226 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap. 



hunting life, of which the blow-pipe is the principal 

 instrument. The chief and only important improve- 

 ment effected in the condition of the Punans since 

 that early period would seem to be the introduction 

 of the superior form of blow-pipe of hard wood. 

 This cannot be made without the use of a metal 

 rod for boring, and, since none of the Bornean tribes 

 which still lead the nomad life know how to work 

 metals, it may be inferred that they have learnt the 

 craft of making the sumpitan from more cultured 

 neighbours, procuring from them by barter the iron 

 tools required — as they still do. 



It is impossible to make any confident assertion 

 as to the affinities of this widely diffused people from 

 which we believe the Punans, Kenyahs, and 

 Klemantans to be descended. But the physical 

 characters of these tribes, in respect of which they 

 differ but slightly from one another, lead us to 

 suppose that it was formed by a blending of 

 Caucasic and Mongoloid elements, the features of 

 the former predominating in the race thus formed. 

 The fairness of the skin, the wavy and even, in some 

 individuals, the curly character of the hair ; the 

 regular and comparatively refined features of many 

 individuals ; the frequent occurrence of straight and 

 aquiline noses ; the comparatively large, horizontal, 

 or only slightly oblique, palpebral aperture ; the not 

 infrequent absence of all trace of the Mongolian fold 

 of the eyelid and its slightness when present — all 

 these characters point to the predominance of the 

 Caucasic element in the ethnic blend. 



On the other hand, the smooth yellowish skin, the 

 long dark thick hair of the scalp, and the scantiness 

 of the hair on the cheeks, chin, and lips ; the rather 

 broad cheek-bones, the prevailing slight obliquity of 

 the eyes, the rather narrow palpebral aperture, and 

 the presence of a slight Mongolian fold — these 

 characters (all of which are found in a considerable 



