nature and grounds. This attempt
must involve the statement of our opinion as to the
ethnic affinities of all the principal tribes. We are
fully aware that this statement can be only of a
provisional nature, and must be liable to modifica-
tion and refinement in the light of further observa-
tion and discussion. But we think that such a
statement may serve a useful purpose ; namely, that
it may serve as a basis upon which such corrections
and refinements may later be made.

The most speculative part of this statement must
necessarily be that which deals with the affinities of
the tribes of Borneo with the populations of other
areas ; but even here we think it better to set down
our opinion for what it may be worth, not conceal-
ing from the reader its slight basis. We state in
the following paragraph the main features of the
history of the tribes of Borneo as we conceive it.

The wide distribution of remnants of the Negrito
race in the islands round about Borneo and in the
adjacent parts of the mainland of Asia renders it
highly probable that at a remote period Negritos
lived in Borneo ; but at the present time there
exist no Negrito community and no distinct traces of

Plate 185. A KAYAN OF THE MAHAKAM RIVER.

XXI ETHNOLOGY OF BORNEO 225

the race, whether in the form of fossil remains or of
physical characters of the present population, unless
the curly hair and coarse features of a few individuals
to be met with in almost all the tribes may be re-
garded as such traces. These negroid features of a
small number of the present inhabitants are perhaps
sufficiently accounted for by the fact that slaves
have been imported into Borneo from time to time
throughout many centuries by Arabs and Malays
and by the Illanum pirates ; and some of these
slaves were no doubt Negritos, and some, possibly,
Africans or Papuans/

We leave open the question of an ancient Negrito
population, and goon to the statement that the present
population is derived from four principal sources.
From a very early period the island has been in-
habited in all parts by a people of a common origin
whose surviving descendants are the tribes we have
classed as Klemantans, Kenyahs, and Punans. This
people probably inhabited Borneo at a time when
it was still connected with the mainland. Their
cultural status was probably very similar to that of
the existing Punans. It seems not improbable that
at this early period, perhaps one preceding the
separation of Borneo, Sumatra, and Java from the
mainland, this people was scattered over a large
part of this area. For in several of the wilder
parts, where the great forest areas remain untouched,
bands of nomads closely resembling the Punans
of Borneo are still to be found, notably the Orang
Kubu of Sumatra, and perhaps the Bantiks of
northern Celebes. The principal characteristics of
this primitive culture are the absence of houses or
any fixed abode ; the ignorance of agriculture, of
metal-working, and of boat-making ; and the nomadic

^ Although it is impossible to form any estimate of the numbers of such im-
ported slaves of negroid type, it is, we assert, a fact that some have been
imported. We have trustworthy information of the possession of two Abyssinian
slaves in recent times by a Malay noble.

226 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

hunting life, of which the blow-pipe is the principal
instrument. The chief and only important improve-
ment effected in the condition of the Punans since
that early period would seem to be the introduction
of the superior form of blow-pipe of hard wood.
This cannot be made without the use of a metal
rod for boring, and, since none of the Bornean tribes
which still lead the nomad life know how to work
metals, it may be inferred that they have learnt the
craft of making the sumpitan from more cultured
neighbours, procuring from them by barter the iron
tools required — as they still do.

It is impossible to make any confident assertion
as to the affinities of this widely diffused people from
which we believe the Punans, Kenyahs, and
Klemantans to be descended. But the physical
characters of these tribes, in respect of which they
differ but slightly from one another, lead us to
suppose that it was formed by a blending of
Caucasic and Mongoloid elements, the features of
the former predominating in the race thus formed.
The fairness of the skin, the wavy and even, in some
individuals, the curly character of the hair ; the
regular and comparatively refined features of many
individuals ; the frequent occurrence of straight and
aquiline noses ; the comparatively large, horizontal,
or only slightly oblique, palpebral aperture ; the not
infrequent absence of all trace of the Mongolian fold
of the eyelid and its slightness when present — all
these characters point to the predominance of the
Caucasic element in the ethnic blend.

On the other hand, the smooth yellowish skin, the
long dark thick hair of the scalp, and the scantiness
of the hair on the cheeks, chin, and lips ; the rather
broad cheek-bones, the prevailing slight obliquity of
the eyes, the rather narrow palpebral aperture, and
the presence of a slight Mongolian fold — these
characters (all of which are found in a considerable

ETHNOLOGY OF BORNEO 227

proportion of these peoples) are features that point
to Mongol ancestry.^

It was said above that the skin of these tribes is
of very pale yellow colour. In this respect there is
little to choose between them, but on the whole the
Punans are of rather lighter colour than the others,
and, as was said before, of a faintly green tinge.
This difference is, we think, sufficiently accounted for
by the fact that the Punan seldom or never exposes
himself to full sunlight, whereas the others are
habitually sun-browned in some degree. But the
lighter colour of this whole group of tribes (as com-
pared especially with the Kayans and I bans) cannot
be explained in this way ; for the habits and con-
ditions of life of Kenyahs and Klemantans are very
closely similar to those of the Kayans ; and it must,
we think, be regarded as a racial character.

The name Indonesian is perhaps most properly
applied to this people which we suppose to have
resulted from the contact and blending of the
Caucasic and Mongoloid stocks in this corner of
Asia. The systematic ethnographers use this term
in a vague and uncertain manner. Deniker
defines the Indonesians by saying that they com-
prise **the little intermixed inland populations of
the large islands (Dyaks of Borneo, Battas of
Sumatra, various '' Alfurus " of Celebes, and certain
Moluccas)." ^ He seems doubtful whether the name

^ In the course of measuring and observing the physical characters of some
350 individuals of the various tribes, we recorded in each case the eye
characters. Of a group of 80 subjects made up of Kenyahs, Klemantans, and
Punans (who in this respect do not differ appreciably from one another), we
noted a moderately marked Mongolian fold in 14 subjects, the rest having in
equal numbers either no fold or but a slight trace of it. As regards obliquity
of the aperture, in rather more than half it was recorded as slight, in one
quarter as lacking, and in the rest as moderate. As regards the size of
palpebral apertures, half were noted as medium, and about one quarter as small,
and the remaining quarter as large. In the main, obliquity and smallness of
aperture go with the presence of the Mongolian fold. The most common form
of eye in this group may therefore be described as very slightly oblique,
moderately large, and having a slight trace of the Mongolian fold.

^ The Races of Man, p. 486, London, 1900.

228 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

Indonesian should be applied to the eight groups
of aborigines of Indo-China which he distinguishes/
He recognises that the Indonesians and the
Malayans are of very similar physical characters, but
distinguishes them as two of four races which have
given rise to the population of the Malay Archi-
pelago— namely, Malayans, Indonesians, Negritos,
and Papuans. He regards the Indonesians (used in
a wide sense to include Malays) as most closely
akin to the Polynesians ; but he expresses no opinion
as to their relations to the Mongol and Caucasic
stocks.

Keane describes the Indonesians as a Proto-
Caucasic race which must have occupied Malaysia
and the Philippines in the New Stone Age. He
separates them widely from the Malays and Proto-
Malays, whom he describes as belonging to the
Oceanic branch of the Mongol stock ; ^ and the
" Dyaks " of Borneo are classed by him with strict
impartiality sometimes with the Proto-Malays,
sometimes with the Proto-Caucasians.

If these oldest inhabitants of Borneo may be
regarded as typical Indonesians (and we think that
they have a strong claim to be so regarded), then
we think that the usage of the term by both
Keane and Deniker errs in accentuating unduly
the affinity of the Indonesians with the Polynesians,
and that Keane's errs also in ignoring the Mongol
affinities of the Indonesians.

The most plausible view of the relations of these
stocks seems to us to be the following. Poly-
nesians and Indonesians are the product of an
ancient blend of southern Mongols with a fair
Caucasic stock. In both the Caucasic element
predominates, but more so in the Polynesian than
in the Indonesian. We imagine this blending to

1 op. cit. p. 392.
2 Man^ Past and Present^ London, 1899, pp. 562 and 143.

Plate 187. AN ORANG BUKIT (KLEMANTAN) WOMAN,
BARAM DISTRICT.

XXI ETHNOLOGY OF BORNEO 229

have been effected at a remote period in the south-
eastern corner of Asia, probably before the date at
which Borneo became separated from the mainland.
If, as seems probable, this blending was effected by
the infusion of successive doses of Mongol blood
from the north into a Caucasic population that had
previously diffused itself over this corner of Asia
from the west,^ the smaller proportion of the
Mongol element in the Polynesians may be due to
their having passed into the islands, while the
Indonesians remained on the continent receiving
further infusions of Mongol blood.

The separation of Borneo from the mainland then
isolated part of the Indonesian stock within it, at
a period when their culture was still in a very
primitive condition, presumably similar to that of the
Punans. The Proto-Malays, on the other hand,
represent a blending of the Mongol stock (or of
a part of the Indonesian race) with darker stock
allied to the Dravidians of India, which is perhaps
properly called Proto-Dravidian, and of which the
Sakai of the Malay peninsula (and, perhaps, the
Toala of central Celebes) seem to be the surviving
representatives in Malaysia. In this blend, which
presumably was effected in an area south of that in

^ Prof. A. H. Keane {Man, Past and Present, p. 206), after citing the
statements of various observers to the effect that persons of almost purely
Caucasic or European type are not infrequently encountered among several
of the tribes of Upper Burma, Tonking, and Assam, notably the Shans,
and the allied peoples known as Chins, Karens, Kyens, and Kakhyens,
writes : " Thus is again confirmed by the latest investigations, and by the
conclusions of some of the leading members of the French school of anthropo-
logy, the view first advanced by me in 1879, that peoples of the Caucasic
(here called ' Aryan ') division had already spread to the utmost confines of
south-east Asia in remote prehistoric times, and had in this region even
preceded the first waves of Mongolic migration radiating from their cradle-
land on the Tibetian plateau." While we accept this view, so ably maintained
by Keane, it is only fair to point out that J. R. Logan, in a paper published in
1850, had maintained that a Gangetic people (by which he meant a people
formed in the Gangetic plain by the blending of Caucasic and Mongoloid
stocks) had wandered at a remote epoch into the area that is now Burma,
following the shore of the Indo-Malayan sea ; and that he recognised the
Karens and Kakhyens as the modern representatives of this people of partially
Caucasic origin ("The Ethnology of Eastern Asia," The Journal of the Indian
Archipelago, vol. iv. p. 481, 1850).

230 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

which the Indonesian blend was formed, the Mongol
element seems to predominate.

After the separation of Borneo from the mainland,
there came a long period throughout which it
remained an isolated area, the population of which
received no important accessions from other areas.
It is probable that during this period the Indonesian
population of the mainland continued to receive
further infusions of Mongol blood ; for there is
abundant evidence that for a long time past there has
been a drifting of Mongol peoples, such as the Shans,
southwards from China into the Indo-Chinese area.

We may suppose that during this period the
knowledge and practice of working iron, of building
long houses and boats, and of cultivating padi,
became diffused through the greater part of the
population of this corner of the Asiatic continent.
This advance of culture would have rendered
possible the passage of these peoples to the islands
in boats. But it seems probable that no consider-
able incursion of people from this area was effected
until a comparatively recent date.

In Chapter II. we have mentioned the evidences
of Hindu- Javan influence on Borneo, to which
must be ascribed the existence of the Buddhist
court at Bruni before the coming of the Malays,
as well as traces of Hindu culture in south Borneo,
including the practice of cremation by the Land
Dayaks, the burning of the bones by other tribes,
stone carvings,^ and articles of gold and fragments
of pottery of Hindu character. There must have
been a certain infusion of Javanese and perhaps
Hindu blood at this time ; but both in physical
type and in culture the surviving traces seem to be
insignificant.

1 Nieuwenhuis publishes a photograph of such carvings found in the
Mahakan or Upper Kotei river. They included fragments of a cylindrical
column and what seems to be a caparisoned kneeling elephant. Quer durch
Borneo^ vol. ii. p. ii6.

-"•■' ■ ■":3s»-T

Plate i88. PROFILE OF WOMAN IN PLATE 187.

ETHNOLOGY OF BORNEO 231

We have mentioned also in Chapter II. the early-
intercourse between China and the Buddhist rulers
of Bruni and other parts of north and north-
west Borneo, and the legend of an early settlement
of Chinese in the extreme north.

But these civilised or semi-civilised visitors
and settlers were separated from the indigenous
Borneans by a great culture gap, and they prob-
ably had but little friendly intercourse with them
and affected their culture but little, if at all ; and
though it is possible that they bartered salt, metal,
tools, and weapons, for camphor and other jungle
produce, their influence, like that of the Malays,
probably extended but a little way from the coasts
in most parts of the island. The higher culture of
the indigenous tribes of the interior has been
introduced, we believe, by invasions of peoples less
widely separated from them in cultural level, who
have penetrated far into the interior and have
mingled intimately with them. Three such invasions
may be distinguished as of principal importance :
that of the Kayans in the south and perhaps in the
south-east, of the Muruts in the north, and of the
Ibans in the south-west. Each of these three
invading populations has spread up the course of
the rivers to the interior and has established its
communities over large areas, until in the course of
the nineteenth century they have encountered one
another for the first time. Besides these three
most numerous and important invasions, there have
been many smaller settlements from the surround-
ing islands, especially from Java, Celebes, and the
Philippines, whose blood and culture have still
further diversified the population and culture of
the tribes of Borneo and complicated the ethno-
graphical problems of the island.

Of the three principal invasions, that of the
Kayans has been of most effect in spreading

VOL. II Q

232 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

a higher culture among the indigenous popula-
tion.

There is good reason to believe that the Kayans
have spread across Borneo from the south and
south-eastern parts, following up the course of the
large rivers until they reached Usun Apo, the
central highlands, in which (see vol. i. p. 2) all
the large rivers have their sources. The tradition
of such north - westward migration is preserved
among the Kayans of the Baram, who, according
to their own account, crossed the watershed into
the basins of the western rivers only a few
generations ago. This tradition is in accordance
with the fact that, within the memory of men still
living, they have spread their villages farther
westward along the banks of the Baram and the
Rejang rivers, driving back the Muruts northwards
from the Baram. It is borne out by the accounts
of the Bruni Malays to the effect that the Brunis
first became acquainted with the Kayans some few
generations ago, and had known the Muruts long
before the advent of the Kayans ; and further, by
the fact that the Kayans have left their name
attached to many rivers both in the south and east,
where the name Batang Kayan (or Kayan River)
is the common appellation of several rivers on
which Kayan villages are now very few.

The Kayans seem to have entered Borneo by
way of the rivers opening on the south coast, and
gradually to have penetrated to the central high-
lands by following up these rivers, pushing out
communities every few years to build new villages
higher up the river in the course of their unceasing
search for new areas adapted to their wasteful
farming operations.

There can, we think, be little doubt that the
Kayans are the descendants of emigrants from the
mainland, and that they brought with them thence

ETHNOLOGY OF BORNEO 233

all or most of the characteristic culture that we
have described. But from what part exactly
of the mainland, and by what route, they have
come, and how long a time was occupied by the
migration, are questions in answer to which we
cannot do more than throw out some vague
suggestions.

We believe that the Kayans migrated to Borneo
from the basin of the Irrawadi by way of Tenas-
serim, the Malay Peninsula, and Sumatra ; and that
they represent a part of the Indonesian stock which
had remained in the basin of the Irrawadi and
adjacent rivers from the time of the separation of
Borneo, there, through contact with the southward
drift of peoples from China, receiving fresh infusions
of Mongol blood ; a part, therefore, of the Indo-
nesians which is more Mongoloid in character than
that part which at a remote period was shut up in
Borneo by its separation from the mainland. During
this long period the Kayans acquired or developed
the type of culture characterised by the cultiva-
tion of padi on land newly cleared of jungle by
burning, the building of long houses on the banks
of rivers, the use of boats, and the working of
iron.

The way in which in Borneo the Kayans hang
together and keep touch with one another, even
though scattered through districts in which numerous
communities of other tribes are settled, preserving
their characteristic culture with extreme faithfulness,
lends colour to the supposition that the whole tribe
may thus have been displaced step by step, passing
on from one region and from one island to another
without leaving behind any part of the tribe. The
passage of the straits between the Peninsula and
Sumatra, and between Sumatra and Borneo, are
the parts of this tribal migration that are the most
difficult to imagine. But we know that Kayans do

234 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

not fear to put out to sea in their long war-boats.
We have known Kayan boats to descend the Baram
River and to follow the coast up to Bruni ; and we
have trustworthy accounts of such expeditions
having been made in former days by large war
parties in order to fight in the service of the Sultan
of Bruni. The distance from the Baram mouth to
Bruni (about lOO miles) is nearly equal to the width
of the broadest stretch of water they must have
crossed in order to have reached Borneo from the
mainland by way of Sumatra. This hypothetical
history of the immigration of the Kayans receives
some support from the fact that a vague tradition
of having crossed the sea still persists among them.
We attach some importance to this Kayan tra-
dition of their having come over the sea, as
evidence that they are comparatively recent im-
migrants to Borneo ; but the principal grounds on
which we venture to suggest this history of the
Kayans and of their invasion of Borneo are three :
first, the affinities of the Kayans in respect of
physical character and culture to certain tribes still
existing in the area from which we believe them to
have come ; secondly, historical facts which go far
to explain such a migration ; thirdly, their relations
to other tribes of Borneo. We add a few words
under each of these heads.

I. As long ago as the year 1850, J. R. Logan,
writing of highland tribes of the basins of the
Koladan and Irrawadi and the south-eastern part
of the Brahmaputra, asserted that ** the habits of
these tribes have a wonderful resemblance to those
of the inland lank-haired races of Indonesia. . . .
There is hardly a minute trait in the legends,
superstitions, customs, habits, and arts of these
tribes, and the adjacent highlanders of the remainder
of the Brahmaputra basin, that is not also charac-
teristic of some of the ruder lank-haired tribes of

Plate 189. LONG POKUNS (KLEMANTANS) OF DAPOI RIVER
BARAM DISTRICT.

XXI ETHNOLOGY OF BORNEO 235

Sumatra, Borneo, the Philippines, Celebes, Ceram,
and the trans-Javan islands." ^

This assertion, though, no doubt, rather too
sweeping, seems to have a large basis in fact, so
far as it concerns the tribes of Borneo.

We have not been able to find that any one
tribe of this part of the mainland agrees closely with
the Kayans in respect of physical characters and all
important cultural features. Nevertheless, very many
of the features of the Kayan culture are described
as occurring amongst one or another tribe, though
commonly with some considerable differences in
detail. In attempting to identify the nearest
relatives of the Kayans among the mainland tribes,
it has to be remembered that_ all these have been
subjected to much disturbance, in some cases, no
doubt, involving changes of habitat, since the date
at which, as we suppose, the Kayans left the
continent. And since the Kayans, from the time
of their arrival in Borneo, have played the part of a
dominating and conquering people among tribes of
lower culture, and have imposed their customs upon
these other tribes, without blending with them or
accepting from them any important cultural elements,
it follows that we must regard the Kayans as having
preserved, more faithfully than their relatives of the
mainland, the culture which presumably they had
in common with them a thousand years or more
ago.

Of all the peoples of the south-eastern corner of
the continent, the one which seems to us most closely
akin to the Kayans is that which comprises the
several tribes of the Karens.^ These have been
regarded by many authors (3) as the indigenous
people of Burma. Their own traditions tell of their

•^ "The Ethnology of Eastern Asia,"yi7Mrw. of Indian Archipelago^ vol. iv.
P- 478.

^ We have not been able to find any full and satisfactory description of the
Karens, but we have brought together whatever statements about them and the

236 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

coming from the north across a great river of sand
and of having been driven out of the basin of the
Irrawadi at a later date (i). At present the Karens
are found chiefly in the Karen hills of Lower Burma
between the Irrawadi and the Sal ween and in
the basin of the Sittang River, which runs south-
wards midway between those two greater rivers to
open into the head of the Gulf of Martaban. But
they have been much oppressed by their more
civilised neighbours, the Burmese and the Shans,
and their communities are widely scattered in the
remoter parts of the country and are said to extend
into Tenasserim far down the Malay Peninsula.
By the Burmese they are called also Kay ens or
Kyens, the y and r sounds being interchangeable in
Burmese (i and 3).

Peoples generally recognised as closely akin to
the Karens are the Chins (who are also known as
Khyens) (14) of the basin of the Chindwin, the
large western tributary of the Irrawadi ; and the
Kakhyens (also called Kachings and Singpho), who
occupy the hills east of Bhamo and the basin of the
river Tapang in the borderlands of Burma and
Yunnan (7). The Nagas of Manipur and of the
Naga Hills of Assam also seem to belong to the

tribes most nearly related to them seem significant for our purpose from the
following sources. The figures in brackets in the text refer to this list,
(i) J, R. Logan, ** The Ethnology of Eastern Asia," loc. cit.

(2) Lieut. -Col. James Low on " The Karean Tribes of Martaban and Javai,"

Journ. of Indian Arch. , vol. iv.

(3) A. R. McMahon, The Karens of the Golden Chersonese ^ London, 1876.

(4) E. B. Cross, "The Karens,"/^^^- of the Amer. Oriental Soc, 1854.

(5) T. Mason, "The Karens, "yi7wr«. of the Asiatic Soc.^ 1866, part ii.

(6) D. M. Smeaton, The Loyal Karens of Burma, London, 1887.

(7) J. Anderson, From Mandalay to Momien.

(8) Lieut. -Col. Waddell, "Tribes of the Brahmaputra Valley, "/^«''«- of the

Royal Asiatic Soc, 1900.

(9) A. R. Colquhoun, Afnongthe Shans, London, 1885.

(10) T. C. Hodson, Naga Tribes of Manipur, London, 191 1.

(11) T. C. Hodson, "The Assam Hills," a paper read before the Geogra-

phical Society of Liverpool in 1905.

(12) Sir J. G. Scott, Burma.

(13) A. H. Keane, Man, Past and Present, London, 1899.

(14) J. Deniker, The Races of Man, l.oiidoTi, 1900,

XXI ETHNOLOGY OF BORNEO 237

same group of peoples, though less closely akin to
the Karens than the Chins and the Kakhyens.

It seems highly probable that all these, together
with the Kayans, are surviving branches of a people
which occupied a large area of south-eastern Asia,
more especially the basin of the Irrawadi, for a
considerable period before the first of the success-
ive invasions which have given rise to the existing
Burmese and Shan nations. The physical characters
of all of them are consistent with the view taken
above, namely, that they represent the original
Indonesian population of which the Klemantans of
Borneo are the pure type, modified by later infusions
of Mongol blood. In all these occur individuals
who are described as being of almost purely Caucasic
type and very light in colour.

Three principal tribesof Karens are distinguished,
the Sgan, Pwo, and Bwe. Of these the Bwe are
also known as the Hill-Karens and seem to have
preserved their own culture more completely than
the others, though the Sgan are said to be the
purest in blood, the lightest in colour, and more dis-
tinctive in type than any other of the tribes of south-
eastern Asia (4). Of the Hill-Karens, Mason said,
*' Some would iDe pronounced European. Indeed, if
not exposed to the sun, some of them would be as
fair, I think, as many of the inhabitants of northern
Europe." Yet the commoner type of Karen is said
to show distinctly Mongoloid facial characters. Of
those Karens who have been least affected by their
more cultured neighbours, we are told that they live
in small communities, each of which is governed by a
patriarch who is at once high priest and judge, and
who punishes chiefly by the infliction of fines. He
raises no regular tax, but receives contributions in
kind towards the expenses of entertainment (3).
Several communities join together, sometimes under
a leading chief, in order to meet a common foe (3).

238 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

They build long houses in which a whole com-
munity of as many as 400 persons dwell together
(4). These houses are described as of H imalayic type.
"It (the house) is made by sinking posts of large size
firmly in the ground and inserting beams or joists
through the posts eight feet from the ground, and
on these laying the floor with slats of bamboo."
The walls and partitions are mats of woven bamboo,
and the roof is thatched with palm leaves (4). This
very incomplete description leaves it open to suppose
that the Karen house is very similar to that built
by the Kayans when for any reason the latter build
in hasty and temporary fashion. But the still more
scanty description of another writer (3) implies that
the arrangement of the interior of the house is
unlike that characteristic of the Kayans. They
frequently migrate to new sites.

The Karens cult i vat e/<3;<2^z and prepare the jungle
land for cultivation by burning down the forest.
They prepare from rice a spirit to which they
are much addicted. The hill tribes are truculent
warriors and head-hunters. Captives are made
slaves. They use and make spears and axes, and a
cross-bow^ with poisoned arrows. They rear pigs
and poultry, and train dogs to the chase. The men
eradicate their beards. They wear many small rings
on the forearms and legs. The lobes of the ear are
perforated and often enormously distended (3).

They address prayers and supplications for pro-
tection and prosperity to a Supreme Being whom
they address as " Lord of the heavens and earth " (5).
They believe also in a multitude of nature spirits,
most of whom are harmful. The fear of them
occasions many ceremonial acts. The taking of
heads is said to be a means of propitiating these
spirits (3). They believe that during sickness the
soul departs from the body ; and the medicine-man

^ The cross-bow is used as a toy by Kayan boys only.

Plate 190. LIRONG (KLEMANTAN) YOUTHS OF TINJ'AR RIVER.

ETHNOLOGY OF BORNEO 239

attempts to arrest it and to bring it back to the body
of the patient. In this and other rites the blood of
fowls (which they are said to venerate) (2) is smeared
on the participants. Divination by means of the
bones of fowls and the viscera, especially the liver of
the pig, is in common use (5). The souls of the dead
go to a place in which they live much as in this
world. It is called Apu Lagan^ (3). In this
abode of shades everything is upside down and all
directions are inverted (5). There are no rewards
and punishments after death (3). Parents take the
names of father and mother of So-and-so — the
name of their first child. The knife with which the
navel cord is cut at birth is carefully preserved (5).
Finally, the Karens are said to be distinguished by
a lack of humour, a trait which is well marked also
in the Kayans.

In respect of all the characters and culture
elements mentioned above, the Karens- resemble the
Kayans very closely. Against these we have to
set off a few customs mentioned by our authorities
in which they differ from the Kayans.

The Karens eat everything except members of
the cat tribe. They bury the bodies of the dead
after they have lain in state some three or four
days ; and they hold an annual feast for the dead
at the August new moon. They ascribe two souls
to man, one of a kind which is possessed also by
animals, tools, weapons, the rice, and one which is the
responsible soul peculiar to man.^

The bride is taken to the house of the bride-
groom's father. Only one tribe, namely, the Red
Karens, practises tatu, and among them a figure
which seems to represent the rising sun is tatued
on the back of the men only (5). They weave a
coarse cloth.

^ Cp. the Kayan Apo Leggan^ vol. ii. p. 40.

"^ This, however, is a statement which perhaps might loosely be made of the
Kayans. Cp. vol. ii. p. 34.

240 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

These differences are not very great, and their
significance is diminished by the following con-
siderations. The Kayans may have acquired their
aversion to killing the dog through contact with
Malays. They bury the dead in the ground in the
case of poor persons or those dead of epidemic
disease. And they have a tradition that they
formerly practised the weaving of cloth. They may
also have acquired the art of making and using the
solid wooden blow-pipe from Malays ; and this
would account for their having given up the use
of the bow and arrow as a serious weapon. On
the other hand, the inferior houses of the Karens,
the lack of restrictions among them upon animal
foods, their earth burial — all these may well be due
to decay of custom among an oppressed people ;
and the fact that they^seem to make but little use
of boats may well be due to their having been driven
away from the main rivers and pushed into the hills.
We have little doubt that many more points of
resemblance would be discoverable, if we had any
full account of the Karens as they were before their
culture was largely affected by contact with Burmese
and Shans and by the influence of the missionaries
who have taught so successfully among them for
more than sixty years.

Among the elements of Kayan culture which
are lacking or but feebly represented among the
Karens, some are reported among the tribes most
nearly allied to the Karens, and others among other
peoples of the same area.

Thus the peculiar Kayan custom of tatuing the
thighs of women has a close parallel in the tatuing
of the thighs of men among all Burmese and Shans ;
and the Kayans may well have adopted the practice
from them. Among the Shans there obtains the
custom of placing the coffin on upright timbers at
some height above the ground (9). Among the

Plate 191. A LIRONG WOMAN (KLEMANTAN) OF THE TINJAR RIVER.

XXI ETHNOLOGY OF BORNEO 241

Nagas, and especially the Kuki Nagas, who are said
to be most nearly allied to the Karens, beside a
number of the culture elements which we have
noticed above as common to Karens and Kayans,
other noteworthy points of resemblance to the
Kayans are the following : A system of tabu ox genua
which may affect individuals or whole villages, and
is very similar to the malan of the Kayans ; the
practice of ornamenting houses with heads of
enemies, the motive of taking the head being to
provide a slave in Hades for a deceased chief;
the use of human and other hair in decorating
weapons.^

Their method of attacking a village is like that of
the Kayans, namely, to surround it in the night and
to rush it at dawn ; they obstruct the approach of an
enemy to their village by planting in the ground
short pieces of bamboo sharpened and fire-hardened
at both ends ; they use an oblong wooden shield or
a rounded shield of plaited cane ; their blacksmiths
use a bellows very like that of the Kayan smiths ;
they husk their padi in a solid wooden mortar with
a big pestle a la Kayan ; they floor their houses
with similar massive planks ; they catch fish in nets
and traps, and by poisoning the water ; men pierce
the shell of the ear in various ways ; omens are read
from the viscera of pigs, and the cries of some birds
are unlucky ; they worship a Supreme Deity and a
number of minor gods, e.g, gods of rain and of
harvest ; they often sacrifice pigs and fowls to

^ It is worthy of note that the Kayans have long used and highly prize
for the decoration of their swords the hair of the Tibetan goat dyed a dark red,
and have continued to obtain this hair at a great price from Malay and Chinese
traders. The wild tribes of the Chin hills, said to be closely akin to the Kukis,
adorn their shields with tassels of goat's hair dyed red (see The Chin Hills,
by B. S. Carey and H. N. Tuck, Rangoon, 1896). According to the same
authorities, these Chins are inveterate head-hunters. They read omens in the
livers of pigs and other beasts, and in the cries of birds ; they wear a loin-
cloth like the Kayan Bah ; they scare pests from their padi fields by means
of an apparatus like that used by Kayans (vol. i. p. 102) ; they floor their houses
with huge planks hewn out with an adze very similar to the Kayan adze.

242 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

the gods, and omens are always read from the
slaughtered animals ; those who die in battle and in
childbirth are assigned to special regions of the
other world ; the women are tatued (on chest) to
facilitate recognition in Hades ; in felling the jungle
preparatory to burning it to make ^padi farm, they
always leave at least one tree standing for the
accommodation of the spirits of the place.

Other of the instruments, arts, and customs of the
Kayans are found widely spread in south-eastern
Asia. Such are the small axe or adze with lashed
head ; the musical instrument of gourd and bamboo
pipes with reeds ; the bamboo guitar ; the use of old
beads and of hornbill feathers for personal adorn-
ment ; the making of fire by friction of a strip of
rattan across a block of wood.

II. Whether this people, of whom the Kayans,
Karens, Chins, Kakhyens, and Nagas, seem to be
the principal surviving branches, came into the
Irrawadi basin and adjacent areas by migration
from Central Asia by way of the Brahmaputra valley,
as Cross and McMahon (accepting the tradition of
the Karens) believe, or came, as Logan suggested,
eastward from Bengal, it seems certain that it has
been divided into fragments, driven away from the
main rivers, and in the main pushed southwards by
successive swarms of migration from the north.
This pressure from the north seems to have driven
some of the Karens down into the Malay Peninsula,
where they are still found ; and it may well be that,
before the rise of the Malays as an aggressive people
under Arab leadership, the ancestors of the Kayans
occupied parts of the peninsula farther south than
the Karens now extend, and possibly also parts of
Sumatra. If this was the case, it was inevitable
that, with the rise to dominance of the Mohammedan
Malays in this region, the Kayans must have been
either driven out, exterminated, or converted to

ETHNOLOGY OF BORNEO 243

Islam and absorbed. It seems probable that
different communities of them suffered these three
different fates.

The supposition that the Kayans represent a part
of such a population, which was driven on by the
pressure of Malays to seek a new country in which
to practise its extravagant system oi padi culture, is
in harmony with the probability as to the date of
their immigration to the southern rivers of Borneo ;
for the rise and expansion of the Menangkabau
Malays began in the middle of the twelfth century
A.D. ; and the Kayans may well have entered Borneo
some 700 years ago.

III. We have now to summarise the evidence in
favour of the view that the Kayans have imparted
to the Kenyahs and many of the Klemantan tribes
the principal elements of the peculiar culture which
they now have in common.

We have shown that the culture of the Kenyah
and Klemantan tribes is in the main very similar to
that of the Kayans, and that it differs chiefly in
lacking some of its more advanced features, in having
less sharply defined outlines, in its greater variability
from one community to another, and in the less
strict observance of custom. Thus the Kayans in
general live in larger communities, each of their
villages generally consisting of several long houses ;
whereas a single long house generally constitutes
the whole of a Kenyah or Klemantan village. The
Kayans excel in iron-working, in padi culture, in
boat-making, and in house-building. Their customs
and beliefs are more elaborated, more definite,
more uniform, and more strictly observed. Their
social grades are more clearly marked. They hang
together more strongly, with a stronger tribal
sentiment, and, while the distinction between them
and other tribes is everywhere clearly marked and
recognised both by themselves and others, the

244 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

Klemantans and Kenyahs everywhere shade off
into one another and into Punans.

The process of conversion of Punans into settled
communities that assimilate more or less fully the
Kayan culture is still going on. We are acquainted
with settled communities which still admit their
Punan origin ; and these exhibit very various grades
of assimilation of the Kayan culture. Some, which
in the lives of the older men were still nomadic,
still build very poor houses and boats, cultivate padi
very imperfectly, and generally exhibit the Kayan
culture in a very imperfect state.

On the other hand, the Kenyahs have assimilated
the Kayan culture more perfectly than any other of
the aborigines, and in some respects, such as the
building of houses, they perhaps equal the Kayans ;
but even they have not learnt to cultivate padi in
so thorough a manner as to keep themselves supplied
with rice all through the year, as the Kayans do ;
and, like the various Klemantan tribes,^ they suffer
almost every year periods of scarcity during which
they rely chiefly on cultivated and wild sago and on
tapioca. The Kayans, on the other hand, grow
sufficient padi to last through the year, except in
very bad seasons, and they never collect or cultivate
sago. The view that this relative imperfection of
the agriculture of the Kenyahs and Klemantans is
due to the recency of their adoption of the practice,
is confirmed by the fact that many of them still
preserve the tradition of the time when they
cultivated no padL It seems that most of the
present Kenyahs first began to plant padi not more
than two, or at most three, centuries ago. Some of
the Kenyahs also preserve the tradition of a time
when they constructed their houses mainly of

^ Some communities of Malanaus never plant rice, but rely for their
principal food supply upon the numerous sago-palms which they have planted
round about their villages. It is doubtful whether these have ever cultivated
padi on any considerable scale.

ETHNOLOGY OF BORNEO 245

bamboo ; this was probably their practice for some
few generations after they began to acquire the
Kayan culture. At the present day those Punans
who have only recently taken to the settled mode
of life generally make large use of the bamboo in
building their small and relatively fragile houses.

The view that the Kayans have played this
large civilising role is supported by the fact that
Kayan is the language most widely understood in
the interior, and that it is largely used for inter-
communication, even between members of widely
separated Kenyah communities whose dialects have
diverged so widely that their own language no
longer forms a medium of communication between
them ; whereas the Kayans themselves do not
trouble to acquire familiarity with the Kenyah or
Klemantan languages.

If both Kenyahs and Klemantans represent
sections of the aboriginal population of nomadic
hunters who have absorbed Kayan culture, it remains
to account for the existence of those peculiarities
of the Kenyahs that have led us to separate them
from the tribes which we have classed together
as Klemantans. The peculiarities that distinguish
Kenyahs from Klemantans are chiefly personal
characteristics, notably the bodily build (relatively
short limbs and massive trunks), the more lively
and energetic temperament, the more generous
and expansive and pugnacious disposition. These
peculiarities may, we think, be accounted for by the
supposition that the aborigines from whom the
Kenyahs descend had long occupied the central
highlands where most of the Kenyah communities
still dwell and which they all regard as the home-
land and headquarters of their race.

Of the Klemantan tribes some, e.g, the Aki, the
Long Patas, and the Long Akars, resemble more
nearly the Kayans; others, e,g, the Muriks, the

246 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

Sebops, the Lirongs, the Uma Longs, the Pengs
or Pinihings, show more affinity with the Kenyahs.
It seems probable that these diversities have
resulted from the assimilation of culture directly
from the Kayans by the one group and from the
Kenyahs by the other. A third group of Klemantan
tribes such as the Long Kiputs, the Batu Blah,
and the Trings, scattered through the northern part
of the island, resemble more nearly the Muruts ;
and among these are found communities whose
culture marks them as descendants of nomads who
have assimilated the Murut culture in various
degrees.

The Muruts

The Muruts differ somewhat as regards physical
features from all the other tribes, especially in
having coarser but less Mongoloid features, a
longer skull, and a more lanky build of body and
limbs. Their intonation is nasal, and the colour
of the skin slightly darker and ruddier than that of
the Klemantans.

Their culture differs so much as to lead us to
suppose that it had a somewhat different origin
from that of the Kayans. They build long houses ;
but these are comparatively flimsy structures, and
they are often situated at a distance from any
navigable stream. Even those Muruts who live
on the river-banks make much less use of boats
than the other tribes, and all of them are great
walkers. They have very little skill in boat-making.
Their most distinctive peculiarity is their system of
agriculture (see vol. i. p. 97), which involves irriga-
tion, the use of buffalo, the raising of two crops a
year, and the repeated use in successive years of
the same land. Other distinctive features are their
peculiar long sword and short spear ; the absence
of any axe and blow-pipe ; the custom according to

ETHNOLOGY OF BORNEO 247

which the women propose marriage to the men
(Kalabits).

In the Philippine Islands a system of agriculture
similar to that of the Muruts is widely practised ;
and some of the tribes, though their culture has
been largely influenced by Spanish civilisation,
seem to be of the same stock as the Muruts ; thus
the Tagals of Borneo are not improbably a section
of the people known as Tagalas in the Philippines,
and the Bisayas of Borneo probably bear the same
relation to the Visayas of the Philippines.

It seems probable, therefore, that this type of
culture has been carried into the north of Borneo
by immigrants from the Philippines, whither it was
introduced at a remote period, possibly from Annam,
the nearest part of the mainland ; or possibly it came
to Borneo directly from Annam.^ It is probable
that many of the tribes which we have classed with
the Muruts, on account of their possession of the
Murut culture, are, like the Klemantans and
Kenyahs, descendants of the ancient Indonesian
population who have adopted the culture of more
advanced immigrants. The descendants of the
immigrants who introduced this type of culture
are, we think, the Muruts proper, who claim that
name and dwell chiefly in the Trusan, the Padas,
the Sembakong, the Kerayan rivers, and in the
head of the Kinabatangan ; also the Kalabits in
the northern part of the upper basin of the Baram.
It is these which display most decidedly the physical
peculiarities noted above.

As examples of Klemantan tribes that have
partially adopted the Murut culture we would
mention the Long Kiputs, the Batu Blahs, the
Trings, and the Adangs in the head of the Limbang
River ; to the same group belong the Kadayans in

^ Deniker {Races of Man, p. 392) describes, under the name Mois, an
aboriginal tribe of Annam in terms which show that they present many points
of similarity with the Muruts.

VOL. II R

248 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

the neighbourhood of Bruni, who, from contact with
their Malay neighbours, have become in large part
Mohammedans of Malay culture.

The I bans (Sea Dayaks)

The I bans stand distinctly apart from all the
other tribes, both by reason of their physical and
mental peculiarities and of the many differences of
their culture ; we have little doubt that they are
the descendants of immigrants who came into the
south-western corner of Borneo at no distant date.
We regard them as Proto- Malays, that is to say,
as of the stock from which the true Malays of
Sumatra and the Peninsula were differentiated by
the influence of Arab culture. A large number of
the ancestors of the present I bans were probably
brought to Borneo from Sumatra less than two
hundred years ago. Some two centuries ago, a
number of Malay nobles were authorised by the
Sultan of Bruni to govern the five rivers of Sarawak
proper, namely, the Samarahan, the Sadong, the
Batang Lupar, the Saribas, and the Klaka rivers.
These Malays were pirate leaders, and they were
glad to enrol large numbers of pagan fighting men
among their followers ; for the latter were glad to
do most of the hard work, claiming the heads of the
pirates' victims as their principal remuneration,
while the Malays retained that part of the booty
which had a marketable value. These Malay
leaders found, no doubt, that their pagan relatives
of Sumatra lent themselves more readily to this
service than the less warlike Klemantans of Borneo,
and therefore, as we suppose, they brought over con-
siderable numbers of them and settled them about
the mouths of these rivers. The co-operation
between the piratical Malay Tuankus and the
descendants of their imported protdg^s continued

XXI ETHNOLOGY OF BORNEO 249

up to the time of the suppression of piracy by the
British and Dutch half a century ago. It was from
this association with the sea and with coast-pirates
that the I bans became known as the Sea Dayaks
by Sir James Brooke ; and to this encouragement
of their head-hunting proclivity by the Malays is
no doubt due their peculiarly ruthless and blood-
thirsty devotion to it as to a pastime, rather than
(as with the Kayans and other tribes) as to a
ceremonial duty occasionally imposed upon them
by the death of a chief

It seems to us probable that the greater part of
the ancestors of the Ibans entered Borneo in this
way. But there is reason to think that some of
them had settled at an earlier date in this part of
Borneo and rather farther southward on the Kapuas
River. The Bugaus, Kantus, and Daus, who dwell
along the southern border of Sarawak, and some
other I ban tribes in the northern basin of the Kapuas
River, are probably descendants of these earlier
immigrants of Proto-Malay stock. In most respects
they closely resemble the other I ban tribes, but they
are distinguished by some peculiarities of language
and accent ; their manners are gentler, their bearing
less swaggering ; they are less given to wandering,
and they have little skill in the making and handling
of boats. These are recognised by themselves and
by other Ibans as belonging to the same people ;
but they are a little looked down upon by Ibans
of the other tribes as any home -staying rural ^
population is looked down upon by travelled
cosmopolitans.

This conjectural history of the immigration of
the Ibans explains the peculiar fact that, although all
the Ibans of all parts are easily distinguishable from
all the other peoples, and although they all recognise
one another as belonging to the same people, they
have no common name for the whole group. They

250 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

commonly speak of Kami Menoa {z,e. " we of this
country") when they refer to their people as a
whole ; and the Kayan designation of them as Ivan
(immigrant or wanderer) has been adopted by large
numbers of them in recent years and modified into
I ban, so that the expression Kami I ban is now
frequently used by them.

The identification of the I ban with a Proto-Malay
stock is justified by their language and physical char-
acteristics. The former seems to be the language
from which Malay has been formed under Arab in-
fluence and culture. It employs many words which
are no longer current in Malay, but which, as is
shown by Marsden's Malay Dictionary, were in use
among Sumatran Malays in the eighteenth century.

Since the Mohammedan populations which now
are called Malay are of mixed origin, they present
no very well-defined or uniform physical type. But
of all Malays those of Sumatra and of the Peninsula
are generally recognised as presenting the type in
its greatest purity ; and it is this type which the
I bans most closely reproduce. The near resem-
blance of facial type between the Malays and the
I bans is apt to be obscured for the casual visitor by
the fact that the I ban puts little or no restraint upon
his expressions and is constantly chattering, laugh-
ing, and smiling ; whereas the Malay is taught from
childhood to restrain his expressions and to preserve
a severe and grave demeanour in the presence of
strangers. But in private the Malay relaxes, and
then the resemblance appears more clearly.

The principal features of the Iban's culture which
distinguish it from that of the other tribes may be
enumerated here. The I ban closely resembles the
Kayan in his method of cultivating padi, but he is
even more careful and skilful, and generally secures
a surplus. His house differs characteristically from
those of the Kayan type, and resembles the long

ijjiS'.*. ^'^-. -*?[

Plate 193. LAND DAYAK MEN (KLEMANTANS) FROM
UPPER SARAWAK.

ETHNOLOGY OF BORNEO 251

houses still inhabited by some Sumatran Malays, in
being comparatively small, and in having a frame-
work of many light poles rather than of heavy hard-
wood timbers, and a floor of split bamboo in place
of huge planks. In methods of weaving and dyeing
cloth and in the character of the cloths produced ; ^
in the wearing of ornamental head-cloths ; in the
weaving of mats and baskets with the Pandanus leaf
and a large rush known as bumban rather than with
strips of split rattan ; in their methods of trapping
and netting fish ; in the character of the sword and
axe and shield as formerly used ; ^ in the use of the
fire-piston ; ^ in musical instruments and methods ;
in the custom of earth burial ; in the visiting and
making of offerings at the graves of noted men in
the hope of supernatural aid, — in all these respects
the I ban culture differs from that of the Kayans, and
closely resembles that of the Malays.

The I ban culture presents also certain features
not common to other peoples of Borneo and not
found among the Malays ; and all or most are such
as must have been exterminated among the Malays
on their conversion to Islam, if they had formed
part of their culture in their pre-Islamic period.
Such are the religious beliefs and customs of the
Ibans with the cult of the Petara ; the Ngarong ; the
rite with the clay crocodile for getting rid of farm pests
(vol. ii. p. ZZ) ; the use in weaving of a number of
designs of animal origin ; the adornment of the
edge of the ear with many brass rings ; the lack of
any strict avoidance of killing dogs.

Thirdly, of the features of I ban culture which

^ The Malay does not, like the Iban, make use of the various animal
designs, but confines himself to simple geometrical patterns — but this difference
is probably a result of the adoption of the Moslem religion.

^ Most Ibans now procure the parang Hang of the Kayans and copy their
wooden shields.

' The fire-piston is found also in North Borneo, but with this exception is
peculiar to the Ibans among the pagan tribes. It has been widely used by
the Malays of the peninsula and those of Menangkaban in Sumatra (see H.
Balfour, " The Fire Piston," in volume of essays in honour of E. B. Tylor).

252 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

are common to them and to the other tribes of
Borneo, many seem to have been borrowed by them
from their neighbours, and often in an incomplete
or imperfect manner ; such are the system of omen-
reading, the ritual slaughter of fowls and pigs, much
of their dancing and tatuing, the parang Uang and
wooden shield, the feathered war-coat of skin, the
keluri or small bag-pipe, and the fashion of wearing
their hair, — all these seem to have been borrowed
from the Kayans ; the woman's corset of brass-
bound hoops, from the Malohs ; the mat worn
posteriorly for sitting upon, from the Kenyahs/

Besides the three great invasions of foreign
blood and foreign culture, those borne by the
Kayans, the Muruts, and the Ibans respectively,
there have been numerous minor invasions on all
sides. In the following paragraphs we make
mention of those that seem to have been of most
importance in modifying the population and the
culture of Borneo.

In the south there are traces of Javanese culture
with its Hindu elements among many of the tribes,
but especially among the Land Dayaks who occupy
the southern extremity of Sarawak. These cremate
their dead ; they set apart a separate round house
for the trophies of human heads, and in this the
bachelors are expected to pass the nights. The
Malawis of South-East Borneo seem to be similar
in many respects to the Land Dayaks of Sarawak.
The Land Dayaks have a reputation in Upper
Sarawak for quicker intelligence and more adapt-
ability than the other tribes, and hence are in much
request for services of the most various kinds. It
is an interesting question whether this may be due

^ The general use of this mat is common to the Kenyahs, Punans, and most
of the Klemantans, but it is comparatively rare among the Kayans ; this is a
significant fact, for such a mat is more needed by a jungle dweller than by one
whose home is a well-built house. We have not met with any mention of such
a mat among the tribes of the mainland.

LAND DAYAK GIRLS OF THE SADONG DISTRICT,

t

H

N.

^^ ^^-

/ . - t

mm

Plate 194. LAND DAYAKS OF UPPER SARAWAK.

ETHNOLOGY OF BORNEO 253

to a dash of Hindu blood ; the facial type and the
more abundant growth of hair on the face would
support an affirmative answer.

The Malohs are a well-marked tribe found on
the Kalis and Mandai rivers, tributaries of the
Kapuas River. Physically they are marked by
exceptionally long narrow heads (index about 76).
They speak a language very different from those
of the central and northern parts of the island, but
speak also the I ban language with a peculiar accent.
The Malohs alone of all the peoples of Borneo eat
the flesh of the crocodile. The most distinctive
feature of their culture is their skill and industry
in brass working. Malohs supply a large propor-
tion of all the brass -ware to be found in the
interior. This addiction to brass-working suggests
that they represent an immigration from Java,
which has long enjoyed a great reputation for its
brass-ware and an extensive market throughout the
islands.

On the east coast are many communities of
Bugis, who are mostly Mohammedans and seem to
have come from Celebes, where they are a numerous
people.

In the north and extreme north-west the
Dusuns seem to be of Murut stock with an infusion
of Chinese blood and culture. They use a plough
drawn by buffalo in the padi fields, which they
irrigate systematically.

Round about the northern coasts are to be found
many small bands of Lanuns and Bajaus, living
largely in boats. They are mostly Mohammedans,
and descend from the notorious piratical communities
whose headquarters were in the Sulu Islands and
other islands off the north-east coast.

In the foregoing pages we have said very little
about the languages spoken by the tribes of Borneo.
Although one of us has a practical command of the

254 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

Kayan, Kenyah, Sea Dayak, and Malay languages,
and a tolerably intimate acquaintance with a number
of the Klemantan dialects, we do not venture upon
'the task of discussing their systematic positions and
relations to languages of other areas. For this
would be a task of extreme difficulty and complexity j
which only an accomplished linguistic scholar could
profitably undertake. Nevertheless, we think it J
worth while to add a few words regarding the j
bearing of the languages on the foregoing ethno- ^
logical discussion. It seems clear that in the i
main the differences and affinities between the
many languages and dialects spoken by the pagan
tribes bear out, so far as they are known to us,
the principal conclusions of our argument. The
Sea Dayak or I ban tongue stands distinctly apart
from all the rest, and is indisputably very closely
allied to the Malay. The Kenyahs, Klemantans,
and Punans speak a great variety of tongues, which
are, however, so closely similar, and the extreme
members of which are connected by so many inter-
mediate forms, that it would seem they may properly
be regarded as but dialects of one language. The
Kayan language, on the other hand, stands apart
from both the I ban and the Klemantan languages,
but is much nearer to the latter than the former.
The Kenyah dialects especially contain many words
or roots that appear also in the Kayan, and seem to be
more closely allied to it than is any of the Klemantan
tongues. This may well be due to the more
intimate contact with the Kayans enjoyed by the
Kenyahs, who, as we have seen, have assimilated
the Kayan culture more completely than any other
of the indigenous tribes, and who may well have
taken up many Kayan words together with other
culture elements.

The Murut languages again seem to stand apart
from the Iban, Kayan, and Kenyah-Klemantan, as

ETHNOLOGY OF BORNEO 255

a distinct group whose vocabulary has little in
common with those others.^

In conclusion, we venture to make a suggestion
which we admit to be widely speculative, and by
which we wish only to draw attention to a remote
possibility which, if further evidence in its favour
should be discovered, would be one of great interest.
We have throughout maintained the view, now
adopted by many others, of which Professor Keane
has been the principal exponent, namely, the view
that the Indonesian stock was largely, probably
predominantly, of Caucasic origin. In our chapter
on animistic beliefs concerning animals and plants,
and in the chapter on religion, we have shown that
the Kayans believe in a multiplicity of anthropo-
morphic deities which, with Lake Tenangan at the
head of a galaxy of subordinate gods and goddesses
presiding over special departments of nature,
strangely resembles the group of divine beings who,
in the imagination of the fathers of European culture,
dwelt in Olympus. And we have shown that the
system of divination practised by the Kayans (the
taking of omens from the flight and cries of birds,
and the system of augury by the entrails of sacrificial
victims) strangely resembles, even in many details,
the corresponding system practised by the early
Romans. Our suggestion is, then, that these
two systems may have had a common root ; that,
while the Aryans carried the system westward into
Europe, the Indonesians, or some Caucasic people
which has been merged in the Indonesian stock,
carried it eastward ; and that the Kayans, with their
strongly conservative tendencies, their serious
religious temperament, and strong tribal organisa-
tion, have, of all the Indonesians, preserved most
faithfully this ancient religious system and have

^ See the vocabularies of the Kayan, Kenyah, and Kalabit (Murut)
languages recently published by Mr, R. S. Douglas, Resident of the Baram
district, in iht Journal of the Sarawak Museum^ Feb. 191 1.

256 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap, xxi

imparted it in a more or less partial manner to the
tribes to whom they have given so much else of
culture, custom, and belief.

It is perhaps not without significance in this
connection that the Karens, whom we regard as
the nearest relatives of the Kayans, were found
to worship a Supreme Being, and have proved
peculiarly apt pupils of the Christian missionaries
who have long laboured among them.

By way of crowning the indiscretion of the
foregoing paragraphs, we point out that there are
certain faint indications of linguistic support for
this speculative suggestion. Bali, which, as we
have explained, is used by Kayans and Kenyahs to
denote whatever is sacred or is connected with
religious practices, is undoubtedly a word of Sanskrit
derivation.^ Flaki, the name of the bird of most im-
portance in augury, bears a suggestive resemblance
to the German Falke and the Latin falco. The
Kayan word for omen is aman, the resemblance
of which to the Latin word is striking. Are these
resemblances merely accidental ? If more of the
words connected with the religious beliefs and
practices could be shown to exhibit equally close
resemblances, we should be justified in saying — No.

^ This is clearly shown in the article " Bali" of Monier Williams's Sanskrit
Dictionary.

CHAPTER XXII

GOVERNMENT

In an earlier chapter we have sketched the history
of government in Borneo from the earliest times of
which any record remains, up to the time at which
the whole island was brought under European
control. In this chapter we propose to describe the
way in which the European governments have
extended their spheres of influence and have secured
the co-operation of the natives in the maintenance
of peace and order and freedom.

For some years after Mr. James Brooke became
Rajah of Sarawak (1841), his rule was confined to
the territory then known as Sarawak. This area,
still known as Sarawak proper, is some 7000
square miles in extent and comprises the basins of
the following rivers : the Sarawak, the Samarahan,
the Sadong, and the Lundu. The Batang Lupar
and Saribas rivers, which enter the sea to the north
of this area, were infested by pirate bands under the
leadership of Malay Serifs who, though they
professed allegiance to the Sultan of Bruni, were
but little controlled by him. The depredations of
these unruly neighbours led Sir James Brooke to
undertake several expeditions against them. In
the year 1849, Captain Sir Harry Keppel of H.M.S.
Dido lent his aid (not for the first time), and the
combined forces finally swept out those hornets'
nests and put an end to piracy in those regions.
With the approval of the Sultan of Bruni, Rajah

257

258 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

Brooke established stations in the lower waters of
the Saribas and Skarang rivers, and a little later at
Kanowit on the Rejang River. This was the first
of a series of similar steps by which the area of the
Raj has been successively extended, until now it
comprises about 60,000 square miles, more than
eight times its original extent. In each of these
out-stations one or two English officers were
appointed to represent the Rajah's government. In
each station a small wooden fort was built, and in
some cases the fort was surrounded with a stockade.
This served as residence for the officer, or officers,
and their small band of native police, generally
some ten or twelve Malays armed with rifles and
a small cannon. The prime duty of these officers,
entitled Governors (or later, Residents), was to
protect the local population from the oppression
and depredations of the Serifs, and generally to
discourage and punish bloodshed and disorder.
The general policy followed in all these new
districts was to elicit the co-operation of the
local chiefs and headmen, and, when the people
had begun to appreciate the benefits of peace,
including the opening of the rivers to Malay and
Chinese traders, to impose a small poll-tax to defray
the expenses of administration. The area of
control was then gradually extended farther into
the interior by securing the voluntary adhesion of
communities and tribes settled in the tributaries
and higher waters of each river. This policy,
steadily pursued in one district after another, has
invariably succeeded, although the time required for
complete pacification has, of course, varied con-
siderably ; and it was only during the early years
of this century that the process seemed to reach
its final stage among the Sea Dayaks in the interiors
of the Batang Lupar and Rejang districts.

The stability of the Rajah's government was

XXII GOVERNMENT 259

seriously threatened in 1857 by the insurrection of
Chinese gold -workers at Bau in Sarawak proper.
But this rebellion, in the course of which Sir James
Brooke narrowly escaped death at the hands of the
rebels, was soon suppressed, largely by the energy
of the Tuan Muda (the present Rajah), who came to
the aid of Sir James with a strong force of Sea
Dayaks and Malays.

The process of establishing order and good
government in the new territory was complicated by
the intrigues of the Bruni nobles ox pangirans and
of the independent Malay chiefs, who, seeing their
power to oppress and misrule the coast districts
seriously curtailed, and indeed threatened with
extinction, by the growing influence of the
Europeans in Borneo, conspired with others of
similar status in Dutch Borneo to rid the island of
these unwelcome innovators. In the year 1859 two
English officers of the Sarawak government at
Kanowit on the lower Rejang (Messrs. Fox and
Steele) were murdered by a gang of Malanaus.
There was good reason to believe that this incident,
together with several murders of Europeans in
Dutch Borneo, was the result of a loosely concerted
action of the Malay chiefs, and that the Kanowit
murders were directly instigated by Serif Masahor
and Pangiran Dipa ; the latter a Bruni noble who
misruled Muka and the surrounding area. Rajah
Brooke visited the Sultan of Bruni and secured his
authorisation for the punishment of these and others
concerned in the murders ; and in i860 an expedi-
tion, led by his two nephews, captured Muka and
would have expelled the Serif and the Pangiran but
for the untimely interference of the British Consul
at Bruni, who seems to have been misinformed of
the nature of the situation.^ In the following year

^ For a full account of these transactions and for the later history of Sarawak
in general the reader may be referred to the recently published Sarawak under
two White Rajahs^ by Messrs. Bampfylde and Baring-Gould, London, 1909.

26o PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

the Rajah, visiting the Sultan at Bruni, found him
willing to cede Muka and the basins of the adjoin-
ing rivers, the Oya, Tatau, and Bintulu, in return
for a perpetual annual payment of 16,000 dollars,
an arrangement which was accepted and which
still holds good. Thus the intrigues of the Malay
nobles, which for a time had seriously threatened
the stability of the Rajah's government, resulted
in the addition of an area of some 7000 square
miles to the Sarawak territory.

The basin of the Rejang, the largest river of
Sarawak, was the next region to be added to the
Raj. Here Sir James Brooke's government first
came into contact with the Kayans (in the year
1863). The reputation of the Kayans as a dominant
tribe of warriors, whose raids were feared even as
far as Bruni, had rendered them proud and self-
confident and unready to appreciate the benefits of
the Rajah's government. Their continued hostility
rendered advisable a demonstration offeree. Accord-
ingly in the year 1863 the Tuan Muda (the present
Rajah, H. H. Sir Charles Brooke) led an expedition of
some 10,000 or more native levies, consisting chiefly
of Sea Dayaks and Malays, up the Rejang as far
as the mouth of the Baloi Peh, a spot some 250
miles from the mouth of the Rejang and in the edge
of the Kayan country. The Kayans could not
withstand so large a force and retreated farther up
river after but little show of resistance. Several
of their long houses were destroyed, and a message
demanding their submission to the Rajah's govern-
ment was sent by a captive to Oyong Hang, the
most influential of the Kayan chiefs. The messenger
carried a cannon-ball and the Sarawak flag, and
was instructed to ask Oyang Hang which he would
choose ; to which question the chief is said to
have returned the answer that he wanted neither.
Although the expedition failed to secure the submis-

XXII

GOVERNMENT 261

sion of any large number of the Kayans and Kenyahs,
it established the Rajah's authority as far as it had
penetrated ; for a number of Klemantan villages
settled in the middle reaches of the Rejang accepted
the offer of peace, and a number of their chiefs
brought the Sarawak flag down river and celebrated
the traditional peace-making rites with the Rajah's
representative. The Kayans have never since
attempted to raid the lower reaches of the river ; but
it was not until the early eighties, during the Resi-
dency of the late Mr. H. B. Low, that the bulk of the
Kayans of the Rejang acknowledged the Rajah's
authority and began to co-operate in his administra-
tion, a result achieved without any repetition of the
large expedition of 1863. From that time (about
1885) the Baloi or Upper Rejang may be regarded
as having formed part of Sarawak.

In the year 1882 the northern boundary of
Sarawak was again pushed forward by the cession to
the Rajah by the Sultan of Bruni of the basin of the
Baram, an area of some 10,000 square miles, on con-
dition of a perpetual annual payment of 6000 dollars.
This was an area in which, except along the coast,
the Sultan's authority had never been exercised, and
which had been kept closed to trade and the depreda-
tions of the Malays, by the fear of the Kayans. For
the Kayans, who dominated all the middle waters
of the Baram, had in the past threatened even
Bruni. The Sultan was no doubt glad to see the
Rajah undertake the task of controlling his formid-
able neighbours, who, dwelling within striking
distance of his capital, were a perpetual menace
to his power and even to his personal safety. The
Baram district has been brought completely under
the Rajah's rule without the introduction of any
armed force from outside ; and as the process of
establishing peace and order has there followed a
normal and undisturbed course, and is familiarly

262 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

CHAP.

known to us, we propose to describe it in some
detail on a later page. Since the date of the
inclusion of the Baram, the Raj of Sarawak has
been again extended towards the north on three
occasions. The first of these additions was the
basin of the Trusan River. In this case the Sultan
offered to sell the territory for a lump sum, and his
offer was accepted by the Rajah, whose officers
occupied it in the year 1885. In 1890, the people
living on the Limbang River, whose basin adjoins
that of the Baram on its northern border, were in
a state of rebellion against the Sultan, and the
region had for several years been in a very disturbed
state. The present Rajah therefore proposed to
annex the country in return for an annual payment.
The British Government was asked to approve
this step and to fix the amount of the sum to be
paid to the Sultan. A favourable reply having
been given by the Foreign Office, and the annual
sum of 6000 dollars having been awarded as a
fair return for the cession, the administration of
the country was peacefully entered upon by the
Rajah's officers, who where warmly welcomed by
the greater part of the inhabitants.

The latest and presumably the final extension of
the boundaries of Sarawak was effected in 1905,
when the basin of the small river Lawas was bought
from the British North Borneo Company.

In the opening year of this century a small part
of Borneo still remained under purely native
control, namely, the town of Bruni and an area
about it of 1 700 square miles, comprising the basins
of the small rivers Balait and Tutong. By agree-
ment with the Sultan this area was placed under
the administration of a Resident representing the
British Government in the year 1906. Thus
the European occupation of Borneo was completed.

The history of the establishment of Dutch rule

GOVERNMENT 263

throughout the larger part of Borneo has been
similar to that of the acquisition of Sarawak by its
two English Rajahs. Dutch trading stations were
established in the south-west corner of Borneo as
early as 1604. I^ the seventeenth century stations
were established in southern Borneo by both
British and Dutch traders ; but the Dutch traders
extended their influence more rapidly than their
rivals, and by the middle of the eighteenth century
had secured a practically exclusive influence in
those parts. The British held possession of all
the Dutch East Indies during the brief period (18 11-
18 1 6) which was terminated by the Congress of
Vienna. On the retirement of the British, the Dutch
Government took over all the rights acquired by the
Dutch traders; and since that time it has continued to
consolidate its control and to extend the area of its
administration farther into the interior along the
courses of the great rivers. There were in the
area that is now Dutch Borneo several independent
Malay Sultans, of which the principal had their
capitals at Pontianak, Banjermasin, and Kotei.
In 1823 the Sultan of Banjermasin ceded a large
part of his territory to the Dutch government ; in
1844 the Sultan of Kotei accepted its protection;
and by similar steps by far the larger part of the
island has been marked out as the Dutch sphere
of influence. The water parting from which the
principal rivers flow east and west has been agreed
upon by the Dutch and the Sarawak governments
as the boundary between their territories ; and
though the upper waters of the great rivers which
flow west and south through Dutch Borneo have
up to the present time hardly been explored,
the authority of the Dutch Government is well
established over all the tribes of the coastal regions
and, especially in the south, extends far into the
interior, but is still little more than nominal

VOL. II s

264 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

in the head waters of the rivers. The system of
administration now practised by the Dutch closely
resembles in most essential respects that obtain-
ing in Sarawak, and it has brought to the natives of
the greater part of Dutch Borneo the same great
benefits, peace, freedom, justice, and trade.

The northern extremity of Borneo, an area com-
prising some 31,000 square miles and 200,000 in-
habitants, is now administered by the British North
Borneo Company (chartered by the British Govern-
ment in 1892), which acquired it by purchase in
successive instalments from the Sultans of Bruni
and Sulu. The Company has followed in the main an
administrative policy similar to that of Sarawak, and
has appointed as governors officers of large East
Indian experience placed at their disposal by the
British Government. The Company has attempted
to achieve in a brief period a degree of commercial
development which in Sarawak and Dutch Borneo
has been reached only gradually in the course of
several generations ; and to this circumstance must
be attributed many of the difficulties which for a
time caused it "to get into the newspapers." But
these difficulties have now been overcome, and the
whole territory placed in a condition of prosperity
and orderly progress.

It has been widely recognised that Sarawak
provides a most notable example of beneficent
administration of the affairs of a population in a
lowly state of culture by representatives of our
Western civilisation. Among all such administrative
systems that of Sarawak has been distinguished not
only by the rapid establishment of peace, order,
and a modest prosperity, with a minimum output
of armed force, but especially by reason of the
careful way in which the interests of the native
population have constantly been made the prime

GOVERNMENT 265

object of the government's solicitude. The story
of the success of the two white Rajahs of Sarawak
has several times been told in whole or in part.
But we think it is worth while to try to give
some intimate glimpses of the working of the
system as it affects the daily lives of the pagan
tribes, taking our illustrations in the main from in-
cidents in which one of us has been personally
concerned.

From the very inception of his rule, Sir James
Brooke laid down and strictly adhered to the
principle of associating the natives with himself
and his European assistants in the government of
the country, and of respecting and maintaining what-
ever was not positively objectionable in the laws and
customs of the people. And this policy has been as
faithfully followed by the present Rajah.^ The Raj of
which Sir James Brooke became the absolute ruler in
the way described in Chapter II. was a country in which
the supreme authority had been exercised for many
generations by Malay rulers, and in which the only
generally recognised system of law was the Moham-
medan law administered by them. The two white
Rajahs, instead of imposing any system of European-
made laws upon the people, as in their position of
benevolent despot they might have been tempted to
do, have accepted the Mohammedan law and custom
in all matters affecting the population of the Moham-
medan religion ; and they have gradually introduced

^ The principles according to which the government has been conducted
cannot be better expressed than in the following words of H.H. Sir Charles
Brooke, the present Rajah. Writing in the Sarawak Gazette of September 2,
1872, he observed that a government such as that of Sarawak may " start from
things as we find them, putting its veto on what is dangerous or unjust and
supporting what is fair and equitable in the usages of the natives, and letting
system and legislation wait upon occasion. When new wants are felt it
examines and provides for them by measures rather made on the spot than
imported from abroad ; and, to ensure that these shall not be contrary to
native customs, the consent of the people is gained for them before they are
put in force. The white man's so-called privilege of class is made little of and
the rules of government are framed with greater care for the interests of the
majority who are not European than for those of the minority of superior race."

266 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

improvements when and where the defects and in-
justices of the system revealed themselves. In
the work both of administration and legislation the
Rajahs have always sought and enjoyed the advice
and co-operation of Malays. They have maintained
the principal ministries of State, and have continued
the tenure of those offices by the Malay nobles who
occupied them at the time of Sir James Brooke's
accession to power ; and, as these have died or
retired in the natural course, they have chosen
leading Malays of the aristocratic class to fill the
vacancies. Three of these Malay officers, namely,
the Datu Bandar, Datu Imaum,and the Datu Hakim,
have been members of the Supreme Council since its
institution in 1855. The first of these offices may
be best defined by likening it to that of a Lord
Mayor ; or better, perhaps, to that of the salaried
Burgomaster of a German city ; its occupant is
understood to be the leading citizen of the Malay
community of Kuching, the capital town of Sarawak.
The Datu Imaum is the religious head of the
Mohammedan community, and the Datu Hakim
the principal of the Malay judges.

The Supreme Council consists of the three
Malay officers named above together with three or
four of the principal European officers, and the
Rajah, who presides over its deliberations. It
meets at least once a month to consider all matters
referred to it by lower tribunals. It embodies the
absolute authority of the Rajah ; from its decrees
there is no appeal. It decides questions of justice,
administration, and legislation ; and it continually
enriches and improves the law by creating pre-
cedents, which serve to guide the local courts, by
deliberately revising and repealing laws, and by
adding new laws to the Statute Book. It is the
sole legislative authority. The presence of the
Malay members at the meetings of the Council is

XXII GOVERNMENT 267

by no means a mere formality ; they take an active
part in its deliberations and decisions.

Beside the Supreme Council there exists a
larger body whose functions are purely advisory.
It is called the Council Negri or State Council, and
consists of the Rajah and the members of the
Supreme Council, the Residents in charge of the
more important districts, and the principal " Native
Officers" and Pengkuhis, some seventy members
in all. This Council meets at Kuching once in
every three years under the presidency of the
Rajah, who provides the members with suitable
lodgings and entertains them at dinner. At the
meeting of this council topics of general interest are
discussed, and the Rajah makes some general review
of the state of public affairs and the progress achieved
since the previous meeting. But the principal
purpose of the institution is the bringing together,
under conditions favourable for friendly intercourse,
of the leading men of the whole country. Each
new member is formally sworn in, taking an oath
of loyalty to the Rajah and his government. The
native chiefs return from these meetings with an
enhanced sense of the importance and dignity of
their office and with clearer notions of the whole
system of government and of their places in it.

Though Mohammedan law remains as the basis
of the law administered among the Malays, notable
improvements have been introduced, e.g. the death
penalty for incest and corporal punishment for
conjugal infidelity have been abolished ; slave-
holding, though not made illegal, has been dis-
couraged throughout the country by rendering it
easy for slaves to secure their freedom ; and the
power of the master over his slave has been greatly
restricted. A man is not allowed to marry a second
or third wife, unless he can prove himself able to
provide for each of the women and her offspring ;

268 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

wilful murder is always punished by death or long
imprisonment, not merely by imposition of a fine as
in former times.

The development of commerce and industries
has, of course, given rise to legal questions for
which the Mohammedan law provides no answers ;
and to meet these necessities, laws modelled on
the Indian code and on English law have been
enacted.

The presence of a large Chinese community
(now comprising some 50,000 persons) has always
been a source of legal and administrative difficulties.
These difficulties have been met in the past by
securing the presence of leading Chinese merchants
on the judicial bench, as assessors familiar with the
language, customs, and circumstances of their
countrymen, whenever the latter have been involved
in legal proceedings. In the present year a special
court for the trial of Chinese civil cases has been
instituted, consisting of seven of the leading Chinese
merchants, of whom all, save the president, who is
nominated by the Rajah, are elected by the Chinese
community.

The government of the pagan population, com-
prising as it does so many tribes of diverse customs,
languages, and circumstances, has presented a more
varied and in many respects a more difficult problem.
But the same principles have been everywhere
applied in their case also. The backbone of the
administrative and judicial system has been consti-
tuted by the small staff of English officers carefully
chosen by the Rajah, and increased from time to
time as the extension of the boundaries of Sarawak
opened new fields for their activities. During
recent years this administrative staff has counted
some fifty to sixty English members. Of these
about a dozen are quartered in Kuching, namely,
the Resident of the first division, his assistant.

XXII

GOVERNMENT 269

a second - class Resident, and the heads of the
principal departments, the post office, police and
prisons, the treasury, the department of lands and
surveys, public works, education, and the rangers.

The Sarawak rangers are a body of some 400
men trained to the use of fire-arms and under
military discipline. The majority are Sea Dayaks,
the remainder Malays and Sikhs. Two white
officers, the commandant and the gunnery instructor,
are supported by native non-commissioned officers.
The force is recruited by voluntary enlistment, the
men joining in the first place for five years' service.
This force supplies the garrisons of the small forts,
one or more of which are maintained in each district ;
and from it a small body of riflemen has commonly
been drawn to form the nucleus of any expeditionary
force required for punitive operations.

The whole territory of Sarawak is divided into
four divisions, each of which is again divided into
two or more districts. The first division coincides
with Sarawak proper ; the second includes the
Batang Lupar,Saribas,and Kelaka districts ; the third
comprises the Rejang, Oya, Muka, Bintulu, and
Matu districts ; the fourth consists of the Baram,
Limbang, Trusan, and Lawas. The first, third, and
fourth divisions are administered by divisional Resi-
dents, which three officers rank next to the Rajah in
the official hierarchy. Each district is under the
immediate charge of an officer. These district
officers are of two ranks, namely Residents of the
second class, and Assistant Residents. In each
district, with the exception of the smallest, the
Resident is assisted in his multifarious duties by a
second white officer of the rank of cadet or extra-
officer, and has under his direction a squad of ten to
twenty-five rangers under the charge of a sergeant ;
a sergeant of police in charge of about twelve
policemen, who are generally drawn from the

270 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

locality ; several Malay or Chinese clerks ; and
generally some two or three ''native officers." The
last are Malays of the aristocratic class resident in
the district ; they are appointed by the Rajah on
the recommendation of the Resident and receive a
regular salary. Their duties are to assist the
Resident in his police-court work, to hold special
courts for the settlement of purely Malay cases of
a domestic nature, and to take charge of the station
in the absence of the Resident and his assistant.

The prime duty of the Resident is to preserve
order in his district and to punish crimes of violence.
But he is responsible also for every detail of
administration, including the collection of taxes and
customs duties, the settlement of disputes, and the
hearing of complaints of all kinds, the furnishing of
reports to the central government on all matters of
moment, the development of trade and the protec-
tion of traders, especially the inoffensive Chinese ;
and above all, in the newer districts, it is his duty
to gain the confidence of the chiefs of the wilder
tribes, and to lead them to accept the Sarawak flag
and the benefits of the Rajah's government, in
return for the small poll-tax required of them. It is
well recognised by the Rajah and his officers that
the success of a Resident depends primarily upon
his acquiring intimate knowledge of the people and
establishing and maintaining good relations with
them ; and with this end in view every Resident is
expected to be familiar not only with the Malay
language, which is the official language of the
country, as well as in some measure a common
medium of communication between the chiefs of the
various tribes, but also with one or more of the
other languages spoken in his district. The head-
quarters of the Resident are usually the fort, or a
small residency built not far from it in the lower
reaches of the chief river of his district. Here a

I

GOVERNMENT 271

Chinese bazaar, i,e. a compact village of Chinese
traders and shopkeepers, and a Malay Kampong,
generally spring up under the shelter of the fort ;
and thus the station becomes the headquarters of
trade as well as of administration. To this centre
the workers of jungle produce bring their stuff,
floating down river on rafts of rattans or in their
canoes ; from it the Malay and Chinese traders or
pedlars set out in their boats for long journeys
among the up-river people ; and to it come
occasional parties of the up-river tribesmen, to
consult with the Resident, to seek redress for
wrongs, to report the movements of tribes in the
adjacent territories, or to obtain permission to go on
the war-path in order to punish offences committed
against them.

Since the river is the one great high road, and
since the Resident and his assistants are seated
generally near the point where it leaves the district,
the coming and going of all visitors can hardly
escape their observation. And, since the station
sees every few days the arrival of visitors or the
return of parties of its own people from up river, the
Resident can keep himself pretty well informed of
the state of the country, and all news of importance
will reach him after no long delay, if only he is
always accessible and willing to turn a sympathetic
ear to all comers.

But the successful administration of one of the
larger and wilder districts, such as the Rejang or
the Baram, requires that the Resident shall not be
content with the zealous discharge of his many duties
at his headquarters. He can only establish intimate
relations of reciprocal knowledge and confidence
with the chiefs of the many scattered communities
of his district by making long journeys up river
several times a year. And situations not in-
frequently arise which urgently demand his presence

272 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

in some outlying part of his district and which serve
as the occasions of such journeys.

Before describing such a journey, something
must be said of the place in the scheme of govern-
ment occupied by the chiefs and headmen of the
various communities. Each of the Malay Kampongs
and other similar villages of the Malanaus and other
coastwise peoples is under the immediate charge of
one of its more influential elders, who bears the
title of Tuah Kampong. He is appointed by the
Rajah on the recommendation of the Resident and
receives a small salary. His duties are to settle the
minor disputes of his village, to collect the tax, to
keep order, and to report all breaches of the peace
to the Resident. He has authority to call in the
police and to order the arrest of any villager ; in
cases of dispute between villages he represents his
village in the Resident's court, and, where his own
people are concerned, he may sit on the bench with
the Resident to hear and advise upon the case.
The Sarawak flag is the badge of his office, and his
position and duties are defined in a document bear-
ing the Rajah's signature.

From among the more influential chiefs of the
up-river communities the Rajah appoints, on the
recommendation of the Resident, a certain number
in each district to the office of Pengkulu. In a
district of mixed population such as the Baram, one
Pengkulu (sometimes two) is usually appointed for
each of the principal tribes of the district, e.g.
in the Baram are, or recently were, two Kayans,
one Kenyah, one Sebop, and one Barawan holding
the office. The principal Penghulus are made
members of the Council of State, and they are
expected to attend its triennial meetings. The
status of the Penghulus is similar to that of the
Tuah Kampong, and he also is given the Sarawak
flag, which he will display on his boat on official

GOVERNMENT 273

journeys, and a document signed by the Rajah
recording his appointment and the duties of his
office ; but many of them derive a considerably
greater importance than their fellows from the
numerical strength and the warlike character of
their followings. The Penghulu has authority not
only over his own house or village, but also over the
chiefs or headmen of other communities of the same
tribe and region. He is expected to keep the
Resident informed of any local incident requiring
his attention, and to be present in the Resident s
court when any of his people are tried for any
serious offence ; he has authority to try minor cases,
both civil and criminal, among his own people.
Perhaps his most important service is the following.
When an up-river man has been charged with a
serious offence, the summons of the Resident's court
is forwarded to the Penghulu of his tribe and district
with the instruction that he shall send the man down
river to headquarters. It is generally possible
for the Penghulu to call the man to him, and, by
explaining to him the situation and the order of
the Resident, to secure his peaceful surrender.
But in case of refusal to come, or of active
resistance, the Penghulu is expected to apply such
force as may be necessary for effecting the arrest
and the conveyance to headquarters. In this
way in a well-governed district the arrest of evil-
doers is effected with remarkable sureness and with
far less risk of violence, bloodshed, and the arousal
of angry passions, than if the Resident should
send his police or rangers to do the work. The
Penghulu is in a much better position than the
Resident for obtaining accurate information upon,
and a full understanding of, the circumstances of
any such up-river incidents ; and his help is thus
often of the greatest value to the Resident. If he
judges that the accused man is innocent, and

274 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

especially if the charge against him has been made
by a Chinaman, a Malay, or a member of any other
than his own tribe, he will usually accompany the
prisoner to headquarters, in order to see that no
injustice is done him. Another important function
of the Pengkulu is the preliminary investigation of
breaches of the peace among his people (see vol. ii.
p. 219).

The Pengkulu is responsible also for the
collection of the door-tax from the chief of each
house or village of his people and for its delivery to
the Resident. He is allowed to exercise a certain
discretion in the matter of remission of taxes to
elderly or infirm householders. He is responsible
also for the transmission to the Resident of all sums
in payment of fines of more than five dollars,
imposed by himself or by his subordinate chiefs.
On the happily infrequent occasions on which it
becomes necessary to organise a punitive expedition,
the Penghulus are expected to help in the raising of
the required force, and to accompany the expedition
as commanders of their own group of warriors, acting
under the orders of the Resident.

A Pengkulu is punished for neglect of his duties
by suspension from his office for a definite period, or
in more serious cases by dismissal and the appoint-
ment of another chief. Since the dignity and
prestige of the office are high, this punishment is
deeply felt.

Among the Kayans and Kenyahs and most of
the Klemantans, the Pengkulus exercise a very
effective authority, and, since with few exceptions
the chiefs chosen to fill the office have been loyal,
zealous, and capable, they have rendered great
services to the government. Among the Sea
Dayaks the lack of authority of the chiefs, which is
a characteristic feature of their social system, has
rendered it impossible to secure for their Pengkulus

GOVERNMENT 275

the same high standing and large influence ; the
result of which has been the creation of an unduly-
large number of these officers and the consequent
further depreciation of the dignity of the office.

The Penghulu is the link between the native
system of government as it obtained before the
coming of the white man, and that established and
maintained by the Rajah and his white officers.
The former consisted of the exercise of authority by
the several chiefs, each over the people of his own
village only, except in so far as a chief might
acquire some special prestige and influence over
others through his own reputation for wisdom and
that of his people for success in war. Among the
Kayans and Kenyahs especially, the principal chiefs
have long aimed at extending their influence by
marrying their relatives to those of other powerful
chiefs. In this way chiefs of exceptional capacity,
aided by good fortune, have achieved in certain
instances a very extended influence. Such a chief
was Laki Avit, a Kenyah, who, some twenty years
before the Rajah's officers first entered upon the
task of administering the Baram, was recognised
throughout all the interior of the district as the
leading chief, a position which could only have
been achieved by the consistent pursuit of a wise
policy of conciliation and just dealing between
Kenyahs and Kayans. But the order and peace
maintained by the influence of such a chief depended
wholly on his continued vigour, and they seldom or
never survived his death by more than a few years.
In the case of Laki Avit, for example, the Bruni
Malays, jealous and afraid of the allied Kayans and
Kenyahs, soon succeeded by means of murderous
intrigues in bringing back the more normal condi-
tion of suspicious hostility and frequent warfare.
Thus, although several chiefs had endeavoured to
establish peace throughout wide areas, no one of them

276 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

had achieved any enduring success. For this end the
unifying influence of a central authority and superior
power was necessary, and this was suppHed by the
Rajah. We may liken the whole system of society
as now established to a conical structure consisting
of a common apex from which lines of authority
descend to the base, branching as they go at three
principal levels. If we imagine the upper part of
this structure cut away at a horizontal plane just
above the lowest level of branching, we have a
diagrammatic representation of the state of affairs
preceding the Rajah's advent — a large number of
small cones each representing a village unified by
the subordination of its members to its chief, but
each one remaining isolated without any bond of
union with its neighbours. At the present time the
base of the cone remains almost unchanged, but the
Rajah's government binds together all its isolated
groups to form one harmonious whole, by means of
the hierarchy of officers whose authority proceeds
from the Rajah himself, the apex of the system.

The establishment of the Rajah's government has
thus involved no breaking up of the old forms of
society, no attempt to recast it after any foreign
model, but has merely supplied the elements that
were lacking to the system, if it was to enable men
to live at peace, to prosper and multiply, and to
enjoy the fruits of their labours. But though we
describe the society of Sarawak as being now a
completed structure, the simile is inadequate and
might mislead. The structure is not that of a rigid
building, but of a living organisation ; and its
efficiencyand permanence depend upon theunceasing
activities of all its parts, each conscious of the whole
and of its own essential role in the life of the whole,
and each animated by a common spirit of unswerv-
ing devotion to, and untiring effort in the cause of,
the whole. The Rajah's power rests upon the broad

I

XXII GOVERNMENT 277

base of the people's willing co-operation ; he in turn
is for them the symbol of the whole, by the aid of
which they are enabled to think of the state as their
common country and common object of devotion ;
and from him there descends through his officers
the spirit which animates the whole, a spirit of re-
ciprocal confidence, justice, goodwill, and devotion
to duty. The system is in fact the realisation of
the ideal of monarchy or personal government ; its
successful working depends above all on the char-
acter and intellect of the man who stands at the
head of the state ; and the steady progress of all
better aspects of civilisation in Sarawak, a progress
which has evoked the warm praise of many ex-
perienced and independent observers,^ has been due
to the fact that the resolution, the tact and sympathy,
the wisdom and high ideals which enabled the first
of its English Rajahs to establish his authority, have
been unfailingly displayed in no less degree by his
successor throughout his long reign.

It is obvious that this permeation of the whole
system of government by the spirit of its head can
only be perpetuated by constant personal intercourse
between him and his officers and between the
officers of the various grades. This has been a
main principle observed by the Rajah. He has
frequently visited the district stations, to spend a
few days in consultation with his white officers, and
to renew his personal acquaintance with the local
chiefs, who spontaneously assemble to await his
arrival. Such visits to any station have seldom
been made at greater intervals than one year ; and
these annual meetings at the district stations between
the Rajah and his officers of all grades have been
of the utmost value in preserving the profound and
personal respect with which he is regarded through-

^ See pp. 417.420 of Messrs. Bampfylde and Baring Gould's Two White
Rajahs.

278 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

out the land and which is in due measure reflected
to his representatives, both white and native. The
Rajah has also kept himself in close touch with the
Residents and the affairs even of the remotest
districts by encouraging the Residents to write to
him personally and fully on all important matters,
and by writing with his own hand full and prompt
replies.

The foregoing brief account of the system of
government will have accentuated its essentially
personal character ; and it will have made clear the
necessity for constant personal intercourse between
the officers of various grades, and for the long
excursions of the Residents into the interior parts
of their districts, one of which we propose to
describe as an illustration of the intimate working
of the administrative system. For in the larger
and wilder districts the Resident's station may be
separated from populous villages by a tract of wild
jungle country, the return journey over which
cannot be accomplished in less than a month or
even more.

The journey we are about to describe, as
illustrative of the administrative labours of the
Resident of one of the wilder districts, was made
in the Baram in the year 1898 by one of us
(C. H.) in the course of his official duties and in
part only by the joint -author of this book. A
slight sketch of the political history and condition
of the Baram is required to render intelligible the
objects of the journey and the course of events.
The Baram was added to Sarawak territory, under
the circumstances described above (vol. ii. p. 261),
in the year 1882. At that time it enjoyed the
reputation of a wild and dangerous region, owing
to the strength of the Kayans, who, dwelling in all
the middle parts of the rivers, had made a number
of bold raids as far as the coast and even to the

GOVERNMENT 279

neighbourhood of Bruni. The Sea Dayaks had
obtained no footing in the river, and the Klemantans,
who dwelt in the lower reaches, had proved quite
incapable of withstanding their formidable neigh-
bours. The latter had driven them out of the more
desirable parts of the river, had made many slaves,
and had appropriated many of the valuable caves
in which they had gathered the edible nests of the
swift. But considerable numbers of the Klemantans
remained in the lower reaches and in some of the
tributary rivers. The upper waters of the Baram
were occupied mainly by Kenyah communities ;
and about the watershed in which the Baram, the
Rejang, and the Batang Kayan have their sources
(a mountainous highland, geographically the very
centre of the island, known as Usun Apo), were
the Madangs, a powerful subtribe of the Kenyahs,
whose reputation as warriors was second to none.
In 1883 a fort was built at Marudi (now officially
known as Claudetown), a spot on the river-bank
some sixty miles from the sea, the first spot at
which in ascending the river a high bank suitable
for a settlement is encountered. Here Mr. Claude
de Crespigny, assisted by two junior officers, a
squad of some thirty rangers, and a few native
police, began the task of introducing law and order
into these 10,000 square miles of dense jungles,
rushing rivers, and high mountains, the scene for
unknown ages of the hard perpetual struggle of
savage man with nature, and of the fierce conflict
of man with man. At first the interior tribes
remained aloof, and the little outpost of civilisation
was frequently threatened by them with extermina-
tion. But after some few years the Kayans of the
lower villages became reconciled to the new state of
afTairs, recognised the authority of the Rajah and of
the Resident, and consented to pay the small annual
door-tax amounting to two dollars per family or door.
VOL. II T *

28o PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

These were the Kayans of villages that were
readily accessible because seated on reaches of the
river navigable by the Resident's steam-launch,
that is, not more than seventy miles above Claude-
town. It was soon realised that the people of the
remoter parts were only to be brought under the
Rajah's government by means of friendly visits of
the Resident to their villages. This policy was
actively pursued by Mr. Charles Hose, who had
become assistant to the Resident in 1884, officer in
charge in 1888, and Resident in 1890; some four
or five long journeys were made each year, each
occupying several weeks. During these journeys,
which were necessarily made in the native boats,
the Resident would spend the nights, whenever
possible, in the native houses, sometimes whiling
away several days in friendly intercourse with his
hosts, and thus acquiring much useful information
as well as more intimate understanding of their
characters, languages, and customs. In this way
the area of government control was extended step
by step, until about the year 1891 practically all the
inhabitants of the Baram had accepted the Rajah's
government and acknowledged it by the payment
of some tax, however small. The chiefs of the
Klemantans and their people were for the most
part very glad to place themselves under the
protection of this new government ; but the Kayans
and Kenyahs, not feeling themselves to be in need
of any such protection, were less ready to accept
the Resident's proposals. Two considerations
mainly induced them to take this course : first, they
desired peace, or at any rate less warfare, and it
was possible to convince them that this result might
be achieved by pointing to other districts such as
the Rejang, with whose affairs they had some
acquaintance. Secondly, they found that a Chinese
bazaar had sprung up at Claudetown, and that, as

-^

XXII

GOVERNMENT 281

soon as they accepted the Rajah's government, they
would obtain greatly increased facilities for driving
the highly profitable trade in jungle produce ; for,
before they had come under the government, the
Chinese and Malay traders had hardly ventured
to penetrate to their remote villages with their
cloths and lucifer matches, hardware, steel bars, and
other much-coveted goods.

Several of the most influential chiefs who had
early showed themselves staunch friends of the
government were made Penghulus, and have long
continued by their example and influence energetic-
ally to support the Resident, notably the Kayan,
Tama Usong, and the Kenyah, Tama Bulan (see
Pis. 49, 27). The latter especially, though not one
of the first to come in, exercised his great influence
consistently, wisely, and energetically, in support
of the Resident and in the establishment of
peace and order throughout the district and even
beyond its boundaries. But he was only one of
several chiefs who have displayed a high degree
of enlightenment and moral qualities of a very
high order.

The hostility of the Kalabits on the north-eastern
border, who persistently raided those villages of
their fellow- tribesmen that had come under the
government, had necessitated an expedition against
them in 1893. And Sea Dayak parties of jungle
workers had on more than one occasion stirred up
serious trouble. But, in spite of these difficulties,
by the year 1898 all the inhabitants of the district
were paying the regular door-tax, crimes of violence
had been almost abolished, trade was everywhere
increasing, and peace was assured, save for the
threat to it from one quarter, namely, the Madangs
of Usun Apo and the neighbouring powerful
settlements of Kenyahs across the water-parting
in the head-waters of the Batang Kayan. It had

282 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

always been a weakness of the Rajah's government
that it could assure to the Baram people no pro-
tection against attack from those regions, the latter
of which, though nominally Dutch territory, was
not yet controlled by the Dutch government. In
the year 1897 a numerous band of Madangs had
migrated into the extreme head of the Baram from
the corresponding and closely adjoining part of the
Rejang, largely owing to the pressure put upon
them by the ever roving and meddlesome Sea
Dayaks. Neither these Madangs nor the Kenyahs
of the Batang Kayan had entered into friendly
relations with the Sarawak government, and they
had preserved a hostile attitude towards the Baram
tribes. The Resident therefore determined to
visit the Madangs, and to invite Kenyah chiefs
from the Batang Kayan to meet him on the
extreme edge of the Sarawak territory, in order
to open friendly intercourse with them, and to
persuade them if possible to attend a general
peace-meeting at Claudetown, at which the out-
standing feuds between them and the Baram folk
might be ceremonially washed out in the blood of
pigs. For, if this attempt could be carried to a
successful issue, it would go far to assure the peace
of the whole district, and would add considerably
to the volume of trade descending the Baram River.
An additional feature of the programme was that
the Resident should take with him on his visit a
number of the Baram chiefs, and should in the
course of the journey make arrangements with the
largest possible number of chiefs for their attend-
ance at the proposed peace-making.

Accordingly, on the 9th of October 1898, we
started from Claudetown in the Resident's launch
with a retinue of half a dozen Sea Dayak rangers
and two policemen, and towing some half a dozen
boats, including one for our own use up-river.

GOVERNMENT 283

After spending a day in visiting villages in the
lower Tinjar, the largest tributary of the Baram,
we resumed the journey up-river and reached the
village of Long Tamala. There we were joined
by the chiefs of the two houses Tama Aping Nipa
and Tama Aping Kuleh, and were most hospitably
entertained by the former. On the following
morning we again steamed up-river, having added
to our train these two Kenyah chiefs, each with a
boat's crew of fighting men, they having agreed
to make the whole journey with us. After stopping
at several villages at which the Resident's services
were in request for the settlement of disputed
questions, in the afternoon we reached Long Tajin,
a big Kayan village, and were welcomed by Juman,
the chief, and his wife Sulau, a woman of strikingly
handsome and refined features and graceful aristo-
cratic manner (PL 31). She is the daughter of the
late Aban Jau, who was for many years the most
powerful chief of the Tinjar Sebops. He had long
resisted the advances of the Resident, and had
submitted to the Rajah's government only after a
long course of patient persuasion. He had regarded
himself as the up-river Rajah, and had never ceased
to regret the old state of affairs. ** I'm an old man
now," he told the Resident, '' but if I were as salt as
I used to be, the Rajah would not have taken
possession of the Baram without a struggle."
Another of his many picturesque sayings seems
worth recording: ''Your Rajah may govern the
down-river people ; they are inside the Sultan's
fence and he had the right to hand them over. But
over us he had no authority ; we are the tigers of
the jungle and have never been tamed." He had
frequently threatened to attack the fort ; and when
he had sent to the Resident a message to that
effect in the usual symbolic language, the latter's
only reply had been to go up to his house with two

284 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

or three men only, and to spend five days there as
Aban Jau's guest, and to persuade him to come
down to Claudetown to meet the Rajah.

The evening was spent in discussing the pro-
spects of the expedition with Juman and other
chiefs, some of whom took a gloomy view. The
following morning the steam-launch was sent down-
river, and we took to the boats and paddled a short
stage to Bawang Takun, another large Kayan village,
where we stayed over-night to give the people time
to prepare their boats and the Resident the oppor-
tunity for some judicial inquiries. There was heavy
rain throughout the night, and in the morning the
river, which in this part of its course runs between
limestone cliffs, was rushing so rapidly that we could
only make progress by repeatedly crossing the river
to seek the slack- water side of each reach. Failing
to reach any village, we passed the night in rude
shelters on the bank. On the following day the
river was still in flood, but we reached Long Lawa,
a Kayan village, and decided to wait there until the
river should subside to a more normal condition.
Here a party of Kenyahs met us, sent by Tama
Bulan to conduct us to his house some two or three
days' journey up the Pata tributary. On the morn-
ing of the 1 6th the river had fallen ten feet, and
starting at daybreak we reached the mouth of the
Pata, and camped on a kerangan or pebble-bed beauti-
fully situated among the forest-clad slopes a little
way up the Pata. In the course of the day a boat-
ful of Kayans from the Apoh had joined us. On
the 17th we had an exciting day working up the
rapids and waterfalls of the Pata, and reached Long
Lutin, a very large Kayan village of many long
houses, most pleasantly situated and surrounded by
hills clothed with the rich green of the young padt
crop. Here we spent the night in the house of the
principal chief, Laki Lah, a quaint old bachelor, whom

Plate 202. KLEMANTAN MASK.

XXII GOVERNMENT 285

we greatly astonished by eating plum-pudding with
burning brandy upon it.

Another day's journey over a long series of rapids
brought us to the house of Tama Bulan, at that time
the most influential chief of the Baram. We found
there a number of Kenyah chiefs from the upper
reaches of the Pata awaiting our arrival. Tama
Bulan, who was strongly in favour of carrying
through the Resident's plan, eloquently supported it
during the hospitable procedures of the evening,
assuring the assembled chiefs that the journey would
finally resolve the troubles of the Baram. As usual
there was no lack of enterprise and ** go " among the
Kenyahs, and they were all keen to make the
venture ; while the Kayans on the other hand were,
as always, more cautious, more inclined to dwell on
the possibilities of failure, and slower to take up the
plan and make it their own. The Kenyahs had not
yet completed the taking of omens for the expedition,
and the following days were devoted to this process
(see vol. ii. p. 52), Tama Bulan and his people taking
omens for the whole of the Kenyah contingent, while
Juman went on to prepare the people of the Akar.
In the course of the day Tama Bulan accompanied
us on visits to several neighbouring Kenyah villages
situated a little farther up the river. In the evening
we had another convivial meeting with great flow of
oratory and rice-spirit. On the third day, favourable
omens having been observed, sacrifices of pigs and
fowls were offered before the altar-posts of the war-
god, and the various rites needful to complete the
preparation for a long journey were performed (see
PL 157). In the afternoon the Resident inspected
the site for a bungalow or block -house which the
Kenyahs proposed to make (and have since erected)
for the use of the government's officers.

On October 23rd we left Tama Bulan's house
with a party of about one hundred all told, in several

286 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

boats. We were joined at Long Lutin by Laki Lah
and a boatful of his Kayans, made a rapid passage
to Long Pata (the spot where the Pata joins the
Baram), and resumed the toilsome ascent of the main
river to reach the Akar. That evening we reached
a Kenyah village at Long Lawan, and as usual we
were hospitably entertained with the fatted pig and
brimming cups of rice-spirit. The weather was now
brilliantly fine and the river of only normal swift-
ness, and we passed the night in a Kenyah house
in the Akar. Here we spent two days awaiting the
arrival of a party of Kayans from the upper Akar.
The Kayans having arrived, another general dis-
cussion of the plan of operations was held ; and on
the third day the expedition returned to the Baram,
and after surmounting the difficulties presented by
many rapids and a narrow gorge at Batu Pita,
entered the Silat on the 28th. The Silat is the
uppermost of the large tributaries of the Baram
(PL 200). It descends from the Madang country,
winding round the foot of the Batu Tujoh, a lime-
stone mountain of 5000 feet. All this country is at
a considerable height above sea-level (1000 feet and
more), and the climate is much cooler and more
bracing than that of the lower levels. It is a land
of many streams and hills. All the lower slopes have
been cleared and cultivated by the Kenyahs, so that
it presents a more open and smiling aspect than
the lower country, where the clearings are but tiny
islands in the vast ocean of gloomy forest. The
river itself is even more beautiful than the other
tributaries of the Baram, lovely as all these are in
their upper reaches. This was not the first explora-
tion of the Silat, for the Resident had twice before
journeyed up its lower reaches ; but on this occasion
it was necessary to penetrate to its very head, in
order to reach the villages of the principal Madang
chiefs, Saba Irang and Tama Usun Tasi. So for

I

GOVERNMENT 287

five days the expedition toiled up the Silat, and
during these days Juman, Laki Lah, and most of the
Kayans turned back, their confidence being shaken by
the unfamiliar aspect of the country, by the neighbour-
hood of the hitherto hostile Madangs, and by the
bad dream of one of their chiefs and the illness of
another. On the fifth day the diminished fleet of
boats entered the Lata, a tributary coming down
from the Mudong Alan and Saat mountains, from the
slopes of which the water runs also to the Rejang
River and the Batang Kayan. Here the boats were
left behind and the expedition went forward on foot,
making but slow progress in the rocky river-bed.

Near the mouth of the Lata the expedition was
met by a large party of Kenyahs — men, women, and
children — the whole population of a Kenyah village
of the Batang Kayan, Lepu Agas by name, who had
just arrived with the intention of making their home
in that neighbourhood. These people had been the
greatest enemies of Tama Bulan, and the feud had
only been healed in the previous year.

A curious custom, which seems at the present
time to be peculiar to the Kenyahs and rapidly
dying out among them, was observed by the Lepu
Aga people on this occasion. As the Resident's
party approached the spot where they awaited its
arrival, they sent out three men to establish the first
contact. It was the function of these three men to
make sure of the friendly intentions of the approach-
ing party (Pis. 201, 202). They wore large wooden
masks elaborately carved, and bearing great lateral
projections like horns or antlers, in addition to full
war dress.^ They advanced down a long pebble-
bank, keeping step and making grotesque movements
with heads and arms, which seemed to imply a mix-
ture of caution and curiosity. After dodging about

f ^ These three masks were afterwards given to the Resident, and are now in

1 the British Museum.

288 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

for some time, they came near and inquired : *' Who
are you ? Whence do you come ? What is your
business ? " H aving obtained satisfactory assurances,
they retreated, stepping backwards with the same
grotesque gestures, and returned to report the results
of their investigations to their chief.

Before friendly intercourse between the parties
could begin it was still necessary, in view of the
recent feud between them, that they should engage
in a sham fight (jawa). When this boisterous
ceremony had been accomplished, the Resident pre-
sented to the Lepu Agas a number of presents,
calculated to whet their appetite for the products of
civilised industry to be found in the Baram bazaar.
Very soon all suspicion and reserve were overcome,
and all the men of the Resident's party turned to
with hearty goodwill to help build a house for their
former enemies. So well did they work that between
sunrise and sunset a house of forty doors was hewn
out of the forest, solidly constructed, and roofed ; so
that when night fell the new-comers were able to
move in and to invite their helpers to a convivial
meeting in its long gallery. The Resident made a
speech in native fashion, saying that his party had
ventured to build a rude hut in order to provide a
night's shelter for their new friends, and hoped that
they would find it sufficient for the moment. Tama
Bulan also spoke, saying how now the old troubles
were over, never to come again. Aban J along, the
old chief of the Batang Kayan people, was so
touched by these unwonted demonstrations of good-
will, that he wept and could with difficulty find words
in which to express the gratitude of himself and his
people. Through these people messages of good-
will and invitations to the proposed peace-making at
Claudetown were sent to their former neighbours in
the Batang Kayan, and these in due time bore
good fruit. For in the course of the next few years

J

Plate 203. TAMA RULING {ALIAS BOI JALONG), PRINCIPAL
KENYAH CHIEF OF THE BATANG KAYAN DISTRICT.

GOVERNMENT 289

several communities followed the example of the
Lepu Agas, and moved over from the Batang Kayan
to the Baram. It may be of interest to add that the
Lepu Agas still inhabit the house built under these
extraordinary circumstances. After some few more
days of travelling up-river, we were met by a party
of Madangs who had been sent down to meet the
Resident ; while awaiting his arrival they had
hewed out a small boat, and in this, which served
almost as much the purposes of a sledge as of a boat,
they hauled him over rocks and rapids and still
pools until, having outpaced the rest of the party,
they brought him, on the eighth day from leaving the
Silat, to their village at the foot of Mudong Alan.
It was a large village comprising nine long houses
disposed in a circle and containing probably not less
than 2000 persons. Here he was received on the
bank of the stream by a large body of Madangs
headed by Tama Usun Tasi, who at once offered
him the hospitality of his roof. The incidents of
the visit have been described by the Resident, and
passages from his account may here be transcribed : —

My Kenyah friends had not arrived yet, but I thought
it best to go with him (Tama Usun Tasi) at once ; afterwards
I congratulated myself on my decision, when I found
that, according to custom, Tama Bulan and his followers
(being unable to enter the house until all cases of blood-
money between his people and the Madangs had been
settled) were obliged to camp near the river for one night.
The Madangs assisted in making huts for my followers,
gave them several pigs, and sent down their women laden
with baskets full of rice ; so no want of hospitality marred
our reception. In the evening I took a walk round the
village, followed by a crowd of women and children,
who appeared greatly pleased to find that the white man
was able to converse with them in the Kenyah tongue.
Then, as the crowd increased, I sat down on a log and
produced a few pounds of tobacco, and the whole party
was soon chatting and laughing as if they had known
me for years. I have often noticed that the women of the

290 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

Kenyah tribe in the interior are far more genial and less
shy than those of other communities, and I believe that
the surest sign of the good faith of natives such as these
is that the women and children come out to greet one
unattended by the men. The sounds of our merriment
soon attracted the attention of the men, and as they
strolled over and joined us in gradually increasing numbers,
the possibility of any disturbance taking place between these
people and mine quickly vanished from my mind.

On the following morning several parties of Madangs
from other villages came in, numbering in all about 600,
and exchanged presents of weapons with my people. It
was necessary that the gods should be consulted as to
whether the meeting was really in the interests of peace
or not. So a pig was caught and tied by the legs, and
when all the Madangs were assembled in Tama Usun
Tasi's house, the pig was brought in and placed in front
of the chiefs. Then one of the head men from a neighbour-
ing village took a lighted piece of wood and singed a few
of the bristles of the pig, giving it a poke with his hand
at the same time, as if to attract its attention, and calling in
a loud voice to the supreme being, " Bali Penyalong." Then,
talking at a great rate and hardly stopping for a moment to
take breath, he asked that, if any one had evil intentions,
the truth might be revealed before the evilly disposed one
was allowed to enter the Madang houses, and that, if any
Madang, whether related to him or not, wished to disturb the
peace which was about to be made with the Baram people,
his designs should be revealed. The old man stood waving
his hands as if to sweep within the circle of his influence
the whole of the assembled crowd, and then, jumping into
the air with great violence, brought both feet down on the
plank floor with a resounding thump ; then, spinning round
on one foot with his arm extended, he quickly altered the
tone of his voice to a more gentle pitch, and, quivering
with excitement, quietly sank down into his place amid a
dead silence. The speech was a stirring one, and created
an impression. Others spoke a few words to the pig, and it
was then taken to one side and stabbed in the throat with a
spear, after which the liver was taken out and examined.
I should mention that a pig intended to serve the same
purpose was provided by the Madangs for our people, who
were still waiting to be invited to the house.

Having years before studied the beliefs of the natives

GOVERNMENT 291

with regard to divination by pigs' livers, and knowing the
great importance attached to it, I was as anxious as any one
to see the liver. I saw at a glance that the omen was
good, and seized the opportunity to make the most of it. I
quickly called the chiefs' attention to all the good points
before they had given their own opinion, and at once saw
that their interpretation was the same as my own, and
that they were somewhat surprised to find it so.

Thereupon two messengers were sent backwards and
forwards to discuss the number of people killed on either
side from time to time, and big gongs, shields, and weapons
of all kinds changed hands as blood-money. When all
had been settled, notice was given to our people that the
Madangs were ready to receive them into their houses, and
the Baram people sent a message back that they were
prepared to accept the invitation. When Kayans and
Kenyahs who have been at feud desire to meet peaceably,
it is necessary to go through a sort of sham fight, called
jawa^ so that both parties can, as it were, blow off steam.
As this ceremony is generally executed with much vigour
by fully armed parties, it often happens that some people are
badly hurt ; and I was half afraid that such an accident
might check the progress of our negotiations. But the
omens had been favourable, and the implicit belief in such
omens goes far to prevent bad feeling. About midday Tama
Bulan and his followers, in full war costume, announced
their intention of moving by bursting into the war-cry,
a tremendous roar which was immediately answered by
the people in the houses. The noise and excitement
increased as the Baram people neared the house of Tama
Usun Tasi, and guns with blank charges were fired. On
came the Baram people, stamping, shouting, and waving
their weapons in defiance, the Madangs in the houses
keeping up a continuous roar. When the Baram people
first attempted to enter the house, they were driven back,
and a tremendous clashing of shields and weapons took
place ; then the Madangs retreated from the entrance in
order to allow their visitors to come in, stamping and
making the most deafening noise. When the Baram
people had all entered, the Madangs once more rushed at
them, and for some two minutes a rough-and-tumble fight
continued, in which many hard blows were given. No one
received a cut, however, except one man who, running
against a spear, was wounded in the thigh ; but the affair

292 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

was quickly settled by the payment of a pig and a small
spear to the wounded person ; so the ceremony may be
said to have ended without a mishap. When quiet had
been restored, we all sat down and rice-spirit was produced,
healths drunk, and speeches made ; food was brought out
and given to the visitors in the long verandah, as, on first
being received, visitors are not allowed to enter the rooms ;
and the convivialities were prolonged far into the night.

In the evening of the following day the Madangs prepared
a feast for all present, and afterwards a great deal of rice-
spirit was drunk and some very good speeches made,
former troubles and difficulties being explained and dis-
cussed in the most open manner. Each chief spoke in
turn, and concluded his speech by offering drink to another
and singing a few phrases in his praise, the whole assembly
joining in a very impressive chorus after each phrase and
ending up with a tremendous roar as the bamboo cup was
emptied. •

The following day the Madangs collected a quantity of
rubber for their first payment of tribute to the government,
namely, $2.00 per family, and as we had no means of
weighing it except by guesswork, it was decided that
Tama Bulan and two Madang headmen should act as
assessors, and decide whether the piece of rubber brought
by each person was sufficiently large to produce S2.00.
It took these men the whole day to receive it all, and much
counting was done on the fingers and toes.

On taking our departure from the Madang country,
most of the women presented us with a small quantity of
rice for food on our homeward journey, but as each little
lot was emptied into a large basket, the giver took back a few
grains so as not to offend the omen-birds, who had bestowed
on them a bounteous harvest, by giving the whole away to
strangers. Presents of considerable value were given on both
sides, and all parted the best of friends. The two principal
Madang chiefs accompanied us for a day's journey, their
followers carrying the whole of our baggage. On parting I
promised to arrange a similar peace-making at Claudetown,
at which most of the Baram chiefs would be present.

We add an account of the peace-making previ-
ously published by one of us.^

1 "A Savage Peace-Conference," by W. McDougall, The Eagle, the
magazine of St. John's College, Cambridge, 1900.

XXII

GOVERNMENT 293

The peace-making that I am going to describe was
organised in order to bring together on neutral ground,
and in presence of an overwhelming force of the tribes
loyal to the government, all those tribes whose allegiance
was still doubtful, and all those that were still actively-
hostile to one another, and to induce them to swear to
support the government in keeping the peace, and to go
through the formalities necessary to put an end to old
blood-feuds. At the same time the Resident had suggested
to the tribes that they should all compete in a grand race
of war canoes, as well as in other races on land and water.
For he wisely held that in order to suppress fighting and
head-hunting, hitherto the natural avenues to fame for
restless tribes and ambitious young men, it is necessary to
replace them by some other form of violent competition
that may in some degree serve as a vent for high spirits
and superfluous energy ; and he hoped to establish an
annual gathering for boat racing and other sports, in which
all the tribes should take part, a gathering on the lines of
the Olympic games in fact. The idea was taken up eagerly
by the people, and months before the appointed day they
were felling the giants of the forest and carving out from
them the great war canoes that were to be put to this novel
use, and reports were passing from village to village of the
many fathoms length of this or that canoe, and the fineness
of the timber and workmanship of another.

In order to make clear the course of events, I must
explain that two large rivers, the Baram and the Tinjar,
meet about one hundred miles from the sea to form the
main Baram river. Between the peoples living on the
banks of these two rivers and their tributaries there is a
traditional hostility which just at this time had been raised
to a high pitch by the occurrence of a blood-feud between
the Kenyahs, a leading tribe of the Baram, and the Lirongs,
an equally powerful tribe of the Tinjar. In addition to
these two groups we expected a large party of Madangs, a
famous tribe of fighting men of the central highlands whose
hand had hitherto been against every other tribe, and a
large number of Sea Dayaks, who, more than all the rest,
are always spoiling for a fight, and who are so passionately
devoted to head-hunting that often they do not scruple
to pursue it in an unsportsmanlike fashion. So it will be
understood that the bringing together in one place of large
parties of fully armed warriors of all these different groups

294 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

was a distinctly interesting and speculative experiment in
peace-making.

The place of meeting was Marudi (Claudetown), the
headquarters of the government of the district. There the
river, still nearly a hundred miles from the sea, winds round
the foot of a low flat-topped hill, on which stand the small
wooden fort and court-house and the Resident's bungalow.
Some days before that fixed for the great meeting by the
tokens we had sent out, parties of men began to arrive,
floating down in the long war canoes roofed with palm
leaves for the journey. On the appointed day some five
thousand of the Baram people and the Madangs were
encamped very comfortably in leaf and mat shelters on the
open ground between our bungalow and the fort, while the
Sea Dayaks had taken up their quarters in the long row
of Chinamen's shops that form the Marudi bazaar, the
commercial centre of the district. But as yet no Tinjar
folk had put in an appearance, and men began to wonder
what had kept them — Were the tokens sent them at fault ?
Or had they received friendly warnings of danger from
some of the many sacred birds, without whose favourable
omens no journey can be undertaken? Or had they,
perhaps, taken the opportunity to ascend the Baram and
sack and burn the Kenyah houses now well nigh empty of
defenders ? We spent the time in foot-racing, preliminary
boat-racing, and in seeing the wonders of the white man.
For many of these people had not travelled so far down-
river before, and their delight in the piano was only
equalled by their admiration for that most wonderful of all
things, the big boat that goes up stream without paddles,
the Resident's fast steam-launch.

At last one evening, while we were all looking on at a
most exciting practice-race between three of the canoes,
the Lirongs, with the main mass of the Tinjar people,
came down the broad straight reach. It was that most
beautiful half-hour of the tropical day, between the setting
of the sun and the fall of darkness — the great forest stood
black and formless, while the sky and the smooth river
were luminous with delicate green and golden light. The
Lirongs were in full war dress, with feathered coats of
leopard skin and plumed caps plaited of tough rattan, and
very effective they were as they came swiftly on over
the shining water, sixty to seventy warriors in each canoe
raising their tremendous battle-cry, a deep-chested chorus

XXII GOVERNMENT 295

of rising and falling cadences. The mass of men on the
bank and on the hill took up the cry, answering shout for
shout ; and the forest across the river echoed it, until the
whole place was filled with a hoarse roar. The Kenyahs ran
hastily to their huts for their weapons, and by the time they
had grouped themselves on the crest of the hill, armed with
sword and shield and spear and deadly blowpipe, the
Lirongs had landed on the bank below and were rushing up
the hill to the attack. A few seconds more and they met
with clash of sword and shield and a great shouting, and
in the semi-darkness a noisy battle raged. After some
minutes the Lirongs drew off and rushed back to their
boats as wildly as they had come ; and, strange to say, no
blood was flowing, no heads were rolling on the ground, no
ghastly wounds were gaping, in fact no one seemed any the
worse. For it seems that this attack was merely a well
understood formality, a put-up job, so to say. When two
tribes, between whom there is a blood-feud not formally
settled, meet together to make peace, it is the custom for
the injured party, that is the tribe which has last suffered a
loss of heads, to make an attack on the other party but
using only the butt ends of their spears and the blunt
edges of their swords. This achieves two useful ends — it
lets off superabundant high spirits, which, if too much
bottled up, would be dangerous ; and it ** saves the face " of
the injured party by showing how properly wrathful and
bellicose its feelings are. So when this formality had been
duly observed everybody seemed to feel that matters were
going on well ; they all settled down quietly enough
for the night, the Resident taking the precaution to
send the Lirongs to camp below the fort ; and the great
peace-conference was announced to be held the following
morning.

Soon after daybreak the people began to assemble
beneath the great roof of palm-leaf mats that we had built
for a conference hall. The Baram chiefs sat on a low
platform along one side of the hall, and in their midst was
Tama Bulan, the most famous of them all, a really great
man who has made his name and influence felt throughout
a very large part of Borneo. When all except the Tinjar
men were assembled, of course without arms, the latter, also
unarmed, came up the hill in a compact mass, to take their
places in the hall. As they entered, the sight of their old
enemies, the chiefs of the Baram, all sitting quietly
VOL. II U

296 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

together, was too much for their self-control ; with one
accord they made a mad rush at them and attempted to
drag them from the platform. Fortunately we white men
had placed ourselves with a few of the more reliable Dayak
fortmen between the two parties, and partly by force and
partly by eloquence we succeeded in beating off the attack,
which seemed to be made in the spirit of a school " rag "
rather than with bloody intent. But just as peace seemed
restored, a great shout went up from the Baram men, " Tama
Bulan is wounded " ; and sure enough there he stood with
blood flowing freely over his face. The sight of blood
seemed to send them all mad together ; the Tinjar people
turned as one man and tore furiously down the hill to seize
their weapons, while the Baram men ran to their huts and
in a few seconds were prancing madly to and fro on the
crest of the hill, thirsting for the onset of the bloody battle
that now seemed a matter of a few seconds only. At the
same time the Dayaks were swarming out of the bazaar
seeking something to kill, like the typical Englishman,
though not knowing which side to take. The Resident
hastened after the Tinjars, threw himself before them,
and appealed and threatened, pointing to the two guns
at the fort now trained upon them ; and Tama Bulan
showed his true greatness by haranguing his people, saying
his wound was purely accidental and unintended, that it was
a mere scratch, and commanding them to stand their ground.
Several of the older and steadier chiefs followed his example
and ran to and fro holding back their men, exhorting them
to be quiet.

The crisis passed, the sudden gust of passion slowly died
away, and peace was patched up with interchange of
messages and presents between the two camps. The great
boat race was announced to take place on the morrow, and
the rest of the day was spent in making ready the war
canoes, stripping them of their leaf roofs and all other
superfluous gear.

At daybreak the racing-boats set off for the starting-
post four miles up river. The Resident had given strict
orders that no spears or other weapons were to be carried in
the racing-boats, and as they started up river we inspected
the boats in turn, and in one or two cases relieved them of
a full complement of spears ; and then we followed them to
the post in the steam-launch. There was a score of entries,
and since each boat carried from sixty to seventy men

XXII GOVERNMENT 297

sitting two abreast, more than a thousand men were taking
part in the race. The getting the boats into line across the
broad river was a noisy and exciting piece of work. We
carried on the launch a large party of elderly chiefs, most
of whom were obviously suffering from " the needle," and
during the working of the boats into line they hurled
commands at them in language that was terrific in both
quality and volume. At last something like a line was
assumed, and on the sound of the gun the twenty boats
leaped through the water, almost lost to sight in a cloud of
spray as every one of those twelve hundred men struck the
water for all he was worth. There was no saving of them-
selves ; the rate of striking was about ninety to the minute,
and tended constantly to increase. Very soon two boats
drew out in front, and the rest of them, drawing together
as they neared the first bend, followed hotly after like a
pack of hounds. This order was kept all over the course.
During the first burst our fast launch could not keep up
with the boats, but we drew up in time to see the finish.
It was a grand neck-and-neck race all through between the
two leading boats, and all of them rowed it out to the end.
The winners were a crew of the peaceful down-river folk,
who have learnt the art of boat-making from the Malays of
the coast ; and they owed their victory to their superior skill
in fashioning their boat, rather than to superior strength.
When they passed the post we had an anxious moment —
How would the losers take their beating? Would the
winners play the fool, openly exulting and swaggering?
If so, they would probably get their heads broken, or
perhaps lose them. But they behaved with modesty and
discretion, and we diverted attention from them by swing-
ing the steamer round and driving her through the main
mass of the boats. Allowing as accurately as possible for
the rate of the current as compared with the rate of the tide
at Putney, we reckoned the pace of the winning boat to be
a little better than that of the 'Varsity eights in racing over
the full course.

The excitement of the crowds on the bank was great,
but it was entirely good-humoured — they seemed to have
forgotten their feuds in the interest of the racing. So the
Resident seized the opportunity to summon every one to
the conference hall once more. This time we settled down
comfortably enough and with great decorum, the chiefs all
in one group at one side of a central space, and the common

298 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

people in serried ranks all round about it. In the centre
was a huge, gaily painted efdgy of a hornbill, one of the birds
sacred to all the tribes, and on it were hung thousands of
cigarettes of home-grown tobacco wrapped in dried banana
leaf. Three enormous pigs were now brought in and laid,
bound as to their feet, before the chiefs, one for each of
the main divisions of the people, the Barams, the Tin jars,
and the hill-country folk. The greatest chiefs of each of
these parties then approached the pigs, and each in turn,
standing beside the pig assigned to his party, addressed
the attentive multitude with great flow of words and
much violent and expressive action ; for many of these
people are great orators. The purport of their speeches
was their desire for peace, their devotion to the Resident
(" If harm come to him, then may I fall too," said Tama
Bulan), and their appreciation of the trade and general
intercourse and safety of life and property brought them
by the Rajah's government ; and they hurled threats and
exhortations against unlicensed warfare and bloodshed.

As each chief ended his speech to the people he turned
to the pig at his feet, and, stooping over it, kept gently
prodding it with a smouldering fire-brand, while he
addressed to it a prayer for protection and guidance — a
prayer that the spirit of the pig, soon to be set free by a
skilful thrust of a spear into the beast's heart, should carry
up to the Supreme Being. The answer to these prayers
might then be read in the form and markings of the under-
side of the livers. So the pigs were despatched, and their
livers hastily dragged forth and placed on platters before
the group of chiefs. Then was there much anxious peer-
ing over shoulders, and much shaking of wise old heads,
as the learned elders discussed the omens ; until at last
the Resident was called upon to give his opinion, for he is
an acknowledged expert in augury. He was soon able to
show that the only true and rational reading of the livers
was a guarantee of peace and prosperity to all the tribes of
the district ; and the people, accepting his learned inter-
pretation, rejoiced with one accord. Then the Resident
made a telling speech, in which he dwelt upon the
advantages of peace and trade, and how it is good that a
man should sleep without fear that his house be burnt or
his people slain ; and he ended by seizing the nearest chief
by the hair of his head, as is their own fashion, to show
how, if a man break the peace, he shall lose his head.

•2 o

XXII GOVERNMENT 299

This concluded the serious part of the conference, and
it only remained to smoke the cigarettes of good fellow-
ship, taken from the hornbill-effigy, and to drink long life
and happiness to one another. So great jars of " arack "
were brought in and drinking vessels, and each chief in turn,
standing before some whilom enemy, sang his praises in
musical recitative before giving him the cup ; and after
each phrase of the song the multitude joined in with a
long-drawn sonorous shout, which, while the drink flowed
down, rose to a mighty roar. This is a most effective way
of drinking a man's health, and combines the advantages of
making a speech over him and singing " For he's a jolly good
fellow " ; moreover, the drink goes to the right party, as it
does not with us. It should be adopted in this country, I
think. By many repetitions of this process we were soon
reduced to a state of boisterous conviviality ; and many a
hard-faced old warrior, who but the day before had drawn
his weapons against his enemy, now sat with his arms
lovingly thrown about that same enemy. When this state
of affairs was reached, our work seemed to be accomplished,
and we white men retired to lunch, leaving one chief in the
midst of a long-winded speech. As soon as the restraint
of the Resident's presence was removed, the orator began to
utter remarks of a nature to stir up the dying embers of
resentment ; at least so it seemed to one wily old chief, a
firm supporter of the government, who bethought him to
send one of his men to pull away the palm-leaf mats from
above the indiscreet orator, and so leave his verbosity
exposed to the rays of the mid-day sun. No sooner said than
done, and this was the beginning of the end ; for others
following suit made a rush for the mats that would be so
useful in making their camps and boats more rain-proof.
There was a mighty uproar that brought us headlong to
the scene, only to see the big hall melt away like a snow-
flake as hundreds of hands seized upon the mats and bore
them away in triumph. So the great peace conference
was brought to an end amid much laughter and fun.

It only remained for the chiefs to pay in the taxes for
the year — the two dollars per family which it is their business
to collect from their people, and which is the only tax or
tribute claimed by the Rajah. This business was got
through on the following morning ; and then we said many
kind farewells, as the various parties set out one after
another in the great war canoes on their long up-stream

300 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

journey ; some of them to battle for many days against the
swiftly flowing river, and after that again for many days to
pole their boats through the flashing rapids and over the
lovely quiet reaches, where the rare gleams of sunlight
break through the overarching forest ; until, coming to their
own upland country, where anxious wives and children
are waiting, they will spread even in the remotest highlands
the news of the white man's big boat that goes of itself
against the stream, of the great boat-race, and of how they
came wellnigh to a fearful slaughtering, and how they
swore peace and goodwill to all men, and how there should
be now peace and prosperity through all the land, for the
great white man who had come to rule them had said
it should be so, and the gods had approved his words.

The foregoing account of the journey to the
Madang country and of the subsequent events
would constitute the last chapter of any history of
the pacification of the Baram. Since the time of
those incidents, there has been no serious disturbance
of the peace ; and there seems to be good reason
to hope that, so long as the Rajah's government
continues to be conducted along the same lines,
there will be no recrudescence of savagery. The last
case of fighting on any considerable scale occurred
in 1894, when Tama Bulan's people, resenting the
offensive conduct of bands of Sea Dayaks who had
penetrated to their neighbourhood in search of
jungle-products, turned out and took the heads of
thirteen of the Dayaks. It was only after prolonged
negotiation that the Dayaks were persuaded to
resign their hopes of a bloody revenge and to
accept a compensation of 3000 dollars, which was
paid by the Kenyahs at the Rajah's order.

It has not always been possible to make peace
prevail by wholly peaceable procedures. The Baram
was fortunate in that the Sea Dayaks had not
established themselves anywhere within its borders.
In the Rejang, on the other hand, large numbers of
them were allowed to settle, coming in from the

-<^i^9l^

Plate 207. RACING OF WAR-BOATS AT MARUDI DURING
THE PEACE-MEETING (1899).

XXII GOVERNMENT 301

Saribas and the Batang Lupar in the early days of
the Rajah's government. And since the Kayans and
Kenyahs were already in possession of the upper river
and considered themselves the dominant tribes and
lords of the land, it was inevitable that there should
grow up a keen rivalry which could hardly fail to
lead occasionally to armed conflict. For the Sea
Dayaks had been accustomed to adopt a somewhat
swaggering and domineering attitude towards the
Klemantan tribes, and could not easily learn to
modify it when they came in contact with the prouder
and less submissive Kayans and Kenyahs. This
rivalry has been the source of most of the troubles
of the Rejang, where, since the big expedition of
1863, the Rajah and his officers have on several
occasions found it necessary to subdue recalcitrant
tribes or communities by leading armed forces
against them.

As an illustration of these sterner methods we
add a brief account of one such expedition led by
one of us (C. H.) in the year 1904, in his capacity of
Divisional Resident of the several Rejang districts ;
an expedition which, there is reason to hope, may
prove to be the last of the series. The purpose of
this expedition was to reduce to order a small
community of Sea Dayaks that was established
upon Bukit Batu, an almost impregnable mountain
which rises up almost perpendicularly on all sides
at the head of the Bali, one of the eastern tributaries
of the Rejang. This community had been formed
in the manner to which legend assigns the foundation
of ancient Rome, namely, by the gathering together
in this strong place of various outlaws and violent
characters who for one reason or another had
quarrelled with and defied the government. The
same spot had been similarly occupied many years
before ; and though it had been forcibly cleared of its
defenders, its natural advantages had, in the course

302 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

of years, led to the growth of a new community of
the same kind.

This band had raided the surrounding country,
slaying and robbing people of several tribes, and
generally had been having a " gorgeous time." They
had repeatedly refused to yield even when threatened
by armed force. And when the Resident sent them
a peremptory message, commanding them to appear
to surrender themselves at the nearest government
station within one month, they returned an impudent
answer, saying that they had so far accepted orders
from no one, and asking — Who was he that they
should obey him? Steps were at once taken to
enforce obedience. Since to storm the hill might
well cost many lives, it seemed preferable to try
to lure its defenders from their stronghold. The
Resident, without giving the brigands further warn-
ing, went up the Rejang with a single boat's crew to
a point about 150 miles above the mouth of the Bali,
the tributary that flows past Bukit Batu. At this
point another tributary, the Bukau, coming from
near the opposite side of Bukit Batu, joins the
Rejang. Here he collected a force of some 200
Kayans and Klemantans, and led them up to the
head of the Bukau and then on foot through the jungle
to the neighbourhood of Bukit Batu. The route
by which the brigands usually passed to and from
their fastness was at a spot near the river, where
rude ladders of wood and rattan had been fixed to
facilitate the ascent and descent of the precipitous
foot of the hill. Near this spot the force was
divided into two parties, which were stationed in
the jungle at some little distance from the ladders,
right and left of the path to the river ; and a party
of ten active men was detached, with instructions to
hang about the foot of the ladders and to retreat
along the path to the river if they were attacked.
On the second day the I bans on the mountain

XXII GOVERNMENT 303

snapped at the bait. About forty of them descended
stealthily and then rushed upon the small party,
hoping to hunt down in the jungle all whom they could
not strike down on the spot, and thus to secure ten
heads and enjoy the frenzy of slaughter. The ten
decoys fled swiftly down the path, and the supporting
parties, guided by the yells of the Ibans, closed
in from both sides and fell upon them. A few of
the rebels were killed, without any fatal casualties
to the Resident's party. The rest fled through
the jungle and many of them were afterwards
arrested. Those who remained on the hill promptly
drew up the ladders and hurled down rocks. To
have carried the hill by storm would still have
been most difficult and costly, and, as it proved, a
needless feat. The Resident therefore contented
himself with destroying all the property of the
brigands that was within reach, including a number
of valuable jars and gongs which they had secreted
in a cave at the foot of the hill, and the fields of
young padi on which they were largely dependent
for their food-supply. For he well knew that this
procedure would render the spot hateful to the
Ibans ; for the scene of a disaster, especially one
where they have been worsted in fight, becomes an
object of superstitious dread. The Resident there-
fore led back his party by the way they had come,
dismissed them to their homes, and returned down
river to Sibu, after sending a command to those
remaining on the hill that they should present them-
selves forthwith at Kapit. The order was obeyed ;
fines, pledges, and compensations to relatives of their
victims were paid in ; and the principal men were
ordered to reside for a year in the neighbourhood of
Sibu Fort and afterwards to return to their native
districts.

It should be added that these Ibans frankly
acknowledged that the Resident had been too clever

304 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

for them, and that they bore him no ill-will ; and that
some of them, accompanying him on later excursions,
proved themselves willing helpers and agreeable
companions.

Other and larger expeditions of armed forces
have in the past been led against tribes or villages,
generally on account of their having refused to
surrender to the government members guilty of
taking heads or of attacking other villages wantonly
and without permission. In all cases the govern-
ment officers have relied almost exclusively upon the
services of bodies of natives under the immediate
charge of their own chiefs and armed only with their
native weapons. In some cases the offending
parties have fled from their villages without offering
active resistance ; and in these cases the government
force has usually been content to inflict punishment
by burning down their houses and taking what
property was left in them.

It is perhaps too much to hope that no cases of
taking heads or of wanton attack on jungle parties
or on weak villages will ever again occur. But such
incidents have become very infrequent and the
offenders have seldom escaped punishment ; for,
unlike our own population, many thousands of whom
live detached from all local bonds as isolated floating
units unknown to the government and to those
among whom they dwell, every man in Sarawak, with
the partial exception of the nomad jungle-dwellers,
is a member of some local group which is held re-
sponsible by the government for his good behaviour ;
thus in every district every man is known, if not as
an individual, at least as a member of some com-
munity ; and every stranger (or party of strangers)
is expected to be able to give a satisfying account
of himself; and any who wish to work in the jungle
of any district other than their own are required to
have government permission. It is thus impossible

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GOVERNMENT 305

for any criminal to conceal himself for any length of
time from the government ; and so sure is it of
effecting arrest, when necessary, that accused persons
are frequently allowed to attend to their farms and
follow their ordinary occupations pending the time
of their trial. Even when a man accused of a
serious offence flees across the border to Dutch
territory, he is generally apprehended by the Dutch
officers sooner or later and sent round to Kuching
by sea.

The raising of the taxes from the people to
defray the expenses of government has raised no
difficulties. The door-tax of two dollars ^ per door
(i.e. per family or household) is the only direct tax
laid on the tribes. When once the initial reluctance
has been overcome, this has been collected and
regularly paid in by chiefs and Penghulus, including
the headmen of the nomad groups. In times of
misfortune, whether individual or collective, such as
the loss of crops or of a house by fire, the tax is
remitted ; and no tax is expected from men over
sixty years of age, from cripples or invalids, or from
widows.

The Sea Dayaks alone pay a door-tax of one
dollar only, it having been understood from the
early days, when they were the only fighting tribe
with which the Rajah was intimately acquainted,
that they are liable at any time to be called upon
by the government to render assistance in punitive
expeditions or in other public works, such as
procuring timber for government buildings. But
this holds good only for those who remain in the
districts in which they have long been settled.

The sum raised by direct taxation forms now but
a small part of the total revenue of the State of
Sarawak; for the development of trade and agri-

^ The dollar is the Straits Settlements dollar ; its value in English money is
two shillings and fourpence.

3o6 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

culture, especially the cultivation of pepper and sago
and rubber, and the growing capacity and facilities
for the purchase of imported goods by the people
even of the remotest parts, enable the government
to raise a considerable revenue by indirect taxation
in the form of customs duties.

The minerals, worked in the main by the Borneo
Company,^ principally gold, antimony, and mercury,
have also been an important source of revenue.
The recent discovery of supplies of petroleum
promises to result in an important addition to the
wealth of the country.^ But these various commercial
and industrial developments affect hardly at all
the lives of the pagan tribes. So far as they are
concerned, the work of the government may be
summed up by saying that it has suppressed the
chronic warfare which kept them all in a state of
armed hostility and uneasy distrust of one another ;
that it has suppressed head-hunting and crimes of

^ This Company has enjoyed, for more than half a century, the right to work
minerals in Sarawak, paying royalty to the government ; it has been and is
the principal channel through which the natural products of the country have
been brought into the world's markets. It has always worked in harmony
with the government, and to the judicious conduct of its affairs the present
material prosperity of the country is largely due. An important development
of the Company's activity in recent years has been the planting of large areas
with the Para rubber-plant.

2 The beneficent and active interest taken by the Rajah in the prosperity of
the natives, and the paternal character of his government, are well illustrated
by a recently issued order. It is within the memory of all that in the years
1910 and 191 1 occurred the great rubber "boom " in the markets of Europe.
With the hope of vast profits, speculators hurried to every region where rubber
was known to grow. The seeds of the Para rubber-plant had been introduced
to Sarawak many years before ; the suitability of the soil and climate for the
production of the best quaUty of Para rubber had been abundantly demonstrated ;
and the natives had been encouraged to plant for their own profit the seeds and
young plants which were distributed to them from the government stations,
so that when the boom came many of them possessed small plantations of
the trees that " lay the golden eggs." The speculators were everywhere
seeking to buy these plantations at prices which, though they seemed handsome
to the natives, were low enough to provide a very large profit to the buyers.
The Rajah caused warnings to be published and brought to the notice of the
natives, and informed them that they were at full liberty to appropriate jungle-
land for the formation of rubber plantations, and that their tenure of such lands
would be secured to them so long as they cared for the trees and worked the
rubber properly. He further ordered that no sales of rubber plantations should
be effected without the knowledge and approval of the government.

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XXII GOVERNMENT 307

violence, has rendered life and property secure, and
has administered justice with a firm hand and a strict
regard to the customs and traditional sentiments
of the people ; that it has wellnigh extinguished
slavery ; that it has opened the whole country to
trade, and, by thus improving the facilities for sale
of the jungle produce, has increased the purchasing
power of the people, while bringing within the reach
of all of them the products of civilised industry that
they most value ; and that while it has strictly regu-
lated the sale of those products, such as fire-arms and
strong liquor, which have proved detrimental to so
many other peoples of the lower culture, it has en-
couraged the people to cultivate a greater variety of
vegetable products, especially sago, coconuts, pepper,
and rubber, and to improve the methods of cultiva-
tion oi padi. Lastly, the government has rendered
possible the establishment of a number of excellent
mission schools in older stations, where considerable
numbers of children of the pagan tribes have been
made Christians and trained to fill subordinate posts
in the administrative service, or to return to leaven
the native villages with a wider knowledge and a
better understanding of the principles which underlie
the white man's conduct and culture. The mis-
sionaries have exerted also among the Sea Dayaks
a strong influence making for peace and order ;
but they have hardly yet come into contact with
Kayans or Kenyahs. Mention must also be made
of the Malay schools which the government has
instituted and supported in the principal stations,
and in which many young Malays receive the
elements of a useful education.

In all its undertakings the success of the govern-
ment has only been rendered possible by the high
prestige that the white man everywhere enjoys ;
and this in turn has been acquired and maintained,
not so much by his command of the mechanical

3o8 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.

resources of western civilisation, as by the fact that,
with very few exceptions, the white men with whom
the natives have had intercourse have been English
gentlemen, animated by the spirit and example of
the two white Rajahs, and keenly conscious of their
individual and collective responsibility as repre-
sentatives of their race and country in a foreign
land/

We have dwelt at some length on the govern-
ment of the Rajah of Sarawak in its relation with
the pagan tribes, and, if we dismiss in a few words
the administrative labours of the Dutch and of the
British North Borneo Company in their respective
territories, it is not because we regard those labours
as of less interest and importance or as less success-
ful, but because in the main they have run on
similar lines and have achieved similar results to
those of the government of Sarawak, of which
alone we have intimate knowledge. Dutch Borneo
comprises roughly two-thirds of the whole island, a
very large territory which comprises the basins of
the largest rivers and hence, the rivers being the
only highways, the most inaccessible parts of the
island. The Kapuas River, for example, is estimated
to be nearly 700 miles in length ; and the necessity
of ascending these hundreds of miles of river-way,
much of it difficult and dangerous, has rendered the
process of establishing control over the tribes of the
interior slow and laborious. For this reason the
process is not yet completed ; although the Dutch
have had stations in Borneo since the early years of
the seventeenth century, when they expelled the

^ The Rajahs of Sarawak have personally chosen and appointed their white
officers with the greatest care ; and their good judgment has secured for
their country the services of a number of Englishmen of high abilities and
sterling moral quality. Of those members of the Sarawak service who have
passed away, the following have pre-eminent claims to be gratefully remembered
by the people of the country : James Brooke Brooke (nephew of the first
Rajah), W. Brereton, A. C. Crookshank, J. B. Cruickshank, C. C. de
Crespigny, A. H. Everett, H. Brooke Low, C. S. Pearse, and, above all,
F. R. O. Maxwell.

i

n

€; "^^

f'^^'

«i?&^

s ^

XXII GOVERNMENT 309

Portuguese from Bruni and Sambas. But It was not
until 1785 that they came into possession of any-
considerable territory, namely, the Sultanate of
Banjermasin, and not till after the return to them of
their East Indian rights in 18 16 that they extended
their territorial possessions to their present large
proportions.

The Dutch settlement and possessions in Borneo
were for many years administered by traders and a
trading company whose prime object was, of course,
profitable trade. The problems of native administra-
tion no doubt seemed to them at first of minor
importance and interest, and they made many
mistakes.^ But, as with our own great company in
India, it became increasingly necessary, if only for
the sake of trade, to study the art and policy of
administering the affairs of the native population.
This has now been done to good effect, and,
stimulated possibly by the example of wise paternal
government afforded by the Rajahs of Sarawak, the
Dutch have established a system of Residents or
district officers who have successfully invoked the
co-operation of the native chiefs in a manner very
similar to that practised in the neighbouring state.
And the Dutch officers have of late years shown
themselves willing and able effectively to co-operate
with those of Sarawak in all matters of common
interest, especially in the settlement of troubles
on the boundary between their territories. The
enlightened interest of the Dutch Government in the
welfare of the tribes of the far interior and in the
promotion of ethnographical knowledge has been

^ Crawford, a leading authority on the history of the East Indian Islands,
wrote of the Dutch in Borneo of the early times — " Their sole object, according
to the commercial principles of the time, was to obtain, through arrangements
with the native prince, the staple products of the country at prices below their
natural cost, and to sell them above it. . . . The result of these (arrangements)
was the decline of the trade of Banjermasin ; its staple product, pepper, which
had at one time been considerable, having become nearly extinct " (Dictionary
of the Indian Islands, Lond., 1865, p. 65).

3IO PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO ch.xxh

strikingly manifested in the opening years of this
century by the despatch of two successive expeditions,
under the leadership of Dr. Nieuwenhuis, to study
the people, their customs and conditions, and by its
generous expenditure upon the publication of the
handsome volumes in which he has embodied his
valuable reports.^ On the second journey this
intrepid traveller penetrated to the head of the
Batang Kayan, and there made the acquaintance of
the same Kenyahs who had recently visited the
Resident of the Baram. In this way the spheres of
Dutch and of British influence have been made to
overlap in these central highlands.

1 ' Quer durch Borneo ^^ by A. W. Nieuwenhuis.

I

APPENDIX

THE PHYSICAL CHARACTERS OF THE
RACES AND PEOPLES OF BORNEO

A. C. Haddon

Introduction

The following sketch of the races and peoples of Borneo
is based upon the observations of the Cambridge Expedition
to Sarawak in 1899 and those of Dr. A. W. Nieuwenhuis
in his expeditions to Netherlands Borneo in 1894, 1896-
1897, ^nd 1 898-1 900 {Quer durch Borneo^ Leiden, vol. i.,
1904, vol. ii., 1907).

It is generally acknowledged that in Borneo, as in other
islands of the East Indian Archipelago, the Malays inhabit
the coasts and the aborigines the interior, though in some
these reach the coast while Malayised tribes have pushed
inland up the rivers, a sharp distinction between the two
being frequently obliterated where they overlap. The
condition, however, is much more complicated as we can
now distinguish at least two main races among the
aborigines.

We have no evidence as to who were the primitive
inhabitants of Borneo. One would expect to find Negritos
in the interior, as these black, woolly -haired pygmies
inhabit the Andamans, parts of the Malay Peninsula,
Sumatra, the Philippines, New Guinea, and possibly
Melanesia. No authoritative evidence of their occurrence
in Borneo is forthcoming, and one can confidently assert
that there are no Negritos in Sarawak. Nor are there any
traces of Melanesians. It is generally admitted that,
assuming the Australians to be mainly of that race, a
Pre-Dravidian element should occur in the Archipelago,
VOL. II 311 X

312 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

and the cousins Sarasin have noted this strain among the
Toalas of Celebes and Moszkowski among the Batins of
Sumatra ; in this connection it is of interest that Nieu-
wenhuis discovered ten Ulu Ayars and two Punans with
straight hair and a "black or blue -black" skin colour;
Kohlbrugge,^ who records this observation, offers no
explanation.

Dr. E. T. Hamy in 1877 recognised a primitive element
in the Malay Archipelago, for which he adopted the term
Indonesian, a name previously invented by Logan for the
non- Malay population of the East Indian Archipelago.
De Quatrefages and Hamy further established this stock
in their Crania Ethnica (1882), and de Quatrefages in his
Histoire gSnirale des races humaines (1889) boldly states
that these high- and narrow-headed peoples are "un des
rameaux de la branche blanche allophyle" {Ix. pp. 515,
521). Keane terms the Indonesians "the pre -Malay
Caucasic element in Oceania " (^Man Past and Present^
1899, p. 231). Various investigators ^ have studied skulls
obtained from this region which prove the wide extension
of dolichocephaly. Kohlbrugge (1898), who investigated
the Tenggerese, Indonesian mountaineers of Java, says :
" Les Indon^siens sont dolichoc^phales, les Malais brachy-
c^phales ou hyperbrachyc^phales. Le sang indon^sien
se decile done par la longueur de la tete : plus celle-ci se
rapproche du type dolichocephale, plus pur est le sang
indon^sien." Volz confirms Hagen's observations of the
existence among the Battak of North Sumatra of two types,
a dolichocephalic Indonesian and a brachycephalic type.
The term Indonesian may now be regarded as definitely

^ Dr. A. W. Nieuwenhuis, " Anthropometrische Untersuchungen bei den
Dajak." Bearbeitet durch Dr. J. H. F. Kohlbrugge, Mitt, aus dem Niederl.
Reichsmus. fiir Volkerk. ser. ii. No. 5, Haarlem, 1903. Owing to the
inaccessibility of this memoir, I have incorporated his more important observa-
tions in this essay.

2 S waving, G., Natuurk. Tijdschr. v. Ned. Ind.y xxiii., 1861, xxiv., 1862.

Hoeven, J. van der, Catalogus cranioruni diversaruni gentium.

Virchow, R., Z.f.E.^ xvii., 1885, p. (270), in which he states that of
47 "Dayak" skulls in the museums of Paris, Amsterdam, and the Royal
College of Surgeons, London, 20 were dolichocephalic, 12 mesaticephalic, and
15 brachycephalic. Cf. also Z.f.E., xxiv., 1892, p. (435).

Hagen, B., Verh. d. Kon. Akad. d. Wetensch. Natuurkund, xxviii.,
Amsterdam, 1890.
, Waldeyer, W., Z.f.E., xxvi., 1894, p. (383).

Zuckerkandl, E., Mitt. d. Anthrop. Gesell. Wien, xxiv., 1894, p. 254.

Kohlbrugge, J. H. F., VAnthropologie, ix., 1898, p. i.

Volz, W., Arch. f. Anthrop.^ xxvi., 1900, p. 719.

Haddon, A. C, Archiv. per P Ant. e /' EtnoL, xxxi., 1901, p. 341.

APPENDIX 313

restricted to a dolichocephalic, and the term Proto-Malay
to a brachycephalic race, of which the true Malays (Orang
Malayu) are a specialised branch.

The next point to discuss is the presence of these two
races in Borneo. The Dutch Expedition found three
distinct types in the interior of Netherlands Borneo, the
Ulu Ayars (Ulu Ajar) ^ or Ot Danum of the upper Kapuas,
the Bahau - Kenyahs (Bahau - Kenja) of the middle or
upper Mahakam (or Kotei) and the upper waters of the
rivers to the north, and the Punans, nomadic hunters
living in the highlands about the head-waters of the great
rivers. The first of these may be classed as predominantly
Indonesian and the others as mainly Proto - Malay in
origin. According to Nieuwenhuis the Bahaus and
Kenyahs both remember that they came from Apo Kayan
at the headwaters of the Kayan river ; they were formerly
known as the Pari tribes. In all the tribes of this group
the social organisation is in the main similar, and this
affinity is borne out by their material culture, thus they
may be regarded as originally one people. Tribes calling
themselves Bahau now live along the Mahakam above
Mujub and include one Kayan group ; on the upper Rejang
are Bahau tribes under the name of Kayan, and a small
section has advanced into the Kapuas area and settled on
the Mendalam which again includes Kayans and kindred
tribes. All the tribes still in Apo Kayan call themselves
Kenyah, as also those of the eastward flowing Tawang,
Berau and Kayan (or Bulungan) rivers and those of the
upper Limbang and Baram flowing northwards. The
Kenyahs of Apo Kayan live along the Iwan, a tributary
of the Kayan river (or Bulungan) ; to the north-east is
another tributary called the Bahau which seems to have
been the original home of the Bahau people since the tribes
of Borneo habitually take their names from the rivers along
which they live.^

^ Nieuwenhuis usually speaks of these as Ulu Ajar Dajak. I have more
than once deprecated this use of the term *' Dayak " as it has simply come to
mean a non-Malayan inhabitant of Borneo, for example, we find "K^njah
Dajak" on his map. In Sarawak this term is confined to the Sea Dayaks
and Land Dayaks, for the former I have suggested that the native name Iban
be adopted, but I have not been able to find a suitable native name for the
Land Dayaks of Sarawak who are probably allied to the Ulu Ayars.

'^ The foregoing statement is taken from Nieuwenhuis, but Dr. Hose sends
me the following remarks :

** Part is the word iox padi in both Kayan and Kenyah language.

" The Uma Timi and Uma Klap of the Upper Rejang are possibly Bahau

314 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

Nieuwenhuis came to the conclusion that the three chief
tribes measured by him represented three main groups of
the population of Central Borneo, physically and culturally.
Mr. E. B. Haddon drew attention {Man, 1905, No. 13,
p. 22) to the close similarity of the results published by
Kohlbrugge (1903) with those published by me (1901).
I recognised five main groups of peoples in Sarawak :
Punan, Klemantan (or, as Dr. Hose and I then spelled it,
Kalamantan), Kenyah-Kayan, Iban or Sea Dayak, and
Malay. The I bans are not referred to by either of the
Dutch ethnologists, who, like myself, merely alluded to
the Malay element. Kohlbrugge and I included the
Bakatan or Beketan and the Ukit or Bukat in the Punan
group, and also bracketed together the Kayans and
Kenyahs. In Sarawak there are numerous and often small
tribes which it is frequently very difficult or quite impossible
to differentiate from one another, although the extremes
of the series can be distinguished ; we therefore decided
to comprehend them under the non - committal term of
Klemantan (p. 42). I showed that they were of mixed
origin, and stated that, " It is possible that the Kalamantans
were originally a dolichocephalic people who mixed first
with the indigenous brachycephals (Punan group) and later
with the immigrant brachycephals (Kenyah-Kayan group)
or the Kalamantans may have been a mixed people when
they first arrived in Borneo and subsequently increased
their complexity by mixing with these two groups"
{I.e. p. 352). I also made it clear that I regarded the
dolichocephalic element as of Indonesian stock and the
brachycephalic of Proto - Malayan origin. It was with
great satisfaction that I found Kohlbrugge had come to
similar conclusions and that the Ulu Ayars exhibit such
strong traces of an Indonesian origin, stronger perhaps
than those of any tribe in Sarawak, with the possible
exception of the scarcely studied Muruts and allied tribes.

tribes but the four Kayan tribes of the Upper Rejang, the Uma Bawang, Uma
Naving, Uma Daro and Uma Lesong say that they came from Usun Ape or
Apo Kayan as Nieuwenhuis calls it.

"The Kayans in the Kapuas are the Uma Ging, and the only Kayans that
I know of in the Bulungan river are the Uma Lekans : there are no Kayans or
Kenyahs in the Limbang river.

"Apo Kayan or Usun Apo is the country from which the Batang Kayan
river or Bulungan, the Kotei, and their great tributaries rise on the one side,
and the tributaries of the Rejang and Baram on the other. It extends from
the Bahau river in the north to the Mahakam in the south. The Kenyahs of
the Baram are spoken of by the people of the Batang Kayan as Kenyah Bau."

APPENDIX 315

Kohlbrugge states (1903, p. 2) that he has shown for
the interior of Sumatra, Java, and Celebes that there are
mesaticephalic peoples distinct in other respects from the
coast peoples, but not dolichocephalic. He concludes that
the (Ulu Ayar) Dayaks, being the only dolichocephals, are
the only pure Indonesians, and the rest (Kayans and
Punans) are more or less mixed with Malays. The mean
cephalic index of 1 30 Tenggerese of the interior of Java is
79.7, but the Ulu Ayars constitute a uniform group which
ranges from 71 to 81.4, of which 9 are 74 or under and 9
are between 74.1 and ^6 inclusive, the median of 26 adult
males being 74.7.^ [Although the median Kalabit index
in the living subject is somewhat higher, that of the skulls,
as well as the cranial index of Muruts and Trings
(Table C), is very similar in this respect to that of the Ulu
Ayars.]

According to Nieuwenhuis' statistics, as given by
Kohlbrugge, there is in the brachycephalic group (Kayans
and Punans) a greater range (75 to 93.3, and i Kayan
woman reaches 97) than in the Ulu Ayars ; most fall
between 78 and 85, the medians of both being just over 81.
There are 8 dolichocephals ^ out of his 43 Kayan men and
4 out of his 25 women, but only i Punan out of 14. In
his curve of the Kayan indices there is a drop at 82 [a
curve of my data shows a similar drop]. " I leave it an
open question," he says (p. 13), "whether this break
indicates mixture of a dolichocephalic and brachycephalic
group ; this can only be decided by the study of more
abundant material, and requires confirmation from the
geographical and ethnographical standpoint. At all events
it may be assumed a priori that if long-headed and broad-
headed peoples occur in the interior of Borneo, then mixed
peoples will also be met with, and the Kayans might be
such." [An examination of my data will show that there
is practically no difference between the Kayans and
Kenyahs in this respect.]

A comparison is also possible between the bi-zygomatic
breadths made by Nieuwenhuis and ourselves. The figures
are those of the minimum, median, and maximum. Kayans
(43 ^, N) 126, 139, 153 ; (25 ? , N) 125, 132, 141 ; (21 (?, H)
132, 141, 150. Punans (14^, N) 132, 138, 145 ; (19 (^, H)

^ In order to make Kohlbrugge's data comparable with ours I have in all
cases grouped his youths and girls over i6 with the adults, and have left those
younger out of reckoning.

2 I.e. having an index of 77.9 and under.

3i6 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

130, 142, 154. Ulu Ayars{26$y N) 125, 136, 145. Land
Dayaks (42 i, S) 122, 136, 145.

Kohlbrugge points out that there seems to be no ground
for dividing the " Indonesians " into a taller and shorter
group since the differences are slight. If this distinction
were drawn, the Ulu Ayars (av. 1.571 m., med. 1.551 m.)
would belong to the shorter group as would the Enganese
(av. 1.570 m.). His 34 Kayan men (av. 1.584 m., med.
1.582 m.) and 14 Punan men (av. 1.583 m., med. 1.569 m.)
and the Gorontalese (1.584 m.) are intermediate between
these and the Tenggerese (1.604 m.) and Battak (1.605).
I also find this distinction untenable, as our Kayans
(av. 1.559 m., med. 1.550 m.) and Punans (av. 1.555 n^->
med. 1.550 m.) are of the same stature or even possibly
shorter than his Ulu Ayars, whereas our 16 Kenyah men
(av. 1.597 m., med. 1.608) are taller than his Kayans. He
adds that the shorter " Indonesians " live in the plains,
the taller in the mountains, but he cannot say for certain
whether a mountain climate affects stature as many believe.
It is to be regretted that Kohlbrugge extends in this
instance the term Indonesian to the Kayans and Punans.
Taking our measurements I find that the Kenyahs and the
Muruts (av. 1.601 m., med. 1.590 m.) are the tallest groups,
then come the Iban (av. 1.590 m., med. 1.585 m.), the
Kayan and Punan medians come about half-way between
the tallest Klemantans (Long Pokun, med. 1.590 m.) and
the shortest (Lerong, med. 1.520 m.). The above figures
refer to men only, the women are markedly shorter.

Kohlbrugge gives the following information with regard
to body measurements : the Kayan women are 14 cm.
shorter than the men, usually the difference is 10-12 cm.
The span is greater than the stature, the proportion is
105.2 : 100 in Kayans, 103.4 : 100 in Ulu Ayars and
106.5 • 100 in Punans and Tenggerese. In youths it is
rather higher than in men. The difference between
Tenggerese and Ulu Ayars is due to the latter having
shorter arms, especially the upper arms, and the chest of
the Bornean peoples is 2 cm. narrower. Other Indonesian
peoples have a longer upper arm than the Ulu Ayars,
who also have the tibia shorter in proportion to the femur.
Kayan and Ulu Ayar men have a comparatively shorter
femur than the Punan. The latter thus resemble the
Tenggerese, the others have the same relative length as
many other peoples of the Archipelago ; there is no

I

APPENDIX 317

difference between the Malays and Indonesians in this
respect. The Kayan women have relatively a much longer
femur than the men. The shorter tibia makes the whole
leg of the Bornean peoples shorter than in others —
except that the Punans make it up with a longer femur.
Women and young people have longer legs than men.
The Punans have the fattest calves approximating to
the Tenggerese, the other Bornean tribes are more
like the Gorontalese. The chest girth of Ulu Ayars
and Tenggerese is almost the same, despite the difference
in the breadth of the chest, in which the Ulu Ayars
resemble the inhabitants of Atchin measured by Lubbers.
The proportion of the length of the foot to the stature
is 16:100 in Kayans of both sexes, 15.4:100 in Ulu
Ayars, and 15.2 in Punans. But the Kayan feet are
shorter than those of the Gorontalese, who have the longest
feet in the Archipelago. The other Bornean peoples are
the same as Indonesians who resemble the Malays in this
respect. The pelvic breadth of the Kayan men and women
is equal (26 cm.), though men have the wider chest ; the
Punan pelvis is narrower than in the other two tribes ; but
in all three the pelvis is broader than in the Tenggerese.

We must now turn to the evidence of the crania, of
which only a very brief account need be presented here.
Owing to the fact that the people are head-hunters the
skulls obtained by a traveller in any house are necessarily
those of another community, group, or tribe than that to
which the occupants of the house belong. Consequently
it is necessary for a traveller to learn from the inhabitants
the provenience of each cranium, and every one in the
house knows it. It is useless for analytical purposes to
deal with skulls of which the tribe is not accurately known ;
the information that a skull was obtained in a certain
village or on a particular river is, as a rule, of very little
value.

In Table C I give particulars of three head indices
of 83 crania, of which the history is known in each case.
Fifty-eight of these have been presented by Dr. Hose to
the University of Cambridge. I have added to these
5 Murut, I Lepu Potong, i Kalabit, i Tring, i Bisaya,
and I Orang Bukit, which Dr. Hose presented to the
Royal College of Surgeons, London, i Ukit skull in the
same museum, 3 Dusun in the British Museum, and 5 Murut,
3 Maloh, and 3 Kayan, which I measured in Sarawak. I

3i8 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

have chosen the cranial length-breadth, length-height, and
breadth-height indices, as these are more directly com-
parable with the corresponding cephalic indices of Table A.
A detailed account of these crania must await a more
suitable occasion.

The dolichocephalic crania are, as a rule, distinctly
akrocephalic, that is, the length-height index is superior to
the length-breadth index, but this is not the case with the
brachycephals. I find the average length-height index in
the living subject of a dozen inland tribes is 72.5 for 131
males and 78.2 for 40 females. That is, so far as our
measurements go, the women are more akrocephalic than
the men, which is unusual.

The conclusions to be drawn from a somatological
investigation are necessarily limited. In my introductory
remarks I stated that one could distinguish two main races
among the principal groups of the peoples of Sarawak, a
dolichocephalic and a brachy cephalic, and that the former
might be termed Indonesian and the latter Proto-Malay ;
further, no one group is probably of pure race, though it
appears that some may be predominantly Indonesian and
others Proto-Malay. I do not for a moment suggest that
there was one migration of pure Indonesians and another
of pure Proto-Malays which flooded Borneo and by various
minglings produced the numerous tribes of that island,
though I do suggest that there have been throughout the
whole Archipelago various movements of peoples, some of
which may have been relatively pure communities of these
two races. There can be little doubt that we must look to
the neighbouring regions of the mainland of Asia for their
immediate point of departure southwards, for we now
know that two similar races have inhabited this area from
a remote antiquity. The light- (or light -brown) skinned
dolichocephals of south-east Asia, assuming for the
present that they are all of one race, have frequently been
termed Caucasians — for the present I prefer to speak of
them as Indonesians — and of these there are doubtless
several strains. The light- (or light -brown) skinned
brachycephals are usually grouped as Southern Mongols.
In the south-east corner of Asia there are probably several
strains of these brachycephals which hitherto have been
insufficiently studied. Even when an Indonesian element
has been recognised in the population of the Archipelago
there has been too persistent a practice of terming the

APPENDIX 319

brachycephalic element " Malay." The true Malay,
Orang Maldyu, is merely a specialised branch of a stock
for which I prefer the non-committal name of Proto-Malay,
even " Southern-Mongol " is preferable to " Malay." The
Proto-Malay race has its roots on the mainland. It has
yet to be shown how far the brachycephals of this region
belong to what is here termed the Proto-Malay race or to
what extent other, and doubtless allied, stocks are impli-
cated. If, as is very probable, there have been migrations
of differentiated peoples from the mainland into the islands,
the Bornean peoples may be of more complex origin than
the earlier generalisations might suggest. The dissecting
out and the tracing of the migrations of these peoples is
the work of ethnography, somatology can be of little
assistance ; all that I have done is to provide a certain
amount of material for the use of students in the future.
It must also be remembered that the immigrants from the
mainland may have had at one time infusions of Negrito
or Pre -Dra vidian (Sakai) blood, not to speak of Tibetan,
Chinese, or other mixtures. Similarly when the first
migrations from the mainland took place the fairer-skinned
immigrants probably found an indigenous population of
Negritos, Pre-Dravidians, and possibly to some extent of
Papuans in various parts of the Archipelago. We know
that many of the islands, including Borneo, have been
subject to direct migrations from India and China, and
there has doubtless been a certain amount of movement
of peoples from island to island. The racial history of this
region is therefore extremely complex.

Dr. Hose has suggested the following classification^ of
the peoples of Sarawak (exclusive of the Malays), which
I have followed in arranging the descriptions given below.
For the sake of comparison I have recast the data published
by Kohlbrugge concerning the three types studied by
Nieuwenhuis ; it is unfortunate that our several results
cannot be more closely correlated.

^ This was drawn up by Dr. Hose from his general knowledge of the
people of Sarawak, and it will be found to agree very closely with the anthropo-
metric data, thus we may regard it as expressing the present state of our
knowledge of the affinities of the several tribes.

320 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

A CLASSIFICATION OF THE PEOPLES OF
SARAWAK

I. Murut Group :

Murut, Pandaruan, Tagal, Dusun ;
Kalabit, Lepu Potong ;
Adang, Tring.
II. Klemantan Group :

1. South-western Group :
Land Dayaks ;

[Certain 1^ tribes of Netherlands Borneo] ;
Maloh.

2. Central Group :

a. Baram sub-group : Bisaya, Tabun, Orang

Bukit, Kadayan, Pliet, Long Pata, Long
Akar.

b. Barawan sub-group : Murik, Long Julan,

Long Ulai, Batu Blah, Long Kiput,
Lelak, Barawan, Sakapan, Kajaman.

c. Bakatan sub - group : Seping, Tanjong,

Kanawit, Bakatan, Lugat.

3. Sebop Group :

Malang, Tabalo, Long Pokun, Sebop, Lerong ;
Milanau (including Narom and Miri).
HI. Punan Group :

Punan, Ukit, Siduan, Sigalang.
IV. Kenyah Group :

Madang, Long Dallo, Apoh, Long Sinong,
Long Lika Bulu, Long Tikan.
V. Kayan Group.
VI. Iban Group : Iban (Sea Dayaks) and Sibuyau.

J

DESCRIPTIONS OF PEOPLES

General Remarks on the Methods of taking Observations

The physical characters and measurements of each individual
were noted on a separate card, and the bulk of them have been
embodied in the following synopses. As my object has been
to give a general impression of each group, I have not burdened
the descriptions with superfluous scattered observations. The
original records are available in Cambridge for any desirous of
consulting them. The statistics given r^r to the several re-
corded observations ; where these fall short of the total number
it may be taken for granted that as a rule the remainder did not
depart markedly from the normal standard of the group in
question — the presence of salient characters would be noted, not
their absence.

In Table A certain measurements and indices are given of
the more important groups in order to facilitate comparisons.
Very small groups and half-breeds have been omitted, the object
being to summarise the characters of the adults of the larger
groups. The median in most cases is practically identical with
the average, but where a difference occurs, the median more
nearly represents the central type. The indices are based on a
calculation to two decimal places; where the second decimal
place is under five it is left out of account, and where five or over
the first decimal place is augmented by one. This table should
be compared with Table C.

In the other tables all the measurements and indices are given.

Head: Lengthy from glabella to most prominent point of
occiput; breadth^ maximum at right angles to above; bi-auric
breadth^ from base of the tragus, pressing firmly; circumference^
greatest circumference immediately above the glabella ; auricular
vertical arc, from base of tragus over the vertex ; auricular radii
taken with a Cunningham's radiometer from the ear-hole. Face :
Total length, from nasion to chin ; upper length, from nasion to
alveolus ; bi-zygomatic breadth, from greatest prominence of cheek
arches, pressing firmly ; inter-ocular tvidth, between inner angles
of the eyes ; bi-gonial breadth, from the angle of the lower jaw,
pressing firmly. Nose : Length, from nasion to angle with lip ;

321

322 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

breadth^ between outer curvature of alse, without pressure ; bi-
malar breadth^ from the outer upper corner of the margin of the
orbit, pressing firmly (this was usually marked with a soft pencil) ;
naso-malar line^ between these points over the bridge of the
nose.

The term dolichocephalic is used to designate a cephalic index
of 77.9 and under, and brachycephalic ono. of 78 and over. Heads
with a length-height index of 66.9 and under are platycephalic^
those of 67-69.9 are mesocephalic^ and those of 70 and over are
hypsicephalic. The breadth-height limits are 82.9, 83-84.9, and
85. The term chamoiprosopic is used where the total facial index
is 89.9 and under, and leptoprosopic where it is 90 and over, the
corresponding limit for the upper facial index is - 49.9 and 50 + .
Owing to the character of the nose it was not easy in most cases
to ascertain the exact upper limit of the length, and it is probably
owing to this that the indices show such marked platyrhiny.
Unfortunately these indices cannot be compared with those
obtained by Nieuwenhuis, as he measured to the tip of the nose
and not to its angle with the lip as we did. The term leptorhine
is used for noses with an index of 69.9 and under, mesorhine for
1o-ZAf'% platyrhine for 85-99.9, and hyper-platyrhine for 100 and
over. The profiles of the nose were compared with the figures
in Notes and Queries (1892). In speaking of the eye, hy fold is
meant the Mongolian fold which covers the caruncle. All the irises
have a brown colour, being either light, medium, or dark. The
observations on the ears were made by means of MS. notes and
diagrams drawn up for me by Prof. A. Keith. He recommended
that persons under fifteen years of age or over sixty should not
be noted, and that as there is a very marked sexual difference,
observations on men and women should be kept quite separate.
Variations in every race are, within certain limits, so numerous
that he suggested that at least a hundred of each sex should be
observed ; although the numbers examined of the several tribes
is usually very small, their total number will probably be found
sufficient to give a fair idea of the more common types of ears.
The types of ears suggested by Dr. Keith are (i) "European":
this applies only to the general shape; the folding, etc., varies
enormously. (2) " Negroid " : this resembles the " Orang type,"
but differs in being two-thirds of a circle ; that is to say, the
Negroid ear has a much greater breadth relative to its height than
the ears of Europeans. (3) "Orang": this is the smallest and
most degenerate form of ear, seen in its most typical form in the
orang utan ; it is the common female type. (4) " Chimpanzee " :
this is the largest and most primitive form of ear, and is found
in its typical condition in the chimpanzee ; it is commonly, but
not always, set at a considerable angle to the head. Angle:
The ear may be appressed (o), or it may stand out from

APPENDIX 323

the head at an angle of less than 30* (i), between 30° and
60° (2),; or over 60° (3). Lobule: This is never totally absent,
but when it is 3 mm. or less from the middle of the curved base
of the anti-tragus it may be called approximately so (o), when
3-10 mm. it is small (i), 10-15 ^"™- "tedium (2), over 15 mm.
long (3). The lobule may be free or adhere partially or totally
to the side of the face. Descending helix : The degree of folding
varies; there may be none (o), under 2 mm. (i), between 2 and 4
mm. (2), between 4 and 6 mm. (3). Darwiii s point : It may be
absent (o), or present as a distinct tip (i), as an infolded tip (2),
as an inrolled knob (3), or as a slight thickening of the infolded
part of the helix (4); the position is constant in the upper
posterior segment. Tragus : This may be absent (o), otherwise
it varies in size measured from base to apex, under 3 mm. (i),
between 3 and 5 mm. (2), or 5 to 7 mm. (3). Sometimes it has
two apices. Anti-tragus \ This also may be absent (o), or if
present the size from base to apex measures as in the tragus
under 3 mm. (i), between 3 and 5 mm. (2), or 5-7 mm. (3).
Anti-helix : It is bent into an angle slightly or not at all (o), the
angle does not reach the level of the helix (i), the angle is a
little within or a little beyond the level of the helix (2), it is very
prominent, distinctly beyond the level of the helix (3). Its pro-
minence is a human feature.

As regards the hair, in all cases where there were a number
of observations one or two of the oldest men had grizzled or
even grey hair. The hair of the head is usually worn long and
often attains a length of about two feet, but it is sometimes cut
shorter and is occasionally very short. It is usually fairly
abundant, but in all groups a few persons have scanty hair. The
hair of the face is in all groups either absent or very scanty;
the same applies to the body hair. The only scale of skin colours
we had was that given in the Notes and Queries on Anthropology
(2nd ed., 1892), but as this was obviously inadequate for the
purpose, Dr. Hose prepared a scale for our use in the field,
the shades of which have subsequently been as far as possible
equated with those of Prof, von Luschan's Hautfarben-Tafel (Puhl
and Wagner, Rixdorf) ; it is these numbers which appear in
brackets in the following descriptions, and I have also attempted
to describe them in English ; the term cinamon is based on the
colour of the stick cinnamon of commerce. The colours were
usually matched from the inner aspect of the upper arm so as
to avoid the darkening caused by the burning of the sun.
Besides the information recorded on the cards, a number of
additional data on skin colour collected by Dr. Hose are included
in the synopses. As regards stature the subject is described
as short when he measures less than 1.625 n^- (5 ft- 4 in.),
medium 1.6 2 5- 1.724 m. (5 ft. 4 in. to 5 ft. 8 in.), and tall

324 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

1.725 m. and over; the subject had his eyes looking towards
the horizon.

With the exception of the observations by Mr, R. Shelford,
mainly on the Land Dayaks and Iban, which are duly noted,
all the data on the living were collected by Dr. W. McDougall
and myself, either separately or conjointly, and I have to thank
him for permitting me to work up the results. Our thanks are
due to Dr. Hose, at whose invitation we went to Sarawak, and
without whose zeal, knowledge of the country, and wonderful
influence over the natives this work could not have been
accomplished. Mr. S. H. Ray also assisted us as amanuensis.
Most of the figures were tabulated for me by Miss Barbara
Friere-Marreco and the remainder by Miss Lilian Whitehouse,
who also has greatly assisted me in drawing up this memoir.

I. MuRUT Group

Seven Kalabit men and 3 women and 4 Murut men were
measured. No descriptive details of the Muruts are available.

Head -form: The cephalic indices show 7 to be dolicho-
cephalic and 7 brachycephalic ; the 3 women are slightly more
dolichocephalic than the men, for whom the median is 78.5.
One Kalabit is platycephalic, i mesocephalic, and 8 hypsicephalic
as regards length-height, and all are hypsicephalic as regards
breadth-height. Four Kalabits were noted as having oval heads,
in I the occiput was prominent, i ovoid, and i woman ellipsoidal.

Face-. Five Kalabits have pentagonal faces, being rather
broad in 3, 2 were long and rather narrow, the jaws are narrow
in 2. They show a marked tendency to prognathism, especially
dental prognathism. The Kalabits are chamaeprosopic as regards
both the total facial and the upper facial indices, with one
exception in both respects. The forehead has a slight tendency
to be narrow and high. The cheek-bones are moderately
prominent in 5 men and i woman and not prominent in 2 men
and I woman. The lips are moderately full. The chin is
rather small, and retreating in 3. Nose : One Murut is leptorhine, 2
Kalabit men are mesorhine, 6 are platyrhine, and 5 hyper-platyrhine.
The root is high in 4 Kalabit men, narrow in 3, broad in 4 and

1 woman, and flat in 3 and i woman ; the base is reflected in 3
of each sex, and straight in 2 men ; the alae are small in 4 men
and 3 women, moderate in 3 men, and round in i of each sex ;
the nostrils are rounded in 5 men and 3 women, and wide in

2 men. £yes : The aperture is narrow in i man, moderately open
in 5 men and i woman, wide in i man and 2 women ; it is
straight with no fold in 5 men, straight with slight fold in i man,
more or less oblique with slight fold in i man and 2 women,
in I woman it is straight and the fold is more developed in the

APPENDIX 325

right eye than in the left ; the colour is medium in i man, dark
brown in 5 men and 3 women. Ears: Type European in 3 of
each sex, Negroid in i man, and intermediate in 2 men ; angle
prominent in 5 men and 3 women, slightly prominent in 2 men ;
lobule always distended, in 2 men it is adherent; descending
helix infolded under 2 mm. in all but i man in whom it is under
4 mm. ; Darwin's point absent in 3 men and i woman, doubtful
in 2 men, infolded in i man, inrolled in 2 women ; tragus under
3 mm. in 2 men, 3-5 mm. in the rest; anti-tragus absent in 4
men, and i woman, under 3 mm. in 3 men and 2 women; anti-
helix below level of helix in 2 of each sex, about at the same
level in 5 men and i woman.

Hair : It is straight to wavy in i of each sex, wavy in 3 men
and I woman, wavy-curly in i man. The colour is rusty black
in 7 men and 3 women. It is moderately abundant and long.

Skm: Four are lightest cinamon (12), i light cinamon (14),
I cinamon (6), 2 pale fawn (pale 17), 2 dull fawn (17).

Stature : All but i Murut man are of short stature, i Kalabit
man being only 1.485 m. (4 ft. loj in.), the 3 women are still
shorter, i being 1.410 m. (4 ft. 7J in.), the median for the
Kalabits is 1.565 (5 ft. i| in.).

II. Klemantan Group
I. South-western Group

(a) Forty -two Land Dayak men were measured by Mr.
Shelford.

Head-form : The cephalic indices range fairly evenly from
73.5 to 86.9, 19 men being dolichocephalic; the median is 78.4.

Eace: One is noted as very broad and 2 as prognathous.
All but I are chamseprosopic as regards the total facial index and
all but 6 as regards the upper facial. JVose : Nineteen are meso-
rhine, 17 platyrhine, and 6 hyper-platyrhine ; i is noted as
aquiline, 3 as straight but flat, and 2 have a low bridge ; 2 have
broad alae, i having a very concave nose, broader than long with
an index of 116.2, and wide nostrils, it is evidently abnormal.
Eyes: A fold is mentioned in 18, of which 3 are slight and 2
pronounced, its absence is noted in 3 ; 5 have medium brown
irises.

Hair : It is noted as straight in 6 and wavy in 2 ; it is black
in 8, and 24 have abundant hair ; the hair of the face is absent
in 7 and sparse in 8, i had a stubbly beard.

Skin: The colour of the skin is darker than that of other
inland tribes, 19 being of a very dark warm cinamon (25) and
4 cinamon (6). It is noted in i as much darker when uncovered.

326 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

Stature : None are tall, 7 are medium, the rest short, 4 being
under 1.5 m. (4 ft. 11 in.), the median is 1.577 m. (5 ft. 2 in.).

[Thirty-one male and 4 female Ulu Ayar Dayaks were measured
by Nieuwenhuis, of these 5 were boys under 1 7, and all 4 females
were girls of 17 and under. See vol. ii., p. 315, note i.

Head-form : The cephalic indices range fairly evenly between
71 and 81.4, all but 5 are dolichocephalic, the median being 74.7.

Face : It is usually of medium breadth ; 2 {i.e, 6 per cent) have
broad faces. The bi-zygomatic breadth ranges from 125 to 145
mm., the median being 136 mm. Nose: The breadth-measure-
ments range from 36 to 46 mm., the length-measurements being
taken from root to tip are therefore not comparable. Eighteen
males and 3 females are noted as having concave noses, 13 and

1 as having broad flat noses, none as straight or narrow, i.e.
60 per cent of the Ulu Ayars have concave (" depressed," " sunken,"
or " hollow ") noses. Eyes : The Mongolian fold does not occur.
The colour is dark.

Hair : All had straight hair except i man ; it is generally
rather scanty. The colour is black.

S^in : The colour is noted as black or blue-black in 10, brown
and yellow in 5, light brown in 20.

Stature: None are tall, 3 are medium, and the rest short,

2 being under 1.5 m. (4 ft. 11 in.) ; the median is 1.551 (5 ft. i in.).]

(d) Seven Maloh men were measured by us.

Head-form : The cephahc index is essentially dolichocephalic,

3 being low brachycephals, the median 76.8. Two are meso-
cephalic in the length -height index and none in the breadth-
height, all the remainder are hypsicephalic in both respects;

4 are pyriform, 2 oval, and i ellipsoidal in shape.

Face: Two are pentagonal, 2 rather broad, and 2 long;
alveolar prognathism is noted in 3, i of which has also general
prognathism. Two only are leptoprosopic in their total and upper
facial indices. The forehead is somewhat narrow and high, the
cheek-bones more or less prominent, the lips are usually moder-
ately full, and the chin fairly well developed. Nose: One is
mesorhine, 4 platyrhine, and 2 hyper-platyrhine ; the profile is
equally divided between straight and concave; the base is
reflected in 5, deflected in 2 ; the alae are rather small and the
nostrils wide and rounded. Ears: Type European in 5 (i
doubtful), Negroid in 2 ; angle prominent in 5, slightly prominent
in 2 ; lobule distended in all ; descending helix infolded under
2 mm. in 5, 2-4 mm. in 2 ; Darwin's point absent in 5, inroUed
in 2 (i doubtful) ; tragus 3-5 mm. in 5 (2 doubtful), rather less
in 2 ; anti-tragus absent in i, doubtful in i, under 3 mm. in 5 ;
anti-helix below level of helix in 4, about at the same level in 3.

Hair : The hair is distinctly wavy and long ; it is rusty black

APPENDIX 327

in 5 and black in 2. There is a moderate amount on the face
and none on the body.

Skin: Six are dull fawn (17).

Stature: All are short, i being 1.47 m. (4 ft. gfin.); the
median is 1.585 m. (5 ft. 2\ in.).

2. Central Group

Barawan Sub-group. — This consists of i Murik man, i Long
Ulai man and i woman, 8 Long Kiput men, 3 Lelak men, 12
Barawan men and 5 women, 2 Sakapan men, i Kajaman, and

4 mixed breeds {i.e. mixed with other Klemantan blood).

Head-form : Of the longer series the Barawans are the more
dolichocephalic, 6 men and 3 women have an index below 78,

1 Long Kiput man and only 4 others being dolichocephalic ; the
median of the whole series, excluding women, is 79. Most of the
men and all the women are hypsicephalic ; but 2 Barawans are
platycephalic, and i Barawan and 2 mixed breeds are mesocephalic
in length-height ; i Long Kiput is platycephalic in length-height
and breadth-height, 2 are mesocephalic in both respects, and i in
length-height only ; i Lelak is platycephalic in length-height and
mesocephalic in breadth-height. The shape is noted as oval in

5 men and 3 women, ovoid in i of each sex, round in 3 men.

Face : Nine men and 3 women have a pentagonal face ; it is
oval in i man and 2 women, rather long in 5 men, square in

2 men, broad in i of each sex. All are chamaeprosopic in both
respects except i Barawan man as regards total facial index and
2 in the upper. The forehead is rounded or prominent in 8 men
and 6 women, upright in 4 men and i woman, more or less
sloping in 4 men, broad and low in 5 men, narrow in 4 men.
The cheek-bones are large in 6 men and i woman, more or less
prominent in 10 men and 3 women, moderate in 11 men and
2 women. The lips vary in thickness, 10 being thin and 7 more
or less thick. The chin is fairly well developed axcept in 6 men.
Nose : One Lelak is leptorhine, 2 Long Kiputs, 3 Barawan men
and 2 women and 2 Barawan mixed breeds are mesorhine; 5
Long Kiputs, 2 Lelaks, 6 Barawan men and i woman and i
mixed breed, i Long Ulai man and woman and 2 Sakapans are
platyrhine; i Long Kiput, 3 Barawan men and 2 women, i
Murik and i Kajaman are hyper-platyrhine. The profile is
straight in 10 men and i woman, more or less concave in 13
men and 5 women, slightly aquiline in 4 men \ blunt tips were
noted in 2 cases. The root is more or less depressed in 12 men
and 4 women, not depressed in 7 men, broad and high in 3,
high in 3, narrow in 3. The base is reflected or slightly so in
16 men and 4 women, straight in 9 and i, slightly deflected in

VOL. II Y

328 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

I woman ; the alae are small in 3 men and 4 women, moderate
in 4 men, and wide in 5 ; the nostrils are round in 7 men and
5 women, oval in 10 and i, and transversely oval in 2 men.
£yes: Aperture is moderate in 11 men and 2 women, small in
10 men, large in i man. It is straight with no fold in 3 men
and 2 women, straight with a slight fold in i woman, slightly
oblique with no fold in 8 men and i woman, slightly oblique
with slight fold in 8 men and 2 women, in i Barawan man it
is slightly oblique with a very marked fold, 11 Barawans have
more or less oblique eyes of which 7 have a fold, 4 are straight,

1 of which has a slight fold. Four men have light brown irises,

2 of each sex dark brown, the remainder are medium. Ears-.
Type European in 5 Long Kiputs, 2 Lelaks, 8 Barawans and
2 mixed breeds, i Kajaman ; Negroid in i Barawan mixed breed ;
orang in 2 Barawans. Angle slightly prominent in i Long
Kiput, 2 mixed breeds and i Kajaman, rather more so in i
Long Kiput, prominent in i Lelak, 5 Barawans. Lobule distended
throughout, perforated in 2 Barawans, adherent in i mixed breed.
Descending helix absent in i Long Kiput, infolded less than

2 mm. in 4 Long Kiputs, i Lelak, 11 Barawans and 2 mixed
breeds, i Kajaman ; 2-4 mm. in i Lelak, i Barawan mixed breed.
Darwin's point absent in all except i Barawan and i mixed
breed where it is an infolded tip. Tragus under 3 mm. in 4 Long
Kiputs, I Lelak, i Barawan and i mixed breed, slightly more
in I Lelak, i Barawan ; 3-5 mm. in i Long Kiput, 9 Barawans
and 2 mixed breeds, i Kajaman. Anti-tragus absent in i Long
Kiput, 3 Barawans ; under 3 mm. in 3 Long Kiputs, 2 Lelaks,
7 Barawans and 3 mixed breeds, i Kajaman ; 3-5 mm. in i Long
Kiput, I Barawan. Anti-helix below level of helix in 2 Long
Kiputs, 5 Barawans and i mixed breed ; about at same level in

3 Long Kiputs, 2 Lelak, 6 Barawans and 2 mixed breeds, i
Kajaman. The 5 Barawan women have ears of European type ;
angle slightly prominent in 2, prominent in 3 ; lobule distended
in all ; descending helix infolded less than 2 mm. in 4, 2-4 mm.
in I ; Darwin's point absent in all ; tragus 3-5 mm. in all ; anti-
tragus absent in 2, under 3 mm. in 3 ; anti-helix below level of
helix in 2, about at same level in 3.

Hair: Seven men and 2 women have straight hair, 17 and 3
wavy, and 2 men curly hair; the colour is rusty black in 13 men
and 3 women, black in 1 2 and 3, brown in i man. It is generally
abundant and long.

Skin : Three are cinamon (6), 6 light cinamon (14), 15
lighter still (12), 3 dull fawn (17), 3 pale fawn (pale 17), 4 pale
pinkish buff (11).

Stature: Four men are of medium stature, 30 are short,
of whom 2 men and all 6 women are below 1.5 m., i Barawan
woman being only 1.395 m. (4 ft. 7 in.) ; the Barawans as a

APPENDIX 329

whole are shorter than the others. The median for the whole
series of men is 1.54 m. (5 ft. J in.).

3. Sebop Group
Sixteen Malang men and 4 women were measured.

Head-form: The indices show 10 men and 3 women to be
dolichocephalic, 6 men and i woman brachycephalic ; the median
is 76.9 for the men. All are hypsicephalic, except 2 men in
respect to length-height. The shape is described as ovoid in

7 men, oval in 2, round oval in i of each sex, and ellipsoidal
in 4 men.

Face'. It is pentagonal in 10 men and 3 women, ovoid in

I woman, and lozenge-shaped in i man ; 6 men have long
faces and 2 broad. Alveolar prognathism is noted in 3 men,
and superciliary ridges in 3. AH are chamseprosopic except i
of each sex in regard to the upper facial index. The forehead
is full in 9 men and i woman, broad in 3 men and i woman,
narrow in 4 and i, low in 4 and 2, high in 4. The cheek-bones
are more or less prominent in 12 men and 2 women, moderate
in 2 men, and not prominent in 2 of each sex. The lips are
moderately thin. The chin is rather small in 6 men ; it is fairly
well developed in 7 men and 4 women. Nose : 2 men and i
woman are mesorhine, the rest platyrhine, 2 men being hyper-
platyrhine. The profile is straight in 8 men and i woman, more
or less concave in 4 men and 3 women, slightly aquiline in 2
men, high -bridged in i, and slightly sinuous in i ; blunt tips
are noted in 4 men and 3 women. The root is moderately high
in 10 men and i woman, low in 6 and 3 ; it is narrow in 3 men
and broad in 9 men and 3 women. The base is reflected in
1 2 men and 4 women, straight in 3 men ; the alae are small in

I I men and 4 women, and moderate in the remaining men ; the
nostrils are round in 9 men and i woman, wide in 4 and i, long
oval in 2 men and round oval in i, narrow and elongated in
I woman, large in i man, they are nearly or quite horizontal
in 3 men. Eyes: The aperture is small or narrow in 7 men
and 2 women, moderately open in 5 men and i woman ; it is
straight with no fold in 8 men and i woman, straight with a
slight fold in 4 men, slightly oblique with no fold in 2 men and
I woman, slightly oblique with fold in 2 of each sex, the fold
being slight in i man. The colour of the iris is dark brown in

8 men and 4 women, medium in 7 men and light in i. Ears:
Type European in 13 men and 4 women (i doubtful), approxi-
mately Negroid in 2 men, chimpanzee in i man ; angle prominent
in 1 1 men and 3 women, rather less in 3 men, slightly prominent
in 2 men ; lobule distended in all but i man ; descending helix

330 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

absent in 2 women, infolded less than 2 mm. in 12 men and
I woman (doubtful), 2-4 mm. in 4 men and i woman ; Darwin's
point absent in 15 men and 3 women, doubtful in i man,
infolded in i woman (?) ; tragus under 3 mm. in 2 men, 3-5 mm.
in 14 men and 4 women (i doubtful), double in 3 men and
I woman of these latter; anti-tragus absent in 6 men and i
woman, trace in 2 men, under 3 mm. in 7 men and 2 women
(i doubtful), 3-5 mm. in i of each sex; anti-helix below level
of helix in II men and 3 women (i doubtful), about at the same
level in 5 men and i woman.

Hair-. It is wavy in character; the colour is rusty black in
14 men and 4 women, black in 2 men. It is usually long and
abundant on the head ; 4 men have slight moustaches.

Skin: Fourteen are lightest cinamon (12), 2 light cinamon
(14), 9 pale fawn (pale 17), 2 light brown (near 17), 5 pale
pinkish buff (11).

Stature-. One man is tall, the rest are short, 2 men and
all the women being under 1.5 m. ; the median for the men
is 1.535 m. (5 ft. \ in.).

Eight Long Pokun men and 10 women were measured.

Head-form : The cephalic indices show 5 men and 4 women
to be dolichocephalic, 3 men and 6 women brachycephalic ; the
median for the men is 76.9, for the women 79.4. One man is
platycephalic, 3 men and i woman mesocephalic and the rest
hypsicephalic as regards length -height, all are hypsicephalic as
regards breadth-height, in each respect the women being markedly
more hypsicephalic than the men. The shape is noted as oval
in I man and 9 women, round oval in i of each sex, ellipsoidal
in I man and pyriform in 4 men.

J^ace : In 5 men and 6 women it is more or less pentagonal,
in I man and 2 women lozenge - shaped. All are markedly
chamseprosopic both in total facial and upper facial indices.
The forehead is narrow in 3 men and i woman, broad in 2 and
I, small in 2 women, high or moderate in 2 men and 6 women,
fairly prominent in i and 2, low in 3 men. The cheek-bones are
moderately prominent in 8 of each sex, very prominent in i
woman, and not prominent in i woman. The lips are moderately
thin in most cases, but are rather thick in 2 men and i woman.
The chin is small in 3 men and 6 women (noted as not retreating
in 2 women), but is fairly well formed. JVbse: Four men and
5 women are mesorhine, the rest platyrhine, i of each sex having
an index of 100. The profile is straight in 7 men and 4 women
(the tip being blunt in 4 men and 2 women, and depressed in
3 men), concave in 4 women, " Chinese " in i man and 2 women.
The root is broad in 4 men and 9 women (flat in 4 of the women),
low in 3 men and 2 women, moderately high in 4 of each sex.

APPENDIX 331

moderately narrow in 2 men ; the base is more or less reflected in
8 men and 6 women, very much reflected in i woman, and nearly
straight in 3 ; the alse are small in 6 men and 8 women, moderate
in I of each sex and wide in i of each sex; the nostrils are
round in 3 men and 7 women, more or less widely open in 6 men
and 5 women and small in 3 women. Eyes-. The aperture is
moderately open in 6 men and 7 women, wide in i of each sex
and rather narrow in i man and 2 women ; it is straight with no
fold in 4 men and 6 women, straight with fold more or less
developed in 2 men and i woman, slightly oblique with no fold
in 2 men, slightly oblique with slight fold in 2 ^women, and
oblique with a trace of fold in i woman. The colour is light
brown in i man, medium in 6 men and 7 women, dark in i and
3. Ear-. Type European in 7 men (2 doubtful) and 3 women,
intermediate between European and Negroid in i man ; angle
prominent in 6 men and i woman; lobule distended, right
adherent in i woman ; descending helix infolded less than 2 mm.
in 7 men and i woman, 2-4 mm. in i of each sex ; Darwin's
point absent in 2 men and i woman, doubtful in 2 men, distinct
tip in one man ; tragus under 3 mm. in 3 of each sex, being
double in i man and 3 women, slightly larger in 2 men, being
double in i, 3-5 mm. in 3 men and 7 women, being double in

4 women ; anti-tragus absent in 2 men and 5 women (i doubtful),
trace in 2 men and i woman, under 3 mm. in 4 men and i
woman ; anti-helix below level of helix in 6 men and i woman,
about at the same level in 2 men (i doubtful) and i woman.

Hair : It is straight in i man, straight to wavy in i man and

5 women, wavy in 5 and 3, wavy to curly in i man. The colour
is rusty black in 7 of each sex and dark brown in 3 women. It
is long and fairly abundant on the head; 2 men have beards,
one only on the right side.

S^in: Seven are lightest cinamon (12), i with a trace of
green, 5 are dull fawn (17), 2 pale fawn (pale 17), 3 pale pinkish
buff (11).

Stature : Two men are of medium height, the rest short, the
median being 1.59 m. (5 ft. 2\ in.) ; only 2 women are over
1.5 m. and 2 are under 1.4 m. (4 ft. 7 in.), the median being
1.47 m. (4 ft. 10 in.).

Five Sebop men were measured.

Head-form-. All but i are dolichocephalic, the median, being
75.3, I is platycephalic in regard to length -height, and i meso-
cephalic, the rest are hypsicephalic in both respects. The shape
is pyriform in 2, oval to roundish in the remainder.

Pace : It is pentagonal in 4, and narrow with rather prominent
brow-ridge in i. All are chamaeprosopic in both respects.
The forehead is full in 2 and low in 2. The cheek-bones are

332 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

more or less prominent in 4, i is not prominent. The lips are
thin in 3 and moderate in 2. The chin is fairly well developed.
Nose : Three are mesorhine, i platyrhine, and i hyper-platyrhine.
The profile is concave in 2, straight in i, and intermediate in 2 ;
a blunt tip is noted in i. The root is narrow and moderately
high in 2, moderately broad in 2, moderately high in i, and 2 are
fairly broad and flat. The base is reflected in 3 and straight in
2 ; the alae are small in 3, moderately large and rounded in i,
and wide and horizontal in i. Eyes : The aperture is fairly open
in 4, rather narrow in i ; it is straight with no fold in 3, and
slightly oblique with a slight fold in 2. The colour is medium
brown. £ars : Type European in 2, European to Negroid in i ;
angle prominent in 2 ; lobule distended in i, trace in i, 3-10 mm.
in 2, 10-15 ^^' ^^ ^ '} descending helix infolded less than 2 mm.
in 2, 2-4 mm. in 3 ; Darwin's point absent in 2 ; tragus under
3 mm. in i, rather larger in i, 3-5 mm. in 3 ; anti-tragus under
3 mm. in 4, 3-5 mm. in i ; anti-helix below level of helix in 2,
about at the same level in 3.

^air : It is wavy in 3, straight to wavy in i, curly in i ; the
colour is rusty black in 4, dark brown in i. It is fairly long and
moderately abundant on the head ; i man has a small moustache
at angles of mouth, and i has a fairly good moustache and beard.

Sh'n : Two are lightest cinamon (12), i light brown (near 17).

Stature. All are short, i being under 1.5 m. ; the median is
1.54 m. (5 ft. \ in.).

Ten Lerong men and 5 women were measured.

Head-form : The cephalic indices show 4 men and i woman
to be dolichocephalic, 6 men and 4 women brachycephalic, the
median being 78.5 for the men and 81 for the women. Three
men are mesocephalic as regards length-height, otherwise both
sexes are hypsicephalic both in length-height and breadth-height,
the women being more so than the men. The shape is noted as
ovoid in 5 men, pyriform in 3 men, oval in 3 of each sex, and
round oval in 2 women (i with vertical occiput).

Face : It is more or less pentagonal in 8 men and i woman,
oval or ovoid in 4 women, broad in i woman, and long in 2 men ;
alveolar prognathism is noted in i of each sex and sunken
temples and cheeks in i man. All are chamseprosopic as regards
both total facial and upper facial indices, one man only being an
exception in both respects. The forehead is good in 3 of each
sex, fair in 3 men, rather narrow in 2 men and i woman. The
cheek-bones are prominent in 8 men and 2 women, not prominent
in 2 and 3. The lips are moderately thin in 4, men but tend to
be thick in 2 men and 4 women. The chin is usually well
developed, but is small in 2 women. JVose: Three men and
I woman are mesorhine, the rest platyrhine, i woman being

APPENDIX 333

hyper-platyrhine. The profile is straight in 4 men arid i woman,
straight to shghtly sinuous in two men, " Chinese " in i woman,
concave in 4 men and 3 women ; blunt tips are noted in 6 cases
and depressed tips in 3 ; the root is moderately high in 7 men,
narrow in 2, more or less broad in 4 men and i woman, rather
low in 2 and i, broad and flat in 4 women. The base is more or
less reflected in 6 men and 4 women, straight in 4 men ; the alae
are small in 4 of each sex, moderate in 4 men, wide in i of each
sex ; the nostrils are rounded in 5 of each sex, and more or less
widely open in 6 men, distended in i man. Eyes : The aperture
is moderately wide in 9 men and 4 women, and rather narrow in
I woman; it is straight with no fold in 4 men and i woman,
straight with slight fold in 2 women (in one case trace of fold in
right eye only), slightly oblique with trace of fold in 2 men and
I woman and with fairly developed fold in i woman, slightly
oblique with no fold in i of each sex, quite oblique with slight
fold in I man. The colour is medium brown in 8 men and 5
women and dark brown in i man. Ears: Type European in 9 men
and 4 women (3 doubtful), Negroid in one man ; angle prominent
in 8 men (i doubtful), slightly prominent in i man; lobule
distended in all but i man in whom it is medium ; descending
helix infolded less than 2 mm. in 9 men and i woman (doubtful),
2-4 mm. in i man; Darwin's point absent in 6 men, inrolled
knob in i man ; tragus under 3 mm. in 4 men, being double in
3, slightly larger in i of each sex being double in both, 3-5 mm.
in 6 men and 4 women being double in i man ; anti-tragus absent
in 3 men and 4 women, under 3 mm. in 8 men ; anti-helix below
level of helix in 5 men, about at the same level in 5 men and
I woman.

Hair : It is straight in 2 women, straight to wavy in 6 men
and 3 women, wavy in 3 men. The colour is rusty black in
7 men and 3 women, light rusty black in i man, dark brown in

1 man and 2 women. It is nearly always abundant on the head,
and is rather long, especially in the women.

Skin: Eight are lightest cinamon (12), i light cinamon (14),

2 cinamon (6), 4 pale fawn (pale 17).

Stature: One man is of medium height, the rest are short,
2 being under 1.5 m., the median is 1.52 (4 ft. i if in.). Four
women are under 1.5 m., one being only 1.39 m. (4 ft. 6f in.).

Seven Milanau men, consisting of 6 Narom and i Miri, were
measured.

Head-form : All are brachycephalic, but it should be remembered
that deformation of the head is practised by these people (vol. i.,
p. 48), and it is probable that the cephalic index is very rarely
normal, consequently the head indices may be neglected. Three

334 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

are flat behind and broad in the parietal region, of whom 2 are
narrow in front and i broad, 3 are more or less ovoid.

Face : It is pentagonal in 4, the angle of the jaws is prominent
in I ; the Miri man has an oval face pointed below, with small
jaws and alveolar prognathism. All are chamaeprosopic in regard
both to total facial and upper facial indices. The forehead is low
and broad in i, high and broad in i, low in i, high in 2, and
rather sloping in i. The cheek-bones are prominent in 3 and
moderately large in 4. The lips are moderately thin as a rule, in
I they are fairly large. The chin is rather small in 4, and fairly
well formed ^in 3. Nose: Four men are mesorhine and 3 platy-
rhine, the highest index being 89.1. The profile is straight in 4,
with blunt tip in 2, slightly concave in 2, and sinuous with blunt
tip in I ; the root is high in i, narrow and moderately high in 2,
broad and moderately high in 3 ; the base is straight in 5, reflected
in I, and slightly concave in i ; the alae are moderate in 3, and
small in i ; the nostrils are rounded in i, broad in i, moderately
oval in i. Eyes\ The aperture is moderately wide; it is straight
with no fold in i, slightly oblique with no fold in 3, more or less
oblique with slight fold in 3. The colour of the iris is medium
brown in 4 and light in 2. Ears : Type European in 2, European
to Negroid in i, European to chimpanzee in i, chimpanzee in i,
orang in i ; angle prominent in 6, slightly prominent in i ;
lobule absent in i, trace in 3, being adherent in i, small in 2,
medium in i ; descending helix infolded less than 2 mm. in 6,
2-4 mm. in i ; Darwin's point absent in all ; tragus under 3 mm.
in I, slightly larger in i, 3 - 5 mm. in 5, being double in 2 ;
anti-tragus under 3 mm. in 5, 3-5 mm. in 2 ; anti-helix below level
of helix in 3, slightly below in i, about at the same level in 2,
distinctly beyond in i.

Hair-. One man had curly hair, i wavy, i straight to wavy,
and I straight, but the character was difficult to determine as in
all cases but one the hair was cut, being more or less closely
cropped in 2 men. The colour is noted as black in 6, and rusty
black in i, and as fairly abundant on the head in 3 ; several
had hair on the face, 2 had small moustaches, 2 had moustaches
and short beards, i had small beard and moustache and thick
eyebrows.

Skin\ Three are cinamon (6), i light cinamon (14), i lightest
cinamon (12), and i pale fawn (pale 17).

Stature-. One is of medium height, the rest are short but
none are under 1.5 m. ; the median is 1.562 m. (5 ft. \\ in.).

III. PuNAN Group

Eighteen Punan men and four women were measured by us
and one man by Mr. Shelford.

APPENDIX 335

Head-form: The cephalic indices show 3 men to be dolicho-
cephalic, the rest of the men and all the women are brachycephalic,
the median being 80.9 for the men and 81.2 for the women. Two
men are platycephalic both in length-height and breadth-height,
I is platycephalic in length-height but mesocephalic in breadth-
height, I is platycephalic in length-height but hypsicephalic in
breadth - height, i is mesocephahc in length - height but platy-
cephalic in breadth-height, i of each sex is mesocephalic in both
respects, i of each sex is mesocephalic in length - height but
hypsicephalic in breadth - height, i woman is hypsicephalic in
length - height and platycephalic in breadth - height, the rest are
hypsicephalic in both respects. The shape is usually ovoid in
the men, 2 are noted as pyriform \ 3 women have round heads.

Face : The shape varies ; it is oval in 4 men and 2 women, but
owing to the general moderate prominence of the cheek-bones
and the smallness of the chin, it becomes pentagonal (3 men) or
even lozenge-shaped or triangular (2 men) ; i woman has a broad
face and i man a somewhat square, while 2 men have long
faces. Alveolar prognathism is noted in i case and superciliary
ridges in 2. All are chamaeprosopic except 2 men, i being
leptoprosopic in regard to both total facial and upper facial
indices, the other as to upper facial only. The forehead is
upright in 3 of each sex, full in 5 men and i woman. The
cheek-bones are prominent in 9 men, moderate in 6 men and 2
women, broad in i of each sex. The lips are moderately thin
except in 2 men and i woman. The chin is usually fairly well
formed ; though small it is not retreating in 5 men. JVose : Eight
men are mesorhine, 7 men and 3 women platyrhine, 4 men and
I woman hyper-platyrhine. The profile is straight in 10 men and
I woman, slightly concave in 6 and i ; the root is more or less
depressed in 9 men and 2 women, fairly high and narrow in 4
men; the base is slightly reflected in 9 men and 4 women,
straight in 7 men, and slightly deflected in 2 men ; the alae are
usually moderately developed, rather thin in 4; the nostrils are
oval in 13 or rounded in 4. Eyes : The aperture is moderate in 11
men and i woman, small in 5 and 2 ; it is straight with no fold
in 5 men, slightly oblique with no fold in 3 men, slightly oblique
with a slight fold in 6 men and 3 women and with a more
developed fold in i woman, moderately oblique with moderate
fold in 3 men and with slight fold in i man. The colour is
light brown in 2 men, medium in 8, dark in 6 and i woman.
Ear: Type European in 8, European to Negroid in 4; angle
prominent in 6, more so in 2 ; lobule distended in 9, absent in
I, adherent in 2, being small in i ; descending helix absent in 3,
infolded less than 2 mm. in 6, rather more in i, 2-4 mm. in 2 ;
Darwin's point a distinct tip in 2, doubtful in i, absent in the rest ;
tragus under 3 mm. in 5, being double in i, rather larger in i,

336 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

3-5 mm. in 7, being double in i ; anti-tragus absent in 2, trace
in I, under 3 mm. in 10; anti-helix below level of helix in 5,
about at the same level in 8.

Hair : It is straight in 6 men and 3 women, straight to wavy
in 2 men, wavy in 8 men and i woman, wavy to curly in i man.
The colour is rusty black in 12 men and i woman, black in 5
men, and dark brown in i man. It is usually fairly long and
abundant on the head, but in 6 men it is noted as thin ; 7 have
a slight amount of hair on the face and i a moderate amount on
the legs.

Skin : Fifteen are light cinamon (14), 15 lightest cinamon (12),
II pale fawn (pale 17), and 6 dull fawn or light brown (17).

Stature-. Two are of medium height, the rest short, 4 men
being under 1.5 m. ; the median is 1.55 m. (5 ft. i in.).

Three Ukit men were measured by Mr. Shelford. They are
more brachycephalic than the Punan, their median index being
83.3, but are slightly less chamaeprosopic, 2 being leptoprosopic
in regard to the upper facial index. All 3 are mesorhine.

The Mongolian fold is very slight in 2. All have straight
black hair. One is tall, measuring 1.735 "^- (5 f^- ^i i"-)> ^^
other 2 are short.

[Fourteen Punan men were measured by Nieuwenhuis.

Head-form : The cephalic indices range evenly between 7 7.5
and 86.1, the median being 81.3 ; all except i are brachycephaHc.

jFace : It is broad in 5 and medium in the rest. The bi-
zygomatic breadth ranges from 132 to 145 mm., which is rather
narrower than the range obtained by us, 130-154 mm. JVose :
the breadth varies between 37 and 43 mm., whereas in the
Punans measured by us the range was between 34 and 44 mm.
The shape is noted as concave in 4, broad and flat in 10, i.e. 29
per cent have '* depressed," " sunken," or " hollow " noses. £yes :
the Mongolian fold does not occur. The iris is dark.

Hair: It is uniformly straight and tends to be scanty. The
colour is black.

Skin : The colour is light brown in 10, brown and yellow in 2,
black or blue-black in 2.

Stature : None are tall, 4 are of medium height, the rest are
short I being under 1.5 m.; the median is 1.569 m. (5 ft. if in.).]

IV. Kenyah Group

Twenty-six Kenyah men and 6 women were measured, consist-
ing of 6 Madang men, 9 Long Dallo men and 2 women, 9 Apoh
men, 4 Long Sinong women, and two other men. All these
may be taken as pure Kenyahs, and the following data are based
thereon.

APPENDIX 337

Head-form : The cephalic indices of the three groups given
on Table A range from dolichocephaly to brachycephaly, and
it is interesting to note that the Madangs, with a median of 78.1,
have distinctly the narrowest heads, intermediate are the Long
Dallo men, median 80.5, while the Apoh men, with a median of
84, have distinctly the broadest heads. The head in all is
markedly hypsicephalic both as regards the length - height and
the breadth-height indices. The shape is described as round in 8
men, oval in 2, ovoid in 3, square in i, pyriform in 3, and long in
2. The 4 Long Sinong women are distinctly brachycephalic, the
mean being 83.2, but the average is 85.1, owing to one having an
index 93.8. They also are very hypsicephalic.

Face-. Six men are recorded as having pentagonal faces, 3
broad and 3 long ; alveolar prognathism is noted in 2. All are
chamaeprosopic as regards the total facial index, and all except i
Madang and 2 Long Dallo men as regards the upper facial index.
The forehead is upright in 10 men, i is noted as bulging and i as
sloping. The cheek-bones are moderate in 12 men, prominent in
6 men (i very marked) and 2 women, and broad in i of each
sex. The lips are, as a rule, moderately full, but are thin in 3.
The chin is fairly well developed. Nose : One man is leptorhine, 6
are mesorhine, 13 platyrhine, 6 hyper-platyrhine. The 2 Long Dallo
women are mesorhine, the 4 Long Sinong women are strongly
platyrhine. The profile is straight in 14 men, a few others varied.
The base is slightly reflected in 14 men, straight in 2 ; the alae are
broad in 5 men, small in 2, and the septum is disclosed in 2 ; the
nostrils are wide in 8 men, elongated in i. Eyes : The aperture is
moderate in 10 men, wide in 6 men and 3 women, narrow in 7
men ; it is straight with no fold in 6 men and i woman and with
a slight fold in 5 men, slightly oblique with no fold in 5, and
with a slight fold in 4 and 2 women, oblique with no fold in i.
The colour is light in 2 men and i woman, medium in 15
men and i woman, and dark in 7 men and 4 women. Ears :
Data were obtained only for the Madang. Type European
in 3 (2 doubtful), Negroid i (?); angle prominent 2 (?); lobule
distended in 4, of medium size in i (?) ; descending helix infolded
less than 2 mm. in 2, rather more in i ; tragus 3-5 mm. in 5,
being double in i, 5-7 mm. in i ; anti-tragus absent in i, trace in
I, under 3 mm. in 3, 3 - 5 mm. in i ; anti - helix below level of
helix in 2, about at the same level in i.

Hair: It is straight in 7 men and i woman, wavy in 14 men
and 2 women, curly in 2 men. The colour is dark brown in 3
men, rusty black in 15 men and 5 women, black in 5 men and i
woman. It is usually long and moderately abundant on the
head ; face hair was observed in 2 men, and a small amount on
the body in 5.

Sh'n : The average skin colour is various shades of cinamon ;

338 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

II are cinamon (6), i6 are light cinamon (14), 14 are lightest
cinamon (12), 9 pale fawn (pale 17), 3 dull fawn or light brown
(17), 6 pale pinkish buff (11).

Stature : 7 men (3 Madangs, 3 Long Dallos, i Long Tikan)
are of medium height; the rest are short ; the median is 1.61 m.
(5 ft- si in.). The stature of the 6 women ranges from 1.42 m.
(4 ft. 8 in.) to 1.57 m. (5 ft. if in.).

V. Kayan Group
Twenty-one Kayan men and i woman were measured.

Head-form-. The cephalic index forms a gradual series with
a median of 79.8, all except 5 being brachy cephalic. The
head is distinctly hypsicephalic, only 5 being mesocephalic as
regards length-height. Five were noted as oval, 2 ovoid, i square
ovoid, 3 round.

Face-. The form varies, 3 being more or less pentagonal,
2 squarish, 2 round, and 5 oval. All are chamseprosopic except
I man in the total facial and upper facial indices, and i of each
sex in the upper facial index. The forehead is upright in 6, and
rounded and full in 6. The cheek-bones are moderate in 14, and
prominent in 3. The lips are moderately full, being noted as
thick in 2 men. The chin is fairly well developed, with 3 ex-
ceptions. Nose : Ten are mesorhine and the remainder platy-
rhine, of whom 5 are hyper-platyrhine, 2 of these latter are boys
(aged 15); the excessive platyrhiny is due mainly to the shortness
of the nose in the three adults. The profile is straight in 16 and
moderately concave in 3 ; the root is slightly depressed in 1 1 and
high in 6; the base is reflected in 11 and straight in 4; the
nostrils are transversely oval in 2, oval in 5, and round in 5.
jEyes: The aperture is narrow in 12 and medium in 4; it is
straight with no fold in 8 and with a slight fold in 2, slightly
oblique with no fold in 2 and with a slight fold in 6 ; i man with
a straight eye and no fold is noted as having a lash fold which is
the character of a Mongolian upper eyelid. The colour is light
in 6, medium in 10, and dark in 3. jEars : Type European in 2,
European to Negroid in 3, orang in 3 ; angle slightly prominent
in 2 ; lobule distended in 5, perforated in 2 ; descending helix
absent in i, infolded less than 2 mm. in 8 ; Darwin's point
absent; tragus under 3 mm. in 5, 3-5 mm. in 4; anti-tragus
under 3 mm. in 8, 3-5 mm. in i ; anti-helix below level of helix
in 4, about at the same level in 4, distinctly beyond in i.

Hair: It is straight in 6, wavy in 12, wavy to curly in i, and
curly in i (PL 22) ; the colour is rusty black in 12, black in 6, and
dark brown in i.

Sh'n: The average skin colour is a light cinamon (14) or
pale fawn (pale 17).

APPENDIX 339

Stature: All but 3 of the men are of short stature, the
median being 1.550 m. (5 ft. i in.).

[Forty-eight male and 30 female Kayans were measured by
Nieuwenhuis, also i Mahakam Kayan of each sex. Of these

5 were boys under 16 and 5 girls under 16, who will be omitted
from the description where it is possible to distinguish them.

Head-form : The cephalic index of the men forms a gradual
series from 75 to 85.4 with 6 higher indices ; 8 are dolichocephalic,
the median of the whole series of adult men being 81. i ; that of
the women ranges from 75 to 93.2, with a slight weakening in the
series about where the median 82.5 occurs ; one index, 97, falls
considerably outside ; 4 are dolichocephalic. The Mahakam man
has an index of 78.3, the woman 74.1.

J^a^e: One Kayan had a long face, 14 per cent (including
children) had broad faces, the rest were medium. In our and
his Kayans the bi-zygomatic breadth ranges from 132 to 150 mm.,
except that two of his are narrower, 126 and 129 mm. JVbse:
Breadth-measurements agree with ours. Two males and i female
are noted as having concave noses, 35 and 20 as broad and flat,
9 and 8 as straight, i of each sex as narrow and straight. These
characterisations are of course not mutually exclusive. No
convex noses were observed ; 4 per cent are concave (" depressed,"
"sunken," or "hollow"). JSyes: The Mongolian fold does not
occur. The iris is always dark.

Ifair: 28 per cent of the males and 17 per cent of the
females had wavy hair, i man had curly hair, the rest straight.
As a rule it is rather scanty, but 30 per cent of the Kayans had
a moderate amount. The colour is black.

Skin : The colour is brown or yellow.

Stature: Two men are tall, 6 medium and the rest short,

6 being below 1.5 m., of whom 2 are under 18 years old; the
median is 1.572 (5 ft. 2 in.). The women over 23 average 14 cm.
shorter than the men ; this is a large difference, as it is usually
10-12 cm., as in our Sarawak figures.]

VI. Iban (or Sea Dayaks) Group
Fifty-six Iban men were measured by us.

Head-form : The cephalic index forms a gradual series, the
median being 83, and therefore shows brachycephaly. The
head is usually hypsicephalic, but i is platycephalic as regards
breadth - height, 2 are mesocephalic both in length - height and
breadth - height, 5 are mesocephalic in length - height and 3 in
breadth-height. Thirteen are noted as round, 7 as ovoid, 4 as
oval, several had broad parietal and narrow frontal regions
producing a pyriform norma verticalis.

340 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

Face: The form is noted as pentagonal in lo, oval in 5, broad
oval in 4, the narrowness of the jaw producing the pentagonal
shape. The majority are chamaeprosopic, but i is leptoprosopic
in total facial and upper facial indices, and 7 are leptoprosopic in
upper facial index. The forehead is generally full or slightly
bulging, but may be straight and vertical ; 3 are noted as being
sloped. The cheek-bones are prominent in 20, and moderately
so in 24. The lips are moderately full. The chin is small and
moderately prominent. Nose: Sixteen are mesorhine, 21 platy-
rhine, and 19 hyper - platyrhine. The profile is concave in 23,
straight in 18 and nearly so in 4; the root is more or less high in
19, more or less depressed in 20, in most cases it is broad or
moderately so ; the base is straight in 24, reflected in 25, deflected
in 3 ; the alae are wide in 8, moderate in 6, small in 9 ; the
nostrils are oval in 10, transversely oval in 8, round in 13, wide
in 9. Eyes: The aperture is narrow in 13, medium in 18, wide
in 3 ; it is straight with no fold in 10 and with a slight fold in 11,
slightly oblique with no fold in 10 and with a moderate fold in
21. The majority are normal as regards the eyelashes, but 3
have a distinct Mongolian character and 5 have it slightly. The
colour is intermediate in 25, dark in 22, light in 5, 4 cases were
noted with a bluish margin to the iris. Ears : Type European in
31, European to Negroid in 2, Negroid in 2, orang flattened
above in i ; angle slightly prominent in 22, rather more so in i,
prominent in 8, more so in i, very prominent in i ; lobule
distended in 10 and perforated in 5, very small in i, small in 13,
being adherent in 4, rather small in i, medium in 10, i being
adherent, 2 perforated, and i doubtful; descending helix absent
in 2, infolded less than 2 mm. in 23, 2-4 mm. in 13 ; Darwin's
point an infolded tip in i, an inrolled knob in 2, absent in the
rest; tragus under 3 mm. in 11, being double in i, slightly larger
in I, 3-5 mm. in 25, being double in 3, 5-7 mm. in i ; anti-tragus
absent in 4, under 3 mm. in 24, 3-5 mm. in 8, 5-7 mm. in i ;
anti-helix below level of helix in 23, about at the same level
in 15.

Hair: It is straight in 16, wavy in 26, curly in 2, i being
described as crisp. The colour is rusty black in 26, black in 17,
and dark brown in i. Eight men had a slight amount of hair on
the face ; the body hair is absent or very scanty, but one had a
quantity on his legs.

Skin: Five are dark warm cinamon, 27 cinamon (6), 5 light
cinamon (14), 11 dull fawn (17), 11 light brown (near 17), 5
various shades of a light greenish sepia (light 31), 3 a still lighter
greenish sepia.

Stature : One man is tall, 1 1 are of medium stature, and the
remainder short, 2 being under 1.5 m. ; the median is 1.585 m.
(5 ft. 2\ in.).

I

APPENDIX 341

Thirteen Sibuyau men were measured by Mr. Shelford and
I by us.

Head-form : All but two are brachycephalic, the median being
83. Mr. Shelford did not measure the radii and so the height
indices cannot be given.

Face: All are chamaeprosopic with regard to the total facial
index and all except 3 in the upper facial index.

Nose : Two are leptorhine, 7 mesorhine, and 5 platyrhine.

Stature-. All the men are short, 3 being under 1.5 m. ; the
median is 1.535 m. (5 ft. \ in.).

INDEX

Aban Jalong, Chief, Batang Kayans,

ii. 288
Aban Jau, Chief, Tinjar Sebops, and

his sayings, ii. 283-4
Abdul Mubin, usurper, i. 23
Abscesses, treatment of, ii. 208
Abuse, in Warfare, i. 18 1-2
Adangs, locale and culture of, i. 35,

ii. 247
Adelphic Marriage of Adopted Kin,

Kenyah, ii, 197

Adoption of Children, various tribes,

i. 77-9

Ceremony, Symbolic at, i. 78

Incest in relation to, ii. xf^T&n.x

Adults, Naming among, i. 79 et seq. ,

85 et seq., ii. 161, 239
Afterworld ideas, various tribes, ii. 40
et seq., 187, 239
Karen, ii. 239
Age, Kayan difficulty in stating, ii. 175-6
Agriculture {see also Harvest, and Rice),
i. 97 ^^ seq.
Animal sacrifices in, i. 109
Dusun, i. 97, ii. 253
Immature grain used as food, i. 104
Improvement in Sarawak, ii. 307
Karen, ii. 238
Murut, i. 97, ii. 246, 247
Omens observed for, i, 109-10
Preparation of Land, i. 97 ^/ seq.
versus Totemism, ii. 97
Akar river, people of, ii. 285, 286
Aki tribe. Ethnic affinities of, ii. 245
Akmad, Sultan, i. 19
Alak ber Tata, and introduction of

Islam, i. i8<{r««. 19
Alas vases, i. 62
Aldebaran, ii. 139
Alluvial belt, i. 2, 3
Altars in Post form, adjuncts of, ii. 7,

15, 16, 184
Ambvishes, i. 171-2, 181

America, Dreams and Totemism in,

ii. iiz&n.i
Amok, devil causing, in Malanau belief,

ii. 130
Ancestors, deified, Kayan minor gods
as, ii. 10-12
Names for, i. 81
Angka Wijaya, king of Mahajahit,

triumphs of, i. 15, 16
Animal Cults, Kayan, ii. 74 et seq.,
Kenyah, ii. 51 et seq.
Forms in Kayan Decoration, i. 234-40
Sacrifice, ii. 6, et alibi

Explanation, ii. 103 et seq.
Occasions for, i. 109, ii. 154, 161,
173, 176
Animals, Animistic beliefs connected
with, ii. 51 et seq., 128-9
Divination by, i. 168 et seq.
in Fables, Sea Dayak, ii. 90
Human relationship claimed with,
see Bear-cat, Crocodiles,
Deer, Sea Dayak, (kc.
Human Souls reincarnated in,

ii. 47-8
Imitated in Dances, i. 1 13-14
Mentality of, in Savage ideas, ii. 100

et seq., 107
Omens from, Sea Dayak, ii. 87
Souls of, as Toh, ii. 4, 19
Animism of Pagan tribes, i. 41, ii. 51

et seq.
Animistic beliefs connected with Animals
and Plants, ii. $t. et seq.;
Conclusions, ii. 96 et seq.
Ant-Eater, Scaly, Asiatic, i. 4
Anthropometric Measurements taken
by Haddon, ii. 324 et seq.
Methods employed, ii. 321 et seq.
Terms defined, ii. 322
Anthropomorphic ideas, Kayan, ii. i,
2 ci' n. 4
Sea Dayak, ii. 85 ^/ seq.

VOL. II

343

344 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

Antimony in Sarawak, ii. 306
Antu, in Sea Dayak belief, ii. 27
Apes, see also Monkey

Anthropoid, Asiatic, i. 4

Hunted for food, i. 143, 145

Indigenous, i. 7

Sacred, in Art, i. 242
Apo Kayan group of tribes, ii. 313
Apo Leggan and counterparts of, Land
of the Dead, various tribes,
ii. 40 et seq.

Map of, ii. 44-5
Apoh river, ii. 284

Apoh sub-tribe. Anthropological Mea-
surements, see Kenyah do.
Appendix, 31 1-4 1

Apu Lagan, Karen Afterworld, ii. 239
Arab element in population, i. 8, 29
Area, i. i
Areca Palm, ceremonial uses of, ii. 131,

175
Arg;ument, Kayan methods of, ii. 215-

216
Argus pheasants. Sea Dayak mode of

catching, i. 148
Arithmetic, Kayan, &c., ii. 193,

209-11, 292
Aroh wood for Boat-making, i. 199
Arrows {see also Bows), poisoned,

Karen, ii. 238
Art, Decorative, i. 224 et seq.
Bibliography, i. 280
Explanation of Plates, i. 280-3
Arts, Kayan, found in S.E. Asia,

ii. 242
Aryan origin postulated for Kayans,

ii. 255-6
Asi, bird, Omens from, ii. 59
Asiatic Mammals in Borneo and

Sumatra, i. 3-4, 24
Aso do, pole for determining Season,

i. 106-7
Astronomical myths, ideas, and prac-
tices, Kayan, i. 108,

ii. 213-14
Kenyah, ii. 105 et seq.
Klemantan, ii. 139, 214 «. i
Attack, see War

Aunts, Sea Dayak, numbers of, diffi-
culties caused by, ii. 199
Uncles, Nephews, Nieces, Cousins,

names for, i. 81
Australian Natives, race of, ii. 311
Axe, Sea Dayak, ii. 251

Babes, new - born, exposed by Sea

Dayaks, ii. 24
Bahau-Kenyah, locale of, ii. 313
Bajaus, origin of, ii. 253

Bakatan sub-group, ii. 320

Tatu of, i. 247, 269-73
Bakongs, Animal relationships claimed

by, ii. 81
Balambangan, English monopoly at, of

Pepper trade, i. 23
Bali, derivation, use and force of term,
ii. II, 29, i20t£-«. I, 121,
256 & n. I
Bali A tap, Kenyah minor god, func-
tions, &c. , of, ii. 13-4, 16-7
Bali Flaki, the Hawk Omen Bird,
various tribes, evolution of,
ii. 18
Iban parallel to, ii. 85-6
Kenyah cult of, ii. 14, 15, 51 et seq.
Klemantan ideas on, ii. 79 et seq.
in Sebop Magic, ii. 118-9
Bali Penylong, or Penyalong, high god
of the Kenyahs, ii. 6, 13,
15 ^/ seq., 290
Crocodile so called, by Punans, ii. 84
Images of, ii. 53, 66
in Madang Afterworld, ii. 44
Punan cult of, ii. 186
Bali Sungei in Kayan beliefs, ii. 14
et seq.
in Kenyah art, i. 242
Bali Urip, Kenyah god, ii. 14
Bali Utong, Kenyah god, ii. 14
Supreme Being of Klemantan tribes,
ii. 79
Balingo, Kenyah Thunder-god, ii. 16, 17
Descent claimed from, and special
relations with, ii. \\«kn.2,
"Teeth" of, ib.
Balungan river, see Batang Kayan
Bamboo, in Sea Dayak legends, ii. 146,
147
Uses, i. 6, 13
Bamboo Altars, ii. 7
Collecting, i. 117
Decorations, i. 228-30, 243
Floors, ii. 251
Harp, Kayan and Punan, ii. 167,

192
Houses, ii. 245

Pipes (musical), Punan, ii. 191
Shields, old style. Sea Dayak, i. 166
Bananas, i. 6 ; in Sea Dayak legends,
ii. 146, 147
Leaves of, in Ritual, ii. 162
Bangat, Carved, in Kenyah house,

ii- 73
Banjermasin, and its Sultan, i. 9
Cession of, to the Dutch, ii. 263, 309
Dutch and English rivalry at, i. 22
Banjermasin river, trend of, i. 2
Bantiks, of Northern Celebes, ii. 225

INDEX

345

Baram river —

Basin, ceded to Sarawak, ii. 261, 269,
271, 278 et seq.
Mixed population, ii. 272
Official journeys in, ii. 271, 278

et seq.
Penghulus in, ii. 272
Navigable length, i. 5
Peace along, i. 183
Source, i. 2, ii. 279
Trend, i. 2

Tributaries, ii. 286, 287
Baram tribes, Hose's Classification,

ii. 320
Barawan sub-group, Klemantan (Cen-
tral Group) —
Anthropological measurements,

ii. 327-8
Ears, ii. 328
Eyes, ii. 328
Face, ii. 327
Hair, ii. 328
Head-form, ii. 327
Nose, ii. 327
Skin, ii. 328
Stature, ii. 328
Art, Human figure in, i. 242

Painting, i. 231
Bead- work of, i. 224
Hose's Classification, ii. 320
Story on, with a Moral, ii. 151-2
Tatu, designs, i. 264
Bark, letters, &c., written on, i. 13
Bark-cloth, i. 43, 47, 220
Bark-shields, Land Dayak, i. 66
Barns, &c. , for Rice Storage, i. 53-4,

105, 111-2, ii. 139
Baskets and Basket-work, various tribes,
various uses, i. 56-9, 178,
211-4, ii. 134, 190, 191,
224, 242, 251
Batang Kayan river, ii. 287
Course and Source, i. 2, ii. 279
Kenyahs of, Tatu of, i. 262
Batang, Lupar River and District,
ii. 257, 269
Sea Dayaks of, i. 31-2
Bathing, frequent, i. 116, 118, 120,

ii. 169
Batins of Sumatra, Melanesian strain

in, ii. 312
Battaks of North Sumatra, Indonesians

of two types in, ii. 312
Battas, Magic-books of, i. 13
Bats, i. 4

Batu Blah tribe, Ethnic affinities of,
ii. 246
Murut culture among, ii. 247
Rice-crocodile ceremony of, ii. 83

Batu Pita gorge, ii. 286

Batu Tujoh Mountain, ii. 286

Batu tuloi. Household and Altar Stones,

ii. 15, 16
Bawang Takun, Kayan village, ii. 284
Bayoh ceremonies [see also Exorcism),

ii- 45
Beads, sources, uses, ritual and other,
and value of, i. 173, 226-8,
ii. 9, 24, 32<&«.i, 37, 171-2
Bead-work, i. 226-8
Kayan, i. 44, 47
Tribes excelling in, ii. 224
Beam-ends, &c., Animals carved on
[see also Crocodiles, Dog,
&c. ), Kayan, ii. 73, tj, 78-9
Bear, hunted for Food and Medicine,
i. 144
Small Black, Asiatic, i. 4
Bear-cat, Asiatic, 1. 4
Hunted for food, i. 143
Relationship claimed with by
Bakongs, ii. 81
Bee- grubs, as delicacies, i. 154
Bee-trees, Honey from, i. 154

Inheritance of, i. 83
Beeswax, collection and sale, i. 154
Belira Fish, Kenyah Story of, ii. 149
Benaga vases, i. 62
Bergiau vases, i. 62
Berkat, Sultan, works of, i. 20
Betel Blossom, in Punan rites, ii. 85
Betel-chewing, Sea Dayak, i. 30, 32, 60
Betrothal, i. 73-6
Bezoar Stone, source and use of, i. 155

Analogous substance, i. 155-6
Biadju tribes, Tatu of, i. 247, 267-8
Bibliography of Decorative Art,

i. 280
Bintulu District, Sarawak, ii. 369
Bird-lime, i. 149

Birds, see also Bali Flaki, and Omen
Divination by, i. 7, 168 et seq., ii. 3,

8, 9, 15, 51, 74-5 etseq.
Indigenous and other, i. 7
Birds' - nest Caves, Property and
Inheritance in, i. 83, 156-7
Birds'-nests, Edible, collection and uses

of, i. 155-6, ii. 106
Birth customs —
Karen, ii. 239
Kayan, ii. 114, le^^ et seq.
Punan, ii. 185
Bisaya tribe. Ethnic affinities, ii. 247
Magic of, and its aims, ii. 123-4
Tatu not used by, i. 246
Black Magic, Sebop, ii. 117 et seq.
Blacking men's faces, in Harvest-frolics,
i. 113

346 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

Blood of Fowls, &c. , in Ritual, ii, 31,
52-4, 60, 66 et alibi ; ex-
planation, ii. 107 - 8 ; in
Karen rites, ii, 239
Blood-brotherhood Ceremony, Animal
Sacrifice at, ii. 67
Blood-sprinkling and, ii, 107-8
Kayan, i. 180

Man and Crocodile, Kayan belief,
ii. 76-7, no
Blood - feuds {see also Sham fights),
ii. 293, rite at Extinction of,
ii. 66
Blood-money, ii. 291, 300
Blow-pipe or Sumpitan, i. 175 n.\
Kayan, i. 181, ii. 240
Klemantan, &c. , i. 34, 46
Punan, i. 144-5, 160-1, ii. 99, 126,
182, 191, 220
Manufacture of, i. 215
Blua, or Soul, nature of, ii. 34 ; recall
of, by Dayong, ii, 29 et seq.
Boas, Dr., cited on Totemism, ii. 1 12 «, i
Boat, in Malanau Exorcism, ii, 131
Boat-race atClaudetown Peace-making,

ii. 293 et seq.
Boat-songs, i. 132
Boats, see also War-boats —
Kenyah, i. 166
Storage of, i. 53
Uses of, i. 55-6
Management of, in Rapids, i. 132-4
Paddles of, 132

Speed of. Magic to spoil, ii. 124
Books of Magic, Batta, i. 13
Borak, rice-spirit, uses of, i. 113-4,

126, ii. 21, 292 et alibi
Bornean tribes, Animals avoided by,
ii, 71, 72, 128-9
Classification of, ii. 223-4
Borneo Company, Minerals worked by,

ii. 3o6(fc«. I
Borneo Races, Anthropometric Mea-
surements, relative, of,
ii. 316 et seq.
Bows and Arrows, Toy, in Ritual
{see also Cross-bow), i. 175
&n.\, ii. 163, 240
Boy, Stupid, Klemantan Story of,

ii. 149 et seq.
Boyhood, Kayan, ii. 163
Boys, River rites connected with, ii. 25
War-initiation of, i. 174-5, "• 168,
169
Bracelets, i. 46

Brachycephaly, Proto-Malay, ii. 312-3
Brass-ware, as Loot, i. 173

Maloh, i. 197, ii. 253
Brereton, W., ii. 308 n.\

Bride-gifts, Kayan, ii. 171 et seq. ;

Punan, ii. 184

Bridge in Afterworld, Kayan, &c.,

guardians of, ii. 41, 44, 45

British North Borneo Company, area

and administration of,

ii. 264

Lawas river basin sold by, to Sarawak,

ii. 262
Origin and operations of, i. 26-7
British rule in Borneo begun, i. 27,

history of, ii. 257 et seq.
Broken limbs, repair of, ii. 208
Brooke, Sir Charles, present Rajah of
Sarawak, rule of, i. 183,
ii. 259, 260, 265<f,'«. I
Brooke, Sir James, first Rajah of
Sarawak, territory, tribes,
and rule of, i. 8, 24 ^/ seq. ,
ii. 249, 257 etseq. , 265, 308
«. I
Bruni, or Brunei State, i. 9, ii. 106
Chinese Embassy to (1405), &c. ,

i. 16, 17, 21, 23
Chinese names for, and accounts of,

i. 10-13
Early Buddhist rule in, i. 11, 12
Former overlords of, i. 14, 15
Iron currency of, ancient, i. 193 n. i
Pigafetta's visit to, i. 21
Piracy at, and end of English

commerce, i. 24
Pirates of, and Rajah Brooke,

ii. 257-8
Placed under British Resident,

ii. 262
Portuguese expulsion from, ii. 309
Rise and fall of, i. 21, 22
Royal house, triple descent, i. 20
Sultan of, i. 9

relations with British, i. 27 ; with
Rajah Brooke, ii. 257 etseq.
Town, builder of, i. 21
Buang Tawa, Bulkiah's capital, i. 21
Bubu, fish-trap, i. 137
Buddhism, ii. 230

Buffalo {see also Water-Buffalo), agri-
cultural use of, ii. 246, 253
Sacrificed by Malanaus, ii. 106
Buffalo-hide shields, Dusun, i. 66
Bugis, origin of, ii. 253
Bukit Batu, Mount, Sea Dayak Alsatia,
operations against, i. 183-4,
ii. 301
Bukitan tribe. Nomad hunters, i. 177,

locale of, ii. 178
Bulkiah, Sultan, or Nakoda Ragam,

prowess of, i. 20-1
Bull-roarer, use of, ii. 23

INDEX

347

Burma, &c. , Caucasic type in, Keane

on, ii. 229 «. I
Indigens of, see Karens
Burning of Jungle, before cultivating

land, i. 97, xoi et alibi
Burning-out, in Warfare, i. 172
Burning test, for Courage, scars of, not

keloids, i. 246
Bwe, see Hill Karens

Cabbage Palms, i. 6

Calamities, suspected cause of, ii. 198

<bn.x
Calling back the Dying, ii. 28, 32, 85
Cambridge Expedition to Sarawak,

ii. 311
Camphor-tree, i. 6

Collection of Camphor, i. 152-3,

ii. 190
Camping in Hunting and War,

i. 13s, 150, 171
Cane, Rattan {q.v.), collection of.

Cannibalism, ceremonial, Jingkang, ii. 9
n. I ; otherwise not practised
in Borneo, i. ij^dsn.z
Canoes {see also Boats), Klemantan

sub-tribes, i. 203
Cap {see also War Cap), i. 161-2
Carving, see Horn, and Wood-carving
Cat-tribe, Asiatic specjes of, i. 3 ; not

eaten by Karens, ii. 239
Cattle, attitude to, of Kayans, ii. 77 ;
Kenyahs, ii. 71-2 ; Kleman-
tans, ii. 80 ; Sea Dayaks,
ii. 90
Cattle, wild, Asiatic, i. 3, 143, 144-5,

ii. 102
Caucasic element in Bornean peoples,
ii. 226 el seq.
in Burma, &c. , Keane on, ii. 229 «.i
Caul, Kayan custom as to, ii. 155
Causation, Mechanical, Kayan under-
standing of, ii. 2-4
Cave-dwellers, Punan, ii. 182 n.\
Caves, drawings in, i. 232
Celebes, Bantiks of Northern, ii. 225

Melanesian strain in, ii. 312
Charms, against Crocodiles, Lelak,
ii. 83
Connected with Weapons, ii. 126
Kayan, ii. 124 et seq.
Love Charms, ii. 127
Padi, i. no
Punan, ii. 190
Sea Dayak, ii. 91 & n. i
of Specialised function, ii. 126
Cheng Ho, Chinese ambassador to
Bruni, i. 16

Chief of Lelak people, Crocodile-
immunity of, ii. 83
Chiefs, see also Penghulu

Baram district, met on journey

ii. 285
Deceased, cult of, Klemantan and

Iban, ii. 10
Death and Burial customs concern-
ing, i. 176, 189-90, ii. 10,
20, 32, 33, 38, 65
Slaves slain at funerals of, ii. 46,

104-5
Tombs, i. 240, ii. 35-6, 50
Rarong graves, ii. 10
Functions of, various tribes, i. 64

et seq., ii. 12, 182, 217
and Headmen, village and District
administration by, Sarawak,
ii. 272 et seq.
Kayan and Kenyah, enlightened

character of, ii. 205-6
Rooms of, i. 69
War coats of, i. 163
Child-bed, Death in, home of Souls,

ii. 40
Child-birth, see Birth
Childhood, Kayan, ii. 57 et seq. ;

Punan, ii. 185
Children {see also Boys), god of,
ii. 160, 161
Kayan, loss of, grief of, ii. 156 ;

Training of, i. 163, 165
Naming of {see also Names), i. 79-80
Prohibitions and Tabus affecting,
ii. 14,23,33,71, ii^et alibi
Punan, ii. 184, 185
of Slave and free, and slave and
slave, position of, Kayan
and Kenyah, i. 72
Young, Toh specially dangerous to,
ii. 24
China, Intercourse with, of Buddhist
rulers, i. 10 et seq., 16, 17,
ii. 231
Chinese, Immigrants, colonists, and
traders, in Borneo, i. 17,
28-9, ii. 231
Estimated numbers, i. 3
Prices for edible Birds'-nests, i. 157
Rice cultural method, i. 97-8
in Sarawak —

Goldworkers' insurrection, ii. 259
Justice among, ii. 268
Traders, ii. 271, 280-1
Use of Bezoar stones, &c. , i. 155-6
Cholera in Borneo, ravages of, ii. 206
Cigarettes, ceremonial uses of, i. 74,
124, ii. 5, 32-3, 39, 58-9,
67, 88, 131, 298, 299

348 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

Civet cat, and congeners, Asiatic, i. 3
Hunted for food, i. 143
Indigenous, i. 7
Omens from, ii. 73, 186
Classes, Social, Kayan and Kenyah,

i. 68 et seq., ii. 196
Classification of Races, Hose's, ii. 319,

320
Claudetown, fort at, ii. 279 ^/ seq.

Peacemaking at, ii. 292 et seq.
Climate, i. 4-5

Cloth, Spinning, Dyeing, and Weaving,
i. 221 et seq.
Sea Dayak designs in, i. 243-4
Clothes, &c. , Funeral uses of, i. 176,

ii. 3 cfe w. , 50
Clothing {see also Coats), Male and Fe-
male, various tribes, i. 32,
43, 46-7, ii. 164, 190, 202
Mourning, i. 176, ii. 36-7
War, i. 59, 161-3
Coast population {see a/joSeaDayaks),
i. 8-9, ii. 311
Therapeutic magic of, ii. 122-3
Coats, Sea Dayaks, Male and Female,
i. 43 «. , 46, 47 ; shell
work on, i. 223
Used in War, i, 161, 163
Cockfight substituted for Slave-killing

at Chiefs' funerals, ii. 46
Cocoa-nut, Charm made from. Sea
Dayak, ii. 127
Severing of, and of Jars, ii. 49, n.i
Coffin - tombs, Bakong Malanaus,

ii. 81
Coffins, Kayan, ii. 32, 34

Klemantan, ii. 48, 49
Colic cure, Kayan, ii. 208
Conduct, Influence on, of Religious

beliefs, ii. 187, 204
Constellations, Klemantan names for,

ii. 139
Cooking utensils, i. 60, xgid:n.2
Coronation ceremony, Bruni, i. 20
Corpses, how protected from Toh,

ii. 33
Corsets, Brass, i, 46-7, 197, ii. 252
Cosmological and Geographical

Notions, ii. 213 et seq.
Cotton, Chinese accounts of, i. 11,

12
Spinning, Dyeing, and Weaving of,

i. 221 et seq.
Cotton-seed test of presence of Ghost,

ii- 39
Coucal, bird, in legendary origin of

Kayan Tatu, i. 247-8
Council of State, Sarawak, composition

of, ii. 267, 272

Courtship, see Marriage customs
Cousin, wide sense of term, i, 81
Cradles, Kayan, ii. 159; Punan, ii. 184
Cranial index, Kenyah {and see Ap-
pendix), i, 38
Measurements, Borneo races, i. 317
et seq.
Crawford cited on the early Dutch in

Borneo, ii. 309 «. i
Creation Myths, Kayan, ii. 7, 137-8
Cremation among Klemantans, South
Borneo, and Land Dayaks,
ii. 50, 230
Crime, see Homicide, and Incest
Crocodile-patterned Rice, in Malanau

Exorcism, ii. 131, 134
Crocodiles and congeners, i. 7
in Art, i. 244, ii. 78
Attitude to, of various tribes, ii. 4,
68, 70, 76-7, 84, 102,
189-90, 253
Fowls' eggs sacrificed to, ii. 67-8
Images of, ii. 83, 84, 87-9, 186
Malay hunting methods, i. 140-2
Relationship claimed with, by
Klemantans, ii. 81-2 ; by
Sea Dayaks, ii. 89
Rice culture, connected with, ii. 83,

88-9
in Tatu, i. 265
Crookshank, A. C. , ii. 308 n. 1
Crossbow {see also Bow), and Poisoned
Arrows, Karen, ii. 238
Toy, i. 46 <& «. 2
Cruickshank, J. B., ii. 308 n.x
Culture, effect on, of Invasions, ii. 231
Cupping, Kayan methods, ii. 209
Curses, Sebop, ii. 118-9 <£•«.!, 120
Custom, sanction of, Kayan, ii. 194-5

Daily Life, routine of, i. 116 et seq.
Dances, Harvest, i. 11 3-5

Head-suspension ceremonies, i. 177
Kayan, Birth, ii. 156-7
Dok, i. 1 13-4, ii. 78
Lads' and Girls', ii. 167
Kenyah, Hornbill, ii. 60
Malanau, Exorcism, ii. 132-3
Punan, ii. 193
Dart Poison, Medicinal uses of, Punan,

ii. 208 (b n. 2
Darts, Poisoned, i. 46, i6o-i ; making

of, i. 218-9
Datus, the, in Sarawak, ii. 266
Dayak, limitation of the term in

Sarawak, ii. 313 n.\
Dayaks, see Land Dayaks, and Sea

Dayaks
Dayong janoi ceremony, ii. 38-9

INDEX

349

Dayongs, or Soul - catchers, ii. 29 ;
functions of, ii. 115, 120
et seq. , 173
Punan, skill of, ii. 190
Dead, the, and Death {see also Corpses),
Kayan speculations on, ii.
206, 215
Death, Coming to Life after, Kayan and
Murut Stories of, ii. 42-3
Land of, see Afterworld
Death and Burial Customs, see also
under Chiefs
Bakong Malanaus, ii. 81
Clothing, &c. , for, i. 176, ii. 3<& «. , 50
Karen, ii. 239

Kayan, ii. 3, 32 et seq., 155, 240
Kenyah, ii. 48
Kleraantan, ii. 10, 48-9
Land Dayak, ii. 50
Punan, i. 36
Sea Dayak, ii. 10, 50
Sebop, ii. 118
Shan, ii. 240
Decoration of Shields, i. 163-5
Decorative Art, i. 224 ^/ seq.
Bibliography, i. 280
Explanation of Plates, i. 280-3
Karen, Sun design in Tatu, ii. 239
Kayan, i. 233-41
Punan, ii. 191
de Crespigny, Claude C. , ii. 308 «. i

Work of, among the Madangs, ii. 279
Deer, Asiatic, i. 3

Attitude to, of Kayans, ii. 72, jj, 157
of Kenyahs, ii. 71-2
of Klemantans, ii. 80
of Sea Dayaks, ii. 90
Hunted for food, i. 143, 144
Indigenous, i. 7
Omens from, i. 75, ii. 72
Deer-traps, i. 144, 145
Defence, see War
Deformation of the Head, Malanau

custom, i. 48-50
Deniker, on the Indonesians, ii. 227-8
Dent, Alfred, and the British North

Borneo Co. , i. 26
De Quatrefages, cited, ii. 312
Descriptions of Peoples, A. C. Haddon,

ii. 321 et seq.
Designs, Decorative, Kayan, i, 233-4
Diamonds, early mining for, i. 17
Dido, H.M.S. , at Borneo, ii. 257
Discus-knife, i. 11

Disease, see Cholera, Fever, Small-
t pox, Yaws

Exorcism of, Malanau, ii. 46
Kayan attitude to, ii. 206 et seq.
Disguise against the Toh, ii. 24-5

Dishes and Platters of Hardwood,

i. 59, 211
Distances, Kayan reckoning of, ii. 212
Divination, see also Magic, and Omens
by Areca palm seed, at Sea Dayak

Marriages, ii. 175
by Bali Flaki, Kenyah, ii. ^\ et seq.
by Birds, ii. 8, 9, 15, 51 et seq.
by Entrails, ii. 8, 9, 62 et seq., 68,

90, 173, 290-1, 298-9
Karen, ii. 239
Kayan, ii. 252
Kenyah, ii, 298-9
Private, ii. 56

Roman parallels to, see Notes at
foot of Chapter XV.
Madang, ii. 290-1
Divorce, Sea Dayak, 182-3
Dog, two-headed Bridge-guardian, in

After-life, ii. 45
Dog-pattern, in Decorations, i. 229,

234 et seq., ii. 71, 78-9
Dogs, attitude to, of Kayans, i. 249,
ii. 4 ; of Kenyahs, ii. 70-1,

lOI

Hunting with, i. 144
Doh Tenangan, wife of the Kayan high

god, ii. 6-7, 15, 74, 154
Dok, or Macaque monkey. Dances
imitating, i. 11 3-4, ii. 78
Kayan attitude to, ii. 77-8
Dolichocephaly, Indonesian, ii. 312-3
Dollar, in Sarawak, value of, ii. 305

Domestic animals, i. 53, 61, 116-7
Douglas, R. S. , cited, ii. 42 et alibi

Vocabularies published by, ii. 255 n. i
Dracczna leaves in Ritual, ii. 15, 70,

82, 114
Dragon's blood, source of, i. 154
Drawings, i. 232

Dreams, importance of, various tribes,
ii. 91 et seq., no, 11 1-2
in relation to —
Charms, ii. 125
Dead people (Kayan), ii. 215
Magic (Sebop), ii. \x^<kn.\
and Totemism in America, ii. 112
&n.x
Drowned men. Souls of, home of, ii. 40
Drums, various uses of, i. 61, ii. 32,

33, 54, 156, 166-7
Drunkenness and Disorder among
Muruts and Sea Dayaks,
ii. 195
Durian, fruit, i. 6, 117
Dusun-tribe —

Agriculture of, ii. 253
Plough used by, i, 97

350 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

Dusun-tribe — continued

in Hose's Classification, ii. 320
Locale of, i. 35
Origin of, ii. 253

Chinese strain in, i. 28
Shields of, i. 166
Tatu of, male, i. 265
Dutch Borneo, area, ii. 262, 308
Dutch early connection with, i. 22-3
Ethnological types in, ii. 313 et seq.
Government of, ii. 308-10 (fc«.i
Co-operation of, with Sarawak,
ii. 305, 309
Nieuwenhuis's expeditions in, ii. 311
Rivers draining, i. 2
Stone Axes in native houses in,

ii. II «.3
Tribes of, in Hose's Classification,
ii. 320
of the Interior, Ethnological
Studies on, ii. 309-10
Incomplete subjection of, ii. 309
Dutch East India Co. in Borneo, i. 23
Dutch rule in Borneo, history of,

i. 23, ii. 262 et seq.
Dwellings, see Houses
Dyeing of —

Basket ware, i. 213-4
Cloth, i. 221-2, 243-4
Dying, Calling back the, ii. 32, 85
Dyak, or Dayak {see also Land and
Sea Dayaks), generic name
for Pagan tribes, i. 30

Ear-adornment, various tribes, i. 10,
12, 45-6, 47-8, 148, 197, ii.
60, 166, 239
Ear-form, Haddon's observations on,
and how taken, ii. 322-3
Barawan, ii. 328
Kalabit, ii. 325
Kayan, ii. 338
Kenyah, ii. 337
Lerong, ii. 333
Long Pokun, ii. 331
Malang, ii. 329
Maloh, ii. 326
Milanau, ii. 334
Murut, ii. 325
Punan, ii. 335
Sea Dayak, ii. 340
Sebops, ii. 332
Earth - eating by Pregnant Kayan

Women, ii. 153
Earthenware Jars, native and Chinese,

i. 59
East India Company in Borneo, i. 23
East Indian Rights of the Dutch,
ii. 309

Edible Birds'-nests, see Birds'-nests

Roots, i, 6
Eggs, see Fowls and Eggs
Elephant, Asiatic (Indian), i. 3
Engkabong tree, Vegetable tallow

from, i. 155
English and Dutch rivalry in Borneo,

i. 22 et seq.
Entrails, Divination by, ii. 8, (),62etseq.,
68, 90, 173, 290-1, 298-9
Epidemics, Sanitary cordons against,

ii. 206, 207 cL- n. I
Eschatology, Kayan, ii. 40 et seq.

Sceptics, and discussion of, ii. 48
Ethnic affinities of Borneo tribes,

discussed, ii. 224 et seq.
Ethnological types in Borneo, ii. 311

et seq.
Ethnology {see also Appendix), ii. 223

et seq.
European Governments in Borneo,

history of, ii. 257 et seq.
Europeans in Borneo, estimated

numbers, i. 31
Everett, A. H., ii. 308^.1
Exorcisms, for Madness, ii. 31
Malanau, ii. 46, 129, 134-5
Punan, ii. 131
Expeditions —

Cambridge, to Sarawak, ii. 311
Dr. Nieuwenhuis, to Dutch Borneo,
ii. 311
Eyes, Pagan tribes in general, ii. 226,
227 n. I
Haddon's observations on, ii. 322
Barawan, ii. 328
Kayan, ii. 338, 339
Kenyah, ii. 337
Lerong, ii. 333
Long Pokun, ii. 331
Malang, ii. 329
Milanau, ii. 334
Murut, ii. 324-5
Punan, ii. 335, 336
Sea Dayak, ii. 340
Sebops, ii. 332

Fables, Animals in, ii. 90, 147 et seq.
Face-form, Haddon's observations on,
ii. 321

Barawan, ii. 327

Kalabit, ii. 324

Kayan, ii. 338, 339

Kenyah, ii. 337

Land Dayak, ii. 325

Lerong, ii. 332

Long Pokun, ii. 330

Malang, ii. 329

Maloh, ii. 326

INDEX

351

Face-form — continued
Milanau, ii. 334
Murut, ii. 324
Punan, ii. 335, 336
Sea Dayak, ii. 340
Sebop, ii. 331
Sibuyan, ii. 341
Facial aspect and form, Pagan tribes
in general, i. 37, ii. 226
Marking, to avert Toh, ii. 24, 25
Resemblance of Malays and Sea
Dayaks, ii. 250
Family Cultivation of Land, i. 99
Family, the, and Family Life, Kayan
and Kenyah, i. ']■>> et seq.,
ii. 183 ei seq.
Punan, ii. 185
Fat put into Mouth, significance of,
ii. 21, 118, iig et alibi
Snakes' and Pigs', in Kayan medicine,
ii. 207
Fear, Kayan god of, ii. 5, 6

of Toh of Heads, ii. 4, 20 et seq. , 22-3
Feasts and Festivals —
For Guests, i. 125
Harvest, i. 76, 104-5, m-S
Head-taking, ii. 20-2
Madang, ii. 292
Marriage, Punan, ii. 183-4
Naming, Kayan, ii. x^o et seq.
Feathers, Hornbill's, i. 162, 163, ii. 18,

59, 242
Fertility, of Rice and of Women,

i. Ill, 112
Fever, Quinine used for, by Kayans,

ii. 206
Figures, replacing Slaves in Kayan

Tombs, ii. 34, 105
Fines, Animal, &c,, substituted for
Human Sacrifice, ii. 106
for Homicide, ii. 200
Kayan, i. 65, ii. 195, 196
Kenyah, ii. 196

Sebop, for Black magic, ii. 119
Fire-arms, i. 46, i6i
Charm against, ii. 126
Sale of, regulation of , Sarawak, ii. 307
Fire and Frayed Stick in ritual, &c. ,

ii- 52, 54. 55. 59. 75. 79.

186, 242
and Smoke in Kayan rites, ii. 5, 6
from Stick - rubbing, Sea Dayak

Legend of, ii. 144
Fire-game, Kayan, ii, 164
Fire-god, Kayan, ii. 5, 6
Fire-making, Kayan method, in S. E.

Asia, ii. 242
Fire-Piston, Sea Dayak, i. 197-9, ii. 251

<fc«.3

Fire-places, Kayan, i. 51

First cousins, opinion on Marriage of,

i- 173-4
Fish, i. 7

Belira, Kenyah, story of, ii. 149
as Second Death, Kayan, ii. 41
Fish-traps, i. 137-9
Fishing methods, i. 135 et seq.., ii. 149
Flaki, hnguistic analogies of, ii. 256
Flesh, Human, ceremonial use, i, 175

<£,•«. 2, ii. 9 «.i
Fletcher, Miss A. C. , cited onToieimsva,

ii. 112 «. 1
Flood, Sea Dayak legend of, ii. 144
Floors, i. 207-8

Food, Karen, sole exception, ii. 239
Kenyah, restrictions on, ii. 128-9
Punan, ii. 182
Forbidden Act, Kayan words for,

ii. i4c&?/. I
Forests, i. 5-6

Forging, Kayan process, i. 195
Fowls, attitude to, of —
Kayans, ii. 4, 77
Klemantans, ii. 80
Sea Dayaks, ii. 90
Blood of, in Ritual, ii. 65-7, 239
Ceremonial use of, &c. , ii, 8, 23,

67-8
Eggs, sacrifice of, ii. 8, 25, 67-8
Feather of, symbolic sacrifice of,

ii. 25
Live, at Sea Dayak weddings,

ii- 175
Forts, British (early) in Sarawak,

ii. 258
Frames of Houses, 205 et seq.
Frayed Sticks or Poles {see also Fire

and), ceremonial uses,

ii. 52-5, 69
Frazer, J. G, , cited on Totemism,

ii. 112
Fretwork, designs and applications,

i. 234, 240
Friendship, Names used in, i. 81-2
Frog, initiator of Head - hunting,

ii. 138-9
Fruits, Jungle, i. 6, 153-4 ; collecting,

i. 117-8

Galleries, Equipment and Decoration

of, i. 52-3
Gangetic peoples in Indo - Malaya,

Logan on, ii. 229 n. i
Games of Kayan boys, ii. 163, 164
Gavial, long-snouted, i. 7
Geography, Kayan skill in, ii. 44,

213
Geological structure and history, i. 1-3

352 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

Ghosts, belief in, of Kayans, ii. 3, 4,

35, 37
Enquiring of, as to division of
Property, ii. ^^-g&nn.i, 2
Gibbon, Asiatic, i. 4

in Art, i. 242, ii. 73, iii
as Ngaro7ig, ii. 92-3
Ginger plant, Medicinal uses of, ii. 207
Girls, Kayan, Dances of, ii. 167
Decorations of, at Puberty, ii. 166
Dress of, ii. 164
Jew's harp played by, i. 74
Gods, the, ii. 5 et seq. ; see also under
Names
Anthropomorphic, Kayan attitude

to, ii. 4
Communications between, and Men,
see also Bali Flaki, Divina-
tion, Omens, &c.
Gods to men, ii. 9, 15, 57
Men to gods, ii. 5, 6, 7, 9, 10,
55, 61, 65, 67, 75, 79-80,
103, 107, 298 et alibi
Dwelling-places of, Kayan ideas on,

ii. 5
Kayan, ii. 5 etseq.
Minor, ii. 7, 10
Kenyah, ii. 13 ^/ seq.
High god, ii. 13
Minor gods, ii. 13
Gold in Borneo, i. 17, 28-9, ii. 306
Gongs, ceremonial uses of, &c. , i. 20,
6o-i, 173, ii. 30, 33, 35 c£r
«. I, 39, 106, 129, 172-3, 302
Government, European, in Borneo,
history of, ii. 257 et seq. ,
308-10 (fen. I
Pre-European, ii. 275
Grandfathers, name for, i. 80, ii. 47
Grasshoppers, Omens from, Punan,

ii. 186
Grey, Sir G. , cited, ii. 109-10
Ground pigeon, traps for, Kenyah, &c.,

i. 149
Guardians of the Bridge in the After-
world, ii. 41, 44, 45
Guests, Accommodation for, i. 52
Entertainment of, i. 123 ^/ seq.
Guitars, i. 121
Guns {see also Fire-arms), Swivel,

Kayan, i. 61
Gusi vases, i. 62

Gutta-percha, i. 6, varieties of, i. 150,
151

H ADDON, A. C., ii. II n.3; Physical
Characters of the Races and
Peoplesof Borneo, ii. 311-41

Hades, see Afterworld

Hair, general character of, i. 37, ii. 226 ;
exceptions, ii. 312
Haddon's observations on, ii. 323
Barawan, ii. 328
Kalabit, ii. 325
Kayan, ii. 338, 339
Kenyah, i. 38, ii. 337
Land Dayak, ii. 325
Lerong, ii. 333
Long Pokun, ii. 331
Malang, ii. 330
Maloh, ii. 326-7
Milanau, ii. 334
Murut, ii. 325
Punan, ii. 336
Sea Dayak, ii. 340
Sebop, ii. 332
Ulu Ayar Dayaks, ii. 326
Cut off, as Votive sacrifice, ii. 9
Disposal of, ii. 123
in Klemantan Mourning, ii. 38 n. i
Decorative uses of, i. 163, ii. 24it&«. i
Grown in Kayan Mourning, ii. 38
Hair-dressing —
P'emale, i. 47
Male, i, 41
Hair-extraction, Karen, ii. 338 ; Ken-
yah, &c. , i. 38, 74, 176
Hairpins, Murut, i. 44
Hamy, Dr. E. T. , and others, cited
on the Indonesian and
Proto-Malayan races of the
Malay Archipelago, ii. 312
Handicrafts, i. 193 et seq.
Bark cloth, i. 220
Basket work, i. 214-5
Blow-pipes, i. 215-9
Hats, i. 212-4
Pottery, i. 219-20
Smith's gear, i. 195-8
Weaving and dyeing, i. 221-3
Wood working, i. 199-21 x
Hardwood dishes, &c., i. 59, 2x1
Harmonica, Punan, ii. X92
Harvest, Festivities at, and Social im-
portance of, i. 76, X04-5,
XXI-5, ii. 38, X70-X
Harvest gods, Kayan, ii. 5, 6
Hats, male, i. 43, female, 47

Making of, i. 2x4-5

Hawk (see also Bali Flaki, and Laki

Neho), Divination by,i. 169,

ii. 14, i^et seq.,74-S, 118-9

Head {see also Cranial), Deformation

of, i. 48-50
Headache cures, Kayan, 209
Head -form, Haddon's observations
on, ii. 317
Barawan, ii. 327

INDEX

353

Head-form — continued

Kalabit, ii. 324

Kayan, ii. 338, 339

Kenyah, ii. 337

Land Dayak, ii. 325

Lerong, ii. 332

Long Pokun, ii. 330

Malang, ii, 329

Maloh, ii. 253, 326

Milanau, ii. 333

Murut, ii. 324

Punan, i. 179, ii. 335, 336

Sea Dayak, ii. 339

Sebop, ii. 331

Sibuyan, ii. 341

Ulu Ayar Dayak, ii. 326
Head-hunting, and taking, Cranial in-
vestigation complicated by,
ii. 317

Festivals connected with, ii. 20-2

Infrequency of, at present, ii. 304

Karen, ii. 238

Kayan, object of, i. 159, ii. 41, 47,
241 &n.x

Origin and history of custom, i. 187
et seq.
Legend of (Sebop), ii. 138-9

Sea Dayak, i. 150, 185-7, "• 249,

293
Suppression of, Sarawak, ii. 306
versus Totemism, ii, 98
Headmen, see Chiefs and Penghulus
Heads, Dried —

Begged or borrowed, ii. 22, 23, 169
Ceremonial uses of, i. 114, ii. 38,

160, 169
Hung up —

Risk in Touching, ii. 14 «. i, 21-2
Spirits attached to, ii. 4, 20 ^/ seq.
Leaves put about, ii. 113
Not merely Trophies, ii. 22
Preparation of, 174-8
Superfluous, disposal of, ii. 22
Suspension of, i. ^2&n.x, 176-8
Height {see also Stature), average —
Kenyah, i. 38
Murut, i. 39

Relative, of Borneo races, 316
Heroes, Graves of, ii. 10

Honoured by Sea Dayaks, ii. 26
Hiantza, King of Puni (Bruni), em-
bassy of, to China, i. 13, 14
Hiawang, King of Puni, and the

Chinese, i, 17
High god, the —
Kayan, ii. 5 et seq.

Wife of, see Doh Teiiangan
Kenyah, ii. 6, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18
Klemantan, ii. 6

Hill Karens, Aspect of, ii. 237

Hill zone, i. 3

Hills, Toh of, ii. 25

Hindu influence on Sea Dayak beliefs,
ii. 26

Hindu-Javanese (Buddhist) rule and
influence in Bruni, i. 11, 12,
17, 18, 20, ii. 230cL'«. I,

252-3
History —

under Asiatic rulers, i. 8-27
under British, Dutch, &c., ii. 257
et seq. , 308 et seq.
Hoes, mode of using, i. 104
Homicide, Kayan views on, ii. 199-200,

201
Honey, collection and uses of, i. 154
Hook-pattern, i. 229, 234, 240, 242
Hooks for Charm-bundles, ii. 126
Horn, carved, Sword Handles, &c.,
of, Kayan, i. 224, 225,
238-40, ii. i37<fc«. I
Hornbill motif in Tatu, i. 256-7, 263
Hornbills, Dances imitating, i. 11 3-4,
ii. 78
Effigy of, ii. 298, 299
Feathers of, ii. 242
Tok Bulu and, ii. i8
in War gear, i. 162, 163, ii. 59
Sacred to Sea Dayaks, ii. 88
Three species of. Omens from,
ii. 59-60
Hose, Dr. C, Classification by, of
Peoples of Sarawak, ii. 319,
320
Official journeys of, ii. 281
Presentation of Skulls by, to Cam-
bridge University, ii. 317
House-building, Animal sacrifice at,
ii. 105-6 c&«. I
Extraordinary, ii. 289
Kayan, i. 203 et seq.
Kenyah, Divination before, ii. 56
House-god, Kenyah, ii. 13, 14
Household Implements, Kayan, i. 53

Property, i. 52 et seq.
Households, Kayan, Bonds uniting,

i. 84-5
Houses —

Change in Material of, ii. 206 n. 2
Defensive methods, i. 160, 178-9
Karen, ii. 238
Kayan, i. c^oetseq., 64, 204

New, Leaves used at, ii. 113
Kenyah, 204

Klemantan, i. 54, 204, 210
Madang, ii. 289
Punan, i. 210, ii. 182 <£•«.!
Sea Dayak, i. 54, ii. 250-1

354 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

Human figure, and details, in Kayan

Decorative Art, i. 234 etseq.

Flesh, ceremonial use, i. 175 ft* «. 2,

ii. 9 <fc «. I
Hair, see Hair

Relationship claimed with Animals, see
Bear-Cat, Crocodile, Deer,
&c.
Soul, Two kinds of, Karen ideas on,

ii. 239
Sacrifice, propitiatory, of the Jing-
kangs, ii. 9 «. i
Rites once including, ii. 46, 104
et seq.
Hunter Nomad tribes, ii. 177 et seq.
Hunting, i. 117, 161

Objects, and methods, i. 143 et seq.
Punan, i. 144-5, '^- 99> 191*2
Traps, i. 145-9
Huts, temporary, i. 134

Iban, origin of name, i. 32

Group, in Hose's Classification, ii. 320
I bans, see Sea Dayaks
Idayans, legends of, on Chinese colony,

i. 17
Illness, Kayan theory of, and treat-
ment (see also Exorcism),

ii. 2% et seq.
Recovery from, Kayan rites at, ii. 7, 8
Images (not precisely Idols), various

tribes, ii. 7, 8, 13, 14 <£.•«. i,

19. 53. 83. 84, 117-8, 161
Impotence, cures, &c. , of, ii. 207-8

<0 n. I
Incense, in Malanau Exorcism, ii. 131
Incest, views on, i. 73, 83, ii. 196,

197 tfc «. I, 198-9
Indo- Malaya, Gangetic peoples in,

Logan on, ii. 229<j&«. i
Indonesian, meaning and application

of term, ii. 227-8, 312 etseq.
Infancy, Kayan, ii. 156-60
Infants, Feeding of, Kayan, ii. 159 ;

Punan, ii. 185
Head-deformation of, Malanau tribe,

i. 48-50
Touching of, objected to, ii. 24
Initiation, see Boys
Injuries, Magic for, various Tribes,

ii. 123
Insects, i. 7, 54
Instruments for the determination of

Seasons, i. 106-9
Intercession, invoked by Kayans,

ii. 10, II
Inter-class Clansmen, origin, i. 71

Marriages, i. 70-2
Interior, tribes of, ii. 311

Intestines, Divination by, see Divina-
tion, Liver, ttr.
Invasions, Effects of, on Cultiu-e,

ii. 231
Ipoh tree. Dart-poison from, i. 218,

ii. 208 <£• n. 2
Iron, Currency of, former, of Bruni,
i. 193 «.i
given at Kayan births, ii. 156
Implements, Kayan, i. 197
Iron-wood {Bilian), i. 6

Bars, as Weapons, i. 161, 181
Dishes of, i. 59, 211
Roofing, i. 50
Iron-working, Kayan, i. 193-7
Irrigation, Dusun, ii, 253 ; Kalabit,

i. 97-8
Isang, see Silat

Islands surrounding Borneo, influx of
Peoples from, ii. 231

Jack fruit, i. 6

/agang- wood, for Blow-pipes, i. 215

Jar-burial, Klemantan and Murut,

ii. 48, 49, 50
Jaring, or Deer-trap, i. 144, 145
Jars {see also Vases), and Cocoanuts,

severing of, ii. 49<fc«. i,

302
Chinese, and Native, i. 59
Java, Camphor tribute to, from Puni,

Indonesian element in, ii. 312
Javanese influence on Sea Dayak

beliefs, ii. 26
Supremacy, i. 14-7
Javelins, i. 160-1
Jaw bones of Pigs in Purification and

other Ceremonies, ii. 37, 65
Jerat, trap for Small Animals, i. 146-8
Jevons, cited on Totemism, ii. 97,

103
Jew's harp, i. 74, 121
Jingkang, use of Human Flesh, i. 175

«.2, ii. 9 «.i
Jolo (Sulu Island), Sultan of, i. 9
Johore, conversion at, of Alak ber

Tata, i. igd;n.i
Journeys, Divination before, Kenyah,

ii. 52-5, 64, 66
Official, described, ii. 278 et seq.
Judicial duties of Kayan chiefs, i. 65
Juman, Kayan Chief, ii. 283, 284,

285, 287
Jungle, Life in, i. 143

Paths and tree-bridges, i. 131
Products, i. 40, 117-8, 149 et seq.,

ii. 178
Jungle fever, Kayan remedy, ii. 208

INDEX

355

Kadayans, Magic of, ii. 115, 123-4

Non-tatuing, i. 246

Origin ascribed to, i, 21

Sacrificial periods of, i. 11
Kahayan river races, Tatu designs of,

i. 269
Kakhyens, Caucasic element in,

ii. 229 «. I
Kalabits, Baskets of, i. 214

Buffaloes sacrificed by, ii. 107

Courtship, ii. 176, 247

Decorative Arts of, i. 224, 233

Ears, Eyes, and Noses of, ii. 324-5

Expedition against, ii. 281

Face-form, &c., ii. 324-5

Hair, ii. 325

Head-form, ii. 324

in Hose's Classification, ii. 320

Locale of, i. 35

Rice cultural methods, i. 97-8

Skin colour, ii. 325

Stature, ii. 325

Tatu, i. 266
Kalang-asu, see Dog Pattern
Kanowits, Baskets and Basket Work

of, i. 2Z4, 224
Kapuas river Basin, I bans of, ii. 249

Length of, ii. 308

Trend of, i. 2
Karens, affinities and analogies of,
w^ith Kayans, &c. , ii. 235
et seg. , 256

Agriculture of, ii. 238

Beliefs, ii. 238, 256

Birth customs, ii. 239

Blood of Fowl, in Rites of, ii. 239

Characteristics of, ii. 239

Cross-bow and Poisoned Arrows of,
ii. 238

Death and Burial Customs of, ii. 239

Ear-lobe distention of, ii. 238

Ethnic affinities of, ii. 229 & n. , 235
et seq. , 256

Hair-extraction by, ii. 238

Houses of, ii. 238

Locale of, ii. 236

Marriage customs of, ii. 239

Prayers of, ii. 238

Social Organisation of, ii. 237 et seq.

Soul-catching among, ii. 238-9

Tatu of, ii. 239

Three chief tribes of, ii. 237
Kayans, i. 30

Ages, difficulty of ascertaining,
ii. 175-6

Altars, ii. 7, 15, 16, 184

Animal Cults of, ii. 74 et seq.

Animals carved on Beam-ends by,
ii. 78

Kayans — contin ued

Argument, methods of, ii. 215-6
Arithmetic of, ii. 209-11, 292
Arrival in Borneo, tradition of,

i. 15 &n.x, 16
Arts, i. 224

Bamboo decorations, i. 229
Baskets and Basket Work, i. 56-9,

178, 211-4
Decorative Designs and their ap-

pHcation, i. 233-41
Dog pattern in, i. 248, 249, ii. 78-9
Public character of, i. 241
Steel-chasing, i. 196, 224
Sword blades and handles, making,
i. 194, 195-6, and decora-
tion, i. 234, 238, 240
Attitude to Cattle, ii. tj

to Crocodile, i. 14 1-2, ii. 76-7
to Deer, ii. 72, jj, 157
to Dok, ii. 77-8
to Monkey, ii. jj
to Orang-utan, ii. 77
to Pig, ii. 'j'j
to Tiger, ii. 'jj
Augurs, note on, i. 170 n.
of Batang Kayan, difficulties with,

ii. 282
Birth customs, ii. 114, x^^ et seq.
Blood - brotherhood. Human and

Animal, ii. 76-7, 107-8
Blow-pipes, ii. 240

Making, of, i. 215-9
Boats, i. 55-6, 166, 199, ii. 2, ^etseq.
War-boats, i. 166-7

Construction, i. 199 et seq.,
202-3
Boys and Youths, Mutilation practised

by, ii. 170
Bride gifts, ii. 171 et seq.
Characteristics, i. 33, 129, ii. 204-6,

216, 217-8, 233, 283
Charms, ii. 124 et seq.
Chiefs, Ambitions of, ii. 275

Duties and position of, i. 64 et seq.
on Laki Neho, ii. 74-5
Tombs of, ii. 35-6
Childhood, ii. 157 et seq.
Children, Training of, ii. 160-3
Clothing, Women's, ii. 202
Coffins, ii. 32, 34
Conduct, how conditioned, ii. 194-5,

204
Courtship, ii. 170-2
Creation myths, ii. 7, 137-8
Culture, imparted to Kenyahs and
Klemantans, ii. 234, 243
et seq.
Dances, ii. 78, 156-7, 167-8

356 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

Kayans — continued

Death as viewed by, ii. 40 et seq.,

206
Coming to life after, stories of,

ii. 42-3
Death and Burial Customs, ii. 3,

32 et seq. , 240
Defeat of, by Sarawak troops,

ii. 260-1
Deified Ancestors, as minor gods of,

ii. 10-12
Distribution of, i. 33, 63-4
Divination of {see also Omens,

infra), ii. 252
Domestic animals of, i. 53, 61
Drums of, i, 61
Earrings, female, i. 47-8
Ears, ii. 338

Entertainment of guests, i. 123-9
Estimated number of, i. 31
Ethnic affinities of, ii. 235 et seq,,

241 et seq., 256
Eyes, ii. 338, 339
Face-form, ii. 338, 339
Family and relationships, i. 73 et

seq.
Adoption of Children, i. 77-9
Divorce, i, 76-7
Marriage customs, i. 70-4

Monogamy the rule, i. 73
Slaves, position and treatment in,

i. 70-2
Fear of the Toh, ii. 4
Feast {see Harvest), ii. 160 et seq.
Fighting qualities. Weapons, and

methods, i. 158-63
Fines, ii. 195
Fires, in Ritual, ii. 75
Fish-hooks, i. 137
Founder of the race, ii. lo-ii, 138
Gods, ii. 4, 5 et seq.
Gongs, i. 60-1
Group, in Hose's Classification,

ii. 320
Anthropological Measurements,

ii. 338
Gutta, collection and preparation of,

i. 151
Hair, ii. 338, 339
Head-form, ii. 338, 339
Head-taking, i. 173

and Hanging, i. 177
High God, ii. 5, 7
Wife of, ii. 6, 7
Homicide, views on, ii. 199-200,

201
Households (see also Family, supra),

bonds uniting, i. 84-5
Houses, i. 50-4, 55, ii. 2, 3, 113

Kayans — continued

Human flesh, as used by, i. 175 n.,

ii. 105
in Baram district at annexation,

ii. 279
Infancy, ii. 156-7, 158-60
Initiation of Boys, ii. 168, 169
Instruments, art, and customs of,

found in S.E. Asia, ii. 242
Invasion by, ii. 231 et seq.
Iron- working by, i. 193-7
Language, i. 33, 63

Wide use of, i. 42, ii. 245
Leaves in cults of, ii. 20 et alibi
Madmen caged by, ii. 31, 46«. i
Considered as possessed, ii. 28,

46, 129
Magic, views on, ii. 115

Therapeutic, ii. 28 et seq. ti-zoet seq.
Map-making, ii. 213
Marriage customs, i. 64, 70-2, 74-6,

170-2
Chiefs', i. 71, 74-6, ii. 171 et seq.
Massage, ii. 209
Mats and Mat-making, i. 56, 59

Communal, story about, ii. 217
Measurements used by, ii. 212
Mechanical Causation understood

by, ii. 2-4
Migrations, reasons for, i. 55
Mode of taking Solar Altitude,

i. 108-9
Mourning, ii. 37-8
Naming among, ii. 12 «. i
Noses of, ii. 338, 339
Numerals, ii. 209-10
Omen birds of, ii. 74-5
Origin of, ii. 234, 255-6
Ornaments, male, 44-5
Peaceable under Sarawak rule,

i. 183
Penghulus of, ii. 274 et alibi
Prisoners of, i. 173

Alleged Torture of, i. 190-2
Property, personal, in and on

Tombs, ii. 50
Religious beliefs, Rites, &€. {see also

Afterworld and Gods,

supra), ii. i, 3, 4 et sqq.,

47, 48, 113, 255
Eschatological, ii. 40 et seq. , 48

Ghosts in, ii. 3
Soul in, ii. 3-4

Reincarnation of, ii. 47-8
Soul-catcher, or Dayong, ii. 3, 29

et seq.
Soul-conducting gods, ii. 41
Spiritual beings in, ii. i et seq.
Tohs, ii. \^ et seq.

INDEX

357

Kayans — continued

Rubber collecting, i. 151

Sayings of, ii. 165

Shields of, i. 163

Sickness, treatment of, see Magic,

Therapeutic, supra
Skin colour, i. 38, ii. 338, 339
Social organisation, i. 63 et seq. ,
11-12, 194 et seq.

Classes in, i. 69-72, ii. 196
Intermarriage of, i. 71-2
Story-teUing, ii. 218-9
Stature, ii. 339
Sub-tribes, i. 63 <&«.!, 64
Suicide, rare among, ii. 40 n. i
Surgery, ii. 28
Swivel guns, i. 61
Tabus, Pre-Natal and Natal, i. 252,

ii- 153-7
Tatu among, i. 246 et seq.
in relation to the After Life,

ii. 47 n.\
Localities for, and significance of,

i. 248 et seq. , ii. 240
Origin, legend of, i. 247-8
Therapeutics, see under Magic,

supra
Tobacco cultivation and Smoking,

i. 54. 60
Tombs, ii. 35-6

Contents of, ii. 105
Toy Bow of, ii. 238 n.x, 240
Trances of, belief based on, ii. 42
Twins, customs as to, ii. 156
Villages, i. 54, 64, ii. 283, 284
War-dance, ii. 167-8
War-god, ii. 5, 6
War tactics, i, 180 et seq.
Wrestling of, ii. 164
Women, bead-experts, i. 226
Tatu of, i, 251 et seq.
Tabus on, i. 252
Kayo dance, i, 114

Keane, A. H., on Caucasic type in
Burma, &c. , ii. 229 n.\
on the Indonesians, ii. 228, 312
Kelaka district, Sarawak, ii. 269
Keluri, i. 114, 121, 177
Kenyahs, i. 30

Arithmetic of, ii, 292
Arts, i. 224, 241-2

Bamboo decorations, i. 229
Dog pattern in, ii, 78-9
Paintings, i. 231
Attitude of, to certain Animals,

ii. 68, 70, 71, 72-3, T]
Bali Flaki as regarded by, ii. 57-8
of Baram district at annexation,
ii. 279

K enyahs — con tin ued

Belief as to Animal reasoning, ii. loi
Blood - brotherhood ceremonies,

ii. 107-8
Blow-pipe making, i. 215-9
Boys, Crocodile-propitiation by, ii. 60
Caps and head-bands of, i. 215
Characteristics, i. 34, 129, 283,

ii. 17, 204-6, 222
Chiefs, see Tama Aping Nipa,

Tama Aping Kuleh, Tama

Bulan, Tama Kuling
Ambitions of, ii. 275
Funerals of, ii. 65
Conduct among, ii. 195 et seq.
Culture, source of, ii. 234, 243 et seq.
Dances, ii. 60

Death and Burial Customs, ii. 48
Deer-hunting methods, i. 144
Distribution, i. 33
Divination of, by Birds, &c. {see

also Bali Flaki), ii. 51 e/

seq. , 56, 68, 298-9
Private, ii. 56
Roman parallels to, see notes at

foot of Chapter XV.
Draccena leaves in Ritual of, ii. 70
Drums, uses of, ii. 54 et alibi
Ears of, ii. 337

Entertainment of Guests, i. 123-9
Estimated number of, i. 31
Ethnology of, ii, 313
Eyes of, ii. 337
Fable, of Mouse- Deer, and Tortoise,

ii. 147 et seq.
Face-form, ii. 337
Family, see Family under Kayan
Fish-hook, i, 137
Fishing customs, ii. 149
Founder of the Race, ii. 10, 11, 138
Frayed Stick, in Ritual of, ii. 52-5
Gods, beliefs and rites, ii, 13 et seq.
High god, ii. 13

Development of, belief in,

ii. x6 et seq.
Group, in Hose's Classification,

ii. 320
Anthropological measurements,

ii. 336 et seq.
Hair, ii. 337
Head-form, ii. 337
Hornbill effigy of, ii. 298-9
Houses, i. 204

Animals, carved on Beams of,

ii. 73
Galleries of. Heads, Stone Axes,
&c., in, ii. XI n. 2,
Hunting and Trapping by, i. 149,
ii. 65

;58 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

Kenyahs — contin ued

Journeys, Divination before, ii. 52-5
Languages or dialects, i. 34, ii. 254-5

<t n. I
Life after Death idea, ii. 43 et seq.
Madness beliefs, ii. 71
Marriage customs, ii. 175
Masks used by, ii. 287
Mode of taking Solar altitude,

i. 106-8
Naming among, ii. 12 «. i
Noses, i. 37-8, ii. 337
Omens consulted by {see also Divina-
tion, supra), ii. 51, 57-8,72

etseq., 285
Origin, ii. 244
Ornaments, i. 10, 12, ctj(?^45

Earrings, i. 48
Peculiarities differentiating, ii. 245
Penghulus of, ii. 274
Physique, i. 33-4
Property, personal, in, andonTombs,

ii. 50
Restrictions on Food, animals, &c. ,

ii. 128-9
Rice-winnowing, i. 119-20
Shields, i. 165

Decoration of, i. 188-9
Skin colour, i. 34, 38, ii. 337
Social organisation, i. 67-8, ii. 194

et seq.
Stature, ii. 338
Story of Belira Fish, ii. 149
Sub-tribes, i. 67 & n. i
Tatu among, i. 246-7, ii. 71

Shelford on, i. 261-2
Villages, i. 54, ii. 283, 286
War, offensive. Divination before,

ii. 55
War-coats, ii. 72-3
Warfare, i. 184-5
Women, of the interior, ii. 289-90
Keppel, Captain Sir Harry, and the

Bruni pirates, ii. 257
Kerayans, locale of, i. 35
Kieng, the Woodpecker, Omen-bird,

ii- 59
Kilong, Fish Trap, i. 138
Kina Balangan (river), meaning, i. 17
Kina Balu, meaning, i. 17
Kinabalu, Mount, elevation, &c. , i. i
Kindred, names for, i. 79 et seq., 85

et seq. , et alibi
Kinship, Forbidden Degrees of, Kayan,

i. 73-4, Sea Dayak, i. 83
Kites, Kayan, ii. 163
Klemantans or Kalamantans, i. 30
Adoption ceremony of, i. 78
Animistic Beliefs, ii. 79 et seq.

Klemantans — continued
Arithmetic of, ii. 211
Art and designs of, i. 241-2
Painting, i. 231
Wood-carving, i. 224, ii. 19
Articles hung on Tombs, spoilt by,

ii. 36 n.2
Astronomical lore and myths,

ii. 139, 2i4<fc«.
Attitude to various Animals, ii. 80-1
Beads, use of, i. 228
Beliefs-
Reincarnation in Animal forms,

ii. 8i
Relationship claimed by, with

Crocodiles, ii. 81 etseq.
Shape-shifting, ii. 81-2
Canoes, i. 203

Caps and Head bands of, i. 215
Characteristics, i. 34-5, 129, ii. 195,

218
Coffins, ii. 48, 49
Cremation among, in the South,

ii. 50
Cult of Deceased Chiefs, ii. 10
Culture, source of, ii. 234, 243 et

seq., 247-8
Death and Burial customs, ii. 10,

48, 49. 50
Distribution, i. 34-5
Earrings, female, i. 48
Entertainment of guests, i. 123-9
Estimated number, i. 31
Exorcism, rites of, ii. 129 et seq.
Fires, ritual of, ii. 79
Founder of tne race, ii. 10, 11, 138
Gods, images, rites, &c. , ii. 19
Land of the Dead, ii. 42-3
Supreme Being of, and substitutes,
ii. 79
Group, Hose's Classification, ii. 320
Anthropological measurements,

ii- 325-7
Head-suspension by, i. 177, 178
Houses, i. 54, 204, 210
Hunters, i. 34, 144
Jar-burial among, ii. 48, 49
Language, i. 34, ii. 254-5 <fe«.i
Love charms, ii. 127
Magic, ii. 115, 123-4
Marriage customs, ii. 175
Mode of determining time for Sowing,

i. 109
Mourning, ii. 38 «. i
Names for young children, i. 79-80
Noses, i. 39
Paddles, i. 203

Peculiarities differentiating, ii. 245
Penghulus of, ii. 274

INDEX

359

Klemantans — continued

Physique of, i. 134, 139, ii, 237

Pigeon trap, ii. 149

Property, personal at Tombs, ii. 50

Pure type of Indonesian, ii. 237

Raids, i. 182

Religion, see Beliefs, Gods, 6cc.

Shields, i. 165

Slave- killing at Chiefs' funerals by,

last recorded case, ii. 46
Slave-torture by, i. 19 1-2
Social organisation, ii. 1 95
Story of Stupid Boy, ii. 149 et seq.
Sub- tribes, ii. 314

Ethnic affinities of, ii. 245-6
Mats made by, i. 214
Tatu of, i. 247
Tapang tree, beliefs on, ii. 114
Tatu among, i. 246-7, 26T,26^etseg.
Term, explanation, i. 42 n.
Tombs, ii. 48-9, 50
Use of Human flesh, i. 175 n.z
Villages, accepting peace with Sara-
wak, ii. 261
War-canoes, Crocodile prows of,

ii. 83
Weapon, i. 34

Women, Ear discs and Ear plugs of,
i. 148
Klieng, demi - god of Sea - Dayaks,
ii. 85, 86
Animal shapes of, ii. 89
Klings, Coastal settlements of, i. 29
Early visits to Borneo, i, 9
Estimated number, i. 31
Knots, decorative, i. 231
Kobong, West Australian parallel to

Ngarong, ii. 109-10
Kohlbriigge, J. H. F., cited on Ethno-
logy of Borneo, ii. 312
et seq.
Kotei, Dutch protection accepted by,

ii. 263
Kotei river, trend of, i. 2
Kublai Khan, expedition of, against

Java, i. 16
Kuching, rainfall and temperature at,

i- 4-5
Residents at, ii. 268-9

Labuan, Kadayans of, i. 21
Laconism, Kayan, ii. 219
Ladders, Kayan, i. 53
Lafaang (Orion), Long Kiput story of,

ii. 139 et seq.
Lakekut dance, i. 114
Lakes and rivers, Kayan god of, ii. 5
Laki, use of title for men, and gods,

ii. 6, 10, 13, 47

Laki Avit, Chief, influence of, ii. 275

Statesmanlike qualities of, ii. 206
Laki Ivong, invocation of, i. 113
Laki Jup Urip, functions of, ii. 5, 41
Laki Lah, Kayan chief, ii. 284-5, 286,

287
Laki Neho, i. 169

Functions of, ii. 74-5

Iban analogies, ii. 85-6

Laki Pesong, god of children, in Kayan

Naming of ceremonies, ii. 161

Laki Tenangan, high god of the

Kayans, n.c^etseg., 74-5,255

Evolution of, as high god, ii. 12, 16
et seq.

Wife of, see Doh Tenangan
Lali {see Malan, and Tabu), defined,

ii. 14 n. I
Lampit {sleeping mat), i. 213
Land for Agriculture, preparation of,

i. 97 et seq.
Land Dayaks, Death and Burial
customs of, ii. 230

Ethnic affinities of, ii. 252-3

Face- form, ii. 325

Hair, ii. 325

Hat-making by, i. 215

Head-form, ii. 325

Hindu- Javanese blend in, i. 28

in Hose's Classification, ii. 320

Non-tatuing of, i. 245

Shields, i. 166

Skin colour, &c., ii. 325

Stature, ii. 326
Land of the Dead, see also Afterworld

Kayan, ii. 40 et seq.

Kenyah, ii. 43

Klemantan, ii. 42-3

Madang, map of, ii. 44-5

Malanau, ii. 45-6

Punan, ii. 44-5
Land-tortoise, in Sea Dayak Fables,

ii. 90
Languages in relation to Ethnology of
Borneo, ii. 253 et seq.

Kayan, i. 33, ii. 245, 254(fc«.i

Kenyah, i. 34, ii. 254 &n.i.

Klemantan, i. 34, ii. '2^\&n.T.

Maloh, ii. 253

Murut, ii. 254 6cn.x

Punan, i. 36-7, ii. 254 Asn.s.

Sea Dayak, i. 33, ii. 250, 253
Lansat fruit, i. 6, 117
Lanuns, origin of, ii. 253
Lashing, decorative, of Rattan, &c. ,

i. 230-1
Lata river, ii. 287
Law, in Sarawak, ii. 268-9
Lawas District, ii. 262, 269

2 A

36o PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

Leaves, Ritual and other uses of, various

tribes, ii. 8, 15, 20, 31, 38,

70, 82, 113-4, 162, 169,

182, 251

Left - handed men as Ambush men,

i. 171
'Legends, ii. 136 ^/ seq.
Legitimacy, Kayan, ii. 171
Legs, Kayan, i. 38
Kenyah, i. 38
Murut, i. 39
Lelah chief. Crocodile-immune, ii. 83
Letnawa rite, Kenyah, ii. 129
Lemurs, Asiatic, i. 4
Length, Kayan standards of, ii. 212
Lepu Agas, curious custom observed

by, ii. 287-8
Lepu Asings, locale of, i. 35
Lepu Tau, or Uma Tow, Women,

Tatu of, i. 262
Lerong - Kenyah Blood feud, ii. 293

et siq.
Lerongs, Ears, ii. 333
Eyes, ii. 333
Face-form, ii. 332
Hair, ii. 333
Head-form, ii. 332
Nose, ii. 332
Skin, ii. 333
Stature, ii. 333
Libuns, locale of, i. 35
Life after Death, see After world, and

Land of the Dead
Life, gods of, Kayan, ii. 5, 6

Kenyah, ii, 4
Limb measurements {see also Legs),
Borneo races, ii. 316-7
et seq.
Limbang District, ii. 262, 269
Liquor sale, regulation of, Sarawak,

ii. 307
Lisums, Nomad hunters, ii. 177

Locale of, ii. 178
Liver, Pig's, Divination by, ii. 8, 9,
62 et seq. , 77
Karen, ii. 239
Kenyah, ii. 298-9
Madang, ii. 290-1
Lizards, and flying Lizards, i. 7

in Decorative designs, Kayan, i. 234

et seq.
Hunted for Food, i. 143
Omens from, Punan, ii. 85, 186
Tadu to Kenyahs, ii. 73
Logan, J. R., on Gangetic peoples in

Indo-Malaya, ii. 229 n. i
Log-boats, see Boats
Long, Leaves of. Ritual use of, ii. 8,
113-4

Long Dallos, Anthropological Measure-
ments of, see under Kenyah
do.
Long Glats, Tatu among, i. 256-7

Women's, i. 262-3
Long Kiputs, Astronomical lore of,
ii. 139, 142
Culture of, source of, ii. 247
Ethnic affinities of, i. 246
Stories of —

Lafaang, ii. 139 et seq.
Usui, ii. 142 et seq.
Long Lawa, Kayan village, ii. 284
Long Lawan, Kenyah village ii. 286
Long Lutin, Kayan village, ii. 284,

286
Long Pata, ii. 286

Long Patas, Bali Flaki as Omen bird
of, ii. 79-90
Crocodiles claimed by, as relatives,

ii. 81-2
Ethnic affinities of, ii, 245
Long Pokuns, Decorative art of,
i. 242
Ears, ii. 331
Eyes, ii. 331
Face-form, ii. 330
Hair, ii. 331
Head-form, ii. 330
Nose, ii. 330
Skin, ii. 331
Stature, ii. 331
LongSinong, Anthropological Measure-
ments, see Kenyah do.
Long Tajin, Kayan village, ii. 283
Long Tamala, Kenyah village, chiefs

of, ii. 283
Long Tepai Tatu, i. 263
Long Utan, Tatu, i. 266-7
*' Looking for Tobacco," meaning of,

ii. 170, 176
Looms, i. 223
Loot, i. 173

Love Charms, Klemantan, ii. 127
Low, H. B. , ii. 308 n. i ; and the Rejang

Kayans, ii. 261
Lower classes, Kayan and Kenyah,

i. 70-2
Lugats, Nomad hunters, ii. 177

Locale of, ii. 178
Lullabies, Kayan, ii. i59tfc«. i
Lundu River, ii. 257
Lupa dance, i. 114
Lupak dance, i. 115
Lying, Inaccuracy, and Liars —
Kayan attitude to, ii. 202, 219
Sea Dayak custom re, ii. 123

Macaque Monkey, see Dok

INDEX

361

Madangs, ii. 279, 289

Anthropological measurements of,

see Kenyah do.
Arithmetic of, ii. 292
Belief in Supreme Being, slightness

of, ii. 16
Chiefs, see Saba Irang, Tama

Bulan, Tama Usa Tasi
Difficulties with, ii. 281-2 ; peace

made with, ii. 289 et seq.
Divination of, by Pig's Liver, ii. 290-1
Houses, ii. 289
Migration of, ii. 282
Warrior tribe, ii. 279
Work of Charles Hose among,
ii. 289-292
Madmen, caged by Kayans, ii. 31,

46 «. I
Madness, attributed to ToA- possession,
ii. 28, 46, 129
Exorcism for, ii. 31
From touching dried Heads, ii. 22
God of, Kayan, ii. 5, 6
Kenyah beliefs on, ii. 13, 71
Malanau view of, ii. 130
Magic, attitude to, of various tribes,
ii. 115
Klemantan, aims of, ii. 123-4
Sea Dayak, instance of, ii. 120
Black, Sebop, ii. 117 et seq.
Books of, Batta, on Bark, i. 13
Mahajapit, destruction of, i. 18
Overlordship of, i. 14, 15
Princess of, story of, i. 15 «. i
Maias, see Orang-utan
Maiwang, two-headed Dog, Bridge-
guardian in Malanau belief,

ii- 45
Malacca, overlordship of, i. 14, 15
Malan, or Lali, see also Tabu

Agricultural, i. 109-10, iii

Defined, ii. 1^ n.i

When operative, i, 123, 152-3 ei alibi
Malanaus, or Milanaus, Animal rela-
tions claimed by, ii. 81

Art achievements of, i. 224

Chief god of, ii. 1 30

Cock-fight, substituted for Slave-
killing, Chiefs funeral, ii. 46

Drawings, i. 232

Ears, ii. 334

Exorcisms, ii. 46, 129, 130, 134-5

Eyes, ii. 334

Face-form, ii. 334

Good looks of, i. 50

Hair, ii. 334

Hat-making by, i. 215

Head-deformation among, i. 48-50

Head-form, ii. 333

Malanaus — contin ued

Ideas of After-life, ii. 45-6
Magic, ii. 115 ; aims of, ii. 123-4
Medicine Women among, ii. x^oetseq.
Murder by, of Sarawak English

Officers, ii. 259
Nose, ii. 334
Oath, Dog used in, ii. 80
Sacrifices, Animal and Human,

i. II, ii. 106
Skin colour, ii. 334
Souls, Two, belief in, ii. 45-6
Spirits believed in by, ii. 130
Stature, ii. 334

Tatuing not practised by, i. 246
Malangs, Ears, ii. 329
Eyes, ii. 329
Face-form, ii. 329
Hair, ii. 330
Head-form, ii. 329
Nose, ii. 329
Skin, ii. 330
Stature, ii. 330
Malat Blades, Kayan workmanship in,

i. 194, 195-6
Malay Archipelago, Ethnology of,
ii. 311 et seq.
Art, Design in, i. 244, ii. 251 n. i
Co-operation in Government, Sara-
wak, ii. 265 n. I et seq.
Culture, analogies of, with Sea

Dayak, ii. 250-1
Elders, associated in Sarawak

administration, ii. 272
Encouragement of Head - taking,

i. 188
Language, form of Lingua franca

of Borneo, i. 42
Schools, of Sarawak, ii. 307
Sultans, and their capitals, i. 9
"Malays" of the Coast regions, i.
etseq., 30, 31
Estimated number, i. 31
Pigs and Reincarnation, ii. 48
Malayised tribes of the Interior, ii. 34
Malaysia, Dravidian element in, tribes

representing, ii. 229
Maligang, Guardian of the Bridge in
the Afterworld, ii. 41, 42
Punan version of, ii. 44
Malohs, Brass- working of, i. 197
Crocodile, eaten by, ii. 253
Culture of, ii. 253
Ears, ii. 326

Ethnology of, i. 28, ii. 253
Face-form, ii. 326
Hair, ii. 326-7
Head-form, ii. 253, 326
in Hose's Classification, ii. 320

i62 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

Malohs — continued
Language, ii. 253
Nose, ii. 326
Skin, ii. 327
Stature, ii. 327
Tatu not used by, i. 245
Mammals, Asiatic, i. 24
Bornean, i. 7
Hunted for food, i. 143-4
Manangs, see Medicine Men
Mango, i. 6, 117
Mangosteen, i. 6, 117
Manhood, beginning of, Kayan, ii. 166
Mansur Shah, i. 16
Map of the Afterworld, by a Madang

chief, ii. 43-4
Map-making, ii. 43, 213
Maraja Kuli, king of Puni, and the

Chinese, i. 16, 17, 26
Marriage by Capture, Kayan simulation

of, ii. 172-4
Marriage customs —
Kalabit, ii. 176, 247
Karen, ii. 239
Kayan, i. 64, 70-2, ii. 170-1

Chiefs and upper classes, i. 71,

74-6, ii. 171 et seq.
Feasts, i. 76
Gifts, i. 76 d: n.z
Interclass marriages, i. 70-2
Kenyah, see Kayan, supra
Punan, ii. 183-4
Sea Dayak, i. 82, 83
Married life, i. 76 et seq.
Marudi, see Claudetown
Masks used by —
Dayongs, ii. 115

Lepu Aga people (Kenyahs), ii. 287
& n.x
Massage, Kayan, ii. 209
Matriarchy, survivals of, i. 29, ii. 175
Mats and Mat-making —

Kayan, i. 56, 59, 212,217, ii. 252 ct'«.
Kenyah, ii. 252
Punan, i. 224, ii. 252
Matu district, ii. 269
Maxwell, F. R. O. , ii. 308 n. i
May, Susanna, and Commerce, loss of,
and murder of crews at
Bruni, i. 24
M'Dougall, Dr. W. , and other colla-
borators, Haddon's ac-
knowledgments to, ii. 324
Measurements, Kayan, ii. 212

Relative, of Borneo races, ii. 316
et seq.
Medicine, Bear's gall-bladder as, i. 144
Chinese, Bezoar stones, &c., in,
i. 155-6

Medicine — continued

Human flesh in, i. 17$ n. 2, ii. 9 n. i
Tobacco plant in, ii. 208
Medicine Man, of Sea Dayaks, ii. 11 5-6

Women, Malanau, ii. 130 et seq.
Medicines, Kayan use of, ii. 206 et seq.
Melanesians, in Sumatra, &c. , ii. 312

None in Borneo, ii. 34
Men, Domestic Life and Occupations,
i. 1x6 et seq.
Spirits or souls of, as Toh, ii. 4, 19
et seq.
Mental Hfe of Savage peoples, ii. 221-2
Power ascribed to Animals, basis of
beliefs on, ii. 100-2
Mercury, in Sarawak, ii. 306
Metal pot for cooking Rice, i. 60
Mice, Asiatic, i. 4
Middle classes, Kayan and Kenyah,

i. 70-2
Migratory habits, and reasons for,
various tribes, i. 41, 42,
55- 98-9, 203 et seq., 210,
ii. 16
Karen, ii. 238
Milanau, see Malanau
Military use made of Sea Dayaks,

ii. 305
Minerals in Sarawak, ii. 306 <Scn.z
Ming Dynasty, influence of, i. 16
Mingris tree, Bee-nests in, i. 154
Mining, Gold and Diamond, early
Chinese, i. 17 ; present
day, i. 28-9
Miri people. Animal relations claimed
by, ii. 81
in story of Usai, ii. 143
Modesty, Kayan, &c. , ii. 202-3
Mohammed, Sultan, and his successors,

i. 19 (?/ seq.
Mohammedanism in Borneo, i. 8
Introduction of, i. 18
Arab influence in, i. 29
Mongol drift into Indo-Chinese area,

ii. 230
Mongoloid element in Bornean peoples,

ii. 226 et seq.
Monkeys, Asiatic, i. 4

Cocoa-nut or Dok, Kayan attitude to,

ii. 77-8
Hunted for food, i. 143, 145
Indigenous, i. 7
in Kenyah Decoration, i. 241-2
Long-nosed, Indigenous, i. 7

Avoided by Pregnant women,

ii- 153
Kenyah attitude to, ii. 73, 77, loi
Long-tailed, Bezoar stones from,
i- -^SS

INDEX

3^3

Monkey and Toad, in Barawan story,

ii. 151-2
Moral and Intellectual Peculiarities,
ii. 194 et seq.

Qualities, Kayan word for, ii. 203-4
Morgan, Prof. Lloyd, cited, ii. 100
Moskowski, — , cited, ii. 313
Mosquitoes, in legend and in fact,

ii. 143-4
Motifs, in Kayan, Decorative Art,

i. 234 et seq.
Mountains, i. i, 2, ii. 279, 287
Mourners, Purification of, ii. 36-7
Mourning, for Chiefs after War, i. 176

Kayan, ii. 37-8
Mouse-deer, hunted for food, i. 143

Klemantan attitude to, ii. 81

Omens from, ii. 72

in Sea Dayak Fables, ii. 90

and Tortoise in Kenyah Fable,
ii. 147 et seq.
Muda Hasim, and Rajah Brooke,

i. 25-6
Mudong Alan Mountain, ii. 289
Muka District, i. 269
Muntjac, hunted for food, i. 143

Klemantan attitude to, ii. 80-1

Omens from, ii. 72
Murders of English officers of Sara-
wak government, ii. 259
Muriks, Ethnic affinities of, ii. 245

Trance beliefs of, ii. 42-3
Muruts, i. 30

Agriculture of, i. 35

Clay-Crocodiles of, ii. 84

Culture, source, &c. , of, ii. 246^/5^^.

Distribution, i. 35

Drunkenness, &c., of, i. 35, 130,
ii. 195

Ear, ii. 325

Earlier in Borneo than Kayans,
ii. 232

Estimated number, i. 31

Ethnic affinities, i. 35, ii. 246 et seq.

Eye, ii. 324-5

Face-form, ii. 324

Group, Anthropometrical Observa-
tions on, ii. 324-5
Hose's Classification, 320

Hair, ii, 325

Hairpins, i. 44

Head-form, ii. 324

Invasion by, ii. 231

Jar-burial of, ii. 49-50

Language, ii. 254-5 <fc«.i

Nose, ii. 324

Physique, i. 35

Shields, i. 165-6

Skin colour, i. 35, 39, ii. 325

Muruts — contin ued

Social organisation, i. 35
Stature, ii. 325
Subdued by Bruni, i. 19
Tatu among, i. 265 et seq.
Weapons, ii. 246
Music and Song, see also Lullabies
Kayan, ii. 166
Punan, ii. 192
Musical Instruments, see Bamboo Pipes,
Drums, Gongs, Guitars,
Harmonica, Jew's Harp,
Keluri, Nose Flute, Pipe
Kayan, found in S.E. Asia, ii. 242
Myths, Legends, and Stories, ii. 136
et seq.
in relation to Religion, ii. 136-7

Nagas, resemblances to Kayans,
ii. 241 et seq.

Names, Proper, Children's, and Adults'
at various ages and stages,
i. 79 et seq. , <Sc Appendix,
i. 85 et seq., ii. 24, 160-3,

239
" Native officers," in Sarawak govern-
ment, ii. 270
Nature Spirits, Karen beliefs in,

ii. 238
Necklaces, Kayan, Men's, i. 44 ;

Women's, i. 47

Negrito aspect met with, in N. Borneo,

i. 28

Race, no traces of, ii. 225-6, 311

Negroid features, how accounted for,

ii. 225 <kn.x
Netherlands Borneo, see Dutch Borneo
Netting of Fish, i. 135-6
Ngarong, or Secret Helper, Sea Dayak,
ii. 90 et seq.
Supplementary note on, ii. 114
and Totemism, ii. 109 et seq.
Ngelai wood, for Boat-building, i. 199
Nieuwenhuis, Dr. A. W. , cited on
Kayan Tatu, i. 247 et seq.,
passim.
Ethnological expeditions of, in Dutch
Borneo, ii. 3io<fc«. i
Night in a Bornean guest-place, i. 121
Ningka vases, i. 62
Nomad Hunter tribes, ii. 177 et seq.
Nose-flute, i. 121

Noses, Observations on, Haddon's
Method of taking, ii. 321-2
Barawan, i. 327
Kalabit, ii. 324
Kayan, ii. 338, 339
Kenyah, ii. 337
Klemantan, i. 39

;64 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

Noses — continued

Lerong, ii. 332

Long Pokun, ii. 330

Malang, ii. 329

Maloh, ii. 326

Milanau, ii. 334

Murut, ii. 324

Pagan tribes in general, i. 37-9

Punan, ii. 179, 335, 336

Sea Dayak, ii. 340

Sebop, ii. 332

Sibuyan, ii. 341
Numerals, Kayan, ii. 209-10

Oath, Malanau, Dog used in, ii. 80
Oding Lahang, Founder of Kayan,
Kenyah and Klemantan
races, ii. 11, 138

Kayans claiming descent from, ii. 10

Invoking intercession of, ii. 10
'Odour," Kayan idea on, ii. 24, 157

&n.x
Oko Perbungan, wife of Supreme
Being, in Madang belief,
ii. 44
Omen- Animals, &c., 'Kayan, ii. 4, 79 ;
Kenyah, ii. 73, 79, loi ;
Punan, ii. 84, 85, i86

Spirits of, ii. 4, \^ et seq.
Omen- Birds, see also Birds, Divina-
tion by, Bali Flaki, d'
under Names

Cult of, explanation, ii. 103

Kayan, ii. 74-5

Kenyah, ii. 51 ^^ seq.

Punan, ii. 84

Sea Dayak, ii. 86-7

Sebop, ii. 118-9
Omens {see also Divination, andMagic),
i. 65, 71

Agricultural, i. 109-10, 11 1

Concerned with Boat Construction,
i. 202

Consulted as to the Dead, Kayan,
ii. 215

and House-building, i. 209

Kayan word for, suggestive resem-
blance of, ii. 256

Kenyah view on, ii. 57-8

and Marriage, i. 75, ii. 171, 184

Note on, i. 170 «.

Sea Dayak, ii. 90

of War, i. 168-70
Omen-taking, by Tama Bulan, ii. 52,

54. 55. 28s
Orang Bukits, Slave - killing by, at
Chiefs' funerals, last re-
corded case, ii. 46

Slave torture by, i. 192

Orang Kubu, of Sumatra, ii. 225
Orang Malayu, i. 30
Orang-utan, Asiatic, i. 4

Attitude to, of Kayans and Kenyahs,
"• 73. 77' loi

Avoided by Pregnant Women, ii. 152
Orchids, i. 6
Orion, see Lafaang

Ornaments, discarded in Mourning,
ii. 38

Karen, ii. 238

Kayan, male, i. 44-5

Kenyah, i. 10, 12, <i- see i. 45

Klemantan, i. 45

Tatuing as, i. 247
Orobong Plant, uses of, ii. 114, 207
Ot-Danum, see Ulu Ayar
Otter, clawless, Asiatic, i. 4
Otters, hunted for food, i. 143
Oya District, ii. 269

Paddles, Kayan, &c. , i. 132, 203

Klemantan, i. 224
Pagan tribes, see also under separate
Names

Animism among, i. 41

Features common to all, i. 37 et seq.

Linguistic diversity among, i. 42

Political organisation of, 40-1

Six principal groups of, i. 30 et seq.

Social life of, i. 39
Pain, caused by Toh, treatment of,

ii. 28, 120 et sqq.
Painting, i. 230, 231-2

of Carved Woodwork, i. 226
Palm Leaves in Ritual, see Leaves

Punan Houses made of, ii. 182
Palms [see also Areca, Rattan, Sago,

and Silat), i. 6
Pandanus Leaves in I ban Basketwork,

&c., ii. 251
Pantar vases, i. 62
Paper charms, ii. 127
Para rubber, see Rubber culture
Parang (sword), features and uses of,

i. 159-60
Parents, Names of, i. 80, ii. 239

Tabus observed by pre-natal and
post-natal, ii. i53«^j<?^.
Pari tribes, ii. 313
" Parit," defined, ii. 14 «. i
Parrots caught with Bird-lime, i. 149
Pa Silong, high god of the Klemantans,

ii. 6
Pasir, and its Sultan, i. 9
Pata river, ii. 284
Peace, Chiefs promoting, ii. 206
Peacemakings, ii. 282 et seq. , 289 et seq.
Pearse, C. S. , ii. 308 n. i

INDEX

365

Pegasus, square of, Long Kiput name

for, ii. 139
Peng or Pinhing of Koti Basin, Tatu

of, Shelford on, i. 261
Penghulus, office and duties of,
ii, 219-20, 272 et seq.
Some notable, ii. 281
of Sarawak, ii. 267
of Various tribes, ii. 274-5
Peoples {see also Races, and Tribes,
under Names), i. 8 et seq.,
28 (?/ seq.
Descriptions of, A. H. Haddon,

ii. 321 et seq.
of Sarawak, Classification of, by

Hose, ii. 319, 320
Subdued by Alak ber Tata, i. 18
& n.i, 19
Pepper trade of Banjermasin, ii. 309
n.i
Dutch and English attempts to secure,
i. 22
Perham, Archdeacon, cited, ii. 16, 85,

87
Pest-scaring methods, i. 102-3, "• 89
Petara, Sea Dayak cult of, ii. 26, 85,

86
Petroleum, in Sarawak, ii. 306
Pets, Kayan, ii. 164
Philippine Islands, Agriculture in,

similar to Murut, ii. 247
Physical Characters of the Races and
Peoples of Borneo, A. C.
Haddon, ii. 311-41
Pigs, Asiatic, i. 3

Bearded, Indigenous, i. 7
Domestic, attitude to and beliefs on
of Borneans, ii. 4, j^, 80,
84, 90
Differences between, and Wild Pigs,

ii. 104
Malays, and Kayan Reincarnation

beliefs, ii. 48
Sacrifices of, ii. 8, 9, 52, 60 et seq.
et alibi
Divination from Entrails of, ii. 8,
9, 62 et seq., jj, 239,
290-1, 298-9
Substituted for Slaves, ii. 106 et
seq.
Traps for, i. 145
Wild, ii. 104

Hunted for food, i. i43cfc«, i,
144, ii. 65
Pigafetta, in Bruni, i. 18
Pigeon, see Ground Pigeon
Pigeon's Eye Pattern, i. 242
Pigment [see also Dyeing), Decorative
use of, i. 231, 232

Piles, under Houses, i. 203-6

Pipe used in Bird-trapping, Kenyah,

&c. , i. 149
Piracy, external and native, i. 23, 24
Pitcher-plants, i. 6
Plandok, see Mouse-deer
Plant-motifs, in Sea Dayak design,

i. 243, 244
Plants, Animistic beliefs connected with,
ii. 51 et seq., 113-4
in Ritual, see also Leaves
Areca palm, ii. 131
DraccBna, ii. 15, 70, 82, 114
Ginger plant, ii. 120, 121
Orobong, ii. 114
Plates of Decorative Art subjects. Ex-
planation of, i. 280-3
Pleiades, Long Kiput name for,
ii. 139
Sea Dayak Sowing-time determined
by, i. 109
Plough, Dusun use of, i. 97
Poison for Darts, i. 218-9
Poisoned Darts, ii. 180-3
Poisoning Rivers, ii. 149
Pokun - Punan feud, and the result,

ii. 1 80- 1
Poli (Bruni), Chinese accounts of,

i. 10, II t&«.i, 12
Polyandry, Punan, ii. 183
Polynesians and Indonesians, relations

between, ii. 228-9 tfcw.i
Pontianak, Sultan of, ii. 263
Population, Existing, Derivation of,
ii. 225
Immigrant and Indigenous, i. 28-9

Main divisions of, i. 29-30
Numbers, estimated, i. 31
Pagan tribes, i, 30 et seq.
Porcupines, Asiatic, i. 4
Bezoar stones from, i. 155
Hunted for Food, i. 143
as Ngarong, ii. 94-5
Pork, Fat, put into mouths of dried

Heads, ii. 21
Portages, i. 133
Portuguese expulsion from Borneo,

ii. 309
Possession, Madness ascribed to,
ii. 28, 46, 129
Exorcism for, ii. 31
Posts or Poles as Altars, ii. 7, 8

Funeral uses of, Kayan, ii. 35-7 ;

Sea Dayak, ii. 50
in Magic, Sebop, ii. 117
Pottery, i. 219-20
Pounding the Rice, i. 11 8-9
Practical jokes, Kayan love of,
ii. 217-8

366 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

Prawn design in Tatu, Kenyah, ii. 71

Trap, i. 138-9
Prayers, Bornean, ii. 5, 8, 9, 10, n,

25. 75
Karen, ii. 238
Pre-Dravidian element in the Archi-
pelago, ii. 31 1-2
Pre-Marital Irregular Unions, i. 71
Prohibition, see also Tabu

Affecting children, ii. 33, 71, 113
Proper names, see Names
Property, Inheritance of, i. 83
Household, i. $2 et seq.
Inquiring of Ghost as to division of,

ii. 38-9cfe««. I, 2
Personal, Funeral use of —

Kayan, ii. 3t&«.i, ii, 2,^&nn.\, 2,

SO
Kenyah, ii. 50
Klemantan, ii. 50
Proto-Dravidian blend in Proto-Malay,

ii. 229
Proto-Malays, see also Sea Dayak
Blend in stock of, ii. 229
in Borneo, ii. 313 et seq.
Brachycephalic heads of, ii. 312-3
Pulang Gana, Rice-culture spirit of

Sea Dayaks, ii. 88
Pulo Klemantan, Malay name of

Borneo, i. 6, 42 n.
Pulul rubber, i. 151
Punans, i. 30

Allied tribes, i. 35, 177, 193, 244
Animal names given to Children,

ii. 84
Animistic beliefs of, ii. 84
ArithmeticalHmit, ii. 209, 211
Aspect of, ii. 178-9, 185, 312
Assimilation of, into settled com-
munities, ii. 244
Attitude to Crocodiles, ii. 84, 189-90
Belongings of, ii. 190-1
Birth customs, ii. 184-5
Blow-pipes of, ii. 99, 182, 191, 226
Charm attached to, ii. 126
Manufacture of, i. 215-9
Burial customs, i. 36
Characteristics, i. 36, ii, 180-3, ^87-9

et seq.
Charms, ii. 126, 190
Chiefs, functions of, ii, 182
Childhood among, ii, 185
Dances of, ii. 193
Distribution of, i, 35-6, ii, 177-8,

313
Divine Ancestor of, ii. 138
Dress of, ii, 190
Dyeing by, i. 214
Ears. ii. 335, 336

Punans — continued

Estimated number, i, 31

Exorcisms of, ii. 131

Expertise in Camphor collection,

i- 152-3
Eyes, ii. 335, 336
Face-form, ii. 335, 336
Food, i. 155, ii. 182
Group, in Hose's Classification,

ii. 320
Hair, ii. 312, 336
Handicrafts, i, 36, 214-6, 224
Head-form, ii, 179, 335, 336
Houses, i. 2x0, & see 232, ii. 182
Hunting of, i. 143, ii, 99, 182
Love of, i. 35
Skill in, ii. 191-2
Ideas on After-life, ii. 44-5
Inter-group relations, ii. 187
Language, i. 36-7, ii. 254-5 tfcw.i
Mat-work of, decoration of, i. 224
Noses, ii. 179, 335, 336
Omen creatures, ii. 84, 88, 186
Physique, i. 36

Pig, domestic, not eaten by, ii. 84
Races resembling elsewhere, ii. 225
Religious beliefs, ii. 138, 185 et seq.
Rites, Betel-nut blossom in, ii. 85
Rubber-growing by, i. 151
Scars, non-Keloid, i, 246
Scouting skill of, ii. 192
Sketches, i. 232
Skin-colour, i, 39, ii. 178, 179, 227,

312, 339
Social organisation, i. 36, ii. 179,

182 et seq., 187-8
Stature, ii, 178-9, 336
Sub-groups, ii, 177
Tatuing not used by, i, 245
Totemism absent among, ii. 99
Vengeance, ii. 180-1
Weapons [see also Blow-pipe, supra),
ii. 19, 180, 181, 182, 190,
191
Puni (Bruni), Chinese accounts of,

i, 12, 13
Punishments, i, 65, ii, 196, 197

(kn.i, 198
Punitive expeditions, i. 183-4
Purification ceremonies, ii. 36-7, 128-9
Pythons, as Ngarong, ii. 93-4
in Sea Dayak story, ii. 144
Sizes of, i. 7

Quiver for Poisoned Darts, i, 219

Races, Bornean, Classification of,
drawn up by Dr. Hose,
ii. 319, 320

INDEX

367

Races and Peoples of Borneo, The
Physical Characters of,
A. C. Haddon, ii. 311-41
Raffiesia, i. 6

Ragam, Nakoda, see Bulkiah, Sultan
Raid, wanton, tribes guilty of, i. 182-3
Rainfall, i. 4, 5

Rain-bird, Crested, omens from, ii. 59
Rain - making, in Kenyah Story,

ii. i49<fc«. I
Rajahs of Sarawak, see Brooke, Sir

Charles, and Sir James
Rakshas, land of, i. xx&n.x
Rambutan, i. 6, 117
Rats, Asiatic, i. 4

Why they eat Rice, Sea Dayak
Legend, ii. 145
Rattan Palm, varieties, collection, and
uses of, i. 6, 44, 46-7, 117,
137. 153-4. 161-2, 231
Re-incarnation, belief in, ii. 47-8

in Animal form, ii. 81, 102, 114
Rejang District, ii. 269, 271
River, ii. 287

Navigable length, i. 5
Trend, i. 2
Religion, ii. ^et seq., 65, 185 et seq.
as affecting Conduct, ii. 204-5
Myths in relation to, ii. 136-7
Reptiles, i. 7

Residents, Dutch, system of, estab-
lished, ii. 309
Sarawak, ii. 268-9 *

Administrative duties, ii. 269 et

seq.
Dwellings of, ii, 270-1
Official journeys of, ii. 272, 281
Described, ii. 278 et seq.
Resin-collecting, i. 155
Revenue, Sarawak, Sources of,

ii. 305-6
Rhinoceros, African, Horn of, ii. 221
Asiatic, i. 3

Bornean, Horn of, used for Sword
hilts, ii. 221 n.i
Hunted, i. 143, 145
Ribai, Sea Dayak River-god, Crocodile

shape of, ii. 89
Rice {padi), Kayan and Kenyah word
for, ii. 313 «. 2
Baskets for carrying, i. 56-7, 105,

212
Culture —

Crocodile and Spirit connected

with, Sea Dayak, ii. 88-9
Divination during, ii. 56
Drying, Pounding, Winnowing,
&c., and appliances for,
i- S3. 99-105. 118-20

Rice culture — continued

Introduction of, in relation to de-
cay of Totemism, ii. 97
Karen, ii. 238

Kayan, extravagance of, ii. 243
Pagan tribes, i. 35, 36, 40
Reaping [see also Harvest),

i. 104-5
Ritual associated with, i. 105-15
Crocodile - patterned, in Ritual,

ii. 83, 131
Drink from [see Borak), i. 11 3-4
and Fertility in Women, i. ii2(f;«.2
Food-staple, i. 97
Magic to Spoil, ii. 123-4
Selection of Seed grain, i. 111-12
Soul of, Bornean and Karen beliei

in, ii. 113, 239
Storage, i. 53-4, 55, 105, ni-12,

ii. 139
in relation to Toh, ii. 23
Rice-sparrows, i. 104
Rites, Leaves used in, see Leaves
River Toh, rites concerning, ii. 25
River-turtle as Ngarong, ii. 94
Rivers, i. 2

as Highways, i. 131, ii. 271
Courses, features of, i. 5
Guardians, in after-life {see Fish,

Hornbill, <i:c.), ii. 187
Life on, and beside, i. 131 et

seq.
Navigable lengths, i. 5
Rite on Boys entering, ii. 25
in Sarawak proper, ii. 257
Rod and Line fishing, i. 137
Rollick at Harvest time, i. 113 «/ seq.
Roman parallels to Kenyah divining
methods, see Notes, at foot
<?/ Chapter XV
Roofs, i. 206-7
Roots, Edible, i. 6
Roth, H. Ling, Iban legends collected

by, ii. 137
Rubber, i. 6

Collecting, &c., i. 117, 151-2
Cultivation of, in Sarawak, ii. 306

««. 1,2
as Tribute, Madang, ii. 292
Rubber-producing trees, &c., i. 151
Rusa vases, i. 62

Saat, Mountain, ii. 287
Saba Irang, Madang Chief, ii. 286
Sabans, locale of, i. 35
Sacrifice, see Animal, Human, and
Votive
Past and present, i. 10, 11
Sadong river, ii. 257

368 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

Sago Palms, i. 6

Pith as Food, i. 97, ii. 182, tools
for dealing with, ii. 190-1

Sakai race, Dravidian element in,

ii. 229
Salt, given at Kayan Births, ii. 156
Samarahan river, ii. 257
Sambas, Dutch and English competi-
tion at, i. 22
Portuguese expulsion from, ii. 309
and its Sultan, i. 9
Sanitary precautions, Kayan, ii. 206-7
Santubong, Hindu ornaments found

at, i. 12
Sarawak, see also Tama Bulan

Administrative service in, notable

members of, ii. 308 n. i
Agriculture, improvement in, ii. 307
Alcohol regulations, ii. 307
Area, i. 26, ii. 237-9
Cambridge expedition to, ii. 311
Council, Supreme, composition of,

ii. 266
Datus, the, in, ii. 266
Defence, ii. 269
Divisions, ii. 269
Fire-arms, Sales of, regulation of,

ii. 307
Five main groups of Peoples in,

Haddon on, ii. 314
Government in. Methods and prin-
ciples of, ii. 264 et seg.,

275 et seq., 3o6cf;«.2,

307-8
Kadayans in, i. 21
Law, ii. 268-9
Minerals in, ii. 3o6tfc«. i
Penghulus of, ii. 267
Peoples of. Classification of, by

Hose, ii. 319, 320
Raj of, i. 8
Rajah Brooke's rule over, story

of, i. 25, 26, 27, ii. 257

et seq.
Rajahs of, see Brooke, Sir James

and Sir Charles
Residents, administrative duties of,

ii. 269 et seq.
Revenue, Sources of, ii. 305-6
Rivers draining, i. 2, ii. 257
Rubber, culture in, ii. 306 <{;««. 1,2
Schools and Education in, ii. 307
State Council, composition of,

ii. 267
Suppression in, of Head-hunting,

ii. 306
Taxation, ii. 270, 274, 279-81, 299,

305

Sarawak — con tin ued

Trade, Development of , ii. 271, 281,
307
Sarawak Rangers, composition of,

ii. 269
Sarawak river, ii. 257
Saribas District, ii. 269
River, ii. 257
Sea Dayaks on, i. 31-2
Sarrasin, MM., cited, ii. 312
Sayings, Kayan, ii. 165
Scalp-massage, i. 74
Scent, in Klemantan Love Charms,

ii. 127
Schools and Education, Sarawak,

ii. 307
Scouts, Punans as, ii. 192
Sea Dayaks, or I bans, i. 30

Animals used by, in Sacrifice, ii. 90
Arithmetical ideas of, ii. 211
Aunts, number of, and difficulties

caused by, ii. 199
Axes of, ii. 251

Bamboo Decorations of, i. 229, 243
in Baram district, troubles with, ii. 28
Beliefs, cults, &c.,of, ii. 10, 16, 19,

26-7, 85 et seq.
Birth customs, ii. 24
Characteristics, i. 32, 184, ii. 89,

222, 250, 293
Charms, ii. 126-7
Clothing, dressy taste in, i. 32, 46
Coats, Male and Female, i. 43 n. ,

46. 47
Corsets, Brass, i. 46-7, 197, ii. 252
Crocodile Images of, ii. 88-9
Culture, ii. 250-1
Death and Burial customs, ii. 10
Cult of Deceased Chiefs, ii. 10
Decorative Arts of, i. 224

Designs, &c. , i. 242 et seq.
Distribution and spread of, i. 31-2
Distrusted by Kayans &c., i. 184
Divorce, i. 82-3
Drunkenness and disorder among,

i. 130, ii. 195
Ears, ii. 340

Entertainment of Guests, i. 129-30
Estimated number, i. 31
Ethnology of, ii. 248 et seq.
Eyes, ii. 340
Face-form, ii. 340
Feast of, ii. 86
Fire-piston of, i. 197-9
Fish-trap, i. 137-8
Gods of, ii. 13

Group, Anthropological Measure-
ments, ii. 339
Hair, ii. 340

INDEX

369

Sea Dayaks — continued
Head-form, ii. 339
Head-hunting &c. , i. 32-3, 83, 159,

186-7, ii- 249, 273
Mode of Suspending Heads, i. 178
Origin and history of custom,

i. i8y ei seq.
Hornbill, sacred to, ii. 88
in Hose's Classification, ii. 320
Houses, i. 54-5, 204, 210
Hunting Traps, i. 148-9

Measuring of, i. 145
Ideas on Europe, ii. 213
Incest and its punishment among,

ii. 199
Invasion by, ii. 231
KHeng, demi-god of, ii. 85
Language, i. 33, 42, ii. 250, 253
Liars' Cairns of Stick, ii. 123
Magic, instance of, ii. 120
Marriage customs, i. 76 n.i, ii. 175
Medicine Man of, ii. 11 5-6
Mission work among, ii. 307
Mode of determining Sowing time,

i. 109
Murders by, ii. 202
Name for little Child, i. 79
Ngarong, or Secret Helper, ii. 90

et seq.
Nose, ii. 340

Omens consulted by, ii. 86-7, 90
Operations against, i. 183-4, ii. 300,

301 et seq.
Origin of, ii. 248-9
Penghulus of, ii. 274-5
Petara of, ii. 26, 85, 86
Physique of, i. 32
Piracies of, i. 25
Raids, i. 182

Religious beliefs, ii. 13, 251
Rice-culture, rites of, ii. 88-9
Rivalry with other tribes, 300-1
Shell-work, i. 233
Shield, i. 166, ii. 251
Skin colour, i. 32, ii. 340
Social organisation, i. 82-3, ii. 195
Sorcerers and Sorcery, ii. 1 16-7 <kn.x
Stature, ii. 340
Story of Simpang Impang, ii. 144

et seq.
Sword, ii. 251

TapangXree, beliefs on, ii. 114
Tatu, i. '2.72>-7
Taxation of, ii. 305
Tribe best known tribe to Europeans,

i- 31
Uni-lingual, i. 42
Untrustworthy tales of, as to

Kayans, i. 190-1

Sea Dayaks — continued
Vases treasured by, i. 62

Inheritance of, i. 84
Village, i. 40, 54
Warfare, i. 185
War-god, ii. 85
Weaving, Decorated, i. 233
Seasons, for Agricultural work, deter-
mination of, i. 105-9, ii. 139
for Tatuing of Girls, ii. 255
Wet and Dry, range of, i. 106
Sebops, Beadwork of, i. 224
Black Magic of, ii. 117 et seq.
Curses, ii. ii8-9<:&«. i, 120
Divination by Bali Plaki, ii. 118-9
Divine Ancestor , of, ii. 138
Ears, ii. 332

Ethnic affinities of, ii. 246
Eyes, ii. 332
Face-form, ii. 331

Group, Anthropological observations
on, ii. 329 et seq.
in Hose's Classification, ii. 320
Hair, ii. 332
Head-form, ii. 331
Head-hunting, legendary origin of,

ii. 138-9
Human figure in Art of, i. 242
Nose, ii. 332
Skin colour, ii. 332
Stature, ii. 332
Secret Helper or Ngarong, Sea Dayak,

ii. 90 et seq.
Seed-sowing, i. loi et seq.
Sega lupar evolution, the, at Head-
hanging, ii. 21
Selambo, netting method, i. 136
Serenades, i. 121
Serpent god, river -dwelling, Kenyah,

ii. 15
Seven, in Malanau Exorcism, ii. 134-5
Sexual perversion, rarity of, ii. 199
Shade, visible, of Men and Thing, differ-
ence between, Kayan, ii. 3-4
Sham fights, ii. 288, 291, 295
Shans, and allied peoples, Caucasic
type in, Keane on, ii. 229
n.i
Shape-shifting —

Animal to Man, ii. 89
Man to Animal, ii. 81-2, 93
Shelford, R. , Paper by, on Tatu, in-
corporated by permission,
i. 245 et seq.
Shell-work, i. 233
Shields, i, 161, 210
Dusun, i. 166
Kayan, i. 163
Kenyah, i. 165

370 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

Shields — continued
Klemantan, i. 165
Land Dyaks, i. 166
Murut, i. 165-6
Sea Dayak, i, 166, ii. 251
Ship, to carry off Sickness, Coastal

tribes, ii. 122-3
Shrew, big, Asiatic, i, 4

Feather-tailed, Indigenous, i. 7
Pattern named after. Sea Dayak,
i. 244
Sians or Sihans, Nomad hunters,
ii. 177
Locale of, ii. 178
Tatu of, i. 268-9
Siap aioh, see Kenyah Charms
Sibu Fort, ii. 303
Sibuyans, Face-form of, ii. 341
Head-form, ii. 341
Stature, ii. 341
Sickness [see also Pain), Treatment
and Tab7is of, ii. 8, 28
et seq., 31
Silat river, ii. 286-7
Silat palm, in Kayan rites, ii. 113
Simpang Impang, Sea Dayak story of,

ii. 144 et seq.
Singalang, Family and relatives of,

ii. 86-7
Singalang Burong, War-god of Sea

Dayaks, ii. 85-6
Singapore, Javanese invasion of, i. 14
Sit, see Spider-hunter
Sitting Mat, wearing of, i. 212, ii. 252

<kn.i
Size, reckoning of, Kayan, ii. 212
Skapans, Paintings of, i. 231
Skin affections, prevalence of, i. 39,
ii. 116
Punans free from, ii. 179
Skin colour, Pagan tribes in general,
i. 37, ii. 226, 227
Observations on, Haddon's method
of taking, ii. 323
Barawan, ii. 328
Kalabit, ii. 325
Kayan, i. 38, ii. 338, 339
Kenyah, i. 38, ii. 337
Land Dayak, ii. 325
Lerong, ii. 333
Long Pokun, ii, 331
Malang, ii. 330
Maloh, ii. 327
Milanau, ii. 334
Murut, i. 39, ii. 325
Punan, i. 39, ii. 227, 312, 336
Sea Dayak, ii. 340
Sebop, ii. 332
Ulu Ayar Dayak, ii. 325

Skirts, female, i. 47

Sky, Kayan ideas on, ii. 214, 215

Slave-killing at Funerals, &c. , i. 189-90,

ii. 34-5, 46, 104-5
Slaves, Karen, ii. 238

Kayan and Kenyah, i. 70-2, 191,
ii. 107
Intermarriage of with other
classes, i. 70-2
Smallpox, Kayan precautions, ii. 206-7
Smelting, Kayan process, i. 194-5
Smith, Robertson, cited, ii. 103
Smoke, see Fire and Smoke
Snakes {see also Pythons), i. 7

Fat of, in Kayan Medicine, ii. 207
Omens from, and attitude to, Kayan,
ii. 79
Kenyah, ii. 73, 79, loi
Sobriety, general, i. 129, 130
Social organisation —
Karen, ii. 237 et seq.
Kayan, Kenyah, &c. , i. 63 et seq.,

ii. 194 et sqq.
Klemantan, i. 82
Murut, i. 82

Punan, Totemism absent from, ii. 99
Sea Dayak, i. 82-3
Solar altitude, taking of, i. 106-9

Eclipses in Borneo, ii. 2i4<fc«.2
Solid Carved designs, characters of,

i. 234, 236-8
Somatological investigation, conclu-
sions from, Haddon on,
ii. 318-9
Songs, Boating, i. 132
Sorcerers, Sea Dayak, ii. xx6-7<kn.i
Soul of the Rice, i. 105, 112
Soul-catcher {see also Dayong), Kayan,
ii. 3, 4 ; Ceremonial of,
ii. 29 et seq.
Soul-conducting gods, Kayan, ii. 5,

41
Souls {see also Afterworld), Animal,
Human and Plant, Karen
belief in, ii. 239
Human, see Blua, and Urip

Beliefs on, ii. 3-4, 34, 45-6 et alibi
Calling back of, ii. 28, 32, 85
Catching, general, in Borneo,

ii. 31. 115
Karen, ii. 238-9
Conducting to other worlds,

ii. 5, 33-4, 41-2
Reincarnation ideas, ii. 47-8,
81
Spears, various tribes, i. 46, 141, 160-1,

ii. 246
Spider-hunter Omen-bird, i. 75, 168,
169, ii. 58, 59, 128-9

INDEX

371

Spinning of Cotton, i. 221
Spirits, Embodied, and Disembodied,
Kayan belief on, ii. 4, 5
et seq.
Libations to, i. 126
Minor, Generic term for, ii. 18
of Nature, Karen belief in, ii. 238
Tribes claiming Descent from, and
invoking in Prayer, ii. lo-i i
Spoor-reading, Punan skill in, ii. 192
Squirrels, Asiatic, i. 4
Indigenous, i. 7

Flying, i. 7
Testicles of, in Kayan Medicine,
ii. 207-8 ik n. I
Sri Maja, King of Puni, embassy of,

to China, i. 14
Sri Tuan Buana, Bruni rulers' descent

from, i. 20
Stake-defences, i. 160, 178-9
Stars, Kayan idea of, ii. 214
State Council, Sarawak, composition

of, ii, 267
Stature, Observations on, H addon's
method of taking, ii. 323-4
Baravk'an, ii. 328
Kalabit, ii. 325
Kayan, ii. 339
Kenyah, ii. 338
Land Dayak, ii. 326
Lerong, ii. 333
Long Pokun, ii. 331
Malang, ii. 330
Maloh, ii. 327
Milanau, ii. 334
Murut, ii. 325
Punan, ii. 178-9, 336
Sea Dayak, ii. 340
Sebop, ii. 332
Sibuyan, ii. 341
Ulu Ayar Dayak, ii. 326
Steel-working, Kayan, i. 196, 224
Sterility, consequences of, i. tj, 78
Still-born children, home of Souls of,

ii. 40
Stone Axes, in Kenyah galleries,
' 'Balingo's teeth, " ii. 1 1 «. 3
Stones, round, associated with Altar
Posts and Dwellings, Ken-
yah, ii. 15, 16
Stories, ii. 136 et seq.
Storytelling, Kayan, ii. 218-9
Sub-tribes of the Kayans, i. 63 & n.
Sucker-fish, i. 135

Suicides, Home of Souls of, ii. 40, 47
Sulau, wife of Juman, Kayan chief,

ii. 283
Suleiman, Sultan, i. 20
Sulu Islands, Sultan of, see Jolo

Sumatra, Melanesian strain in, ii. 312
North, Battak of, Indonesians of

two types, ii. 312
Orang Kubu of, ii. 225
Zoological resemblances to Borneo,

i. 3. 4

Sumpitaii, see Blow- pipe

Supreme Being, belief on,

Karen, ii. 238, 256

Kayan, ii. 6 et seq.

Kenyah, ii. 13, 84

Development of, ii. xd et seq.
Klemantan and subtribes, ii. 79
Supreme Council, Sarawak, composi-
tion of, ii. 266
Surgery, ii. 28, 208
Swamps, "cord-roads" in, i. 131
Swifts, Edible Nests of. Collection of,

156-7
Swinging in Malanau Exorcism, ii. 130,

134
Sword-blades, Chased designs on,
i. 234, 240-1
Kayan forging of, i. 193, 195-6
Old, as presents, ii. 66
Sword - hilts or handles. Wood and
Horn, Kayan, ii. \yj &n.x,
22i<&7z.i, 234, 238-40
Sword-sheaths, i. 210-11
Swords, i. 46, 159-60

as Fee, to Dayong, ii. 121

as Hypnotic agent, ii. 30<fc«. i,

120
Murut, ii. 246
Sea Dayak, ii. 251
Symbolic gifts in Friendship-making,

ii. 220-1
Symbolism in Speech, &c., Kayan,
ii. 216-7

Tabu [Lali, or Malan) {see also Pro-
hibitions), i. 65
Fishing, i. 139-40
Infraction punished by Tok, ii. 26
on Kayan Images, ii. i4<fc«.i.
Plant used in, ii. 114
Pre-natal and Natal, Kayan, ii. 133-7
Sickness, ii. 8, 31
War, i. 1 70- 1
Tagals, Ethnic affinities of, ii. 247
in Hose's Classification, ii. 320
Locale of, i. 35
Tallies for Weddings, Kayan, ii. 172
Tallow, Vegetable, source and uses of,.

i. 155, ii. 182
Tama Aping Kuleh, Kenyah Chief,

ii. 283
Tama Aping Nipa, Kenyah Chiefs
ii. 283

372 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

Tama Bulan, Kenyah Chief, i. 40-1,
ii, 284, 289 ; Arithmetical
skill of, ii. 211 ; and the
Feast of extinction of a
Blood-feud, ii. 66 ; Great-
ness of, ii. 206, 295, 296 ;
Head-hunting raid of his
people, ii. 300 ; Name of,
at different times, i. 79,
80 ; Omen - taking by,
ii. 52, 54, 55, 285 ; Pen-
ghuluship of, ii. 281 ; and
the Sham-fight, ii. 291 ;
speculations of, on the
Earth's motion, ii. 215
Tama Kajan Odoh, Madang chief.
Descent claimed from Bal-
ingo, ii. II tfc ;?. 3, 12 <£,• «.i ;
Map of the Afterworld by,
ii, 43-4 ; Teeth of Balingo
owned by, ii. 11 «.3
Tama Kuling, Kenyah Chief, Symbolic
gifts exchanged with,
ii. 220-1 ; peace policy of,
ii. 206
Tama Usong, Kayan chief, Penghulu-

ship of, ii. 281
Tama Usun Tasi, Madang Chief,
ii. 286 ; official visit to,
ii. 289 et seq.
Tanjongs, Baskets of, i. 214, 224

Tatu of, i. 264
Tapang tree. Bee-nests in, i. 1 54
Klemantan and Iban beliefs on,
ii. 114
Tatu, Kayan, i, 224, 233, 264, ii. 166
Women, i, 251-2, 255, 262,
ii. 47 <{?«.!
Kenyah Klemantan, i. 261 etseq.
Long Utan, i. 266-7
Long Wai, i. 264

Murut, and Klemantan, i. 26i\ et seq.
Ot-Danum, Ulu Ayar, and Siang,

i. 268 et seq.
Process, i. 253

Regulations concerning, i. 247
Sea Dayak, i. 273-7
Uma Luhat, i. 263-4
Upper class women, i. 69
Tatuer, office of, and fees, i. 252-3
Tau tepang, Sorcery, inherited powers
of, Sea Dayak, ii. X16-7

Tawak, ceremonial uses of, i. 172,

180, ii. x$(i et alibi
Taxation, Sarawak, ii. 270, 274,

279-80, 281, 299, 305
Telang Ading streamlet, Legend of,

ii. 25-6

Temperature, range of, i. 4-5
Tenggerese, Indonesians in Java,

ii. 312
"Terminological inexactitude," ii. 249
Testicles of Squirrel in Kayan

Medicine, ii. 207-8 dl- n. i
Therapeutics and Magic, Kayan,

ii. 28 et sqq. , 120 et sqq.
Thomas, Oldfield, cited, ii. 104
Thunder, Kenyah ideas on, ii. 11

<fc«.3, 14
Thunder and Storm god —
Kayan, ii. 5, 6, ii<{;«.3
Kenyah, ii. 11 <{; «. 3

Descent claimed from, ii. 11 -12
Klemantan relation to, ii. 11
Thunderstorms, i. 5
Tibang-Iran Mountains, i. i
Tickling of Fish, i. 140
Tiger, Kayan and Kenyah attitude to,

ii. 4, 72-3, 77
Tiger-cat, Asiatic, i. 3

Hunted for Skin, &c. , i. 144
Kenyah attitude to, ii. 72, 77
Skins, Chiefs' War-coats of, i. 163

Tabu to Parents, ii. 157
Spirits embodied in, Kayan belief

on, ii. 4
Teeth as ornaments, i, 10, 12, 45
Timber trees {see also Iron-wood),
i. 6
for Boat-making, i. 199
Tinjar river, ii. 284
Toad, in Barawan Story, ii. 151-7
Toala race, Dravidian element in,
ii. 229 ; Melanesian strain
in, ii. 312
Tobacco, as Bride-gift, Punan, ii.
184
Chewing, Sea Dayaks, i. 60
Cultivation, Kayan, i. 54, 60
in Medicine, ii. 208
Smoking, Kayan, i. 60
Toh, meaning of word, ii. 4, 18, 19
All-pervadingness of, ii. 23
Benign and Malign, ii. 22-5
Conduct as affected by belief in,

ii. 23 et seq. , 204
of Death, &c. , Precautions against,

ii- 33. 37
of Hills, ii. 25
Kayan attitude to and cult of, ii. 4,

20 etseq., 194
Pain caused by. Treatment of,

ii. 28, 120
Possession by, see Madness
Propitiation of, ii. 23-6
in relation to Rice, ii. 23
Toilet operations, i. 116

INDEX

2>72>

Tokong, Divine ancestor of, Punans
and Sebops, ii. 138-9
Legend of, bearing on Head-taking,
i. 189
Tombs, Kayan {see also Chiefs under
that head), ii. 3, 35-6, 240
Klemantah, i. 242, ii. 48-9, 50
Malanau, ii. 81
Top-spinning, Kayan boys, ii. 163
Tortoise and Mouse-deer in Kenyah

Fable, ii. 147 et seq.
Tortoises, i. 7 ; not eaten by Kayans,

ii. 79
Totemism, in relation to Animal beliefs
in Borneo, discussed, ii. 96
et seq.
Decay of. Rice culture in relation to,

ii. 97
and Dreams, in America, ii. 112

Origin of, suggested theory of,

ii. 109 et seq.
Trade, development of, in Sarawak,

ii. 271, 281, 307
of Early Dutch in Borneo, ii. 139

Traders, travelling, treatment by

Kayans, &c. , ii. 202
Trance, beliefs occasioned by, Kayan

and Murik, ii. 42-3
Trap fruit, ii. 6

Trappers' Charms, Sea Dayak, ii. 127
Traps, Defensive, i. 179

Fishing, ii. 137-9

Hunting, i. 144, 145-9
Tree, upturned, in Kayan rites, ii. 5
Tree-felling, i. 99-100
Trees, i. 6

Furnishing Bark for Cloth, i. 230

left for Toh, Bull-roarer hung in,
ii. 23
Tribes, claiming descent from Spirits,
ii. 10, II

Coastal, see Sea Dayaks, Sc.

Interior, ii. 311

Names derived from Rivers, ii. 313

Which do not Tatu, i. 245-6
Trings, Culture of, ii. 247

Ethnic affinities of, ii. 248

Locale of, i. 35

Women, Tatu of, i. 264
Trogan, as Omen-bird, i. 75, 169,

ii- 59
Trusan District, ii. 262, 269
Tua, or Ngarong [q.v.), in Nyuak's

papers, ii. 114
Tuak Kampong, office and duties of,

Sarawak, ii. 272
Tulah defined, ii. 14 n. i

Turtle, not eaten by Kayans, ii. 79
Twins, Kayan customs as to, ii. 156

Ukang Bird, Omens from, ii. 59
Ukits, Nomad Hunters, i. 35, ii. 177
Anthropological measurements of,

ii- 336
Locale of, ii. 178
Tatu of, i. 247, 269-73
Uku Pundah, a Murik Lazarus,

ii. 42-3
Ula Gemilang, chief god of the Mala-
nau, ii. 130, Exorcism by

ii- 134-5
Ulu Ai Dayaks, Ngarong cult of,

ii- 93
Ulu Ajars, or Ayars, or Ot-Danuns

Ethnology of, ii. 313

Face-form, ii. 326

Hair, ii. 312, 326

Head-form, ii. 326

Locale of, ii, 313

Skin colour, ii. 312, 326

Stature, ii. 326

Tatu, i. 268-9
Uma Long women, Tatu of, i. 264-5
Uma Tow, see Lepu Tau
Upper classes, Kayan and Kenyah,

i. 69-70
Urip, use and force of word, ii. 11,

34
Usai, Long Kiput Stories of, ii. 142

et seq.
Usun Apoh, Central Mountain, rivers

rising in, i. 2, ii. 232, 279

Vases {see also Jars), Chinese, Sea

Dayaks' treasures, i. 62 ;

inheritance of, i. 84
Vegetable Tallow, source and uses of,

i. 155, ii. 182
Verbosity and Oratory, i. 127-8,

ii. 216, 285, 290
Villages, arrangement of, Kayan, and

other tribes, i. 40, 54, 64,

83
and Districts, administration by
Chiefs, Sarawak, ii. 272
et seq.
Average population, i. 39-40
Life in. Events of, i. 123
Violent Death, home of Souls after,

ii. 40, 47
Visits and Visitors, i. 123 et sqq.
Votive Sacrifice, ii. 91 (fc«. i

Wailing for the Dead, Kayan, ii. 33
Waist-cloths, arrangement of, i. 43
Wallace's line, i. 3

374 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO

Walls, partition, i. 208
War-alarm, by Tawak, i. 180
War-boats, or Canoes, capacity of, i. 56
Construction, i. 199 et seq.
Kayan, i. 166-7
Klemantan, Crocodile prows of,

ii. 83
Racing with, at Claudetown peace-
making, ii. 293 et seq.
War-Chief, Supreme, Kayan, ii. 12
War-caps, i. 161-2
Construction, i. 215
Hornbill feathers in, ii. 59
War-coats, i. 161, 163
Hornbill feathers in, ii. 59
Skins used for, ii. 72, 73, 77
War-clothing, i. 161-3
War-dance, Kayan, ii. 167-8
Warfare, Kayan and Kenyah, i. 158
et seq., 184-5; Sea Dayak
i. 184, 185
Attack, i. I, 59-60, 168, 171 et seq.
Ritual preliminaries, i. 168-9, i70«

ii. 55
Defence, i. ijSetseq., 183
Initiation into, of Boys, i. 174-5
Loot, and Prisoners, i. 173
Successful return, triumph after,
i. 174
Heads, ceremonies connected with,
i. 176-8
Tactics, 1. 171-2, 180^/ seq.
War-god, Kayan, ii. 5, 6, 18, 19
Kenyah, ii. 6, 13, z$ et seq.
Sea Dayak, ii. 85

Supreme Being evolved from,
speculations on, ii. \6 et
seq.
War-omens and tabus {see also Bali
Flaki, <kc.)}\. 168-71, ii. 15
War-songs, of Mourning, i. 176
Water Beetles, Divination by, i. 112-3
Water-buffalo, Kalabit uses of, ii. 107
Watersheds, i. 2, ii. 279
Wave-offerings, Fowls as, ii. 67
Weapons (see Iron-wood Bar, Javelins,
Spears, Swords, &c.), i. 46,
it^K) et seq.
Charms connected with, ii. 127
Karen, ii. 238
Murut, ii. 246
Punan, ii. 190
Sea Dayak, ii. 25i<fc«.2
Weaving, i. 221 et seq.
Weight, Kenyah, i. 38

Whistling, in Malanau Exorcism,

ii. 132
Widows, name for, i. 80
Wild Cattle, see Cattle
Wind-spirit, in Sea Dayak legend,

ii- 145-7
Winnowing the Rice, i. 119
Woman goddesses of Kayans, ii. 6,
7, 15, and Kenyahs, ii. 15
Women, see also Childbirth and
Medicine Women
Clothing, head - dresses and orna-
ments of, i. 46-8
in relation to the cult of Bali Flaki,

ii- 52. 57
Corset of. Sea Dayak, i. 46-7, 197,

ii. 252
as Dayongs, ii. 29

Domestic life and duties of, i. 1 16-21
Dress of, worn by Sea Dayak,

Manang, ii. 116
Fishing-net peculiar to, i. 135-6
Kayan, Pregnant, Tabus of, ii. 153

et seq.
Tatu among, i. 251-2, 255, 262,

ii. 47 <{,- n. I
Lepu Tau, Tatu of, i. 262
Part of, in Agriculture —

Actual, i. 103-4, and Ritual,

i. 110-3
Part of, in Head-suspension, i. 177
Upper class, aspect, and duties,

i. 69
Wood, Kayan Sword - handles of,

ii. i37<fc«.i
Wood-carving, technique, tools, &c. ,

i. 224-6
Klemantan skill in, i. 224, ii. 19
Woodpecker (Kieng), as Omen-bird,

ii- 59
Woodworking, see Boats, Dishes,
Houses, Shields, Sword-
sheaths, Wood - carving,

&C., d'C.

Wounds, Kayan treatment of, ii. 209
Wrestling, Kayan, ii. 164
Writing, introduced by Klings, i. 9
(t n.2

Yam-leaf in art, i. 243

Yaws, of Kayan children, ii. 159

Kayan medicine for, ii. 206
Yellow, in Kayan mourning, ii. 37

Zoology, geological indications from,
i- 3-4

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