THE JOURNEY CONTINUED UP THE KAYAN RIVER--FIRST EXPERIENCE OF KIHAMS, OR
RAPIDS--WITH KENYAH BOATMEN--ADVANTAGE OF NATIVE COOKING--LONG
PELABAN--THE ATTRACTIVE KENYAHS--SOCIAL STRATA--CUSTOMS AND
HABITS--VALUABLE BEADS
At Long Pangian several days were spent in vain efforts to secure men and
prahus to continue the journey up the Kayan River. The few Malays about,
as usual, did not believe in work, but the posthouder finally succeeded in
calling Kenyahs from the river above, and on the 1st of May we started
with five prahus and twenty-four men. It was quite refreshing to hear
again the joyous shouts of the paddlers, who worked eagerly and quickly
against the strong current. A little over an hour brought us to some
well-known rapids, or "kihams," as they usually are called in Borneo.
Formerly this Kiham Raja had a bad reputation, Dayaks being killed here
occasionally every year, but of late the government has blasted out rocks
and made it more passable. However, even now it is no trifle to negotiate
these rapids. Below them we halted and threw explosive Favier into the
water in the hope of getting fish, and as soon as the upheaval of the
water began the Kenyahs, as if by a given signal, hurried all the prahus
out to the scene. With other natives than Dayaks this would have given me
some anxiety, as the boats were heavily laden and contained valuable
cameras and instruments. We secured quite a number of fish and the Kenyahs
had a good time.
The traveller soon assumes a feeling of confidence in these experienced
men as, according to circumstances, they paddle, pole, or drag the prahu
by a long piece of rattan tied to the inside of the bow. In passing these
rapids most of them got out and dragged us by the rattan, but as the shore
consisted of big stones that sometimes were inaccessible, they would often
throw themselves with the rope into the foaming water and manage to get
foothold a little further up. Sometimes it looked as if they would not
succeed, the prahu receding precariously, but they were so quick in their
movements and the prahus followed each other so closely that it was
possible to give mutual help.
Amban Klesau, the only son of the chief of Long Mahan, directed my prahu.
He had taken part in an expedition to New Guinea and was an efficient and
pleasant man who had seen something of the world, but his attire was
fantastic, consisting of a long white nightshirt with a thin red girdle
around the waist, to which was attached his parang adorned with many
ornaments. He liked that shirt, for he did not take it off all day,
notwithstanding the extreme heat. The dry season had set in, and though in
our travels I took good care to place mats over the iron boxes in which
cameras and plates were kept, still they became warm. When I photographed,
perspiration fell like rain-drops. At Long Mahan (mahan = difficulties, or
time spent) we found the pasang-grahan occupied by travelling Malays, two
of whom were ill from a disease resembling cholera, so we moved on to a
ladang a little higher up, where we found a camping-site.
Next day we stopped to photograph a beautiful funeral house on the bank of
the river, in which rest the remains of a dead chief and his wife. This
operation finished, the Dayaks prepared their midday meal consisting of
rice alone, which they had brought in wicker bottles. A number of bamboo
sticks were procured, which were filled with rice and water and placed in
a row against a horizontal pole and a fire was kindled underneath. As soon
as this cooking was finished the bamboos were handed to the chief, Amban
Klesau, who in the usual way split one open with his parang to get at the
contents. Having eaten, he distributed the rest of the bamboos. I was
given one, and upon breaking it open a delicious smell met my olfactory
sense. The rice, having been cooked with little water, clung together in a
gelatinous mass which had a fine sweet taste, entirely lacking when cooked
in the white man's way.
During my travels in Borneo I often procured such rice from the Dayaks. It
is a very clean and convenient way of carrying one's lunch, inside of a
bamboo, the open end closed with a bunch of leaves. Fish and meat are
prepared in the same manner. With fish no water is used, nevertheless,
when cooked it yields much juice, with no suggestion of the usual
mud-flavoured varieties of Borneo. It will remain wholesome three days, and
whenever necessary the bamboo is heated at the bottom. One who has tasted
meat or cereals cooked between hot stones in earth mounds knows that, as
regards palatable cooking, there is something to learn from the savages.
It is a fact that Indians and Mexicans prepare green corn in a way
superior to that employed by the best hotels in New York. There is no
necessity of returning to the bamboo and hot stones as cooking utensils,
but why not accept to a greater extent the underlying principle of these
methods?
In the evening we arrived at Long Pelaban, a large Kenyah kampong, where
for some time I made my headquarters. On the opposite bank of the river we
cut the tall grass and jungle and made camp. Soon we were visited by many
small boys who afterward came every day to look for tin cans. With few
exceptions they were not prepossessing in appearance; nearly all were
thin, and one was deaf and dumb, but they were inoffensive and
well-behaved. During my travels among Dayaks I never saw boys or girls
quarrel among themselves--in fact their customary behaviour is better than
that of most white children. Both parents treat the child affectionately,
the mother often kissing it.
The sumpitan (blow-pipe) is found in his room, but the Kenyah usually
prefers to carry a spear when he goes hunting. In his almost daily trips
to the ladang he also takes it along, because instinctively mindful of
enemy attacks. The Kenyahs are physically superior to the Kayans and the
other natives I met, and more free from skin disease. They are less
reserved than the Kayans, who are a little heavy and slow. In none of
these tribes is any distrust shown, and I never saw any one who appeared
to be either angry or resentful. Though the so-called Dayaks have many
traits in common, of them all the Kenyahs are the most attractive. They
are intelligent and brave and do not break a contract; in fact, you can
trust their word more completely than that of the majority of common white
people. Neither men nor women are bashful or backward, but they are always
busy, always on the move--to the ladang, into the jungle, building a
house, etc. Murder by one of the same tribe is unknown and a lonely
stranger is quite safe in the kampong, where they do not like to kill
anybody.
Among the Kenyahs and Kayans and many other tribes are found distinct
social strata, upper, middle, and low. The first class ranks as a sort of
nobility and until recent times had slaves, who were kindly treated. The
members of the second class have less property, but they are active in
blacksmithing, making prahus, determining the seasons by astronomical
observations, etc. These well-bred Dayaks are truthful and do not steal.
In their conception a thief will have to carry around the stolen goods on
his head or back in the next life, forever exposed to scorn and ridicule.
Third-class people are descendants of slaves and, according to the
posthouder at Long Pangian, himself a Dayak, they are the more numerous on
the Kayan River. These may tell lies, and ten per cent of them are apt to
appropriate small articles, but they never steal money.
The Kenyah woman is most independent, and may travel unaccompanied by
another woman with a party of men for days, sleeping aside, separate from
the men. She and her husband both bring wood to the house and she does the
cooking. No man has ever been known to beat or kill his wife. If
dissatisfied, either may leave the other. The daughter of the chief at
Long Mahan had had three husbands. Abortive plants are used, but the men
do not know what they are.
Every day I went to the kampong, and it was a pleasure to visit these
still primitive natives. Women, as usual, were timid about being
photographed, for it is a universal belief that such an operation prevents
women from bearing children. However, by giving money, cloth, sugar, or
the like, which would enable them to offer some little sacrifice to
protecting spirits, I usually succeeded. But if a woman is pregnant or has
care of a small child, no inducements are of any avail, as an exposure to
the camera would give the child bad luck or a disease that might kill it.
The women here had the teeth of the upper jaw in front filed off, but not
the men, who make plugs from yellow metal wire, procured in Tandjong
Selor, with which they adorn their front teeth, drilling holes in them for
the purpose. The plug is made with a round flat head, which is the
ornamental part of it, and without apparent rule appears in one, two, or
three incisors, usually in the upper jaw, sometimes in both. One of my men
took his out to show to me.
The women are cleanly, combing their hair frequently and bathing three
times daily. The men bathe even oftener; still all of them have more or
less parasites in their hair and frequently apply lime juice in order to
kill them. A young woman, whom I remembered as one of two who had danced
for the kinematograph, had considerable charm of manner and personal
attraction; it was a trifle disconcerting to find my belle a little later
hunting the fauna of her lover's head. Her nimble fingers were deftly
expert in the work and her beloved was visibly elated over the
demonstration of her affection.
These natives do not tolerate hair on the body and pull it out or shave it
off. The men even remove the hair at the edge of the scalp all around the
head, letting the remainder attain a growth of about sixty centimetres,
and this is tucked up in a coil under the cap. The hair of eyebrows and
eyelids is removed with great care. The women perform this operation, and
tweezers made for the purpose are usually seen among the ornaments that
hang from the tops of their hats. I was told that people careful about
their appearance have their eyes treated in this manner every ten or even
every five days. It is a service which a young man's "best girl" is glad
to perform and a couple thus engaged may often be seen. Truly the wiles of
Cupid are many.
The Dayaks are fond of ornaments and the Kenyahs are no exception. The
extraordinary number of large tin or brass rings worn in the vastly
distended ear-lobe is well known and is the striking feature in the
appearance of most tribes. I was told that among the Kenyahs the ear-lobes
of children are pierced when the infant is seven days old. Especially the
women of this and many other tribes carry this fashion to extremes, the
lobe being so elongated that it may be twisted twice around the ear. The
heavy weight of rings sometimes breaks the thin band to which the lobe has
been stretched. The men may also wear rings, though they remove them when
going into the utan or to the ladang, and, although in this regard the
males make less display than the females, in the wearing of valuable
necklaces they excel them.
Necklaces of beads are worn by men, women, and children. When money is
obtained by selling rubber to the Chinese, or by taking part in an
expedition to New Guinea, there is much display of such ornaments, many of
which are manufactured in Europe. But the Dayaks are extremely particular
about the kind they buy; therefore it is useless to take beads out to
Borneo without knowing the prevalent fashion. On the Kayan River a
favoured style of bead is tubular in form, light yellow in hue, and
procured from Bugis traders who are said to obtain their stock in New
Guinea. Others of similar shape, but brown in colour, come from Sumatra.
When children are small they are carried on the backs of their mothers in
a kind of cradle, the outside of which is often elaborately adorned with
beads. The chief in Long Pelaban had one, the value of which I computed to
be two thousand florins. The choicest beads are very old and have been
kept for centuries in Borneo. Some are thought to be of Venetian origin,
while others resemble a Roman variety. It is very difficult to induce the
Dayaks to sell any of these, which they guard as precious heirlooms and
the value of which they fully realize. According to Hose and McDougall,
the wife of a rich chief in Sarawak may possess old beads to the value of
thousands of pounds.