Furness.] Ol^ [Dec ^^^ 



hunting expedition. On another occasion, Dr. Hiller and myself 

 were spriulvled witli water thrown on us from a sticlv cut into sliavings 

 at the end and held on the blade of a parang. Finally, we began the 

 ascent of the Pata river, one of the large tributaries of the Baram, and, 

 after three daj^s of hard boating over rapids which necessitated our dis- 

 embarking twice and carrying our boat and all our belongings overland 

 for a short distance, we arrived within one turn of the river from Tama- 

 bulan's house. Here a short halt for final purification was made, and 

 an arch about five feet high, built of branches, was erected on the 

 beach. Beneath this arch a fire was made, and then Tamabulan, hold- 

 ing a young chicken, which he vi'aved and brushed over all parts of the 

 arch, addressed the evil spirits which had been following us and forbade 

 them to follow us further through the fire. The chicken was then killed 

 and its blood sprinkled over the archway and in the fire, and, led by 

 Tamabulan, the whole croM'd filed under the arch, and as they stepped 

 over the fire each one spit in it and immediately took his place in the 

 boats. A half hour more brought us to the huge log which served for 

 a landing along the shore below the house, 900 feet long, of Tamabulan. 

 The houses of the tribes who live on rivers are always built on high 

 ground above the banks so that they are out of danger from the frequent 

 freshets which occur during the rainy season, and also that they may ob- 

 serve the approach of enemies or friends coming down or ascending the 

 river ; to get into the houses you have to walk up a log about ten inches 

 in diameter, notched so as to form rough steps. Let me here briefly de- 

 scribe the tribal and household life of the Kenniahs and Kayans, which, 

 in almost every respect, are similar The inmates of a "long-house " are 

 a collection of about fifty or sixty families banded together for mutual 

 protection and support, and since there must be a centre to every circle 

 one among them is selected as chief, either an old man skilled in war 

 or one rich in worldly goods, which are estimated by the number of 

 heads he owns (these are not marketable but bring good luck), and also by 

 the number of brass gongs and cannons which pass for money ; this wealth 

 may be accumulated by successful raids, or by sales of rotan or gutta to 

 the Chinese traders in the bazaar ; one of the Baram chiefs has become 

 rich by the possession of a cave wherein the swallows that build edible 

 nests abound. Sometimes the government of a household is hereditary. 

 All the minor details of the conduct of the house are controlled by the 

 Orang Tuah, or the Orang Kaya (the old man or the 7'ie7i man), as the case 

 may be ; but the aftairs of the tribe, such as the advisability of their going 

 on the war-path, etc., are left to the Penghulu, who is responsible only 

 to the Rajah or to his officers. There are but five Penghulus in the Baram 

 district, but there are as many Orang Kayas and Orang Tuahs as there 

 are houses. The long-houses are in point of fact small villages built in 

 a straight line, on high piles, for protection and elevation above the 

 damp ground. Tambulan's is about 350 paces long and rests on piles 

 about fifteen feet high made of magnificent trunks of the Billian tree, 



