426 ETHNOGRAPHY OF SARAWAK. 



a needle for fear lest tlieir husbands should tread on the 

 sharpened spikes of wood implanted for them in the ground by 

 the enemy, etc., etc.* At the same time the men took certain 

 precautions to ensure their own safety, thus : when cooking, 

 a spoon must not be left standing- up in the rice pot, or thus 

 will the enemy leave a spear sticking in' the body of the offender; 

 when rice is taken from the pot, the cavity thus left in the food 

 must immediately be smoothed over, or otherwise wounds will 

 not heal quickly, etc., etc.* 



The men also have to submit to various and numerous tabus 

 prior to the birth of their children. For example, he must not 

 tie a knot tightly, and he must not use his parang (sword) for 

 chopping or cutting purposes. 



Sea Dayaks ordinarily inter their dead, but in the case of the 

 children the cofifin is slung from the branches of a jungle tree, 

 and there it remains suspended in mid-air indefinitely. 



In former times it was the custom to deposit the belongings 

 of a deceased person at his grave : nowadays, however, striking 

 a compromise between religious sentiment and economy, they 

 make tiny models of mats, baskets and the like, and these 

 are placed in the grave instead of the real things they represent. 

 Amongst this tribe morality is to some extent a part of their 

 religion, and it is generally admitted that in many respects their 

 standard of morality is high. Theft and lying are comparatively 

 rare, the Dayak being naturally honest; they treat their chil- 

 dren kindly and are lavish in their hospitality to strangers, ir- 

 respective of race. The young people certainly are somewhat 

 free in their relations together, but as no disturbance of the 

 peaceful conditions of the community results thereby, there is 

 no need to judge cnem from the standpoint of a code of morals 

 necessary in a highly civilised community such as that of Euro- 

 peans. 



Sea Dayaks have considerable natural ability but are lacking 

 in originality: much of their art and customs, e.g., tatuing, 

 has been borrowed from their neighbours the Kayans. They 

 are very democratic, having no social grades; chieftainship is 

 not hereditary, and chiefs work in the rice fields or elsewhere 

 quite like ordinary individuals. 



Land Dayaks. — These people also live in long, compound 

 houses, somewhat like those of the Sea Dayaks, but differing 

 in that they are decidedly inferior, being made very largely of 

 bamboo. They are quite distinct from the Sea Dayaks in 

 physiognomy and in customs; their language, too, is very dif- 

 ferent, and it is somewhat remarkable that the Land Dayaks of 

 different districts have diverged so widely in their language that 

 they cannot understand each other. In formes times thev also were 

 headhunters, and the heads were deposited in a specially built 

 house, round or octagonal in shape; this head house constitutes 

 the sleeping quarters of the bachelors, and here, too, visitors 

 and guests are honoured with a place. 



In many respects the Land Dayaks must be regarded as inferior 

 to the Sea Davaks : the women have no knowledge of weaving, 



* See Man, Dec, 1908, where all these tabus a"e recorded. 



