Borneo and the Indian Archipelago Part 4

[Ill.u.s.tration: DYAK WOMEN IN CANOE.]

Preparatory to landing, we began performing our ablutions in the boat, much to the amus.e.m.e.nt and delight of the naked groups of Dyaks who were a.s.sembled at the landing place, and who eyed us in mute astonishment.

The application of a hair brush was the signal for a general burst of laughter, but cleaning the teeth with a tooth brush caused a scream of wonder, a perfect yell, I presume at our barbarous customs. There were many women among the groups; they appeared to be well made, and more than tolerably good looking. I need not enter into a very minute description of their attire, for, truth to say, they had advanced very little beyond the costume of our common mother Eve. We were soon in closer contact with them, for one of our party throwing out of the boat a common black bottle, half a dozen of the women plunged into the stream to gain possession of it. They swam to the side of our boat without any reserve, and then a struggle ensued as to who should be the fortunate owner of the prize. It was gained by a fine young girl of about seventeen years of age, and who had a splendid pair of black eyes. She swam like a frog, and with her long hair streaming in the water behind her, came pretty well up to our ideas of a mermaid.

As we had contrived to empty a considerable number of these bottles during our expedition, they were now thrown overboard in every direction. This occasioned a great increase of the floating party, it being joined by all the other women on the beach, and for more than half an hour we amused ourselves with the exertions and contentions of our charming naiads, to obtain what they appeared to prize so much; at last all our empty bottles were gone, and the women swam on sh.o.r.e with them, as much delighted with their spoil as we had been amused with their eagerness and activity.

About 10 o'clock we landed, and proceeded to pay our visit to the Chief.

We were ushered into a s.p.a.cious house, built of wood and thatched with leaves, capable of containing at least 400 people. The Chief was sitting on a mat with his three sons by his side, and attended by all his warriors. The remainder of the s.p.a.ce within was occupied by as many of the natives as could find room; those who could not, remained in the court-yard outside. The Chief, who was a fine looking grey-bearded man of about sixty years of age, was dressed in velvet, and wore on his head a turban of embroidered silk. The three sons were dressed in the way I have already described the one to have been who came to us in the canoe.

Without exception, those three young men were the most symmetrical in form I have ever seen. The unrestrained state of nature in which these Dyaks live, gives to them a natural grace and an easiness of posture, which is their chief characteristic. After the usual greetings and salutations had been pa.s.sed through, we all sat down on mats and cus.h.i.+ons which had been arranged for us; a short conversation with Mr.

Brooke, who speaks the language fluently, then took place between him and the Chief, after which refreshments were set before us. These consisted of various eatables and sweetmeats made of rice, honey, sugar, flour, and oil; and although very simple as a confectionery, they were very palatable. We remained with the Chief about an hour, and before we went away he requested our company in the evening, promising to treat us with a Dyak war dance. We took our leave for the present, and amused ourselves with strolling about the town. I will take this opportunity of making known some information I have at this and at different times obtained relative to this people.

The villages of the Dyaks are always built high up, near the source of the rivers, or, should the river below be occupied by the piratical tribes, on the hills adjoining to the source. Their houses are very large, capable of containing two hundred people, and are built of palm leaves. A village or town may consist of fifteen or twenty houses.

Several families reside in one house, divided from each other by only a slight part.i.tion of mats. Here they take their meals, and employ themselves, without interfering with each other. Their furniture and property are very simple, consisting of a few cooking utensils, the paddles of their canoes, their arms, and a few mats.

In all the Dyak villages every precaution is taken to guard against surprise. I have already described the strength and fortifications of Loondoo, and a similar principle is every where adopted. The town being built on the banks of the river, the boom I have described is invariably laid across the stream to prevent the ascent of boats. Commanding the barriers, one or more forts are built on an eminence, mounting within them five or six of the native guns, called leilas. The forts are surrounded by a strong stockade, which is surmounted by a cheveaux-de-frise of split bamboos. These stockaded forts are, with the houses and cocoa nuts adjoining, again surrounded by a strong stockade, which effectually secures them from any night attack.

Great respect is paid to the laws and to the mandates of their Chiefs, although it but too often happens that, stimulated by revenge, or other pa.s.sions, they take the law into their own hands; but if crimes are committed, they are not committed without punishment following them, and some of their punishments are very barbarous and cruel: I have seen a woman with both her hands half-severed at the wrists, and a man with both his ears cut off.

The religious ideas of the Dyaks resemble those of the North American Indians: they acknowledge a Supreme Being, or "Great Spirit;" they have also some conception of an hereafter. Many of the tribes imagine that the great mountain Keney Balloo is a place of punishment for guilty departed souls. They are very scrupulous regarding their cemeteries, paying the greatest respect to the graves of their ancestors. When a tribe quits one place to reside at another, they exhume the bones of their relations, and take them with them.

I could not discover if they had any marriage ceremony, but they are very jealous of their wives, and visit with great severity any indiscretion on their parts.

The Dyaks live princ.i.p.ally upon rice, fish, and fruit, and they are very moderate in their living. They extract shamshoo from the palm, but seldom drink it Their princ.i.p.al luxury consists in the chewing the betel-nut and chunam; a habit in which, like all the other inhabitants of these regions, from Arracan down to the island of New Guinea, they indulge to excess. This habit is any thing but becoming, as it renders the teeth quite black, and the lips of a high vermilion, neither of which alterations is any improvement to a copper-coloured face.

They both chew and smoke tobacco, but they do not use pipes for smoking; they roll up the tobacco in a strip of dried leaf, take three or four whiffs, emitting the smoke through their nostrils, and then they extinguish it. They are fond of placing a small roll of tobacco between the upper lip and gums, and allow it to remain there for hours. Opium is never used by them, and I doubt if they are acquainted with its properties.

They seldom cultivate more land than is requisite for the rice, yams, and sago for their own consumption, their time being chiefly employed in hunting and fis.h.i.+ng. They appear to me to be far from an industrious race of people, and I have often observed hundreds of fine-looking fellows lolling and sauntering about, seeming to have no cares beyond the present. Some tribes that I visited preferred obtaining their rice in exchange from others, to the labour of planting it themselves. They are, in fact, not agriculturally inclined, but always ready for barter.

They are middle-sized, averaging five feet five inches, but very strong-built and well-conditioned, and with limbs beautifully proportioned. In features they differ very much from the piratical inhabitants of these rivers. The head is finely formed, the hair, slightly shaven in front, is all thrown to the back of the head; their cheek-bones are high, eyes small, black and piercing, nose not exactly flat--indeed in some cases I have seen it rather aquiline; the mouth is large, and lips rather thick, and there is a total absence of hair on the face and eyebrows. Now the above description is not very much unlike that of an African; and yet they are very unlike, arising, I believe, from the very pleasing and frank expression of their countenances, which is their only beauty. This description, however, must not be considered as applicable to the whole of these tribes,--those on the S. E. coast of the island being by no means so well-favoured.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SEREBIS DYAK.

(N. W. COAST OF BORNEO.)

F. M. DELT.

M. N. HANHART LITH. PRINTERS

LONDON; LONGMAN & CO. 1848]

The different tribes are more distinguishable by their costumes than by their manners. The Dyaks of Loondoo are quite naked, and cover the arms and legs with bra.s.s rings. Those of Serebis and Linga are remarkable for wearing as many as ten to fifteen large rings in their ears. The Dusums, a tribe of Dyaks on the north coast, wear immense rings of solid tin or copper round their hips and shoulders, while the Saghai Dyaks of the S.

E. are dressed in tigers' skins and rich cloth, with splendid head-dresses, made out of monkeys' skins and the feathers of the Argus pheasant.

[Ill.u.s.tration: TEETH OF DYAKS.]

The invariable custom of filing the teeth sharp, combined with the use of the betel-nut turning them quite black, gives their profile a very strange appearance. Sometimes they render their teeth concave by filing.

[Ill.u.s.tration: COSTUMES OF DYAK WOMEN.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: SUM-PI-TAN--BLOW-PIPE WITH POISONED ARROWS.]

Their arms consist of the blow-pipe (sum-pi-tan), from which they eject small arrows, poisoned with the juice of the upas; a long sharp knife, termed pa-rang; a spear, and a s.h.i.+eld. They are seldom without their arms, for the spear is used in hunting, the knife for cutting leaves, and the sum-pi-tan for shooting small birds. Their warfare is carried on more by treachery and stratagem than open fighting--they are all warriors, and seldom at peace. The powerful tribes which reside on the banks of the river generally possess several war prahus, capable of holding from twenty to thirty men, and mounting a bra.s.s gun (leila) on her bows, carrying a ball of one to two pounds weight. These prahus, when an expedition is to be made against a neighbouring tribe, are manned by the warriors, one or two of the most consequential men being stationed in each prahu. Before they start upon an expedition, like the North American Indians, they perform their war dance.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SAGHAI DYAK.

(S. E. COAST OF BORNEO.)

F. M. DELT.

M. N. HANHART LITH. PRINTERS

LONDON; LONGMAN & CO. 1848]

Should their enemies have gained intelligence of the meditated attack, they take the precaution of sending away their women, children, and furniture, into the jungle, and place men in ambush on the banks of the river, who attack the a.s.sailants as they advance. The Dyaks are all very brave, and fight desperately, yelling during the combat like the American Indians. The great object in their combats is to obtain as many of the heads of the party opposed as possible; and if they succeed in their surprise of the town or village, the heads of the women and children are equally carried off as trophies. But there is great difficulty in obtaining a head, for the moment that a man falls every effort is made by his own party to carry off the body, and prevent the enemy from obtaining such a trophy. If the attacking party are completely victorious, they finish their work of destruction by setting fire to all the houses, and cutting down all the cocoa-nut trees; after which they return home in triumph with their spoil. As soon as they arrive another war dance is performed; and after making very merry, they deposit the heads which they have obtained in the head-house. Now, putting scalps for heads, the reader will perceive that their customs are nearly those of the American Indians.

Every Dyak village has its head-house: it is generally the hall of audience as well. The interior is decorated with heads piled up in pyramids to the roof: of course the greater the number of heads the more celebrated they are as warriors.

[Ill.u.s.tration: DYAK VILLAGE.]

The women of the north-east coast are by no means bad-looking, but very inferior to the mountain Dyaks before described. I have seen one or two faces which might be considered as pretty. With the exception of a cloth, which is secured above the hips with a hoop of rattan, and descends down to the knees, they expose every other portion of their bodies. Their hair, which is fine and black, generally falls down behind. Their feet are bare. Like the American squaws, they do all the drudgery, carry the water, and paddle the canoes. They generally fled at our approach, if we came unexpectedly. The best looking I ever saw was one we captured on the river Sakarron. She was in a dreadful fright, expecting every moment to be killed, probably taking it for granted that we had our head-houses to decorate as well as their husbands. While lying off the town of Baloongan, expecting hostilities to ensue, we observed that the women who came down to fill their bamboos with water were all armed.

And now to resume the narrative of our proceedings:--

I stated that after our interview with the old chief, and promising to return in the evening to witness a war dance, we proceeded on a stroll, accompanied by the chiefs eldest son, who acted as our guide, and followed by a large party of the natives. We first examined the forts: these were in a tolerable state of efficiency, but their gunpowder was coa.r.s.e and bad. We next went over the naval a.r.s.enal, for being then at peace with every body, their prahus were hauled up under cover of sheds.

One of them was a fine boat, about forty feet long, mounting a gun, and capable of containing forty or fifty men. She was very gaily decorated with paint and feathers, and had done good service on the Sakarron river in a late war. These war prahus have a flat strong roof, from which they fight, although they are wholly exposed to the spears and arrows of the enemy.

We then invaded their domestic privacy, by entering the houses, and proceeded to an inspection of the blacksmith's shop, where we found the chiefs youngest son, with his velvet jacket thrown aside, working away at a piece of iron, which he was fas.h.i.+oning into a pa-rang, or Dyak knife. The Dyak pa-rang has been confounded with the Malay kris, but they differ materially. The Dyaks, I believe, seldom use the kris, and the Malays never use the knife; and I observed, when we visited the south coast of Borneo, that the knife and other arms of the tribes inhabiting this portion, were precisely similar to those of the Dyaks on the northern coast. Customs so universal and so strictly adhered to proves not only individuality, but antiquity. Having examined every thing and every body, we were pretty well tired, and were not sorry that the hour had now arrived at which we were again to repair to the house of the rajah.

On our arrival we found the rajah where we left him, and all the chief men and warriors a.s.sembled. Refreshments had been prepared for us, and we again swallowed various mysterious confections, which, as I before observed, would have been very good if we had been hungry. As soon as the eatables had been despatched, we lighted our cheroots, and having, by a dexterous and unperceived application out of a brandy bottle, succeeded in changing the rajah's lemonade into excellent punch, we smoked and drank until the rajah requested to know if we were ready to witness the promised war dance. Having expressed our wishes in the affirmative, the music struck up; it consisted of gongs and tom-toms.

The Malay gong, which the Dyaks also make use of, is like the Javanese, thick with a broad rim, and very different from the gong of the Chinese.

Instead of the clanging noise of the latter, it gives out a m.u.f.fled sound of a deep tone. The gong and tom-tom are used by the Dyaks and Malays in war, and for signals at night, and the Dyaks procure them from the Malays. I said that the music struck up, for, rude as the instruments were, they modulate the sound, and keep time so admirably, that it was any thing but inharmonious.

A s.p.a.ce was now cleared in the centre of the house, and two of the oldest warriors stepped into it. They were dressed in turbans, long loose jackets, sashes round their waists descending to their feet, and small bells were attached to their ankles. They commenced by first shaking hands with the rajah, and then with all the Europeans present, thereby giving us to understand, as was explained to us, that the dance was to be considered only as a spectacle, and not to be taken in its literal sense, as preparatory to an attack upon us, a view of the case in which we fully coincided with them.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WAR DANCE OF THE DYAKS.

F. M. DELT.

M. N. HANHART LITH. PRINTERS]

This ceremony being over, they rushed into the centre and gave a most unearthly scream, then poising themselves on one foot they described a circle with the other, at the same time extending their arms like the wings of a bird, and then meeting their hands, clapping them and keeping time with the music. After a little while the music became louder, and suddenly our ears were pierced with the whole of the natives present joining in the hideous war cry. Then the motions and the screams of the dancers became more violent, and every thing was working up to a state of excitement by which even we were influenced. Suddenly a very unpleasant odour pervaded the room, already too warm from the numbers it contained. Involuntarily we held our noses, wondering what might be the cause, when we perceived that one of the warriors had stepped into the centre and suspended round the shoulders of each dancer a human head in a wide meshed basket of rattan. These heads had been taken in the late Sakarron business, and were therefore but a fortnight old. They were encased in a wide net work of rattan, and were ornamented with beads.

Their stench was intolerable, although, as we discovered upon after examination, when they were suspended against the wall, they had been partially baked and were quite black. The teeth and hair were quite perfect, the features somewhat shrunk, and they were altogether very fair specimens of pickled heads; but our worthy friends required a lesson from the New Zealanders in the art of preserving. The appearance of the heads was the signal for the music to play louder, for the war cry of the natives to be more energetic, and for the screams of the dancers to be more piercing. Their motions now became more rapid, and the excitement in proportion. Their eyes glistened with unwonted brightness. The perspiration dropped down their faces, and thus did yelling, dancing, gongs, and tom-toms become more rapid and more violent every minute, till the dancing warriors were ready to drop. A farewell yell, with emphasis, was given by the surrounding warriors; immediately the music ceased, the dancers disappeared, and the tumultuous excitement and noise was succeeded by a dead silence. Such was the excitement communicated, that when it was all over we ourselves remained for some time panting to recover our breath. Again we lighted our cheroots and smoked for a while the pipe of peace.

A quarter of an hour elapsed and the preparations were made for another martial dance. This was performed by two of the rajah's sons, the same young men I have previously made mention of. They came forward each having on his arm one of the large Dyak s.h.i.+elds, and in the centre of the cleared s.p.a.ce were two long swords lying on the floor. The ceremony of shaking hands, as described preparatory to the former dance, was first gone through; the music then struck up and they entered the arena.

At first they confined themselves to evolutions of defence, springing from one side to the other with wonderful quickness, keeping their s.h.i.+elds in front of them, falling on one knee and performing various feats of agility. After a short time, they each seized a sword, and then the display was very remarkable, and proved what ugly customers they must be in single conflict. Blows in every direction, feints of every description, were made by both, but invariably received upon the s.h.i.+elds. c.u.mbrous as these s.h.i.+elds were, no opening was ever left, retreating, pursuing, dodging, and striking, the body was never exposed.

Occasionally, during this performance, the war cry was given by the surrounding warriors, but the combatants held their peace; in fact they could not afford to open their mouths, lest an opening should be made.

It was a most masterly performance, and we were delighted with it.