Children of Borneo Part 3

The two divers are led into the river, and each stands on his own grating, grasping his pole. At a given signal they plunge their heads simultaneously into the water. Immediately the spectators shout aloud at the top of their voices, over and over again, "_Lobon--lobon_," and continue doing so during the whole contest. What these mysterious words mean, I have never been able to discover. When at length one of the champions shows signs of yielding, by his movements in the water, and the shaking of the pole he is holding to, the excitement becomes very great. "_Lobon--lobon_," is shouted louder and more rapidly than before.

The shouts become deafening. The struggles of the poor victim, who is fast losing consciousness, are painful to witness. The champions are generally plucky, and seldom come out of the water of their own will.

They stay under water until the loser drops senseless, and is dragged ash.o.r.e, apparently lifeless, by his companions. The friends of the winner, raising a loud shout of triumph, hurry to the bank and seize and carry off the stakes. The vanquished one, quite unconscious, is carried by his friends to the fire, where he is warmed. In a few minutes he recovers, opens his eyes and gazes wildly around, and in a short time is able to walk slowly home. Where both champions succ.u.mb at the same time, the one who first regains his senses is held to be the winner.

The Dyaks have a curious superst.i.tion that if food is offered to a man, and he refuses it, and goes away without at least touching it, some misfortune is sure to befall him. It is said that he is sure to be either attacked by a crocodile, or bitten by a snake, or suffer from the attack of some animal.

When Dyaks have been asked to stay and have a meal, if they do not feel inclined to do so, I have often noticed them touch the food before going away. I have never been able to discover the origin of this curious superst.i.tion, but innumerable tales are told of those who have disregarded it, and have paid the penalty by being attacked by some animal.

The Dyaks are 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 remarkable custom. They heap up a pile of the branches of trees in memory of the man who has told 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 pa.s.ser-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 pa.s.s 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 small branch or twig.

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 pa.s.ser-by adds to it, and in a few years' time it becomes an imposing memorial to 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. However, in a very short time, a new heap of branches and twigs was piled on the ashes of the old _tugong bula_.

CHAPTER IX

DYAK FEASTS

The Dyak religious feasts may be divided into the four following cla.s.ses:--

Those connected with--

1. Head-taking.

2. Farming.

3. The Dead.

4. Dreams, etc.

Though the Dyak feasts differ in their aims, there is a great deal which is common to them all. In these feasts the religious aspect does not seem of great importance. There is little real, reverential worship of G.o.ds or spirits. It is true that food is offered to some higher powers, but this is done as the mere observance of an ancient custom. There are also long incantations made by men chosen for that purpose, who have good memories and can recite in a monotonous chant the special hymns of great length connected with each feast. But the guests do not share in this as an act of religious worship. They are generally sitting round, talking, and laughing, and eating. While these incantations are sung, topics of common interest are discussed, and plans formed, and in all Dyak feasts, sociability and the partaking of food and drink seem to take a more prominent place than any religious worship.

The preparations for all these feasts are much alike. They extend over a length of time, and consist for the most part in the procuring of food for the guests. The young men go to their friends, far and near, and obtain from them presents of pigs or fowls for the feast, and as c.o.c.k-fighting is loved by the Dyaks, they at the same time procure as many fighting c.o.c.ks as possible. The women busy themselves with pounding out an extra amount of rice, both for the consumption of the guests, and also for the making of _tuak_ or native spirit.

The special characteristics and religious aspects of these different feasts must now be noticed.

1. _Feasts connected with Head-taking._ All these are given in honour of Singalang Burong, who is the ruler of the spirit-world, and the G.o.d of war. These feasts are not held as frequently as those connected with farming, but when any of them take place, a great deal is made of the event. The most important is the _Bird Feast_.

The _Bird Feast_. This feast is also called the _Head Feast_, because part of the ceremony connected with it is the giving of food to some human heads taken in war, or the _Horn-bill Feast_, because carved figures of the horn-bill are used. It lasts three days whereas other feasts only last one day. In the old days it was only held on the return from a successful war expedition, when the heads of the enemy were brought home in triumph. But in the present day this feast is organized when they get a good harvest, and when the people of the Dyak house seem so inclined, and if no new heads have been lately brought home as trophies, some old smoked heads that have been in the house for years are used.

Among the preparations for this feast is the making of the carved wooden figure of the rhinoceros' horn-bill. This wooden figure is set on a high pole, which is fixed into the ground in front of the house. An offering of Dyak delicacies is hung up under it for food. Sometimes several of these figures are used.

Some human heads are placed in large bra.s.s dishes in the public hall of the Dyak house, and to these offerings of food and drink are made. Some of the food is stuffed into the mouths of these heads, and the rest is placed before them.

There are also certain erections called _pandong_ put up at regular intervals in the long public hall, and to these are hung war-charms, swords and spears, etc. The men who are chosen to make the incantations walk up and down, going round the _pandong_ and the heads in the bra.s.s dishes, singing the particular incantation that is used at this feast.

This singing lasts the whole night, beginning at 8 P.M. and continuing till the following morning. Except for a short interval for rest in the middle of the night, the performers are marching and singing all the time. The killing of a pig, and examining the liver to find out whether good or bad fortune is in store for them, is the last act of the ceremony.

2. The princ.i.p.al feast connected with _Farming_ is the _Gawai Batu_ (the "Stone Feast"). It takes place before the farming operations begin, and is held in honour of Pulang Gana, the G.o.d of the land, who lives in the bowels of the earth, and has power to make the land fruitful or unfruitful. In this feast invocations are made to this G.o.d, and he is asked to give them a good harvest. The whetstones and farming implements are placed in a heap in the public part of the Dyak house. Offerings are made to the whetstones with a request that they may sharpen the tools and thus lighten the labours of their owners. After the feast is over, the whetstones are taken to the different farms, and the work of cutting down the jungle for planting begins.

3. The _Great Feast connected with the Dead_ is the _Gawai Antu_ (the "Spirit Feast"). No definite time is fixed for the celebration of this, and it may be held one or two years after the death of a person. All those that have died since the last time the feast was held, are honoured at the same time, so that the number of departed spirits remembered at this feast is sometimes great.

The preparation for this feast is carried on for many weeks. Distant friends and relatives are visited, and asked to help with gifts of food or money. Hard wood memorial monuments for the graves are got ready by the men. The women weave, with finely-split bamboo, small imitations of various articles of personal and domestic use, and those are hung over the graves, and in this way given to the dead for their use in the other world. If the dead person be a man, a bamboo gun, a shield, a war-cap and such things are woven; if a woman, a loom, a fish-basket, a winnowing fan, etc.; if a child, bamboo toys of various kinds.

Before the feasting begins in the evening, there takes place the formal putting off of mourning. The nearest male relative of the dead person in whose honour the feast is held, comes dressed in an old and shabby waist cloth. This is cut through by some chief, and the man puts on a better garment. In the case of female relatives, also, their old shabby garments are cut through and thrown aside, and they resume the use of bright clothing and personal ornaments. The bundles containing finery, that were put away at the death of their relative, are brought forth, and the string tying them cut through, and the owners put on their bright garments again. As the feast is in honour of several who have died since the feast was last held, this kind of thing goes on in several of the rooms at the same time.

The professional wailer sits on a swing in the verandah outside the rooms, and in a monotonous voice invites all the spirits of the dead to attend this feast given in their honour.

The morning after the feast, the last duty to the dead is performed. The wooden monuments, the bamboo imitation articles, and food of all kinds are arranged upon the different graves. Having received these gifts, the dead relinquish all claim upon the living, and depend on their own resources.

4. A superst.i.tious people like the Dyaks, living in constant dread of unseen powers, naturally hold a feast when anything unusual takes place.

As the G.o.ds and spirits are supposed to communicate their wishes to human beings by means of dreams, it naturally follows that if a man dreams that some spirit is hungry and asks for food, at once a feast is held, and offerings are made to that spirit. As the omens of birds are observed and obeyed by the Dyaks, and the omen birds are looked upon as messengers of the great G.o.d Singalang Burong, when a bird of ill omen comes into a Dyak house, a feast is held, and offerings are made to the G.o.ds and spirits. When a man has recovered from a long and dangerous illness, very often a feast is held to thank the spirit of disease for leaving them, and to beg him to stay away a long time.

To all these feasts the whole neighbourhood for miles around are invited. Some weeks before the day appointed for the feast, small parties of three or four are despatched in different directions, and these go from house to house and invite people to the feast.

The men and women come to a feast dressed in the brightest colours and wearing many ornaments, and the whole a.s.sembly has a very gay appearance. For amus.e.m.e.nts they have dancing, c.o.c.k-fighting, and trials of strength among the young men.

The Dyaks have two dances--the _Mencha_ or Sword Dance, and the _Ajat_ or War Dance. In the former, two swords are placed on a mat, and two men begin slowly from the opposite ends turning their bodies about, extending the arms, and lifting their feet and planting them down in grotesque but not ungraceful att.i.tudes. After moving about for some minutes, they seize the swords and pa.s.s and repa.s.s each other, now cutting, now crossing swords, retiring and advancing. The main idea of this Sword Dance seems to be the posturing in different att.i.tudes, and not so much the skill displayed in fencing. I have often watched a Dyak Sword Dance, where neither has touched the other with his sword, the movements having been so leisurely that there has been plenty of time to ward off each attack.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A DYAK GIRL IN GALA COSTUME]

The _Ajat_ or War Dance is danced by one man. He is generally fully armed with sword, spear and shield. He acts in pantomime what is done when on the war-path. The dancer begins by imitating the creeping through the jungle in cautious manner, looking to the right and to the left, before and behind, for the foe. The lurking enemy is suddenly discovered, and after some rapid attack and defence, a sudden plunge is made upon him, and he lies dead on the ground. The taking of the head of this invisible enemy ends the dance. Both kinds of dancing are accompanied by the striking of bra.s.s gongs and drums.

c.o.c.k-fighting is a favourite sport, and there is a great deal of it at all Dyak forests. The c.o.c.ks have artificial steel spurs which are very sharp.

CHAPTER X

THE WITCH DOCTOR

The children of Borneo are taught from their earliest years that there are evil spirits everywhere--in the air, in the trees, in the rocks and in the streams--and that these cause disease and death. And so when sickness comes, the witch doctor or _Manang_ is sent for, because he claims to have mysterious powers over the spirits.

Every disease is believed to be caused by the touch of some demon, who wishes to carry off the soul of the sick man into the other world, and the witch doctor is the man who has power to charm or kill the evil spirit, and rescue the soul of the sick man from his cruel clutches.

When called in to attend a patient, he in company with other medicine men go through a ceremony, which, though agreeing in the main points, differs in details according to what the disease is, and the amount of fees paid.

The witch doctor always possesses a _lupong_ or medicine box, generally made of bark skin, which is filled with charms, consisting of sc.r.a.ps of wood or bark, curiously twisted roots, pebbles and fragments of quartz.

These charms are either inherited or revealed to their owners by the spirits in dreams, as possessing medicinal virtue. One important and necessary charm is the _Batu Ilau_--"stone of light"--a bit of quartz crystal into which the witch doctor looks in order to see the soul, so as to be able to catch it and bring it back to the body it has left. It is believed by the Dyaks that in all cases of serious sickness, the soul leaves the body and wanders about at greater or less distance from it; if it can be caught before it has proceeded too far on its journey to the other world, well and good; if not, the patient dies. Whether the patient recover or not, the witch doctor is rewarded for his services.

He makes sure of this beforehand, and demands his fee before he undertakes the case.

The _Manang_ never carries his own box of charms; the people who fetch him must carry it for him. He arrives at the house of the sick man generally at sunset, for he never performs by daylight, unless the case is very serious, and he is paid extra for doing so. It is difficult and dangerous work, he says, to have any dealings with the spirits in the daytime. Sitting down by the patient, after some inquiries, he produces out of his medicine box a pebble, or a boar's tusk, or some other charm, and gently strokes the body with it. If there be several medicine men called in, the leader undertakes the preliminary examination, the rest giving their a.s.sent.

The witch doctor now produces his _Batu Ilau_ ("stone of light") and gravely looks into it to see where the soul is, and to discover what is the proper ceremony for the case. When there is serious illness, the witch doctor affirms that the spirit of the afflicted person has already left the body and is on its way to the other world, but that he may be able to overtake it and bring it back, and restore it to the person to whom it belongs. He pretends to converse with the evil spirit that troubles the sick man, repeating aloud the answers that the spirit is supposed to make.

There are many different ceremonies resorted to in cases of illness, but the following is what is common to all _Manang_ performances.

In the public hall of the Dyak house, a long-handled spear is fixed blade upwards, with a few leaves tied round it, and at its foot are placed the medicine boxes of all the witch doctors who take part in the ceremony. This is called the _Pagar Api_ ("fence of fire"). Why it is called by this curious name is not clear.