I40 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap. 



story about Lafaang, who of course is regarded as 

 of their own tribe. 



The Story of Lafaang 



The daughter oi Palai (the constellation Pegasus) 

 fell in love with a Long Kiput youth, Lafaang by 

 name, and invited him to ascend to the heavens, 

 warning him at the same time that the customs in 

 her celestial home were very different from those of 

 earth. The girl was very beautiful, and Lafaang 

 was not slow to find his way to her father's house. 

 Palai, surprised to see this mortal visitor, enquired 

 of his daughter, ** Who is this man, and why does he 

 come here 1 " "It is the man I wish to wed," replied 

 the girl. The kind-hearted father told her to give 

 her lover food, and consented to the realisation of 

 her hopes. So Lafaang took up his abode in the 

 house of Palai and was wedded to his daughter. 

 But in spite of repeated instructions, Lafaang found 

 it very difficult to conform to the customs of his 

 adopted country. He put his food into his mouth 

 with his fingers instead of using a needle for the 

 purpose, and by doing so distressed his wife, who 

 chid him for his disobedience to her instructions. 

 On the morrow of his arrival he was invited to clear 

 a patch of jungle for a padi field ; and his wife told 

 him that, in order to fell a tree, he was merely to 

 lay the axe she gave him at the foot of the tree, 

 which would forthwith fall to the ground. But 

 habit was too strong to be controlled, and, when 

 Lafaang set his hand to the task, he fell to chopping 

 at the tree. But though he chopped with might 

 and main he made no impression, and his gentle 

 spouse was horrified to see the crudeness of his 

 methods. On the next day he was told to watch 

 Palai at work felling the trees. Squatting in the 

 jungle he saw how the great trees fell when Palai 



