THE WILD TRIBES OF THE MALAY PENINt^llLA. 4()9 



Even the l)lowpipe itself is not without its iiutural jirototype in th(^ 

 Miihiy l*eiiiiisulii, in the I'lA'ers of which there h\(^s a small lish calltMl 

 Td.rofcs j(tcidaf(»\ which Lha\.e/inyself seen shoot a tly otf a leaf sev- 

 eral inches above the surface of the river ])y means of a small drop of 

 water forcibly expelled from its mouth. 



By the Sakais each of the darts is carried in a separate reed, al)out 

 30 to 50 of these reeds beino- lashed tooi^thcM', rolled up into a bundle, 

 and fitted into an ornate bamboo ((uiver. The Imtt ends of the darts 

 are fre((uently marked to distino-uish the- strength of the |)()ison. 



The Semano- ([uiver contains fewer darts than that of the Sakai, and 

 is without r<M'd bundle, cap, or rino-s; in fact, it is a mere internode or 

 joint of hand)oo which is oidy remarkable for the beauty of the 

 designs with which it is decorated. Various compounds of the two 

 main poisons to which I lun e referred are used by the wild tril>es, the 

 ingredients varying according to the fancy of the maker. Thus, 

 venom from the fangs of serpents, centipedes, scorpions' stings, etc., 

 is frequently added, though it is in no way really reciuired. Fur- 

 nished with these darts, both Sakais and Semangs regularly brincj 

 down their quarry at short distances up to about 30 paces, and have 

 even l)een known to kill 1 irds and monkeys on high trees at a dis- 

 tance of t)0 yards. The method of collecting and applying the coat of 

 poison to the dart point in its siuq)lest form is as follows: The l)ark 

 of the tree (when the tree poison is used) is slashed with a jungle 

 knife in the shape of a big V. Th(^ poisonous sap, which immediately 

 collects at the apex of the \', is then drawn otf into a bamboo vessel 

 and carried home, where it is either, when small (juantities are used, 

 as among the Semangs of Kedah, merely heated and applied to the 

 dart points or prepared by boiling until a sutficient consistency is 

 obtained. In the former case it is poured out into a bamboo tray and 

 applied U) a l)road wooden spatula, which is heated over a tire until 

 it begins to dry, when the point of the dart is rolled upon the spatula, 

 the dart being then deposited against a fallen tree trunk to dry in the 

 sun in a safe place. Among some Sakai and Jakun tribes an elaborate 

 kind of drying i-ack is used, which prev(Mits the darts, wdiich are very 

 light, from IxMng carried away in a high wind while drying. 



HABITATIONS. 



The most ])iimitive forms of dwelling emplo3"ed by the wild tribes 

 are rock shelters (sometimes caves, but more commonly natural shel- 

 ters under overhanging rocks) and leaf shelters, which are sometmies 

 formed on the j'-'-ound, sometimes between the branches of trees, riic 

 simplest form of these leaf shcdters consists of a singh^ big palm leaf, 

 which is planted in the gi'ound to atl'ord the wanderer some flight 

 shelter for a single night. Tlie more elaborate leaf shelters, used 

 especially by St'inangs, sometmies take the form of a rude lean to. 



