The Pagan Tribes of Borneo Part 41

[54] -- A good account, taken mainly from Skertchly, of many traps may be found in Mr. Ling Roth's well-known work, THE NATIVES OF SARAWAK AND BRITISH NORTH BORNEO, London, 1896; and also in McPherson's work on FOWLING.

[55] -- A stick of this kind is used in many rites. It is prepared by whittling shavings from a stick and leaving them attached at one end; so that a series of the shavings projects along one side of the stick.

[56] -- A similar practice prevails in the Malay Peninsula.

[57] -- On one occasion on which a race between twenty-two of these war-boats was rowed at Marudi on the Baram river, we timed the winning-boat over the down-stream course of four and half miles. The time was twenty-two minutes thirteen seconds.

[58] -- There is no reason to suppose that the Kayan augurs have not complete faith in the significance of the omens, and in the reality of the protection afforded by the favourable omen-birds, which they speak of as upholding them. Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that the strong faith of the people in the omen-birds, and the awe inspired by them, is very favourable to the maintenance of discipline and obedience to the chiefs, and that this fact is appreciated by the chiefs. The cult of the omen-birds, which hampers the undertakings of these peoples at almost every turn, and which might seem to be wholly foolish and detrimental, thus brings two great practical advantages: namely, it inspires confidence, and it promotes discipline and a strong sense of collective unity and responsibility. It is not improbable, then, that the advantages of this seemingly senseless cult outweigh its drawbacks, which in the shape of endless delays and changes of plans are by no means small.

[59] -- So far as we know this is the only way in which the bow and arrow is used in Borneo, although the principle of the bow is frequently applied in making traps. It is perhaps worthy of remark that the dense character of the jungle is probably more favourable to use of the blow-pipe than to that of the bow and arrow.

[60] -- It is probable that the observation of this practice by Europeans has given rise to the frequently published statements that the tribes of the interior are cannibals. We affirm with some confidence that none of the peoples of Borneo ever consume human flesh as food. It is true that Kayans, Kenyahs, and Klemantans will occasionally consume on the spot a tiny piece of the flesh of a slain enemy for the purpose of curing disorders, especially chronic cough and dysentery; and that Ibans, men or women, during the mad rejoicings over captured heads will occasionally bite a head, or even bite a piece of flesh from it. A third practice involving the consumption of human flesh was formerly observed among the Jingkangs (Klemantans of Dutch Borneo); when a son was seriously ill and the efforts of the medicine-men proved ineffective, an infant sister of the patient was killed and a small piece of the flesh given to the patient to eat. It would, we think, be grossly unfair to describe any of these peoples as cannibals on account of these practices.

[61] -- At one such feast eighty-five pigs and fifty-six fowls were slaughtered.

[62] -- See footnote, vol. i., p. 76.

[63] -- The Malays of Bruni and the other coast settlements have, of course, used iron, and perhaps to some small extent forged it, since the time when they adopted Arab civilisation; but they have not at any time practised the smelting of iron ore. Between three and five hundred years ago the princ.i.p.al currency of the people of Bruni consisted of small oblong flattened pieces of iron known as SAPANGGAL (about 2 [ERROR: unhandled ×] 1 [ERROR: unhandled ×] 1/4 inches) bearing the Sultan's stamp. This iron was probably obtained from Chinese and other foreign traders, and was worked up into implements.

[64] -- The convenience of thus floating the timber is one reason for the general tendency shown by Kayans to migrate gradually down river.

[65] -- This is an example of a very common type of practice which implies the belief that the attributes of any object will attach themselves to any whole into which the object may be incorporated as a part; thus a hunter who has shot dead a pig or deer with a single bullet will cut out the bullet to melt it down with other lead, and will make a fresh batch of bullets or slugs from the mixture, believing that the lucky bullet will leaven the whole lump, or impart to all of it something of that to which its success was due. Compare also the similar practice in regard to the seed grain (vol. i., p. 112).

[66] -- The pair of centre columns and the main columns supporting the roof back and front should have been drawn thicker than the accessory columns supporting the floor, and the width of the roof-plates is much greater than is indicated in the diagrams.

[67] -- Some Kayans habitually speak of most of the dog-patterns by the term USANG ORANG (which means the prawn's head). This indicates possibly some gradual subst.i.tution of designs of the one origin for those of the other.

[68] -- "Materials for a Study of Tatu in Borneo," by Charles Hose and R. Shelford, J.R.A.I. vol. x.x.xvi. Here also we have to thank the Council of the Royal Anthropological Inst.i.tute for permission to republish part of this paper, and to reproduce the plates and figures accompanying it. The reference figures of this section refer to the bibliographical list at the end of this chapter.

[69] -- Since these pages were printed we have had to mourn the loss of our friend and fellow-worker, cut off in the early summer of a life strenuously devoted to scientific research.

[70] -- Nieuwenhuis also notes (9, p. 451) that men in the course of their travels amongst other tribes permit themselves to be tatued with the patterns in vogue with their hosts.

[71] -- These figures refer to the bibliography printed at the end of this chapter, vol. i., p. 280.

[72] -- The Sea Dayaks often employ for the same reason a carpal bone of the mouse-deer (TRAGULUS).

[73] -- See also Haddon (4, Fig. 2), and Nieuwenhuis (8, Pls. XXV. and XXVI.); the designs figured in the latter work are not very easy to interpret, the lower of the two rosette figures looks as if it was derived from four heads of dogs fused together. See also Ling Roth (7, p. 85).

[74] -- In ancient days when a great Kayan or Klemantan chief built a new house, the first post of it was driven through the body of a slave; this sacrifice to a tutelary deity is no longer offered, but a human figure is frequently carved on the post of a house and may be a relic of the old custom; the figure is called TEGULUN. Sea Dayak anthropomorphs are termed ENGKRAMBA and appear in cloths and bead-work designs, also in carvings on boundary marks, witch-doctor's baskets, etc.

[75] -- We apply the term SERIAL to those designs in which the units of the pattern are repeated, or in which the units follow each other in serial order; the UDOH ASU on a Kayan man's thigh is an ISOLATED design, but the design on his hands is a SERIAL design.

[76] -- Cf. Ling Roth (7, p. 34) and Nieuwenhuis (9, Pl. 32).

[77] -- The Sea Dayak word TELINGAI or KELINGAI has the same meaning.

[78] -- The prices in the Baram river are much higher than in the Mendalam, where a gong can only be demanded by an artist of twenty years' experience; less experienced artists have to be content with beads and cloth (9, p. 452).

[79] -- The wooden block is carefully cut square, and the design occupies the whole of one surface; this is characteristic of the blocks of female designs, whereas designs for male tatu are carved on very roughly shaped blocks and do not always occupy the whole of one surface. Since the female designs have to be serially repeated it is important that the blocks should be of the exact required size, otherwise the projecting parts of the uncarved wood would render the exact juxtaposition of the serially repeated impressions very difficult, whilst the isolated male designs can be impressed on the skin in a more or less haphazard way.

[80] -- The drawing is taken from a rubbing of a model carved by an Uma Lekan; this will account for the asymmetry noticeable every here and there throughout the design. A print from an actual tatu-block is shown in Pl. 139, Fig. 7; this would be repeated serially in rows down the front and sides of the thigh, so that absolute uniformity would be attained; the carver of the model, which was about one-sixth life size, has not been able to keep the elements of his design quite uniform.

[81] -- For other examples of modified ASU designs employed by Kenyah tribes, see E. B. Haddon (4, pp. 117, 118).

[82] -- By this name we denote those Kenyah tribes which stand nearest to the Klemantans and furthest from the Kayans in respect of customs. Cf. Chap. XXI.

[83] -- The names of the designs are given in Kayan.

[84] -- The same author states that "a sometime headman of Senendan had two square tattoo marks on his back. This was because he ran away in a fight, and showed his back to the enemy." This explanation seems to us most improbable.

[85] -- As an instance of a quite opposite effect produced by a mark on the forehead, we may note here, that some Madangs who had crossed over from the Baram to the Rejang on a visit, appeared each with a cross marked in charcoal on his forehead; they supposed that by this means they were disguised beyond all recognition by evil spirits. The belief that such a trivial alteration of appearance is sufficient disguise is probably held by most tribes; Tama Bulan, a Kenyah chief, when on a visit to Kuching, discarded the leopard's teeth, which when at home he wore through the upper part of his ears, and the reason that he alleged was the same as that given by the Madang. These people believe not only that evil spirits may do them harm whilst they are on their travels, but also that, being encountered far from their homes, the spirits will take advantage of their absence to work some harm to their wives, children, or property.

[86] -- Dr. Schmeltz has kindly furnished us with an advance sheet of his forthcoming catalogue of the Borneo collection in the Leyden Museum; he catalogues these drawings as tatu marks, but in a footnote records our opinion of them made by letter. Dr. Nieuwenhuis apparently adheres to the belief that they really are tatu marks.

[87] -- Mr. E. B. Haddon (4, p. 124) writes: "The tattoo design used by the Kayans and Kenyahs ... has been copied and adopted by the Ibans in the same way as the Kalamantans have done, the main difference being, that the Ibans call the design a scorpion. FOR THIS REASON THE PATTERN TENDS TO BECOME MORE AND MORE LIKE THE SCORPION ... ." The italics are ours. Is not this "putting the cart before the horse"? It is only when the design resembles a scorpion that the term SCORPION is applied to it; all other modifications, even though tending towards the scorpion, are called DOG; PRAWN, or CRAB.

[88] -- The following statement, which was written by us of the Kenyahs in a former publication, holds good also of the Kayans: "They may be said to attribute a soul or spirit to almost every natural agent and to all living things, and they pay especial regard those that seem most capable of affecting their welfare for good or ill. They feel themselves to be surrounded on every hand y spiritual powers, which appear to them to be concentrated in those objects to which their attention is directed by practical needs; adopting a mode of expression familiar to psychologists, we may say that they have differentiated from a 'continuum' of spiritual powers a number of spiritual agents with very various degrees of definiteness. Of these the less important are very vaguely conceived, but are regarded as being able to bring harm to men, who must therefore avoid giving offence to them, and must propitiate them if they should by ill-change have been offended. The more important, a.s.suming individualised and anthromorphic forms and definite functions, receive proper names, are in some cases represented by rude images, and become the recipients of prayer and sacrifice"

(JOURN. OF ANTHROP. INSt.i.tUTE, vol. x.x.xi. p. 174).

[89] -- If the dead man possessed no sufficiently presentable garments, these may be supplied by friends. This last act of respect and friendship has not infrequently been permitted to one of us.

[90] -- See vol. ii. p. 29.

[91] -- See vol. ii. p. 61.

[92] -- See vol. ii., p. 137.

[93] -- For the views of an individual Kayan on Laki Tenangan, see vol. ii., p. 74.

[94] -- See vol. ii., p. 53.

[95] -- See Chap. X.

[96] -- The idea of giving up a valued possession to the G.o.d or spirit in order to appease or propitiate him seems to underlie a curious rite formerly practised by the JINGKANGS, a Klemantan sub-tribe living on the great Kapuas river. These people, like most of the peoples of Borneo, value their male children more highly than their female children. If a boy seems to be at the point of death, and if all other efforts to restore him have proved unavailing, the relatives would kill an infant sister of the boy, and would cause the boy to eat a small bit of the roasted flesh. The intention seems to be to appease some malevolent spirit that is causing the sickness; and the eating of the flesh seems to be considered necessary in order to connect the sacrifice clearly with the sick child.

[97] -- Cf. vol. ii., p. 75, for the statement of a Kayan on this question.

[98] -- See vol. ii., p. 138.

[99] -- See vol. ii., p. 29, for usage of this word.

[100] -- This relation is ill.u.s.trated by the fact that among the charms and objects of virtue which the Kenyahs hang beside the heads in the galleries of their houses, or over the fireplaces in their rooms, are to be found in many houses one or two specimens of stone axe-heads. The original use of these objects is not known to the great majority of their possessors, who regard them as teeth dropped from the jaw of the thunder-G.o.d, BALINGO. It is generally claimed that some ancestor found these stones and added them to the family treasures. A man who possesses such "teeth," carries them with him when he goes to war. The Madang chief TAMA KAJAN ODOH, mentioned in the following note as claiming descent from Balingo, possessed the unusual number of ten such teeth. The credit of having first obtained specimens of these stones from the houses belongs to Dr. A. C. Haddon, who discovered a specimen in a Klemantan house of the Baram basin in the year 1899. The existence of such Stones in native houses in Dutch Borneo had been reported by Schwaner many years before that date.

[101] -- When questioned as to this claim, he gave us at once without hesitation the names in order of the ancestors of nineteen generations through whom he traces his descent from Balingo. It is perhaps worth while to transcribe the list as taken down from his lips in ascending order: -- KAJAN, TAMA KAJAN ODOH, SIGO, APOI, BAUM ([ERROR: unhandled ♀]), ODOH SINAN ([female]), ALONG, APOI, LAKING, LAKING GILING, GILING SINJAN, SINJAN PUTOH, PUTOH ATI, ATI AIAI JALONG, BALARI, UMBONG DOH ([female]), KUSUN PATU BALINGO. This succession of names, it will be noticed, is consistent with the custom, common to the Kenyahs and Kayans, of naming the father after his eldest child.

[102] -- There are four words used by the Kayans to express the notion of the forbidden act, MALAN, LALI, PARIT, and TULAH. All these are used as adjectives qualifying actions rather than things; but they are not strictly synonymous terms. MALAN and PARIT seem to be true Kayan words; LALI and TULAH to have been taken from the Malay, and to be used generally by Kayans in speaking with Kenyahs or men of other tribes to whom these words are more familiar than the Kayan terms.

MALAN applies rather to acts involving risks to the whole community, PARIT to those involving risk to the individual committing the forbidden act: thus, during harvest it is MALAN for any stranger to enter the house, and the whole house or village is said to be MALAN; but it is PARIT for a child to touch one of the images. Again, it is not MALAN for the proper persons to touch the dried heads on certain occasions, but it is always in some degree PARIT for the individual, and for this reason the task is generally a.s.signed to an elderly man. LALI and TULAH seem to be the LINGUA FRANCA equivalents of MALAN and of PARIT respectively.