252 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap. 



are common to them and to the other tribes of 

 Borneo, many seem to have been borrowed by them 

 from their neighbours, and often in an incomplete 

 or imperfect manner ; such are the system of omen- 

 reading, the ritual slaughter of fowls and pigs, much 

 of their dancing and tatuing, the parang Uang and 

 wooden shield, the feathered war-coat of skin, the 

 keluri or small bag-pipe, and the fashion of wearing 

 their hair, — all these seem to have been borrowed 

 from the Kayans ; the woman's corset of brass- 

 bound hoops, from the Malohs ; the mat worn 

 posteriorly for sitting upon, from the Kenyahs/ 



Besides the three great invasions of foreign 

 blood and foreign culture, those borne by the 

 Kayans, the Muruts, and the Ibans respectively, 

 there have been numerous minor invasions on all 

 sides. In the following paragraphs we make 

 mention of those that seem to have been of most 

 importance in modifying the population and the 

 culture of Borneo. 



In the south there are traces of Javanese culture 

 with its Hindu elements among many of the tribes, 

 but especially among the Land Dayaks who occupy 

 the southern extremity of Sarawak. These cremate 

 their dead ; they set apart a separate round house 

 for the trophies of human heads, and in this the 

 bachelors are expected to pass the nights. The 

 Malawis of South-East Borneo seem to be similar 

 in many respects to the Land Dayaks of Sarawak. 

 The Land Dayaks have a reputation in Upper 

 Sarawak for quicker intelligence and more adapt- 

 ability than the other tribes, and hence are in much 

 request for services of the most various kinds. It 

 is an interesting question whether this may be due 



^ The general use of this mat is common to the Kenyahs, Punans, and most 

 of the Klemantans, but it is comparatively rare among the Kayans ; this is a 

 significant fact, for such a mat is more needed by a jungle dweller than by one 

 whose home is a well-built house. We have not met with any mention of such 

 a mat among the tribes of the mainland. 



