ANIMISTIC BELIEFS 105 



death of the chief of a community of Klemantans 

 (the Orang Bukit), a slave was bought by his son, 

 and a feast was made, and the slave was killed 

 through each man of the community giving him a 

 slight wound. This was said to be the revival of 

 an old and almost obsolete custom. In another 

 recent case, when a mixed party of Kayans and 

 Kenyahs returned from a successful war expedition, 

 only the Kenyahs had secured heads. The Kayans 

 therefore took an old woman, one of the captives, 

 and killed her by driving a long pole against her 

 abdomen, as many of them as possible taking part 

 by holding and helping to thrust the pole. The 

 head was then divided among the parties of Kayans, 

 and pieces of the flesh were hung on poles beside 

 the river, just as is done with the flesh of slain 

 enemies and with the flesh of the pigs that are 

 always slaughtered on such occasions. It, was said 

 that this killing of a human being was equivalent to 

 killing a pig, only much finer. 



Kayans tell us that they used to kill sla,ves at 

 the death of a chief, usually three, but at least one, 

 and that they nailed them to the tomb, in order 

 that they might accompany the chief on his long 

 journey to the other world and paddle the canoe in 

 which he must travel. This is no longer done, but 

 a wooden figure of a man is put up at the head and 

 another of a woman at the foot of the coffin of a 

 chief as it lies in state before the funeral. And a 

 small wooden figure of a man is usually fixed on the 

 top of the tomb, and it is said that this is to row the 

 canoe for the chief. A live fowl is usually tied to 

 this figure, and although it is said to be put there 

 merely to eat the maggots, we think there can be 

 no doubt that we see here going on the process of 

 substitution of fowl for slave. 



In building a new house it is customary among 

 almost all these tribes to put a fowl into the hole 



