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CHILDREN OF BORNEO
_Uniform with this Volume_
CHILDREN OF INDIA
By JANET HARVEY KELMAN
CHILDREN OF CHINA
By C. CAMPBELL BROWN
CHILDREN OF AFRICA
By JAMES B. BAIRD
CHILDREN OF ARABIA
By JOHN CAMERON YOUNG
CHILDREN OF JAMAICA
By ISABEL C. MACLEAN
CHILDREN OF JAPAN
By JANET HARVEY KELMAN
CHILDREN OF EGYPT
By L. CROWTHER
CHILDREN OF CEYLON
By THOMAS MOSCROP
CHILDREN OF PERSIA
By MRS NAPIER MALCOLM
[Illustration: DYAK CHILDREN]
CHILDREN OF BORNEO
BY
EDWIN H. GOMES, M.A.
AUTHOR OF
"SEVENTEEN YEARS AMONG THE SEA DYAKS OF BORNEO"
[Illustration]
WITH EIGHT COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS
EDINBURGH AND LONDON
OLIPHANT, ANDERSON & FERRIER
I gratefully acknowledge the permission readily
granted by Messrs Seeley & Co. Ltd., to make use of
much matter that has already been published in my
book, "Seventeen Years Among the Sea Dyaks of
Borneo," and I would recommend that book to those
who wish for more information about Borneo and its
inhabitants.
EDWIN H. GOMES.
TURNBULL AND SPEARS, PRINTERS. EDINBURGH
To
LITTLE PAUL
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
I. The Island of Borneo--Jungles--The
Dyaks--Dyak Life in the Old Day 9
II. The Coming of the White Rajah--The
Missionaries 13
III. A Dyak Village House 18
IV. Dyak Babies and Children 23
V. Manner of Life--Occupation 28
VI. Head-Hunting 32
VII. Birds and Beasts in Borneo 37
VIII. Some Curious Customs 41
IX. Dyak Feasts 45
X. The Witch Doctor 51
XI. Some Animal Stories 56
XII. Omens and Dreams 63
XIII. Marriages and Burials 68
XIV. A Dyak Legend 73
XV. Dyak Beliefs and Superstitions 87
XVI. Conclusion 90
ILLUSTRATIONS
DYAK CHILDREN _Frontispiece_
PAGE
A DYAK VILLAGE HOUSE 18
GIRLS WEAVING 30
ON THE WARPATH 36
A DYAK GIRL IN GALA COSTUME 50
IN WEDDING FINERY 68
KILLING BIRDS WITH A BLOW-PIPE 74
A DYAK YOUTH 88
CHILDREN OF BORNEO
CHAPTER I
THE ISLAND OF BORNEO--JUNGLES--THE DYAKS--DYAK
LIFE IN THE OLD DAYS
Away down in the Indian Ocean there is a long chain of islands that
stretches from Burmah to Australia. One of these is New Guinea which is
the largest island in the world (leaving out Australia), and Borneo
comes next in size. It is nearly four times as large as England. One
quarter of it--the States of Sarawak and British North Borneo--is under
British influence. The rest is all claimed by the Dutch, excepting one
small State, Brunei, between North Borneo and Sarawak, which is governed
by a Malay Sultan, who is a Mahommedan. Sarawak is governed by an
English Rajah, or King, Sir Charles Brooke, who succeeded his uncle, Sir
James Brooke, in 1868;--British North Borneo is owned by an English
Trading Company, called the North Borneo Company, who appoint an
Englishman as Governor to rule it for them.
If you look at a map of Borneo you will see that the Equator divides the
island into two parts, so that Borneo is right in the middle of the
Torrid Zone. The climate is therefore tropical, that is to say there is
no spring, autumn or winter, but only summer, and it is always much
hotter in Borneo than it is in the hottest summer in England. So, if an
English boy went to live in Borneo, he would find his English clothes
too thick and warm for him to wear there, and he would have to have thin
cotton garments.
Most of the country of Borneo is covered with thick jungle, where large
forest trees grow close to each other, many of them with trunks over six
feet in diameter. These trees are often loaded with creepers and ferns,
and from the branches, high up overhead, beautiful orchids hang.
The natives of Borneo are called Dyaks, and these tropical jungles are
their home. Let me try and describe to you what these people are like.
They are not black like negroes, but have a brown skin. They are not as
tall as Englishmen, but are slightly bigger than the Malays. The Dyak
men and women wear very little clothing because of the great heat. The
Dyak men wear a waistcloth which is made either of the soft inner bark
of a tree, or else of cotton cloth. It is about one yard wide, and from
eight to eighteen feet in length, and is twisted round and round their
waists and pulled up tight between the thighs, one end hanging down in
front and the other behind. Dyak women wear a short petticoat which is
drawn tightly round the waist and reaches down to the knees. Round their
bodies the women wear hoops of rattan, a kind of cane, and these are
threaded through small brass rings placed so close together as to hide
the rattan. Both men and women wear necklaces, bracelets, and ear-rings.
The men wear their hair long, and they blacken their teeth and often
file them to a point, or bore holes in them and insert brass studs into
them.
Let me tell you something of the kind of life the Dyaks used to live in
the old days. You have heard of the head-hunters of Borneo. Seventy
years ago the Dyaks were one of the most savage and cruel people in the
world. In those days there was constant warfare between the different
tribes. The Dyaks therefore lived together in large numbers in long
village houses, and round these houses they built strong stockades, as a
defence against any sudden attack.
In those old days a party of Dyaks would often attack some neighbouring
house. Such of the men as were at home would repel the attack as best
they could, for defeat meant certain death. The women and children would
be crowded together in the verandah of the Dyak house, and the men,
armed with swords, spears and shields, would form a circle round them.
Large brass gongs would be struck in a peculiar manner, to let the
neighbours know of the attack, and to implore their help. The fight
would continue till one party was defeated. If any came to the rescue,
the attacking party would retreat, pursued by such of the inmates of the
house as dared to follow them; but if no help came, the house would be
rushed, the men and women cut down, and the children killed or taken
captive. The heads of the dead would be cut off amid wild whoops of joy,
and carried off in triumph.
The Dyaks thought it a grand thing to be able to bring home a human head
to hang up as an ornament in their house. The man who succeeded in
securing a human head was looked upon as a great warrior, and so very
often the young braves would make an expedition against some tribe
simply because they wanted to bring home the ghastly trophy of a human
head.
Not only were the Dyaks head-hunters in those days, but many of them
were pirates. There was a great deal of piracy, and it was secretly
encouraged by the native rulers, who obtained a share of the spoil, and
also by the Malays who knew well how to handle a boat. The Malay fleet
consisted of a large number of long war-boats or _prahus_, each about
ninety feet long or more, and carrying a brass gun in the bows, the
pirates being armed with swords, spears and muskets. Each boat was
paddled by from sixty to eighty men. These terrible craft skulked about
in the sheltered coves waiting for their prey, and attacked merchant
vessels making the passage between China and Singapore. The Malay
pirates and their Dyak allies would wreck and destroy every trading
vessel they came across, murder most of the crew who offered any
resistance, and make slaves of the rest. The Dyaks would cut off the
heads of those who were slain, smoke them over the fire to dry them, and
then take them home to treasure as valued possessions. If you visit some
of the Dyak houses to-day, you will see some of these human heads, taken
in piratical raids in old days, hanging in bunches over the fireplaces.
The whole country in those old days was in a great state of disorder.
The Dyaks were constantly at war, tribe against tribe, and no Dyak
village was safe from sudden attack. Many human lives were sacrificed
because the Dyaks wished, not only to obtain booty, but to satisfy their
lust for blood, and indulge in their favourite pursuit of head-hunting,
and gain glory for themselves by bringing home human heads to decorate
their houses with.