BORNEO--_Continued_.
SOCIAL LIFE.
MARRIAGE AMONG THE DYAKS -- COURTSHIP, ACCEPTANCE OR REJECTION -- A
SIBUYAN WEDDING -- CURIOUS DOMESTIC ARRANGEMENTS -- PRIDE OF BIRTH
-- STATE OF MORALITY -- FACILITIES OF DIVORCE -- JEALOUSY, AND ITS
RESULTS -- HOW TO TREAT A RIVAL -- FORBIDDEN DEGREES -- SPORTS AND
GAMES -- BEE HUNTING -- THE BORNEAN SWING -- TRIALS OF STRENGTH AND
EQUILIBRIUM -- TRICKS WITH STRING -- COCK FIGHTING -- THE SWORD DANCE
-- A DYAK WAR DANCE WITH HEADS -- THE CAT-O’-NINE TAILS -- DYAK
FESTIVALS -- STRANGE COOKERY -- THE DURIAN FRUIT -- THE NATIONAL
DRINK, ITS ODOR AND TASTE -- HABIT OF INTOXICATION -- A DYAK CIRCE --
STOUT DRINKERS AND STRONG HEADS -- THE FORCE OF RIDICULE.
Passing from war to peace, we will begin with marriage as practised
among the Dyaks.
In some parts of the country marriage is a very simple business, the
two parties living together as long as they like each other, and
separating if either feels dissatisfied. In any case, as we shall see,
the facilities for divorce are extreme, and the bonds of matrimony are
worn with marvellous looseness.
The reader cannot but have remembered the singular coincidence that
often exists between customs of savage and of civilized life.
Among the Sinambau Dyaks there is a mode of courtship which still
prevails in some parts of Europe, though it is generally falling into
disuse. A young Sinambau Dyak, when struck with the charms of a girl,
shows his preference in various ways, such as helping her in her daily
labor, carrying home her load of wood for her, and making her such
presents as are in his power to give.
After he has carried on these attentions for some time, he thinks
that he may proceed to a more explicit declaration. At night, when
the family is supposed to be asleep, he quietly slides back the bolt
of the door, steals to the spot where his beloved is sleeping under
her mosquito curtains, and gently awakes her. He always brings with
him an abundant supply of betel-nut and sirih leaf, and the two
sit talking together throughout the greater part of the night. It
cannot be expected that the parents of the girl, who sleep in the
same room, should be wholly ignorant of the proceeding, but they are
conventionally supposed to be so, and if they approve of the young man
they take no notice, while if they do not, they use their influence
with the girl to induce her to dismiss him.
The mode of rejection is in keeping with the rest of the proceedings.
Should the girl dislike the too adventurous suitor, she declines
accepting the betel-nut, and merely asks him to blow up the fire or
light the lamp, a request which is tantamount to instant dismissal.
When the marriage takes place a feast is made, and then the parties are
made man and wife without any more ceremony. It is very seldom that the
young couple begin housekeeping on their own account, and, as a general
rule, the bridegroom enters the household of his father-in-law, or, at
all events, of some of his wife’s relations, and so becomes one of the
family, laboring for the common stock, and taking his share when the
head of the household dies. Occasionally this plan is reversed, and
when the bride is one of a large family of brothers and sisters, or if
the bridegroom is the sole support of his parents, she accompanies her
husband, and becomes part of his household.
The ceremony of marriage among the Sibuyan Dyaks of Lundu is worthy
of notice. The artist has given an admirable representation of this
unique ceremony on the following page. Two bars of iron are laid on the
ground in the spot appointed for the ceremony, and the young couple
are brought from opposite ends of the village. The first part of the
ceremony consists in seating them on the bars of iron, as token that
the blessings of their married life are to be as strong as iron. The
priest gives to each of the pair a cigar and some betel-nut and sirih
leaf, which they hold in their hand until the next part of the ceremony
is completed. Taking two fowls in his hands, the priest waves them
over the heads of the couple, and, in the course of a long address,
invokes every blessing upon them. He then solemnly knocks their heads
together three times, after which the bridegroom places the betel-nut
in the mouth of his bride, and inserts the cheroot between her lips,
she afterward doing the same by him, this ceremony being the public
acknowledgment of accepting each other as husband and wife.
After they have thus declared their acceptance of each other, the fowls
are killed, and their blood received in two cups, the color of the
blood being carefully inspected by the priest, and its hue being held
as an omen of the future well-being or misery of the newly married
pair. One of the feasts which will presently be described closes the
ceremonies.
It has already been mentioned that in most cases the bridegroom enters
the family of his wife. But in any case he is bound to honor the father
of his wife even above his own father. The young husband may never even
pronounce the name of his father-in-law, he may not eat from the same
dish, drink from the same cup, or rest on the same mat.
Among another tribe of Dyaks, the Balaus of Lingga, the ceremonies
of marriage are rather different. By way of a propitiatory offering,
the mother of the bridegroom gives to the relatives of the bride some
domestic utensil, such as a plate or a basin, and three days afterward
the very simple ceremony is performed.
The bridegroom’s mother takes a quantity of the areca-nut prepared for
chewing, divides it into three portions, places them in a basket, and
sets them on a sort of altar in front of the bride’s house. The friends
of both parties then assemble, and chew the nuts while they discuss the
future prospects of the young couple, and they decide as to the amount
of fine which the husband shall pay to his wife in case he separates
from her after she is a mother, or when she is likely to be so. In
fact, in their own rough-and-ready way, these Dyaks have contrived to
organize a tolerably complete code of marriage settlements, which,
in consequence of the very easy system of divorce, is absolutely
necessary for the protection of the women.
These Sea Dyaks of Lingga have, in common with all the sea tribes,
the greatest pride of birth; and if a girl were to listen to the
addresses of a man of much inferior rank, her parents would prohibit
the match. In one such case the two lovers fled into the jungle,
poisoned themselves with the juice of the tuba plant, and were found
dead next morning in each other’s arms. So full are they of their
family pride, that they look upon any mixture of their noble blood as a
dire disgrace, and this is carried to so great an extent that, although
within their own degree their morals are of the laxest order, the men
would scorn an intrigue with a woman of low condition.
The Dyaks of Sibuyan are remarkable for the superiority of their morals
when compared with the generality of the Dyak tribes, believing that
immorality is an offence against the higher powers, and that, if a
girl becomes a mother before she is married, she angers the deities
of the tribe, who show their wrath by visitations upon the whole of
the tribe. If, therefore, such a case be discovered, both the erring
lovers are heavily fined, and a pig is sacrificed in order to avert the
anger of the offended deities. Nor do the delinquents always escape
the fine even after the sacrifice of the pig, for every one who was
smitten with sickness, or met with an accident, within a month of the
sacrifice, has a claim on them for damages, as having been the cause
of the misfortune, while, if any one has died, the survivors claim
compensation for the loss of their relative.
The reader will remember that the young people of both sexes live
with their parents, contributing their labor to the common stock, and
being therefore incapable of possessing property of their own. In
consequence of this arrangement, the fines which are levied upon the
lovers practically fall upon the parents, who therefore take care to
look after their daughters, while the young men are partly kept out of
mischief by being obliged to sleep together at the head house.
The Dyaks of the Batang Lupar are more lax in their notion of morality
than the Sibuyans, and it is seldom that a girl is married until she
is likely to become a mother. When this is the case, the lover marries
her as a matter of course, but in those cases where a man denies his
complicity, and the girl is unable to prove it, she is so bitterly
scorned and reproached by her kindred that she generally runs away from
the village. Some such delinquents have been known to take poison in
order to escape the contempt of their relatives and acquaintances. They
are thought to have brought such a disgrace on their family, that the
parents sacrifice a pig to the higher powers, and wash the door of the
house with its blood, in order to propitiate the offended deities.
[Illustration: (1.) A CANOE FIGHT. (See page 1136.)]
[Illustration: (2.) A DYAK WEDDING. (See page 1138.)]
When the pair are married, they almost invariably remain faithful to
each other. There is, however, small credit to them for it, inasmuch
as they can be divorced on the slightest pretext. An evil omen in the
night, such as a “bad bird,” will frighten both parties so much that
they will separate by mutual consent on the next day. Mr. St. John
mentions that many men and women are married seven or eight times
before they finally fix upon a partner with whom they mean to spend the
rest of their lives, and as an example of the exceeding facility for
divorce which exists among the Dyaks, states that he saw a young girl
of seventeen who had already had three husbands.
Still, it is very seldom that married couples part after they are
parents; and if they do so, the family of the women expect a heavy
fine from the fickle husband. Now and then, a married pair are really
so attached to each other that they do not like to part, even when
they hear the voice of a “bad bird.” In such a case they avert the
anger of the superior powers by sacrificing a pig, and are then able
to remain together without fear. It often happens that a man and wife
quarrel, and divorce themselves. After a while, however, they begin to
think that they have made a mistake, and are allowed to renew their
matrimonial relations without any ceremony or fresh rites of marriage.
Mr. St. John mentions a curious case of jealousy after a divorce, and
its consequences.
The Pañgeran Mumein took a Murout girl, and paid her father as a
marriage portion a heavy weight of brass guns--a curious sort of
currency which is much valued by the Dyaks, and perfectly useless for
any practical purposes. He left her for some time, and then, after
she had borne him a child, repudiated her, telling her father that he
did not want her any more, unless she liked to follow him to Brunei.
This, however, the girl refused to do, so the Pañgeran made her father
refund the brass guns, and besides pay a fine of double the amount, as
a penalty for not allowing the girl to go to Brunei, where he meant to
have sold her as a slave. The father paid the fine, and was told that
the girl might then go where she liked, and marry whom she chose, as
was only just after the previous event.
Accordingly, some little time afterward, she did marry one of her
countrymen, whereupon the Pañgeran flew into a fit of jealousy, and
ordered the head man or Orang-Kaya of the village to seize them and
bring them to him. The Orang-Kaya was afraid, and hid himself, so that
the Pañgeran had to employ the Bisayas, who captured the husband and
brought him to their employer. The unfortunate man was then tied up to
the Orang-Kaya’s landing place, and the Pañgeran cut him to pieces with
his own hand, finishing by making a present of his head to the Gadong
Murut Dyaks. Having thus wreaked his vengeance on the man who excited
his jealousy, he allowed the girl and her father to go unharmed. Dyak
history is full of similar tales.
Jealousy is by no means confined to the men, the women being far more
jealous of the men than they of their wives, and with good reason.
There is a tacit law that, whenever a wife detects her husband in
flirting, she may beat her rival to her heart’s content, provided that
she use nothing except a stick, and, if the woman be married, her
husband may beat the disturber of his domestic peace, if he can. The
usual result of discovery in such cases is, that the man goes off into
the bush under the pretext of head hunting, and stays there until he
thinks his wife’s anger has cooled down. If he is fortunate enough to
return with a head, his success as a warrior ensures a condonation for
his shortcomings as a husband.
The Dyaks have a code of forbidden degrees for marriages, differing
slightly in the various tribes, but tolerably uniform on the whole.
Marriage with first cousins is not permitted, they being looked upon as
brother and sister; neither, as a general rule, is an uncle allowed to
marry his niece. To this latter rule, however, there are exceptions.
Marriage with a deceased wife’s sister is almost universally permitted,
and, in fact, encouraged, provided that the parents of the woman
approve of the match, because in that case all the children belong to
one family.
* * * * *
Of sport, as we understand the word, the Dyaks have no idea, though
they possess all the capabilities for it, being active, daring, and
quick sighted. All these characteristics are shown in the mode by which
they supply themselves with honey. They do not keep hives in or near
their houses, but seldom fail to see a bees’ nest in a tree, though the
unaccustomed eyes of an European can see nothing of the bees at the
great height at which the nests are usually found.
Sometimes the stem of the tree rises for a hundred feet without a
branch, and is from fifteen to twenty-five feet in circumference. The
Dyaks, however, ascend such a tree with ease. They bore holes in the
trunk of the tree as high as they can reach, and drive into them wooden
pegs rather more than a foot in length. A stout rattan or a bamboo is
then driven into the ground, and the ends of the wooden pegs are lashed
to it so as to form a sort of ladder, of which the bamboo forms one
side, and the trunk of the tree the other. On this slender ladder they
ascend, drive in more pegs, and lash them to the bamboo, adding one
bamboo after another until the nest is reached.
Nothing looks more insecure than this primitive ladder, which sways
fearfully as the man ascends, the rattan lashings cracking and
creaking as if the whole structure were coming to pieces. It is,
however, perfectly adapted for its purpose, and, armed with a flaming
torch, the almost naked Dyak ascends, and fearlessly takes the nest,
which he lowers down by means of a rattan.
The nest is generally attacked at night, the Dyaks saying the bees
always fly after the sparks that fall from the torch, believing them
to be the enemy that is disturbing the nest, the man himself escaping
unhurt. Some of the tribes have another plan, and before they ascend
the tree light beneath it a large fire in which they throw a quantity
of green branches. The smoke from these branches drives the bees out
of their nest, and stupefies them for a time, so that the combs can be
taken without danger.
Of games which are, in fact, an imitation of war, the Dyaks are equally
ignorant, and, although so warlike a people, they do not wrestle,
nor box, nor race. It would be expected that a people who trust so
much to the sword would exercise with sham weapons, for the purpose
of accustoming themselves to the proper management of the sword and
shield. This, however, they never do, thinking that all such exercises
are unlucky.
They have one game which somewhat resembles our swing, but which
partakes in some degree of the nature of a religious ceremony. A
strong derrick is erected some forty or fifty feet high, and to this
is suspended a stout single rattan, which reaches within a few feet of
the ground. The derrick is strengthened by rattan stays lashed to a
neighboring tree. The end of the rattan is formed into a large loop.
At some distance from the derrick, just where the end of the rattan
describes its circle, a slight bamboo stage is erected. One of the
swingers mounts on the stage, draws the rattan to him by means of
a string, places his foot in the loop, and swings off with as much
impetus as he can give himself. As he returns, another leaps on the
swing, and sometimes two at a time will do so, until ten or twelve are
all swinging away at the same time. Of course, they cannot all put
their feet in the loop, but content themselves with clinging to the
arms and legs of those who have done so. As they swing, they strike up
a monotonous song, which sounds like a dirge. It is, however, merely an
invocation to the deities for a plentiful harvest and a good fishing
season. As may be imagined, they often get bad falls from those swings.
The boys and youths have a game which is familiar to all gymnasts.
The two competitors sit opposite each other on the ground, the soles
of their feet being placed in contact. They then grasp a short stick,
and each tries to pull the other on his face or to raise him off the
ground. There is also a game which bears a close resemblance to our
“prisoners’ base,” twenty or thirty players joining in the game; and
there is another game, which is very much like the “cock fighting” of
English school-boys. The players stand on one foot, holding the other
foot in one hand and try to upset each other, or at least to make their
antagonists put both feet to the ground.
In “cat’s cradle” they are wonderful proficients. Mr. Wallace thought
that he could instruct them in the game but found that they knew much
more about it than he did. They were acquainted with all the mysteries
of the English modification of the game, and produced a vast number of
additional changes from the string. Indeed, the Dyaks can do almost
anything with a piece of string, and they could well instruct our own
conjurors in this branch of legerdemain.
Cock fighting is an amusement of which the Dyaks are very fond, though
they do not indulge in that amusement with the reckless enthusiasm of
the Malays. Mr. St. John writes of the birds used for this purpose:
“We did not see more than a few of these birds in Dyak houses, but
since they are usually kept, when not in training or exercise, closely
wrapped in linen bands and hung on nails in a dry place, they might
easily escape our notice.
“Not having the fear of police magistrates and Humane Society
prosecutions before our eyes, we assisted at one or two brief combats,
evidently mere trial matches to assist the calculations of the
‘bookmakers,’ by testing each bird’s pluck and skill. When this object
was attained by a few minutes’ struggle, held with much secrecy in
the veranda by the gray light of early morning, the cocks were picked
up before any injury was inflicted, and carefully swathed in their
bandages, from the midst of which they soothed their ruffled feelings
with an occasional crow of defiance.”
Allusion has already been made to the feasts held by the Dyaks on
several occasions, and it is only on such festivities that the men
ever use their weapons in sham fight. Even in those cases, they do not
so employ them by way of practising themselves, but merely because
they form part of the movements of the dance. In one of these dances,
described by Mr. Keppel, two swords are laid on a mat in the middle of
the room, and two men advance toward them from opposite sides, waving
their arms, revolving on their toes, and performing various manœuvres
with their legs.
As soon as they come to the mat, they suddenly stoop, seize the swords,
and go through the movements of actual combat, crossing swords,
advancing, retiring, cutting at each other, kneeling at one moment as
if to collect force, and then springing up with renewed energy. Both
dancers have previously studied and practised the various movements,
each of which they make simultaneously.
Sometimes the sword dance is performed with the shield as well as the
sword, and of this dance Mr. Marryat has written so graphic an account
that his own words must be used. The guests were asked if they wished
for a specimen of the war dance.
“Having expressed our wishes in the affirmative, the music struck up;
it consisted of gongs and tom-toms. The Malay gong, which the Dyaks
also make use of, is like the Javanese, thick with a broad rim, and
very different from the gong of the Chinese. Instead of the clanging
noise of the latter, it gives out a muffled sound of a deep tone. The
gong and tom-tom are used by the Dyaks and Malays in war, and for
signals at night, and the Dyaks procure them from the Malays. I said
that the music struck up, for, rude as the instruments were, they
modulate the sound, and keep time so admirably, that it was anything
but inharmonious.
“A space was now cleared in the centre of the house, and two of the
oldest warriors stepped into it. They were dressed in turbans, long
loose jackets, sashes round their waists descending to their feet, and
small bells were attached to their ankles. They commenced by first
shaking hands with the rajah, and then with all the Europeans present,
thereby giving us to understand, as was explained to us, that the dance
was to be considered only as a spectacle, and not to be taken in its
literal sense, as preparatory to an attack upon us, a view of the case
in which we fully coincided with them.
“This ceremony being over, they rushed into the centre and gave a most
unearthly scream, then poising themselves on one foot they described
a circle with the other, at the same time extending their arms like
the wings of a bird, and then meeting their hands, clapping them and
keeping time with the music. After a little while the music became
louder, and suddenly our ears were pierced with the whole of the
natives present joining in the hideous war cry. Then the motions and
the screams of the dancers became more violent, and everything was
working up to a state of excitement by which even we were influenced.
“Suddenly a very unpleasant odor pervaded the room, already too warm
from the numbers it contained. Involuntarily we held our noses,
wondering what might be the cause, when we perceived that one of the
warriors had stepped into the centre, and suspended round the shoulders
of each dancer a human head in a wide-meshed basket of rattan. These
heads had been taken in the late Sakarran business, and were therefore
but a fortnight old. They were encased in a wide network of rattan, and
were ornamented with beads. Their stench was intolerable, although,
as we discovered upon after-examination, when they were suspended
against the wall, they had been partially baked, and were quite black.
The teeth and hair were quite perfect, the features somewhat shrunk,
and they were altogether very fair specimens of pickled heads; but our
worthy friends required a lesson from the New Zealanders in the art of
preserving.
“The appearance of the heads was a sign for the music to play louder,
for the war cry of the natives to be more energetic, and for the
screams of the dancers to be more piercing. Their motions now became
more rapid, and the excitement in proportion. Their eyes glistened
with unwonted brightness, the perspiration dropped down their faces;
and thus did yelling, dancing, gongs, and tom-toms become more rapid
and more violent every minute, till the dancing warriors were ready
to drop. A farewell yell, with emphasis, was given by the surrounding
warriors; immediately the music ceased, the dancers disappeared, and
the tumultuous excitement and noise were succeeded by a dead silence.
“Such was the excitement communicated, that when it was all over we
ourselves remained for some time panting to recover our breath. Again
we lighted our cheroots, and smoked for awhile the pipe of peace.
“A quarter of an hour elapsed, and the preparations were made for
another martial dance. This was performed by two of the Rajah’s sons,
the same young men I have previously made mention of. They came forward
each having on his arm one of the large Dyak shields, and in the
centre of the cleared space were two long swords lying on the floor.
The ceremony of shaking hands, as described, preparatory to the former
dance, was gone through; the music then struck up, and they entered the
arena.
“At first they confined themselves to evolutions of defence, springing
from one side to the other with wonderful quickness, keeping their
shields in front of them, falling on one knee, and performing various
feats of agility. After a short time, they each seized a sword and
then the display was very remarkable, and proved what ugly customers
they must be in single conflict. Blows in every direction, feints of
every description, were made by both, but invariably received upon
the shield. Cumbrous as these shields were, no opening was left;
retreating, pursuing, dodging, and striking, the body was never exposed.
“Occasionally, during this performance, the war cry was given by the
surrounding warriors, but the combatants held their peace; in fact,
they could not afford to open their mouths, lest an opening should be
made. It was a most masterly performance, and we were delighted with
it.”
A rather curious dance was witnessed by Mr. Boyle at a feast of which
an account will presently be given. First two chiefs each took a
sword, and began a maniacal sort of dance, which was intended to be
very imposing, but only succeeded in being very ludicrous, owing to the
fact that both were too much intoxicated to preserve their balance,
and, being of opposite tempers in their cups, one was merry and the
other was sulky.
After this performance was over, a tall chief stepped forward with a
whip, much like a cat-o’-nine-tails, another produced a human head, and
the two began to chase each other round the veranda of the building.
Presently, the chief with the head stopped, and with one foot in the
air began to pirouette slowly, while he swung the head backward and
forward, the chief with the whip lashing vigorously at the spectators,
and laughing derisively at each cut.
After a while these performers became too tired to proceed without
refreshment, and their place was taken by four or five others carrying
blocks of wood having a feather at each end. The foreign guests took
these objects to represent canoes, but were told that they were
rhinoceros hornbills, and were thought by all competent judges to be
fine works of art. Suddenly a number of gongs were beaten, and over the
mass of human beings arose swords, heads, rhinoceros hornbills, and
cat-o’-nine-tails in profusion, the Dyaks being for the time half mad
with excitement.
It was remarkable that in this wild scene no harm was done, no blow
was struck in anger, and no quarrel took place. Decorum was maintained
throughout the whole of the festival, though not one of the revellers
was sober, and then, as Mr. Boyle remarks, “a scene which, according to
all precedent, should have been disgusting, turned out to be pleasantly
amusing.”
This feast was a very good example of a Dyak revel. It was given by the
chief Gasing, who was gorgeously attired for the occasion in an old
consular uniform coat, covered with gold lace, the top of a dragoon’s
helmet tied on his head with a handkerchief, a brass regimental
breastplate on his forehead, and a plated tureen cover on his breast.
This tureen cover, by the way, was the most valued of Gasing’s
possessions, and one which was madly envied by all the neighboring
chiefs. Being a tall, thin man, the effect of his naked, lean, yellow
legs, appearing from beneath all this splendor, was remarkable.
He had prepared his long house carefully for the festival. He had
erected a bamboo railing on the edge of the veranda, as a necessary
precaution against accidents, for the veranda was at a considerable
height from the ground, and the guests are all expected to be very
unsteady on their feet, even if they can stand at all. From the top
of the rail to the eaves of the veranda he had thrown a quantity of
cloths, so as to allow the chiefs who sat under them to be sheltered
from the rays of the sun.
For this festival Gasing had been making preparations for months past,
half-starving himself in order to collect the requisite amount of
provisions, and being likely to find himself rather deeply in debt
before the preparations were completed. Unfortunately for the English
guests, the smell of Dyak cookery is anything but agreeable, and one of
their favorite articles of food, the fruit called the durian, exhales
a most intolerable odor, so that, if they had not been furnished with
plenty of tobacco, they would have been obliged to retire from the
scene.
The Dyaks roast fowls without removing the feathers, tear them joint
from joint, and so eat them. They have a most extraordinary liking for
viands in a nearly putrid state, such as fish or molluscs in a very
advanced state of decomposition, eggs black from age, and rotten fruit,
the chief being the durian, which smells like all the other dishes
put together, but with a sort of peculiar fragrance of its own. Even
foreigners have learned to like the durian, but they have not found
that it acclimatizes them to the bad eggs, burnt feathers, and very
high fish.
This very remarkable fruit is about as large as a cocoa-nut, slightly
oval, and is covered with a thick, tough skin, armed with sharp, short,
and stout spines, the bases of which touch each other. The skin is so
strong, that even when it falls, as it always does when ripe, from a
considerable height, it does not break, and the spines are so sharp
and hard, that, if a durian falls on a man, it inflicts a very severe
wound, and causes great loss of blood.
When possible it is eaten fresh, as it falls ripe from the tree, but
it is often cooked while still green, and, when especially plentiful,
is preserved in jars by means of salt. In this state its natural odor
is very greatly increased, and the very opening of a jar of preserved
durians is enough to drive a stranger to the country out of the room.
Mr. Wallace gives a very interesting account of the durian, mentioning
that, although for some time the odor of the fruit completely deterred
him from tasting it, he once found a ripe durian just fallen from the
tree, overcame his repugnance to the fruit, tried it, ate it, and
became from that moment a confirmed durian eater. The following passage
contains his description of the peculiar flavor of the durian:--
“The five cells are satiny white within, and are each filled with an
oval mass of cream-colored pulp, embedded in which are two or three
seeds about the size of chestnuts. This pulp is the eatable part, and
its consistence and flavor are indescribable. A rich, butter-like
custard, highly flavored with almonds, gives the best general idea of
it, but intermingled with it come wafts of flavor that call to mind
cream cheese, onion sauce, brown sherry, and other incongruities.
“Then there is a rich glutinous smoothness in the pulp which nothing
else possesses, but which adds to its delicacy. It is neither acid, nor
sweet, nor juicy, yet one feels the want of none of these qualities,
for it is perfect as it is. It produces no nausea or other bad effect,
and the more you eat of it the less you feel inclined to stop. In
fact, to eat durians is a new sensation, worth a voyage to the East to
experience.”
Mr. Wallace, in summing up the merits of the various fruits with which
we are acquainted, says that if he had to fix on two only, which would
represent the very perfection of flavor and refreshing qualities, he
would choose the durian and the orange, which he terms the king and
queen of fruits.
Their national drink, called “tuak,” is worthily matched with the
viands. It is in color like thin milk, and its odor has been forcibly
compared to that of five hundred negroes drunk in a slave-pen. The same
traveller, having fortified his palate with the strongest tobacco,
drank some of the liquid in honor of his host, and gives a very vivid
description of its flavor. When first taken into the mouth, it gives
the idea of cocoa-nut milk gone very sour, and holding in solution
a considerable quantity of brown sugar and old cheese. When it is
swallowed, the victim is conscious of a suffocating sensation, as if
the liquid were thickened with starch and a great quantity of the
strongest cayenne pepper, the general effect produced on the novice
being comparable to nothing but a very bad attack of sea sickness.
Strange to say, this abominable liquid retains the strongest hold on
three millions of human beings, who can conceive no greater luxury than
the privilege of drinking it without stint. At their feasts it is kept
in huge bathing jars, and is handed about in all kinds of vessels,
which are continually emptied and sent back to be replenished, so that
a continual stream of full and empty vessels passes from and to the
large jars.
Even if the warriors who are invited to the festival were to feel
inclined to sobriety, they would be forced to drink by the women,
who seem to think themselves bound to make every man completely
intoxicated. “No Delilah of Europe better knows her power to make
a fool of a strong man than one of these Dyak syrens, nor is more
inclined to exert her fascinations.
“The presence of the female element was soon felt in the noise and
confusion, which absolutely seemed to increase. Several of the girls
were so charming as to excuse the infatuation of their victims, and I
need scarcely say that the prettiest were the most culpable. But ugly
or beautiful, old or young, all instantly employed their most cunning
arts in enticing the bravest and most famous warriors to drink and
drink again.
“We saw a little beauty seat herself lovingly beside a tall fellow with
a simple face and honest eyes, whom she coaxed to toast her from a
large jar which she offered to his lips, until he fairly fell backward
upon the floor. This satisfactory conclusion attained, his tormentor,
who, we heard, was affianced to him, ran screaming with laughter to
bring seven other wretches as mischievous as herself to jeer at the
vanquished lover. Raising her hopes to sport of a higher order, she
shortly after brought her jar to the spot where we sat, in the hope, no
doubt, of beguiling the white men into the same condition as her other
admirers; but in Europe we are accustomed to run the gauntlet of more
dangerous fascinations, and she relinquished the attempt in despair.”
Mr. St. John mentions that the men are in no way behind the women in
their efforts to seduce their guests to intoxication, and it is their
greatest pride to have as much tuak drunk as possible, to drink their
own share and remain comparatively sober, while all their guests are
laid prostrate and insensible. In fact, if we substitute punch and port
for tuak, and an open veranda for a closed dining-room, there is little
difference between the hospitality of the present Dyak chief and that
of the average English squire of the last century.
A chief, for example, who prides himself on his strong head, will sit
before a huge jar of tuak, and pledge every one around. For every one
whom he serves he drinks one cup himself, and it is his ambition to
keep his seat after all his companions are insensible. Of course, it is
impossible that any man can drink an equal amount with ten or twelve
others, and it is most likely that he forces the tuak on them so fast
that they are soon rendered incapable of seeing whether their host
drinks or not. They are very proud of being fresh on the following
morning, and boast that although their guests, who belonged to another
tribe, had severe headaches, they themselves suffered nothing at all.
It is partly by means of appealing to this pride that the girls are
able to make the men drink to the extent which has been mentioned,
and they derive so much amusement from exercising their power that
they lose no opportunity that falls in their way, and essay their
blandishments even when there is no definite feast.
Once, when Mr. St. John had travelled from the Sibuyan Dyaks to the
Bukars, he and his guides were received, as usual, in the head house.
While the English guests were making their toilet, two young Dyak girls
came very gently up the ladder and slipped into the chamber. Now the
head house is, as the reader may remember, the bachelors’ hall, and
consequently the girls had no business there. So, pretending not to see
them, the white men proceeded with their toilets, and quietly watched
their proceedings.
The two girls, after glancing cautiously at the strangers, and thinking
themselves unobserved, made their way to the Dyak guides, each having
in her hands a vast bowl of fresh tuak, which they offered to the
visitors. The young men, knowing their object, declined to drink,
and thereby drew on themselves a battery of mixed blandishments and
reproaches. Above all, they were entreated not to inflict on the girls
the shame of refusing their gift, and making them take it back, to be
laughed at by all their friends.
Cajolery, honied words, and caresses having been resisted, they tried
the effect of ridicule, and their taunts succeeded where their coaxings
failed. “What!” said they, “are the Sibuyans so weak-headed as to be
afraid of drinking Bukar tuak?” This touched the visitors on a very
tender point. The Sibuyans specially pride themselves on the strength
of their heads and of their tuak, and a refusal to drink was thus made
tantamount to a confession of inferiority in both respects. So they
raised the huge bowls to their lips, and were allowed no peace until
they had drained the last drops, when their tempters ran away laughing,
knowing that in a very short time their two victims would be senseless.
It is a most extraordinary thing that the Dyak women, most of whom
do not drink at all, and very few drink even moderately, take such a
delight in forcing the men into intoxication. The young girls are the
most successful temptresses. They take advantage of their youth and
beauty, and employ all their fascinations to inveigle the men into
drinking. No man is safe from them.
Their brothers, friends, and even their betrothed, fall, as we have
seen, victims to their blandishments. They will make up to perfect
strangers, get up a flirtation, and lavish all their enchantments upon
them like Circe of old, until they have reduced their helpless admirers
to a state little better than that of the mythological swine. Even
after the men have sunk on the ground, and are incapable of raising
the cup to their lips, the women think their task not quite completed,
and pour the tuak down the throats of the helpless men. In the “Dyak
Feast,” which the artist has so finely drawn on the opposite page, the
appeal and dresses of these Eastern syrens are illustrated.
Yet, although on such occasions they give themselves over to utter
drunkenness, the Dyaks are a sober race, and except at these feasts,
or when beset by women, they are singularly temperate, the betel-nut
supplying the place of all intoxicating liquor.
[Illustration: A DYAK FEAST. (See pages 1145, 1146.)]