XVIII CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 175 



migrates to the husband's house after a few years, 

 generally on the occasion of the building of a new 

 house or on the death of his father, both of which 

 events afford him the opportunity of becoming head 

 of a room and thus taking rank as, and assuming 

 the full responsibilities of, 2i paterfamilias. 



The marriage ceremonies of the Kenyahs and 

 Klemantans are similar but less elaborate. But 

 the Sea Dayak ceremony is different. A feast is 

 made in the house of the girl's parents. The bride- 

 groom makes no considerable gifts to the parents of 

 the bride, though he is generally expected to become 

 a member of their household for the first few years 

 of his married life. The principal feature of the 

 ceremony is the splitting open of a pinang (the seed 

 of the areca palm) during the feast, in the presence 

 of the young couple and their relatives. The two 

 halves are examined for signs of decay or imper- 

 fection ; and if there are none, the marriage is 

 regarded as approved. A live fowl is waved over 

 the couple by the chief of the house as he says, 

 *' Make them prosperous, make them happy, give 

 them long life, make them wealthy, etc. etc." The 

 phrases conform to a conventional pattern, but each 

 orator modifies and adapts them freely. The words 

 seemed to be addressed to the fowl, and it seems 

 impossible to discover in the Iban mind any con- 

 ception of a higher power behind or beyond the 

 fowl, though we may suspect that in a vague way 

 the live fowl symbolises or represents Life in general 

 or the power behind Nature (PI. 173). 



Few or no Kayans can state their age without 

 going through some preliminary calculations, and 

 even then their statements are apt to be vague and 

 uncertain. A Kayan mother can generally work 

 out the age of each of her children on request. She 

 puts down in a row bits of leaf or stick, one for each 

 year, working back from the present, and recalling 



