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i V,

6!

The number of Copies

of this Work is limited to 700

for sale in Europe and America

and no cheaper or other edition

will be issued

THE

Natives of Sarawak

AND

British North Borneo

Based chiefly on the MSS. of the late Hugh Brooke Low

Sarawak Government Service

BY

HENRY LING ROTH

AUTHOR OF

'* The Aborigines of Tasmania," ** The Peasantry of Eastern Russia," &c.

WITH A PREFACE BY

ANDREW LANG

OVER B80 ILLUSTRATIONS

In Two Volumes — Vol I

NEW YORK

TRUSLOVE & COMBA

65 Fifth Avenue

1896

PRINTED BY

TRUSLOVB AND BRAY

WEST NORWOOD S.E

To HARRIETTE,

My Dear Wife.

182174

ERRATA.

Vol. I. p. 19, bottom line for infra read : supra, p 29, for B. N. Vigors read : B. U. Vigors, p. 53, line 15, for beads read : heads, p. 79, line 27, for ii., iii. read : ii. 11 1.

p. 94, in first paragraph relating to the Muruts, omit : inverted commas, p. 24, end of second paragraph, separate : andarrows.

p. 125, end of fourth paragraph, after word father-in-law omit : (F. W. Leggatt.) p. 161, for Kapolas Moeroeng read : Kapuas Murung.

p. 169, bottom line, for Straits Asiatic Journal read : Jour. Straits Asiatic Soc. p. 223, foot note 49. last line, omit : inverted commas, p. 248, line 7, for hauk read : hawk, p. 273, line 19 from bottom, for belian read : pelian. p. 274. line II, for grank read : grand.

P P P P P P P P

Vol. II.

18, end of fourth paragraph, for Hose read : De Crespigny.

28, bottom line, for see p. 241 read : see i. 241.

32 bottom line, omit : (ibid.)

147, line 9, for D. N. Vigors read : B. U. Vigors.

151, second line from bottom, for Negritoe read : Negrito.

166, fifth line from bottom, for ibid read : Dalton.

199, top line for . read : ,

199, eighth line, for ahat read : adat.

PREFACE.

About the origin and primitive purposes of Prefaces, the learned may dispute, basing their results on historical research into prefaces at large. It is a probable opinion that the Preface was, at first, intended to inform the reader as to what he might expect to find in the book before him. In our own day, when nobody reads, and critics read least of all, a glance at the Preface (only a glance) furnishes the newspaper reviewer with his two or three inches of ** copy.** Into the actual book he very seldom dips, and the anxious author receives, in criticism, what he has, in a Preface, himself set forth.

If our modern critics had lived and laboured in the time of Homer, they would have penned their reviewals thus, out of the poet's prefaces : —

** In his rather prolix Iliad, Mr. Homer sings of the destructive anger of Achilles, which send down to Hades many strong souls of heroes. The origin of these sorrows to the Greeks Mr. Homer very piously assigns to the will of Zeus. How that will was executed, Mr. Homer narrates at no inconsiderable length, and, doubtless, in a manner pleasing to his friends and relatives. For our part we prefer this author in his Hymns, or when, as in MargiteSy he exposes the foibles of an unlucky townsman, only too easily recognised. There is room, however, for all tastes, and we trust that people interested in Mr. Homer's heroes, Achilles and Agamemnon, will be pleased with this new study of a somewhat worn subject."

That is the modern manner : it is not difficult. Or again,

** The indefatigable Mr. Homer obliges the town with a new epic. His hero is Odysseus, who, it appears, was acquainted with the mind and manners of humanity at large. The adventures of this wanderer, in attempting to secure his own life, and the return of his company, are narrated in hexameter verse, and in no less than twenty-four books. Mr. Homer has a fatal fluency, and a romantic fancy. We are not entirely certain that this work is fitted to lie on the drawing-room table, but few, we think, will be at the trouble to verify the justice of our surmise.'-

The author, from these examples of criticism ** as she is wrote '* in our age of popular education, may estimate the value of a preface. That I should write a preface for Mr. Ling Roth*s admirable compilation I can only excuse in one way : Mr. Ling Roth asked me to do so. He knows his subject thoroughly : I only know what he tells me about the subject. As in

(viii.) H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

his valuable work on the extinct Tasmanians, Mr. Roth has collected from every side what is es3ential to a knowledge of the habits, and history, and ethnology of the people of British Borneo. My own humble studies have been occupied with comparisons between the manners and customs of the races who, in various grades of culture, are generally called savages. To examine these, and to set them beside analogous rudiments among civilised races, is the business of anthropology. Mr. Ling Roth has chosen the task of collecting and assorting, out of vast and widely scattered sources, the materials of the anthropologist.

One turns with interest to a few examples. In Chapter V., Mr. Ling Roth describes the ** Couvade " among the Dyaks. As we know, Dr. Murray, the Editor of the New English Dictionary, objects to the term "Couvade." I am not aware that he has suggested another name for the superstitions which impede and harass a savage who is about to become a father. The Land Dyaks, under these circumstances, must not tie anything tight. Obviously the idea is that of sympathetic magic. The deserted Simaetha, in the second idyll of Theocritus, ties knots against her faithless lover ; the rite is nouer Vanguille in French, and the purpose is to prevent the victim from continuing his infidelities. In the ballad of Willie's Lady ** nine witch ** knots " are "tied among that lady's locks" (!) to hinder her delivery ; so the Dyak husband, if he ties things tight, will hinder his wife's parturition. His food is regulated, as hers would be, by virtue of the doctrine of sympathy between him and her. Of such sympathy the Psychical Society has published a striking example. A gentleman, boating on UUswater, was smitten on the mouth by the boom of the sail. At the same moment his wife, in bed, was similarly affected, as if by a blow on the mouth. If this kind of telepathy was at one time common in early human experience, the Couvade would be a salutary institution. But it seems, on the whole, more probable that it is the result of a mere imaginative theory of sympathy, the basis of all sympathetic magic. Sir Kenelm Digby, anointed not the wound, but the sword that dealt the wound, with sympathetic powder, and with favourable results. The Couvade rests on a similar hypothesis. Man, woman, and unborn or new born babe, are all in a concatenation accordingly, and must put up with the same treatment and taboos.

As to marriage the Dyaks appear to have ideas very like those of rural Scotland, perhaps of rural people generally. The chief interest to the student is in the forbidden degrees. Many persons of liberal ideas will regret to hear that a Dyak may not marry his Deceased Wife's Sister, a compliment to the lady's family which a free-born Briton is also prevented from paying. The Sea Dyaks are said to be more fertile, because they have more prohibited degrees. Cousins are, as a rule, barren, and the origin of this kind of exogamy is

Preface, (ix.)

just what we seem unlikely to discover. The widest and earliest prohibition seems to be refusal of leave to marry within the Totem kindred ; the rest of the rules of prohibited degrees are gradual modifications of this, the origin of which is unknown. Mr. MacLennan, who first introduced these questions of science, had his own hypothesis, for which his Studies in Ancient History (Second Series), may be consulted. Westermarck criticises MacLennan, Lubbock, and others, deciding that the cause of repugnance to marriage with near kin is an instinct ! * But the eariiest and widest form of the prohibition merely taboos marriage between persons akin in the bond of Totem union. Thus a man might make love to his half-sister, by the father's side, and instinct would have nothing to say. Yet he would flee the embraces of a woman of his own Totem, no way related to him, and be a Joseph as Falstaff was a coward, "on instinct." To introduce instinct here is like appealing to innate ideas. Unluckily the customs of Borneo, as far as Mr. Ling Roth knows, fail to illustrate this topic. Even of Totemism (so widely spread either in actual customary law, or in various forms of survival), he scarcely discovers a trace in Borneo. A Bornean Sea Dyak may not marry his first cousin, and he does not know why ! The act is not a crime, but a sin, supernaturally punished by the blasting of his neighbours' fields. However, like Orestes when he killed his mother, the Dyak who marries his first cousin may try the off- chance of being purified in the blood of pigs. (p. 123). The penalty for marriage within forbidden degrees is occasionally secular, more frequently, or more notably. Heaven punishes the sins, in the usual indiscriminate way, Divom injuriaCy dis curae. (p. 122). But why are such marriages sins ? In my opinion they were originally breaches of the Totem taboo, just as killing a beast or bird of the Totem kind was, and they were punished by the offended nature of things. As Totemism died out, the sense of sin remained : the Church punished Incest. But it seems very plain to me that there is still much to be learned about Bornean prohibited degrees. The writers quoted by Mr Ling Roth were not, or not usually, anthropologists who knew what to look for. And the worst of it is, that inquirers who know what to look for, are only too likely to find it, whether it is there or not. This is the dilemma of anthropological evidence. When a totally unprejudiced observer, like my own kinsman, Mr. Gideon Scott Lang, found Totemism and exogamy in Australia, before the very words were invented, then we feel safe. But if any anthropologist now discovers these institutions in Borneo, he must look to be suspected of reading his knowledge into the actual facts.

The disposal of the dead shows great variety, and does not, so far, favour the idea that stones were originally worshipped as grave stones ; memorials of, and inspired by, the spirits of the deceased.

* History of Human Marriage. Second edition, p. 319.

(x.) H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit, N. Borneo,

\ In Religion, we find the usual absurdities of European observers. Mr.

Chalmers thinks the Dyaks " have none worthy of the name,*' a remark purely illustrative of Mr. Chalmers' notions of the connotation of the name. There is a creator, Tupa — a Blacksmith. He is like the Finnish Ilmarinen, who forged **the iron vault of mother heaven." The very name is borrowed from the Malay, and the God is described exactly as God must be described, and yet the Dyaks ** have no religion worthy of the name." The whole arrangement of four heavenly Rajahs is made on the usual departmental Hnes of Polytheism. Mr. Chalmers knew an intelligent Dyak who described the four Rajahs as mere aspects, or powers, or names of one God. (p. 165). Polytheism is becoming monotheism, perhaps, under Islamite or European influences. The same phenomenon is found in old Aztec speculation.

Archdeacon Perham's papers are of more scientific character, (p. 168). The best sources are traditional hymns, as among the Maoris — Vedas, in fact. The Petara answer well enough to the Elohim ; they are divine beings, and any Dyak who likes can assume the position of a Jehovist, and recognise gods all as aspects of, or names for One God. The Hymns (Pengap) appear very l^eautiful to me, though the Archdeacon finds the style odd and ludicrous. The hymn of Ini Andau contains excellent morality : ** All alike be clean of heart." Ethics and the dread and love of the divine are blended ; morals are penetrated by emotion, and there is Religion. The ** spirits " are of the usual sort, good or bad, forest haunting, or household brownies. There is little of novelty in the medicine practice. Apparently (pp. 269 and 273), ** scrying," or crystal gazing, is in use. The men-women (p. 270) were common among the North American Indians. The manangs or pow-wows, or whatever name medicine-men prefer, like their counterparts elsewhere, aim at becoming ecstatic. We hear of no hypnotism or clairvoyance worth mentioning, yet I doubt not that such things exist, in fact or fancy, among the Dyaks. The magic of the Maoris and many other races, if it is found in Borneo, has not here been chronicled. I find no reference to rapping and writing house- spirits, mentioned by Mr. Tylor, as current in Dutch Bornean belief.

With time, and space, any student of anthropology might comment on every department of Mr. Ling Roth's valuable compilation. It is a mine from which everybody can draw, in accordance with his needs. Every department of life and thought is illustrated. But each student of the book can supply his commentary for himself, and I have only touched on a few of the topics most interesting to myself. It is probable that anthropologists in Borneo will yet make many additions to the present state of our knowledge.

ANDREW LANG.

INTRODUCTION.

I.

This book has its origin in the following circumstances. Some years ago

my friend, Prof. E. B. Tylor, F.R.S., placed in my hands a parcel of MSS.,

the writing of which was so fine and obhterated that I was obliged

throughout to use a strong magnifying glass in order to be able to read it.

The papers, which were largely written in pencil, were partly destroyed by

moisture and by insects. These very incomplete MSS. were the posthumous

papers of an eccentric young gentleman named Hugh Brooke Low, who,

however, possessed a very intimate knowledge of the natives and who died

shortly after his second arrival in England in 1887. " He was the son of

Mr. (now Sir) Hugh Low, Secretary to the Governor of Labuan, a small

colony established for the suppression of

piracy by Her Majesty's Government in

1848. Hugh was born at Labuan on the

I2th May, 1849, his mother being Catherine,

daughter of Wm. Napier, Esq., Lieutenant

Governor of Labuan. He was baptized

on the 13th June, 1849, by Sir James

Brooke, K.C.B., the Governor of the Island.

He was sent home at an early age and

received his education partly in Germany,

at Neuwied, and partly in England where

he was for two years a resident pupil of

Professor Seeley, attending at the same

time the classes at University College. He

failed to pass the examination for the

Indian Civil Service in 1869, and accepted

an appointment which was offered to him by the present Raja of Sarawak,

Sir Charles Brooke, G.C.M.G. He died in London on the 12th July,

1887, of pneumonia, and was buried in the Roman Catholic Cemetery

at Mortlake, having been received into the Roman Catholic Church shortly

before his death. His sister. Lady Pope Hennessy, who attended him with the

utmost devotion during his illness, had long been devoted to that faith.

During the eighteen years of his service under the Government of Sarawak,

he was stationed principally on the Rejang river, which gave him great

(xii.) H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

opportunities of studying the Dyak and Kayan races inhabiting the banks of this noble river, but he had also experience of many other parts of the territory of the Raja of Sarawak, and his death was much regretted by their Highnesses the Raja. and Ranee of Sarawak and by all the native tribes with whom he had so long been in close contact/' These notes were worked up and a fair portion of them published in the Journal of the Anthropological Institute, but while doing this I was much hampered by the want of a general work dealing with the subject. I therefore determined to prepare such a work, which was not intended to be a comparative study, and this is the book now placed before the reader. In the course of the investigations I found that some of Mr. Brooke Low's notes had been taken verbatim from other books and from some of the missionary publications — especially from those by the Rev. W. Crossland — and on going back to Mr. Low's MSS. I found I had in transcribing omitted to notice inverted commas and other signs indicating that these were not original. This is mentioned in fairness to both parties, but I was glad to find that such an authority as Mr. Low evidently regarded missionary knowledge as worthy of consideration.

Originally it was intended to limit the work to Sarawak only, but coming across several little known papers about British North Borneo it was deemed advisable to include that portion of Borneo — this change of plan will account for some anomalies. To give English speaking readers a general idea of what the people are like in other parts of Borneo, various foot notes extracted from Dutch authors where such seemed suitable, have been inserted, and these have been supplemented by an appendix containing a complete transla- tion of Dr. Schwaner's excellent ethnological notes. It was intended also to publish Mr. Carl Hup6's notes, as these describe the people of another part of the country (Pontianak and its neighbourhood) ; unfortunately, after the translation was made, space did not permit of its being printed.

The spelling of the native names has been a stumbling block, but as the Ven. Archd. Perham has explained this difficulty it need not be repeated here. As for myself, I have endeavoured to adhere to one system, but I now see that I have not always succeeded ; in all extracts the spelling of the respective authors has been strictly adhered to. All travellers' statements are given as much as possible in their own words : condensing has been resorted to only in exceptional cases. This method has, however, the slight disadvantage of occasional repetitions. In the general grouping of the facts it has not always been possible to include all that belongs to the group, but an attempt has been made to overcome this difficulty by means of the Index.

The reader is especially requested to remember that in almost every river basin, or even on individual tributaries, the customs of the natives are not the same ; this fact will help to explain what might possibly otherwise

Introduction. (xiii.)

look like contradictions. It is also well to bear in mind that large as this book has grown it is by no manner of means complete, great as was my idea to make it such when I first contemplated the work. I wish also to point out that when a negative statement is made about a custom in one district it is not intended to refer to other than that district, and at the same time it does not mean the contrary elsewhere. Occasionally, too, where different tribes are in close neighbourship, travellers in their narratives run on without stating to which tribes their remarks apply, and hence confusion ; thus, for example, by Lundu the Sibuyau are often meant, and so on.

While thus endeavouring to make the work complete in every way, I am very conscious of omissions and errors ; for instance, little is said on the great ethnological questions of origin, totems, and relationships. This incom- pleteness is due to the fact that the work has been prepared in my evening leisure far away from any easily accessible centre of scientific research, but ** Residents" and settlers in Borneo will see at a glance what is wanting, and I hope they will continue to give us the benefit of their valuable observations.

It will be seen a large number of illustrations are taken from private collections, which are essentially collections containing objects from British and not from other parts of Borneo. As the book only professes to treat of the natives under British jurisdiction, for purposes of illustration the home collections were exhausted first ; but where there is reference in the text to articles of which it was not possible to obtain illustrations at home, by the courtesy of my Dutch friends at Leiden and Amsterdam such articles have been reproduced from the two ethnographical Museums in those cities. In the older collections there is always the difficulty as to the origin of an article ; this has been remedied where possible, but if the reader notices an illustration of an article which is said to have come from one district while he knows it must have come from elsewhere, he is kindly requested to bear this difficulty in mind. It may happen in the course of trade that an article gets carried right across the country, and is obtained by a ** Resident" or trustworthy collector from a tribe who did not make it, but to whose ability in manufacture it is naturally attributed; or it may be a native copy. Then, again, owing to the great mixture of peoples throughout the Malay Archipelago, the natives have frequently adopted foreign articles. I have been shown a knife the design of which may have been derived from Northern India ; there are musical instru- ments copied from the Javanese ; as Professor Hein has shewn, the shield orna- mentation is of Chinese origin ; some of the raised timber tombs look like Shinto shrines ; the custom on the west coast of immuring young girls comes from an eastern or Chinese source ; other Chinese, Hindu, Javanese, Sulu, and Malay influences are found dominant in various parts of the island. The

(xiv.) H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

great variety of methods of obtaining fire is in itself a proof of great mixture. With such contact, and the central position held by Borneo, anything approaching purity of origin or custom cannot be hoped for.

The objects illustrated are to be found in the British Museum ; the Museum of Science and Art, Edinburgh ; the Royal College of Science, Dublin; the Pitt-Rivers Museum at Oxford; the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons ; Brooke Low collection at Kuching, Sarawak ; the collection of

CHINA

buiwO^STm

CERAM

WETTA

A U S T R A L I

Sketch Map to show General Surroundings of Borneo.

Mr. Charles Hose (Resident on the Baram River) at Roydon Rectory, Diss, Norfolk; the small collection of the Rev. W. Crossland, formerly S.P.G. missionary to the Undups, at Ridlington, North Walsham, Norfolk; the collection of the Rev. F. W. Leggatt, S.P.G. Missionary on the Skaran River, since presented to the British Museum ; the collection of Mr. Cuthbert E. Peek at Rousden, Lyme Regis, Dorset, collected by Mr. Hose ; the collections of the State Ethnographical Museum at Leiden, and the collection in the

Introduction. (xv.)

Museum of the Zoological Gardens at Amsterdam. The photographs of the natives are mostly from the collections of Sir Hugh Low, G.C.M.G., and of Mr. Crossland. The original line illustrations are from the pen of Mr. Charles Praetorius (of the British Museum), my sister (Mrs. Kingdon Ellis), and Mr. R. Raar (of Leiden). I am much indebted for assistance in obtaining the illustrations to Sir A. Wollaston Franks, K.C.B., to Mr. Charles H. Read, F.S.A., to Mr. Walter Clarke, Science and Art Museum, Edinburgh ; to Mr. Henry Balfour, M.A.,and to Prof. C. Stewart; to the above-mentioned owners of collections ; to Dr. Serrurier, Mr. J. D. E. Schmeltz and Mr. C. W. Pleyte Wzn. It has not always been possible to place the illustrations by the printed matter referring to them ; in some measure this objection has been overcome by indicating the page where the illustration may be found. Mr. Burbidge (author of ** The Gardens of the Sun ") has helped me in many ways. I am indebted for countenance* to His Highness the Rajah of Sarawak (Sir Charles Brooke, G.C.M.G.) ; to Her Highness the Ranee (Lady Brooke) for several illus- trations^ and to Mr. F. R. O. Maxwell, the late Chief Magistrate of th^-.^aj, for valuable help in the chapter on the various tribes of the country ; to Mr. Biddulph Martin, M.P., Chairman of, Mr. W. C. Cowie, Director of, and to other officials of, the British North Borneo Co., for various courtesies ; and not least to Mr. W. M. Crocker, Mr. Maxwell's predecessor in Sarawak, and late Governor of British North Borneo. Mr. John Murray, Messrs. Kegan Paul & Co., Sir Spencer St. John (H.M. Minister at Stockholm) have given me permission to reproduce — the former illustrations, and the latter his vocabularies. The Ven. Archdeacon Perham has been kind enough to allow the reproduction of his valuable papers.

In the course of the work I have become further indebted to my old friend Prof. Tylor, to whom I tender my heartiest thanks. Similar thanks are also due to Mr. Lang, who is no new friend to me where anthropology comes in. Finally, as those who have helped most are generally mentioned last, the assistance given me by my Wife must not be forgotten. She has at all times been ready to make my task an easier one than it would have been without her.

II.

Borneo is a large island in the Malay Archipelago, 270,000 square miles in extent (about the size of Germany and Poland together) and is situated on the equator, between 8^ N. and 4^ S. lat. and 109° and 119° E. long. The Raj of Sarawak is situated on the north-west coast, and may be roughly estimated as comprising some 50,000 square miles ; British North Borneo is situated on the cap of the island, and comprises about 31,000 square miles. Both countries are well watered, but British North Borneo has the better natural harbours. The first British settlement in Borneo was not made in any of the

(xvi.) H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit, N. Borneo.

present British dependencies, but at Bangermassin, in 1706, about 100 years after the first British visit. However, in 1756, Alex. Dalyrmple obtained possession of Balambang — an island, now included in the British North Borneo Company's territory. The State of British North Borneo was founded in 1877 by Baron Overbeck and Sir Alfred Dent, and if its history has not been such a romantic one as that of Sarawak, it has at least introduced orderly trade where previously robbery and murder and worse were the order of the day. Being a mercantile company, it is naturally not so much concerned as the Sarawak Government in the welfare of the natives; but the ethnologist looks trustfully to its fair dealing with the natives when lie remembers its first officiaPs care in succouring the hard pressed Buludupies on the Segaliud River. Indeed every praise is due to Mr. W. B. Pryer for the able way in which he has throughout his career managed the natives without spilling blood.

Sarawak seems to have first become known through Bruni traders who were carrying a piece of antimony to Singapore, where the ore fell into the hands of some Englishmen, with the result that a trade sprang up between Sarawak and the British settlement. That Bruni, together with Sarawak, and, in fact, the whole of north-west and north Borneo, should fall under the control of Europeans sooner or later was inevitable. British trade was expanding, and in its expansion it was hampered by the pirates. These pirates were supported by the Sultan of Bruni. A young Englishman, hearing of the troubles, was led to visit the Sultan, or rather the littoral under his foul government. At Sarawak, Sir (then Mr.) James Brooke found the natives in open rebellion against their nominal but impotent ruler, Muda Has- sein, the only humane man in the country, who was afterwards treacherously murdered by his over-lord the Sultan of Bruni. Sir James Brooke patched up a peace between the Rajah and the natives, obtained a cession of part of the country, and so became a Rajah himself, and such a Rajah a? the world had never seen before nor will again. In the words of Mr. Alfred Russel Wallace, ** Sir James Brooke found the Dyaks oppressed and ground down by the most cruel tyranny. They were cheated by Malay traders, and robbed by the Malay chiefs. Their wives and children were often captured and sold into slavery, and hostile tribes purchased permission from their cruel rulers to plunder, enslave and murder them. Anything like justice or redress for these injuries was utterly unattainable. From the time Sir James obtained possession of the country, all this was stopped. Equal justice was awarded to Malay, Chinaman and Dyak. The remorseless pirates from the rivers farther east were punished, aud finally shut up within their own territories, and the Dyak, for the first time, could sleep in peace. His wife and children were now safe from slavery ; his house was no longer burnt over his head ;

Introduction. (xvii.)

his crops and his fruits were now his own, to sell or consumfe as he pleased. And the unknown stranger who had done all this for them, and asked for nothing in return, what could he be ? How was it possible for them to realise his motives ? Was it not natural that they should refuse to believe he was a man ? for of pure benevolence combined with great power, they had had no experience among men. They naturally concluded that he was a superior being, come down upon earth to confer blessings on the afflicted. In many villages where he had not been seen, I was asked questions about him. Was he not as old as the mountains ? Could he not bring the dead to life ? And they firmly believe that he can give^them good harvests, and make their fruit trees bear an abundant crop.

*' In forming a proper estimate of Sir James Brooke's government, it must ever be remembered that he held Sarawak solely by the goodwill of the native inhabitants. He had to deal with two races, one of whom, the Mahometan Malays, looked upon the other race, the Dyaks, as savages and slaves, only fit to be robbed and plundered. He has effectually protected the Dyaks, and has invariably treated them as, in his sight, equal to the Malays; and yet he has secured the affection and goodwill of both. Notwithstanding the religious prejudices of Mahometans, he has induced them to modify many of their worst laws and custonris, and to assimilate their criminal code to that of the civilized world. That his government still continues, after twenty-seven years — notwithstanding his frequent absences from ill-health, notwithstanding conspiracies of Malay chiefs, and insurrections of Chinese gold diggers, all of which have been overcome by the support of the native population, and notwithstanding financial, political, and domestic troubles — is due, I believe, solely to the many admirable qualities which Sir James Brooke possessed, and especially to his having convinced the native population, by every action of his life, that he ruled them, not for his own advantage, but for their good.

** Since these lines were written, his noble spirit has passed away. But though, by those who knew him not, he may be sneered at as an enthusiast adventurer, or abused as a hard-hearted despot, the universal testimony of every one who came in contact with him in his adopted country, whether European, Malay, or Dyak, will be, that Rajah Brooke was a great, a wise, and a good ruler — a true and faithful friend — a man to be admired for his talents, respected for his honesty and courage, and loved for his genuine hospitality, his kindness of disposition, and his tenderness of heart.'* (i. 144-147-)

The people thus succoured from every form of oppression which the selfishness or self-gratification of mankind could invent — were what are known as the Land Dyaks of Sarawak. Long ages of oppression by a kindred race, more cunning but not much more civilised, had burnt deeply into their

(xviii.) H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

character, and to Europeans, in consequence of the very faults which oppression has fostered if not engendered, they do not offer that wide field for sympathy to which they are entitled, and which they fully received from Sir James Brooke and still receive from his successor.

But while the pirates, Malay, Lanun, Baju, or others could be and were dispersed, and their incursions put a stop to, there were other tribes on the rivers and far inland whose expeditions, aptly described as head- hunting, had to be put a stop to. There were the so-called Sea Dyaks ani the Kayans— the former a brave set of robbers, the latter a robbing set of blusterers. There was no security in the neighbourhood of these tribes, nor was there always security a long way off them. It was the work of the present Rajah, His Highness Sir Charles Brooke (a maternal nephew of Sir James), to continue the final suppression of these disastrous raids. Endowed with an excellent constitution, an indomitable will, an amount of pluck which determined success to an extent that must often have astonished himself, and a practical turn of mind, he has bit by bit not conquered the country but brought it into a reasonable condition of security. People sitting at home in a cosy house can form no idea of the desperate isolation of a " resident " (governor of a district) white man alone with a few followers whose trustworthiness has in many cases yet to be tried, surrounded by an impulsive set of savages whose education seems to have taught them to obtain ^

by the easiest and safest means possible the head of every strange undefended human being who crosses their path. The present Rajah was one among many pioneers of such fearless " residents," but they were not all as successful as he was, as witness the sad but not unavenged fate of Messrs. Steele and Fox.

The* government of Sarawak is an absolute monarchy, which His Highness governs as heir of his uncle. Sir James Brooke. He writes : " I am assisted by a Council of six, composed of the two chief European residents and four natives, nominated by myself from the leading natives of the district. Besides this supreme Council there is a General Council of about fifty, in which the leading European and native residents of the various districts have seats. This Council meets once every three years, or oftener if required. Sarawak is divided for administrative purposes into eight districts, corre- sponding to the number of principal river basins in the country. There are three chief districts presided over by European officers, who have power to call upon the natives for military service. In each district the European officers are assisted by native officials, who administer justice among the diverse races living in Sarawak. I am frequently asked what law they administer. I think the true answer is, the law of common sense, based, of course, on English law, with a good deal of native and Mussulman customs.

1

Introdtictioii, (xix.)

We do not worry the natives by any unnecessary changes, and there is a great absence of red tape and precise rules and regulations. But we keep steady pressure directed towards the discouragement of cruel or debasing practices." The extraordinary feature of the whole system is that the government is carried on by so little force. Nevertheless a firm government will always be required on account of the tendency of the natives to revert to the head hunting customs of their ancestors, a tendency which it may be expected tradition will long help to keep up. It is not so very long ago that a subdued chief said that he obeyed simply because he had met his master, but he should try the next Rajah !

On the general question of an alien power interfering with cherished although evil custom Sir Charles Brooke's remarks are worthy of a hearing. He says Europeans should ponder, ** when they hear of black men murdering whites. I wish in no way to justify such criminal acts ; but my belief is, that in very many cases a little more care and patience might avert them. Steamers and soldiers are not pleasant spectacles entering the heart of a land which the inhabitants have hitherto believed was specially bequeathed to them by their deity, and reserved for their purposes and habitation, and not to be delivered up to strangers more powerful than themselves. Such is the case — such has been, and no doubt will be, the case to the end ; the strong domineer over the weak, and the weak revenge themselves upon the strong in cringing askance, and cutting throats. The question is whether sufficient steps for conciliation are taken, and what hope is offered to the original inhabitants when they surrender their rights and privileges to more powerful rulers. Can they be raised to the condition of Europeans ? and are there any inducements offered and desires shown by the educated to stimulate the aborigines to attain a higher stage of civilisation ?" (ii. 75.)

Nothing is so demoralising as a general collapse of all previously held notions, and such a collapse takes place whenever Europeans come in contact with natives for the first time. Can anything be more pathetic than the statement of the dying chief, who, when asked why he declined baptism, with a view to going to the Christian's heaven instead of to his own Hades, replied he would like well ** but for one thing. Three of my children died after they were grown up, and I want to go to them.'* Is it civilisation to upset such convictions ?

The key note to the success of the Government is to be found in His Highness' ** Hints to Young Officers on Out Stations," where it is pointed out that the natives are not inferior to Europeans, but different.

Regarding the future of the people under Sarawak rule a few words may be said. That the cross between '* the Chinese and Dyaks is a fair sample of the improvement in both races " would only be expected, but as regards the

(xx.) H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N, Borneo.

natives amongst themselves there has not been that progress which had been hoped for. The Land Dyaks had been too far oppressed when Sir James Brooke came to the rescue for them to recover their manliness and independence, so to succeed and multiply, and we may not be far wrong in holding the opinion that many generations of them cannot survive. The Sea Dyaks may be said to be just about holding their own ; like the Land Dyaks they are hard pushed by the Malays and the Chinese, nevertheless there is considerable hope for them, as in their cultivation they have shown themselves capable of adopting improvements. The Milanaus, having a settled industry, sago, are increasing. Of the Kayans it is, perhaps, a little too early to speak. They are a people who certainly possess abilities to cope with the difficulties of their more peaceful future, but they appear to be wanting in the sterling qualities, loyalty and truthfulness, \vhich characterise the Sea Dyaks. The Muruts appear to be a more difficult people to deal with, being from all accounts more brutalised than the other natives, even than the roving house- less Punans, but in the Raj of Sarawak they have an excellent painstaking Resident in Mr. O. F. Ricketts, who hitherto has been able, following the Brookes' best traditions, to keep them in order without recourse to bloodshed. British North Borneo has been less fortunate with the Muruts. The Dusuns are by many considered to have much Chinese blood : whether this be so or not, they are superior agriculturists and of a more settled disposition, and not given to head hunting in anything Hke the same degree as the Sea Dyaks. They are likely to survive. That the people are already leading a better hfe is sufficiently proved by the comparatively little trouble they give the Residents or Governors, and it is no small credit to the Governors that this should be so.

SuLU Knife and Sheath from Borneo.

(Brit. Mus.)

CONTENTS.

VOL. I.

Preface by Andrew Lang

Introduction by the Compiler

Contents of Vol. I. ...

List of Illustrations

Pagb

• •

Vll.

xi.

xxi.

xxiii.

Errata

• • • • • •

VI.

CHAPTER I. Geographical Distribution

• • • • • •

CHAPTER II. The Misuse of the word "Dyak'*...

CHAPTER III.

Physique ...

39

44

CHAPTER IV. Character Notes and Sketches

CHAPTER V. Childbirth and Children

64

97

CHAPTER VI.

Marriage ...

108

CHAPTER VII. The Disposal of the Dead

... 135

CHAPTER VIII.

Religion

164

CHAPTER VIII. (continued).

Religion

... 214

(xxii.) H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit, N. Borneo.

CHAPTER IX. Feasts, Festivals, and Dancing

CHAPTER X. Medicine Men and Women

• • • • '

Page 242

• • • • •

259

CHAPTER XI.

Pathology ...

• • • • • •

... 289

CHAPTER XII.

Legends

• • • • •

CHAPTER XIII. Daily Life, Fire, Food, and Narcotics

CHAPTER XIV. Agriculture, Land Tenure, and Domestic Animals ...

299

359

397

CHAPTER XV.

Hunting and Fishing ...

. . . 428

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

VOL. I.

Page Portrait op Mr. H. Brooke Low (xi.)

Sketch Map of Surroundings of Borneo (xiv.)

SuLU Knife and Sheath from Borneo .. ,, Brit. Mus. .. .. .. (xx.)

Large Map of Borneo f(uing 464

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

Sarebas Dyak Women wearing the Rawai .. .. Sir H. Low Seribis Dyak Marryat . .

Sakarang Women, one wearing coronet designed

by Mr. Maxwell

Sakarang Dyaks. one wearing seat mat

Skaran Girls

Sea Dyak Woman

Do. do.

Sea Dyak Little Girls

Sea Dyak in extra fine war costume

Uld Rejang Sea Dyaks

Sea Dyak (? Batang Lupar)

Batang Lupar (?) Sea Dyaks

A Malau Crossland

SirH. Low

Crossland Dammar

Sir H. Low Crossland Sir H. Low

•>

Sir H. Low

It Crossland Sir H. Low

Kayan in war dress

A Kanowit (?)

A Kanowit Girl

Kanowits

Kanowits (?)

Kanowit (?) Women in Malay dress

Do. (?) do'. do. ...

"Tatooed Kenowit with pendulous ear lobes " .,

•• Tamah, native of Kenowit "

A Saghai (S. E. Borneo)

GrouI' of Sagai (? Kyans), East Coast of Borneo .,

A Kayan and a Pakatan

A DusuN Brit. North Borneo Co.

IVlUlCUXS •• •• ■■ .» •• •• •* II If II

Illus. Lond. News

2 3

4

5

"•43 6

7 8

Q IT 12

.. 13

.. 14

.. 19

21

.• 23

.. 25

.. 27

28

29

• » M • • • • 3^

Marryat . . . . . . . . 31

Sir E. Belcher 32

Crossland 33

•• 35 36

Group of Muruts

Youngest Daughter of Kanowit Chief

Lambert, of Singapore . . 404

Illus. Lond. News . . . . ii. 67

CHILDBIRTH AND CHILDREN.

Kayan i46if^ Baby's Chair Brooke Low 100

Kayan i46a^ Loa Newborn Baby's Crib .. .. 1, 100

Sea Dyak Spinning Top ,, 104

(xxiv.) H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD.

Leiden Mus. Brooke Low

Degenerated Soul Boat, S.E. Borneo

Model of Kay an Coffin

Do. Skapan Coffin „

Do. Kayan Sa/on^

Do. Ot Danom Kariring Leiden Mus.

Do. Bara Narey Tomb ,,

Do. Permanent Dead House, Olo Ngadjus • . Amsterdam Mus.

A Cremation on the Kapuas Murung . . . . Schwaner

RELIGION AND FEASTS.

Diminutive Model of Dyak Hornbill

Do. Wooden Image of Hornbill

Matu Milano Idols iemadu (nine)

Trogon eUgans Dyak Omen Bird

Bushy Crested Hornbill

Duvaucel's Trogon

Charms, S.E. Borneo

Do. do.

Panchallong or Tenyalang, wooden image of hornbill . .

Kinyah Tungang or Dragon

Kinyah Masks (four)

Mask, S.E. Borneo

DusuN Mask

Wooden Mask from Longwai

Clapper or Striker used at New Year's Feast

DAILY LIFE. Cylindrical Basket of Plaited Coloured Rotan

Skaran Basket

Dyak Slahbit Basket

Sarbbas Dyak Pointed Seed Basket

Kanowit Open Basket

Skaran Woman's Betel-nut Basket

Mat Pattern

Design by a Kayan Chief on the Upper Rejang

Do. do. do. do.

Do. round portion of Bambu Betel Box . .

Do. on Bambu Box . .

Do. do. do. . . . . . .

Designs on Kanowit Baskets (fourteen) ,. Pattern on Bambu Betel-nut Box Design Burnt on a Rotan Mat, Murut ..

Undup Bambu Design

Design on Bambu Box

Designs on Bambu Boxes (ten)

Clay Pot, Skaran River

Cast Bronze Pot with Lid

Bambu Case for Holding Betel

Tusk Hollowed for Carrying Lime

Tobacco Pipe

Two Spurs and Sheaths for Fighting Cocks

Brooke Low

•f

Gould's Monograph Elliott's Gould's Leiden Mus.

II

Brit. Mus. Brooke Low

II Leiden Mus.

II Brit. Mus. Leiden Mus.

Brit. Mus. Leggatt ..

Page

144

147

147 148

148

161

214

214 216

222

223

239

255 258

243 246

247 257 258

• . . . . . 107 360

362

Brooke Low . . . . . . 364

364

Leggatt 394

Leiden Mus ii.223

H.H. the Ranee . . . . 38

II II • • • • 43

Crossland . . . . . . 241

Hose 288

Crossland 288

Brooke Low . . . . . . 365

Hose . . . . . . . . 396

Edinbro' Mus ii. 6

Crossland ii. 28

Amsterdam Mus. .. ..ii. 28

Crossland Leggatt Brit. Mus.

II Hose

Brit. Mus.

Brooke Low

..ii. 28

.. 391 .. 392 •• 393 •• 393 •. 395 ..ii. 139

List of' Illtistrations.

(xxv.)

in which the

DAILY LIFE {continued).

Hooks, made out of natural forms with gutta (two) . Hose

Silver Pillow Plate, Baram River.

Mat Bottle, W. Borneo

Gourd, handled for carrying water

Fish Skin File

Knife for splitting leaves for mats. Cagayan Sulu .

Ukit Knife ,

Sea Dyak Knife

Skaran Knife

Kavan Plane

Dyaks using Axe-adze . .

Fire Syringe

Do. do. Half of bambu mould cylinder is cast

Sarebas Fire Piston

Piece of Apieng Wood (tinder)

Fire Drill

Do. do.

Fire Saw

Kayan Ornamented Spoon

DusuN House Spoon

Do. do. do.

PuNAN Wooden Spoon . .

PuNAN Spatula

Bambu Spoon, Koti R

Spoon cut out of a Gourd, Longwai

Oviform Bowl-shaped Dish, Longwai

Kayan Uit or Wooden Rice Bowl

Kayan Dish

Ornamental Projecting Head of Dish, Longwai..

Do. do. do. do.

Pestle

Capsicum Pestle and Mortar

Leiden Mus Leggatt .. Leiden Mus. Edinbio*. Mus. Hose

Brit. Mus. Leggatt .. x eeK * • Hornaday Skertchly

Brit. Mus. Skertchly

ti Marryat . . Skertchly Brooke Low Brit. Mus.

•» Hose

Leiden Mus. Brit. Mus.

Brooke Low

>• Brit. Mus.

Leiden Mus.

Page ii. i6

134 361 361 ii. 256 366 384

384

384 ii 24

ii. 26 372

372

374

375

376

377 380

380

381 381 382 382 383 383 382 382

AGRICULTURE.

Biliong Axe

Chandong Dyak Chopper

Parang Hang

Kiniah Tukar Do or Sundial

Woman's Weeding Hoe, Baram R

Skaran Reaping Knife

Rice Reaping Knife, Koti R Leiden Mus.

Sba Dyak Plaited Rotan Handless Winnowing

Shovel . . . . . . . . . . . . Leggatt . .

Lesong Rice Mortar ,.

Kisar, or Padi Husker Sir Jas. Brooke

Brit. Mus. X eeK . . Dublin Mus. Brooke Low Hose Leggatt ..

Traps: The Jerat .. Do. do. Trigger

Do. The Bubuang

HUNTING AND FISHING. Skertchly

•I

398 398

399 401

405 409

409

410 411 411

431 431 433

(xxvi.) H. Ling Roth.— Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo,

HUNTING AND FISHING Traps: The Bubmng Trigger

Do. The Kelung

Do do. Trigger

Do. The Ptti

Do. do. Trigger

Do. do. do.

Undup Pig Trap Charm

{continued). Skertchly

Do.

do. do.

Pig Trap Charm

Traps : The Peti Lanchar

Do. do. do. Trigger

Deer Trap

MuRUT Bird Call

Crocodile Hook

Edible Nests of Cave Swifts Dyak jing kuan or Shuttle for net weaving Serangkong Hand Fish Basket Diagram of Selamhau Fish Trap Platform on posts of above trap . . • .

An y^fAiir. Spin

Dyak Fishing Spear

Bubu Fish Trap

Bambu Fish Trap

Crossland

Oxford Mus. Skertchly

Burbidge Brit. Mus.

Peek

Brooke Low Leggatt ..

Oxford Mus Leggatt .. Hose

Page

433 435 436 437 437 438 439 439

439 440

441

443

444

447 448

454

457

459

459 461

462

463 463

VOL. IL

HABITATIONS.

Rejang R. Dyak House Land Dyak Bridge

Land Dyak Village House

Rejang House Ladder

Rejang R. Sea Dyak Village House

Exterior of Sea Dyak Long House

Slab Door of Undup House

Diagrammatic Plan of Sea Dyak House ..

Diagram of Section do. do.

Inside View of Undup Shingle Roof

Diagram do. do. do.

Diagrams of Undup Nipa Palm Thatching (two)

RiDGE Capping

Nipa Leaf ready for Thatching

Diagram of Nipa Leaf Thatch Sticks

Interior of Sea Dyak Long House

Town of Kenowit, Rejang River

Diagram to show how cross beams are tied Do. do. panels are made

Do. do. post holes are made

Post Rammers

Lambert, of Singapore facing 1

J. A. St. John's Eastern Archi- pelago i. 358

J. A. St. John's Eastern Archi- pelago

Brooke Low

Lambert, of Singapore

Hornaday

Crossland

Leggatt

Crossland

Leggatt ..

Crossland Hornaday lllus. Lond. News Leggatt ..

2

5

7 8

10

II

Crossland

12 12

13 14

14

15

19 21

21

List of Illustrations.

(xxvii.)

HABITATIONS (coHiinued). Diagram to show Undup method of platform building Crossland Sketches to show how posts are cut (three) . . . . Leggatt Plan of large Dusun House at Kiau .. .. Burbidge

Do. Dusun Cottage

Sea Dyak Abode and Bridge Sir Charles Brooke

Page

22 22

23

27

DRESS

Dusun Loom

Casting inggar Dyak Noisy Spinning Wheel

Model of a Cotton Gin

Sarebas Woman's Petticoat

Do. do. do. border of

Pattern on Undup Woman's Petticoat Pattern on Sea Dyak Girl's Petticoat

Do. do. Woman's Petticoat..

Little Girl's Jacket

Bark Cloth Jacket

Banting Woman's Badge

Do. do. imderside

Diagrams to illustrate a jacket making (three)

Skewer, acting as Button

Dyak Woven Blanket

Illustrations to shew variety of stitches used (tiiteen) •• •• •• •• •• ••

Malanau Gold Buttons (three)

Tajong Takup Little Girl's Shell Vine Leaf

Little Girl's Girdle and Shell

Ring of Rawai

Chain Band

Brass Hoop of Rawai

Girdle of Glass . .

Front of Woman's Girdle

Sleeveless Jacket, with rubbed down shells

Man's Jacket, with epaulettes

Dyak Man's Jacket, pattern printed on

Coloured Plate of Pattern along back rim of Sea Dyak Woman's Jacket worked on English red cloth ; and Border down front

Undup Girl's Sleeveless Jacket

Balau White Bark Sleeveless Jacket ..

End of Piece of Cloth to show colour arrange- ment

Rejang R. Dyak Cloth

Seat Mat of Saribas Dyaks

Silver Hairpin

Woman's Wooden Comb

MuRUT Bone Hairpin

Do. do.

Dyak Conical Cap

Do. do. matwork of

Palm Leaf Kayan Cap

Ukit Girl's Bead Cap

Brit. Mus. Brooke Low Leiden Mus. Leggatt

Crossland Leggatt

Brit. Mus Leggatt

•I

Mrs. F. R Brooke Low Leiden Mus. Canterbury Mus Brooke Low

O. Maxwell

Leiden Mus. Brit. Mus.

Leggatt .. Crossland Canterbury Mus

Brit. Mus.

Edinbro' Mus. Peek

Brit. Mus. Hose

Brit. Mus. Brooke Low

t*

facing

30 31 31 52 5i 51 163 54 33 i^ 34 34 32 32 36

38

42 42 42

46 46 46 46 46

47 48

49

50 50 50

51 51 56 5« 59 59 59 57 57 59 59

(xxviii.) H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N, Borneo.

DRESS (coniintud). WiCKERwoRK Foundation of Kanowit Fur Cap..

Plaited Hat

Plaited Rotan Hat, Cagayan Sulu

Sakaran Man's Cap

Do. do. do., matwork of

CoNoiDAL Cap, with plume in crown

Hemispherical Cap

Palm Leaf Hat

Finished Hat

Hat in Process of Manufacture

Do. do. do.

Sadong Dyak Man's Hat

Do. do. do. enlarged border . .

Conical Hat

Kayan Head Dress

Sba Dyak Earrings

Dyak Brass Earring

Ears of Natives (two)

Ulu Aybr, brass pendants

Sarbbas. brass pendants

Gutta Ear Plugs

Udang, Kyan ear ornament (two)

Brazen Dragon Eardrop

Sea Dyak Ear Ornament

Ear Ornambnt

U\j, uo. •• •• •• •• •• «•

Kayan Ear Rim Pegs

Ear Pendant

Ear Lobe Plug

Ear Peg

Udang Beto, Kayan ear peg

Illustrations of Krebu Ear Ornament (six) . .

Undup Cornelian Necklace

Sea Dyak Coloured Bead Necklacb

Reed Necklace

Thin Brass Rolled into a Bead

Undup Bead Necklace, tassel ends

Hawk's Bell on Kayan Necklace

Armlets (two)

Simpai, Dyak man's bracelet

Do. do. boy's bracelet

Kadayan Bracelet

^7vr07^g •• •• t* •• •• •• ■•

Shell Armlets (two)

Porcelain Armlet

Knee Ring

FASHIONABLE DEFORMITIES.

Teeth in a Borneo Skull ,

Do. in a Skull from Banjermassing

Do. in a Borneo Skull

		Page
Hose	• 59
Canterbury Mus		. 60
Edinbro' Mus. .		. 60
Leggatt ..		. 60
II • • •		. 60
Brit. Mus.		. 60
■1 •		. 61
Leiden Mus.		. 61
»i •		. 61
••		. 61
»■ •		. 61
Brit. Mus.		. 62
•■ •		. 62
n •		. 63
Hose		. 64
Edinbro' Mus. .		. 65
I-eggatt ..		. 66
Manyat . .		. 67
Crossland		. 68
»» •		. 68
Brit. Mus.		. 68
Hose		. 68
Brooke Low .		. 68
It •		. 68
1 > •		. 68
1 1 •		. 68
Brit. Mus.		. 68
Brooke Low		. 68
Leiden Mus.		. 68
Brooke Low		. 68
»» •		. 68
Peek		. 69
Crossland		.i 213
Leggatt ..		• 72
1 1 •		• 73
Crossland		• 73
•I •		• 73
Peek		• 74
Brooke Low		. 74
Peek		• 74
,t • « •		• 74
•1 • • •		. 74
•1 • • •		• 74
Brooke Low		• 74
Canterbury Mui		• 74
Brooke Low		• 74
MITIES. Mus. Roy. College of Surgeons 78
II II ii /O
II 11	II	78

List of Illustrations.

FASHIONABLE DEFORMITIES {continued).

Dyak Teeth, filed concavely Marryat . .

Do. filed to a point ,,

MiLANAU Female Infant Head Deformer . . Brooke Low Artificially Deformed Skull of Malanau . . Dresden Mus. Silver Nippers Peek

TATUING.

Kayan Tatu Pricker

Kayan's Woman's Tatu Case

Tatu Mallet

Do. Soot Holder

Brass Tatu Needles (two) . .

Tatu Powder Dish of Bambu

Tatu Block, Kenniah (two)

Do. do. Berawan

Do. do. do. (three) . .

J-^rf%71cLK •« •• •• ••

Kayan

Upper Kapuas (six)

for Kayan women's thighs (three) Do. Marks on Kayan woman Do. do. do. do.

Do. do. do. do.

Do. do. Punan shoulder

Do. do. (eight)

Designs of Tatu Marks

LoNGWAi Woman's Tatued Hand ..

Brooke Low

Leiden Mus.

Hose

Do.	do.
Do.	do.
Do.	do.
Do.	do.

Peek

Leiden Mus. Brooke Low Crossland

ti

Bock

Leggatt .. Leiden Mus. Bock

• • k •

Do. do.

Do. Girl's Tring Woman's Tatued Ngajus

Do. Dyaks

do. do. do. do.

Thighs Foot Hand do.

••

WAR.

Trophy Dyak and Kayan Weapons War Cap, hornbill and feathers WicKERWORK War Cap . . War Hat of rotan and fish scales Do. showing thread Do. do. inside War Jacket of bark and fish scales . . RoTAN War Cap

Do. do. plaiting

Lutong, I^YAN War Cap, armadillo scales

Kalupu Dyak War Cap

War Dress of leopard skin Sarebas Goat Skin War Jacket Spear, bead

Do. butt end

Do. head

Schwaner Veth

Illus. Lond. News Leiden Mus.

i» • •

Leggatt ..

(xxix.)

Page

79 79 79 8o

8i

84 84

84

85

85 86

85 85 85

87

87 88

89 91 91 91 91 91 93 95

* •

• •

82 .. 99 .. 99 .. lOI .. lOI

. . lOI . . lOI

Brit. Mus.

ti Hose Peek

Brit. Mus. Edinbro' Mus.

Brit. Mus.

.. lOI .. lOI

. * 102 . . 102 . . 103

105 . • 107

107 .. 107

(xxx.) H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

WAR (continutd).

Leiden Mus.

Spear, head

Do. (? fish) , . . . . . , . . , . . ,, , ,

Undup Spbar Handle Crossland

Undup Spbar, lower pattern „

Do. do. upper do.

Do. do. section . . „

Gourd used as powder flask Kew Mus.

Parang and Sheath Brit. Mus.

Lanun Sword India Office Mus.

Parang and Sheath Brit. Mus.

Kenniah parang Hang Hose

Do. do. Sheath

Dagger and Sheath Leiden Mus.

Do. do

Sword-sheath Belt-knot (?) Brooke Low

Kenniah Shield (2 views) Kayan do. do.

Kenniah do. do.

Kayan do. do.

Dyak Shield (2 views) . . Sarawak do. do. Kayan do. do. Dyak do.

Edinbro' Mus

M

Dublin Mus. Oxford Mus.

Do.

do.

Shield Leiden Mus.

Kenniah Shield Hose

Shall do. (2 views)

Borneo Shield do.

Do. do. do.

Small Flat Bast Dyak Shield

Dyak Bambu Shield

Small Dyak Shield

Do. do. (side view)

Sea Dyak Shield (2 views)

Do. do. (inside view) Shield from Koti River

Do. Batang Lupar

Brit. Mus. Edinbro* Mus. . Brit. Mus.

Brooke Low Brit. Mus.

Edinboro' Mus. Hose Hain Leggatt ..

War Dance of the Lundu Dyaks Sir H. Keppel

HE.\D HUNTING.

Dyak Mode of Drying Heads

Left Moiety of Cranium of native Batta . .

Skull of Young Male Batta

Skull (2 views)

Cranium of female Dyak

Curiously prepared Skull

Do. do. design on Ornamented Skull with mended jaw Incised Pattern on Cranium of Male Dyak Frontal Bone Ornamentation Cranium of Male Dyak

Illus. Lond. News

Mus. Roy. College of Surgeons

Brit. Mus.

Mus. Roy. College of Surgeons

Page 108 108 108 108 108 108

108 no HI III

"3

"5

"5 116

117

119

122

123

125 126

129

130

131

132 133 134 135 135 135 136

137 137 138 171

146 148 148 148 149 149

149 150 150

List of Illustrations.

(xxxi.)

HEAD HUNTING (continued).

In'CISBD Pattern ON Cranium Mus. Roy. College of Surgeons

Skull of Bugau Dyak Amsterdam Mus

Dyak Skull (front view) Do. do. (side view) . . Heads strung in Rotan (three) . . Skull of Banjermassing Man Dyak Man Skull Land Dyak Preserved Skull Dried Head tied in leaves Dyak Skulls (two) Serambo Head House . .

" Crania Ethnica "

»i II • • •

Oxford Mus. Mus. Roy. College of Surgeons

II II ■• 11

Marryat . . Leiden Mus.

Mus. Roy. College of Surgeons Sir E. Belcher . .

Pungah, Land Dyak Head House Sir Hugh Low

Page

I5«

151

152

153

154

155 156

157

SUMPITAN.

SUMPiTAN. Blow Pipe

Do. Blade

Do. Arrows, with pith butts .. Wooden Bodkin for shaving the butts Bambu Quiver

Do. do.

Do. do. Packet, containing sumpitan poison . . Bambu Box do. do.

Circular Plate for preparing sumpitan poison .. Flower and Leaves of Upas Tree. Antiaris

Do. do. Strychnos

Fruit of Strychnos

Root of Tuba, Derris

Tuba Plant do.

Tools used in preparation of Ipoh poison in Malay [ Peninsula (nine) . . . . , . . . . . j

Oxford Mus.

II • •

Brit. Mus. Edinbro' Mus. .. Brit. Mus. Oxford Mus.

I^iden Mus.

Brit. Mus. Brown's PI. Jav. Blumes " Rumph."

Hose

Wallisch PI. Asiat.

Kew Mus.

.. 185

.. 186

.. 187

.. 188

.. i88

.. 194

.. 195 196

.. 196

.. 197

I 200

•• (201

NATURAL PRODUCTIONS.

Iron Smelting ON the Barito.. .. .. .. Schwaner

Stone Hammers . . . . . . . . . . . . Posewitz

Land Dyak Implement, used in gold washing . . Brit. Mus.

Cradle for washing gold . . . . . . . . . . Leiden Mus.

Animals, made of raw gutta (six) .. .. .. Hose

Kayan Tool, for getting g^tta Peek

Cylindrical Box of raw gutta .. .. .. Brit. Mus.

Dyak Cap, made of raw gutta . . . . . . . . Hose

Gutta, as brought to market .. .. .. .. ,,

Parang, for ringing gutta trees in Malay Peninsula . .

Alligator of raw gutta

NiBONG Palm . . . . . . . .

NiPA Palm .. ..

Leaf wrapped round Dammar..

Kew Mus. Hose • • Blume's Rumph. Martin's Nat. Hist. Palm Leiden Mus.

Dammar Fruit Richard's Conifers

BOATING.

Kayan Figure Head for war canoe Ornament on bow of Lanun pirate boat

Brooke Low Sir E. Belcher

235 238 238 238 243 243 243 243 243 243 243 4

4

28

245

246 246

(xxxii.) H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N, Borneo,

BOATING iconiinued).

Dyak War Prahu, on Skerang river Paddle of dark brown wood

x'^ADDLE •• •• •• •• •• ••

UO, •• •• ■•• •• •• ••

Model of Dyak Dugout, Mat, and Section

LuNDU Women in a Canoe

Model op a Tukau . .

MUSIC.

Dyak Brass Jews Harp

So-called Jew's Harp

Kenniah Nose Flute

Dyak Engkruri

Kayan Keluri

Tarajong Busoi and Aran

Zither

Dyak Bow and Fiddle

Species of Banjo

Dyak Four-Stringed Harp .. Do. do. do.

Primitive Violin

Long-Kiput's Bambu Harp

Malau Gong

L'RUM •• •• •> •• ••

Violin (Javanese pattern)

ARCHAEOLOGY Chinese Jar, obtained from the Dusuns by Mr. Hart

^ZtfVdlLl •• •• «• •• ■• ••

Do. do. do.

Life Size Figure, near Mt. Santubong Stone Implement, discovered by Mr. A. H. Everett

Iw VICWSS^ •• «• •• •• »• ••

Do do. do (section)

Carved Stone, artificially worked, found by Mr. A.H.Everett..

Bead, found by Mr. A. H. Everett

Stone Implement, said to come from Borneo, but of doubtful origin

Chinese Jar, with inscription on bottom

Do. do. inscription on

Inscription, discovered by Dr. Kern

Dagger, with inscription

Inscription, discovered by Dr. Kern

Negrito Skull, profile

Do. do. full face

Sir E. Belcher Brit. Mus.

Leggatt .. Marryat . . Hose

Hose

Brit. Mus. Hose

Edinbro' Mus. Peek

Brooke Low Leiden Mus. Brooke Low Brit. Mus. Brooke Low

Hose

i» • • Brooke Low Edinbro' Mus. Brit. Mus

Page

247

249 250

250

251 252

253

257

257 258

259

259 260

260

261

262

263

266

Brit. Mus.	..i. 96
,, . . . .	. . i. 427
H.H. The Ranee	.. 2bo
Oxford Mus	.. 281
II • . . •	.. 302
Brit. Mus	.. 282
,, . • • ■	.. 282
Amsterdam Mus.	.. 283
Dresden Mus	.. 288
1 » • • • •	.. 292
	.. 289
Leiden Mus	.. 290
	.. 292
•• Crania Ethnica" ..	.. 298
II II • •	.. 298

CHAPTER I. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

A. — Sarawak: General position — Mr. Maxwell's Arrangement — Malays and Milanaus on the coast. Land Dyaks and their divisions — Alleged descendants from Pegu — Connection between the Milikins and the Sea Dyaks — Lara in-breeding and extinction — Wanderings of the Sennahs — Tradition as to descent of the Sauhs — Branches of the Sarawak river— Land Dyak physique and language. Sba Dyaks and their settlements— Footing on the Muka and Oya rivers— Scattering of the Sibuyaus - Ul Ayers in the Maloh country — Migrations of Rejang - tribes — General characteristics of Sea Dyaks. Milanaus : Their wide range and connections. Kayans: Their range and tribes -Migrations of Kayans and Kenniahs. Punans: Nomadic peoples — Characteristics. Bakatans : Nomadic peoples - Characteristics. Tatu-ing — Attempts at Agriculture — The real Aborigines — Not cannibals — Physique— Kayan physique. Muruts. Ukits: Their connection with Bakatans and Punans. Muruts: General characteristics. . BiSAYANs : Characteristics.

B.— British North Borneo: General Population — Doompas Buludupis. Eraans. Sabahans. DusuNs: General Position— Characteristics — Chinese affinities - Misuse of the word Dyak. Tagaas. Kiaus. Sipulotbs. Saghais. Lanuns from Phillipines— Pirates— Independence. Bajaus from Malacca —Wandering sea-people - Quarrelsomeness — Buildings — Cock-fighting — Fishermen — Unthriftiness— Not Sulus— Petty pilferers—" Stain their bodies with blue." Baligini. Oran Tadong.

C. — Mr. Hose's list of tribes in Borneo.

A. SARAWAK.

The peoples inhabiting the Raj of Sarawak are Land Dyaks, Sea Dyaks, Milanaus, Kayans, Muruts, Ukits, Bisayans, Malays, and Chinese. With the Chinese and with the Malays the present work has nothing to do.

I am indebted to Mr. F. R. O. Maxwell, formerly Chief Resident, for the following general account of the natives, their divisions and settle- ments : —

" The Malays occupy the fringe of coast-land from the Dutch frontier, Tanjong Datu, northwards into the British North Borneo Company's territory. The coast-line between the Rejang river and the Tutong river is the original habitat of the Milanaus (they are now mostly restricted between the Bruit and the Bintulu), but this does not imply there are no Malays there. When this coast was under Brunei rule it was inhabited by Malays, but mostly by Malays appointed by the Sultan to squeeze the Milanaus and traders to buy and otherwise acquire sago ; but the main and real population were Milanaus. In the same way there are Malay villages sixty or seventy miles up some of the rivers, and the Dyaks are always complaining of the Malays encroaching on their lands.

B

2 H, Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

I. — " The Land Dyaks occupy the extreme southwest corner of the Raj, excepting the coast fringe as above mentioned, as far as the Millikin river, a branch of the Sadong river, both banks of which they inhabit from there upwards. They extend also into Dntch Borneo.'

if

la

' '■ The Land Dya.ks number some forty branch tribes wilh great v noulil now be almost impossible to find the main or principal slock unless it can be traced back to (he Malay or Javanese tongues." (Brooke i. 47.)

"The inland populatioa itiand about this division of Borneo [His Highness is referring to the Land Dyaks] are eastward and northward bound, frequently migrating in search of fresh farming lands, about which they continually quarrel, and in consequence disperse, forming a new nucleus for a branch tribe." {ibid. 48.)

Geographical Distribution. 3

" Their chief settlements are : — Aup - - ■ Upper Sadong river.

Bukar ■ ■ - Foot of Mount Bukar, Upper Samarahan river.' Brang • - - Left hand branch, Sarawak river. Engrat (Min-gral) Upper Sadong river

■ According to Mr. Denison. the Bukar tribes villages are Kumpang, LancbanK, Jinan axiA Mungo Babi, Al Sungei Buah he wriies : •■ Here the Pegu people settled and amalgamated with the Sarawak villagers, aod I am assured that in former times beards and whiskers such as are now seen among ihe Bukar Dyaks were not uncommon among the Malays of Samwak. The majority of the Pegu people went to the Samarahan and settled in the midst of the Si Muntungs, who, having been but slightly crossed with other nalives. the strain shows more plainly and accounts for the whiskers and beards of Ihe Bukars, though this peculiarity is yearly becoming less perceivable. In fact, even so late as the European occupation of the country, the falling off in numbers of thost Dyaks who could boast these hairy appendages, is clearly perceivable " {chap, viii, p. 86.)

Mr. Charles Grant also writes : "It is said that a colony of Peguans settled many years ago at Santubong on the mouth of the Sarawak river,

and earthenware remains have lately been dug up al that place ; possibly it nay have been the site of the Pegu settlement. Whether these colonists left ^ain. or whether they merged into other races of Borneo, no one knows. Most probably the latter supposition is the true one : and if so, may not the traces of foreign customs which we observe among some Dyak tribes be the marks left by the Buddhists of Pegu ? I have been told that the Buhar Dyaks of Samarahan are descendants of the Peguans. They certainly have a peculiar appearance, un- like that of most Dyaks, many of the men having whiskers, and being comparatively tall. I once, however, asked some of these Dyaks if the above assertion of the neighbouring

Makf,™. comet. 'Oh no.' 3,^^,,, p,,^

Ihoy ^i. ■ ,t » the »•%• of „„„ ,.„ „ u„,, p,„, „„„,. .. ,„^,.,

Samttakan who are descended from the P^uans.' "

Such statements appear to be repeated by almost every writer who happens to mention the Bukars, bat I cannot find that anyone adduces any evidence to prove it. On writing to my friend Hr. E. S, Symes, Government Secretary, Burmah, on the question, he replies: "Pegu, as you no doubt know, is a city some fifty miles N.N. E. of Rangoon, formerly the capital of a kingdom. Its population is now of a very mixed character, but the ancient inhabitants — of whom many still remain in and about Pegu, and to whom I suppose you refer— are known to themselves as Muns, and to the Burmese and English as Talaings. They have, like the Burmese, long hair, but they very rarely have beards or any but a few straggling hairs on their faces, I know of no race except (he Talaings to whom the name Peguan could be applied, and I never heard of the Talaings having settled in Borneo." On the evidence of the hair alone it may therefore be much doubted whether the Bukars have any P^n blood in their veins, Pegu was destroyed in 1757 a.d.

4 H. Ling Roth.— Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

Engkroh - - Upper Sarawak river.

Kmp (Quop) - Kuap river, tributary of Sarawak, below Kuching.

Kadup ■ - - Tributary of the Sadong river.

Millikin ■ - Tributary of the Sadong river.*

Sakarang Women.

The one in the cenire is wearliig a silver coronel designed by Uc. P. R. O. Maiwell. The women *rs

fond of cliarue, and once a depulalion waited upon him lo uk him (0 invent a new head gear,

and for a time hh design was very fashionable and spread up and down the rlrer.

(Sir Hugh Low Coll.)

* Sir James Brooke says :~" They are a branch of the Sibuyows, originally discarded from the interior of Santang." (Mundy ii. 63.)

" This fine tribe, now inhabiting Sadong, was originally connected with the Sibuyows : and both these tribes, as well as the Serebas and Sakarran, have a common origin, and descended to the coast from the interior of the Kapuas River. The Sibuyows locating themselves near the sea have become a maritime people : whilst the Milikin, settling in tbe interior, know nolhinf; of tbe ways of the great deep, and navigate nothing larger than a canoe. Tbe Serebaa and the Sakarran. like the Milikin. were an inland people, ignorant of seafaring, until the Malays taught them that art and plracv at the same time, Serebas showed tbe way ; Sakarran, which was a dependency of Kaluka, remained peaceful till the advent of Sheriff Sahib's father, when they were initiated in these two accom plishme n 1 5 .

" In Sheriff Sahib's time they were perfect masters of tbe trade ; and now I hope they will gradually lose the practice of piracy, without abandoning their character as good and bold seamen, " II is remarkable, however, that whilst the Dyaki of Sakarran devoted themselves to piracy, the Dyaks of the Batang Lupar, living in the same country, never became addicted lo this vice, and continued a quiet agricultural race. The Kumpang and other Dyaks of this branch of the river may be esteemed, therefore, as representing what the Sakarrans likewise were, about forty or fifty years ago." (Keppel : Meander ii. pp. roi-103,)

Geographical Distribution. 5

Lara - - - In Lundu territory from Dutch Borneo.*

.£, , , i-i * u D if [Have come over into Lundu where

[Sa»te - - Dutch Borneo] ) „^k ,„„, he coast.]

Sakarahg Dvaks.

* " The Lundu bouses, on Ihe top of a low hill, are but few in number, neat and new. The (ribe, however, has fallen ; they fear there is a curse on them. A thousand families, they say. once cultivated this valley, but now Ihej are reduced to ten, not by the ravages of war, but by diseases sent by the spirits. They complain bitterly that they have no families, that Iheir women are not fertile ; indeed, there were but three or four children in the whole place. The men were &ne-looking. and the women well favoured and healthy— remarkably clean and free from disease. We could only account for their decreasing numbers by iheir constant intermarriages ; we advised them to seek husbands and wives among the neighbouring tribes, but this is difficult. Their village is a well- drained, airy spot." (St. John i. p. lo.)

Mr.F. R.O. Maxwell informs me the Lundus in Sarawak Raj are now extinct. Mr Noel Deni son, writing twenty years ago, says: "The Lundu tribe was once large and powerful, but are now reduced to a mere fruition of their number; the ravages of small pox in 1844 [?] almost exterminated them, ftud their persistent refusal to intermarry with ether tribes is fast destroying the remnant. The Peninjaub Dyaks on the Serambo mountain assure me thai ibe Lundus are an offshoot from their trfbe, who l«ft Serambo and settled at Lundu " (ch i, p, i.}

H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit, N, Borneo,

Samarahan

Samaharan river, thickly populated, rises near head of Sadong, and runs into same outlet as the Sarawak river.

Sampro Sarambau Sedumak Sentah -

Sennah (Sinar) Singgie

- Left-hand branch Sarawak river.*

- Upper Sarawak river.

- Lundu river.

- On a hill of that name, about ten miles from Kuching, between the Sarawak and Samarahan rivers.

- . Sennah river, falling into the Sarawak about two days' journey from Kuching.*

- Upper Sarawak river. Sibungo (or Bungoh) Upper Sarawak river.

Simpoke - - On the Serin branch of Samarahan river. Sigu - - - ^ Tributary of Sarawak river. Sow (Sauh) - - Upper Sarawak river.'

^ The Bombok and Peninjauhs are included in this tribe. (Denison, ch. i. p. 2.)

* " The Sennahs were originally settled at Sikong, and they left that country under a leader or chief called Trau. Trau fled from Sikong, having committed the crime of matricide, the parti- culars of which are too indecent to mention ; suffice it to say, that after cutting down his mother with a parang, he laid open her stomach and found it full of the seeds of every description of fruits. Collecting these, Trau fled towards Sambas with his followers, whence taking prau he arrived at the mouth of the Sarawak river (Sungei Buah). Hence he continued his ascent of the river, and settled at Batu Kara, near Mungo Angus, just above Sungei Siol. Here Trau planted the seeds found in his mother's belly, and the old groves of fruit-trees which are even now in existence on the spot bear witness, say the Dyaks, to the truth of this story. The next place where the Sennahs settled was at Batu Kawa. near Si Gobang ; they then ascended the southern branch of the Sarawak river to a place called Lubuck Tinuwan, on the left bank below Sempro. Trau again moved his followers up stream, and finding the water too shallow for his praus, abandoned them at a place called Batu Jung, about two reaches above the present landing- place^of the Brang tribe, and just above this is a stone called Batu Kamudi. Both these names, say the Sennah Dyaks, were originally given to these places by Trau, the former being the place where his praus proved useless, and the latter being given to the rudder of Trau's prau, which remained so long in existence here, that it finally turned into stone. Having now no prau, Trau and his followers walked overland to Muara Kundung, a small stream between Muara Sennah and Sennah, where they lived sometime, moving from thence to their present location." (Denison, ch. vi. p. 66.)

^ Mr. Denison includes the Grogo, Tambawang, Suba, Krokong, Jagui, and Owp (Aups) in the Sow (Sauh) tribe. The Gumbang and the Tringus he treats as separate tribes, (ch. i. p. 2.)

The Grogo Dyaks are an offshoot of the Sauh Dyaks. After the Saubs had once crushingly defeated the Sakaran invaders, they were in turn thoroughly beaten by a fresh body of Sakarans. " Thus it came about that the great Sauh tribe became scattered over the face of the country, and is now found under the distinct and separate Dyak names of Grogo, Suba, Krokong, Jagui, and Aup. All these settlements spring from the once flourishing and prosperous tribe of Sauh. which had its location at Beratak, on Gunong Undang. . . . These Dyaks tell me that the Peninjauh

Sea Dyak Woman. (From C. Dammar's Coll.)

Geographical Distribution.

Stang - - - Upper Sarawak river.

Tebia - - - Tebia river, left-hand branch of Sarawak river.

" Fifteen miles above the town of Kuching the Sarawak river divides, and the branches are wrongly called the right and left-hand branches as viewed coming from the mouth and not as coming from the source ; on the left-hand branch, as wrongly so called, are the Sentah, Sigu, Sennah, Sampro, and Sibungoh, and on the right-hand branch the Sarambau, Singgi, Engkroh, and Sow.

** The Land Dyaks as a race are small, slightly built, untatued ; colour same as Malays, hair black and straight. In some villages in the Samarahan I found men (the Bukars) with small goat-like beards. Language is entirely different from Malay or Sea Dyak, and it differs so much among the tribes that those in Upper Sarawak find difficulty in making themselves under- stood in the Upper Sadong. One peculiarity in the Land Dyak is their inability to pronounce the letter /, using r in its place, thus for the Malay

word bilalang — grasshopper — they say birarang (in- versely to what the Chinaman does, who not being able to pronounce an r uses an /)^ Some of the Land Dyaks, but not all, burn their dead, and a few tribes will touch the flesh of deer. They hold feasts and consult birds and omens and believe in a Supreme Being, whom they call Dervata. They live mostly on the sides of mountains, but have probably been driven to them for protection from their enemies the Sea Dyaks. The Upper Sadong tribe is an exception to this, as their villages are found principally on the river banks.

IL — '*The Sea Dyaks occupy the country from the boundary of the Land Dyaks eastwards to a line somewhat as follows : From the Tatan river,

story is true as regards the descent of the Sauhs. It will be re- membered in the account given of the Serambo Dyaks, that Rupak had a step-son called Bunga, the child by a first husband of a widow whom he had married. Bunga's son was Putan, who moved to Sungie Pinang ; his son was Karud, and Karud's son Makurng moved his portion of the tribe to Beratak. Hence the Sauh tribe. The Grogos bear out this, and say that when they left Dinding they went to Sungie Pinang. thence to Rata Manas, thence to Gunong Kingi, and then settled at Beratak. When they came to Beratak they found the Gumbang and Tringus Dyaks already on their respective mountains." (Denison, ch. iii. pp. 24. 25.)

8 •• Many individuals in Europe are of opinion that the Dyaks are descended from the Chinese, and the latter themselves entertain the same supposition; one fact, however, will tend greatly to weaken this notion. The Dyaks, even those who reside constantly with the Chinese settlers, can never attain the pronunciation, or even a correct knowledge of the idiom of the language spoken by the latter, a circumstance which does not arise from any deficiency of intellect or application in the Dyaks, since they acquire a perfect knowledge of the Malay and Bugis tongues with the greatest facility. The formation of the two latter, however, and many of the words they contain, are perfectly similar to the dialects of the Dyaks, which accounts for the readiness with which they are acquired." (Earl, p. 276.)

Sea Dyak Woman. (From C. Dammar's Coll.)

H.'LiNG Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

both banks of which they occupy, almost as far (?) as its tributary — the Kakus river, then along both banks of the Anap river, crossing the Rejang river above the knee, to the west of Mount Ulan Buha, straight on, crossing the Balleh river about twenty miles west of Fort Kapit and then on the Dutch frontier somewhere to the north-east of Mount Saribu Saratus. To the south the Sea Dyaks extend into Dutch territory. Their establishment in Oya, Muka, and Tatan is quite recent and since the establish- ment of European rule.'

" The Sea Dyaks' chief settlements and tribes are : —

Batang Lupars or Balang Ayers. The Dyaks living on the banks of the Batang Lupar from about fifty miles up that river till eighty miles up call themselves Batang Ayer, Batang meaning a trunk or main stem and Ayer water, meaning simply the main river to distinguish them from the people living on the tributaries. Towards the head of the river, the people call themselves Ulu Ayer. This nomenclature applies equally to the Rejang river, Ballaus. On Batang Lupar and Lingga rivers, named from a hill about twenty-five miles up the Batang Lupar, a few miles above the mouth of the Lingga river. Lingga is their real centre.'" There is no Ballau river (Balleh has nothing to do with Ballau). Skarans (Sakarangs), On tributary river of that name of the Batang Lupar. Undops. On tributary river of that name of the Batang Lupar." Lcmanaks. On tributary river of that name of the Batang Lupar. Sibuyaus. On Sibuyau river, between Sadong and Batang Lupar rivers. They call themselves Sea Dyaks, but speak that language with a peculiar accent (Sibnowans is the name given in error by Sir H. Keppel)."

■ " At the head-waters of the Muka and Oya rivers some Sea-Dayaks have settled. On the Oya river are three chiefs, with a followinK of perhaps too fighting men : oa the Muka there are four chiefs with perhaps the same following. These Dayaks have come in from the Rejang and KaDOwit rivers, there being a great tendency on the part of the people of these rivers to settle in Muka and Oya." (Denison, Jour. Straits Asiatic Soc., No, lo. p. i8i,j

10 "^hey are represented as very brave, and are engaged in ceaseless warfare with their neigh- bours, against whom they maintain themselves, though very inferior in number." (Sir Jamea Brooke, Mundy, i. 236.)

1' The Undups maintain that the Ballaus were originally of their tribe, i.i., Undups. (Crosaland.)

" " The Samarahan was a favourite attacking ground of the pirates, and owed much of its safely to the courage of these Dayaks, who were formeriy more united than they are now. The Sibuyau are, in fact, sirangeis. They were harassed out of their own country by the Seribas pirates and retired to Samarahan ; they are now scattered, a section here, a larger one on the Lundu river, another at Meradang on the Quop, besides smaller villages on the Sarawak, the Sadong, and Id other districts." (St. John i. 208.)

According to Sir Hugh Low these people " came originallv from the country situated about the sources of the western branch of the Batang Lupar in the direction of the Lake Danau Malayan." (p. 166.)

lo H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N, Borneo.

Ulu Ayers are Batang Lupar Dyaks living in the head-waters of that river (Ulu means head, but it is not used in that sense when speaking of living things or human beings ; thus ulu parang; is the handle of the sword, and pengulu is headman or chief).**

Sarebas. On Sarebas river, about ten miles from north of Batang Lupar.

Kalukas. On Kaluka river, which runs into the sea about eight miles from mouth of Sarebas.

Rejang. A large and important river thickly populated by Malays and Dyaks. The principal tributaries on which the Sea Dyaks live are the Seriki,^* the Kanowit,^ running upwards towards the head of the Sakarang, the Katibus, running up towards the head of the Batang Lupar. These two latter tributary streams of the Rejang have been settled from the Sakarang and the Ulu Batang Lupar respectively. Besides these, there is a large Dyak population living on the banks and up the small tributary streams of the Rejang 80 to 150 miles from the mouth, who are classed under the head of Ulu Ayers or Ulu Rejang Dyaks. At one time these Ulu Ayers settled in large numbers in the Balleh river, but owing to the difficulty of keeping them in order, through their being some distance above the Government station of Kapit, they were ordered to remove down.

** The Sea Dyaks are more stoutly built than the Land Dyaks,*** well proportioned, clean skinned, and as a rule, though some tribes suffer much from kurap or worm, of a rich brown colour ; hair black and straight. Language resembles that of the Malay a good deal. They believe in dreams, consult birds as omens before engaging on any undertaking of importance, and bury their dead. They believe in a future state, though they have a very vague notion of what it is like. They live in long houses on the river banks and tatu on the shoulders and arms but slightly.

1^ In his great cross-country expedition of 1861 Sir Chas. Brooke says of the natives of the Upper Batang Lupar : " They told me they had left this river about forty years ago to live in the Maloh country, to which they had been persuaded to go for the sake of obtaining jars and other kinds of valuable property ; but while there they found the reality was what had been pictured to them, for they were frequently attacked, and lost at different times seventeen of their people, killed by Kayans and Bakatans. as well as most of their property. They only returned to this country a year and a half ago, and now live in constant alarm of the Kayans and Bakatans." (ii. 175.)

" Sir Hugh Low seems to speak of the people here as Siboos. (p. 364.)

^* Writing so far back as 1859, the present Rajah says of the Kanowit river : — " This stream is inhabited by Sea Dyaks, who had for the last fifteen or twenty years been migrating from the Saribus and Sakarang districts for the purpose of obtaining new farming grounds. These exoduses took place overland between one river and another. Such parties would do their four or five days' march, then build their houses, and proceed to farm for one or two years, after which they would recommence their march, and so on, until they arrived at their final destination."

"• 327 )

It was the Kanowits who, probably at the instigation of the Malay chiefs, murdered Messrs.

Steele and Fox in 1859.

i« The Land Dyaks are much harsher in features than the Sea Dyaks, who are more like the Malays. (Bishop McDougall. T.E.S. ii., 26.)

12 H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

III. — The MiLANAUS. " The position of the Mtlanaus has already been given," The Milanaus are a quiet people, not Mohamedan, but dressing like the Malays, and cultivating sago. They are very fair, some of the girls qiiite as white as Europeans ; hair black and straight."

" " There was formerly a Milaoo village below Ihe present one of Men, the posts of which attracted my attention as we ascended the river. This village was abandoned in times gone by, as the natives were so harassed and ravaged by Dayaks and Kayans. Ihat they had lo move their quarters, and they are now scattered over the different rivers in the neighbourhood." (Denison, Jour. Straits Asiatic. Soc . No. lO. p. 176.)

" I am inclined lo agree with the theory of H H. the Rajah that the Milanos are the most numerous and widely ranged tribes in Borneo ; al all events from vocabularies in my possession, and from a careful examination of similarity in manners and customs, I am convinced th^ the Kinniahs and Kyans of the Barram river ; the Kanowits, Kajamangs. Baliatans, Lugats. Ukits, Tanjongs. and Punans of Upper Rejang ; the Talans and Balineans, the Bakatans of Upper Oya and Muba. and the Tamans and Malows of Upper Kapuas, are distinctly of the same stock — but we have at present more particularly to deal with the Milanos, who inhabit the mouths of the Rejang, Blawi. Palo, Bruil, Egan, Mudan, Oya, Muka, and Bintulu, and who number in all about 30,000 souls." (W. M. Crocket. S.G., No. 120, p. 7.)

" " As to their origin, I am inclined to (hink, from the similarity of religion, that they may claim descent from ihe same ancestors who were the progenitors of the inhabitants of Timor and the Moluccas, and, I think, also the Kyaas. who certainly entered this country from the east, may

Geographical Distribution. 15

IV.— The Kayans. " The Kayan country extends from that of the Sea Dyaks' boundary to Brunei, and to within ten or fifteen miles of the left bank of the LimbauR river. They extend in Dutch territory almost right across the island and are the chief native people of Borneo. (The Dutch name Kahaijan, given to a large river, is only another reading of the word Kayan.)

"The Kayans and Kntmahs"' occupy the greater part of the country between the Dutch frontier range and the low coast-lands inhabited by the

Kyan in War Dress.

(Sir Hugh Low Coll.) claim clanship wiih them. I should not consider either the Kyans or Malanaus entitled to be called aborigines o( the country, nor the Dayaks, who seem to have come front the south and south-east, and to have gradually worked their way up the great rivers, pushin;; the aborigines before them." (de Crespigny, J A I., v 34)

■'"The Kayans and Kcnniahs inhabiting the head waters of the Baram River and its iribuiaries are sub-divided into the Uma Pliaus and Uma Poh Kayans. Long Wats, Uma Pawas, Sibops, Leppu Laangs. Madangs. and Leppu Pohun Kenniahs. The first three of the above-named sub-sections are of the Kayan race. The rest are to be regarded as Kenniahs. Tbe Kenniahs who migrated to the Baram River some hundred years or so before the Kayans, were the only people able (o resist the constant raids made by the latter, who, being a blustering, warlike race, almost eitenTiinated the smaller tribes and made slaves of the weaker ones. Naturally the Kayans occupied the best tracts of land consisting of the undulating areas between the swampy low country and the mountains at the head waters ; they also confiscated all the caves of the esculent swallows, selling their nests to the traders whenever a Brunei, Malay, or Chinese dared to venture up river amongst them. Kayans often travelled eis far as Brunei in their long boats, and •oine few even adventured as far as Singapore, taking passage in Chinese jiinks to Labuan to sell the produce of these caves." (Hose, J.A.I., xxlii. 157.)

i6 H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

Milanaus ; in other words, the fertile lands through which the Baram and its confluent the Tinjar flow. They include the Kalabits^ in the country of some of the head-waters of the Baram river round Mount Salaan, Sibops on the head-waters of the Tinjar, the Madangs on the head-waters of the Baloi (Rejang) and Tinjar river — the latter the great tributary of the Baram.

** The Kajamans, the Skapans or Punans^^ on the Rejang are supposed to be Kayan oflf-shoots, and so are also the Bakatatts^ (in Malay Bakatan means hill people).

^ " The Kalabits— a numerous race of people living inland on the hills and plains, to the north of the Baram River, and in the far interior of that part of Borneo— bear a very close resemblance to low country people of the Baram river, possessing many traits and habits in common with the Barawaiis and Long Patas, formerly inhabiting the country now occupied by the Kayans. They were separated from the low country people and driven out by the Kayans who came from the Balungan and Koti rivers some eight generations back." (Hose, J. A I., xxiii. 157.)

** " The Punans— nomadic tribes, found at the head waters of all the big rivers in central Borneo. I have no doubt in my mind that this wandering race of people are the aboriginals of the country. In physique they are a fine healthy race, large boned and very strong, with fair skins and a complete immunity from skin diseases. They build no houses, and live upon what they can shoot with the blowpipe and on jungle fruits, and owing to their custom of always living in the shade of the dense forest, are afraid of the sun. They are an honest and unselfish people and they alone of all theraces in Borneo do not regard the human head as a trophy of war and the taking thereof as a legitimate act of prowess ; and when once well known they undoubtedly prove to be the best mannered people of any of the savage tribes inhabiting the island. They have large families of from seven to ten children, which is also unusual in Borneo, and though no doubt the weaker members die young owing to the rough life they lead, this fact tends to preserve and improve the physical excellence of the race. They are great hunters, being able to move through the jungle without making the slightest noise, and have a name for every living thing, which name is known by even the small boys. They are wonderfully expert in the use of the blowpipe, shooting their poisoned arrows with such precision that it may be said that they seldom miss even the smallest object aimed at, yet this efficiency with their weapons notwithstanding, they are a very timid race, but can fight in self-defence.

" The Punans never plant paddy, but sometimes collect the fruit of a tree called Pran, which they dry and store for a time. They work india-rubber, and are really the only people in Borneo who systematically work the camphor tree, exchanging the camphor with the Kayans and Kenniahs for tools, tobacco, &c. ; the Kayans. not wishing them to know the true value of their products, cut them off from all direct communication with the Chinese and Malay traders.

"They occasionally live in caves, but not for long periods, as the caves, being mostly of Umestone formation, are damp and cold, and are consequently liable to breed fevers." (Hose, J.A.I., xxiii. 158.)

** •' The heads of the Oya are inhabited by Bakatans. the most primitive branch of the Milano tribes. Until very recently they had no fixed residence, they built no houses, planted no paddy, but lived in trees and roamed the jungle in search of plants, iiuits, and whatever game they could kill with their sumpitan or poisoned arrows, or fish they could catch in the streams. They are skilful in the manufacture of the sampitan and expert in its use.

" There are several families now settled at the head of the Oya, and as a Dyak informed me, they have learnt ' to eat rice and use a blanket,' they have built themselves good houses and plant paddy regularly. Having intermarried with the Dyaks they have gained an idea of property and supply their new acquirements by working jungle produce with assiduity. Some of them came to visit me one day with a Dyak lad, who had been the house servant of a friend of mine — this lad had settled near them and gained their confidence ; they came to complain of the exactions of their Dyak neighbours, who of course imposed upon a tribe more unsophisticated than themselves." (W. M. Crocker, S.G., No. 122, p. 8.)

" The wandering tribes of Pakatan and Punan. which seldom build regular houses, but prefer running up temporary huts, and when they have exhausted the jungle around of wild beasts and other food, they move to a new spot. They are great collectors of wax. edible bird's nests, camphor, and rattans. They are popularly said to be fairer than the other inhabitants of Borneo, as they are never exposed to the sun, living in the thickest part of the old forest. Those we have seen were certainly darker, but they themselves assert that their women are fairer. It is probable that

Geographical Distribution. 17

"In stature and build the Kayans are more inclined to flesh than the Dyaks, and they are also lighter in colour than the latter. Their hair is black

exposure to the air has as much effect upon them as exposure to the sun. I have often met with their little huts in the forest and used them as night lodgings, but I have never come across these wild tribes. I have seen individual men, but never communities." (St. John i. 25.)

" The Pakatans are an interesting tribe. Although they lead a wandering life in the forests and do not live in houses, they are by no means the savages one would infer from that fact, although the Dyaks treat them with pity and a little contempt. They tatoo themselves from from head to foot in the most beautiful manner. They live almost entirely by the chase. Latterly they have sown padi here and there among the Dyak clearings, but. having sown it, go away into the jungle, and at harvest time are content to take what the pigs and deer have left them. Their language is quite different to Malay, Dyak, or Kyan, and sounds very much like Tamil. Can they be a remnant of people from India ? Although they are wanderers they have their possesions, consisting of gongs and jars, which tbey stow away in the hills, (de Crespigny, Proc. R. Geog. Soc., viii., 1873, p. 133.)

" On the Upper Batang Lupar we passed many houses on the river's bank, and one or two were pointed out as belonging to Bakatans, who have become sufBciently civilised to build habitations, although they will be little able to appreciate them for at least a generation to come. They even farm, but after a poor fashion. They cut down the jungle and bum, and then scatter seed, after which they allow it to take its course ; the result is, the padi and tares grow together, and the latter are more plentiful. Between whiles the Bakatans resort to their old habits of jungle prowling in search of food, and depend on the sumpit arrow for such game as deer and pigs. Some few of the most luxurious have taken to rice food, and in time of great want have been known to sell their children for this article. This seems their first step towards civilisation,

" They are dangerous enemies and doubtful friends, pouncing on a foe when and where least expected, or secretly using the poisonous arrow from an ambush. Their word, according to all reports, is no more to be trusted than the whistling of the winds ; but it is to be feared they scarcely have fair opportunities for displaying their true characters or bettering their condition, as, wherever they become at all settled they are shamefully oppressed by the Dyaks, and the consequence is, these wild ones prefer returning to the natural and primitive state of their forefathers, rather than work for the advantage of others. I look on these people as being the aboriginal stock of the population coastwise in this section of the Island of Borneo, and their language tends to support the hypothesis. . . .

" At Biotulu I entered into conversation with an old man of a party bound for a neighbouring river. He told me he was a Bakatan, had lived for many years among the Dyaks, and bad been treated worse than a slave by them — being turned out of one place, then another, until he trusted now he had at length found a quiet river, as a home where they might be able to use the land and consider it their own property. This old fellow sat on a fallen tree close to me ; he was stone blind, and observed he should like to have the use of his sight a short time, just to see a white man. He was tattooed from head to foot, and very dark, but his features were regular and well sbapen ; he spoke with a considerable degree of straightforwardness and sense. The quarter of an hour I waited for the boat I felt had been well spent. He told me there were several dialects spoken amongst their branch tribes, and so different in sound as not to be understood by each other ; these are the [>rimitive and furthest removed from civilisation, many not living in houses, but in trees; not farming, but roaming about from one spot to another for game to live on. There are no means of holding any communication with them, as such people are as timid as jungle deer, and as subtle as

tigers in the use of their poisonous arrows On the Balleh stream the Dyaks inform

me there are roving Bakatans or Ukits, generally to be found about the banks, in most cases in search for wild animals, which report says, abound up this stream. But the Ukits are on friendly terms with the Kayans, and take every opportunity of suppljring them with the heads of people obtained from parties in search for gutta percha or other wild productions for trade. In exchange for these heads they get rice and sago. The Dyaks hold these wild Ukits in much awe, as they say, ' We can never see or get near them, and we cannot resist an enemy like a bird that blows an arrow from a tree upon us.' .... I believe myself they bear a strong af&nity to the Jakoons of the

interior of Malacca These Bakatans are not cannibals, but depend entirely on the

production of the wilderness for the staples of life. There will be much difBculty in gaining any influence over such a people, and it is to be feared they will decrease even to extermination, rather than adapt themselves to civilised modes

" On the Rajang about 50 miles north of Kanowit one afternoon we passed two Bakatans whom I had seen at Kejaman on our ascent, when they asked me for some sign to keep them safe from the

C

i8 H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

and straight. Their eyes are more Hke those of the Chinese than those of the Malays. Their language differs entirely from that of the Sea or Land Dyaks.**

V. — ** The MuRUTS occupy the ground from the left bank of the Limbang into British North Borneo territory.

" The Muruts are bigger men than the Dyaks, but I know little of them as they have only lately come under Sarawak rule. They have nothing in common with the Dyaks ; their appearance, language, and customs differ entirely.

VL — ** The Ukits (name probably derived from the Malay Bukit^ a hill) inhabit the hilly country inland, leading a wandering life, mostly in the Kayan country.

attack of our party when foraging against the enemy. They were by far the wildest men it had ever been my fortune to see, clothed with Maias (orang-utan) skins over their backs and shoulders, using skin caps with dingy feathers attached to them ; but their dress could never have enhanced the wildness of nature's robes. They had well-shaped heads, and moderately good figures— bones without an extra ounce of f!esh, and denoting great muscular power ; aquiline noses, with sunken eyes, yet sparkling with the ferocity of a wild animal ; cheeks indented under high and prominent bones, the lower parts of which, instead of being clothed with whiskers, were tattooed ; this ornament passed round the chin. They looked such peculiar objects that I could not vouchsafe for any sign being a guard against attacks of our people when in an excited state ; so recommended them to keep to their boats, and as close to us as they could." (Brooke ii. 195-6; 225-6; 250-1 ; 302-3.)

^ The tribes which Mr. Maxwell groups under the heading of Kayans. Sir Charles Brooke, writing 30 years ago, groups as Malanaus. " This is the most numerous and widely-ranged tribe, far different from the rest, with ramifications extending over a space of many hundreds of miles, and occupying localities in the interior and centre of the island, extending to the heads of the Kotei, Banger Massin, and Kapuas rivers in the interior, and beyond Brunei in- a northward direction. Their exodus has been, and still is, from the top or head section of the Kapuas. And their different stages of advancement in civilisation are extremely interesting to observe. The most primitive section of the tribe are the Bakatans and Ukits, named from (bukit) a hill, with an affix "an " — meaning hill tribes. It will be desirable to mention that many of their practices are like those of the Samangs or Jacoons of the interior of Malacca. A vocabulary of the language of the latter I have as yet failed to obtain. The branch divisions are severally called after the countries in which they reside, each possessing different customs and dialects ; but the whole coast between Rejang and Brunei is no doubt inhabited by these people.

" The branches inhabiting the inland and up-rivers vary more, although very distinctly of the same stock. The names of some of those branches are Kanowit. Tanjong, Kajaman, Punan, Maloh, Skapan, Kenniah, Bakatan, Ukit, and numerous others.. Some few of these divisions possess traditions of having come originally from the Kotei river, which empties itself at the south-east of the Island. And between the Rejang and the Kotei there are tribes on tribes, all through the centre of the Island, all bearing a similarity to one another; yet they possess many individual charac- teristics, and diffier much in customs and dialects.

" These people have never seen the sea, and depend upon no imported supplies for their livelihood, in spite of their affinity one with another. . . .

" The Kayans are supposed to number ten thousand souls, and the lower intermediate branches of this tribe, named Kajamin, Skapan, Punan, Bakatan, and Ukit, muster many thousands more, but are now much broken up and scattered, many seeking quiet abodes out of the limits of these quarrelsome districts. Above the Kayan country is a tribe named Kenniah, who nominally have always been on friendly terms with us, but are really strangers, as they inhabit the very centre of the Island, between the Kotei and Rejang streams. All of the branch tribes are more or less tattooed : some at the wrist, others below the knee, some all over, and others only a little on the chest. I feel convinced they are all connected, and that the difference of dialects is to be accounted for by separation, which among such people, so soon produces changes of language, usages, and even appearance. The tribes of this river have a tendency to corpulency, and are clumsily built men. without the natural grace of most primitive peoples." (i. 72, 73 ; ii. 300, 301.)

Geographical Distribution. 19

"The Ukits do Ko/ build houses," and I have been told by a Dyak chief who once lived with them for a while that they make temporary shelters between buttresses of large forest trees. They live by hunting, and use the sumpitan or blow-pipe. I have only seen one Ukit and he was a chief, a well-built man about 5 feet 8 inches high, slim, and with a rather refined face, and a rather more prominent nose than the Dyak, Malay, or Kayan ; but this characteristic may have been peculiar to the man.'"*

So far we have to thank Mr. Maxwell. Of the Muruts, Mr. F. O. Ricketts writes : —

" Muruts are very low down in the scale as compared with the other tribes of Borneo ; the race is not by any means prepossessing, the generality are exceedingly ugly and uncouth, they have not the quiet manner nor the little

" On the occasion of a Dyak while bunting Tor gutta being killed by a wild Ukit, a writer in the Saraaiali Gaiitii (No. 169. p. 54) says : " The Ukits are almost impossible 10 be found, ai they have no more fixed habitation (ban wild animals."

*> There is every probability that the Punans, Pakatans, and Ukits are all one and the same people. (H L, R.) See infra in fool notes 31 and as.

20 H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

figure of the Sea Dyak ; they approach more nearly the Land Dyak of Sarawak, but, if anything, are worse as to general appearance. The Murut is loud and coarse, his house and habits are filthy, though if properly treated is friendly and always hospitable.

" Those living in the interior of the Trusan differ in many respects to those in the lower waters ; they are more unsophisticated, their skin is of a lighter colour, they are cleaner, and are heavier and stronger built, skin disease is comparatively rare amongst them, whilst in the case of the latter it is the rule rather than the exception. Whether this is due to a difference of climate it is not easy to say, but, as they inhabit a mountainous country and use no boats, it may account for their having better health and physique.

** The men as a rule are strong and wiry, though clumsy, and of medium height, they are capable of withstanding great fatigue. I have seen them sit up night after night drinking till daybreak, and then, after a snatch of sleep, start away on a tedious journey over steep mountain ranges carrying a heavy load without apparently feeling done up." (S. G., No. 347, p. 213.)

Mr. de Crespigny considered the Muruts to be an old Malay immigration. (Berl. Zeits, N.F., v. 330.)

VIL — The Bisayans. " The Bisayans come from the Philippine Islands. They are an interesting race. They inhabit the lower waters of the Padas and Kalias, where they are Islam ; they are also found on the Limbang, where they are Kafirs. They are very industrious, and raise herds of cattle and buffaloes with sago and paddy plantations ; they come over in numbers to Labuan during the quiet season to work coal and are much liked by their employers. They are a handsome well-made race much fairer in complexion than the people of Brunei. They are fond of gambling and think little of bloodshed." (S. G. No. 45.)

B. BRITISH NORTH BORNEO.

In British North Borneo we have the Lanuns, Bajaus, Malays, Chinese, Sulus, Muruts, and Dusuns (Ida'an).

As before we can dismiss the Malays, Chinese and also the Sulus, all of whom have been described elsewhere ; the Muruts we have dealt with in the first portion of this chapter. Commencing on the seaboard of the east coast, the first people met with are the Bajaus, or Sea Gypsies, on the littoral. The villages on the sea coast and at the rivers* mouths contain many Sooloos, Bugis, lllanuns, and others, but the first tribe of true Bornean aboriginals met with is the Booloodoopy, who have villages from Sugut to Paitan on the north to Tabunac on the south. Largely mixed up with them are the Doompas ^ on the north and the Eraans on the south. Inland from these people the whole bulk of the population are known as Dusuns or Sundyaks, divided up into many tribes and sections, including the Roongas, Kooroories, Umpoolooms, Saga Sagas, Tunbunwhas, Tingaras, Roomarrows and many others, those of the far interior little better than roving savages,

^ A mixture of races, descendants of the interior, Sulus, Bajus, Malays and others.

22 H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit N. Borneo.

while nearer the coast, where they have rubbed against Mahomedan civilisation, they are much more cultivated both in their dress and manners.

I. — The Buludupis. . . . **The ftrst true tribe of the interior arrived at from the east coast is the Booloodoopy. The Booloodupies are a somewhat singular people, many of them having strangely Caucasian features, or at all events departing largely from the ordinary Mongolian type. Some of them have well-raised bridges to their noses, and very round eyes. . . . The Booloodoopies are not very bold, and as the richest of the birds' nest caves occur in their country, they have had to oppose cunning to the straightforward exactions made upon them from time to time by Sooloo and other rapacious adventurers.*'

II. — The Eraans. ** The Eraans in Darvel Bay are closely connected with the Booloodoopies, and like them are large owners of birds* nest caves. At various times both these tribes have sought the society of Sooloo Datos, as a barrier against their fellow Datos, and a protection against the marauders who used to infest the country both by sea and land ; and in many places there is a large infusion of Sooloo blood in consequence.

III. — The Sabahans. "In Darvel Bay there are the remnants of a tribe which seems to have been much more plentiful in bygone days — the Sabahans. Most of them are so mixed with the Eraans as to be almost indistinguishable. Some of them, however, still have villages apart, remain heathen in their religion, and would practise their old customs, human sacrifice included, if allowed. In some of the birds' nest caves, mouldering coffins are to be seen, rudely carved with grotesque figures, said to have been deposited there in bygone days by the old Sabahans. Many of these coffins are on ledges of rock at considerable elevations.

IV. — The Dusuns. ** Next above the Booloodoopies are the Tunbunwhas, or the first sub-division of the main tribe or people known as the Dusuns or Sundyaks, who constitute the chief portion of the population of British North Borneo." (Pryer J. A. I. xvi. p. 23.) ** The principal inhabitants of the districts (Gaya Bay) consist of the Ida'an or Dusan, the aboriginal population.** They are essentially the same in appearance as the Dayak, the Kayan, the Murat, and the Bisaya; their houses, dress, and manners are very similar, modified of course, by circumstances. In the Kabatuan, Mengkabong, Sulaman, and Abai are some tribes of Ida'an, but I have not visited their villages ; I shall, therefore, confine myself to those I observed on the Tawaran and Tampasuk.

** On the banks of the Tawaran, where it flows through the plain, are many villages of Ida'an, which are often completely hidden by groves of fruit-trees. These men have a civilized appearance, wearing jackets and trousers. As you advance into the interior, these gradually lessen, clothes being seen only on a few, as at Kiau, near Kina Balu ; beyond, they are said

«7 " The Buludipis inhabit the China or Kina-batangan river. (Treacher, Jour. Straits Asiatic Soc., No. 20, p. 21.)

Dr. Guillemard mentions the Buludupi on the Sigaliud River (Marchesa ii. 92-96). See infra Mr. Witti's Note (No. 29).

^ Ida'an is the name given them by the Bajus, Dusun by the Borneans (Brunei people).

24 H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

to use the bark of trees. The Ginambur Ida*an are good specimens of the aborigines ; they are free from disease, and are clear-skinned ; they have good-tempered countenances. None of the women are good-looking; still they are not ugly. All the girls and young women wear a piece of cloth to conceal their bosoms : it was upheld by strips of coloured rattans : their petticoats were also longer than usual, and the young girls had the front of the head shaved, like Chinese girls." (St. John i. 374.)

At Maludu Bay the same writer speaks of the Ida*an as '' a dark sharp featured race, intelligent looking, and appeared in features very much like the Land Dayaks of Sarawak" {ibid. 390.)

Mr. Witti expresses himself very strongly against any supposed Chinese mixture in the blood of these Dusuns : —

•' But let me now meet the favourite argument by engaging to point out for every Dusun with a so-called cut of features at least one other Dusun with an accidental Caucasian physiognomy ; and the fair, even rosy complexion of many of these people will certainly tend to bear out my opinion, already ex- pressed, viz., that no Chinese colonies ever existed in the very North of Borneo. Almost everything in which the Dusuns differ from the generality of the Malayan family is attributed to an infusion of Chinese blood ; and some glazed teapot found in a Dusun village is eagerly taken for a monument set by the Celestials themselves." (Diary, Nov. 23.)

On his journey up the Pagalan river he speaks of some tribes thus : ** These people speak Dusun with many foreign words in it, probably of Dalit origin. They differ from the majority of Dusuns, both as regards bodily appearance and wearing apparel. On the whole, they are probably the result of an infusion of Chinese blood with the aboriginal race of North Borneo. Taller than the Dusun proper, these people have the zygomatic arches more prominent, and the eye-slit somewhat oblique, their complexion is of yellowish-white as compared with the light tawny colour of our Northern Dusuns, which has a tinge of ruddiness in it. What strikes one about these here, in juxtaposition to a typical Dusun, is that heavy flatness of the nose, reminding one of the ugliest specimen of Malay faces. Another peculiarity is that our friends here look so crabbed, yet they profess to drink nothing but water. It is to be surmised that the Kijau-Pampang Dusuns differ from their next neighbours in an ethnological respect, for that reason I venture these remarks about them now, but on insufficient evidence. Our journey will not take us back here again. In point of dress these Dusuns make even the Dusuns of our party laugh. An odd display of ornament they have.

Fancy a man with three pairs of earrings and a sou'-wester

Traders u#ed to comprise th^ three hamlets in this part under the name Kijau,** but, to the people themselves, that name is only known as applied to Kijau, at the head of the Kimanis valley."

** " I here since found that the Nabian Dyaks used to speak of the Pampang hamlets as of Kijau. Some tribes, in fact, happen to be known under a different name than used by, or even known to, themselves. After having twice journeyed across the Upper Sugut district, I was yet unable to answer inquiries about the " Tampias" Dyaks, under which designation the Dusuns at the head of the Sugut are spoken of at Sandakan, on account of their pending quarrels with the Dumpas. The Buludupis are Tambunuas by habit and speech. At Sandakan the Sigaliud and Kinabatangan are

26 H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

" Mention is made by Mr. Dalrymple of a tribe distinct from the Dusuns, known as the Tagaas, who inhabit some of the mountains of the west coast, and who he seems to think are the descendants of some old and distinct race." (Pryer J.A.I, xvi. 236.) Mr. Dalrymple makes frequent mention of the Idaan (Dusuns) but I have not been able to trace the above statement.^

On the coast from Brunei Bay northwards to about Maludu Bay there is a settled advanced agricultural population of mixed Chinese and native descent. A portion of this people are known as Kiaus.

In the centre of the Company's territory there are the Sipulotes; whether they are Muruts or E^usuns does not appear.

The Saghais on the east coast are spoken of by Sir Edward Belcher as Dusun (or Idaan).

V. — The Lanuns. "The Lanuns were formerly numerous, having populous settlements on the Tawaran and the Tampasuk, as well as on the Pandasan and Layer Layer farther west. They originally came from the large island of Magindanau, which is considered as the most southern island of the Philippine group. They have formed settlements on various points as convenient piratical stations, particularly on the east coast at Tungku and other places.

"As I have elsewhere observed, not only did they pirate by sea, but they created unappeasable feud with the Ida'an, by stealing their children. No race in the Archipelago equals the Lanun in courage ; the Ida'an therefore considering it useless to make regular attacks, hung about the villages, and by destroying small parties, forced the Lanuns to leave Tawaran, who then joined their countrymen at Tampasuk. Sir Thomas Cochrane attacked both Pandasan and Tampasuk, which induced the most piratical portion to retire to the east coast. At present but few remain in Tampasuk ; they are not considered to have more than 150 fighting men ; they are essentially strangers, and unpopular. They seldom form regular governments, but attach themselves to certain chiefs, who are partial to high-sounding titles, particularly those of sultan and rajah. These chiefs are independent of each other, and unite only for defence, or for an extensive expedition. They, however, are gradually leaving these districts. Although Mahomedans, their women are not shut up ; on the contrary, they freely mix with the inen, and even join in public deliberations, and are said to be tolerably good-looking. The men I have seen are better featured than the Malays or Bajus." (St. John

i. 370-)

styled the Buludupi Rivers, and yet, in the Lukan the Tambanuas never heard the word Buludupi at all. There can be no doubt that we have in the territory many more Dusuns which are Tambanua than Bulupudi. The foreign term "Dusun" should be adhered to in distinction from " Dyak," i.e., every aboriginal non-Dusun and non-Murut to call the Tambunan Dusuns " Dyak Besar," may be complimentary to them, but it is quite gratuitous and confusing. Similar is the case with the Sonzogon and Paitan Dusuns mentioned on the N.E. coast as Sun-Dyak ; and with the Tampias-Dyak already alluded to the Nabai. Bokan Peluan. and Dalit-Dyaks. have one common tongue, Dalit, which is almost the same as Murut, and yet these four tribes are by the Lower Padas people referred to as Muruts Peluan. It may here be remarked that the term " Ida'an." for the true aboriginal majority of Sabah, is used by Bajau and lUanuns only; further, that no Muruts live within the present boundaries of Sabah."

'^ Mr. Forrest speaks of " the people called Oran Idaan or Idahan and sometimes Maroots " (p. 368). He wrote after Mr. Dalrymple so it is quite possible that some of the people spoken of as Idaan by Mr. Dalr3rmple may possibly have been Muruts.

28 H, Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

The second distinct immigrant people are the

VI, — Bajaus, or Sea Gypsies, who, Sir Hugh Low informs me, are said to come from the Straits of Malacca. Of these people Mr. Forrest writes

(p. 372) :■ — " The Badjoo people, called Oran Badjoo, are a kind of itinerant fishermen, said to come originally from Johore, at the east entrance of the straits of Malacca. They live chiefly in small covered boats, on the coasts of Borneo and Celebes, and adjacent islands. Others dwell close to the sea, on

Geographical Distribution. 29

those islands, their houses being raised on poles, a little distance into the sea, always at the mouths of rivers. They are Mahometans. ... In their original country, Johore, where it would seem an old method to live in boats, it is said, that on a certain festival, they crowded in numbers, and made fast their boats, astern of the vessel, in which was their prince ; it being their custom at certain seasons to do so : but a storm arising from the land, they were driven across the southern part of the China Sea, to the coast of Borneo; and of this they celebrate the anniversary by bathing in the sea on an annual day.

"The Bajus are scattered along the coast, their principal settlements being at Mengkabong and Tampasuk. At Mengkabong they appear numer- ous, and perhaps could muster 1,000 fighting men ; at Tampasuk, they estimate their own number at 600 ; at Pandasan, 400 ; at Abai, Sulaman, and Ambong, there are a few. Their origin is involved in obscurity : they are evidently strangers. They self-style themselves Orang Sama, or Saraa men. They principally occupy themselves with fishing, manufacturing salt, and

30 H. Ling Roth. — Nattvrs of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

with petty trade. Some breed cows, horses, and goats, while a few plant rice, and have small gardens.

" They profess the Mahomedan religion, and keep the fast with some strictness ; though, like the Malays^ are probably but little acquainted with its tenets. The Bajus are not a handsome race — they have generally pinched- up, small faces, low foreheads, bnt bright eyes. The men are short and slight, but very active: the women have a similar appearance to the men, and are slighter than the Malay. They wear their hair tied in a knot on the fore part of the crown of the head, which is very unbecoming. The women appeared to have greater liberty than among the Malays, and came and sat near us and conversed. We saw many men that differed totally from the

"Tahah, native of Kbnowit. in Kavan War Drbss." IDlawn by B. N. Vigors, IllKilraliU London Nrwi. loth Nov. 1819.)

above description ; but on inquiry, we found they were a mixed breed : one, Baju, Lanun, Malay, and Chinese ; the next, Baju, Sulu, Lanun, and Malay. In fact, many intermarry, which renders it difficult to give a particular type for one race. The Bajus of Tampasuk nominally acknowledge a Datu as their chief, who receives his authority from Brunei ; but they never pay taxes to the supreme Government, and seldom send even a present. They are individually very independent, and render no obedience to their chief, unless it suits their own convenience. They are, therefore, disunited, and unable to make head against the few Lanuns, with whom they have continual quarrels. Every man goes armed, and seldom walks. If he cannot procure a pony, he rides a cow or a buffalo, the latter generally carrying double. Their arms

A Sagkai {S.E. Borhbo.)

(Prom pUu ta Lieut. Pnnk Uuryii'i " Bortmo."]

, ^ Bf Smniiik In VoL 1.0

C^t Mtu>d/i boot uKl th ■ ..!'-. ..1. - ...'

32 H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

consist of a spear, shield, and sword. Their houses are similar to those of the Malays, being built on posts, sometimes in the water, sometimes on the

It

dry land. In Mengkabong, they are all on the water, and are very poor specimens of leaf-huts. The Tampasuk not affording water accommodation, the houses are built on shore. The only good one was the Datu's,*which

34 H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. S, Borneo.

consisted of a planked house of two stories ; the lower, occupied by the married portion of the family, consisted of one large room, with broad enclosed verandahs, occupied by the chief, his wife, and his followers, while the upper was reserved for the young unmarried girls and children. Of furniture there is little — mats, boxes, cooking utensils, and bed places being the principal. In these countries there are no public buildings, no offices, jails, or hospitals, or even a fort or stockade ; and the houses being built of but temporary materials, there are' no ancient buildings of any description. The Bajus are very fond of cock-fighting, and in order to indulge in this sport with greater satisfaction, carefully rear a verj- fine breed of fowls, which are famous along the coast. I have seen some of the cocks as large as the Cochin Chinese. It is probable they are descended from those brought by the early immigrants from China, as they no way resemble the ordinarj' Bomean breed found in every Malay and Dayak village. They fatten readily, and the hens bring up fine broods." (St. John i. 371-3.)

According to Mr. Pryer the ** Bajaus or sea gypsies are a curious, wan- dering, irresponsible sort of race, rather low down in the scale of humanity, and live almost entirely in boats, in families. Though undoubtedly of Malay origin, they are much larger in stature, and stronger and darker than

ordinary Malays Not caring to store up property, and rarely

troubling themselves as to where next week's meals are to come from, they pick up a precarious livelihood along, the shore line, by catching fish, finding sea slugs and turtle eggs, spearing sharks, and so forth. As an illustration of their unthriftiness, I may mention that I have known one who brought a find of rather higher value than usual to market (a tortoise shell, I think), and bartered it for rice, the only thing they care for, and then threw two or three bags of the rice overboard sooner than be at the bother of taking it about with him. They lead a wild, free, roving life in the open air, untroubled by any care or thought for the morrow.*' (J.A.I, xvi. 230.)

Dr. Guillemard says they are quite distinct from the Sulus and of a much lower type (Malaysia p. go) and that they are well-known in most of the creeks and rivers of the island of Borneo {ibid, 234). " The Bajaus, who in Blitong (Sumatra) and some parts of Borneo, are known by the name of Sikas, are a wandering race of Malays, who pass their lives in boats from the cradle to the grave. In some places they have changed their mode of life, have built houses, and cultivated the ground ; but this is seldom the case and the majority act as cattle stealers, petty pilferers, and kidnappers, and are not averse from more serious crimes if the occasion should offer. They have given a good deal of trouble to the North Borneo Company's Government, some of whose officers they have murdered, while boats' crews have more than once been cut off by them." {ibid, 240).'*

'^ At Banjermassin. south coast of Borneo, Beekman writes (p. 43) : ~ " The inland inhabitants are much taller and stronger bodied men than the Banjareens. fierce, warlike and barbarous. They are called Byajos, an idle sort of people, hating industry or trade, and living generally upon rapine and the spoil of their neighbours ; their religion is Paganism, and their language different from that spoken by the Banjareens. They go naked and only have a small piece of cloth that covers their private parts ; they stain their bodies with blue, and have a very odd custom of making holes in the

Geographical Distribution. 35

The Bajaus are the people who murdered Burns, the traveller. (De Crespigny. Berl. Zeit. N. F. v. 334.)

The Balignini pirates met with on the coast are really Bajaus and come from a small island on the north of Sulu. They were thoroughly thrashed by the Spaniards in 1848. In 1879 they " murdered or kid- napped 65 people in North Borneo, and have since then committed other minor acts of piracy, but it is believed these outrages are now, practically speaking, things of the past." (Guillemard: Malaysia24i.)

"On the N.E. part of Borneo is a savage piratical people, called Oran Tedong, or Tiroon, who live far lip certain rivers. The Sooloos have lately subdued them, by getting the Rajah (or chief) into their power. These Oran Tedong fit out vessels large and small, and cruise among the Philippine islands, as has been formerly said. They also cruise from their own country, west to Pirate's Point, and down the coast of Borneo, as far as the island Labuan. After an excursion I once made from Balambangan to Patatan, a little beyond the island Pulo Gaya ; on my return, I put into a small bay, east of Pirate's Point almost oppo- site Balambangan. There appeared nine Tedong pirates, in vessels of small size, about that of London wherries below bridge. Several Badjoo boats being in the bay at the same time, the people laid the boats close to the shore, landed, and clapt on their (Ranty) iron-ring jackets for defence. The

pirates kept in a regular line, put a Dusun,

about, and stretched off altogether, '^'" ^°"^ ^""" '^"^ '=*""

sofl parts of thdr ears when yoang, into which they thrust large plugs and by continual pulling down these plugs, the holes grow in time so large, that when they come to man's estate their ears bang down to Iheir very shoulders. The biggest end of the plug is as broad as a crown piece, and is tipt with a thin plate of wrought gold. The men of quality do generally pull out their fore teeth and put gold ones in their room. They sometimes wear, by way of ornament, rows of tygers" teeth strong and hang roand their necks and bodies."

36 H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

not choosing to land. Had I been alone in the bay I might have fallen into their hands.

" The Oran Tedong live very hard on their cruises, their provisions sometimes being raw sago flour. They have often no attop or covering; nay, sometimes as the Sooloos have told me, they go, especially if it rains, stark naked. The Moors of Magindano, and the Illanas, also Moors, despise these people. When they meet, how- ever, in roads and harbours among the Philippines, where the common prey is, they do not molest one another. I have been told that the Oran Tedong will, in cer- tain cases, eat human

flesh Their

boats are sometimes small, and made of thin planks, sewed together. I have heard of some such, once shut up in a bay by a Spanish cruiser : they took the boats to pieces and carried them

away over land

The Oran Tedong make

(E*ru.NoribBorneoCo,coii.) a great deal of granulated

sago, which they sell to

thelSooloos very cheap; perhaps at one dollar a pecui. The Sooloos, a?i has

been said, sell this again to the China Junks." (Forrest p. 374.)

Geographical Distribution.

37

C. LIST OF TRIBES IN BORNEO. Prepared for this work by Mr. Chas. Hose.

I. Kayans.

Uma Bawang. Rejang R., Baram Uma Kulit, Balungan R. [ R. Uma Naving, Rejang R. Uma Belubu, Baram R., Balun- gan R. Uma Poh, Baram R. [ R.

Uma Lisam, Balungan R., Bahau Uma Lim, Balungan R., Bahau R. Uma Baka, Balungan R . Kapuas Uma Pliau. Baram R. [ R.

Uma Lbkkan, Balungan R. Long Wai. Mahakam R. Uma Gi, Balungan R. Uma Ging, Kapuas R.

2. Kenniahs.

Lbppu Ybngan. Baram R., Re- jang R.

Tbppu An, Baram R.

Lbppu Taus, Rejang R.. Balun- gan R.

Lbppu Afong. Balungan R., Baram R.

Lbppu Lutong, Balungan R., Baram R.

Lbppu Tbppu, Balungan R. [ R.

Lbppu Anans. Rejang R.. Baram

Lbppu Lbnau, Rejang R., Balun- gan R.

Lbppu Laang, Baram R., Ba- lungan R.

Lbppu Pohun, Baram R., Balun- gan R.

3. Madamos and Sebops.

Lbppu Agas, Baram R., Rejang Lbppu Pa yah, Balungan R. [R. Lbppu Maut, Inland Tribe * Danum Madangs I u^,- „„ J, PliranMadangs|^®J*°8^ Madangs Usun Apo, head of Tinjar R.

Sebops.

LiRONG, Rejang R., Baram R. Long Pokun. Rejang R. Tinjar Sbbops, Tinjar R. Long Wats, Baram R.

* The Leppa Mauts live between the head waters of the Baram, Rejang, and Balungan Rivers.

4. Uma Pawas, Uma Klap. and Uma Timi.

Uma Pawas, Baram R., Rejang

R. Uma Klap, Rejang R., Balungan Uma Timi, Rejang R. [ R.

5. Bahau, Muriks.

Bahau. Baram R., Balungan R.,

Apoh R. Muriks, Baram R.

9. Tanjongs and Kanowits.

6. Pkhengs or Pengs.

Pehengs, Kapuas R. Pengs, Koti R., Mahakam R.

7. Punans and Ukits, Bakatans

AND SiHANS.

Punan Bah, Rejang R., Tatau R. Coast Punans or Pbnans. Niah

R., Bintulu R., Suai R., Bakong

R. Punan Bok, Bok R. Punan Aput, Aput R. Punan Akah, Akah R. Punan Batu, Bukit Batu * Punan Parah, Parah R. Punan Dapoi, Dapoi R. Punan Lisum. Rejang R. Punan Koti, Koti R. Punan Kapuas, Kapuas R.

Ukits,

Baloi Ukits, Rejang R. Koti Ukits, Koti R. Kapuas Ukits, Kapuas R.

Bakatans.

Baloi Bakatans, Rejang R. Bintulu Bakatans, Tatau R.

Sihans. Sihans, Rejang R.. Koti R.

* Bukit Batu is a mountain at the head of the Rejang River.

8. Malanaus.

Muka Malanaus, Muka R.,

OyaR. Bintulu Malanaus or Sbgaans.

Niah R.. Bintulu R. MiRis, Bakam R., Miri R. Dallis, Sibuti R., Bakong R. Narom, Baram R. Matu Malanaus, Matu R. Rejang Malanaus, Rejang R. Igan Milanaus, Igan R. SiGALANGS, Rejang R. SiDUANs. Rejang R. Tutongs, Tutong R. Balaits, Balait R.

Rejang Tanjongs. Rejang R. Kapuas Tanjongs, Kapuas R. Lugats, Rejang R.. Kapuas R.

Kiinowits. Rbjang Kanowits, Kanowit R.

10. Orang Bukits and Bskiaus.

Orang Bukits, Baram R., Koti

R., Balungan R., Balait R. Bekiaus, Tutong R.

II. Long Kiputs, Long Akahs, Long

Pat AS, Batu Blahs, Barawans,

Trincs.

Long Kiputs, Baram R.

Long Akahs, Baram R.

Long Patas, Tutau R., Baram

Batu Blahs, Tutau R. [ R.

Barawans, Tinjar R

Trings, Tutau R., Limbang R.

12. Kaiamans, Sikbpangs, Lanans, Bahmali, Taballaus.

Kajamans, Rejang R. Sikbpangs. Rejang R. Lanans, Rejang R. Bahmali. Baram R. Taballaus, Baram R.

13. MuRUTS and Kalabits.

MuRUTS, Trusan R., Limbang R., Banjar R.

MuRUT Main,* Inland Tribe, Trusan R.

MuRUT Bah, Trusan R., Lim- bang R.

Kalabits.

Kalabits, Baram R., Limbang

R. Leppu PoTONGS.t Inland Tribe,

Baram R. LiBBUN Kalabits, Baram R.

* The Murut Main people live at the head of the Trusan River and the hi interior.

t Leppu Potongs live between the head waters of the Baram and Limbang Rivers.

14. BiSAYAS.

,: BisAYAS. Limbang R.

38 H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brk. N. Borneo.

List of Tribes in Borneo. — Contituud.

It. Dtaks.— CaiJiiu

16. Land Dyakg.

Grogo, Upper Sarawak R. SiNGGt.SinRgiMouDtaii), Upper

Sarawak R. jAGOi, Upper Sarawak R. Quop, Quop R. Sbntah, Sentah R. Merdanc. Ltmo R. SiLAKAV, Lundu R. StBAVOR, Upper Sarawak R, Sdkokc, Upper Sarawak R.

.] Maldbs,

Kapuas R, OHS. Kapuas R.

-MALOHE.KapuasR.

MftuoHs, Kapuas R. '

Taman Malohs, Kapuas R. 1 BuNVAU Malohs. Kapuas R. Palin Mauohs. Kapuas R Mandallam Malohs. Kapuas

Katungo M:

Sibil ITS

SOAITS En SI L ATS

Em PAN A HC

Kanapai

BaLAU 0VAKS \

Undup Dvaks [BaUng Lupar

I Skbkang Dvaks [ R.

II Batanc Lupar I II Sarebas, Sarebas R , Rejaog

BnGAU Dvaks Kantu Dvars

Malang Dvaks SiKALAC Dvaks Mar AH DVAKB Enltai Dvaig Malabah Dvaks Rambai Dvaks SvAiT Dvaks

JiLIHD DVAKE

Adit Dvaks SiKAFAT Dvaks Kadeupai Dvaks

DVAh

Kalaka R.,

Kalaka

Rejang R. Lamanak. Batang Lupar

Rejang R Katiras Dvaks, Rejaug R.

' Spread about all over tfaecountry.

Design bv a Kayan Chirp on the Ufpkr Rbjang.

He observed Her Highness the Ranee skelcbiog and said he could draw tc

He drew this and the design on p. 43.

CHAPTER II. THE MISUSE OF THE WORD "DYAK."

Name applicable to one class only — Meaning — Ka-daya-n — Daya — Dutch misnomer— Orang daya — Restricting its use — Movements of Sea Dyaks — We (ban — A nickname — New names — Meyer's investigations — Veth's opinion — The • waddlitig * theory— Other similar words — Daya a tribal name — Dajaksch — First use of word Dyak — Not a collective name— The spread of the word — Various spellings — Similar words again — Further evidence wanted — Dyak in Chalmers' Vocabu- lary— Probable explanation — Sea Dyak for ' man ' — Land Dyaks and Sea Dyaks not the same people — Dyak Darat and Dyak Laut — Sir James Brooke's error — Name to be restricted— No equivalent for Sea Dyaks.

The term Dyak appears to have been given a more widespread significance than it is entitled to, and people are thereby misled. The first English Rajah^ Sir James Brooke, says of the word, in his diary : '* Though all the wild people of Borneo are by Europeans called Dyaks, the name properly is only applicable to one particular class inhabiting parts of the north western coast and the mountains of the interior." (Mundy i. 234.) Sir Chas. Brooke, the present Rajah, states : " The generic term Dyak (or properly called Dya by themselves) in many dialects simply means inland, although among many of the branch tribes the term is not known as being referable to them- selves, further than in its signification as a word in their language. Some of the interior populations, even as far off as Brunei, are called Ka-daya-n. Then again, the Maiiu or Malanau name for inland is Kadaya, although the generic term applied to themselves is Malanau, the origin of which is unknown. Again, the name of the numerous tribes situated far in the interior of Rejang, although a distant branch of the Malanau tribe, are called Kayan, and our own more immediate people Daya, or as more generally known, Dyak, The land Dyaks' word for inland is Kadayo.'' (i. 46.)

When Mr. Bock's book appeared, Mr. C. A. Bampfylde, writing from Fort Kapit, Rejang River, February, 1882, to the ** Field '' newspaper, says :

** The Dutch error of applying the name Dyak to all the inland tribes is here repeated, the author styling as Dyaks all those tribes he met ; whereas, properly speaking, they are amalgamated with the Kayans, Kiniahs, Punans, and other branch -tribes who inhabit the heads of the Barram, Rejang, Balleh, Kapuas, Banjer, Koti or Mahkam, and Bulongan rivers. The Piengs pre- dominate in the upper waters of the Mahkam. The above-mentioned tribes are not known as Dyaks, nor do they style themselves as such ; they are known by their own names, such as Kayan, Pieng, Kiniah, Punan, Cajaman, Skapan, Tugat, Ukit, Bakatan, and other Dyaks, though sometimes calling themselves Aurang-Daya (aurang, or * orang ' as written in English, man, men), in their own language style themselves as * aurang iban ' (a name given

40 H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

them by the aborigines), but to them, and to them only, do the Malays apply the word daya, which means inland, interior, and from this word arise the names Ka-daya-an (a tribe inhabiting a branch of the Brunei) and Kayan. The Malays are known to the Sea Dyaks by the name of ' Laut ;' to the Melanau and Kayan tribes by the name of ' Klieng.' The Dyaks are purely distinct from the above-mentioned tribes, among whom, on the other hand, great similarity in language and customs may be traced, and who are, in all probability, aborigines of Borneo, which the Dyaks certainly are not. There are two distinct tribes of Dyaks, the Land- and Sea- Dyaks."

Mr. A. Hart Everett is equally emphatic : '* May I suggest that ethnologists should make a more sparing use of the term * Dyak ' when treating of the Malay Archipelago ? It should only be applied to tribes who themselves use it as the distinctive appellation of their people. As more than one tribe so uses it, there should always be prefixed some word still further limiting its application in each particular case. As employed by Malays, who are followed both by Dutch and English travellers, the word has scarcely better standing-ground in a scientific terminology than has * Alfuro.'

" The following fact with regard to the Sea-Dyaks may be of interest. When Europeans first entered Sarawak the Kayans, properly so called, were dominant in the great Rejang River, and the Sea-Dyaks were strictly confined to the Batang Lupar, Saribas, and Kalakah rivers. Now the Sea-Dyak population of the Rejang is some 30,000, and the Rejang Dyaks are rapidly occupying the Oyah, Mukah, and Tatau rivers further up coast. On the original Sea-Dyak rivers the people always use the expression "we Dyaks*' when they mention their own race ; but on the Rejang the (expression " we Iban " will invariably be heard — the explanation being that the Kayans habitually designate Sea-Dyaks as " Ivan " among themselves, whence the Dyaks have applied the name ; but, having no v-sound in their language, they say " Iban." The Kayan proper is rich in v-sounds. I have been informed, though I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the statement, that " Ivan " in Kayan is a term carrying with it a sense of opprobrium. However this may be, it is remarkable that so large a section of the Sea-Dyaks, who are so thoroughly dominant in Rejang, and are in constant daily communication with their original seat in the rivers to the westward, should in the course of some thirty years have come to habitually speak of themselves by the name given them by their foes. And it is the more surprising because the Sea-Dyaks generally give new names of their own to the geographical features of the district into which they immigrate." (Papar, North Borneo.)

" That on the Rejang the Sea Dyaks should have adopted the name given them by their enemies is very curious, but it may, as we shall see later on, help to explain their present name of Sea Dyaks. But before going into that matter let us see what Dr. A. B. Meyer says, for Dr. Meyer has very carefully examined all that has been said about the origin of the word Dyak.* Writing in German he, of course, writes a j where we write a jy ; on account of other and lesser peculiarities I have thought it better to adhere to his spelling in giving the following summary of his investigations : —

1 " Ueber die Namen Papua, Dajak und Alfuren."

The Misuse of the Word " DyaW' 41

Prof. Veth appears to have been the first to discuss the word.* Colonel Perelaer would derive it from the word dadajak = waddling and therefore looked upon it as a nickname.* As Hardeland in his Dajacksch-Deutches Dictionary* mentions this word Prof. Veth considered Perelaer's supposition correct but thought it strange that the Europeans should have adopted a nickname out of the native language. But Missionary Becker,* of Pulopetak, had already in 1849 made the same guess as to the origin of the word Dyak, and Perelaer may have copied him, as originally Perelaer did not give this explanation.* Dr. Meyer sought in vain for the word in neighbouring vocabularies. He finds in Lampit the word daja = deceit, and in Hardeland's Dictionary pardi-dajak = a sort of rice ; also Dajam = female name ; Dajan == lying together ; he also refers to two districts in South Borneo known as Little Dajak and Great Dajak.'' He says. Prof. Veth also refers to Crawford's mentioning of an unknown tribe on the north-west coast called Dyak : * The word is most probably derived from the name of a particular tribe, and in a list of the wild tribes of the north-western coast of Borneo furnished to me by Malay merchants of the country one tribe of this name was included.'® Dr. Meyer refers to the curious statement of Dr. Peter Braidwood, who, in referring to a poison from Borneo says, " Dajaksch is the name of a well-known native tribe in Borneo !'" and he mentions Bock's assertion that Dajaksch is the name of a tribe. According to one interpretation, says Dr. Meyer, the word Daya or Dayack means inland. Then Dr. Meyer continues : ** In order to understand more clearly the derivation of the word it would be well to see how early and by whom the word Dajak was first used in literature. Valentijn,^** 1726, does not appear to have known the expression, as he speaks of Borneers ; Buflfon," 1749, j"st as little, as he speaks of the inhabitants of Borneo, while he knows the name Papua very well ; Forrest, 1779, likewise not ; Forster " still called the natives of Borneo Beyajos and not Dajaks. On the other hand Radermacher, " in the year 1780, uses the designation Dajak and Dajakker in such a way as to infer that it was commonly known in Batavia and the Netherlands-India in general. Locally, therefore, in those districts the term Dajaks for the natives of Borneo may have been in use earlier than in European literature, but its origin is certainly by no means so old as that of the name Papua. We may undoubtedly conclude that these people did not originally speak of themselves

' Tijdschr. v. h. Aardrijkskundig Genootscbap te Amsterdam 1881, v. 182. (A. B. M.) 3 Borneo van Zuid naar Noord 1881, i. 149. (A. B. M.)

* Dayaksch-Deutch Worterbuch, Amsterdam 1859. (A. B. M.) ^ Indisch Archief i. Jaarg. Deel i, 1849, 423. (A. B. M.)

^ Etbnograpbische Beschrijving der Dajaks, 1871, 2. (A. B. M.)

^ Eenige Reizen in de binnenlanden van Borneo. Togt van Banjer naar Becompaij en de Kleine Daijak : Tijdscbr. Ned. Ind. 1824. i. Jaarg. ii. 90. (A. B. M.) ^ Crawfurd Descrip. Diet. Ind. Isl. 1856, p. 127. (A. B. M.)

* The physiological actions of Dajaksch, an arrow poison used in Borneo. Edin. Med. Jour. 1864, p. 12. (A.B. M.)

"Vol. iii. 2, p. 251. (A.B.M.)

" Hist. Nat. iii. p. 399. (A. B. M.)

" Bern, auf s. Reise 1783. p. 313. (A. B. M.)

» Verb. Bat. Gen. vol. ii. (3 druk 1826) p. 44. (A. B. M.)

42 H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo,

collectively as Dajaks. . . . After referring to Dr. Gabelentz* " mistaken notion on this point and after discussing the word Alfuro, Dr. Meyer comes back to the word Dajak and considers that the name may have spread from that of a single tribe much the same as the name Burni (now Bruni) has given its name to the whole island, and thinks the Chinese, who for many centuries have played an important part in Borneo, may have extended its use. He points out that the word Dajak is written in many ways, thus Daya, Diak, Dayer, Dyak, Daias, Daiaer, Daijak, and points out that the terminal k is quite without significance." " But," he continues, " the word dayah means in Sarawak language man, and dayah beruri = sorcerer ; in the Lundu dialect dayung = woman, and in Lara and Lundu (Ukewise in the north-west), daya = blood (Malay dara)}^ In any case we must not lose sight of the above word daya in our investigations among the north and north-west tribes, as failing any other explanation, it might herald a natural solution of the question. Many people call themselves merely * men.' '* Dr. Meyer then gives a list of words similar to Dyak with various significations taken from a variety of Philippine dialects and consequently considers the "waddling" theory as quite untenable. He concludes : " The origin of this word therefore remains less clear than that of Papua or Alfuro : but historical studies on one side and local studies on the other side will certainly yet explain more fully the word Dajak." Dr. Meyer could have gone a step further.

In the Rev. Mr. Chalmers' Sarawak vocabulary — Sarawak lies in the heart of the Land Dyak country — we find the following :

man

merchant prisoner visitor . liar . .

= dayah

= dayah berdagang [Malay berdagang = to trade]

= dayah takap

= dayah numi

— dayah kadong

doctor (conjuror) = dayah beruri

»

So that the word dayah is quite a generic term for man. It would thus seem to me that Europeans, or probably before them the Malays, learned to call these people Dyaks because the generic term for man amongst them is dayah, but not because the people had that collective name for themselves, for as Sir James Brooke says they never so used it. (Keppel ii. 171.)

It may be objected to this that the Sea Dyak generic term for man, husband, and male, being, according to Mr. Brooke Low, laki, how is it then that they too are called Dyaks ? The first man who divided the Dyaks into Land and Sea Dyaks was the first English Rajah, Sir James Brooke. At least, I am unable to find an author previous to him who so divided them, and I appear to be confirmed in my statement by Sir Hugh Low when he writes: "The Dyaks appear to be divided by many customs naturally into

14 Gramm. der Dajak Sprache 1852, p. 5. (A. B. M.)

^^ For an explanation as to the probable origin of the mistaken use of the k see Yen. Archd. Perham's paper on language, S. G. No. 136, and infra,

'• According to Mr. Chalmers in Sarawak blood is deyah ; see also Yen Archd. Perham's paper already referred to.

The Misuse of the Word " Dyak." 43

two classes, which have been called by Mr. Brooke Land and Sea Dyaks" (p. 165). Sir James Brooke's words are; "The Dyaks are divided into Dyak Darrat [darat = ATy land in Malay] and Dyak Laut [laut=sea. in Malay^ or land and sea dyaks. The Dyak Lauts, as their name implies, frequent the sea; and it is needless to say much of them, as their difTerence from the Dyak Darrat is a difference of circumstance only." (Keppel ii. 174). But since then further intercourse with both peoples has shown a very wide difference in almost every particular. Regarding the use of the word darai, Dalrymple (p. 40) used it : " The inland people of Passir (E, Coast) are called Darat."

Sir James Brooke appeared as the champion of the oppressed people now known as the Land Dyaks. It was through them he got to know of the Sea Dyaks, and no doubt the Land Dyaks spoke of those "men" as dayah, and hence he could only come to the conclusion they were the same people. As for the Sea Dyaks adopting the name of the Dyaks at all that would only be on a par with their adopting the name Iban on the Rejang river as mentioned by Mr. Everett.

Whether the explanation I have just suggested as to the origin of the use of the word Dyak be the correct one or not, there remains the fact that the word should not be extended to any other peoples than those known as the Land and Sea Dyaks. It is even doubtful whether we should speak of Sea Dyaks, but then in their case we have the excuse that there is no other collective name for them.

Design bv a Kavan Chief.

See p. 3B.

iLHdy Brooke Coll.l

CHAPTER III. PHYSIQUE.

Great differences inter si. Land Dyaks : Well proportioned — Well fed —Grave expression— Misery — Early marriages — Hard work — Early decay — Fine men — Facial features — Colour — Women inferior to men— Carrying heavy burdens — Activity — Few accidents — Well made women- Wicked glances — Beautiful hair— Good points — Physique of three men. Aups : Fine physique and great drinkers —Healthiness —Barrenness. Simpoke: Misery — Disease — Barrenness — Hard work tells— Water carriage. Serin: Strong physique — Korap bad— Superior women — Boat builders — Good looks. Brang: Inferior physique — Close inter-marriage —Laborious existence. Bukar : Sturdy people — Good forms — Prettiness — Superior people — Beards — Good features — Women overworked. Quop : Pleasing features. Upper Sarawak : Colour and features— Curly hair — Flat nose — Thick lips — Robust people — Heavy loads — Hard life— Women's work. Sennahs: Well-built — Healthiness — Superior physique — Open address— Good looking women — Cheerful faces — Fulness of life — Not a fine race— Slight build— Muscular development — Light colour. Lundu : Well made— Good looking — Natural grace— Well proportioned — Facial features — Absence of facial hair — A chief —A fine specimen — General ugliness. Sea Dyaks : General appearance — Good carriage — Men well proportioned — Women ill favoured — Activity — Endurant:e — Fleshiness— Natural grace — Colour — Flowing locks — Women handsomer than men — Facial features — Hair — Teeth — Busts — Early decay — Young women — Facial features — Nose — Mouth — Brightness — Hair — Tossing their tresses— Skin — Hard work — Swelled ankles — Stiff gait — Strong workers — Variations in skin colour— An ugly child — An active man — A young mother — Poor figures — Stout strong men — Better noses — Water carriage — Women's heavy work — Activity in water — Graceful attitudes— Sculptors' models — Fine specimens — Paddle-stroke — Expedition work — Personal odour. Sarebas : Perfect symmetry — Sharp eye — A head taker — Hard worker — Fever. Sibuyaus : Well made — Prettiness — Delicate forms — Skin — Stoutly made men — Fine children. Ballaus : Women hard worked — Endurance — Activity — Appearance. Skarans : Good physique— Chest measurement — Skin— Hairiness — Nice looking — Elegant gait — Strength — Handsome women — Clean built men — Activity — Carrying the wounded— Boyhood exercise — Making of good soldiers — Sarebas versus Skarans. Undups: Sibus: Most beautiful women. Kanowits ;. Good-looking devils— Plain women — A hideous object — Women darker than men. Milanaus : General appearance — Women high priced as slaves— Fairness — A prodigious striker — Sallow women — Cleanly men — Ill-formed — Like other tribes — Some good-looking girls — Large feet. Kayans: Stature — Fleshiness— Features — Perfect models — Endurance— Chiefs — Tolerable-looking women— Countenances— Figures— Pretty attendants— Not bad looking — Like wild Irishmen !— Not prepossessing women. Sibops: A formidable antagonist. Ukits : Bahatans : Striking eyes — Handsome fellows. Poonans: Fairest natives — Women not bad looking — Endurance. Dusuns : Well-made— Muscular — Young women — Pretty— Early worn out— No Chinese affinity — Protuberance of shin-bone— Well-proportioned limbs — Superior to Muruts — Fair skins— Mongolian type— Baggage carriers — Women's endurance— Strength — Activity — Clear skins — Women not good looking — Small men — Like Sarawak Dyaks— The loveliest girl in Borneo — A physiognomical unpleasantness — Well-built people. Kiatts : Dirtiness — Trace of Chinese blood — Childlike curiosity — Better than the Melangaps — Robustness. Muruts : Splendid men — Women muscular creatures — Superior to Malays— Statuesque — Active life — Old look of children — Ill-favoured Adangs — Repulsive looks. Lanuns : A fine chief. Bajaus : Not handsome — Pinched features — Large family.

II. Agb : Not long lived — Ages guessed — How reckoned — Ninety-five years — Longevity — Four generations — Age ; how computed. Stature ; Table of recorded measurements — Land Dyaks — Sea Dyaks— Dusuns. Colour: Land Dyaks— Sea Dyaks— Milanaus — Kayans — Muruts — Dusuns. Noses : Land Dyaks— Sea Dyaks— Kayans. Hair : Land Dyaks— Sea Dyaks. Malay and Indonesian affinities.

Physique. 45

From what has alreadv been said, it will have been seen that in appearance, physique, language, and character the various peoples differ very considerably, but inter se the difference is most marked amongst the Land Dyaks.

Land Dyaks.

Speaking generally Mr. Wallace says: ** Their forms are well pro- portioned, their feet and hands small, and they rarely or never attain the bulk of body so often seen in Malays and Chinese." (i. p. 138.)

On the Samaharan river Sir Spencer St. John says : '* I have never seen any Land' Dayaks with an air of greater comfort ; they appear to be well fed, and, consequently, are more free from skin diseases than their neigh- bours." (i. 224.)

'* In personal appearance, the Dyaks of the Hills very much resemble those of the other tribes already described ; but they have a more grave and quiet expression of countenance, which gives to their features a melancholy and thoughtful air. It is very probable, that their many miseries may have much increased this appearance, though it is natural to them, being observable, in a less degree, in all the tribes of both divisions. Their countenance is an index to the character of their mind, for they are of peculiarly quiet and mild disposition, not easily roused to anger, or the exhibition of any other passion or emotion, and rarely excited to noisy mirth, unless during their periodical festivals." (Low p. 239.)

Speaking of the Land Dyaks generally Mr. Grant says: "The women marry young, from thirteen to eighteen years of age, and from their hard work soon get old, and good looks, when there are any, last but a short time. The men seem to wear better, and many of them are finely-made fellows, and frequently not ill-looking, (p. 56.) . . . The Land Dyaks of Sarawak, Sadong, Sambas, Kapuas, &c., as compared with Europeans, or even natives of India, are short but well-proportioned, and very active. They have high cheek-bones and flattish nostrils, yet their features are not exaggerated, Hke those of the Negroes. The skin is of a reddish-brown tint, i.e., when a man is near you, you would say he was of a brown colour, but when seen at a distance, with a back-ground of jungle, you would perceive a slightly reddish tint in his skin. The hair is generally worn long hke a woman's, and but rarely shaved clean off, as is that of the Malays, {ibid 96.) . . . The women are generally in looks inferior to the men ; a result, I should say, of their having as much hard work as the stronger sex, which further results in premature old age. Women, particularly married ones, after for years carrying tremendous weights of wood, water, and grain, probably quite as heavy as those which their more robust husbands carry, can hardly be expected to have an erect carriage, and when they walk it is with inturned toes and a slight stoop. I may remark, however, that the women of the Sea Dyaks are better-looking than those of the Land Dyaks ; they have neater figures, and indeed many of them are pretty. The men, on the other hand, though they work hard enough, still can boast the strength of their sex, and are first-rate walkers, with a step as sure as that of a Highland pony, and as light as that of a bird. Notwithstanding the wretched state of

46 H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo,

their roads, and the difficulties of walk, I have seldom heard of accidents happening among the natives. Once only do I recollect hearing of a woman who had fallen from a rock and broken her arm. Strange to say, in this instance, the broken arm was set by one of themselves, and the woman is well and active as ever.'* (ibid, p. 97.)

Lieut. Marryat thus describes the Land Dyak women : " They were much shorter than European women, but well-made ; very interesting in their appearance, and affable and friendly in their manners. Their eyes were dark and piercing, and I may say there was something wicked in their furtive glances ; their noses were but slightly flattened ; the mouth rather large ; but when I beheld the magnificent teeth which required all its size to display, I thought this rather an advantage. Their hair was superlatively beautiful, and would have been envied by many a courtly dame. It was jet black, and of the finest texture, and hung in graceful masses down the back, nearly reaching to the ground. A mountain Dyak girl, if not a beauty, has many most beautiful points ; and, at all events, is very interesting and, I may say, pretty. They have good eyes, good teeth, and good hair ; — more than good : I may say splendid ; — and they have good manners, and know how to make use of their eyes." (p. 14.)

Of three men. Sir Jas. Brooke says: ** Segama, the Bukar, measured five feet five inches and a half; was fair, not well-made, but intelligent. Sino, the Brang, measured five feet four inches and a half ; well, but slightly made, and had a very sensible countenance. Angass, the Sabungo, measured four feet ten inches, and was stout and athletic for a Dyak." (Mundy i. 201.)

Mr. Denison has given us many descriptions of the various tribes: **Some of the Aup Dyaks were physically fine fellows, and many of them great dandies in dress. (Ch. iii. p. 34.) I may observe that the Dyak tribes visited by me from Tringus to Sumban were all incomparably superior to the other tribes on the western and southern branches of the Sarawak and the Samarahan rivers in carrying heavy burdens over a mountainous country', and at their feasts were harder drinkers. (Ch. v. p. 45.) Although the Sign men seemed strong and healthy, and I noticed no disease except korap^, I heard the same complaint of the barrenness of the women ; those I met with were plump and even comely, though I cannot add the word pretty. (Ch. vii. p. 74.) Altogether Simpoke has a miserable, poverty-smitten appearance, while the inhabitants are physically about the worst I had yet encountered, the men as a rule being a mere mass of korap, the women ugly and many barren, and the Dyaks inform me that many of the children die at their birth. Some of the girls showed signs of good looks, but hard work, f)oor feeding, and inter-marriage and early marriage soon told their tale, and rapidly convert them into ugly, dirty, diseased old hags, and this at an age when they are barely more than young women. The Simpoke Dyaks have no water on the mountain near the village; every drop of this necessary of life has therefore to be carried by the women and girls almost from the foot of Brungo. It is a sad sight to see the Dyak girls, some but nine or ten years of age, carrying water up the mount in

^ This disease is described in the chapter on Pathology.

Physique, 47

bamboos, their bodies bent nearly double, and groaning under the weight of their burden. (Ch. vii. pp. 75-76.) I found the Dyaks here (at Serin) well built, strong-looking fellows. Korap, however, was very prevalent ; one victim to this disease, who was my neighbour in the head house, was in a fearful state, being covered from head to foot ; he, poor fellow, appeared to suffer great pain. The women here were much superior to the general of Land Dyaks, being stout, hale, and hearty. (Ch. viii. p. 76.) The Serins are boat-builders, and good boatmen ; they are physically well built and strong, but they suffer very much from korap. . . . The Serin women are well favored, strong, and healthy, and there is no complaint of their being barren. One or two of the girls werd decidedly, good-looking. (Ch. vii. pp. 77-78.) The Brang Dyaks are a poor, miserable tribe, wedged in between the Serins and Si Bungos. The men seem low-spirited and despondent, and are physically inferior to almost all the Land Dyaks I have met with. The women bear but poor children, their constitutions being enfeebled by close inter-marriage, and by the hardships attendant upon their wild and laborious existence. (Ch. vii. p. 80.) At Bukar, notwithstanding what I have said else- where of the state of the village, these Dyaks are well made, sturdy fellows ; except goitre I noticed little disease, and there seems to be no sickness. (Ch. viii. p. 82.) The men and women are well shaped, strong, comely, and healthy, some of the young women almost good-looking, several of the little girls decidedly pretty.'* (Ch. viii. p. 84.)

An anonymous writer [W. L E. de M.j in The Field (20 Dec, 1884) remarks : ** The Bukar Dyaks are decidedly a much finer race of men than any other Land Dyaks I have met with. Many of them are tall, handsome men, and not a few wore long beards, such as no Savar Singgi Dyak can boast of. Their noses also are a decided improvement on the style adopted by the other Land Dyaks, among whom I have often seen faces with beautiful eyes and very well-shaped mouths, but never without flat, broad disreputable noses."

** The Bukar women have their limbs spoilt from carrying heavy weights, even from their tenderest age, over exceedingly steep ground ; their legs appeared bent. I saw one mother bearing on her back two children, and a basket containing twenty or more bamboos full of water, the latter a sufficient load for one person. In the harvest, they act as beasts of burden, and bring the bulk of the rice home. The children, in general, were very clean and pleasing.'' (St. John i. 221.)

On the Quop River Sir Chas. Brooke notes: ** We passed some Dyak houses, and were followed by a few guides who were good specimens of the inhabitants. Their skins were about the colour of a new saddle, their features not good but pleasing, with raven black hair flowing down the back."

(i. 31.)

Mr. Houghton describes the Upper Sarawak Dyaks : " The complexion is yellowish brown, the eyes and hair black; the latter is coarse, and is generally worn long ; in some cases it is inclined to curl. The shape of the head is round, a little elongated on the top ; the face is broad ; the eyes large ; the nose a little pressed in on the bridge, and wide at the bottom ;

48 H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

the nostrils are large, the lips thick, and the teeth rather projecting. . . . They are very strong and robust people, and able to bear a long abstinence (some two or three days). Their life is a very hard-working one. Several months in the year they live entirely away from the village in houses built on the farms in the jungle, preparing the ground, sowing, weeding, and harvesting. They are able to carry very heavy loads on their backs. Men, women, and children work on the farms. The women are not treated with any distinction with regard to the farm-work." (Houghton, M. A. S. iii. pp. 195 and 198.)

The Sennahs: ** The men, with few exceptions, are clean and well built ; the women and girls appear healthy, and are in many instances good-looking." (Houghton's Report.)

** In point of physique the Sennah tribe is vastly superior to any of the Dyaks I had visited. The men possess more stamina, are well built, healthy and strong, more clothed than the generality of their countrymen, while in manners and address they are open and independent, being devoid of the shyness and timidity which characterizes this people. Some of the women are really good-looking, with clean, healthy skins and cheerful, smiling faces." (Denison ch. vi. p. 65.)

The Sennahs are altogether an interesting tribe ; in manner the men are more polite ; the women are fuller of Hfe ; some of the girls were pretty, their best age being six to sixteen, after that they begin to fall off." (St. John i. 142.)

Sir Jas. Brooke writes of them : ** From the numbers I have seen I may safely pronounce that they are by no means a fine race. Their stature is short, their persons generally slight, though well formed, their muscles little developed, and bearing all the marks of savage life by exercise, but not labour; the countenance is intelligent, the eye good, but their colour is scarcely so light as that of the Malay, the general characteristic of the countenance the same." (Mundy, 205.)

Of the Lundus Lieut. Marryat writes: "There were many women among the groups ; they appeared to be well made, and more than tolerably good looking, (p. 47.) . . Speaking of the sons of a chief, he says : " Without exception, these 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 charac- teristic." (p. 75.) And of the Lundu people generally he says: **They are middle-si^ed, averaging 5 feet 5 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." (p. 78.) He describes a Lundu as follows: ** His complexion was somewhat darker than that of the generality of Malays. The countenance intelligent, the eye quick and wandering, the forehead of a medium height.

Physique, 49

His stature was 5 feet 2 inches, his limbs were well formed and muscular, the ankles and knees small, and his chest was expanded. He walked well and erectly, and bore every mark of his physical powers having been developed by constant exercise. He was by no means shy or reserved, but answered readily to our questions, and often when they exceeded his power of comprehension made us repeat them." (Mundy i. 21.)

Lieut. Marryat describes this same Lundu thus (p. 73) : ** The eldest son of the chief came to us immediately, in a canoe. He was a splendidly-formed young man, about twenty-five years old. He wore his hair long and flowing, his countenance was open and ingenuous, his eyes black and knowing. His dress was a light blue velvet jacket without sleeves and a many-coloured sash wound round his waist. His arms and legs, which were symmetrical to admiration, were naked, but encircled with a profusion of heavy brass rings." Elsewhere he says of the Lundu : ** They were copper-coloured, and extremely ugly ; their hair jet black, very long, and falling down the back ; eyes were also black, aud deeply sunk in the head, giving a vindictive appearance to the countenance ; nose flattened ; mouth very large ; the lips of a bright vermilion from the chewing of the betel-nut ; and, to add to their ugliness, their teeth black and filed to sharp points. Such is the personal appearance of a Loondoo Dyak." (Marryat, p. 5.)

The Dyaks are as little blessed with beauty as the Malays. The bridge of the nose is flat, the nostrils very wide, large mouth, the lips pale and pufifed up, and the gums projecting. Like the Malays they file their teeth and colour them black. The expression of their faces is generally calm and good-natured, and sometimes somewhat stupid, which may partly be due to the custom of keeping the mouth continually open. Their skin is a light brown, eyes and hair black. The men wear their hair short, the women wear theirs long, straight, hanging down, and not plaited. The gait and bearing of the women is very ungraceful ; they place their feet wide apart and push their belly^ forwards." (Pfeiffer, 77-78.)'

* " Several of them [women] would probably have been considered pretty even in Europe, and the state of confusion into which they were thrown added not a little to their interesting appear- ance. Their features generally bore some resemblance to the Malays, but many were even fairer than the Chinese ; while several were freckled by exposure to the sun, which I had never noticed before in any of the natives of the Archipelago. ... I had previously heard of the Dyaks only, as a barbarous people, more strongly addicted to human sacrifice than any other race in the world, and I was. therefore, totally unprepared to find them so mild and prepossessing in their appearance. . . . The Dyaks are of middle size, and, with the exception of those who are continually cramped up in their little canoes, are invariably straight-limbed and well formed. Their limbs are well rounded, and they appear to be muscular, but where physical strength is to be exerted in carrying a burthen they are far inferior to the more spare-bodied Chinese settlers. Their feet are short and broad, and their toes turn a little inwards, so that in walking they do not require a very wide path. Their foreheads are broad and flat, and their eyes, which are placed farther apart than those of Europeans, appear longer than they really are. from an indolent habit of keeping the eye half closed. The outer corners are generally higher up the forehead than those nearer to the nose, so that were a straight line drawn perpendicularly down the face, the eyes would be found to diverge a little from right angles with it. Their cheek-bones are prominent, but their faces are generally plump, and their features altogether bear a greater resemblance to the Cochin-Chine.se than of any other of the demi-civilized nations in Eastern India. . . . The Dyak countenance is highly prepossessing, more so than that of any people I have yet encountered. On only one occasion did I ever perceive a decidedly sulky expression, and that was in the case of a lady who had been treated

E

50 H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit, N. Borneo.

Sea Dyaks.

" In general appearance the Sea Dyaks have the advantage of the Malays and land tribes, being of a higher, though still short, stature, well-made, and with limbs of excellent proportions ; a subdued and calm, but resolute air ; an imposing carriage, walking with a light and graceful step, and peculiarly self-possessed bearing ; these qualities impress the stranger more favourably than the smaller stature, less elegant figures, darker features, and more cunning expression of the countenance of the Malays.'' (Low, p. 177.)

" The men are fine healthy fellows, the women were mostly rather ill- favoured in personal appearance and the children were, without exception, verj' dirty, but all were good-natured and polite. . . . The men are well-propor- tioned but sparely built, and not, as a rule, what would be called muscular. Their form denotes activity, speed, and endurance, rather than great strength ; precisely the qualities most required by a denizen of the jungle. While this is true of the men in general, it is by no means uncommon to meet thick-set and muscular individuals ; almost the first Dyak I saw, Dundang, was a fleshy native Hercules. Their movements are easy and graceful, their carriage always erect. The color of a typical Sea Dyak is dark-brown with a a strong tinge of yellow ; his hair is jet-black and falls in graceful, flowing locks upon his shoulders, instead of being perfectly straight and characterless like that of the Malays. But the Sea Dyak women in general are by no means bad-looking. Their faces are bright, intelligent, and interesting, and I dare say others would call many of them pretty. As a rule they are handsomer than the men. Some that I saw were so clear-skinned and light as to be really a dark-yellow, but sufficiently warmed with brown to make it healthy-looking, and far from disagreeable. Their eyes are always jet-black and sparkling, and their hair, which is abundant, well-kept, and drawn straight back without parting, is likewise glossy and black as a raven's wing. Their teeth, alas ! are also black from chewing betel, which likewise reddens their lips for the time being. Their busts, which are always exposed, are generally plump and well-formed until old age mars all such beauty and leaves the skin

rather indecorously by some Malays. Those whom I saw for the first time (except in one instance on my return from the gold-fields), always cast their eyes on the ground, and sometimes turned away their faces in a manner similar to, that of a bashful child ; but by pretending to take no notice of them, and conversing with someone who happened to be present, they would after a time ^teal an occasional glance, and if they understood Malay, I generally managed to draw them into con- versation. Their bashful manner, however, rarely wore oflf entirely, even after frequent meetings. The countenances of the Dyak women, if not exactly beautiful are generally extremely interesting, which is, perhaps, in a great measute owing to the soft expression given by their long eyelashes, and by the habit of keeping the eyes half closed. In form they are unexceptionable, and the Dyak wife of a Chinese, whom I met with at Sin-Kawan. was, in point of personal attractions, superior to any Eastern beauty who has yet come under my observation, with the single exception of one of the same race, from the North-West Coast of Celebes. In complexion, the Dyaks are much fairer than the Malays, from whom they also differ greatly in disposition and general appearance, although not so much as to lead to the conclusion that they could not have sprung from the same source, giving rather the idea that the cause of dissimilarity has proceeded from the long disconnec- tion of the Malays from the original stock in addition to their admixture and intercourse with foreign nations. The Dyaks are a much superior people to the Malays, although the latter affect to consider them as beings little removed from the orang-outan." (Earl. pp. 211, 257, -261.)

Physique. 51

hanging from the shrunken sides in hundreds of wrinkles and folds. The girls marry at sixteen and are old women at thirty." (Hornaday, pp. 413, 459.461.)

Of other Sea Dyaks we read : — " In youth and before marriage their figures are slight and graceful, with small waists, and not too largely developed to obliterate the sylph-like contour of a budding beauty. Their eyes are, in most cases, jet-black, clear, and bright, with quick intelHgence and temper beaming through the orbs. The shape of the lid when open is very oval, the lashes are long and thick, forming an abundant fringe, which shades the sun's piercing rays from the pupils. The brow covering is often so perfectly arched and finely chiselled, as to lead people to think that the outline has been shaved, as is done in many Eastern countries. We must step, however, the short distance of an inch and a half, from the sublime to the ridiculous, and describe the nose by the simple but expressive term, * snubby and turn-up.' Then pass on to the mouth, from here to yonder, naturally ill-shapen and made worse by disfigurements, from the excessive chewing of sirih and betel-nut. The teeth are stained black and filed to a point, and the red juice is besmeared over their lips and considered an adornment. They are not, however, thick lipped, nor does their appearance evince an excess of the sensual passions, as is found in many Asiatics. The general expression of their countenances is attractive by the buoyancy and brightness emitted from the eye; this charm pleases and softens the remainder of their irregular features. The hair may be compared to a Shetland pony's tail, long, bright, and coarse, which lasts as long as health permits. A fever quickly deprives them of this beautiful adornment, of which they are exceedingly proud. They seldom fail to shake their heads before a spectator, in order to toss their flowing tresses over their back and shoulders. The more favoured ones, too, when on a visit, are fond on the excuse of excessive heat requiring the jacket to be withdrawn, to expose a smooth, satiny, brown skin. In warm climates this can scarcely be con- sidered an indelicacy by the most sensitive. . . . Their labour soon brings an excess of muscle over their frame, and then their appearance becomes hard and healthful, but less interesting. The holding of parangs in their unformed and youthful hands, for the purpose of cutting young jungle, injures their fingers, and many are to be seen with crooked and enlarged knuckle-bones. The ankle swells with continual plodding up hills, or in swampy grounds. This, however, soon vanishes when they are restored to quiet life." (Brooke i. 66-69.) Their gait is very stiff and ungraceful. It resembles waddling more than walking, and they always have the toes turned in, owing to the scantiness of their dress, and the habit of fixing its folds between the knees. They are wonderfully strong walkers, and fetch water for everyday household purposes firom surprising distances. The colour of their skin varies considerably, not so much between one tribe and another as in various localities ; and whether it be attributable to different kinds of water, or food, or increase of shade from old jungle, is a question. But there is no doubt that all who reside in the interior are much fairer than those who have moved towards the mouths of the rivers, and a very few years is able to effect the change of appearance.

52 H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

They say themselves it is owing to the muddy colour of the water in the lower grounds, whereas further up the river they bathe in and drink of clear gravelly-bedded streams. Their natural tint is an olive or bronze colour, which in my opinion is remarkably suited to the human race." (ibid'i. 70, 71.) ** The chiefs wife brought out a child to show us, of which they were both very proud ; but a more consummate lump of ugliness I never set eyes on.'* (ibid i. 94.) On one occasion, when the boat was empty, she was hauled over by long rattans, and *' one Dyak of our party held her bow. As he skipped from one rock to another he looked like a baboon, although he was a beautifully- proportioned fellow, about 5 feet 8 inches in height, thin and straight, with no calf to the leg, which is always a sign of activity in Dyak estimation. He had a grown-up family, and must have been on the wrong side of forty, but yet a stranger might have taken him for twenty-five. All our party were amused with his movements, and his tongue never stopped wagging." {ibid ii. 166.) At Ballei a chiefs wife informed me **she had had ten, and now had grand-children. She seemed quite young herself, and her hair still flowed in long raven tresses. Their figures are not good, and I have not as yet seen a passable-looking one among them. The men are stout and strong, with full limbs, and have not bad features ; their noses are certainly much more developed than in most other tribes." (ibid ii. 171.) Further up the river was Apai Jantai's house. ** It was a better house than we had yet seen, situated on the side of a steep hill about 400 feet from the water, up and down which the stout damsels thought nothing of carrying water three and four times a day, besides climbing in other directions to attend to their gardens and various pursuits ; but look at their calves, which the steeps had developed ! A heavy load of padi, and a little child sitting on the top of it, are a common burden for a young mother." (ibid ii. 173.) ** Men seemed like ducks in the water, and the most active now became conspicuous swimmers and divers, all had their duties. The amount of exertion of this kind which the natives will undergo js simply wonderful. They keep it up hour after hour in the coldest mountain stream, jumping in and over places where Englishmen could not stand, as the rocks were as slippery as glass, and many of the ridges were not over three inches wide, without a holdfast of any sort, making one giddy to look at them. . . ." (ibid ii. 260.) '' The crews assisted one another, creating a deafening sound. The din of bah^ bah, bah, and yells even drowned

the sound of the cascade." (ibid ii. 261.)

** Dyaks gazing or watching naturally place themselves in graceful attitudes, and arrange their cloth around their shoulders as a Highlander his plaid. I especially remarked these lithe, upright, and pliable figures, which a sculptor might have coveted, combining slim grace with great muscular development ; and this is really required for such work as they undergo in this country, which without doubt is the most difficult to travel over." (ibid ii. 254.) Balang's people, " numbering about two thousand men, are fine specimens of Dyaks, each being nearly equal to two Malays in muscle and weight, for they are taller by some inches, with great develop- ment. One of the chiefs came to me yesterday and complained, * The sea men (Malays) don't know how to pull ; they jerk at their paddles too much

Physique. 53

to move a boat against a current.' The stroke of these Dyaks is long ; their heads are almost bent down to their knees. Besides, they work much more unitedly, whilst the Malays so often stop to smoke, or chew, or chat ; but in many places about here all must use their strength or the boat would drift. A Dyak is in his element when on an expedition, and takes a pride in all he does, cooking regularly only twice a day, and feeding all in company, when the rice is divided equally to each man.'* (ibid ii. 268.)

" A Saribas chief of a tribe near came aboard, named Lingir — a short man, of most. perfect symmetry, serpent-eyed, with the strong savage pictured in his physiognomy. While he sat on the deck I could not keep my eye off his countenance, for there was peculiar character lurking underneath the twinkle of that sharp eye — avarice, cunning, foresight, and prudence, all within so small a compass." (ibid i. 25,)

** One Saribus Dyak of our party, who had been fined I don't know how many times for taking beads from any one he met in different directions, was on this^ occasion of invaluable use. He seemed never to tire, and every- thing was placed on his shoulders. A spare, amiable-looking fellow as could be met, and yet every part of his person gave assurance of strength and endurance. He took all the hard work of our party in hand, supplying us with firewood and water, and watching while the others slept ; the first up and the last to rest. Our other friend, the Sakarang Dyak, with the activity of the monkey tribe, had been unwell the whole march, and was walking along with a stick, with an attack on him which would have laid any Christian on his back. I have experienced the kind of sickness, and therefore am able to form an idea of the pain he was suffering ; but he kept up manfully, and gradually began to get better. The attack seldom lasted more than three days." (ibid ii. 187).

Referring to some Dyaks who acted as his boatmen in his great Kayan expedition of 1863, Sir Chas. Brooke says : ** Their numbers in hard work produce an unpleasant effluvia if one be housed on the same level with them." (ii. 259-260.)

The Sibuyaus: ** Their figures are almost universally well made, and showing great activity without great muscular development, but their stature diminutive." (Keppel i. 53.) ** One of the Sibuyau chiefs married daughters was quite pretty, extremely fair, with soft expressive features, and a very gentle voice." (St. John.) *'They (the women) were small but remarkably well-shaped, and with limbs of delicate formation "....** The colour of their skins was Hght brown, smooth, and glossy" .... **The men were of short stature, stoutly made, and nothing remarkable in their manner or appearance "....'* Numerous fine children were playing about the verandah, and looked upon us without fear." (Mundy ii. 115.)

The Ballaus: "The women amongst them are ill-looking and hard worked." (Brooke i. 238.)

The Ballaus ** are smaller, and possess less physical strength than Europeans, but they have great powers of endurance, and great bodily activity, climbing rocks and trees like cats or monkeys. Their countenance is, as I have said, of the Malay type, and it consequently takes some time

54 H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit, N. Borneo.

before a European becomes accustomed to their appearance; but when his eye has been reconciled to their cast of features, he soon discovers in them intelligence, openness, sprightliness, and good-humour. These qualities never fail to commend themselves to the favourable consideration of the spectator, and he soon begins to consider them handsome, according as they approach the ideal of the Malay type, just as he considers a European handsome according as he approaches the ideal of the Caucasian type.'* (Horsburgh, p. lo.)

** The Skarans are physically a well formed race, though small of stature. The average height of men living in the coast regions is about 5ft. 2in. or 5ft. 3in. They are fairly broad in proportion to their height, and their limbs supple and well developed, not being confined by a quantity of clothing. In the upper waters of the rivers a taller and altogether fuller development is found, and I have come across men ranging from 5ft. loin. to 6ft. 2in. in height. The women are from two to three inches shorter in stature than the men. Round the chest they average about 33 to 34 inches." (F. W. Leggatt.) " The skin is light nut-brown in colour, and of a soft velvety smoothness and free from hair, except on the pubes and in the arm-pits. But exposed parts are burnt by the sun's heat to a darker shade. The Sakarang tribe are allowed to be nice-looking, and are particularly noticeable for their agility, coupled with elegance of gait. . . . They are some shades lighter in colour than the Bantings." (Brooke i. 108, 107.) The strength of some of these people may be gauged by the following : — On one expedition an Englishman broke down. " He was a man over six feet in height, and heavy in proportion. The Dyak who carried him up hill after hill, as if he had been an infant, was only 5ft. 2in. without his shoes." (ibid i. 312.)

** The Sakarang women are, I think, the handsomest among the Dayaks of Borneo ; they have good figures, light and elastic ; with well-formed busts and very interesting, even pretty faces ; with skin of so light a brown as almost to be yellow, yet a very healthy-looking yellow, with bright dark eyes, and long glistening black hair. The girls are very fond of using an oil made from the Katioh fruit, which, has the scent of almonds. . . . The Sakarang men are clean built, upright in their gait, and of a very independent bearing. They are well behaved and gentle in their manners : and, on their own ground, superior to all others in activity. Their strength and activity are remarkable. I have seen a Dayak carry a heavy Englishman down the steepest hills ; and when one of their companions is severely wounded they bear him home, whatever may be the distance. They exercise a great deal from boyhood in wrestling, swimming, running, and sham-fighting, and are excellent jumpers. When a little more civilized they would make good soldiers, being brave by nature. They are, however, short — a man five feet five inches high would be considered tall, the average is perhaps five feet three inches." (St. John i. 29.) The Sarebas are ** just a shade lighter in complexion " and both these and the Skaran tribes have more of the Tartar cast of feature than the others. (Grant, p. q6.)

** The Undnps are not so nice looking as the other tribes." (Brooke ii. 85.)

** The women of the people the Sibus on the Rejang River^ , who are

Physique. 55

said to be the most beautiful of the natives of Borneo, are fairer, with more decided features than any others I have seen. On the whole, neither Williamson nor myself deemed the reputation they have obtained unmerited." (Low, p. 369.)

Kanowits : ** They were as good-looking a set of men, or devils, as one could cast eye on. Their wiry and supple limbs might have been compared to the troqp of wild horses that followed Mazeppa in his perilous flight." (Brooke ii. 54.) *'The appearance of these people is very inferior; few of them have the fine healthy look of those I saw about Mr. Brereton's fort. The women are remarkably plain, and scarcely possess what is so common in Borneo, a bright pair of eyes." (St. John i. 39.) ** The chief, who was a very old man, with about thirty followers, then came on board. He was pro- fusely tattooed all over the body, and, like the rest of his savage crew, he was a hideous object. The lobes of his ears hung nearly to his shoulders, and in them immense rings were fixed. Round his waist he wore a girdle of rough bark, which fell below his knees, and on his ankles large rings of various metals. With the exception of the waist-cloth, he was perfectly naked." (Mundy ii. 123.) "Strangely enough, the Kanowit women are, as a rule, darker than the men." (de Windt, p. 73.)

The Milanaus.

** In personal appearance, the men of the Milanowes have much resemblance to the other races inhabiting the island, from whom they cannot, by their features, be distinguished. The women, however, enjoy the reputation of being far more beautiful than those of .any of the other tribes, and slaves from this nation are sold for a much higher price than girls from any other of the many divisions of the inhabitants of the island. I had only opportunities of seeing those of the Rejang tribe who live at Serekei, and cannot say that I observed their great superiority. They were dressed in the manner of Malayan females, and perhaps their long clothing may have better concealed their personal defects : their hair was kept in better order, and their faces were much fairer than is general amongst the other tribes." (Low,

339-)

Sir Chas. Brooke speaks of ** A fine fellow, physically speaking, showing

great power of limb. He stood 5ft. 7iin., with gigantic shoulders and depth

of chest, with a cast of countenance somewhat resembling the Red Indian.

. . . . He was considered a most prodigious striker with this weapon,

and I have heard men declare that they have witnessed him sever at a blow,

a hardish piece of wood as large as the leg of an ordinary-sized man. He

was a clever and active fellow, and would dance and caper with his drawn

sword on every imaginable occasion ; but insincerity was written on his

features." (Brooke i. 302-3.)

** The women were considered better looking than most others on the

coast, having agreeable countenances, with the dark, rolling open eye of

Italians, and nearly as fair as most of that race ; but I could never admire

the colour, as they exhibited an almost unwholesome sallowness, and a

want of vivacity upon their puddingj- features. The men are cleanly, and

56 H. Ling Roth. — Natives of Sarawak and Brit. N. Borneo.

generally well-dressed, bjit not so nice-looking as many other tribes, {ibid ii.

99-)

** They are not a handsome race, whatever may have been said to the

contrary, both sexes being ill-formed, as a rule ; the women especially so, being short and squat, and, long before middle age, becoming very obese." (de Crespigny J. A. I. v. 34.)

"In personal appearance the Milanows strongly resemble the other tribes inhabiting the Sarawak territory, and can only be distinguished from them by the squareness of their features ; the women, however, have unaccountably won a reputation for beauty. It is true there are some good- looking girls amongst them, but as a tribe they are far behind the Malays in figure and regularity of features ; they are very white (that is, an unhealthy milky white), but having to work all their lives treading or expressing the sago from the pith of the palm, their feet become large and their figures squat

and stumpy The men are about the middle height ; they are not

tattooed, nor do they use any ornaments or personal decorations." (Crocker, Proc. R. Geogr. Soc. 1881, 199.)

Kayans.

Sir James Brooke d