( rvx\ ) 



lusload of o()() lo 800 iiili.iltilaiils as oii llio l- j»|K>r-.M;\lial<aiii. (Iio 

 villages ('(nml lliorc J500 2500 iiilialdlaiils, llioiijili llicv ('(M-laiiily 

 do Jiot lio farllicr a[)ai'(. Morcoxci- \\\o ficiicral appoaniiicc dl' tlic 

 Këiijas makes a iinicli heller inipfcssioii Ix'causc of llieir slr(nii>er 

 hiiild and llie less tVe(|uent oecurreiice ot" deloriniiiLi: diseases ainoiiLj; 

 the scaiililv (ircssed ligures, wliieli is eidiaiieed l»v llie altsciiec of llic 

 eaelieelie ])ers()iis so iminemus elsewliere. 



The diirerenee between llie Hahaiis and llie Keiijas is e\eii more 

 mai'ked in their ])sychical (jualilies than in their pliysieal indivi- 

 dnahly. The enteebHng moments wliich oii Ihe Mahakam affect 

 lliem in a so nmch hxrger degree seem to have iiad a sirong 

 «.legenerating ejfeet on Ihe psyche of Ihe Italians. 



This is proved hy their history: in Ihe hegimiing of Ihe 11)^'' cen- 

 tury they made lliemseives known not only by head linnting but 

 also by raids luidei-taken on a larger scale till far into Ihe rivei'-basin 

 of Ihe Kapo(Mvas, Ihe liai'ilo and Ihe iMahakani, in which regions no tribe 

 could resist them; at pi'esent smallei- forays rarely occur, larger expe- 

 ditions are ((uile out of tlie (piestion and in a light with other tribes 

 the woundijig or death of one man may put his tribe lo flight. 



The greatest difficulties which cojdVonhnl the ï^uropean stranger 

 in his intercourse with the Balians, arose in his contimial struggle 

 with Iheir timidity, fear and suspicion even after a long intercourse 

 and iji the fact that his movements were continually hampered by 

 the i)eculiar religious and other convictions of these tril)es. The 

 sirong contrast in these res|tecls between them and llie Kcujas is 

 thei-efore very striking. 



After my arrival in A|)o Kajan 1 was at once struck by the fad, 

 that ilie 150 meji, who had come nndei' their |)rincipal chieftain to 

 assist me by bringijig boats and iuiproving roads, were much freer 

 and noisier iji their behaviour than my P>ahau escort, that the chief- 

 tains gave their commands with nuich greater energy ajid that they 

 were also belter obeyed. During my stay in iheii- villages Ihis 

 iin|»i'ession was greatly strengthened by the waul of shyness on the 

 |>;irl of llie women and children. Remarkable was the contrast 

 between the behaviour of the young Kcnjas and Ihe IJahans when 

 J, as 1 usually did, distributed small |n"esents, such as beads, finger- 

 rings, needles and jueces of clolh among them. Among Ihe Italians 

 1 could (pnelly keep in my chair, and though occasionally a little 

 hand ma\' have been stretclu'd (uil too <piickly towards the co\'efed 

 object, yet all the little ones wailed patiently for their tui-n and 

 nevei became boisterous. When I dislribnted things among the Bahans, 

 llie proceedings were quite dillei-eiil : 1 had to begin with taking a 



