MARRIAGES AND BURIALS
Marriages in all countries are occasions of rejoicing, and it is the
same among the Dyaks. The principal part of the ceremony is the fetching
of the bride from her father's to the bridegroom's house. The women-folk
of the village, who are friends of the bridegroom's family, set out in a
boat, gaily decorated with an awning of parti-coloured sheets, and with
streamers and flags flying, to an accompaniment of gongs and drums and
musical instruments, to fetch the bride to her future home.
When the boat arrives at the landing-stage of the bride's house, they
all walk up--a gaily dressed crowd--and are welcomed into the house.
Here they sit down and talk over the future prospects of the young
couple, chewing betel-nut and _sireh_ (a kind of pepper leaf) all the
time. A portion of these chewing ingredients are carefully set aside to
be used later on. The Dyak with his great love for divination, cannot
allow such an occasion to pass without some attempt to find out the
secrets of the future.
[Illustration: IN WEDDING FINERY]
The company all sit down in the long common hall of the Dyak house, and
the betel-nut, _sireh_, etc., specially set aside for the ceremony, are
brought forward. A betel-nut is split into seven pieces by one supposed
to be lucky in matrimonial matters, and these, together with the other
ingredients of the betel-nut mixture, are all put in a little basket,
which is bound together with red cloth, and laid for a short time upon
the open platform adjoining the house.
The Master of the Ceremonies, who splits the betel-nut, then makes a
little speech, telling the assembled guests that if either party should
desert the other without sufficient reason, the offending party shall be
fined such an amount as has been agreed upon.
The basket containing the split pieces of betel-nut is then brought in
and uncovered, and the contents examined to ascertain the will of the
gods. Should the pieces of betel-nut, by some mystic power, increase in
number, the marriage will be an unusually happy one; but should they
decrease, it is a bad omen, and the marriage must be postponed or
relinquished altogether. But, as a matter of fact, they neither increase
nor decrease, and this is taken to mean that the wedding is one upon
which the spirits have pronounced neither a good nor a bad verdict.
This action gives the name to the marriage ceremony. The Dyaks call
marriage _Mlah Pinang_--"spitting the betel-nut."
The contents of the little basket, used to discover the will of the
higher powers, is chewed by those present just as other _pinang_ and
_sireh_, and the marriage ceremony is over; the young couple are
lawfully man and wife.
For the wedding, the bride decks herself out in all the finery she
possesses, or can borrow from her friends. Her wedding-dress consists of
a short petticoat of Dyak-woven cloth, which reaches to her knees. Along
the bottom edge of this there are sewed several rows of tinsel, and of
silver coins, below which probably hang some rows of hawk-bells, which
make a tinkling sound as she walks. Round her waist are several coils
of brass or silver chain, and two or three belts made of dollars or
other silver coins linked together. From her hips upwards, as far as her
armpits, she wears a corset formed by threading split cane through a
great number of small brass rings, arranged so closely together as to
completely hide the cane. To this corset may be fixed two or three bands
of silver coins. Her armlets of brass or silver extend as far up as her
elbow. As many rings as she possesses are on her fingers, and she wears
necklaces of small beads, worked in very beautiful patterns, and
finished off with a tassel of beads, or else a large number of big
silver or brass buttons strung together round her neck. Her ears are
decorated with filigreed studs of silver gilt, with a setting of scarlet
cloth behind the filigree work to show them off.
In her hair is a towering comb of silver filigree work, to which are
attached a number of silver spangles, which glitter with every movement
of her head. She wears her hair in a knot into which are stuck a number
of large brass hair-pins, decorated with beads and little tags of red
and yellow and white cloth. She possesses a bright coloured jacket of
Dyak-woven cloth; but she does not wear it, it is slung over her right
shoulder.
After this detailed description of the bride's dress, it is
disappointing to learn that the bridegroom takes no special pains to
ornament his person. The men wear a great deal of finery when they
attend a feast, or when they go on the war-path, but on the occasion of
his wedding, the bridegroom takes no extra trouble over his apparel.
BURIALS
As soon as a man dies, the professional mourner sits on a swing near the
head of the corpse and sings a long dirge, blaming the different parts
of the house, beginning with the roof-ridge and proceeding downwards,
for not keeping back the soul of the dead man.
Then the corpse is carried out into the public part of the house, and is
covered with a Dyak sheet. By his side are put his belongings--his
clothes, his implements of work, his shield, his sword, his spear--which
are to be buried with him, or placed on his grave.
Early the following morning the body, wrapped in mats, and secured with
a light framework of wood, is carried on the shoulders of four men, and,
accompanied by their friends, they go to the jungle. When they come to
the spot where a tree is to be cut down for the coffin, a halt is made.
A fowl is killed, and the blood collected in a cup, and mixed with a
little water. Each person present is touched with the blood, to
propitiate the gods, and to secure safety from any evil consequences to
the persons engaged in the funeral rites. They now set to work to make
the coffin. A tree is felled and the required length cut off. This is
split in two, and each half is hollowed out. The corpse is then placed
inside this rude coffin, the two parts of which are now firmly lashed
together with cane.
They then proceed either on foot or by boat to the place of burial. The
trees in a Dyak burial-ground are not cut down, so there is nothing to
distinguish it from any ordinary jungle. The Dyaks regard a cemetery
with superstitious terror as the abode of spirits, and never go to it
except to bury their dead, and when they do this, they do not stay
longer than they can help, but hurry away lest they should meet some
spirit from the other world.
The graves are rarely more than three feet deep. The Dyaks dare not step
into the grave to deepen it, because, according to their superstitious
ideas, any one who does such a thing will die a violent death. They use
no spade or hoe to turn up the earth, but cut the soil with their
choppers, and throw up the mould with their hands. They dig the grave as
far as their arms will reach, and no farther.
When the corpse is buried, there are placed either in the grave or on
it, for use in the next world, various articles of clothing, personal
ornaments, weapons of warfare, implements of farm work, and even
instruments of music, according to the sex and natural proclivities of
the dead. Some of these belong to the departed; others are given by
friends as tokens of affection.
When the grave has been filled with earth, it is fenced round, and food
and drink are placed in the enclosure, and at either end something is
put to indicate the sex and favourite occupation of the deceased. If the
grave be that of a warrior, it is roofed and decorated with streamers,
and such of his weapons as are not buried with him are hung about, and
the ground around is palisaded and spiked. The grave of the hunter is
distinguished by his spear, his blow-pipe and quiver, together with the
trophies of the chase--stags' antlers, and boars' tusks. Some articles
of feminine attire or work--spindles, petticoats, waist-rings, or
water-gourds--indicate the graves of women.