The Pagan Tribes of Borneo Part 2

The Klemantans present a greater variety of physical types, being a less h.o.m.ogeneous group. Roughly they may be said to present all transitions from the Kenyah to the Murut type. In the main they are less muscular and active than the Kenyah. It is amongst them that the upward and forward direction of the plane of the nostrils is most marked.

The Punan presents, again, a well-marked type. His skin is even fairer than the Kenyah's, and is distinguished by a distinctly greenish tinge. He is well proportioned, graceful, and muscular, and his features are in many cases very regular and pleasing. His expression is habitually melancholy and strikingly wary and timid. In spite of his homeless nomadic life he generally appears well nourished and clean, and he seems less subject to sores and to the skin diseases which so often disfigure the other peoples, especially the Muruts, Kayans, and Sea Dayaks.[29]

All these peoples, with the exception of the Punans and similar nomads, live in village communities situated with few exceptions on the banks of the rivers. The populations of these villages vary from 20 or 30 persons only in the smallest, to 1500 or even more in a few of the largest; while the average village comprises about 30 families which, with a few slaves and dependants, make a community of some 200 to 300 persons. Each such community is presided over by a chief. A number of villages of one people are commonly grouped within easy reach of one another on the banks of a river. But no people exclusively occupies or claims exclusive possession of any one territory or waterway. With the exception of the Sea Dayaks, all these different peoples may here and there be found in closely adjoining villages; and in some rivers the villages of the different peoples are freely intermingled over considerable areas. The segregation of the Sea Dayak villages seems to be due to the truculent treacherous nature of the Sea Dayak, which renders him obnoxious as a neighbour to the other peoples, and leads him to feel the need of the support of his own people in large numbers. All find their princ.i.p.al support and occupation in the cultivation of PADI (rice), and all supplement this with the breeding of a few pigs and fowls and, in the north of the island, buffalo, with hunting and fis.h.i.+ng, and with the collection of jungle produce -- gutta-percha, rubber, rattan canes, camphor, sago. These jungle products they barter or sell for cash to the Malay and Chinese traders.

They have no written records, and but vague traditions of their past history and migrations. There is no political organisation beyond a loose coherence and alliance for defence and offence of the village communities of any one people in neighbouring parts of the country -- a coherence which at times is greatly strengthened by the personal ascendency of the chief of some one village over neighbouring chiefs. One of the most notable examples of such personal ascendency exercised in recent times was that of Tama Bulan (Pl. 27), a Kenyah chief whose village was situated on one of the tributaries of the Baram river, and who by his loyal co-operation with the government of the Rajah of Sarawak greatly facilitated the rapid establishment of law and order in this district.

Except for these informal alliances obtaining between neighbouring villages of the people of any one stock, each village forms an independent community, ruled by its chief, making war and peace and alliances, and selecting patches of land for cultivation at its own pleasure. No village community remains on the same spot for any long period; but after fifteen, ten, or even fewer years, a new site is sought, often at a considerable distance, and a new village is built. The princ.i.p.al reasons for this habit of frequent migration, which has produced the intimate mingling throughout large areas of the peoples of different stocks, are two: first, the necessity of finding virgin soil for cultivation; secondly, the occurrence of epidemics or other calamities; these lead them to believe that the place of their abode supplies in insufficient degree the favouring spiritual influences which they regard as essential to their welfare. For among all these peoples animistic beliefs abound; they hold themselves to be surrounded on every hand by spiritual forces both good and bad, some of which are embodied in the wild creatures, especially the birds, while some are manifested in such natural processes as the growth of the corn, the rising of the river in flood, the rolling of thunder, the incidence of disease. And they are constantly concerned to keep at a distance, by the observance of many rigidly prescribed customs, the evil influences, and, to a less degree, to secure by propitiatory acts the protection and the friendly warnings of the beneficent powers.

One of the most peculiar features of the people of Borneo is the great diversity of language obtaining among them. The migratory habits of the people and the consequent mingling of communities of different stocks within the same areas, far from having resulted in the genesis by fusion of a common language, have resulted in the formation of a great number of very distinct dialects; so that in following the course of a river, one may sometimes find in a day's journey of a score of miles half a dozen or more villages, the people of each of which speak a dialect almost, or in some cases quite, unintelligible to their neighbours. A necessary consequence of this state of affairs is that, with the exception of the Sea Dayaks, almost all adults speak or at least understand two or more dialects or languages, while most of the chiefs and leading men speak several dialects fluently and partially understand a larger number. The language most widely understood by those to whom it is not native is the Kayan; but since the recent spread of trade through large areas under the protection of the European governments, a simplified form of the Malay language has been rapidly establis.h.i.+ng itself as the LINGUA FRANCA of the whole country. In Sarawak, where, during the last fifty years, the Sea Dayaks have spread from the Batang Lupar district and have established villages on all the princ.i.p.al rivers, their language, which seems to be a b.a.s.t.a.r.d and very simple branch of the Malay tongue, is very widely understood and is largely used as a common medium.

Note on the use of the term KLEMANTAN. The Malay name for Borneo is Pulu Klemantan, and we have adopted this name to denote the large group of allied tribes which in our opinion have the best claim to be regarded as representing the indigenous population of the island.

CHAPTER 4

Material Conditions of the Pagan Tribes of Borneo

With few exceptions, the main features of the dress, adornment, and weapons of all the peoples are similar, showing only minor differences from tribe to tribe and from place to place. The essential and universal article of male attire is the waist-cloth, a strip of cloth about one yard wide and four to eight yards in length (see Frontispiece). Formerly this was made of bark-cloth; but now the cotton-cloth obtained from the Chinese and Malay traders has largely superseded the native bark-cloth, except in the remoter regions; and here and there a well-to-do man may be seen wearing a cloth of more expensive stuff, sometimes even of silk. One end of such a cloth is pa.s.sed between the legs from behind forwards, about eighteen inches being left dependent; the rest of it is then pa.s.sed several times round the waist, over the end brought up on to the belly, and the other end is tucked in at the back. The man wears in addition when out of doors a coat of bark-cloth or white cotton stuff,[30] and a wide sun-hat of palm leaves, in shape like a mushroom-top or an inverted and very shallow basin, which shelters him from both sun and rain; many wear also a small oblong mat plaited of rattan-strips hanging behind from a cord pa.s.sed round the waist, and serving as a seat when the wearer sits down. At home the man wears nothing more than the waist-cloth, save some narrow plaited bands of palm fibre below the knee, and, in most cases, some adornment in the ears or about the neck and on the arms.[31] The man's hair is allowed to grow long on the crown of the scalp, and to hang freely over the back of the neck, in some cases reaching as far as the middle of the back. This long hair is never plaited, but is sometimes screwed up in a knot on the top of the head and fastened with a skewer. The latter mode of wearing the hair is the rule among the Muruts, who use elaborately carved and decorated hairpins of bone (the s.h.i.+n bone of the deer, Fig. 1). That part of the hair of the crown which naturally falls forwards is cut to form a straight fringe across the forehead. All the rest of the head is kept shaven, except at times of mourning for the death of relatives.

When in the house the man commonly wears on his head a band of plaited rattan, which varies from a mere band around the brows to a completed skull-cap. The free ends of the rattan strips are generally allowed to project, forming a dependent ta.s.sel or fringe (Pl. 21). A well-to-do Kayan man usually wears a necklace consisting of a single string of beads, which in many cases are old and of considerable value (Pls. 19 and 28). Every Kayan has the sh.e.l.l of the ear perforated, and when fully dressed wears, thrust forward through the hole in each sh.e.l.l, the big upper canine tooth of the tiger-cat; but he is not ent.i.tled to wear these until he has been on the warpath. Those who have taken a head or otherwise distinguished themselves in war may wear, instead of the teeth, pieces of similar shape carved from the solid beak of the helmeted hornbill. The youths who have not qualified themselves for these adornments, and warriors during mourning, usually wear a disc of wood or wax in their places (Pls. 19 and 21).

The lobe of the ear is perforated and distended to a loop some two inches in length, in which a bra.s.s ring is worn. Just above this loop a small hole through the sh.e.l.l is usually made, and from this a small skein of beads depends. Similar ear ornaments are worn by Kenyahs and some of the Klemantans, but not by Muruts, and by few individuals only among Punans and Sea Dayaks. Many of the latter wear a row of small bra.s.s rings inserted round the margin of the sh.e.l.l of each ear (Fig. 2).

Many of the men wear also bracelets of sh.e.l.l or hard wood.

Although the dress of the men is so uniform in essentials throughout the country, it gives considerable scope for the display of personal tastes, and the Sea Dayak especially delights in winding many yards of brilliantly coloured cloth about his waist, in brilliant coats and gorgeous turbans[32] and feathers, and other ornaments; by means of these he manages to make himself appear as a very dressy person in comparison with the sober Kayan and with most of the people of the remoter inland regions, who have little but scanty strips of bark-cloth about the loins.

The universal weapons of the country are sword and spear, and no man travels far from home without these and his oblong wooden s.h.i.+eld. Some of the peoples are expert in the use of the blowpipe and poisoned dart. The blow-pipe and the recently introduced firearms are the only missile weapons; the bow is unknown save as a plaything for children,[33] and possibly in a few localities in the extreme north.[34]

The dress of the women is less uniform than that of the men. The Sea Dayak woman (Pls. 29 and 30) wears a short skirt of cotton thread woven in curious patterns of several colours, reaching from the waist almost to the knee; a long-sleeved jacket of the same material, and a corset consisting of many rings of rattan built up one above another to enclose the body from breast to thigh. Each rattan ring is sheathed in small rings of beaten bra.s.s. The corset is made to open partially or completely down the front, but is often worn continuously for long periods. She wears her hair tied in a knot at the back of her head.

The princ.i.p.al garment of the women of all the other peoples is a skirt of bark or cotton cloth, which is tied by a string a little below the level of the crest of the hip bone; it reaches almost to the ankle, but is open at the left side along its whole depth. It is thus a large ap.r.o.n rather than a skirt. When the woman is at work in the house or elsewhere, she tucks up the ap.r.o.n by drawing the front flap backwards between her legs, and tucking it tightly into the band behind, thus reducing it to the proportions and appearance of a small pair of bathing-drawers. Each woman possesses also a long-sleeved, long-bodied jacket of white cotton similar to that worn by the men; this coat is generally worn by both s.e.xes when working in the fields or travelling in boats, chiefly as a protection against the rays of the sun. The women wear also a large mushroom-shaped hat similar to that worn by the men. With few exceptions all the women allow the hair to grow uncut and to fall naturally from the ridge of the cranium, confined only by a circular band of rattan or beadwork pa.s.sing over the occiput and just above the eyebrows.

The princ.i.p.al ornaments of the women are necklaces and girdles of beads, earrings, and bracelets. A well-to-do Kayan woman may wear a large number of valuable beads (see Pls. 28 and 31). The bracelets are of ivory, and both forearms are sometimes completely sheathed in series of such bracelets. The ear-rings are the most distinctive feature of the Kayan woman's adornment. The perforated lobes of the ears are gradually drawn down during childhood and youth, until each lobe forms a slender loop which reaches to the collar-bone, or lower. Each loop bears several ma.s.sive rings of copper (Pl. 20), whose combined weight is in some cases as much as two pounds.[35] Most of the Kenyah women also wear similar earrings, but these are usually lighter and more numerous, and the lobe is not so much distended. The women of many of the Klemantan tribes wear a large wooden disc in the distended lobe of each ear, and those of other Klemantan tribes wear a smaller wooden plug with a boss (Pl. 32). The children run naked up to the age of six or seven years, when they are dressed in the fas.h.i.+on of their parents.

On festive occasions both men and women put on as many of their ornaments as can be conveniently worn.

Deformation of the Head

Some of the Malanaus, a partially Mohammedan tribe of Klemantans, seated about the mouths of the Muka, Oya, and Bintulu rivers of Sarawak, have the curious custom of flattening the heads of the infants, chiefly the females. The flattening is effected at an early age, the process beginning generally within the first month after birth. It consists in applying pressure to the head by means of a simple apparatus for some fifteen minutes, more or less, on successive days, or at rather longer intervals. The application of the pressure for this brief s.p.a.ce of time, on some ten to twenty occasions, seems to suffice to bring about the desired effect. The pressure is applied while the child sleeps, and is at once relaxed if the child wakes or cries. The apparatus, known as TADAL (see Fig. 3), consists of a stout flat bar of wood, some nine inches in length and three wide in its middle part. This wider middle part bears on one surface a soft pad for application to the infant's forehead. A [inverted T] strap of soft cloth is attached by its upper extremity to the middle of the upper edge of the wooden bar; and each end of its horizontal strip is continued by a pair of strings which pa.s.s through holes in the ends of the bar. The strings are brought together on the front of the bar at its middle and pa.s.sed through the centre of a copper coin[36] or other hard disc. The bar is applied transversely to the forehead of the infant; the vertical strap runs back over the sagittal suture; the transverse strap is drawn tightly across the occiput, and the required degree of pressure is gradually applied by twisting the coin round and round on the front of the bar, and so pulling upon the strings which connect the ends of the bar on the forehead with the ends of the strap across the occiput (Pl. 33).

The effect produced is of course a flattening of brow and occiput and a broadening of the whole head. The motive seems to be the desire to enhance the beauty of the child by ensuring to it a moon-like face, which is the most admired form. The Malanaus seem to be by nature peculiarly round-headed; the question whether this is due to the effects of head-flattening practised for many generations, must be left to the investigations of the Neo-Lamarckians. They are also a peculiarly handsome people, and it seems more likely that, taking a pride in their good looks, they have, like so many other peoples, sought to enhance the beauty of their children by accentuating a racial peculiarity.

Houses

All the tribes except the Punans build houses of one type; but the size and proportions, the strength of the materials used, and the skill and care displayed in the work of construction, show wide differences. The houses of the Kayans are perhaps better and more solidly built than any others and may be taken as the type. Each house is built to accommodate many families; an average house may contain some forty to fifty, making up with children and slaves some two or three hundred persons; while some of the larger houses are built for as many as a hundred and twenty families, or some five to six hundred persons. The house is always close to a river, and it usually stands on the bank at a distance of 20 to 50 yards from the water, its length lying parallel to the course of the river. The plan of the house is a rectangle, of which the length generally much exceeds the width (Pl. 34).

Its roof is always a simple ridge extending the whole length of the house, and is made of s.h.i.+ngles of BILIAN (ironwood) or other hard and durable kind of wood. The framework of the roof is supported at a height of some 25 to 30 feet from the ground on ma.s.sive piles of ironwood, and the floor is supported by the same piles at a level some 7 or 8 feet below the cross-beams of the roof. The floor consists of cross-beams morticed to the piles, and of very large planks of hard wood laid upon them parallel to the length of the house. The projecting eaves of the roof come down to a level midway between that of the roof-beams and that of the floor, and the interval of some 4 to 5 feet between the eaves and the floor remains open along the whole length of the front of the house (I.E. the side facing the river), save for a low parapet which bounds the floor along its outer edge. This s.p.a.ce serves to admit both light and air, and affords an easy view over the river to those sitting in the house. The length of the house is in some cases as much as 400 yards, but the average length is probably about 200 yards. The width of the floor varies from about 30 to 60 feet; the whole s.p.a.ce between roof and floor is divided into two parts by a longitudinal wall of vertical planks, which runs the whole length of the house. This wall lies not quite in the middle line, but a little to the river side of it. Of the two longitudinal divisions of the house, that which adjoins the river is thus somewhat narrower than the other; it remains undivided in its whole length. The other and wider part is divided by transverse walls at intervals of some 25 or 30 feet, so as to form a single row of s.p.a.cious chambers of approximately equal size. Each such chamber is the private apartment of one family; in it father, mother, daughters, young sons and female slaves, sleep and eat (Pl. 37). Within each chamber are usually several sleeping-places or alcoves more or less completely screened or walled off from the central s.p.a.ce. The chamber contains a fireplace, generally merely a slab of clay in a wooden framework placed near the centre. The outside wall of this side of the house is carried up to meet the roof. The entrance of light and air and the egress of smoke are provided for by the elevation on a prop of one corner of a square section of the roof, marked out by a right-angled cut, of which one limb runs parallel to the outer wall, the other upwards from one extremity of the former. This aperture can be easily closed, E.G. during heavy rain, by removing the prop and allowing the flap to fall into its original position.

The front part of the house, which remains undivided, forms a single long gallery serving as a common antechamber to all the private rooms, each of which opens to it by a wooden door (Pls. 36, 38). It is in a sense, though roofed and raised some 20 feet above the ground, the village street, as well as a common living and reception room. Along the outer border of the floor runs a low platform on which the inmates sit on mats. One part of this, usually that opposite the chief's apartment in the middle of the house, is formed of several large slabs of hardwood (TAPANG or Koompa.s.sia), and is specially reserved for the reception of guests and for formal meetings. The platform is interrupted here and there by smaller platforms raised some 3 or 4 feet from the floor, which are the sleeping quarters a.s.signed to the bachelors and male visitors. At intervals of some 30 or 40 feet throughout the gallery are fireplaces similar to those in the private chambers; on some of these fire constantly smoulders.

Over one of these fireplaces, generally one near the middle of the great gallery, is hung a row of human heads (Pl. 38), trophies obtained in war, together with a number of charms and objects used in various rites.[37]

Alongside the inner wall of the gallery stand the large wooden mortars used by the women in husking the PADI. Above these hang the winnowing trays and mats, and on this wall hang also various implements of common use -- hats, paddles, fish-traps, and so forth.

The gallery is reached from the ground by several ladders, each of which consists of a notched beam sloping at an angle of about 45[degree], and furnished with a slender hand-rail. The more carefully made ladder is fas.h.i.+oned from a single log, but the wood is so cut as to leave a hand-rail projecting forwards a few inches on either side of the notched gully or trough in which the feet are placed. From the foot of each ladder a row of logs, notched and roughly squared, and laid end to end, forms a foot-way to the water's edge. In wet weather such a foot-way is a necessity, because pigs, fowls, and dogs, and in some cases goats, run freely beneath and around the house, and churn the surface of the ground into a thick layer of slippery mire.

Here and there along the front of the house are open platforms raised to the level of the floor, on which the PADI is exposed to the sun to be dried before being husked.

Under the house, among the piles on which it is raised, such boats as are not in daily use are stored. Round about the house, and especially on the s.p.a.ce between it and the brink of the river, are numerous PADI barns (Pl. 40). Each of these, the storehouse of the grain harvested by one family, is a large wooden bin about 10 feet square, raised on piles some 7 feet from the ground. Each pile carries just below the level of the floor of the bin a large disc of wood horizontally disposed, and perforated at its centre by the pile; this serves to prevent rats and mice gaining access to the bin. The s.h.i.+ngle roof of the bin is like that of the house, but the two ends are filled by sloping surfaces running up under the gables. There are generally also a few fruit trees and tobacco plants in the s.p.a.ce cleared round about the house; and in the s.p.a.ce between it and the river are usually some rudely carved wooden figures, around which rites and ceremonies are performed from time to time.

Kayan villages generally consist of several, in some cases as many as seven or eight, such houses of various lengths, grouped closely together. The favourite situation for such a village is a peninsula formed by a sharp bend of the river.

Of the houses built by the other peoples, those of the Kenyahs very closely resemble those of the Kayans. The Kenyah village frequently consists of a single long house (and with the Sea Dayaks this is invariably the case), and it is in many cases perched on a high steep bank immediately above the river. Some of the Klemantans also build houses little if at all inferior to those of the Kayans, and very similar to them in general plan. But in this as in all other respects the Klemantans exhibit great diversities, some of their houses being built in a comparatively flimsy manner, light timber and even bamboos being used, and the roof being made of leaves. The houses of the Muruts are small and low, and of poor construction.

The Sea Dayak's house differs from that of the Kayan more than any of the others. The general plan is the same; but the place of the few ma.s.sive piles is taken by a much larger number of slender piles, which pa.s.s up to the roof through the gallery and chambers. Of the gallery only a narrow pa.s.sageway alongside the main part.i.tion-wall is kept clear of piles and other obstructions. The floor is of split bamboo covered with coa.r.s.e mats. An open platform at the level of the floor runs along the whole length of the open side of the house. There are no PADI barns about the house, the PADI being kept in bins in the roofs. The roof itself is low, giving little head s.p.a.ce. The gallery of the house makes an impression of lack of s.p.a.ce, very different to that made by the long wide gallery of a Kayan or Kenyah house.

Although the more solidly built houses, such as those of the Kayans, would be habitable for many generations, few of them are inhabited for more than fifteen or twenty years, and some are used for much shorter periods only. For one reason or another the village community decides to build itself a new house on a different and sometimes distant site, though the new site is usually in the same tributary river, or, if on the main river, within a few miles of the old one. The most frequent causes of removal are, first, using up of the soil in the immediate neighbourhood of the village, for they do not cultivate the same patch more than three or four times at intervals of several years; secondly, the occurrence of a fatal epidemic; thirdly, any run of bad luck or succession of evil omens; fourthly, the burning of the house, whether accidentally or in the course of an attack by enemies.

On removing to a new site the planks and the best of the timber of a well-built house are usually towed along the river to the spot chosen, and used in the construction of the new house.

After the houses the most important of the material possessions of the people are their boats. Each family possesses at least one small boat capable of carrying seven or eight persons, and used chiefly for going to and from the PADI fields, but also for fis.h.i.+ng and short journeys of all kinds. In addition to these the community possesses several larger boats used for longer journeys, and generally at least one long war-boat, capable of carrying 50 to 100 men. Each boat, even one of the largest size, is hollowed from a single log, the freeboard being raised by las.h.i.+ng narrow planks to the edge of the hollowed log. In the middle of a large boat is a section, the freeboard of which is raised still higher, and which is covered by an arched roof of palm leaves. The boat is crossed at intervals of some three feet by seats formed of short planks, each supported at both ends by projections of the main timber, to which they are lashed with rattan. In travelling on the lower reaches of the rivers, the rowers sit two on each bench, side by side and facing the bow. On the upper reaches, where rapids abound, a deck is made by laying split bamboos along the length of the boat upon the benches, and the crew sits upon this deck in paddling, or stands upon it when poling the boat over rapids.

In addition to the clothes, houses, and boats, and the domestic animals mentioned above, and to the personal ornaments and weapons to be described in later chapters, the material possessions of the Kayans consist chiefly of baskets and mats.

The baskets are of various shapes and sizes, adapted to a variety of uses. The largest size holds about two bushels of PADI, and is chiefly used for transporting grain from the fields to the house (Fig. 4). It is almost cylindrical in shape, but rather wider at the upper end. Four strips of wood running down from near the upper edge project slightly below, forming short legs on which the basket stands. The upper end is closed by a detachable cap, which fits inside the upper lip of the basket. It is provided with a pair of shoulder straps, and a strap which is pa.s.sed over the crown of the head. These straps are made of a single strip of tough beaten bark. One end of it is attached to the foot of the basket; a second attachment is made at the middle of the height, forming a loop for the one shoulder; the strip is then looped over to the corresponding point on the other side, forming the loop for the head, and then carried down to the foot of the basket on that side to form the loop for the other shoulder.

A smaller cylindrical basket, very neatly plaited of thin and very pliable strips of rattan, is used for carrying the few articles which a man takes with him in travelling -- a little rice and tobacco, a spare waist cloth, a sleeping mat, perhaps a second mat of palm leaves used as a protection against rain, a roll of dried banana leaves for making cigarettes, perhaps a cap for wear in the house, and, not infrequently nowadays, a bright coloured handkerchief of Chinese silk. The lip of the basket is surrounded by a close set row of eyes through which a cord is pa.s.sed. To this cord a net is attached, and is drawn together in the centre of the opening of the basket by a second cord, in order to confine its contents. This basket is provided with shoulder straps only.

In addition to these two princ.i.p.al baskets, each family has a number of smaller baskets of various shapes for storing their personal belongings, and for containing food in course of preparation (Fig. 5).

The mats are of many shapes and sizes. The largest are spread on the raised part of the floor, both of the gallery and of the private chambers, when a party sits down to eat or converse. Each individual has his own sleeping mat, and each family has a number of mats used for drying, husking, winnowing, and sieving the PADI.

The bamboo water-vessel consists of a section of the stem of the bamboo, closed at the lower end by the natural septum, the upper end having a lip or spout formed at the level of the succeeding septum. A short length of a branch remains projecting downwards to form a handle, by means of which the vessel can be conveniently suspended. These vessels are used also for carrying rice-spirit or BORAK; but this is stored in large jars of earthenware or china. The native jar of earthenware is ovoid in shape and holds about one gallon, but these are now largely superseded by jars made by the Chinese.

Each family possesses some dishes and platters of hardwood (Figs. 6 and 7), and generally a few china plates bought from traders; but a large leaf is the plate most commonly used.

Rice, the princ.i.p.al food, which forms the bulk of every meal, is boiled in an iron or bra.s.s pot with lip, handle, and lid, not unlike the old English cauldron; it has no legs, and is placed on a tripod of stones or suspended over the fire. This metal pot, which is obtained from the Chinese traders, has superseded the home-made pot of clay (Fig. 8) and the bamboo vessels in which the rice was cooked in former times. A larger wide stewpan is also used for cooking pork, vegetables, and fish. The Kayans smoke tobacco, which they cultivate in small quant.i.ties. It is generally smoked in the form of large cigarettes, the finely cut leaf being rolled in sheets of dried banana leaf. But it is also smoked in pipes, which are made in a variety of shapes, the bowl of hardwood, the stem of slender bamboo (Fig. 9). Sea Dayaks chew tobacco, but smoke little, being devoted to the chewing of betel nut.

In every house is a number of large bra.s.s gongs (TAWAK), which are used in various ceremonies and for signalling, and const.i.tute also one of the best recognised standards of value and the most important form of currency. Besides these largest gongs, smaller ones of various shapes and sizes are kept and used on festive occasions (Pl. 45). All these gongs are obtained through traders from Bruni, China, and Java.

Beside the gongs a Kayan house generally contains, as the common property of the whole household, several long narrow drums (Fig. 10). Each is a hollow cylinder of wood, constricted about its middle, open at one end, and closed at the other with a sheet of deer-skin. This is stretched by means of slips of rattan attached to its edges, and carried back to a stout rattan ring woven about the constricted middle of the drum; the skin is tightened by inserting wedges under this ring.

In most houses two or three small bra.s.s swivel guns may be seen in the gallery, and a small stock of powder for their service is usually kept by the chief. They are sometimes discharged to salute a distinguished visitor, and formerly played some small part in repelling attacks. The domestic animals of the Kayans are fowls, goats, pigs, and dogs. The latter live in the house, the others run free beneath and around the house.