46 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap. 



a row of small brass rings inserted round the margin 

 of the shell of each ear (Fig. 2). 



Many of the men wear also bracelets of shell or 

 hard wood. 



'Although the dress of the men is so uniform 

 in essentials throughout the country, it gives con- 

 siderable scope for the display of personal tastes, 

 and the Sea Dayak especially delights in winding 

 many yards of brilliantly coloured cloth about his 

 waist, in brilliant coats and gorgeous turbans ^ 

 and feathers, and other ornaments ; by means of 

 these he manages to make himself appear as a 

 very dressy person in comparison with the sober 

 Kayan and with most of the people of the remoter 

 inland regions, who have little but scanty strips of 

 bark-cloth about the loins. ' 



The universal weapons of the country are sword 

 and spear, and no man travels far from home 

 without these and his oblong wooden shield. Some 

 of the peoples are expert in the use of the blowpipe 

 and poisoned dart. The blow-pipe and the recently 

 introduced firearms are the only missile weapons ; 

 the bow is unknown save as a plaything for children,^ 

 and possibly in a few localities in the extreme 

 north.^ 



The dress of the women is less uniform than that 

 of the men. The Sea Dayak woman (Pis. 29 and 30) 

 wears a short skirt of cotton thread woven in curious 

 patterns of several colours, reaching from the waist 

 almost to the knee ; a long-sleeved jacket of the 

 same material, and a corset consisting of many 

 rings of rattan built up one above another to enclose 

 the body from breast to thigh. Each rattan ring 

 is sheathed in small rings of beaten brass. The 



^ The turban is a head-dress which is copied from the Malays and is rapidly 

 spreading inland. 



2 This toy cross-bow is found among Kayans. Both it and the arrow used 

 are very crudely made. 



' The war dress and accoutrements will be more fully described in 

 Chap. X. 



