CHAPTER XXIV

THE FUTURE OF THE SEA DYAK IN SARAWAK

The Sea Dyak—Work—Bad times—Cheerfulness—The view

from within—The Sea Dyak’s future—Mission work among

them—Government—Development in the immediate future 324-331

GLOSSARY 332-337

INDEX 338-343

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

A DYAK GIRL DRESSED IN ALL HER FINERY TO ATTEND A FEAST _Frontispiece_

A SEA DYAK WITH SHIELD 22

SIR CHARLES BROOKE, G.C.M.G., THE PRESENT RAJAH OF SARAWAK 30

THREE TYPICAL DYAKS 36

DYAK VILLAGE HOUSE IN COURSE OF CONSTRUCTION 44

DYAK MAKING A BLOWPIPE 44

DYAK GIRLS POUNDING RICE 46

A HUSKING MILL 46

DRYING PADDY 46

SEA DYAKS MAKING A CANOE 50

GIRLS WEAVING 52

DYAKS RETURNING FROM TUBA-FISHING 56

A DYAK WOMAN MAKING A MAT WITH SPLIT CANE 62

FIVE DYAKS IN WAR DRESS, WITH SPEARS AND SHIELDS 74

A DYAK IN WAR DRESS 78

HUMAN HEADS 78

DYAK WARFARE 82

DYAK HOUSES 88

DYAK CHILDREN 102

A DYAK YOUTH 114

A DYAK LAD 114

A DYAK WEDDING 124

DYAK GIRL SPINNING 128

A DYAK BRIDE 130

A DYAK GIRL 130

A DYAK CEMETERY BY THE RIVER-SIDE 136

A DYAK DANCING THE WAR DANCE 136

BOAT-TRAVELLING 146

A DYAK YOUTH HOLDING A SPEAR 160

A RIVER SCENE 206

COCK-FIGHTING 210

THREE DYAK GIRLS DRESSED IN THEIR FINERY TO ATTEND A FEAST 212

COCK-FIGHTING 222

A LONG DYAK VILLAGE HOUSE 242

A DYAK WOMAN IN EVERYDAY COSTUME 268

A DYAK USING A WOODEN BLOWPIPE 280

A DYAK GIRL 290

SCRAPING PALM-LEAVES FOR FIBRE 290

DYAKS MAKING A DAM FOR TUBA-FISHING 296

A DYAK IN GALA COSTUME 326

SEVENTEEN YEARS AMONG THE SEA DYAKS OF BORNEO

CHAPTER I

SARAWAK—SIR JAMES BROOKE

Bornean jungles—A picture from the past—Unsettled life—Sudden

attacks—Head-hunting—Pirates—Malay pirates—Dyak pirates—Sir

James Brooke—The _Royalist_—Rajah Muda Hassim—Rajah of

Sarawak—Suppression of piracy and head-hunting—Captain

Keppel—Visit to England, 1847—Introduction of Christian

mission—Sir Charles Brooke.

The Bornean jungles are immense tracts of country covered by gigantic

trees, in the midst of which are mountains clothed in evergreen foliage,

their barren cliffs buried beneath a network of creepers and ferns. The

striking features are the size of the enormous forest trees and the

closeness of their growth, rather than their loveliness or brilliancy

of colour. In the tropical forests few bright-coloured flowers relieve

the monotony of dark green leaves and dark brown trunks and branches

of trees. The prevailing hue of tropical plants is a sombre green. The

greater and lesser trees are often loaded with trailers and ferns,

among which huge masses of the elk-horn fern are often conspicuous.

But there is little colour to relieve the monotony of all these sombre

hues. Here and there may be seen some creeper with red berries, and many

bright-coloured orchids hang high overhead. But it is impossible for the

observer to gain a favourable position for beholding the richest blooms,

which often climb far above him, turning their faces towards the sunlight

above the roof of foliage.

These regions are still inhabited by half-clad men and women, living

quaint lives in their strange houses, observing weird ceremonies, and

cherishing strange superstitions and curious customs, delighting in games

and feasts, and repeating ancient legends of their gods and heroes. But

in a few years all these things will be forgotten; for in Borneo, as

elsewhere, civilization is coming—coming quickly—and all the distinctive

Dyak customs will soon be things of the past. Already the Dyak is mixing

with other races in the towns, and is changing his picturesque dress for

Western costume. He is fast forgetting his old practices and his old

modes of thought.

The tropical forests of Sarawak were much the same years ago as they are

to-day. But the life of the Dyak is already greatly changed, and his lot

improved by the introduction of just rule, law and order, and respect for

human life. For a moment let us go back to the past, and try to picture

the life of the Sea Dyak as it was some sixty years ago.

In those days there was constant warfare between the different tribes,

and the Dyaks lived together in large numbers in their long houses,

which had stockades around them, so that they had some defence against

any sudden attack. Very often the young braves would make an expedition

against some neighbouring tribe, simply because they wanted to bring

home, each man of them, the ghastly trophy of a human head, and thus gain

favour in the eyes of the Dyak girls. In these expeditions many were

killed and many taken captive, to be the slaves of the conquerors.

[Illustration: A SEA DYAK WITH SHIELD

He is dressed in the usual waist-cloth the Dyaks wear. On his head is a

headkerchief decorated with a fringe. He wears a necklace of large silver

buttons. On his arms are sea-shell bracelets, and on his calves a large

number of palm fibre rings. His right hand is holding the handle of his

sword, the sheath of which is fastened to his belt, and his left hand is

on his shield. The shield is made out of one piece of wood and coloured

with a fanciful design. It is decorated with human hair from the head of

dead enemies.]

Often in those days a party of Dyaks would suddenly attack some

neighbouring house. Such of the men as were at home would repel the

attack as best they could, for defeat meant certain death, if not worse.

The women and children—such of them as had not managed to escape and

hide in the jungle—would be crowded together in the veranda of the Dyak

house, and the men, armed with sword and spear and shield, would form a

circle round them. The large brass gongs (_tawak_) would be struck in a

peculiar manner, to let the neighbours know of the attack, and to implore

their help. The fight would continue till one party was defeated. If any

came to the rescue, the attacking party would retreat, pursued by such of

the inmates of the house as dared to follow them; but if no help came,

the house would be rushed, the men and women cut down, and the children

killed or taken captive. The heads of the dead would be cut off amid wild

whoops of joy, and carried off in triumph.

I have spoken to Dyaks who have been present at such scenes, and asked

them to describe to me what happens on such occasions. What they had to

say was horrible enough to listen to, but what must the reality have been!

Sometimes the victims would be attacked when at work on their farms, or

some solitary farm-hut would be surrounded at night. In each case the

enemy would meet with little resistance. Thus the Dyaks used to live in a

constant state of fear.

In those days many of the Sea Dyaks joined the Malays in their piratical

attacks upon trading boats. It was the practice of the Malay pirates and

their Dyak allies to wreck and destroy every vessel that came near their

shores, to murder most of the crew who offered any resistance, and to

make slaves of the rest. The Malay fleet consisted of a large number of

long war-boats, or _prahus_, each about ninety or more feet long, and

carrying a brass gun in the bows, the pirates being armed with swords

and spears and muskets. Each boat was paddled by from sixty to eighty

men. These terrible craft skulked about in the sheltered coves waiting

for their prey, and attacked merchant-vessels making the passage between

China and Singapore. These piratical raids were often made with the

secret sanction of the native rulers, who obtained a share of the spoil

as the price of their connivance.

The Dyaks of Saribas and Skrang and the Balaus gladly joined the Malays

in these expeditions, not only for the sake of obtaining booty, but

because they could thus indulge in their favourite pursuit, and gain

glory for themselves by bringing home human heads to decorate their

houses with. The Dyak _bangkongs_ were long boats capable of holding as

many as eighty men. They often had a flat roof, from which the warriors

fought, while their comrades paddled below.

Both the piracy and the terrible custom of head-hunting were put down by

Sir James Brooke. The romantic story of how he came to be the first Rajah

of Sarawak may here be briefly recalled.

James Brooke was born on April 29, 1803. His father was a member of the

Civil Service of the East India Company, and spent a great many years

in India. Following in his father’s footsteps, he entered the Company’s

service, and was sent out to India in 1825. Not long after his arrival

he was put in command of a regiment of soldiers, and ordered to Burmah,

where he took part in the Burmese War; and, being dangerously wounded in

an engagement, was compelled to return home on furlough. For over four

years his health prevented him from rejoining his regiment, and when at

last he started, the voyage out was so protracted, through a shipwreck

and other misfortunes, that his furlough had expired before he was able

to reach his destination. His appointment consequently lapsed, and he

quitted the service in 1830.

In that same year he made a voyage to China, and was struck by the

natural beauty and fertility of the islands of the Indian Archipelago,

and horrified with the savagery of the tribes inhabiting them, who were

continually at war with one another, and engaged in a monstrous system of

piracy. He conceived the grand idea of rescuing them from barbarism, and

of extirpating piracy in the Eastern Archipelago.

On the death of his father he inherited the sum of £30,000, and found

himself in a position to carry out his schemes. He bought and equipped a

yacht, the _Royalist_, and for three years he cruised about, chiefly in

the Mediterranean, training his crew of twenty men for the arduous work

that lay before them.

On October 27, 1838, he sailed from the Thames on his great adventure,

travelled slowly on the long journey round the Cape of Good Hope, and

arrived in Singapore in 1839. Here he met a shipwrecked crew, who had

lately come from Borneo. They said they had been kindly treated by Muda

Hassim—a native Rajah in Borneo—and they asked Mr. James Brooke to take

presents and letters of thanks to him, if he should be going thither

in his yacht. Mr. Brooke had not decided which of the many islands

of the Eastern Archipelago he would visit, and he was as ready to go

to Borneo as to any other; so, setting sail, he made his way up the

Sarawak River, and anchored off Kuching on August 15, 1839. The country

was nominally under the rule of the Sultan of Brunei, but his uncle,

Rajah Muda Hassim, was then the greatest power in the island. As he

was favourable to English strangers, Mr. Brooke paid him the customary

homage, and was favourably received, and given full licence to visit the

Dyaks of Lundu. The Rajah was at this time engaged in war with several

fierce Dyak tribes in the province of Sarawak, who had revolted against

the Sultan; but his efforts to quell this rebellion were ineffectual.

The absolute worthlessness of the native troops under his command, and

his own weakness of character, induced him to cling to Mr. Brooke, in

whom he recognized a born leader of men, and he appealed for his help in

putting down the insurgents, and implored him not to leave him a prey to

his enemies. The Rajah even offered to transfer the government of the

province to Brooke if he would remain and take command. This offer he

felt bound at the time to decline, but it led to his obtaining a position

of authority at Sarawak, useful for the purposes of trade.

With James Brooke’s help the rebellion, which the Malay forces were too

feeble to subdue, was effectually stayed. The insurgents were defeated

in a battle in which Brooke, with the crew of his yacht and some Malay

followers, took part. For his services on this occasion Muda Hassim

conferred on him the title of Rajah of Sarawak, and this was the first

step towards that larger sovereignty which he afterwards acquired. Some

time elapsed, however, before the Sultan of Brunei could be induced to

confirm the title. Mr. Brooke at once took vigorous action, making many

reforms and introducing a system of administration far superior to any

that the native authorities had ever dreamed of; and in September, 1841,

the government of Sarawak and its dependencies was formally made over to

him. In the following year the Sultan of Brunei confirmed what Rajah Muda

Hassim had done, on the condition that the religion of the Mohammedans of

the country should be respected.

And now Rajah Brooke found himself in a position of authority which

enabled him to bring all his administrative powers into operation. He

saw clearly that the development of commerce would be the most effective

means of civilizing the natives, and to make this possible it was

necessary to suppress the hideous piracy which was not only a curse to

the savage tribes, appealing as it did to their worst instincts, but a

standing danger to both European and native traders in those seas.

In the suppression of piracy James Brooke found a vigorous ally in

Captain (afterwards Admiral) Keppel, who, in command of H.M.S. _Dido_,

was summoned from the China station in 1843 for this service. Various

expeditions were organized and sent out against the marauders, the story

of which has been told by himself. The pirates were attacked in their

strongholds by Captain Keppel and other commanders of British ships. They

fought desperately, and the slaughter was immense. The pirate crews found

the entrances to the rivers blocked up by English gunboats, and their

retreat cut off. These strenuous measures soon cleared the seas.

The practice of head-hunting was also dealt with by Sir James Brooke.

He declared it to be a crime punishable with death, and by his rigorous

treatment of head-hunting parties he gave the deathblow to this horrible

national custom.

After his strenuous life in Sarawak, Sir James Brooke had a great desire

to visit England. Besides other reasons, the wish to see his relatives

and friends, he felt he could effect more for the inhabitants of Borneo

by a personal interview with Government Ministers in England than by

correspondence. He left Sarawak, and reached England early in October,

1847. There honours awaited him. He was presented with the freedom of

the City of London; Oxford University conferred upon him the degree of

LL.D.; he was graciously received at Windsor by the Queen and the Prince

Consort. The British Government recognized the work he had done, and

appointed him Governor of Labuan and Commissioner and Consul-General in

Borneo, and made him a K.C.B. The warrant of investiture was issued by

Her Majesty on May 22, 1848.

The extirpation of piracy was the first step towards introducing into the

country the blessings of a settled government, with all its civilizing

influences. But he was not satisfied with this, and soon began to take

measures for the establishment of a Christian Mission in Sarawak. When

Sir James Brooke visited England in 1847, he appealed to the Church,

and especially to the two Universities, to come to his aid. Neither of

the two great missionary societies was able at the time to undertake

this new enterprise through lack of funds, and a new organization, the

“Borneo Church Mission,” was founded, which laboured in the island for a

few years. Then, in 1854, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel

in Foreign Parts was able to take up the work, and has ever since been

responsible for it. The original organization had, however, done well in

the choice of the missionaries it sent out, the first of whom was the

Rev. F. T. McDougall, who was consecrated Bishop of Labuan and Sarawak

in 1855.

My father, the Rev. W. H. Gomes, B.D., worked under Bishop McDougall as

a missionary among the Dyaks of Lundu from 1852 to 1867, and I myself

have worked, under Bishop Hose, as a missionary in Sarawak, for seventeen

years, and have thus gained an intimate knowledge of the people and of

their lives, now so rapidly changing under Western influence.

Sir James Brooke was a man of the highest personal character. That a

young English officer, with a fortune of his own, should have been

willing to devote his whole life to improving the condition of the Dyaks

was a grand thing. That he should have been able, by perfectly legitimate

means, to do this in the teeth of much official and other opposition;

that he should have been able to put down piracy and head-hunting, with

their unspeakable accompaniments of misery and cruelty, and to do it all

with the hearty good-will of the people under his rule,—this was indeed

an achievement which might have seemed hardly possible.

The present Rajah of Sarawak, Sir Charles Brooke, is a nephew of the

first Rajah. He joined his uncle in 1852, when he held the rank of

lieutenant in the British navy. For ten years he played an important

part in the arduous work of punishing rebels and establishing a sound

government. In 1857, when the Chinese insurrection broke out, it

was his action that led to the punishment of the insurgents and the

restoration of peace. In 1863, on the retirement of the first Rajah, he

assumed control of the country, and five years later, on the death of

his predecessor, he became Rajah of Sarawak. Ever since he became the

responsible ruler of the country, Sarawak has advanced steadily, and

made great moral and material progress. To the general public the first

Rajah will always appear the romantic, heroic figure; but, while yielding

full measure of praise and admiration to the work of a great man, those

who know the country will, I think, agree with me that the heavier

burden of working steadily and unwearyingly, when the romance of novelty

had worn off, has been borne by his successor. With talents not less

than those of his illustrious uncle he has carried out, in the face of

disappointments and the most serious obstacles, a policy of regeneration

for which the striking exploits of Sir James Brooke merely paved the way.

[Illustration: _Photo. Bassano_

SIR CHARLES BROOKE, G.C.M.G., THE PRESENT RAJAH OF SARAWAK]

His work is well summarized by himself in an address to the _Kunsil

Negri_ (the Council of the Country) in 1891. He said he might divide

his term of service of thirty-nine years into three periods of thirteen

years each. The first period had been almost wholly spent in the work

of suppressing head-hunting among the Dyaks. It involved frequent

expeditions against rebellious Dyaks, much hard travelling by river and

by land, and a constant watch against subtle enemies. The second period

had been divided between occasional expeditions of the same nature and

the establishment of trade and peaceful pursuits, and the giving and

amending of laws as need arose. The last period had almost entirely been

taken up with attending to the political and social affairs of a settled

and peaceful community. Those present, who had been young with himself in

the early days of his service, had been of great assistance to him, and

had carried through the work set them, rough and perilous in the extreme,

in mountainous region of jungle, and on treacherous, rapid-flowing

rivers, subject to every kind of exposure; but now these hardships were

no more required, and that was well, for both they and himself were

growing old. The character of his task and theirs was changed: he and

his old comrades, who had faced so many dangers together on river and

in jungle, could now sit down comfortably and attend to the political

business and the commercial progress of the country.

To these three periods the Rajah has since added a fourth, and that

the longest of all, during which, as occasion served, a great deal has

been done to extinguish the lingering sparks of intertribal hostility.

There are occasional outbreaks among the Dyaks of the interior, and

head-hunting still survives where natives think there is a chance of

escaping detection and consequent punishment. But, happily, these are

getting more and more rare, and do not affect the prosperity or trade of

the country.

The method employed by the present Rajah to suppress head-hunting is best

described in his own words:

“As soon as ever one of these parties started, or even listened to birds

of omen preparatory to moving, a party was immediately despatched by

Government to endeavour to cut them off, and to fine them heavily on

their return; or, in the event of their bringing heads, to demand the

delivery up of them, and the payment of a fine into the bargain. This was

the steady and unflinching work of years, but before many months were

over my stock of heads became numerous, and the fines considerable. Some

refused to pay or follow the directions of the Government. These were

declared enemies, and had their houses burnt down forthwith, and the

people who followed me to do the work would be the Dyaks of some other

branch-tribe on the same river.”

The natives of Sarawak owe much to the Brookes. The work, nobly begun by

Sir James Brooke, has been ably carried on by the present Rajah. To use

his own words: “He as founder, and myself as builder, of the State have

been one in our policy throughout, from the beginning up to the present

time; and now shortly I have to hand it to my son, and I hope that his

policy may not be far removed from that of his predecessors.”

CHAPTER II

THE DYAKS

The word “Dyak”—Other native races in Sarawak—_Milanaus_—

_Kayans_—_Kinyehs_—Cruelty—_Ukits_—_Bukitans_—_Punans_—

_Seru_—Sea Dyaks—Land Dyaks—The appearance of the Sea

Dyak—Men’s dress—Tattooing—Women’s dress-_Rawai_, or

corset—The teeth—Depilation—Language.

The derivation of the word “Dyak” is uncertain. Some think it is

derived from _daya_, which in the Brunei Malay dialect means “inland,”

“interior.” Others derive it from the Land Dyak word _daya_, which means

“a man.” Whatever may be the derivation, it is quite incorrect to apply

it to all the inland races of Borneo. There are many tribes, such as the

_Kayans_, _Muruts_, _Ukits_, and _Punans_, who are not Dyaks at all,

their language, customs, and traditions being quite different.

Before describing the Dyaks, some mention must be made of the other

native races to be found in Sarawak. They are the _Milanaus_, _Kayans_,

_Kinyehs_, _Muruts_, _Ukits_, _Bukitans_, _Punans_, and _Seru_.

The _Milanaus_ are a quiet people who keep very much to themselves. They

are not Mohammedans, although they dress like the Malays. They are an

important tribe, and are to be found in large numbers at Matu, Oya, Muka,

and Bintulu. They plant paddy and cultivate sago on a large scale. They

are skilled in working iron, and are excellent boat-builders. Their

speech is somewhat similar to that of the Kayans, and many of their

customs are alike.

The _Kayans_ and _Kinyehs_, who may be classed together, are a numerous

race inhabiting the upper waters of the Baram and Rejang Rivers. In many

ways they seem to be a more advanced race than the Sea Dyaks. They build

better houses, and are more expert in the manufacture of weapons, being

able to extract their iron from the native ore. Their moral character,

however, is vindictive and cruel, and they are lacking in that spirit of

hospitality which is such a great feature of the Sea Dyak character. A

few years ago a party of Dyak gutta-percha collectors were attacked by

the Punans, and many of them killed. Four young Dyaks managed to escape,

and after wandering for many days in the jungle, arrived destitute and

starving at a Kayan house, and asked for food and shelter. The treatment

they received was horrible in the extreme. The Kayans bound the young

men, and after breaking their arms and legs, handed them over to the

women, who slowly despatched them by hacking them to pieces with little

knives.

The _Muruts_ inhabit the Limbang and Trusan Rivers. Their language and

customs differ entirely from those of the Sea Dyaks.

The _Ukits_, _Bukitans_ (name probably derived from Malay _bukit_, “a

hill”), and _Punans_ are races which inhabit the far interior, and lead a

wandering life in the Kayan country. They do not build houses, but only

make temporary shelters for themselves between the buttresses of large

forest trees. They live by hunting, and are expert in the use of the

_sumpit_, or blow-pipe.

The _Seru_ are a small and fast dying out race. There used to be a

little village of the Seru near my house in Kalaka, where some forty of

them lived in a long house, similar to that built by the Dyaks. The men

wore the Dyak dress, but the women were dressed like the Malays, and wore

a long petticoat reaching to the ankles (_sarong_), and a long jacket

(_kabayah_). They planted paddy, but did not depend entirely on this for

their livelihood. The men were great hunters, and would salt and sell

the wild pig they killed. They were a very secluded people, and kept

very much to themselves. They were not Mohammedans, and did not seem to

have any of the religious rites peculiar to the Dyaks. They told me they

believed in a good Spirit and a bad one, but their religious ideas were

very vague.

Besides the tribes already mentioned, there are two distinct races of

Dyaks in Borneo—the Sea Dyaks and the Land Dyaks. The former live by the

sea and on the banks of the rivers, though many of them may be found far

inland. The Land Dyaks inhabit the interior of the country, and are not

so numerous or energetic as the Sea Dyaks. The language and traditions of

these two divisions of the Dyak race are quite distinct.

The Dyaks spoken of in this work are the Sea Dyaks. Their home is in

Sarawak—the country governed by Rajah Brooke—though they often travel far

afield, and they are to be found in large numbers on the banks of the

rivers of Sarawak—the Batang, Lupar, Saribas, Krian, and Rejang.

The Dyak is of rather greater stature than that of the Malay, though

he is considerably shorter than the average European. The men are

well-proportioned, but slightly built. Their form suggests activity,

speed, and endurance rather than great strength, and these are the

qualities most required by dwellers in the jungle. Their movements are

easy and graceful, and their carriage erect. The women are generally

smaller than the men. They have neat figures, and are bright, cheerful,

and good-looking in their youth, but they age very soon.

The colour of their skin varies considerably, not so much between one

tribe and another as in different parts of the country. Generally

speaking, those who reside in the interior of the country, on the banks

of the upper reaches of the rivers, are fairer than those who live nearer

the sea. This may be due to the deeper shade afforded by old jungle, and

the bathing in and drinking of the water of the clear, gravel-bedded

streams. Their colour varies from a dark bronze to a light brown, with a

tinge of yellow. Their eyes are black or dark brown, clear and bright,

with quick intelligence and good temper. Their mouths are generally

ill-shapen and disfigured by excessive chewing of _sireh_ and betel-nut,

a habit much indulged in by both men and women.

In dress great alterations have resulted from foreign influence, and the

Dyaks who live near the towns wear the trousers and coat of civilized

races, but the original style still prevails in the up-country villages.

[Illustration: THREE TYPICAL DYAKS

The man on the right is using a seat mat made of the skin of an animal.

Sometimes these mats are made of split cane. The Dyak, in his wanderings

in the jungle, has often to sit on prickly grass or sharp stones, and a

seat mat is a useful part of his attire.]

Love of finery is inherent in the young Dyak. The old men are often

very shabbily dressed, but the young are more particular. The ordinary

male attire consists of a _sirat_, or waist-cloth, a _labong_, or

headkerchief, and a _tikai buret_, or seat-mat. The waist-cloth is made

of the soft inner bark of a tree, or more frequently of some red or blue

cotton cloth. This is one yard wide, and from eight to eighteen feet

long, and is twisted round and round their waists, and pulled up tight

between the thighs, one end hanging down in front and the other behind.

Sometimes this waist-cloth is woven by the Dyak women, and then the end

that hangs down in front has an elaborate pattern woven into it. Their

head-dress is either a bright-coloured headkerchief, or else a small cap

of woven cane, in which feathers and other ornaments are often stuck. The

_tikai buret_, or seat-mat, is made either of the skin of some animal or

of cane matting. Its edges are decorated with red and white cloth, and

with beads or buttons.

Besides these articles of apparel the men sometimes wear a sleeveless

jacket, or _klambi_. These are often woven by the Dyak women, either

from yarn spun from cotton of their own growing or from imported yarn of

a finer texture. More often in the present day they are made of cloth

of European manufacture. The patterns of the Dyak-woven _klambi_ are

various, but those of a particular type can only be worn by men who have

succeeded in securing a human head when on the warpath. The lower edge of

this jacket is ornamented with beads, shells, and buttons, and bordered

by a fringe.

In addition to the attire already mentioned, the men have sometimes a

_dandong_, or shawl, which is thrown over the shoulders. The ornaments

worn on the arms and legs are brass rings, which vary among the Dyaks of

different districts. Armlets made from sea-shells are very much in favour

among some inland tribes. The young men generally wear their hair long,

cut in a fringe in front, and either hanging down loose behind, or tucked

into their caps.

Tattooing is practised by most of the Dyaks in a greater or less degree.

It is confined to the male sex, who often have little patterns tattooed

on the forehead, throat-apple, shoulders, or chest.

The dress of the women consists of a petticoat (_kain_), drawn tightly

round the waist and reaching to the knee, and in addition a _klambi_,

or jacket, worn when out of doors. For ornaments the women wear

finger-rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets, and often a girdle

formed of silver coins, or of silver or brass chain. Round the stomach

are wound long strips of coloured cane. Among some tribes a peculiar

corset, called the rawai, is worn by the women. This is made of small

brass rings strung closely together on hoops of rattan, which are

connected with one another inside by a network of cane. A few of these

hoops are made larger so as to hang loose over the hips. The series that

encase the waist, stomach, and chest fit very close. This corset must

be very uncomfortable, as the wearer can hardly bend the body at all,

especially when it is worn right up to and covering the breasts, as it is

done by some young women who can afford such extravagance.

The hair is worn long, and tied in a knot at the back of the head. Some

of the women have beautiful raven black hair of great length. Wavy or

curly hair is seldom seen.

The teeth are often blackened, as black teeth are considered a sign of

beauty. The blackening is done by taking a piece of old cocoanut-shell or

of certain woods, and holding it over a hot fire until a black resinous

juice exudes. This juice is collected, and while still warm the teeth are

coated with it. The front teeth are also frequently filed to a point,

and this gives their face a curious dog-like appearance. Sometimes the

teeth are filed concavely in front, or else the front teeth are filed

down till almost level with the gums. Another curious way of treating the

front teeth is to drill a hole in the middle of each tooth, and fix in

it a brass stud. I was once present when this operation was in progress.

The man lay down with a piece of soft wood between his teeth, and the

“dentist” bored a hole in one of his front teeth. The agony the patient

endured must have been very great, judging by the look on his face and

his occasional bodily contortions. The next thing was to insert the

end of a pointed brass wire, which was then filed off, leaving a short

piece in the tooth; a small hammer was used to fix this in tightly, and,

lastly, a little more filing was done to smooth the surface of the brass

stud. I am told the process is so painful that it is not often a man can

bear to have more than one or two teeth operated on at a time.

The Dyaks do not like beards, and much prefer a smooth face. In the whole

course of my Dyak experience I have only met with one bearded man. The

universal absence of hair upon the face, on the chest, and under the

arm-pits might lead one to suppose that it was a natural deficiency.

But this is not the case at all, as old men and chronic invalids, who

by reason of age or infirmity have ceased to care about their personal

appearance, have often chins covered with a bristly growth. The absence

of hair on the face and elsewhere is due to systematic depilation. The

looking-glass and tweezers are often seen in the hands of the young men,

and they devote every spare moment to the plucking out of stray hairs.

_Kapu_, or quicklime, which is one of the constituents of betel-nut

mixture chewed by the Dyaks, is often rubbed into the skin to destroy the

vitality of the hair-follicles.

Among some tribes it is the fashion for both men and women to shave

the eyebrows and pull out the eyelashes, and this gives their faces a

staring, vacant expression. I have often tried to convince them of the

foolishness of trying to improve upon nature in this way, and pointed out

that both eyebrows and eyelashes are a protection to the eyes from dust

and glare. But my remarks have made little impression on them. Among the

Dyaks, as elsewhere, fashions die hard.

The Sea Dyak language is practically a dialect of Malay which is spoken

more or less over all Polynesia. It is not nearly so copious as other

Malayan languages, but the Dyaks do not scruple to use Malay words in

their conversation when necessary. The Dyak language is particularly

weak in expressing abstract ideas. What the mind cannot grasp the tongue

is not likely to express. I believe there is only one word—_rindu_—to

express all the different varieties of love. On the other hand, the

language is rich in words expressing the common actions of daily life.

There are many words to express the different ways of carrying anything;

one word for carrying in the hand, another for carrying on the back, and

another for carrying on the shoulder.

There are several words in Dyak which resemble Malay words of the same

meaning, the difference being that the Malay suffix _an_ is changed into

_ai_. Thus, the Malay word _makan_ (to eat) becomes _makai_ in Dyak, and

_jalan_ (to walk) becomes _jalai_. There are some words exactly the same

in both languages, and these are for the most part simple substantives,

such as _rumah_ (house), _laki_ (husband), _bini_ (wife). Verbs, however,

commonly differ, though expressing simple necessary actions. Thus, the

Malay word for “to drink” is _minum_, the Dyak word is _ngirup_; the

Malay for “to eat” is _makan_, and the Dyak _empa_ as well as _makai_.

It is not surprising that there should be many words in Dyak not known to

the Malays. Though derived from the same parent tongue, the Dyak language

has developed independently by contact with other races.

There are many tribes that talk the Sea Dyak language. The Sabuyaus

living on the coast and at Lundu, the Balaus of the Batang Lupar and

elsewhere, the dwellers on the Skrang and Saribas Rivers, as well as the

Kanowit and Katibas branches of the Rejang River, all speak it, with

slight modifications. There can be no doubt that all these tribes are

descended from the same parent stock.

The difference of dialect between the different tribes is often a source

of great amusement, and I remember well taking some Saribas boys, who

had been some time in my school at Banting, on a visit to their people.

We sat in the long veranda of the Dyak house, and I noticed that as they

spoke to their relatives and friends there were shrieks of laughter and

great merriment. The reason of this was that the boys had unconsciously

picked up the Balau dialect during their stay at Banting, and their

manner of speaking amused their Saribas friends exceedingly.

CHAPTER III

MANNER OF LIFE

Dyak village house—_Tanju_—_Ruai_—_Bilik_—_Sadau_—Human

heads—Valuable jars—Paddy-planting—Men’s work—Women’s

work—House-building—Boat-building—_Kadjangs_—Dyak

tools—_Bliong_—_Duku_—Weaving—Plaiting mats and

basket-making—Hunting—Traps—Fishing—Spoon-bait—Casting-net—

_Tuba_-fishing—Crocodile-catching.

Among the Dyaks a whole village, consisting of some twenty or thirty

families, or even more, live together under one roof. This village house

is built on piles made of hard wood, which raise the floor from six to

twelve feet above the ground. The ascent is made by a notched trunk or

log, which serves as a ladder; one is fixed at each end of the house.

The length of this house varies according to the number of families

inhabiting it; but as the rooms occupied by the different families are

built on the same plan and by a combination of labour, the whole presents

a uniform and regular appearance.

The roof and outside walls are thatched with the leaves of the _nipa_

palm, which are first made into _attap_. These are made by doubling the

leaves over a stick about six feet long, each leaf overlapping the other,

and sewn down with split cane or reeds. These _attap_ are arranged in

rows, each _attap_ overlapping the one beneath it, and thus forming a

roof which keeps off the rain and sun, and lasts for three or four years.

The long Dyak village house is built in a straight line, and consists of

a long uncovered veranda, which is called the _tanju_. The paddy is put

on the _tanju_ to be dried by the sun before it is pounded to get rid of

its husk and convert it into rice. Here also the clothes and a variety

of other things are hung out to dry. The family whetstone and dye vat

are kept under the eaves of the roof, and the men sharpen their tools

and the women do their dyeing on the _tanju_. The flooring of this part

of the house is generally made of _bilian_, or iron-wood, so as to stand

exposure to the weather.

Next to the _tanju_ comes the covered veranda, or _ruai_. This also

stretches the whole length of the house, and the floor is made of bamboo,

or _nibong_ (a kind of palm), split into laths and tied down with rattan

or cane.

This _ruai_, or public hall, is generally about twenty feet wide, and

as it stretches the whole length of the house without any partition, it

is a cool and pleasant place, and is much frequented by men and women

for conversation and indoor pursuits. Here the women often do their

work—the weaving of cloth or the plaiting of mats. Here, too, the men

chop up the firewood, or even make boats, if not of too great a size.

This long _ruai_ is a public place open to all comers, and used as a

road by travellers, who climb up the ladder at one end, walk through the

whole length of the house, and go down the ladder at the other end. The

floor is carpeted with thick and heavy mats, made of cane interlaced with

narrow strips of beaten bark. Over these are spread other mats of finer

texture for visitors to sit upon.

The length of this covered veranda depends upon the number of families

living in the house, and these range from three or four to forty or fifty.

Each family has its own portion of this _ruai_, and in each there is a

small fireplace, which consists of a slab of stone, at which the men warm

themselves, when they get up, as they usually do, in the chill of the

early morning before the sun has risen.

Over this fireplace hangs the most valuable ornament in the eyes of the

Dyak, the bunch of human heads. These are the heads obtained when on the

warpath by various members of the family—dead and living—and are handed

down from father to son as the most precious heirlooms—more precious,

indeed, than the ancient jars which the Dyaks prize so highly.

The posts in this public covered veranda are often adorned with the horns

of deer and the tusks of wild boars—trophies of the chase. The empty

sheaths of swords are suspended on these horns or from wooden hooks,

while the naked blades are placed in racks overhead.

On one side of this long public hall is a row of doors. Each of these

leads into a separate room, or _bilik_, which is occupied by a family.

The doors open outwards, and each is closed by means of a heavy weight

secured to a thong fastened to the inside. If the room be unusually

large, it may have two doors for the sake of convenience.

[Illustration: DYAK MAKING A BLOW-PIPE

He is seen here shaping the outside of the blow-pipe. The hole is bored

while the wood is about six inches in diameter, and it is then pared down

to about two inches.]

[Illustration: DYAK VILLAGE HOUSE IN COURSE OF CONSTRUCTION

This picture shows the arrangement of pillars and rafters of a Dyak

house. The floor nearest the earth is divided into the long open veranda

and the rooms in which the different families live. Above this is the

loft, where the paddy is stored away. Part of the roof in the picture has

been covered with palm-leaf thatch.]

This room serves several purposes. It serves as a kitchen, and in one

corner there is a fireplace where the food is cooked. This fireplace is

set against the wall of the veranda, and resembles an open cupboard. The

lowest shelf rests on the floor, and is boarded all round and filled with

clay. This forms the fireplace, and is furnished with a few stones upon

which the pots are set for cooking. The shelf immediately above the

fireplace is set apart for smoking fish. The shelves above are filled

with firewood, which is thoroughly dried by the smoke and ready for use.

As the smoke from the wood fire is not conducted through the roof by any

kind of chimney, it spreads itself through the loft, and blackens the

beams and rafters of the roof.

This room also serves as a dining-room. When the food is cooked, mats are

spread here, and the inmates squat on the floor to eat their meal. There

is no furniture, the floor serving the double purpose of table and chairs.

This _bilik_ also serves as a bedroom. At night the mats for sleeping on

are spread out here, and the mosquito-curtains hung up.

There is no window to let in the air and light, but a portion of the roof

is so constructed that it can be raised a foot or two, and kept open by

means of a stick.

Round the three sides of this room are ranged the treasured valuables

of the Dyaks—old jars, some of which are of great value, and brass

gongs, and guns. Their cups and plates are hung up in rows flat against

the walls. The flooring is the same as that of the veranda, and is

made of split palm or bamboo tied down with cane. The floor is swept

after a fashion, the refuse falling through the flooring to the ground

underneath. But the room is stuffy, and not such a pleasant place as the

open veranda. The pigs and poultry occupy the waste space under the house.

From the _bilik_ there is a ladder which leads to an upper room, or loft

(_sadau_), where they keep their tools and store their paddy. If the

family be a large one, the young unmarried girls sleep in this loft, the

boys and young men sleeping outside in the veranda.

Both men and women are industrious and hard-working. With regard to the

paddy-planting on the hills, the work is divided between the men and

women in the following manner. The men cut down the jungle where the

paddy is to be planted. When the timber and shrubs have been burnt, the

men and women plant the grain. The roots of the trees are left in the

ground. The men walk in front, with a long heavy staff in the right hand

of each, and make holes in the ground about a foot apart. The women walk

behind them and throw a few grains of seed in each hole.

When the paddy has grown a little, the ground has to be carefully weeded;

this work is done by the women. When the crop is ripe, both men and women

do the reaping. They walk between the rows of standing grain, and with

a sharp, oddly-shaped little knife they cut off the heads one by one,

and place them in their baskets, which are tied in front of them. The

carrying home of the paddy thus reaped is mostly done by the men, who can

carry very heavy loads on their backs, though the women help in this to

some extent. The next thing is to separate the grain from the little tiny

stems to which it is still attached. This is done by the men. The grain

is put on a large square sieve of rattan fixed between four posts in the

veranda of the Dyak house, and the men tread on it and press it through

the sieve. The paddy that falls through is taken and stored in the loft

in large round bins made of bark.

[Illustration: DYAK GIRLS POUNDING RICE

After the paddy has been passed through the husking mill it is pounded

out in wooden mortars. Here are two girls at work. Each has her right

foot in the upper part of the mortar to kick back any grains of paddy

that may be likely to fall out.]

[Illustration: A HUSKING MILL (_Kisar_)

After the paddy is dried and before it is pounded, it is generally passed

through a husking mill made in two parts—the lower half having a stem in

the middle which fits into the upper part, which is hollow. The paddy

is put into a cavity in the upper half, and a man or woman seizes the

handles and works the upper half to the right and left alternately. The

paddy drips through on to the mat on which this husking mill is placed.]

[Illustration: DRYING PADDY

Before it is possible to rid the paddy of its husk and convert it into

rice, it has to be dried in the sun. Here a woman is seen spreading out

the paddy on a mat with her hands. She is on the outside veranda of the

Dyak house (_tanju_). The long pole over her head is used by her to drive

away the fowls and birds who may come to eat the paddy put out to dry.]

When rice is wanted for food, the paddy is dried, and then pounded by the

women in wooden mortars, with pestles five feet long. As a rule two or

three women each use their pestles at one mortar, which is cut out of the

trunk of a tree. I have seen as many as six girls using their pestles in

quick succession at one mortar. In this way the grain is freed from husk,

and is made ready for food.

Each family farms its own piece of land. Much of such work as cutting

down the jungle and planting is done by a combination of labour, several

families agreeing to work for each other in turn. By this means all the

planting on the land belonging to a particular family is done in one day,

and all the grain ripens at the same time.

When the Dyaks wish to abandon an old habitation in favour of a new one,

a general meeting of the inhabitants is held to consider the matter, and

the desirability of building a new house is fully discussed. Sometimes it

happens that some families do not agree with the wishes of the majority,

and these families split off and join another house. If a move be decided

on, a few experienced men are deputed to choose a site, and to report on

its adaptability. There are several matters to be taken into account. The

site must be for preference on rising ground, and be near a good supply

of water. There must also be some jungle near, where the inmates can get

their firewood, and there must be large tracts of land not far away where

they can plant their paddy.

When the new house has to be built on the low-lying, marshy ground in

the lower reaches of the river, the choice is not difficult. All that is

necessary is to choose a part of the river where the current is not very

strong. But in the hill country it is not easy to find a site where the

ground is fairly level, and can accommodate a large house of thirty or

forty families.

Before building on the chosen site the omen birds are consulted. If the

omens be favourable, all the men and lads turn out immediately with axes

and choppers to cut down the trees of the jungle, which are then left to

dry. Another meeting is then held to decide who is to be the _tuai_, or

headman, of the new house, and to settle the size and the sequence of the

rooms. The next move is to appoint a time for all the people to meet at

the site of the new village. The ground is then cleared. All the timber

is carried off, as it is considered unfortunate to burn it. The ground is

measured out for the different rooms belonging to the different families,

and pegs are put in where the posts have to stand. A piece of bamboo is

then stuck in the ground, filled with water and covered with leaves. A

spear and a shield are placed beside it, and the whole is surrounded by

a wooden rail. The rail is to prevent the bamboo from being upset by

wild animals, and the weapons are to warn strangers not to touch it. A

few people remain to keep watch, and to make a great deal of noise with

brass gongs and drums to frighten away the evil spirits. If in the early

morning they find there is much evaporation, the place is considered

unhealthy, and is abandoned. If all be well, the building of the house

is begun. Each family must kill a fowl or a pig before the holes for the

posts can be dug, and the blood must be smeared on the sharpened ends

and sprinkled on the posts to propitiate Pulang Gana, the tutelary deity

of the earth. They begin by making the holes for the headman’s quarters,

and then work simultaneously to left and right of it. The posts, of which

there are a great number, are about twelve inches or less in diameter,

and are of bilian or other hard wood so as not to rot in the earth. A

hole four feet deep is made to receive each post. They must be planted

carefully and firmly, for if one were to give way subsequently it would

be regarded as foreboding evil, and the house would have to be abandoned

and a new house built.

All the men combine to labour collectively until the skeleton of the

house is complete, and then every family turns its attention to its own

apartments. During the building of the house, there is a great deal of

striking of gongs and other noisy instruments to prevent any birds of

ill omen being heard. I have sometimes argued with the Dyaks that if the

warnings of the birds are to be trusted, then why make so much noise to

prevent hearing them? The Dyak’s reply to this was that as long as they

did not hear the warning, the spirits would not be displeased at their

not regarding it; so to spare themselves the trouble of choosing another

site and building another house, they make so much noise as to drown the

cries of any birds.

When the building is sufficiently advanced to receive the inmates, they

pack up their possessions and convey them to the house, halting on the

way till they have heard some favourable omen, after which they proceed

joyfully. Their belongings must not be moved into the house before

themselves, but must be taken with them when they move into the new house.

House-building is considered the work of the men, and another important

work the men have to do is the making of boats. These are of all sizes,

from the dug-out canoe twelve feet long to the long war-boat eighty to

ninety feet in length.

The ordinary boats of the Dyaks are cut out of a single log. Some of my

schoolboys, under the guidance of the native schoolmaster, once made a

small canoe for their own use, so I saw the whole process. A tree having

a round straight stem was felled, and the desired length of trunk cut

off. The outside was then shaped with the adze to take the desired form

of a canoe. Then the inside was hollowed out. The next thing to do was to

widen the inside of this canoe. This was done by filling the boat with

water and making a fire under it, and by fastening weights to each side.

When the shell had been sufficiently opened out, thwarts were placed

inside, about two feet from each other, to prevent the wood shrinking

when the wood dried. The stem and stern of the canoe are alike, both

being pointed and curved, and rising out of the water. The only tool used

for the making of a boat of this kind is the Dyak axe or adze (_bliong_).

This is the usual type of Dyak boat, and the method of making a smaller

or larger canoe is exactly the same. Even a war-boat, ninety feet

long, is made from the trunk of one tree. In the longer boats planks

or gunwales are stitched on the sides, and the seams are caulked so as

to render the boat watertight. These boats are covered with awnings

called _kadjangs_, which make a very good covering, as they are at

once watertight, very light, easily adjusted, and so flexible that if

necessary each section can be rolled up and stored in the bottom of

the boat. These _kadjangs_ are made of the young leaves of the _nipa_

palm. The leaves are sewn together with split cane, each alternate leaf

overlapping its neighbour on either side, until a piece about six and

a half feet square is made. This section is made to bend in the middle

crosswise, so that it can be doubled and rolled up, or partly opened, and

made to serve as a roof. Sometimes _kadjangs_ are made from the leaves of

the Pandanus palm.

[Illustration: SEA DYAKS MAKING A CANOE

Sea Dyaks at work on a small dug-out. The tree has been felled, and the

trunk is being cut into shape and hollowed out. The Dyaks are using the

native axe or _bliong_, and the picture shows their method of handling

it.]

To propel these boats the Dyaks use paddles about three feet or more in

length. The paddle used by the steersman is larger than those used by

the others, and the women use much smaller paddles than the men. These

dug-out boats draw very little water, and are easily handled, and may be

propelled at a good pace.

In shallow streams and in the rapids up-river, the Dyaks use small

canoes, which they propel with poles, standing up in the boat to do so.

The principal tools the Dyaks have for their work are the _duku_ and

_bliong_. The _duku_ is a short, thick sword, or, rather, chopping-knife,

about two feet in length. The blade is either curved like a Turkish

scimitar, or else quite straight. The handle is beautifully carved, and

is made of hard wood or of horn. The _duku_ is used in war as well as for

more peaceful purposes. In the jungle it is indispensable, as without it

the Dyak would not be able to go through the thick undergrowth which he

is often obliged to penetrate. It is, moreover, used for all purposes

where a knife or chisel is used, and is a warrior’s blade as well as a

woodman’s hatchet.

The _bliong_ is the axe the Dyaks use, and is a most excellent tool.

They forge it of European steel, which they procure in bars. In shape it

is like a small spade, about two and a half inches wide, with a square

shank. This is set in a thin handle of hard wood, at the end of which

there is a woven pocket of cane to receive it. The lower end of this

handle has a piece of light wood fixed to it to form a firm grip for

the hand. The _bliong_ can be fixed in the handle at any angle, and is

therefore used as an axe or adze. With it the natives make their boats,

and cut planks and do much of their carpentering work. The Dyak can cut

down a great forest tree with a _bliong_ in a very short time.

While the work of the men is to build houses and to make boats, the work

of the women is to weave cloth and make mats.

The cloth which the women weave is of two kinds, striped and figured. The

former is made by employing successively threads of different colours in

stretching the web. This is simple enough. The other pattern is produced

by a more elaborate process. Undyed white thread is used, and the web

stretched. The woman sketches on this the pattern which she wishes to

appear on the cloth, and carefully notes the different colours for the

different parts. If, for example, she wishes the pattern to be of three

colours—blue, red, and white—she takes up the threads of the web in

little rolls of about twenty threads, and carefully wraps a quantity of

vegetable fibre tightly round those parts which are intended to be red

or white, leaving exposed those parts which are intended to be blue.

After she has in this manner treated the whole web, she immerses it in

a blue dye made from indigo, which the Dyaks plant themselves. The dye

takes hold of the exposed portions of the threads, but is prevented by

the vegetable fibre from colouring the other parts. Thus the blue portion

of the pattern is dyed. After it has been dried, the vegetable fibre is

cut off, and the blue parts tied up, and only the portion to be dyed red

exposed, and the web put into a red dye. In this way the red part of

the pattern is obtained. By a similar method all the colours needed are

produced. The weft is of one colour, generally light brown.

Dyak weaving is a very slow process. The woman sits on the floor, and the

threads of the weft are put through one by one. The cloth they make is

particularly strong and serviceable. The women seem to blend the colours

they use in a pleasing manner, though there is a great sameness in the

designs.

[Illustration: GIRLS WEAVING

They are seated on mats on the floor. The threads are fastened to a

frame, which is kept in position by a large band that is secured to the

girl’s waist, and she can tighten or loosen the threads by leaning back

or bending forward. The threads of the weft are put through one by one

from right to left and left to right.]

Mats are made either with split cane or from the outer bark of reeds.

The women are very clever at plaiting, and some of their mats have

beautiful designs.

They also make baskets of different sizes and shapes, some of which have

coloured designs worked into them.

Hunting is with the Dyaks an occasional pursuit. They live upon a

vegetable rather than upon an animal diet. But in a Dyak house there are

generally to be found one or two men who go out hunting for wild pig

or deer on any days when they are free from their usual farm work. The

Dyak dogs are small and tawny in colour, and sagacious and clever in the

jungle.

Native hunting with good dogs is easy work. The master loiters about, and

the dogs beat the jungle for themselves. When they have found a scent,

they give tongue, and soon run the animal to bay. The master knows from

the peculiar bark of the dogs if they are keeping some animal at bay, and

follows them and spears the game. The boars are fierce and dangerous when

wounded, and turn furiously on the hunter, who often has to climb a tree

to escape from their tusks. The dogs are very useful, and by attacking

the hind legs of the animal keep making it turn round.

Deer are more easily run down than pigs, because they have not the

strength to go any great distance, especially in the hot weather.

A favourite way of catching deer is to send a man to follow the spoor of

a deer, and to find out where it lies to rest during the heat of the day.

Then large nets made of fine cane are hung around, and the deer is driven

into these by a large number of men, women, and boys making a noise. When

the deer is caught in the net, he is soon killed.

A variety of traps are made by the Dyaks to catch birds and wild

animals. One of these traps (_peti_) set for killing wild pig is a

dangerous contrivance by which many Dyaks have lost their lives. It

consists of a spring formed by a stick being tied to the end of a post

and pulled apart from it. The end of this stick is armed with a sharp

bamboo spear. I have known of several men being killed by this trap, and

in Sarawak this particular trap is forbidden by the Government to be set.

The Sea Dyaks are very expert with the rod and line, and with them

fishing is a favourite occupation. They begin fishing at an early age.

For bait they use worms or certain berries. Their hooks are made of brass

wire.

Another method of fishing is by wooden floats (_pelampong_), generally

cut in the form of a duck. Each has a baited hook fastened to it, and is

set swimming down the stream. The owner of these floats drifts slowly in

his canoe after them, watching, till the peculiar motions of any of these

ducks shows that a fish has been hooked.

The _achar_ is a spoon-bait. A piece of mother-of-pearl shell or some

white metal is cut in the form of a triangle. At the apex the line is

attached, and at the base are fastened two or three hooks by a couple

of inches of line. This appliance is generally used with a rod from the

bows, and another man in the stern paddles the boat along.

The Dyaks also have many varieties of fish-traps, which they set in the

streams and rivers. Most of these are made of split bamboo.

They also have nets of various kinds; the most popular is the _jala_,

or circular casting-net, loaded with leaden or iron weights in the

circumference, and with a spread sometimes of twenty feet. Great skill

is shown by the Dyak in throwing this net over a shoal of fish which he

has sighted. He casts the net in such a manner that all the outer edge

touches the water almost simultaneously. The weights cause it to sink and

close together, encompassing the fish, and the net is drawn up by a rope

attached to its centre, the other end of which is tied to the fisherman’s

left wrist. The thrower of this net often stands on the bow of a small

canoe, and shows great skill in balancing himself. The _jala_ is used

both in fresh and salt water, and can be thrown either from the bank of a

river or by a man wading into the sea.

But the most favourite mode of fishing among the Dyaks is with the _tuba_

root (_Cocculus indicus_). Sometimes this is done on a small scale in

some little stream. Sometimes, however, the people of several Dyak houses

arrange to have a _tuba_-fishing. The men, women, and children of these

houses, accompanied by their friends, go to some river which has been

previously decided upon. A fence made by planting stakes closely together

is erected from bank to bank. In the middle of this there is an opening

leading into a square enclosure made in the same fashion, into which

the fish enter when trying to escape from the _tuba_ into fresh water.

The canoes then proceed several hours’ journey up the river, until they

get to some place decided on beforehand. Here they stop for the night

in small booths erected on the banks of the river. The small boats are

cleared of everything in them so as to be ready for use the next day.

All the people bring with them fishing-spears and hand-nets. The spears

are of various kinds—some have only one barbed point, while others have

two or three. The shaft of the spear is made of a straight piece of

bamboo about six feet long. The spear is so made that, when a fish is

speared the head of the weapon comes out of the socket in the bamboo; but

as it is tied on to the shaft, it is impossible for the fish to escape.

Even when the fisherman throws his spear at the fish, there is little

chance of the fish escaping, because the bamboo bears it to the surface,

and it is easy for the men to pick up the bamboo shaft and thus secure

the fish.

Most of the people bring with them some _tuba_ root, made up into small

close bundles, the thickness of a man’s wrist, and about six inches long.

Early the next morning some of the canoes are filled with water, and the

root is beaten and dipped into it. For an hour or so fifty or more clubs

beat a lively tattoo on the root bundles, as they are held to the sides

of the boats. The _tuba_ is dipped into the water in the boat, and wrung

out from time to time. This gives the water a white, frothy appearance

like soap-suds. The Dyaks, armed with fish-spears and hand-nets, wait in

readiness in their canoes. At a given signal the poisoned liquid is baled

out into the stream, and the canoes, after a short pause, begin to drift

slowly down the current. The fish are stupefied by the _tuba_, and as

they rise struggling to the surface, are speared by the Dyaks. The large

fish are thus secured amid much excitement, several canoes sometimes

making for the same spot where a large fish is seen. The women and

children join in the sport, and scoop up the smaller fish with hand-nets.

The _tuba_ does not affect the flesh of the fish, which can be cooked and

eaten.

This form of fishing, when carried out on a large scale, is always a

great event among the Dyaks, because besides the large amount of fish

secured on these occasions, there is always a great deal of fun and

excitement, and it is looked upon as a pleasant sort of picnic.

[Illustration: DYAKS RETURNING FROM TUBA-FISHING

In _tuba_ fishing the juice of the _tuba_ root is put in the water to

poison it, and cause the fish to rise stupefied to the surface, when they

are secured either with spears or by hand-nets. In the picture the men

are seen taking up to the Dyak house their fish spears and the fish they

have succeeded in taking. The boats, which are dug-outs, each made out of

the trunk of a tree, are being made fast to the bank. The large hats the

men are wearing as a protection from the sun are made of palm leaves. On

the right of the picture is seen a three-pronged fish-spear.]

For superstitious reasons the Dyaks do not interfere with the crocodile

until he has shown some sign of his man-eating propensity. If the

crocodile will live at peace with him, the Dyak has no wish to start a

quarrel. If, however, the crocodile breaks the truce and kills someone,

then the Dyaks set to work to find the culprit, and keep on catching and

killing crocodiles until they find him. The Dyaks generally wear brass

ornaments, and by cutting open a dead crocodile they can easily find

out if he is the creature they wish to punish. Sometimes as many as ten

crocodiles are killed before they manage to destroy the animal they want.

There are some men whose business it is to catch crocodiles, and who

earn their living by that means; and whenever a human being has fallen

a victim to one of these brutes, a professional crocodile catcher is

asked to help to destroy the murderer. The majority of natives will not

interfere with the reptiles, or take any part in their capture, probably

fearing that if they did anything of the kind, they themselves may some

time or other suffer for it by being attacked by a crocodile.

The ordinary way of catching a crocodile is as follows. A piece of hard

wood about an inch in diameter and about ten inches long, is sharpened

to a point at each end. A length of plaited bark of the _baru_ tree,

about eight feet long, is tied to a shallow notch in the middle of this

piece of wood, and a single cane or rattan, forty or fifty feet long,

is tied to the end of the bark rope, and forms a long line. The most

irresistible bait is the carcase of a monkey, though often the body of a

dog or a snake is used. The more overpowering the stench, the greater is

the probability of its being taken, as the crocodile will only swallow

putrifying flesh. When a crocodile has fresh meat, he carries it away and

hides it in some safe place until it decomposes. This bait is securely

lashed to the wooden bar, and one of the pointed ends is tied back with

a few turns of cotton to the bark rope, bringing the bar and rope into

the same straight line.

The next thing is to suspend the bait from the bough of a tree

overhanging the part of the river known to be the haunt of the animals.

The bait is hung a few feet above the high-water level, and the rattan

line is left lying on the ground, and the end of the rattan is planted in

the soil.

Several similar lines are set in different parts of the river, and there

left for days, until one of the baits is taken by a crocodile. Attracted

either by the smell or sight of the bait, some animal raises itself from

the water and snaps at the hanging bundle, the slack line offering no

resistance until the bait has been swallowed and the brute begins to

make off. Then the planted end of the line holds sufficiently to snap

the slight thread binding the pointed stick to the bark rope. The stick

thus returns to its original position, at right angles to the line, and

becomes jammed across the crocodile’s stomach, the two sharpened points

fixing themselves into the flesh.

Next morning the trappers search for the missing traps, and seldom fail

to find the coils of floating _rotan_, or cane, on the surface of some

deep pool at no great distance from the place where they were set. A firm

but gentle pull soon brings the crocodile to the surface, and if he be a

big one, he is brought ashore, though smaller specimens are put directly

into the boat, and made fast there.

Sometimes the cotton holding the bar to the line fails to snap. In that

case the crocodile, becoming suspicious of the long line attached to what

he has swallowed, manages to disgorge the bait and unopened hook in the

jungle, where it is sometimes found. But should the cotton snap and the

bar fix itself in the animal’s inside, nothing can save the brute.

The formidable teeth of the crocodile are not able to bite through the

rope attached to the bait, because the _baru_ fibres of which the rope is

made get between his pointed teeth, and this bark rope holds no matter

how much the fibres get separated.

Professional crocodile catchers are supposed to possess some wonderful

power over the animals which enables them to land them and handle them

without trouble. I have seen a man land a large crocodile on the bank by

simply pulling gently at the line. But this is not surprising, as from

the crocodile’s point of view there is nothing else to do but follow,

when every pull, however gentle, causes considerable pain.

The rest of the proceeding is more remarkable. The animal is addressed

in eulogistic language and beguiled, so the natives say, into offering

no resistance. He is called a “rajah amongst animals,” and he is told

that he has come on a friendly visit, and must behave accordingly. First

the trapper ties up its jaws—not a very difficult thing to do. The next

thing he does appears to me not very safe. Still speaking as before in

high-flown language, he tells the crocodile that he has brought rings for

his fingers, and he binds the hind-legs fast behind the beast’s back, so

taking away from him his grip on the ground, and consequently his ability

to use his tail. When one remembers what a sudden swing of the muscular

tail means, one cannot help admiring the man who coolly approaches a

large crocodile for the purpose of tying his hind-legs. Finally the

fore-legs are tied in the same way over the animal’s back. A stout pole

is passed under the bound legs, and the animal is carried away. He is

taken to the nearest Government station, the reward is claimed, and he

is afterwards cut open, and the contents of his stomach examined.

Though the animal is spoken to in such flattering terms before he is

secured, the moment his arms and legs are bound across his back and he is

powerless for evil, they howl at him and deride him for his stupidity.

The professional crocodile catchers are generally Malays, who are sent

for whenever their services are required. But there are Dyaks who have

given up their old superstitious dread of the animal, and are expert

crocodile catchers.

CHAPTER IV

THE DYAK CHARACTER

General remarks—Kind to children—Industrious—Frugal—Honest—Two

cases of theft—Curses—Honesty of children—Truthful—Curious

custom—_Tugong Bula_—Hospitable—Morals—Desire for

children—Divorce—Adultery—Dyak law concerning adultery—Dyak

view of marriage—Unselfishness—Domestic affection—Example.

The Dyaks are seen at their best in their own jungle homes, in the midst

of their natural surroundings. The man who has only met the hangers-on

of the towns has little idea of their true character. To one who knows

them well, who has lived among them, and seen them at their work and at

their play, there is something very attractive about the Dyaks. They are

very human, and in many points are very like children, with the child’s

openness in telling his thoughts and showing his feelings, with the

child’s want of restraint in gratifying his wishes, the child’s alternate

moods of selfishness and affection, obedience and obstinacy, restlessness

and repose. Like children, they live in the present, and take little

thought for the future. Like children, they love passionately those who

are kind to them, and trust absolutely those whom they recognize as their

superiors.

They are cheerful, merry, and pleasure-loving. Fine dress is a passion,

and the love, in both men and women, for bright colours is very marked,

and yet somehow the brilliant colours that are seen at a Dyak feast are

not at all displeasing. They are fond of song; the boatman sings as he

paddles along. They are fond of games, and a Dyak feast is the occasion

for playing many games, and for friendly trials of strength. They are

fond of dancing, and the two Dyak dances—the Sword Dance and the War

Dance—are always watched with interest by those present.

They are, like most Orientals, apathetic, and have no desire to rise

above their present condition. But they are truthful and honest, and are

faithful to those who have been kind to them; and these qualities cover a

multitude of deficiencies, and are rather unusual in Eastern races.

They are kind and affectionate to children, and in all the many years I

lived in Borneo I did not meet a single instance of cruelty to children.

They are considerate to the aged, and parents who are past work are

generally kindly treated by their children and grandchildren. They are

most hospitable to strangers, and offer them food and shelter. And yet

these are the people who some sixty years ago were dreaded pirates and

terrible head-hunters! Their improvement under a kind and just Government

has been wonderful.

[Illustration: A DYAK WOMAN MAKING A MAT WITH SPLIT CANE

She is seated on the outside open veranda of the Dyak house. The flooring

in the picture is made of the round trunks of small trees, and these

are tied down with cane. Sometimes the flooring is made of split palm

or split bamboos, but more often of laths of _bilian_ or ironwood, so

as to stand exposure to the weather. The outside uncovered veranda is a

favourite place to sit in in the cool of the evening.]

The Dyaks are industrious and hard-working, and in the busy times of

paddy-planting they work from early in the morning till dusk, only

stopping for a meal at midday. The division of labour between the men and

the women is a very reasonable one, and the women have no more than their

fair share of work. The men do the timber-felling, wood-cutting, clearing

the land, house and boat building, carrying burdens, and the heavier work

generally. The women help in the lighter part of the farm work, husk

and pound the rice they eat, cook, weave, make mats and baskets, fetch

the water for their daily use from the well or river, and attend to the

children.

The Dyak is frugal. He does not as a rule seek to accumulate wealth,

but he is careful of whatever he may earn. He plants each year what he

supposes will produce sufficient rice to supply his own needs—a portion

of this is for family consumption, a portion for barter for such simple

luxuries as tobacco, salt fish, cloth, etc., and a third portion for

hospitality. If he happen to have an exceptionally good harvest, he may

sell some paddy, and the money thus obtained is not lavishly squandered,

but saved with the object of investing in gongs or other brassware, old

jars, etc., which do not decrease in value with age. On such occasions

as feasts nearly all the food and drink used are home products or begged

from friends. A Dyak drinks water as a rule, but if he takes alcohol

in any form, it is a home-brewed rice spirit (_tuak_). To spend money

upon anything which he can make for himself, or for which he can make a

substitute, is, in his opinion, needless waste.

The Dyak in his jungle home is remarkably honest. Families are often

away from their homes for weeks at a time, living in little huts on

their farms, and though no one is left in charge of their rooms, things

are seldom stolen. Sometimes Dyaks become demoralized by associating

with other races in the towns, but a case of theft among the Dyaks in

their native wilds is indeed rare. I have not been able to discover any

enactment of traditional law which fixes the punishment for theft. It

has not been necessary to deal with the subject at all. In my missionary

travels in Borneo I have often left by mistake in a Dyak house some small

thing like a soap-box, or a handkerchief, or a knife—things I know the

Dyaks love—but it has always been returned to me.

With an experience of nearly twenty years in Borneo, during which I came

into contact with thousands of the people, I have known of only two

instances of theft among the Dyaks. One was a theft of rice. The woman

who lost the rice most solemnly and publicly cursed the thief, whoever

it might be. The next night the rice was secretly left at her door. The

other was a theft of money. In this case, too, the thief was cursed.

The greater part of the money was afterwards found returned to the box

from which it had been abstracted. Both these incidents show the great

dread the Dyak has of a curse. Even an undeserved curse is considered

a terrible thing, and according to Dyak law, to curse a person for no

reason at all is a fineable offence.

A Dyak curse is a terrible thing to listen to. I have only once heard a

Dyak curse, and I am sure I do not want to do so again. I was travelling

in the Saribas district, and at that time many of the Dyaks there had

gone in for coffee-planting; indeed, several of them had started coffee

plantations on a small scale. A woman told me that someone had over and

over again stolen the ripe coffee-berries from her plantation. Not only

were the ripe berries stolen, but the thief had carelessly picked many of

the young berries and thrown them on the ground, and many of the branches

of the plants had been broken off. In the evening, when I was seated in

the public part of the house with many Dyak men and women round me, we

happened to talk about coffee-planting. The woman was present, and told

us of her experiences, and how her coffee had been stolen by some thief,

who, she thought, must be one of the inmates of the house. Then she

solemnly cursed the thief. She began in a calm voice, but worked herself

up into a frenzy. We all listened horror-struck, and no one interrupted

her. She began by saying what had happened, and how these thefts had gone

on for some time. She had said nothing before, hoping that the thief

would mend his ways; but the matter had gone on long enough, and she

was going to curse the thief, as nothing, she felt sure, would make him

give up his evil ways. She called on all the spirits of the waters and

the hills and the air to listen to her words and to aid her. She began

quietly, but became more excited as she went on. She said something of

this kind:—

“If the thief be a man, may he be unfortunate in all he undertakes!

May he suffer from a disease that does not kill him, but makes him

helpless—always in pain—and a burden to others. May his wife be

unfaithful to him, and his children become as lazy and dishonest as he

is himself. If he go out on the war-path, may he be killed, and his head

smoked over the enemy’s fire. If he be boating, may his boat be swamped

and may he be drowned. If he be out fishing, may an alligator kill him

suddenly, and may his relatives never find his body. If he be cutting

down a tree in the jungle, may the tree fall on him and crush him to

death. May the gods curse his farm so that he may have no crops, and have

nothing to eat, and when he begs for food, may he be refused, and die of

starvation.

“If the thief be a woman, may she be childless, or if she happen to be

with child let her be disappointed, and let her child be still-born,

or, better still, let her die in childbirth. May her husband be untrue

to her, and despise her and ill-treat her. May her children all desert

her if she live to grow old. May she suffer from such diseases as are

peculiar to women, and may her eyesight grow dim as the years go on, and

may there be no one to help her or lead her about when she is blind.”

I have only given the substance of what she said; but I shall never

forget the silence and the awed faces of those who heard her. I left the

house early next morning, so I do not know what was the result of her

curse—whether the thief confessed or not.

The children are just as honest as their elders. A missionary used to

visit certain stations once a quarter. At one of the stations he had a

small native hut built for his accommodation. On one occasion some small

Dyak boys came to him with three cents (less than one penny in value),

which they said they wished to return to him. They had picked them up

under the floor of his hut. They thought they had fallen through the

open floor, and belonged to the missionary, and, as a matter of course,

they wished to return the money to the owner. I have never had occasion

to punish any of the schoolboys living in my house for theft. They had

access to everything there was, but, though they had no scruples about

asking for things, they never stole anything.

The Dyaks are also very truthful. So disgraceful indeed do the Dyaks

consider the deceiving of others by an untruth that such conduct is

handed down to posterity by a curious custom. They heap up a pile of the

branches of trees in memory of the man who has uttered a great lie, so

that future generations may know of his wickedness and take warning from

it. The persons deceived start the _tugong bula_—“the liar’s mound”—by

heaping up a large number of branches in some conspicuous spot by the

side of the path from one village to another. Every passer-by contributes

to it, and at the same time curses the man in memory of whom it is. The

Dyaks consider the adding to any _tugong bula_ they may pass a sacred

duty, the omission of which will meet with supernatural punishment, and

so, however pressed for time a Dyak may be, he stops to throw on the pile

some branches or twigs.

A few branches, a few dry twigs and leaves—that is what the _tugong

bula_ is at first. But day by day it increases in size. Every passer-by

adds something to it, and in a few years’ time it becomes an imposing

memorial of one who was a liar. Once started, there seems to be no means

of destroying a _tugong bula_. There used to be one by the side of the

path between Seratok and Sebetan. As the branches and twigs that composed

it often came over the path, on a hot day in the dry weather I have more

than once applied a match to it and burnt it down. In a very short time a

new heap of branches and twigs was piled on the ashes of the old _tugong

bula_.

It has often been remarked by Dyaks that any other punishment would, if

a man had his choice, be much preferred to having a _tugong bula_ put up

in his memory. Other punishments are soon forgotten, but this remains

as a testimony to a man’s untruthfulness for succeeding generations

to witness, and is a standing disgrace to his children’s children.

Believing, as the Dyaks do, in the efficacy of curses, it is easy to

understand how a Dyak would dread the accumulation of curses which would

necessarily accompany the formation of a _tugong bula_.

The Dyaks are very hospitable. They are always ready to receive and

entertain strangers. A man travelling on foot through the Dyak country

need never trouble about food. He would be fed at the Dyak houses he

passed on his journey, as part of their crops is reserved to feed

visitors. When the family meal is ready, visitors are invited to partake

of it. If many visitors come to a house at the same time, some have their

meal with one family and some with another.

The morals of the Dyak from an Eastern point of view are good. There is

no law to punish immorality between unmarried people. The parents do not

seem to be strict, and it is considered no disgrace for a girl to be on

terms of intimacy with the youths of her fancy until she has made her

final choice. It is supposed that every young Dyak woman will eventually

marry, so her duty is plainly to choose a husband in her youth from

among the many men she knows. And yet, for all this, I should say that

promiscuous immorality is unknown. It is true that very often a girl is

with child before her marriage, but from the Dyak point of view this is

no disgrace if the father acknowledges the child and marries the woman.

The greatest desire of the Dyak is to become a parent, to be known as

father or mother of So-and-so. They drop their own names after the birth

of a child. A young couple in love have no opportunities of private

meetings excepting at night, and the only place is the loft where the

young lady sleeps. The suitor pays his visit, therefore, when the rest of

the family are asleep, and she gets up from her bed and receives him. Two

or three hours may be spent in her company before he leaves her, or if he

should be one whom she is not willing to accept as a husband, she soon

gives him his dismissal. If acceptable, the young man may be admitted to

such close intimacy as though they were already married. The reason is

to ascertain the certainty of progeny. On his departure he leaves with

the young lady some ornament or article of his attire, as a pledge of his

sincerity and good faith. On the first signs of pregnancy the marriage

ceremony takes place, and they are man and wife.

Divorce is very uncommon after the birth of a child, but where there are

no children, for such reasons as incompatibility of temper or idleness,

divorce is obtainable by either husband or wife by paying a small fine.

The women as a rule are faithful to their husbands, especially when they

have children, and adultery is very uncommon when there is a family.

The Dyak law respecting adultery is peculiar and worthy of notice. If a

woman commit adultery with a married man, his wife may make a complaint

to the headman of the house, and receive a fine from the guilty woman;

or, if she prefer it, she may waylay the guilty woman and thrash her; but

if she do so, she must forgo one-half of the fine otherwise due to her.

In the eyes of the Dyak the woman is alone to blame in a case like this.

“She knew,” they say, “the man has a wife of his own; she had no business

to entice him away from her.” If a married man commits adultery with an

unmarried woman the procedure is similar. The wife of the man may punish

the girl, but no one punishes the man. The whole blame, according to Dyak

ideas, falls on the woman for tempting the man.

If a married man commits adultery with a married woman, the husband of

the woman is allowed to strike him with a club or otherwise maltreat him,

while the wife of the adulterer has the right to treat the adulteress in

the same way. The innocent husband supposes the one most to be blamed

is not his wife, but her tempter, and _vice versâ_. This striking must

not, however, take place in a house; it must be done in the open. The

club used must not be of hard wood. Very often this striking is merely a

means of publishing the fact that adultery has been committed, and no one

is much hurt, but I have known cases where the man has been very badly

wounded. No striking can take place after the matter has been talked

about or confessed, and if one knew for certain of a case of adultery,

one could easily stop this maltreatment of each other by talking about

it publicly. The case is then settled by fining the guilty parties.

Where both parties are married, and no divorce follows, the fining is no

punishment, because each party pays to the other.

The Dyak view of the marriage state, especially where there are children,

is by no means a low one. Though an Oriental people living in a tropical

climate, their own traditional law allows a man to have only one wife.

If, as sometimes is the case, a couple continue to live together after

one of them has committed adultery, it is due to the fact that there are

little children whom they do not want to part with, and not because they

think lightly of the crime of adultery.

The Dyaks are very unselfish, and show a great deal of consideration

for each other. They live together under one roof in large communities.

Though each family has a separate room, all the rooms are usually

connected one with another by little windows in the partition walls.

This communal life accounts for the good-nature and amiability of the

Dyaks. The happiness and comfort, to say nothing of the safety, of the

community in times past, depend largely on their getting on well one with

another. Therefore, as a natural result, there has grown up a great deal

of unselfish regard for each other among the inmates of the Dyak village

house.

Domestic affection between the different members of one family is very

great. Especially is this the case between parents and children. An old

father or mother need never work unless they like. Their children will

provide for them.

Parents will risk their lives for their children. At Semulong, near

Banting, a man and his son, a youth about twenty years old, were

returning from their farm, and had just arrived at the landing-place. The

father stepped out of the canoe, washed his feet on the river-bank, and

then turned to speak to his son in the boat. But the son had disappeared.

The father at once guessed that a crocodile had taken him, though he had

heard no noise. He shouted for help from the village house, and at once

jumped into the water. He dived, and felt his hand strike the crocodile.

Drawing his short sword (_duku_), he attacked the animal. He managed to

drive the point of his sword into the animal, when the beast let go his

son. The father brought him at once to the nearest mission-station, where

he was treated, but after ten days died of tetanus. The inner part of the

thigh and knee of one leg was torn away, so as to expose the ragged ends

of sinews under the knee.

CHAPTER V

HEAD-HUNTING

Head-hunting—Women an incentive—Gruesome story—Marriage of

Dyak Chiefs—Legend—Some customs necessitating a human head—A

successful head-hunter not necessarily a hero—A dastardly

crime—War expeditions—The spear token—My experience at a

village in Krian—Dyak war-costume—Weapons—The _Sumpit_—Poison

for darts—Consulting omen birds—War-boats—Camping—War

Council—Defences—War alarm—Ambushes—Decapitation and treatment

of head—Return from a successful expedition—Women dancing—Two

Christian Dyak Chiefs—Their views on the matter of head-taking.

Warfare is an important element among all savage races, and the Dyaks

are no exception to the rule. But it would be wrong to suppose that they

are naturally abnormally bloodthirsty because head-hunting was such a

regular practice with them. Mere love of fighting is not the only reason

for the terrible custom of head-hunting which at one time prevailed to

such a great extent among the Dyaks, but which at present, under the

rule of Rajah Brooke, is fast dying out. There are many other causes.

Theft committed by one tribe against another, revenge for the murder of

some of their friends, and a thousand other minor pretexts, are often

the origin of an expedition of one tribe against another. The Dyaks are

faithful, hospitable, just, and honest to their friends, and, being so,

it naturally follows that they avenge any act of injustice or cruelty

to them, and they are consequently bloodthirsty and revengeful against

their enemies, and willing to undergo fatigue, hunger, want of sleep, and

other privations when on the war-path. I have often been told by Dyaks

that the reason why the young men are so anxious to bring home a human

head is because the women have so decided a preference for a man who has

been able to give proof of his bravery by killing one of the enemy.

The desire to appear brave in the eyes of his lady-love sometimes leads

a young man to mean and cowardly crimes. The following gruesome incident

actually took place many years ago. A young man in the Batang Lupar

started by himself to seek for a head from a neighbouring tribe. In a few

days he came back with the desired prize. His relatives asked him how it

was he was able to get to the enemy’s country and back in such a short

time. He replied gravely that the spirits of the woods had assisted him.

About a month afterwards a headless trunk was discovered near one of

their farms. It was found to be the body of his victim, an old woman of

his own tribe, not very distantly related to himself!

In the old days no Dyak Chief of any standing could be married unless

he had been successful in procuring the head of an enemy. (See also

Chapter XXII.) For this reason it was usual to make an expedition into

the enemy’s country before the marriage-feast of any great Chief could

be held. The head brought home need not be that of a man; the head of a

woman or a child would serve the purpose quite as well.

There is a legend related among the Dyaks as a reason for this custom.

Once upon a time a young man loved a maiden, but she refused to marry him

until he had brought to her some proof of what he was able to do. He

went out hunting and killed a deer, and brought it to her, but still she

would have nothing to say to him. He went again into the jungle, and, to

show his courage, fought and killed a _mias_ (orang-utan), and brought it

home as a proof of his courage; but still she turned away from him. Then,

in anger and disappointment, he rushed out and killed the first man he

saw, and, throwing the victim’s head at the maiden’s feet, he blamed her

for the crime she had led him to commit. To his surprise, she smiled on

him, and said to him that at last he had brought her a worthy gift, and

she was ready to marry him.

It is sometimes stated that, according to ancient custom, no Dyak could

marry without having first procured a human head as a token of his

valour. This is not true. It was only in cases of the great men—their

Chiefs—that such a thing was necessary. A little consideration will show

how impossible it was for every man who married to be the owner of the

head of some human victim.

There were certain ancient customs which necessitated the possession of a

human head. When any person died the relatives went into mourning. They

put away their ornaments and finery, which were tied together in bundles.

At the feast in honour of the dead—_Begawai Antu_—these were all undone,

and the women and men put on their finery again. Some man cut the string

with which they were tied up. Before he could do such a thing, it used

to be necessary that a human head be brought into the house, and it was

usual for the man who had obtained that head to take a leading part in

the ceremonies and cut open the bundles.

[Illustration: FIVE DYAKS IN WAR DRESS WITH SPEARS AND SHIELDS

The spears are made of steel and have shafts of hard heavy wood. The

shields are each cut out of one piece of wood, and are often coloured

with some fantastic design. Sometimes, as in the case of the man’s

shield on the left, cross pieces of cane or wood are fixed in the shield

to prevent it splitting. The second man on the left is wearing a large

sleeveless jacket, or collar, of skin to protect his shoulders from

wounds.]

Again, it was customary in some tribes to bring home a head as an

offering to the spirits when a new village was to be built.

Both these customs are no longer observed. At the feast in honour of the

dead—_Begawai Antu_—the headman of the house generally cuts open the

bundles of finery that have been put away, and at the building of a new

house the killing of a pig is supposed to be sufficient to satisfy the

demands of the spirits.

It is presumed that a man who has secured a human head must necessarily

be brave. But this need not be the case at all, for, as has been said,

the head of a woman or child will serve the purpose. And these heads need

not be obtained in open warfare. Very often the head of an enemy is taken

while he is asleep. Nor is it necessary that a man should kill his victim

with his own hand. Frequently many of his friends assist him in killing

some unfortunate man whom they have waylaid, and then he comes home with

the head, and poses as a hero!

It was customary in the old days to announce an expedition that one tribe

intended to take against another at one of their feasts, when the village

was thronged with guests from far and near. Some great Chief would

advance his reason for the intended attack. Either some of his people had

been slain, and revenge was called for, or else they wished to put off

their mourning, and for that required a human head taken in war. Perhaps

the reason was that they intended to build a new village house, and so

required some human heads to use as offerings to the spirit of the land;

or possibly he himself wished to marry, and wanted a head as a proof of

his valour in the eyes of his lady-love. Among the crowd who listened

to him there were sure to be many who were willing to follow him on the

war-path. The women would help him by urging their husbands, or lovers,

or brothers, to go. Out of the crowd of eager followers the Chief would

choose a certain number to form a Council of War. These would discuss the

whole matter, and it would be decided when the party was to start for the

enemy’s country. Details would also be discussed—how much food each man

was to take with him, by what route they were to go. The time of the year

generally chosen would be just after the planting season, because that

would give the men a clear three months before the harvest. The weeding

of the paddy-fields between the planting season and the harvest is work

that is usually done by the women.

The next thing to do would be to send the War Spear round to the

neighbouring villages, to let all know when the expedition was to take

place, and where it was to start from. A man would bring this spear to a

long Dyak house, deliver his message, and return, leaving the spear to be

carried on by one of the men in that house to the next village, and so

on. At once the men in the house would get their war-boats ready. They

would begin making figure-heads for the bows of their boats, and paint

the side planks in various patterns. They would furbish up their arms,

and sharpen their weapons, and decorate their helmets and war-jackets.

The Dyaks generally wear their best when going out to fight. I asked a

Dyak once why this was done, because, as I pointed out to him, most of

the finery they put on interfered with the free action of their limbs.

His answer was that if they were well dressed, in case of their death,

the enemy who saw the bodies would know that they were not slaves, but

free men of some standing.

In the present day, under the rule of Rajah Brooke, no Sea Dyaks may go

out on a fighting expedition unless called out for that purpose by the

Government. I remember not long ago that there were some rebels in the

upper reaches of the Batang Lupar River, who had been guilty of many

murders, and would not submit to the Government. After trying milder

measures without any effect, it was decided to take a force into their

country, and the Government sent round the War Spear to let the people

of the different villages know they were to be ready to go on expedition

at a certain date. I happened to be in a Dyak village in the Krian. It

was evening, and I was seated on a mat in the open veranda of the house,

and round me were seated a crowd of men and women, whom I was trying

to teach. A man arrived at the house with a spear decorated with red

cloth. At first no one noticed him. He spoke to a man near the top of the

ladder of the house. The man came up to the middle of the house, where I

was seated, and said something which I did not quite catch. At once the

whole crowd got up and left me. They listened eagerly to what the man who

brought the spear had to say. I was not left long in doubt of what it all

meant. The message the man brought was short and to the point: “You are

to be ready with your war-boats, and be at Simanggang at the next full

moon. There is to be an expedition up the river.”

It is difficult for me to describe the change that came over the crowd.

The headman of the house at once asked a youth to carry on the spear

to the next house with the same message. The men at once discussed the

question of war-boats, and it was decided there and then that they

should begin making a new war-boat the next day. The women were just as

excited about the expedition as the men, and there was a general turning

out of war-caps and war-jackets which had long been put away.

The costume a Dyak wears when going on the war-path consists of a

basket-work cap decorated with feathers and sometimes with human hair,

a sleeveless skin jacket, or in place of it a sleeveless quilted cotton

jacket, and the usual Dyak costume of the waist-cloth (_sirat_). For

weapons they have a sword, or _duku_. This may be of foreign or of

their own make. It is a dangerous weapon at close quarters, and is

what they use to cut off the head of a fallen enemy. They also have a

spear, consisting of a long wooden shaft of some hard wood with a steel

spear-head, which is tied on to the shaft with rattan. Sometimes the

shaft of the spear is the _sumpit_, or blow-pipe. For defensive purposes

the Dyak has a large wooden shield about three feet long, which, with its

handle, is hollowed out of a single block of wood. It is held in the left

hand well advanced before the body, and meant not so much to receive the

spear-point as to divert it by a twist of the hand. It is often painted

in bright colours, with some elaborate design or fantastic pattern, and

often decorated with human hair.

The _sumpit_, or blowpipe, is a long wooden tube about eight feet long.

The smoothness and straightness of the bore is remarkable. The hole is

drilled with an iron rod, one end of which is chisel-pointed, through a

log of hard wood, which is afterwards pared down, and rounded till it is

about an inch in diameter.

[Illustration: A DYAK IN WAR DRESS

Holding up his shield in readiness to receive the attack of the enemy.

He is holding his sword in his right hand. The shield is decorated with

human hair.]

[Illustration: HUMAN HEADS

The heads of slain enemies are smoked and preserved and looked upon as

valuable possessions. The above is a bunch of old heads as they appear

hanging from the rafters of a Dyak house.]

The dart used with the _sumpit_ is usually made of a thin splinter of

the wood of the _nibong_ palm, stuck into a round piece of very light

wood, so as to afford a surface for the breath to act upon. These darts

are sharpened to a fine point, and are carried in neatly carved bamboo

quivers.

The poison that is used for these darts is obtained from the _epoh_ tree

(upas). Incisions are made in the tree, and the gutta which exudes is

collected and cooked over a slow fire on a leaf until it assumes the

consistency of soft wax. It is a potent and deadly poison. Some Dyaks

say that the most deadly poison is made of a mixture of the gum from the

_epoh_ tree and that from some creeper.

A dart is put in at one end, and the _sumpit_ is lifted to the mouth,

and with the breath the dart is driven out. Up to twenty-five yards

they shoot with accuracy, but though the darts can be sent fifty yards

or more, at any distance greater than twenty-five yards their aim is

uncertain.

Before starting on a war expedition, the Dyaks consult the omen birds.

The headman of the village, with the help of a few chosen friends, builds

a little hut at a convenient distance from the Dyak house, and stays

there, listening to the voices of the birds. If the first omens he hears

are unfavourable, he continues living there until he hears some bird of

good omen. When this happens, the men get ready their war-boats and start

for the appointed meeting-place.

The war-boat is generally made in the same way as the Dyak dug-outs in

ordinary use, out of the trunk of one large tree, only it is very much

larger and longer, and able to hold sixty men or more. They paint this

boat with a pattern of red and white—the red is an ochre and the white is

lime. It is propelled with paddles, and the steering is done with one or

two greatly developed fixed paddles, which the steersman works with his

foot if he happens to be standing up.

Sometimes the war-boat is built of planks in the following manner. First

they make a long _lunas_, or keel plank, of hard wood the whole length

of the boat. This has two ledges on each side on its upper surface,

each about an inch from the edge of the keel. Then several planks are

made, all of which are also the entire length of the boat. Each plank

has an inside ledge on its upper edge, its lower edge being quite plain.

When the Dyaks have made as many planks as are necessary, they put them

together in the following manner. The keel plank is put in position,

then the first side-planks are brought and placed with their lower or

plain edges upon the two ledges of the keel planks. The ledge of the

first side-plank receives in turn the next plank, and so on, till they

have enough planks, generally four or five, on each side. The ledges and

the planks next to them are bored, and firm rattan lashings are passed

from one to the other. The seams are caulked up so as to render the

boat watertight. In the construction of a boat of this kind no nails

or bolts are employed—nothing but planks ingeniously fastened together

with cane or rattan. These lashings are not very durable, as the rattans

soon get rotten. But this is of little consequence, as the boat is only

used for war expeditions, and on her return the lashings are cut, and

the separated planks are stored in the Dyak house. When she is again

required, the planks are got out and the boat reconstructed as before.

This kind of war-boat is not often seen nowadays. It is clumsy, and does

not travel very fast. In the whole of my experience I have only seen one

boat of this kind in course of construction.

Dyak war-boats hold from thirty to a hundred men. When filled with dusky

warriors with naked arms and legs just visible beneath the palm-leaf

awning, paddling with a regular, vigorous stroke, with their Chief

standing in the stem working the rudder with hand or foot, they form a

grand sight.

When all the boats have arrived, a start is made for the enemy’s country.

The line of advance is most irregular. There are wide gaps between the

boats, some lagging behind to cook or fish, and others, deterred by bad

dreams or unpropitious omens, waiting a day or two before moving on.

When the landing-place of the enemy is reached, a camp is formed, and

temporary huts are built lining the river bank. The warriors lie down to

rest side by side. Their spears are stuck in the ground near them, and

their shields and swords are by their side, so that they can spring to

their feet in a moment, ready for battle. The boats are hauled ashore and

hidden in the brushwood, to be used again on the return journey.

A War Council is held and the route decided upon, and the best way to

attack the enemy discussed. On a given day the march commences, each

shouldering his pack containing a cooking-pot, rice, etc. The pace is

more or less rapid as long as they are far from the enemy, but slackens

when they come nearer. The leaders proceed warily, as the enemy may be in

ambush by the way.

The Dyaks who are expecting an attack defend their houses with a strong

palisading of hard wood, strengthened by bamboo stakes fixed between

the perpendicular posts, with the sharpened points projecting in all

directions, presenting an impassable barrier of spikes to the invader.

The whole is tied firmly together with rattan or creepers. This fence is

about six feet high, and surrounds the whole village. Two gates are made

in it, but when these are closed, they present the same appearance as the

rest of the palisading.

The landing-places and approach to the village are all protected with

sharpened spikes of bamboo or hard wood. Their valuables—their jars and

brass gongs, etc.—they conceal in the jungle.

If they feel confident that they are able to repel the attack of the

enemy they keep the women and children at home. If there is any doubt

about the matter, they too are hidden away in the forest, and when

resistance becomes hopeless, they are rejoined by their relatives at some

fixed rendezvous.

The moment the enemy appears, the gongs are struck in a peculiar manner,

three strokes following each other very rapidly, a short pause, and then

three strokes again, and so on. When the neighbours hear this, they

recognize the signal, and know that their friends have been attacked, and

they hurry to their help.

[Illustration: DYAK WARFARE

The figures in this picture are posed to give some idea of Dyak warfare.

In the foreground is a dead man. The Dyak over him is grasping his hair

and about to cut off his head. The two figures on the left and the man

behind are waiting with their spears to attack the man who has taken

refuge in the hole in the stump of a tree.]

A favourite stratagem of defence in the lower reaches of the river is

to entice the leading boats of the enemy into an ambush on shore. There

are sure to be some boats of the attacking party far in advance of the

others, as they are anxious to be foremost in the fight. The defenders

choose a convenient spot, and a strong party is placed in ambush among

the trees. One or two men stroll upon the shingly bank to lure the enemy.

As the warriors from the attacking boats leap ashore, the men in ambush

spring from their hiding-place. They throw large stones at them, and

break their wooden shields. They engage with swords and spears in a short

and desperate conflict. As the main body comes round the bend of the

river, whooping and yelling, they plunge into the jungle with the heads

that they have obtained, and are soon safely far away.

The Dyaks do not attack a village or group of villagers, if their

approach has been discovered and the people are on the defensive. Under

these circumstances they content themselves with cutting off stragglers,

or hide near the waterside for people who are going to bathe or on their

way to examine their fish-traps. These they attack unawares, cut down,

take their heads, and flee into the jungle before the alarm can be given.

In fighting the Dyak warriors gather round their Chiefs, and defend them

bravely. Relatives often congregate together and help to defend each

other. When one of them is killed, rather than allow the enemy to take

his head, they decapitate him themselves, and bring his head back. When

possible, they carry their dead and wounded away with them, but more

often they only take their heads, and bury the bodies.

The Sea Dyaks, after having severed the head at the neck, scoop out

the brains with a bit of bamboo either through the nostrils or by the

occipital hole, cover the eyes with leaves, and hang the head up to dry

in the smoke of a wood fire. They cut off the hair to ornament their

sword-hilts and sheaths, as well as their shields.

Though cannibalism is not practised by the Dyaks, yet I have heard that

sometimes a man who has taken a head eats a small piece from the cheek,

in the hope of acquiring the bravery and virtues of the man killed. A

Dyak in the Saribas district told me he attempted to eat a little of the

brain of an enemy he had killed, but was unable to do so. Deep in the

mind of the primitive man of every country lies the idea that he can

acquire the attributes of another by eating his flesh or drinking his

blood. The Dacota Indian, I am told, eats the heart of his slain enemy,

and the New Zealander his eyes. It would appear that the Dyaks have the

same idea.

On the return from a war expedition, if the people of any particular

boat have been fortunate enough to secure a human head, word is sent up

to the Dyak village house of this fact, as soon as the boat reaches the

landing-stage. The men remain in the boat, and wait there till all the

women-folk from the house come to it, dressed in their best. Generally

only the men dance, and the arrival of a boat bearing the ghastly trophy

of a human head is the only occasion when the women dance. The excitement

is great, and there are continual shouts of triumph as the women, singing

a monotonous chant, surround the hero who has killed the enemy and lead

him to the house. He is seated in a place of honour, and the head is put

on a brass tray before him, and all crowd round him to hear his account

of the battle, and how he succeeded in killing one of their foes and

bringing home his head.

From all that has been said, it will be seen how the Dyaks value the

heads taken in war. They hang them over the fireplaces in the long open

veranda of their houses, they make offerings to them, and they believe

that the souls of those whom they have slain will be their slaves in

the other world. I look upon it as a remarkable fact worthy of record

that two great Dyak Chiefs who became Christians—one the Orang Kaya of

Padih, Saribas, and the other, Tarang of Krian—should have taken such

a decided step as to refuse to treasure their enemies’ heads any more.

They were both men of position, with a great reputation for bravery. The

Orang Kaya buried all the heads he possessed, and gave out that none

of his followers in a war expedition should bring back heads. Two of

his grandchildren were at my school in Temudok for some years. A son of

Tarang, Tujoh by name, worked as my catechist in Krian for some years.

I asked him what his father did with the old heads he possessed when he

refused to keep them himself. He told me that he did not think his father

acted wisely in that matter. His relatives begged for the heads, and he

gave them to them, and they did just what his father did not wish—made a

feast in honour of these heads, and treasured them!

While so many Dyak Christians are most unwilling to give up their old

heathen customs, these two Christian Dyak Chiefs happily took up the

right attitude in such an important matter in the eyes of the Dyaks as

head-taking.

CHAPTER VI

SOCIAL LIFE

Social position of the women—Dyak food—Meals—Cooking food in

bamboo—Law with regard to leaving a Dyak house—Rule of the

headman—A Dyak trial—Power of the headman in old days—Dyak

wealth—Valuable jars—_Gusi_—_Naga_—_Rusa_—A convenient

dream—Trading incident at Sebetan—Land tenure—Laws about

fruit-trees—Slavery—Captives in war—Slaves for debt.

The Dyak woman does not hold, as in most Eastern countries, an inferior

and humiliating position. As has already been stated, the women do no

more than a fair share of the work: they cook, make garments and mats,

help in the lighter part of farm work, and husk and pound the grain. The

men do the timber-felling, wood-cutting, clearing of the land, house and

boat building, and all the heavier work.

When the Dyaks meet together to discuss any matter such as the

advisability of migrating to a new house, the women are allowed to take

part in the discussion. Generally the men sit round in a circle, and

behind them are the women and children. And it is no unusual thing to

hear a woman express an opinion, and her remarks are listened to with

deference by the men.

The Dyak women have no reason to complain of their lot. Their wants are

few and easily satisfied. They may have sometimes a little more than

their fair share of work, but this is always the case where the men

spend much time on the war-path, and as the women keep the men up to the

mark in this respect, and often will not marry a man who has not been

successful in war, they are scarcely to be pitied if extra work fall to

their lot during the time the men are away fighting.

The women are earlier risers than the men, and retire to bed earlier.

They generally go to the river as soon as they wake, carrying their

water-gourds with them. They have a bath, fill their gourds with water,

and return to the house to cook the morning meal.

The principal article of food is rice, which is cooked in brass or iron

pots. When the rice is ready, it is put out on plates. They eat with

their rice either vegetables or fish. Sometimes they have the flesh

of wild pig or venison, but that is not usual. A favourite method of

cooking is to put the proper quantity of fish or vegetables or meat with

sufficient water and a little salt into a newly-cut bamboo. The mouth

is then stopped up with leaves, and the bamboo is placed over the fire,

resting on a stone at an angle of 45 degrees or more. By the time the

bamboo is thoroughly charred the contents are sufficiently cooked, and it

is taken from the fire and emptied out into a plate. Sometimes rice is

cooked in bamboos, and when it is ready to be eaten, the bamboo is split

and torn off in strips, when the rice is found well cooked inside—a stiff

mass moulded in the form of the bamboo.

When the food is ready and put out in plates, the men are asked to come

into the room and eat. Sometimes the women eat with the men; but if there

are too many to eat comfortably at one sitting, the men have their meal

first, and the women eat with the children after the men have done.

The Dyaks all sit on the floor, which also serves as their table. They

have their rice on plates, or sometimes upon clean leaves. They eat with

their fingers, dipping the hand when necessary into the common stock of

salt, or common dish of meat or vegetables. They eat with their right

hand, compressing the rice into portions of convenient size.

Nearly every animal is eaten by the Dyaks; fish, venison, and pork are

eaten by all, but many tribes eat monkeys, snakes, and even crocodiles.

When breakfast is over, they clean the crockery and put it away. The mats

are swept and taken up, and the refuse thrown through the open floor for

the pigs and poultry under the house to eat.

Each long Dyak village house has its headman, who generally occupies a

room in the middle of the house. He is called the _tuai rumah_—“the old

man or chief of the house”—and he settles all disputes among the inmates,

and decides the amount of the fine the guilty party has to pay. Great

deference is paid to him, and as a general rule his people abide by his

decisions. But his power is only one of persuasion, and depends upon his

personal ability and sense of justice. He cannot in any way coerce his

people into obedience. Upon the prestige and conduct of this _tuai rumah_

depends the number of families a Dyak house contains. If he be a man of

strong personal character, clear-headed, and upright in his dealings,

many will settle under him. If he be otherwise, he will quickly lose the

families living in his house. They will migrate to other houses where the

headman is one they admire and respect.

[Illustration: DYAK HOUSES

Showing the outside open platform where paddy, etc., is put out to dry.

Where the eaves are very low, parts of it are often raised to admit more

light into the house. The palm trees in the picture are cocoanut palms.]

There are certain laws among the Dyaks with regard to a family leaving a

house. If a new house is to be built, any families of the former inmates

may refuse to make their home in the new house, and may join some other

village or decide to build a house for themselves. If a family wish to

leave a house at any other time, they must not only leave the posts,

roof, and flooring of their part of the house, but they must undertake to

keep these in repair until such a time as the house is pulled down and a

new one built.

The Sea Dyak administration of law among themselves by the headman of the

house has its advantages. Disputes are settled at once and on the spot.

Unfortunately sometimes prejudice and the ties of relationship impede the

carrying out of justice, but more often the Chiefs are peculiarly alive

to the advantage of a just administration, which never fails to secure

the aid and support of the majority of the people.

I have often been present when some small dispute was settled by the

headman of a Dyak house. Both parties and their friends sat on mats in a

circle before the Chief. Each party had their say; the headman asked a

few questions. Then he pronounced judgment somewhat after this fashion.

He began by saying that as the disputants were living in the same

house—“brothers and sisters” so to speak—it was not necessary to inflict

a heavy punishment; all that was needed was to impose a small fine to

show which was in the wrong, and one party must pay the other a fine of

so many cups or so many plates as the case required.

Whenever I have been present, the fine was cheerfully paid. The

punishment, in fact, was very slight. Though the Government recognize

this method of settling disputes among themselves, still, if Dyaks are

discontented with the decision of their headmen, they can always bring

their case for trial before the Government officer of the district. But

this is seldom done. The fine imposed by the headman is so small compared

to that which would have to be paid if the case were tried elsewhere

that the guilty party generally prefers to pay it cheerfully rather than

appeal to the Government.

If the dispute be between the inmates of one house and those of another,

then the headmen of both houses have to be present at the trial. When

matters are at all complicated, headmen from other houses are also asked

to be present and help in the administration of justice.

I learn from conversations with the older Dyaks that in bygone days the

power of the headman was much greater than it is now. Then he used to

impose much heavier fines and take part of them himself for his trouble,

and no Dyak dared to murmur against the decision of his Chief. In those

days there was no court of appeal. The only means of protesting was to

leave the house and build on to another, and in the old days such a thing

was not so easily done as at present. The Dyak houses were much longer

and built much farther apart, and to join another house meant moving to a

district very far away and cutting off all connection with relatives and

friends.

Wealth among the Dyaks is not so much the accumulation of money as the

possession of brass gongs, guns, and valuable jars. Money is not used

except by the inhabitants of the towns. The up-country Dyaks procure what

they need by a system of barter, and in most of the shopping done in the

Chinese bazaars near the Dyak villages no money passes hands at all.

Silver coins are used by the Dyaks for making belts and bangles, and are

often attached to the edge of the petticoats worn by the women at feasts

and on other special occasions, and are esteemed only as ornaments.

Brass ware of all kinds is much valued, especially old brass guns and

gongs.

The valuable jars (_tajau_) which the Dyaks prize so highly are in

appearance much like the earthen water-pots that are manufactured in

large numbers by the Chinese, and which cost from five to ten shillings.

But closer examination shows certain differences. The Dyaks are prepared

to pay exorbitant prices for a really old jar, and they venerate it

and make offerings to it. The best known of these sacred jars are the

_Gusi_, the _Naga_, and the _Rusa_. The first is the most valuable of

the three. It is of a greenish colour, about eighteen inches high, and

is much sought after. A good one would cost £80 or more. The _Naga_ is

about two feet high, and is called by that name because it is ornamented

with Chinese figures of dragons, or _naga_. It is worth from eight to ten

pounds. The _Rusa_ is covered with the representation of some kind of

deer (_rusa_), and is worth about four pounds. These prices, except the

first, may not seem very great to our ideas, but when one remembers how

poor the Dyaks are, they are very large amounts for them to pay for such

fragile things as earthenware jars.

The _Gusi_ is always kept wrapped in cloth and treated with the greatest

respect. People crawl in its presence, and touch it with the greatest

care. At certain feasts a jar of this kind is brought out, and offerings

are made to it. Besides being the abode of a spirit, it is supposed to

possess marvellous qualities—one of them being that if anything be placed

in it overnight, the quantity will increase before morning; another, that

food kept in a jar of this kind has peculiar medicinal virtues.

When any of these sacred jars are bought, before bringing it into the

room where it is to be kept an offering is always made to it. A chicken

is killed and the blood smeared on the jar.

It is not known for certain where these jars originally came from. One

theory is that many years ago a colony of Chinese settled in Borneo for a

short period, and made these jars and then left the country.

These old jars have been imitated by the Chinese, and many modern jars

are very like the originals. A very profitable business is done by Malay

traders, who, for one genuine old jar in their possession, have six or

more modern jars. The Dyaks are very cautious about paying a large price

for a doubtful article, but for all that they are often taken in.

I was at a Dyak house in Saribas, and was shown a jar which a Malay

trader had brought for sale. A Dyak had decided to buy it, the price had

been agreed upon, and the trader was to come on the following day to

receive it in brass guns, gongs, and money. The Dyaks, on examining the

jar more closely, came to the conclusion that it was a modern imitation.

When the trader came, he was told that the Dyak had had a bad dream about

the jar, and so was not prepared to buy it. In talking to an old Dyak

about it, I was told that to say one had a bad dream was the usual way of

refusing to buy a jar which seemed of doubtful value.

An amusing incident happened at Sebetan in Krian when I was there. A

Malay trader, whom we will call “A,” came to a Dyak house with a jar to

sell. “A” was well known, as he lived in his coffee plantation on the

bank of the Krian River. The Dyaks examined the jar and saw many defects

in it, and said so. The next day another Malay trader, whom we will call

“B,” arrived with a jar to sell, but no one in the house seemed inclined

to buy it. “A” and “B” seemed to be quite strangers to one another. “A”

examined the jar “B” had brought, and then said: “My jar is not a good

one; I admit that. But this is a genuine old jar, and worth the eighty

dollars he asks for it. I have not got much money with me; but if anyone

here will lend me the money, I am quite prepared to pay eighty dollars

for it.” As “A” was well known, the headman of the house lent him the sum

of money he required to enable him to buy the jar. The money was paid to

“B,” who went off. Then “A” began to boast about his bargain; he dwelt

on all the good points of the jar, and told the Dyaks that they were

very foolish to have let such a chance slip. He praised the jar so much

that the headman of the house said he would buy it from him for the same

price as he paid for it. “A” said he did not want to part with it, as it

was a genuine old jar, and honestly worth much more than he gave for it.

After some discussion “A” agreed to sell it to the Dyak for one hundred

dollars, and so he made a profit of twenty dollars in a very short time.

It was found out afterwards that “B” was living with “A” during his stay

in Krian! The jar was considered by experts to be a modern imitation and

comparatively worthless. When “A” was spoken to about the matter, he

persisted in saying that in his opinion the jar was a genuine old one,

but that he might be mistaken.

With regard to land, it has been the immemorial custom of the Dyaks that

when a person fells the virgin forest he acquires by that act a perpetual

title to the land. He may sell it, lend it, let it, or leave it to his

successor. The rent he is supposed to demand for a piece of land large

enough to be farmed by one man is one dollar. If, however, he is not

paid in money, he may claim a game-cock, or two plates. As a gamecock

or two plates cost about a quarter of a dollar, it is dearer to pay for

the use of land with money. Land disputes are very common among Dyaks. As

they often leave a particular district, and then return again after many

years, it is not surprising that complications arise.

Fruit-trees are owned by the people who plant them. The different

families in a Dyak house plant fruit-trees near their part of the house.

When they leave the spot and build a new habitation elsewhere, they

each still claim ownership of the trees they planted. The rule with

regard to fruit-trees is that anyone may take the ripe fruit that has

fallen, but only the owner or someone deputed by him may climb the tree.

Banting Hill, where I lived for some years, was covered with fruit-trees

(_durian_), and at night during the fruit season crowds of men and boys

would watch for the falling of the ripe fruit. They would each have a

torch made of the bark of some tree, and they would sit and wait with

the torch smouldering by their side. As soon as a ripe _durian_ fruit

was heard to fall, they would wave their torches in the air to make them

flare up into a flame, and they would rush to the spot, and the person

who found the fruit would take possession of it.

Slavery exists among the Dyaks, but not to any great extent. There are

two classes of slaves—captives in war, and slaves for debt.

The Sea Dyaks when on the warpath spare neither man, women, nor children,

but it occasionally happens that when they are able to do so, they carry

little children back with them as captives. There are not many slaves

to be met with among the Sea Dyaks, and these do not seem to be hardly

treated. The slaves are not distinguishable from their masters and

mistresses, and they live all together and fare precisely the same, very

often eating the same food at the same time from the same dish. In many

cases children who have been taken captive become so endeared to their

masters that they are adopted, and intermarry with the sons and daughters

of the other inhabitants of the village.

The ceremony of adoption is usually performed at a great feast, so that

the matter may be made as public as possible. The owner of the slave

announces to the assembled guests that he has freed him and adopted him

as his brother. He then presents to him a spear, with which he is told to

slay the man who dares in future to call him a slave.

The old Dyak law concerning debts was that if a man borrowed paddy or

rice from another, he must pay double that amount at the next harvest.

If therefore a debtor had a succession of bad harvests, his debt would

become so great that he could not ever hope to pay it off. If he paid

part of his debt, then the following year he would be expected to pay

double the amount still due. In process of time his debt would become so

great that he and his family would have to become slaves in payment of it.

According to old Dyak laws people who were careless enough to set a house

on fire rendered themselves liable to become the slaves of those who were

burnt out. The damage done by their carelessness would be too great for

them to compensate, so they would become slaves for debt.

Sir James Brooke made a law that after a certain number of years all

slaves for debt were to be set free, so at present there are not any,

except those who have grown old in the service of their masters, and do

not wish for their freedom.

CHAPTER VII

CHILD-BIRTH AND CHILDREN

The Couvade among the Dyaks—Harm to the child—Ways of

evading these restrictions—Punishment for violating these

restrictions—A Christian woman’s ideas on the subject—Witch

doctors and their methods—The waving of a fowl—Treatment of

the mother and child—Infanticide—Bathing the child—Ceremony

for insuring happiness to the child—Naming the child—Change of

name—Children—Toys—Smallness of families—Reason.

As the Sea Dyaks look upon child-birth as a very ordinary event, there

are not many ceremonies connected with it, though there are many rules

and restrictions which have to be observed by the parents before the

child is born.

The Couvade is in existence among the Sea Dyaks, and there are many

superstitions which impede and harass those who are about to become

parents.