ETHNOLOGY OF BORNEO 247 



which the women propose marriage to the men 

 (Kalabits). 



In the Philippine Islands a system of agriculture 

 similar to that of the Muruts is widely practised ; 

 and some of the tribes, though their culture has 

 been largely influenced by Spanish civilisation, 

 seem to be of the same stock as the Muruts ; thus 

 the Tagals of Borneo are not improbably a section 

 of the people known as Tagalas in the Philippines, 

 and the Bisayas of Borneo probably bear the same 

 relation to the Visayas of the Philippines. 



It seems probable, therefore, that this type of 

 culture has been carried into the north of Borneo 

 by immigrants from the Philippines, whither it was 

 introduced at a remote period, possibly from Annam, 

 the nearest part of the mainland ; or possibly it came 

 to Borneo directly from Annam.^ It is probable 

 that many of the tribes which we have classed with 

 the Muruts, on account of their possession of the 

 Murut culture, are, like the Klemantans and 

 Kenyahs, descendants of the ancient Indonesian 

 population who have adopted the culture of more 

 advanced immigrants. The descendants of the 

 immigrants who introduced this type of culture 

 are, we think, the Muruts proper, who claim that 

 name and dwell chiefly in the Trusan, the Padas, 

 the Sembakong, the Kerayan rivers, and in the 

 head of the Kinabatangan ; also the Kalabits in 

 the northern part of the upper basin of the Baram. 

 It is these which display most decidedly the physical 

 peculiarities noted above. 



As examples of Klemantan tribes that have 

 partially adopted the Murut culture we would 

 mention the Long Kiputs, the Batu Blahs, the 

 Trings, and the Adangs in the head of the Limbang 

 River ; to the same group belong the Kadayans in 



^ Deniker {Races of Man, p. 392) describes, under the name Mois, an 

 aboriginal tribe of Annam in terms which show that they present many points 

 of similarity with the Muruts. 



VOL. II R 



