430 ETHNOGRAPHY OF SARAWAK. 



fowl or pig has to suffice for the rehgious ceremonies of 

 Sarawak natives. 



Burnt offerings are not known in Borneo, but the use of fire 

 in rehgious ceremonial occurs amongst several tribes : as the 

 Kayan seeks his omens from the birds, he frequently kindles a 

 fire, the ascending smoke thereof carrying up his petitions to 

 the skies. It is interesting to note too, that this religious fire 

 is not kindled by means of lucifer" matches, but in the more 

 primitive way by the friction of two pieces of wood rubbed 

 together. 



Apart from the Malays none of the tribes of Borneo have any 

 knowledge of writing : consequently the former history of 

 Sarawak and of its tribes is very much a matter of speculation. 



For the keeping of engagements and for the registering of 

 running debts they make much use of tally strings and sticks. 

 If a Kayan undertakes to meet a friend, say seven days hence, 

 he takes a piece of string, knots it seven times, and attaches it 

 to the fibrous rings that adorn his leg : every morning he cuts 

 off a knot and when the appointed day arrives, his knotless tally 

 string reminds him of the fact. 



Amongst the Kalabits so obsessed are they by this idea that 

 they even provide the image of the god which stands by the 

 entrance to the house with a whole fringe of tally strings round 

 his neck : these strings are knotted and serve to remind him 

 of the number of families in the houses and the number of 

 members in each family. 



The relationship of the many tribes to each other is not quite, 

 clear. From a study of the languages it seems probable that 

 the Land Dayaks, Milanos, Punans, and Kenyahs belong to 

 the same stock and it is supposed that they are the older 

 inhabitants of the land. Sea Dayaks and Malays are closely 

 related and they have certainly been in Borneo for centuries, 

 though the Malay colony in Sarawak is not of any great 

 antiquity: this probably applies to the Sea Dayaks also. The 

 Kayans appear to be more recent immigrants. Now as the 

 species Homo sapiens cannot have originated in Borneo all 

 these people must have come from elsewhere and it appears 

 probable that the different tribe sections represent successive 

 immigrations from the Annam or Cambodia region of the 

 Continent of South-Eastern Asia. 



ASTRONOMY. 



5v R. T. A. Inxes, F.R.A.S. 



{Evening Discourse delivered in the Court House, Maseru, on 

 Saturday, October 2, 1909: Illustrated by Lantern Slides.) 



The lecturer dealt in particular with the so-called canals on 

 Mars, and with the approaching return of Halley's comet. 



