The SELAMBO is used in small streams where fish are abundant. A

fence of upright bamboos is built out from either bank, starting at

opposite points and converging down stream to two points near the

middle of the stream and about seven feet apart; where each terminates

a stout pole is driven firmly into the bed of the river. These two

poles are connected by a stout cross-piece lashed to them a little

above the level of the water. The cross-piece forms a fulcrum for a

pair of long poles joined together with cross-pieces, in such a way

that their downstream ends almost meet, while up stream they diverge

widely. They rest upon the fulcrum at a point about one-third of their

length from their downstream ends. Between the widely divergent parts

up stream from the fulcrum a net is loosely stretched. The net lies

submerged until fish coming down stream are directed on to the net by

the convergent fences. The fisherman stands on a rude platform grasping

the handle-end, and, feeling the contacts of the fishes with the net,

throws his weight upon the handle, so bringing the net quickly above

the surface. Beside him he has a large cage of bamboo standing in the

water, into which the fish are allowed to slide from the elevated net.

A rod and line and baited hook are also in common use. The Kayans

make a hook of stout brass wire, cutting a single barb. The Kenyahs

use a hook made of rattan thorns. A strip is cut from the surface of

a rattan bearing two thorns about an inch apart; this is bent at its

middle so that the cut surfaces of the two halves are brought into

opposition, and the thorns, facing outward opposite one another,

form the barbs. The line is tied to the bend, and the bait is placed

over the tip projecting beyond the thorns. When the fish takes the

hook into his mouth and swallows the bait, the barbs being released

spring outward and secure the fish.

A rough kind of spoon bait is also used with rod and line.

Fish are taken also in traps. The most generally used is the BUBU. This

varies in length from eighteen inches to eight feet or even more. The

body of the trap is a conical cage of bamboo. From the wide mouth of

the cone a second smaller flatter cone passes upwards within the outer

one; the slender bamboo strips of which it is made come almost together

in the centre, their inner ends being free and pliable. This is fixed

beside the bank, its mouth turned down stream, and a few stakes are

driven into the bed of the river to guide the fish into the mouth;

or it may be laid in shallow water, two barriers of stones converging

to its mouth. The fish working up stream pass in at the mouth, and,

when they have passed the inner lips, cannot easily pass out again.

A still simpler trap consists merely of a long slender cone of bamboo

strips. The fish entering the mouth and passing up to the confined

space of the other end become wedged fast in it.

A Sea Dayak trap found in the south-west of Borneo is a cylindrical

cage of bamboo attached to a pole driven vertically into the bed of the

river. (Fig. 21). At one side of the cage is a circular aperture. Into

this fits a section of bamboo, the end of which within the cage is cut

into longitudinal strips that are made to converge, forming a cone,

through the apex of which the fish can push his way into the cage,

but which prevents his return. It is an application of the same valve

principle as that used in the trap first described above.

A larger trap is the KILONG, which is used in the lower reaches of the

rivers and also on the coast. It consists of a fence of stakes running

out from the bank or shore into water some two fathoms in depth. The

free end of the fence is wound in a spiral of about two turns. One

or two gates are made between the outer and the inner chambers of

the spiral on the side nearest to the bank or shore, and are left

open when the trap is set. The fish, finding themselves confined by

the fence, make for deeper water, and, entering the central chamber,

do not readily return. The fisherman then closes the gate and takes

out the fish with a landing net.

A prawn trap consists of a cylinder of heavy bark. One end is closed

with a conical valve of bamboo strips like that of the two traps

described above; the other flattened end is hinged to open for the

extraction of the catch. The trap is baited with decaying cocoanut and

thrown into the river with a long rattan attached to it and tied to

a pole; the trap sinks to the bottom and is examined from time to time.

Tuba Fishing

Fish are caught on the largest scale by poisoning the water with

the juice of the root of the tuba plant. This is usually practised

in the smaller rivers at times of slack water, all the people of a

village co-operating. The TUBA plant is cultivated in patches on the

PADI fields. Pieces of the roots are cut off without destroying the

plants. When a large quantity has been gathered, a fence is built

across the river at the spot chosen, and big BUBU traps are let into

it facing up stream. Then all the available small boats are manned

and brought into the reaches of the river extending about a mile above

the fence. Each boat carries a supply of tuba root, which the people

bruise by pounding it with wooden clubs against stumps and rocks

on the bank or against the side of the boat. Water is thrown into

the bottom of the boat and the pounded root is rinsed in the water,

pounded again, and again rinsed, until all its poisonous juice is

extracted. The water in all the boats, become milky with the juice,

is poured at a given signal into the river, either by baling or by

overturning the boats. After some twenty minutes the fish begin to

rise to the surface and rush wildly to and fro. In the meantime the

boats have been put to rights, and now begin to pursue the fish,

the men armed with fish-spears, the women with landing-nets. The

sport goes on for several hours. Some men armed with clubs stand

upon a platform which slopes up at a low angle out of the water and

rests upon the fence. Big fish come leaping upon this platform and

are clubbed by the men, who have to exert their agility to avoid

the spikes with which some of the fish are armed. Large quantities

of fish are sometimes taken in this way; what cannot be eaten fresh

are dried and smoked over the fires in the house.

While the TUBA fishing is being arranged and the preparations are

going forward, great care is taken to avoid mentioning the word TUBA,

and all references to the fish are made in oblique phrases, such as

"The leaves (I.E. the fishes) can't float over this fence." This

precaution is observed because it is believed that the birds and the

bats can understand human speech, and may, if they overhear remarks

about the preparations, give warning to their friends the fish, whose

magician[51] (a bony fish called BELIRA), will then make rain, and, by

thus swelling the river, prevent the successful poisoning of the water.

Tickling is also practised with success, the men standing in the

edge of a lake among the grass and sedges, where the fish seek cooler

water in the heat of the day.

All the methods of taking fish described above are practised by most

of the peoples, except of course the use of the drag-net in the sea.

The crocodiles, which are numerous in the lower reaches of the rivers,

are not hunted or attacked, save on provocation, by any of the peoples

of Borneo except the Malays.[52] Occasionally a bather is seized

by one of them while in the water or standing on a log floating in

deep water; and more rarely a person is dragged out of a small boat,

while drifting quietly on deep water at evening. If men and boats

are at hand they turn out promptly to attack the crocodile, if it

rises to the surface; but there is small chance of rescue. If the

victim has sufficient presence of mind and strength to thrust his

thumbs against the eyes of the reptile it may release him, escape

in this way is not unknown. In the case of a fatal issue, the men of

the village turn out to avenge the outrage, and, in the case of the

seizure of an important person, those of neighbouring villages will

join them. All available boats are manned by men armed with spears,

some of which are lashed to the ends of long poles. Congregating in

their boats near the scene of the disaster, the men prod the bed of the

river with their spears, working systematically up and down river and

up the small side streams. In this way they succeed in stabbing some

of the reptiles; and in this case, though they usually do not rise to

the surface, their bodies are found after some days in the creeks,

death having ensued from the inflammation set up in the wounds. The

wound caused by a spear-thrust would seldom be fatal to the crocodile,

but that the wound is liable to the perpetual assaults of smaller

creatures -- fish while he is in the water, flies when he lies on

the bank. These irritate and extend the wound. The stomachs of those

crocodiles that are captured are opened in search of traces of the

person taken, traces which usually remain there for some time in the

shape of hair or ornaments. If no trace is found the people's vengeance

is not satisfied, and they set baited hooks, or pay Malays to do so,

partly because the Malays are experts and claim to have potent charms

to bring the offender to the hook, partly because a Kayan does not

care to take upon himself the individual responsibility of catching

a crocodile, though he does not shrink

from the collective pursuit. The decaying body of a fowl, monkey, or

other animal (Malays sometimes use a living dog) is bound to a strong

bar of hard-wood, sharpened at both ends and some fifteen inches in

length. A number of small rattans are tied to the bar about its middle,

their other ends being made fast to a log. This arrangement is allowed

to float down river; if it does not float freely, the crocodile will

not take the bait. When a crocodile rises to the bait and swallows

it, the bar gets fixed cross-wise in his gullet as he pulls on the

rattans. The hunters, having kept the log in sight, then attach the

ends of the rattans to the boat, tow the reptile to the bank, and

haul him up on dry land. They secure his tail and feet with nooses,

which they lash to a pole laid along his back, and lash his jaws

together. Throughout these operations the crocodile is addressed

deferentially as LAKI (grandfather). He is then left exposed to

the sun, when he soon dies; in this way the people avoid the risks

attaching to slaying the crocodile with their own hands.

CHAPTER 9

Life in the Jungle

All the peoples of Borneo support themselves in part by hunting and

trapping the wild creatures of the jungle, but for the Punans alone

is the chase the principal source of food-supply; the various natural

products of the jungle are, with the exception of cultivated sago in

some few regions, their only marketable commodities.

Hunting

The wild pig (SUS BARBATUS[53]) is the principal object of the chase,

but deer of several species are also hunted and trapped. The largest

of these (CERVUS EQUINUS) is rather bigger than the English fallow

deer; the smallest is plandok, or mouse deer (TRAGULUS NAPU and

T. JAVANICUS), standing only about eight inches at the shoulder;

intermediate in size is the muntjac (CERVULUS MUNTJAC). There are

also small herds of wild cattle (BOS SONDAICUS), a small rhinoceros

(R. SUMATRANUS), large lizards (VARANUS), various apes and monkeys,

and a large porcupine (HESTRIX CRASSISPINUS), and several small

mammals, such as otters (LUTRA), bear-cats (ARCTICTIS), and civet

cats (PARADOAURUS) of various species, all of which are hunted for

their flesh, as well as several birds. The tiger-cat (FELIS NEBULOSA)

and the bear (URSUS MALAYANUS) are hunted for their skins and teeth,

and the dried gall-bladder of the bear is sold for medicine.

The pig and deer are most commonly hunted on foot by a party of

several men with a pack of four or five dogs. The dogs, having found

the trail, chase the pig until he turns on them. The dogs then surround

the pig, barking and yelping, and keep it at bay till the men run up

and despatch it with their spears. Both men and dogs sometimes get

severely bitten and torn by the tusks. During the fruit season the pigs

migrate in large herds and cross the rivers at certain places well

known to the hunters. The people lie in wait for them in little huts

built on the banks, and kill them from their boats as they swim across.

Kenyahs and Klemantans sometimes catch deer by driving them into a

JARING. This consists of a strong rope of plaited rattans stretched in

a straight line across the jungle, from tree to tree, some five feet

above the ground. It is generally laid so as to complete the enclosure

of an area that is almost surrounded by the river. Dependent from the

whole length of the rattan rope is a series of running nooses also

of rattan, each of which, overlapping its neighbours on both sides,

forms a loop about two feet in diameter. Men armed with spears are

stationed along the JARING, at short intervals, and the rest of the

party with the dogs beat the jungle driving any deer in the enclosed

space headlong towards the JARING. Some of the deer may escape, but

some will usually run their heads into the nooses and fall victims to

the spears of the watchers. Both pig and deer are sometimes brought

down with the blow-pipe, especially by the Punans, whose favourite

weapon it is.

The wild cattle are very wary and dangerous to attack. They sometimes

take to the water and are then easily secured. Punans, who hunt

without dogs (which in fact they do not possess) will lie in wait

for the rhinoceros beside the track by which he comes to his daily

mud-bath, and drive a spear into his flank or shoulder; then, after

hastily retiring, they track him through the jungle, until they come

upon him again, and find an opportunity of driving in another spear

or a poisoned dart through some weak spot of his armour.

Birds and monkeys are chiefly killed with the blow-pipe.

Traps

Traps of many varieties are made. For pig and deer a trap is laid at a

gap in the fence about the PADI field. It consists of a bamboo spear

of which the end is sharpened and hardened in the fire. This is laid

horizontally about two feet from the ground, resting on guides. Its

butt end is lashed to one end of a springy green pole at right angles

to its length; the pole is laid horizontally, one end of it being

firmly fixed to a tree, and the other (that carrying the spear) bent

forcibly backwards and held back by a loop of rattan. This spring is

set by means of an ingenious trigger, in such a way that an animal

passing through the gap must push against a string attached to the

trigger, and so release the spring, which then drives the bamboo

spear across the gap with great force. (The drawing (Fig. 22) Will

make clear the nature of the trigger.)

In one variety of this trap the spring is set vertically. The trap is

varied in other ways. A curious practice of the Ibans on setting such

a trap is to measure the appropriate height of the spear by means of

a rod surmounted with a carving of a human figure (Fig. 23).

Of many ingenious traps for small animals the JERAT is the most widely

used (see Fig. 24 and Pl. 85). A rude fence some hundreds of yards,

in some cases as much as a mile, in length, is made by filling up with

sticks and brushwood the spaces between the trees and undergrowth of

the jungle. At intervals of ten or twenty yards narrow gaps are left,

and in each of these a JERAT is set to catch the small creatures that,

in wandering through the jungle and finding their course obstructed

by the fence, seek to pass through the gaps. The gap is floored with

a small platform of light sticks, six to eight inches long, laid

across it parallel to one another in the line of the fence. The ends

of these are supported at one side of the gap, about two inches above

the ground, by a cross-stick lying at right angles to them. This stick

in turn is supported about one inch above the ground in the following

way: the two ends of a green stick are thrust firmly into the ground

forming an arch over the end of the platform, and the extremities

of the cross-stick are in contact with the pillars of the arch, and

kept a little above the ground by being pulled against them by the

spring trigger. This consists of a short stick attached by a cord

to a strong springy pole thrust vertically into the ground. To set

the trigger it is pulled down, bending the pole, and passed under the

arch from the platform side outwards; the upper end of the trigger is

then kept by the pull of the cord against the curve of the arch, and

its lower end is pulled against the middle of the cross-stick. The

pressure being maintained by the tension of the cord, this end of

the platform is supported by the friction between the trigger and the

cross-stick. The cord is prolonged beyond the trigger in a slip noose

which lies open on the platform completely across the gap, so that

any small animal entering the gap, and stepping upon the platform,

necessarily places its feet within the goose. A few leaves are laid

on the platform and cord to disguise them. When, then, a pheasant or

other creature of appropriate size and weight steps on the platform,

its weight causes the cross-stick to slip down from the hold of the

trigger, and this, being released, is violently jerked with the noose

into the air by the elastic reaction of the bent pole; in a large

proportion of cases the noose catches the victim's feet and jerks

him into the air, where he dangles by the feet till the arrival of

the trapper, who visits his traps twice a day.

Another very curious and strikingly simple plan is employed by the Sea

Dayaks for catching the Argus pheasant, whose beautiful wing feathers

are highly valued. The cock-birds congregate at certain spots in the

jungle, where they display their feathers and fight together. These

spots they clear of all obstacles, pulling and pushing away sticks and

leaves with their heads and necks, as well as scratching with their

feet. The Dayaks, taking advantage of this habit, thrust vertically

into the ground slips of bamboo, the edges of which are hardened in

the fire and rendered very sharp. In the course of their efforts

to remove these obstructions, the birds not infrequently inflict

serious wounds about their necks, and weakened by loss of blood,

are found by the Dayaks at no great distance from the fighting ground.

Traps of many other kinds are made for animals both large and small,

especially by the. Sea Dayaks, who use traps more frequently than

the other peoples. Our few descriptions will serve to illustrate

the ingenuity displayed, the complexity of the mechanical

principles involved in some of them, and the extreme simplicity of

others. Previous writers have described many of these in detail,

and we content ourselves with referring the curious reader to their

accounts.[54]

The Klemantans and some of the Kenyahs catch a small ground pigeon

(CHALCOPHAPS INDICA) in large numbers by the aid of a pipe or whistle,

by blowing softly on which the cooing notes of the bird are closely

imitated. The instrument consists of a piece of large bamboo closed at

one end and having a small hole about its middle (Fig. 25). The hunter,

concealed behind a screen of leafy branches, blows across this hole

through a long slender tube of bamboo; and when a bird approaches the

whistle, he slips over its head a fine noose attached to the end of

a light bamboo and, drawing it behind the screen, puts it alive into

a cage.

Small parrots are sometimes caught with bird-lime, made with the

juice of a rubber-tree.

The Gathering of Jungle Produce

The principal natural products gathered by the people in addition

to the edible fruits are, gutta-percha, rubber, camphor, various

rattans, beeswax and honey, vegetable tallow, wild sago, damar-resin

from various trees, and the edible birds' nests.

Small parties of men and boys go out into the jungle in search of

these things, sometimes travelling many days up river before striking

into the jungle; for it is only in the drier upland forests that such

expeditions can be undertaken with advantage. The party may remain

several weeks or months from home. They carry with them a supply of

rice, salt, and tobacco, cooking-pots and matches, a change of raiment,

spears, swords, shields, blowpipes, and perhaps two or three dogs. On

striking into the jungle, they drag their boat on to the bank and

leave it hidden in thick undergrowth. While in the jungle they camp

in rude shelters roofed with their leaf mats and with palm leaves,

moving camp from time to time. They vary their labours and supplement

their food-supply by hunting and trapping. Such an expedition is

generally regarded as highly enjoyable as well as profitable. As

in camping-parties in other parts of the world, the cooking is

generally regarded as a nuisance to be shirked if possible. The Sea

Dayaks indulge in these expeditions more frequently than others,

and such parties of them may often be found at great distances

from their homes. In the course of such long excursions they not

infrequently penetrate into the regions inhabited by other tribes,

and many troubles have had their origin in the truculent behaviour of

such parties. Such parties of Sea Dayaks have been known to accept

the hospitality of unsuspecting and inoffensive Klemantans, and to

outrage every law of decency by taking the heads of old men, women,

and children during the absence of their natural defenders.

Valuable varieties of gutta-percha are obtained from trees of more

than a score of species. The best is known as Kayan gutta, because it

is gathered and sent to the bazaars by the Kayans in a pure form. The

trees are felled and the stem and branches are ringed at intervals

of about eighteen inches, a narrow strip of bark being removed at

each ring. The milky viscid sap drips out into leaf-cups, which are

then emptied into a cylindrical vessel of bark. Water is then boiled

in a large pan beside the tree, a little common salt is added to the

water, and the gutta is poured into the boiling water, when it rapidly

congeals. Then, while still in a semiviscid state, it is kneaded with

the feet and pressed into a shallow wooden frame, which in turn is

compressed between two planks. In this way it is moulded into a slab

about one and a half inches thick, about a foot long, and about six

inches across at one end, two inches across at the other. While it is

still warm a hole is pierced through the narrower end; and the slab

is then thrown into cold water, where it sets hard. In this form it

reaches the market at Singapore, where it is valued at about five

hundred dollars ([pound sterling]50) the hundredweight.

Gutta of an inferior quality is obtained in large quantities by

tapping a large tree (JELUTONG) which grows abundantly in the

low-lying jungles.

The best rubber, known as PULUT by the Kayans, is obtained by them from

a creeper, the stem of which grows to a length of fifty to a hundred

feet and a diameter of six inches or more. It bears a brilliant red

luscious fruit which is eaten by the people; its seeds being swallowed

become distributed in this way. The Punans carefully sow the seed

they have swallowed, and transplant the young seedlings to the most

suitable positions. The milky juice of the creeper is gathered and

treated in much the same way as the gutta. It is rolled up while

hot into spherical lumps, each of which is pierced with a hole for

convenient transportation.

Camphor is formed in the crevices of the sterns of old trees of the

species DRYOBALANOPS AROMATICA, when the heart is decayed leaving

a central hollow. The tree is cut down, the stem split up, and the

crystalline scales of pure camphor are shaken out on to mats. It

is then made up in little bundles wrapped in palm leaves. The

large-flaked camphor fetches as much as [pound sterling]6 a pound

in the Chinese bazaar. Special precautions are observed by men in

search of camphor. A party of Kayans, setting out to seek camphor,

commonly gets the help of Punans, who are acknowledged experts in this

business. Omens are taken before setting out, and the party will not

start until favourable omens have been observed. The party is LALI

from the time of beginning these operations. They will speak to no one

outside the party, and will speak no word of Malay to one another;

and it is considered that they are more likely to be successful if

they confine themselves to the use of a peculiar language which seems

to be a conventional perversion of the Punan speech.

On entering a small river the party stretches a rattan across its

mouth; and, where they leave the river, they erect on the bank a

pole or frayed stick.[55] Other persons seeing such sticks set up

will understand and respect the party's desire for privacy. They then

march through the jungle to the place where they expect to find a group

of camphor trees, marking their path by bending the ends of twigs at

certain intervals in the direction in which the party is moving. Having

found a likely tree they cut into the stem with a small long-bladed

axe, making a deep small hole. An expert, generally a Punan, then

smells the hole and gives an opinion as to the chances of finding

camphor within it. If he gives a favourable opinion, the tree is cut

down and broken in pieces as described above. On cutting down the tree,

an oil which smells strongly of camphor sometimes pours out and is

collected. The party remains LALI until the collection of the camphor

is completed; no stranger may enter their hut or speak with them. The

practice of collecting camphor in this way is probably a very ancient

one,[56] whereas the collection of gutta and rubber has been undertaken

only in recent years in response to the demands of the European market.

Many varieties of the rattan palm grow luxuriantly in the forests of

Borneo, some attaining a length of 150 to 200 feet. It is a creeper

which makes its way towards the light, suspending itself to branches

and twigs by means of the curved spines which prolong the midribs of

the leaves. The cane is collected by cutting through the stem near its

root, and hauling on it, several men combining their t'efforts. The

piece cut down is dragged through the jungle to the river-bank. There

it is cut into lengths of fifteen feet, I.E. two and a half spans, and

dried in the sun. If the sap is thoroughly dried out, the cane assumes

a permanent yellow colour; but if any is left, the cane darkens when

soaked in water. When a large number of bundles has been collected,

they are bound together to form a raft. On this a hut is erected,

and two or three men will navigate the raft down river to the Chinese

bazaar, which is to be found in the lower part of every large river.

The small yellow fruit of the rattan is gathered in large quantities

and subjected to prolonged boiling. The fluid becomes of a bright

crimson colour; this, boiled down till it has the consistency of

beeswax, is known as dragon's blood, and is used by the people as a

colouring matter and also exported for the same purpose.

Honey and beeswax are found in nests which are suspended by the

wild bee from high branches of the MINGRIS (COOMPASSIA) and TAPANG

(ARBOURIA) trees, sometimes many nests on one tree. To reach the nest

the men climb the tree by the aid of a ladder somewhat in the fashion

of a steeple-jack. A large number of sharpened pegs of ironwood are

driven into the softer outer layers of the stem in a vertical row

about two feet apart, and bamboos are lashed in a single vertical row

to the pegs and to one another and to the lower branches. The ladder

is built up until at some sixty or eighty feet from the ground it

reaches a branch bearing a nest. The taking of the nests is usually

accomplished after nightfall. A man ascends the ladder carrying in

one hand a burning torch of bark, which gives off a pungent smoke,

and on his back a large hollow cone of bark. Straddling out along

the bough, he hangs his cone of bark beneath the nest, smokes out

the bees, and cuts away the nest from the bough with his sword,

so that it falls into the cone of bark. Then, choosing a piece of

comb containing grubs, he munches it with gusto, describing from his

position of advantage to his envious friends the delicious quality of

the grubs. After thus gathering two or three nests he lets down the

cone with a cord to his eagerly expectant comrades, who then feast

upon the remaining grubs and squeeze out the honey into jars. The

tree having been cleared of nests in this way, the wax is melted in

an iron pot and moulded in balls. The honey is eaten in the houses;

the wax is sold to the Chinese traders at about a shilling a pound.

Vegetable tallow is procured from the seeds of the ENGKABONG tree

(SHOREA). The seeds are crushed and the tallow melted out and gathered

in bamboos. It is used as a food, generally smeared on hot rice. It

is sometimes a principal feature of the Punan's diet for considerable

periods.

Wild sago is abundant and is much used by Punans, and occasionally

by most of the other peoples when their supply of PADI is short. The

sago tree is cut down and its stem is split into several pieces with

wedges. The pith is knocked out with a bamboo mallet. The sago is

prepared from the pith by the women, who stamp it on coarse mats,

pouring water upon it. The fine grains of sago are carried through on

to a trough below. It is then washed and boiled in water, when it forms

a viscid mass; this is eaten with a spoon or with a strip of bamboo

bent double, the two ends of which are turned round in the sago and

withdrawn with a sticky mass adherent; this is plunged in the gravy OF

pork and carried to the mouth. It is generally considered a delicacy.

Many varieties of the forest trees exude resins, which are collected

and used for torches and for repairing boats, as well as brought to

the bazaars, where the best kinds fetch very good prices. Sometimes

the resin is found in large masses on the ground where it has dripped

from the trees.

A curious and valuable natural product is the bezoar stone. These

stones are found in the gall-bladder and intestines of the

long-tailed monkey SEMNOPITHECUS (most frequently of S. HOSEI and

S. RUBICUNDUS). They are formed of concentric layers of a hard,

brittle, olive-green substance, very bitter to the taste. A soft brown

variety is found in the porcupine. Both kinds are highly valued by

the Chinese as medicine. The monkeys and porcupines are hunted for

the sake of these stones. A similar substance, also highly valued as

a medicine by the Chinese, is sometimes found as an accretion formed

about the end of a dart which has been broken off in the flesh of

S. HOSEI and has remained there for some long period.

The most important of the natural products gathered by the people

are the edible nests of three species of swift: COLLOCALIA FUCIPHAGA,

whose nest is white; C. LOWII, whose nest is blackish; and C. LINCHII,

whose nest contains straw and moss as well as gelatine. All three

kinds are collected, but those of the first kind are much more valuable

than the others. The nest, which is shaped like that of our swallow,

consists wholly of a tough, gelatinous, translucent substance, which

exudes from the bill of the bird as it builds. We do not understand

the physiology of this process. The people generally believe that

the substance of the nest is dried seafoam which the birds bring from

the sea on returning from their annual migration.

The nests are built always on the roofs and walls of large caves:

the white nests in low-roofed caves, generally in sandstone rock; the

black in the immense lofty caves formed in the limestone rocks. The

latter are reached by means of tall scaffoldings of strong poles

of bamboo, often more than a hundred feet in height. The nests are

swept from the rock with a pole terminating in a small iron spatula,

and carrying near the extremity a wax candle; falling to the ground,

which is floored with guano several feet thick, they are gathered

up in baskets. The white nests are gathered three times in the year

at intervals of about a month, the black nests usually only twice;

as many as three tons of black nests are sometimes taken from one

big cave in the course of the annual gathering. Each cave, or, in

the case of large caves, each natural subdivision of it, is claimed

as the property of some individual, who holds it during his lifetime

and transmits it to his heirs. During the gathering of the nests of

a large cave, the people live in roofless huts built inside it. The

nests are sold to Chinese traders -- the black nests for about a

hundred dollars a hundredweight, and the white nests for as much as

thirty or forty shillings per pound.

CHAPTER 10

War

The Kayans are perhaps less aggressive than any other of the interior

peoples with the exception of the Punans. Nevertheless prowess in

war has made them respected or feared by all the peoples; and during

the last century they established themselves in the middle parts of

the basins of all the great rivers, driving out many of the Klemantan

communities, partly by actual warfare, partly by the equally effective

method of appropriating to their own use the tracts of jungle most

suitable for the cultivation of PADI.

The fighting quality of the individual Kayan, the loyalty and obedience

of each household to its chief, the custom of congregating several long

houses to form a populous village upon some spot carefully chosen for

its tactical advantages (generally a peninsula formed by a deep bend

of the river), and the strong cohesion between the Kayans of different

and even widely separated villages, -- all these factors combine to

render the Kayans comparatively secure and their villages immune from

attack. But though a Kayan village is seldom attacked, and though

the Kayans do not wantonly engage in bloodshed, yet they will always

stoutly assert their rights, and will not allow any injury done to any

member of the tribe to go unavenged. The avenging of injuries and the

necessity of possessing heads for use in the funeral rites are for them

the principal grounds of warfare; and these are generally combined,

the avenging of injuries being generally postponed, sometimes for

many years, until the need for new heads arises. Though an old dried

head will serve all the purposes of the rites performed to terminate a

period of mourning, yet it is felt that a fresh head (or heads) is more

desirable, especially in the case of mourning for an important chief.

When an old head is used in these rites, it is customary to borrow

it from another house or village, and it is brought to the house by

a party of warriors in the full panoply of war, who behave both on

setting out and returning as though actually on the war-path.

It may be said generally that Kayans seldom or never wage war on

Kayans, and seldom attack others merely to secure heads or in sheer

vainglory, as the Ibans not infrequently do. Nor do they attack others

merely in order to sustain their prestige, as is sometimes done by

the Kenyahs, who in this respect carry to an extreme the principle

that attack is the most effective mode of defence.

War is generally undertaken by the Kayans very deliberately, after much

preparation and in large well-organised parties, ranging in numbers

from fifty to a thousand or more warriors, made up in many cases from

several neighbouring villages, and under the supreme command of one

chief of acknowledged eminence.

The weapons and war-dress are similar among all the peoples. The

principal weapon is the sword known as PARANG ILANG, or MALAT, a heavy

blade (Pl. 91) of steel mounted in a handle of horn or hardwood. The

blade, about twenty-two inches in length, has the cutting edge slightly

bowed and the blunt back edge slightly hollowed. The edges diverge

slightly from the handle up to a point about five inches from the tip,

where the blade attains its maximum width of nearly two inches. At this

point the back edge bends sharply forward to meet the cutting edge at

the tip. A very peculiar feature of the blade is that it is slightly

hollowed on the inner surface (I.E. the thumb side or left side in the

case of the PARANG, of a right-handed man, the right side in case of

one made for a left-handed man), and is convex in transverse section

to a corresponding degree on the other surface. This peculiar shape

of the blade is said to render the PARANG, more efficient in sinking

into or through either limbs or wood, and is more easily withdrawn

after a successful blow. This weapon is carried in a wooden sheath

suspended by a plaited waist-strap, and is the constant companion

of every man; for it is used not only in warfare, but also for a

variety of purposes, such as the hewing down of jungle undergrowth,

cutting rattans and bamboos, the rough shaping of wooden implements.

The weapon second in importance is the spear (Pl. 92). It consists of

a flat steel blade, about one foot in length, of which the widest part

(between one and two inches) is about four inches from the tip. The

tip and lateral edges of the blade are sharp, and its haft is lashed

with strips of rattan to the end of a wooden shaft. The extremity

of the haft is bent outwards from the shaft, to prevent its being

dragged off from the latter. The shaft is of tough wood and about

seven feet in length; its butt end is usually shod with iron. The

spear is used not only for thrusting, but also as a javelin and as a

parrying stick for warding off the spears hurled by the foe. It is

always carried in the boat when travelling on the river, or in the

hand during excursions in the jungle.

The blow-pipe, which projects a poisoned dart, is used by many of

the Kayans in hunting, but is hardly regarded as a weapon for serious

use in warfare.

Beside the principal spear, two or three short spears or javelins,

sometimes merely pointed bars of hardwood, are usually carried in

the left hand when an attack is being made.

Beside the sword and the spears the only weapons commonly used are

heavy bars of ironwood, sharpened at both ends and flung so as to

twirl rapidly in the air. They are chiefly used in defending houses

from attack, a store of them being kept in the house. For the defence

of a house against an expected attack, short sharp stakes of split

bamboo are thrust slantingly into the ground, so as to present the

fire-hardened tip towards the feet of the oncoming foe.

The interior peoples have long possessed a certain number of

European-made muskets (mostly flint-locks) and small Bruni-made brass

cannon, obtained from the Malay and Chinese traders. The latter were

chiefly valued for the defence of the house, but were sometimes mounted

in the bows of the war-boats. The difficulty of obtaining supplies of

gunpowder has always restricted greatly the use of firearms, and in

recent years the European governments have strictly limited the sale

of gunpowder and firearms; and even at the present day any war-party

commissioned by one of the governments to execute any police measure,

such as apprehending, or burning the house of, people who have wantonly

killed others, has to rely in the main on its native weapons.

The equipment of the fighting-man consists, in addition to his weapons,

of a war-cap and war-coat and shield (Pl. 93 and Fig. 26). The former

is a round closely-fitting cap woven of stout rattans split in halves

longitudinally. It affords good protection to the skull against the

stroke of the sword. It is adorned with two of the long black-and-white

barred feathers of the hornbill's tail in the case of, any man who

has earned this distinction by taking part in successful expeditions.

The war-coat is made of the skin of the goat, the bear, or (in case

of distinguished chiefs) of the tiger-cat. The whole of the skin in

one piece is used, except that the skin of the belly and of the lower

parts of the forelimbs are cut away. A hole for the warrior's head is

made in the mid-dorsal line a little behind the skin of the head, which

is flattened out and hangs over the chest, descending to the level of

the navel; while the skin of the back, flanks, and hind limbs in one

large flap, covers the back and hind parts of the warrior as far as

the bend of the knees. A large pearly shell usually adorns the lower

end of the anterior flap. The warrior's arms are thus left free, but

unprotected. In the finest coats there is a patch of brightly coloured

beadwork at the nape of the neck, and the back-flap is adorned with

rows of loosely dangling hornbills' feathers; but these again are

considered appropriate only to the coats of warriors of proved valour.

The Kayan shield is an oblong plate cut from a single piece of soft

wood. Its ends are pointed more or less acutely; the length between

the points is about four feet. The inner surface forms a flat hollow;

the outer is formed by two flat surfaces meeting in a flat obtuse

angle or ridge extending from point to point. The grain of the wood

runs longitudinally, and a downward falling PARANG is liable to split

the wood and become wedged fast in it. In order to prevent the shield

becoming divided in this way, and to hold fast the blade of the sword,

it is bound across with several stout strips of rattan which are laced

closely to the wood with finer strips. The handle, carved out of the

same solid block of wood as the body of the shield, is in the middle of

the concave surface; it is a simple vertical bar for the grasp of the

left hand. The Kayan shield is commonly stained red with iron oxide,

and touched up with black pigment, but not otherwise decorated.

Wooden shields of this kind are used by almost all the tribes, but

some of them decorate their shields elaborately. The two surfaces

of almost all Kenyah shields (Fig. 27) are covered with elaborate

designs picked out in colours, chiefly red and black. The designs

are sketched out on the wood with the point of a knife, and the

pigment is applied with the finger and a chisel-edged stick. The

principal feature of the designs on the outer surface is in all

cases a large conventionalised outline of a face with large eyes,

indicated by concentric circles in red and black, and a double row

of teeth with two pairs of canines projecting like huge tusks. This

face seems to be human, for, although in some shields there is nothing

to indicate this interpretation, in others the large face surmounts

the highly conventionalised outline of a diminutive human body, the

limbs of which are distorted and woven into a more or less intricate

design. Each extremity of the outer surface is covered by a similarly

conventionalised face-pattern on a smaller scale. On the inner side

each longitudinal half is covered with an elaborate scroll-pattern,

generally symmetrical in the two halves; the centre of this pattern

is generally a human figure more or less easily recognisable; the

two halves sometimes bear male and female figures respectively.

The shields most prized by the Kenyahs are further decorated with

tufts of human hair taken from the heads of slain enemies. It is put

on in many rows which roughly frame the large face with locks three

or four inches in length on scalp, cheeks, chin, and upper lip; and

the smaller faces at the ends are similarly surrounded with shorter

hair. The hair is attached by forcing the ends of the tufts into

narrow slits in the soft wood and securing it with fresh resin.

The Klemantan shields are, in the main, variations on the Kenyah

patterns. The Murut shields closely resemble those of the Kayans,

though the Dusuns, who have the domesticated buffalo, use a shield of

buffalo-hide attached to the forearm by a strap -- a feature unknown

in all the other types, which are borne by the handle only. The Sea

Dayaks nowadays make a greater variety of shields, copying those of

the other tribes with variations of their own. The shield originally

used by them before coming into contact with many other tribes,

but now discarded, was made of strips of bamboo plaited together and

stiffened with a longitudinal strip of wood (Fig. 28). It was of two

shapes, both oblong, one with rounded, the other with pointed ends.

The Land Dayaks still use a shield of tough bark (Fig. 29), and it is

not improbable that these were used by other tribes at no distant date.

Every Kayan household possesses, beside the many smaller boats, one or

more boats especially designed for use in war. A typical war-boat is

about 100 feet in length, from six to seven feet wide in its middle

part, and tapers to a width of about three and a half feet at bow

and stern. In some cases the length of the war-boat, which is always

made from a single log, is as much as 145 feet in length (Pl. 96),

but so large a boat is unwieldy in use, and its construction costs an

excessive amount of labour. The ordinary war-boat carries from sixty

to seventy men seated two abreast on the cross-benches. It is steered

by the paddles of the two bow-men and the four next the stern. One

of these war-boats, manned by sixty or seventy paddlers, can maintain

a pace about equal to that of our University racing eights.[57]

War is only undertaken after formal consultation and many discussions

between the chief or chiefs and all the leading men. If the village

primarily concerned does not feel itself strong enough to achieve its

ends, it will seek the help of some neighbouring village, usually,

but not always one of its own tribe. The discussion may be renewed

day after day for some little time, before the decision to fight is

taken and the time for the expedition is fixed.

The next step is to seek favourable omens, and two men are told off for

this work. They repair to some spot in the jungle, or more commonly

on the bank of the river, where they build a small hut; they adorn

it by fraying the poles of its framework, and so secure themselves

against interruptions by passing acquaintances. The sight or sound

of certain birds and beasts is favourable, of others unfavourable;

but the favourable creatures must be observed in a certain order,

if the omens are to be entirely satisfactory. If very bad omens are

observed, the men return home to report the fact, and will make another

attempt after a few days. If the omens are of mixed character, they

will persist for some time, hoping to get a sufficient number of good

omens to counteract or nullify the bad. When seeking for their place

of observation, their choice is determined by seeing a spider-hunter

(ARACHNOTHERA) flying across the river, chirping as it flies. When this

is seen they stop the boat, calling out to the bird, "O friend ISIT,

protect us and give us success." One of the men lands on the bank,

hews out a pole about eight feet long, cuts upon it bunches of shavings

without detaching (Pl. 97) them from the pole, and thrusts one end of

it into the ground so that it remains sloping towards the abode of the

foe. While this is being done on the bank, fire of some sort (if only

a cigarette) is lighted in the boat, and the position is explained

more fully to the bird, but without any mention of the name of the

enemy. The observers then erect a hut near the omen-pole for their

shelter, and pass the night there before looking out for the omen-bird

next desired. This is the trogan (HARPACTES DUVAUCELII), which has

a peculiar soft trilling note and a brilliant red chest. When this

bird appears, it is addressed in the same way as the spider-hunter;

and this second step of the process is also marked by a feathered stick

thrust into the ground before the hut. Then they spend another night in

the hut hoping for significant dreams. To dream of abundance of fruit

(which symbolises heads) is favourable; any dream of a disagreeable

or fearful situation is unfavourable. After a favourable dream comes

the most important stage of the business, the observation of the

hawks. They look for LAKI NEHO from the door of their hut about nine

o'clock in the morning. As soon as a hawk is seen, they light a fire

and call on him to go to the left, waving a feathered stick in that

direction, and, shouting at the top of his voice, one of them pours

out a torrent of words addressed to the hawk. If he goes out of sight

towards the right, they console themselves by remarking that he is one

of low degree, and they sit down to wait for another. If two hawks are

seen to fight in the air, that foretells much bloodshed. They are not

satisfied until they see a hawk sail far away out of sight towards

the left. Then a break is made; after which they observe the hawks

again, until they see one sail out of sight towards the right. If

all this is accomplished without the intervention of unfavourable

omens, they return home to report progress; but immediately return

to the hut and remain there. Then for one, two, or even three days,

all the men of the house stay at home quietly, busying themselves in

preparing boats and weapons. The chief, or some deputy, then performs

the rites before the altar-post of the war-god that stands before

the house in the way described in Chap. XV. The omens given by the

hawks on this occasion are guarantees for the safety of the house

and those left in it, and against accidents and sickness incidental

to the journey; they have no reference to the actual fighting.[58]

All the men of the war-party then proceed in their war-boats to the

spot where the war-omens have been observed, and camp round about

it in roughly built huts. Here they will remain at least two days,

establishing their connection with the favourable omen-birds. From

this encampment they may not return to the house, and, if they are

expecting a party of allies, they may await them here. By this time

the war-fever is raging among them, and rumours of the preparations

of the enemy are circulating. Spies or scouts may be sent out to

seek information about the enemy; but usually such information is

sought from the liver of a pig with the customary ceremony. A sharp

ridge on the liver dividing their own region from that of the enemy

is unfavourable, a low soft ridge is favourable.

From the moment of leaving the village the men of the war-party must

observe many tabus until their return home. They may not eat the head

of a fish; they must use only their home-made earthen pots; fire must

be made only by friction (see Pl. 89); they must not smoke; boys may

not lie down, but must sleep sitting. The people who remain at home

are not expected to observe these tabus; they may go to the farms, but

must keep quiet, and undertake nothing outside the ordinary routine.

If the object of the attack is a village in their own river, the

expedition paddles steadily day after day until it reaches the mouth

of some small stream at a distance of some miles from the enemy's

village. Forcing their boats some two or three miles up this stream

they make a camp. Here two solid platforms are built about twenty feet

apart, and a large beam is laid from one to the other. The chiefs

and principal men take their seats on the platforms, and then every

man of the party in turn approaches this beam, the fighting leader,

who is usually not one of the chiefs, coming first. If he is willing

to go through with the business, I.E. to take part in the attack, he

slashes a chip from the beam with his PARANG and passes under it. On

the far side of the beam stands a chief holding a large frond of fern,

and, as each man passes under, he gives him a bit of the leaf, while

an assistant cuts a notch on a tally-stick for each volunteer. If

for any reason any man is reluctant to go farther, he states his

excuse, perhaps a bad dream or illness, or sore feet, and returns

to the boats, amid the jeers of those who have passed the ordeal,

to form one of a party to be left in charge of the camp and boats.

Next, all the left-handed men are sorted out to form a party whose

special duty is to ambush the enemy, if possible, at some favourable

spot. These are known as the hornets (SINGAT). If any swampy ground

or other obstruction intervenes between their camp and the enemy's

village, a path is made through or over it to facilitate retreat

to the boats. A password is agreed upon, which serves as a means

of making members of the party known to one another upon any chance

meeting in the dark.

Scouts are sent out at dusk and, if their reports are favourable, the

attack is made just before dawn. About half the warriors are provided

with large bundles of dry shavings, and some will carry torches. When

the attacking party has quietly surrounded the house or houses, the

bundles of shavings are ignited, and their bearers run in and throw

them under the house among the timbers on which it is supported. Then

ensues a scene of wild confusion. The calm stillness of the tropical

dawn is broken by the deep war-chorus of the attacking party, by the

shouts and screams of the people of the house suddenly roused from

sleep, by the cries and squeals of the frightened animals beneath the

house, and the beating of the alarm signal on the TAWAK. If the house

is ignited, the encircling assailants strive to intercept the fleeing

inhabitants. These, if the flames do not drive them out before they

have time to take any concerted measures, will hurl their javelins

and discharge their firearms (if they have any) at their assailants;

then they will descend, bringing the women and children with them, and

make a desperate attempt to cut their way through and escape to the

jungle or, sometimes, to their boats. Kayans conducting a successful

attack of this kind will make as many prisoners as possible, and will

as a rule kill only those men who make desperate resistance, though

occasionally others, even women and children, may be wantonly killed

in the excitement of the moment. It is not unusual in the case of an

able-bodied man who has surrendered, but shown signs of attempting to

escape or of renewing his resistance, to deal him a heavy blow on the

knee-cap, and so render him lame for some time. It usually happens

that the greater part of the fugitives escape into the jungle; and

they are not pursued far, if the victors have secured a few heads and

a few prisoners. The head is hacked off at once from the body of any

one of the foe who falls in the fight; the trunk is left lying where

it fell. If any of the assailants are killed in the course of the fray,

their heads are not taken by their friends, and their corpses are left

upon the field covered with boughs, or at most, in the case of chiefs,

are dragged into the jungle and covered up with boughs and twigs, in

order to prevent their heads being taken by the enemy. If any of the

enemy remain so badly wounded that they are not likely to recover,

their heads are taken; and if no other heads have been secured,

the head of one of the more seriously wounded captives is taken,

or of one who is deformed or incapacitated in any way. If a captive

dies of his wounds his head is taken; but it is a rare exception for

Kayans to kill any of their captives after the short excitement of

the battle is over. The attacking party, even though it has gained a

decisive victory, usually returns with all speed, but in good order,

to its boats, carrying with it through the jungle all the loot that

is not too cumbersome for rapid portage, especially old beads, gongs,

and brass-ware; for they are always in danger of being cut off by

a party of their enemies, rallied and reinforced by parties from

neighbouring friendly villages. Still more are they liable to be

pursued and cut off, if the attack on the village has failed through

the defenders having been warned; for an attack upon a strong house or

village has little chance of success if the defenders are prepared for

and expecting it. The pursuit of the retreating party may be kept up

throughout one or two days, and, if the pursuers come up with them,

a brisk and bloody battle is the natural outcome; and it is under

these circumstances that the most severe fighting takes place. But

here again it is seldom that any large proportion of either party is

slain; for the dense jungle everywhere offers abundant opportunities

of concealment to those who condescend to seek its shelter, and there

are few, even among the Kayans and Kenyahs, who will fight to the

bitter end, if the alternative of flight is open to them.

A successful war-party returning home makes no secret of its

success. The boats are decorated with palm leaves (DAUN ISANG),

and a triumphal chorus is raised from time to time, especially on

passing villages. As the villagers come out to gaze on them, those who

have taken heads stand up in the boats. The heads, slightly roasted,

are wrapped up in palm leaves and placed in baskets in the stern of

the boat. If the return home involves a journey of several days,

the victors will, if possible, pass the nights in the houses of

friendly villages, where they are made much of, especially those

who have taken heads; and on these occasions the glamour of victory

is apt to turn the heads of some of the women and to break down the

reserve that modesty normally imposes upon them.

On approaching their own village, whither the rumour of their

success usually precedes them, the war-party is received with loud

acclamations, the people coming down to the riverside to receive

them. Before they ascend to the house, the heads have to be safely

lodged in a small hut specially built for their reception; and the

young boys are brought down to go through their first initiation in

the arts of war. Each child is made to hold a sword and, with the

assistance of some aged warrior, to strike a blow at one of the newly

captured heads. The older boys, some nine or ten years of age, who

are ripe for their second participation in mock warfare, also strike

at a head in a similar way, but engage also in mimic battles with one

another, using wooden swords and spears, and, curiously enough, small

roughly made bows and arrows.[59] It is customary for the victorious

warriors to spend the first night after their return encamped before

the house. A strip of green DAUN ISANG is tied about the left wrist

of each man who has taken part in the expedition, and also of each of

the young boys. Those who have taken heads adorn also their war-caps

with the same leaf and with feathered sticks. On the following day

a tall post of bamboo (BALAWING) is erected near the figure of the

war-god. It is covered with frayed palm leaves (DAUN ISANG), and from

its tip a single head, also wrapped in leaves, is suspended by a long

cord (Pl. 66). Before the altar-post of the war-god several shorter

thicker posts are erected, and to each of these two or three small

pieces of human flesh, brought home from the corpses of the slain

enemies for this purpose, are fastened with skewers. These pieces of

flesh seem to be thank-offerings to the hawks to whom the success is

largely attributed. These bits of flesh are dried over a fire at the

first opportunity on the return journey, in order to preserve them.[60]

As soon as the news of the taking of heads reaches the house, the

people go out of mourning, I.E. they shave the parts of the scalp

surrounding the crown and pull out eyebrows and eyelashes (which have

been allowed to grow during mourning); they put off their bark-cloth

garments and resume their cotton-cloths and ornaments.

If, as is usually the case on the return of a war-party, mourning for

a chief is to be terminated, one of the heads is carried down river

to his tomb, followed by most of the men, while the women wail in

the house. The head is first brought before the house, but not into

it. An old man shoots a dart into the air in the direction of the

enemy, and then, pattering out a long formula in the usual way, he

slaughters a fowl and puts a part of the carcase upon a short stick

thrust into the earth. The men of the party then march past, each

touching the carcase with his knee, and saying as he does so, "Cast

out sickness, make me strong and healthy, exalt me above my enemies,

etc. etc." Beside the tomb a tall pole is set up, and the head dressed

in leaves is suspended by a cord from its upper end. A number of pigs

will already have been slain in preparation for the feast, and their

lower jaws are hung about the tomb on poles. The deep war-chorus is

shouted by the party as it travels to and from the tomb. In returning

the whole party bathes in the river, and while they are in the water

an old man waves over them some of the ISANG leaves with which the

head has been decorated, wishing them health and long life.

A few days (not less than four) after the return of the war-party,

the heads are brought into the house with much rejoicing and

ceremony. Every family kills a pig and roasts its flesh,[61] brings

out stores of rice-spirit, and prepares cakes of rice-flour. The pigs'

livers are examined, and their blood is smeared upon the altar-post

of the war-god with a sort of brush (PLA) made by fraying the end of

a stick in a more than usually elaborate manner. Each head, adorned

with a large bunch of DAUN ISANG, is carried by an elderly man or

woman into the house, followed by all the people of the house -- men,

women, and children -- in long procession. The procession marches

up and down the whole length of the gallery many times, the people

shouting, singing, stamping, and pounding on the floor with PADI

pestles, or playing the KELURI. This is followed by a general feast

and drinking bout, each family preparing its feast in its own chamber,

and entertaining friends and neighbours who come to take part in the

general rejoicing. In the course of the feasting the women usually

take temporary possession of the heads, and perform with them a wild,

uncouth dance, waving the heads to and fro, and chanting in imitation

of the men's war-song (Pl. 102). The procession may be resumed at

intervals until the heads are finally suspended beside the old ones

over the principal hearth of the gallery. The heads have usually

been prepared by removal of the brain through the great foramen,

by drying over a fire, and by lashing on the lower jaw with strips of

rattan. The suspension of the head is effected by piercing a round hole

in the crown, and passing through it from below, by way of the great

foramen, a rattan knotted at the end. The free end of the rattan is

passed through and tied in a hole in the lower edge of a long beam

suspended parallel to the length of the gallery from the beams of

the roof (Pl. 68). The Kenyahs suspend the heads in the same way as

the Kayans, but most of the Klemantans and Ibans use in place of the

long beam a strong basket-work in the shape of a cone, the apex being

attached to the roof beams, and the heads tied in two or three tiers

in the wall of the cone. In either case the heads hang some five or

six feet above the floor, where they are out of reach of the dogs.

Defence

Since every Bornean long-house is, or until recently was, liable

at almost any time to a night attack of the kind described above,

the situation of the house is chosen with an eye to defence. The site

chosen is in nearly all cases on the bank of a river or stream large

enough for the navigation of small boats; a high and steep river-bank

is commonly preferred; and spits of land between two converging streams

or peninsulas formed by sharp bends of the rivers are favoured spots.

Beside the natural situation, the prime defence of the house is its

elevation some 10 to 30 feet above the level of the ground, joined

with the difficulty of access to the house by means of narrow ladders

easily drawn up or thrown down. This elevation of the house serves

also to secure its contents against sudden risings of the river,

and also against the invasion of evil odours from the refuse which

accumulates below it; but its primary purpose is undoubtedly defence

against human enemies. The interval between the low outer wall of the

gallery and the lower edge of the roof is the only aperture through

which missiles can be hurled into the house, and this is so narrow

as to render the entry of any missiles well-nigh impossible.

When a household gets wind of an intended attack, they generally put

the house into a state of defence by erecting a fence of vertical

stakes around it, some three yards outside the posts on which it is

supported and some six to eight feet in height. This fence is rendered

unclimbable by a frieze consisting of a multitude of slips of bamboo;

each of these is sharpened at both ends, bent upon itself, and thrust

between the poles of the palisade so that its sharp points (Pl. 100)

are directed outwards. This dense jungle of loosely attached spikes

constitutes an obstacle not easily overcome by the enemy; for the

loosely fitting bamboo slips can neither be hacked away nor removed

individually without considerable expenditure of time, during which

the attackers are exposed to a shower of missiles from the house. A

double ladder in the form of a stile is placed across the fence

to permit the passage of the people of the house. If there is any

definite pathway leading to the house, a log is sometimes suspended

above it by a rattan passing over a branch of a tree and carried to

the house. This can be allowed to fall upon the approaching enemy by

severing the rattan where it is tied within the house (Klemantan).

A further precaution is to stick into the ground round about the house

a large number of slips of bamboo. Each slip is some six inches in

length, and its sharp, fire-hardened point projects upwards and a

little outwards.

If the attacking party is likely to approach by the river, a trap

may be arranged at some point where, by reason of rapids or rocks,

the boats are likely to be delayed. Here a large tree overhanging

the river is chosen for the trap. Stout rattans are made fast to its

branches, brought over the branches of a neighbouring tree, and made

fast in some spot within reach of a hidden watcher. The stem of the

overhanging tree is then cut almost through, so that a few blows of

a sword, severing the supporting rattans, may cause the tree to fall

upon the passing boat.

When a hostile war-party enters a section of a river in which there

is a number of villages of one tribe or of friendly tribes, its

approach may be signalled throughout the district by the beating

of the TAWAK. The same peculiar rhythm is used for this purpose by

all the tribes, though it probably has been copied from the Kayans

by all the others. It consists in a rapid series of strokes of

increasing rate upon the boss, followed by one long deep note, and

two shorter ones struck upon the body and once repeated. Whenever

this war-alarm is heard in a village, it is repeated, and so passed

on from village to village. The people working in the farms or in the

jungle, or travelling on the river, return at once to their villages on

hearing the alarm, and the houses are prepared for defence. When the

news of the approach of a hostile party has been spread in this way

throughout the river, it has little chance of successfully attacking

a house or village, and it will, unless very numerous, content itself

with attempting to cut off some of the people returning home from

the farms. If the invading party is very strong, it may surround a

house whose defenders have been warned of their coming, and attempt

to starve them into submission. In the old days it was not uncommon

for a strong party of Kayans to descend upon a settlement of the more

peaceable coastwise people, and to extort from them a large payment of

brass-ware as the price of their safety. If the unfortunate household

submitted to this extortion, the Kayans would keep faith with them,

and would ratify a treaty of peace by making the headman of the

village blood-brother of their chief.

Some features of the tactics adopted by the Kayans are worthy of

more detailed description. If a strong party determines to attack a

house in face of an alert defence, they may attempt to storm it in

broad daylight by forming several compact bodies of about twenty-five

men. Each body protects itself with a roof of shields held closely

together, and the several parties move quickly in upon the house

simultaneously from different points, and attempt to carry it by

assault. The defenders of the house would attempt to repel such an

attack by hurling heavy bars of iron-wood, sharpened at both ends, in

such a way that the bar twirls in the air as it hurtles through it;

and this is one of the few occasions on which the blow-pipe is used

as a weapon of defence.

A village that has been warned of the approach of the foe may send out

a party to attempt to ambush the attackers at some difficult passage of

the river or the jungle. Scouts are sent out to locate the enemy. Some

climb to the tops of tall trees to look for the smoke of the enemy's

fires. Having located the enemy, the scouts approach so closely as to

be able to count their numbers and observe all their movements; and,

keeping in touch with the party, they send messages to their chief. If

the defenders succeed in ambushing the attackers and in killing

several of them, the latter usually withdraw discouraged, and may for

the time give up the attempt. If the defending party should come upon

the enemy struggling against a rapid, and especially if the enemy is

in difficulties through the upsetting of some of their boats, or in

any other way, they may fall upon them in the open bed of the river,

and then ensues the comparatively rare event, a stand-up fight in the

open. This resolves itself in the main into hand-to-hand duels between

pairs of combatants, as in the heroic age. The warriors select their

opponents and approach warily; they call upon one another by name,

hurling taunts and swaggering boastfully in the heroic style. Each

abuses the other's parents, and threatens to use his opponent's

skin as a war-coat, or his scrotum as a tobacco-pouch, to take

his head and to use his hair as an ornament for a PARANG-handle;

or doubt as to the opponent's sex may be insinuated. While this

exchange of compliments goes on, the warriors are manoeuvring for

favourable positions; each crouches, thrusting forward his left leg,

covering himself as completely as possible with his long shield,

and dodging to and fro continually. The short javelins and spears

are first hurled, and skilfully parried with spear and shield. When

a man has expended his stock of javelins and has hurled his spear,

he closes in with his PARANG. His enemy seeks to receive the blow of

the PARANG on his shield in such a way that the point, entering the

wood, may be held fast by it. Feinting and dodging are practised;

one man thrusts out his left leg to tempt the other to strike at it

and to expose his head in doing so. If one succeeds in catching his

enemy's PARANG in his shield, he throws down the shield and dashes

upon his now weaponless foe, who takes to his heels, throwing away

his shield and relying merely on his swiftness of foot. When one of

a pair of combatants is struck down, the other springs upon him and,

seizing the long hair of the scalp and yelling in triumph, severs the

neck with one or two blows of the PARANG. The warrior who has drawn

first blood of the slain foe claims the credit of having taken his

head. Such a free fight seldom lasts more than a few minutes. Unless

one party quite overwhelms the other in the first few minutes, both

draw off, and the fight is seldom renewed.

Since the establishment of the European governments in Borneo,

punitive expeditions have been necessary from time to time in order

to put a stop to wanton raiding and killing. In this respect the

Ibans and some of the Klemantans have been the chief offenders;

while the Kayans and Kenyahs have seldom given trouble, after once

placing themselves under the established governments. In the Baram

river, in which the Kayans form probably a larger proportion of the

population than in any other, no such expedition against them has

been necessary since they accepted the government of H.H. the Rajah

of Sarawak nearly twenty-five years ago.

In organising such an expedition, the European governments, especially

that of Sarawak, have usually relied in the main on the services

of loyal chiefs and their followers, acting under the control of a

European magistrate, and supported usually by a small body of native

police or soldiers armed with rifles. There is usually no difficulty

in securing the co-operation of any desired number of native allies or

volunteers; for in this way alone can the people now find a legitimate

outlet for their innate and traditional pugnacity. Sometimes the

people to be punished desert their village, hiding themselves in

the jungle; and in such cases the burning of their houses is usually

deemed sufficient punishment. In cases of more serious crime, such as

repeated wanton bloodshed and refusal to yield to the demands of the

government, it becomes necessary to apprehend the persons primarily

responsible, and, for this purpose, to pursue the fugitives. These

sometimes establish themselves on a hill-top surrounded by precipices

which can be scaled only by the aid of ladders, and there defy the

government forces until the hill is carried by assault, or by siege,

or the defenders are enticed to descend. One such hill in the basin

of the Rejang (Sarawak), Bukit Batu by name, consists of a mass of

porphyry some 1500 feet in height, and several miles in diameter,

with very precipitous sides. This has been used again and again as a

place of refuge by recalcitrant offenders, being so strong a natural

fortress that it has never been possible to carry it by assault. On

the last occasion on which Bukit Batu was used in this way, two Iban

chiefs established themselves on the hill and defied the government

of Sarawak for a period of four years, during which the hill became a

place of refuge for all evil-doers and outlaws among the Ibans of the

Rejang and neighbouring districts, who built their houses on ledges

of the mountain some four hundred feet above the level of the river.

The punitive expedition that we briefly describe in Chapter XXII. was

but a small affair compared with some, in which as many as 10,000

or 12,000 men have mustered under the government flag. So large a

number is seldom necessary or desired by the government; but when

contingents from all the loyal communities of a large district eagerly

offer their services, it is difficult to deny any of them permission

to take part. Kenyahs and Kayans will co-operate harmoniously, and

also Klemantans; but the former distrust the Sea Dayaks and will not

join forces with any large number of them.

The modes of warfare of the other tribes are similar in most respects

to that of the Kayans described above; but some peculiarities are

worthy of note.

Kenyah warfare is very similar to Kayan, save in so far as their

more impetuous temper renders their tactics more dashing. While the

Kayans endeavour to make as many captives as possible, the Kenyahs

attach little value to them. While Kayans never attack communities of

their own tribe, such "civil war" is not unknown among the Kenyahs,

whose tribal cohesion is less intimate in many respects. From these

two differences it results that the Kenyah war-parties are generally

smaller than those of the Kayans, more quick-moving, and more prone to

attack groups of the enemy encountered on farms or on the river. Like

the Ibans, the Kenyahs make peace more readily than the Kayans, who

nurse their grievances and seek redress after long intervals of time.

The Ibans conduct their warfare less systematically, and with far

less discipline than the Kayans and Kenyahs. An attack upon a house

or village by Bans is usually made in very large force; the party

is more of the nature of a rabble than of an army; each man acts

independently. They seek above all things to take heads, to which they

attach an extravagant value, unlike the Kayans and Kenyahs who seek

heads primarily for the service of their funeral rites; and they not

infrequently attack a house and kill a large number of its inmates in

a perfectly wanton manner, and for no other motive that the desire to

obtain heads. This passion for heads leads them sometimes into acts

of gross treachery and brutality. The Ibans being great wanderers,

small parties of them, engaged perhaps in working jungle produce, will

settle for some weeks in a household of Klemantans, and, after being

received hospitably, and sometimes even after contracting marriages

with members of the household, will seize an opportunity, when most

of the men of the house are from home, to take the heads of all the

men, women, and children who remain, and to flee with them to their

own distant homes.

So strong is this morbid desire of the Ibans to obtain human heads,

that a war-party will sometimes rob the tombs of the villages of

other tribes and, after smoking the stolen heads of the corpses,

will bring them home in triumph with glowing accounts of the stout

resistance offered by the victims. Their attitude in this matter is

well expressed by a saying current among them, namely, "Why should

we eat the hard caked rice from the edge of the pot when there's

plenty of soft rice in the centre?" The Iban women urge on the men

to the taking of heads; they make much of those who bring them home,

and sometimes a girl will taunt her suitor by saying that he has not

been brave enough to take a head; and in some cases of murder by Sea

Dayaks, the murderer has no doubt been egged on in this way.

Nevertheless, we repeat that there is no ground for the oft-reprinted

assertion that the taking of a head is a necessary prelude to

marriage.[62] Like other tribesmen Ibans do not bring home the heads

of their companions who have fallen in battle; but while men of other

tribes are content to drag the corpses of their fallen friends into

some obscure spot and to cover them with branches, Ibans frequently

cut off the heads and bury them at a distance from the scene of battle,

in order to prevent their being taken by the enemy.

The Ibans use a rather greater variety of weapons than the Kayans,

in that they have spears whose blades bear barbs which prevent the

withdrawal of the blade from the body of the enemy without great

violence.

The Klemantan tribes are on the whole far less warlike than Kayans,

Kenyahs, and Ibans. Their offensive warfare is usually on a small

scale, and is undertaken primarily for revenge. Their warlike ambition

is easily satisfied by the taking of a single head, or even by a

mere hostile demonstration against the enemy's house. Nevertheless,

like all the other tribes, except the Punans, the Klemantans need a

human head to terminate a period of mourning.

We venture to append to this chapter a few speculations on the

origin and history of head-hunting. From what we have said above it

is clear that the Ibans are the only tribe to which one can apply the

epithet head-hunters with the usual connotation of the word, namely,

that head-hunting is pursued as a form of sport. But although the Ibans

are the most inveterate head-hunters, it is probable that they adopted

the practice some few generations ago only (perhaps a century and a

half or even less) in imitation of Kayans or other tribes among whom

it had been established for a longer period. The rapid growth of the

practice among the Ibans was no doubt largely due to the influence

of the Malays, who had been taught by Arabs and others the arts of

piracy, and with whom the Ibans were associated in the piratical

enterprises that gave the waters around Borneo a sinister notoriety

during the eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth centuries. Until

the middle of the nineteenth century, the settlements of Ibans were

practically confined to the rivers of the southern part of Sarawak;

and there the Malays of Bruni and of other coast settlements enlisted

them as crews for their pirate ships. In these piratical expeditions

the Malays assigned the heads of their victims as the booty of their

Iban allies, while they kept for themselves the forms of property of

greater cash value. The Malays were thus interested in encouraging in

the Ibans the passion for head-hunting which, since the suppression of

piracy, has found vent in the irregular warfare and treacherous acts

described above. It was through their association with the Malays in

these piratical expeditions that the Ibans became known to Europeans

as the Sea Dayaks.

It seems not impossible that the practice of taking the heads of

fallen enemies arose by extension of the custom of taking the hair

for the ornamentation of the shield and sword-hilt. It seems possible

that human hair was first applied to shields in order to complete the

representation of a terrible human face, which, as we have seen, is

commonly painted on the shield, and which is said to be valued as an

aid to confusing and terrifying the foe. It is perhaps a difficulty

in the way of this view that the use of human hair to ornament

the shield is peculiar to the Kenyahs and some of the Klemantans

(the latter probably having imitated the former in this), and does

not occur among the Kayans. The Kenyahs themselves preserve the

tradition of the origin of the taking of heads; and the suggestion

is further borne out by the legend of TOKONG, which is widely known,

but is probably of Kenyah origin (see Chapter XVII.), according to

which the frog admonished a great Kenyah chief that he should cease to

take only the hair of the fallen foe, but should take their heads also.

A second plausible view of the origin of head-taking is that it arose

out of the custom of slaying slaves on the death of a chief, in order

that they might accompany and serve him on his journey to the other

world. We have pointed out several reasons for believing that this

practice was formerly general, and that it has fallen into desuetude,

but is hardly yet quite extinct. It is obvious that since the soul

of the dead man is regarded as hovering in the neighbourhood of the

body for some little time after its death, it would be felt that the

despatch of a companion soul was not a matter of immediate urgency;

and considerations of economy might well lead the mourners to prefer

capturing and killing members of some hostile community to slaying one

or more of their slaves, highly valued and sometimes affectionately

regarded as they are. It would then be felt that the relatives of

the deceased should continue to display signs of mourning until they

should have discharged this last duty to their departed friend. The

next step would be to supplant the practice of capturing a member of a

hostile community, and bringing him home to be slain, by the simpler,

less troublesome, and more merciful one of slaying the enemy on the

field of combat and bringing home only his head. In this way we may,

with some plausibility, seek to account for the origin of the practice

of taking heads, and of the tradition that the taking of a head is

necessary for the termination of a period of mourning. This second

suggestion is strongly supported by the fact that Kayans, Kenyahs,

and Klemantans occasionally, on returning home from a successful raid,

will carry one of the newly taken heads to the tomb of the chief for

whom they are mourning, and will hang it upon, or deposit it within,

the tomb beside the coffin. The head used for this purpose is thickly

covered with leaves (DAUN ISANG) tied tightly about it. It is possible

that this thick covering was first applied in order to disguise the

fact that the head is that of an enemy, and that the sacrifice of the

life of a domestic slave, originally demanded by custom and piety,

has been avoided by this process of substitution.

We have suggested above two different origins of the custom of

taking the heads of enemies. These two possibilities are by no means

mutually exclusive, and we are inclined to think that both substitutive

processes may have co-operated in bringing about this custom.

It seems probable that the taking of heads was introduced to Borneo

by Kayans when they entered the island, probably some few centuries

ago, and that the Klemantans and other tribes, like the Ibans, have

adopted the custom from their example.

We will conclude this chapter by questioning yet another of the

stories, the frequent repetition of which has given the tribes of the

interior the reputation of being savages of the worst type, namely,

the story that it is the practice of Kayans to torture the captives

taken in battle. This evil repute is, we have no doubt, largely

due to the fact that very few Europeans have acquired any intimate

first-hand acquaintance with the Kayans or Kenyahs; and that too

often the stories told by Sea Dayaks have been uncritically accepted;

for the Sea Dayaks have been bitterly hostile to the Kayans ever since

the tribes have been in contact; and the Iban is a great romancer. It

will be found that many of the alleged instances of torture by Kayans

have been described by Sea Dayaks; and we think there is good reason

for hesitating to accept any of these. But we would point out that,

if some of these accounts have been founded on fact, the Sea Dayak

victims, or their companions, have in all probability provoked the

Kayans to severe, reprisals by their atrocious behaviour, and may be

fairly said to have deserved their fate.

It is true that Kayans have been guilty of leaving a slave or captive

bound upon a tomb until he has died from exposure to the sun. We know

also of one instance in which a Murut slave, having treacherously

murdered the only son of a great Kayan chief in the Baram, at the

instigation of Bruni Malays, was killed by a multitude of small stabs

by the infuriated Kayan women, on being brought captive to the house.

But such occurrences as these by no means justify the statement that it

is the practice of Kayans to torture their captives; and we have heard

of no well-attested instances that give any colour to it. As we have

said above, Kayans commonly treat their captives so kindly that they

soon become content to remain in the households of their captors. The

Kayan feeling about torture is well illustrated by the fact that the

Kayan village responsible for the exposure of the slave mentioned

above was looked at askance by other Kayans. The spot was regarded

with horror by them, and they regard as a consequence of this act the

failure of the line of the chief of that village to perpetuate itself.

We have to admit that some of the Klemantans cannot be so

whole-heartedly defended against the charge of torturing their

captives. But we believe that it is not regularly practised by any

Klemantan tribe, but rather only on occasions which in some way evoke

an exceptional degree of emotional excitement. Thus, in one instance

known to us, the Orang Bukit of the Bruni territory, having lost the

most highly respected of their chiefs, purchased a slave in Bruni to

serve as the funereal victim, and, having shut him in a wicker cage,

killed him with a multitude of stabs, some eight hundred persons

taking part in the act. But even this act was, it must be observed,

of the nature of a pious and religious rite rather than an act of

wanton cruelty.

We cannot leave this subject without this last word. If we are quite

frank, we shall have to admit that, even though the worst accounts of

Kayan cruelty were substantially true, such behaviour would not in the

least justify the belief that the Kayans are innately more cruel than

ourselves. If we are tempted to take this view, let us remember that,

after our own race had professed Christianity for many generations,

the authority of Church and State publicly decreed and systematically

inflicted in cold blood tortures far more hideous and atrocious than

any the Kayan imagination has ever conceived.

CHAPTER 11

Handicrafts

In any account of the arts and crafts of the Kayans, the working of

iron claims the first place by reason of its high importance to them

and of the skill and knowledge displayed by them in the difficult

operations by which they produce their fine swords. The origin of

their knowledge of iron and of the processes of smelting and forging

remains hidden in mystery; but there can be little doubt that the

Kayans were familiar with these processes before they entered Borneo,

and it is probable that the Kayans were the first ironworkers in

Borneo, and that from them the other tribes have learnt the craft

with various measures of success.[63] However this may be, the Kayans

remain the most skilful ironworkers of the country, rivalled only in

the production of serviceable sword-blades by the Kenyahs.

At the present day the Kayans, like all the other peoples, obtain

their iron in the form of bars of iron and steel imported from Europe

and distributed by the Chinese and Malay traders. But thirty years ago

nearly all the iron worked by the tribes of the interior was from ore

found in the river-beds, and possibly from masses of meteoric iron;

and even at the present day the native ore is still smelted in the

far interior, and swords made from it by the Kenyahs are still valued

above all others.

Smelting and forging demand a specialised skill which is attained

by relatively few. But in each Kayan village are to be found two or

three or more skilled smiths, who work up for a small fee the metal

brought them by their friends, the finishing touches being generally

given by the owner of the implement according to his own fancy.

The smelting is performed by mixing the ore with charcoal in

a clay crucible, which is embedded in a pile of charcoal. The

charcoal being ignited is blown to a white heat by the aid of four

piston-bellows. Each of the bellows consists of a wooden cylinder

(generally made from the stem of a wild sago palm) about four feet in

length and six inches in diameter, fixed vertically in a framework

carrying a platform, on which two men sit to work the pistons (see

Pl. 107). The lower end of each cylinder is embedded in clay, and

into it near its lower end is inserted a tube of bamboo, which, lying

horizontally on the ground, converges upon and joins with a similar

tube of a second cylinder. The common tube formed by this junction in

turn converges with the tube common to the other pair of cylinders,

and with it opens by a clay junction into a final common tube of clay,

which leads to the base of the fire. The piston consists of a stout

stick bearing at its lower end a bunch of feathers large enough to

fill the bore of the cylinder. When the piston is thrust downwards,

it drives the air before it to the furnace; as it is drawn upwards,

the feathers collapsing allow the entrance of air from above. The

upper extremity of each of the piston-rods is attached by a cord to

one end of a stout pliable stick, which is firmly fixed at its other

end in a horizontal position, the cord being of such a length that the

piston-head is supported by it near the upper end of the cylinder. Two

men squat upon the platform and each works one pair of the cylinders,

grasping a piston-rod in each hand, thrusting them down alternately,

and allowing the elastic reaction of the supporting rods above to

draw them up again. The crucible, having been brought to white heat

in the furnace, is allowed to cool, when a mass of metallic iron or

steel is found within it.

The forging of implements from the metal obtained is effected by the

aid of a charcoal furnace to which a blast is supplied by the bellows

described above, or sometimes by one consisting of two cylinders

only. Stone anvils and hammers were formerly used, and may still

be seen in use in the far interior (Fig. 31); but the Kayans make

iron hammers and an anvil consisting of a short thick bar of iron,

the lower end of which is fixed vertically in a large block of wood.

The peculiarly shaped and finely tempered sword-blade, MALAT, is

the highest product of the Kayan blacksmith. The smith begins his

operations on a bar of steel some eight inches in length. One end is

either grasped with pincers, or thrust firmly into a block of wood

that serves for a handle. The other end is heated in the furnace and

gradually beaten out until the peculiar shape of the blade is achieved,

with the characteristic hollow on the one side and convexity on the

other. If the blade is to be a simple and unadorned weapon, there

follow only the tempering, grinding, and polishing. But many blades

are ornamented with curled ridges projecting from the back edge. These

are cut and turned up with an iron chisel while the metal is hot and

before tempering.

Two methods of tempering are in use. One is to heat the blade in

the fire and to plunge it at a dull heat into water. The other is

to lay the cold blade upon a flat bar of red-hot iron. This has the

advantage that the degree of the effect upon the blade can be judged

from the change of its colour as it absorbs the heat. The Kayan smiths

are expert in judging by the colours of the surface the degree and

kind of temper produced. They aim at producing a very tough steel,

for the MALAT has to serve not only in battle, but also for hacking

a path through the jungle, and for many other purposes.

Many sword-blades are elaborately decorated with scroll designs along

the posterior border and inlaid with brass. The inlaid brass commonly

takes the form of a number of small discs let into the metal near the

thick edge; small holes are punched through the hot metal, and brass

wire is passed through each hole, cut off flush with the surface and

hammered flat. The designs are chased on the cold metal with a chisel

and hammer supplemented by a file. The polishing and sharpening are

done in several stages: the first stage usually by rubbing the blade

upon a block of sandstone; the second stage by the use of a hone of

finer grain; and the highest polish is attained by rubbing with a leaf

whose surface is hard and probably contains silicious particles. At

the present time imported files are much used.

Other implements fashioned by the smiths are the small knives,

spear-heads, hoes, small adzes, rods for boring the sumpitan, the

anvil, and the various hammers, and chisels, and rough files used by

the smiths.

Brass-work

Although brass-ware is so highly valued by all the peoples of the

interior, the only brazen articles made by them (with one exception

presently to be noticed) are the heavy ear-rings of the women. The

common form is a simple ring of solid metal interrupted at one point

by a gap about an eighth of an inch wide, through which is pulled the

thin band of skin formed by stretching the lobule of the ear. Other

rings form about one and a half turns of a corkscrew spiral. These

rings are cast in moulds of clay, or in some cases in moulds hollowed

in two blocks of stone which are nicely opposed.

The Malohs, a Klemantan sub-tribe in the upper basin of the Kapuas

river, are well known as brass-workers; their wares are bartered

throughout the country, and a few Maloh brass-workers may be found

temporarily settled in many of the larger villages of all tribes. They

make the brass corsets of the Iban women, tweezers for pulling out the

hair of the face, brass ear-rings, and a variety of small articles,

and they make use of the larger brass-ware of Malay and Chinese origin

as the source of their material.

Fire Piston

This very ingenious instrument for the making of fire is cast in

metal by the Ibans. (See Fig. 36 and Pl. 108.) It consists of a

hollow brass or leaden cylinder about five inches in length and one

inch in diameter, the bore being about one-quarter of an inch in

diameter and closed at one end. A wooden piston, which closely fits

the bore, bears a rounded knob; it is driven down the cylinder by a

sharp blow of the palm upon the knob and is quickly withdrawn. The

heat generated by the compression of the air ignites a bit of tinder

(made by scraping the fibrous surface of the leaf stem of the Arenga

palm) at the bottom of the cylinder. The cylinder is cast by pouring

the molten metal into a section of bamboo, while a polished iron rod

is held vertically in the centre to form the bore. When the cylinder

is cold the iron rod is extracted, and the outer surface is trimmed

and shaped with knife or file.

Boat-building

The Kayans make much use of boats, as described in Chapter VIII., and

are skilful boat-makers. The forest offers them an abundant variety

of timbers suitable for the different types of boat used by them.

The most ambitious efforts of this kind are devoted to the construction

of the great war-boats, fine specimens of which are as much as

100 feet in length, or even, in exceptional instances, nearly 150

feet. The foundation of every boat is a single piece of timber shaped

and hollowed by fire and adze. Several kinds of timber are used,

the best being the kinds known as AROH (SHOREA) and NGELAI (AFZELIA

PALAMBANICA). Sometimes a suitable stem is found floating down river

and brought to the bank before the house. But such good fortune is

exceptional, and commonly a tree is selected in the forest as near as

possible to the river bank. The tree is felled in the way described in

Chapter VI. (Pl. 55), its branches are hewed away, and the stem is cut

to the required length and roughly hewn into shape. About one-fourth

of the circumference of the stem is cut away along the whole length,

and from this side the stem is hollowed. When, by chopping out the

centre, the thickness of this shell has been reduced to a thickness of

some five inches, it is brought down to the river. This is effected

by laying through the jungle a track consisting of smooth poles laid

across the direction of progress; the hollowed stem is pulled endwise

over this track with the aid of rattans, perhaps a hundred or more men

combining their strength. If the stem proves too heavy to be moved

at any part of the journey by their direct pull and push, a rough

windlass is constructed by fixing the stem of a small tree across

two standing trees and winding the rattans upon this, the trimmed

branches of the tree serving as the arms of the windlass. The Kayans

are skilled in this kind of transport of heavy timber; for the building

of their houses and of the larger tombs involves similar difficulties,

though the timbers required for these purposes are not so huge as those

used for the war-boats. Arrived at the river bank, the hollowed stem

is launched upon the water and towed down stream to the village at a

time when the water is high. It is made fast to the bank before the

village at as high a point as the water will allow, so that when the

river subsides it is left high and dry. A leaf shelter is then built

over it to protect it and the workers from the sun. The shell is then

further hollowed, partly by firing it with shavings inside and out,

and by scraping away the charred surfaces. The inside is fired first;

then the hollow is filled with water, and the outside is fired.

When in this way the shell has been reduced to a thickness of a few

inches, it is opened out, while hot from firing and still filled

with water, by wedging stout sticks some six to seven feet in length

between the lateral walls, so that the hollow stem (which hitherto

has had the form of a hollow cylinder some three to four feet in

diameter, lacking along its whole length a strip about the fourth

of its circumference) becomes a shallow trough some six to seven

feet wide in the middle of its length. During the hollowing, small

buttresses are left along each side at intervals of about two feet to

form supports for benches. After the opening, the shell is left lying

covered with branches for some days, while the wood sets in its new

form. The outer surface is then shaved approximately to the required

degree, all irregularities are removed, and holes about half-an-inch

in diameter are bored through all parts of the shell at intervals of

some twenty inches. Wooden pegs are then hammered into these holes,

each peg bearing two marks or grooves at an interval equal to the

thickness of the shell desired at each part; the peg is driven in from

the outside until the outer groove is flush with the outer surface of

the shell, and the projecting part is cut away; the inner surface is

then further chipped and scraped in each area until it becomes level

with the inner groove on the peg. In this way the workers are enabled

to give to each part its appropriate thickness. The outer surface is

then finally smoothed to form about one-third of a cylinder, and the

foundation is complete. It only remains to lash the cross-benches to

their supports, to raise the sides by lashing on a gunwale, and to

fit in wedge-shaped blocks at bow and stern. The gunwale consists of

a tough plank some ten inches wide overlapping the outer edge of the

shell, and lashed firmly to it by rattan strips piercing both shell

and planks at intervals of about six inches. In some cases the gunwale

is further raised in its middle part by lashing on a second smaller

plank to the upper edge of the first. The block fitted in at the

prow presents to the water a flat surface inclined at a low angle;

and a similar block completes the shell at the stern. The prow is

often ornamented with the head of a crocodile or the conventional

dog's head carved in hard wood and painted in red and black.

The whole operation, like every other important undertaking, is

preceded by the finding of omens, and it is liable to be postponed

by the observation of ill omens, by bad dreams, or by any misfortune

such as a death in the house. In each house are certain men who are

specially skilled in boat-making, and by them the work is directed and

all the finer part of the work executed. In the case of a war-boat

which is to be the property of the household, these special workers

are paid a fee out of the store of valuables accumulated under the

care of the chief by way of fines and confiscations.

The smaller boats, ranging from a small canoe suitable for one

or two paddlers only, to one capable of carrying a score or more,

are generally private property. These, like the war-boats, are made

from a single stem. The larger ones are made in just the same way

as the war-boats. In the smaller ones the bow is shaped from the

solid block and is not opened out, as is the rest of the boat. The

craftsman who makes a boat for another is helped by his customer,

and is paid by him a fee in brass-ware or dollars, the usual fee

being a TAWAK varying in size according to the size of the boat.

If Kayans find themselves for any reason in immediate need of a

boat when none is at hand, they sometimes fashion one very rapidly

by stripping the bark from a big tree. The two ends of the sheet of

bark are folded and lashed with rattan to form bow and stern; the

middle part is wedged open with cross-pieces which serve as benches,

and the shell is strengthened with transverse ribs and longitudinal

strips. A serviceable boat capable of carrying several men and their

baggage may be completed in the course of two hours. Such a makeshift

boat is more commonly made by Sea Dayaks.

Of all the interior tribes the Kayans are probably the best

boat-makers; but most of them make their own boats in the same way as

the Kayans. There are, however, a few of the Klemantan sub-tribes who

never attempt to make anything more than a very rough small canoe

of soft wood, and who buy from others what boats they need. This

is a curious instance of the persistent lack of the tradition of a

specialised craft among communities that might have been expected to

acquire it easily from their neighbours.

For ordinary work a rough paddle made from iron-wood is generally used;

the blade and shaft are of one piece; the flat blade, nearly two feet

in length, is widest about six inches below its junction with the

shaft, and from this point tapers slightly to its square extremity;

the shaft is about three feet in length and carries, morticed to its

upper end, a cross-piece for the grip of the upper hand.

A few paddles, especially those made for women, are very finely

shaped and finished, and have their shafts ornamented with carving

of a variety of designs, generally one band of carving immediately

above the blade and a second below the cross-piece. Some of the

Klemantans excel the Kayans in this work, producing very beautiful

women's paddles, sometimes with designs of inlaid lead (Pl. 92).

House-building

A Kayan community seldom continues to inhabit the same spot for more

than about a dozen years; though in exceptional instances houses are

continuously inhabited for thirty or even forty years. House-building

is thus a craft of great importance, and the Kayans are seldom content

to build their houses in the comparatively flimsy style adopted

by the Ibans and some of the Klemantans, and even occasionally by

Kenyahs. The main features of the structure of a Kayan long-house

have been described in Chapter IV. Here it remains only to describe

some of the more peculiar and important processes of construction.

The great piles that support the house may be floated down river

from the old house to be used in the construction of the new;

[64] they are not dug from the ground, but are felled by cutting

close to the surface of the ground. The great planks of the floor,

the main cross-beams, and the wooden shingles of the roof, are also

commonly carried from the old house to the new. If a house has been

partially destroyed by fire, no part of the materials of the old

house is used in the construction of the new; for it is felt that

in some indefinable way the use of the old material would render the

new house very liable to the same fate, as though the new house would

be infected by the materials with the ill-luck attaching to the old

house.[65] In such cases, or upon migration to a different river,

the whole of the timbers for the house have to be procured from the

jungle, and shaped, and erected; and the process of construction is

extremely laborious. But once the timber has been brought together

upon the chosen site, the building goes on rapidly, and the whole of a

house some hundreds of yards in length may be substantially completed

within a fortnight. The main supports of the structure are four rows

of massive columns of iron-wood. Holes about four feet in depth are

dug for the reception of the butt ends of these. They are disposed

in the manner indicated in the diagrams (Figs. 37, 38, 39), so that

a single row supports the front of the house, another the back, and a

double row the middle.[66] The intervals between the columns of each

row are about twenty feet, or rather more. Each pile is erected by

raising the one end until the other slips into the hole. Rattans are

tied round it a little above its middle and passed over a tall tripod

of stout poles. A number of men haul on these while others shove up

the top end with their shoulders. The pile is thus suspended with its

butt end resting so lightly on the ground that it can easily be guided

into the hole prepared for its reception. Smaller accessory piles,

to serve as additional supports, are put under the main cross beams of

the floor when these have been laid. The columns of the double row in

the middle line are about six feet taller than those of the front and

back rows. For the support of the floor a massive squared transverse

tie is morticed through each set of four columns at a height of some

fifteen to twenty feet from the ground, and secured by a pin through

each extremity. A squared roof-plate, still more massive than the floor

ties, is then laid upon the crowns of the columns of the front row,

along its whole length, and a second one upon the back row. This is

dowelled upon the columns (I.E. the top of the column is cut to form a

pin which is let into the longitudinal beam); and the beams which make

up the roof-plate are spliced, generally in such a way that the top of

a column serves as the pin of the splice. Each of these heavy beams

is generally lifted into its place by tiers of men standing on poles

lashed at different heights across the columns, their efforts being

seconded by others pulling on rattans which run from the beam over

the topmost cross-pole. The framework of the roof is then completed

by laying stout roof-ties across the crowns of the double row of

columns of the middle line, and lashing their extremities to stout

purlins (longitudinal beams for the support of the rafters in the

middle of their length), and by laying the ridge-timber upon a line

of perpendicular struts. The ridge-timber and purlins, though less

heavy than the roof-plates, consist also of stout squared timbers,

spliced to form beams continuous throughout the whole length of the

house. The rafters are laid at an angle of about forty degrees and

at intervals of eighteen inches; they are lashed to the ridge-timber

and to the purlins, and lipped on to the roof-plates, beyond which

they project about four feet to form an cave. Strong flat strips or

laths are laid along the rafters parallel to the length of the house

at intervals of about sixteen inches. On these are laid the shingles

or slats of iron-wood in regular rows, in just the way in which roof

tiles are laid in this country. Each slat is a slab about

1 x 30 x 12 inches, and is

lashed by a strip of rattan, which pierces its upper end, to one

of the laths. The floor is completed by laying longitudinal joists

of stout poles across the main floor-ties; the poles are notched to

grip the ties. Upon these joists, transversely to them, are laid a

number of flat strips which immediately support the floor planks;

these are kept in place by their own weight.

In a well-built house these planks are between thirty and forty feet

in length, or even more, two to three feet in breadth, and three to

four inches thick. They are made from tough strong timber, but usually

not from the iron-wood trees. They are moved from house to house,

and some of those in use are probably hundreds of years old. A single

tree is generally made to yield two such planks. After being felled

it is split into halves longitudinally in the following way. A deep

groove is cut along one side, and wedges of hard tough wood are driven

in with rough heavy mallets. Deep transverse grooves are then cut in

the rounded surface of each half at intervals of three or four feet;

and the intervening masses of wood are split off. In this way it is

whittled down until it is only some six inche's thick. The plank is

then trimmed down to the desired thickness by blows of the adze struck

across the direction of the grain. The two ends are generally left

untrimmed until the plank has been transported to the site of the

house and has lain there for some time. This prevents its splitting

during the journey to the house and the period of seasoning.

When the floor has been laid, it only remains to make the main

partition wall which separates the gallery from the rooms along

the whole length of the house, and the walls between the several

rooms. These walls are made only some eight or nine feet in height. The

wall of the gallery is made of vertical planks lashed to horizontal

rails whose extremities are let into the columns of the anterior

set of the double median row. The wall thus divides the house into a

narrower front part, the gallery, and a broader back part; the latter

is subdivided by the transverse walls into the series of rooms each

of which accommodates one family.

The work of construction is carried on by all the men of the house;

the women and children lend what aid they can in the way of fetching

and carrying, and in preparing rattans. The ownership of each section

is arranged beforehand; the section of the chief being generally in

the middle, and those of his near relatives on either side of it. Each

man pays special attention to the construction of his own section,

and carries out the lighter work of that part, such as laying the

shingles, with the help of his own household. If any widow is the head

of a household, her section is constructed by her male neighbours or

relatives without payment.

Before beginning the building of a new house favourable omens must

be obtained; and the Kayans would be much troubled if bad omens

were observed during the building, especially during the first few

days. At this time, therefore, children are told off to beat upon

gongs hung about the new site, and so, by scaring away the birds

and obscuring the sound of their cries, to prevent the appearance of

bad omens from their side. Bad omens combined with ill-luck, such as

death, bad dreams, or an attack by enemies during building (even if

this were successfully repelled), would lead to the desertion of a

partially built house and the choice of another site.

All the interior peoples construct their houses on principles

similar to those described above, but with considerable diversity in

detail. The greatest diversity of plan is exhibited by the houses

of Ibans. An Iban community seldom remains in the same house more

than three or four years; it is, no doubt, partly on this account

that their houses are built in a less solid style than those of most

other tribes. The timbers used are lighter; the house is not raised so

high above the ground, and the floor is usually made of split bamboo

in place of the heavy planks used by Kayans and others. The plan of

construction is less regular. The numerous slight supporting piles

pass through the floor of the gallery in all sorts of odd positions;

the only part that is kept clear of them being a narrow gangway that

runs from end to end of the house; it adjoins the private chambers,

and is about four feet in width; it is called TEMPUAN.

Some of the Klemantans make houses very inferior to those of the

Kayans in respect to size, solidity, and regularity of construction;

lashed bamboos largely replace the strongly morticed timber-work

of the better houses; but the worst houses of all are made by those

Punans who have recently adopted the agriculture and settled habits

of the other peoples.

Other Kinds of Wood-working

The building of houses and the shaping of boats are by far the

most important kinds of wood-working; but there are many small

articles of wood in the making of which much skill and ingenuity are

displayed. Among these the shields and parang-sheaths deserve special

mention. The former have been described in Chapter X.

The sword-sheath is made from two slips of hard wood, cut to fit

together exactly, leaving a space accurately shaped for the lodgment

of the sword-blade. The two slips are neatly lashed together with

rattan, and in many cases are elaborately carved with varieties of

a peculiar conventional design in relief (see vol. i., p. 240).

Dishes of iron-wood, now almost superseded by European earthenware,

were formerly in general use (Figs. 6 and 7). Their shapes are very

good; the dish is generally provided with one or two "ears" or flanges

for the grip of the hands, and these are cunningly decorated with

carved designs or inlaid pieces of shell or pottery. Some have a spout

opposite the single handle. The hollowing and general shaping of such

dishes is done with a small adze, and they are finished with the knife.

Basket-work, etc.

The weaving of baskets, mats, and caps is one of the most important

handicrafts of the Kayans. It is chiefly practised by the women,

though the men help in collecting and preparing the materials. The

material chiefly used is strips of rattan. A rattan about one-third of

an inch in diameter is split into five strips, and the inner surface

of each strip is smoothed with a knife; but the stems of several

other jungle-plants are also used.

The most important of the baskets (Pl. 43), are the following:

The large one used for carrying PADI from the farms to the house;

the small basket hung on the back by a pair of shoulderstraps, and

always carried by the men on going far from home; the fish-baskets;

large baskets provided with lids and kept in the rooms for storing

clothing and other personal valuables; the winnowing trays, and the

large rough basket used for carrying on the back water-vessels or

any other heavy objects (Fig. 41).

Of the mats (see Pl. 43), the principal are the mat worn round the

waist for sitting upon; the large mats spread for seating several

persons in the gallery or private chambers; those spread on the

floor for catching the winnowed rice, or on the platforms outside

the gallery for exposing and drying the PADI before pounding it;

the mat which every person spreads to sleep upon.

Most of these baskets and mats are made from narrow strips of rattan

varying from 1/16 to 1/4 of an inch according to the size and use of

the article; the strips are closely woven with great regularity. The

commonest arrangement is for two sets of strips to cross one another

at right angles, each strip passing over and under two of the opposed

set. The basket-work so made is very pliable, tough, and durable. The

standard shapes are worked out with great precision. The Kayans are

generally content to make strong serviceable basket-ware without

ornamentation; but in a large proportion of basket-ware of this kind

made by the other peoples, strips of rattan dyed black are combined

with those of the natural pale yellow colour, and very effective

patterns are thus worked in. The dyeing of the strips is effected by

soaking them in a dye obtained by beating out in water the soft stem

and leaves of a plant known as TARUM. The dark stain is rendered still

blacker by subsequently burying the strips in the mud of the river for

some ten days, or by washing them in lime. The dyed strips are then

jet black with a fine polished surface, and the dye is quite permanent.

A form of mat-work deserving special notice is the LAMPIT, the mat

used largely for sleeping and sitting upon. It is made of stout

strips of rattan lying parallel to one another, and held together by

strings threaded through the strips at right angles to their length

at intervals of four or five inches. This mat has an extremely neat

appearance and allows itself to be neatly rolled up. The piercing of

the rattan strips at suitable intervals is facilitated by the use of

a block of wood grooved for the reception of the strip and pierced

with holes opening into the groove at the required intervals.

The most elaborately decorated and finely plaited basket-ware is made

by some of the Klemantan sub-tribes, especially the Kanowits and the

Tanjongs, and the Kalabits, who use, as well as the black dye, a red

dye (Pl. 110). The last is made by boiling the seeds of the rattan in

water and evaporating the product until it has the consistency of a

thick paste. The Punans also excel in this craft. These adepts barter

much of their handiwork in this kind with the people of communities

less skilled in it. This affords yet another illustration of the

fact that the various specialised handicrafts are traditional in

certain tribes and sub-tribes, and are practised hardly at all or

in an inferior manner only by the other tribes, who seem to find it

impossible to achieve an equal degree of mastery of these crafts.

Hat-making

The large flat circular hat worn by the Kayans for protection against

sun and rain is made by the women from the large leaves of a palm. It

is the only important handicraft practised by the women only. The hard

tough fluted leaves are pressed flat and dried, when the flutes form

ribs diverging from the stem. Triangular pieces of the length of the

radius of the hat (I.E. from twelve to eighteen inches) are cut and

then sewn together in a double layer; those of the upper layer radiate

from the centre; those of the under layer are disposed in the reverse

direction, so that their ribs diverge from the periphery, crossing

those of the upper layer at an acute angle. This arrangement gives

great rigidity to the whole structure. The two layers are stitched

together by threads carried round the hat in concentric circles at

intervals of about one inch. The peripheral edges are sewn to a slender

strip of rattan bent to form a circle, the two ends overlapping. The

centre is generally finished with a disc of metal or strong cloth on

the outer surface (Pl. 45). The hats hung upon the tombs are decorated

on the upper surface with bold designs painted in black and red.

Most of the other tribes make similar hats, and the Malanaus and

Land Dayaks are especially skilled in this craft. The former make

very large hats of similar shape, the upper surface being of strips

of rattan dyed red and black, and woven to form elaborate patterns.

Besides these sun-hats, the Kayans and Kenyahs and some of the

Klemantans weave with fine strips of rattan close-fitting skull-caps

and head-bands. The ends of the strips, some three or four inches in

length, are sometimes left projecting from the centre or forming a

fringe round the lower edge.

The close-fitting hemispherical war-cap is made of rattans about half

an inch thick split in halves.

The Making of the Blow-pipe

The blow-pipe or SUMPITAN is perhaps the finest product of native

Bornean craftmanship. It is made by Kayans, Kenyahs, and Punans,

and rarely by Ibans and Klemantans.

The best sumpitans are made from the hard straight-grained wood of

the JAGANG tree. Having chosen and felled the tree, often one of

large size, the craftsman splits from it long pieces about eight feet

in length. Such a piece is shaved with the adze until it is roughly

cylindrical and three to four inches in diameter (Pl. 112). The piece

may be carried home to be worked at leisure, or the boring may be

done upon the spot. A platform is erected about seven feet above the

ground; and the prepared rod is fixed vertically with the upper end

projecting through the platform, its lower end resting on the ground

(Pl. 113). Its upper end is lashed to the platform, its lower end to

a pair of stout poles lashed horizontally to trees, and its middle

to another pair of poles similarly fixed.