On the Equator

Head Feast-?Lat-?His Family-?Tattooing-?The Sumpitan-?Kayan and Dyak War Dances-?

a had a very pleasant and somnolent effect. Mosquito nets were unnecessary, none of these pests existing so far inland; but we were much persecut

e better way, the mouth of the Katibus stream being passed at mid-day. This, which has evoked the cognomen in Sarawak of the "accursed river," is rightly so called, for it has always been a thorn in the side of the Governme

Steep rocky hills here rise abruptly to a great height from the river, the water of which was so clear that the smallest pebble at the bottom could be seen, although we found, on sound

h broader made than any natives I had yet seen in Borneo, but were of far less pleasing countenance and more ferocious aspect than our friends th

yak habitation, with its small strip of clearing whereon the owners grew their "padi" or rice. At last, as the sun was setting li

avigation became very dangerous, on account of the extreme swiftness of the current, which rushed by at a tremendous pace, carrying large snags, or pieces of timber, with it, a blow from one of which w

of these, mingled with the roar of the water as it dashed through the ravine, had a strange and weird effect. These people had been living above Kapit and out of sight of the Government, eluding taxes, taking

called a village, having consisted, till quite recently, of but two large native houses. The tribes around, as I have said, having given great trouble of lat

other parts of Sarawak, the former being mountainous, rock

Although in a very unfinished state, it contained one room nearly completed, in which we managed to live very comfortably. We ha

had its representative here during our visit, for the station being in charge of a Eurasian, or half-c

(which is the only one living at the head of Rejang not tattooed) has been occasionally but seldom seen in these regions by Europeans, as they shrink from all intercourse with mankind, and fly at the approach of any but their own race. They are described as being of a much lighter colour than the Poonans,

eir long, coarse, black hair streamed in some cases far below the waist, and they were not a little proud of this appendage, which was cut square over the forehead. The Kayans were not at all given to joking like the Kanowits, but all wore an appearance of suspicion and distrust on their faces, which even the genial influence of square fa

ayans is a curious one, and I here gi

onversing with him, and offering the best advice concerning his future proceedings. This palaver over, the corpse is placed in a large wooden box, and kept in the house for several months. At the expiration of this time, the relatives and friends again assemble, and the coffin is taken out and deposited on a high tree. The deceased is repeatedly cautioned dur

launch, one of whom was acquainted with the Poonan language, we proceeded up river to a large house occupied by this curious tribe, who inhabit the country between the Rejang and Koti rivers

egs in point of repair, for many of the posts on which it stood had rotted away and fallen to the ground, a proceeding of which the house appeared likely shortly to follow the example. Noticing an unusually quiet and dejected air about the place, very unusual whenever a visit is paid by a Europ

ted are taken out and hung from one of the posts in the hall. An incessant beating of gongs, drums, &c., is kept up unceasingly for four days and nights, and war-dances performed by the warriors of the tribe. Strong "arrack"[10] is brewed in large quantities from the gornuti palm, and the scene of debauchery that succeeds the first day of the feast is indescribable. Drunken men lie about in all directions, shrieks and yells resound throughout the village, and for four days the whole place is given up to dissipation and riot.

rious foothold, we entered the house, the flooring of which stood nearly 30 feet above ground, and within which a sorry spectacle presented itself. Heaps of food, in the shape of rice, por

nsavoury coup a'?il, a bunch of human heads, their mouths stuffed with rice, grinned at us from the end p

himself, and arousing forty or fifty of his companions, led us off to see the chief or head-man of the tribe. Preceded by these youths, whose unsteady gait and sleepy faces afforded our Malay guides no small amusement,

ng down below his waist. He wore a dirty waistcloth which had once been white, his only adornment being a short red flannel jacket, faste

are, built upon the centre of the ruai. This is invariably the dwelling-place of a head-man

," and, to judge from his looks, had been having a high time of it during the feast. Shaking hands with him, an oper

air was unsecured and allowed to fall in profusion down their backs, while their arms were ornamented with brass rings and bright-coloured beads. From the neck to the waist they wore a succession of brass rings which formed a species of cuirass. These when once put on are never taken off again. Had it not been for the practice of elongating the ear-lobes and staining and filing the teet

of a V, in some cases a hole being bored through the front ones and a p

ch was about fourteen feet square, and we were not sorry, therefore, to take our leave and return to the ruai. The ladies, too, were not

he offer than an old woman made her appearance armed with the necessary implements, and with the aid of a pair of very blunt needles, and a peculiar species of dye obtained from a tree, succeeded, after a good hour's work, in embellishing us-L. with a ring on each shoulder (the sign manual of the tribe), and myself with a bird, whose ge

. The darts used are about five inches long, and are dipped in upas juice. The slightest scratch from one of these, drawing blood, proves fatal in less than half an hour unless at once attended to;

owd of some 200 from the canoes down river had assembled to witness the dancing, and the bright moonlight and flaring torches

huge shell, and is covered from top to bottom with the black and white feathers of the rhinoceros hornbill loosely attached to it, and which flapping about with every movement of the wearer, gives him the appearance of some huge bird. In addition to this cloak is worn the waist-clot

y, the first part representing two warriors meeting on the war-path. An exciting combat then ensues in which one is killed, and the survivor is indulging in a solitary pas de joie, when he suddenly discovers that he has by mistake killed his brother. He is giving way to violent paroxysms of grief, when his relative, who had been only severely wound

with surprising grace. Although using full-sized Parangs and shields, they whirled them round their heads with the gr

g houses had taken up his quarters there, I sat up for him one night with a gun. At midnight, his usual hour, the noise recommenced, but what was my surprise to find that it proceeded not from under the fort, but from the rafters above, and that the intruder was a large brown li

ine days after reached Kuching, not sorr

News containing a letter from a Danish gentleman, Mr. Carl Bock, in which he announced his having been among a race in Borneo called the Poonans, and went on to observe that he was the only European who had ever seen this tribe, or had intercourse with them. This error I hastened to correct, and wrote to the Illustrated London News, explaining that th

ember 4th, 1880. I may add that cannibalism, although known to exist in Sumatra, and supposed to be

tno

ative b