OTHER EXPEDITIONS 289 



with water, dipping the necklace in the water and 

 shaking it over us. After the meal the uncooked rice 

 was put into baskets and presented to me, and the gongs 

 struck up again ; the women of the village now appeared 

 on the scene, and a gangway down the length of the 

 verandah was cleared. A young Dayak then donned the 

 soldier's tunic and a skirt, which was bulged out round 

 the hips by means of a coil of plaited fibre ("tekal"), and 

 after uttering a weird screech he stretched out his 

 arms, assumed a most lackadaisical expression and went 

 through a variety of postures ; the feet were not moved 

 very much : as a rule the whole of the sole rested on 

 the ground, and the heels were shifted occasionally. 

 Gongs accompanied the dance, and the performer broke 

 off several times as he was not satisfied with the rhythm 

 in which they were beaten. The dance, which was 

 supposed to represent the soaring of the Brahminy Kite, 

 lasted about twenty minutes, and long before that time 

 had elapsed the man was pouring with perspiration. 

 He was succeeded by three women, whose dance was 

 a very simple affair : they put small shawls round their 

 necks, stretched out their arms, placed the feet together, 

 and just bent up and down at the knees so as to scrape 

 their brass leglets together, producing a clicking noise. 

 Then two men danced a Malay sword-dance, a sort of 

 sham-fight, very artistic and with a good deal of life- 

 like action in it. At 8 I went up to the "Baluh" for 

 dinner, and was amused by a very drunk old man who 

 showed me how he could dance. I tasted some of the 

 spirit brewed by Land-Dayaks from fermented rice, and 

 found it far more palatable than the Chinese-made 

 arrack, which, however, they much prefer, on account, 

 I expect, of its higher percentage of alcohol. At 8.30 

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