THE WILD TRIBES OF THE MALAY TENINSTILA. 471 



Somang' especially) in the l)eautil'ul and finely executed designs with 

 which they decorate theii' blowpipes and quivers, and the magic combs 

 worn ])y the women. An,anuising example of the skill of the Jai^uns 

 was furnished me in the form of a set piece, representing the use of 

 the blowpipe. 



DKKSS. 



The commonest form of clothing worn by the men of all these tribes 

 is the waistcloth of tree ])ark, which consists <^f a long narrow strip of 

 hammered bark. That of the women, on the other hand, is usually a 

 sort of short petticoat or wrapper of the same material. Hut the most 

 interesting form of girdle worn ])y these tribes is undoul>tedly one 

 wiiich is beautifully woven from the long, black, shining strings or 

 cords called rhizomorphs. which ar*^ in reality the vegetative parts of 

 a toadstool. (PI. ], 4.) 



Leaving the question of girdles, there are several other slight, but 

 otherwise important items of attire worn by th(\se tribes, such as arm 

 bands, necklaces, and combs. Arm bands and even leg bands are fre- 

 quently w^orn, apparently for the purpose of bandaging and so 

 strengthening the nuiscles. They vary from a simple tie of jungle 

 fiber to metal circlets or spirals, which latter are usually obtained 

 from the Malays. 



The necklaces, which are worn chiefly by the women, it would 

 appear mainly for magical purposes, consist at times of as many as 

 nine strings, and are composed of such objects as monkeys' teeth, 

 tufts of hair from s(|uirrels' tails, black and whiti^ beads, seeds of jun- 

 gle fruits, shells, etc. 



The coml)s, Avhich bear magical designs, and are worn solely l»y 

 women, are of the kind which I txdieve are termed l)ack cond)s in 

 England, but which are onl}' worn to defend the wearer against poison 

 or sickness. To complete the picture, tattooing or rather scaritication 

 is practiced ovev a limited area among the wilder trit)es of the interior, 

 with face and body painting (apparently as a substitute for tattooing) 

 in places where Malay influence has begun to enter. The usual pat- 

 tern consists of four or Ave horizontal stripes on the cheeks, with a 

 sort of trident or pitchfork design on the forehead or chin. For the 

 stripes on the cheeks are often substituted rows of ))lack and white 

 dots, supposed to represent what are called the spores, or perhaps 

 more correctly the sori, of a fern. The tattooing is performed by 

 drawing the flnely serrated edge of a sugar-cane leaf across tlie skin 

 and rubl)ing into it powdered charcoal. 



In addition to th(^ foregoing the septum of the nosc^ is frequently 

 (among th(^ Seniang and Sakai only) ])ierced to admit the (piill of a 

 porcupine. l)()ne. or })iece of stick, or sonn^ other decorative object of 

 the kind. 



