THE SOCIAL SYSTEM 6^ 



of the old house, together with all their personal 

 property. 



The Kenyahs form a less homogeneous and 

 clearly defined tribe than the Kayans ; yet in the 

 main their social organisation is very similar to 

 that of the Kayans, although, as regards physical 

 characters and language as well as some customs, 

 they present closer affinities with other peoples than 

 with the Kayans, especially with the Klemantans. 

 The Kenyah tribe also comprises a number of 

 named branches, though these are less clearly 

 defined than the sub-tribes of the Kayan people. 

 Each branch is generally named after the river on 

 the banks of which its villages are situated, or were 

 situated at some comparatively recent time of which 

 the memory is preserved. In many cases a single 

 village adopts the name of some tributary stream 

 near the mouth of which it is situated, and the 

 people speak of themselves by this name. Thus it 

 seems clear that the named branches of the Kenyah 

 tribe are nothing more than local groups formed in 

 the course of the periodical migrations, and named 

 after the localities they have occupied.^ 



The foregoing description of the relations of 

 a Kayan chief to his people applies in the main to 

 the Kenyah chief. But among the Kenyahs the 

 position of the chief is one of greater authority and 

 consideration than among the Kayans. The people 

 voluntarily work for their chief both in his private 

 and public capacities, obeying his commands cheer- 



^ All the Kenyahs of the Baram are known as Kenyah Bauh. On the 

 watershed between the Batang Kayan and the Baram are the Lepu Payah and 

 the Madang. In the Batang Kayan basin are the Lepu Tau, the Uma Kulit, 

 Uma Lim, Uma Baka, Uma Jalan, Lepu Tepu. In the Koti basin are the 

 Peng or Pnihing ; in the Rejang the Uma Klap. These are the principal 

 branches of the pure Kenyahs ; each of them comprises a number of scattered 

 villages, the people of each of which have adopted some local name. In 

 addition to these there is a number of groups, such as the Uma Pawa and the 

 Murik in the Baram, and the Lepu Tokong and the Uma Long in the Batang 

 Kayan, the people of which seem to us to be intermediate as regards all 

 important characters between the Kenyahs and the Klemantans. (For dis- 

 cussion of these relations see Chap. XXI.) 



