THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE DYAKS.
After seeing the sleeping accommodations of the Dyaks, consisting of a
mat on a rather uneven floor, the Americans concluded to pass the night
on board of the yacht. They invited Mr. Eng to supper on board, and he
passed the evening with them in the cabin.
"You have seen the Dyaks at home now, young gentlemen; how do you like
the looks of them?" asked the guest, after the meal had been disposed
of.
"I think they are the pleasantest savages I have ever met," replied
Louis.
"I am afraid you did not appreciate the young women who were so
attentive to you, Mr. Belgrave," continued the agent.
"Regarding them as uncivilized maidens, they are about the best
specimens. The expression on their faces was pleasant, a few of them
were pretty, though as a whole they were not handsome, and they seemed
to be kind-hearted. I could not admire them, though their eyes were as
brilliant as they were black. Their long hair would be the envy of many
an English or American belle."
"The women are very vain of their hair. They bestow a great deal of
attention upon it," added Mr. Eng. "The fever of the island sometimes
deprives them of their hair, as it may in your country, and that is the
greatest calamity that can overtake the younger women."
"I suppose it all right here; but they disfigure and spoil one of the
principal attractions of ladies in enlightened nations, the teeth, which
they blacken by chewing betel."
"It also makes their lips look as though they had daubed them with blood
or red paint; but they do it here, as in India, to make themselves more
beautiful. Tastes differ, and the practice makes them ugly to you. The
betel-vine grows here, and the leaves are used for chewing. The nut of a
certain palm produces the same effect on the teeth."
"I don't admire the brass rings they wear on their waists and around
their necks. If I were old enough to get married, I should not look for
a wife among the Dyak girls," said Louis, laughing and shaking his head.
"The Dyak women are generally well treated; but they have to work very
hard, and much that you would think the men ought to do is done by them.
The lords of creation here are inclined to be lazy, while their wives
and daughters are engaged in the rice-fields, though their husbands and
brothers are driven to labor.
"But the women are not the abject slaves you sometimes find them in the
savage state. They have their influence, and exercise a degree of
control in household matters. The females are fond of fish, and insist
that their husbands shall supply them with this diet. On account of the
bores which sweep up the rivers, this is often a dangerous occupation,
and the men are unable to procure any fish. Instances are known in which
the women bar the door of the house against them if they are
unsuccessful."
"I believe the Malays are generally Mohammedans. What is the religion of
the Dyaks?" inquired Louis.
"It has been said by some travellers that they have no religion of any
kind; but I don't think this is quite true, though it is not far from
it," replied Mr. Eng. "Religion is a very indefinite idea among the
Dyaks, and they are chary in speaking of what there is of it. Some who
have been among them maintain that they believe in a Supreme Being, who
has a great many different names among the various tribes. They have
almost as many inferior deities as the Hindus.
"They are very superstitious; and there are all sorts of omens, among
which there is a particular bird which has obtained the name of the omen
bird. His cry on the right of, or behind, a person engaged in any
enterprise is an unlucky sign, and he abandons his object; while the cry
heard on the left is a favorable omen, and the individual is duly
encouraged to go forward.
"I had a story from a Kyan head man which had come down to him as a
tradition. A great head-hunting expedition, consisting of a thousand
warriors, had set out many years ago. It had not gone far when a little
muntjac, which you know is a kind of deer, ran across the path of the
warriors. This was a bad omen; and they gave up the enterprise, and
returned to their villages.
"I know of a couple just married who separated because they heard a
deer-cry within three days after their union, which was a sign that one
of them would die within a year. Even little insects intimidate doughty
warriors, or assure them that they are far from danger, by their
appearance or their cry."
"There is not a little of similar superstition in enlightened nations,
though there is vastly less of it than formerly," added Louis.
"I have heard my grandfather say that the ticking of a death-watch used
to scare him so that he could not sleep when he was a boy," said Morris.
"What is a death-watch?" asked Scott.
"It is a kind of beetle that conceals itself in the walls of old
houses," replied Louis. "The noise it makes is really the call of the
bug for his mate, and is the cry of love instead of death, as many
ignorant people believe. The breaking of a looking-glass is also a sign
of death in the family."
"Mrs. Blossom wouldn't break a looking-glass for a fortune," added
Felix. "She says she broke one nine years before her husband died, and
therefore it was a sure sign."
"But the death must come within a year to make the sign hold good,"
replied Louis. "But if enlightened people have faith in such stuff, it
is no wonder that Dyaks believe in omens. I want to ask, Mr. Eng, if
these Dyaks are regularly married?"
"They are, though with very little ceremony, and no vows, oaths, nor
promises. In fact, the marriage consists of such rites as the parties
please, and often with no rites at all. Sometimes the betrothed are
married by exchanging bracelets in public, or by eating a meal of rice
together. In some communities the affianced are seated on a couple of
bars of iron, and the head man shakes a couple of live chickens over
their heads, invoking many blessings upon them, and the birds are
afterwards killed and eaten."
"Do these people drink liquor, or have they anything in the shape of
intoxicating fluids?" asked Scott.
"The national drink of Borneo is _tuak_, about the vilest tipple that
ever was invented. I went to a Dyak feast when I first came to the
island, which proved to be nothing but a series of drunken orgies. The
principal actors at the feast were a number of pretty girls, such as you
saw this afternoon. Their office was to induce the men present to drink
this vile liquid till they dropped on the floor of the open platform;
and they even poured it down the throats of their victims when no longer
able to drink for themselves."
"What sort of rum is it?" inquired Scott.
"It looks like the milk of the cocoanut, and I suppose that it is made
from that; but I did not taste it," replied the agent. "It is about my
bedtime, and I think I will go to my sampan and retire."
But Captain Scott invited him to sleep on board of the Blanchita; and he
accepted after a little pressing, evidently believing that the soft
cushions of the yacht made a better bed than the mats of the sampan.
Felipe was instructed to have steam on at daylight, and the anchor watch
was to call him in season to do so. Fully protected by their nettings
from the mosquitoes, which had troubled them to some extent in the
evening, all hands slept like tired boys.
When the steam from the gauge-cocks hissed as the engineer examined into
the condition of the water in the boiler, the sound waked the captain,
and he jumped from his bed. This movement roused all the others; and
they went out into the waist, following the example of Scott, who wore
nothing but his nightdress.
"I am going to have a swim this fine morning," said he.
"Look out for crocodiles," Morris interposed. "You know they are
man-eaters in these rivers."
"I haven't seen any of them around here," replied the captain. "But call
all hands, Lane; and tell the men to bring out their rifles."
"I think you are very imprudent to go into the water here," interposed
Mr. Eng. "The reptiles are on the watch; and if you must go in, I warn
you to keep near the boat."
But the boys all dived from the gunwale into the river, and swam out a
few rods. The men placed themselves on the rail, and kept a sharp look
out for saurians, though it was still too dark to enable them to see
very distinctly. Scott had reasoned that he could not take his bath
after it was fully light, for a crowd of Dyak men and women would be on
the bank at that time.
The swimmers had not been in the water more than five minutes when the
cry of "Crocodiles!" came from Achang, who had stationed himself just
forward of the engine. Probably he had a keener vision for the reptiles
than the Americans; for the seamen had not yet seen anything that looked
like one. He could tell by the appearance of the water that the enemy
was approaching, though the disturbance of its surface was near the
other side of the stream.
The party in the water turned about, and headed for the boat, swimming
with all the vigor they could command. Achang had his rifle in his hand;
but even he could not make out the crocodile clearly enough to be sure
of his aim. Five minutes more elapsed; for it required that time for the
swimmers to reach the yacht. The seamen assisted the party into the
boat, and they rushed with all speed into the cabin; for a quartet of
Dyak maidens had already reached the bank of the river, and were begging
the men for more tobacco.
Achang fired his rifle; but three crocodiles could now be seen moving
towards the yacht. Their approach was not impeded by the shot, for it
was impossible to see the eyes of the reptiles in the semi-darkness. But
the cabin party were safe, and it was as useless to fire at them as it
would have been at a stone wall.
"I advise you not to try that experiment again, young gentlemen," said
Mr. Eng as the bathing party came out into the waist.
"I don't think we shall, though we were protected by half a dozen
rifles," replied the captain, who had been the leader in the venturesome
exploit.
"If you do try it again, do so in the daylight, when your riflemen can
see the eyes of the enemy," added the agent. "I must bid you good-by
now, for I have business on shore here. I don't think the crocodiles
will come any nearer to you, but be prudent. I shall hope to see you at
Simujan on your return."
Mr. Eng shook hands with all the cabin party, and went ashore. The
captain gave the order to cast off the fasts, and Lane was ordered to
take the wheel. The two sampans had before made fast to the shore; and
as the Blanchita got under way, one of them put off, and paddled towards
the crocodiles. The last that was seen of the craft, it had a saurian
hooked after the Malay mode of fishing for them.
After breakfast had been served in the cabin, and the party had gone to
their seats forward, the character of the river began to change,
becoming much narrower. They came to another Dyak village, where the
jungle was cleared off and paddies were near the stream. It looked as
though all the inhabitants had gathered on the bank, male and female. A
long-house was to be seen on a knoll, and the wheelman was ordered to
take the boat within a couple of rods of the shore.
"Are you going to make a landing at this village, Captain Scott?" asked
Louis.
"No; we have seen enough of these people, but we will see what we can as
we pass along. They are all beckoning us to go ashore; but we won't do
so, for any more Dyak maidens would be rather monotonous."
"I quite agree with you, Captain, though there is one with a big stick
of bamboo in her hand, who looks more graceful and pretty than any we
saw in the village we visited," replied Louis.
"I wonder what that cane is for," added Scott.
"That's to contain some kind of liquid; and she may have four feet of
tuak in it," answered the millionaire, laughing at the idea of measuring
a fluid by Long Measure. "I think the girl comes nearer to being a
beauty than any girl I have seen before."
"She is hooped with brass like all the rest of them," added Scott, as
the boat proceeded beyond the group on the shore.
In another half-hour great trees, with an abundant undergrowth of
bushes, extended down to the river, and in places some distance into the
water.