AMONG THE DUHOI (OT-DANUMS)--RICH COLLECTIONS--THE KAPATONGS--THE BATHING
OF DAYAK INFANTS--CHRISTMAS EVE--THE FLYING BOAT--MARRIAGE CEREMONIES
As we approached the kampong Kuala Braui, our next objective, the men in
our prahus began yelling in time, in a manner surprisingly like a college
yell. We were received at the landing float by the "onder" of the place, a
nervous and shy but intelligent looking Duhoi. Pajamas graced his tall
form as an outward sign that he was more than an ordinary Dayak, and he
wore the same suit every day for a week without washing it. He spoke very
few Malay words, which made intercourse with him difficult. Very gentle
and retiring, by those unacquainted with the Dayaks he would be regarded
as unlikely to possess head-hunting proclivities; nevertheless, twenty
years previous to my visit, this same man avenged members of his family
who had been deprived of their heads by Penyahbongs, killing two of the
band and preserving their heads. Ten years before he had presented them to
Controleur Baren on the Kayan River, thus depriving me of the chance I had
hoped for on my arrival.
The small kampong on the river bank, which here is over twenty metres high
and very steep, is new, and a primitive pasang grahan was in course of
erection. Six men were much entertained by the novel work of putting up my
tent and received tobacco as remuneration. The place lies near an affluent
from the north, called Braui, which is more difficult of ascent than the
Samba on account of its many kiams. The kapala of the kampong, with two
prahus, had ascended it in twenty days. The Dayaks told me that if they
wanted gold they were able to wash much in these rivers when the water is
low.
I heard here of large congregations of wild pigs, up to 500 or 1,000. When
the herds, called dundun, have eaten all the fruit at one place they move
to another, feeding and marching, following one leader. They can be heard
at a great distance, and there is time to seek safety by climbing a tree
or running. When hunting pigs in the customary way, with dogs and spears,
men have been killed by these animals, though the victims are never eaten.
A fine rusa with large horns was killed one day when crossing the river,
and I preserved the head. It seemed to me to have shorter hair on the back
and sides than this deer usually has, and was larger. The flesh tasted
extremely well, in fact much better than that of the ordinary variety.
During our stay here, in December, a strong wind blew almost every day,
late in the afternoon, not always bringing rain, and quite chilly after
sunset.
When Schwaner made his memorable exploration in 1847 he did not come up
the Samba, but ascended the Katingan River, returning to Western Borneo
over the mountains that bear his name. Controleur Michielsen, in 1880, was
the first European to visit the Samba River, and since then it has been
ignored by explorers. It is part of a large region occupied by the
Ot-Danums, a name which signifies people living at the sources (ot) of the
rivers (danum = water, river). They are found chiefly around the headwaters
of the Kapuas and the Kahayan, and on the Samba and Braui. Some also live
on the upper tributaries to the Katingan, for instance on the Hiran. On all
these rivers they may number as many as 5,000, about 1,200 of which should
be located on the Samba and the Braui. The last figures are fairly correct,
but the first ones are based only on information derived from native
sources.
On the Samba, where I met the Ot-Danums, they are known as Duhoi, a name
applied by themselves and other tribes. They are still in a primitive
condition, though in outward appearance beginning to show the effect of
foreign influence. While a few wear chavats and sometimes becoming rattan
caps, nearly all cut their hair, and they no longer have sumpitans. Higher
up the river is a Malay kampong consisting of settlers from the Western
Division. Occasional traders also bring about inevitable changes, though
as yet few of these Dayaks speak Malay.
The Kahayans who live to the east of them always liked to come to the
Samba, often marrying Duhoi wives, and they also exert an influence. In
intellect they are superior to the Duhoi as well as in knowledge of
worldly affairs, in that respect resembling the Malays, though they have
none of their objectionable qualities. One or two of them are generally
present in a kampong, and I always found them useful because they speak
Malay well besides being truthful and reliable. Some of these are converts
to Christianity through the efforts of the Protestant mission on the
Kahayan River, which has begun to extend its activity to the Samba by
means of such Kahayans.
I prevailed on the "onder" to call the people from three kampongs above,
promising presents of rice. He wrote the order himself in Arabic letters
and sent it on, and late the following day twenty-five Duhoi arrived,
among them four women and several children. Many showed indications of
having had smallpox, not in a scarred face, but by the loss of an eye; one
man was totally blind from the same cause. In order to induce them to
dance I bought a domestic pig, which was brought from the ladang and in
the customary way was left on the ground in the middle of the dancing
place. Four men attended to the gongs which had unusually fine tones.
The women were persuaded to come forward with difficulty. As I expected,
they were like bundles of cloth, exhibiting Malay innovations, and the
dance was uninteresting, each woman keeping her position in a stationary
circle. There was not much life in the dancing of the men either, each
performing at his place in a similar circle, with some movements
resembling the most common form of dancing hitherto described. Finally,
one whose long hair and attire, an ancient short shirt, betrayed him as
belonging to the old school, suddenly stepped forward, drew his parang,
and began to perform a war dance, swinging himself gracefully in a circle.
Another man was almost his equal, and these two danced well around the
babi which was lying at the foot of two thin upright bamboo poles; to the
top of one of these a striped cloth had been tied.
This meeting was followed by friendly dealings with the Dayaks of the
kampongs above, who began to visit me. Silent and unobtrusive, they often
seated themselves before my tent, closely observing my movements,
especially at meal time, eager to get the tin that soon would be empty. A
disagreeable feature, however, was that the natives often brought
mosquitoes with them, and when they began to slap themselves on arms and
legs their absence would have been more acceptable than their company. But
each day they offered for sale objects of great interest and variety.
Several beautifully engraved wah-wah (long armed monkey) bones, serving as
handles for women's knives, are worthy of mention, one of which might be
termed exquisite in delicate execution of design. Admirable mats were made
by the tribe, but the designs proved perplexing to interpret, as knowledge
on the subject seems to be lost. The difficulty about an interpreter was
solved when the "onder's" clerk returned from a brief absence; he was an
intelligent and trustworthy Kayan who spoke Malay well, had been a
Christian for six years, but adopted Islam when he married a Bakompai
wife. Compared with the retiring "onder," who, though a very good man,
seemed to feel the limitations of his position, this Kahayan appeared more
like a man of the world.
I made a large collection of kapatongs (in Kahayan, hapatong), which here,
and in less degree on the Katingan, I found more abundant than in any
region of Borneo visited. These interesting objects are carved
representations of a good antoh, or of man, bird, or animal which good
antohs have entered, and which, therefore, are believed to protect their
owners. When the carving has been finished the blian invokes a beneficent
antoh to take it in possession, by dancing and singing one or two nights
and by smearing blood on it from the sacrifice of a fowl, pig, or a
water-buffalo--formerly often taken from a slave. As with a person, so with
a kapatong; nobody is permitted to step over it lest the good antoh which
resides in it should become frightened and flee.
Kapatongs are made from ironwood; they are of various kinds and serve many
purposes. The larger ones, which appear as crude statues in many kampongs
of Southern Borneo, more rarely on the Mahakam, are supposed to be
attendants on the souls of the dead and were briefly described in Chapter
XII.
The smaller kapatongs are used for the protection of the living and all
their earthly belongings or pursuits. These images and their pedestals are
usually carved from one block, though the very small ones may be made to
stand inside of an upright piece of bamboo. Some kapatongs are placed in
the ladang to protect the crops, others in the storehouse or inside the
baskets where rice or food is kept. The monkey, itself very predatory on
the rice fields, is converted into an efficient watchman in the form of
its image, which is considered an excellent guardian of boiled rice that
may be kept over from one meal to the next.
For protection at night the family may have a number of images, preferably
seven, placed upright and tied together, standing near the head of the
bed; a representation of the tiger-cat is placed on top of it all, for he
impersonates a strong, good antoh who guards man night and day. From the
viewpoint of the Katingans the tiger-cat is even more powerful than the
nagah. When cholera or smallpox is apprehended, some kapatongs of fair
size are left standing outside the room or at the landing places of the
prahus. Images representing omen birds guard the house, but may also be
carried on a journey in a basket which is placed near the head when a man
is sleeping in a prahu or on land. A kapatong of one particular omen bird
is thus capable of allaying any fear if real omen birds or snakes should
pass in front of the boat.
On head-hunting expeditions kapatongs were of prime importance. Smeared
with blood, they were taken along for protection and guidance, and
afterward were returned to the room. Some of them are very curious; a
favourite one represents a pregnant woman, the idea being that a woman
with a child is a good watcher, as the infant cries and keeps her awake.
That the child is not yet born is of no consequence. In my possession is a
kapatong of the head-hunters which represents a woman in the act of
bearing a child. Among the Dayaks the woman is regarded as the more alert
and watchful; at night it is she who perceives danger and thrusts her hand
against her husband's side to arouse him.
When feasts occur kapatongs, etc., are taken outside the house to partake
of blood from the animal or (formerly) the slave sacrificed. They are
supposed to drink it and are smeared with it. When important they are
never sold, but are transmitted as heirlooms from father to son. They
passed in a circuit among brothers, remaining three to five years with
each, and were the cause of much strife, brother having been known to kill
brother if deprived of his kapatong.
Many of those which came into my possession showed distinct traces of the
application of blood. Some had necklaces around the necks as a sign that
they had received human blood. A few of these were later estimated by an
intelligent Dayak to be two hundred years old. At the time of purchase I
was struck with the fact that the Ot-Danums were parting with objects of
great importance in their religious life. One reason is that the young
generation no longer practises head-hunting, which necessitated the use of
a great number of kapatongs. The people are gradually losing faith in
them.
These Duhoi were curiously varying in their physical aspects; some were
tall, like the "onder," others of medium size; some had hooked noses,
others turned up noses. The wife of the "onder" had unusually light skin,
but there was no indication of a mixture of white blood. Their temperament
is peaceful and gentle, and, according to the Kahayan clerk, who had been
here ten years, they are truthful. Most of those that were measured came
from the kampongs above, one of which is only two or three hours away.
Several men had their foreheads shaved in a manner similar to the Chinese,
a straight line from ear to ear forming the hair limit. I observed the
same fashion with the Upper Katingans, and in rare cases also with the
Kayans and Kenyahs. They make fire by drilling one upright stick into
another lying on the ground. Seven is their sacred number. Formerly the
kampongs elected a kapala for an indefinite period. If he was satisfactory
he might remain a long time. At present the native kapala of the district
makes the appointment.
Among my friends here were the kapala of the kampong and his wife. She was
an interesting woman, very intelligent, with a slender but splendid
figure, and her face was curiously Mongolian. She had lost an eye by
smallpox, but there was so much light and vivacity in the brown one she
had left that the missing organ was forgotten. At first sternly refusing
to face the camera, after receiving chocolate like the rest both she and
her husband wanted to be photographed.
More than once I have seen the Dayak father here and elsewhere take the
youngest baby to the river to bathe. As soon as the navel is healed, about
eight days after birth, the infant is immersed, usually twice a day,
before seven o'clock in the morning and at sunset. The temperature of the
river water here in the morning was 72° F. It is astonishing how the
helpless little nude being, who can neither walk nor talk, remains
absolutely quiet while being dipped under the cold water again and again.
The father holds it in a horizontal position for immersion, which lasts
only a few moments, but which undoubtedly would evoke lusty cries from a
white child. Between the plunges, which are repeated at least three times,
with his hand he strokes water from the little body which after a few
seconds is dipped again. It seems almost cruel, but not a dissenting voice
is heard. The bath over he takes the child into his arms, ascends the
ladder of the river bank and carries it home as silent as when it went
forth. Sometimes one may hear children cry from being cross, but as a rule
they are charming.
Monkeys, including the orang-utan, are eaten, but not the crocodile nor
the tiger-cat. In accordance with the prevailing Dayak custom men and
women eat at the same time. If they choose, women may accompany fishing or
hunting expeditions if not far away, but when the game is wild ox or
rhinoceros they are not allowed to take part. When there is an overflow of
the river one cannot go hunting, nor if one should fall at the start, nor
if the rattan bag should drop when the man slings it on his back, or if
anybody sneezes when about to leave the house. If when going out on an
errand one stubs his toe against the threshold, he must wait an hour.
Having started on a fishing or hunting expedition nobody is permitted to
go back home; should this be done the enterprise would be a failure for
the others; nor should the dogs, on a pig hunt, be called in while on a
ladang lest monkeys and deer eat the paddi. When about to undertake a
journey of more than four or five days' duration one must abstain from
eating snake or turtle, and if a pregnant woman eats these reptiles the
child will look like them. Should she eat fruit that has fallen to the
ground, the child will be still-born. The same prohibition applies to
lizards.
Up to twenty years ago the Duhoi and the Katingans made head-hunting raids
on each other. It was the custom to take a little flesh from the arm or
leg of the victim, which was roasted and eaten. Before starting on such an
expedition the man must sleep separate from his wife seven days; when
going pig-hunting the separation is limited to one day. On the Upper Samba
the custom still prevails of drinking tuak from human skulls. This was
related to me by the "onder" of Kasungan, a trustworthy man who had
himself seen it done.
A wide-awake kapala from one of the kampongs above was of excellent
service in explaining the purposes of the ethnological objects I
purchased. About articles used by women he was less certain, but he gave
me much valuable information, though it was impossible to keep him as long
as I desired because he felt anxious about the havoc rusa and monkeys
might make with his paddi fields. At five o'clock of an afternoon I had
finished, and in spite of a heavy shower the kapala left to look after his
paddi, with a night journey of six hours before him. These people are
satisfied with little, and he was happy to receive, besides rice and
money, a quantity of cocoanut oil and some empty tin cans thrown in.
During this busy day the thought occurred to me that the night was
Christmas eve, the great festival in Scandinavian countries, and I had
made no preparation for a better meal, having neither time nor means. In
fact, it so happened that I had rather less than usual. Nevertheless, the
day had passed happily, as I accomplished much and acquired interesting
information, for instance, about the flying prahu which I had secured. It
was about half a metre long, and this and similar models seem to be quite
an institution in the southern parts of Borneo. The Duhoi and the
Katingans use the contrivance for curing disease, though not in the way we
should expect, by carrying away the disorder, but by making a present of
the prahu to a good antoh to facilitate his journey.
The name of the flying prahu is menáma, in. Katingan, melambong. The more
or less wavy carvings of the edge represent the beach. On board are
several wooden images: The great hornbill which carries the prahu along
and steers it; the tiger-cat, which guards it; the gong and two blanga
(valuable urns), to which are added a modernism in the shape of a
rifle--all are there ready to drive away the bad antoh which caused the
illness. To a pole--or rather a combination of two poles--are tied two
rudely made wooden figures, one above the other, representing, the one
below, the djuragan or skipper (tiháng); the one above, the master of the
"sails" (únda).
When a Duhoi is very ill and able to pay the blian five florins, he
promises a good antoh to give him a menáma if he will make him well. The
contrivance is then made and the necessary ceremonies performed to the end
that its purpose shall be fulfilled. In the presence of many persons, the
afflicted man lying on his mat, the blian dances in the room holding the
prahu on his hands, the left at the bow, and swerving it to left and to
right; he sings at the same time but there is no other music. On three
consecutive nights this performance is continued for about an hour, near
the door, with an eye to the ship's departure, and although it does not
disappear it is believed to have accomplished its mission.
The Duhoi are polygamous, as are the Kahayans. According to a rough
estimate, one-third of the people have one wife, one-third two, and
one-third three. If a girl declines the suitor on whose behalf the father
acts, she is not forced and the matter is closed. Should she agree, then
the price must first be determined, and is paid in goods, gongs, cattle,
domestic pigs, water-buffaloes, etc. Really poor people are not found
here, and the least amount a man pays for his wife is two gongs, which are
procured from the Malay trader.
About sunset people gather for the marriage ceremony. The couple sit on
one gong. A water-buffalo, pig, or fowl having been sacrificed, the blian
sings and smears blood on navel, chest, and forehead of the pair. On
rising to go to their room the bridegroom beats seven times upon the gong
on which they were sitting, and before he enters the door he strikes the
upper lintel three times, shouting loudly with each blow. Food is brought
there, and while the door is left open the newly wedded eat meat and a
stew of nangka seasoned with red pepper and salt, the guests eating at the
same time. After the meal the bridegroom gives everybody tuak, and people
go home the same evening unless they become drunk, which often happens.
The young married couple remain one year with the bride's parents.